Elijah

ELIJAH

James 5:17 &18

Elijah loved God’s people and laboured to bring them into the greatness of what was in the purposes of God for them.  To get the rain Elijah had to put his face between his knees; that is what we learn from the account in Kings of this incident which James refers to. He says that Elias was a man of like passions to ourselves, meaning that he was not a superman.  What he devoted himself to was one thing, and what we may devote ourselves to is another.  He loved God’s people, he loved Israel; he loved the twelve tribes.  At one time he thought he was the only one who did so, but God corrected him on that.

God can correct us.  He may have to do a lot of correction.  If we are carrying things in our minds that are not right, He can correct us so as not to destroy our usefulness, because God likes to keep us useful.  Elijah was useful, and he was a prophet, a bold one; and we need to be bold, we need to have courage. Do not get frightened at the difficulties.  Many get frightened at the difficulties, for they seem beyond them; but Elijah was not like that, he was a courageous man yet he fled from Jezebel.  So you might say, ‘Where was his courage?’  But still God protected him.

God does not expose us unless He has to. You can look back over your life and see that, can you not?  It is good to look back over your life at times and see how God has acted with you, towards you, and in you too.  Not only has He saved you from many disasters, but He could have exposed you, but He did not do so.  God in His patience kept on with us and brought us round to His judgments and to His viewpoint and brought about a state of contrition in our souls too.  How good it is to be kept in a state of contrition in our souls and to be lowly!  As soon as we get anything but lowly, then we are in danger; but we want to keep lowly, committed to God, committed to His interests, committed to His people.

Elijah loved God's people.  In the incident recorded in James he was not acting on his gift because we do not need a gift to pray.  We need right, clear relations with God.  The best way to serve God’s people is to be able to get to God.  According to 1 Kings he put his face between his knees; such was the power that was required to move God that the rain might come.  But he went through it seven times; seven times he sent his servant to look and for six of those times there was nothing.  Then on the seventh occasion he saw that a small cloud about the size of a man's hand was coming.  So that is Elijah.  How many are there who are marked by the spirit of Elijah?

Many Elijahs are needed.  I suppose there is an Elijah needed in every Christian company, one who prays to God for His people here.  What needs there are!  You may say that Christ is in heaven to keep God in touch with His people, but then God rejoices in those that go to Him, praying for the needs of His people.  Have you been to God today to speak to Him about the needs of the believers in Wellington?  Can you afford to miss a day? Could you afford to miss a day in your piety?  You could not.  So you cannot afford to miss a day without going in to God in relation to what He has here.

Get accustomed to going in to God in relation to the welfare and spiritual prosperity of the people of God in the locality in which you are.  Pray for those who are growing cold.  Pray for those who are enthusiastic in regard of the testimony.  Keep Him informed about it and move Him so that He might do more and more.

That is Elijah; and James says that he is a man of like passions to us. So you cannot excuse yourself, you cannot elect yourself out of this at all; because if you are just the same as he, then why do you not do the same as he?  Why not do the same as Elijah did, if you are just the same as he?  If you are in no way stronger than he and no weaker than he, and your circumstances are not more difficult than his but lighter, then you can do just the same as he did.  And what did he do?  He kept Jehovah well informed about current needs in Israel and urged God to come in with blessing in giving rain; and He did so too.

Apparently in Wellington NZ: date not given

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