Jesus said ‘‘ I am the bread of life.’’ John 6:48

Jesus said ‘‘ I am the bread of life.’’ John 6:48

Thursday, March 05, 2015 ELIJAH’S GROWING FAITH

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Greetings to all my friends in the precious name of our Lord Jesus ChristGreetings Christ!

All the glory to my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ!

Elijah’s growing faith

1 Kings 17: 1, ‘Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel,

lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”’

Its interesting to know that no other detail about Elijah’s background is mentioned in the scriptures, other

than that he was from Tishbe in Gilead. So it was not his background that made his name appear in the

scriptures. It was because of what he did and for whom he stood that made his name appear in this Holy

Book. We should realize that at the end of our lives, if there is anything we can carry from this

world, it will be only that which we did for the Lord. Nothing else matters for the Lord.

Seeing the wickedness of the king and the people of Israel, Elijah announced a famine for three years. He

did this on the command of the Lord. But he himself was affected by it. The things we do for God at His

command might affect us too . But His love and faithfulness provides for His children in amazing ways. On

the other hand, ministry of Elijah began with self-provision. He believed and practiced faith on God’s word

and thus received from God. Our limitations are nothing but grounds to practice faith and the beginning

of ministry, for ministry always begins at home.

1. Here, Elijah simply believed God’s word and he received God’s promise. God provided food and

water to Elijah. He asked his servant to dwell in a place by the side of the brook of Cherith. Elijah

obeyed God. And there, the ravens fed him day and night and he drank from the brook. Had Elijah

not dwelt in the place where God asked him to, he might not have received God’s provision. Its

important to be in His perfect will to receive all that He has provide for us. Perfect will is

the exact plan of God. This brook of Cherith was just before the river Jordan. God did not ask

the prophet to drink from the river, because the waters of Jordan is always muddy. Even when the

world around faced famine, God gave the best of His provison to the ones who stood for Him.

2. Here, Elijah not only believed, but also claimed his provision. The brook dried up after a while.

The Lord asked the man of God to go to Zarephath, where He had commanded a widow to sustain

him. Elijah obeyed God. But when he asked the widow for a morsel of bread, the woman replied that

she had only a handful of meal and a little oil. 1 Kings 17:12, “As surely as the LORD your God lives,”

she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I

am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—

and die.” ’ God had commanded the widow to sustain Elijah. But the widow did not know this.

Only Elijah was aware of this. He therefore persisted the woman and conveyed to her the Lords’

word for her provision. At times, God’s commands are known only to His children, and not to the

ones, whom God might use for us. But faith is contagious. Faith of Elijah got transferred to the

woman and it passed on to her barrel and cruise. Faith ought to be strong enough to be claimed.

This is the next level of faith.

3. Here, we see a crying Elijah : Note here, dear friends that ministry life is full of ups and downs,

one after the other. But our faith should grow steadily. Provision of the waters of Cherith dried up

The Broken Bread

Jesus said ‘‘ I am the bread of life.’’ John 6:48

Thursday, March 05, 2015 ELIJAH’S GROWING FAITH

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and gave way to provision in Zarephath. Here too, soon after the miracle of unlimited provision was

seen, the son of the widow died. 1 Kings 17 : 18, ‘She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me,

man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”’ The faith of woman crashed in

an instance. But Elijah’s faith did not. 1 Kings 17:19-22, ‘Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took

him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.

20 Then he cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am

staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times

and cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”22 The LORD heard Elijah’s

cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. ‘ Here, we see a crying Elijah. In all the earlier

scenario, this man of God was seen practicing his faith by believing and claiming his faith. But here,

the prophet had to cry out in faith to get back the life of the boy. Crying does not always represent

weakness. Here, Elijah cried in faith. This shows the highest level of faith life, where one ex-

presses his complete helplessness and hopelessness through crying, but at the same time the

complete trust and hope in God through his prayers. Yes, Elijah dared to pray for the dead

boy to come back to life. How many of us can do this ? This is the ‘knocking’ level of faith. Lk.11:9,

‘So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be

opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who

knocks, the door will be opened.’

‘Now I know that you are a man of God.’ 1 Kings 17:24, ‘Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that

you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”’ When the woman saw

the miracle in the barrel and the cruise, she did not say that ‘indeed, Elijah was a man of God.’ But she confessed

it when her dead son came back to life. Yes, dear friends, this is the greatest miracle in one’s

life….the dead coming to life. We were all dead in sins. But God had mercy on us. He put the burden of our

salvation on some and enabled them to cry out for our eternal life in Christ. In His time, in His ways, He

touched us and caused us to be born again. The things we used to do and say, we do them no more. The

things we used to love, we love them no more. This is the real miracle…..the transformation of our hearts.

As Jesus put it in Jn.3:8, ‘The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where

it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]

In all the three cases, Elijah’s prayers were answered, yet his approach was different in each. God was

growing him in faith and preparing him for a much more powerful ministry. When we exercise simple faith,

we might get many answers to our prayers. At other times, we might have to claim in faith against the

boards of dead ends to our roads. But when it comes to salvation of souls, we need to cry out in faith. By

getting worldly blessings through prayers, not all get transformed in their hearts. The multitudes followed

Jesus to receive healing and bread, and returned to their own ways. But only the disciples saw eternal life

in Jesus. If the souls around us need to confess that ‘indeed you are a man or a woman of God,’ we ought to

cry out for their salvation. Lets not be content with anything less than anyone’s salvation. May our faith life

grow enough to cry out for salvation of nations and souls.

God bless us all.