Heroes!?! Elijah Pt. 1

Based on the message from Sunday, (excerpts from 1 Kings 18) I would love to get your feedback on which of the characters that you identified with the most. 

As Elijah comes back on the scene it hits me that in three and a half years of famine, Ahab has yet to do enough serious personal reflection to realize that the catastrophe and life difficulties that he is facing are a result of his own disobedience.  He calls Elijah the troubler of Isreal when in fact, it was he that was the cause of the drought.  Ahab’s disregard for God stemmed from an overwhelming need to please people.  

Do you want to serve God more openly but you are afraid that it will make you unpopular with friends and family?  Even in business?   

Would you be more devoted if it didn't cost you so much relationally, financially and even morally?    

Or, like Jezebel;

Are you chasing after false god’s in a lifestyle that can be described as the complete pursuit of self-gratification?  

Jezebel ruthlessly sought after the things that she thought would truly make her happy.  It made her selfish, manipulative, jealous, and just flat out unaccountable to anyone.  While we may not be just like her, there are aspects of each of us that can be eerily similar.

The person that I think many of us can identify with is Obadiah.  We are doing a lot of really good things, but we are also making a lot of compromises with the world.  We desire to please God but we still want to be comfortable. By hiding the prophets of God, he was courageous, but he also had to make compromises with the prevailing culture to do so.  I think he walked the fine line of faith and compromise that many of us walk.  What is your character worth?    

Nothing good we do in one area of life can ever justify disobedience in other areas. 

Are you living a double life where you are two different people depending on the people that you are hanging around with?

What changes do you need to make? 

Elijah was obedient and brave.  Later we will get a greater sense of his fallen nature, but at this point God said,  “Go and stand for me in the midst of a group of people who hate you and blame you for everything that is bad in their life.”  Sound fun?  Obedience is not always easy.  But it is rewarding. 

Is there an area of your life where you just need to be obedient to God?  

It could be facing an addiction.  Having a difficult conversation.  Making an apology, forgiving someone. Take a step toward solving the problem.  

How can you be more bold, focused on God, consistent and obedient?