1 00:00:00,180 –> 00:00:02,940 Well on this mother’s day weekend we come to the story 2 00:00:02,940 –> 00:00:06,660 of a mother, a mother whose heart was broken 3 00:00:06,660 –> 00:00:11,260 and then a mother who entered into overwhelming joy. 4 00:00:11,260 –> 00:00:14,740 I hope you’ll open your Bibles at 1 Kings in chapter 17. 5 00:00:14,740 –> 00:00:17,420 If you’re visiting today for this mother’s weekend, 6 00:00:17,420 –> 00:00:19,660 we’re so glad that you are here. 7 00:00:19,660 –> 00:00:22,000 We’re in a series on Elijah, 8 00:00:22,000 –> 00:00:24,940 a great story from the Old Testament 9 00:00:24,940 –> 00:00:27,600 and we’ve been learning from Elijah’s life. 10 00:00:27,600 –> 00:00:29,580 This man was a prophet, 11 00:00:29,580 –> 00:00:32,320 that means that he spoke the word of God. 12 00:00:32,320 –> 00:00:34,139 He lived at a time when the people 13 00:00:34,139 –> 00:00:35,799 who claimed to belong to God 14 00:00:35,799 –> 00:00:39,040 actually didn’t want to listen to what God said. 15 00:00:39,040 –> 00:00:40,099 They turned to idols, 16 00:00:40,099 –> 00:00:43,419 they turned to all the sins that come with them 17 00:00:43,419 –> 00:00:45,240 and so, God held back the rain 18 00:00:45,240 –> 00:00:48,799 and we followed the story of how there soon was a famine. 19 00:00:48,799 –> 00:00:53,020 God provided for Elijah at a brook called Cherith 20 00:00:53,020 –> 00:00:56,340 but then after a while the brook dried up 21 00:00:56,340 –> 00:00:59,380 and God sent Elijah to a widow, 22 00:00:59,380 –> 00:01:04,180 a mother, a woman in Zarephath and provided for him there 23 00:01:04,180 –> 00:01:05,900 and we’re going to take up the story 24 00:01:05,900 –> 00:01:09,820 at First Kings chapter 17 and verse 17, 25 00:01:09,820 –> 00:01:14,220 a story of desperate sadness that ends in wonderful joy 26 00:01:14,220 –> 00:01:16,860 and I want us to learn from it today in three ways. 27 00:01:16,860 –> 00:01:20,419 First and we’re gonna spend most of the time today here, 28 00:01:20,419 –> 00:01:21,860 we’re going to look at the story 29 00:01:21,860 –> 00:01:23,120 through the eyes of the mother. 30 00:01:23,120 –> 00:01:27,339 That seems the place where we should spend our time today. 31 00:01:27,339 –> 00:01:30,180 Then more briefly, we’re going to look at the story 32 00:01:30,180 –> 00:01:33,199 through the eyes of the prophet through Elijah 33 00:01:33,199 –> 00:01:35,500 and then just very briefly at the end 34 00:01:35,500 –> 00:01:39,120 through the eyes of the little boy who died 35 00:01:39,120 –> 00:01:44,120 and amazingly was raised to life again. 36 00:01:44,180 –> 00:01:47,540 Let’s begin here then with a mother’s journey of faith 37 00:01:47,540 –> 00:01:48,699 and I want to suggest to you 38 00:01:48,699 –> 00:01:52,339 that the story of this mother gives us a marvelous picture 39 00:01:52,339 –> 00:01:54,860 of the Christian life. 40 00:01:54,879 –> 00:01:57,180 We looked at the beginning of her faith 41 00:01:57,180 –> 00:01:59,739 in the message last week. 42 00:01:59,739 –> 00:02:02,879 Her foot had all but run out. 43 00:02:02,879 –> 00:02:05,900 She had just a small amount of flour in a jar 44 00:02:05,900 –> 00:02:08,860 and a small amount of oil in a jug. 45 00:02:08,860 –> 00:02:10,779 She had come out to the city dump 46 00:02:10,779 –> 00:02:13,820 in order to gather a few sticks in order to make a fire 47 00:02:13,820 –> 00:02:17,559 and make what she thought would be her last loaf of bread. 48 00:02:17,559 –> 00:02:18,960 And the word of God came to her 49 00:02:18,960 –> 00:02:21,240 through the prophet Elijah, verse 13. 50 00:02:21,339 –> 00:02:24,380 First make a little cake and give it to me. 51 00:02:24,380 –> 00:02:27,039 And we saw last time that God was calling her 52 00:02:27,039 –> 00:02:29,100 to make a great sacrifice 53 00:02:29,100 –> 00:02:32,440 and to do this for the sake of greater joy. 54 00:02:32,440 –> 00:02:34,360 And the promise that was given to her 55 00:02:34,360 –> 00:02:35,699 was that, in verse 14, 56 00:02:44,360 –> 00:02:47,600 So here she’s given this call to a great sacrifice. 57 00:02:47,600 –> 00:02:50,119 She’s given this extraordinary promise. 58 00:02:50,160 –> 00:02:52,779 And what we noted is that up to this point 59 00:02:52,779 –> 00:02:56,000 she had not been a believer herself. 60 00:02:56,979 –> 00:03:00,100 We know that because she talked about the Lord 61 00:03:00,100 –> 00:03:05,100 as Elijah’s God, verse 12, not her God. 62 00:03:06,660 –> 00:03:07,720 Now, folks, straight away, 63 00:03:07,720 –> 00:03:10,160 here is something very important. 64 00:03:10,160 –> 00:03:14,539 It is one thing to believe that God exists. 65 00:03:14,539 –> 00:03:17,740 It is another thing altogether to come to the place 66 00:03:17,740 –> 00:03:22,740 where you would say the Lord is my God. 67 00:03:22,740 –> 00:03:25,460 Remember Thomas did that before Jesus, 68 00:03:25,460 –> 00:03:26,740 after the resurrection. 69 00:03:26,740 –> 00:03:28,779 He knelt before Jesus and he said, 70 00:03:28,779 –> 00:03:32,059 my Lord and my God. 71 00:03:32,059 –> 00:03:34,699 Well, this woman had not come to that point 72 00:03:34,699 –> 00:03:38,740 when Elijah arrived at her town. 73 00:03:38,740 –> 00:03:41,059 But when she heard the promise of God, 74 00:03:41,059 –> 00:03:44,679 she took this great step of faith. 75 00:03:44,679 –> 00:03:47,539 She became truly a believer. 76 00:03:47,539 –> 00:03:48,839 And so I want you to notice 77 00:03:48,839 –> 00:03:51,039 where her faith began in verse 15. 78 00:03:51,039 –> 00:03:54,320 She went and did as Elijah said. 79 00:03:54,320 –> 00:03:56,759 She believed the promise of God 80 00:03:56,759 –> 00:03:58,160 that he would provide for her. 81 00:03:58,160 –> 00:04:01,880 She stepped out in faith in the light of that promise. 82 00:04:01,880 –> 00:04:04,399 She moved in costly obedience to God. 83 00:04:04,399 –> 00:04:08,039 That is where her journey of faith begins. 84 00:04:08,039 –> 00:04:10,919 That is where every journey of faith begins. 85 00:04:10,919 –> 00:04:12,259 Think of it this way, 86 00:04:12,259 –> 00:04:15,520 faith begins where you trust God’s promise 87 00:04:15,539 –> 00:04:17,779 enough to obey His commands. 88 00:04:18,640 –> 00:04:21,959 Real faith is never simply a belief in God out there. 89 00:04:21,959 –> 00:04:25,279 Real faith is when you trust God’s promise 90 00:04:25,279 –> 00:04:30,079 enough to step out and to obey His commands. 91 00:04:30,079 –> 00:04:32,760 Believing in a God who exists out there 92 00:04:32,760 –> 00:04:35,100 is easy, it demands nothing of you 93 00:04:35,100 –> 00:04:37,100 but obeying God is another thing. 94 00:04:38,079 –> 00:04:41,760 Placing your weight as it were upon His promise 95 00:04:41,760 –> 00:04:44,160 that is always costly. 96 00:04:44,160 –> 00:04:46,359 And this is what this woman did. 97 00:04:46,359 –> 00:04:47,839 She believes the promise, 98 00:04:47,839 –> 00:04:51,339 she steps out, she ventures everything 99 00:04:51,339 –> 00:04:54,320 on the promise of God. 100 00:04:54,320 –> 00:04:57,519 And as she did that we read in verse 16 101 00:04:57,519 –> 00:05:00,019 that the jar of flour was not spent 102 00:05:00,019 –> 00:05:02,079 and the jug of oil did not become empty 103 00:05:02,079 –> 00:05:06,559 according to the word that the Lord spoke by Elijah. 104 00:05:06,559 –> 00:05:07,760 So before we move on 105 00:05:07,760 –> 00:05:09,299 because that’s all by way of review 106 00:05:09,299 –> 00:05:11,839 I simply want to ask this question. 107 00:05:11,839 –> 00:05:14,559 Has your journey of faith begun? 108 00:05:15,980 –> 00:05:19,059 Now, here you are on this Mother’s Day weekend 109 00:05:19,059 –> 00:05:21,200 and you’ve come to church, 110 00:05:21,200 –> 00:05:23,100 perhaps with your mother. 111 00:05:23,100 –> 00:05:24,799 The whole family’s come together. 112 00:05:25,779 –> 00:05:27,660 And that is a wonderful thing 113 00:05:27,660 –> 00:05:29,579 I want to ask you this question. 114 00:05:29,579 –> 00:05:34,000 Has your journey of faith begun? 115 00:05:35,059 –> 00:05:36,279 Or you say I believe in God, 116 00:05:36,279 –> 00:05:38,380 that’s not what I’m asking. 117 00:05:38,380 –> 00:05:41,079 I’m asking have you come to believe 118 00:05:41,079 –> 00:05:43,079 the promise of God to the point 119 00:05:43,079 –> 00:05:44,959 where you are ready to step out 120 00:05:44,959 –> 00:05:47,720 in obedience to his commands? 121 00:05:47,720 –> 00:05:50,279 Have you come to the place where Thomas was 122 00:05:50,279 –> 00:05:52,239 after the resurrection of Jesus, 123 00:05:52,239 –> 00:05:54,079 where he was not simply saying 124 00:05:54,079 –> 00:05:56,179 oh the Lord is someone else’s God, 125 00:05:56,179 –> 00:05:58,399 but oh Lord you are my God. 126 00:05:58,399 –> 00:06:01,640 You are my Lord and I submit my life to you. 127 00:06:01,640 –> 00:06:04,079 That is where the journey of faith begins. 128 00:06:04,079 –> 00:06:06,600 Has it begun for you 129 00:06:07,660 –> 00:06:10,380 stepping out in costly obedience 130 00:06:10,380 –> 00:06:12,519 because you believe the promise of God 131 00:06:12,519 –> 00:06:15,100 that is for you in Jesus Christ. 132 00:06:15,100 –> 00:06:16,059 If you haven’t come there, 133 00:06:16,059 –> 00:06:18,619 I hope and pray that you will take that step today. 134 00:06:20,100 –> 00:06:23,859 The woman’s journey of faith, where it began. 135 00:06:23,859 –> 00:06:25,779 Here’s the second thing I want you to notice 136 00:06:25,779 –> 00:06:26,619 as we move on. 137 00:06:26,619 –> 00:06:29,040 I want you to notice how her faith is tested. 138 00:06:29,040 –> 00:06:31,880 And here we take it up at verse 17. 139 00:06:31,880 –> 00:06:35,140 After this, after the woman has taken 140 00:06:35,140 –> 00:06:38,980 this costly step of obedience and faith 141 00:06:38,980 –> 00:06:41,579 and she has trusted God, 142 00:06:41,579 –> 00:06:45,299 after this, the son of the woman became ill, 143 00:06:46,859 –> 00:06:49,579 and his illness was so severe, verse 17, 144 00:06:49,579 –> 00:06:53,260 that there was no breath left in him. 145 00:06:55,119 –> 00:06:55,959 Think of this. 146 00:06:55,959 –> 00:06:59,160 After the miracle of God’s provision for this family 147 00:06:59,160 –> 00:07:02,959 with this amazing jar of flour that never emptied 148 00:07:02,959 –> 00:07:05,760 and this amazing jug of oil that never ran dry, 149 00:07:05,760 –> 00:07:08,739 miraculous provision by God for this family, 150 00:07:08,779 –> 00:07:11,440 every day, after this. 151 00:07:12,779 –> 00:07:15,940 And after this woman’s amazing, costly commitment, 152 00:07:15,940 –> 00:07:17,239 Elijah comes to her and says, 153 00:07:17,239 –> 00:07:19,059 you’ve got almost nothing, 154 00:07:19,059 –> 00:07:23,260 but first make a cake for me and bring it to me, 155 00:07:23,260 –> 00:07:24,679 and this woman does it, 156 00:07:24,679 –> 00:07:27,279 that’s amazing commitment to God. 157 00:07:29,260 –> 00:07:30,940 And after all this, 158 00:07:32,040 –> 00:07:35,100 the son of the woman becomes ill. 159 00:07:36,600 –> 00:07:37,799 And he dies. 160 00:07:38,940 –> 00:07:43,040 And you say, oh God, of all the women who are incited, 161 00:07:43,040 –> 00:07:45,600 why would you allow this to happen to this woman? 162 00:07:45,600 –> 00:07:46,720 To this family? 163 00:07:46,720 –> 00:07:49,880 The very family that you have been providing for 164 00:07:49,880 –> 00:07:51,760 by a miracle of grace 165 00:07:51,760 –> 00:07:54,760 throughout these last days, weeks, and months. 166 00:07:54,760 –> 00:07:56,200 Have you noticed, friends, 167 00:07:56,200 –> 00:08:00,200 how often God seems to act in contradictory ways? 168 00:08:02,480 –> 00:08:04,959 The woman’s son’s been at the point of death, 169 00:08:05,920 –> 00:08:08,119 and down to their last meal 170 00:08:08,459 –> 00:08:10,739 God steps in, saves the boy’s life, 171 00:08:10,739 –> 00:08:13,399 saves the mother’s life with a miracle, 172 00:08:13,399 –> 00:08:16,239 and now the same God who saved the boy’s life 173 00:08:16,239 –> 00:08:17,359 allows him to die. 174 00:08:17,359 –> 00:08:19,140 What is the sense in that? 175 00:08:22,320 –> 00:08:26,559 Sooner or later, every Christian comes to a point 176 00:08:26,559 –> 00:08:31,440 where you wonder at God’s seemingly contradictory ways, 177 00:08:32,679 –> 00:08:35,799 and most of us can relate to that experience. 178 00:08:35,799 –> 00:08:38,000 Some of you will be there now. 179 00:08:38,000 –> 00:08:41,299 All of us will be there again at some point in the future. 180 00:08:42,640 –> 00:08:44,239 You come to a place in your life 181 00:08:44,239 –> 00:08:45,520 when you kind of scratch your head 182 00:08:45,520 –> 00:08:49,359 and you simply cannot figure out what God is doing. 183 00:08:50,940 –> 00:08:52,960 God seems to open a door for you, 184 00:08:52,960 –> 00:08:54,919 and you say, ah, now this is a wonderful door 185 00:08:54,919 –> 00:08:55,760 of opportunity. 186 00:08:55,760 –> 00:08:57,320 God is opening it for me, 187 00:08:57,320 –> 00:08:59,520 and the next thing it closes in your face. 188 00:09:01,440 –> 00:09:03,840 You have a loved one who is in hospital 189 00:09:03,840 –> 00:09:05,960 and seriously ill, and you pray, 190 00:09:05,960 –> 00:09:07,479 and you exercise faith, 191 00:09:07,479 –> 00:09:10,099 and there seems to be some improvement in her condition, 192 00:09:10,099 –> 00:09:12,039 and you tell her, friends, this is wonderful, 193 00:09:12,039 –> 00:09:14,400 God is answering prayer, it’s a marvelous thing, 194 00:09:14,400 –> 00:09:16,919 and then what, you hear that her condition 195 00:09:16,919 –> 00:09:18,260 has changed for the worse. 196 00:09:19,780 –> 00:09:21,059 We’ve all been there. 197 00:09:22,460 –> 00:09:24,599 The place in life where God’s ways 198 00:09:24,599 –> 00:09:26,320 seem to be contradictory. 199 00:09:27,599 –> 00:09:31,219 And you say, what in all the world is God doing? 200 00:09:31,219 –> 00:09:33,900 Is He playing games with me? 201 00:09:34,859 –> 00:09:38,359 And how can God allow such a thing to happen 202 00:09:38,359 –> 00:09:41,340 to a mother who has already suffered so much? 203 00:09:41,340 –> 00:09:44,179 Not only that, this woman is a new believer. 204 00:09:44,179 –> 00:09:46,479 How can God allow this to happen to a new believer 205 00:09:46,479 –> 00:09:50,260 and when she has suffered so much already? 206 00:09:53,020 –> 00:09:57,119 Elton John gets to the question 207 00:09:57,119 –> 00:10:00,960 in his song, Written in the Stars. 208 00:10:00,960 –> 00:10:02,219 Do you know these words? 209 00:10:02,919 –> 00:10:06,520 Is it written in the stars? 210 00:10:06,520 –> 00:10:11,059 Are we paying for some crime? 211 00:10:11,059 –> 00:10:13,200 Is that all that we are good for, 212 00:10:13,200 –> 00:10:17,900 just a stretch of mortal time? 213 00:10:17,900 –> 00:10:21,679 Is this God’s experiment 214 00:10:21,679 –> 00:10:23,479 in which we have no say, 215 00:10:23,479 –> 00:10:28,640 in which we’re given paradise but only for a day? 216 00:10:28,640 –> 00:10:34,739 That gets to the quest. 217 00:10:34,739 –> 00:10:36,140 That’s what it must have felt like, by the way, 218 00:10:36,140 –> 00:10:37,760 for this woman, mustn’t it? 219 00:10:37,760 –> 00:10:39,580 She was given paradise, 220 00:10:39,580 –> 00:10:40,979 she’d come to the end of her road, 221 00:10:40,979 –> 00:10:42,059 the end of her resources 222 00:10:42,059 –> 00:10:46,299 and now she has a miracle of the oil and of the flower. 223 00:10:46,299 –> 00:10:50,479 But now the son who was delivered by God’s grace 224 00:10:50,479 –> 00:10:52,640 lies dead in her arms. 225 00:10:52,640 –> 00:10:54,200 She was given paradise, 226 00:10:54,200 –> 00:10:57,440 but it was only for a day. 227 00:10:57,440 –> 00:10:58,580 You step out in faith 228 00:10:58,640 –> 00:10:59,840 and in obedience to God, 229 00:10:59,840 –> 00:11:02,140 it will not be long before you look at the events 230 00:11:02,140 –> 00:11:05,000 of your believing life and you say, 231 00:11:05,000 –> 00:11:07,640 this makes no sense. 232 00:11:07,640 –> 00:11:09,359 This woman who is a young believer 233 00:11:09,359 –> 00:11:12,039 and she’s now besieged by questions 234 00:11:13,140 –> 00:11:14,919 and it’s not much help to her to say, 235 00:11:14,919 –> 00:11:16,679 well now dear just pray about it, 236 00:11:16,679 –> 00:11:18,739 that doesn’t help at all at this point. 237 00:11:18,739 –> 00:11:22,359 How can she pray to the God who has done this? 238 00:11:22,359 –> 00:11:25,320 And so she says verse 18 to Elijah, 239 00:11:25,380 –> 00:11:29,280 what have you against me, oh man of God, 240 00:11:29,280 –> 00:11:31,260 and then notice what she says after that. 241 00:11:31,260 –> 00:11:34,700 You have come here to me to bring my sin 242 00:11:34,700 –> 00:11:38,299 to remembrance and to cause the death of my son. 243 00:11:39,700 –> 00:11:41,940 She feels now that Elijah who has looked 244 00:11:41,940 –> 00:11:45,080 like her savior seems more now to be her judge. 245 00:11:46,719 –> 00:11:49,820 It seems that God who seemed to be so for her 246 00:11:49,820 –> 00:11:52,619 seems now very much to be against her. 247 00:11:52,619 –> 00:11:56,299 And I want you to notice there in verse 18 248 00:11:56,299 –> 00:11:58,700 where she talks about you’ve come to bring 249 00:11:58,700 –> 00:12:00,280 my sin to remembrance. 250 00:12:00,280 –> 00:12:03,000 She says to Elijah that the word sin here 251 00:12:03,000 –> 00:12:06,919 is singular, that would seem to suggest 252 00:12:06,919 –> 00:12:08,919 that somewhere in her background 253 00:12:08,919 –> 00:12:12,059 there was a particular sin that haunted her. 254 00:12:13,400 –> 00:12:14,659 Maybe you’ll relate to that, 255 00:12:14,659 –> 00:12:17,539 something that made her feel ashamed. 256 00:12:17,539 –> 00:12:19,140 Something in the past that she wished 257 00:12:19,440 –> 00:12:20,599 she had never done, 258 00:12:20,599 –> 00:12:23,219 and she’s left with this feeling 259 00:12:23,219 –> 00:12:27,359 that because of that God has it in for her. 260 00:12:28,400 –> 00:12:32,460 That God in some way was going to pay her back. 261 00:12:32,460 –> 00:12:34,960 And now that this man had come, Elijah, 262 00:12:34,960 –> 00:12:37,599 and it had seemed that he had brought so much good, 263 00:12:37,599 –> 00:12:39,280 actually this was just a cover 264 00:12:39,280 –> 00:12:41,119 for what was really going on, 265 00:12:41,119 –> 00:12:45,739 that God had finally caught up with her after all. 266 00:12:46,640 –> 00:12:49,479 Is it written in the stars, 267 00:12:49,479 –> 00:12:53,559 are we paying for some crime? 268 00:12:55,219 –> 00:12:57,119 Well, you see, that’s what she thought. 269 00:12:58,080 –> 00:13:01,719 And it’s not just the unbeliever who asks that question, 270 00:13:01,719 –> 00:13:03,440 as Elton John did. 271 00:13:03,440 –> 00:13:06,940 It’s the believer who’s asking that question too. 272 00:13:06,940 –> 00:13:08,539 Is this what it’s about? 273 00:13:09,799 –> 00:13:13,140 Pastor, do you think that God is judging me? 274 00:13:13,840 –> 00:13:17,580 And this young mother’s faith is tested, 275 00:13:19,200 –> 00:13:22,460 and your faith will be tested as a Christian. 276 00:13:22,460 –> 00:13:25,419 There will be times when you look at events in your life 277 00:13:25,419 –> 00:13:28,940 and you say, well, it almost seems that God is against me. 278 00:13:28,940 –> 00:13:31,799 Your past seems to come up against you. 279 00:13:31,799 –> 00:13:34,599 Your own heart condemns you. 280 00:13:36,739 –> 00:13:38,559 And when that happens, you need to know 281 00:13:38,559 –> 00:13:39,979 that you are not alone. 282 00:13:40,580 –> 00:13:44,940 This is not an unusual experience in the Christian life. 283 00:13:46,859 –> 00:13:50,380 When the Apostle John writes to Christians 284 00:13:50,380 –> 00:13:55,380 he says, whenever our hearts condemn us, 285 00:13:56,580 –> 00:13:59,979 this is 1 John and chapter three and verse 20. 286 00:13:59,979 –> 00:14:02,739 Whenever our hearts condemn us. 287 00:14:02,739 –> 00:14:04,099 He’s writing to Christians. 288 00:14:04,099 –> 00:14:07,340 Now that clearly communicates that a Christian 289 00:14:07,340 –> 00:14:09,239 will experience from time to time 290 00:14:10,000 –> 00:14:12,320 your own heart condemning you. 291 00:14:12,320 –> 00:14:13,960 Whenever your heart condemns you, 292 00:14:13,960 –> 00:14:15,599 it’s not gonna happen just once or twice. 293 00:14:15,599 –> 00:14:18,179 But there will be many times in the Christian life 294 00:14:18,179 –> 00:14:20,659 when the memory of your own failings, 295 00:14:20,659 –> 00:14:22,599 the knowledge of your own weaknesses, 296 00:14:22,599 –> 00:14:24,320 sort of rises up and you feel 297 00:14:24,320 –> 00:14:26,840 that your own heart condemns you. 298 00:14:28,859 –> 00:14:32,299 And John tells us what to do when you come to that place. 299 00:14:32,299 –> 00:14:34,520 He says this, 1 John 3, 20. 300 00:14:34,520 –> 00:14:38,679 Whenever our hearts condemn us, 301 00:14:38,679 –> 00:14:43,679 God is greater than our hearts. 302 00:14:44,159 –> 00:14:45,619 That’s what you need to know. 303 00:14:48,239 –> 00:14:53,239 Quick illustration, suppose you owe money to the bank 304 00:14:53,799 –> 00:14:58,799 and suppose the bank manager just clears your debt. 305 00:14:59,760 –> 00:15:01,760 That’s a big suppose, right? 306 00:15:01,799 –> 00:15:04,479 You think this is pretty fanciful now? 307 00:15:06,760 –> 00:15:10,479 When the bank manager clears your debt, 308 00:15:11,460 –> 00:15:16,460 you don’t have to worry if the teller complains. 309 00:15:17,280 –> 00:15:18,599 Think about it. 310 00:15:18,599 –> 00:15:21,559 You walk into the bank where your debt has been cleared 311 00:15:21,559 –> 00:15:23,840 by the manager, by the highest authority. 312 00:15:23,840 –> 00:15:27,539 But there at the counter, there is a miserable teller 313 00:15:27,539 –> 00:15:28,760 who doesn’t like you. 314 00:15:29,559 –> 00:15:32,059 And she always wants to remind you 315 00:15:32,059 –> 00:15:35,080 that you used to be a debtor. 316 00:15:35,080 –> 00:15:37,760 And when you go to the bank and you’re doing your business, 317 00:15:37,760 –> 00:15:41,200 she sort of mutters under her breath while you stand there. 318 00:15:41,200 –> 00:15:43,380 She says, you owed the bank money. 319 00:15:43,380 –> 00:15:45,340 You didn’t pay that money. 320 00:15:45,340 –> 00:15:48,080 You couldn’t have paid that money back if you tried. 321 00:15:48,080 –> 00:15:52,159 Listen, who cares about what the teller says 322 00:15:52,159 –> 00:15:54,960 when the manager has cleared your debt? 323 00:15:55,840 –> 00:15:58,239 Now your heart is like the teller 324 00:15:58,239 –> 00:16:01,619 and when your heart condemns you, 325 00:16:01,619 –> 00:16:03,640 here’s what you need to know. 326 00:16:03,640 –> 00:16:05,739 God is greater than your heart. 327 00:16:05,739 –> 00:16:08,239 You’ve been cleared at the highest level. 328 00:16:08,239 –> 00:16:11,200 So when there is muttering at this level, 329 00:16:11,200 –> 00:16:14,880 you tell your heart that God is greater than your heart. 330 00:16:14,880 –> 00:16:17,359 You tell your heart that condemns you. 331 00:16:17,359 –> 00:16:22,359 There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 332 00:16:23,200 –> 00:16:24,840 That’s how you deal with it. 333 00:16:26,159 –> 00:16:28,580 So her faith begun. 334 00:16:28,580 –> 00:16:30,919 We’ve looked at her faith tested. 335 00:16:30,919 –> 00:16:33,880 Your faith will be tested if it’s begun, 336 00:16:33,880 –> 00:16:35,919 and perhaps sooner than you think, 337 00:16:35,919 –> 00:16:37,900 even as a young Christian. 338 00:16:39,099 –> 00:16:41,940 And then I want you to see this third snapshot 339 00:16:41,940 –> 00:16:42,880 in our Faith Journey. 340 00:16:42,880 –> 00:16:46,000 It’s her faith triumphant, verse 24. 341 00:16:46,000 –> 00:16:48,580 The boy is raised from the dead, 342 00:16:48,580 –> 00:16:51,619 the woman received back her son, 343 00:16:51,640 –> 00:16:55,280 and at the end of the story, she says to Elijah, verse 24, 344 00:16:55,280 –> 00:16:58,280 “‘Now I know that you are a man of God 345 00:16:59,919 –> 00:17:02,520 “‘and that the word of God in your mouth is the truth.’” 346 00:17:02,520 –> 00:17:05,180 Christian, your faith has begun. 347 00:17:08,060 –> 00:17:09,819 Your faith is tested. 348 00:17:10,719 –> 00:17:15,160 One day you will stand in the presence of Jesus 349 00:17:15,160 –> 00:17:17,119 and you will say, 350 00:17:17,119 –> 00:17:18,359 “‘Now I know’.” 351 00:17:18,619 –> 00:17:21,540 I know what a day that’s gonna be. 352 00:17:23,359 –> 00:17:25,920 That is the whole point of the resurrection day 353 00:17:25,920 –> 00:17:29,520 and that’s the application of what we’re learning here. 354 00:17:29,520 –> 00:17:32,660 Faith will one day for you be turned to site. 355 00:17:32,660 –> 00:17:34,920 Every question you have struggled with 356 00:17:34,920 –> 00:17:36,579 will one day be answered. 357 00:17:36,579 –> 00:17:40,199 Every tear will be one day wiped away. 358 00:17:40,199 –> 00:17:42,839 Now the Bible says we know in part. 359 00:17:42,839 –> 00:17:47,500 Then we will know fully, even as we are fully known. 360 00:17:47,500 –> 00:17:49,500 None of us is there yet, 361 00:17:49,500 –> 00:17:52,520 but one day every person in Christ will be. 362 00:17:52,520 –> 00:17:57,000 And until then, faith lives on the promise of God 363 00:17:57,000 –> 00:18:00,099 even when we cannot understand His ways. 364 00:18:01,819 –> 00:18:03,219 So friends, it seems to me 365 00:18:03,219 –> 00:18:06,140 that the whole of the Christian life 366 00:18:06,140 –> 00:18:11,140 is really laid out in this one mother’s faith journey. 367 00:18:11,420 –> 00:18:14,180 Faith begun, faith tested, faith triumphant. 368 00:18:14,180 –> 00:18:16,979 There’s the Christian life right there. 369 00:18:16,979 –> 00:18:19,660 If you are not yet a Christian, 370 00:18:19,660 –> 00:18:22,859 I hope that you will begin a faith journey 371 00:18:22,859 –> 00:18:24,900 with Jesus Christ today. 372 00:18:26,359 –> 00:18:29,380 If you have begun a journey of faith with Jesus Christ, 373 00:18:29,380 –> 00:18:32,300 you must know this, that your faith will be tested. 374 00:18:32,300 –> 00:18:34,140 That will you will come to places where you say, 375 00:18:34,140 –> 00:18:37,060 I just do not understand what God is doing in my life. 376 00:18:37,060 –> 00:18:39,979 You may come to places where your own heart condemns you 377 00:18:39,979 –> 00:18:42,900 and you need to say, God is greater than my heart. 378 00:18:43,900 –> 00:18:47,780 But when your faith is tested, remember this. 379 00:18:47,780 –> 00:18:50,839 In all the questions that you cannot answer now, 380 00:18:50,839 –> 00:18:52,920 the promise of God to you is very clear. 381 00:18:52,920 –> 00:18:55,780 One day you will stand in the presence of Jesus 382 00:18:55,780 –> 00:18:59,380 and on that day, you will be able to say, 383 00:18:59,380 –> 00:19:03,000 now I know, now I know. 384 00:19:07,819 –> 00:19:12,819 Faith begun, faith tested, faith triumphed, 385 00:19:13,319 –> 00:19:15,319 faith triumphed. 386 00:19:15,319 –> 00:19:19,739 Now more briefly, I want us to look at this story 387 00:19:19,739 –> 00:19:22,780 through the eyes of Elijah. 388 00:19:22,780 –> 00:19:26,219 And so let’s look at it from a different angle here, 389 00:19:26,219 –> 00:19:28,180 the prophet’s journey of love. 390 00:19:28,180 –> 00:19:30,459 We’ve thought about the woman’s journey of faith. 391 00:19:30,459 –> 00:19:35,060 Let’s look here at the prophet’s journey of love. 392 00:19:35,060 –> 00:19:36,819 This is a series on leadership 393 00:19:36,819 –> 00:19:39,699 and I want to pick up one or two insights on leadership 394 00:19:39,699 –> 00:19:42,380 from the example of Elijah. 395 00:19:42,420 –> 00:19:46,380 Remember that Elijah is really a Christ figure 396 00:19:46,380 –> 00:19:49,979 in this story, or as we sometimes call it, 397 00:19:49,979 –> 00:19:54,060 Elijah is a type of Jesus Christ. 398 00:19:54,060 –> 00:19:56,699 Another way of saying that is simply this, 399 00:19:56,699 –> 00:19:59,239 that Elijah is the person in the story 400 00:19:59,239 –> 00:20:02,900 who most obviously points us to Jesus. 401 00:20:02,900 –> 00:20:04,420 And our Lord Jesus Christ said, 402 00:20:04,420 –> 00:20:05,579 When you read the scripture, 403 00:20:05,579 –> 00:20:07,859 remember the whole thing is about me. 404 00:20:07,859 –> 00:20:09,800 How is this story about Jesus? 405 00:20:09,800 –> 00:20:11,300 How does it relate to Jesus? 406 00:20:11,300 –> 00:20:14,640 The answer is that Elijah is the person in the story 407 00:20:14,640 –> 00:20:18,800 who most obviously points to Jesus. 408 00:20:18,800 –> 00:20:21,140 Now remember, and we will see this later in the series, 409 00:20:21,140 –> 00:20:24,040 Elijah doesn’t always do that because he is not perfect. 410 00:20:24,040 –> 00:20:27,920 No one can, in every respect, point to Jesus. 411 00:20:27,920 –> 00:20:30,839 But he clearly points to Jesus here. 412 00:20:30,839 –> 00:20:32,699 And you find that with other characters 413 00:20:32,699 –> 00:20:35,160 like Joseph and King David 414 00:20:35,160 –> 00:20:38,280 and Daniel in the Old Testament. 415 00:20:38,300 –> 00:20:41,819 They point to Jesus and shine a light 416 00:20:41,819 –> 00:20:45,319 on who he is and what it is that he came to do. 417 00:20:46,540 –> 00:20:48,660 Now we already began last time to think 418 00:20:48,660 –> 00:20:52,160 about how Elijah is like Jesus and points to Jesus. 419 00:20:52,160 –> 00:20:54,199 We said that just like Jesus, 420 00:20:54,199 –> 00:20:57,439 he comes into a situation of desperate need, 421 00:20:57,439 –> 00:21:00,920 he asks for a great sacrifice and he promises greater joy. 422 00:21:00,920 –> 00:21:02,819 That is exactly what Jesus does. 423 00:21:02,819 –> 00:21:04,959 But now look at some additional ways 424 00:21:04,959 –> 00:21:07,500 in which he points to Jesus. 425 00:21:08,900 –> 00:21:13,900 Elijah is the super prophet of the Old Testament, 426 00:21:14,479 –> 00:21:17,319 he’s as high as you get along with Moses. 427 00:21:17,319 –> 00:21:19,239 If you’re to say who are the greatest characters 428 00:21:19,239 –> 00:21:21,599 in the Old Testament, it’s Moses and Elijah. 429 00:21:21,599 –> 00:21:23,060 So he’s right up there 430 00:21:23,060 –> 00:21:25,380 at the very highest level of leadership. 431 00:21:27,079 –> 00:21:28,800 But I want you to notice that this man 432 00:21:28,800 –> 00:21:32,040 who has a calling on a national scale 433 00:21:33,239 –> 00:21:36,119 to call a whole nation to repentance. 434 00:21:36,939 –> 00:21:41,959 That he enters the home of one family 435 00:21:42,579 –> 00:21:47,540 and shares in the life of one family. 436 00:21:48,619 –> 00:21:51,140 And in this he beautifully points us 437 00:21:51,140 –> 00:21:54,420 to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, 438 00:21:54,420 –> 00:21:58,359 who when he comes enters into the most ordinary 439 00:21:58,359 –> 00:22:00,599 of human lives and does so 440 00:22:00,599 –> 00:22:04,079 in the most amazingly personal way. 441 00:22:05,040 –> 00:22:07,520 When Jesus enters into our lives, 442 00:22:07,520 –> 00:22:09,459 he shares in our suffering. 443 00:22:10,800 –> 00:22:12,719 Elijah became part of this family 444 00:22:12,719 –> 00:22:15,359 and when paint came to this particular home, 445 00:22:15,359 –> 00:22:17,319 the paint touched his heart too. 446 00:22:18,560 –> 00:22:20,920 And that is how it is with Jesus, 447 00:22:20,920 –> 00:22:23,400 who is far greater than Elijah. 448 00:22:24,839 –> 00:22:28,339 Here’s Elijah, this colossus of the Old Testament, 449 00:22:28,339 –> 00:22:32,119 tough as steel, is gonna be calling down fire 450 00:22:32,160 –> 00:22:35,060 on Mount Carmel later in the story, 451 00:22:35,060 –> 00:22:37,760 but here he is growing in compassion 452 00:22:38,859 –> 00:22:40,959 by ministering not to a whole nation, 453 00:22:40,959 –> 00:22:45,400 but to one family in an ordinary home 454 00:22:46,439 –> 00:22:51,420 and helping to share the burden of a single mother. 455 00:22:53,260 –> 00:22:55,260 Here’s something for every leader then, 456 00:22:56,599 –> 00:22:59,640 you have to be tough and strong to lead, 457 00:23:00,540 –> 00:23:05,180 but God wants you to grow in tenderness 458 00:23:05,180 –> 00:23:06,760 as well as in toughness. 459 00:23:08,359 –> 00:23:12,939 To grow in sensitivity as well as in strength 460 00:23:14,339 –> 00:23:18,579 for the high-level vision to be earthed 461 00:23:18,579 –> 00:23:22,099 in the real needs of an ordinary home. 462 00:23:23,719 –> 00:23:26,780 So where is the family to whom you can minister? 463 00:23:27,780 –> 00:23:31,719 Where is the one person bearing a burden 464 00:23:31,719 –> 00:23:33,800 that you can help to carry? 465 00:23:34,900 –> 00:23:37,640 What is the need that you can help to meet? 466 00:23:37,640 –> 00:23:40,699 However high the level of your particular calling 467 00:23:40,699 –> 00:23:44,359 within a business or an organization, 468 00:23:44,359 –> 00:23:46,780 what is the particular situation in which 469 00:23:46,780 –> 00:23:51,780 you can, like Jesus, enter into the suffering 470 00:23:52,140 –> 00:23:54,579 the suffering, and bring help to 471 00:23:55,579 –> 00:23:57,540 the situation of one individual? 472 00:23:58,780 –> 00:24:01,359 God sends Elijah to the widow 473 00:24:01,359 –> 00:24:04,000 before he sends Elijah to Carmel. 474 00:24:05,260 –> 00:24:09,300 And he does that so that with all his toughness, 475 00:24:09,300 –> 00:24:12,439 this man is going to grow in tenderness 476 00:24:13,420 –> 00:24:18,300 as he walks with one widow through the depth of her pain. 477 00:24:18,300 –> 00:24:21,079 And doesn’t that make you think about the incarnation? 478 00:24:22,180 –> 00:24:25,020 Isn’t this the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ? 479 00:24:25,020 –> 00:24:28,400 He’s at the highest level, He’s in heaven. 480 00:24:28,400 –> 00:24:30,319 And He’s the Lord of the universe, 481 00:24:30,319 –> 00:24:33,060 and He’s got all power, and He’s got all authority. 482 00:24:33,060 –> 00:24:33,900 And what does He do? 483 00:24:33,900 –> 00:24:37,760 He humbles Himself, and He takes the form of a servant, 484 00:24:37,760 –> 00:24:39,380 and He enters this world of need, 485 00:24:39,380 –> 00:24:41,300 and He comes alongside 486 00:24:41,300 –> 00:24:45,640 particular families experiencing human pain. 487 00:24:45,640 –> 00:24:48,660 He ministers to a widow at Nain. 488 00:24:48,660 –> 00:24:50,020 You can go through the stories 489 00:24:50,099 –> 00:24:51,739 in the New Testament of Jesus 490 00:24:51,739 –> 00:24:56,719 entering into the life of one individual, one family. 491 00:24:56,719 –> 00:24:59,260 And then He experiences pain in His own soul 492 00:24:59,260 –> 00:25:01,660 and into His own body in the New Testament says, 493 00:25:01,660 –> 00:25:05,339 He is the Savior who is able to help those who suffer 494 00:25:05,339 –> 00:25:07,579 because He Himself has suffered. 495 00:25:09,900 –> 00:25:13,140 So see how Elijah points to Jesus here 496 00:25:13,140 –> 00:25:15,420 as he enters into the home. 497 00:25:16,520 –> 00:25:18,880 And then think of how Elijah points us to Jesus 498 00:25:18,979 –> 00:25:20,339 when the child dies. 499 00:25:21,459 –> 00:25:24,500 As we come to this point in the story, 500 00:25:24,500 –> 00:25:29,500 try to let Elijah fade and look through him 501 00:25:30,060 –> 00:25:35,060 as if he was translucent and see Jesus behind him. 502 00:25:38,920 –> 00:25:40,239 This little boy has died. 503 00:25:41,640 –> 00:25:43,979 And Elijah said to her, 504 00:25:43,979 –> 00:25:47,859 verse 19, give me your son. 505 00:25:49,819 –> 00:25:52,939 Many in this congregation have experienced 506 00:25:52,939 –> 00:25:54,640 the death of a child. 507 00:25:56,920 –> 00:25:59,339 And for many others, this day makes you 508 00:25:59,339 –> 00:26:02,900 think about your mother who no longer is with you 509 00:26:02,900 –> 00:26:04,819 and may now be with the Lord. 510 00:26:05,819 –> 00:26:08,219 You think about her, you thank God for her. 511 00:26:09,160 –> 00:26:12,339 You remember her, and you remember how she died, 512 00:26:12,339 –> 00:26:13,459 and you miss her. 513 00:26:15,300 –> 00:26:16,739 What happened to your mother? 514 00:26:17,739 –> 00:26:20,219 What happened to your son or to your daughter 515 00:26:20,219 –> 00:26:21,819 who died early in life? 516 00:26:23,839 –> 00:26:25,099 Here is what has happened. 517 00:26:26,719 –> 00:26:30,099 The Savior in his tenderness 518 00:26:31,380 –> 00:26:33,819 has said as that life expired, 519 00:26:34,819 –> 00:26:36,119 give me your son. 520 00:26:38,520 –> 00:26:40,500 Give your mother now up to me. 521 00:26:42,660 –> 00:26:44,719 This life has come to an end, 522 00:26:45,260 –> 00:26:46,760 but it’s not going nowhere. 523 00:26:46,760 –> 00:26:51,760 It’s into the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. 524 00:26:52,400 –> 00:26:54,280 And notice as you follow this, 525 00:26:54,280 –> 00:26:58,040 what happens to your son, to your daughter, to your mother 526 00:26:58,040 –> 00:27:01,760 as they are released into the hands of Jesus Christ. 527 00:27:01,760 –> 00:27:06,500 Verse 19, and he took him from her arms 528 00:27:06,500 –> 00:27:11,500 and carried him up into the upper chamber 529 00:27:12,000 –> 00:27:14,020 where he lodged. 530 00:27:14,020 –> 00:27:16,920 You see the beauty of what we’re being told here 531 00:27:16,920 –> 00:27:19,640 is the light shines on Jesus Christ, 532 00:27:19,640 –> 00:27:22,540 the child who is no longer in your arms 533 00:27:22,540 –> 00:27:25,540 now rests in the arms of Jesus. 534 00:27:25,540 –> 00:27:27,780 The mother who is no longer in your home 535 00:27:27,780 –> 00:27:31,140 is now at home with Christ. 536 00:27:31,140 –> 00:27:33,599 And where does Christ take your loved one? 537 00:27:33,599 –> 00:27:38,599 To the upper chamber where he lives. 538 00:27:40,140 –> 00:27:40,979 Beautiful. 539 00:27:41,939 –> 00:27:46,939 Give me your son, and takes him to the upper chamber. 540 00:27:51,359 –> 00:27:54,380 But most of all, the place where Elijah points to Jesus 541 00:27:54,380 –> 00:27:57,579 is, of course, in this amazing resurrection 542 00:27:57,579 –> 00:27:58,739 that then happens. 543 00:27:58,739 –> 00:28:01,739 Elijah calls on the Lord, and the life of the child 544 00:28:01,739 –> 00:28:03,420 comes back to him, we are told, 545 00:28:03,420 –> 00:28:05,800 and the child lives again. 546 00:28:08,199 –> 00:28:09,180 Now pause for a moment. 547 00:28:09,199 –> 00:28:13,400 It is very important to apply this correctly. 548 00:28:14,579 –> 00:28:17,119 The point of the story here is not to say 549 00:28:17,119 –> 00:28:19,660 that if we Christians today were more like Elijah, 550 00:28:19,660 –> 00:28:22,800 we could go to cemeteries and raise people from the dead. 551 00:28:22,800 –> 00:28:25,359 That is not promised to us, and that would not be 552 00:28:25,359 –> 00:28:27,479 a right application of the scripture. 553 00:28:28,359 –> 00:28:31,599 Elijah is shining a light on Jesus. 554 00:28:32,619 –> 00:28:36,520 Elijah is showing us, beautifully, the promise of Christ, 555 00:28:36,520 –> 00:28:37,880 and what is that promise? 556 00:28:37,880 –> 00:28:39,859 John chapter six and verse 40. 557 00:28:39,859 –> 00:28:42,339 This is the will of the father, 558 00:28:42,339 –> 00:28:45,739 that everyone who looks on the son and believes in him 559 00:28:45,739 –> 00:28:48,280 has eternal life, and, Jesus says, 560 00:28:48,280 –> 00:28:52,420 “‘I will raise him up,’ when, at the last day.” 561 00:28:53,819 –> 00:28:56,640 So here is our marvelous hope, 562 00:28:56,640 –> 00:28:59,040 that those who have died in Christ 563 00:28:59,040 –> 00:29:02,020 are carried in His arms, think of it, 564 00:29:02,020 –> 00:29:05,839 to the upper chamber where He lives. 565 00:29:06,839 –> 00:29:09,959 And His promise is this, that He will raise them up, 566 00:29:09,959 –> 00:29:13,060 and we will be together with the Lord. 567 00:29:14,160 –> 00:29:16,439 And as you think about the anticipation 568 00:29:16,439 –> 00:29:18,239 of that marvelous day, 569 00:29:18,239 –> 00:29:21,060 I want you again to look through Elijah, 570 00:29:21,060 –> 00:29:22,780 as if he were translucent, 571 00:29:22,780 –> 00:29:25,739 and to see Jesus in verse 23, 572 00:29:25,739 –> 00:29:28,739 “‘Elijah took the child, 573 00:29:28,739 –> 00:29:32,760 “‘and brought him down, from the upper chamber 574 00:29:32,859 –> 00:29:36,020 “‘into the house, and delivered him to his mother, 575 00:29:36,020 –> 00:29:37,780 “‘and Elijah said, 576 00:29:37,780 –> 00:29:42,359 “‘See, your son lives “‘ 577 00:29:42,359 –> 00:29:45,319 And you read that, and the light shines through Elijah 578 00:29:45,319 –> 00:29:48,040 into Jesus, and you bring to mind 579 00:29:48,040 –> 00:29:49,500 that Jesus has promised 580 00:29:49,500 –> 00:29:52,640 that one day He is coming down from Heaven. 581 00:29:52,640 –> 00:29:55,119 He’s going to come back from the upper chamber 582 00:29:55,119 –> 00:29:57,020 where He is at this time. 583 00:29:57,020 –> 00:29:59,119 And when He does that, who is He going to bring with Him? 584 00:29:59,119 –> 00:30:01,300 He’s going to bring with Him believers 585 00:30:01,359 –> 00:30:04,140 who have died in the Lord. 586 00:30:04,140 –> 00:30:05,939 And just as Elijah says, 587 00:30:05,939 –> 00:30:07,640 “‘See, your son lives.’” 588 00:30:07,640 –> 00:30:10,439 Can you imagine the joy on that day 589 00:30:10,439 –> 00:30:12,680 when Jesus returns and He says, 590 00:30:12,680 –> 00:30:15,420 “‘See, your mother lives,’ 591 00:30:15,420 –> 00:30:17,880 “‘See, your son lives,’ 592 00:30:17,880 –> 00:30:20,760 “‘See, your friend lives.’ 593 00:30:20,760 –> 00:30:21,599 And Paul says, 594 00:30:21,599 –> 00:30:23,260 “‘On that day as we gather together, 595 00:30:23,260 –> 00:30:28,099 “‘so we shall be with the Lord forever.’” 596 00:30:29,099 –> 00:30:31,219 So look at Jesus here. 597 00:30:32,300 –> 00:30:35,739 In all the losses and the crosses of your life. 598 00:30:37,099 –> 00:30:41,459 Are you not thankful today for Jesus? 599 00:30:41,459 –> 00:30:44,040 The Lord and the Savior who enters our sorrows 600 00:30:44,040 –> 00:30:45,699 and heals our wounds, 601 00:30:45,699 –> 00:30:48,800 and even at the point of death, 602 00:30:50,020 –> 00:30:51,599 He is the one, the only one, 603 00:30:51,599 –> 00:30:56,560 who is able to hold out the promise of life everlasting. 604 00:30:58,739 –> 00:31:00,079 Friend, one day you will die. 605 00:31:00,079 –> 00:31:03,040 That is true, obviously, of every person here today. 606 00:31:03,040 –> 00:31:04,359 One day you will die. 607 00:31:04,359 –> 00:31:06,560 And when that day comes, be it sooner or later, 608 00:31:06,560 –> 00:31:09,180 whenever it is, you want to be sure 609 00:31:09,180 –> 00:31:11,699 that you will be in the arms of this Savior 610 00:31:11,699 –> 00:31:15,000 as that boy was in the arms of Elijah. 611 00:31:15,000 –> 00:31:18,339 You want to know that because you belong to Christ, 612 00:31:18,339 –> 00:31:21,260 He will be taking you to the upper chamber 613 00:31:21,260 –> 00:31:25,660 and that you will therefore share in his great resurrection. 614 00:31:25,660 –> 00:31:27,819 You want to be sure that you have put your trust 615 00:31:27,939 –> 00:31:31,199 and have taken the path of obedience in Jesus Christ 616 00:31:31,199 –> 00:31:34,500 who says, I am the resurrection and the life. 617 00:31:36,060 –> 00:31:39,579 And he who believes in me even though he die yet 618 00:31:39,579 –> 00:31:42,400 shall he live. 619 00:31:44,500 –> 00:31:48,359 So we’ve looked at a mother’s journey of faith. 620 00:31:49,800 –> 00:31:53,540 We’ve looked together at a prophet’s journey of love. 621 00:31:54,939 –> 00:31:57,780 And very, very briefly, just this last thought 622 00:31:58,819 –> 00:32:01,060 a child’s journey 623 00:32:01,060 –> 00:32:02,099 in grace. 624 00:32:03,619 –> 00:32:05,400 Think about this little boy. 625 00:32:07,040 –> 00:32:10,400 Of course, we’re not told how old he was. 626 00:32:10,400 –> 00:32:12,219 But from the description of Elijah 627 00:32:12,219 –> 00:32:14,859 carrying this boy in his arms up the stairs 628 00:32:14,859 –> 00:32:17,339 to the upper chamber I’m concluding 629 00:32:17,339 –> 00:32:20,959 that this boy was fairly small, that he was fairly young 630 00:32:20,959 –> 00:32:22,219 which raises the question, 631 00:32:22,219 –> 00:32:24,459 did he even remember this event? 632 00:32:24,780 –> 00:32:26,300 Perhaps only vaguely. 633 00:32:26,300 –> 00:32:27,459 We’re not told. 634 00:32:28,500 –> 00:32:33,500 Perhaps he had a vague recollection of feeling ill 635 00:32:33,520 –> 00:32:35,339 and then rather like you can remember 636 00:32:35,339 –> 00:32:36,760 just about falling asleep 637 00:32:36,760 –> 00:32:38,819 but you don’t know what happens next. 638 00:32:41,140 –> 00:32:45,459 Can you imagine his mother telling him the story? 639 00:32:46,719 –> 00:32:50,260 As this boy grows up and he becomes a middle school student 640 00:32:51,380 –> 00:32:53,739 and then he becomes a high school student 641 00:32:54,619 –> 00:32:57,099 and his mum is saying to him something like this 642 00:32:57,099 –> 00:32:58,140 as he grows, 643 00:32:58,140 –> 00:33:01,640 ”Son, here’s what you need to know about yourself. 644 00:33:03,619 –> 00:33:08,599 Your life is a very special gift of grace from God. 645 00:33:09,920 –> 00:33:10,859 You were dead. 646 00:33:12,160 –> 00:33:13,900 You became ill, you died 647 00:33:15,660 –> 00:33:17,560 but God gave you life again. 648 00:33:20,099 –> 00:33:23,099 Your life is a gift of grace, son 649 00:33:23,119 –> 00:33:25,140 and so here is what you must do. 650 00:33:25,140 –> 00:33:27,979 You must offer that life back to the God 651 00:33:27,979 –> 00:33:29,239 who gave it to you. 652 00:33:31,260 –> 00:33:35,180 Give your life into the hands of the God who loves you. 653 00:33:36,420 –> 00:33:40,060 Embrace the Lord, who has power to sustain life 654 00:33:41,140 –> 00:33:44,680 and has power to deliver you even from death. 655 00:33:46,219 –> 00:33:50,459 Make him your God, son, as I have made him mine. 656 00:33:51,020 –> 00:33:53,719 And for all of us who’re parents here 657 00:33:54,780 –> 00:33:57,140 and for those who are dedicating children this weekend 658 00:33:57,140 –> 00:33:59,180 this is what we need to teach our children. 659 00:33:59,180 –> 00:34:02,739 Your life is a gift of grace from God, 660 00:34:02,739 –> 00:34:04,739 now offer it back to him 661 00:34:06,739 –> 00:34:09,540 and so here’s the invitation for every son, 662 00:34:09,540 –> 00:34:14,540 every daughter, every student in the congregation today. 663 00:34:14,540 –> 00:34:16,739 Listen, the strength of your body, 664 00:34:18,020 –> 00:34:19,580 the agility of your mind, 665 00:34:19,580 –> 00:34:22,300 your gifts, your opportunities where do they come from? 666 00:34:22,300 –> 00:34:25,379 These things come to you from the hand of God. 667 00:34:26,659 –> 00:34:29,540 What do you have that you did not receive? 668 00:34:29,540 –> 00:34:32,379 And everything that you have received comes from him. 669 00:34:34,179 –> 00:34:36,659 So I want to invite you to come to God today. 670 00:34:38,340 –> 00:34:41,000 To come to him through the Savior Jesus 671 00:34:41,000 –> 00:34:43,120 who loved you and gave himself for you 672 00:34:43,120 –> 00:34:44,699 and to say something like this, 673 00:34:45,600 –> 00:34:50,500 Father, I offer the whole of my life 674 00:34:50,500 –> 00:34:52,739 in faith and obedience to you 675 00:34:54,219 –> 00:34:55,820 because you are the one 676 00:34:55,820 –> 00:34:59,840 from whom I have received all things, 677 00:34:59,840 –> 00:35:04,020 make me now yours. 678 00:35:05,439 –> 00:35:06,679 Will you pray with me? 679 00:35:09,540 –> 00:35:11,739 Father, pray that today will be a day 680 00:35:11,739 –> 00:35:14,139 when some will begin the journey of faith 681 00:35:15,540 –> 00:35:19,199 when others whose faith is being tested 682 00:35:20,760 –> 00:35:25,760 will find confidence in the love of Jesus Christ 683 00:35:27,120 –> 00:35:31,399 that is demonstrated in the cross 684 00:35:33,260 –> 00:35:34,639 and the hope that one day, 685 00:35:34,639 –> 00:35:39,199 what I cannot understand now will be made known 686 00:35:39,199 –> 00:35:42,100 and I will say, now I know. 687 00:35:45,000 –> 00:35:48,179 Help all of us whatever the levels of our responsibilities 688 00:35:48,179 –> 00:35:51,100 and whatever the toughness that’s needed in our world 689 00:35:53,000 –> 00:35:56,360 to grow in that tenderness that we see in Jesus Christ, 690 00:35:56,360 –> 00:35:58,639 our savior and our Lord. 691 00:36:00,479 –> 00:36:02,159 Grant that knowing more clearly 692 00:36:02,159 –> 00:36:05,479 that all that we have has been received from your hand. 693 00:36:06,719 –> 00:36:08,739 We may offer ourselves back to you 694 00:36:09,959 –> 00:36:11,179 through Jesus Christ, 695 00:36:11,179 –> 00:36:12,820 our Lord in whose name we pray 696 00:36:13,820 –> 00:36:15,500 and everyone together said, 697 00:36:16,439 –> 00:36:17,280 Amen.