Elijah, Obadiah, two brothers in the faith, but their temperament and their calling so different that it was extremely difficult for these two men to understand each other well. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and Colin, what was this big thing between Elijah and Obadiah? Well they were totally different by temperament and they were very different by calling. This man Obadiah, the lesser known of the two, was really I suppose we would say a politician. He served in the court of King Ahab, a very dark place, and he would have had to make judgments that some people would say would have compromised him and so forth and so on. He was an inside influencer. He was placed by God in a very dark place in what we would call the secular world, but he was placed by God there and he had a huge influence for good. Elijah’s altogether different. He’s the prophet. He stands outside the palace, he strides in and he announces the word of God, then he walks away again. Very difficult for these two characters to understand each other. And we’re going to look at the one place in the Bible where these two men actually met. It didn’t actually go too well and there’s a lot to be learned from that, that there are Christians with different callings who sometimes are difficult for us to understand, but we do need to honour the fact that God uses different people with different callings in different places at different times and that that too is part of the sovereign purpose of God. So if you can join us in the first book of Kings, chapter 18, as we look at Obadiah and Elijah, continuing the message, your work matters more than you think. Here’s Colin. Let’s stand together for a moment in the shoes of Elijah. Try and think as Elijah might have thought. God has called you to confront the worship of Baal. You feel very alone in this work. And now here is a man who is supposed to be a brother in the faith and you find out that he’s working for the king who’s trying to destroy you. Now, if you’re Elijah, what are you going to say to Obadiah? Well, I think I might have been saying something like this. What in the world are you doing, man, working in that palace? What are you thinking about? How can you possibly serve a king who has done more evil than anyone who has ever gone before him? You might quote the Bible to him. You might say, come out from among them, Obadiah, and be separate. Have nothing to do with the works of darkness. I think you might say that. But now try and stand in Obadiah’s shoes and consider how you might respond. I think if I was in Obadiah’s shoes, I might have said something like this. I thank God for you and for your calling, but please understand this, that mine is different. You’re called to confront this culture from the outside. I am called to influence from the inside. And Elijah, separation is a matter of the heart. God has given me this position, right next to Ahab, and Elijah, understand this, I have been able to do some things that no one else was in a position to do. God put me in the position. Hadn’t you heard, verse 13, he says, that I was able to save the lives of a hundred prophets by hiding them in caves? I know Ahab is an evil king, but God has put me next to him, and this is my calling. Elijah, Obadiah, two brothers in the faith, but their temperament and their calling so different that it was extremely difficult for these two men to understand each other well. And yet, they are brothers in the faith, and they are on the same side. Friends, once you’ve got that in your mind, these different callings, these very different temperaments and God’s work in different ways through each of them, I hope that you will immediately see relevance not only to your own life, but also to the Christian church. So all of the rest now is application. And I want to make two kinds of application. First, to offer some insights for inside influencers. If you’ve been saying in the last few minutes, man, Obadiah really speaks to me, then here are some applications for you. Then I want to offer, after that, briefly some applications for culture confronters. Because if you’ve been sitting over the last few minutes saying, I know I like Elijah, and I’m not sure I’ve made my mind up yet about this guy Obadiah, I’m not even sure if I like him. I think he probably is a compromiser. Then if you’ve been thinking that, you need to be listening to the applications that relate to your own temperament that led to that response. So let’s begin here then with insights for inside influencers. And here’s the first. And I say this for your encouragement and for your strengthening. For one, expect to be troubled. It’s actually very helpful. If you expect a career with a very peaceful conscience that’s going to be untroubled, you will be very disappointed. Jesus said, in this world you will have trouble. And here you are pursuing work in this world. You’re working in this world, but you are not off this world. And you are going to experience the tension of that again and again and again. This world is not your home. You are therefore serving where you do not belong. You are serving in a system that you yourself know will pass away, and sometimes you think it can’t pass away quickly enough. There will always be that source of tension. And so here’s what I want to encourage you today. When you feel the pressure to withdraw from your profession, because it is a dark place, please remember that God calls Obadiahs as well as Elijahs. He puts his light into some dark places because that is where the light is needed most. And the best thing, the best thing that an Obadiah can do for his God is to stay right where he is and to stand firm where God has placed him, with all its difficulties, with all its limitations, and sometimes with the great difficulties of conscience that he experiences. Expect that trouble. And the steadfastness of Obadiah in this is wonderfully honoring God and was a means by which the witness to the Word of God in the land was preserved in the darkest time. You just go back in your mind through the list of all these people who were in very difficult situations from Joseph onwards, and you’ll see that this is a pattern of Scripture and it’s a warning against a culture of Christian withdrawal from the world. Second, you’re identifying with Obadiah, expect to be misunderstood. Now, this has been absolutely fascinating to me, folks, as I’ve studied this and read around what different people have said about this Scripture and particularly about Obadiah, that some Christian writers are extremely negative about this man. And I quote, for example, F.B. Meyer, whose name you may know, a wonderful Christian writer. I’ve benefited so much from much that he’s written. He does not have a good word to say about Obadiah. For Meyer, it’s very simple. Elijah’s the hero, Ahab’s the villain, and Obadiah’s the compromiser in the middle. And what use is a compromiser in the middle of this kind of conflict? That’s it. And he is so tough on Obadiah that I think F.B. Meyer probably will have had the shock of his life to see him when he arrived in heaven. I wonder how they sorted it out. I saw what you wrote about me in your book, Mr. Meyer. Some of you may feel the same way about Obadiah as Meyer did. And I want you to notice that the Bible doesn’t say a single word against him, so why should you? What the Bible tells us is that Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, that he took a great risk that God used as a means of saving the lives of a hundred prophets, and that God used him in this crucial role of bringing Elijah together with Ahab, which at this moment was the purpose of God for his advancing plan. So what I’m saying to you is if you are in an Obadiah position, expect that there are going to be Christians who will completely misunderstand you and will have it in for you, and will not begin to understand what it is that God has called you to do. Here’s Obadiah, and he’s a godly man, and you know, he might have hoped to get some encouragement from Elijah, but read through the passage again later if you would like to do that, and just look for the slightest bit of warmth from Elijah towards Obadiah, you will not find it. Warmth the other way, but not from Elijah to Obadiah. Perhaps Elijah would thank him for what he did at great risk to his own life in saving a hundred prophets of the word of God, but there’s no recognition that these men are on the same side at all. Folks, some people have it in for anyone who is given a trusted position at a high level, whether that be in the world of business, whether that be in the world of politics, and frankly it’s creeping increasingly into the church as well. So if God calls you to be an inside influencer, you’ve got to expect to be misunderstood, and when other Christians don’t understand the work that God has called you to do, remember this, you are not accountable to them, you are accountable to God. Don’t be surprised by this, don’t be discouraged, don’t think, well there must be something wrong with me. Third application to those who are inside influencers, trust God to keep you. Here’s Obadiah and his great fear when he brought Ahab to meet with Elijah was that Elijah would just have been gone, and then where would that leave Obadiah? Surely his life would be at an end, and Elijah says to him, now that’s not going to happen. Verse 15, he gives him the word of God, as the Lord lives I will show myself to him, Ahab, today. And so Obadiah has to trust the word of God just like the widow of Zarephath had to trust the word of God, and God proves faithful to his word. And friend, in all the difficulties that you will face on a continuing basis in your calling in the secular world, God will be faithful to you and to his word. Remember this, God can keep you wherever he has placed you. God can keep you wherever he has placed you. Spurgeon says beautifully, grace can live where you would never expect it to survive for a single hour. How does Obadiah sustain his spiritual life in as dark a place as the palace of Ahab? Well, God’s able to keep him. God is faithful to his word and to his promise. As true as you go out into a secular university, it’s true as you go into the world of business, into the world of politics, God protected the soul of this faithful man who served in a cesspool that was Ahab’s palace. And he can do the same for you. Do the same for you. Insights or inside influences. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the message Your Work Matters More Than You Think. Part of our series, The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life, and if you ever miss one of our messages, you can always go online. Go back, listen again, or listen to any of our earlier messages. That’s on our website, openthebible.org.uk. Open the Bible’s able to stay on this station and on the internet because of your generosity, our listeners. And this month, if you’re able to set up a new regular donation of five pounds a month or more to the work of Open the Bible, we’d love to send you a free gift. It’s a book called The Fight by John White, and Colin Smith will be talking more about it later on in this programme. Let’s get back to the message now. Here in the first book of Kings, chapter 18, as we continue the message, Your Work Matters More Than You Think. Here’s Colin. Briefly in these last moments, cautions for culture warriors. Cautions for culture warriors. Some of us, like F.B. Meyer, may instinctively have thought, I don’t think I like this guy, you know. Here’s a caution to you. Don’t pass judgment on your brothers or on your sisters. Think about how practical this is, folks. An issue comes up in a school and a Christian teacher feels, now this is a bridge too far and this is the place where we have to make a stand. She goes down the corridor and she talks to another Christian teacher who she knows well, and that other Christian teacher says to her something like this, well, she says, I feel the same as you do, and I respect what you’re saying, but I honestly don’t think that this is the hill to die on. These things happen. And suppose you’re the first teacher. How are you going to react? Well, you see, the tendency, the impulse that will come up within you and that would come up within me will be something like this, to say, well now, where in the world is her courage? What’s wrong with her? Why won’t she support me in this? I wonder if she really knows the Lord at all, you see. We all face these situations where Christians see things in a way that is different from the way that we do. In the field of education, there are Christians in our congregation who are called by God to serve on the inside of state education, and they might well feel that if more Christian families were in the state system, a greater difference could be made for good. And then there are other families who God has led to work outside of the state education system, and they might feel that if more Christian families would take responsibility for the education of their own children, then a greater difference could be made for good. Examples could be multiplied. But here’s what matters, and it’s a very important principle that’s a direct application of what we’re learning out of the Word of God today. Where God has given us the gift of freedom, we must not judge one another. The scripture we must take is Romans chapter 14 and verse 4. When, who are you, Paul writes, to pass judgment on the servant of another? See no Christian is your servant. No Christian is accountable to you. All Christians are accountable to God, and it is before our master that each of us stands or falls. And if we’re truly Christ, Paul goes on to say, we will be upheld because the Lord is the one who is able to make us stand. So in matters of conscience, God has given us freedom, and we all have a responsibility, each of us, to apply the Word of God the best we can to the decisions and the direction of our lives, and Christians will do this in different ways. And we must not judge each other. Accept one another as God in Christ has accepted you. That’s Romans chapter 15 and verse 7. So you find yourself uncomfortable with Obadiah today, I say to you, be very careful that you don’t judge your brother or your sister. Very easy if your instinct is that of a culture warrior, you’re a confrontation person. Very easy for you to do that, and it does not honor Christ. Here’s another thing to remember, if that Spirit is within you, as many of us recognize it in our own hearts, God has other servants beside you. This was an Achilles’ heel for Elijah, I even, I only am left, I’m the only one that’s doing any good around here. Nobody else is doing what we’re doing in our ministry, nor this kind of Spirit. That was the danger for Elijah. And God is clearly reminding Elijah here in his great kindness that God has other servants beside Elijah. It’s interesting, he doesn’t seem to pay any attention to the fact that there are one hundred prophets in caves, it doesn’t seem to mean anything to him at all. He’s focused on his own vision. Listen to this from Spurgeon, God may put you, my dear brothers, he’s talking to pastors, who are so eminent, so useful, so brave, perhaps so severe, I like that, he may put you brothers into a position in which the humbler and more retiring believer who hasn’t got half the grace or half the courage that you have may nevertheless become important to your mission. And when he does this, God would have you learn a lesson and learn it well that the Lord has a place for all his servants and that he would not have us despise even the least of them, but rather to value them and to cherish the good that is in them. And then he quotes the scripture, the head must never say to the foot, I have no need of you. And here’s the very last thing, your calling is not to greatness, but to goodness. Elijah very simply was a change the world kind of guy. If you recognize yourself in that, just listen up in this last moment. His mission was to call the nation to repentance, his strategy was one of open confrontation on Mount Carmel. God was in that and God used him in a remarkable way, but God has more than one kind of servant. And here is what is so fascinating to me, Elijah ended his life in great disappointment that God had not done more. Carmel did not bring the revival that Elijah longed to see. But if you read on in the story in 1 Kings and get to chapter 21 and the end, you will find there one of the most surprising things in all of the Bible, that Ahab, who did more evil than all who came before him, repented, Ahab repented. Which leads to this conclusion, Elijah achieved less than he hoped, Obadiah more than he expected. One quote and we’re done. Dale Ralph Davis has this comment that I found convicting and I found it helpful in searching and it really speaks to all of the folks who have the spirit of Elijah, you want to do much for Christ. You want to see the community changed, you want to see the church built, you want to see the nation transformed, you want to see things revived, all of that pulsates within your heart and here’s Dale Ralph Davis’ comment with which I close. How helpful that Elijah was not God’s only faithful servant. Faithfulness is not so dull that it only comes in one flavor. I like that. Remember, your own pride requires the correction that this story can give. You are not called to great works, but to good works. You are not called to flamboyant ministry, but to faithful ministry. You are not called to be a dashing, but rather a devoted servant of God. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and this message speaks to us today. You only have to look at social media to see the Elijahs and the Obadiahs right there. It’s so good to know that God’s word addresses the influencers, giving insights for those influencers and cautions for the culture warriors. Our message is called Your Work Matters More Than You Think and it’s part of our series The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life. If you ever miss one of our messages, you can always go online, listen again or go back and pick up ones that you may not have heard the first time. That’s at our website, openthebible.org.uk. Open the Bible is able to remain on this station and on the internet because of the generosity of our listeners. This month, if you’re able to begin a new monthly donation to Open the Bible of five pounds or more, we would love to send you the book The Fight by John White. Colin, give us a sample of this book. It is warm in the way that it’s expressed and it’s very practical in taking us through what it means to live the Christian life. So for example, in his chapter on prayer, which I think is just outstanding, he gives several principles as to how we can grasp God’s will in prayer. For example, he says it’s always God’s will that we praise him. It’s always God’s will that we open up the longings of our hearts and speak to him, tell him how it is. It’s always, he says, God’s will that we pray for our enemies. He applies that scripture really powerfully. He says it’s always God’s will that when we don’t know what his will is, we should ask. Really practical wisdom given in a warm and a fatherly way. Anyone who reads this book is going to be helped to grow in the Christian life. Again, the book is The Fight, and it’s our gift to you when you set up a new monthly donation to Open the Bible of £5 or more. You can find details of this offer and lots more information about Open the Bible at openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I very much hope you’ll join us again soon. You don’t want to be intolerant, so you believe a little bit of everything. God, the Bible, positive thinking, luck and your horoscope. Find out why this leaves you limping next time on Open the Bible.