1 KINGS 18
6 Outlines
Obadiah, Layman Of Distinction
1 Kings 18:1-16
I'm not sure I like the
term "layman", because it implies such a big distinction between
those called "clergy". When we
divide Christianity into classes, such as "clergy" and "laity",
we are implying that the clergy are full time Christians, and the laymen are
not. This just isn't so!
Let us define a layman
is a full-time Christian who is not being supported by God's people
financially.
In our text we meet a
layman who worked in the court of a wicked king.
He managed to maintain
his testimony and serve the Lord in the hardest of circumstances.
Background: 1 Kings 17
OBADIAH FEARED THE LORD
GREATLY Vss. 1-3
OBADIAH PROTECTED GOD'S
SERVANTS Vs. 4
OBADIAH RESPECTED GOD'S PROPHET
Vss. 5-7 (Hebrews 13:7, 1 Thessalonians
OBADIAH BELIEVED FROM
HIS YOUTH Vs. 12
OBADIAH OBEYED GOD'S MAN
Vss. 15-16 (Hebrews
Note: The pastor is a leader, a servant, and
an example, NOT
DICTATOR!
1 Peter 5:1-4, 1 Timothy 4:12-16
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1 Kings 18:1-16
OBA WHO?
There are many famous
Bible characters including Daniel, Joseph, Nehemiah, Peter, Paul, John the
Baptist, Mary and Martha, Ruth, Esther and David. However, there are also many other characters
in the Bible that we've hardly heard of.
One such character is Obadiah, a man who served wicked king Ahab and his
wife Jezebel. Maybe we are so unfamiliar with this man, that when his name is
mentioned we might ask, "Oba Who?"
Nevertheless, Obadiah was a good man who has much to teach us.
OBADIAH HUMBLED HIMSELF
BEFORE GOD - Vss. 3, 12
He greatly feared the
Lord from his youth.
OBADIAH HELPED THOSE IN
NEED - Vss. 4, 13
When wicked Jezebel
persecuted God's prophets, he protected and fed them.
OBADIAH HEEDED GOD'S
PROPHET - Vss. 5-16
Although Obadiah was
afraid of getting himself in trouble, he did as Elijah told him.
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1 KINGS
THE CONFRONTING SERVANT
One quality of a man or woman of God is it to
"Tell it like it is." That
means that sometimes the servant of God has to confront those who are doing
wrong. See Ezekiel 3:17-21.
Elijah The Prophet was called
upon to confront wicked King Ahab and the Children Of
RESPONSIBILITY - Vss. 17-20 - Ahab tried to blame
REBUKE - Vs. 21a - Elijah rebukes the Children Of
RELUCTANCE - Vs. 21b - Instead of agreeing with
Elijah, and repenting, the Children Of
REMNANT - Vs. 22 - God always has a remnant, a
minority that remains faithful to Him. May we be in that remnant.
(In the rest of the chapter, Elijah proves that he is,
the Lord's servant, and has victory over the prophets of Baal in a
contest. His confrontation of the
Children Of
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1 Kings
ELIJAH, MAN OF PRAYER
Anyone who reads the
life story of Elijah in the Bible must admit that
Elijah was a great man
of prayer. What is challenging, scary, and exciting
is that God expects you and I to be effective prayer warriors
like Elijah.
(See James 5:16-18,
Jeremiah 33:3, Matthew 7:7-11 John 14:13-14, John 16:24,
& John 5:14-15.
In first Kings 18:30-46
we see Elijah praying and receiving two major
answers to prayer. God answers Elijah with fire from Heaven, and
with rain
after 3 1/2 years of draught.
(You will want to give
the background of this story and an explanation of
the contest between Elijah and the Prophets of Baal.
This information is
found in 1 Kings 17-18.)
As Elijah receives these
answers to prayer, we find him teaching us some
principles about how to pray. Consider that we should:
REPAIR PENITENTLY Vs. 30
The first think Elijah
did was to repair the altar of the Lord.
Either through
destruction by the enemy or neglect, the altar was in
disrepair.
Today, we offer the
sacrifice of prayer and praise to God. (Hebrews 13:15,
Ephesians 6:18). The
altar upon which we offer this sacrifice is our lives.
If we are in Spiritual
disrepair, we cannot effectively offer our prayers to
God. (Psalm 66:18). We must repair our altars through confession
of sin,
and making things right with others. (1 John 1:9, Matthew
5:23-24)
REQUEST RESPONSIBLY Vss.
36-37
You have heard it said
that "With privilege comes responsibility."
It is a privilege to
pray. We need to pray responsibly. (James 4:2-3)
Notice that Elijah prays
to the right God.
He asks for God's Glory,
so that it would be known who the true God was in
Elijah also asks that it
would be known that he was God's servant, and that
he acted according to God's word.
Finally, Elijah asks for
revival. (Vs. 37)
When we pray we are to
pray for the right things with the right motives. (1
John 5:14-15)
RELAX CONFIDENTLY Vss.
31-35, 38-39
Elijah made the task
more difficult by digging a trench and having the fire
doused with water 3 times. However, Elijah was still confident
that God
would answer his prayers.
There are times when we
are praying that things get worse before they get
better. God is probably only allowing things to get harder so
people will
know that He indeed has answered prayer in a very difficult
situation. The
tougher the answer is, the more glory God receives when He does
answer.
In Vss. 38-39, God
answers with fire from Heaven.
RESPOND EXPECTANTLY Vss.
41-46
Elijah sends Ahab to
have a meal, because, according to Elijah, rain was on
the way soon. Then Elijah went up and prayed. He constantly
sent his servant
to look for the answer to prayer. When a cloud the size of
man's hand
appeared, Elijah sent to Ahab, telling him to head for home before
the rain
stopped him.
Elijah shows us that as
we pray, we should look expectantly for answers. We
should not be impatient, but we should show our faith by watching
for God's
answer to our prayers.
5. REPEAT FERVENTLY Vss.
42-43
Elijah continued to pray
until he received His answer.
We should continue to
pray until we receive our answers. (Luke 18:1-8)
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1 Kings
ON OUR KNEES IN FAITH
The draught had lasted 3 !/2
years.
Elijah, the prophet who had predicted the draught had
been in hiding.
A great contest was held between the Prophet of God
and the false prophets. Elijah had won. (See rest of chapter for details.) The
onlookers had proclaimed, "The Lord He is the God; The
Lord he is the God." (Vs. 39)
Now it was time for Elijah to pray for rain. It was a prayer of faith.
This is exactly the type of prayers which we should
pray by faith.
THE PROCLAMATION OF FAITH Vs. 41
Based on what God had told Elijah, Elijah believed
that there would be rain. All he needed
was to believe it and pray for it. God's
word contains many promises which will be ours as we believe them and claim
them by faith. (1John
THE PRAYER OF FAITH Vs. 42
THE PERSPECTIVE OF FAITH Vss. 43-44
Elijah prayed by faith and looked for the answer. We should also be on the outlook for God's
answers to our confident prayers of faith.
THE POWER OF FAITH Vss. 45-46
The prayer of faith was answered miraculously. (James
5:16-17)
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1 Kings
FAITH AT WORK
As I write this outline
I am soaring in a jet plane about 30,000 feet in the air. To get from
Daily we are to put our
faith in God to work. We should be filled with the Spirit by faith. We should
study God's Word by faith. We should witness and stand for righteousness by
faith. One of our primary works of faith should be in prayer. Elijah put his faith to work by praying. We
should do the same.
THE OUTLOOK OF FAITH -
Vs. 41
Elijah saw the answer
coming even before there was a single sign of rain. He was confident that God
would hear and answer his prayers.
THE OBSTINACY OF FAITH -
Vss. 42-44
Elijah stubbornly
believed that God would answer his prayer. He stubbornly waited, looking for
God's answer. He stubbornly prayed until God answered. James 5:16-18, Luke
11:5-13
THE OUTCOME OF FAITH -
Vss. 45-46
God answered Elijah's
prayer of faith. Mark 11:22-26
In we learn to work in
prayer by faith we will see tremendous results and will become virtually
unstoppable.