CWC-Alternate OT Lesson - Epiphany 4 - Kieth Bernard Kuschel
I Kings 17:7-16
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 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.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
Repeat after me
Jesus died to wash away your sins
Jesus lived to cover you with His holiness
Jesus rose from the dead so you can live forever.
You are a prophet.
Prophets
I. Sent by God
A. Elijah
1. Situation in Israel
2. Sent: practical; prophetic
B. Jesus
1. Priestly work
2. Prophetic Work
C. Called Workers
1. Assignment committee
2. Special work
D. Us
1. Places in life
2. Reason: God put you there
II. Communicate
A. Elijah
1. Asked for food and water
2. Opening up a conversation
B. Jesus
1. Opened up conversation; get them thinking
2. Sometimes good results; sometimes not
C. Called workers
1. Preaching and teaching Bible class
2. Teaching skills
D. Us
1. Discuss everyday life things
2. Gives you the right to talk with the person
III. Pass Along God’s Promises
A. Elijah
1. Food and rain
2. Gifts from the LORD
B. Jesus
1. Promise to rise
2. Promise to give eternal life
C. Called Workers
1. Every sermon and every Bible class
2. Every devotion and every religion class
D. Us
1. Promise to guard and keep and be with
2. Promise of forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life
IA1 Ahab was the King of Israel. According to I Kings 16:30 “Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He not only diverted the people in his nation away from the worship of the true God in Jerusalem by having altars built to Him in other places, but in addition he introduced the worship of and built temples for the Palestinian fertility gods Baal and Asherah. Because of that God sent a drought on the land of Israel.
2 God took care of His prophet Elijah by sending bread and meat to him air mail. When the brook which was supplying him with water dried up, God sent him to Zarephath in Sidon, outside of Israel. The practical reason God sent him was Elijah would get food there. From Jesus’ comments in the Gospel lesson, the spiritual reason God sent him there was - he was sent by God to bring the truth about the LORD to people there.
B1 Jesus was also sent by God. For what? Most Christians would say, “To die on the cross to wash away my sins. To suffer death as my Substitute to rescue me from death as punishment for my sins. To experience hell as my Substitute to rescue me that as punishment for my sins. To live and never sin to cover me with His holiness. To rise from the dead so that I might live forever.” All of that is true and good.
2 But God sent Jesus into our world for another reason. To be our prophet. To pass along God’s truth. If Jesus hadn’t taught God’s truth, we wouldn’t know which laws are demanded by God to be kept by us. If Jesus hadn’t taught God’s truth, we wouldn’t know why He lived and died and rose. Prophets pass along God’s truth. Jesus was the perfect prophet. He perfectly passed along God’s truth. He was sent by God to do that.
C1 Why are pastors and teachers and staff ministers and deacons and deaconesses carrying out their ministries at particular places? First reason. They were turned into believers in Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Second reason. God the Holy Spirit working through the Good News about Jesus convinced them that being professional prophets was a good idea. Third reason. God the Holy Spirit working through the Bible equipped them to be able to be prophets. Fourth reason. God’s people under the direction of Jesus designated them to carry out their work in a particular place. For all those reasons we can say God sends these people to their place of ministry.
2 A missionary is a good example. WELS World Mission Board, a group of believers in Jesus, wanted people to share Jesus with people in a foreign land. They asked a believer in Jesus, who is a professional equipped prophet for the Lord, to carry out that particular job for them.
D1 Why are you at your place in life? Practical reasons are the same as those for Elijah. I have a job to be able to provide myself and those dependent on me with necessities of life. I am at school in order to become equipped with skills so that I will be able to have a job to be able to provide myself and those dependent on me with necessities of life.
2 Why are you at your place in life? The real answer is God sent you there. You are working at that job because there are some people there like the widow in Zarephath who need the truth about God or need to have the truth of God reinforced by you. You are at that school because there are some people there like the widow in Zarephath who need the truth about God or need to have the truth of God reinforced by you. You are on that sports team because there are some people there like the widow in Zarephath who need the truth about God or need to have the truth of God reinforced by you. You are involved in that group of people who get together daily or weekly or monthly to socialize because there are some people there like the widow in Zarephath who need the truth about God or need to have the truth of God reinforced by you. God sent Elijah to Zarephath. God sent His Son into our world. God sends professional prophets. But the biggest group He sends out to share His truth is you.
IIA1 10 So Elijah went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there
gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 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.”
2 What was Elijah doing? He was having a conversation with this woman. Why? He was opening up communication lines with this woman? Why? He was earning the right to talk to this woman. Why? Because he wanted to share the truth about God with this woman. If he didn’t earn the right to talk to this woman, she wouldn’t be a listener to what he had to say.
B1 In the Gospel lesson for today, Jesus made the dramatic claim that the Old Testament prophet Isaiah’s words about the Messiah were fulfilled in Him. Why did He do that? He was trying to get the listeners to think about what He had to say. He was trying to initiate a conversation with them about who He was. He was opening up the lines of communication with these people.
2 Sometimes when Jesus started a conversation with people, it went well. Think of the woman at the well in Samaria. After talking about everyday things, Jesus moved the conversation to spiritual things and the woman was led to realize that Jesus was the Messiah. Things didn’t go very well in the Gospel lesson for today. Jesus got the people to think about His claim and compare it with their conclusion that he was just Joseph’s son. But they rejected His claim to be the Messiah.
C1 When God sends professional prophets out today, those people have had a lot of training in communicating God’s truth in a structured way and in a group settings. They spend four years learning to research, write, and present sermons. Learning to prepare and present Bible classes, Bible Information classes, Catechism classes, Bible History classes.
2 Teachers spend four years learning how to communicate in a classroom so the students grasp the concepts of math, the facts of history, the procedures of science, but much more important the truths about Jesus.
D1 If God sends you to share His truth with people in the various places of your life, how are you to go about doing that? It is much different from professional prophets preaching a sermon or teaching a class. How do you do that? You talk with the widow at Zarephath about the
groceries. You talk with her about the economy. You talk with her about how things are going in her life. You talk with her about the drought.
2 Why? Because the first thing we all must do with the people in the places of our lives is earn the right to talk to them about the truth of God. You do that by opening up the lines of communication with them. You do that by talking to them and listening to them. If we don’t earn the right to talk to someone, that person will not listen to what we have to say. Talk to the person at work about how the job is going. Talk to the person at school about how the classes are going. Talk to the person on your team about basketball. Talk to the person in your group about the weather. But remember, you are doing that for a reason. You are earning the right to share God’s truth with them.
IIIA1 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ Elijah passed along two promises of God. The LORD would take care of her and her son by miraculously providing them with food. What was the other promise? That He would bring the drought to an end.
2 Elijah brought this woman more gifts from the LORD. He restored the woman’s son to life after he died. He led her to realize that the LORD was the one and only true God. He led her to realize that the LORD is the source of and restorer of life. He led her to realize that the LORD by definition forgives sin and keeps His promises. And we can correctly assume that he led her to understand the promises of the Savior.
B1 Jesus, the perfect prophet, throughout His three years of public ministry perfectly passed along God’s truth. Included in that truth were God’s promises. Maybe the most dramatic promise that Jesus made during those three years was His promise to rise from the dead. Whenever He predicted that His enemies would kill Him, He promised that He would rise from the dead.
2 He made other promises. He promised to be with His followers always. He promised to use His power for our benefit. He promised to forgive our sins. He promised to cover us with His holiness. He promised to have us live forever with Him. Interestingly all these other promises are directly connected to His dramatic promise to rise from the dead. If He hadn’t done that, He couldn’t do any of these other things.
C1 Professional prophets are trained to make sure they pass along God’s promises when they speak the truth of God. In every sermon that is preached God’s promise to forgive your sins because of Jesus death, God’s promise to cover you with the holiness which Jesus lived, and God’s promise to give you eternal life because Jesus rose must be present. No matter what the stated topic of the Bible class is at some point God’s promise of forgiveness, holiness and eternal life because of the life death and resurrection of Jesus must be stated. In every communication that is sent the Gospel of Jesus, the promises of God are to be there.
2 In every devotion and every religion class, even if the topic is Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, the promises of God’s forgiveness, holiness and eternal life because of the life death and resurrection of Jesus are to be present.
D1 God sends you to share His truth with the people in the places of your lives. What are you to tell them? The promises of God. To your friend whose wife died, you can say, “Jesus promises to be with you always.” To your neighbor who lost His job, you can say, “Jesus promises to take care of you.”
2 But just like every sermon and every classroom presentation, every conversation that you carry out as a prophet of God needs to have the most important promises of God present. So let’s practice them. Jesus died to wash away your sins. Jesus lived to cover you with His holiness. Jesus rose from the dead so you can live forever.
Prayer. LORD Jesus, thank You for being my Perfect Prophet by giving me Your truth. Thank you for giving me the privilege of being one of Your prophets. Motivate, equip, and empower me to pass along Your Promises.