Elijah - Week One

Elijah – Week OneAs a prophet during a time of unbelievable idolatry and immorality, Elijah stood against the evil all around him. Could we stand with the same conviction? Would we stand for God even if we’re alone? We’ll help answer these questions by studying:The history of Elijah’s time.Who Elijah was.Three lessons we can learn from the life of Elijah.The history of Elijah’s time shows how courageous and extraordinary he was. After Solomon died, there was a civil war that divided the country into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah).There are 19 kings in the Israel and all were evil. There were 17 kings in Judah with 9 wicked and 8 good. Elijah lived in the days of the Northern Kingdom. (1 Kings 14:20, 15:25-26, 15:29,34, 16:25)King Ahab, married to Jezebel, was the king in Israel during Elijah’s time. (1 Kings 16:31)Ahab and Jezebel did incredible evil in the kingdom. (1 Kings 16:32-33)Who was Elijah?1 Kings 17:1 gives us three significant insights into Elijah.1st – The name “Elijah” means “my God is Jehovah.” Even his name announced who he was and who he stood for.2nd – Elijah was from Tishbe.3rd – He stood before Ahab and made a declaration, which showed his courage and that he would have to stand alone. (just Elijah and God)We will never take the risk to do great things until we believe that one person can make a difference.We will never take the risk to do great things until we are comfortable standing alone.There are three lessons we can learn from the life of Elijah that are extremely relevant today.1st – God looks for special people at difficult times. (Ezekiel 22:23-30)Learn to stand alone!“Gradually the unthinkable becomes tolerable, then acceptable, then legal, then praised.”2nd – God’s methods are often surprising.3rd – First and foremost, we stand before God.2 Chronicles 16:9