Lessons From Elijah in 1 Kings Chapters 17 and 18

There's a time to APPEAR and there's a time to HIDE! (1 Kings 17:1-3)

Don't expect God to meet your needs if you haven't obeyed the word of the Lord. You've got to be at the right place at the right time! (1 Kings 17)

God commands certain people, places or things to FEED YOU. (1 Kings 17) You and I have to SUBMIT to God's chosen channels of supply for His chosen seasons in our lives.

Just obey His latest word to you. Another word will come later if and when necessary. (1 Kings 17:7-9)

Gods chosen channel of supply may seem very strange to you or then again, it may seem quite normal. (Ravens and Widow)

(This one has to be balanced with other scriptures or you might choke on it.) Elijah himself had to ride out the famine with the rest of the backslidden nation even though he was himself righteous and things were NOT his fault. A steady diet for 3-1/2 years of nothing but bread and meat brought by ravens and then a steady diet of nothing but oil and flour from a widow is not exactly prosperity. That would get old fast! But it is Gods provision and it is MUCH BETTER than starving to death like many others!

First take care of the man of God and only THEN take care of your own needs.  This is the Father's sequence and method of supernatural supply for YOU!  QUERY the man of God to discover his needs, and in so doing you are setting yourself up to receive Gods endless supply! (1 Kings 17:9-16)

YOUR OWN PROSPERITY HINGES ON YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE ANOINTING ON GODS MAN! A stingy attitude towards God's spokesman would block your own resources. But generosity towards Gods Man guarantees Gods generosity towards you!

Your partnership with the man of God also qualifies you for future miracles through his ministry. (1 Kings 17:17-24)

The very life or death of someone may depend on the integrity, honesty and truthfulness of the man of God. (1 Kings 18:7-16)

Any man of God has more authority and power than any politician! (1 Kings 18:17-19)

Men of God ought to TROUBLE wicked politicians who TROUBLE Nations and Gods people! (1 Kings 18:17-18)

The MAJORITY is OFTEN dead wrong! (1 Kings 18:19-22)

Indecision is at the root of backsliding! (1 Kings 18:21)

God sends confrontational men of God to deliver Gods people from indecision! (1 Kings 18:21)

God calls prophets to MOCK false prophets and the so called gods of false prophets! (1 Kings 18:22-29)

Gods true prophets literally HATE the deeds of false prophets (including false prophets who are politicians). (1 Kings 18:40)

Gods true leaders "RUN AHEAD OF" wicked politicians in authority, in timing, in truth and in power with God and men. (1 Kings 18:46)

Wicked politicians and wicked advisors to politicians come to a tragic end although they seem to get away with their plots and agendas for a season. BUT in the grand scheme of things their agendas and they themselves are short-lived to be sure! (Consider the end of Elijah's political arch-enemies Ahab, and Jezebel who was both Ahab's wife and his advisor!)

Beware Hussein Obama and David Axelrod!  You are protoges of the godless Saul Alinsky community organizing cult and have perfected his wicked tenets to win elections and gain billions of dollars.  But beware... where is Saul Alinsky now?  (Burning in hell!)

Now! Where is Kadafi? Where is Hitler? Where is Stalin? Where is Lenin? Where is Saddam Hussein? Where is Nebuchadnezzer? Where is Herod?

Arrogance will get you into hot water (or eventually into eternal hot flames) EVERY TIME! Beware Mr. Obama of all your arrogant and divisive and manipulative speeches that seduce the unwitting masses. You are amassing a weight of pride and haughtiness that will eventually tip the scales of justice against you, sir! Beware! Remember, "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." You are now being used providentially by God Almighty to bring a measure of judgment on America through your foolishness. But watch out you fox: God may turn around and punish you like he punished the wicked kings he allowed to punish backslidden Israel. Better read your Bible, Mr. President!  And that quick!

 

Republican leaders have capitulated, pro-family pundits have caved, and gay activists have announced that their struggle for equality is just about over. Is it time for biblical conservatives to throw in the towel?

What a ridiculous thought. Why in the world would we do that?

I'm fully aware that:

• Newt Gingrich recently announced his belief that same-sex unions are "inevitable" and that Republicans must accept this if they want to win future elections.
• Pro-marriage leader David Blankenhorn has recanted his opposition to same-sex "marriage," saying "the time has come for me to accept gay marriage and emphasize the good that it can do."
• Recent polling indicates that "the public has gradually become more accepting of same-sex marriage ... More Americans favor it in 2013 than oppose, according to the Pew Research Center."
• The 2012 elections marked the first time that any states voted to legalize same-sex "marriage" and President Obama, in his inaugural speech, declared that it is the task of this generation to legalize gay "marriage."
• Last week, in a 400-175 vote, British "MPs approved the second reading of a bill legalizing [same-sex] marriage, indicating a significant majority of members support the measure" as it moves through the process of legal approval.
• A poll last week claimed that Americans, by "a margin of 55 percent to 33 percent" believe that the Boy Scouts "should drop its policy against openly gay members."

Yes, I'm fully aware that gay activists have declared that the "National Movement Opposing Same-Sex Marriage Is Done," and that, to quote pioneer gay journalist Mark Segal, what's happening today is not a "watershed" but "a tidal wave."

Long-time gay activist Cleve Jones has even stated that, "The opposition is just melting away. We have reached the hearts and minds of the American people," and there is no turning back the clock. Yes, Jones said, "I am kind of beside myself. I have to pinch myself sometimes. I never thought I would live long enough to see this. Never. Ever."

Things have gotten to the point that, on Jan. 31, Hank Plante wrote on SFGate.com that, "I received a provocative e-mail from a prominent gay journalist this week. It had two words: 'It's over.'"

Is the battle for "gay rights" really over? Should conservatives who differ with these "rights" throw in the towel? After all, there's no use wasting our time and energy and resources fighting against the inevitable. In fact, the longer we fight a losing battle, the more we make ourselves look irrelevant.

Why not consolidate our losses and live to fight another day? Surely there are other battles that deserve our attention. Why not throw in the towel when it comes to opposing the full acceptance of homosexual practice?

Here are four answers to these fair and weighty questions.

1. For many years now, the unspoken mantra of gay activists (going back to the famous "zaps" of the early 1970s) has been, "We will intimidate and we will manipulate until you capitulate." Today, when gay activists announce that we conservative believers are on the wrong side of history, it is just another form of intimidation. Surely they are not telling us these things so as to help us! So, in case it isn't clear, let me say it plainly: We will not be intimidated.
2. We do what is right because it is right, not because it is pragmatic or popular. To quote the Oregon Christian baker Aaron Klein, "I'd rather stand up for what I believe in and what I feel is right and get totally annihilated when it comes in the end than to bow down to this and say 'go ahead.' Because that sets the standard for the next one, the next one, and the next one." In the famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right."
3. Polls and popularity trends do not determine what is morally right and wrong. One generation ago, sex out of wedlock was frowned upon. Today, it's accepted as a normal part of life. Yet a recent U.S. Census report indicates that "Being raised in a married family reduced a child's probability of living in poverty by about 82 percent." Popularity does not necessarily equate with morality, and only a fool makes moral choices based on the polls.
4. I'm not in the least bit surprised by the victories of the "gay revolution." In fact, when I first became involved in this specific aspect of the "culture wars" less than nine years ago, I saw back then that our side had already lost the battle and that gay activism had won the day. So, these recent developments don't faze or surprise me in the least. From day one, my trust was in God, not people, and that's where my trust remains. Attempts to redefine marriage and family and to normalize different sexual orientations may have their day, but that day will pass.

In the end, I can truly thank gay activists for helping us understand their world better-including the pain of bullying and the unique struggles they have endured-and for that, I am grateful. And I can admire their zeal and courage, even while differing with their goals.

But just as they didn't throw in the towel when they were a tiny, vilified, minority, much less we will throw in the towel when their revolution seems to be winning the day. This too shall pass.

Michael Brown is the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.