Let us turn again to that general
epistle of James as we continue in the last part in chapter 5
and turning this morning to verses 17 and 18. James chapter 5 and
verses 17 and 18. Elias was a man subject to like
passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and
six months. And he prayed again, and the
heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth fruit. I want then to say something
with regards to the faith of this man, Elias or Elijah, Elias
being the Greek form of the Hebrew name Elijah. Elias was a man
subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly
that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the
space of three years and six months. And he prayed again,
and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth fruit. The faith then of Elijah and
his faith was clearly a justifying faith remember what we were saying
last week when we were considering the former passage there in verses
15 and 16 at the end of verse 16 we're told the effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much and who is that one who
is spoken of as the righteous. It's the justified sinner. All
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, we're told. We have no
righteousness of our own. And the great message, of course,
of the Apostolic Gospel is Christ. And He is that One who is the
Lord, our righteousness. Now, Paul, speaking of himself,
expresses quite clearly his great desire to be found in Christ. He says, not having mine own
righteousness which is of the Lord, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. And so that was the message that
we find Paul preaching in the Acts there in chapter 13 at Antioch. What does he declare? He preaches
Christ and his righteousness. By him, he says, all that believe
are justified from all things that they could not be justified
from by the deeds of the law. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man, a justified man, that man whose trust, whose
faith is only in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we come to this
passage that we're considering this morning in verses 17 and
18, where Elijah is set before us as the
example of that man, fervent in his prayers, that justified
sinner. And so, his faith is clearly
justifying faith. Of course, it's a fact that all
those saved in the Old Testament are saved in the same manner
as the saints of the New Testament. And all believers in this day
of grace, there is but one way of salvation. and it is found
in the person, the work, the blood, and the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, we're told here, aren't we,
of the praying faith of these justified sinners. Back in verse
15, remember, the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the
Lord shall raise him up, and if you have committed sins, they
shall be forgiven him. Now we've tried to look at this
passage concerning prayer and those healings that
come as a consequence of prayer in looking at the verses from
verse 13 following over these past number of weeks and it's
not an easy passage But I was struck when it just occurred
to me recently, I've noticed it in times past, but I was thinking
of what we're told in Matthew chapter 8 concerning the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just turn to that passage for
a moment before we come to our text this morning. There in Matthew
chapter 8 At verse 16 we read, When the
even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed
with devils, and he cast out the spirits with his words, and
healed all that was sick. And then, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took
our infirmities and bare our sicknesses. So what Matthew is
saying is that that ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
miraculous ministry, the healing of those who were sick, and the
casting out of the demons, is a fulfillment of words that we
have where? In Isaiah chapter 53. And you're
familiar with the content of Isaiah 53. It speaks of the suffering
servant of the Lord. And the passage that's quoted
there, of course, is verse 4 of Isaiah 53. Surely he hath borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. Now those are
the words that are being appealed to there in Matthew 8 with regards
to the Lord's ministry in healing. And yet, it's clear in Isaiah
53 that He has come not so much to deal with man's physical need
but man's deep spiritual need. He has come to make the great
sin atoning sacrifice. And so, the point I've sought
to make over these past number of weeks in this passage is the
wholeness of the Lord's ministry. It's not just that he is concerned
with man's physical condition, but principally his concern is
with the needs of the souls of men. And it's interesting, and
I remind you again what it says. It speaks of those who are sick.
In verse 14, He is any sick among you, let him call for the elders
of the church, let them pray over him, anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord. And then the prayer of faith
shall not heal, but save the sick. And the Lord shall raise
him up, if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven
him. The ministry is a whole ministry.
And as I've said, it's not that one would object to the idea
of anointing someone who is physically sick if they felt they wanted
some tangible thing like anointing. I would not object to that, but
I think we've got to see the thing in its real context. The
Lord's ministry is to the whole man. and our physical condition
often affects our spiritual state as well as our mental state. The Lord's ministry is that that
concerns man in all the fullness of his humanity. Man is not just body. When God
made Adam, he made his body of the dust of the earth but he
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became
a living soul. But I want really, as I said,
to turn now to what is being said here in verses 17 and 18,
where Elijah is spoken of as that man who is an example of
what's spoken of at the end of verse 16, the effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The faith, the praying
faith of Elijah is then spoken of in verses 17 and 18. First of all, to say something
with regards to the man. The man, the prophet. We're told Elias was a man. A man subject to like passions
as we are. And I think that's the most comforting
statement. The great prophet Elijah was
just like you and me. And yet, what a remarkable man
this was. We're told, aren't we, in the
book of Ecclesiastes, there's a time to be born, there's a
time to die. And surely this man was born,
as all men and women are born into this world. But we're told
nothing in Scripture concerning his origins. We read nothing
of his birth. The first thing we read is that
that's stated in the opening verse of 1 Kings chapter 17. All of a sudden this man is there.
Suddenly he burst on the scene in the days of that wicked king
Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel. Suddenly we are confronted by
this man who comes to confront the kingdom of Israel. He was born, there's a time to
be born, but we're not told anything concerning his birth. There's
a time to die, but this is a man who never experienced physical
death. Remember what we're told in 1
Kings 2, how he went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha was there
and the mantle of Elijah fell upon Elisha who becomes the prophet
instead of Elijah. He didn't experience death. He
was translated like Enoch who walked with God and he was not
because God took him. So also Elijah. carried up by
a whirlwind into heaven. He is a remarkable man in so
many ways and his life was quite an amazing life. He was able
to perform miracles. In fact, we read of him raising
to life the widow of Zarephath's son and the impression that that
event made upon the widow. We are told there in the first
book of Kings in chapter 17 and the end of that chapter when
the son is restored to this poor widow woman what does she say
to Elijah now by this I know that thou art a man of God and
that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth or this man
called Elias or Elijah. I know that thou art a man of
God. He was a man of God. He was a
remarkable man. And he is that one who stands
as representative really of the office of the prophet in the
Old Testament. Because you remember in the days
of the Lord Jesus Christ when he sojourned here upon the earth
in that state of humiliation when the glory of his deity was
veiled beneath his real humanity. But those favored disciples,
Peter, James and John, they saw something of his glory when he
was transfigured there in the mount. And what do we read in
the Gospels? There were two others with Christ
in the mount, Moses and Elijah. and they spoke of Christ deceased,
they spoke of his death that he was going to accomplish at
Jerusalem. That was a subject matter of
the conversation as those men looked on and saw Christ glorious
before them discussing these matters with Moses representing
the Old Testament law and Elijah representing the prophetic ministry
of the Old Testament. He is truly a remarkable man,
and yet we have this statement in Scripture that he was a man
subject to like passions, as we are. Really no different. All that he was as a prophet
was entirely by the grace of God. He was a trophy of that grace
of God, that remarkable grace of God. But think of him as a
man for a little while, and the external circumstances of the
life that he lived. As a man, of course, he was subject
to God's providences. He was dependent upon God's providences,
just as we are. Jeremiah says, O Lord, I know
that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that
walketh to direct his steps. Oh, we all live to prove that.
It's in God that we live and move and have our being. It's
God who holds our very breath in His hands and He could snuff
out our lives in a moment of time. And that was true of Elijah. Again, Job says man that is born
of woman is of few days and full of trouble. all the few days
of our lives here upon the earth. We read that passage in the previous
chapter, chapter 4. What is your life? asked James.
It is even a vape that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth
away. Man is a few days. Man is born
unto trouble, says Job. as the sparks fly upward and
how this man Elijah certainly knew much of trouble in the course
of his life what opposition he had to endure from wicked Ahab
and especially from his evil wife Jezebel and how strange
at times were the dealings of God with him there was that time
of great dearth and we sang of it of course in that hymn that
we just sang as our second prize, that hymn of John Newton's, the
way in which he was fed by the ravens at the brook Kerith. And then, when the brook fails, he's directed to the widow of
Zarephath. And whilst he is there, of course, that barrel of meal
that she has, that's all she has in the way of food, a barrel
of meal, it never fails. There's a cruise of oil, it never
ceases. How this man lives his life,
completely, utterly dependent upon God's providential dealings,
the Lord making provision for him. And we are those who are
ever dependent upon the God of providence and we have to seek
to observe God's providences. If we're wise, that's what we'll
do. Isn't that what we're told concerning the Lord's people
at the end of that 107th psalm, who so is wise? Says the psalmist,
and we'll observe these things, observe God's providences. And
psalm 107 speaks of the various situations of life on land, on
sea, Whoso is wise and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness
of the Lord." All the circumstances of this man's lives, they often
were most trying. He knew much of tribulation. "'In the world you shall have
tribulation,' says the Lord concerning his owner." This is the man of
God. And how he is brought to cry, and to cry unto the Lord,
how he is pursued and persecuted by Jezebel again. Look at the language that we
have there in the 19th chapter of that first book of Kings.
I have told Jezebel all that Elijah had done. And with all
how he had slain all the prophets with the sword, all the false
prophets of Baal, then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah,
saying, So let the gods do to me and more also, if I make not
thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life. and came
to Beersheba, which belonged to Judah, and left his servant
there. But he himself went a day's journey
into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper
tree. And he requested from himself
that he might die, and said, it is enough. Now, O Lord, take
away my life, for I am not better than my father's." What utter
despair this man was brought to. he's a man of light passions
you see his circumstances so strange at times, so trying but
the scripture here is speaking of the passions of his heart
really not so much his external circumstances although we do
well to take account of that because we often of course find
ourselves in circumstances that are most trying and most difficult
And it's hard to understand the ways of God with us then. But
what of this man's heart? This man's heart. It says like
passions. Subject to like passions as we
are. And it's one of those compound
words. It's two words married together. And it's the word like
and feelings really. In fact, our English word pathos
comes from the second part of that compound word that we have.
The root of our English word pathos is found in that particular
Greek word. He has like feelings to us. He was a man, you see, who by
nature was a fallen man. We're not to forget there was
only ever one man that was perfect. So Adam, so Eve, they were perfect
when they came pristine from the hand of their creator God.
Both Adam and Eve sinned and fell. And all who are descended
by natural generation from them, of course, are sinners who can
bring a clean thing out of an unclean, not one. David speaks of being conceived
in sin and shaping in iniquity. But the Lord Jesus Christ is
that one who was preserved from every taint of original sin.
Holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sin is a real man,
yes. A real man. He is the last Adam. Of whom the first Adam was a
wonderful type. When Adam comes he is sinless.
that he sins but the Lord Jesus Christ never sinned, never could
sin but Elijah was a man who was a sinner of like passions
as we are and in a sense we see something of his sins he was somewhat impatient with
God when Her son died. We are told how Elijah blamed God. There in 1st Kings 17.20, Asab
brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourned by slaying her
son. Oh, he's impatient, he's angry
with God now. And then he's also a man who
can be afraid, very fearful. as we read there in 1st Kings
19 when Jezebel is threatening him he arose it says and went
for his life he was fearful she was going to do what she had
said she would take his life she would kill him he was a man who was at times
unbelieving he was unbelieving I only am left And yet God had reserved 7,000
who'd never bowed the knee to bow, but he knew not that. You
see, this man then, he is just like we are. A man of like passions
as we are. That's the man that we're dealing
with here. But let's turn to his prayer, and this is where
we see something quite remarkable about this man. He prayed, it
says. He prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained
not on the earth by the space of three years and six months,
and he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth
brought forth her fruit. Now, the whole passage, as I
sought to emphasize, really deals with the matter of prayer. Not
so much the anointing of the sick, as we have it there in
verse 14, but it's prayer, the prayer of faith. The effectual,
fervent prayer of a righteous man. This man, Elijah, he prayed
earnestly. And then he prayed again. The
emphasis very much falls upon the importance of prayer. And I want to mention three things
with regards to the prayer of this man Elijah. The earnestness
of his spirit in prayer, the way in which we see him pleading
the word of God, And then thirdly, how he prays in an expected manner. He is looking for the return
of his prayer. He expects God to answer his
prayer. First of all, the earnestness
of his prayer. It says here, he prayed earnestly
that it might not rain. And yet, when we go back to the history that's recorded in
the first book of Kings, there is no reference here to his praying
for no rain. In the opening chapter of 1 Kings
we read these words, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before
whom I stand, there shall not be dune or rain these years but
according to my words. That's what we're told concerning
the way in which he goes and confronts King Ahab. As the Lord God of Israel liveth,
before whom I stand, there shall not be June or rain these years,
but according to my words." No specific mention of him praying,
just his prediction. There shall not be June or rain,
he says. But observe just what he does
say there. He says this, He refers to the Lord before whom I stand. Before he came and stood before
Ahab, it is evident that he had stood before God. That's what's
being said there. Before ever he comes to stand
before the king and to make this remarkable pronouncement, he
had stood before God. And it's interesting because
Dr. Gill makes this comment he says
there is no standing ever mentioned but prayer is attended. No standing mentioned but prayer
is intended and that's what it means when he says the God before
whom I stand ought to be those who know what it is to stand
before God in our prayers. Doesn't it indicate something
of boldness? This man had stood before God
and prayed with God, spoken to God. And the believer is to come
in that manner. Let us come boldly, says Paul,
let us come boldly to the throne of Christ so we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need. But how can we who are
sinners ever come boldly before the throne of God and stand so
boldly in the presence of God. Well, again, it's Paul who reminds
us how it is that sinners can come with such boldness. It's
only in Christ in whom we have boldness and access with confidence
by the faith of Him. And this is how this man prayed.
His boldness, his standing before God, was only in the Lord Jesus
Christ. There was nothing special about
Elijah as a man in his own person. His great boldness before the
king was rooted in the fact that in the Lord Jesus Christ he had
been able to come and boldly stand before God himself. And
Ahab was of course the most wicked king He did evil in the sight
of the Lord, it says, above all that were before him. In many
ways, he was the most wicked of all the kings of Israel. What a man he was! He was the
man who really brought upon the nation that dreadful curse of
the droughts. Well, hadn't God Himself declared
that where the children of Israel were guilty of sins there would
be a consequence there would be a curse and we read of those
curses back in Deuteronomy 28 and look at the language that
is spoken there and we see how these things are so applicable
to Ahab and his conduct What does God say? Deuteronomy 28,
15, It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the
voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do all his commandments
and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these
curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou
be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field, cursed
shalt thou be in thy basket, and in thy store, in other words,
there's going to be great dearth. Verse 23, thy heaven that is
over thy head shall be brass and the earth that is under thee
shall be iron and the Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder
and dust from heaven shall it come down upon thee until thou
be destroyed. And that's what was happening
in the days of Elijah because of the wickedness of Ahab and
his court. And yet this man can come before
Him with such boldness. He can stand before Him, because
he knew what it was to stand before God in prayer. But here,
in the New Testament, we're told something more, aren't we? When
he stood before God in that prayer, he prayed earnestly, it's said.
He prayed earnestly that it might not rain. And you might observe here in
the margin that the original literally reads,
he prayed in his prayer. There's a repetition of the word
prayer. He prayed in his prayer. And rightly, the translators have brought
out the emphasis by rendering it that he prayed earnestly. He prayed in his prayer. His tongue prayed, yes, but his
heart also prayed. His heart was in his prayer.
The Puritan Thomas Manson says it's our duty not only to say
a prayer, but to pray a prayer. It's one thing to say a prayer,
to say words, or it's another thing, is it not, to pray a prayer. And how we should desire to be
like this man. He could come, he could stand
before the king, because he prayed earnestly. Doubtless in his prayer,
he's praying for the situation in Israel. Surely we're at such
a season as this to be those who are much in prayer for our
very nation. Do we pray concerning the state
of affairs at present, the confusion? God has them in division. Or
think of the language there in the second Psalm, that messianic
psalm that speaks so clearly of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
eternal Son of the Father. The heathen rage, they imagine
dying sins. The kings of the earth. Oh, the
Lord laughs, he has them in derision, how sad it is. when we think
that in this nation in high places from the Queen down through government
never ever any mention of the hand of God in what's happening
that God's hand is against us and we need to recognize that
and to turn from our sins there needs to be that spirit of repentance
throughout the nation none of that how we should be those then
who would pray and pray like this man to pray in our prayer
Oh, he's the example, as I've said, of what is stated in that
sentence at the end of verse 16, the effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man, availeth much. He prayed earnestly. In other words, this was an effectual
fervent prayer. Again, you know, that expression,
effectual fervent, is the rendering of just a single word It has
the idea of energetic, lively, powerful. That's how he prayed.
That's how he prayed. Oh, there was life in his prayers. Another one of the Puritans,
John Trapp, says of this sort of praying, it sets the whole
man at work to do it as it should be done. Oh, is that how we desire
to pray? To be those who are in earnest
with God, wrestling with God in our prayers. Here we see something
then of the earnestness of this man's spirit. He doesn't just
come, but he wants to do business with God. I remember some years
ago, must be 40 or 50 years ago I suppose now when I think back,
a minister coming over from New Zealand, to Southampton and he
was staying with David Fountain, the minister at Spring Road Evangelical
Church and he wanted to go to various parts
of the UK, he went to Scotland went over to Northern Ireland
he was a Presbyterian that was his church background and he
wanted to see Presbyterianism of course which you'll find up
in Scotland and also in Northern Ireland. When he was in Northern
Ireland he did have some contact with some of the followers of
Ian Paisley and I remember remarking to him he said you know I went
to one of their prayer meetings it was quite remarkable really
because those men They prayed as if they meant business. You
know, they were probably in the main farming communities. He
said, but you felt that they were taking off their coats and
they were rolling up their sleeves and they were really doing business,
earnestly, with God in prayer. Well, that's what we have here.
The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man. This earnestness.
He prayed earnestly. that it might not rain, and it
rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six
months." Or do we know anything of that sort of praying? Isn't it a fact that God teaches
us, or teaches a man to pray for the things that God purposes
to give to that man? If God has a purpose to give
a thing to us, It will cause us to pray for that thing. I
will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, he
says. To do it. You'll do it, but you'll give
them such a spirit of prayer. And that's what we see here.
The earnestness of this man's prayer. Secondly, let me say
something with regards to the way in which he pleads the word
of God. We're not heard, are we? Because
of anything in us when it comes to our praying. We're not heard
because of our much speaking. We're not heard because we utter
a multitude of words. No, what we're to do is to simply
pray over the Word of God and to plead the promises of God. In verse 18 we're told, He prayed
again And the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth fruit. Now, look at what it says again
when we go back to the historical account there in 1 Kings, in
the beginning of chapter 18. God says to the prophet, Go,
show thyself unto Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth. That's
the command of God. Go, show thyself unto Ahab, and
I will send rain upon the earth." And what does the prophet then
do? He prays. God had said he's going to send
rain, and he prays again before he goes to Ahab. He prays over
what God had said to him. He prays over the Word of God. That's how we're to pray. Take
with you words. Turn to the Lord. What words
are we to take with us when we turn to the Lord? Well, the best
words surely are God's words. The old Puritan used to say we
should thicken our prayers with God's words. We should pray over
the Bible in other words. It's the pleading of the word
of God. God has given to us exceeding great and precious promises.
And what are we to do with those exceeding great and precious
words of God? or we are to turn them into petitions
and plead with the Almighty that He will do the very thing that
He has said He will do. This is how Elijah prays. He's earnest in prayer, he's
pleading what God has said, and then finally he prays with that
spirit of expectation. What is the point of praying
if there is no answer to the prayer? What is the point of praying?
As I said, God teaches us to pray for the things that He purposes
to give us. And so if we pray, we pray for
specific things, or we should do. And that's what we see, isn't
it, when He comes to the Lord, appearing at the end of that
terrible drought and that dreadful dearth that came upon the land. And again there, we have the
record at the end of the 18th chapter in that first book of
Kings. And I'm sure you're familiar
with the portion. There in 1 Kings 18 verse 41,
Elijah says to Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink, for there
is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to
drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he cast
himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees,
and he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea.
And he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he
said, Go again seven times. And he came to pass at the seventh
time. that he said, Behold, there ariseeth
a little cloud out of the sea like a man's hand. And he said,
Go up, say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot, and get thee down,
that the rain stop thee not. And he came to pass in the meanwhile
that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was
a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. and the hand of the Lord was
on Elijah and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to
the entrance of Jezreel. Oh, he didn't pray in vain. He
did not pray in vain. Although at first there was nothing.
He sends his servant and he looks and he looks out to the west
over the Mediterranean and there's nothing. There's nothing. But he sends him seven times,
and the seventh time. And there of course we see the
significance of the number seven, that number of perfection. When
God's time is perfect, all God's timing is perfect. Just as God
has appointed, so the rains must come. And what are we to learn? Surely we learn this, we're to
wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord, says the Psalmist,
wait I say on the Lord look and look and look again or do we
pray in that spirit we we want to see the return of our prayers
a little work by the Puritan Thomas Goodwin the return of
prayers, there is a return of prayers he does not say to the
seed of Jacob seek him I face in vain, and what a remarkable
example is this man Elijah when he comes to prayer, the earnestness
of his spirit, the pleading of the words of God, the expectation
that God will answer his prayer and so it came to pass, or that
it might come to pass also for us, that we might see the return
of our prayers, that God would grant to us such a spirit as
we have evidence in this great prophet, this man who was a sinner
like we are, a man subject to like passions as we are. And
he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on
the earth by the space of three years and six months, and he
prayed again. And the heaven gave rain, and
the earth brought forth a fruit. Amen.