Going Public: Elijah

Jeff Lucas book excerpt

t’s one of my favourite worship songs, and one that has niggled away at me too. Delirious’ History Maker has in turn inspired and bothered me.

I’m gonna be a history maker in this land
I’m gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind

It sounds great - but is it realistic? Is living a prophetic life that changes the world really a reachable goal - or just another piece of worshipful rhetoric? I wonder.

Elijah - a man whom the Bible insists was just like us - really did change history. Born 2,900 years ago in a hole-in-road town, Gilead, he was raised in a place from where tough, serious shepherds hailed. They were distinctive because of their broad accents and camel hair cloaks, rough, no-nonsense working men. Elijah found himself growing up in a nation that was a serious mess.

For years the rot of idolatry had been setting in. A series of six loser kings had reigned over a disastrous 58-year period. Ahab, loser number seven, an expert in evil, and his unlovely wife Jezebel, a blood-thirsty psychopath from a horrendous family, were ruling the roost. Baal was worshipped. Children were lobbed into sacrificial fires, their terrible screams drowned by the louder sobbing of their mothers. Sex and worship were combined in grotesque sacramental coupling. Someone had to do something. Someone had to break cover, go public and become a history maker. That someone was Elijah.

As he stomped into the Samarian palace and pointed the prophetic finger at the hideous royal couple, Elijah knew who he was, and where the highest authority sat. His name, Eli-yah means, “The Lord, he is God’. A sense of clear identity in Christ is vital if we are going to go public with our faith. Being a Salvationist is not enough; we’d better know what God says about us as redeemed followers of Christ. Even as Elijah stood before this regal, demonic pair who could have him decapitated with a nod, Elijah knew that he also stood before God Almighty. That’s one good reason to immerse ourselves in the truths of Scripture; not just because good Christians read the Bible, but because, we discover not only the truth about who God is, but about who we are in God.

And then Elijah had to learn how to invest in the invisible. He went public, prophesied a severe lack of rain, and then dropped out of sight and parked himself by a brook for about a year. There, it was a blistering 120 degrees and the brook that he drank from was topped with a rather scummy algae. Birds that were rendered as unclean spat his lunch out daily, a bizarre delivery service from God. Elijah, having been so bold, had to endure solitude and leave the results of his courageous investment to God. And so do we.

As Elijah’s story unfolds, we realize that things got very worse before they got better. After twelve months of seclusion, he goes to a widows home, only to discover that she and her son were starving to death - quite literally - and preparing their last supper. The lad dies, and Elijah gets the blame. No smooth journey this. There’s a resurrection, but it came after devastating rejection.

Perhaps Elijah is most famous for his prayerful fireworks on Mount Carmel - and deservedly so. I love the way he refuses to engage in any sleight of hand stunts in order to grab Israel by the throat. He insists that the true sacrifice to the Lord be thoroughly soaked before the flames fell and consumed the lot in a second. No skullduggery here.

But notice too the toll that going public took on the man. He ran for his life, and then prayed for death, and then when God recommissioned him, he only partially disobeyed the divine orders. The man who had faith for flames out of nowhere broke under the pressure of fear. He was never to be quite as effective again. But as he helped Elisha become a history maker too, he invested in the future.

Elijah changed his world. And you and I can do the same. We’re flawed, in-the-process people. The Christian is not a flawless trophy of grace, but a broken soul under construction. For us too, there are flashes of great faith, and autumnal seasons of doubt as well. We have to be trust God that our lives really do change things.

But as I look at the ordinary, yet remarkable man called Elijah, I realize that, as with compassion, honesty, faith and trust, we can go public too, and make history as we do so. As we worship, open Scripture and allow challenge and comfort to be ours, perhaps we, in our day, can go more public for God too.

Delirious got it right. Let’s make some history.

Adapted from
Going Public: the life and times of Elijah
by Jeff Lucas, JLIM Publishing, 2008

Writer: Author and speaker Jeff Lucas travels internationally in a ministry of Bible teaching which carries a specific vision to encourage and equip the church. Originally a church planting pastor, Jeff understands the dynamics of local church life and has a desire to “build” rather than simply “bless” as he teaches and preaches.

His ministry is expressed in a number of different ways. He is part of the leadership team of Spring Harvest. Jeff is the author of fourteen books. He writes a monthly column for Christianity Magazine, daily Bible notes for CWR entitled “Lucas on Life Every Day” and broadcasts three weekly radio shows. Jeff and his wife Kay live in Colorado, where he holds a teaching post at Timberline Church.

By popular demand, Jeff Lucas will be returning to lead the Big Top Bible Studies at ROOTS 2008. Jeff will be speaking on Elijah, and to accompany his bible studies he will be publishing a book Going Public: The Life and Times of Elijah especially for the ROOTS audience. Jeff has kindly given us permission to publish a section of the book to whet your appetites.
ROOTS 2008 | 2-5 May 2008 | Southport, UK