1 Kings 18:1 - After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly, 4 and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.
5 And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” 6 So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
7 And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9 And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12 And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
• Does this mean that every Christian must be so public about their faith that they are offended by everything and an offense to everyone?
Sometimes when we are covert in our Christianity, we are not
Every Christian is doing God’s work, but not everyone is doing it
1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
There is no such thing as
work versus work.
When you are serving God,is sacred.
If God has given you a
If God has given you access to the world’s
Be
Don’t
1 Kings 18:15 - And Elijah said to Obadiah, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to Ahab today.”
God doesn’t call all of us to die on
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BIBLE STUDY QUESTIONS
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1) What blessed you the most from this week’s sermon?
2) By referring to the numbers on the chart, what kind of leader are you? (For example: I am a 1-2-8. I am a coach and visionary and transformational in my leadership style.)
3) The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:12 – “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
Every Christian has different personalities, gifts, talents, and dispositions. Every Christian has a role to play in their local church. How have you seen God use different people in your church?
4) The Bible refers to the church as “the body of Christ” many times in the New Testament, just as it does in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
For example, in Romans 12:4 - For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Another example is Colossians 1:18 - And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
If God wants us to view the church as the “body of Christ” and Jesus is the “head of the church” then how should we view our responsibilities in our church?
5) How is God using your leadership style in your life to do kingdom work or take responsibility in your local church?
6) Pastor Jason said, “There is no such thing as sacred work versus secular work. When you are serving God, all work is sacred.” What did he mean by that and how does it impact your life?
7) The Reformers, like Luther and Calvin, argued all work, secular/sacred, was a calling from God. Martin Luther taught that human work is part of God’s providential care of the world. Work not only cares for creation but directs and structures it. The purpose of work is to create a culture that honors God and enables people to thrive.
Everyone imagines accomplishing things, and everyone finds himself largely incapable of producing them. Everyone wants to be successful rather than forgotten, and everyone wants to make a difference in life. But that is beyond the control of any of us. If this life is all there is… everyone will be forgotten, nothing we do will make any difference, and all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught. Unless there is God. If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath this one, and this life is not the only life, then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God’s calling, can matter forever.
Your relationship with God is the most important foundation of your life, and indeed it keeps all the other factors – work, friendships, family, leisure, pleasure – from becoming so important to you that they become addicting and distorted.
Just as God equips Christians for building up the body of Christ, so he also equips all people with talents and gifts for various kinds of work, for the purpose of building up the human community. We are not to choose jobs and conduct our work to fulfill ourselves and accrue power, for being called by God to do something is empowering enough. We are to see work as a way of service to God and our neighbor, and so we should both choose and conduct our work in accordance to his purpose.
How, with my existing abilities, gifts, and opportunities, can I be of greatest service to other people, knowing that what I do can spread God’s glory in this world?
8) Pray for one another.