SERMON SEEDS ARCHIVES
1&2 KINGS
Through no fault of our own, about 5 years of Sermon Seeds was deleted from the Website of the First Baptist Church.
We decided that it was time to begin archiving them in a different way.
Please be patient as we gradually archive these outlines.
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1 KINGS 17:17-24 – UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
During a prophesied drought, God provided for the needs of Elijah the Prophet at the home of a poor widow (1 Kings 17:8-16). During this time tragedy struck and the widow’s son died. Elijah did not panic, give up, or ignore his responsibility. Instead, he got “Up close and personal” with the problem.
Elijah Accepted Responsibility – Vss. 17-19
He took the dead child out of the widow’s hands, brought him into his own room, and laid him on his own bed. There are times when God will move us to take responsibility through personal involvement.
Elijah Prayed Passionately – Vss. 20-22
Elijah knew that only God could rectify the problem. He prayed sincerely, passionately, and continually until the answer came. This was not the last time Elijah would prove himself to be a man of fervent prayer (1 Kings 18:41-46, James 5:16-18, Matthew 7:7-11).
Elijah Demonstrated Authenticity – Vss. 23-24
Elijah proved himself to be a man of God. One of several ways that we prove ourselves to be men and women of God is by our answered prayers (John 14:12-14).
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1 KINGS 18:1-18 – USEABLE!
There are Bible heroes that few people know about, but they have much to teach us. One such hero was Obadiah, a man who worked as the household steward for wicked King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. He was in charge of providing for the practical needs of the King’s household. He was not the Minor Prophet of the same name. In very troubled times he was very useable by God.
Elijah the Prophet had predicted a drought in 1 Kings 17:1 and then was commanded by God to hide. 3 ½ years later (James 5:17-18) it hadn’t rained and King Ahab was looking for Elijah! It was God’s time for him to reappear and Elijah is told to come out of hiding (Vss. 1-2). His first appearance in Israel was to Obadiah. From this brief story we learn much about him.
HE WAS GOD-FEARING – Vss. 3-4
“…Obadiah feared the Lord greatly…” – He showed his fear of the Lord when he protected 100 prophets who were being persecuted by Jezebel. Fearing the Lord is an important quality. Job 28:28, Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, Luke 12:4-4
HE WAS RESPONSIBLE – Vss. 3, 5-6
Obadiah had big job taking care of the needs of the King and an extended household. He was obviously trusted by Ahab and would not have such a job if he didn’t do it well. As Christians, we should do everything responsibly. Proverbs 13:4, Colossians 3:17, 23
HE WAS HUMAN – Vss. 7-14
Elijah appeared to Obadiah and told him to report to Ahab that Elijah was here. Obadiah panicked, knowing that Elijah could disappear and Ahab would blame Obadiah for letting him get away. We all have our moments of weakness, and this was one for Obadiah. Being human, he feared! There are times when our fears will get the best of us (They did for Elijah in 1 Kings 19.). That is when we turn to help from the Scripture and prayer. Psalms 27:1, 56:3, Proverbs 29:25, 1 Peter 5:8
HE WAS OBEDIENT – 15-18
After receiving reassurances from Elijah that God told him to appear to Ahab that day, Obadiah did as he was told. Though our humanity will show itself, we must in the end be obedient to God’s will. 1 Samuel 15:22-23, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 1:14
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1 KINGS 19:1-8 – A DEPRESSED PROPHET
If you read the story of Elijah the Prophet in 1 Kings 17-18, you see a great man of God at work in terrible Spiritual times! The climax of these chapters shows Elijah confronting false prophets, calling down fire from God out of Heaven, and praying to end a 3 ½ year drought. However, in 1 Kings 19:1-8 we see depression in the same great man of God. There are lessons here for all Christians.
RETALIATION – Vss. 1-2
When the wicked are defeated they will try to retaliate. After hearing of Elijah’s execution of all her prophets, wicked Queen Jezebel vowed to get even. It will be after some of our greatest victories as Christians that we find God’s enemy, Satan, coming after us. 1 Peter 5:8
RETREAT – Vs. 3
After facing the whole nation and a wicked King, Elijah runs away. Perhaps exhaustion had a lot to do with his fear.
RESIGNATION – Vs. 4
When we get discouraged we often want to quit! Elijah tried to hand in his resignation and was willing to die.
REST – Vs. 5
Elijah needed physical rest and God provided it. We need physical and Spiritual rest (Matthew 11:28-30, Philippians 4:6-7) when we are depressed.
REFRESHMENT – Vss. 6-8
Food was provided for Elijah to refresh himself for the journey ahead of him. We need the refreshment in God’s Word and by His Spirit in order to move forward after we have become depressed. Jeremiah 15:16
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1 KINGS 21 – TALE OF TREACHERY
Ahab and Jezebel were known for their idolatry and their evil deeds. One such evil deed was a scheme hatched against an innocent vineyard owner named Naboth.
A REFUSED OFFER – Vss. 1-3 – Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard as a vegetable garden, but Naboth had no desire to sell the family vineyard and refused.
AN IMMATURE KING – Vs. 4 – Ahab was an adult, but acted like a child. He pouted and refused to eat.
A CONNIVING WIFE – Vss. 5-10 – Jezebel discovered what was troubling Ahab and devised a plot to falsely accuse Naboth of blaspheming God and the King.
A GRAVE INJUSTICE – Vss. 11-16 – Naboth was falsely accused and stoned to death. Ahab went to claim the vineyard after the terrible deed had been completed.
A DIVINE MESSAGE – Vss. 17-19 – Elijah was sent by God with a message to Ahab that there would be retribution for the terrible act of injustice.
A PROPHETIC CONFRONTATION – Vss. 20-26 – Ahab was confronted by Elijah and told that evil would come upon him and his household.
A KING’S REPENTANCE – Vss. 27-29 – Ahab repented of his sin. God gave him a temporary reprieve.
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2 KINGS 4:32-37 – WHEN THE PROBLEM BECOMES MINE
There will be times in our lives when specific problems will be become our own responsibility with which to deal. Such was the case when a Shunammite woman deposited her dead son on Elisha’s bed in his “prophet’s chamber” (2 Kings 4:17-21). Elisha shows us how we can deal with the problems that become ours by the way he handled this problem which became his.
Before you teach the points of this sermon or lesson, you should summarize the story found in 2 Kings 4:8-31. Stress the fact that the woman was presenting her dead son as the prophet’s problem. Sometimes problems become ours because of no fault of our own.
PURUSE (SURVEY) THE PROBLEM – Vs. 32 – Elisha observed the problem for himself. The child was dead! We must also survey our problems and make sure we understand the problem as much as possible.
PICK (CHOOSE OR ACCEPT) THE PROBLEM AS YOUR OWN – Vs. 33 – When Elisha shut the door to the outside world he was indicating that he was accepting responsibility. He didn’t cause the problem, but he knew God wanted him to deal with it. Before God can use us to solve certain problems, we must realize that God is telling us to deal with them.
PRAY FOR GOD’S INTERVENTION – Vss. 33-34 – Elisha prayed and involved himself with the dead child. In this case, all Elisha could do was pray fervently. There will be times when God will direct you to take action (James 1:5-8). Other times, like Elisha, all you can do is pray!
PERSIST THROUGH THE PROBLEM – Vss. 34-35 – As Elisha prayed, the child became warm. There were signs that the problem would be solved. Notice that Elisha stayed with the problem until the child came totally back to life. Let us make sure that we do not give up on a problem too soon when we see slight improvement. Let us trust God for full victory.
PRESENT THE SOLUTION – Vss. 36-37 – Of course the child was presented alive to his mother. When we see God’s solutions to problems, we should share them with others and give God full credit!
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2 KINGS 5 – PEOPLE
The Story of Naaman tells us lots of things about people!
GREAT PEOPLE HAVE FLAWS – Vs. 1 – Naaman was great in the eyes of his master, but he had leprosy.
HUMBLE PEOPLE HAVE IMPACT – Vss. 2-5 – This poor little maid was rich in faith, and that changed things.
IMPORTANT PEOPLE PANIC – Vss. 6-7 – The King of Israel was terrified.
GOD’S PEOPLE ACT – Vss. 8-10 – Elisha came to the rescue by taking responsibility for Naaman’s healing.
PROUD PEOPLE REBEL – Vss. 11-12 – Naaman was too proud to wash in the Jordon River.
REASONABLE PEOPLE INTERVENE – Vs. 13 – Naaman’s servants were able to reason with their master.
HUMBLED PEOPLE ARE HEALED – Vss. 14-19A – Naaman was healed physically and Spiritually.
GREEDY PEOPLE DECEIVE – Vss. 19B-27 – Gehazi became rich by lying, but the penalty was permanent leprosy.
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