Please turn to Exodus chapter three for some of you again. Exodus in chapter three. And if you have another loose finger there, I want you to go to Isaiah also chapter six. I'd like for you to have both of those available so we can turn to them rather quickly. Exodus chapter three, Isaiah chapter six. While you're turning to those two passages, I'd like to say tonight that it trills me to see some of you beautiful people from Atlantic up to be with us. All I can say is you should have been with us last night. I perfectly understand that you went to your meeting, and I condoned that. I really appreciate that. But you know, I was easy on the Christians last night. I gave them a little bouquet and padded them on the back and done a few things, and then stabbed them a couple of times after that. But I really treated them rather nice, and we're going to have to get back. to the business at hand again tonight. Now, some of you couldn't make it to conference maybe, but we took up or I took up at the conference something of the subject of God sent men. And I used it as a springboard verse, if you know what I mean, in John chapter one and verse six, there was a man sent from God whose name was, and instead of saying John, I said Moses. because I wanted to take up about five different Bible characters that I believe you can see that they were truly men that were sent from God, men sent by God. And that's what I think we need today, men and women who are truly sent by God. And so I went into the life of Moses here in Exodus chapter three in particular, and I pointed out, and one of the closing things I want to read right now is verse four. Are you ready with me? Exodus chapter three and verse four. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. That's kind of where I stopped, more or less. I mentioned the rod, but I want you to now go a little further down to verse ten. Come now, therefore, and I will send thee. I mentioned in the life of Moses we can see a lot that we need to imitate. Big word is emulate. But for some of us who are from Texas, the better word is imitate. There are things in the lives of these men that, yes, we need to imitate. Paul could say, you follow after me in the things that you see of Christ in my life. Not just Paul, but Paul said, you follow that which is of Christ in my life. So it is as we look at these men sent from God and I believe sent by God. I've just read you the scripture proving that. Moses there in verse ten, it says, or the Lord says, Come now, therefore, and I will send thee. There's no doubt in my mind. This is the proof text that Moses was a man sent by God. So I can stand on that, you see. But as we look into the life of Moses, I may have painted a picture, and I hope I did, that in God's school it's not always easy. I mentioned that Moses went to God's school after he'd been in the school of the world or the school of Pharaoh or the school of so-called easy life in Pharaoh's palace, and that the main thing that a Christian needs to do is to be agreeable with God and go to God's school. Not so much to worry about man's school, but go to God's school. And I mentioned that I could see here in the account of Moses' life here in Exodus that the school God had for him was the school of the desert. You know, he went down and he led sheep, and not just in the desert, but on the back side of the desert. And there I believe Moses learned something in those forty years that he never learned, though he had all the wisdom, as it were, of the Egyptians. He was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. But you see, God had to more or less set that aside, even wash it out of him and put him in the school of the desert and the backside of the desert and put in something in him in the second forty years that Moses could not have served God without. I believe Moses could have done without the first forty years. I really believe that. I say he could have. Now God saw that he needed to be a well-rounded servant, so he gave him that too. But if you had to give up one, I'd give up the first, wouldn't you? And I'd rather, though it's painful, go to God's school because it was here and after this that God said, I will send thee. Some say, don't run unless you've been sent. I agree with that. I think that's most important. But maybe I begin to, what I'm getting at tonight in kind of a review, and I think this is important. Maybe I painted, now some of you are faint at this, but maybe I painted to Rosie a picture. Maybe I made you think that Moses was just absolutely perfect. And so therefore, if you're going to be a God sent person, you've got to first be perfect. Sometimes we build these Bible characters up because we don't read all of their history. We don't read the things that make them human just like you and I. You know, today Christians, I never want to give them an easy goal. I always want to set it, I believe, as God sets it, just as it were at the fingertip reach. God wants us to extend ourselves, stretch ourselves, to reach out. He doesn't want it put easy to hand. Makes a lazy Christian. But rather he wants us to set our goals for him, and he certainly sets our goals for him. so that we have to stretch out for God. We have to reach out for God. But as I gave the life of Moses, something that Ray Routley said from the platform made me think, hey, Glenn, maybe you have made Moses a little bit too rosy, a little bit too easy. Maybe you've made him appear to be the perfect man. There's only one Christ Jesus. I'll tell you that right now. There's only one perfect man. But you know what I mean? I don't want Christians to get so discouraged that they think, well, hey, what's the use? If you have to attain to perfection in this life, in this time, I just can't do it and just give up. Now, I don't want to discourage to the point that you give up. And, you know, misery loves company. And we like to know that, hey, those people were really human. Because if we look back in the Old Testament, not having known them firsthand, we might think these men were absolutely perfect. But turn on over in chapters, let's see. In fact, go to chapter four. Chapter four. And I'm going to read some verses to you that will let you see that Moses was the man of lack passions just as you and I are. But God still used him. Now, Christian, let me repeat that. Though Moses had a fault, though Moses had faults, God still used him. You know, if God was looking for someone without fault, Christ would be the only one he could use. Now that doesn't give us leeway or license for sin or to settle for second best or to come short. That's not what I'm saying. But I am saying we've got to live in the reality of this body of flesh And the old sin nature that's within it, because there's people in this world today that'll preach to you that you can eradicate or get rid of the old man, the old sin nature, that if you live holily enough, or if you try hard enough, or if you have faith enough, then suddenly one day your sin left. You want to know how to disprove that? Just give them a big old Texas stomp on their toe and watch what comes out of their mouth. You'll see sin comes out right quick. If not, you may pay for it with a black eye too. You'll find out they still sin. They still sin. But anyway, to the life of Moses, verse ten in chapter four. And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent. Hey, how many times do I hear that today? I'm not a preacher. I can't really preach. I don't have all the flowery words. Moses says, I am not eloquent, neither there hither tofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seen, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. Christian, I want to tell you something. Don't expect to be a preacher the first day. Don't expect to be a sent one, as it were, the first day. This is a lovely thing. I tell you, Moses had the promise of the omnipotent power of God. Moses had the promise, I would to God, that we would lay hold of here tonight. Because there in verse twelve, the Lord says, hey, I'll teach you what to say. Notice verse thirteen. And he said, O my Lord, sin I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt sin. You see, Moses was just a man. Here he is, standing on the verge of what he was attempting to do when he smoked the Egyptian and what God intended for him to do. But as he smoked the Egyptian in the heat of youth, so to speak, it was not God's time. And so God had to take him down into the desert. Here he's making another mistake. It's not the same mistake. He's a mature man, but he's now saying he's now too reticent. You know, we're like that pendulum swing of the clock. We never can seem to strike the middle and stay there very long. I'm either burning hot or freezing cold. I never seem to get just into the right situation and come down the middle of the road like God wants me to. But anyway, I want you to notice Moses was not super man. He had his fault. He said, I can't do that. Well, look at verse fourteen. I'll tell you something, Christian. Listen to this. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. And he said, is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? And now I'm going to have to stop there for the sake of time. All you Bible students know the story. Aaron was to be his mouthpiece. Grave mistake on Moses' part. Because what happened to the mouthpiece? He fabricated, that's a good word for my brother back here, McLaren, he fabricated a golden calf. You know, Moses should have been the spokesperson. Moses should have gone on and said, Yes, Lord, you said you'd teach me, and that's all I need to know. Come now, therefore, we read in verse ten of chapter three, and I will send thee. That's the important thing. Young men asked me about going out, quote, full-time, unquote, into the Lord's work. And I always tell them this, don't go unless you're sent. But don't stay if you are. But boy, what a vast, what a vast, tremendous question there is there. Are you sent of God? for you sin of God. Moses knew he was sin of God. God spoke to him directly. But I just wanted to point out here that Moses had his faults. We know later on when God told him, speak to the rock. Moses smote the rock that time. First time he was to strike the rock. You all know what that's a picture of. But the second time God told Moses, you speak to the rock. But Moses smote it. And he had to pay for that. He couldn't go into the land. He had to lay the body down at a hundred and twenty years when everything was functioning. So there are penalties, Christian, and I want you to understand that. But yet at the same time, when Moses stammered here and said, Oh, Lord, I'm not an eloquent man, and just kept on until God finally gave him a mouthpiece, did God say, Well, I won't use you, Moses. I just won't use you then. God's a God of great grace and mercy and patience. And he went ahead and used Moses in a mighty way. And I'm so glad he did. Because that leads me out of the valley of despair. You know, there have been times, I'll give you a story, and this really happened. It's not to me so you can really enjoy this. But there were two preachers, Gordon Rieger and, no, yeah, Gordon Rieger and Aubrey D'Landria. Maybe I shouldn't mention these names because some of these elder brethren will know these. Oh, I've already done it now. But anyway, I've done it. Oh, Aubrey D'Landria, he had been preaching. I believe it was either with Gordon Rieger or Tom McCullough. Don't hold me to that. But anyway, it was Aubrey D'Landria. And boy, he was preaching a way, you know, had been in the meetings. And so he went to the meeting that night, all steamed up. Aubrey D'Landria did. And he says, I'm going to let him have it. Boy, this is it. I'm really going. And he just blew it. He went up like a lion. I've done this so many times. But he went down like a lamb from the platform because he just blew it. He just busted it. He felt like he just let God down all the way. He went back to the little place, the room where they were staying. Aubrey Dillandria did. He touched his Bible. He threw it, which he never would have done. He threw it down on the bed. He began to weep. He fell across the bed. He says, I'll never say another word for God. I'll never say another word for God because he just felt so low and so down and so out. But you know, God spoke to him that night because he did reach back and pick up those scriptures and God spoke to him and God has used that man. So it's not your failures, Christian, but it's what you do with your failures that counts. We all fail God, but the greatest failure we can ever have is to quit. Simply quit. Quit coming to meeting. Quit doing this. Quit praying. and quit caring. You know, just don't quit caring. Some Christians have just simply quit caring, not only about themselves and God, so to speak, but about other Christians and so on. But Moses was used. I'm spending too much time on this, but I felt it's important because I also had to answer another question of a young lady who came up almost with tears in her eyes to me at the conference, and it had to do with this thing of being used of God, even though you make some mistakes. being used of God and not being perfect. And so therefore she knew she wasn't perfect. And she felt like I had stressed the point that with God only a hundred percent will do. Well, what I was saying is that's what God expects and deserves. But I didn't say he wouldn't use you if you came in the ninety nine and a half percent bracket. At least I hope I didn't say that. Maybe I need to listen to that tape. But anyway, I got it across to her and her face lit up and she began to smile and she went on her way. Well, I think that's the reason I felt constrained tonight to kind of lift you out of any doubt there that, no, you're not perfect and you won't be till you reach heaven. You won't be till you reach heaven. But that's not licensed to sin or to be halfway, but it gives us hope. And we see it in Moses' life here, don't we? He was not perfect. but he was a man sent from God. Turn now to that Isaiah passage very quickly. This is kind of a review and picking up some loose threads that you don't have time to do at a conference. You know, you don't have all the time in the world at a conference, so you have to kind of come back and I'm thankful to have a little opportunity here. In Isaiah, this was the second man sent from God that we looked at. We saw that he too had to go into God's school. But here's the school of the altar. The school of the altar. I'm not going to go back into that. But what I want you to notice is, in Moses' case, when he was before God at the burning bush, Moses said, Here am I. He presented himself, I said. That's whatever Christian needs to do. That wants to be sin of God. You've got to present yourself to God. But here in Isaiah, it thrills me. Isaiah went another step further. And I like this. Look at at verse eight of Isaiah chapter six. Then said I, here am I. Now that's as far as Moses went. But here Isaiah says, send me. Send me. There's a little addition here. There's a little something more. You know, this is why the servants of God compliment one another or should compliment one another. There should never be any jealousy amongst the servants of God because there's room for us all. Again, it's like a snowflake. God will use us. God will use you as Christians. Now, it's not just the preachers, but every one of your servants of God or should be. And every Christian here tonight should be the Son of God. You have that privilege. You need to present yourself like Moses did, realizing you're not perfect, but God will use you. And he'll teach you along the way. Don't worry about the gift. Just go to God. Say, here am I. Then go that step further, though, and be like Isaiah. And the thing that impressed me, Isaiah had to get a look at the altar. Isaiah had to get a real look at the Lord face to face there in verse one. He had to see the Lord in a heart way, in an inward way, we'd say today. And he did. And then from off the altar, he got that sly of coal. And notice it touched his lips. Moses says, I have stammering lips. And Isaiah had his lips purged. You know, it's not What goes into a man, the New Testament says, that defile us, but what is it? That which comes out. And sometimes our mouths are a wicked little thing, and we carry about a spewing acid behind this tongue that seems to flow out of the mouth, and that's wrong. We need a little purging there. But the thing I want you to notice here is the compliment that God has in these two men. Moses, here am I. Isaiah, here am I, send me. Be prepared to not only present yourself, but to go. I want you to notice something else in verse nine. We're going a little further now in the life of Isaiah, this man sent from God and sent by God. Notice in verse nine, this is God speaking to Isaiah. And he said, go and tell. Every Christian has a message. Every Christian has a message because I believe that God intends to send every child of His. Now, I told you at the conference, I was speaking in the realm of public platform gift in particular when I said men sent from God. But now I'm telling you tonight, that's not the end of the story. That's the tip of the iceberg. God is sending every one of you or you'd be in heaven. I believe that when God saved you, He saved you for service, that only you can really perform to its fullest. And if you were not to perform anything, you'd have gone home to heaven when you were first saved. But every one of us can do this. I believe this is a commission to all of us. Go and tell. Now here is something else in verse nine. And he said, go and tell this people, hear you indeed. In other words, I'm not going to take the time, but God gave the message. If you're in touch with God, if you have a little touch of the altar, if you've presented yourself, here am I, send me if you're willing to go. Not just present yourself and say, now Lord, I'm ready for all the goodies. You just start giving, you know. That's kind of where we stopped with Moses. But Isaiah says, send me. Let me go. And God says, okay, go and tell. You know, you need Christian we need to go but not just be mute we need to go and tell but not we're not left at our own charge if you know what I mean as to what to say that's when we get into trouble if we go and we tell what we want to tell but God has a message for us and he'll give it to us if we're willing to hear if we're really willing to hear Because if you notice in verse eight, the Trinity was speaking and the Trinity is brought out there. The Trinity was speaking because it says there also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? Trinity. The Godhead acting in unity here. But you notice when God asked the question, he didn't turn and say, how about you, Isaiah? No, he waited for that willing offering, that willing response. Here am I. send me then God says okay go and tell and here's the message God has given us a message and sometimes it's simple and yet profound simple and yet profound you know there's nothing startling about what God tells Isaiah to do here but I'll tell you something if you ever tried to go and tell a hard-necked stiff-necked gainsaying wayward people what they needed to hear That's not too easy. Now I could go and I could say, Bless you all, and rise as we sing, and you're beautiful people, and go into a political message or something, and you could just go away not stirred at all. But if I came into you and I said, You're all a bunch of rotten sinners. You're all undone. Your righteousness is, or is filthy right? Well, boy, there'd be a lot of sparks flying. So it's not an easy message, but it is the message of God. and God will give it to us. Okay, I want you to turn back in your Bibles now to First Kings chapter seventeen. First Kings in chapter seventeen. Moses, God's school was the backside of the desert. Isaiah, the school was the altar. It brought the right response though from both men. Though they went to different classes as it were, they both came out with the right response. They came to God and offered themselves to him. Chapter seventeen of First King. I tell you, I never cease to read these verses that it doesn't just startle me, and I'll tell you why when we read them. But anyway, verse one. And Elijah the Tishbide, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook, Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did, according to the word of the Lord. For he went and dwelt by the brook, Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening. and he drank of the brook. Amazing. Do you know anything about Elijah before this? Kind of reminds me of John the Baptist, except we know something about the early years of John the Baptist. But verse one, it seems as if he's catapulted by a bolt of lightning and where is he? I believe he's in Ahab's court. He's speaking to the king. Where does the king usually reside and receive visitors? In the court. in the palace. How can you imagine this old gnarled fellow? And that's the way I look at it. Elijah just suddenly, as if he just appeared in the midst of the court and standing before Ahab, he just blazed it on him. But you know something I see from the words here? It says in Elijah the Tishbite who was of the inhabitants of Gilead. The inhabitants of Gilead. And that word Gilead, the name means, I think, something to do with multiple witness or a hill of witness. It tells me a little something about perhaps his background. Elijah was a man who was determined to witness. That's his background. He comes from the hill of witness. Also, Gilead, do you know something about Gilead? You think of an old Elijah being awful rough and crude and slashing and whacking. You know, he slew four hundred and fifty prophets. That's a pretty good day's work. You tried sometime. Try slaying four hundred and fifty prophets. Pretty good day's work. So we think of him as being really tough and rough. But you know, one of the things that Gilead was the most famous for also, there was a bomb. You read in Jeremiah chapter eight and about verse twenty and you'll it says is there no bomb in gilead is there no physician well i'm told by historians and bible scholars and all those good people that in the day that uh that elijah lived and even before gilead was famous for its ointment or sav you might call it whichever and that when people had a hurt or something if they could if there was any way possible they'd bear any to get the bomb or the salve or the ointment that came from Gilead. So there was healing in Gilead. There was something there. It kind of tells me, at least let me suggest to you, would you do that? I won't be dogmatic about this, but let me suggest to you that maybe though he just seems to be catapulted upon the scene in full maturity of years, this Elijah, but yet maybe in these little words we find something that had been occurring in his background the hill of witness Gilead means also the bomb came from there I believe Elijah knew both how to be rough and how to be soft with God's people you know that's pretty good news to know that there's a time to use the this pretty young lady she'll get excited but there's a time to spank and there's a time to love you know we don't like to spank our spank our children maybe but I did used to spank my children I didn't like it but I used to spank them because I love them and so forth. So there is a time for correction, but there is a time to apply a little balm to a little ointment and to love them in such a way as to let them know that that's not the end of the world. Anyway, that's a suggestion, just a suggestion I thought I'd throw out quickly here. But again, in verse one, we do see something that tells us about the character and where Elijah got some of his strength. As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand. What does that tell you about Elijah? He's been in the presence of God. And he knew something of a personal nature about God. Because you don't stand before a king unless you've been allowed or let in or called in or drawn in by the king himself. To go, you know, I like to think that he knew something about God that maybe we're missing today. And you know something else? He stood. It says, before whom, speaking of the Lord, before whom I stand. How many of you would dare stand in the presence of dignity, a king or a queen? Well, the first thing they'd tell you when they brought you in, before you ever saw the king or queen, they'd tell you, you do not look directly up into the eyes at first. You come forward in more of a humble position. and then for the man you bow for the woman you know how she bow you come with with with that respect and you don't just stand as it were until you're told to come forward or told to rise up but here we find that Elijah must have had a real acquaintance with God that I'd like to have because he stood in his presence he says before whom I stand tells me something about Elijah this man sent from God had been in God's presence. You'll find this is true with all of them. Didn't we say Moses, as it were, saw God in the burning bush. He stood in the presence of the Holy One. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up. He was in the throne room. He saw God on his throne, the majesty. Here we find Elijah standing before the Almighty God. And that's how he was able to say in in verse one, that there shall not be dune or rain these years, but according to my word. He had God's promise on that. He'd already been told of God what to say. Notice verse two, though, something that we need to learn. And the word of the Lord came unto him saying, Now he's done his duty, but he's not out of school. He'd stood before the Lord at a time previous. But now God speaks to him again in the circumstances where he finds himself. You know, some of us can get alone in the closet and we do well with God. But when we're out in action, when we're out in the heat of the battle, I wonder, can we hear the voice of the Lord then? Have we been in his word so that God is able to speak to us? Because that's how he speaks today. He spoke, I believe, audibly, at least in some manner, to Elijah in that day. But he doesn't speak that way today because we have his word. But you know, we've got to be acquainted with this word so that when we're in the heat of the battle, we stand before in Ahab and we say, it's not going to rain for these many years. You know, that's a dangerous message. That cuts off the wealth of a king when the crops don't come in. You farmers think you've got bad times. When the king doesn't get it, off go ahead. And so it is that we find, oh, that it says, and the word of the Lord came unto him saying, Elijah heard what God had to say. And, okay, the thing that I'm going to have to rush on to here is verse three. Get the hints and turn the eastward. God has explicit directions if we're willing to listen. Never doubt that God will tell you where to go and what to do, but it'll be in God's time. If I'd have been Elijah, I'd have said, now, Lord, I've been standing before you. You're fixing to send me to Ahab. I'm going to go to the court, but I want to know the way out. Now, I want to know, am I going to escape? Now, Lord, you told me to go to the court, that's fine. But am I going to get out? You know, hey, that'd be kind of interesting. He had no guarantee, apparently, that when he went to the court, you know what I would have expected they had to do? Decapitation right there. If you walk up and tell a king something ugly like that, I wonder how he escaped. I wonder how he got out of the bright lights of the court in the throne room or wherever it was after delivering such a horrible message. Well, there must have been guards all around Ahab. Must have been soldiers all around. I know you may call this conjecture, but listen to me. He did get out. But he had no promise of that when he went. Sometimes we as Christians want God to tell us, well, everything's going to be hunky-dory. You may have a little trouble now, but you'll come out on the other side. Well, we know we're going to get to heaven. But that's not the point here. Elijah went into the throne room and he didn't know he was going to come out alive. But you know something, I don't believe he cared. He loved God. He says, Lord, I'll pay the price if it's the ultimate. We as Christians, sometimes we don't do that. We'll say, Lord, I will if. That is not God's language. You can't say, Lord, I will if. Lord, here am I, send me. And that's the full question. But Elijah, you know, he gets out there in verse three. God tells him, get these hints and turn the eastward direction. Always eastward. I love the east. That's ever towards the rising of the SON. The rising of the SON. That's how he's going to enter the temple in a coming day. He's going to go through the eastern gate that's now all chugged up. He's going to come through the eastern gate because he's God. And he'll do what he says. But here it says, get thee hence and turn thee eastward and hide thyself by the brook Cherith. Now, we don't know what that word Cherith, or at least I don't, what the definition of the word really is. We think it may mean gorge. You know what gorge is? That's a kind of a deep ravine that maybe a river has cut out. We think maybe that's what that name Cherith here or Cherith really means. But anyway, let me suggest that to you because it goes on and it says that is before Jordan and Jordan speaks of death. That's being between a rock and a hard place for a servant of God, for a child of God, for a Christian, isn't it? To have done service for God, didn't know where you're going to get out, but suddenly God in a miraculous way does deliver you. You come out, but he says, okay, you're going to go down in the gorge and you're going to face death. That's pretty tough. Just got out of one frying pan and I'm in the fire for God. But you know, God, works that away sometimes, but remember, it's God who's giving the directions. Old Elijah follows them because verse five tells me, so he went and did. I think that should be the Magna Carta of the Christian life. So he, so she, went and did. In other words, I think that ought to be the normal routine. The normal standard should be when God speaks, so he, so she went and did. and did. Isn't that beautiful? You know, I'm flowery with my words, aren't I? Because I seem to be preaching to you. But this is real. This is real. This will work for any Christian at any time if they're willing to go to God's school and to follow through and go and do. Well, I'm going to go on here. Notice, well, let's read verse five again. So he went and did a carting. unto the word of the Lord. What a message there. For he went and dwelt by the brook, Sheriff, that is before Jordan. Notice, and the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook. I'm going to say that Elijah went to the brook school, the God's brook school. See how different it was with Elijah, Moses to the backside of the desert school, Isaiah to the altar school. Now we have Elijah to the book school. But, hey, verse six has a very astounding fact in it. Number one, for the Jewish mind a raven was a dirty bird. You know, there were clean birds and there were dirty birds to the Jewish religion. Raven was a dirty bird. God uses this. You know, God uses circumstances and things to perform his will. God is not bound by these religious scores. God is sovereign and he can and he will use what he wants to use. So he used an old dirty bird. I don't hear Elijah saying, oh, you're not going to feed me that way, Lord. You're not going to do that, Lord. I'm not going to go down there with those heathen, Lord, and speak the gospel to them, Lord. They're dirty people. No, he goes right on. And so the old raven, you know, do you remember what happened when the ark was floating around? What did Noah send out? Well, he sent out some birds and things, and you know what I believe the raven that went out didn't come back. You know why? I believe he found his home in the rotting carcasses that were floating around. He was perfectly at home in the dirty situation in a dirty world. but the dove came back. Christians, we don't want to be a part of the world, but we've got to sometimes go out there into the world. The dove went out, but he didn't find its rest and home in the putifying bodies that was floating around in that old flood. Just a little something I want to throw in, because now I'm going to be closing with this and let you out a little early tonight, so you'll come back tomorrow night. But verse six, and the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread in the evening. What would you expect an old dirty bird to do with bread and flesh. Eat it. Quite simple. Eat it. That's what you'd expect. But you see, God can turn these things around and use these. God will provide is the point I'm getting at. Now we hear about the so-called full-time workers going out by faith, knowing God will provide. I want to tell you, this is for every Christian. God will provide. Sometimes he does it in the strangest ways. But if God tells you to go down and sit by the brook and that some old dirty birds are going to come along and feed you, you go sit down by the brook. And I guarantee you, the raven will come along and he'll feed you and he doesn't eat the food himself. God will make provision for his people. Let me give you a true story. There was a preacher, an old-timey, old-time preacher. And In those days, they didn't always have the money to even ride the train. So this preacher was, he was a gospel preacher. He was an evangelist, and he was going from little town to little town, preaching the gospel, just preaching his heart out, telling them about the love of God for their soul, how the Lord died for them. So he'd been going, he'd been preaching all day long. He just didn't preach once. He preached all day long. He'd go to a town. So he was walking down the railroad tracks, didn't have the money. In fact, he didn't have a fathering. He didn't have a penny, we'd say. He didn't have anything with the clothes on his back and the Bible in his hand. So he was walking down the railroad track because that's about the shortest distance to the next town where he was going to preach the gospel. But you know he hadn't eaten in several days. Suddenly it dawned on and he hadn't eaten in two or three days and he was extremely hungry and so hungry he was even weak. It was approaching the noon hour of this particular day and it was just really about out on his feet. he's walking along he came to a trestle you know what the you boys know what a trestle is that's a bridge that goes over a little creek you know it's a bridge it's sometimes called a trestle but anyway this old preacher he says it's hot so he walked off of this trestle and down underneath it we'll call it a bridge okay he walked off this bridge and he came down under the bridge he got back under where it was cool you know the sun couldn't hit him he sat down he was wiping his head And he said, Lord, you know I'm hungry. And Lord, you know, you've promised. He just bowed his head. And Lord, you know, you've promised to meet my needs. And I have a real need. At the time he heard a little Russell beside him and he raised up and looked around and there was an old hound dog. But in his mouth this hound dog had a brown paper bag. The preacher couldn't figure out, and that dog just stood there and looked at him and that bag in his mouth. So the preacher reached out and he took the brown paper bag, brought it over, and man, it felt warm. He opened it up, and oh, it was a heavenly aroma. Fried chicken. You know how preachers like chicken? Fried chicken, and it was hot. Well, he looked around. There wasn't a farmhouse or anything in sight. And he looked back and the dog was gone. Now if you were a dog, what would you have done with a brown paper bag full of hot chicken? You'd eaten it. But you see, God had his messenger in a very strange form that dear old saint of God bowed his head, thanked the almighty in heaven above, ate his chicken, went on and preached Christ in the next town. God has his way of provision if we're about his business. That's what I'm trying to tell you here. Elijah went on to the brook school of God. He went on about the business of God. He did what God said. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He didn't question God. He went on and did what God wanted him to do. He was serving the Lord as this old preacher was. He went about it. And you know something? A dirty old bird came every morning and every evening and fed him. And he drank from the brook. I'll tell you, the God we know. is a mighty God but he's a loving God and he's a providing God don't tell me we know what it is to be to the last father don't we all of us here we know what it is to be to the last one God if he chooses can bring glory from heaven whatever he chooses providing we're walking in his way you know that's when God has committed himself, them that honor me, I will honor. If we keep that in mind, then let the days come and the days go. The raven will be there when he's needed. The brook will be there until it's ready to dry up. We don't have time to go into that. There was a time, and we read it in verse seven, and it says, and it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up. Sometimes the brook has to dry up to move us along. You understand what I'm saying? Sometimes we become very satisfied to have bread and flesh in the morning, bread and flesh in the evening, and we keep saying, oh Lord, you know I'm going to serve you. God, you know I'm about to do it. I'm going tomorrow, Lord. I really feel it coming on. I know the call is there, and tomorrow, Lord, right after breakfast, right after the bread and flesh in the morning, I'm going to go serve you, Lord. But you know, you get to bread and flesh in the morning, and it kind of looks like a hot day, so you say, well, I'll wait till this evening. Well, the evening comes, you get your bread and flesh, and you say, well, it's too dark now. I'll wait till the morning. I'll go serve the Lord.