OUR HIDING PLACE

1 Kings 17:1-7

In these verses, the prophet Elijah prophesies a drought during the reign of King Ahab of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. The Lord then led him to a brook-- Cherith. The exact location of this brook is unknown. It was a  hiding place for Elijah. It was also  interesting to note that the meaning of this name is to cut or to covenant. In Genesis 15 we read about the first blood covenant that God made with Abraham. I like the word covenant. It means a cutting, a shedding of blood, the death of something. God's covenant with us involved the shedding of blood, the death of someone-- Jesus Christ. It took the death of Jesus to give us life! Think about it! In turn- we are to die to Christ! We don't literally die or shed blood, but our old life is dead and we are alive to Christ.

Getting back to our "hiding place"~~ our hiding place is a covenant between us and God. We have ended our lives for the sake of establishing a new life in God through the blood of Jesus Christ. Just as God led Elijah to the brook Cherith- a hiding place--which means covenant- so God leads us to our hiding place. It is simply a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ.

At the brook Cherith- Elijah found protection and security. He also found nourishment. The ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day. The ravens were actually considered unclean animals, and yet, here they were- providing food for Elijah. God revealed Himself to Elijah here as "Jehovah Jireh"  "My Provider"- the Lord will provide.

In our hiding place, God will provide security and nourishment to His children. I believe that if necessary God will provide food, safety and shelter for His people in the coming days. If God desires that the Church goes through any or all of the tribulation- He will provide. Whatever your view is on this topic, you must confess that God will take care of His own. He did it all through the Old and New Testament and He will do it today and tomorrow- today is just an extension of the New Testament- it is still being written! He has never stopped providing and protecting His own.

How do we get into this hiding place- this place of safety? John 10:7,9 states that Jesus Christ is the Door. There was only one door in Noah's ark, and their is only one door into the spiritual ark- and that door is Jesus Christ! John 14:6-- "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" He is our salvation, not just a law but a RELATIONSHIP. The door of our homes is just the entrance into the place where we live. And Jesus Christ is the door into the entrance of the place where God lives. It is just the beginning. Many stop at salvation- they never go any further into a life filled with the power and love of Jesus Christ brought by the Holy Spirit. We must go all the way through the door into the very presence of God! This is our hiding place~ ~ our RELATIONSHIP with Christ. When two people get married- their wedding is just the beginning~ the door so to speak. There is so much more living to do after the wedding ceremony. That is why many marriages end in divorce, because they never established a real relationship with each other. They only stayed at the door.

Our hiding place-it begins with a covenant with Jesus Christ. In it there is protection, security, provision. It is a place prepared by God. God prepared that place for Elijah- there was a brook there where he could get water and God brought ravens to feed him. God prepared it for him. Then God sent Elijah to a widow in Zarephath--1 Kings 17:9 "...See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." He then left the brook Cherith and went to Zarephath and after the widow provided for him, Elijah brought forth a miracle for her and later healed her child. He  allowed what God had done for him to flow out of him to others.

Out of this hiding place- this relationship with Christ- there will be an outflow of love and compassion to others who are not there yet. The body of Christ must have compassion to those who are hurting, those who have backslid into sin, those who have never known the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. We are not an island and can not live without having an outflow of the love and compassion that Christ brought to us. We must let that flow back out of us or it becomes stagnant and putrid. I have been around Christians who do not allow the love of Jesus Christ to flow back out of them to others, and their lives become very putrid. They stink! They smell like water that has been standing for days! All they think about is themselves and what they can get from God, never considering their neighbor. We must allow His spirit to flow back out of us to reach the lost of the world, to reach out to those who are hurting. In return, the Lord will continue to fill us up with even more love and compasson for others. It will be like a well that never runs dry!

Our hiding place-- Jesus Christ. It is time that the Church truly find their hiding place in Jesus Christ. It will provide safety and provision in the dark days to come and also will provide an ever increasing flow of the love of Jesus Christ to reach a lost and dieing world. When we live in this hiding place, others will see the light and love Jesus Christ flowing out from us and will want to know the reason why. We will have the answer for them.

Our hiding place-- Jesus Christ- find it- get in it- maintain the covenant with Him and allow Him to use you to bring others to Christ.