When Words Equal Power

3rd Sunday after Pentecost, 6/5/16
1 Kings 17:17-24


When Words Equal Power
I. God’s word is power over death
II. God’s word is power for life


Talk is cheap. People can and do say all sorts of things about what they will do, but until we actually see them do it, we’re skeptical. That’s because life is full of unrealized intentions and promises.

It happens daily in the workplace. You were told that one thing or another would happen by a certain date. The person responsible assured you everything would take place on time. But as the deadline drew closer, you could see it would take a miracle for the person to deliver as promised. And sure enough, once again their intentions and promises remained just that. Just words.

Even more unfortunate, the same thing happens in our close relationships with others, even family members. We thought we had an understanding. This is what our loved one said they intended to do. But it didn’t happen. There were extenuating circumstances that prevented them from fulfilling their intentions and they let you down. When it happens repeatedly, the future of that relationship is in dire jeopardy.

But that’s the way it is with us. We can have the deepest desire to accomplish what we state we will do, but we can’t control everything in our lives. We want to accomplish our stated intentions, but at times we lack the power to carry them out.

But there is one relationship in your life in which what the person states will happen always occurs. That’s because this person not only sees the future with absolute clarity, he also has unlimited power to carry out his intentions and promises. And that one person is your God. When our God states what he will do, he always carries it out. His words equal power.

We have an example of that very thing in the account before us this morning. God’s prophet, Elijah, had a woman’s personal crisis at hand—the sudden death of her son. Elijah dealt with that crisis using the word of God. It’s another example of when words equal power.

Part I.

The field of science is dedicated to observing cause and effect. But you don’t have to wear the title of a scientist to engage in it. Every one of you do it every day. You feel a sudden pain for the first time and you wonder what caused it. You wake up in the morning with stiffness in your arms and back, and then you recall the hours of digging and lifting that you did the previous day. Your laptop isn’t working as quickly as it used to. You wonder what caused it.

As I mentioned a minute ago, the woman in today’s sermon text had a personal crisis on her hands. “The son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.” We don’t have an indication of how quickly the illness caused his death, but it doesn’t sound like it took a long time. We know from previous information that this woman was a widow. Since this woman repeatedly refers to herself and her son, it’s safe to assume they only had each other. In biblical times, this woman’s future was entirely dependent on her son. As soon as he became old enough to support the two of them, she would be dependent on him for all necessities. But he never reached that point in his life. He was dead and the reality of this tragedy quickly sunk in.

In her grief, she tried to make some sense of it all. Cause and effect. And she starts observing out loud, attempting to label Elijah as the cause, or at least an accomplice. She states, “What do you have against me, man of God?” Literally, the Hebrew reads, “What do I have to do with you?” Paraphrased, she said, “Why did I ever let you into my house?” Either way you go, her point is that her son would have been still living if it weren’t for the presence of Elijah.

And her follow-up question indicated what she was really thinking. “Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” That translation of the Hebrew is without question. She connects Elijah, whom she knows to be a man of God, with a heightened realization of her sin. Perhaps she had concluded that her sins had previously gone unnoticed by God, that she was flying under God’s sin radar. But now that Elijah is staying with her in her house, God’s vision is trained on her home and he’s fully aware of this woman’s spiritual short-comings. As misguided as her thinking was, she was right about one thing—sin causes death.

Sin causes death. For all the death certificates that read “natural causes,” we know that the root cause is sin. For all the death certificates that pinpoint some medical condition as the cause, we know the root cause is sin. Without sin, there would be no death. Other than the two men we know of from the Bible, the death rate has always remained the same—one per person. Death is an awesome power!

But it’s no match for the power of God’s word. We read, “Then [Elijah] stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, ‘O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’ The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.” This is the first time that Scripture records a resurrection. The Lord listened to Elijah’s prayer and then issued an unspoken command. The God who called all things into being during the six days of creation by simply saying, “Let there be,” now silently called for life to return to this son of a widow who was providing for Elijah. When God speaks—even when he thinks—things happen.

When words equal power. God’s word has power over death.

Our God must be frustrated, very frustrated. And not just with some Christians, but with every Christian. He must be frustrated because he has chosen to communicate with us via his word. His word is truth. His word proclaims his will and his saving activity which perfectly matches that will. With our God there are no ifs or maybes. What he proclaims always happens. But what is our reaction? We either don’t listen, or we don’t obey, or we don’t believe what he says to be true. God must be frustrated, very frustrated. And then, when we come to our spiritual senses and confess that we have despised his word, he announces our forgiveness, but again, we have trouble believing him. Guilt gnaws us night and day. But God doesn’t ditch his plan of dealing with us via his word. He sticks with his word. Why? Because that word has power, even power over death. To sinners weighed down with sin and guilt, he continues to announce his grace in Christ. He gives us what we don’t deserve—forgiveness won on the cross when Jesus took our sin and guilt on himself. And then he rose from the dead because that’s what he said he would do. What’s more, he has promised we, too, shall rise. And because he said it, that’s what will happen—our glorious resurrection from the dead on the Last Day. God promises it. When words equal power.

Part II.

It’s never happened to me, but some of you have had the following experience. You’re going about your day, taking things as they come along, when you meet someone. You strike up a conversation and, in the course of that conversation, this person makes you an offer that you can’t refuse. You give it a little bit of thought and decide to accept. And your life hasn’t been the same since.

That’s the story of this woman and her son. This, however, was no chance happening. It was all planned out by the only true God. There was a famine in the land of Israel due to drought, and the Lord directed Elijah to go to this widow who lived in a foreign city where the vile idol Baal was worshipped. Elijah listen and obeyed.

The Lord used a miracle to sustain this woman, her son, and their new house-guest, Elijah. But their connection was more than just having enough food. No doubt, Elijah shared the Bread of Life—the promised Savior of the world—with this woman. And that powerful word did its work. The woman uttered this beautiful confession of faith, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.” Yes, witnessing the miracle of the resurrection of her son did much to convince her, but that miracle didn’t work faith in her heart. The word of God, which Elijah spoke to her, did. And her life hasn’t been the same since. If this woman died in faith in the only true God, then her life has been changed eternally. She’s living with her Savior in heaven.

That same powerful word has changed your life. I know better than to say you used to worship a vile idol, such as Baal, but you and I came into this world just as spiritually dead as this widow was prior to meeting Elijah and hearing him proclaim the word of salvation to her. In fact, your life changed eternally when the Holy Spirit brought you to faith in Jesus. And now that Spirit uses his word and sacrament to keep you in that saving faith. But there are times in our lives when that just doesn’t seem like it’s enough. We get frustrated with our lives and look for the Lord to work some changes. We’re not happy with our relationships and we want the Lord to step in and adjust them. We struggle with health and financial issues, impatiently waiting on the Lord to solve both, just so that we can enjoy life a little. Those changes in our lives and whatever else you’re hoping for might happen, but there’s no divine guarantee. The only guarantee you have is life with your God forever. That’s what the death and resurrection of Jesus were all about. Sure he performed great miracles to help thousands of people while he was on this earth, but all of them pointed to one thing—himself as the only Savior from sin. By God’s grace and power, he has convinced you of that very truth, all through the power of his word. Cherish that word! Take your God at his word! See its power in your life! Amen.