I believe we are still living in the day of the “superstar.” We have been for some time now. The larger the splash you can make in this world, the more important, impressive, and irreplaceable you are thought to be. I believe that attitude exists among many preachers as well as often among people in general, and (I’ll say it) among many church members in particular. Some enjoy having a “big name” and “being out front.” I believe that attitude even exists among some preachers in our associated work. There is only one way I have found to be “big” in the ministry, and that is to eat a little bit of everything (especially desserts) that our ladies bring to a fellowship. In our text verses Paul is talking about the kind of people God uses. Look again at vv. 27-28: “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are . . . ” That is not very complimentary is it? It certainly isn’t to this modern generation. "Foolish" means dull, slow, silly, absurd, moronic. Those who will put Christ first in their lives and serve Him first are seen as foolish, even moronic by the world. Look at what Paul said in I Corinthians 4:10: “We are fools for Christ’s sake . . . ” He did not say we act foolish (like some do today), but we are considered fools by the world “for Christ’s sake.” "Weak" means without strength, strengthless, feeble, needing power. Even in the eyes of the “religious” world we may be considered weak. These very Corinthians considered Paul to be weak. Again, in I Corinthians 4:10 he says, “. . . we are weak, but ye are strong . . . ” "Base" literally means to be without kin; of no family reputation; low-born; vile. And Despised refers to being set at nought; treated as contemptible; to make utterly nothing of. These two words describe how this world and this world’s system think of those who follow Christ. Here is how Paul put it in I Corinthians 4:10, “. . . ye are honourable, but we are despised.” (Many of the believers in Corinth had figured out how to be acceptable to the world.) And why does God use the foolish, the weak, the base, and the despised? I Corinthians 1:29: “That no flesh should glory in his (God’s) presence.” God has to bring us to the point that we realize that we have nothing to offer Him before He can really use us. Now, let’s turn to I Kings 17. We are going to go back and look at a man we looked at a few years ago. He is one of my favorite personalities in the Old Testament. He is a man of whom I have said I would like to be. His name is Elijah. It has been suggested that Elijah had an ego, and maybe he did. Look at what he said to Ahab in vs. 1: “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.” He even felt like he was the only one standing for God. In I Kings 19:14, he told God “. . . I, even I only, am left . . . ” He was saying, “I am the only one that cares about standing for You, Lord!” Before Elijah could be used greatly of God in the chapters that follow, he is going to have to learn some hard lessons. He had to attend God’s seminary, and God is about to teach him the following three, that he is a . . .

I. A DRY DITCH - I KINGS 17:1-7. (SPEAKS OF OUR PREPARATION) (LESSON #1)

II. AN EMPTY BARREL - I KINGS 17:8-16. (SPEAKS OF GOD’S PROVISION) (LESSON #2)

III. A DEAD BODY - I KINGS 17:17-24. (SPEAKS OF GOD’S POWER) (LESSON #3)