1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:05,000 First Kings Chapter 19. We are cracking open a fresh 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:13,640 chapter in our study of kings, and once you arrive there, we're 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,160 going to read together and the framework of our study is going 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:19,800 to be the first 8 verses of First Kings 19. 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,320 Are you there with me? Let's read beginning in verse 6 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:30,280 one. Ahab told Jezebel all that 7 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:34,960 Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,760 sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to 9 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,800 Elijah saying, So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do 10 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,280 not make your life as the life of one of them by this time 11 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:52,080 tomorrow. Then he was afraid, and he arose 12 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,640 and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to 13 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,600 Judah, and left his servant there. 14 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,680 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and 15 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,400 came and sat down under a broom tree. 16 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:12,080 And he asked that he might die, saying, It is enough now, Oh 17 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:17,800 Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my father's. 18 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,000 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. 19 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:27,520 And behold an Angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat. 20 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:33,200 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on 21 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,520 hot stones, and a jar of water. And he ate and drank, and lay 22 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,240 down again. And the Angel of the Lord came 23 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,840 again a second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, 24 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:46,360 for the journey is too great for you. 25 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:52,320 And you arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that 26 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:57,720 food. 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mount of God. 27 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:04,160 Lord, as we sang, we now pray. May the spirit of holiness 28 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,600 descend upon us. And we ask, Lord, that these 29 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,240 truths that we will study together would genuinely 30 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:18,040 experientially fortify our faith and that we would sense a wisdom 31 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,960 imparted, a joy erupting. Lord, that we would leave here, 32 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,760 as we've prayed already, a changed people, so may the 33 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,440 hammer of the Word, may the fire of the Word, may the water of 34 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,560 the Word do what only the Word can do in our lives. 35 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,560 Or we even give what may be a stubborn heart tonight. 36 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,320 And we ask that you deal with it accordingly. 37 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,080 Lord, we need Your help and we know that our help is in Your 38 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,240 Word. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. 39 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,200 Let me remind you of what James told us in the 5th chapter of 40 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,160 his epistle concerning this man who's been the object of our 41 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,240 study the past few weeks. We were told there in James 5/17 42 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:03,320 that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and we may be 43 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:09,040 grateful for a commentary about such a superb servant of God. 44 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,080 It grounds him, does it not, to know that he was human, because 45 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:16,280 it doesn't seem human. And though that is an anchoring 46 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,840 statement about this man, you can still be a person who fails 47 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:25,360 to relate to him, especially after carefully studying him 48 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:27,280 like we have been in the past few weeks. 49 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,040 Why? Because up to this point, what 50 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,000 we've discovered about Elijah that he almost has like this 51 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,920 flawless track record and his obedience and his servants 52 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:43,280 service and his faith and his courage almost feels like it 53 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:49,040 towers in comparison to what may be fragmented and inconsistent 54 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,520 on our part concerning our devotion to the Lord. 55 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,680 But listen, anytime you encounter any person of the 56 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,680 Scripture, especially if they're exemplary in their faith, that 57 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,760 is not meant to discourage you. That is not meant to cause you 58 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,640 to feel deflated. It's the opposite. 59 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:10,520 God preserves such testimonies to invigorate you and to inspire 60 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:15,040 you and to cause you to see that God has provided us real people 61 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,959 to show us. Yes, they might be unique in 62 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:20,200 terms of where they are placed in redemptive history and their 63 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:24,040 gifting and their callings, but that the general reality of 64 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,240 faithfulness is possible. So if it's possible for them, 65 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,560 surely it's possible for me. I can pursue and secure greater 66 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:35,400 holiness and godliness and joy and witness and devotion to the 67 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:37,800 Lord. But from time to time, you know 68 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,280 also the Bible does you know it very well because your students 69 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:42,800 with the word of God, the Holy Spirit will give us a more 70 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,400 complete profile of some of these champions of the faith. 71 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:52,320 And what I mean by that is you get a more honest look into who 72 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,720 they are. And it really testifies to the 73 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,480 validity of the authorship of this of this book. 74 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,520 So we come to certain people, including Elijah in this 75 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:10,160 chapter, and you get really this humbling snapshot of a certain 76 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,000 season of their life. Because what you're not going to 77 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,720 discover, as we already read, is that the same man who stood 78 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:21,280 before false prophets and an unbelieving nation and 79 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,640 adversities and trials that would make any average person 80 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,400 crumble within seconds of being placed in such a circumstance, 81 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:32,600 in such a short sequence, is going to be overcome by 82 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:41,760 paralyzing fear and surprising disorientation, and with it, 83 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,280 devastating discouragement. You're almost going to, as you 84 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:50,040 study this, feel like this can't be the same Elijah of chapter 18 85 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:54,880 and 17, but it is, it is. And the encouragement there is 86 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:58,360 that what we're going to see with this man at this point is 87 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,840 that even the greatest in the Kingdom of God are susceptible 88 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:06,040 to being ensnared by the same spiritual traps that you and I 89 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:15,240 try to dodge every single day. And we look here together and 90 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:20,000 realize that a purpose, major purpose for a text like this is 91 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:25,480 not to give you permission to fail or to remain in a state of 92 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:32,840 defeat, but to be merciful to those who are and to be equipped 93 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:40,000 to avoid the same ensnarements that are capable of capturing 94 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,000 the most unlikely, like Elijah. So that's really going to be the 95 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,320 core truth of our study today. We're going to look at a man who 96 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:51,840 experienced despondency, heaviness of heart. 97 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:53,840 You can call it different things. 98 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:56,720 A common phrase is spiritual depression. 99 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:02,720 And there are going to be orbiting truths around that core 100 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,680 truth that are going to supplement our teaching today. 101 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:08,760 And that includes what we read in verse one. 102 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:14,000 Let's look at it again. Ahab told Jezebel all that 103 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:19,120 Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the 104 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,680 sword. I hope you're attentive at Bible 105 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,960 study tonight because I'm going to ask you a question right at 106 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,720 verse one. What stands out to you about 107 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:32,400 Ahab's report to his wife Jezebel concerning the events 108 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:39,400 that took place on Mount Carmel? Let me give you a hint. 109 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:46,280 Something is omitted. Very good. 110 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,680 Notice again that he says Ahab told Jezebel all that who had 111 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:55,040 done Elijah. Where's God in this? 112 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:59,200 He's not there. Is that typical of Ahab? 113 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:01,960 Oh yes, it is very typical of Ahab. 114 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:05,840 The same man who did not include the Lord and his doing and his 115 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:10,640 work on that mountaintop is the same man who failed to see God 116 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,320 behind the three-year drought and pointed a finger at a man 117 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,680 like him in terms of nature and said, you're the troubler of 118 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,320 Israel. Remember, we looked at that, not 119 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,240 maybe putting into the equation that God was the one who was 120 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,920 suspending rain. And so this is a man who had the 121 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,120 inability to realize and to acknowledge God as he deserved. 122 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:37,960 And even in his testimonial to his wife, he doesn't include 123 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,720 God. He doesn't mention God even 124 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,360 though it's raining right outside of their palace. 125 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:48,880 It it doesn't even dawn on him to mention how God was the one 126 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,440 who answered by fire. God was the one who provided 127 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:56,240 this supernatural grace. And right here, 1/2's 128 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:59,800 perspective shows us as a reminder that there are so many 129 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,360 listen that you know that I know that are unwilling to 130 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,280 acknowledge the Lord and to include him in their 131 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,200 interpretation of life's events, of life itself. 132 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,400 And men of the flesh are as such. 133 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:22,040 They, like Ahab, prone to comment on life, describe life, 134 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:26,640 define aspects of life void of God's authorship, fingerprint 135 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,760 and sovereignty. And so it's about Elijah, and 136 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:32,600 it's about how he killed these prophets. 137 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,640 And notice that Ahab, no matter what God did to Ahab, no matter 138 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,000 what God did for Ahab, what do we see here? 139 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:43,640 He is highly capable of dismissing him so that he can 140 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:48,320 remain in his state of unbelief. So what did God do to Ahab 141 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:50,160 before he did something for Ahab? 142 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:53,400 He shriveled up the land and caused the people to suffer a 143 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,400 famine. Did he repent? 144 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,000 Then? No. 145 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,720 And what does he do for Ahab? He gives rain when he doesn't 146 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:02,960 deserve it. Instead of setting fire on him 147 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,760 and all the flimsy Israelites, he consumes a sacrifice. 148 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,800 And on top of that, through that act of judgement and act of 149 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,840 mercy follows. And what does Ahab do as we are 150 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:15,400 introduced to him again in this chapter? 151 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:17,160 Does he repent? No. 152 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,720 He's trying to instigate and stir up his wife into action and 153 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,720 not repent of action. By the way, what does that teach 154 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:26,320 us? Again, a truth that you see over 155 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,040 and over again, whether God disciplines a man or blesses 156 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,280 that man. Man in their sinful nature are 157 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:36,920 highly capable and very willing to dismiss the Lord so that they 158 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:40,160 can remain in their darkness. Ahab is no different. 159 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:43,480 And this is a sad testimony that many imitate. 160 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,600 And if Ahab's poor response isn't bad enough, now we come to 161 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,520 his wife's reaction. Rageful reaction, may I add. 162 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:54,920 What does she do here? She acts as the true ruler of 163 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,240 Israel. Ahab is just the puppet. 164 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:01,400 Is it possible for people to be in high positions really as 165 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,000 puppets when there's fingers working in the background? 166 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,120 I won't say more than that. No different here. 167 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:13,200 What does she do? She issues a death warrant for 168 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:17,120 this man of God. And when we look at this, you 169 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:18,600 think this is strange. Why? 170 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,480 Because we learned in the last verse of chapter 18 of the 171 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:23,840 whereabouts of Elijah, where is Elijah? 172 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:28,920 He's at the entrance of Jezreel, where the palace of this 173 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:33,640 notorious couple abides. Elijah is just really a few feet 174 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,160 away. You can say he's not too far at 175 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,160 least. And so here's this woman who is 176 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:43,600 venting and expressing and even puts it as a mandate that Elijah 177 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:47,360 is going to be killed within 24 hours. 178 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:49,400 You know why I find that interesting? 179 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:57,520 If she wanted to kill him, why forward a messenger and inform 180 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:02,360 the one that you're trying to kill Jezebel? 181 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:05,160 If you really want to destroy the man, why don't you send a 182 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,080 platoon instead? Why don't you? 183 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:12,480 Why don't you designate at least 200 of your remaining prophets 184 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,760 to finish the job? That's not what we see. 185 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,360 She warns Elijah. She gives him a heads up. 186 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:27,160 Is this, is this strange? OK, is this an empty threat? 187 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:30,840 Maybe some would say so. I don't think this is an empty 188 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:32,680 threat. Can I tell you why? 189 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:36,920 Let me remind you, go to 1st Kings 18 and look at verse 13. 190 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:45,920 Notice what is said here about Jezebel's history has not been 191 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,360 told. My Lord, what I did when Jezebel 192 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:54,200 killed the prophets of the Lord. How I hid 100 men of the Lord's 193 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,320 prophets by 50s in a cave and fed them with bread and water. 194 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:02,720 I'm no detective, OK, but if someone has a resume of killing 195 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:07,400 the prophets of the Lord, and she tells you, a prophet of the 196 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,360 Lord, that she's planning to kill you, high chances that she 197 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:14,640 really means it. So this is not just her blowing 198 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:16,800 smoke. This is not her just using 199 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,320 words. This is her saying exactly what 200 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,640 she is going to do because she's done it before. 201 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,480 And yet you would think again that a murderer would not give 202 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:31,080 their prey a heads up lest they evade the situation or they 203 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,200 prepare for the attack. You would think they would just 204 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,520 go for it. So there is no doubt that 205 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:42,680 Jezebel is doing this for a particular reason. 206 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:44,320 And I think there are two reasons for it. 207 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,080 The 1st is from a human standpoint, the the 2nd is a 208 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:51,400 divine standpoint. Do you think Jezebel was happy 209 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,120 when she heard that her prophets were killed by Elijah? 210 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,120 Think she was indifferent? No, I believe that even what we 211 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:02,880 see here in verse two is just a glimpse of the unhinged fury. 212 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,400 I know she was human, but I wonder if there's smoke that 213 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:11,880 came out of her nose and ears. This this woman is obviously 214 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:16,760 enraged and so enraged she says she's willing to and she's 215 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:21,000 convinced to murdering a true messenger of God even after 216 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:26,800 displaying indisputable power from on high. 217 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,160 And you look at this woman, you think, OK, but what is she? 218 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:36,560 Why is she doing this? Because unfettered temper makes 219 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:40,440 us foolish. You've probably seen that 220 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:44,880 growing up in the family that you were in somebody who was 221 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:51,200 enslaved by rage. When somebody lives with anger 222 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,640 and does not subdue it by the power of the Holy Spirit, they 223 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,000 think foolishly and they act foolishly. 224 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,600 Do they not? Do they blow things out of 225 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,480 proportion? Do they run to solutions that 226 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:10,280 really end up doing more harm? There's a verse in Proverbs 1429 227 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:12,080 and the last part of it says this. 228 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:18,160 It says but he who has hasty temper exalts folly. 229 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:21,240 He who hasn't. This is how the ESP puts it. 230 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,920 He who has hasty a hasty temper exalts folly. 231 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:31,760 You magnify foolishness, stupidity, when you are a slave 232 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,920 to temper. Here's this woman who evidently 233 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:38,440 does not bear any fruit of the Holy Spirit. 234 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:44,040 And what we see here is evidence of the consequences of sin, even 235 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,600 if that sin is an attitude problem, a failure to be able to 236 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,920 control yourself and to register what's taking place and to think 237 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:52,680 critically and logically and calmly. 238 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:57,120 But there's a divine element to this, and I believe it's God's 239 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,120 Providence working in favor for his servants, because it could 240 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,280 have been where Elijah being in that vulnerable place where he 241 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:08,680 was surrounded within seconds, within minutes, but God allowed 242 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:14,320 for Jezebel to disclose and expose herself to give his 243 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,760 servant a heads up. Do you not see that in different 244 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,720 parts of the Scripture? When something evil is being 245 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,360 planned against the righteous, God makes it known. 246 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:26,760 I won't take time to talk about that because we have a lot to 247 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:33,080 cover, but as terrifying as it might be to learn that a queen 248 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,760 has called for your head, you would think that Elijah would 249 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,720 feel some gratitude and relief knowing this has been made known 250 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,160 to me. Now I can deal with it 251 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:46,040 accordingly. Thank you, God, for 252 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,400 providentially working in my favor. 253 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:51,600 Is that how Elijah responds to this news? 254 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:54,880 Look at it again in verse two and three. 255 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:59,040 And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, so may the gods 256 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,880 do to me, and more also if I did not make your life as the life 257 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:05,440 of one of them by this time tomorrow. 258 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:13,520 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to 259 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,200 Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant 260 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,480 there. You're talking about a man who 261 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,960 was in the northern tribes and descended and went and migrated 262 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,240 all the way to the southern Kingdom. 263 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:29,240 That's a long journey. That's a long journey on foot. 264 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,080 And so you and I have to take something into consideration, 265 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:34,520 right? Because of the average person 266 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,360 who learned that in the neighborhood you're in, that 267 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,440 somebody with the authority, as the queen did, is calling for 268 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,080 your death. What what do you do if you learn 269 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:47,240 somebody's trying to kill you by it's not really deep, is it? 270 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,760 I'm out of here. So some would be hesitant to 271 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,480 criticize Elijah. But here's the thing, when we 272 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,320 study this man who we we have been studying this man, we've 273 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,880 seen a pattern of how his steps have been directed and we have 274 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:06,800 to take that into consideration. What did we see with Elijah when 275 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,720 we were first introduced him in our study altogether? 276 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:14,120 Look at First Kings 17 once more where he confronts Ahab and we 277 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:16,240 see this in verse two, First Kings 17. 278 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:18,120 And the word of the Lord came to him. 279 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:23,080 That's it right there. And the word of the Lord came to 280 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,640 him and told him what? Depart from here and turn 281 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,120 eastward, and hide yourself by the by the brook Kareth, which 282 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:34,880 is east of the Jordan. And this is not an isolated 283 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:39,480 place where Elijah has been instructed by the word of the 284 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:44,520 Lord for his next step. Now we know it was in every 285 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:49,440 step, but for critical steps he received direct guidance from 286 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,560 the mouth of God. And when we we look at that 287 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:59,840 pattern, we should be able to now look here and think, is 288 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:01,480 there something being broken here? 289 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:05,400 Is Elijah stepping outside of what he once knew? 290 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,280 And I am under the persuasion that he is. 291 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,360 He did not give time for the word of the Lord to come to him, 292 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,240 nor did he show anything, at least at this point of desperate 293 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,320 inquiry to know what God would have him do. 294 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:24,720 Think about it this way. We ended our study last time 295 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,880 that after the incident in Mark Carmel, he tells Ahab to go to 296 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,280 Jezreel and the hand of the Lord comes upon Elijah and he runs 297 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:35,120 ahead, beats Ahab, runs before the chariot and it comes here. 298 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:39,120 So even the hand of the Lord enabled Elijah to arrive at this 299 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,520 very spot. This threat comes and he goes, 300 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,880 I'm out of here. But where is the divine 301 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:49,520 permission? Where is the the voice of the 302 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:51,080 Lord telling him to do such a thing? 303 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,600 It's absent all together. And this seems to be so out of 304 00:19:55,600 --> 00:20:00,280 character for this man because it is teaching us that listen, 305 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,000 this is this is the main point of the study. 306 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:11,000 Now any of us can succumb to a despair that will drive you to 307 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,840 dangerous places. Now. 308 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,480 Now we've come to the main element of our study. 309 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:21,280 Elijah here for the rest of this chapter, I want us, through the 310 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:27,160 elements provided here, consider the very things that will make a 311 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:31,880 true follower of Jesus Christ vulnerable, as Elijah was here 312 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,640 with his faith. And it's all found in the verses 313 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,760 that we read together. More specifically, I want to 314 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,160 speak to you about four ingredients. 315 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:47,000 Four ingredients that will weaken us, that will encourage 316 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:51,480 us to surrender our stabilizing peace, and ultimately will cause 317 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:55,200 us to walk away from what the Lord has prepared for us due to 318 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,440 despair. Due to despair. 319 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,960 And be mindful that you don't need all four of these failures 320 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,840 to come to that place. You only need one. 321 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:07,840 So the four things that we're going to mention here, all you 322 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:09,880 need is one. One of these things is heavy 323 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,280 enough to cause you to act like Elijah is acting in this place. 324 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:16,960 But in Elijah's case, he was overcome by all these things. 325 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:22,320 So be ready to be equipped now if you want to know longevity, 326 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,400 if you want to know how to overcome what Elijah experience, 327 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,400 what Elijah experience. By the way, after great victory 328 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:34,280 came intense attack. And that's a pattern you see in 329 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:37,640 the Bible as well. So he brings about a great 330 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:40,680 victory for God's name before a nation. 331 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:45,400 And right away there was the vomiting of a belching from the 332 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:49,160 very mouth of hell through one of Hell's favorite servants of 333 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,840 this time, Jezebel. Let's consider four things 334 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:55,920 again. Four things that will cause 335 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,800 despondency, spiritual depression, debilitation. 336 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,680 Call it what you will, that which will have you living in 337 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,200 fear, living in a state of gloominess that will paralyze 338 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,360 your walk with the Lord, that will cause you to eject from 339 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:15,360 your ministry, that will cause you to dim your witness, that 340 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:17,920 will cause you to, well, let's see what happens. 341 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,600 The first thing that you and I have to be mindful of if we want 342 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:28,080 to evade the terrible place that Elijah was in, do not lose sight 343 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,040 of who God is. Do not lose sight of who God is. 344 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,200 That that seems to be quite obvious as a general principle, 345 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,200 but it's further confirmed in Elijah's case when you compare 346 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:43,880 him as a prophet dealing with royal rebellion and hostility 347 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:49,000 with another prophet who also had to deal with his own case of 348 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,560 a rageful royal individual that was after him. 349 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:55,440 There are many prophets in the Bible, but this is one of the 350 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,800 prominent ones. Anybody guess which one I'm 351 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:01,480 thinking of? I didn't give much evidence to 352 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,840 work with, but let's ask anyway. Any other prophet that you can 353 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,880 think of who had to deal with a ruler that threatened him, 354 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,200 endangered him. Jeremiah is a good one, but 355 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:13,240 that's not the one I'm Speaking of. 356 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,880 Yes, Daniel is a very good one as well, but that's not the one 357 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:17,160 I'm thinking about. You're not wrong in these 358 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:27,720 answers, but Moses, Moses, Moshe, go to Hebrews 11 with me. 359 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,880 Hebrews 11. I want you to look at verse 26, 360 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,440 because in this are you and I going to find the insight I 361 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:44,040 believe into Elijah's fault. Hebrews 11/26. 362 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,280 This is a New Testament commentary about the faith of 363 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:50,800 this man Moses. It says here he considered the 364 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,600 reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of 365 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:58,640 Egypt, for he was looking to the reward, put the brakes on. 366 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:00,160 Yeah. Do you see that? 367 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,840 He considered their reproach of Christ. 368 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:07,960 What does that tell you? It tells you that based on the 369 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,800 Scripture, Moses had a revelation of Christ. 370 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:17,920 Even back in the Exodus, Moses had a revelation of Christ 371 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,160 because Hebrews tells us that he did not consider the reproach of 372 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:24,720 Christ. But notice that he was able to 373 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,880 reject the worldly promises and pleasures of Egypt for one 374 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,600 simple reason, because he was looking to the reward. 375 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,400 So this man not only had a revelation of Christ, but he had 376 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,600 an eternal perspective. And that gave him the strength 377 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:45,320 to be able to bulldoze through all the transient trinkets that 378 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,080 were shining before him to the degree that he was willing to 379 00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:52,040 embrace suffering for righteousness. 380 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,160 I mean, he had everything going for him. 381 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:58,160 He was adopted into the royal family. 382 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:02,040 The education that Acts tells us he had the opportunities that he 383 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,200 had the security, the comfort, the luxury, and he was willing 384 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,960 to say, I want none of that because I know God's called me 385 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,080 to this and if it's going to come a reproach, so be it 386 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:15,720 because my eyes are looking to a reward beyond this life. 387 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,680 But that's not the only thing that his eyes were set on. 388 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:26,600 Look at verse 27. By faith, he left Egypt not 389 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,880 being afraid of the anger of the king. 390 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,760 Was Elijah afraid of the anger of the queen? 391 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:40,880 Yes, Elijah was. Moses wasn't not afraid of the 392 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:42,000 anger of the king. Why? 393 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,560 What was the secret? The next part? 394 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,840 For he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 395 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,640 So not only did this man have a eternal perspective in terms of 396 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,680 reward, he had a perspective in terms of sovereignty. 397 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,720 The one who I can't see visibly, the one who I know of, the one 398 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,200 who's revealed himself to me, is greater than Pharaoh. 399 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:08,720 And he is so much greater than them that I am not afraid of 400 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:12,040 those threats that he presents to me that he makes towards me. 401 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:15,480 That was what Elijah was missing. 402 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:21,040 And here's what that teaches us. Because Elijah just moments ago 403 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,320 experienced fire coming down from heaven, him praying and God 404 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,080 answering it him. Not just that, his testimony 405 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,360 goes deeper than that. So why is it that when Jezebel 406 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:32,000 threatened him, he acted in this way? 407 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:37,680 Because you and I have to every moment of our day be conscience 408 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,240 of who God is, every moment of our day. 409 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:46,920 And when we fail in that discipline and that meditation 410 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,560 and that contemplation, praying without ceasing, remaining in an 411 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,960 attitude of prayer, communion with God at all times, fear is 412 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:59,520 right there waiting to overtake you and master you and determine 413 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,480 your steps. Even with the fear of the Lord. 414 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:09,280 There's a proverb that says fear the Lord, always implying that 415 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:11,440 it's possible to fear the Lord sometimes. 416 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:15,880 So Elijah, yeah, he had a history with not, he had 417 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,880 experience with God. But you can't afford to just 418 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:24,000 rely on that in this very moment as I'm about to have this 419 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,680 appointment, as I'm waiting for this phone call, as I'm about to 420 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,240 deal with this, whatever the case may be, I must be God 421 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:33,760 conscience. And Moses had that grace and he 422 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:37,640 had that discipline. And if we do not, then do not be 423 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:40,800 surprised if fear is a frequent visitor. 424 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:47,720 And more than that, if it abides in your heart, losing sight of 425 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:51,760 the sovereignty of God, the promises of God, you know, if 426 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,880 Elijah understood who God was and he kept his word ever before 427 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:56,640 him, it didn't matter what Jezebel said. 428 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:01,720 But that's not the only thing that caused this despondency. 429 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:04,520 This thing is subtle. The next one, number two, I hope 430 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,240 you remember these things. Losing sight of God will lead 431 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:13,600 you to that kind of trouble #2 separating ourselves from 432 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,120 community. Look back at first Kings 19 433 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:19,120 verse three with me. And look at the last part, this 434 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,000 interesting detail that the Spirit offers us. 435 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:24,800 It says he was afraid he arose and ran for his life. 436 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,480 But notice this, he came to Beersheba, which belongs to 437 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:31,520 Judah, and left his servant there. 438 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,760 Why is that in there? Like is it important for us to 439 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:39,680 know that Elijah abandoned his servant and went in isolation? 440 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,760 No. Every detail is important in the 441 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:46,200 Bible. And if we're not aware of that, 442 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,000 then we miss out on points that can save us from much. 443 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:55,760 So he abandons his servant there, and you would think that 444 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:57,760 this isn't important. It is important. 445 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,360 But here's a question I want to ask you. 446 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,680 Is this the first time we're introduced to Elijah's servant? 447 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:14,680 Is it prove it, Prove it, Yes, very good. 448 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,880 Go back to chapter 18 and this is when Elijah was praying for 449 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:20,920 rain. And notice in verse 43 what is 450 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:25,560 mentioned. It's as though the the spirit 451 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,120 wants to inform us that Elijah separating himself from his 452 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,720 servant shouldn't have happened. Look at first Kings 1843 and he 453 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:36,800 said to his servant, go up now look toward the sea. 454 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,560 And he went up and looked and said there is nothing. 455 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,200 And he said, go again seven times. 456 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,040 And at the 7th time he said, behold, a little cloud, like a 457 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:46,520 man's hand is rising from the sea. 458 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,600 And he said, go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go 459 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,440 down, lest he rain, lest the rain stop you. 460 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,400 So there's little mention about the serpent. 461 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,360 We don't even know his name. He kind of like just appears on 462 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:00,080 Mount Carmel. But evidently he was there the 463 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,760 whole time. And the little that we know 464 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,960 about him is enough to inform us that he was a man of faith. 465 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:11,120 Can I tell you why? Was it a smart thing, humanly 466 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,080 speaking, to be associated with Elijah at this time? 467 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:19,400 Probably not. Even King Ahab made the 468 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,240 neighboring rulers make give a vow that they didn't know about 469 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:27,280 the whereabouts of this Elijah. And here you have the servant 470 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:33,680 willing to stand by this man who is Public Enemy #1 So there's 471 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,560 something about him in terms of conviction, obviously. 472 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:39,760 And based on what we read, even those couple of verses, he was a 473 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:43,040 genuine servant. He helped Elijah to some degree. 474 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,000 So while Elijah was praying, here's his servant watching and 475 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,400 looking for the answer. And when Elijah had to get Ahab 476 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:52,120 going, he sends his servant to go. 477 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,880 So this is a profitable person. This is somebody who played an 478 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,240 important role, at least in this chapter of Elijah's life. 479 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,040 But when you come to this moment, this critical moment of 480 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:06,000 Elijah's ministry, you get the sense that there's a partnership 481 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,720 with this servant. And yet, triggered by fear, he 482 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:14,680 runs away. And the fear was so overwhelming 483 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:19,840 that he leaves this man and he isolates himself according to 484 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:21,320 verse four. Look at verse four. 485 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:28,280 But he himself, he himself went a day's journey into the 486 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:31,080 wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. 487 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:34,880 And what happened? He asked that he might die. 488 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:40,120 You went from fear to now wanting to be put to death. 489 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,120 You know what thought ran through my mind today when I was 490 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:48,080 meditating on this servant? It makes me wonder if Elijah 491 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:52,160 would have arrived at different conclusions if he had someone 492 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:56,160 who served with him and witness what he witnessed with God and 493 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:04,960 about God to sober him up, to remind him, to console him, to 494 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:11,040 instruct him, and to redirect his misguided thoughts. 495 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:13,280 But you know what he does instead? 496 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:15,640 He cuts himself off from that opportunity. 497 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,880 And Christians, when they are troubled and isolate themselves 498 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:24,120 in order to medicate their troubles. 499 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,720 Though isolation in some regard is helpful, we need to know how 500 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:30,880 to be alone in some ways and to unburden our souls before God 501 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,000 instead of man. That is important. 502 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:38,080 But to isolate yourself to the degree where you distance your 503 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,720 heart, your mind, your temptations, your trials from 504 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:46,000 those whom God has designed with the purpose of alleviating and 505 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,040 strengthening you, The Bible considers that foolishness. 506 00:32:52,880 --> 00:33:01,320 Proverbs 18 One he who isolates himself seeks his own desire. 507 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:07,560 Check this out. He breaks out against all sound 508 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:14,480 judgement. He who isolates himself for 509 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:20,000 whatever reason does not have continual relationships with the 510 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,960 faithful. Listen to this language. 511 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:26,560 Some translations and the original would say he rages 512 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:33,840 against all sound wisdom like you're fighting against it for 513 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:39,160 the audience reasons, right? Isolation will invite harm 514 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,400 because you cut yourself off from the blessings of God. 515 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:47,160 Check this out that are exclusively reserved in the 516 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:50,360 realm of relationships with others. 517 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,280 When a Christian goes through a bad time or they're battling sin 518 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:00,960 or whatever the case may be, one of my go to advice is as they 519 00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:04,960 open their hearts about that is whatever you do, don't stop 520 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:10,600 coming to church. Even if you have to pick your 521 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:14,760 heavy legs off your bed and drag yourself to the meeting. 522 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:17,920 Wherever God's people are meeting, get there. 523 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:21,920 You can't afford to isolate yourself now. 524 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:27,560 And you would think that it only hurts the person who isn't 525 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,719 hurting. No, it also hurts others. 526 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:33,120 You know what I thought about here? 527 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,199 What happened to the servant who was left by himself? 528 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,120 You know what some people believe about this servant 529 00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:48,560 tradition says that people believe that this servant was 530 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:53,760 the widow's son from Zarephath. I think that's an interesting 531 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:55,880 thought, don't you? That after raising from the dead 532 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:57,440 and developing a relationship, he's like, all right, we're 533 00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:59,000 going to go to Mount Carmel, come with me. 534 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,400 Whether that's true or not doesn't make a difference. 535 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,080 But you have to also think about him. 536 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:10,000 He abandoned him to what? For who? 537 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:17,360 So agree with this, please, that Elijah's decision risked 538 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:19,800 affecting the one that he walked away from. 539 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:24,200 And if we're members of of the same body and a a member of that 540 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,120 body, a part of that body decides to disconnect. 541 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:31,240 The whole body feels it for many reasons. 542 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:33,400 Is it painful? And one of those reasons is 543 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:38,200 we've been given the gifts and the wisdom and the charge to 544 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:41,880 help those who are weak. Weakness is not an excuse for us 545 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:44,320 to walk away. It's all the more the reason 546 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:47,080 that we should throw ourselves at one another's feet. 547 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:51,080 And so it's painful for everybody. 548 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:54,600 Isolation is devastating to the witness to the Spirit of God 549 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:56,920 moving in the midst of the people who are called to be 550 00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,960 conjoined together together in all seasons of life. 551 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:02,960 Elijah says, see you later. This boy is left to himself. 552 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:06,680 He's left himself. So do you want to increase the 553 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:09,360 chances of spiritual depression? Walk this walk alone. 554 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:13,240 Don't take your membership of the local church seriously. 555 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:18,320 Keep it all inside and don't have one or two. 556 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:21,560 Trust the people that you know love you so you can open your 557 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:23,640 heart and be delivered from that despondency. 558 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:27,120 Do it. That's not the only thing, 559 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:28,880 though. Here's a third ingredient that 560 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,040 we have to keep in mind. And again, these things can be 561 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:33,600 standalone problems and thorns if we're not careful. 562 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:40,000 Being pessimistic. What is pessimism? 563 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,760 It's a person who has a tendency to making the most negative 564 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:49,640 conclusion or belief of the worst outcome out of a scenario. 565 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:53,040 That's a pessimistic person. You've probably met some such 566 00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:56,360 such people where no matter what problem arises, even if it's a 567 00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:59,160 good thing, they're like, oh, well, this can happen and I can 568 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,000 happen and Oh no, what's going to happen? 569 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:08,720 And it's just like we need to relax pessimism, magnifying the 570 00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:12,640 negative like as though it's a gift of the Spirit and 571 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:15,920 dismissing what God is doing in terms of the good and the 572 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,480 fruitfulness of that same situation that you might be 573 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:24,840 complaining about and woeing about and losing sleep about. 574 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:27,600 Is Elijah showing signs of pessimism? 575 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:29,320 Yes, he is. Look at verse 4 again. 576 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:34,320 But he himself went a days journey into the wilderness and 577 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:37,960 came and sat under a broom tree and he asked that he might die, 578 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:46,160 saying it is enough now. Oh Lord, take away my life, for 579 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:54,640 I am no better than my father's. You see it, for I am no better 580 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:58,160 than my father's. Some debate about what he meant 581 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:01,040 exactly by that, but I think it's pretty plain. 582 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:03,000 This is the language of performance. 583 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:09,560 I'm no better. So he's self reflecting and 584 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,600 evaluating and he feels as though in comparison, he's not 585 00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:15,640 being effective, he's not being fruitful. 586 00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:20,000 He's not really much different than those in the past who have 587 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,240 failed. You know why I find that so 588 00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:25,640 interesting? Because a man like Elijah is 589 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:29,360 confessing it. Elijah would be, and it still is 590 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:34,240 known as one of the most effective, incredible, 591 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:36,600 remarkable prophets in all of redemptive history. 592 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:39,840 And yet this man believes us about himself. 593 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,240 Do you know why? If you consider the context, 594 00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:44,440 then you understand why he believed this. 595 00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:49,640 Because Jezebel and Ahab did not believe. 596 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:54,640 After so much was done in the God that Elijah represented and 597 00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:59,560 served, that's all it took. It took the rejection, the 598 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:03,680 strong rejection of one woman to spiral this man into a place in 599 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,960 which he thought, I'm a no good prophet. 600 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:11,880 Oh, never mind the whole nation getting on their face and saying 601 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:14,360 the Lord he is God. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no one 602 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:20,480 woman saying I'm going to kill you, which is not a code, but I 603 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:22,720 don't want you or your God. It's pretty simple, right? 604 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:25,400 And that that's what he's focusing on. 605 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:30,760 That's that's what's gripped him, not the miracles of the 606 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:34,360 past, not God's faithfulness in the past, not again thinking 607 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,000 about the widow who says you're the real deal. 608 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:37,920 You are a man of God. You are truly a prophet, not 609 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:42,680 that one woman who didn't show up to the meeting. 610 00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,160 And listen, if you are constantly focused on those who 611 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:53,600 are not getting saved, on those who don't appreciate your 612 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:58,760 ministry, on those, again, who don't show their faithfulness 613 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:00,320 and the thing that you're passionate about. 614 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:06,000 You are setting yourself up for short lived service to the Lord. 615 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:13,600 Instead, look to what the Lord is doing. 616 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:20,040 Look to what God has done. Consider those who are being 617 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:24,160 blessed. That has to be a discipline that 618 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:28,640 you and I develop lest we position ourselves to being 619 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:36,760 prisoners of self pity. So ask God to deliver you from 620 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:42,480 being pessimistic. But before you and I move on to 621 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:46,680 our final point, I want you to consider something that is good 622 00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:49,800 about Elijah in this verse. There's a lot that he doesn't do 623 00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:52,040 right, but there's one thing that we can applaud him for. 624 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:55,920 What does he do in verse four? He does want to die, but how is 625 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:58,720 he expressing that? He's praying? 626 00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:03,200 He's praying, he's praying and he is again, I'm burdening his 627 00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:06,480 soul before the Lord. And I can't help but include 628 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:10,880 this in the pile of truths that you and I have accumulated about 629 00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:13,120 Elijah's prayer life and his praying. 630 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,800 Because James says, hey, look to this man who prayed in the way 631 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:18,280 that he prayed. So let's rewind. 632 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:22,520 When this man of prayer prayed for fire, what happened? 633 00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:28,800 God gave fire. When this man of prayer prayed 634 00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:31,640 for rain, what happened? It rained. 635 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,840 When this man of prayer prayed that God would kill him, what 636 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:37,840 happened? God didn't answer. 637 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:42,480 And here's the thing. What's so fascinating? 638 00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:44,960 Mentioned this before. Not only did he not answer, he 639 00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:48,400 did the exact opposite. Elijah would never die. 640 00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:52,320 He would never enter into the grave. 641 00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:54,840 He'd be transported into the heavenlies in a very unique 642 00:41:54,840 --> 00:42:00,040 fashion and so add that to your insights about Elijah's praying. 643 00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:02,760 We talked about Elijah praying for fire came immediately was 644 00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:04,360 miraculous. God could do miraculous things. 645 00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:06,840 You can instantaneously even before you finish saying Amen, 646 00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,680 bring the fruit. And we look at the prayer life 647 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:12,440 of Elijah in the rain where he prayed more than once and the 648 00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:15,520 answer did not come immediately. That is true of our prayer lives 649 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,080 and our experience of answered prayer doesn't happen right away 650 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:19,600 can happen in a sequence of things. 651 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:21,560 Here's another insight of prayer. 652 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:25,240 You have many people as genuine people out of place of 653 00:42:25,240 --> 00:42:26,680 disappointment, even frustration. 654 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:29,280 Why doesn't God answer my prayers? 655 00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:33,960 Can I tell you something? Here's my one of my favorite 656 00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:35,960 answers to that. There are different reasons for 657 00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:38,560 it, but have you ever factored this in? 658 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:42,440 That one of the greatest blessings that God can do for 659 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:47,880 your prayers is not answer them, Is not give you what you've been 660 00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:50,000 asking for. No matter how passionate you 661 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:52,480 are, no matter how certain you are in that moment. 662 00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:55,800 One of the greatest things that God can do for your prayers is 663 00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:57,440 not give you what you're praying for. 664 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:04,920 You have to believe that. And maybe only when we stand 665 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:08,520 before the throne, what we realize oh so thankful that you 666 00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:12,680 didn't answer that prayer. I realize that in this life. 667 00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:17,360 So we see that another inside of this man's prayers that we 668 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:19,600 should consider and put in the vault of our hearts. 669 00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:23,680 But there's one more thing that we have to look at concerning an 670 00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:29,920 ingredient for despondency, depression, spiritual 671 00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:35,200 depression, at least negligence of the need of our bodies, 672 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:38,920 negligence of the needs for our bodies. 673 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:41,120 Look, look, look at verse five again with me. 674 00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:44,200 And he laid down and slept until under a broom tree. 675 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:47,200 And behold, an Angel touched him and set him arise and eat. 676 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,800 And he looked and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on 677 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:54,320 hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay 678 00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:56,400 down again. And the Angel of the Lord came 679 00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:59,120 again a second time and touched them and said, arise and eat, 680 00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:00,480 for the journey is too great for you. 681 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:04,160 I'm so happy that this is in the Bible. 682 00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:08,040 I am so thankful that the Lord included this in Holy Writ. 683 00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:12,200 You know what's so amazing about the verses that are the focus of 684 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:14,160 our study tonight? It's not the end of the chapter. 685 00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:17,280 You have verse nine. And I have to flip my page to 686 00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:19,440 realize that it goes down to verse 21. 687 00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:22,560 Before we go to chapter 20. You know what's happening 688 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:27,760 between verse nine and verse 21, A dialogue between God and 689 00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:33,520 Elijah, a conversation between the master, the king of heaven, 690 00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:35,200 and one of his faithful servants. 691 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:39,320 And in that conversation, God gives insight and instruction to 692 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:44,440 this man of God. But before God draws him away so 693 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:48,800 that he can meet with him in a very spectacular fashion, he 694 00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:55,440 sees it necessary to feed him and to let him have a couple of 695 00:44:55,440 --> 00:45:00,240 naps. You want to know the mind of 696 00:45:00,240 --> 00:45:01,360 God? Here's the mind of God. 697 00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:06,120 How many believers do you think associate spiritual depression 698 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:13,840 with bodily deprivation? The Lord taking care of Elijah's 699 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:19,600 physical state was unnecessary, non negotiable way of providing 700 00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:22,480 the remedy that he needed to be where he was supposed to be. 701 00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:26,080 I know, doesn't sound spiritual. Doesn't sound very impressive, 702 00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:29,160 does it? But it's in the scriptures. 703 00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:33,840 Here's a biblical reference that stands as an everlasting 704 00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:39,280 reminder to you and I that to be careless with your body is a 705 00:45:39,280 --> 00:45:43,480 sure way of promising hindrance to your devotion to the Lord. 706 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:50,280 For some, listen what's needed to overcome sadness and no 707 00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:54,560 greater longevity in your joyful walk with Christ. 708 00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:59,400 You know what it is? It's not another sermon, a 709 00:45:59,400 --> 00:46:07,680 better sleep schedule. Yeah, for those who are battling 710 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:15,120 gloomy thoughts and they think they need prophetic pastoral 711 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:18,920 counsel, counsel is good, it's important. 712 00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:20,160 But in some cases, you know what? 713 00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:27,200 You need a better diet. You know, if you deal with 714 00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:30,920 counselors, one of the go to things that counselors will tell 715 00:46:30,920 --> 00:46:35,160 you, secular and non secular, maybe you've experienced this. 716 00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:37,960 If you deal with anxiety or this or that, these patterns that are 717 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:40,480 detrimental to your overall well-being, especially in your 718 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:43,160 faith, this is what they'll ask you. 719 00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:50,000 Do you regularly exercise? Wow, right. 720 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,560 No, no, no, that's not the way it's supposed to be. 721 00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:57,240 You're supposed to tell me something like mystical, and 722 00:46:57,240 --> 00:47:00,000 you're supposed to just maybe do something where it just kind of 723 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:03,200 evaporates from my life. God can do that. 724 00:47:03,880 --> 00:47:05,400 But what does God do for a servant here? 725 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:10,200 Does he wake him up and give him this discourse about faith? 726 00:47:10,200 --> 00:47:14,080 And does he, does he sprinkle something supernatural on him? 727 00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:17,280 No, he says get up and eat, eat and drink. 728 00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:20,720 And he let him fall asleep and he came back and says OK, you 729 00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:23,280 don't understand how much you're actually needing this and you 730 00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:25,080 don't understand what's coming. You're going to need to eat and 731 00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:29,120 drink again. I know you want to be spiritual. 732 00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:31,880 I know, I know we all want to be spiritual. 733 00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:34,680 Never forget because you can't afford to forget that no matter 734 00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:40,520 how spiritual you want to be, you are confined to a body and 735 00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:45,920 that body is subject to natural laws and it requires stewardship 736 00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:51,400 for you to be careful in your nurturing and and how you treat 737 00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:55,560 it and what you feed it. Because no matter how spiritual 738 00:47:55,560 --> 00:47:58,840 you are, if you don't honor that component of your existence, 739 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:02,440 it's going to affect a measure of your in look and your 740 00:48:02,440 --> 00:48:06,200 outlook, even in the lane of your spirituality. 741 00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:12,080 So we come here and we realize that the Lord is prescribing 742 00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:15,720 something that we wouldn't consider in our fight against 743 00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:19,440 things that would weigh us down, things that are avoidable. 744 00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:25,560 And personally, when I have one of those days, if I can be 745 00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:30,720 vulnerable with you, not too vulnerable, I make a mental 746 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:35,320 checklist, 'cause I'm aware of spiritual warfare, I'm aware 747 00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:37,160 that the enemy can whisper things in my mind. 748 00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:40,360 You can whisper things in your mind, but one of my go to 749 00:48:40,360 --> 00:48:44,560 primary reflections when I have those days. 750 00:48:45,840 --> 00:48:53,000 How has my sleep been this week? What's my diet been like the 751 00:48:53,000 --> 00:49:00,640 past full of handful days? Did I did I put my muscles to 752 00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:04,800 work? I know it like you're like, this 753 00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:08,680 is Bible study. Oh, it's so practical, right? 754 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:11,520 OK, you won't take my word for it. 755 00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:14,320 So let me give you the words of the Prince of preacher. 756 00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:18,040 How about that? Here's Charles Spurgeon in one 757 00:49:18,040 --> 00:49:20,560 of his teachings in the lecture to my students. 758 00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:28,080 Quote, to sit long in one posture, poring over a book or 759 00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:33,320 driving a quill is in itself a taxing of nature. 760 00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:38,400 But add to this a badly ventilated chamber, a body which 761 00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:42,920 has long been without muscular exercise and a heart burdened 762 00:49:42,920 --> 00:49:46,880 with many cares, and we have all the elements for preparing a 763 00:49:46,880 --> 00:49:52,040 seething cauldron of despair. End Quote. 764 00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:54,920 So you don't want to listen to me, Listen to Charles Spurgeon. 765 00:49:54,920 --> 00:49:59,960 Yeah, I agree with him. This is not off base. 766 00:49:59,960 --> 00:50:04,000 This is not some fringe thing. This is biblical are those are 767 00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:08,360 those who take extremities with their bodies and do so at the 768 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:10,560 expense of their spirituality. 100%. 769 00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:13,520 You can idolize your body and I'll tell you this, no matter 770 00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:16,880 how well you eat, no matter what kind of pills you take, we're 771 00:50:16,880 --> 00:50:20,280 all terminal. So you can go overboard and you 772 00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:21,920 can over obsessed. We're not talking about that. 773 00:50:21,920 --> 00:50:25,800 This is basic food. This is a cake and this is water 774 00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:31,200 and a good sleep. Some of your parents know what 775 00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:33,800 happens to your children when they don't get good sleep, 776 00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:37,680 right, Little children? We think that changes as we grow 777 00:50:37,680 --> 00:50:43,040 up. So counselors, Christian friends 778 00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:46,400 who love others and want to be with those in the battle against 779 00:50:46,680 --> 00:50:49,520 the flesh and sin and Satan, have you ever included that in 780 00:50:49,520 --> 00:50:54,400 your counsel? Have you ever asked somebody 781 00:50:54,400 --> 00:51:00,480 who's been in a perpetual state of weird thinking and pessimism, 782 00:51:00,480 --> 00:51:06,520 hey, do you sleep well? Like you can't go to bed every 783 00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:11,280 night at 3:00 AM with Cheeto stained fingers and think that 784 00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:15,720 you're going to be at your best. It's not going to happen. 785 00:51:17,720 --> 00:51:21,040 So we see here that these four elements are not exhaustive, but 786 00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:23,200 they are helpful. Maybe we have overlooked them, 787 00:51:23,200 --> 00:51:26,880 especially the last one, but let me remind you of them in closing 788 00:51:27,880 --> 00:51:31,480 that we are to never forget to keep the sovereignty of God, the 789 00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:34,320 goodness of God, the power of God, whatever characteristic or 790 00:51:34,320 --> 00:51:37,880 attribute, all of them, rather ever before you. 791 00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:42,920 You're also with that to not disconnect from those that God 792 00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:46,200 has placed in your life because they are there for your safety 793 00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:48,440 and they are there for your joy and they are there for your 794 00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:51,920 help. You're also supposed to come to 795 00:51:51,920 --> 00:51:57,320 a place in which you realize that you have a choice. 796 00:51:57,320 --> 00:52:00,760 And yes, it might take some time to shake it off and to develop a 797 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:04,720 better pattern, but choose to look at what the Lord is doing, 798 00:52:04,880 --> 00:52:06,960 the blessings, a spirit of gratitude. 799 00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:11,680 If you're not there, you are going to be more prone to being 800 00:52:11,680 --> 00:52:14,720 like Elijah. And lastly, consider the 801 00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:20,800 component of your body, not just your soul. 802 00:52:22,120 --> 00:52:23,960 And if you want to be better with your soul, you're going to 803 00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:26,480 be better with your body. May God give us wisdom in that. 804 00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:27,880 I don't want to end there though. 805 00:52:28,640 --> 00:52:31,000 There are many ways to end this. But I want to end on this 806 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:35,000 thought. Look at how God treats his 807 00:52:35,000 --> 00:52:38,240 servant. This is where we're landing 808 00:52:38,240 --> 00:52:40,440 tonight. So you have this man who had 809 00:52:40,440 --> 00:52:44,880 seen so much and yet he acts in such unbelief and he even makes 810 00:52:44,880 --> 00:52:49,680 these crazy, self-destructive, God dishonouring request to be 811 00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:53,880 put to death. That's not up to you, Elijah. 812 00:52:53,880 --> 00:52:56,240 In fact, you're, you're only getting started here in 813 00:52:56,240 --> 00:52:57,720 ministry. You have so much still ahead of 814 00:52:57,720 --> 00:52:59,600 you. And this is what you're going to 815 00:52:59,600 --> 00:53:04,320 ask God to do. And you would think that for God 816 00:53:04,320 --> 00:53:07,640 to show up and confront Elijah that he would have a different 817 00:53:07,640 --> 00:53:11,560 kind of approach. But instead he sends an Angel 818 00:53:11,560 --> 00:53:15,480 and this Angel makes him some food and takes care of him. 819 00:53:15,480 --> 00:53:18,480 And here's what's so fascinating. 820 00:53:18,600 --> 00:53:22,200 Don't you think that's such a menial task for an Angel to do? 821 00:53:23,240 --> 00:53:27,840 What a lowly job for this heavenly creature to leave the 822 00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:33,160 throne room of heaven to enter into this world and to deal with 823 00:53:33,240 --> 00:53:36,840 a sporadic, at least at this point, servant of God. 824 00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:41,520 What are we to make of this? This is the grace of God, and 825 00:53:41,520 --> 00:53:44,840 the grace only becomes more beautiful when you realize that 826 00:53:44,840 --> 00:53:48,720 this Angel is distinguished. So we read that he's an Angel. 827 00:53:48,720 --> 00:53:51,760 Look at verse seven. Maybe you missed it, and the 828 00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:57,600 Angel of the Lord and the Angel of the Lord came again a second 829 00:53:57,600 --> 00:54:02,680 time and touched them. It's no ordinary Angel, not just 830 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:05,800 one of the myriad of angels that occupy heaven. 831 00:54:05,800 --> 00:54:09,480 We're talking about the Angel of the Lord, and we've done past 832 00:54:09,480 --> 00:54:12,560 studies to realize and learn that this Angel of the Lord is 833 00:54:12,560 --> 00:54:15,640 not an Angel. The way you envision it and the 834 00:54:15,640 --> 00:54:19,920 way cartoons have displayed it, Angel simply means messenger. 835 00:54:20,280 --> 00:54:23,040 And the Angel of the Lord is in fact God Himself, more 836 00:54:23,040 --> 00:54:27,880 specifically the second person of the Godhead, namely the 837 00:54:27,880 --> 00:54:31,280 person of Jesus Christ. That changed the scenario for 838 00:54:31,280 --> 00:54:33,000 you. Now you know what you have here. 839 00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:35,120 You have a theophany. You have the pre Incarnate 840 00:54:35,120 --> 00:54:43,160 Christ personally attending to a weak vessel known as Elijah. 841 00:54:45,200 --> 00:54:50,400 Jesus Christ himself coming to the aid of this man and doing 842 00:54:50,400 --> 00:54:53,280 what? Preparing a meal for him, 843 00:54:54,960 --> 00:54:59,920 allowing him to rest and to return and to help him again. 844 00:55:01,280 --> 00:55:03,800 You know that verse says Jesus is the same yesterday, today, 845 00:55:03,800 --> 00:55:06,720 and tell me he's the same forever. 846 00:55:09,720 --> 00:55:16,360 My mind goes to another servant of God who was impatient, filled 847 00:55:16,360 --> 00:55:20,480 with guilt and shame, and thought to himself after serving 848 00:55:20,480 --> 00:55:24,520 with and for the Lord during a three-year period, said, I'm 849 00:55:24,520 --> 00:55:28,240 going back to fish. And he convinces several others 850 00:55:28,240 --> 00:55:30,240 of those core disciples to join him. 851 00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:33,600 And while he's in that place of unbelief, while he's on that 852 00:55:33,600 --> 00:55:40,160 place of despondency, Jesus Christ, the same one who came to 853 00:55:40,160 --> 00:55:43,480 the help of Elijah, shows up on the shore of that beach. 854 00:55:43,960 --> 00:55:45,720 And what does he have prepared for Peter? 855 00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:50,360 Breakfast. Have you ever thought about 856 00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:54,960 that? God making breakfast for one of 857 00:55:54,960 --> 00:55:58,480 his own creatures? For what purpose? 858 00:55:59,120 --> 00:56:02,720 To fellowship with Peter and to restore him. 859 00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:10,280 What do we have here? You have Jesus not beating on 860 00:56:10,280 --> 00:56:13,960 Elijah, not stomping on him for his lack of faith and 861 00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:20,560 consistency, but ever so gently and patiently building him back 862 00:56:20,560 --> 00:56:25,280 up. And you see the same heart with 863 00:56:25,280 --> 00:56:27,640 another servant in the New Testament, among many others. 864 00:56:30,720 --> 00:56:34,120 You might be even here, and you've barely made it. 865 00:56:35,200 --> 00:56:39,280 You might watch this later because you just stumbled upon 866 00:56:39,280 --> 00:56:42,320 it, but you are barely making it in your faith. 867 00:56:43,880 --> 00:56:48,440 In fact, you might be hanging by one last thread before you say 868 00:56:48,480 --> 00:56:51,600 I'm I'm done. I'm going to indefinitely 869 00:56:51,600 --> 00:56:55,880 separate myself from ministry, from the church, from even from 870 00:56:55,880 --> 00:56:59,400 my Bible, and I'm just going to figure something out. 871 00:57:00,280 --> 00:57:02,760 You know what Christ's heart for you is in this moment? 872 00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:07,800 What you see here, especially if you're a true servant of God. 873 00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:10,480 I'm not talking about those who don't have true faith and think 874 00:57:10,480 --> 00:57:12,680 they can just waltz in this life and rebellion without the Lord 875 00:57:12,680 --> 00:57:14,680 doing something about it. If you profess His name at 876 00:57:14,680 --> 00:57:16,760 least. I'm talking about those like 877 00:57:16,760 --> 00:57:19,000 Elijah. You lived your life for God. 878 00:57:19,600 --> 00:57:24,440 You serve Him, you adore Him, but just ensnared by weakness. 879 00:57:25,960 --> 00:57:30,440 Christ's heart is for you, and He's eager and ready to restore 880 00:57:30,440 --> 00:57:33,080 you. Surrender yourself into that 881 00:57:33,080 --> 00:57:36,200 revelation. Melt in that kind of a truth. 882 00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:41,240 You have many people who find themselves in such a state of 883 00:57:41,240 --> 00:57:44,600 mind, and what keeps them there even more is because they 884 00:57:44,600 --> 00:57:47,600 imagined God frowning from heaven, saying, after all these 885 00:57:47,600 --> 00:57:49,640 Bible studies and sermons, this is what you've come to. 886 00:57:49,640 --> 00:57:54,880 And with a cold shoulder he turns his back and waits for you 887 00:57:54,880 --> 00:57:57,040 to get it together before he turns his face back. 888 00:57:58,600 --> 00:58:03,000 That's not the heart of Christ. Here you have a man in the 889 00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:06,080 wilderness who isolated himself and who comes to meet him in his 890 00:58:06,080 --> 00:58:09,480 isolation, The Lord. And it's given to us in this 891 00:58:09,480 --> 00:58:12,760 word for you and I to take courage that yes, in this place 892 00:58:12,760 --> 00:58:14,960 where your faith is not the most impressive, in fact, it might be 893 00:58:14,960 --> 00:58:18,120 insulting. Insulting to others and 894 00:58:18,120 --> 00:58:22,760 insulting to the Lord. Christ is there, He's ready. 895 00:58:23,400 --> 00:58:30,400 I hope you see him that way. If you do, you've made a giant 896 00:58:30,400 --> 00:58:37,920 leap towards being free from the very plague that arrested 897 00:58:37,920 --> 00:58:39,760 Elijah. In this chapter, let's pray 898 00:58:39,760 --> 00:58:54,380 together. Lord, we do look to you with 899 00:58:54,380 --> 00:58:58,340 gratitude in our hearts that you seek to equip us in areas that 900 00:58:58,340 --> 00:59:00,660 we might even realize we need equipping in. 901 00:59:02,420 --> 00:59:09,420 And Lord, we ask that You give us the ability to uncover what 902 00:59:09,420 --> 00:59:15,360 may have been a blind spot. Lord, if we if we do fail to see 903 00:59:15,360 --> 00:59:18,680 you and to set you before us at all times, help us do that. 904 00:59:19,040 --> 00:59:23,360 If if we don't value the community of God, help us change 905 00:59:23,360 --> 00:59:29,600 in our perspective. If we are prone to pessimism and 906 00:59:29,600 --> 00:59:33,840 we've excused it with our personality or our past traumas. 907 00:59:34,640 --> 00:59:36,880 Or may all those excuses die tonight. 908 00:59:38,200 --> 00:59:42,560 And Lord, if we have, if we are those who in our even pursuit of 909 00:59:42,560 --> 00:59:47,440 spirituality have neglected the stewardship of our bodies, give 910 00:59:47,440 --> 00:59:50,960 us the proper frame of mind and the wisdom to know how to take 911 00:59:50,960 --> 00:59:53,200 care of all of who you've made us to be. 912 00:59:55,240 --> 00:59:57,960 And Lord, lastly, we thank you that you shine your heart toward 913 00:59:57,960 --> 01:00:02,320 us even in our weakest points. Thank you for the tender mercies 914 01:00:02,320 --> 01:00:05,560 of Jesus Christ that you even tucked in this chapter. 915 01:00:06,400 --> 01:00:09,080 So Lord, even as we close tonight and we worship you, may 916 01:00:09,080 --> 01:00:14,160 that be ever before us. Realizing that you are you're a 917 01:00:14,160 --> 01:00:20,000 caring God, you're willing to stoop down and do what you need 918 01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:24,680 to do to help us. And Lord, you invite us to pour 919 01:00:24,680 --> 01:00:28,680 out our hearts to you, even when it's the most embarrassing times 920 01:00:28,680 --> 01:00:34,640 of our faith. Lord, strengthen our loins 921 01:00:34,640 --> 01:00:35,840 tonight. That's our prayer. 922 01:00:36,440 --> 01:00:40,880 We, we want the extra grace to go the extra mile in Jesus name, 923 01:00:41,400 --> 01:00:42,400 Amen. Amen. 924 01:00:43,360 --> 01:00:44,880 Let's stand and worship the Lord together.