Well, with all of that being said, it's such a joy to see you
here tonight. Meet me in the precious,
glorious Word of God in the book of First Kings, chapter 19.
Last week, the object of our study was a dejected, downcast
prophet of God by the name of Elijah, and he will continue to
be the focus of our study tonight.
But what was really the frame of our study was considering the
factors that caused Elijah to experience and undergo spiritual
depression. Not that these things are the
only things that can cause us to be driven into despair, but they
are pretty significant contributors to it.
And there were four things that we received from Elijah's story.
And I want to ask you, because it's good to repeat these things
and recall these things so that they can be embedded in our
memory and in our hearts. Don't answer all four, but let's
cover all four. Can you tell me one of the four
things? And another person will mention
another one, the four things that Elijah experienced that
caused him to abandon his post as a prophet and to wander into
the wilderness. I'm genuinely asking.
This isn't rhetorical. He number one, he lost sight of
who God was and instead he he looked at Jezebel and heard
Jezebel and then that caused them to obviously crumble.
Yes, he lost sight of who God was.
Unlike Moses who did not fear the anger of the king because he
endured as seeing him who is invisible.
What a contrast yes #2 he was what OK, yes, so he was
discouraged. That was, you could say a sub
point. He was pessimistic.
Remember we that was the Third Point that he always looked at
the negative at least in this moment.
He looked at what wasn't happening.
He looked at the worst outcome instead of considering what God
had done. And if you have a tendency of
being pessimistic, you also will know a frequent cycles of
discouragement that can really debilitate you.
Yes, that's the Third Point. We have two more huge one that
we often don't consider concerning Elijah's testimony of
this low point of his life. He separated from community.
And how did he do that in his case?
How did he separate yourself from community?
Who did he leave behind when he ran away?
His servant. His servant.
He left his servant behind. The Spirit included that for a
reason. What we're going to discover
today is that God's going to bring somebody new in Elijah's
life. OK, one more very good.
There was neglect, neglect of the needs of the body and, and
this is talking about sheer exhaustion, him ignoring the
basic necessities that would keep anybody going.
And that was something that we also agreed in terms of
overlooking what can cause us to be confused and foggy in our
minds and foiled in many cases with our faith.
So that's what we looked at. But what we have to also
consider is where we ended is that God dealt with that final
cause, the one that dealt with Elijah's body, did he not?
And he did so by personally attending to this man's needs,
by coming with some sort of room service almost.
He grants him nutrition, hydration, and patiently allows
him to sleep with his weary head in that wilderness.
But that is not the extent of this mercy that we enjoyed last
Friday. God is going to continue to
overflow in His mercies toward His servant by positioning him
in a way in which he's going to receive more relief so that he
can know a more complete restoration.
Because dealing with the needs of the body is not enough.
So you have some people who overemphasize what we need to do
with this flesh and they neglect the spiritual.
And you have others who are so consumed with the spiritual that
they neglect the fact that they are a body.
And this is the vehicle that carries the spiritual activities
and experiences that we ought to have.
So now the Lord is going to deal with those first three issues
that have not been touched on yet in the rest of this chapter.
And this is important for us to consider because it's going to
show God's heart. It's going to show God's heart
for this man and wanting to see him be as efficient as possible,
as healed as possible, as restored as possible.
And it's all going to begin here in verse 8.
Let's look at verse 8 together. And he arose and ate and drank
and went in the strength of that food, 40 days and 40 nights to
Horeb, the mount of God. There he came to a cave and
lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord
came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?
He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of
hosts, for the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the
sword. And I even I only am left, and
they seek my life to take it away.
And he said, Go out, and stand on the mount before the Lord.
And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore
the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the
Lord. But the Lord was not in the
wind. And after the wind and
earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the
fire, and after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
Lord, we believe this is Your word, and we believe that we
cannot unpack and know the fullness of it, lest You help us
by the Spirit. We invoke the Spirit to come to
our aid now and to help us receive all that You have
intended to say through this portion of Scripture.
We pray these things in the precious name of the
intercessor, the great high priest, the one who is fighting
for us every day. Amen and Amen.
Verse 8, this is in connection to the fact that Elijah received
a couple of meals from the Angel of the Lord, and we're told the
effect of that food, it was able to energize him for 40 days and
40 nights. And we can consider the
supernatural ingredients of this, We can look into how that
is, but I don't want us to be too focused on what this food
was more than I want to connect what this food did in terms of
his journey, the length of his journey, and the location of his
journey. So we see here that it was 40
days and 40 nights that he was able to walk into a certain
direction, the Mount of God, the Mount of Orb.
Now, if you are a student of the Hebrew Scriptures, then those
two components should ring a bell. 40 in a wilderness, 40
days or just the number 40 and mount of God, namely Horeb.
What should come to mind? Moses, Just Moses, The
Israelites. Give me give me more specific.
What about them? You're saying Moses and Hebrews?
That's a lot of things. What specifically what other
journeys does this connect to, at least thematically?
The Exodus. Thank you.
The Exodus, how Horeb was the destination immediately after
the Exodus being delivered from Egypt, but not just that, the
same mount of God was the place where the people arrived after
40 years of wandering in the wilderness because of their
disobedience and unbelief. And so this, this is supposed
to, yes, call to remembrance a different journey, one that was
monumental to the history of this people.
And it makes you wonder if that crossed Elijah's mind as he was
walking on his feet for 40 days and 40 nights towards the same
place in which God manifested his power and his glory.
And whether or not it did, we should believe that this was the
intent providentially of this journey and the location.
What was Elijah's problem at this point?
We mentioned that he lost sight of who God was.
He lost sight of who God was and even in this, could it be that
the Lord in his Providence is leading his servant to retrace,
retrace the steps of the Lord That as Elijah's walking day and
night for this duration of time, going to where everything really
started for the people in terms of their covenant with the Lord.
That the same God who delivered Israel from slavery, the same
God who was able to faithfully bring a very stubborn people
into the promised land is the same God who Elijah is serving
today. In other words, it's as though
Elijah is walking down memory lane and he's supposed to recall
God has dealt with this stiff necked people at one time and
God came out victorious. This is the same God whom I
serve. You would hope that's where
Elijah would arrive and his thinking and in his belief.
And to even add to this theme, what happened during those 40
years in terms of the people's sustenance?
Were they taken care of by God? Did they receive daily food and
drink? Yeah, God took care of them
supernaturally, just like Elijah was being taken care of for 40
days and 40 nights. So I'm convinced that this is
what providentially the Lord is trying to awaken Elijah to.
But on the negative side here is Elijah reflecting the
unbelieving people of Israel by wandering in the wilderness for
this duration of time as well. So yes, God is the God of Israel
who is able to bring a very vacillating people to where He
wanted him to go. But Elijah also is mirroring the
weak faith of the people of Israel now individually
wandering in the wilderness. And we now continue to read that
as he arrives to this location, he makes his home in a cave in a
murky hole, and it took him 40 days and 40 nights to get there.
If you actually look at a map of this time, it shouldn't have
taken that long. But on a practical note, isn't
it amazing? I mean, think about 40 days.
Imagine some of us don't enjoy walking for 40 minutes, 40 days
and 40 nights. And when he comes to this place,
the Lord is going to counsel him.
You know what this duration of time also tells us?
It tells us something about the heart of God.
God is very patient and restoring us.
He's very patient and reeling us back in and instructing us and
teaching us and chiseling us and cleansing us.
And this is also a reminder that things don't turn over so
quickly for us either that we are slow to get it.
And if you think it was slow in these four, it's only Elijah's
not going to get it, even in this conversation with God.
So he comes and the Lord asked him this very penetrating
question, but I believe it was done so gently.
He asked them, what are you doing here, Elijah?
Whenever God asks a question, I am 100% convinced it's not
because he lacks an answer. And you should be convinced of
that as well. The question was meant for
Elijah to arrive to an answer that he has not gotten yet.
And so he says, what are you doing here Elijah?
Implying what? That Elijah was not supposed to
be where he was? What are you doing here?
And the Lord wanted his servant to realize that for himself.
So you see Elijah's fear and you know these other underlying
failures encourage him to abandon his duty as a messenger
of God. The hand of the Lord came upon
Elijah so he can be driven to Jezreel and he was not meant to
leave. Their revival technically just
broke out. You would think that a people
have been revived, need further instruction and guidance,
certainly because of one moment coupled with many other issues
that caused that one moment to be bigger than what it was
supposed to be. Elijah left a people who needed
him and now he's wallowing in self pity.
What are you doing here, Elijah? What are you doing here, Elijah?
And you know what? It would do us all good from
time to time to pause and ask ourselves that question and
maybe ask somebody that you love that question.
One of my favorite reflections and challenging verses for
myself at least. You're more than welcome to use
it for your own walk. About where I am in my walk with
the Lord is the last verse of Psalm 73.
I've mentioned this to you before.
I think it's a question that you and I can ask every week.
This is what Asaph says about himself and Psalm 73, verse 28.
But for me it is good to be where he didn't say it's good
for me to be in the temple, He didn't say it's good for me to
be around believers. Those are all wonderful things
he said. But for me it is good to be near
God. You know, that implies you can
believe in God and not be near him.
Did Elijah love the Lord? He loved the Lord, he loved the
Lord. He's about to answer in a moment
saying, I've been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts.
But even men of such caliber, Asaph, who wrote this Psalm was
a worship leader in the temple. By the way, hey, worship team or
praise team, you know, it's possible to sing and not be near
God. It's possible for me to preach
and not be near God. Just because you have a position
or a gift does not automatically promise close fellowship with
the Lord. What are you doing here, Elijah?
From time to time, pause and ask yourself, am I near God?
And if I'm not near God, you know yourself better than
anyone. Why am I not near God?
Because that's what God wants to get to with Elijah.
What are you doing here? Let's let's unpack what brought
you to this point. Because you're not supposed to
be here. So now why am I not?
Why am I not? Why am I finding myself sipping
from other cisterns more than the well of life?
Why am I getting more comfortable warming myself
around worldly charcoal fires like Peter did on the night of
Christ's betrayal? Why, why, why am I here?
Why? Why do I find myself at one
point this, what I'm watching would have been repulsive and
offensive. Now I'm enjoying why?
Why am I distancing myself where at one point you couldn't
convince me otherwise to not go to the House of God on the
Lord's day? But why am I more and more now
inclined and getting comfortable and even finding excuses to not
go? Why?
What am I doing here? And I hope you have friends and
I hope you have leaders in your life that are willing from time
to time to ask that question when it's necessary.
What are you doing? Why are you doing what you're
doing? Hey, you want to know God?
Here's God. This is the mind of God.
To ask this question is sanctifying, and it's very safe.
And he's not going to just ask it once.
So he asks him, what are you doing here, Elijah?
And here's the answer. I've been very jealous for the
Lord, the God of hosts, for the people of Israel have forsaken
your covenant, thrown down your altars and killed your prophets
with the sword. And I even I only am left and
they seek my life to take it away.
So in his confession about his condition, notice that Elijah
admits his love for the Lord says I've been very not just
jealous, very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts.
So this admission does not showcase that Elijah was weak in
terms of how he felt about the Lord, necessarily about his
conviction about who God is and what he's deserved.
But what it does reveal is that there was this appointment in
his love for the Lord. It's possible to really love the
Lord, give everything to serve the Lord, and no disappointment
in that. And that's certainly true for
this man of God. And what's really the gist of
it? He felt as though his efforts
and his stance availed to nothing.
Because he says what? I've been jealous and the people
have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars.
And guess what? They want to kill me.
And listen, although you and I
can appreciate a line just honestly here and applaud him
for spilling out his soul. What he's saying is that
entirely true? Is it?
What are some things that are not true?
I just response to the Lord's question.
Yes, I'm the only servant of God in all of Israel.
You know, sometimes it feels like that when you serve God,
but that's not true. He's about to discover that's
not the case at all. What else?
There's one one other thing, the.
People didn't seem to destroy him.
That's right. So he exaggerates the enmity
that he was supposedly experiencing.
It was Ahab, mainly Jezebel, who called for his death.
But notice how he explains it. It says here for the people of
Israel, I have forsaken your covenant, thrown on your altars
and killed your prophets. And I even I only am left for
they and they seek my life. Who's the they, the people of
Israel? Was that the case?
The people of Israel weren't seeking for his life.
This one. Person you know one of the
common outcomes this is so important to to grab a hold of.
One of the most common outcomes of entertaining despondency and
a downcast spirit is that it has a way of convincingly
exaggerating the disappointments that wounded you to begin with
you. You hear it all the time and
perhaps you don't even realize it.
So you have a family who's been hurt by the church or church
that they were involved with, served with, served in, and
because of that hurt, what happens all churches now.
Are. Problems not to be trusted.
You have one sour experience with a Christian or a few
Christians. All Christians are like this and
so many other examples. How disappointment when it
simmers has a tendency for us to exaggerate the problem.
And if it's not challenged by people in your life who love you
enough to say that's not the case of the bride of Christ,
that's not the case of how ministry is.
That's not the case of how leaders in the church are like.
Yes, it might be true of some, but that's not the case.
As a general description or experience, that's not the case.
And with that, if you don't have God's objective truth and
standard and commands, and it'll be and promises and warnings
ever before you, then you will be a victim of this kind of
thinking. And it will be even more
paralyzing the more you stay there.
So we see that with this man of God.
It's amazing how the Bible unravels the way we think in
these stories and what's possible for us in those
seasons. So we see here that the Lord is
going to counsel him and the Lord is going to unpack
something for him. And how is he going to do that?
Elijah doesn't entirely answer the question.
He just kind of talks about why he is feeling the way he's
feeling. But look what the Lord patiently
does in verse 11. And he said, go out and stand on
the mount before the Lord and behold, the Lord passed by.
Reread verse 11 with me the first part and tell me if it
sounds familiar. And he said, go out and stand on
the mount before the Lord. Stand before the Lord.
That's what he's asking Elijah to do.
Elijah, come out and stand before the Lord.
By the way, just an interesting, I'm just going to throw this at
you and I'm going to come right back.
OK? Can I do that?
All right, Look again at verse nine.
There he came to a cave and lodged in it.
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him.
And he said to him, I just think that's interesting.
OK, I'm coming back now. So now you come here to verse 11
and he said, go out and stand on the mount before the Lord and
behold, the Lord passed by. Do you remember how Elijah was
introduced to us in our study of this man of God?
Go back to first Kings 17 verse one.
Now Elijah, the Tishbite of Tishbi and Gilead said to Ahab,
as the Lord, the God of Israel lives before whom I stand.
There shall be neither dew nor reign these years except by my
word. Look at first Kings 18 verse 15.
And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand,
I will surely show myself to him today.
Elijah love to say that. Elijah love to publicly confess
I stand before the Lord. I am constantly and readily
available for whatever he asked me to do.
I live before his face. I stand before the Lord.
I stand before the Lord and now it's as though in this very low
point of his life, the Lord is graciously leading back to that
place that he walked away from verse 11 again, look at it.
And he said, go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.
Elijah, I want you to rediscover that inner posture that you
deserted. I want you to stand before the
Lord again. And the aim of him now standing,
yes, physically before the Lord, but this was to get his
spiritual legs up once more, is that he would remain there.
Not just visit that place, but stay there like he was in
chapter 17 and chapter 18. I want you to park there, not to
hide in a cave, not to hang out under a broom tree.
I want you to remain before me. And he's going to do it by
providing a spectacular manifestation of himself.
And you and I read it well. He's going to whiz through with
supernaturally amplified wind and he's going to split the
earth with an earthquake and he's going to create flames that
make no sense apart from God lighting out on fire.
But. Often times people misunderstand
why the Lord's doing this. One can make the case that
Elijah needs a fresh revelation of the majesty of God, right?
He lost sight of who God was. So God's.
OK, let me just give you a quick panorama of what I'm able to do.
I'm sovereign over all nature, whether it's wind, earth, fire,
anything, rain. You just saw that I can control
all things, I can summon all things.
Everything is a subject to me that could be part of it, that
could be a perk to this moment. But notice again what the Lord
says in His word about each of these things being displayed
before Elijah, whether it was the wind or the earthquake or
the fire, different elements. What do they all have in common
according to these verses? What are we told repeatedly?
The Lord wasn't in it. The Lord wasn't in the wind.
The Lord wasn't in the earthquake.
The Lord wasn't in the fire. And strangely, we're told in the
ESV that there was the sound of a low whisper.
And Elijah, with his spiritual sensitivity at that time,
realized that's where the Lord is.
And so in reverence he covers his face and he goes to the
mouth of that cave to meet with the Lord.
Why did the Lord do this? You have to remember again what
Elijah's problem was. God is providing a very precise
prescription to the malady of his soul.
You know what Elijah felt that his preaching, that his praying,
that his protest were unsuccessful, all in vain.
I mean, you got to kind of have to sympathize with him if you
with the instrument God used to see fire come down from heaven
and subsequently rain come down from heaven in the name of the
true and living God. And the response of that is the
queen wanting to kill you. I'm certain Elijah felt what
else can we do here? What else can be done?
This is a lost cause. That's why he's like, it's
enough. Lord, take me.
There's nothing else that can be done.
What other performance, what other exhibition can be made for
the stubborn people, namely the leadership, to realize that
their own fault and that they need to repent?
You know, some preachers feel that way after they thought they
preached. A good sermon doesn't even come
close to what Elijah did. This man saw God do so much and
he thought that it would produce so much and it didn't.
What does the Lord do now in response to this?
He comes in supernatural, glorious, stunning, manifest
power, but each time it shows up, we're told the Lord wasn't
in it, the Lord wasn't in it, the Lord wasn't in it.
And then this whisper comes like there's nothing.
There's nothing impressive about a whisper, is there?
Whisper. I believe what the Lord is doing
here is He's going to teach Elijah that God's ways are not
limited. More specifically, there are
times when he can, like on Mount Carmel, do the unusual, do the
spectacular, and perform the extraordinary.
He can. He did it on Mount Carmel again.
But that's not always the case. That's not always the way He
moves to stir the hearts of people because as you see here,
the same Lord who sent fire from heaven, he doesn't do it again.
He doesn't come in the mighty wind.
He doesn't come in the earthquake.
He doesn't come in any other way apart from Him speaking softly,
gently, personally. You know what's so remarkable
about this? If you look at the sequence of
things, when it came to the wind, Elijah didn't move.
When it came to the earthquake, Elijah didn't move.
When it came to the fire, Elijah didn't budget.
But read with me again. Look at verse 12 and after the
earthquake of fire. But the Lord was on the fire.
And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper.
And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak
and went out and stood at the entrance of The Cave.
It was that small, small voice that pulled Elijah out to meet
with the Lord. What an incredible illustration
of how God works. Listen, if you're a genuine
servant of God, serving the Lord in any capacity.
Especially if. You're in a place of leadership
and public ministry. You will know the temptation.
You will know the discouragement.
You will know the lies that will try to persuade you that unless
what you do is big. Is.
Impressive is out of the ordinary.
Surprising, compelling. Riveting.
It won't be effective. Again, let me remind you that in
comparison to the wind, fire, and earthquake, a whisper is
nothing. But the whisper worked.
The whisper was the thing that brought Elijah closer to the
Lord. Here's the point.
God can use this. The.
Incredible stages. He can use large number of
things and mountainous resources.
You know what this teaches us? No matter what it is, whether
it's a Mount Carmel or a Mount Horeb, God has to be in it.
God has to be in it. So if he wants to move with
fire, let him move with fire being shot down from heaven as
long as he's behind it. But if he wants to move in a
very informal Friday night Bible study, there's nothing really.
We're grateful for this building, but it's not really
impressive in terms of other edifices, is it Our instrument?
Top notch. My Bible cover is getting ripped
up. Does God need that stuff to
touch the heart of those? Who need a?
Touch. No, you need God behind it, and
that's what we see here. God was behind that low whisper.
He wasn't behind those other things.
So don't automatically equate lavish, big, large, impressive,
worldwide, international. Don't.
Automatically equate that with God being behind it.
Can God be behind it? Yes, because you have other
people who are so skeptical they they have a skewed evaluation of
things. If it's big and if it's large
and if it's impactful, it can't be of God.
It has to be compromised somehow.
You're equally wrong. The ultimate thing you and I
have to determine is, is God behind it?
And in this case, he was behind a small whisper.
So you don't have a giant personality.
You don't have an impressive vocabulary.
I know of preachers who fumble and stumble with their words,
who don't have incredible grasp on deep philosophical ideas.
But you know what? They do have the Spirit of God
behind them. And when they got up and they
speak, you might not find them at these grand conferences, but
men, the presence of God shows up when they do.
I'll take that over any other empty thing that might be
impressive to the flesh. The lesson here is Elijah.
You think that what I did in Mount Carmel was all that I can
do. And you think that unless it's
visible and mighty and large, nothing else can work?
Elijah, I reeled you to myself with a whisper.
What an encouraging thing to know in here.
And so he's drawn out to the Lord.
And look at verse 13. And when Elijah heard it, he
wrapped his face in his cloak. You know what that is?
Reverence, reverence and went out and stood at the entrance of
The Cave and behold, there came a voice to him and said, what
are you doing here, Elijah? You want revelation in the
Bible? Ask the Bible questions, have a
conversation with the Bible. You know, you know what my
question was, Lord, why did you ask the question again?
You already asked them a few verses before.
Here's what it tells me that he wasn't satisfied with Elijah's
answer. So yes, again, he unburdened his
soul before the law, but it, it really didn't explain why he was
where he was. It didn't explain why he
abandoned his duty. So what are you doing here,
Elijah? Now you would think after the
wind and the earthquake and the fire and the gentle whisper that
Elijah would be advanced in his thinking a little bit.
He would have put some pieces together, especially with his
recent 40 day, 40 night journey to Mount Horeb.
Something must have stood together something right.
What are you doing here Elijah? And here's how he answers in
verse 14. And he said, I've been very
jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts for the people of Israel
have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and
killed your prophets with the sword.
And I even I only am left and they seek my life to take it
away. Like copy paste of what he said
earlier. Let me.
Reinforce the truth that I opened up with.
You know what this tells me? It tells me something from God's
vantage point, and it tells me something from the human
standpoint, from God's vantage point.
As the counselor in the setting. It reminds you and I that we
have to be patient with how people arrive to the truth.
We used to be patient. God is patient.
You and I do not have the ability to manifest supernatural
strength and natural phenomena like God did.
And yet, even though God did do that, His servant still didn't
get it and he's still dealing gently with him.
There are times where rebuke is necessary.
Every person is a different case.
In this case, Elijah is not operating in the same way like
let's say Jonah, where God had to be a little bit more
aggressive with Jonah, right? He had to let him drown in the
ocean and let a whale or a big fish swallow him.
And then even after all was said and done, he had to let a plant
grow, give him shade, and then take that plant away from like
he, he had to bruise Jonah a little bit more because Jonah's
heart was different than Elijah. Elijah was very jealous for the
Lord. He, he's just broke in there.
Here Jonah was annoying. Jonah didn't want God to extend
mercy. Here's Elijah seeing God extend
mercy and he's just heart stricken because the people
didn't receive it. So God knows exactly how to deal
with each of his servants. And here he's extremely patient.
And at times you have to be two. You have to be two.
Is there any wonder why Paul told Timothy preach the word in
season, out of season? And in that same instruction, he
says with complete patience. Do you know why he said that?
Because when you preach the Word regularly, people aren't going
to get it right away. When it does, praise the Lord.
And if it doesn't, be patient. Be patient.
Be. Patient with your spouse.
You've had many conversations, I'm sure about it.
And they're, they're genuine in their hearts and wanting to
arrive there. Be patient.
Be patient with your children. They're not rebellious, yes, but
they're not getting it as quickly as you would like.
Be patient. And so we see here that the Lord
is patient, but let's look at it from Elijah standpoint.
He's not getting it. He's not getting it.
Again, we're slow to learn often times, especially when our
emotions are involved and trying to understand and register and
arrive to the right place. And so I'm just encouraged that
Elijah is, is a man with a nature like ours.
And I'm so glad that the Lord left this part in His word, but
how is the Lord going to deal with this now?
You asked the same question. You got the same answer the
first time you revealed to Elijah.
Elijah, I work in many ways. I work in ways that are very
obvious and I work in ways that are very hidden.
So don't limit to what your past experience was and realize that
I am doing a thing that is beyond what you even perceive.
But then he comes and now he says, OK, let's see if
anything's changed. Nothing's changed, nothing's
changed. He's still wallowing in his self
pity. He's still contemplating staying
in this cave and not returning to his post.
So what does the Lord do? This is fascinating, fascinating
to me. Notice what he does here in
verse 15. And the Lord said to him, Go,
return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when
you arrive, you shall anoint Hazel to be king over Syria, and
Jehu the son of Nimshi, you shall anoint to be king over
Israel. And Elijah the son of Shafat of
Abel Mihola, you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
So he asked the question, he gets the same answer.
And what's the remedy? Now?
Get to work. Get to work, Elijah.
And that's enough. I included that last part, but
that's essentially what's happening here, Elijah.
Before this time, you know what his problem was?
He worked himself to the bone and he needed a couple of meals
and a couple of good naps before he can continue.
But that's all been dealt with now.
His body's replenished. He's refueled.
So what's the issue now that if he remains in a state of
inactivity, he will continue to introspect to the point where he
will torture himself and perhaps never return to ministry again?
You know what sometimes the solution is to overcoming
spiritual depression, a downcast spirit, dejection,
discouragement, taking your eyes off of yourself and placing them
on others who have needs. That's some good counseling.
There are times where is you
need a break, you're running on fumes, you're going to destroy
yourself, you're going to destroy your marriage, you're
going to destroy your church. So you need to step away.
This is not practical for long term longevity.
It's not going to happen. And there are other times where
it's OK. You need to stop reflecting on
this. You need to stop grieving.
You need to stop being disappointed.
There is a great field of opportunity that awaits you to
participate in. So get up and go.
You think that God did this in isolation?
No, he doesn't. Go to first Samuel chapter 16,
verse one. You'll remember this when we
studied the prophet Samuel. Look at verse one.
This is after Samuel new disappointment with another
king, not Ahab. Tell me who the king Samuel had
to deal with for many years. Saul.
Was he the most impressive king? No, Saul stressed me out when I
was studying. Saul can imagine how much he
stressed out Samuel. But this is after he said you're
done. You're no longer to be king.
And what's so terrifying about Saul's story is that he had the
throne for years after, but he lost the anointing.
He lost God's favor and enablement and his near presence
that I find out to be one of the scariest realities in the Old
Testament story of how God deals with people, that he let Saul
keep his throne and his palace, but he removed his spirit from
him. I'm not interested in preaching
if that's going to be for me, not interest.
I don't care about the pulpit. I don't if the Lord removes
himself. Why do you care to sing?
Why do you care to do anything for the Lord unless you have His
backing? Saul was left to himself and
Samuel is broken. Look at this, he was grieving
apparently in verse one of chapter 16, the Lord said to
Samuel, how long will you grieve over Saul since I have rejected
him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go.
I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have
provided for myself a king among his sons.
There's a time where mourning has to stop, whether it's the
there is a time for grieving, but there there has to be an
expiration date on it, whether that morning is caused by a
legitimate loss or from disappointment.
There are some people who never return to the local church
because they've been hurt by the local church.
There are people who never serve in ministry again because
they've been burned in ministry. That's not the will of God.
And in this case, we see that he was grieving over Saul.
And the Lord says, OK, the solution is for you to get out
of your room now, Samuel, and get your feet going because I
still have a purpose for you. And my program on the earth
hasn't ceased with one man who was unfaithful.
Get up, go. There's no different with
Elijah. There's a time where counseling
has to close and a new pattern in life has to be rediscovered
or an old pattern that was abandoned.
So he tells him it's time to go. And and here's what's so
encouraging, because what he's going to tell him in the
remaining verses is what's going to give him the strength to be
able to return to where he he was.
Here's the first thing. Come back to First Kings 19.
We already read it, but perhaps you didn't notice it.
He tells him to return to the wilderness of Damascus.
And when you arrive, he says you shall do three things.
The first thing was anoint the king over Syria.
Syria, Gentile or connected to Israel?
Gentile. What is this supposed to say,
Elijah? I have a work to do among the
Gentiles. And.
I want you to play a part in that.
What's? The next thing he tells him to
do, verse 16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi, you shall anoint to be
king overnight. Judah over Israel, the northern
tribes, the northern Kingdom. What's that supposed to mean,
Elijah? Not only do I have a work to do
among the Gentiles and you have a, a part to play in, but I have
a work to do among that apostate, rebellious, idolatrous
people that you were originally frustrated with Israel.
Not only that, because I also want you to anoint the final
person named Elijah, Elijah. And what you're going to do with
Elijah is that you're going to signal him out, and you are
going to set him apart as a prophet.
Who's going to succeed you? You felt like you were the only
prophet around. I'm telling you that I already
have one prepared. Who's going to take your place?
So even. Among the specific lane of His
service to the Lord, there was something to do.
You know what will encourage you to revisit serving the Lord if
you have been on a hiatus or been on a pause, and keep you in
that place of serving the Lord? It's realizing how much the Lord
is doing, how much is out there in a harvest, how many
opportunities await you and I. He tells Elijah, the Gentiles,
Israel, and even among the prophets.
I have things to do and I'm inviting you to it.
I'm inviting you to it. The Lord looks with those
blazing eyes to and fro throughout the whole earth to
see whose heart is blameless towards and for what purpose,
that He might show strong support to that person.
The Lord is always looking for those who are willing to serve
Him in any capacity. That should.
Excite you. That should excite you.
But that's not the only thing. Elijah is not just going to
learn that there are people to Commission and bless and
disciple. Look at verse 17 and the one and
the one who escapes from the sword of Hazel shall Jehu put to
death. And the one who escapes from the
sword of Jehu shall Elijah put to death.
Why is he telling him this? Elijah was fearful and
disappointed for the obvious reason, and one that wasn't so
obvious was the fact that you had the wicked who were able to
continue to prosper despite the rejection of the truth.
Despite all that God had done, you still had evil people
remaining in their state of evil.
You know what the Lord is telling Elijah to encourage him
to revisit that place of service and to endure in that place of
service. Elijah, there is a day where I
will deal with all the evil. Yes, in the world and even what
you experience. There's some people who get so
knocked out, the wind knocked out of them because of people
treating them the way they were treated as servants of God.
Elijah was a true genuine prophet, a man of God.
And, and how was he handled with absolute disdain.
And he was crushed by that. And the Lord wants to remind
him, I'm going to call every person into account, Elijah.
There's not one person in what they've done who's going to
escape my wrath. And I have also put into
consideration everything that somebody has done to you,
whether good or bad. Let that encourage you, knowing
that every slanderous word, every maybe physical threat, no
matter what has come your way that might have caused you to
reconsider honoring the Lord Jesus with your life.
God is going to vindicate you. He's going to vindicate you.
He will stand for you. Though your whole life people
are believing lies about you. Shouldn't that comfort you?
It must comfort you. And Elijah had a fresh
revelation of the justice of God.
Ahab and Jezebel, we're not going to get the final word.
Elijah, you do what I've called you to do.
I will take care of the things that you have no control of and
you have no right to interfere with.
I will put an end to this apostasy and you will be
vindicated because you are my messenger and you have
proclaimed my message faithfully.
Is that the only thing that encourages this man of God is
not the only thing that God gives this man so that he can
revisit that place of service and remain in that place of
service. No read verse 18 yet.
I will leave 7000 in Israel all the knees that have not bowed to
bow, and every mouth that has not kissed them.
So first. He said, look, there's a lot of
work to do, Elijah, and it's time to get to work.
It's time to put your hands to the plow again and keep your
eyes off of yourself and on others who need you.
That's important. Secondly, realize that I will
make all things right. So whether it's external
persecution or internal turmoil and you are caught in the
crossfires or you are the bullseye mark of those who
profess me but don't really belong to me, I'm going to make
everything right. Don't let those things cause you
to reconsider serving me. And lastly, Elijah, I always
have a remnant. You know what causes a lot of
people to not want to continue within?
Their boldness and their courage and their holiness and their
commitments to ministry when you see other people not doing that.
So here you are faithfully serving week after week after
week, and you're looking at others and they're fumbling and
they're flirting with the world. And here you are.
Wherever church you're part of. I pray that you're part of a
church that proclaims the truth, but you're proclaiming the
truth. Your elders are leading
according to the Bible. But what do you realize around
you that the churches that are growing and thriving and getting
all the attention are the ones who are compromising.
And if you're not careful, over time, when you feel as though
you're the only one doing it, it can mess with your head.
And what the Lord tells this man of God is something that is
universal. You might feel like you're
alone, but you're never alone. I always have a set apart
people. They may not be large. 7
thousand among, who knows, Conservatively hundreds of
thousands in the millions. Very likely 7000 isn't much, but
it's still a remnant. And that's something that you
would have to always remember. God is not just working in your
life. God is not just working in your
local church. God is doing work across the
globe. And you're part of that, yes,
but realize that there are others who are enduring what
you're enduring, suffering what you're suffering, and being
faithful as you are seeking to be faithful.
And from time to time, you know what the Lord will do.
He'll allow you to cross paths with other people who are part
of that remnant. And that's what God's going to
do for this man. He's going to allow him to meet
one of those 7000. His name is Elijah.
And I just love how the Lord
prescribes this need. One of the things that we talked
about how Elijah, Elijah rather abandoned himself from
community. And what does God do to to
rescue him? He brings not just a successor.
Listen, if God was just concerned about replacing Elijah
when he would go into heaven, he would have just called Elijah
himself, right? OK, Elijah's gone.
Let me speak now to Elijah. It's your turn.
He doesn't do that. He connects Elijah.
With. Elijah and he allows Elijah to
disciple Elijah, not just disciple but be blessed by
Elijah, develop a friendship with Elijah.
That's a gift from the Lord. If you feel like you are among
those who who you just want to love the Lord Jesus, you just
really want to obey him, that's what you want your existence to
be about. But you look at others and
they're just giving lip service or they're weak or they're
worldly and you're like, am IA minority here?
Am I, am I not reading this right?
Whatever the train of thought may be, realize that God in his
great mercy can provide someone else in your life and all you
need. Yes, you can.
You need a local church, but even one person in your life can
be enough to keep you going, to keep you going.
But notice here that the same truth that we're being told
concerning this remnant is how the apostle Paul uses it in a
very unique way concerning how it relates to us in the new
covenant. Does anybody know where this
passage is found in the New Testament Romans?
That's right. Extra point, if you know the
chapter Romans, but we're in Romans and I hear pages flipping
to Romans. That's OK, I'll wait.
I won't wait too long. Who said it?
What did you say? Romans 11, You want to see how
the Holy Spirit uses this exact passage that we've been studying
this past hour or so? Go to Romans 11 in the first
four or five verses and let's see it as we close Romans 11/1
to five, Paul writes. I ask then, has God rejected his
people? In this.
Context Who are his people? Israel.
Are we reading the Old Testament or the New Testament?
His people, Israel, are his people.
Wow. I asked that.
Has God rejected his people? By no means.
For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member
of the tribe of Benjamin. You can't spiritualize that.
OK, I've heard some people try to spiritualize Israel in the
New Testament, but you're going to have some disagreements with
Paul because he qualifies what he means by being an Israelite.
He's not talking about being a spiritual Israelite.
He's talking about being an ethnic, real descendant of this
people group. Please pay.
Attention, we're living in an age where this is debated.
First two, God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, How he
appeals to God? Look at this against Israel.
That's how fed up Elijah was. According to this New Testament
commentary, He's appealing to God against Israel.
I'm done with these people. Verse 3, Lord.
And he quotes the same passage that we studied today.
They have killed your prophets, they have demolished your
altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.
But what is God's reply to Him? I have kept for myself 7000 men
who have not bowed the knee to bail.
Verse five is so important. What's the application of it?
So too, at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by
grace. If you pluck out verse five, you
can make it say a lot of things. But if you honor the context,
then you know exactly what Paul is trying to educate the people
in Rome about. He says, listen, I know there's
some confusion about the state of Israel and the people of
Israel related to where they stand with God because as a
nation, did they receive the Messiah or reject the Messiah?
They've rejected the Messiah. They've rejected the Messiah.
And so the confusion is around what is God going to do with
this people group? Now, Yeah, we heard that Christ
and we believe that truth that he introduced and inaugurated a
new covenant. But where does Israel fit in
this whole thing? And Paul assures them God hasn't
rejected his people. God has made some promises to
Israel that transcend and bleed into the new covenant.
The new covenant didn't nullify certain promises that God gave
to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their seed.
And he says, can I tell you one of the proofs of that?
Can I tell you remind you one of the evidence as to why God is
not finished with the people of Israel, not spiritual Israel,
the ethnic people of Israel? There is always been a remnant
of believing Jews. In.
Every generation since the inception of the church, there
has always been a people who have believed on the Messiah,
Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And there will always be a
believing community of Jewish people until it culminates to a
a national revival where the entire nation will acknowledge
that this Jesus Christ from Nazareth is the Messiah for the
Jewish people. That's found in Romans 1125,
that when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, then all
Israel shall be saved. You have to do brutal gymnastics
to Romans 11 to say that Paul is speaking about a spiritual
Israel and that the church is the spiritual Israel.
You have to do very crafty origami with the Bible to get to
that conclusion because he qualifies in the beginning.
And if you honor the context and everything really makes sense of
Romans 11. In fact, let me ruffle some more
theological feathers. Romans 9:10 and 11:00 is all
about Israel. It's not just Roman 11.
So when you look at 9:10 and 11:00, that's his.
That's his essay within a larger essay, which is really the
theological treatise of the book of Romans, where he's making a
case about God's election, his choosing of the people of
Israel. And it concludes in this
chapter. And from a personal perspective,
you you can imagine, yes, this is obviously and ultimately
inspired by the Holy Spirit. But Paul relates to Elijah, I
believe, as a minister, as an apostle, as a messenger of this
new covenant. You can see the parallel, right?
You have this man of God, Paul, who is dealing with a stubborn
people who have rejected God. And you have a remnant of Jewish
people who believe, while the rest, like Elijah's case, are
not believing. And so you can see how Paul is
confiding in Elijah. But the difference between Paul
and Elijah is this Elijah succumbed to the disappointment
of the people around him not believing.
Paul didn't, Paul didn't and I believe the reason why Paul then
at least one reason why he didn't come to the point where
he he said, you know, I don't. I stayed in Arabia three years,
I might go back and stay for a longer while is because he
understood this truth about a remnant, something that Elijah
need to learn. Paul learned in his case in the
new covenant, there is always God's not done with Israel,
God's not done. He's not finished.
He's going to prove himself to be faithful.
He's going to prove himself to be true.
He's going to prove himself to be a promise keeper and the
Savior of this. He's going to do it.
That energizes him to continue forth, that Energizer to keep
preaching and praying and believing.
So you see, when you understand these truths as well, which we
can summarize in this, Jesus Christ will be victorious.
You want to keep going? Yeah, I know.
I know it looks bleak out there. I know we would want to see
more, but in the end, it's it's all going to come back to
Christ. It's all you're on.
You're already one in Christ. And all he's asking of you, my
beloved brother and sister, all he's asking of you in this time,
with whatever time left you have on the earth is just be
faithful. Don't give up.
They'll throw in the towel. Don't walk away.
There's so much to be done. God will.
Vindicate His church, and He'll vindicate you personally.
And there's always a remnant. So let's end with these final
verses of First Kings 19. Verse. 19 Of FIRST Kings. 19 So
he departed from there, and found Elijah the son of Shafat,
who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was
with the 12th. Elijah passed by him and cast
his cloak upon him and he left the oxen and ran after Elijah
and said, let me kiss my father and my mother and then I will
follow you. I love Elijah's response.
And he said to him, go back again for what have I done to
you? There's a lot of debate about
what that means. I think a major reason for why
he says he what he says is, look, I'm just the messenger
here. This is between you and God.
God is the one who's calling you.
So you figure that out with the Lord, go back again, for what
have I done to you? And he returned from following
him, and took the yoke of oxen, and sacrificed them, and boiled
their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, and gave it to the
people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after
Elijah and assisted him. What a breath of fresh air after
so much disappointment in Elijah's life.
And even in our study when you had a people who were
vacillating between two opinions.
And yeah, though they did show some sign of repentance.
Who knows how long that really lasted.
And you have Ahab and Jezebel who just stone heartedly just
rejected all that God did before them.
You have this man who when he received the call of God,
listen, he was a successful businessman, 12 oxen.
That's some that's some pretty good stuff.
When he realized that God had called him to be a prophet.
He has a goodbye party. He burns everything away and he
says, I'm not coming back to this.
There's no turning back. And what does he do?
You would think that this is a demotion because the last verse
here says that. Then he arose and went after
Elijah and assisted him. I'd rather kiss my business
goodbye if it means that God's called me to this kind of a
ministry where, as we learn later on, he washes the hands of
Elijah. That's what he that's what he
goes down to that kind of a level where he will assist
Elijah. He doesn't become a prophet
right away. He becomes an assistant.
But because he knew it was God's call, he says that's greater joy
to me than any business, any money, any promotion, any
expansion. I'll do it.
And we are soon coming to the
story of Elijah. Here's how we're closing.
Look how many chapters we have left in First Kings.
Flip your pages and notice where it ends.
Isn't that scary? We're almost done.
And so we're ending our session
tonight with many thoughts that have come our way.
But let's conclude with this thought.
Lord, keep me faithful. Keep.
Me faithful, and if you are drained for whatever reason
tonight, I pray that the truth that you heard would animate you
more, but I pray that you would have enough faith to speak to
the Lord even now and say, Lord, please, I want to serve you.
And whatever you call me to serve you in, I want you to help
me remember that you will vindicate my 'cause I want you
to remind me always that I'm not in this alone, that there is a
people here and there's a people elsewhere that love you and
serve you. And though they may not be the
majority, God, help me believe that these relationships will be
enough for me to live another day to serve you with my whole
heart. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the
blessed word of God. We ask you, oh God, with great
Thanksgiving and gratitude, to chain these golden threads of
truth around our hearts. And we do ask, O Lord, that you
would help us not just survive in our service, but thrive with
joy and strength and a contagious spirit.
So even for those who have been faithfully serving you, but they
feel as though they are losing energy and desire.
Let that change tonight. Please, Lord, let that change
tonight. Let us know the vigor of the
Apostle Paul and let us, oh Lord, realize that what you've
started you can complete and finish in US.
Lord, we ask that that would be true.
We love you, Lord, we adore you. And we ask that you would do
what no man can do, revive our hearts and keep them alive in
Jesus name. Amen.
Yes, priest team.
Thank you. I've seen a lot of people start
and they didn't live past the decade of serving the Lord where
they can't be found. It's.
Easy to start a race, and God describes this faith as a race.
How are you? Running.
Are you losing steam? Are you looking left?
Are you looking right? I hope to preach a message on
this one day, one of the strangest commands that Jesus
gives in all of the New Testament.
It's something that I'm convinced most Christians have
never done, or maybe have done once.
Jesus commanded. Remember Lot's wife.
Is that a suggestion? No, that's actually a command.
Remember Lot's wife. Think about Lot's wife.
There's so much to unpack with that, but I remember stumbling
upon that truth recently and meditating.
Lot's wife, Jesus said remember her.
Her ultimate crime was that she looked back when she wasn't
supposed to. So I want to admonish you
tonight, you can only know strength to keep running if you
stay abiding in the vine. Stand.
With me, please. And let's ask the Lord to help
us keep running this race.