Elijah: Thriving In The Valleys Of Victory And Depression Series

INTRODUCTION

TITLE SLIDE

• Have you ever noticed that some of the hardest valleys in life come right after your highest mountaintops?

• You finish a big project, and the next day you feel strangely empty.

• You step out in faith, see God answer, and a week later you’re questioning everything.

• You experience an answered prayer—and then a new challenge blindsides you.

• You see God work in a powerful way—but days later, you feel exhausted, empty, and even discouraged.

• You feel close to God at a retreat or worship service, but Monday morning comes and it’s like the joy evaporated.

• Elijah knew that feeling.

• This is a perfect description of Elijah’s story.

• In 1 Kings 18, he’s on Mount Carmel, boldly facing 450 prophets of Baal.

• God answers his prayer with fire from heaven.

• The people turn back to the Lord.

• Rain comes after 3½ years of drought.

• This is one of the greatest victories in the Old Testament!

• But flip the page to 1 Kings 19, and Elijah is running for his life. He’s afraid, discouraged, and asking God to let him die.

• From victory to valley. From fire to fear. From courage to collapse.

• Question: How do you keep going when your spiritual high turns into a deep low?

• Today we begin a new series entitled Feels: Thriving in the Valleys.

• Sometimes our spiritual lives feel like a series of peaks and valleys.

• One moment, we feel like we are soaring high; the next, we experience a crushing low.

• This is a series about when we do and don’t feel God’s presence.

• We examine the journey of faith through the stories of biblical characters: Elijah, Paul, Moses, Daniel, Joseph, and Peter.

• Along the way, we will learn about contentment, doubt and trust, gratitude, God’s sovereignty, and the mission of Jesus.

• Let’s look at Elijah’s story and see three truths about thriving, not just surviving, in the valleys of victory and depression.

• Big Idea of the Message: Through our times of victory and of depression, God shows himself to be a faithful provider.

• Today we will be in 1 Kings 18:20-46; 19:1-8.

• Because of the length of the text, I will summarize 18:20-45.

• So let’s open up with our first observation.

SERMON

MAIN POINT 1 SLIDE

I. Victories don’t shield us from valleys.

• The sun is beating down on Mount Carmel.

• King Ahab has summoned the people of Israel, and they gather in a restless crowd.

• On one side stand 450 prophets of Baal in colorful garments, their heads high.

• On the other side… one man—Elijah, the prophet of the LORD.

• Elijah’s voice cuts through the murmurs:

"How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; if Baal is god, follow him!"

The crowd is silent.

• Then Elijah issues a challenge:

"We’ll each prepare a sacrifice. We won’t light the fire. We’ll each call on our god—and the one who answers by fire… He is God."

The people agree.

• The prophets of Baal go first.

• From morning until noon they dance, shout, and plead, “O Baal, answer us!”

• But the air is silent. Not a spark.

• Around noon, Elijah smirks: “Shout louder! Maybe he’s thinking. Maybe he’s busy. Maybe he’s traveling. Or… maybe he’s asleep and needs waking!”

• They shout louder.

• They slash themselves with knives until blood flows.

• They keep at it until evening—but nothing happens.

• No voice.

• No fire.

• Now it’s Elijah’s turn.

• He calls the people close.

• He repairs the broken altar of the LORD with twelve stones—one for each tribe of Israel.

• He arranges the wood, places the sacrifice on it, and digs a trench around the altar.

• Then he does something crazy—he has water poured over it.

• Once.

• Twice.

• Three times, until the trench is overflowing.

• Then Elijah prays:

"O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel… Answer me so these people will know You, LORD, and turn their hearts back to You."

• In an instant—fire falls from heaven! It consumes the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water in the trench. The people drop to their faces and cry, “The LORD—He is God! The LORD—He is God!”

• Elijah orders the prophets of Baal seized, and they are taken to the Kishon Valley and put to death.

• Then he turns to Ahab and says, “Go, eat and drink—for I hear the sound of heavy rain.”

• Elijah climbs to the top of the mountain, bows low, and prays.