Angels & Demons: protect your blindside
1 Kings 19:1-10
Welcome (Secret Service Escort- unexpected noice- SS go to protect me then move out to the side to stand for remainder of the service
“Expect the unexpected!” I played tight end in high school and I remember one play where we were playing a team that had a linebacker who signed to play at the University of Missouri. I ran a crossing pattern in the middle of the field ten yards deep and I was open and looking for the pass I got completely leveled. I stayed on the ground and was taken out of the game. When I got off the field and the coach grabbed me and yelled, “What were you doing?” and all I could say was “I didn’t see him coming.” In many automobile accidents, when the officer questions those in the accident, the response often is “I never saw it coming.” 96% of victims who have been scammed said they never saw it coming. Say this with me…”expect the unexpected.” David didn’t see Bathsheba coming. Samson didn’t see Delilah coming. Judas didn’t see the devil coming. And all of them were taken out of the game. In fact, Scripture and Christian history are littered with people who were blindsided and knocked out of the game.
Today we’re going to talk about PBS, protecting your blindside. The Blind Side is a movie about Michael Oher, a homeless and abandoned boy who became an All American football player at Ole Miss and first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, all with the help of a caring woman and her family who took him in. Michael Oher plays the most important position in football, left tackle whose job is to protect the quarterback’s blind side. That’s why left tackle is one of the highest paid positions in football. But protecting the blind side is about more than just football. When you’re driving down the highway and changing lanes, protect your blind side! If it sounds too good to be true, protect your blind side! Everything that glitters isn’t gold. So every day, be intentionally proactive and protect your blind side. Because there is an adversary giving 100%, using everything at his disposal including people, places and things trying to take you out of the game. In this series, we’ve been talking about angels and demons. Angels play for God and the demons play for Satan, and there is a battle going on between the two. Here’s the good news: the outcome has already been pre-determined. God wins! So you want to be on the winning team right? If you do, choose God! But then start protecting your blindside because there’s going to be attacks and hits when you least expect it.
In our Scripture today, we have the story of the prophet Elijah. He was one of God’s star players. He was following God’s playbook running every play that God sent to him as a prophet. Let me tell you how the story began…there was a King of Israel named Ahab. Ahab was playing from two books: God’s and the pagan god Baal. Ahab worshipped and followed both, doing whatever was most convenient. Finally, God had had enough, so he calls Elijah in and says, “I want you to go to King Ahab and tell him there is going to be a drought. Tell him God says, ‘Maybe I can get your attention that way.’” Well, Elijah goes to King Ahab and tells him there will be a drought for three years. Then God tells him to get out of town ASAP because the drought made Elijah a wanted man. You know the old saying, kill the messenger.
At the end of 3 years, God sends Elijah back to King Ahab to tell him that He was ready to end the drought but there’s just one condition: you can’t keep worshipping both gods and playing from both books. To prove he was the one true God, Elijah was to summon the people of Israel for a showdown between the prophets of Baal and Elijah. 450 prophets of Baal were to prepare an offering to their gods and then ask their god to bring down fire on it. Elijah was to do the same. Whosever god brought fire will be declared the one true God. 450 prophets of Baal gather the wood and the meat from the bull, and began praying to their god Baal but there was no fire. Elijah cried out, “Where is your god? Maybe you need to pray louder, maybe he’s hard of hearing or maybe he’s gone to the bathroom!” So they pray louder but nothing happens. Elijah then prepares his altar and puts meat on it and then steps back and prays to God to provide the fire. And God sent fire from Heaven, consumes everything, even the rock altar. And it is declared that God Jehovah is the one true God.
Elijah then kills all of the Baal prophets and just when you think the game is over and that evil has been defeated, Jezebel tells Elijah that within 24 hours he will die just as he killed the prophets of Baal. Elijah is blindsided. Elijah becomes afraid and runs for his life. He goes into the wilderness to be alone and cry out to God because all he wants to do is die. At that moment, the Evil One starts to win. He’s vulnerable to all kinds of attack and is downtrodden. But let’s just review Elijah’s accomplishments. He was used by God and became one of the greatest prophets the world has ever seen. He caused a drought for three years. God used him to demonstrate to a widow that God’s food bank is never empty and He always provides. God used him to raise a dead child. Then God used Elijah to be the person who orchestrated fire coming down from heaven. Elijah defeated 450 Baal prophets singlehandedly. Despite all of this, Elijah wants to quit and just die. The Evil One has a way of distorting our perception of reality and stealing our hope for the future.
Expect it when you least expect it. Just when Elijah thought the game was over, and he had arrived in the final end zone of life, Jezebel hit him from the blind side. When it should have been settled once and for all that God is superior, evil refused to die. The story of Elijah reminds us that we can be blindsided at any time. Watchfulness is what King Solomon had in mind when he warned, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Prov. 4:23). With the same urgency Peter wrote, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith....” Notice what God does: when Elijah runs away and gives up, asking God to let him die, God doesn’t turn his back or scold him. God lets him sleep and rest and then brings him food and water. Elijah falls asleep again and rests. When he awakes, God again feeds him so that he might have strength for his next journey to the mountain of God. God comes to Elijah in a quiet, soothing and loving voice and asks, “Elijah what are you doing here?” God not only gives Elijah an audience but he listens to his every complaint. In other words, God was there for Elijah in his time of greatest need, when he had been blindsided.
Elijah’s story teaches that faith doesn’t save us from attack. In fact, the longer you walk with God, the more it provokes the enemy to locate your blind spot, and then hit you from the blind side. So it was with Elijah at the height of his successes. He was attacked from the blind side, and never even saw it coming. You’ve got to protect your blindside. First, keep the right focus. Hebrews 12:2 says, “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.” Here’s the problem with Elijah. When he’s blindsided, he focuses Jezebel and her threats on his life than he does on God. And the result is that fear grips him and he begins to run from God. It’s so easy to move our focus to the challenges, failures and circumstances which blindside us rather than keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. And when you do, you follow the playbook of the adversary. Reading and playing from the wrong playbook always leads to the wrong conclusions. Let me say that again! Reading and playing from the wrong playbook always leads to the wrong conclusions. Make no mistake, when you follow Jesus and live for him, there is going to be adversity. It’s not a question of if only a question of how you respond. Adversity is simply challenges. They’re inevitable. But the truth is, both God and Satan use adversity as a tool to bring about their desired objectives. The enemy will doing everything he can to get you out of the game whether that be through failure, exhaustion or self-esteem. The enemy loves to try to tell us that we’re not good enough or worthy enough or capable enough. It’s in those moments that we need to be reminded, “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”
The enemy uses adversity to try and take us out of the game. But, God uses adversity so that we CAN advance the Kingdom. Adversity is not just a challenge, it’s an opportunity, an opportunity for you and for God’s grace in your life. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-12, Paul writes, “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But the Lord said, ‘‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ In God’s playbook, what lowers us to our knees allows God to use us in the game to advance the Kingdom. He uses it to better prepare us for greater challenges. So keep the right perspective by keeping your eyes focused on Jesus.
Second, get a left tackle. You need a Michael Oher or a Jermon Bushrod, a left tackle whose job is to watch your back. You need someone who not only says “I got your back” but who actually has your back. That means you’re got to let that person into your life and be open and vulnerable to them so that they know what’s going on in your life, your struggles, your failures, and your temptations. That person needs to be able to speak truth into your life when you veer off course, when you play with fire or when you are in a time of weakness and doubt. They need to not only be able to speak truth into your life. They also need to come along side you and walk that journey with you. There are times when they even need to throw a block for you to protect you.
Third, pray. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert” Ephesians 6:18 Protecting your blindside and prayer go hand in hand. Like all other aspects of the Christian life, awareness and watchfulness begins with connecting to the One who is all seeing and all knowing. Don’t you think that God loves you enough that he will warn you and prepare you for the battles and challenges which come your way? That’s why listening to God in your time of prayer is so critical. He can’t prepare you and warn you if you’re not listening to His voice, both in your time of prayer but also throughout the day.
Fourth, know the Word of God. When Jesus was driven into the wilderness and tempted by Satan, each time he responded to Satan with the Word of God. This is your defense and your guide, especially in the midst trials and temptation. Don’t wait until you’re blindsided to go to the Word of God. Live it, breath it, memorize and let it strengthen you so that when you are blindside or tempted, it becomes a guide to your response and a strength in your time of need.
Fifth, be aware of our own strengths and weaknesses. What sins do you find hardest to resist? In what situations do you find yourself most tempted? On the other hand, what people or things or practices seem most helpful to strengthening your spiritual life? Watchful Christians use what they have learned to avoid things that weaken them spiritually, and pursue those that help them grow and strengthen their faith. True, we cannot avoid some people and places but if we can at least recognize where we meet our greatest challenges, we can prepare ourselves before we walk into these "battle zones." The most important thing is that we take an active role-not a careless one-in our spiritual lives by becoming self-aware.
Kurt starts to play “Holy Spirit Rain Down” on piano
That leads us to our fourth point, plug into the Holy Spirit. Repeat this with me: “I can’t do it alone. I don’t have the strength or the stamina.” Being on God’s team reminds us that it is a constant battle. We are fighting an enemy who not only is giving 100% but is also non-stop. And that can take a tool and wear you down. I was listening to a report on the difference of post-traumatic stress between those who fought in WW II and those in Viet Nam. It stated that those who fought in Nam were put in life threatening situations almost daily while in WW II there were often long stretches of time between battles and engagement with the enemy. The result is that soldiers in Nam came home having been beaten down physically and mentally because of the non-stop stress. And the same can be true in us. When you’re under constant attack, it can take its toll. That’s why to fight the battle for the long haul requires the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot do it on our own. We need strength from the Lord to remain alert and to overcome when we’re blindsided.
Committed goes on stage and begins playing as full bad with singers as they lead the congregation in singing. It then leads into Holy Communion.
