Introduction
I’m from Shawnee, a fairly small town in Oklahoma. Your pastor’s wife, Angela is from there too. We graduated the same year from Shawnee High and were all members of Oak Park Church of God. She could probably tell you all sorts of funny stories about the place.
One of Misty’s police officer friends, Freeland, came across some guys loading up a truck and decided to help them out. They were loading some larger items, so he stopped and gave them a hand and went on his way. Several minutes later, a call came over the police radio with a report of a robbery that just took place at the same house. Yea, he helped the two robbers load up their loot.
Another one of the local police officers told a story of a cowboy that was riding his stallion down a dirt road when a police officer flashed his lights and pulled him over. He said, "Sir, I have been trying to pull you over for a mile. Do you know that your wife fell off the horse, a mile down the road?" The cowboy smiled and replied, "Thank God, I thought for a moment that I had become deaf."
Sometimes we focus on something else and completely miss what is really going on. We may be like Freeland and totally miss the fact that the two guys he is helping load up their truck are robbing the house. Or, like the cowboy, we get to thinking about other things and totally miss his wife who fell off the horse.
Husbands…have you ever been in the car or sitting in the recliner and totally missed what your wife just said? I don’t know about you, but sometimes I am focused on something else and completely miss my wife speaking to me. When I realize it, I ask her to repeat it. I know this must be annoying based on…well…Misty’s reaction. At other times, I don’t want to admit I’ve not been listening and shake my head or do my best to interpret what was said, but that never works out that well.
That got me thinking…I often wonder how many times I’ve been distracted by the cares of this life and miss God’s voice?
From where does God speak?
God spoke from the midst of a cloud in Exodus 24:16 and Matthew 17:5
God spoke from a burning bush in Exodus 3:4
He spoke from the mercy seat in Numbers 7:89
He spoke from the midst of the fire in Deuteronomy 4:11
He spoke from the radiance of a rainbow in Ezekiel 1:28
He spoke from the expanse above in Ezekiel 1:25
He spoke from the highest heavens in Psalm 68:33
He spoke while walking in the garden in Genesis 3:8
He spoke upon the waters in Psalm 29:3
The Lord thundered from heaven in 2 Samuel 22:14
His voice was like the sound of many waters in Ezekiel 43:2 and Revelation 1:15
His voice was like the sound of a trumpet in Revelation 1:10 and 4:1
His voice came from heaven in Daniel 4:31 and Matthew 3:17
His voice shook the earth in Hebrews 1:26
Lets take a look at how God spoke to Elijah…
Text
Please turn in your Bible to 1 Kings 19:9-12
9 There he [Elijah] went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
Let us pray…
Elijah, “The Lord is my God” was a great man of God and zealous prophet. Elijah’s mission was to awaken the Israelites to their sin—idol worship—and call them to repentance and reconciliation to the one true God of Israel. Elijah is a great man of prayer, a man of great courage, and a great zeal for God.
We are first introduced to Elijah in 1 Kings Chapter 17, where he confronts King Ahab, announcing that no rain or dew will fall for years “at his word.”
Ahab had recently become the seventh King of Israel since the kingdom split into Judah (The tribes of Judah and Benjamin) and Israel (the other ten tribes). All kings of Israel were evil, but Ahab was the most evil. According to the historical writer, “Ahab…did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him…. he also married Jezebel…and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.” (1 Kings 16:30-33)
God directs Elijah to a brook. God meets Elijah’s needs at the brook; naturally by the clean water of the brook and supernaturally by ravens that deliver bread and meat to him morning and evening. After a time, the brook runs dry, no doubt due to the drought. I find it interesting that God choses to send Elijah to a brook, knowing full well that it will eventually dry up. That is a sermon for another time.
After the brook dries up, God directs Elijah to a widow living at Zarephath and said He directed her to supply him food. Elijah meets the woman, who is just about to fix her and her son’s last meal before they perish. Elijah asks her to fix him a cake first and then make something for herself and her son. The widow obeys Elijah and, as a result, her handful of meal and small jar of oil last until the drought ends. After three years of drought, Elijah confronts Ahab, 450 prophets of Baal, and 400 prophets of the Asherah.
Baal was one of the principle deities of the Canaanites. Baal was the god of fertility, rain, and vegetation. Baal worship included both male and female cult prostitution and included immoral orgies and sexual acts. Their prophets and priests practiced sacrificing little children and newborn babies in the Baal temple. Asherah was the goddess of war and fertility and the female consort of Baal. The Canaanites depicted Asherah on poles as a figurine or statue.
Elijah told King Ahab and his false prophets to meet him on Mount Carmel for a showdown. Elijah’s challenge was this…”If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him…The god who answers by fire—he is God” First, the prophets of Baal set up an altar, cut their bull into pieces, placed it on the wood, but did not set fire to it. Instead, Baal is to answer their prayer by a sign of fire. They called on Baal from morning until noon, but no fire. They danced around the alter, but no fire. By noon, Elijah started taunting them. “Perhaps your god is in deep thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened. The prophets started slashing themselves. They continued this until evening, but no fire.
Then Elijah said, “Come here to me.” He repaired the altar and took twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes to rebuild the altar. He placed the wood on altar, cut the bull and placed it on the wood. He dug a trench around the altar. He poured four large jars of water on the alter three times until it as drenched and even filled up the trench.
Elijah prayed a simple, but powerful prayer, asking God to answer him in order that the people would turn their hearts back to the one true God. Elijah believed that if God were to perform this powerful act, then all of Israel, the King, and even Jezebel, would repent and turn back to their God. The fire of God fell, burnt up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, soil, and licked up all the water. The people fell down on their faces and yelled, “The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.” The false prophets of Baal and Asherah were gathered up, taken to the Kishon Valley, where they were killed.
Elijah told Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, bent down, and begun to pray. The seventh time he sent his servant to look for rain there was a small cloud that appeared. He told Ahab he had better hook up his chariot and get off the mountain, as a heavy rain was coming. Ahab told Queen Jezebel all that happened. This infuriated her, and pledged to kill Elijah within 24 hours.
Elijah fully expected this grand display of God’s power would turn King Ahab, Queen Jezebel, and Israel back to God but it did not. Jezebel wanted Elijah killed, so he fled and hid. He eventually ended up on Mount Horeb, feeling disappointed, disheartened, and alone. Elijah went from the height of victory to the low of apparent defeat.
Are you on Mount Carmel this morning? Are you on a spiritual mountain with God this morning? Maybe God has answered a prayer and you want to shout it from the rooftop!
Or, are you on Mount Horeb? Are you at a spiritual low where you are questioning God this morning? Maybe you are disillusioned by the circumstances in your life. You may have lost someone close to you or lost your job? Maybe you received a bad health report? Maybe one of your kids is in trouble?
Body
I. Where God is Not
Elijah recently had a mountain top experience, but now he is in a valley. He feels alone. God sent an angel to comfort him and give him nourishment. An angel sent him to Mount Horeb and said God was going to pass by.
Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, is where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, where God supplied water from a rock, and where gave Moses the Ten Commandments. It was a mountain of revelation.
A powerful windstorm passed by that even shattered the rocks, like a powerful tropical storm or even a hurricane. Elijah’s heart probably leaped in his chest. Was this God displaying his power again? While this was a power display of God’s creation, God was not in the windstorm.
After the wind, came a powerful earthquake. The whole earth convulsed and trembled. In Oklahoma, we started having small earthquakes caused by either fracking or wastewater disposal wells. I remember my first earthquake. I was sitting in my office and the wall shook. At first, I thought someone had slammed the door, but the walls kept shaking. If you’ve ever felt an earthquake, you know that uneasy feeling when the ground or floor shakes below you. You feel helpless. Oklahoma earthquakes are normally very weak. The strongest ever reported in Oklahoma was a 5.8 magnitude quake. These usually cause only minor damage. In contrast, the largest recorded earthquake hit southern Chili in 1960. It was a 9.5 magnitude quake
The Bible does not give much detail, but I bet the quake Elijah felt was quite an event. But, God was not in the earthquake either.
After the earthquake, fiery lightening came across the sky, bathing the earth in a glorious but terrifying light. Elijah probably thought, this must be God, as this is the very place where God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. But, God was not in the fire either.
While God, at times, has revealed himself and spoken to people through the power of nature, He is not part of nature. God is the creator of all things and is not actually in nature. God is divine. God is spirit. God is not created or part of His creation.
Like Elijah, I have been guilty of praying to God, “If you would just perform this or that miracle then people will come!” While the miracles of Jesus did attract large crowds, the miracles did not save the crowds. Rather, it was the truth that Jesus spoke that pricked the hearts of men and women. The simple gospel message with the Holy Spirit’s anointing is the greatest miracle.
Don’t get me wrong. I am a believer in Holy Ghost revivals and believe God still heals the sick, the blind, the deaf, and the lame. God still is in the business of miracles. However, the greatest miracle is when the Holy Spirit draws men unto salvation when they hear the gospel message!
Now that we’ve established where God Is Not, let’s find out where God Is!
II. Where God Is
The end of Verse 12 says, “And after the fire came a still, small voice…a gentle whisper.”
After the storm passes and the tempest stills, after the convulsions of the earthquake succeeds, and after the terror of the lightning glare stops, a great calm comes over the valley below. In the calm and quiet, Elijah hears a still, small voice. God’s voice is a sweet and gentle whisper. Jesus said “my sheep know my voice.” The man of God, Elijah, immediately recognizes that gentle whisper of God. Was it an audible voice or a voice that spoke to the heart?
Do you hear that still, small voice at times? It seems to be audible, but only you may hear it. Was that from outside or from within? I’m not sure, but I can hear the voice of God as clear as I can see on a bright, sunny day. Right here behind this pulpit I’ve heard his voice, as the Holy Spirit guides me and directs my path.
Do you hear that voice this morning? Do you hear that wonderful, gentle, whisper of God that cuts you to the heart? Listen…can you hear him speaking to you right now?
The voice of God brings stillness to the soul. It brings an unexplainable peace that passes all understanding. If you’ve sinned, it brings a call to repent. If you’re weary and heavy burdened, He calls you to leave your burdens at the altar and take on His yoke. If you are sick, He calls you to a healing. If you are depressed, His voice brings you joy and comfort. If you are thirsty, He quenches your thirst. If you are hungry, He satisfies and nourishes. If you need spiritual refreshing, His Spirit anoints and fills your cup until it runs over.
Conclusion
Everyone please close your eyes as the piano plays very softly. Listen closely as you pray silently. Do you hear His voice? Do you feel his presence?
Let me ask you again…
Are you on Mount Carmel this morning? Are you on a spiritual mountain with God this morning? Listen for His voice. Maybe God has answered a prayer and you want to shout it from the rooftop. If so, give him praise! Worship and thank him!
Or, are you on Mount Horeb? Are you at a spiritual low where you are questioning God this morning? Listen for His voice. Whatever the need, he wants to meet that need. The alters are open and I’d be honored to pray for you. Do you need healing? Come! Do you need peace in the midst of a storm in your life? Come! Are you disillusioned by circumstances in your life? Come!
