Most of us will admit that we have lost that battle at times.
However, some are more easily discouraged than others.
1. Some get discouraged with their jobs and quit them, only to later regret it.
2. Some get discouraged with their churches and quit them, only to later regret it.
3. Some get discouraged with their marriages and quit them, only later to regret it.
4. Some get discouraged with investments they have made, and pull their money out of these only later to regret making such a decision.
But a good rule to follow as we face discouragement is, do not make life changing decisions when you are discouraged. If you do, you most likely will make the wrong decisions.
Some of the greatest men who ever lived have become discouraged.
• Martin Luther, the great reformer, went through some difficult times and often became very discouraged.
• Abraham Lincoln was known for his discouragement that led to deep depression.
• John the Baptist got so discouraged in a jail cell, that the Lord had to send a disciple to encourage him.
• Elijah, one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, was known for discouragement.
The battle of discouragement is a battle that we fight every day of our lives, and it is essential that we learn how to overcome it before it overcomes us.
Discouragement can do more to ruin our lives than anything on the face of the earth.
Some could have achieved greatness in their lives, but they allowed discouragement to stop them from achieving what they were capable of.
Everyone has gotten discouraged, but those who have been able to achieve greatness in their lives are men and women who learned how to OVERCOME DISCOURAGEMENT.
Illus: Zig Ziglar, who is known for his great motivational speeches to drive men to greatness said, "You don't drown by falling into water, you only drown if you stay there."
Illus: An ice skater caused people to look at him in pure amazement as he performed before them. A lady asked him one day, “How did you ever learn to skate like that? Do you ever fall?” He said, “Lady, I learned to skate like this, not because I have not fallen, I learned to skate this way because every time I fell I got up!”
But many in our society have gotten discouraged and wished they could be like the people on this television program that is called “Star Trek”, and when the times start to get rough they could say, “Scotty Beam Me Up!”
Let’s look at the scriptures to see how we can get “Beamed up”, and learn how overcome DISCOURAGEMENT IN OUR LIFE.
Elijah is considered by many to be the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. But what many do not know is that Elijah got so discouraged, that some think perhaps he had a minor nervous breakdown under a juniper tree.
Let me show you what I mean. There are several things we need to look at in the life of Elijah, such as-
I. THE PLACE
The year is about 870 BC, and Israel has been split into two kingdoms for over sixty years:
• The southern kingdom, Judah (Jerusalem)
• The northern kingdom, Israel (Samaria)
Elijah’s story begins in 1 Kings 17:1-3, we read, “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.”
Notice, Elijah not only said it would not rain for three and a half years, but also said, “…there shall not be dew nor rain these years...”
After he told King Ahab, then the Lord told him in verse 3, “Get thee hence….” I AGREE with God, THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO LEAVE, because this is not something Ahab wanted to hear.
We have looked at THE PLACE, but look also at-
II. THE PROBLEM
WHY WAS THIS A GOOD TIME TO LEAVE? Because Ahab was a very wicked king.
• Ahab imitated the sin of Jeroboam by permitting the worship of false gods
• Ahab married the Sidonian princess Jezebel, which was forbidden
• Jezebel actively promoted the worship of Baal, which involved (among other things) offering infant children on the glowing bronze arms of the idol
Some of the best things that have ever happen to some men are due to the wonderful women they married.
But you cannot help but wonder how some men can be so dumb as to marry some of the women they marry. Ahab made a lot of bad decisions, but the worst decision he ever made was when he decided to marry Jezebel. She was such a wicked woman.
Illus: Even to this day her wicked reputations still follows her. For example, you never hear of parents naming their children Jezebel.
She was evil, and generally evil attracts evil. Not always, but many times. And in this case it is EVIL ATTRACTING EVIL!
Look at 1 Kings 16:30-32, we read, “And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.”
This wicked couple was bad for Israel in two ways.
(1) Jezebel began persecuting followers of Yahweh, and murdered many of His prophets.
Look at 1 Kings 18:4, we read, “For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)”
(2) They led the nation of Israel to marry into other nations.
Their daughter would marry Jehoshaphat's daughter (2 Kings 8:26), thus paving the way for Israel and Judah to be reunited under Baalism, and threatening God's plan to preserve Israel under Himself until the Messiah came.
In this desperate situation, God raised up Elijah to call the Israelites back to himself.
1 Kings 17:1 was the public announcement of God's enactment of Deut. 11:16-17, which stated, “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.”
This was a direct challenge to Baal, who was (among other things) the god of storm and rain.
King Ahab had led Israel into apostasy, and the last thing a wicked king wants to hear is God’s man saying that judgment is coming and there is not a thing you can do about it!
King Ahab was not only angry at him for being the representative of God, but he was angry because Elijah had stormed into his presence and told him the bad news.
Remember, the Bible said that Elijah was a Tishbite. Ahab probably thought, “WHO DOES THIS RED NECK THAT IS RAISED IN THE STICKS THINK HE IS?”
From the day that Elijah carried the message from God, his life was never again the same. It would all come to a climax at Mt. Carmel three years later, where he would take on Ahab and four hundred and fifty of the prophets of Baal, all by himself.
Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a test to see WHOSE GOD IS GOD!
Elijah and the prophets of Baal agreed:
• Both would build altars
• The God that answered by fire would be declared to be the real God.
The prophets of Baal were first, and they called upon their god but there was no fire. Elijah made fun of them as they called upon their dead god, saying, “Maybe he is asleep!”
The prophet Elijah built an altar and he called upon God, and the living God of heaven sent fire down and consumed the sacrifice on the altar.
Elijah was certainly on a roll! His spirit’s were HIGH! But did you know that some of our greatest discouragement can come after a great victory?
Illus: Many times when a church is constructing a new church building the excitement is high. But once they move into the new facilities and the newness wears off, if they are not careful they can easily get discouraged. Why? Because the EXCITEMENT OF BUILDING is no longer there, and now the routine of life can become discouraging.
Illus: We are told by the psychologists that many people are depressed after Christmas. Why? It is probably the most exciting time of the year. And the excitement builds as Christmas day approaches, but after Christmas, all we have left are some new socks, (Ha!) big bills, and the routine of life.
What Elijah did not seem to know was this; God had blessed him and used him in a mighty way, but he is fixing to go to God’s BOOT CAMP!
Illus: Ft. Jackson, in Columbia, South Carolina, is considered to be a boot camp. Young folks from all over the U.S. come here excitedly as young recruits. Many of them can visualize themselves becoming Generals one day, and retiring with great honor!
• But Boot-camp is where the comforts of civilian life are removed and replaced by simulated conditions of battle.
• Soldiers don't like boot camp, but that's not the goal of boot camp. The goal is to train and fashion people into soldiers who can effectively carry out their role in battle.
Elijah had been used of God in a mighty way, he actually prophesied it would not rain for three and a half years, and it did not rain!
By studying Elijah’s life in boot camp, we can learn a lot about the pattern of God's training process for our lives.
We have looked at THE PLACE and THE PROBLEM, but also let’s look at-
III. THE PROVISION
When God calls us to do something, God provide the means for us to do it.
Illus: A television preacher came on national television and said that God told him to build a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He did just that, and after so many years they had to declare bankruptcy. DID GOD MAKE A MISTAKE! No, but he did!
God never makes a mistake, and when God tells us to do something, God provides us with the means to do it.
Notice, God PROVIDED the food in two ways:
(1) THE BROOK CHERITH
Look at 1 Kings 17:3 “Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.”
Cherith means "to whittle" or "to file down"--which is probably not coincidental. God had some “whittling” he needed to do on Elijah.
Illus: A fellow who was known for being a great sculptor had just sculpted a large Indian Chief. A lady asked, “How did you carve that beautiful Indian Chief?” He said, “Lady, when I first started, all I had was a large rock. Then I cut off everything that did not look like an Indian Chief. And when I cut everything off that did not look like an Indian chief, I ended up with this beautiful Indian chief.”
Elijah was on a spiritual high, but God had brought him to the brook Cherith, to do some whittling on him.
Cherith was in a desolate place, and God evidently ordered him to go there without any provisions, and for an indefinite period of time.
But notice, with the COMMAND, God also gives him a PROMISE. The first thing that God was going to teach him was that IF GOD CALLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING, HE PROVIDES THE RESOURCES TO DO IT!
Look at 1 Kings 17:4, “And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.”
He trusted in God’s instructions. He went to brook Cherith.
Look at 1 kings 17:5-6, we read, “So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.”
The ravens brought him sandwiches twice a day. The point is that Elijah EXPERIENCED the fulfillment of God's promise, and his faith in God's reliability was strengthened by this.
However, the drought that God had brought on the land through Elijah's word, dried up the brook, so God moved him to the next phase of his boot camp training.
Notice the same pattern of training at-
(2) ZAREPHATH
God issues Elijah another COMMAND which subjects him to yet another test.
Look at 1 Kings 17:8-9, we read, “And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”
Remember that Jezebel came from Zidon. She was a Zidonian princess.
Elijah had been in HIDING, but going to Zarephath required Elijah to travel right through Israel, where Ahab was hunting for him. Zarephath was in Sidon, right in the heart of Baal country.
Once again, along with the command, God gives Elijah a PROMISE.
Look at 1 Kings 17:9b, we read, “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”
He trusts God's promise to provide for him, by obeying his command to go to Zarephath.
Through the BROOK CHERITH, and ZAREPHATH, Elijah learns on a deeper level that:
• God will provide for him and protect him
• God will work through him to influence others to turn to him
• God can protect us from the evil that surrounds us
These are exactly the things he will need when he squares off against Ahab and the four-hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and challenges Israel to return to the living God.
It looks like Elijah has come through BOOT CAMP making a good grade.
We have looked at, THE PLACE, THE PROBLEM, and THE PROVISION.
Conclusion:
But we will see in the next sermon, that this man who was so greatly used of God will reach a state of discouragement that some believe was a minor nervous breakdown.
But we will see also some things that teach us how to overcome discouragement in our lives.
#1 of 2
I. THE PLACE
II. THE PROBLEM
III. THE PROVISION
#2 of 2
IV. THE PREDICAMENT
