God encourages the discouraged
1 Kings 19
Good morning everyone- We are glad that you are here to join with us.
If you would turn in your bible or whatever devise you use to read the word of God to 1 Kings 19. We will look at what I believe is becoming more and more a problem with a lot of people.
We will see a prophet of God accomplish much and right after he does, the devil comes and robs him of it being a blessing and it becoming a fight for his life. Anyone relate to that?
It seems like right after you see and experience a mighty victory or receive a mighty blessing that soon after you are dealing with issues and events that rob you of the joy that you have just experienced.
We like to call it “the mountaintop experience”- We all like being on the top of the mountain, none of us like when we get knocked off the mountain.
Most have heard someone wrongly imply that if you come to Jesus that ALL YOUR TROUBLES and problems go away- if you have been a Christian for very long, YOU KNOW that is not true- if fact, you quickly learn that being a Christian sometimes puts a target on your back for those who are looking for someone to blame and the devil certainly comes against you when you have experienced a victory in your life.
Elijah the prophet had a mighty victory on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18. He stood amongst a rebellious people and challenged them-How long will you waiver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
Scripture said that the people did nothing! That sounds about right!
Push and shove make a decision and most make the decision to do nothing.
Paraphrased Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. Prepare a bull for sacrifice and see who god is God! They would each call on their God to ignite the sacrifice.
Prophets of Baal went first- they spent hours crying out to him
Elijah taunted them- after hours spent for their God to come and show his power.
Perhaps he is busy! Perhaps he is traveling, maybe he could not hear you! SHOUT LOUDER.
Maybe your God is sleeping
After hours of no response, he prepares the altar for the God of Israel. He digs a mote and puts an enormous amount of water on the sacrifice making it even harder to ignite. Three times, he added more water (37) “O Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.”
“The Lord-he is God! The Lord he is God!”
(40) “Then Elijah commanded them, seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone of them get away! They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered.”
A tremendous victory -God got honor and glory and responded to his prayer.
Here is the text this morning! Watch out when you are on the mountaintop-
There is always someone who wants to knock you off of it.
People will often knock you off.
Even the Lord will not allow you to stay on the mountain too long because we begin to think we don’t need him anymore.
The lessons are learned in the valleys of our life so that we know what to do and how to act when we are allowed to be on the mountaintop.
Like what coach Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers said of those scoring a touchdown- “Act like you have been there before”
There he tore down the altar of a false God and had 450 prophets embarrassed and killed that their God could not do what they claimed he could. HE IS NOW RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE.
1 Kings 19:1-5 Read from Bible
God encourages the discouraged! Ever been there?
It would be great to live in the victories forever! To always be on the mountaintop.
What follows a victory- usually an attack from the enemy- on us or on those close to us. Something that is close to home to discourage us from what the Lord has just done.
Illustration
I have to admit that I have made some bad decisions in my life.
ANYONE KNOWWHAT I AM TALKING AOBUT?
Most of the time they have been after something real good or real bad has happened- Say amen!
You are on a mountaintop and you expect to stay there forever and when you are not then you feel like God has abandoned you. (The Lord does not leave us on a mountaintop) life lessons are learned in the valleys.
You have what you think is your life in order, without drama and out of the blue with what seems to be no reason at all you world suddenly is in chaos.
What you expect doesn’t always happen.
What you think is not what everyone else is thinking and life can get messy real quick.
The Lord defeated (different than thinking that you defeated) the 450 prophets of Baal. But Elijah let the evil King Ahab’s evil wife Jezebel run him into hiding.
Lesson learned 1
It is a mistake to run after a victory-
“May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
Dead/ the same that your God did to the prophets, I will do to you.
(3) “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.”
Remember last week looking at David and Goliath-
“Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.”
“For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
Check this out!
“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle to meet him.”
What did Elijah do- “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life”
Lesson learned 2
God does not answer prayers that are not in his divine will
(4) “While he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. I have had enough, Lord. He said. Take my life, I am no better than my ancestors. Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.”
Aren’t you glad there are some prayers you pray that the Lord does not answer!
I am not talking about suicide here or mental disorders- get the help needed when needed!
But out of frustration most of the prayers go out I have had enough! (I do not know what to do and I do want to stay in this state of mind or circumstance)
I am no better than my ancestors- Take me out of this situation! I want to die.
Pure exhaustion and he fell asleep under the tree.
Lesson learned 3
Rest and a new day brings hope and strength
(5) “All at once an angel touched him and said “get up and eat” he looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.”
The Lord met the need of food and water and let him rest again.
We do not know how long he rested.
“The angel came back a second time and feed him and gave him drink again and said “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you. So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled 40 days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into the cave and spent the night.”
Elijah, a man of God who had done great things, now filled with fear and stress. One who was praying to die, overwhelmed by the circumstances, in isolation and the Lord meet him where he is and helps get him to where he needs to be.
As believers living in 2023, we may be going through the same things with the stresses of life- We will only find our strength in the Lord and let him minister to us under our broom trees.
Philippians 4:13- “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
We find strength in Christ!
Elijah felt alone but He was never alone- as a believer, He will not abandon us.
Matthew 11:28- “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
“And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” 1 Samuel 30:6
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
As we close, this is the last lesson we have time for this morning.
Maybe as a time of devotion this week go back and reread 1 Kings Chapter 18-20. It will be a good 30 minute devotional.
Lesson Learned 4
Just because God has not answered your prayer the way you wanted him too does not mean He did not answer your prayer.
After all, Elijah prayed to die and then was complaining that people were trying to kill him.
Remember Elijah was one of two men that didn’t suffer physical death- Enoch and Elijah- Elijah was taken up later in a whirlwind and then was on the Mt. with Jesus at His Transfiguration.
Jesus knew the big picture for Elijah
Get up and eat- get up and eat a second time. “So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.”
The Lord knows what you are in need of and He knows what you are going through!
Elijah, what are you doing here? He is not asking because he didn’t know- he saying how did you get here?
(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.”
Stop hiding and running Elijah- Get into my presence and focus on me!
“The a great and powerful wind tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but after the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, after the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
What are you doing here, Elijah?
I am the only one left- they are trying to kill me! Sound familiar? We often fell like we are the only ones going through something/something. The devil convinces us that we are the only ones! We are not and we are not abandoned like we feel.
