• Tonight, I want to give you the whole picture of this story. To understand this message tonight, you need to understand the background.
• The individual of this story is the Prophet Elijah.
• Chapter 18 reveals the mighty hand of God on his life. The mountain was Mount Carmel. It was a battle between 450 of Baal’s prophets and Elijah, the prophet of God.
• The challenge before them was very clear. Whoever could get their God to answer them by fire would be God.
• The altar and sacrifice was set for Baal’s prophets and Elijah.
• Baal’s prophets cried out, cut themselves till blood gushed out, but not a response.
• Elijah’s altar consisted of twelve stones, the wood for the fire, a sacrifice, and a trench around it.
• Four barrels of water was poured on the sacrifice, wood and in the trench. (Looks impossible. Fire and Water DO NOT go together.)
• A simple prayer and the fire of God and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and licked up the water in the trench. WHAT A MIGHTY MIRACLE AND EVENT TO HAVE WITNESSED!!!
• 2ND EVENT: No rain for 3 ½ years and now Elijah tells King Arab that he hears the sound of an abundance of rain.
• On top of Mount Carmel again, Elijah, with his face between his knees, begins to pray.
• He instructs his servant to go look seven times. On the seventh time, a cloud the size of a man’s hand is seen.
• Rain begins to fall as Ahab began to get off the mountain and ride back to Jezreel.
• Elijah, under the Spirit of God begins to gird up his loins and runs back to Jezreel and beating Ahab on his fine horse back to the entrance of the city. AGAIN, THE GOD OF HEAVEN HAS SHOWN OFF IN THEIR MIDST.
• Both events in chapter 18 of 1 Kings are enough to instill great faith and confidence in anyone.
• Chapter 19 opens with Jezebel declaring to Elijah, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
• Now this prophet of the Living God gets scared and retreats to the wilderness.
• After everything that he had just seen and experienced, he tells God that it’s enough now. He can’t take it anymore and go ahead let him die.
• He will eventually tell God these words, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
• God will remind him in the still small voice that there were 7000 in Israel that had not bowed down to or kissed Baal. He was not alone.
• Now before we start throwing stones at Elijah for his fear and lack of faith after seeing the hand of God in his life, we need to examine ourselves.
• In our own lives, God has moved mightily for us. How many miracles and awesome works of God have you experienced in your life. There are TOO many to even begin counting!
• After ALL that God has done for us, we still operate many times in fear. WE ARE ALL GUILTY OF RUNNING IN FEAR.
• Elijah hides in a cave, but then is instructed to stand on the mount.
• A strong wind tore the mountain, but the scripture declares that God not in it.
• Next came an earthquake, but again God was not in it neither.
• Fire would follow. Surely God was in this because on the mount He had shown Himself in fire as Elijah as prayed the simple prayer. Yet, God was not found in it.
• Then came the still small voice. Now Elijah had found where God was.
• God was not found in the noisy this time. He was residing in the stillness of the still small voice.
• Sometimes we get caught up in the noise. We are looking for God to answer us in the BANG.
• Sometimes, He does answer us in a powerful way. But sometimes God chooses to show up in the quietness and stillness of the moment.
• I believe that we sometimes miss the voice of God and our answers because we are looking to hear and find Him in the noise.
• Sometimes it is in the most quiet of times that we hear from God.
• God is still speaking to His people, but the question are we listening for Him and are we looking for Him in the right place.
