Title: The Great Unknown
D.T.: God is worthy of our trust in all situations.
- I don’t know about you... but I am a Star Trek fan. In fact, one of my favorite child hood memories is going to see almost all of the Star Trek movies with my Dad. As soon as it was released to the theatres, he and I would quickly purchase our tickets, and be in our seats to watch some sci-fi action.
- This past weekend, I had the privilege of watching not only one, but two Star Trek movies... which means I had a successful Christmas holiday. And whether or not you are a Trekkie, we are all familiar with the well known quote from the Captain Kirk....
"These are the voyages of the USS Enterprise... to boldly go where no man has gone before."
- Don’t we all feel that way sometimes. That we are boldly going where no man or woman has gone before. That we are heading into the great unknown. Here we are just one day away from the 21st century... this time it will really be the 21st Century. And as we head into a new millenium, a new century, a new year... we are surrounded with so many unknowns.
- A new president finally. How will he lead us? What decisions will he make that will effect us and so many others? A new economy? Will there be enough for me when I retire? How will I take care of my kids and their college education which gets more and more expensive every year? Will the farm prices ever go back up?
- And then there are the great unknowns that are in our personal lives. How will my kids turn out? Will they graduate from college, will they be godly men and women? Will they die their hair purple and get a tatoo across their forehead? Will I have the same job at the end of 2001 that I have at the beginning of the year? How am I going to take care of my sick mother or father? Will my parents divorce? Will I get a divorce? Will I ever be healthy again? And on and on the questions of the unknown go.
- And whenever we face the Great Unknown, there are certain emotions that fill us. Fear, anxiety, excitement, stress. But, the reality is life is full of unknowns. Life is filled with twists and turns, bends and curves. Sometimes our life is like an interstate running through the middle of Kansas, and we can see for miles ahead. We know exactly what’s coming. But then other times, our life is like the ---- which weaves through the Rockiest parts of the Rocky Mountains. Up and down, left and right. You never know what lies around the next corner. The Great Unknown. We’ve all been there.
- That is why our next sermon series is going to be so important for all of us. We are going to be exploring the life a man of God who lived is life on the brink of the Great Unknown. He was a man just like you and me, a man who struggled with fear and depression. A man who experienced moments of questioning and doubt. But in the midst of all the unknowns, God taught him a valuable lesson... He is Worthy to be trusted no matter the situation. And the God of Elijah is our God too. He is worthy to be trusted no matter what good or bad may come your way. He is worthy of our faith and trust. And that is why this sermon series is entitled... "Learning to Trust." Because it is a one day at a time, one choice at a time lesson that we all learn. We learn to trust God each day of our lives.
- That was certainly the case Elijah. He was learning to trust God, learning to rely on him, to put his faith in him in each and every circumstance that came his way. His story is found in I Kings 17-19, and II Kings 2. And we learn a little bit about the circumstances facing him in I Kings 16:29-33. While you look that passage up, Elijah was a prophet to the people after the Kingdom of Israel had divided when Solomon passed away. Why did they divide... well can you believe it was over taxes. That is why they split apart, because of taxes... not much has changed in 2800 years. So now, when Elijah comes on to the scene, you have a Northern Kingdom called Israel or Samaria, and you have a Southern Kingdom called Judah. Elijah is in the North. And the King of the Northern Kingdom is King Ahab.
- Let’s learn a little bit about King Ahab now....
- There was great uncertainty facing the people of the Northern Kingdom. Their leader was wicked, he was evil. And the people were becoming more and more evil right along with him. They were worshipping false gods, and a part of their worship was to sacrifice their first born children and virgins to the gods. And so, they would place these babies, and place these young women on altars and would burn them alive. That is how wicked these people had become. And Ahab was the ring leader of them all.
- And now comes Ahab with a message for the wicked Ahab. Listen to the message Elijah has for Ahab and the people of the Northern Kingdom....
- I Kings 17:1
- No rain, no dew for years. It may not seem that devastating at first. But think about the consequences. Why I remember growing up in Sunny South Carolina, during the hot 100+ degree days of July and August, sometimes we would go weeks and weeks and weeks without rain. And whenever that would happen, there would be water shortages and we would be given instructions on when and how we were to use our water.
- But can you imagine going years and years without any water. Where would your food come from? How would the animals get hydrated? Where would your drinking water come from? You can’t drink water out of the salty Mediterranean Sea. It has to come from wells, but with no water for years, the wells would run dry. 8 days, that’s how long the body can go without drinking any water... 8 days. At first it may not seem devastating... but it was. No water meant death... death for the animals, death for the crops, death for the humans who depend on the water. Talk about the Great Unknown.
- And listen to what God instructs Elijah to do... I Kings 17:2-6
- Elijah was faced with the Unknown. Here he has delivered this dreadful news, and now he has to be wondering to himself. How is God going to provide for me? How am I going to survive the next few years? If the lack of water doesn’t kill me, then Ahab and his army certainly will? Don’t shoot the messenger may work in other cases, but this messenger is gonna be a gonner if I don’t get out of here soon. Elijah was facing the Great Unknown. And so often in life we do too.
- How is God going to help me out of this situation? How is God going to work this one out? What will happen to me and my family, to the ones I love? Will God take this sickness away? Will God provide a way for the bills to get paid, for the food to be on the table? Will God heal the pain that is in my heart, the bitterness in my soul? Will God give me the strength to forgive? What does the future hold for me? The Great Unknown, we have all been there, and Elijah is there now.
- And what does God do. He sends him away in to seclusion and he provides for him there. Sort of a funny way to provide for him. Food from the ravines (which by the way was an unclean animal in Jewish Law, very unusual). Water from the brook, and Ahab would never be able to find him hidden away in one of the many crags in the Ravine. Elijah didn’t know what the future held, but God was teaching him a valuable lesson. God was teaching him a lesson that we all must learn. God was teaching Elijah how to trust. Because you see, Elijah had no choice but to trust. Everyday, the ravine would come from the sky and would provide him food, and every day Elijah would trust that God was going to provide more. Everyday, Elijah would take a drink of water, and Elijah would trust that the water would remain. Everyday, Elijah would trust that Ahab would not find him hidden, and that God would keep him hidden.
- Everyday, Elijah was learning to trust. And then we read in verse 7... "Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land." Elijah would have to continue to trust even though it was difficult, even though the circumstances were mounting against him. He would have to learn to trust.... and so do we.
- The God of Elijah is our God too. He is worthy of our trust. And whenever we face difficult circumstances, whenever we are overcome with grief, or hardship, or heartache. Whenever we are bogged down with worry and anxiety over the future, over the Great Unknown. Use those circumstances as opportunities to learn to trust. Because the only time we can learn to trust is when we are facing the Great Unknown, when we are forced to make that decision... will we be filled with doubt and fear, or will we trust in the God who was and is and is to come. The God who can see the past, present and future. The God who knows what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. The God who saw not only the trial and the cross, but also saw the glory of the resurrection on Easter morning.
- I love the commercial where a daddy takes his little girl to a public pool with the purpose of teaching her how to dive off the diving board. Maybe you’ve seen it, I think it is advertising Kodak or something. And so there they are, the day begins with them both having high hopes of a successful diving experience, but then as she climbs the tall ladder, and as she inches her way out to the end of the diving board and looks down... the fear of the unknown grips her and she just stands there at the end of the board staring down and then at her father, and then down again. Her father pleads with her to jump, tells her it will be okay, but she just stands there paralyzed with fear, unable to trust her father.
- And so often we stand in the same place. At the end of our line, looking into the great unknown, wanting to go forward, wanting to jump... but fear seizes us, and doubts cloud us. And that is when we must trust in the Living God, the All knowing God... the God who is worthy of our trust in each and every situation. And when we learn to trust in the midst of the Great Unknown, then our trust in God will grow.
- And so finally, as the day moves closer to an end, the cute little girl takes a leap of faith. Finally, she learned to trust. And when she came up out of the water, filled with sheer joy and exhiliration. She turned to her father and said....
"Let’s Do It Again Daddy."
