June 10, 2001 -- AM
GOD’S SLIENCE IN THE STORM OF DISCOURAGEMENT
1 Kings 19:11
INTRODUCTION:
(1) The world does not care if I die; it only cares that I get out of the way if I cannot compete.
(2) With God, dust can have a destiny and human frailty can be covered with eternal glory.
(3) To stand at a crossroads does not mean God has abandoned me. If not brings me to a crossroads, it is His business to get me beyond it.
(4) The wind was strong enough and concentrated enough that it tore rocks as Elijah watched from the opening of the cave. Yet God was not "in" the wind. The same is mentioned about the earthquake and the fire. The forces, powerful forces to say the least, did not harbor God’s presence nor signify His end in view. Because the Lord uses the wind on occasion, does not mean that every occurrence of wind is an example of His desire. God does not always operate in the realm of the spectacular.
PROPOSITION: SERVING GOD IN CATACLYSMIC OCCURRENCES IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR COMMUNING WITH HIM ON A DAILY BASIS.
Here are Four lessons from God’s silence in the storm before Elijah.
I. God lets life humble us (1- 4).
A. Elijah was riding the crest of a victory.
Elijah had just single-handedly overseen the embarrassment and execution of the devious prophets of Jezebel’s sinister Baal worship (chapter 18). In chapter 19, Elijah was blamed for the execution (1). No one else was charged with what had been done. Only Elijah was sought for the sake of revenge ("all that Elijah had done").
B. Elijah responded to threat in fear.
Jezebel threatened Elijah (2).
Elijah responded out of fear (3). He ran for his life. He felt inadequate to face the situation.
Note that he left his servant in Beer-sheba. Elijah was saying, "I want to get alone." He sensed his need to get alone before God and pray (4). Note that he went a day’s journey into the wilderness. Note that he sat down under a juniper tree. When a man or woman feels threatened and inadequate, the safest than most secure thing to do is get alone with God. Moses did it. Joshua did it. So did the prophets, the apostles, Paul, and even the Lord Jesus Himself. Why don’t we?
C. Elijah felt hypocritical.
Elijah was worn out and unfit to make decisions. He wanted another miracle. If he really wanted to die, Jezebel could accommodate him.
Note his feeling of hypocrisy: "I am no better than my fathers". His fathers were weak and now he felt weak. He was critical of them and now he was critical of himself. Do you ever get that way? Can you identify with Elijah?
Elijah realized that he was no better than "his fathers." He was brought down from pride (19: 4). Perhaps he had been critical and over confident.
D. Elijah wanted to die.
In verse four, Elijah requested to die. Now tell me that he did not feel bad. Tell me that he felt up to the situation. Tell me that he was just bubbling with the joy of the Lord. You know as well as I that he was hurting. You know very well that he was showing himself just as human and you and me.
Note also that he thought he could handle no more (it is enough!). He probably yelled this. He probably really uncorked on this statement.
Life can make us feel as if our actions make no difference (4).
Elijah laid his request before the Lord and trusted the answer to Him. Maybe deep down he did not want to die, but he felt like it a little closer to the surface. He just prayed. This was his way of calling for help. Too often we feel that God is unapproachable with our true feelings. We feel we have to put on a glossy exterior for Him so that we can pray.
When we feel that nothing we do matters we must listen for the voice of God and rely upon His power.
II. God takes over when our strength is gone (5-8).
A. It is no sin to rest when your spirit hurts.
Elijah laid down to sleep (5). Oh how much like Elijah I am. When I get depressed and frustrated, I find that after I pray hard, rest helps much. Elijah slept under the juniper tree, the place where he prayed. It was there than an angel touched him. Sometimes the Lord sends a message to you when and where you rest after leaving your troubles with Him. Elijah needed strength. The Lord fed him. When you need strength the Lord will feed you too. He may say a rise and eat. If you obey, you won’t regret it. It is no sin to get rest when your spirit hurts (6). The Lord knew that Elijah needed more strengthening and encouragement (7). Elijah was afraid and God gave him courage.
B. Sometimes the Lord sends a message when you rest.
When your world is filled with storms of doubt and discouragement, it is helpful to know where to find the Lord because He is constant. God is never more than a prayer away and can be reached from anywhere in the world. The constant is comforting.
Elijah traveled 40 days in the strength of two meals (8). God knows what we need for what is ahead. We need to let him give it to us.
III. God¡¦s heavenly will does not always make earthly sense (9-14).
A. Elijah would have chosen a storm.
God spoke to Elijah after Elijah had detailed the discouragement he felt at the moment. He had real reasons for his feelings as he explained (vs. 9-10). The prophet said, "I have been very jealous¡K" (I have served in your program); "I only am left¡K" (I carry the load by myself); "I am in danger..." (I am in this without You).
Man¡¦s thoughts & ways are not God¡¦s thoughts & ways.
B. Elijah needed to hear a small voice.
There was a question about Elijah’s motive for service (9). This great man of God cared about the lack of spirituality among God’s people (10). He mentioned his jealousy and the fact that his people had forsaken the covenant, thrown down altars, and slain prophets. He ¡§felt¡¨ that no one else was spiritual. Only he cared about God¡¦s cause. GOD, HOWEVER, WANTED ELIJAH TO CARE ABOUT GOD. More important than participating in the cause of God is making interaction with God your cause. The Lord was not in the wind, earthquake, or fire. The Lord disclosed himself in the still small voice, where He was trying to speak to Elijah when he felt inadequate (11-13).
Elijah needed God at this moment. God could only be found in fellowship and Communion. This could only occur where Elijah was still enough to hear the still small voice and know that the Lord was God. God was not "in" earth, wind, or fire. Idolatry sacrifices to cataclysm (big event) theology and tends to miss communion. As a consequence, the believer can find himself in a storm of doubt when a big event does not fit his plans or does not fulfill them.
C. Why was Elijah told to stand on the mountain?
It gave him opportunity to see. He was above the action. This protected him. It exposed him to the Lord in trust. It gave him chance to obey. What mountain was this? Mt Horeb is a mountain range and Mount Sinai is the highest peak. This is the place where God gave Moses the covenant. Elijah’s experience here is similar to Moses’ experience in exit 33: 22.
God told Elijah to go to the entrance of the cave where he was to stand on an elevated area in front of God. Elijah stood before the Lord (Jehovah). The self-existent one was going to disclose His presence. This God has always made the rules and does not change with the passage of time. Cities and civilizations will come and go; organizations will rise and fall; people will arrive, alter and exit; but God never changes.
D. The wind should never be confused with God.
* and a great # Ex 19:16 20:18 Job 38:1 Ps 50:3 Isa 30:30 Eze 1:4 37:7 Na 1:3,6; # Heb 12:18-21 Zec 14:5 Mt 24:7 27:51-54 28:2 Heb 12:26 Re 11:19 16:18
All these physical phenomena were known to be often precursors of God’s coming (Exod 19:16, 18; Judg 5:4-5; 2 Sam 22:8-16; Pss 18:7-15; 68:8; Heb 12:18). There followed a faint whisper, a voice quiet hushed, and low. Elijah knew it instantly (v. 13a). It was God! What a lesson for Elijah! Even God did not always operate in the realm of the spectacular! EBCOT -- 11-14
Watching the wind and waiting for it to be just right, diminishes reaping! Eccl 11:4 -- He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.
John 3 ¡V the wind blows where it wills, so with the Holy Spirit.
The arrival of the Holy Spirit came like a storm. Acts 2:2 -- And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
The Lord passed by. As a result of the Lord’s presence, a wind tore into the mountain range. This was a storm. Yet, God was silent in the face of the storm. He was not there. How was God not "in" the storm? Breaking rocks requires a big wind: fast and furious, hard and heavy, big and bad, wild and whirly. Perhaps this was a tornado. It covered the mountains but God was not there. He passed by and the wind came. The wind is not to be confused with God. Neither the earthquake nor the fire is God.
See Acts 2 where the sound of wind and the appearance of fire accompanied the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Also, compare the day Christ died. When Jesus died and when the Holy Spirit came, the occasions were marked with storm conditions that indicated the Lord passed by. However, the Lord was not in the wind, fire, or earthquake. The cataclysms marked where God had been but not where He was.
E. To hear a small voice:
1. Be quiet.
2. Pay attention.
3. Avoid distractions.
4. Listen carefully.
IV. God thinks beyond us (15-21).
A. God gave Elijah specific orders (14-16).
B. He granted the prophet a glimpse.
He also granted the prophet a glimpse of what was to come after he was to be removed. Note that Elijah still made impact (17). There are more who care than just you. It would help to see them. It would help to know they are there. It helps to know who they are (18).
C. Elijah was shown a friend.
He found Elishah in the way who would train to carry on (19-21).
CONCLUSION:
The Christian campaign is not Communion with Christ.
Train our ears, Lord, to hear your soft urgings and teach us to respond to your voice as your good sheep. We know you and we know your voice.
The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God (James 1: 21). Our choice would be a storm that served our purpose but God wants to speak to us. This requires a tone of disposition that will listen to a still, small voice.
The ministry of prayer and the Word wore Elijah out. The spiritual leader can get dry himself. We must seek God’s face. Fear makes us go through more than we need to. Elijah was looking for God in people and himself. Many are looking for a shortcut to get God’s glory and blessings. To seek God¡¦s face, there are no shortcuts or substitutes. Find God in His Word. Find Him on your knees. Find Him in your praise and worship.
It is easy to feel alone in the face of threat. In the struggle we may want God to fight for us and visibly "beat up" our oppressors. He may not be in that fight the way we want to see Him. We may have to listen to His will in the still small voice.
His voice comforts, challenges, guides, reassures and makes His presence known to us. -- Mark Beaird
In Directions, James Hamilton writes:
Before refrigerators, people used ice houses to preserve their food. Ice houses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the ice houses, and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer.
One man lost a valuable watch while working in an ice house. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn’t find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the ice house during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch.
Amazed, the men asked him how he found it.
"I closed the door," the boy replied, "lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking."
Often the question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are being still enough, and quiet enough, to hear. -- Phillip Gunter in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.
Walking close to the Lord does five things for me:
„X It makes me more aware of my shortcomings.
„X It makes me more forbearing and forgiving of the shortcomings of others.
„X It energizes me to serve God.
„X It increases my respectful appreciation for those who walk with God.
„X It increases my love for my Lord.
