STAND ON THE MOUNTAIN
I want us to look at the prophet, Elijah, today. He was a great man of God, bold, courageous, disciplined and faithful to what the Lord had called Him to do.
If we have any aspiring prophets today, this is the man you need to study. The story of Elijah is a challenge to us all, but there was a time in his life that he seemed to have lost all of his admirable qualities.
In a moment, I want to share with you that time in Elijah’s life. Before I do, I want each of you to know that there are times when you may not be too sure if the Lord is still on your side. You may have all of the training and life experience to faithfully serve God.
But there may come a day when you realize that your faith in what you believe (in) is slipping away.
Last week we talked about the hot and fervent fire that the Lord has for us that will restore and refine us.
You may have found the fire from God to have died down to little more than a smoldering ember. Even though you can still remember how it used to be with the Lord, you know when there is something missing.
There may have been a time in your life when:
· Nothing could ever stop you and the faith you had in the Lord.
· You may have sensed God’s presence with every breath you breathed.
· You made all of the right choices (in living for God)
But then comes the time when you sense that the enemy is determined to take everything from you.
He wants more than your possessions.
He wants to destroy you once & for all.
In this story of Elijah, his enemy was a woman who wanted to take everything from him.
This brave man of God was now panicked. He ran and hid in a cave for his protection. Elijah had lost his hope and trust in the Lord, but God came looking for him.
Text: I Kings 19:9 thru 13
Prayer:
I trust that I am not the only one here today that can relate to Elijah. I believe there are those who have (at one time) experienced great miracles in their lives.
Many of us can testify that God has always stood by us. Through the thick and the thin. The good times and the not so good times. We have shouted the praises of God when He has given us the victory.
Some victories we had to be patient for, while other times God chose to surprise you with a victory that came from nowhere. God is in the nowhere. God doesn’t have to have anything to perform His miracles.
Many years ago there was a man who believed that that God was NOWHERE. This was the motto that he lived his life by. This man hated God.
He told everyone that he was an atheist.
Someone would speak to Him about the Lord and he would always say, “God is NOWHERE.”
He had a family that he wanted to convince that God was NOWHERE. He wanted to teach his children what he believed to be true. When his children were small and in school they were learning to read and write.
The man thought this would be a good time to instill his motto into the lives of his children.
As they were learning to write, he had his children write his life’s motto, God is N-O-W-H-E-R-E.
But (much to his amazement) when the children carefully wrote the letters, it read, “God is NOW – HERE!”
This is the motto all of God’s children need to live their lives by. This is what we all need to hear. This is what Elijah needed to hear. God is now here. When our world is coming in around us and we are frightened, we need to know that God is now here.
God will come to you wherever you are. He will find you whenever you are frightened by your enemies.
When God finds us He will ask us as He asked Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
I think you should know that there was a time I ran from God. I have had God come to find me in a dark cave. Yes, I have had defeat come to my life to destroy me.
The details of any of our cave experiences are not important, this morning. What is important is this:
My particular defeat came to me right after a series of great victories. Just as it was for Elijah.
My greatest defeat came to me when I had just accomplished several things for the Lord.
The question I had for the Lord was, “How can I have defeat take place right after a great victory?”
God may give you and I many victories. He can give us a great opportunity and we can be used of Him.
But what we might not realize is that the Lord has given to us all of our victories and defeats for a reason.
To stretch and shape us into what He wants us to be.
An opportunity can come our way, and all we see is the challenge for us to make the difference.
And yet, what God sees is the opportunity to see a miraculous change take place in us.
In facing any challenge, we can become exhausted with what we are doing for the Lord. This happens when we decide to take control of our challenges.
God may want to enable you to face a challenge and even live a victorious life.
But we complicate everything for ourselves and God when we decide to take control (of that challenge).
This is exactly what happened to Elijah.
He was doing great things that God wanted him to do, but Elijah became very tired and confused.
When any of us become tired and weary, we will also become very emotional.
What God was doing for Elijah was great, but Elijah panicked when it became too much for him to handle.
Have you ever had that happen to you? You want to do what is right and good, but suddenly you panic.
· You loose the faith in what the Lord is doing.
· You question the Lord.
· You let things start to catch up with you.
· You become confused and under attack.
· You run and hide from your enemy and your God.
God will come and look for you wherever you are hiding out. Notice how the Lord speaks to Elijah.
God didn’t say,
“Elijah you ought to be ashamed of yourself!
Get a grip! Snap out of it, man! Stop your whining!”
No my friend, God is full of compassion and grace for each of us. God will simply ask you as He asked Elijah,
“What are you doing here?”
Your reply to the Lord might sound like Elijah’s,
“Don’t you understand God? I can’t take this anymore. I have done what you told me to do, but this is just too much for me.”
I can imagine Elijah was tormented with everything that was coming in on him. But God wanted to show him something powerful. God told Elijah,
“Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.”
God wants each of us to see -
· Who is really in control of our lives.
· He can send the wind to blow apart the mountains.
· Or, earthquakes that will shake us up.
· Or, fires that will come to burn up all of the nonsense.
· We do not belong hiding away in a cave.
· We need to go STAND ON THE MOUNTAIN and behold His awesome power over everything.
There is much more to life than disappointments.
We should know that God will someday judge everything that is wrong. It is certain that God will judge everything in His timing.
The purpose of the judgment of God is to separate good from evil when it is (finally) time to destroy evil.
But the judgment of God doesn’t need the wind, or the earthquakes or the fire to make things right for us.
God is not interested in putting on a show to entertain us when we are down in the dumps, or hiding out in a cave. He doesn’t need all of the strength of His might to get His point across to man.
The fact is there are many times when man will not respond to an earthquake or a cataclysmic event.
When the might or judgment of God takes place, man may tremble and fear His hand.
But when God wants man to repent from his sin and self-pity, God only needs to whisper His Word.
I sometimes wonder, “Do we understand how powerful He is with the words He speaks?”
We need to listen closely to the still small voice of God. When God speaks, He may call you by your name as He did Elijah. God wants you to come out of your cave of self-pity, discouragement and depression.
You may be disillusioned and exhausted from all that is going on, but God will speak to you personally.
He knows your situation and what you have need of.
Jesus spoke to people personally who had need:
Simon Peter was once swallowed up in self pity and discouragement. Jesus spoke to Him 3 times to let him know that Jesus loved Him. Jesus said directly to Peter,
“Simon, son of Jonas. Do you love me…etc…etc…”
The same for Zacheus…
"Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
and Mary Magdalene…”Teacher?”
Elijah had only to hear the soft small voice of the Lord speak to him and he was humbled. Elijah buried his face in his mantle to hide his shame from the Lord.
And once again the Lord would ask him,
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah once again expressed his complaint to the Lord. The Lord was patient and simply sent Elijah back to finish what he had been sent to do.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that the Lord will still have patience for us even when we hear His still small voice and yet we do nothing?
God will not give up on you.
The change in our heart, or how we feel, does not come by the judgment of the Lord. Change will take place with the words God speaks to us.
We cannot expect our lost loved ones and friends to respond to the judgment of God, rather they too will only respond to the word they hear spoken of God.
There are those who may not give their life to the Lord as a result of a revival. But will easily commit their life after the Lord will speak through the voice of a small child. It may not be a well-preached sermon that touches the heart of a sin hardened man.
God may choose the smallest of things to bring His people to Him:
Jonah was a hard-hearted prophet of God, but it only took a worm and a gourd to change him.
Peter was a self-centered zealot that was hot headed about being a Christian. All it took for him to know the Lord was to listen to a rooster crow three times.
The sin hardened soul of an old man may have heard all he wants to hear about the Lord, but in a moment will fall to his knees with a word from a loving child.
It is God’s plan and purpose. We live only to fulfill it.
