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1 Kings 19 (Part 1) Bible Study (Elijah Flees Jezebel) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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First Kings Chapter 19. We are cracking open a fresh
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chapter in our study of kings, and once you arrive there, we're
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going to read together and the framework of our study is going
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to be the first 8 verses of First Kings 19.
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Are you there with me? Let's read beginning in verse
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one. Ahab told Jezebel all that
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Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the
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sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to
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Elijah saying, So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do
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not make your life as the life of one of them by this time
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tomorrow. Then he was afraid, and he arose
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and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to
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Judah, and left his servant there.
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But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and
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came and sat down under a broom tree.
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And he asked that he might die, saying, It is enough now, Oh
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Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my father's.
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And he lay down and slept under a broom tree.
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And behold an Angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat.
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And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on
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hot stones, and a jar of water. And he ate and drank, and lay
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down again. And the Angel of the Lord came
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again a second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat,
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for the journey is too great for you.
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And you arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that
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food. 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
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Lord, as we sang, we now pray. May the spirit of holiness
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descend upon us. And we ask, Lord, that these
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truths that we will study together would genuinely
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experientially fortify our faith and that we would sense a wisdom
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imparted, a joy erupting. Lord, that we would leave here,
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as we've prayed already, a changed people, so may the
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hammer of the Word, may the fire of the Word, may the water of
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the Word do what only the Word can do in our lives.
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Or we even give what may be a stubborn heart tonight.
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And we ask that you deal with it accordingly.
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Lord, we need Your help and we know that our help is in Your
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Word. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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Let me remind you of what James told us in the 5th chapter of
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his epistle concerning this man who's been the object of our
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study the past few weeks. We were told there in James 5/17
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that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and we may be
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grateful for a commentary about such a superb servant of God.
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It grounds him, does it not, to know that he was human, because
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it doesn't seem human. And though that is an anchoring
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statement about this man, you can still be a person who fails
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to relate to him, especially after carefully studying him
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like we have been in the past few weeks.
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Why? Because up to this point, what
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we've discovered about Elijah that he almost has like this
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flawless track record and his obedience and his servants
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service and his faith and his courage almost feels like it
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towers in comparison to what may be fragmented and inconsistent
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on our part concerning our devotion to the Lord.
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But listen, anytime you encounter any person of the
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Scripture, especially if they're exemplary in their faith, that
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is not meant to discourage you. That is not meant to cause you
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to feel deflated. It's the opposite.
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God preserves such testimonies to invigorate you and to inspire
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you and to cause you to see that God has provided us real people
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to show us. Yes, they might be unique in
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terms of where they are placed in redemptive history and their
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gifting and their callings, but that the general reality of
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faithfulness is possible. So if it's possible for them,
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surely it's possible for me. I can pursue and secure greater
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holiness and godliness and joy and witness and devotion to the
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Lord. But from time to time, you know
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also the Bible does you know it very well because your students
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with the word of God, the Holy Spirit will give us a more
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complete profile of some of these champions of the faith.
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And what I mean by that is you get a more honest look into who
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they are. And it really testifies to the
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validity of the authorship of this of this book.
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So we come to certain people, including Elijah in this
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chapter, and you get really this humbling snapshot of a certain
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season of their life. Because what you're not going to
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discover, as we already read, is that the same man who stood
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before false prophets and an unbelieving nation and
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adversities and trials that would make any average person
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crumble within seconds of being placed in such a circumstance,
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in such a short sequence, is going to be overcome by
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paralyzing fear and surprising disorientation, and with it,
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devastating discouragement. You're almost going to, as you
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study this, feel like this can't be the same Elijah of chapter 18
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and 17, but it is, it is. And the encouragement there is
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that what we're going to see with this man at this point is
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that even the greatest in the Kingdom of God are susceptible
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to being ensnared by the same spiritual traps that you and I
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try to dodge every single day. And we look here together and
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realize that a purpose, major purpose for a text like this is
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not to give you permission to fail or to remain in a state of
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defeat, but to be merciful to those who are and to be equipped
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to avoid the same ensnarements that are capable of capturing
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the most unlikely, like Elijah. So that's really going to be the
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core truth of our study today. We're going to look at a man who
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experienced despondency, heaviness of heart.
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You can call it different things.
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A common phrase is spiritual depression.
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And there are going to be orbiting truths around that core
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truth that are going to supplement our teaching today.
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And that includes what we read in verse one.
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Let's look at it again. Ahab told Jezebel all that
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Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the
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sword. I hope you're attentive at Bible
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study tonight because I'm going to ask you a question right at
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verse one. What stands out to you about
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Ahab's report to his wife Jezebel concerning the events
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that took place on Mount Carmel? Let me give you a hint.
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Something is omitted. Very good.
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Notice again that he says Ahab told Jezebel all that who had
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done Elijah. Where's God in this?
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He's not there. Is that typical of Ahab?
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Oh yes, it is very typical of Ahab.
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The same man who did not include the Lord and his doing and his
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work on that mountaintop is the same man who failed to see God
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behind the three-year drought and pointed a finger at a man
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like him in terms of nature and said, you're the troubler of
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Israel. Remember, we looked at that, not
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maybe putting into the equation that God was the one who was
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suspending rain. And so this is a man who had the
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inability to realize and to acknowledge God as he deserved.
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And even in his testimonial to his wife, he doesn't include
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God. He doesn't mention God even
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though it's raining right outside of their palace.
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It it doesn't even dawn on him to mention how God was the one
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who answered by fire. God was the one who provided
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this supernatural grace. And right here, 1/2's
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perspective shows us as a reminder that there are so many
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listen that you know that I know that are unwilling to
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acknowledge the Lord and to include him in their
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interpretation of life's events, of life itself.
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And men of the flesh are as such.
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They, like Ahab, prone to comment on life, describe life,
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define aspects of life void of God's authorship, fingerprint
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and sovereignty. And so it's about Elijah, and
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it's about how he killed these prophets.
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And notice that Ahab, no matter what God did to Ahab, no matter
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what God did for Ahab, what do we see here?
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He is highly capable of dismissing him so that he can
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remain in his state of unbelief. So what did God do to Ahab
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before he did something for Ahab?
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He shriveled up the land and caused the people to suffer a
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famine. Did he repent?
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Then? No.
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And what does he do for Ahab? He gives rain when he doesn't
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deserve it. Instead of setting fire on him
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and all the flimsy Israelites, he consumes a sacrifice.
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And on top of that, through that act of judgement and act of
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mercy follows. And what does Ahab do as we are
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introduced to him again in this chapter?
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Does he repent? No.
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He's trying to instigate and stir up his wife into action and
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not repent of action. By the way, what does that teach
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us? Again, a truth that you see over
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and over again, whether God disciplines a man or blesses
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that man. Man in their sinful nature are
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highly capable and very willing to dismiss the Lord so that they
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can remain in their darkness. Ahab is no different.
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And this is a sad testimony that many imitate.
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And if Ahab's poor response isn't bad enough, now we come to
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his wife's reaction. Rageful reaction, may I add.
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What does she do here? She acts as the true ruler of
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Israel. Ahab is just the puppet.
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Is it possible for people to be in high positions really as
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puppets when there's fingers working in the background?
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I won't say more than that. No different here.
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What does she do? She issues a death warrant for
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this man of God. And when we look at this, you
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think this is strange. Why?
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Because we learned in the last verse of chapter 18 of the
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whereabouts of Elijah, where is Elijah?
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He's at the entrance of Jezreel, where the palace of this
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notorious couple abides. Elijah is just really a few feet
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away. You can say he's not too far at
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least. And so here's this woman who is
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venting and expressing and even puts it as a mandate that Elijah
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is going to be killed within 24 hours.
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You know why I find that interesting?
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If she wanted to kill him, why forward a messenger and inform
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the one that you're trying to kill Jezebel?
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If you really want to destroy the man, why don't you send a
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platoon instead? Why don't you?
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Why don't you designate at least 200 of your remaining prophets
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to finish the job? That's not what we see.
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She warns Elijah. She gives him a heads up.
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Is this, is this strange? OK, is this an empty threat?
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Maybe some would say so. I don't think this is an empty
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threat. Can I tell you why?
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Let me remind you, go to 1st Kings 18 and look at verse 13.
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Notice what is said here about Jezebel's history has not been
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told. My Lord, what I did when Jezebel
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killed the prophets of the Lord. How I hid 100 men of the Lord's
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prophets by 50s in a cave and fed them with bread and water.
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I'm no detective, OK, but if someone has a resume of killing
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the prophets of the Lord, and she tells you, a prophet of the
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Lord, that she's planning to kill you, high chances that she
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really means it. So this is not just her blowing
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smoke. This is not her just using
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words. This is her saying exactly what
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she is going to do because she's done it before.
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And yet you would think again that a murderer would not give
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their prey a heads up lest they evade the situation or they
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prepare for the attack. You would think they would just
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go for it. So there is no doubt that
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Jezebel is doing this for a particular reason.
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And I think there are two reasons for it.
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The 1st is from a human standpoint, the the 2nd is a
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divine standpoint. Do you think Jezebel was happy
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when she heard that her prophets were killed by Elijah?
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Think she was indifferent? No, I believe that even what we
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see here in verse two is just a glimpse of the unhinged fury.
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I know she was human, but I wonder if there's smoke that
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came out of her nose and ears. This this woman is obviously
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enraged and so enraged she says she's willing to and she's
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convinced to murdering a true messenger of God even after
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displaying indisputable power from on high.
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And you look at this woman, you think, OK, but what is she?
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Why is she doing this? Because unfettered temper makes
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us foolish. You've probably seen that
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growing up in the family that you were in somebody who was
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enslaved by rage. When somebody lives with anger
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and does not subdue it by the power of the Holy Spirit, they
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think foolishly and they act foolishly.
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Do they not? Do they blow things out of
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proportion? Do they run to solutions that
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really end up doing more harm? There's a verse in Proverbs 1429
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and the last part of it says this.
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It says but he who has hasty temper exalts folly.
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He who hasn't. This is how the ESP puts it.
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He who has hasty a hasty temper exalts folly.
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You magnify foolishness, stupidity, when you are a slave
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to temper. Here's this woman who evidently
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does not bear any fruit of the Holy Spirit.
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And what we see here is evidence of the consequences of sin, even
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if that sin is an attitude problem, a failure to be able to
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control yourself and to register what's taking place and to think
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critically and logically and calmly.
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But there's a divine element to this, and I believe it's God's
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Providence working in favor for his servants, because it could
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have been where Elijah being in that vulnerable place where he
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was surrounded within seconds, within minutes, but God allowed
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for Jezebel to disclose and expose herself to give his
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servant a heads up. Do you not see that in different
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parts of the Scripture? When something evil is being
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planned against the righteous, God makes it known.
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I won't take time to talk about that because we have a lot to
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cover, but as terrifying as it might be to learn that a queen
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has called for your head, you would think that Elijah would
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feel some gratitude and relief knowing this has been made known
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to me. Now I can deal with it
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accordingly. Thank you, God, for
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providentially working in my favor.
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Is that how Elijah responds to this news?
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Look at it again in verse two and three.
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And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, so may the gods
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do to me, and more also if I did not make your life as the life
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of one of them by this time tomorrow.
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Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to
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Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant
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there. You're talking about a man who
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was in the northern tribes and descended and went and migrated
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all the way to the southern Kingdom.
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That's a long journey. That's a long journey on foot.
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And so you and I have to take something into consideration,
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right? Because of the average person
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who learned that in the neighborhood you're in, that
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somebody with the authority, as the queen did, is calling for
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your death. What what do you do if you learn
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somebody's trying to kill you by it's not really deep, is it?
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I'm out of here. So some would be hesitant to
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criticize Elijah. But here's the thing, when we
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study this man who we we have been studying this man, we've
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seen a pattern of how his steps have been directed and we have
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to take that into consideration. What did we see with Elijah when
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we were first introduced him in our study altogether?
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Look at First Kings 17 once more where he confronts Ahab and we
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see this in verse two, First Kings 17.
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And the word of the Lord came to him.
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That's it right there. And the word of the Lord came to
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him and told him what? Depart from here and turn
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eastward, and hide yourself by the by the brook Kareth, which
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is east of the Jordan. And this is not an isolated
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place where Elijah has been instructed by the word of the
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Lord for his next step. Now we know it was in every
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step, but for critical steps he received direct guidance from
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the mouth of God. And when we we look at that
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pattern, we should be able to now look here and think, is
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there something being broken here?
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Is Elijah stepping outside of what he once knew?
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And I am under the persuasion that he is.
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He did not give time for the word of the Lord to come to him,
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nor did he show anything, at least at this point of desperate
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inquiry to know what God would have him do.
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Think about it this way. We ended our study last time
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that after the incident in Mark Carmel, he tells Ahab to go to
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Jezreel and the hand of the Lord comes upon Elijah and he runs
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ahead, beats Ahab, runs before the chariot and it comes here.
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So even the hand of the Lord enabled Elijah to arrive at this
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very spot. This threat comes and he goes,
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I'm out of here. But where is the divine
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permission? Where is the the voice of the
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Lord telling him to do such a thing?
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It's absent all together. And this seems to be so out of
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character for this man because it is teaching us that listen,
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this is this is the main point of the study.
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Now any of us can succumb to a despair that will drive you to
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dangerous places. Now.
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Now we've come to the main element of our study.
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Elijah here for the rest of this chapter, I want us, through the
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elements provided here, consider the very things that will make a
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true follower of Jesus Christ vulnerable, as Elijah was here
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with his faith. And it's all found in the verses
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that we read together. More specifically, I want to
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speak to you about four ingredients.
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Four ingredients that will weaken us, that will encourage
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us to surrender our stabilizing peace, and ultimately will cause
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us to walk away from what the Lord has prepared for us due to
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despair. Due to despair.
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And be mindful that you don't need all four of these failures
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to come to that place. You only need one.
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So the four things that we're going to mention here, all you
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need is one. One of these things is heavy
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enough to cause you to act like Elijah is acting in this place.
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But in Elijah's case, he was overcome by all these things.
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So be ready to be equipped now if you want to know longevity,
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if you want to know how to overcome what Elijah experience,
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what Elijah experience. By the way, after great victory
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came intense attack. And that's a pattern you see in
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the Bible as well. So he brings about a great
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victory for God's name before a nation.
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And right away there was the vomiting of a belching from the
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very mouth of hell through one of Hell's favorite servants of
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this time, Jezebel. Let's consider four things
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again. Four things that will cause
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despondency, spiritual depression, debilitation.
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Call it what you will, that which will have you living in
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fear, living in a state of gloominess that will paralyze
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your walk with the Lord, that will cause you to eject from
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your ministry, that will cause you to dim your witness, that
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will cause you to, well, let's see what happens.
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The first thing that you and I have to be mindful of if we want
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to evade the terrible place that Elijah was in, do not lose sight
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of who God is. Do not lose sight of who God is.
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That that seems to be quite obvious as a general principle,
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but it's further confirmed in Elijah's case when you compare
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him as a prophet dealing with royal rebellion and hostility
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with another prophet who also had to deal with his own case of
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a rageful royal individual that was after him.
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There are many prophets in the Bible, but this is one of the
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prominent ones. Anybody guess which one I'm
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thinking of? I didn't give much evidence to
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work with, but let's ask anyway. Any other prophet that you can
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think of who had to deal with a ruler that threatened him,
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endangered him. Jeremiah is a good one, but
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that's not the one I'm Speaking of.
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Yes, Daniel is a very good one as well, but that's not the one
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I'm thinking about. You're not wrong in these
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answers, but Moses, Moses, Moshe, go to Hebrews 11 with me.
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Hebrews 11. I want you to look at verse 26,
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because in this are you and I going to find the insight I
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believe into Elijah's fault. Hebrews 11/26.
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This is a New Testament commentary about the faith of
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this man Moses. It says here he considered the
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reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of
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Egypt, for he was looking to the reward, put the brakes on.
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Yeah. Do you see that?
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He considered their reproach of Christ.
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What does that tell you? It tells you that based on the
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Scripture, Moses had a revelation of Christ.
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Even back in the Exodus, Moses had a revelation of Christ
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because Hebrews tells us that he did not consider the reproach of
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Christ. But notice that he was able to
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reject the worldly promises and pleasures of Egypt for one
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simple reason, because he was looking to the reward.
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So this man not only had a revelation of Christ, but he had
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an eternal perspective. And that gave him the strength
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to be able to bulldoze through all the transient trinkets that
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were shining before him to the degree that he was willing to
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embrace suffering for righteousness.
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I mean, he had everything going for him.
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He was adopted into the royal family.
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The education that Acts tells us he had the opportunities that he
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had the security, the comfort, the luxury, and he was willing
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to say, I want none of that because I know God's called me
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to this and if it's going to come a reproach, so be it
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because my eyes are looking to a reward beyond this life.
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But that's not the only thing that his eyes were set on.
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Look at verse 27. By faith, he left Egypt not
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being afraid of the anger of the king.
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Was Elijah afraid of the anger of the queen?
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Yes, Elijah was. Moses wasn't not afraid of the
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anger of the king. Why?
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What was the secret? The next part?
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For he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
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So not only did this man have a eternal perspective in terms of
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reward, he had a perspective in terms of sovereignty.
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The one who I can't see visibly, the one who I know of, the one
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who's revealed himself to me, is greater than Pharaoh.
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And he is so much greater than them that I am not afraid of
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those threats that he presents to me that he makes towards me.
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That was what Elijah was missing.
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And here's what that teaches us. Because Elijah just moments ago
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experienced fire coming down from heaven, him praying and God
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answering it him. Not just that, his testimony
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goes deeper than that. So why is it that when Jezebel
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threatened him, he acted in this way?
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Because you and I have to every moment of our day be conscience
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of who God is, every moment of our day.
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And when we fail in that discipline and that meditation
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and that contemplation, praying without ceasing, remaining in an
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attitude of prayer, communion with God at all times, fear is
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right there waiting to overtake you and master you and determine
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your steps. Even with the fear of the Lord.
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There's a proverb that says fear the Lord, always implying that
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it's possible to fear the Lord sometimes.
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So Elijah, yeah, he had a history with not, he had
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experience with God. But you can't afford to just
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rely on that in this very moment as I'm about to have this
27:24
appointment, as I'm waiting for this phone call, as I'm about to
27:26
deal with this, whatever the case may be, I must be God
27:29
conscience. And Moses had that grace and he
27:33
had that discipline. And if we do not, then do not be
27:37
surprised if fear is a frequent visitor.
27:42
And more than that, if it abides in your heart, losing sight of
27:47
the sovereignty of God, the promises of God, you know, if
27:51
Elijah understood who God was and he kept his word ever before
27:54
him, it didn't matter what Jezebel said.
27:59
But that's not the only thing that caused this despondency.
28:02
This thing is subtle. The next one, number two, I hope
28:05
you remember these things. Losing sight of God will lead
28:08
you to that kind of trouble #2 separating ourselves from
28:13
community. Look back at first Kings 19
28:17
verse three with me. And look at the last part, this
28:19
interesting detail that the Spirit offers us.
28:22
It says he was afraid he arose and ran for his life.
28:24
But notice this, he came to Beersheba, which belongs to
28:27
Judah, and left his servant there.
28:33
Why is that in there? Like is it important for us to
28:36
know that Elijah abandoned his servant and went in isolation?
28:40
No. Every detail is important in the
28:42
Bible. And if we're not aware of that,
28:46
then we miss out on points that can save us from much.
28:50
So he abandons his servant there, and you would think that
28:56
this isn't important. It is important.
28:57
But here's a question I want to ask you.
29:00
Is this the first time we're introduced to Elijah's servant?
29:05
Is it prove it, Prove it, Yes, very good.
29:14
Go back to chapter 18 and this is when Elijah was praying for
29:18
rain. And notice in verse 43 what is
29:20
mentioned. It's as though the the spirit
29:25
wants to inform us that Elijah separating himself from his
29:28
servant shouldn't have happened. Look at first Kings 1843 and he
29:31
said to his servant, go up now look toward the sea.
29:36
And he went up and looked and said there is nothing.
29:39
And he said, go again seven times.
29:41
And at the 7th time he said, behold, a little cloud, like a
29:45
man's hand is rising from the sea.
29:46
And he said, go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go
29:49
down, lest he rain, lest the rain stop you.
29:53
So there's little mention about the serpent.
29:55
We don't even know his name. He kind of like just appears on
29:58
Mount Carmel. But evidently he was there the
30:00
whole time. And the little that we know
30:02
about him is enough to inform us that he was a man of faith.
30:07
Can I tell you why? Was it a smart thing, humanly
30:11
speaking, to be associated with Elijah at this time?
30:15
Probably not. Even King Ahab made the
30:19
neighboring rulers make give a vow that they didn't know about
30:23
the whereabouts of this Elijah. And here you have the servant
30:27
willing to stand by this man who is Public Enemy #1 So there's
30:33
something about him in terms of conviction, obviously.
30:37
And based on what we read, even those couple of verses, he was a
30:39
genuine servant. He helped Elijah to some degree.
30:43
So while Elijah was praying, here's his servant watching and
30:47
looking for the answer. And when Elijah had to get Ahab
30:50
going, he sends his servant to go.
30:52
So this is a profitable person. This is somebody who played an
30:55
important role, at least in this chapter of Elijah's life.
30:59
But when you come to this moment, this critical moment of
31:02
Elijah's ministry, you get the sense that there's a partnership
31:06
with this servant. And yet, triggered by fear, he
31:09
runs away. And the fear was so overwhelming
31:14
that he leaves this man and he isolates himself according to
31:19
verse four. Look at verse four.
31:21
But he himself, he himself went a day's journey into the
31:28
wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree.
31:32
And what happened? He asked that he might die.
31:36
You went from fear to now wanting to be put to death.
31:42
You know what thought ran through my mind today when I was
31:44
meditating on this servant? It makes me wonder if Elijah
31:48
would have arrived at different conclusions if he had someone
31:52
who served with him and witness what he witnessed with God and
31:56
about God to sober him up, to remind him, to console him, to
32:04
instruct him, and to redirect his misguided thoughts.
32:11
But you know what he does instead?
32:13
He cuts himself off from that opportunity.
32:17
And Christians, when they are troubled and isolate themselves
32:21
in order to medicate their troubles.
32:24
Though isolation in some regard is helpful, we need to know how
32:27
to be alone in some ways and to unburden our souls before God
32:31
instead of man. That is important.
32:33
But to isolate yourself to the degree where you distance your
32:38
heart, your mind, your temptations, your trials from
32:41
those whom God has designed with the purpose of alleviating and
32:46
strengthening you, The Bible considers that foolishness.
32:52
Proverbs 18 One he who isolates himself seeks his own desire.
33:02
Check this out. He breaks out against all sound
33:07
judgement. He who isolates himself for
33:14
whatever reason does not have continual relationships with the
33:20
faithful. Listen to this language.
33:22
Some translations and the original would say he rages
33:26
against all sound wisdom like you're fighting against it for
33:33
the audience reasons, right? Isolation will invite harm
33:40
because you cut yourself off from the blessings of God.
33:43
Check this out that are exclusively reserved in the
33:47
realm of relationships with others.
33:54
When a Christian goes through a bad time or they're battling sin
33:57
or whatever the case may be, one of my go to advice is as they
34:01
open their hearts about that is whatever you do, don't stop
34:04
coming to church. Even if you have to pick your
34:10
heavy legs off your bed and drag yourself to the meeting.
34:14
Wherever God's people are meeting, get there.
34:18
You can't afford to isolate yourself now.
34:24
And you would think that it only hurts the person who isn't
34:27
hurting. No, it also hurts others.
34:31
You know what I thought about here?
34:34
What happened to the servant who was left by himself?
34:40
You know what some people believe about this servant
34:44
tradition says that people believe that this servant was
34:48
the widow's son from Zarephath. I think that's an interesting
34:53
thought, don't you? That after raising from the dead
34:55
and developing a relationship, he's like, all right, we're
34:57
going to go to Mount Carmel, come with me.
35:00
Whether that's true or not doesn't make a difference.
35:03
But you have to also think about him.
35:06
He abandoned him to what? For who?
35:11
So agree with this, please, that Elijah's decision risked
35:17
affecting the one that he walked away from.
35:20
And if we're members of of the same body and a a member of that
35:24
body, a part of that body decides to disconnect.
35:27
The whole body feels it for many reasons.
35:31
Is it painful? And one of those reasons is
35:33
we've been given the gifts and the wisdom and the charge to
35:38
help those who are weak. Weakness is not an excuse for us
35:41
to walk away. It's all the more the reason
35:44
that we should throw ourselves at one another's feet.
35:49
And so it's painful for everybody.
35:51
Isolation is devastating to the witness to the Spirit of God
35:54
moving in the midst of the people who are called to be
35:56
conjoined together together in all seasons of life.
36:00
Elijah says, see you later. This boy is left to himself.
36:02
He's left himself. So do you want to increase the
36:06
chances of spiritual depression? Walk this walk alone.
36:10
Don't take your membership of the local church seriously.
36:15
Keep it all inside and don't have one or two.
36:19
Trust the people that you know love you so you can open your
36:21
heart and be delivered from that despondency.
36:23
Do it. That's not the only thing,
36:27
though. Here's a third ingredient that
36:28
we have to keep in mind. And again, these things can be
36:31
standalone problems and thorns if we're not careful.
36:35
Being pessimistic. What is pessimism?
36:40
It's a person who has a tendency to making the most negative
36:43
conclusion or belief of the worst outcome out of a scenario.
36:50
That's a pessimistic person. You've probably met some such
36:53
such people where no matter what problem arises, even if it's a
36:56
good thing, they're like, oh, well, this can happen and I can
36:59
happen and Oh no, what's going to happen?
37:01
And it's just like we need to relax pessimism, magnifying the
37:08
negative like as though it's a gift of the Spirit and
37:12
dismissing what God is doing in terms of the good and the
37:15
fruitfulness of that same situation that you might be
37:20
complaining about and woeing about and losing sleep about.
37:25
Is Elijah showing signs of pessimism?
37:27
Yes, he is. Look at verse 4 again.
37:31
But he himself went a days journey into the wilderness and
37:34
came and sat under a broom tree and he asked that he might die,
37:37
saying it is enough now. Oh Lord, take away my life, for
37:46
I am no better than my father's. You see it, for I am no better
37:54
than my father's. Some debate about what he meant
37:58
exactly by that, but I think it's pretty plain.
38:01
This is the language of performance.
38:05
I'm no better. So he's self reflecting and
38:09
evaluating and he feels as though in comparison, he's not
38:13
being effective, he's not being fruitful.
38:16
He's not really much different than those in the past who have
38:20
failed. You know why I find that so
38:23
interesting? Because a man like Elijah is
38:25
confessing it. Elijah would be, and it still is
38:29
known as one of the most effective, incredible,
38:34
remarkable prophets in all of redemptive history.
38:37
And yet this man believes us about himself.
38:40
Do you know why? If you consider the context,
38:43
then you understand why he believed this.
38:44
Because Jezebel and Ahab did not believe.
38:50
After so much was done in the God that Elijah represented and
38:54
served, that's all it took. It took the rejection, the
38:59
strong rejection of one woman to spiral this man into a place in
39:03
which he thought, I'm a no good prophet.
39:08
Oh, never mind the whole nation getting on their face and saying
39:11
the Lord he is God. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no one
39:14
woman saying I'm going to kill you, which is not a code, but I
39:20
don't want you or your God. It's pretty simple, right?
39:23
And that that's what he's focusing on.
39:26
That's that's what's gripped him, not the miracles of the
39:30
past, not God's faithfulness in the past, not again thinking
39:34
about the widow who says you're the real deal.
39:36
You are a man of God. You are truly a prophet, not
39:37
that one woman who didn't show up to the meeting.
39:45
And listen, if you are constantly focused on those who
39:49
are not getting saved, on those who don't appreciate your
39:53
ministry, on those, again, who don't show their faithfulness
39:58
and the thing that you're passionate about.
40:01
You are setting yourself up for short lived service to the Lord.
40:10
Instead, look to what the Lord is doing.
40:15
Look to what God has done. Consider those who are being
40:20
blessed. That has to be a discipline that
40:24
you and I develop lest we position ourselves to being
40:28
prisoners of self pity. So ask God to deliver you from
40:36
being pessimistic. But before you and I move on to
40:42
our final point, I want you to consider something that is good
40:46
about Elijah in this verse. There's a lot that he doesn't do
40:49
right, but there's one thing that we can applaud him for.
40:52
What does he do in verse four? He does want to die, but how is
40:55
he expressing that? He's praying?
40:59
He's praying, he's praying and he is again, I'm burdening his
41:03
soul before the Lord. And I can't help but include
41:06
this in the pile of truths that you and I have accumulated about
41:10
Elijah's prayer life and his praying.
41:13
Because James says, hey, look to this man who prayed in the way
41:15
that he prayed. So let's rewind.
41:18
When this man of prayer prayed for fire, what happened?
41:25
God gave fire. When this man of prayer prayed
41:28
for rain, what happened? It rained.
41:31
When this man of prayer prayed that God would kill him, what
41:34
happened? God didn't answer.
41:40
And here's the thing. What's so fascinating?
41:42
Mentioned this before. Not only did he not answer, he
41:44
did the exact opposite. Elijah would never die.
41:51
He would never enter into the grave.
41:52
He'd be transported into the heavenlies in a very unique
41:54
fashion and so add that to your insights about Elijah's praying.
42:00
We talked about Elijah praying for fire came immediately was
42:02
miraculous. God could do miraculous things.
42:04
You can instantaneously even before you finish saying Amen,
42:06
bring the fruit. And we look at the prayer life
42:09
of Elijah in the rain where he prayed more than once and the
42:12
answer did not come immediately. That is true of our prayer lives
42:15
and our experience of answered prayer doesn't happen right away
42:18
can happen in a sequence of things.
42:20
Here's another insight of prayer.
42:21
You have many people as genuine people out of place of
42:25
disappointment, even frustration.
42:26
Why doesn't God answer my prayers?
42:30
Can I tell you something? Here's my one of my favorite
42:33
answers to that. There are different reasons for
42:35
it, but have you ever factored this in?
42:39
That one of the greatest blessings that God can do for
42:42
your prayers is not answer them, Is not give you what you've been
42:47
asking for. No matter how passionate you
42:50
are, no matter how certain you are in that moment.
42:53
One of the greatest things that God can do for your prayers is
42:55
not give you what you're praying for.
43:00
You have to believe that. And maybe only when we stand
43:04
before the throne, what we realize oh so thankful that you
43:08
didn't answer that prayer. I realize that in this life.
43:14
So we see that another inside of this man's prayers that we
43:17
should consider and put in the vault of our hearts.
43:19
But there's one more thing that we have to look at concerning an
43:23
ingredient for despondency, depression, spiritual
43:29
depression, at least negligence of the need of our bodies,
43:36
negligence of the needs for our bodies.
43:38
Look, look, look at verse five again with me.
43:41
And he laid down and slept until under a broom tree.
43:44
And behold, an Angel touched him and set him arise and eat.
43:47
And he looked and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on
43:50
hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay
43:54
down again. And the Angel of the Lord came
43:56
again a second time and touched them and said, arise and eat,
43:59
for the journey is too great for you.
44:02
I'm so happy that this is in the Bible.
44:05
I am so thankful that the Lord included this in Holy Writ.
44:10
You know what's so amazing about the verses that are the focus of
44:12
our study tonight? It's not the end of the chapter.
44:14
You have verse nine. And I have to flip my page to
44:17
realize that it goes down to verse 21.
44:19
Before we go to chapter 20. You know what's happening
44:22
between verse nine and verse 21, A dialogue between God and
44:27
Elijah, a conversation between the master, the king of heaven,
44:33
and one of his faithful servants.
44:36
And in that conversation, God gives insight and instruction to
44:39
this man of God. But before God draws him away so
44:44
that he can meet with him in a very spectacular fashion, he
44:48
sees it necessary to feed him and to let him have a couple of
44:55
naps. You want to know the mind of
45:00
God? Here's the mind of God.
45:02
How many believers do you think associate spiritual depression
45:06
with bodily deprivation? The Lord taking care of Elijah's
45:13
physical state was unnecessary, non negotiable way of providing
45:19
the remedy that he needed to be where he was supposed to be.
45:24
I know, doesn't sound spiritual. Doesn't sound very impressive,
45:26
does it? But it's in the scriptures.
45:31
Here's a biblical reference that stands as an everlasting
45:33
reminder to you and I that to be careless with your body is a
45:39
sure way of promising hindrance to your devotion to the Lord.
45:46
For some, listen what's needed to overcome sadness and no
45:50
greater longevity in your joyful walk with Christ.
45:55
You know what it is? It's not another sermon, a
45:59
better sleep schedule. Yeah, for those who are battling
46:07
gloomy thoughts and they think they need prophetic pastoral
46:15
counsel, counsel is good, it's important.
46:18
But in some cases, you know what?
46:20
You need a better diet. You know, if you deal with
46:27
counselors, one of the go to things that counselors will tell
46:30
you, secular and non secular, maybe you've experienced this.
46:35
If you deal with anxiety or this or that, these patterns that are
46:37
detrimental to your overall well-being, especially in your
46:40
faith, this is what they'll ask you.
46:44
Do you regularly exercise? Wow, right.
46:50
No, no, no, that's not the way it's supposed to be.
46:53
You're supposed to tell me something like mystical, and
46:57
you're supposed to just maybe do something where it just kind of
47:00
evaporates from my life. God can do that.
47:03
But what does God do for a servant here?
47:06
Does he wake him up and give him this discourse about faith?
47:10
And does he, does he sprinkle something supernatural on him?
47:14
No, he says get up and eat, eat and drink.
47:18
And he let him fall asleep and he came back and says OK, you
47:21
don't understand how much you're actually needing this and you
47:23
don't understand what's coming. You're going to need to eat and
47:25
drink again. I know you want to be spiritual.
47:29
I know, I know we all want to be spiritual.
47:32
Never forget because you can't afford to forget that no matter
47:34
how spiritual you want to be, you are confined to a body and
47:40
that body is subject to natural laws and it requires stewardship
47:46
for you to be careful in your nurturing and and how you treat
47:51
it and what you feed it. Because no matter how spiritual
47:55
you are, if you don't honor that component of your existence,
47:59
it's going to affect a measure of your in look and your
48:02
outlook, even in the lane of your spirituality.
48:08
So we come here and we realize that the Lord is prescribing
48:12
something that we wouldn't consider in our fight against
48:16
things that would weigh us down, things that are avoidable.
48:21
And personally, when I have one of those days, if I can be
48:25
vulnerable with you, not too vulnerable, I make a mental
48:30
checklist, 'cause I'm aware of spiritual warfare, I'm aware
48:35
that the enemy can whisper things in my mind.
48:37
You can whisper things in your mind, but one of my go to
48:40
primary reflections when I have those days.
48:45
How has my sleep been this week? What's my diet been like the
48:53
past full of handful days? Did I did I put my muscles to
49:00
work? I know it like you're like, this
49:04
is Bible study. Oh, it's so practical, right?
49:09
OK, you won't take my word for it.
49:12
So let me give you the words of the Prince of preacher.
49:14
How about that? Here's Charles Spurgeon in one
49:18
of his teachings in the lecture to my students.
49:20
Quote, to sit long in one posture, poring over a book or
49:28
driving a quill is in itself a taxing of nature.
49:33
But add to this a badly ventilated chamber, a body which
49:38
has long been without muscular exercise and a heart burdened
49:42
with many cares, and we have all the elements for preparing a
49:46
seething cauldron of despair. End Quote.
49:52
So you don't want to listen to me, Listen to Charles Spurgeon.
49:54
Yeah, I agree with him. This is not off base.
49:59
This is not some fringe thing. This is biblical are those are
50:04
those who take extremities with their bodies and do so at the
50:08
expense of their spirituality. 100%.
50:10
You can idolize your body and I'll tell you this, no matter
50:13
how well you eat, no matter what kind of pills you take, we're
50:16
all terminal. So you can go overboard and you
50:20
can over obsessed. We're not talking about that.
50:21
This is basic food. This is a cake and this is water
50:25
and a good sleep. Some of your parents know what
50:31
happens to your children when they don't get good sleep,
50:33
right, Little children? We think that changes as we grow
50:37
up. So counselors, Christian friends
50:43
who love others and want to be with those in the battle against
50:46
the flesh and sin and Satan, have you ever included that in
50:49
your counsel? Have you ever asked somebody
50:54
who's been in a perpetual state of weird thinking and pessimism,
51:00
hey, do you sleep well? Like you can't go to bed every
51:06
night at 3:00 AM with Cheeto stained fingers and think that
51:11
you're going to be at your best. It's not going to happen.
51:17
So we see here that these four elements are not exhaustive, but
51:21
they are helpful. Maybe we have overlooked them,
51:23
especially the last one, but let me remind you of them in closing
51:27
that we are to never forget to keep the sovereignty of God, the
51:31
goodness of God, the power of God, whatever characteristic or
51:34
attribute, all of them, rather ever before you.
51:39
You're also with that to not disconnect from those that God
51:42
has placed in your life because they are there for your safety
51:46
and they are there for your joy and they are there for your
51:48
help. You're also supposed to come to
51:51
a place in which you realize that you have a choice.
51:57
And yes, it might take some time to shake it off and to develop a
52:00
better pattern, but choose to look at what the Lord is doing,
52:04
the blessings, a spirit of gratitude.
52:06
If you're not there, you are going to be more prone to being
52:11
like Elijah. And lastly, consider the
52:15
component of your body, not just your soul.
52:22
And if you want to be better with your soul, you're going to
52:23
be better with your body. May God give us wisdom in that.
52:26
I don't want to end there though.
52:28
There are many ways to end this. But I want to end on this
52:31
thought. Look at how God treats his
52:35
servant. This is where we're landing
52:38
tonight. So you have this man who had
52:40
seen so much and yet he acts in such unbelief and he even makes
52:44
these crazy, self-destructive, God dishonouring request to be
52:49
put to death. That's not up to you, Elijah.
52:53
In fact, you're, you're only getting started here in
52:56
ministry. You have so much still ahead of
52:57
you. And this is what you're going to
52:59
ask God to do. And you would think that for God
53:04
to show up and confront Elijah that he would have a different
53:07
kind of approach. But instead he sends an Angel
53:11
and this Angel makes him some food and takes care of him.
53:15
And here's what's so fascinating.
53:18
Don't you think that's such a menial task for an Angel to do?
53:23
What a lowly job for this heavenly creature to leave the
53:27
throne room of heaven to enter into this world and to deal with
53:33
a sporadic, at least at this point, servant of God.
53:38
What are we to make of this? This is the grace of God, and
53:41
the grace only becomes more beautiful when you realize that
53:44
this Angel is distinguished. So we read that he's an Angel.
53:48
Look at verse seven. Maybe you missed it, and the
53:51
Angel of the Lord and the Angel of the Lord came again a second
53:57
time and touched them. It's no ordinary Angel, not just
54:02
one of the myriad of angels that occupy heaven.
54:05
We're talking about the Angel of the Lord, and we've done past
54:09
studies to realize and learn that this Angel of the Lord is
54:12
not an Angel. The way you envision it and the
54:15
way cartoons have displayed it, Angel simply means messenger.
54:20
And the Angel of the Lord is in fact God Himself, more
54:23
specifically the second person of the Godhead, namely the
54:27
person of Jesus Christ. That changed the scenario for
54:31
you. Now you know what you have here.
54:33
You have a theophany. You have the pre Incarnate
54:35
Christ personally attending to a weak vessel known as Elijah.
54:45
Jesus Christ himself coming to the aid of this man and doing
54:50
what? Preparing a meal for him,
54:54
allowing him to rest and to return and to help him again.
55:01
You know that verse says Jesus is the same yesterday, today,
55:03
and tell me he's the same forever.
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My mind goes to another servant of God who was impatient, filled
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with guilt and shame, and thought to himself after serving
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with and for the Lord during a three-year period, said, I'm
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going back to fish. And he convinces several others
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of those core disciples to join him.
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And while he's in that place of unbelief, while he's on that
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place of despondency, Jesus Christ, the same one who came to
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the help of Elijah, shows up on the shore of that beach.
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And what does he have prepared for Peter?
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Breakfast. Have you ever thought about
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that? God making breakfast for one of
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his own creatures? For what purpose?
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To fellowship with Peter and to restore him.
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What do we have here? You have Jesus not beating on
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Elijah, not stomping on him for his lack of faith and
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consistency, but ever so gently and patiently building him back
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up. And you see the same heart with
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another servant in the New Testament, among many others.
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You might be even here, and you've barely made it.
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You might watch this later because you just stumbled upon
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it, but you are barely making it in your faith.
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In fact, you might be hanging by one last thread before you say
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I'm I'm done. I'm going to indefinitely
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separate myself from ministry, from the church, from even from
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my Bible, and I'm just going to figure something out.
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You know what Christ's heart for you is in this moment?
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What you see here, especially if you're a true servant of God.
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I'm not talking about those who don't have true faith and think
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they can just waltz in this life and rebellion without the Lord
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doing something about it. If you profess His name at
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least. I'm talking about those like
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Elijah. You lived your life for God.
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You serve Him, you adore Him, but just ensnared by weakness.
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Christ's heart is for you, and He's eager and ready to restore
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you. Surrender yourself into that
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revelation. Melt in that kind of a truth.
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You have many people who find themselves in such a state of
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mind, and what keeps them there even more is because they
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imagined God frowning from heaven, saying, after all these
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Bible studies and sermons, this is what you've come to.
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And with a cold shoulder he turns his back and waits for you
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to get it together before he turns his face back.
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That's not the heart of Christ. Here you have a man in the
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wilderness who isolated himself and who comes to meet him in his
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isolation, The Lord. And it's given to us in this
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word for you and I to take courage that yes, in this place
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where your faith is not the most impressive, in fact, it might be
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insulting. Insulting to others and
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insulting to the Lord. Christ is there, He's ready.
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I hope you see him that way. If you do, you've made a giant
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leap towards being free from the very plague that arrested
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Elijah. In this chapter, let's pray
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together. Lord, we do look to you with
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gratitude in our hearts that you seek to equip us in areas that
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we might even realize we need equipping in.
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And Lord, we ask that You give us the ability to uncover what
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may have been a blind spot. Lord, if we if we do fail to see
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you and to set you before us at all times, help us do that.
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If if we don't value the community of God, help us change
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in our perspective. If we are prone to pessimism and
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we've excused it with our personality or our past traumas.
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Or may all those excuses die tonight.
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And Lord, if we have, if we are those who in our even pursuit of
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spirituality have neglected the stewardship of our bodies, give
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us the proper frame of mind and the wisdom to know how to take
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care of all of who you've made us to be.
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And Lord, lastly, we thank you that you shine your heart toward
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us even in our weakest points. Thank you for the tender mercies
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of Jesus Christ that you even tucked in this chapter.
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So Lord, even as we close tonight and we worship you, may
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that be ever before us. Realizing that you are you're a
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caring God, you're willing to stoop down and do what you need
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to do to help us. And Lord, you invite us to pour
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out our hearts to you, even when it's the most embarrassing times
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of our faith. Lord, strengthen our loins
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tonight. That's our prayer.
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We, we want the extra grace to go the extra mile in Jesus name,
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Amen. Amen.
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Let's stand and worship the Lord together.