Elijah

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 15 And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

1 Kings 19:9-18 (KJV)

"Why did Elijah seek the Lord at this time? Why was his spirit so downcast? Because of time, i'll sum up what has happened in the last two chapters.

Elijah has raised the dead, had a showdown with the false prophets of Ba'al, been fed by ravens... and now he is despondent, heavy hearted, and his faith is wavering. He even goes so far as to say:

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

1 Kings 19:4 (KJV)

It gets very difficult to be the only one standing up and saying, "these things that are happening all around us are wrong, wickedness prevails, churches all across the world are retreating into apostasy, denying the Bible, and turning form the God of the Bible to a Jesus of their own inventing.

This is one thing Elijah is suffering from, and its something that every Christian in these last days can well understand.

If we had the time, we could look at Jonah the reluctant prophet and his pity party, and compare that to Elijah. Briefly, Jonah had a pity party based upon poor poor me - I preached a message of destruction and now I look foolish, and my enemies will not be destroyed.

But Elijah is concerned for the Lord. "I am not better than my fathers." Elijah is comparing himself to those who rebelled against Moses and God since the Exodus. It's an unworthy comparison, but Elijah wanted so badly to make an impact for God! It's obvious he meant for everyone to turn and repent. He's done all these mighty things through the Lord's Might, and yet here he is with a price on his head. Yes, even Elijah got discouraged! You're not alone.

But the Lord's response is one for those of us, who look at this world and shake our heads.

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

1 Kings 19:18 (KJV)

There's two applications here. Elijah is restored, and told there are others. He's NOT the only one. You aren't alone! Keep praying, keep passing out tracts and telling people about the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation. There are seven thousand in Israel.

I'm not one of those who believe the Churches have repalced Israel.  but there's a message here to all of us.

Elijah the prophet was strengthened by hearing there are others that did not bow to the lawless idolatry of the day.

The knowledge that there are those of you in this Church who keep on keepin' on, standing for God, standing against the values of this world, actually comforts and strengthens the Elijah's of today. No Christian is unimportant! Everyone has a purpose, or a function, a ministry. And everyone can be an encouragement to an Elijah.

Would you like to know the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do not know the Lord, and are like Cain trying to earn your own way to heaven, it won't help you at all. Trust in the saving power of the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and let Him save you.