The Wind Whispers His Name

YHWH= God’s name sounds like a breath, a gentle wind

Hebrew word Ruach= Breath, wind, spirit

Ruach is described in Gen 1:2 “And The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

INTRO: How many times have we stood in the midst of the great fire? the howling wind or earthquakes in our life? Sometimes God speaks loudly to us, but mostly He speaks to us in a “still small voice.”

1 King 19:11-13 “And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke 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. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?””

PRAY!!!

In the bible wind is significant. Sometimes God used wind as a mighty display of His power like He did when on the day of Pentecost when He sent a mighty rushing wind which ushered in the first appearance of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:2 “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”

And in Job where God answered Job in a whirlwind

Job 38:1 “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

And King David wrote:

Psa 18:10 “He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.”

Ezekiel was ordered by God to command dry bones to live again

Eze 37:9-10 “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”

It also symbolized Israels impending judgement

Eze 17:10 “Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?””

And in a beautiful scene Jesus commissioned His disciples by :

John 20:22 “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

The direction of the wind was significant

An East wind brings Judgment

Ex 10:13 “So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts.”

God saved the Israelites and brought doom to the Egyptian army by causing the Red Sea to part by an East wind

Ex 14:21 “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”

West Wind brings Restoration

Ex 10:19 “And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.”

South Winds are talked about 5x in the bible

There are five instances of the phrase “South wind.” They speak of the land being still (Job 37:17), that God directed the South when (Psalm 78:26), about discerning times (Luke 12:55), and the driving of a ship by wind (acts 27:13; 28:13).

North winds are spoke about

There are two references to “North wind,” and they are found in Proverbs 25:23 where it says “the North wind brings forth terrain,” and the Song of Solomon 4:16 where the north wind is said to awaken and is used poetically as how the fragrance of the garden is spread.

In our verse of scripture today we find the tender story of Elijah. Here he is standing on the edge of cliff when God decided He needed to visit Elijah. depressed out his mind after an amazing standoff with prophets of Baal a demon god, and after their slaughter Good ole Jezebel puts a hit out for Elijah, and he is wrecked

God spoke to Elijah in a “still, small voice” another translation, the NASB says “A gentle blowing.’

God revealed Himself to Elijah in a way He never had before. God knew Elijah was depressed, and spoke to him tenderly, and that's mostly how He speaks to us also

APPLICATION:

When God Whispers to us:

It’s to calm us

V. 9- God speaks gently to Elijah, to let him know that He is there.

2. Encourage us

V. 11- In an awesome show of force, reminds Elijah of His unmatched Power

3. Correct us

V. 15- Sends him back to the original way he should have taken

4. To Call Us

V. 15- God gives him a new mission and purpose.

to anoint Syria a new king (Hazael) and anoint Jehu as King of Israel and anoint Elisha as Prophet

In The New Testament were introduced to the Master of the wind JESUS!

The things the Holy Spirit tells us in secret quite place, we are to shout from the rooftops

We have to develop our spiritual ears

Matt 10:27 “What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”

How do we do that?

a. By the quite, dignity we live our life

1 Tim 2:2-3 “ that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,”

b. By Living Faith Over Fear

Psalm 112:6-8 “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.”

Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”

I PROVED THIS TRUE!!!

c. Gettin In It, To Win It!

1 Cor 9:24 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.”

Heb 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

We have entered the field, “ Boogety boogety boogety, lets go racing!” “He’s on it!”

2 Tim 1:6 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you

We are called to entrust and to call upon the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us thus fanning a small flame into a dumpster fire!

Fanning the flame by reading and studying God’s word and putting yourself out there.

d.

CALL UP WORSHIP TEAM!!!

CLOSING:

God’s still small voice speaks to us all the time, if we’ll just turn the noise of our life down so we can hear Him. fb, tv, radio, They all want, demand your attention. They want you to serve them, like an Idol....be careful! Remember, you can’t serve 2 masters (Matt 6:24)

PRAY!!!