Elijah

Are there people here? Who remember the television show? ABC's, Wide World of Sports?

Used to be on on Saturday afternoon. I kind of had different sport items that were there. It came out of the 1960s and believe it or not, in the 1960s into the 70s. There was a theory in among television Executives and tell her the television industry, that you could over-saturate the television with sports, we have proven that that is totally false. But at that point in time there was this idea that if you show sports on TV all the time, people are going to turn the TV's off and I quit going to sporting events in various things like that. So they kind of show the highlights of everything at the very beginning. They would talk about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Yeah, I can just hear, we will say that. As we go along, Richard mentioned the 1500 in the Olympics. You probably saw this week, the would all fit. She won the long jump in the Olympic program, a couple of weeks ago. And, and when she wants, you ran over, and and she embraced this guy, and he kept saying you were Olympic champion, you are Olympic champion and then I guess it was Thursday. He Hunter ran in his para Olympic event and he too wanted to go Bell. And so here's this family, both of them wearing gold and it really is an inspirational story there. A lot of things that come to us from sports. That do Inspire us people in developed titles in sports, that will never be taken away from those. People will always be Olympic Champions, whatever happens in their lives will be noted as that somebody who's an All-American and or in VP or something like that. Constantly hears that. Being successful. Having victory. Is it great? Great feeling I hear from various sources that if the Thunder ever win the NBA championship that the parade would be on the boats to the Bricktown Canal. I wouldn't you love to go and witness that? That would be fine. I'd love to have the opportunity to do that. What's the greatest Victory ever? In the history of mankind.

This is a loaded question and it comes through my prejudice.

There are two people who never died. One is Enoch and were told about Enoch in the Genesis 5:24 in Hebrews 11 talk about looking for it, but can't find them and it makes very clear that God took him because he didn't die. Now there's another guy that doesn't die. Either one, of course, all of, you know who that is. It's the Prophet Elijah. Elijah, they don't just start looking for a larger. LOL, where is he is? Somebody says how well God took him. Everybody knows how things ended with Elijah everybody, present, and people who read the Bible or been interested in the Bible. Understand that Elijah Road home to be with God in a fiery chariot.

I don't know. Ever explain to Elijah exactly what the plan was or go read. That passage is 2 minutes. Sounds like it happens, kind of spontaneously. And maybe you didn't have a lot of warning about how that was going to happen. I think I would have asked for a little different way that just has, terrifying to me that they could be. I have a problem with Heights, anyway, and just think about what he and, I know he's going home, but it still had to be Friday. And I would think 2 to experience that second Kings. 2:11 first.

As they were walking along and talkin, this is Elijah and Elisha together, suddenly a chariot of fire and Horses of fire appeared and separated, the two of them. And Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Now. Elijah knew what happened? I like Sean knew what happened at. As you read the passage. It's clear that there were other prophets that day, who were already aware of what was going to take place. But even if you had no warning, Fryer. What about this event that you witness? Here's this guy. This problem, God, who win the most miraculous way possible, is taken from this life to another life. Maybe you've seen some great fireworks displays, I doubt those even would begin to compare with watching the fiery Chariot. Go all the way to heaven. Would have been an amazing kind of moment and as we think about living victoriously, we want to have a victory that needs to be a moment when the victory comes to fulfillment and wanted to accomplish. No, Elijah story is complicated and a lot of different pieces to it is. So I really did debated back and forth how to talk about that. And so, what I'd like to do quickly is just pool for statements about Elijah, or from Elijah that we'll talk about him and who he is, but I think maybe we can identify with. And the first ones found in 1st, King chapter 18 and 17, where Elijah is told to go and encounter King Ahab and he's literally literally risking his life in going and standing in the company of this wicked wicked, man. But the crazy thing about it is when they have Cease, Elijah. He says they have but we can King says you troubler of Israel. If it weren't for you, we'd be such a better country for you. We would be having all these problems. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have any of these disagreements, you know, if it weren't for you, we can all be on the same side. Why is it that God has given me this troubler in my kingdom? Sound like a politician to you. The politicians game is to reverse. The story blame it on the other guy and do it as early as quickly and as often as you can because that's effective. And that's exactly what they have is doing. You are the guy causing all the problems. Another reality is if we know it is Elijah's trying to bring them back to God's principles Sullivan not only can they be in be consistent with what God wants them to do? But they can have the happy prosperous life that God has in mind for them. That's all he's doing. And I think sometimes as Christians people going to look at us like So much trouble. Yeah, if you just go along, you just go trying to make a mountains out of molehills if you just quit trying to change everybody. If you just go ahead and let your behavior slide and and not make us feel so bad and all kinds of things, if you would just back off, Will be be a lot. Happier would be a lot better. And it's hard at times when we look out there and we see ourselves out of step with everybody else and so many, everybody else has that we do start to wonder what it is. It be good to be me? Did I get it wrong? Am I approaching it in the wrong way?

It just feel sometimes like we're so out of staff and yet that's so critical. Elijah and it will talk about this later on. Then why'd you go through a period of life where he believes? He's the only faithful person in the Kingdom. The only guy who's hold it up to standards and sometimes we feel like we may be at work, maybe in your social situations may be in the context of your family may be in context of people and this is really a hard one for me. The people who assume that we believe in doin, say, certain things without even talking to us or that even finding out. If that information is valid or true and you can start to feel really isolated, you can start to feel like you're the, you're the person being left out and you can start those, ask yourself the question, will it? Is it me?

Elijah has a places where he has a weakness for his weakness. Was not in asking, is it me? He knew what God wanted to do and he did it continually over and over and over again. The second one I would like to bring up is the expression. Shout louder.

The big confrontation that Mount Carmel. All the prophets of Baal, I got to prepare their sacrifices Elijah's going to prepare his sacrifice and they're going to see which one God will light on. Fire was a testimony to his approval and the prophets of Baal go first and they do all the work and they get it already and they're out there doing their thing in the Elijah's. I'm giving him a hard time over to the side so maybe it's going to sleep, maybe he's on his journey. Maybe it's just all another room. You can't hear you right now. Just try a little louder. I need to think we're trying to do here. Sometimes people get caught up in things that are relatively silly from time, to time. You look at Isaiah 44:9 through their talks, about the person who goes out and cut the tree down and out of half the tree, he makes it idle to poop into his house and out of the other part of the tree. He builds a house or Burns it as fire or does whatever. How does that make any real sense? Now, some of you may remember an author by the name of Erich, von daniken and Bon-Ton again, was the believer or the proponent of ancient astronauts. That really what you find in the Bible are people who are, were these? Extraterrestrial beings who came at earlier times in history. And of course, one of the primary stories would be Elijah. I mean if you had an astronaut here, how are you going to get him home? Well, you need some kind of jet propelled instrument or or vehicle in order to do that it. So Von daniken idea about these ancient astronauts really focus is around Elijah. And you think, you know, how far do we have to go to find a theory or an idea? Look at Israel. God is so good to them. And God has so many things to offer them. Why in the world did they need bail? Why did they leave that? Why did they want that? What is that full film for them? Maybe they were times when you don't, somebody said, ok, Google, I'll do just a little off to a foreign God and then that year maybe the the harvest was good, then he got started in those kind of ways. A pound of time, even in our own world. We look at the scriptures that we say, how did people get off this particular track? Why are they going in that direction? It doesn't make any sense at all God's inviting as to what he has to offer. And when we settle for less than that, They really make you very, very poor choice.

The third one quite simply. Is that description in 1st Kings chapter 9?

19. Excuse me, 12 and 13. Do you read that one?

This is after.

Elijah has fled after the Mount Carmel encounter, earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came with gentle whisper, When Elijah herded, he pulled his cloak, over his face, and went out and stood on the Mount of the Cave. The boy said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah? We think of the loud, sounds and we live in a world where the loud, people have a tendency to get a whole lot of attention. I've been doing a lot of work about happy and the things that make us happy. And what are the growing research issues is being introverted. There are an awful lot of people who are Siri satisfied, being introverted people and they feel like they could control their lives and the things that are part of the other. I was that things that are important in their lives, by taking that situation, doesn't have to be about loud. Elijah does some things that are very high-profile, but you got other things that could be regarded are regarded as being fairly low profile and there's Powering gentleness. I read a story years and years ago about a little boy, he was working doing cleanup in a machine shop. And one of the guys that work there lost a pocket watch. And the workers went to work, went to lunch and when they came back, the little boy, had found the watch and the guy said, how'd you find? It was really easy. I just turned off all the machines and listen for the ticking. Sometimes God's taken away and we don't hear it because there's so many other things getting in the way and be still and know that I am God, go back to that place or we can get that quiet Express experience, help us. We would that direction The last one.

The lights are shooting. Is he? Elijah will say, I am the only one left mentioned it earlier and he goes to an extended. Of time believing that he and only he has stayed faithful to God. And that's pretty overwhelming. A support system that he has not much. Who does he going to do? Is he going to be with who's going to talk with his share with his? He going to help take a fridge with from and beef be built up if he's the only one and yet, we understand it, as we understand those circumstances, going back almost to that trouble or Israel that we started with. They are just times when we feel like it's our fault. And other people feel like perhaps it could be our fault as well. Of course, we know that in 1st King Chapter 19 Verse 18, God's going to say to you and I have 7,000, I have about the need to fail.

Peter Marshall. How to story a published story called The Keeper of the springs and you may know that story. It's about a city that's famous for its crystal-clear water, and people come from all over to enjoy. This particular city of the water trickles down from the mountain sides and over the years and older man who's basically like a Hermit has taken on the responsibility to keep the upper Springs cleaned and he takes the debris out of the knee, make sure everything's falling, right? So the water's pretty clear, when he gets to the city, well, the elected government authorities, say, what's this salary for a guy that clean out the spring? We don't need that. Don't do that anymore. And so they stopped and the Springs. Got to get start to be clogged up, debris starts to come down to the fountain in the city. The water changes its smell in this appearance and suddenly, they're like, oh wait a minute, maybe we need to find this guy again and put it back to work. Our culture doesn't realize. What people God are doing, that's keeping the world better. That's making dark interactions better and the way we live. And the way we work with each other, sometimes when you remove that far enough, it starts to come a come a little bit clearer. But we would miss so much The Keeper of the Springs. It's so many of you in context of your own life and what you do, and the way you lead in the way you teach, The things that you do to serve, others are a manifestation of keeping those Springs.

What's the real final analysis with Elijah?

What's this fiery trip to the heavens? Really all about. Well, as I look at it, I see it as a validation of his face. Ahab doesn't buy into his face. The prophets of Baal don't buy into his faith, there may be in large. Numbers are large proportions of the people in Israel who didn't really believe or didn't support or didn't go along the various kinds of things. And we know how frustrating that is when you're trying to do what God wants you to do, when you're trying to be a boy who you're trying to be The Keeper of the Springs. When you're trying to be, the person who's leading in a positive direction. And it constantly, you're either being ignored or put down or negative, things are being said, and you think in your own heart and in your mind, Validate my face. I just like some kind of confirmation. That I'm really saying and doing the right things. It's frustrating and it's discouraging and even though God says hang in there and hold on and blessed are those, who endure? And so many similar things like that, it really get overwhelmed with the times, and if you take time to look at Ally to store, you can see there are moments when he does become literally overwhelmed. But there's that moment. God puts him in a fiery Chariot. And for everybody to see there is confirmation that this is a man of God, this is a man who spoke for God. This is a man who had their best interest at heart. This was a man who had the answers to the important questions. This is the guy that they should have been following instead of Ahab and his evil cohorts. You look at Elijah going home. And here's just the ultimate manifestation of victory. Looks and Rehab. You see that? That's a logical and home.

Daughters of Jezebel. You see? Elijah going home. Prophets of Baal look to the sky. Then behold the moment when God takes this precious servant of his on who didn't even have to die,

Now are going home won't be that dramatic. But won't it be wonderful to hear? Well done, good and faithful servant. End of the Georgia, Lord want to be wonderful to see the Crown of Life. The God has wouldn't be incredible to know that you're welcome to this Kingdom of perfection. It's going to always have positive positive, wonderful things for used to experience.

Why did the Jews believe that Elijah went directly to heaven? Number one in our Bible that would give us a definitive answer there. But if you look in the gospels, what's the question that they're asking? Are you allowed to argue? Elijah are you Elijah? They asked. Jesus, are you alive? Did they ask? John the Baptist. Are you Elijah? Why are they so urgent about that question, honestly? Believe it's because they know that you didn't die. That Elijah didn't have a normal life cycle, a nation with witnessed his transformation, into the Heavenly portal. And all through those hundreds of years cuz Ally to come back. And when Jesus says him, I'm here in the spirit of Elijah there. Like, I understand. Are you the real Elijah? Elijah does actually appear to transfer to Transfiguration representative of the. Of the prophets. Been a lot of us would think, why not Isaiah, But it's Elijah. That represents the prophets. John 12:25, does anyone who loves their life will lose it while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life? Elijah didn't lose his life. But he could have. When he went to face Ahab, could lost his life at Mount Carmel, he could have been attacked. His life could have been taken there numerous times, you could have starved to death when God was feeding him by the Brook over. And over times when they could have lost his life, he didn't, because he trusted God to go forward, he trusted God to ultimately Viola Davis face.

It's a song that emerges from this story. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Coming For To Carry Me Home.

Bought a fantasy, but what a picture as well. You're saying Lord I'm serving you Lord on do my very best and I'm waiting for that moment. when you bring me to be with you, Validate my face. Would you play with me?

Dear God. We thank you for The people that you put around us in our time and in biblical times, to lead us, inspyrus, motivate us, and lift us up. father, we know that people have done dramatic things, but we also know that the things that you placed before us Are the things that you want and need for us to do for you right now. We pray that we might have the courage and the strength and the willingness to do that. Father, we pray. That is we live in face. That you will validate our face. Give us that moment. Give us that strength to move forward. We pray this for your precious son.

This morning is always custom is to offer God's invitation, we're going to do that right now. If there's something that you need physical or publicly would be glad to assist you in that other things you need to do privately, please take care of those things in a timely fashion as well, but there's something publicly you need to deal with this morning, but if I could to make that 9 while we stand at sing the song together,