Untitled Sermon

Scripture

1 Kings 19:11–13 KJV 1900

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: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 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?

We want God to show up in our services. We come to church to worship God and to meet with Him. Sometimes we can go home disappointed. We might feel like God did not meet with us. I don’t think we should go home disappointed. First of all we learn from Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” So to go home feeling like God wasn’t in the service cannot be true. We gather in His name and He shows up. That places the problem directly on our laps, our senses, our perceptions of what the service was like.

I know that some services receive a special outpouring of God’s presence, and some others don’t. I know each service is not like the others. Yet, too often we may go home from a service thinking that God wasn’t there. Why is that? I think we can learn from Elijah on this regard to help to understand why our perceptions are flawed.

Elijah walked into the palace one day and told the king that it wasn’t going to rain until he commanded it and the heavens were shut. He was fed by birds until the brook dried up. Then he travelled to a widow woman’s house and watched the bottomless provision of the meal and oil. He met Ahab face to face again and challenged the prophets of baal to a duel. God answered with fire, then rain.

But still Elijah, after this great victory was discouraged. This is common for us as well. I don’t mean this to discourage those on the mountain tonight. But beware when on the mountain, for the valley is coming. Often just after we are the most aware of God working in our lives we ar ethe most vulnerable to the devils advances. We are worn out, we are encourage and so we are neither watchful or strong. Satan will use this to strike. Yet we need not discouraged, for our God is also the God in the valley. And again, I don’t mean to discourage those on the mountain. Watchfulness is always appropriate. Elijah shows us how low the low can get even for a mighty servant of God after a great victory.

I think he was discouraged because he was worn out. The climax of a years long struggle had just occurred. He had won, but he was worn out in every way. Yet I think also his expectations were not met. God was with Him in the palace when he challenged Ahab. God was with him at the brook as He fed by the birds. God’s daily provision was so obvious as the food never ran out at the widow woman’s house. And God’s presence was even more strikingly felt on the mountain as the fire fell. He thought perhaps that the battle was over. He was filled with joy as he outran the chariot of Ahab back down the mountain to Jezreel.

Maybe he thought the people would depose Ahab and Jezebell. He surely thought that worship of baal had ended. God had proven baal false and Elijah had killed the prophets of the false god. Perhaps he though Ahab had been convinced and with this irrefutable truth begin to lead the people back to the worship of the LORD. Yet that did not happen. Though a great victory had been won the war was not over. Jezebel sent a message to Elijah, no that the nation would turn to God, but rather that she would have his head and she referenced her strong and continuing allegiance to the false god’s that he thought had been defeated.

Whatever Elijah’s expectations were, this was a great disappointment. And coming so close on the heels of the victory it sent Elijah reeling. He ran for his life and went alone out into the wilderness. It would seem that it he was foolish and doubtful to feel like this, but I think it common that we may overestimate how great a blow has been dealt to the enemy in a battle in our lives. And when we see him rear his ugly head again we grow discouraged and we think we are alone. God has been with us all along. He has given us boldness, and sustenance. He has proved Himself in great ways, and yet we feel discouraged and defeated to learn that the war is not over.

Elijah despaired even of his life. Many prophets had been killed by Jezebel. What made him think he was special. What made him think that God something else for his life than for all the other prophets? Why would he get to live when they died?

Yet God was not done with Elijah. God sent an angel to strengthen Elijah in this time of weakness. God then sent Elijah to Mount Horeb which is also known as Mount Sinai, where God himself would visit Him. God had a great message to Elijah but I want to focus on God showing up in an unexpected manner.

Sometimes I think we are like Elijah, we expect God to show up a particular manner and if He doesn’t we are disappointed. Lets look again 1 Kings 19:11–12 “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: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”

The Wind

First there was a wind, but God was not in the wind. God can come in a mighty wind. Next week is Pentecost Sunday. At Pentecost there was the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and God was in the wind! Elijah looked for God in the wind and God was not in the wind. That does not mean that God never comes in the wind. Now allow me to move this beyond a physical wind. I have been in services where the presence of God swept across the congregation in an almost visible fashion as the wind. As people prayed they began rejoicing on one end of the altar and it swept down the altar as wind would, going from one end to the other. God does come in the form of wind. Yet God does not always come in this manner as Elijah saw.

The Earthquake

After the wind came an earthquake. Can God come in this manner? Yes He can. Lets take a look at the last time God met with man on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19:16–18 “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” God had previously visited man in this very place with an accompanying earthquake. Yet this time He chose another way to reveal Himself. For God was not in the earthquake.

The Fire

After the earthquake a fire. Does God come as a fire? Yes, as we just read in Exodus there smoke, and the Lord descended in fire and with and earthquake. In the upper room He came as a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire. God and prescence of His Spirit is often reffered to as a refinning fire. We long for the good old days where the fire of God’s prescence showed up and came over people. We say that our churches need more of the fire of God. And you know what I agree. We are too silent before God. We do need more of His refining presence. We need more of His igniting presence. You can’t sit very still if you are on fire and the same seems perhaps to hold true of the Holy Spirit. We talk of the fire falling. We refer to those who praise the most and the loudest and who are overcome by God’s Holy Spirit as on fire for God. And we should be more like that! Yet the Lord was not in the fire.

The Still Small Voice

After the wind, the earthquake and the fire came a still, small voice. Not some overwhelming blast of God’s power, but a gentle voice. God comes in this way, and I guess I probably shouldn’t have a preference in how God chooses to make Himself known, but I prefer this way. Even this morning some seemed to be met with the still small voice. There were eyes full of tears. Faces bowed and faces lifted toward heaven rejoicing that the great God of eternity would meet with us, would make His presence known among us, ministering in a still small voice to let us know that He is with us, perhaps sharing some personal encouragement to those feeling abandoned, alone or worn out. God met with Elijah with a still small voice.

Yet is that the only way that God chooses to indicate His presence? Certainly not! I wonder sometimes if we miss the presence of God in a service because we have an expectation of how we think He should show up. We think that he should come as and earthquake or a wind, sweeping people out of their seats and to the altar. And indeed this does happen, but not always. We think that He should come as a fire, in His cleansing work or as fire igniting the quiet one to outburst of praise. And indeed He does come this way. Or perhaps we don’t like these outburst and think that God should only come as sweet inward voice, encourage, convicting, drawing, strengthening in orderly and intelligent calmness. And He does come this way!

But which way is right? We don’t choose! We do not decide for God how He ought to show Himself! When we begin to place God into a specific manner of showing up, we begin to miss many of the ways in which He does. We begin to wonder why He is not there instead of thanking Him for His presence.

In the story of Elijah, God had not faced setback. What God told Elijah was that Elijah was not alone and Jezebel would not remain in power long and that the worship of the Lord would soon return. The war was going according to plan. But Elijah almost missed it because God did not work or speak like he expected. Is God working today in our world? Are we at risk of missing it because He isn’t working how we expect?

Is God working in our church and we are missing it because He isn’t showing up like we expect?

Is God working in your life and you are missing it because He isn’t showing His presence in the manner that you expect? Don’t put God in a box and say that He must move in this way. As sure as you do that He will move another way! I do believe God is working in the world. He is working in our church and I know He is working in my life, I expect He is working in yours as well. Let God move in the way that He sees fit.