Sermon Tone Analysis

What does the verse on the wall behind me say? [P] [Isaiah 55:6 Seek יהוה while He lets Himself be found; call Him while He is near.]

That is what I want to talk about this morning: seeking the LORD.

[P] Have you ever encountered someone who dismisses Christianity because “the Bible is full of contradictions”?

Usually, if you ask them to show you one, that is sufficient to silence them.

But have you read: [Exodus 2:14 Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.”]?

That is just after he killed an Egyptian slave master and left Egypt.

But what about [Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.]

Isn’t Hebrews contradicting what Scripture said in Exodus 2?!

I think that the answer is in the Hebrew word for “fear” which is very similar to the word for “see”; [P] and in some forms appears the same.

Moses saw what the situation was – that the people would not receive him as their ruler and deliverer and so he fled.

We have the same thing in the passage before us today in 1 Kings 19; in verse 3 it says “and he was afraid” – your Bible may have a footnote that says that the Hebrew reads “see” – it is Greek and Latin translations that have influenced them to translate it “afraid”.

The actual text says “see” – All that as a preliminary explanation so that you won’t jump up and down, and protest when I come to read that verse.

We have been looking at Elijah [P] as a picture of the time leading up to the end – preparing the way, getting ready for the LORD’s return.

We saw that it is spiritually dry times, there was a drought, but the man of God [P] is sustained by speaking God’s word, hearing God’s word and living God’s word.

Those who find life in that time are the individuals, [P] not the nation as a whole – the resurrection life of Christ that comes by faith alone.

We are servants of יהוה [P] and it is vital in these times that we know who we are serving, with no divided loyalty.

At the end, the nation, the people as a whole, will be religious, but godless – a false religion without power – as we saw on Mount Carmel [P] all show and noise but no reality.

We looked at false religion: the issue is who is GOD! [P] On Mount Carmel, Elijah called the people back to God – they acknowledged יהוה as God, there was the fire of judgment, the rain of blessing, God manifest as real!

Dramatic!

Supernatural!

Indisputable!

They responded “יהוה, He is God!”

But were their hearts changed?

Were their lives changed?

Did they seek after God?

There was no national revival, no turning from idolatry, no restoration of worship of יהוה.

What more could be done?!

The worship of יהוה was falling apart!

The direct intervention of יהוה Himself had no effect!

At the end, there will be mighty signs from God, people will know it is God, but still they will not turn to Him! What do we do when we see false religion all around and the love of many growing cold?

We seek God’s face! [P] In the end times we need to be seeking יהוה like never before.

When I went through notes I’d done some years ago, I realised that I was seeking the Lord more earnestly then than I am now.

It has been a challenge to me.

Let’s look at earnestly seeking God: Crisis [P] [1 Kings 19:1 Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.]

We tend to continue on in our Christian life until a crisis comes.

It is when we strike a crisis that we then press into God; so, it was with Elijah.

Ahab told Jezebel what had happened – she hadn’t been there on Mount Carmel.

Ahab concentrates, not on יהוה being God, which was the issue; but with death of prophets of Baal.

For Jezebel, this was war!

She went on the offensive to win back the lost ground (dualism).

She had killed all other prophets of יהוה (18:4) Elijah was the last pocket of resistance.

[1 Kings 19:2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”]

Jezebel threatened.

The enemy uses words to intimidate when they themselves are unsettled.

The typical weapon of satan is words; but you don’t warn if you really intend to kill, that makes your target wary.

The purpose is to unnerve, intimidate.

If you seek God earnestly you will encounter such opposition, particularly verbal and threatening.

Elijah was supernaturally protected (18:12).

Jezebel did intend to carry out threat but she wanted to unnerve – it was psychological warfare.

So, there was a crisis!

Elijah’s life was threatened.

In the end-times, we will face crises.

What do you do when you face a crisis?

You: Get alone with God [P] [1 Kings 19:3 And he saw and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.]

What was Elijah’s response?

To get away alone.

He went to Beersheba in the kingdom of Judah, on the border of the desert, outside Jezebel’s jurisdiction.

But not just to get away – he left his servant in safety there.

If he was only concerned with being safe Elijah would have stayed there in Beersheba; but he went further, alone to the wilderness to speak with God.

When crisis comes, get alone with God.

The situation had come to a crisis and he needed to get back to God there and hear from Him.

He headed for the wilderness, both Jesus and John sought God in the wilderness.

Was Elijah "afraid"?

(he stood up to Ahab, who was scouring internationally to have him put to death, he stood up to the 450 prophets, slaughtered them) or did he "see"?

That is perceive, understand, the true state of the nation.

Despite convincing, overwhelming, proof that יהוה is God, despite confessing of Him as God, killing of the false prophets, יהוה’s subsequent blessing with rain; NOTHING HAD CHANGED!

It was mere surface stuff, motivated by the spectacular, performed out of self-interest.

Their heart hadn’t changed at all! Still Baalism ruled, still they wanted to kill the prophets.

Despite all that had happened, nothing had changed!

What would it take?! Elijah understood this, he saw it clearly – and he saw clearly the only possible consequence: because there was no genuine turning to God, despite all that He had done to turn their hearts to Him (cf.

18:37); the only inevitable conclusion and consequence was that the covenant relationship was OVER – TERMINATED!

This was the real crisis!

יהוה’s relationship with the nation of Israel was over!

Like Moses when Israel made the golden calf, he was the only one who had not turned aside to idolatry.

Like Moses he needed to meet with God to re-establish the terms of relationship.

What was God going to do now?

Now that His plan for Israel could no longer continue?

This was a crisis – far beyond a personal threat to Elijah’s life!

(He wasn’t concerned for his own life, look in v.4 he wanted to die).

Could the worship of יהוה die out altogether?! Elijah was the only remnant left of יהוה fearers!

There was none beside him on that day – look at [1 Kings 18:21–22 Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?

If יהוה is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”

But the people did not answer him a word.

Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of יהוה.]

No one piped up and said, “No, I serve יהוה too.”

If he died there would be none left!

Jezebel sought to wipe out the only remaining witness to the true God.

Elijah had to meet with יהוה!

What was יהוה going to do now?

Disillusionment [P] [1 Kings 19:4 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 יהוה, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”]

Elijah had come apart, alone in the desert to talk with God.

He was heading for Sinai.

Still he was preoccupied with his own soul (nefesh 2x in this verse).

He had had enough.

His life had been one of service to יהוה but now he saw that it was over.

He had done all he could and יהוה had shown His mighty power, the reality of His being, and it had made no impact.

What more could be done?

This people were inveterate in their rejection of יהוה and their following of idols.

His mission had been to turn men’s hearts back to יהוה.

That had burned within him, that was his reason for being.