From Victory to Retreat
Notes
Transcript
Background - Victory at Mt Carmel
How we can relate to great men in the Bible.
The victory on Mt. Carmel seems to have set Elijah apart ..
After a glorious victory we will see that Elijah was human after all..
Next two messages center on the following:
I. The Threat of the Enemy and Elijah’s Response.
II. The Comfort of God’s Grace.
III. The Power Encounter With God.
I. The Threat of the Enemy and Elijah’s Response
1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
The enemy wants to discourage after a victory, he wants to steal that joy from us
Evil queen Jezebel knew that Elijah was subject to physical and emotional breakdown, after the demanding day on Mt. Carmel..
Ancient church fathers: “Beware of human reactions after holy exertions.”
Elijah felt alone..
You may feel alone but you are never alone. “I am advancing God’s Kingdom on my own”. God wants to advance the work of His Kingdom through the church.
The lone ranger mentality breeds pride.
The enemy wants to destroy
Plotting, did not kill him in Jezreel, does not want to make him a martyr. So remove him from the scene of the victory.. so the plan was to secretly get rid of Elijah, the people will have no idea where he went - he just disappeared..
The battle does not end in your public ministry,, it is in your private time that you will be attacked, keep your guard up.. the enemy prowls
You draw strength in your public ministry from your private time with God!
The enemy Wants to intimidate
verse 3:
3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
This is mind-boggling...
Spurgeon: “Elijah retreated before a beaten enemy”.
The victory on Mt Carmel has rendered the enemies of God powerless yet Elijah was running away!
It’s a huge wonder how Elijah would win such a huge victory on Mt Carmel and then leave the scene of his greatest triumph scared!
It may be easy to blame Elijah — but Christians in our time actually do the same thing.
Christians would be claiming victory,, will sing victory songs (sing victory songs), would give wonderful testimonies, then the Coronavirus comes along — yes I know it’s real, but we know it came from the enemy — and the enemy’s plan is to paralyze Christians in fear.. the media wants to paint a bleak picture of the world by spreading fear — who do Christians listen to? (instead of the Bible) — how do Christians respond ----------------- fear!
How can we really say we can represent Jesus with boldness?
Elijah, was running away from God’s will, he is escaping to save his own life.
What was Elijah running away from?
The threat from the enemy is an empty threat!
Jezebel said “let the gods do to me or more so...” - Elijah should have remembered that the gods that Jezebel mentioned are false gods, he just proved it on Mt. Carmel!
These false gods have been rendered powerless by Elijah’s victory on Mt Carmel.
In the same manner, Satan was rendered powerless by Christ’s victory on Mt Calvary.
Satan is a defeated foe! he should not have power over our lives.
But we should rely on God..
there’s a lesson here from Elijah’s short-lived victory...
12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
We have to be careful, our greatest strength can be our point of failure.
Abraham’s greatest strength was his faith, and yet he fled to Egypt.
Moses’ greatest strength was his meekness, yet he lost his temper and lost the right to enter the promised land.
Peter was brave and bold, and yet in cowardice he abandoned Jesus at the darkest hour and denied him three times.
let’s continue with Elijah...
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
Similarly, at the greatest height of his ministry, when he should be rejoicing, he became depressed. He is missing the joy of the Lord… throwing a pity party??
Depression, loneliness is real.
Nehemiah 8:10b
“… the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
basically Elijah relied on his own strength and he became afraid.
Let this story remind us that God is the source of our strength.
Don’t take it all upon yourself.. You have God on your side..
Elijah, became depressed, fearful and self-centered or prideful.. but in running away, he removed himself from God’s will for him.
In spite of this, we see...
II. The Comfort of God’s Grace
5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
God sent an angel to help Elijah.
God’s angels are ministering spirits sent by God to minister to His people.
The Lord Himself may have met Elijah.. (Exodus 3:2), in verse 7 the angel was called the angel of the Lord, in many instances in the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord were actually the pre-incarnate appearance of the second person of the Godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We don’t know how long the angel of the Lord allowed Elijah to sleep, but he surely allowed him to rest for a while.
Remember that Jesus gives true rest.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Gave him refreshing water.
Remember that Jesus gives the living water. Water that truly satisfies the soul.
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Gave Elijah food to eat.
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Elijah ate and drank from what the Angel of the LORD gave him; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
Horeb = Mt. Sinai
If you remember, Mount Sinai was where another man of God, Moses met with God.
After a glorious victory on Mt Carmel, Elijah was retreating to Mt Sinai — maybe so he can have that same encounter with God.
He went to Sinai in the strength of the food for forty days and forty nights..
This is a picture of how the Lord is our bread and living water that we will forever satisfy us and we can always draw strength from..
Forty days was the same amount of time that Moses spent with the Lord on the mountain.. when Moses was in the presence of God, at the center of His will..
It is a picture of the truth that the Lord will provide for you when you are at the center of God’s will.
When you do the work of ministry, sharing the love of Jesus,, it is the Lord who will strengthen you.
31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
The amazing thing is that Elijah was not even at the center of God’s will… Even though Elijah was in retreat, running away for his life.. the Lord remained faithful..
Notice that to this point, The Lord had not questioned why Elijah was headed to Mt. Horeb or Mt. Sinai in the first place..
FInally He did in verse 9
9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
you can see that running away was not God’s will for Elijah, but still He reached down to him, sent an angel to take care of him, strengthened him and now is lovingly asking him.. --- GOD’S AMAZING GRACE.
To which Elijah replied:
10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
I alone am left… we’ll continue next week.
Lessons for today:
Honor God in times of victory. Call on Him in Times of Need. Never focus on yourself.
Beware of Pride that would steal you away from God’s will.
When you feel alone in your service to God, remember you are never alone. There is no reason to fear and to despair.
This should be your attitude when you stand for God and His word. The work is not your own.. don’t take the credit of your success and be prideful, do not despair in your failure.
He did not call us to be successful. He called us to be faithful!
Next week...
III. The Power Encounter with God