Faith Doesn't Mean Perfection. (Slide 1)

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One day in Heaven, Moses and Jesus was playing a round of golf when an old man asked if he could join them.  They said, “Sure”.

Moses hit first and he hit a duck-hook that went immediately towards the water.  When the ball got close to the water, the waters parted on dry land and rolled up onto the green.

Jesus was next to hit and He also hit His ball towards the water but instead of parting, the ball hovered over the water and onto the green some 6 feet from the hole.

The old man asked himself, “How am I ever going to top those two guys?”  He took a swing and he severely sliced the ball to the right, hit a tree, and bounced along the shore next to the water.  Before the ball came to a stop, a squirrel picked up the ball and starting running away when an eagle swooped down to pick up the squirrel making him drop the ball onto the green which proceeded into the hole for a hole in one!

Jesus came over to the old man, looked over him for a moment and said, “Good shot Dad!”

(Slide 2)

What We Do when we are at our limits.

“THAT POINT” I asked many of you last week what you did when life got to “that point.” You all know what I mean by that point. It is the breaking point. The point where we all pull out some hair, scream, clean out a pint of ice cream etc… These are a few of those answers.

Rhonda - Sews

Mary - Takes a Walk

Jon - Draws

Ruth - Watches YouTube

Zebe - Freaks Out

Mike - Takes A Nap

Kaye - Makes a List

Lauren - Practices Breathing

Heidi - Cry’s

Angela - Works Out, Quiet Time

Leo - “I go to Tahiti in my mind and stay in my happy place”

Leo - “I try to remember it is what it is.”

Today we are going back into the life of Elijah, to be exact we are going to the point directly after the last sermon I gave on Elijah. While we are there we are going to try and decide if he had a lack of faith, or if it was something else.

Today 1 Kings 19: 1-18

Before we go there a quick refresher on what got us here.

Elijah and the prophets of Baal

That leads us to todays scripture and the first question that we need to look a little deeper into.

POINT 1 - A Lack of Faith, or Spiritual Exhaustion? (Slide 3)

1 Kings 19:1–8 ESV

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 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. 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.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 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. 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.” 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.

Jezebel learns that her big bad prophets were beat down. Because of this..

Jezebel decides that Elijah has to pay.

3 aspects of Jezebels revenge.

Jezebel was as evil a person that there ever was in the Bible. She was essentially a bond villain.

She could have just sent in the troops to kill him.

She wants not only his life, Jezebel wants to break Elijah’s spirit first.

Jezebel felt challenged and was NOT going to loose. Jezabel’s name means “where is the prince.” This is a derogatory term meaning that the prince is not necessary. She was in charge. Ahab might have been the king but make no mistake, Jezebel wore the long robe in that relationship.

Elijah’s name means “Yahweh is my God.” Elijah didn’t care about power. It wasn’t about fame. For Elijah it was all about God and God’s truth. He didn’t care what Jezebel said even though Jezebel was in charge because Jezebel was going AGAINST God and His law. Elijah and Jezebel were destined for a fight. Everything that she stood for Elijah was against and visa versa.

Because of the threat on his life and the battle that Elijah had just won for God we see Elijah’s response.

Elijah went from a confident, secure, and God filled prophet to a crying, woe is me, i want to die man in a matter of verses. Why?

“Holier than Thou Answer” We look at this as a lack of common sense, a lack of faith.

Lack of faith? Not in my opinion.

More likely this reaction was a mix of fatigue and the thought that this exhausting war he was fighting was never going to end.

Elijah wasn’t throwing a temper tantrum like Jonah did because God didn’t destroy Ninevah. Elijah did everything that God asked in his life that we can see. No more and no less.

He was depressed! He keeps fighting the good fight and it just keeps raining garbage on him so he is done!

Elijah is not doubting for even a mili-second that God exists, he just doesn’t have the energy to go on in the fight any farther.

Remember Elijah had been fighting this fight for three years straight. We are talking the thick of it. The frontlines.

Elijah’s faith did not fail him, his Spirit did. (slide 4)

Not THE Spirit, his spirit.

His Gut, the bonfire inside of every Christian. We could not be a Christian without this because who would want that?!

We see here that Elijah let his guard down and it showed. But Elijah is not alone.

Abraham called his wife his sister

David got lazy and ended up committing adultery and murder.

Moses lost his temper and never entered the promised land.

Peter got scared and denied Christ 3 times!

Elijah just like these men were just that, men. They were not superhero’s they were just like you and me, they were human! We hold them to a higher standard but we should be held to the same standard if not more! We have the entire Bible, their stories and God never went anywhere. Yet the idea of standing for God when someone on face book says something to us makes us cower in fear. Elijah was an imperfect human just as we are. We see here that Elijah simply had a breakdown. He reached his limit. He doesn’t feel he has anything left. He just wanted to stop and he said as much when he said “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” I have done everything I can, I’m not any better than anyone that came before me so take me home.

Then, Elijah learned what many of us still haven’t.

God knows our needs far better than we do.

God knows just what we need, no more, no less. It just isn’t good enough for us.

God knew what Elijah needed and he filled that need.

Elijah laid down under a tree and took a nap.

An angel came and fed and watered Elijah therefore strengthening his body and his Spirit.

Then another nap.

Then more food, because he was going on a journey to answer his breakdown.

This was super food and water. 2 Loafs were enough for a 40 day and night walk!

Then he walks 40 days and forty nights to go to Mt. Horeb, and talk to God.

God filled Elijah’s needs and we shouldn’t expect anything else.

(Slide 5)

Isaiah 40:29 ESV

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

(Slide 6)

Matthew 11:28 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

(Slide 7)

Psalm 73:26 ESV

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

He went to Mt. Horeb for a reason. Mt. Horeb was the same Mt that God came to Moses on. It was known in Israel that Mt. Horeb was a Holy place. Elijah needed to talk to God so he went to where he KNEW God would be. That’s faith!

Before Elijah starts his journey we see that God didn’t reprimand Elijah. He sustained him. He did this simply because...

(Slide 8)

Point 2 - God Understands

1 Kings 19:9–18 ESV

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?” 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.” 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, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 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.” And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

When Elijah was properly rested he was able to hear God clearly.

Now that Elijah’s body was physically back to where it needed to be Elijah needed to get his Spirit back where it needed to be.

Elijah walked for 40 days and 40 nights. Elijah walked to Mt. Horeb and went and hid in a cave. Elijah only knew that he was called to go to that place. He had no idea what God wanted to tell him. Was God going to yell at him. He apparently thought so because He hid in the cave and waited.

We assume the worst when we wait. It cannot be good news right?

We see instead, God came and gently asked Elijah a simple question. “Why are you here?”

AGAIN This is not a rebuke from God. He is not yelling at Elijah. This is an invitation for Elijah to bare his soul to his God. To tell him exactly why he was feeling the way he was. I think sometimes we feel like God is the Bad Cop so to speak who just wants to yell and punish us all the time. God wanted to hear Elijah and heal him from the inside out.

Elijah tells God the truth that is in his heart. God already knew but God wanted to hear it from Elijah.

Elijah knew that he couldn’t trick God. God knew Elijah’s heart. We need to remember this. God knows our heart. He wants us to share it honestly with him instead of trying to hide the truth.

God says go out and stand before me. Basically. Let’s talk. What is up?

Elijah must not not have come out right away because we see that 3 massive ecological events happen. All three were caused by God but He wasn’t in any of them. Elijah knew that.

Then like the loving father God is, a low gentle whisper in the wind. After those massive events Elijah hears his fathers voice, covers his face, and goes to meet his God.

Again God says “What are you doing here Elijah?” Elijah again vents. He vents. He tells God that he is sad, he is mad. He is tired of fighting this fight alone!

God doesn’t yell at him to suck it up. God doesn’t make him feel stupid or wrong. God listens.

When Elijah is done God must know that Elijah is refreshed so he sends Elijah back to it.

(Slide 9)

Point 3 - It’s ok to nap.

When we live in a world where we live by a set of rules and beliefs (the Bible) and it seems like we are constantly in a battle with others who think that our beliefs are wrong it is easy to get to the point that Elijah was in. Tired and wondering if we are fighting a battle that we just can’t win. We need to remember that God created us. He knows us. He knows something that we need to remember…we are not perfect. We need to take the time when we need to, to take a nap. Eat some food. Get back in the word. Get on our knees in prayer, and get back out there and fight the good fight and stand up for the morals and beliefs that our savior gave us and our world desperately needs.

(Slide 10)

Prayer for the students

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