A Calm Word For Chaotic Times

TEXT: 1 KINGS 19;9-13

Subject: “A CALM WORD IN CHAOTIC TIMES”

IF EVER THERE WAS A UNSTABLE PERSON WHO LIVED IN UNSTABLE TIMES,

THE PROPHET ELIJAH WAS ONE SUCH PERSON.

IT WAS ELIJAH WHO SAVED HIS PEOPLE FROM THE ERRORS AND EXCESSES OF KING AHAB AND QUEEN JEZEBEL BY ACTING AS THE CONSCIENCE OF ISRAEL.

ELIJAH WAS A NO-NONSENSE PERSONALITY.

HE SAW THINGS EITHER RIGHT OR WRONG---GOD OR BAAL—THERE WAS NO MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

HE WAS EVER CONFRONTING PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR SINS.

WHETHER IT WAS KINGS IN THEIR PALACES, OR CROWDS ON CARMEL,

HE HAD A MINISTRY OF MIRACLES, FIRE, AND THE SWORD.

HE HAD SHUT UP THE HEAVENS, HAD BEEN SUSTAINED BY RAVENS

AND BY A JAR OF MEAL AND A CRUSE OF OIL THAT NEVER RAN OUT.

HE HAD RAISED THE DEAD, CALLED DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN, AND BROUGHT RAIN TO THE LAND.

Scripture honors Elijah. More is written of him in the New Testament than of any other prophet except Moses.

God honored Elijah. Elijah was one of two humans who did not taste death (Enoch was the other). And Elijah was one of two Old Testament saints (Moses was the other) who was on the mount when Christ was transfigured.

YET, THE ELIJAH WE READ ABOUT TODAY IS DOWNRIGHT DEPRESSED, DISCOURAGED, FRETFUL AND FEELING DESERTED.

HE IS IN A CAVE ON MT. HOREB.

NOW, SOME THINGS DON’T BELONG IN CERTAIN PLACES.

HAVE YOU EVER FOUND YOURSELF SOMEWHERE AND THEN REMARKED TO YOURSELF------SEE, I DON’T EVEN HAVE ANY BUSINESS BEING HERE.

SOME THINGS JUST DON’T BELONG IN CERTAIN PLACES.

AN OVEN IS NO PLACE FOR AN ICEBALL.

A PIG PEN IS NO PLACE FOR A HUMAN BEING.

A TREE IS NO PLACE FOR A HUGE STONE.

AND A CAVE IS NO PLACE FOR A PROPHET.

CAVES ARE FOR BLIND BATS.

CAVES ARE FOR HIBERNATING BEARS.

CAVES ARE FOR WILD BEASTS.

BUT A CAVE IS NO PLACE FOR A PROPHET.

YOU EXPECT TO SEE A PROPHET IN CONFERENCE WITH GOD.

YOU EXPECT TO SEE A PROPHET IN CONFRONTATION WITH UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.

BUT THE LAST PLACE YOU EXPECT TO SEE OR EVER LOOK FOR A PROPHET IS IN A CAVE.

FOR THIS IS NO PLACE FOR A PROPHET.

NEVERTHELESS, DESPITE THE FACT THIS IS NO PLACE FOR A PROPHET,

IT IS EXACTLY WHERE WE FIND HIM—IN A CAVE.

HE IS SENTIMENTAL. HE IS SUICIDAL. HE IS WEARY.

HE IS WEEPING. HE IS WOUNDED.

LISTEN AGAIN TO THE CONVERSATION……………

KJV 1 Kings 19:9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

KJV 1 Kings 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

SHAKEN ELIJAH WAS IN SHAKEN TIMES,

MINISTRY IN HIS GENERATION WAS TO SAY THE LEAST ROUGH.

HE FOUND OUT THE PROPHETIC PROFESSION WAS NOT AN EASY ONE.

ELIJAH HAD TO SPEND SOME TIME UNDER A JUNIPER TREE FIGHTING OFF A PROPHETIC DEPRESSION.

HAD TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH HIS OWN SENSE OF PERSONAL DOUBT AND INTERNAL ANXIETY.

HAD TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH HIS OWN SENSE OF ALONENESS, FRUSTRATION, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PAIN.

But when pessimism gets an iron grip on us, we tend to evaluate things in the worst way. We play down any success and magnify every defeat. (It denies the power and will of god.)

PHYSICALLY TIRED…….. Here we are looking at the influence of his pessimism on others. We do not live unto ourselves (Romans 14:7), and when we get down in the dumps, it will have an adverse effect on many around us. Elijah’s pessimism deflated the momentum of the movement back to Jehovah, it discouraged the converts of Jehovah, and it delighted the opposition to Jehovah.

ELIJAH IS SHAKEN AND NEEDS HIS FAITH RENEWED…………….

THE GOOD NEWS IS THE GOD OF FAITH WAS NOT ABOUT TO FAIL;

DON’T THINK THAT BECAUSE YOU ARE IN THE FIGHT—THE FIGHT IS YOURS.

DON’T THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE IN LEADERSHIP YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW IT TURNS OUT.

GOD HAS HIS OWN WAY.

GOD HAS HIS OWN WEAPONS.

GOD HAS HIS OWN WARRIORS—MOST OF THE TIME, NONE OF US WOULD HAVE PICKED THE SAME PEOPLE JESUS DOES. IF I WERE JESUS….

THE GOOD NEWS IS THE GOD OF FAITH WAS NOT ABOUT TO FAIL;

EVEN IF THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED, WAS TOTALLY UNEXPECTED.

LISTEN AGAIN TO THE CONVERSATION:

KJV 1 Kings 19:11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD.

GET OUT OF THIS CAVE……..YOU WERE NOT MEANT FOR IT!!!!!

GET ON WITH LIFE…………….YOU GET BETTER AS YOU GET ON WITH LIFE.

MOVE BEYOND THE VICTIMIZATION----GET OVER IT.

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:

IT SEEMS AS IF GOD WAS TELLING ELIJAH,

I KNOW YOU’VE SEEN THE POWERFUL AND THE SPECTACULAR DEMONSTRATIONS OF POWER,

AND SOMETIMES THEY ARE NECESSARY BY REASON OF CRISIS,

BUT GOD’S WORK IN THE WORLD IS MOST OFTEN NOT ACHIEVED BY SUCH METHODS.

Bigness Does Not Guarantee God’s Presence

We, who live in the twentieth century where the dramatic and sensational are practically worshipped, will be even more surprised that God was not in the wind, earthquake, and fire. We tend to measure everything by the velocity of the wind or by the Richter scale or by how spectacular it is.

GOD IS NOT INTO TURNING HEADS BUT CHANGING HEARTS.

Bigness does not guarantee God’s presence.

One of the great perils of having a continuous wind, earthquake, and fire program is that it makes people carnal with all the emphasis on that which excites the flesh. Hence the people become disinterested in the spiritual, and they will get to the place where they will not come to church unless you have a show for them.

It is the common, the ordinary, not the unusual and dramatic that is God’s regular way of doing things.

So do not despise the “still small voice” ministry. Those who do despise it are filled with much unbelief, for it was this kind of person that kept asking Christ for additional signs.

Experience will also teach us that it is the common and the ordinary which comprises most of life and which is the most valuable to us. As an example, a newspaper is not made up entirely of headlines, but mostly it is made up of small print. Headlines are often in the sensational category, and they do turn heads (so people will buy the paper at the newsstand). But if you want to learn anything, you had better spend most of your time reading the small print. It is the small print that gives real value to the newspaper. The same principle is seen in contrasting the spectacular display of fireworks with the fire in the furnace of your home. The fireworks are a head turner and draw many “ohs” and “ahs” from a fascinated crowd. But its value is nothing compared to the small, inconspicuous, quiet fire in the furnace of a house or building. So do not despise the common, the small, and the ordinary. You need it more than all that is big and impressive put together.

LISTEN AGAIN TO THE CONVERSATION:

KJV 1 Kings 19:13 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,

We may have been zealous in the past, but are we zealous now to serve the Lord?

God manifesting Himself to man

I. GOD INVESTIGATES THE MOTIVES THAT GOVERN HUMAN CONDUCT. "The word of the Lord came to him, and said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?"

1. When God investigates the motives that governs human conduct He comes near to man. "The word of the Lord came to Elijah."

2. When God investigates the motives that govern human conduct He interrogates man. "What doest thou here, Elijah?"

(1) Life is state of servitude. "What doest thou?" Man must serve.

(2) Life necessitates personal service. "What doest thou?"

(3) Life contains special spheres of service. "What doest thou here?"

We may have been zealous in the past, but are we zealous now to serve the Lord?

God manifesting Himself to man

I. GOD INVESTIGATES THE MOTIVES THAT GOVERN HUMAN CONDUCT. "The word of the Lord came to him, and said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?"

1. When God investigates the motives that governs human conduct He comes near to man. "The word of the Lord came to Elijah."

2. When God investigates the motives that govern human conduct He interrogates man. "What doest thou here, Elijah?"

(1) Life is state of servitude. "What doest thou?" Man must serve.

(2) Life necessitates personal service. "What doest thou?"

(3) Life contains special spheres of service. "What doest thou here?"

The responsibility of man as an agent

It is implied in all its appeals to the undecided. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." It is implied in its allegations against the sinner. "Ye will not come unto Me, that ye might have life." It is implied in its representation of the judgment-day. "God shall bring every idle word into judgment." "Be not deceived, God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap." Indeed, the very existence of the Bible implies it.

and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

We need to consider our location, as well as our occupation, more frequently than we do; for it is so easy to become located far from where we ought to be, as was the case with Elijah.

And many professing Christians need to ask themselves this question when they are found in…………………………………………………………………

Like Elijah, many have wasted much time and effort because they did not give much thought to what they were doing. Like the prodigal son, many have blown (“spent all” Luke 15:14) their heritage, their endowments, their health, and their character and have ended up in a pigsty coveting the “husks that the swine did eat” (Luke 15:16) because they did not duly ponder this question. This question which the Lord asked Elijah needs to be posted prominently in our hearts and perhaps also on our bulletin boards, desks, walls, doors, and other conspicuous places so we can see it constantly and, therefore, check our deeds to see that they are what God would have us to be doing.

Elijah’s answer revealed he was a “has been”!!!!!!!!!

But his great past will not cover for the present. Past performances, no matter how great they are, will not answer for the present.

We may have been zealous in the past, but are we zealous now to serve the lord?

MARCH ON CHURCH, EVEN IN CHAOTIC TIMES.

GOD TOUCHED THE SPIRIT OF ELIJAH, LIFTED HIM UP AND SENT HIM BACK INTO SERVICE.

EVEN IN A CHAOTIC TIME, GOD RENEWED ELIJAH IN SUCH A MANNER HE COULD PASS ON HIS FERVOR TO THOSE WHO WOULD COME BEHIND HIM.

HE UNDERSTOOD HE WAS BEING SENT BACK TO THE STRUGGLE BY THE GOD WHO CANNOT FAIL NOR BE DEFEATED.

HE NO LONGER FELT ALONE.

WE NEVER READ OF HIM GOING BACK TO THE CAVE.

HE WAS CONFIDENT GOD WOULD DO WHAT GOD SAID HE WOULD.

HE LEARNED GOD NEVER GIVES UP ON US. EVEN WHEN WE GIVE UP ON OURSELVES.

OUR GOD IS AN INTERVENER---A DOING GOD.

HE LOVES US NO MATTER HOW FAR WE STRAY FROM HIS PRESENCE AND HIS WILL.

ELIJAH LEARNED TO STAND BEFORE GOD. HE LEARNED THE TRUE POWER OF PRAYER.

YOU NO LONGER NEED TO CARRY THIS LOAD ALONE

STAND FACE TO FACE, LET GOD BE GOD, NOT AS WE CHOOSE, NOT AS WE EXPECT, NOT AS WE IMAGINE, BUT AS HE DECIDES WHEN AND HOW TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO THOSE HE CHOOSES.

TAKE YOUR MIND OFF AHABS AND JEZEBELS---LET ME HANDLE THEM

STOP WORRYING ABOUT FALSE PROPHETS—I’LL SHUT THEIR MOUTHS

BUT YOU GO BACK THROUGH THE WILDERNESS AND CALL OUT ALL THOSE WHO ARE HIDING.

NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE DONE…………………………….