Hills and Valley's

Introduction

Story of Ford Ranger and Whisper

Sometimes we think that what we need to be renewed, rejuvinated, or reinvigorated for service to God is a clear supernatural encounter with divine vision. A burning bush like Moses. A dream like Joseph. A pillar of fire like the people of Israel, but we will see in today’s passage is that it doesn’t have to be dramatic, loud, or a clear demonstration of power… sometimes, often times its just drawing close to hear the word of the Lord in a whisper.

Turn with me to 1 Kings 19, and we will be starting in verse 9.

Mount Carmel showdown… I mean a missionary’s dream.

But instead of national revival, and an invitation to the white house. How is Elijah treated?

The queen said, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not kill you by this time tomorrow.”

Can you imagine? Like sipping sweet tea when you ordered coke.

So what does he do? Call fire down again?

He ran for his life, isolated himself in the wilderness of Beersheba and proceeds to ask God to take his life.

He’s suicidal!

EAT and SLEEP (recap 1-8)

Now, it isn’t an apples to apples comparison but my gut tells me that many of you have felt this range of emotions before in your relationship with God.

You get saved, and begin to find joy in God rather than the things of this world and you see everything threw rose colored glasses! You get so saved, and so changed that you even begin driving the speed limit. You are deeply aware that you’re a new creation!

Hungry for His Word! Can’t get enough of it. Experiencing pulsating emotions as you engage in praise and worship! Attending worship everytime it was being held. Holding nightly prayer watches. Telling as many people as possible about the life found in Christ. Memorizing scripture. Ingesting podcasts and sermons like the garlic bread at Olive Garden. ON FIRE. ZEALOUS. And walking in affirmation, enthusiasm, and sheer pleasure of a relationship with God.

But something happens. The emotions begin to fade. The hunger for His word is replaced by a dryness. Everything you read just looks like words on a page. You engage in worship but don’t feel anything anymore. Maybe a doubt about God has begun to creep in and just can’t seem to shake it. Maybe you have started growing discontent with the seeming restrictions God, the Bible, and religion places on your life. Your hunger for sex, drugs, alcohol, pornography, etc. has grown stronger as your hunger for what is right was weakened.

Maybe it’s been circumstantial. All things were going right, and all of a sudden you lost someone close to you. a relationship imploded. A betrayal happened. A death of a loved one. And regardless of how often you’re asking God why… the only response you get is silence… From being on fire for the love of the Lord, now you just feel totally unloved. From reveling in your security in Christ… not you’re overwhelemed by noticeable insecurity.

From delight to despair. And it seems like it happened overnight. And you feel afraid, discouraged, and possibly like Elijah are begging God to just go ahead and end it. If that’s you listen up… you’re in the wilderness. Isolating yourself, when you know it’s the opposite of what is rally needed.

But what does God do? How does he respond?

He provides. He doesn’t lecture or chide or discipline. He doesn’t tell Eliajh to pray more, fast more, or go to the next conference.

He gives him sleep. He gives him food.

Guys… instead of offering you a deep theological truth right now I simply want to give you permission to sleep… well maybe not right this moment, but prioritize your sleep. Your wilderness may be amplified right now because of the habits of your sleep and not some supernatural struggle with darkness.

I have 4 kids… I know what hangry is. Sometimes your wildernes is amplified because youre not eating right.

So the first thing we need to be aware of is that renewal, rejuvination, or encounter with God could be as simple as sleeping and eating right.

So Elijah is in the wilderness. Afraid, depressed, and suicidal and as we come to verse 8, God has provided his basic needs and says, “And he went in the strength of that food 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

Read 9-10

Be Honest, not Hidden

Elijah comes to a cave at Mount Horeb and he hears the word of the Lord, “What are you doing here Elijah?”

What a piercing question. A question intended to make Elijah fully aware of who Elijah is, where he is, why he is there, what brought him there, and ultimately that it is the Lord is in charge of Elijah’s life and work.

It is reminicient of the question to Adam and Eve when they hid with their sin, “Where are you?”

A question to get to the heart of things.

Guys… if you are in the wilderness. Discouraged, depressed, deconstructing, doubting, take a note from Elijah… don’t hide.

What did Elijah do? verse 10…

He answers honestly, or at least he answers how he feels. But how he feels doesn’t align with reality.

Has some of this occurred? Yes.

IS it toally true? VErse 18.. No.

Here is a truth for you… IF WHAT YOU BELIEVE DOES NOT ALIGN WITH TRUTH, THEN WHAT YOU FEEL DOES NOT ALIGN WITH REALITY.

Too often our wilderness is amplifed because we are so far from God’s truth, and so absorbed with our feels.

Be honest with God. He cares for you. Pour out your heart to Him, he is a refuge for us. But also run to the truth. Be in God’s word.

Not Wow, but Whisper

Read 11-14

Guys, lean in for a second because this is so significant, and the key to understanding this passage.

Where did God invite Elijah? What was the mountain?

is called the Mount of God, because Horeb is actually Mount Sinai!

It’s where Moses saw the burning bush.

It’s where Moses was standing when He begged to see God’s glory. In fact, many believe that the cave Elijah found was in fact the “cleft of the rock” That moses stood in when he saw God’s goodness!

It’s where God desended to speak with Israel in the Wildnerness.

Exodus 19:16–20 CSB

On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn, so that all the people in the camp shuddered. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. As the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain. Then the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up.

It’s where God gave the Ten Commandments and established his covenant with Israel telling them if they would but obey him and follow him he would be their God and make them a great nation. A kingdom of priests!

Mount Horeb was critical to Israelite History. It was synonmous with the giving of the OT LAW.

The law that the people of Israel obviously cared very little for. Look at 19:10… Israel has forsaken your covenant. So GOD in His intentionality calls Elijah to the very location where his covenant was provided while Elijah was dwelling and stuck on the fact that Israel had forgotten it…

What’s the point! Don’t miss this. God by bringing Elijah to Horeb is trying to show Elijah… Israel may have forgotten… but I haven’t.

BY BRINGING ELIJAH TO HOREB HE WANTS ELIJAH TO REMEMBER GOD NOT THE FAILINGS OF THOSE AROUND HIM. STOP LOOKING HORIZONTALLY AND LOOK UP.

The last encounter God had with a person at Horeb was Moses

Where fire came. And the rocks tore apart!

But this time… this time God was not in that.

The Lord was attempting to teach Elijah not to always expect the miraculous and wondrous, powerful, supernatural deliverance of problems. Sometimes God just works in small ways.

Whisper to my kids story.

It communicates intimacy, nearness, and makes us lean in to hear.

The healing for your hurt. The encouragement for your despair. The key to your revitalization Is an encounter with God. But it doesn’t have to WOW, it may just be a whipser.

Thousands of years later. Not just one prophet, but the entire nation of Israel would be in the same place as Elijah.

Conquered by Rome, forgotten by God, discouraged, despairing, and hopeless. They were in need of a word from God, but instead there was 400 years of silence.

They were hoping for a WoW. A miracoulous deliverance, and an establisment of an earthly kingdom like they had with David.

But instead of a Wow, God gave them a whipser. Not a King, but a baby. Not born in a castle, but a manger.

Isaiah 53:2-3, “He had no form or majesty that we should look look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. We esteemed him not.”

But this whisper, the very word of God. The Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus Christ! He is He who ultimately restores, rejuvinates, and we don’t need an earthquake we simply need to put our faith and trust in Him.

We don’t need a sign. The people demanded from CHrist, signs to prove His divinity. But Jesus, “sighed deeply in his spirit, and said no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.

“For just as Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the great fish, so the son of man be three days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus died for you and for me to ultimately draw us close to God. To provide rest, so if you, like Elijah feel discouraged, worn down, and defeated I encourage you to hear the words of Christ your savior, “Come, all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give them rest for their souls.”

The greatest Whisper in all of history is Christ, come to him today.