Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.11UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.06UNLIKELY
Fear
0.1UNLIKELY
Joy
0.63LIKELY
Sadness
0.18UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.68LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.57LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.64LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.88LIKELY
Extraversion
0.26UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.92LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.64LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Introduction
Do you remember the “Where’s Waldo” books?
These books are iconic books of a man in a red-and-white striped shirt hiding in a crowd.
The object of the book is to find Waldo hiding away.
As a kid I loved looking for Waldo!
In fact, I have the 30th anniversary book in my office today.
You will find Waldo in all kinds of crazy places.
When I often found Waldo, I would think to myself why are you there, Waldo?
What was that artist thinking?
Where’s Wally/Waldo book where first published in the UK in 1987 but they have now sold all over the world and over 50 million copies sold and they are still going strong.
In our text today, Elijah falls into a deep valley of fear and despair, but God brings him up into a cave and asks Elijah, “What doest thou here, Elijah?”
That is the question I want you to think about as we go through this message.
What Motivates you?
What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
Waldo was in that weird place because the designer wanted him to be there.
Where does the designer want you today?
God is calling you out today, why are you here?
Before we get into the text as a way of bring us up to speed with Elijah’s story.
Elijah in chapter 18 challenges the prophets of Baal.
The Baal mentioned in the Bible was a universal fertility god and a storm god associated with bringing rain and dew in the Canaan area.
As you may know the story of mount caramel.
Elijah says, whoever’s god can bring down fire on this altar is the one true God.
As you imagine the prophets of Baal couldn’t do it.
Then Elijah prays and calls down the fire.
Then He orders the prophets of Baal killed and it rains and we come into chapter 19.
Elijah had just experienced a mountain top experience.
What a great victory for God.
But Elijah now has come down from Mount Caramel when he receives word that Jezebel wants to kill him.
Ahab being the manly guy he is goes and tells his wife what had just happened.
Jezebel was upset because Elijah had ordered the prophets of Baal to be killed.
This is the most extreme of the actions Elijah had done in the last chapter, and the one that would surely spur Jezebel to take action.
This is evident by Jezebel’s message in verse two of 1 Kings 19.
Elijah then runs again for his life, and lands in a pit of despair.
He lay down under the Juniper Tree like Jonah and tells God to take His life.
He is done, tired, spent.
Maybe that is you tonight.
You have grown weary and you have forgotten why you are here.
May this message be a reminder to you tonight.
That God is able to carry you through your valley.
Maybe tonight, you are here and you have no idea what Church is about or really why you are here.
God has a plan for you as well.
His will is for you to be saved.
Tonight I simply want to draw two quick points to why are you here.
Why we are all here tonight.
We are called to love God, and we are commissioned to serve God.
Read: 1 Kings 19:9-18
We Are Called to Love God
In the middle of Elijah’s fear and despair God brings him up to mount Horeb and into a cave.
There God calls and asks Elijah the same question we are asking in this message.
“What doest thou here, Elijah?”
Something I have observed, is that people will do the things they really want to do.
I know how profound.
When you run into church members you haven’t seen in awhile, they always have an excuse to why they have’t been in church.
But if they really wanted to be here, they would.
We say we didn’t have time to be in church after work on Wednesday night but we never seem to miss the ball game we wanted to watch.
What is the difference?
It’s the question God asked Elijah, Why are you here?
So, why are you here?
Why do you come to church?
Why do you read the Bible?
Why do you pray?
Is it because you love God? or to fill a quota?
God is calling you out today, why are you here?
You are here to love God.
Jesus said Himself we are to love God first and foremost.
We are to love God.
Are you here today because you love God?
Or is there another reason?
Sometimes though, we can be like Elijah and have some delusional expectations of God.
Delusional Expectations of God
Maybe like Elijah you are in the middle of fear and despair and you believe you are alone.
To be in the valley like Elijah was is a lonely place to be.
We may not come out and say it but we often think,”no one else has ever gone through this valley before.
On May 24, 1965, a 13½ foot boat slipped quietly out of the marina at Falmouth, Massachusetts.
It would be the smallest craft ever to make the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to England.
The Tinkerbelle was piloted by Robert Manry, a copy editor for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who felt that 10 years at the desk was enough boredom for a while.
So he took a leave of absence to fulfill his secret dream.
Manry was afraid—not of the ocean, but if many knew what he going to do, they would try to talk him out of the trip.
So he didn’t share it, just some relatives and especially his wife Virginia.
The trip was not pleasant; he spent nights of sleeplessness trying to cross shipping lanes without getting run over and sunk.
Weeks at sea caused his food to become tasteless.
Loneliness—that age-old monster of the deep—led to terrifying nights at sea.
His rudder broke 3 times.
Storms swept him overboard, and had it not been for the rope he had tied around his waist, he would never have been able to pull himself back on board.
Finally, after 78 days alone at sea, he sailed into Cornwall, England.
During those nights, he had wondered about what he would do once he arrived.
He expected simply to check into a hotel, eat dinner alone, then the next morning see if, perhaps, the Associated Press might be interested in his story.
Was he in for a surprise!
Word of his approach had spread far and wide.
To his amazement, 300 vessels, with horns blasting, escorted Tinkerbelle into port.
And 40,000 people stood screaming and cheering him to shore.
Robert Manry, the copy editor turned dreamer, became an overnight hero.
His story has been told around the world.
But Being alone in this world is difficult.
Being alone without Christ is unbearable!
Many who go through valley’s and trails and believe as Elijah and Robert in the midst of the sea, that they are completely alone.
You are not alone.
God is with you and you have a body of believers in the church who can help and encourage you through it.
God’s response to Elijah is simply a gentle reminder that we was not alone.
God corrects and restores Elijah instead of rebuking and condemning.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9