Elijah and Despair

where do you place your hope it's what it's about it's about Elijah and despair where do you place

your hope as a people of God as an individual my hope it says is in the name of the Lord my hope

is in the name of the Lord but what does that actually mean because that's a powerful voice

and that's a powerful sense that we want in our lives but what does it mean in reality and I pray

this morning that the story of Elijah for you if you feel as though you've been standing alone in

this situation I pray this story this morning will bring you hope because it is a true story of hope

over despair because Elijah had followed the succession of ungodly kings my goodness had

they been a group of kings there had been one after the other and it seemed as though each one came

got worse than the one before it is sort of accumulated and the Bible says that this King

Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than all the ones that had gone before him do you get the

picture and then adding into that he marries this woman called Jezebel who probably was just as bad

as he was it was a marriage made in hell for the people because it got worse and worse and into this

Jezebel also decided that she would worship the gods of Baal these fertility gods and gods or whatever

so she brought 450 of her prophets with her and then another 400 prophets that served the goddess

asherah so I can see a bit of a sort of kingdom growing here that isn't too good

maybe you feel that you live in those times of where wherever you look things seem to be getting worse

and worse and worse and what do we do about it Elijah a great man of God

feels that his message is falling on deaf ears not only has he been challenged but what happens with

all the followers of God the one true God at that time they all get together they cluster around Elijah

no they don't they disappear and Elijah is left alone to stand in that place to deliver this message

of God's hope God's hope God

Elijah actually means Yahweh God is my God

nothing better than a statement for that is it you know what's your name Elijah God is my God well we

know where you're coming from that's great there is no hiding and I thought here we're just

setting up for the big fight aren't we really I wanted a bit of rocky music for this bit in the sermon

and comes out this is the big ticket because Elijah is about to confront everybody else he is about to

confront the establishment and there's going to be a bit of a showdown

just to catch up bell worship was to do with crops so all the people quite rightly they felt oh well we'll

follow these gods who give us rain and stuff like that so we're okay it's what we want it's what we do

but it wasn't and uh here we've got

Elijah is called to King Ahab and he says to him look basically this is my translation here

if you don't get a grip if you don't get a grip on this nation if you don't follow the one true God

if you basically don't get a grip on your wife and what she's doing then actually what I'm going to do

is uh the Lord your God is going to withhold rain and he won't turn the tap on until I ask him to do that

what a big call what a big call what a courageous call to stand for God to go and say I am not going

to put up with this anymore the Lord your God I can buy into everything else but I refuse to buy into

this and whatever the Lord refutes to buy into this and there needs to be a change

three years later three years later how stubborn can you get the people wouldn't listen there was

drought there was famine and here is Elijah goes back three years later and three years later here

is the showdown so he went to meet with Ahab Elijah said and he says to him is that you you troubler

oh yeah oh I'm the one that's causing the problem am I I'm the one that's getting in the way

and he says that's okay gather all your 450 prophets bring the other 400 as well and we'll have a showdown

on Mount Carmel how do you fancy that and they think well yeah this is it we'll get rid of Elijah

once and for all and this is what happens you see you see there's going to be this big showdown

and you're either people I want to ask you this morning either you're all in or you're all out

there is no halfway and I think I lived my life as a Christian for many years as a half-eight Christian

I was one foot in I could sit on the fence with everybody else I could buy into everything else

but I wasn't two feet in we've just come back from a CVM men's weekend away where there were 69 men

gave their lives to Christ and one woman at a men's weekend she had come as a carer for one of the

people that she was looking after and we we were there on that night and she was there all these people

went down gave their lives to the Lord and most of those had been brought by other Christians they'd

been brought along and then she came walking down and gave her life as well in amongst two two and a

half thousand men how brave is that you see either you are all in or all out there is no sitting on the

fence there is no observing we are both feet in and here I've met so many Christians who have one foot in

or worse do not commit here's the challenge from scripture how long will you waver between two

opinions says Elijah how long will you waver between the two if the Lord is God follow him but if Baal is

God follow him but the people did nothing so what he does he does this showdown and he says that's okay

bring all your people carve up your ox or whatever you're going to sacrifice and you do that on the

altar but the call is is you call down fire from heaven from your God and set it on fire

so they do and all the prophets of Baal they're dancing around they're cutting themselves with

swords they do all of this and what I love in scripture is in between all of this Elijah speaks

into us you see because there is a choice time there is a choice either you live with hope

or you live with despair and Elijah wasn't going to live with despair he wasn't going to live with

despair for the people because he had a heart for the people his heart was with the people we heard

that in our testimony this morning we've heard that in our hearts this morning we have a heart for the

people that we are called to reach and so we do something do you stand do you call on the name of the

Lord do you call on the name of the Lord in those sense in those times when he has to make a difference

and bring hope because that's what we live in you see I'm gonna I'm all in I'm all in

and Elijah was all in I want to bring hope to a people I don't want to just see them carry on in this

way in this life we want to bring hope into people who have despair and I don't know about you I talk to

people as you do and I just sense there's a lack of hope around at the moment but there's a lot of

despair I believe that we're called to be bringers of hope so what happens everybody comes it's the big

ticket it's the big ticket event it's even bigger than Ed Sheeran you know this is the big ticket event

they've all come what's going to happen on Mount Carmel so all the prophets of Baal they've cut

themselves whatever nothing happens and what I love is Elijah just leans over and says shout louder

why don't you just shout louder for your God they must be on holiday what's all that about nothing

happens and then Elijah said to the people come here to me come here to me and with that he says

I don't want to make this easy just there's four big pitchers of water over there just pour it on this

thing I don't want anybody to be in any doubt so they do that once and they said no actually let's do

it again and let's do it again let's let nobody be in any doubt about this God of hope that I'm talking

to you about and so he does that he calls fire down from heaven and it burns up

the people fell prostrate and said the Lord he is God and a nation came to know the one true Lord

can you imagine that moment can you imagine seeing your friends and your family those that we meet with

those that we work with coming to Christ

then a cloud as small as a man hand rises from the sea and then it starts to rain

that's just awesome isn't it

well Elijah can now retire he can write books he can go on premier Christian radio

he can appear at spring harvest he can do book signings he's made Elijah is the man

and then one thing comes Jezebel says to him I'm going to kill you

what would you do we mighty people of God we've just seen the Lord do amazing things

what does Elijah do he runs he runs in despair a hundred miles in fact he runs again and again and again

and where it ends is that he is found lying under a broom bush

and he says this is life for God's purposes and his power this is the game changer

a hundred miles later he lies under this bush and says take my life

what brings a mighty people a mighty person of God within just a day or so to that point

and I would suggest that we know that place

that we know that place is people of God who have given our lives who have served who have done amazing

things and seen God do amazing things and we have come to that point where there's one thing that

happens that suddenly knocks our faith puts us into despair and makes us run this is encouragement

because what did the angel bring the angel brought cake it says he fed Elijah at that point

you know I want to give you hope because I want us to realize that we are human

nudged the person next to them and said you're human it's okay you're human we are human

and we meet that point sometimes where something will happen and we get burnt out

Elijah has given three years three years of drought he's done all of this he's done that great thing on

Mike Carmel he is human and he's done the amazing thing and then the one thing that catches him

is he realizes that his gauge of fuel is nearly on empty and then comes the one thing that breaks in

and causes him despair and he runs be encouraged because we all meet that point mighty people of God

we have all been there what do we do we do the encouragement here first of all the physical

what does God do for Elijah he builds him up physically he builds him up again he's been at his end he's been

part of the drought he's been part of the famine what does God do God builds him up again for any of us

that's been in that place what's the first well not me personally I just eat when I'm stressed but

some people just stop eating for me you know he fed him and he builds him back up what was the next

thing he needs to do he gets fed so that he can build up then the emotional and the spiritual and then

the emotional and the spiritual comes and Elijah is restored and renewed the Lord brings hope in the

place where Elijah was and if you are there this morning if you're listening on a podcast if you're

listening wherever you are be encouraged because the Lord won't take us as mighty people of God and

leave us in despair he will bring hope and may will be that some of us will be bringers of hope to other

people bringers of hope in that place because 40 days he walks to Horeb and then the Lord says to him

where are you Elijah where are you and I don't think that's about a location I don't think that's on

Elijah's sat nav the Lord knows where he is but he says where are you because let's have a real

relationship here this is about relational this is personal where are you be honest with me

be honest with yourself and let's get back to that place where you need to be because I can do that

and I don't know where you are at the moment but if God asked you where are you

what would your reply be to God honestly because that's what it's about maybe Lord I'm two feet out

at the moment but I want to be two feet back in maybe I was two feet back in years back maybe I've

lived my Christian life as only one foot in maybe I've lived my life of just acknowledging God but

never actually being open enough or think I can be open enough to have a personal relationship

so I want to be all in and so spiritually Horeb was an opportunity for a fresh revelation

and that's where he was I don't know what your Horeb is where is your place for a fresh revelation of God

to say I'm all back in again I'm two feet in you see Elijah already knew the power of God

and so we get this thing of the mountain it comes back the thunder and the lightning do you know what

he'd seen all of that he'd seen the fire come down from heaven he'd seen the power of God come down he'd seen

fire come from nowhere into anything he'd seen that he doesn't need to see that again maybe many of us

don't need to see that again we've seen the power of God we've seen lives changed we've seen people

change we've been seen people transformed and the love of God and that's been great but what does God

do God says after the fire comes a gentle whisper and then Elijah stood at the mouth of the cave and he

went out and in the presence of God in the stillness and in the quietness the Lord spoke and said

where are you Elijah where are you

maybe for us this morning it's that still small voice

this says to us where are you

where are you

because we're going to do great things

because what's happening is Elijah

it's I'm going to restore you and renew you because you've been running on empty

and you are going to go back and you are going to do great things

but I just want to encourage you and make you a bringer of hope again to your people

Elijah tells God as though he didn't know anything he just pours it out and he says don't go

somewhere different go back to where you came from go back to that place and make a difference

and he does filled with hope restored and renewed

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