(soft piano music) ♪ Do not be afraid ♪ ♪ Do not be afraid ♪ ♪ For I have redeemed you ♪ ♪ I have called you by your name ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ When you walk through the
waters I'll be with you ♪ ♪ You will never sink beneath the waves ♪ ♪ When the fire is
burning all around you ♪ ♪ You will never be
consumed by the flames ♪ ♪ Do not be afraid ♪ ♪ Do not be afraid ♪ ♪ For I have redeemed you ♪ ♪ I have called you by your name ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ When the fear of loneliness is looming ♪ ♪ Then remember I am at your side ♪ ♪ When you dwell in the
exile of a stranger ♪ ♪ Remember you are precious in my eyes ♪ ♪ Do not be afraid ♪ ♪ Do not be afraid ♪ ♪ For I have redeemed you ♪ ♪ I have called you by your name ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ You are mine, O my child ♪ ♪ I am your Father ♪ ♪ And I love you ♪ ♪ I love you ♪ ♪ I love you ♪ ♪ I love you ♪ ♪ With a perfect love ♪ ♪ Perfect love ♪ ♪ Do not be afraid ♪ ♪ Do not be afraid ♪ ♪ For I have redeemed you ♪ ♪ I have called you by your name ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ ♪ You are mine ♪ (indistinct chattering) (soft music) ♪ Let beauty be our memorial ♪ ♪ Let Love be our last, best word ♪ ♪ Let our dissonant
counterpoint finally resolve ♪ ♪ In a graceful, consonant chord ♪ ♪ Let goodness hallow the holy ground ♪ ♪ Where under the mercy we rest ♪ ♪ Let beauty be our memorial ♪ ♪ And let all the earth be blest ♪ ♪ Let beauty be our memorial ♪ ♪ And let all the earth be blest ♪ - Good morning. - [Congregation] Good morning. - It is great to have you
here as we gather this morning to worship our Lord and
savior, Jesus Christ. As you can see, it is my
great delight to be able to have us joined this morning
by the Georgia Boy Choir under the direction of
our very own David White. Great to have you here, boys. I know it's been a challenging year in terms of rehearsals and performances, but we are particularly
delighted to have you here with us this morning, and as great a delight as it
is to welcome the Boy Choir. I have an announcement
of even greater delight, and that is the session
has unanimously voted to call Rush Hill as a full
time employee of the church, he will begin to work as our Director of College
and Career Ministry. Rush has been a faithful
intern at the church for the past couple of
years and we are delighted to have him join the staff full time as Director of College
and Career Ministry, that will begin officially
a little later in the summer as we kind of transitioned to that. And then as Rush goes
through his various licensure and ordination trials and
exams with the presbytery, eventually we will be calling Rush as a new Assistant Minister of
College and Career Ministry. So we're just delighted
for Rush and for Ruthie and for little Charlie. So glad to have them as a
part of our church family in the capacity with that
they've been at the last couple of years as Rush has served as an intern, and now as a full-time
member of the staff, and ultimately as a minister
here at Westminster. Well, we have gathered
this morning to worship. And as we prepare our hearts for worship, as we continue to prepare
our hearts for worship, I asked that you would
meditate on these words from 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. The apostle Paul writes,
"For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly
burdened beyond our strength, that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had
received the sentence of death. But that was to make us
rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead." (soft piano music) ♪ Sing, my soul, his wondrous love ♪ ♪ Who, from yon bright throne above ♪ ♪ Ever watchful o'er our race ♪ ♪ Still to us extends his grace ♪ ♪ Heaven and earth by him were made ♪ ♪ All is by his scepter swayed ♪ ♪ What are we that he should show ♪ ♪ So much love to us below ♪ ♪ God, the merciful and good ♪ ♪ Bought us with the Savior's blood ♪ ♪ And to make salvation sure ♪ ♪ Guides us by his Spirit pure ♪ ♪ Sing, my soul, adore his name ♪ ♪ Let his glory be thy theme ♪ ♪ Praise him till he calls thee home ♪ ♪ Trust his love for all to come ♪ (bright piano music) ♪ Hallelujah, praise
God in his holy temple ♪ ♪ Praise him in the
firmament of his power ♪ ♪ Praise him for his mighty acts ♪ ♪ Praise him for his excellent greatness ♪ ♪ Praise him with the
blast of the ram's horn ♪ ♪ Praise him with lyre and harp ♪ ♪ Praise him with timbrel and dance ♪ ♪ Praise him with strings and pipe ♪ ♪ Praise him with resounding cymbals ♪ ♪ Praise him with loud clanging cymbals ♪ ♪ Let everything that has
breath praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ - And let us pray. Oh Lord, our Lord, how
majestic is your name in all the earth. We do come together this
morning to praise you. You have set your glory in the heavens. The sea is yours for you made it, and your hands formed the
dry land and beyond all this, our father, you are the God
who sees, and who knows, and who works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. Our father, we praise you for our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we come to you and you come to us. And when our strength is spent, and when our anxious hearts
threatened to do a sin, he, the Christ is the shield about us and the lifter of our heads. May it be so this morning,
as you bless our worship which we offer in his name. Amen. Dear friends when all seems lost, this is the hope of the world. Christ is risen, he is risen, indeed. Let us stand and sing praise
to our king, all glorious above by standing and singing hymn
two, let's stand together. (inspiring piano music) ♪ O worship the King all-glorious above ♪ ♪ O gratefully sing his
power and his love ♪ ♪ Our shield and defender,
the Ancient of Days ♪ ♪ Pavilioned in splendor
and girded with praise ♪ ♪ O tell of his might
and sing of his grace ♪ ♪ Whose robe is the light,
whose canopy space ♪ ♪ His chariots of wrath the
deep thunderclouds form ♪ ♪ And dark is his path on
the wings of the storm ♪ ♪ O measureless Might,
unchangeable Love, ♪ ♪ Whom angels delight to worship above ♪ ♪ Your ransomed creation,
with glory ablaze ♪ ♪ In true adoration shall
sing to your praise ♪ ♪ Your bountiful care,
what tongue can recite ♪ ♪ It breathes in the air,
it shines in the light ♪ ♪ It streams from the hills,
it descends to the plain ♪ ♪ And sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain ♪ ♪ Frail children of dust,
and feeble as frail ♪ ♪ In you do we trust,
nor find you to fail ♪ ♪ Your mercies, how tender,
how firm to the end ♪ ♪ Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend ♪ ♪ O measureless Might, unchangeable Love ♪ ♪ Whom angels delight to worship above ♪ ♪ Your ransomed creation,
with glory ablaze ♪ ♪ In true adoration shall
sing to your praise ♪ - Amen, I ask that as you
remain standing, as you're able you listen to God's holy inspired and inerrant word from Psalm 23. "The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of
righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with
oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the
house of the LORD forever." Let us continue to sing
praises to our great God by singing hymn 76, "Praise,
My Soul, the King of Heaven." (ethereal piano music) ♪ Praise, my soul, the King of heaven ♪ ♪ To his feet your tribute bring ♪ ♪ Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven ♪ ♪ Evermore his praises sing ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Praise the everlasting King ♪ ♪ Praise him for his grace and favor ♪ ♪ To his people in distress ♪ ♪ Praise him, still the same forever ♪ ♪ Slow to chide, and swift to bless ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Glorious in his faithfulness ♪ ♪ Fatherlike he tends and spares us ♪ ♪ Well our feeble frame he knows ♪ ♪ In his hand he gently bears us ♪ ♪ Rescues us from all our foes ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Widely as his mercy goes ♪ ♪ Frail as summer’s flow’r we flourish ♪ ♪ blows the wind and it is gone ♪ ♪ but while mortals rise and perish ♪ ♪ God endures unchanging on ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Praise the High Eternal One ♪ ♪ Angels, help us to adore him ♪ ♪ you behold him face to face ♪ ♪ sun and moon, bow down before him ♪ ♪ dwellers all in time and space ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Praise him, praise him ♪ ♪ Praise with us the God of grace ♪ - Our heavenly father, we praise you for your
wonderful plan of salvation. We thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ who was made visible in human flesh set aside his eternal
position in heavenly glory to come to earth, to die, and rose from the dead
to save us from our sins. We thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to sustain and empower us. We now give our tithes and offerings. May you use them for your kingdom, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. ♪ I will lift up mine
eyes unto the hills ♪ ♪ From whence cometh my strength ♪ ♪ My help cometh from the Lord ♪ ♪ Which made heaven and earth ♪ ♪ I will lift up mine
eyes unto the hills ♪ ♪ From whence cometh my strength ♪ ♪ He will not suffer
thy foot to be moved ♪ ♪ He that keepeth thee will not slumber ♪ ♪ The Lord is thy keeper ♪ ♪ The Lord is thy shade
upon thy right hand ♪ ♪ The sun shall not smite thee by day ♪ ♪ Nor the moon by night ♪ ♪ The Lord shall preserve
thee from all evil ♪ ♪ The Lord shall preserve
thee from all evil ♪ ♪ He shall preserve thy soul ♪ ♪ Thy soul ♪ ♪ I will lift up mine
eyes unto the hills ♪ ♪ From whence cometh my strength ♪ ♪ The Lord shall preserve
thee from all evil ♪ ♪ He shall preserve thy soul ♪ ♪ The Lord shall preserve thy
going out and thy coming in ♪ ♪ From this time forth,
and even for evermore ♪ (gentle lilting music) ♪ Praise God from whom
all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise him, all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise him above, ye heav'nly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ - Let us go before our Lord with prayer of confession and intercession. Let us pray together. Our Father in heaven, we praise you for you
are the true living God. We declare that you are great
and most worthy of praise. We praise you for your steadfast love and your mercies never come to an end. Your word declares that you have not given
us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and
self-control, yet we must confess, we are often more driven by our fears than our faith in you and in your word. Too often, we find ourselves
worried about tomorrow and acting as if the promise
within your word aren't true. Lord, have mercy and forgive our sins. We pray by your mercy, you would strengthen us
to trust in your promises, strengthen us to trust in
the Lord, Jesus Christ, to believe in his word
and to believe in him. So Lord help us to rely on
your power in times of trouble and grant us the strength and courage we need to
overcome our weaknesses for you have promised us in your word that you give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak. Lead us Lord, not to dwell in our fears, but rather to turn to
you for your word says, "The Lord is my light and my
salvation, whom shall I fear? And the Lord is my stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?" So we pray father by the
power of the Holy Spirit transform and renew us and equip us to do what
which is pleasing to you. Help us to be faithful so that one day we can
stand you and hear you say, "Well done my good and faithful servant." Lord, we now pray for
members of this congregation that are in special need. We pray for those who daily battle against sickness and
pain and advanced age. We especially pray for Martha Akins , Walter & Margy Sandell, Bill Cook, Linda Estile, Connor
Cempe, John & Inez Hunt, Doris Price, Stephen
Gentry's brother, Paul, Deanie Waldrop's brother, and many more. Lord, we pray that you
would restore to them the assurance of your unfailing mercy, remove from them the
fears that beset them, strengthen them in the
work of their recovery and to those who care for them give patient, understanding,
and persevering love. And we pray for Dee Waldrop Hudson as she goes through a high-risk pregnancy, and we lift up all our expectant mothers grant them peace
throughout their pregnancy that they would surrender
every worry or fear to you. Father, we now pray those ministries which are such a blessing to us. We think of Hispanic Ministry, and ESL Ministry, Men
and Women's Ministry, Youth and College Young Adult Ministry, Children's Ministry and
upcoming VVS, and many more. We pray that by your grace bless them and use them for your glory. We love you Lord. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. (soft piano music) ♪ Ameeeeeeen ♪ ♪ Ameeeeeeen ♪ ♪ Ameeeeeen ♪ ♪ Ameeeeeen ♪ ♪ Ameeeeeen ♪ ♪ Ameeeeeen ♪ ♪ Ameeeeeen ♪ (inspiring piano music) ♪ Glory be to the Father ♪ ♪ And to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ As it was in the beginning ♪ ♪ Is now, and ever shall be ♪ ♪ World without end. ♪ ♪ Amen, amen ♪ - Amen. I asked that you would remain standing for the reading of God's word. This morning we continue
in our sermon series on "The Divided Kingdom
of Israel and Judah." And our series brings us
to 1 Kings 18 verse 41 through chapter 19, verse eight. 1 Kings 18:41- 19:8. Please listen now as I read for this is the very word of God. "And Elijah said to Ahab,
'Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of
the rushing of rain.' So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to
the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, 'Go up now, look toward the sea.' And he went up and looked and said, 'There is nothing.' And he said, 'Go again,' seven times. And at the seventh time he said, 'Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.' And he said, 'Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot and go
down, lest the rain stop you.'' And in a little while the
heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to
the entrance of Jezreel. 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." May the Lord bless to our hearts and minds the reading of his word. And you may be seated. Would you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, just as you fed Elijah
with supernatural food. So now we pray that you would feed us with the supernatural food of your word. And by it that you would give us strength for the journey you have set before us. We pray these things in Jesus name, amen. As many of you know, I grew
up in Phoenix, Arizona. And as most of you are probably aware, Phoenix is known for its pleasant winters. It's tough to be at
sitting out at a ball game, sunny 70 degree day in
the middle of January. And as many of you know,
after growing up in Phoenix, I went to Wheaton College
in the suburbs of Chicago. And as most of you are probably aware, Chicago is known for its harsh
and bitterly cold winters. I can distinctly remember the summer before I left for college, sitting in Phoenix with my mother. It was probably about 110 degrees outside. And we were going through
clothing catalogs, trying to pick out and order
what we thought I would need to be ready for a real Chicago winter. Well, let me tell you, despite our best efforts, I wasn't ready. I remember being stuck outside
one evening in Wheaton. I was colder than I had ever been before. And I remember thinking, "If I don't get inside soon
I am good going to die." That was on a 25 degree
night in early November. Later that January, we had a
stretch where the temperature for nine days never got above zero. One of those days, the
temperature got to 30 below zero without the windshield. With the windshield, it was
like 75 or 80 below zero. And Wheaton was one of the only schools in the State of Illinois that didn't cancel classes that week. Kids actually got frostbite on their faces just walking to class. Now that was cold, colder than anything I
had ever experienced. Colder than anything I had ever imagined. And yet, as cold as it was,
that stretch in January, I can say without any hesitation
that the hardest thing about Chicago winters is
not how cold they are. Rather, the hardest thing about Chicago winters
is how long they are. Over the years, I found 20
below in January to be bearable. It was kind of an adventure, right. You could get up for the challenge but the real problem was
having 20 degree days in late April, when you had
tickets to the White Sox or the Cubs, and you had to
sit there in complete misery through a sleet delay, not a rain delay, a sleet delay in April. That was when you wanted
to lose your mind. That was when you wanted to
shake your fist at the heavens and say, "Lord enough, this
has gone on long enough. I haven't really seen
the sun since October. I can't take it anymore." No, I'll say it again. The problem wasn't that
the winter was so cold, it was that the winter was so long. And I would suggest to us this morning that that is the way many if not, most of our troubles go. Short-term intensity is hard
but generally we can bear it. We can rise up to meet
the challenge of a crisis and take our dramatic stand. But when the challenges go on, and on, and on with no end in sight, that's when we can begin to break down. Let me ask you this morning, have you ever felt that kind of breakdown? Where you start to break down, you start to give up and give in because the never ending
grind of life's problems just where you down. And what do you do then? Where do you turn when
the long winter of trial has sapped your strength to press on? Well, I'll tell you this morning, if you've ever had that kind
of breakdown, you're not alone. It's happened to some
of the spiritual giants of the people of God. In fact, here in 1 Kings 19
we see this kind of breakdown happened to the great Prophet Elijah. The long winter of trial
finally got to him. And in his breakdown,
we find invaluable help for us when our strength is gone. So let's dive in. Our sermon today is divided
into three sections. The first I have titled, The Triumph of God Through
Elijah's Persistent Faith. The Triumph of God Through
Elijah's Persistent Faith. We see this theme at work
in chapter 18:41 through 46. Now, in some ways it can surely be said that the great triumph
of God through Elijah took place last week, right,
in verses 20 through 40, where Elijah triumphed
over the prophets of Baal in a showdown for the ages. When God answered Elijah's simple prayer and set fire from the heaven
to consume the sacrifice it marked the great triumph of God over Baal and the
unbelief of Israel, right. It is not without reason
that at that occasion the people of Israel began to shout, "The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God." In many ways that was the
apex of Elijah's ministry. It's pretty tough to top that, right. But in another very important sense as we follow the narrative arc of Elijah's story this
week, verses 41 through 46 marks the ultimate triumph
of God and his word, because this is the week. These are the verses in
which God finally sends the long promised rain,
rain and the lack of it has really been the major plot theme throughout the story of Elijah. You'll remember back in
chapter 17, verse one when we were introduced to Elijah. Elijah pronounced to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel
lives before whom I stand there shall be neither
do nor rain these years, except by my word." No rain except by the word of the Lord. That's how Elijah's part in
the biblical story begins. And this theme of no rain is then woven throughout the story, right. In 17:4, we read that Elijah
is sent to the wilderness, ordered to drink from a brook, but that in 17:7, the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. In 17:14 as Elijah consoles the widow that God will provide for
her as she cares for Elijah, he says, "For thus says
the Lord the God of Israel, the jar of flowers shall not be spent. And the jug of oil shall not be empty until the day that the Lord
sends rain upon the earth." And then in 18:1-2, we read that, "After many days the word
of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year-the third
year of the drought-saying, 'Go show yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the earth.'" So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in the land. So you see, despite the many
miracles that have taken place during Elijah's ministry, and
there have been many, right. The miraculous feeding by the ravens, the supernatural extension
of the widow's supply, the raising of the widow's son, the fire being sent down from heaven. Despite all of this, the one miracle that this
entire story is built around. The one that everyone
is truly waiting for, the miracle that has been promised is the opening up of the heavens and the sending of life-giving rain. And now after all the buildup,
after all the waiting, after all the demonstrations
of God's power, the Lord has declared
it is time for the rain. And yet what's interesting, right, is that even at this
moment, after three years, the Lord still calls for the
persistent exercise of faith on the part of Elijah. And we can see Elijah's faith
at work in multiple ways. Here in these verses. First we encounter what you
might call the sound of faith. Elijah says to Ahab in verse 41, "Go up and eat and drink for there is a sound of
the rushing of the rain." And it's not clear what Elijah heard here because there doesn't seem to be any natural sound at all, right. When Elijah sends his servant
to look out upon the sea, the servant sees nothing. There is no sign of rain. So it seems that if
Elijah heard something, it was a it was a supernatural sound. And to declare to Ahab that the sound of rushing
rain is upon them. That seems to be much more an act of faith than an act of meteorological insight. Elijah hears the sound of rushing rain because he believes the word of the Lord not because of what he sees in the sky. And yet he's so convinced that the word of the Lord
is going to come true, that he not only hears the sound of faith, but he then gives Ahab
the command of faith. He tells Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink for there is the sound
of the rushing rain." Now what's the meaning
of this command, right? I think it's a confident
assertion on Elijah's part that the drought is about to end, which means the famine in
the land is about to end, which means the times of austerity and rationing food are about to end. Elijah commands Ahab, "Act
like the rain is coming." Why? Again, not because he sees
any sign in the clouds. As of yet, it's very clear. There are no such signs, but rather because he believes
in the word of the Lord, the Lord has said the rain will come and Elijah commands Ahab to act like the rain is going to come. And yet it's clear despite
Elijah's confidence and his faith in God's word, it's clear that Elijah still recognizes his other dependence
on God to do this work. Elijah understands that even
though God has used Elijah as an instrument of divine power, he realizes all the power
still resides with God. And I think this is
demonstrated in the text and that Elijah goes up onto Mount Carmel and he bows himself down on the earth and he puts his face between his knees. Elijah here is taking
the most humble prostrate dependent position he can
possibly take before the Lord. The strength and might belong to the Lord. Elijah recognized this, he
simply falls before the Lord in humble, dependent faith. And finally, and most dramatically Elijah demonstrates persistent faith in sending his servant out to
observe the sea seven times. Through it all Elijah keeps praying, Elijah remains dependent, and Elijah continues to
exercise faith in God's word. The fact that Elijah sends the servant out seven times is significant. The number seven is full
of spiritual meaning in the scriptures. It represents fullness, completeness. We see that throughout the scriptures from the seven days of the creation week to the seven days that the cloud of glory covered Mount Sinai and
the giving of the law, to the seven trips around
Jericho on the seventh day, seven means fullness. And so here you might say Elijah is exercising
full and complete faith. He persists in faith to the full measure. And God then in the fullness
of time fulfills his word. The little cloud appears on the horizon. And soon the heavens
grow black with clouds and when Ahab is then ordered
to flee in his chariot lest the coming rain stop him, and then here are those words, "And there was a great rain." Elijah, it seems is
miraculously carried to Jezreel because he arrives there before
Ahab does in his chariot. And all of it then marks the
great triumph of the Lord. In many ways, this is the crowning
achievement of Elijah, right. Through Elijah, we can
say the Lord did it. He fulfilled his word. And with the coming of the great storm Elijah's persistent faith
in the word of the Lord, in the power of the Lord, in
the faithfulness of the Lord. It is all vindicated. And in this vindication,
there's a call for us to not simply believe, to say, "Yes, I remember I was at summer
camp once and I believed." But the call is to persevere
in humble, dependent faith. To believe and keep on believing, to believe in God's provision even when the rain does not fall. To keep believing in God's protection even when the enemies of
God still seek you out. To believe in God's resurrection power even in the face of death. Oh, the call is to believe
and to persist in the fullness of persevering faith. To believe that the Lord
will fulfill his promises, the Lord will keep his word. I ask you this morning, do
do we believe in this way? Brothers and sisters I think
the cry of our hearts must be, "Lord I believe, but help my unbelief. Help me to persevere in faith
in the pattern of Elijah. Help me to believe and keep on believing, trial after trial, year after
year, hardship after hardship. Lord increase our faith
and cause it to persevere." Well, that's what we see
in verses 41 through 46, the triumph of God through the
persistent faith of Elijah. But as we continue you to read we see that this persistent
faith then gives way to a surprising episode in chapter 19. We see it there in
verses one through five, I've entitled this, The Despair of Elijah Through
the Persistent Persecution of Jezebel. The Despair of Elijah Through
the Persistent Persecution of Jezebel. We read in chapter 19:1 that Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he'd killed 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." Now we have to stop there and say, "Well that's not very surprising, right. I mean, that's exactly what
we would come to expect from Ahab and Jezebel, right." But what comes next is
altogether striking. Given what we have seen
in Elijah, we read, "Elijah was afraid. He arose and ran for his life." And then in verses four and five we see that Elijah was not
only in a state of fear, he was in a state of utter despair. He asked that he might die. "It is enough now, oh
Lord, take away my life for I am no better than my fathers." If you've been following
the story up to this point you know we haven't
seen anything like this from Elijah so far. Fear, despair, longing for death. What's going on here? Now, some could say, "Well, come on. This is a great trial, right. I mean, who wouldn't be afraid?" I suppose that's fair, but it's worth remembering
that this kind of trial was nothing new for Elijah. This is not a new threat. It's just a reiteration
of an old one, right. I mean, remember back in chapter 18, Ahab and Jezebel had been
searching for Elijah to kill him throughout all of Israel, in
all the surrounding countries. This has been going on for years. And remember Obadiah said, "If anyone ever said Elijah is not here." Ahab's zeal was so strong that he would make them take an oath so that if Elijah was
found in their territory they would both die. And this is not the first
time Jezebel has threatened to kill the prophets of the Lord. Well, we read back in chapter
18 verses four and verses 13, that Jezebel had already killed
many prophets of the Lord. So you see for Elijah, this is just par for the course, right. This is what he's been
dealing with every day for the past three years. So why the fear and despair
now after all this time? I think it's just that, right. After all this time, after all this time it's still going on. She's still coming for me. She will never give up. Even after the great
triumph on Mount Carmel, even after the rain is
falling, this isn't over. She will never rest until I'm dead. You see the problem isn't
how cold the winter is. The problem is how long the winter is. And it's often the length of the trial that threatens to break the spirit. I wanna tell you that I love 1 Kings 18. I said last week, right. 1 Kings 18:20- 40 it's one of the great
stories in all the Bible. It's a story among stories. It's an Everest, a K2 among
the Himalayas of Bible stories. And I stand by that declaration. But I tell you for this preacher's heart 1 Kings 19, both this week and
next is even more precious, more precious than the
battle at Mount Carmel, because I'll be honest. I love Elijah in chapter 18. I revere Elijah in chapter 18. I wanna be like Elijah in chapter 18, but I don't know if I
really identify with Elijah in chapter 18. His example of bold faithful
persistence is awesome. I mean, the way he stood before Ahab, the way he endured in the wilderness, the way he kept the faith in Zarephath, the way he was mighty on the mountain. I love that Elijah. And yet it should be said, I aspire to that example
more than I identify with it. But here in chapter 19, when Elijah breaks under
the relentless pressure. When he collapses in fear
as he faces the same threats he's faced down before,
when he cries out in despair that he just can't take it anymore. I identify with that Elijah. I know something of what that's like. I know what it's like to give way to fear after years of battle, to fall into despair
because all your fight hasn't conquered the fall. I know what it's like to battle strong through a harsh spiritual January only to despair when it's still
so cold in spiritual April. And I know what it is
to say, "Enough, Lord. I know I came this far, right, but the trial still rages,
the enemy still presses in. And I just don't think
I can take it anymore. So please just take me home now." Have you ever been there? Have you ever battled through the despair of a long unrelenting, spiritual winter? Well, let me offer a couple
of quick consolations that appear, I think, even here
in verses one through five. If you've ever felt this
kind of fear and despair then know this, you're not alone. You're right there with
the spiritual giants of the faith, right. Men like David, and Elijah,
and the Apostle Paul, right. Paul himself writes in 2
Corinthians 1:8 and following, "We do not want you to
be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly
burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had
received the sentence of death." The great Apostle Paul
who endured so many things also got to the point where he said, "I can't do it anymore." You're not alone. Another consolation I take
from versus like this, is that the Bible is actually true. I'll tell you no other
spiritual book is so accurately and deeply describes the
weakness and spiritual frailty of its heroes. One of my graduate school teachers, Dr. Mark Noll said that for him, "The greatest apologetic
for the truthfulness of Christianity was how deeply and accurately the Bible
describes the human condition, human glory and depravity, weakness and strength, faith and despair often
found in the same characters even in the same passages." It's just like real life. As you read the Bible your
own heart is laid bare in the pages of scripture which
I think is a great assurance that what the Bible tells
us about ourselves is true. So we have the triumph of God in the persistent faith of Elijah, and the despair of Elijah in the persistent persecution of Jezebel which then gives way to the
persistent provision of God in the face of Elijah's weakness. The persistent provision of God in the face of Elijah's weakness,
verses five through eight. If the despair of Elijah
was the final word, well, then we might find ourselves being able to identify with Elijah. But in the end that would be
little consolation, right. It would simply mean that,
"Hey, for Elijah and for us faith gives way to fear and
courage gives way to despair." It would be a little bit
like the consolation of a man climbing into the quicksand
with us and saying, "Well, we will not be alone as we go down, but in a few minutes, we'll all be dead." Now we need more than that. We need more than being able to identify with Elijah in his fear and despair. But fear not, fear and despair
are not the final word here because when Elijah is at his end God is not finished with Elijah. We read in verse five that when Elijah laid down to die "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 ate and drank, and went
in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights
to Horeb, the mount of God." You see the Lord came to
Elijah when he no strength and he gave him supernatural
strength to carry on. He fed him with what seems
to be a supernatural food that gave him supernatural strength to persevere far longer
than was naturally possible. The Lord gave what you might
call a gift of living bread and living water. And through it, the Lord
gave Elijah strength when his strength was gone. And I tell you, this is what
the Lord does consistently for his people. He gives strength in all our trials. Strength to rise up, Isaiah
says, "On wings like eagles." And here just as the
seven trips to the sea was a historically accurate number, but also a number of
spiritual significance, so too is Elijah's miraculous
provision for 40 days and 40 nights. You see 40 is a number that we see again and again in the scriptures, it represents the provision of God through the full measure of trial. God protected Noah and his family when the rain fell for
40 days and 40 nights. God preserved Israel when they
wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. And here God sustains
Elijah in the wilderness for 40 days and nights,
which not coincidentally, is the same amount of time that Jesus fasted in the
wilderness before his temptation. You see the consistent message
of the scriptures is this, God meets his people in our distress. God comes to us in our
weakness, and despair, and fear, and God provides. As we read earlier, "Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we should fear no evil
for the Lord is with us, his rod and staff comfort and protect us. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies." And even as the apostle
Paul wrote in his despair in 2 Corinthians 1,
when he was so burdened beyond his own strength that
he despaired of life itself. When the sentence of death
seemed to rest upon him he came to recognize, he writes, that all of this was given to him by God so that he and his companions
would rely not on themselves, but on God who raises the dead. And this brothers and sisters
is the ultimate consolation in all our weakness. We serve a God who raises the dead. We serve a God who knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust and God knows that we are
not only weak, but sinful. He knows that we fear
because we lack faith and that even if we
walk in faith for a time he knows in our own strength,
we cannot sustain it. And God so loved us in
our weakness and sin that he sent his only son. The scriptures tell us Jesus was faithful, perfectly faithful. He was persistent through the intensity and the duration of all of life's trials. And Jesus willingly went
to the cross to suffer and die for all our sin. And they're on the cross. He bore the intensity and the eternal duration
of sin's consequence. He bore it all unto death and judgment. And God raised him from the dead. God the Father gave Christ the Son victory over sin, and
death, and suffering. And Jesus is now living and victorious over fear and despair. So that right now through faith in the
living Christ, we can know God will always be with us. He will never leave us or forsake us, never in this life and even in death, he will see us through
death unto life forevermore. And no amount of persecution,
or trial, or hardship, no matter how intense it is, and no matter how long it
lasts, nothing can separate us from the love and the life
of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So when we find ourselves
in the depth of a trial that is more intense than we can imagine, when we find ourselves in
a trial that goes on longer than we thought possible, we can look to Christ to uphold us, sustain us, and see us through. When we cry out to God, "The
journey is too great for me." He says, "I know." When we say, "I'm so utterly
burdened beyond my strength, I despair of life itself." He says, "I know." And he invites us to look to the God who provides bread from heaven, to look to the God who
has given us his Son, to look to the God who raises the dead knowing that in faith, by faith, he will deliver us, both
now and forevermore. So brothers and sisters,
I call to you this day, don't give up, press on
in the spiritual journey God has set you on and fear not. He gives strength when strength is gone, strength for today and
bright hope for tomorrow. Let's pray. Heavenly father, we come before you and we ask that you would
indeed bless and keep us. Bless our going out and are
coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Give us the strength to believe
when our strength is gone and help us to abide in the
one who is indeed all mighty, and who has demonstrated
his almighty power by raising Jesus from the dead. Give us faith to believe
and press on to the end. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Well, let us then conclude our time. Have our time of worship draw to a close by standing and singing one of the great hymns
of the faith, hymn 32, "Great is thy Faithfulness." (gentle ethereal music) ♪ Great is thy faithfulness,
O God my Father ♪ ♪ There is no shadow
of turning with thee ♪ ♪ Thou changest not, thy
compassions, they fail not ♪ ♪ As thou hast been thou forever wilt be ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning new mercies I see ♪ ♪ All I have needed thy
hand hath provided ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness,
Lord, unto me ♪ ♪ Summer and winter, and
springtime and harvest ♪ ♪ Sun, moon, and stars
in their courses above ♪ ♪ Join with all nature
in manifold witness ♪ ♪ To thy great faithfulness,
mercy, and love ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning new mercies I see ♪ ♪ All I have needed thy
hand hath provided ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness,
Lord, unto me ♪ ♪ Pardon for sin and a
peace that endureth ♪ ♪ Thine own dear presence
to cheer and to guide ♪ ♪ Strength for today and
bright hope for tomorrow ♪ ♪ Blessings all mine,
with ten thousand beside ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning new mercies I see ♪ ♪ All I have needed thy
hand hath provided ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness
Lord, unto me ♪ - Now receive God's benediction
and please remain standing after the benediction
for the choral response. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his
face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up
his countenance upon you and give you peace both
now and forevermore. Amen. (soft piano music) ♪ Peace I leave with you ♪ ♪ Peace I leave with you ♪ ♪ Peace I leave with you ♪ ♪ Peace I leave with you ♪ ♪ Not as the world gives ♪ ♪ I give to you ♪ ♪ Peace I leave with you ♪ ♪ Peace I leave with you ♪ ♪ Let not your heart be troubled ♪ ♪ Neither let it be afraid ♪ ♪ Let not your heart be troubled ♪ ♪ Neither let it be afraid ♪ ♪ Neither let it be afraid ♪ ♪ Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ♪ ♪ Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ♪ ♪ Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ♪ ♪ Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ♪ ♪ Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ♪ ♪ Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ♪ (lively inspirational music) (congregation chattering) (inspirational music crescendos) (choir applauding)
