1 Kings
19:10b
Sermon preached on November 11, 2007 by Laurence W.
Veinott. © Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Other
sermons can be found at http://www.cantonnewlife.org/.
One of the jokes that I love is the one where the comedian
said,
"I wish
I was the only man alive. That's right. I wish I was the
only man in the whole world. That way I'd find out if what
all those girls said about me was true."
The guy
must have really been a disappointment to the girls who
knew him.
I also like what David Niven said about Errol Flynn.
"You can
count on Errol Flynn, he'll always let you down."
The
people of Israel were like that. Remember what Moses said
to them in
Deuteronomy 9:24? He
said,
"You
have been rebellious against the LORD
ever since I have known you."
In
another place (Deuteronomy 31:27) Moses called
rebellious and stiff-necked. They
were such a disappointment to him.
The same thing happened to Elijah. Look at him here. The
people of Israel had let him down and he didn't handle the
disappointment well. He's a failure in that regard. He's
discouraged and disheartened. He asked God to take his
life. In spite of all his faithfulness—the people of Israel
didn't rally to the Lord's side and it grieved Elijah
greatly. Although initially after the great contest with
the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel—the people shouted
that the Lord was God—it seemed that their enthusiasm was
short lived. They didn't rally to protect him when Queen
Jezebel threatened him. Elijah became afraid and fled.
This passage is very important for us because it shows us
that we need to react properly when other people disappoint
us. Elijah here is an example of what not to be
like. So let's
look at what out text teaches us.
The great truth we see here is that
you need
to be ready for disappointment.
You need
to be ready for the fact that other people will disappoint
you. If you're prepared for something there's a lot better
chance that you'll be able to handle it properly. Other
people are going to let you down. It's inevitable. The
Israelites let Elijah down. This will happen to you as
well. Other people are going to disappoint you. It will
happen especially if you try to do things to help other
Christians or do good in the church. Throughout your life
you're going to find that people will disappoint you—it's
inevitable. People in this church will let you down. People
outside the church will let you down. People in your family
will let you down. People at work will disappoint you. It
will happen time after time.
So the first thing is that you need to be ready for it.
Expect it.
We see that in the lives of so many of the saints. They let
Moses down. They let Jesus down. They let the apostle Paul
down. Consider
Moses. How
many times in his life did the people murmur against him
and God? How many times did they disappoint him? It started
early in his career. Right after he went to Pharaoh and
told him that God demanded that he let the people go,
Pharaoh made the people's work harder. As soon as they
heard that, the Israelite foremen said to Moses, (Exodus
5:21)
"May the
LORD look upon you and judge you!
You have made us a stench to Pharaoh
and his officials and have put a sword
in their hand to kill us."
After
the Israelites left Egypt, they saw Pharaoh pursing them
and they said to Moses, (Exodus 14:11-12)
"Was it
because there were no graves in Egypt
that you brought us to the desert to die?
What have you done to us
by bringing us out of Egypt?
Didn't we say to you in Egypt,
'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'?
It would have been better for us
to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
Three
days after they crossed the Red Sea they were again
grumbling against Moses. Then not long after that they
said, (Exodus 16:3)
"If only
we had died by the LORD'S hand in Egypt!
There we sat around pots of meat
and ate all the food we wanted,
but you have brought us out into this desert
to starve this entire assembly to death."
Then
later in the Desert of Sin, they quarreled again with Moses
and were ready to stone him. (Exodus 17:1-4)
Remember what happened when Moses went up onto the mountain
to receive the Law? What a blessing it was for him and the
people of Israel. God wrote the law on the tablets Himself.
We read, (Exodus 32:15-19)
"Moses
turned and went down the mountain
with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands.
They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
The tablets were the work of God;
the writing was the writing of God,
engraved on the tablets."
Yet what
were the people doing while Moses was on the mountain? They
made a golden calf and were worshipping it. They said to
Aaron, (Exodus 32:1)
"Come,
make us gods who will go before us.
As for this fellow Moses
who brought us up out of Egypt,
we don't know what has happened to him."
When
Moses came down he saw the people dancing and worshipping
the golden calf that Aaron made he became so angry that he
threw the tablets down and broke them into pieces.
Remember how the people reacted when they sent the twelve
spies into the land. Ten of the spies came back with a bad
report, saying that there were giants living in the land
and that they wouldn't be able to conquer the land. At
that, (Numbers 14:2-4)
"All the
Israelites grumbled
against Moses and Aaron,
and the whole assembly said to them,
If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!
Why is the LORD bringing us to this land
only to let us fall by the sword?
Our wives and children will be taken as plunder.
Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?
And they said to each other,
We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
When
Moses tried to dissuade them, the whole assembly talked
about stoning Moses.
It was the same with the apostle
Paul. Time
after time people disappointed him. In Acts 14 we read that
when he healed a lame man a Lystra, the crowd shouted that
the gods had come down among them. But after Paul dissuaded
them they tried to stone him to death. In 2 Timothy 4:10 he
told how
Demas loved
the world and deserted him. Later in that chapter he tells
how Alexander the metalworker did him a great deal of harm,
and how, (verse 16)
"At my
first defense,
no one came to my support,
but everyone deserted me."
I could
go on and on. But I think the point has been established.
Moses, Elijah, Jesus, the apostle Paul—they all faced
situations where other people greatly disappointed them.
But it's not just Christian leaders who will experience
such disappointment. Remember how Jesus said, (Luke
12:51-53)
"Do you
think I came to bring peace on earth?
No, I tell you, but division.
From now on there will be five
in one family divided against each other,
three against two and two against three.
They will be divided,
father against son and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
If
you're faithful to Jesus people are going to be a
disappointment to you. You will face rejection, hatred,
deceit, betrayal and disappointment.
So you need to be ready for the fact that other people will
disappoint you. Elijah was extremely frustrated and
disappointed with the people of Israel. They hadn't
responded to God's grace as they should have.
Unfortunately, Elijah did not react properly to this. He's
discouraged, depressed and wants his life to end. He's had
enough. It seems that he's given up on the people.
How
should you react when people disappoint you? This is a
question that is of great importance in the Christian life.
There are three great lessons for us here.
The first lesson we see here is that
you need
to be assured that God is in control and He is working out
His plan.
Elijah
seemed to have forgotten that. Perhaps he thought that
after the 3 and a half years drought that the people would
all come back to the Lord. Perhaps he thought that after
the fire from heaven that there would be no more wavering
between two opinions in Israel.
But it didn't turn out that way and Elijah became
discouraged.
So the lesson is also that
you
shouldn't presume to think you know what God is going to do
in the short term.
In the
long term we know what God is going to do. He's going to
honor His Son Jesus. There's going to be a new heaven and a
new earth, wherein will dwell righteousness. We are going
to be with God—secure, safe and happy forever and ever.
But in the short term—it will often look like things aren't
turning out right. I mean, if you didn't know what happened
after Jesus opened the
seven seals in
Revelation—which of you would imagine anything like it.
Horrors happen on the earth—horrors happen even to the
saints! Yet Jesus rules!
If you're going to avoid disappointment you need to be
assured that God is working out His plan.
Psalm 135:5-6 declares,
"I know
that the LORD is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
The LORD does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths."
If you
read Isaiah 45 and 46 you'll see that God is in complete
control of all things. In
Isaiah 46:9-11 God
says,
"Remember
the former things,
those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times,
what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.
From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land,
a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that will I bring about;
what I have planned, that will I do."
Be
assured that God rules, that no one can stay His hand. What
He has determined, He will do. He is all powerful. Jesus
has been exalted to His right hand.
Ephesians 1 tells us
that He has been given all power—that He has been exalted
above all rule and authority, power and dominion and that
all things have been placed under His feet.
In other words, if you're going to avoid being disappointed
in this life, you need to be a
Calvinist. You
need to be assured that God is in control and that He is
working out His plan. You need to pray as Jesus taught you
to,
"Your
will be done
on earth as it is in heaven."
Then you
need to make your will one with God's.
So that's the first thing—be prepared for things to happen
that you don't like. Be prepared for other people to let
you down. But know that God is in control. It's all part of
His perfect plan. He is going to bring good out of it.
Elijah seemed to think that all was lost. But it wasn't.
God had preserved a remnant. There were 7000 who had not
bowed the knee to Baal. God was working out His plan. Even
with the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians in 721 B.C.
and the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem in 586 B.C.—God
had a plan. He preserved a remnant. He arranged it all so
that His Son would be born and mankind saved. God's purpose
always stood firm.
So that's the first thing. Trust God. He's in control. He's
working out His plan. No amount of sin and disobedience can
stop Jesus from being glorified.
The second great lesson we learn here is that
you
should not let the sins of others lead you into sin.
The
people of Israel didn't rally around Elijah to protect him
from Queen Jezebel. They didn't rally to the Lord. When
Elijah received the death threat from Queen Jezebel it
seems he looked around him and saw that no one was going to
protect him. It seemed that he was the only one that was
faithful to the Lord.
If the people of Israel had done their duty, if they had
been faithful to the Lord, if they rallied around Elijah
and told him that they would protect him from Queen
Jezebel, if they were very enthusiastic in their worship of
Yahweh—Elijah would not have sinned. He would not have
become afraid and run away. He would not have become
discouraged and disheartened. He would not have asked for
God to take his life.
But because the people didn't do their duty—Elijah sinned.
The sin of the people contributed to Elijah's sin.
We see that time and again is Scripture.
Adam sinned
because Eve had sinned. Her sin contributed to his sin. He
wasn't deceived when he sinned. He sinned because she
sinned.
Remember the sin of
Moses that
kept him from entering the promised land? What led up to
it? It was the sin of the people. In Numbers 20:2-13 we
read about how there was no water for the people. So they
gather together is opposition to Moses and Aaron and
quarreled wit them. They said,
"If only
we had died when our brothers
fell dead before the LORD!
Why did you bring the LORD'S community
into this desert,
that we and our livestock should die here?
Why did you bring us up out of Egypt
to this terrible place?
It has no grain or figs,
grapevines or pomegranates.
And there is no water to drink!"
God told
Moses to take his staff and speak to the rock in front of
the people and that it would bring out water. But Moses
gathered the people together and said,
"'Listen,
you rebels,
must we bring you water out of this rock?'
Then Moses raised his arm
and struck the rock twice with his staff.
Water gushed out,
and the community and their livestock drank."
But the
Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
"Because
you did not trust in me enough
to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites,
you will not bring this community
into the land I give them."
If the
people had not grumbled against the Lord, Moses would not
have sinned. Their sin led him into sin.
Don't let the sin of other people led you into sin. There
are so many ways to sin when other people disappoint you.
For
example, you can become
proud. Like
the Pharisees, when other people disappoint you, you can
become self-righteous and look down on them. The Pharisee
in the temple prayed, (Luke 18:11)
"God, I
thank you that I am not like other men—
robbers, evildoers, adulterers—
or even like this tax collector."
Or you
can become discouraged like Elijah.
David sinned and then he gave orders for Joab to make sure
that Uriah died in battle. David's sin led to Joab's sin.
When
Adolf Eichmann was
tried for war crimes under the Nazis he said he was merely
following orders. People gave him sinful orders and he
followed them and he argued that he was blameless. No. If
you follow sinful orders you sin. Don't let your boss or
superior led you into sin.
The Samaritans sinned by not welcoming Jesus when He was on
His way to Jerusalem.
James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on
them. That was
a sinful desire. Jesus rebuked them and told them that they
didn't know what spirit they were of. (Luke 9:54) In
1 Corinthians 5 we read
that there was a great sexual sin in the church, a man had
his father's wife. That led to sin on the church's part
because they didn't do anything about it. Paul said to
them, (verses 4-5)
"When
you are assembled
in the name of our Lord Jesus
and I am with you in spirit,
and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,
hand this man over to Satan,
so that the sinful nature may be destroyed
and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord."
This is
the pattern so often—someone sins and that leads to sin on
the part of other people.
Don't let it happen to you. Don't let the sinful actions of
others lead you into sin.
Young people, you
need to be especially vigilant here. People will entice you
to sin and they'll tell you that everyone is doing it.
Perhaps a boyfriend or girlfriend will want you to have sex
and tell you that it's no big thing, that everyone is doing
it. No. That's a lie. Not everyone is doing it. Lots of
Christian teens are being faithful to God. But even if they
weren't—does the fact that everyone else is on their way to
hell make it okay for you to go to hell? Don't let people
fool you—the fact that everyone else is doing something
does not make it right. As we read in Revelation 21:8,
"But the
cowardly,
the unbelieving, the vile,
the murderers, the sexually immoral,
those who practice magic arts,
the idolaters and all liars—
their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the second death."
Don't
let the sins of others lead you into sin.
The third lesson we learn from Elijah is that
your
joy, your determination, your courage, your commitment to
the Lord is not to be rooted in other people and how they
behave.
Elijah
wanted to die. It was because of how the people reacted
after his victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount
Carmel. If they had turned en masse to the Lord, Elijah
would have been in a very different frame of mind.
You need to be careful that you don't become dependent upon
the actions of others for your courage, for your
determination to serve God, for your perseverance in
serving Him. Like you, other people are sinners. If your
joy, fortitude and commitment to the Lord is at all rooted
in them—Satan will use that against you. You can't depend
on others. They may let you down.
The apostle John taught us this in John 2:24f. He tells us
that while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast,
many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and
believed in his name. Then John adds,
"But
Jesus would not entrust himself to them,
for he knew all men.
He did not need man's testimony about man,
for he knew what was in a man."
People are sinners. Your hope, your joy, your courage, your
steadfastness—these are not to have their source in others.
Those things have their source in Jesus. They are rooted in
Him and Him alone. Jesus
loves you. He died for you. He has brought you into God's
family. He is not ashamed to call you brothers and sisters.
He is preparing a place for you. You are going to reign
with Him in glory. Your joy, your courage, your
determination, your perseverance—is to be rooted in God and
His promises. He has done and will do great things for you.
We need to learn how to react properly to
disappointment—because the fact is that God wants you to
exhibit the fruits of the Spirit no matter what other
people are like. God wants you to show Christ living in you
no matter how other people behave. He doesn't want you
becoming discouraged and depressed because of the way that
other people act. He wants you to shine for Him no matter
what other people are doing.
Don't
let your disappointment in other people rob you of your joy
in the Lord.
Elijah
was depressed and discouraged. Most of it seemed to be
because the people hadn't rallied to the Lord's side.
Now part of this is understandable. Christian leaders can't
be really fulfilled when it appears that their work is in
vain. Indeed, in Luke 15:10 Jesus said that,
"there
is rejoicing in the presence
of the angels of God
over one sinner who repents."
If the
people of Israel had repented and turned from Baal to God
it would have given Elijah great joy. It was the apostle
Paul's greatest joy to hear that his converts were being
faithful to the Lord. Remember how Paul expressed his
delight at the Thessalonian Christians and their belief and
devotion to the Lord? He said, (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)
"For
what is our hope, our joy,
or the crown in which we will glory
in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?
Is it not you?
Indeed, you are our glory and joy."
Paul had
some anxiety when he had to leave the Thessalonian
Christians in the middle of great persecution. He was
afraid for them. But when Timothy went to visit them and
came back with a report that they were doing well, Paul
wrote, (1 Thessalonians 3:8)
"For now
we really live,
since you are standing firm in the Lord."
So some
sorrow is appropriate when you see that sinners don't
repent. Jesus Himself was wept over Jerusalem. He was
greatly grieved because they didn't repent and turn from
their sins. He said, (Luke 13:34)
"O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets
and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed
to gather your children together,
as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing!"
Jesus
was grieved at the unbelief of people and the punishment
that was going to fall upon them.
So, in a sense, we can understand Elijah's
complaint.
But He was wrong to be so discouraged. Remember
what the Holy Spirit teaches us in
1 Thessalonians 5:16-20?
"Be
joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not put out the Spirit's fire…"
One of
the fruits of the Spirit is joy and you Christians are
never to lose that, no matter what your circumstances. Even
in grief you are to mourn like those who have no hope. You
are never to lose your joy.
This also means that
you
shouldn't give up on people, on doing the Lord's work even
when people greatly disappoint you.
Elijah
had had enough. He was ready to die. It seems he had given
up on the Israelites. There almost seems to be a note of
hopelessness in his words,
"The
Israelites have rejected your covenant,
broken down your altars,
and put your prophets to death with the sword.
I am the only one left,
and now they are trying to kill me too."
He
wanted to give up. That was wrong. God still had work for
him to do.
In his
failure Elijah points us to Jesus.
Elijah
was one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. But
he got tired of dealing with their sin and lack of devotion
to the Lord. He couldn't bring them to God. So he was ready
to give up. He didn't want to deal with the disappointment
anymore.
It was different with
Jesus. How
many times did His disciples disappoint Him? How often did
they fail to exercise faith and He had to rebuke them for
having so little faith? Can you imagine His disappointment
when right after telling them that He was going to be
betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be killed—they
argued about which of them would be the greatest! (Mark
9:30f) Can you imagine His disappointment when people
reacted to His miracles with unbelief and hatred?
When Jesus was arrested they all deserted Him. Only Peter
stayed close—and he denied Jesus three times. Peter had
bragged that even if everyone else deserted Jesus—He never
would! But he did.
After He rose from the dead Jesus appeared to Mary
Magdalene and she went and told them that Jesus was alive
and that she had seen Him—but they did not believe her.
(Mark 16:11) Later, he appeared to two others in the
country and when they returned and reported it to the rest,
they did not believe either. (Mark 16:13) How often people
disappointed Him!
Yet
Jesus did not give up.
Consider
how He persevered for you. Think of how He stayed on the
cross—for hours—suffering for your sins. He endured right
to the end. He stayed on the cross until it was finished,
till He had paid the full price.
Christians, don't give up on other people—even those who
disappoint you greatly. Don't give up on the Lord's work.
Jesus persevered for you. You are called to persevere for
Him.
Lastly, for those of you who are not Christians,
this
passage shows you that there's hope for you.
Elijah
said that the Israelites had rejected the covenant, broken
down God's altars, and put the prophets to death with the
sword. Yet God did not give up on them. He sent a drought
to bring them back to Himself. It was designed to bring
them to repentance. Yet when Elijah asked them if Lord was
God—they remained silent. But God did not give up on them.
He sent fire from heaven to prove He was God. After that,
when they refused to protect Elijah—God still did not give
up on them. When Elijah asked to die, God refused his
request. God still had work for Elijah to do in Israel. One
of the things Elijah had to do was appoint a successor—the
prophet Elisha. God had another prophet to go and work
among the people.
God hasn't given up on you. Go to Him. Find salvation in
Jesus today. He's your only hope. Do it before it's too
late.