Open—Josh Stewart
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Lord, thou hast drawn us after.
Every time I presently shine heart comfortably my swell powerful hearts all daytime.
My friend feels good.
And won't toss him on every.
Time.
Irene 25th, 1St.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.
This is an expression that we have a number of times, usually at the end of an epistle.
I think it comes up three or four times.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with our spirit. I've been thinking recently.
Feel like the Lord has put it on my heart over the last year or so.
The importance of having a right spirit.
You know, we can do things that are technically right.
But we can do it in a wrong spirit.
And it's very interesting to see.
How God is in His ways with us. He's working with our spirit or our attitude.
In Hebrews chapter 12, where we have the subject of the chastening of the Lord.
It speaks about being in subjection to the Father of Spirits.
It's a wonderful title, or a name I should say, of God the Father.
Of spirits and, you know, and his ways with us and working with us in our lives. He is not just looking to get certain behavior from us, He's looking to produce a change in our spirit or our attitude.
And those of us who are parents.
We know.
A little bit about this and we fail so much in this. I speak for myself, I failed so much in this. But you know, it's, it's one thing to get a child to do a certain thing.
To come when you call them to come, it's.
I'm not, I'm not saying it's easy, but it's one thing to do that.
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But it's much more difficult to get them to do it with a good attitude.
Very, very difficult. But that is what God is aiming for. He's aiming for our heart.
He's aiming for our spirit.
And I've been thinking about that recently.
And so I would like to, with the Lord's help, just turn to an account in the Old Testament and don't want to, don't want to take a lot of time, but.
Been looking at the life of Elijah a little bit and.
I feel that in the life of Elijah, we really have God working.
With a man.
Seeking to correct his spirit and that there is so much in the life of Elijah. For our blessing and for our instruction, not only.
In what he was doing in the life of Elijah, but with the people of Israel at that time. And so just we don't have time to hardly develop.
This subject but just a few verses throughout a few points and leave time for others.
First Kings, chapter 17.
I'll just read.
The first.
1St says an Elijah the Tishbite, who is of the inhabitants of Gilead.
Said unto Ahab.
As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand, there shall not be due, nor reign these years, but according to my word.
As Brother Tim mentioned in the previous meeting.
The prophets Elijah and Elijah were prophets of the 10 northern tribes.
That had gone off in division in the days of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, and yet God was still working with those people.
It's a wonderful thing to think of them not in, you might say, a right position. But he's still working with them. And he raises up Elijah Petishbite. He was to the east of Jordan, on the other side of the Jordan River.
And he raises up this man. His name was Elijah.
And it struck me that his name means Eli.
That is God and Jah, which is short for Jehovah or Yahweh.
The one true God.
His name means Jehovah. He is the God.
I wonder if his parents gave him that name.
Because they were burdened about a problem that had come in.
Among the 10 tribes.
The problem was they had forgotten who the one true God was.
And they were serving idols.
They were worshipping Bail, a false God. They have lost sight of the One.
Thing that God had called Israel.
To above all other things, to be faithful to that truth that there is one God in his name is Jehovah.
They have lost sight of that.
And the hot iron of idolatry had seared their conscience to the point where they didn't really know who the true God was.
And so they named this boy Elijah.
And we don't know really anything about his upbringing, but.
One day.
He comes into wherever Ahab was, maybe into his throne room and Samaria, and he he pronounces judgment. There is not going to be due nor reign these years according to my word, and he pronounces a famine.
Uncle Dave Mearns is.
Reminded me and others on a number of occasions to study Famine's in Scripture.
And it's a good, it's a good subject to look into. You know, that there was a spiritual famine in Israel that had been going on for many years.
But the people.
Were not touched by it.
And so Elijah announces a physical famine.
Sometimes God needs to send a trial that's physical into our lives to call attention to a deeper spiritual problem that we won't address.
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It's amazing here that there's two other times in this chapter where it says the word of the Lord came to Elijah, but it doesn't say that here.
It doesn't say the word of the Lord came to him if this wasn't a mere prophecy.
This was Elijah in the presence of God.
Discerning.
That this was appropriate because of the condition in Israel that there be a famine.
This is what they needed.
And so in faith, he speaks on behalf of God. And he was right.
We know from the book of James that Elijah prayed. He prayed that there would not be.
Raining and for 3 1/2 years it rained not.
You know, with Elijah.
He seemed to have.
A very good appreciation for a certain aspect of who God is. He seemed to understand the holiness of God.
He seemed to understand separation from evil in a very special way.
And I hope I don't forget at the end of this little talk to return to that, because it is very important. Holiness is very important, separation from evil very important. And I believe God vindicates his servant Elijah for that.
But.
There were other aspects of who God is that Elijah did not understand.
And in his life we see that.
And God seeking to work with him and show him who he really was. Isn't it wonderful that God doesn't leave us in our own ignorance? He doesn't just say, well, Josh has a really mixed up idea about who I am, I'm just going to let him live out his days in ignorance. No, he wants me to know who he is.
And he's done more for us than he did for Elijah. He sent his son.
To declare the Father to us. And so grace and truth have come to us.
By Jesus Christ.
Well, the Lord teaches Elijah a number of things.
In this chapter he has to feel, along with the people, the famine.
And his deed for dependence he teaches him grace.
Coming to a widow of Zarephath outside the land.
And I can't take the time to develop these things. There's much in it for your own meditation.
Chapter 18 and verse one came to pass after many days. This is as James tells us, 3 1/2 years.
The word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab.
And I will send rain upon the earth.
And so Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. So the time comes now for there to be rain.
But you know something?
Although there were 3 1/2 years of famine.
Women, just like that widow that I skipped over ate their last meal.
And died.
The suffering went on for 3 1/2 years and yet the people did not turn back to the Lord. Isn't that solemn?
How long is the famine going to go on in your life?
In my life before I turned back to the Lord.
We'll skip over the matter of Obadiah.
Elijah meets with Ahab.
In verse 17 of chapter 18.
And that came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that trouble with Israel?
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but thou in my father's house, and that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Balaam.
Ahab and Elijah had a very unique relationship.
He sees Elijah and he says you're the problem. You're the one who's causing trouble in Israel.
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And we know how that is today, don't we? Those who stand for the truth.
Are blamed for the problem when the real problem, as Elijah correctly pointed out, was Ahab.
As really the leader of the people, but it was really the people at large.
And it was the sin of disobedience and the sin of idolatry that was the cause of this famine.
Well, we like to blame individuals, don't we? But ultimately the blame has to be pointed to ourselves. As Solomon rightly pointed out in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple, there is no man that sinneth not. And he said every man knows the plague of his own heart.
We need to address the plague of our own heart before God will address the physical famine that He's allowed in our lives.
Well, he says to gather all the prophets of Baal 450.
And the profits of the Groves 400 which eat at Jezebel's table, and gathered them to Mount Carmel.
He tells him what he's going to do. There would be this contest. You all know the story very well and I don't want to leave room for others, but.
Each would have an altar, each would have a Bullock, and on one side there would be the hundreds of prophets of Bail and Ashtaroth calling on their false God to bring down fire from heaven. On the other side there would be one man.
Elijah and he would pray, and whichever God answered by fire, he is the God.
What does he say to the people in verse 21? And Elijah came unto all the people and said, How long halt G between two opinions. If the Lord be God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Again, to think of the people in a state.
Such that.
They were going back and forth between two opinions. Who was the true God?
How could they be in this state?
Is their state really so different from ours?
Do we not have?
False gods that we have made.
That we are following.
And we're halting between two opinions.
Are these things going to bring us satisfaction? Are they going to bring us what we're looking for?
Or is the Lord going to be that one for us? Are we going to be 50% for the God of entertainment?
For the God of education, for the God of sports or whatever it is, and 50% for the Lord or some mix of that.
You know we have a problem with worldliness. I do.
How long are we going to halt between two opinions?
Elijah knew what the problem was. There's a difference between knowing what the problem was and knowing what the solution was.
He knew what the problem was and so he called for a contest of the gods. Think of it, do we need to have a contest?
Where we have two goats on altars, and we pray to our false gods, and we pray to the true God and see who answers by fire.
That is where the people were.
Elijah felt that that's what was necessary, and it was. That's where they really were.
Do we need to have a contest this afternoon? I speak to myself as well as to you.
You know, young people and all of us, we are forming our lives. Our lives are taking a path. They're going one way or they're going another way.
Have a contest. Think about those that you know.
In your own life.
In your acquaintance who are building their lives on the foundation of the word of God, who have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, who are living their lives for Him.
Think of them.
And then think of others who have followed the false gods that are the making of their own hands.
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Where have they ended up? What direction is their life going?
And where do you want to end up?
Moses said I have set before you.
Two paths, life and death, blessing and cursing. The time to choose is now. Don't wait.
Well, they have this contest.
And it's really sad to see how long it goes on Elijah mocking the prophets of Baal.
There's nothing there. He doesn't really exist. He's just a false God.
And then he says to the people in verse 30, Come near unto me.
And Elijah builds that altar of the Lord.
He doesn't take 10 stones, he takes 12. Brother Tim brought that out. It's nice to see the faith of Elijah that he still saw one nation of 12 tribes.
That's beside the point. He builds the altar.
He pours water on the altar. If this thing is going to be a contest, let it be a real contest.
He has that thing soaking away.
The water fills up the trench around the altar.
And then he begins to pray.
Verse 36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel would have been good if he had maybe just stopped there.
And that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things if I were.
Elijah brought himself into this, and he should have left himself out of it.
That first prayer.
It was true he was the Lord's prophet and he did do these things at Jehovah's Word, but.
There's no answer.
He brought himself into it.
And so he prays again. Verse 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art Jehovah God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell. He took himself out of it.
The fire of the Lord falls. The contest is over.
The people can see who the true God is.
The people fell on their faces and they began to say verse 39.
And they said the Lord, he is the God, the Lord he is the God.
They were saying essentially what Elijah's name means.
Jehovah, he is the God. Jehovah, he is the God.
Mission accomplished. The people knew that Jehovah was the one true God.
But the Lord has more to do with Elijah.
He takes the profits of bail and tells them to take them and they're brought down and they're killed.
And I do want to leave time for others. I'm going to skip through this.
Elijah prays the rain comes.
But then in chapter 19 and again, I'm skipping over so much rich detail.
I hope you meditate on those things and sure the Lord will bless you in it.
Verse 19 or chapter 19 verse one. And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done.
And with all how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, And more also if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
Jezebel. Jezebel made a threat, and it was no idle threat. She fully intended to carry this out. She was going to kill Elijah.
And here this man who had displayed such boldness to come right into Ahab and tell him no more do nor reign these years, except by my word, to tell the people how long halt she between two opinions to call down fire from heaven, to say, take the prophets and bring them down and slay them that now at a threat of this queen.
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He runs for his life.
We are never more vulnerable to attack than after we've had a success.
We find in this chapter that Elijah was thinking about himself.
And so he runs, and here we have someone who is discouraged, someone who is depressed.
Someone who is full of thoughts of themselves. Someone with a legal attitude.
It's very interesting how someone with this spirit of self-righteous pride is like a roller coaster. They have thoughts of how great they are and the next moment they're down in the dumps and the next moment they're thinking how great they are and comparing themselves to others and the next moment they're depressed again. It's weird how these things go together.
Pride.
And depression and discouragement. But.
We see them in this man, Elijah.
He flees. He goes a day's journey into the wilderness. He's going. He ends up going hundreds of miles away from.
The northern Kingdom where he was, and he lays down under a juniper tree. A day's journey and he is exhausted.
You know, I found out from the book of Job chapter 30, I believe it is that in times of famine that people will actually take and eat the roots of a juniper tree.
You know, he was, his head was probably a few inches from something that he could have eaten for food when we're discouraged.
What we need to sustain us can be just inches away from our head. And yet.
We give up completely.
And he requested for himself that he might die.
He requested for himself that he might die. He wanted to die to get out of the trial that he was in.
You know, sometimes we can thank God for unanswered prayers. I.
Actually, the Lord did answer this prayer. He said no, you're not going to die. I'm not going to take your life away.
And I think what's ironic about this is that Elijah, not only did he not die here, he didn't die period. He was taken up in a whirlwind and chariot of fire. That's a a no in all capitals with a exclamation mark.
No, Elijah, I'm not going to take away your life.
That's not the solution here.
He gives him refreshment, He gives them that bread. What do we do when someone's discouraged?
We give them food, we feed them with Christ water to drink, we give them rest. But what they do with that, that's up to them.
Are you going to use the encouragement of your brethren when you're discouraged just to press forward in your bitterness and self righteousness?
That's what Elijah did. He continued in the strength of that bread 40 days and 40 nights, and he goes all the way down to Horeb, the Mount of God. He goes to the place where the law was given. He felt comfortable there. I mean that place that that shook with an earthquake and smoked and was on fire and the people were were afraid to touch it.
And go near to it and they wouldn't even look.
And they begged that the voice would stop, and the Lord would speak only with Moses instead of with them. Yes.
He was comfortable there. He went right up onto that mountain, into a cave. Sounds very familiar, doesn't it? A cave on the top of the mountain.
Where the law was given, he was comfortable there.
But he didn't really know the Lord.
He knew some things about the Lord, he knew an aspect of God's character, but he didn't really know the Lord's heart.
And we can seek to do a right thing.
But in a wrong way if we don't really understand the Lord's heart.
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And what does the Lord say to him when he comes to this cave? He says in verse nine he says, what doest thou hear?
Elijah, what are you doing here? That's quite a question, isn't it?
It can mean so many different things. What are you doing at this conference? But Elijah, what are you doing here?
At the Mount of God.
And he sold all of himself. He begins to speak about himself.
I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars.
Slain thy prophets with the sword, and I even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away.
You know, I believe Elijah thought that the Lord was going to pat him on the back and say you're the only one. Elijah, a good job for being faithful.
He didn't get that response from the Lord, did he?
You know, it was in a certain sense it was true. Elijah was the only one standing in a public way faithfully for the Lord.
It was tremendously difficult what he did.
But he wasn't the only one, and the Lord had to remind him of that. And you know when we're full of ourselves and our own.
Standing before God and approaching to Him on the ground of our own works and our own godliness. You might say we don't see others.
We don't realize that.
We are not we do not stand alone that there are many others and we and faith always looks to.
Have fellowship with others and to speak on behalf of others and to include others.
And that graciousness was just missing in this.
Spirit of Elijah, he was blind. He really thought he was the only one, but he was blinded by self.
Grace produces humility in.
And humility leads to discernment if we don't have grace.
It leads to pride, and pride leads to spiritual blindness.
So the Lord tells Elijah to go and stand.
Upon the mount before the Lord doesn't say that he went and stood before the Lord.
He stayed in The Cave.
And the Lord passed by upon the mountain.
And the great and strong wind rent the mountains, and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind and earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire a still small voice.
These were symbols of judgment, God's judgment, the wind, the earthquake, the fire.
You know, Elijah was prepared to see the judgment of the people of God. You know, I just imagine him saying, yes, fire, yes, earthquake, yes, wind. This is what we need more of this. This is what these rebellious people need.
But the Lord was not in those things.
The Lord's hand is in his judgment, but the Lord himself is not in those things. Judgment is his strange work.
But after all of that, a still small voice. It really speaks to us of the gentleness of God in grace. A still small voice.
I don't think Elijah expected that.
But that's how God spoke to him, a still, small voice. And that's what drew Elijah.
Out of The Cave.
The judgment wasn't going to draw him out and judgment, although Elijah would have.
Maybe Wish for that wasn't going to restore the people. It was really Grace.
And that's what Elijah lacked in his spirit. God called him out. He comes out. He knew this was the presence of the Lord. He knew that the that the Lord was there in that still small voice. And he puts the mantle over his face. He knew it.
And the Lord speaks to him, and he gives him another opportunity. And how gracious the Lord is with us that he gives us.
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A second chance, a third chance. How many times when he gives Elijah another chance and he says, What doest thou hear, Elijah?
But Elijah still has not learned.
And he says the same thing. I have been very jealous. He says the same thing.
He just could not learn.
I suppose we might think of this as a negative story, but I think it's tender to see how the Lord worked with him. May we learn from the still small voice. May we learn to have grace, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with our Spirit.
He didn't learn, so the Lord just says go return.
But on her way.
It tells them three things. Anoint Hazel to begin of Syria, Jihu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel in Elisha the son of shepherd of Abel Nihola.
Anoint to be prophet in thy room.
Elijah was going to be replaced.
His work publicly was done. I don't say his work was done. He had years to go and I think Elijah still did wonderful things for the Lord, especially when it comes to his work that he did in training his successor Elisha, who is characterized.
Not by law, not by judgment, but by grace.
Elisha, as Elijah was about to be taken up to heaven.
Ask for a double portion of his spirit, I do think.
That Elijah learned. I know it's not recorded, but.
I believe in the years that followed.
That Elisha could see something.
That changed in the spirit of Elijah. He wasn't able to be used in a public way. So let's not follow the pattern of Elijah. But Elijah, the prophet of grace, asked for a double portion of the spirit.
But let me just say one thing.
The Lord never rebukes Elijah for his zeal for the holiness of God.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
And he was taken up in a chariot of fire.
And he has a special place in the annals of.
Good divine history and he's seen on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord.
I believe God valued that man's devotion, that man's holiness, that man's separation from evil. It was a beautiful thing to the Lord.
And so I don't mean to say that we shouldn't appreciate the holiness of God or that we shouldn't separate from evil.
Because that is something that God vindicates in his servant Elijah. It's precious to him and it's very important. But.
Let's have an understanding of who God is. Let's have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with our spirit.