Address—C.E. Lunden
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First Peter a verse, chapter 4.
And verse 12.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you.
But rejoice in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. Now I will turn to a passage in the Old Testament.
In First Kings.
That perhaps may illustrate what we have in these verses.
First Kings 19.
A familiar passage, 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, 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 belonged 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 juniper tree. And he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough now, Lord, take away my life.
For I am no better than my father's.
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an Angel touched him.
And said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and behold, there was a cake, bacon on the coals, and a cruise of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the Angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him.
And said, arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose and did eat.
And drink, and when in the strength of that meat, 40 days and 40 nights under Horeb, the mount of God.
And he came feather under a cave, and lodged there. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him. And he said unto him, What doest thou hear, Elijah?
And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel of forsaken, thy covenant thrown down thine altars slain thy prophets with a sword, and I even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away.
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord, and behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and breaking pieces of 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 of fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire a still small voice. And it was so when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out, and stood in the entering end of The Cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him, and said.
Doest thou hear Elijah?
And he said, I've been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, slain thy prophets with a sword, and I even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus.
When outcomes to anoint the zeal to be king over Syria and Jehovah the son of Nimshi.
Shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Abel Nihola, shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room? And it shall come to pass that him that escape of the sword of the zeal shall Jehu slave, and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me 7000 in Israel.
All the knees which have not vowed unto bail, and every mouth which have not kissed him.
00:05:00
No doubt you noticed in the letter that was sent out of invitation to these meetings.
That there was a note there of of suggestion that we were in the very last moments of the churches history.
And that the desire was that our hearts might be solemnized as we think of this. And also, dear brethren, in taking up this subject, I'm thinking now of some who are not privileged as we are.
You know, there are probably more assemblies in South America than they are in the North America.
And some of our brethren down there are passing through deep trials.
Some do not even have food.
I'm thinking too, beloved of some of our dear brethren that have been passing through trials.
Not just trial of brethren, but deep trials.
So these things not solemnize our hearts.
Are we not one body?
When one suffers, do not the rest suffer?
We have here in these verses we read in the New Testament.
The subject of chastening and trial.
There are various kinds of trial in Peter. The Jews were going anticipating a deep trial. The whole economy would be swept away in the Christian Jews would suffer under it.
A fiery trial.
And he said, don't think it a strange thing.
No, and so it is, beloved, with all the trials that you and I may be called upon to pass through, individually or collectively. Don't think it's strange because there's a hand holding reins. He has control of everything. I say everything. God is still in charge.
Remember that.
But if there is a trial, as Peter says, there is a need to be.
But I feel this, that if there is a trial for one, all should feel it.
The Lord doesn't send a trial on all, but He sends it on certain ones, so the rest of us may take notice.
Now we have enjoyed many lovely things in these meetings and I just want to call attention to the Lords attitude.
And the Prophet's attitude in the trial.
We have here a little picture, I believe, in this passage in the Old Testament of the Lords attitude toward the one who is being tried.
We have also a picture of the one who's being tried, and it's a real picture of our hearts.
We may look at the prophet and we say, my Elijah, you really have dropped, haven't you? But you know, dear friend, when you drop, you don't even know you've dropped.
Samson didn't even know the Lord had departed from him.
Think of it.
We have here a prophet that was used mightily of God, Elijah. He could command fire to come down from heaven.
He could cause the rain to stop. He could cause the rain again.
Mighty prophet.
But when the trial came, he ran from a woman.
Think of it, he ran from alone.
And he ran for his life.
You wouldn't think that of Elijah, would you?
You know the difference why he did.
When he called for the rain to stop from heaven, he said before the Lord God of Israel, whom I stand.
That's the difference.
He doesn't say that when they threatened his life. Jezebel threatened his life, no.
No, he ran for his life.
And then the strange thing it is that is he requested for himself that he might die.
Oh, how inconsistent we become when we get out of communion.
Well.
When he saw that, now you say, brethren, we've been speaking about having our eyes on Christ and the prophet did have his eyes on Christ, at least that's the picture we have in these earlier passages. But now he's gotten his eyes off. And when he saw that, the circumstances.
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No, that's not the place to have our eyes on the circumstances. That won't help. We just keep our eyes in the right place and everything will be all right.
And here it says he himself.
Says he came to Beersheba verse 3 which belonged to Judah and left his servant there.
All this was ordered of God.
The prophet has to go through this trial alone in the presence of God.
And wonder wonderful thing this is.
That's the sanctuary we were singing about in the presence of God.
Oh, how good to be in the sanctuary. It's better if we were in the right state of soul in the sanctuary.
But here he was in the sanctuary just the same.
Even though he was running.
He left his servant. His servant couldn't go into this.
But he went a day's journey into the wilderness, and that's the way it seemed, doesn't it, brethren, when we are under the trial of wilderness? Oh, how different from what we've had before us in these last few days. But, you know, tomorrow we might go out into the wilderness. Who knows what's before us?
You know it isn't. A great deal of ministry and fellowship isn't going to keep our souls.
Communion will.
To fill our heads with knowledge won't keep us.
But to be maintained in the presence of the Lord will keep us.
Sat down under a juniper tree. Wild broom tree.
And requested for himself that he might die and said it is enough now. Lord, take away my life, I'm not better than my father's. There seemed to be just a little bit of anger there. And what is it all about?
Well, he had been used to deliver God's people, and now the tables are turned upon him.
It's one thing, Brandon, to be able to speak to others and to tell others what to do, but it's quite a different thing when the arrow turns home.
Yes, and the time will come in each of our lives when that which we may have been ministering to others may turn home on our own souls. It should turn home before we minister it.
To others.
Was he better than his father's? No, he found he wasn't.
That was the difficulty with the disciple. They're trying to find out who was the greatest.
That's the shows a bad state of soul. A bad state of soul.
Now he lays and sleeps under this wild broom tree.
Where is he? Miles away from his mission.
Left his mission asleep instead of at work.
Discourage man. And who's the one that goes about to restore his soul? Does he seek to do this himself? No.
And justice like you and I never would have been saved except the grace of God had reached out to us. Our souls would never be restored unless the Lord comes in. And that's the beautiful picture we have in this chapter.
It's the Lord that restores our souls. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, notice that word. Behold, then an Angel touched him. I say that's touching, beloved.
Who was the Angel? We learned a little later it was the Angel of the Lord is the Lord Himself.
He touched him.
Someone has said that the husband is never nearer to the vine than when he's pruning it.
And that's what we have here. Each believer is under the tender care at all times, in communion or out of communion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The tender care of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He may allow us to pass through difficulties and trials, but he never leaves us. He's told us that over three times in Scripture, in those words, I'll never leave you never sake you never.
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He said unto him.
Arise a knee and he looked, and behold, there was a cake, bacon on the coals, and a cruise of water at his head.
And he did eat and drink and laid him down again.
He didn't have to go after anything there. It was right where he could reach it.
This is a picture of the tender love of our Savior when we get out of communion.
But we have to look to see it.
And the Angel of the Lord, that's the Lord himself.
Came again and the second time and touched him. Touched him.
And said arise and eat because the journey is too great for thee.
Oh, what a discovery.
That the journey is too great for thee. Have you been carrying it? You can't carry it, it's too great for you.
You're going to have to have the Lord carry it for you. You can't carry it.
And he took his servant aside now to teach him that the journey was too great for him and he'd have to have some help on it.
And so he he takes care of his need.
And he looked and behold, there was a cake. Bacon on the coals, Some translations read Hot stones. Hot stones.
And a cruise of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the Angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose and did eat and drink, and went. And the strength of that meat, 40 days and 40 nights under Horeb, the mount of God.
When it comes to The Cave and the Lord says, what doest thou here? Elijah, why are you here? A good question. What is? Is that not a good question for us this afternoon? I don't mean why are you here in this room, but I mean why are you where you are in your life this afternoon?
Why are you there?
Is it because you have the direct orders of the Lord from His Word?
That you're doing what you're doing day by day. What doest thou hear? Elijah, perhaps 200 miles away from his mission. I've been very jealous.
For the Lord God of hosts. And then he speaks against the people of God. You know, beloved God will not tolerate this from anyone. He loves His people too much. He will not allow anyone to speak in His presence.
Against his people. So don't do it. Don't ever pray against his people.
He's the only prophet.
Whose failures mentioned in the New Testament?
He spoke against God's people. No, God loves his people.
Don't speak to God against his people.
Well, that's what he did.
At Horeb.
Now the Lord Jesus, when he was at Mount Horeb, or we might say in the garden.
What was he saying? Was he not pleading for God's people?
But here Elijah was pleading against God's people, and so he gets the word go several times, you go forth, not come. And that that distance must be felt of the soul between the soul and God in this instance, because of his attitude towards God's people. And now the Lord gives him to feel the fire and the wind and the earthquake.
Those things of power that he was so used to.
He has to learn now what they mean to him himself.
And then?
We have the still small voice.
In the 13th 1St. And it was so when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mandolin, went out, and stood in the ending of The Cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou hear, Elijah? And again the same answer twice.
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Twice the same question, twice the same answer.
I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts, but thy people.
And then he speaks against God's people.
Again the Lord tells him to go.
What now is before him?
He's going to anoint those who were going to be trouble for his people.
It says.
Go return on the way to the wilderness of Damascus.
When thou comest anointed, sail to be king over Syria.
He was the one who was going to dash the little children against the stones.
And Jaya, the son of Nimshi, though anointed to be king over Israel.
And in light of the son of Japheth.
And Abel Mihal, shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. Your mission is over. I can't use you anymore. Isn't that solemn?
I can't use you anymore in your mission.
Oh, how solemn this is. But you know something.
We learn from the subsequent scriptures that his heart was broken.
By these he couldn't and never did.
He never did anoint anyone except his successor.
He couldn't anoint that king to dash The Who would dash the little children against the stones. He couldn't do that.
No, but he does anoint his successor because his mission was over but his ministry wasn't over.
And all of his mission was over.
Once he learned his lesson than he did.
He became a beautiful type of Christ, and we see him in a later chapter in the beginning of the Second Kings.
Is going into the heavens in a whirlwind as a type of the Lord Jesus in resurrection?
Oh, gracious God is.
Once there is the turning of the soul and accepting the discipline that God has allowed.
In the life, Oh, a tremendous blessing comes as a result. I won't take any more time, brethren. I just leave these few thoughts with you. There's much to this subject. But he doesn't. He doesn't anoint these others, but he does anoint his successor. And Elijah becomes a beautiful type of Christ in his ministry, typifying Hall's ministry later.