Matt Parry - Class 4: Exhortation: A Still Small Voice

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   It's my pleasure to call on our brother Matt to give us the much-need words of exhortation. Good morning, everyone. It's been really nice to be with the young people yesterday talking about Elijah. And we're going to continue that consideration this morning, as well as we prepare our minds to consider our Lord. And yesterday we concluded with our young people the contest on Mount Carmel.

2. 0:38

   And we asked them to really imagine what it would have been like to put yourself there on the mountain, to think that you were one of those Israelites there. What did that feel like? Feel the drama and the excitement as the prophets of Baal first come up. Talked about how they quickly would have turned to disgust and almost embarrassment as these grown men were chanting and screaming for hours, cutting themselves, blood everywhere, thick on the ground, slipping on it, falling over, exhausted, trying to scramble up onto the altar and offer themselves as burnt sacrifices and then sheepishly hopping off again as nothing happened.

3. 1:20

   And then it was Elijah's turn. And the expectation grows as Elijah repairs the old altar. The people coming closer and they get closer. And then they watch in unbelief as Elijah pours barrel of barrel of water upon this sacrifice, groaning at, I can't believe you would think that's a good idea. But then quickly that turns to awe as fire from heaven comes down and burns up that whole sacrifice.

4. 1:46

   Everything, the wood, the meat, the water, everything is devoured. And we thought about how Elijah would have felt. His whole life he'd been disappointed. He'd been frustrated with these people. They refused to worship God. It was one of the worst times in that nation's history. And now suddenly falling on the fair faces, crying out, Yah is God.

5. 2:10

   That feeling of seeing the whole nation, as he thought, can convert. And not only that, his joy at seeing the spineless King Ahab, who we looked at and acknowledged that potentially he consented to the slaying of the prophets. He went down there. He was in control. Elijah, who couldn't stand Ahab, now sat down and had a fellowship meal with him.

6. 2:31

   Perhaps they talked about this change that was going to happen in the nation, how together both of them would be able to change and turn the nation back to God. And he ran in front of that chariot as a sign of honour, thinking that this is it. The nation and the king are finally together, ready to serve God.

7. 2:48

   And we left him there, running down in euphoria, the hand of God behind him, running as fast as he can, with the rain pouring down his face, thinking that finally this is it. I've turned the nation around. What a contrast to the chapter we read this morning. In the space of a few verses, Elijah goes from superhumanly running in God's strength in the rain to lying exhausted and broken in the desert.

8. 3:19

   That's what we want to consider this morning. And God willing, it will provide a backdrop for us and lots of lessons for us this week. And as we prepare to look at our Lord as well in this. I think it's important that this chapter is recorded for us. If a human was writing this story of Elijah, we probably would have left this chapter out.

9. 3:38

   Probably just would have left it there where we left it last night. Elijah victorious. The nation had turned around. He was the hero. God doesn't leave it there, does it? He gives us a very raw and a very honest account of the events in Elijah's life and what he's going through. And it's important for us to have this image as well, as this man struggles with his faith and his understanding of God.

10. 4:02

    Because sometimes we can look at the amazing characters in the Bible, like Abraham and Moses and Esther and Paul and all these incredible people. And we can think that they're perfect, that they're faultless, that they never struggle. They never had any doubts. They never had any issues. And then we look at our own life, which is full of ups and downs, our own struggles with faith, our own wondering about how we fit into God's plan.

11. 4:26

    And when we look at chapters like this this morning, we realize we're no different to these people. We're no different to Elijah. We're no different to Moses. We're no different to these characters. They struggled. They had questions. They had issues. They didn't know where they fitted in. They sometimes didn't believe God. They argued with God, just like we do as well.

12. 4:47

    And God is here. He's going to show this morning how he worked with Elijah. How he brought him around and helped him to understand and to grow exactly as he does with us. We'll see Elijah, God working with Elijah. And we can tell ourselves that God will not accept us if we're not perfect.

13. 5:04

    That it's easier to avoid our problems than face them. That you're only worthwhile if I'm successful. Or that life should be easy in the truth. All my problems are because of my sins sometimes. In our life, we might have felt some of these or all of these things at different times. And this chapter here, because God has recorded it for us and not just left it out, helps answer some of those questions for us.

14. 5:28

    None of these things were relevant to Elijah at this stage in his life. And yet he's an amazing man that will be in the kingdom. We know that. God hand-selected him for an important role. And so yet he went through all of these issues as well. And so without a bit of an introduction to our chapter this morning, let's then look at what we have here.

15. 5:47

    In 1 Kings 19, it opens up with Elijah sitting at the gates, waiting for Ahab to go into Jezebel. And don't forget, Ahab was caught up in these events as well. We suggested that, as I said, he was there with the prophets of Baal, consenting to them being slayed. And so Elijah has high hopes that he will go in now and he'll make changes in the palace.

16. 6:14

    Verse 1, Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and with all how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. And notice how he describes these events. How else could have this been written? You know, he could have said, Ahab told Jezebel how the prophets of Baal had totally failed. How fire came down from heaven exactly like Elijah said it would.

17. 6:37

    How that Elisha had brought back the rain just as God had said. That these two signs were true that Yahweh was the true God. Now that's describing the same day, isn't it? That's exactly what happened. That's not how Ahab describes it here. It's not how he recounts it to Jezebel. As soon as he's back in her presence, his resolve falters and he slips completely back under her control.

18. 6:59

    And he tells her that all Elijah had done, no mention of him being complicit to it all as well. No mention of the fire or the rain or the fact that God had won that whole contest. None of that is there. He just mentions that the prophets were slain. Not even the prophets of Baal because he knew there was no doubt in Jezebel's mind these were the true prophets.

19. 7:19

    And on this level, we see that the complete spinelessness of Ahab. And we talked yesterday about how Ahab had so much potential. Both Elijah and Ahab, neither of them were perfect, but both had potential. Elijah, as we'll see, was willing to be changed, but Ahab unfortunately wasn't. And that's why he plays the role in this story.

20. 7:38

    But relevant for us today as we think about this example, I think, is a strong warning of the dangers of joining together with someone that has such a negative influence on your life, like Jezebel did on Ahab. Now, here it's the context of a romantic relationship, a husband and wife, but I think it applies to all relationships, doesn't it?

21. 7:59

    To being careful about those who have that control over us, people that we put value on what they think about us. He did so much with Jezebel. Unfortunately, her negative image had such a disastrous effect on Ahab. Ahab, God continually tried to work with him, but couldn't get through because of that negative effect of Jezebel on his life.

22. 8:21

    And so, verse 2, Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me a more also, if I make not thy life as one of them by tomorrow, this morning. And when he saw, he arose and went for his life and came to be a Sheba, which is belong to Judah, and left his servant there.

23. 8:39

    Now, there's a lot of commentary and discussion on exactly what is going here. What is Elijah thinking here? Why did he run? Some people say he was afraid. He had a crisis of faith and he ran for his life in fear. Other people say, well, that can't be right. He wanted to die a few verses later.

24. 8:58

    So why was he afraid of dying? Then why did he run away? And there's this sort of, we don't fully understand. It's a tricky sort of thing here. And I personally think that we have a few clues in the record here. But I think the important thing to know is this doesn't have to be logical.

25. 9:14

    It doesn't have to make sense to us here in Elijah what he was thinking. Because he's not thinking logically and rationally at this point. His whole life, his whole plan has come crashing down around him. He's completely lost. He's completely unsure. And I don't really think he knows what he's doing at this stage.

26. 9:32

    You see, for three and a half years, Elijah had planned out the events that we witnessed yesterday. The contest on Mount Carmel. Every scenario had been planned out in his mind. But I don't think this current situation had ever entered into his mind as a possibility. That God would send fire from heaven.

27. 9:48

    That the people would turn back to God. The king as well would join their side. That would slay the prophets. That God would send back the rain. Everything had gone perfectly right up until this point. The next logical step. That the only conclusion after that could be that the nation would turn back to God and worship God forever.

28. 10:09

    It never, I don't think, occurred to him that that would get so far and then come crashing down. And all stop. Because you see, Elijah had nothing left if this didn't work. As far as he thinks, well, what else can I do? I've stopped the rain. I brought back the rain. We sent fire from heaven.

29. 10:26

    We killed all the prophets. What's next? There's nothing in it. That was it. This was supposed to work. This was supposed to do it. If they don't turn back, what can Elijah do? We're going to see that God's going to talk to Elijah and say, well, have you tried talking to them, Elijah?

30. 10:43

    Have you tried spending time with these people? But that isn't where Elijah's head is at this stage. As we talked about yesterday, he likes big national conversions and mighty signs. And not only that, I think Elijah is struggling in his mind with what's God's position in all of this. If you stop the rain because the people are wicked, then you bring back the rain.

31. 11:02

    Well, it must mean they're converted. But they're not converted. So why did you bring back the rain? And why did you send the fire? If the fire didn't work, well, did God not work? But God can't not work. And he's going through all of these things in his mind. He's trying to understand what are the implications of all of this.

32. 11:20

    And the record says, and when Elijah saw, so it wasn't necessarily the words or the threat that Jezebel gave him. The word there means to perceive or to understand. And I think this is what he's saying here. When Elijah saw that in his mind, when he understood that the plan hadn't worked, that Jezebel was still in control, he ran away.

33. 11:40

    And this is what the whole rest of this chapter is about, working through some of these thoughts, working through Elijah's position with God. And this is God going to work through that process and refining his attitudes around how people respond to God and convert to God. And we said to the young people last week that the story of Elijah is not really a story of a great prophet.

34. 12:01

    It's not a story of a national conversion. That's all in the second half of Elijah's life. That's his role in the kingdom. He will have the success and the conversion, and he'll play an important role. The first half of Elijah's life that we're looking at here is actually just the story of a man.

35. 12:17

    It's a man that God's working with and shaping and preparing and getting ready for that giant role. This is all about Elijah. The events of the nation around are almost circumstance to what God is dealing with, just working with this man and helping him and understanding him. And this really now is the turning point of this whole story.

36. 12:35

    God's brought Elijah to this point where he's now ready to be taught and humble enough to understand the next stage in his development. And finally, I think about it. If Elijah wanted, if it was purely just fear, if he just wanted to run away, why didn't he go back to Gilead where he came from?

37. 12:52

    That was closer. He knew it well. He could easily hide there from Jezebel. If he was afraid of Jezebel, David hid out there with his mighty men for years away from Saul. It would be the perfect spot to go. But no, he goes to a very specific spot. He travels for a long time to get there.

38. 13:07

    He has a very specific reason. He's going there to speak to God. So I think this is actually more about his issue with God than it is with Jezebel. He's not afraid of Jezebel. He has a problem with God. And that's what he's going to go and chat and look at. And so he runs away.

39. 13:23

    And as I said, he has a very specific place in mind right from the very start. He goes down. He runs through Israel, through Judah. He doesn't stop. He's coming down to Sinai. He gets all the way, as we read there, down to Beersheba, which is about 100 miles away. So this isn't some just run for your life in fear, get away.

40. 13:41

    It's a journey that he's going to go in a very specific destination. And it's right on the edge of the land. And this is where he leaves his servant. And to be frank, it's where the wheels start to fall off. He starts to really struggle mentally with what's going on. We see that in verse 4 here.

41. 13:57

    But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat under a juniper tree. And he requested for himself that he might die. And he said, it is enough, O Lord. Take away my life, for I'm not better than my father's. So what here? He was going fine. He was traveling down.

42. 14:14

    He's traveled 100 miles. Why suddenly here in Beersheba does he all fall apart and he head out to the desert? But we'll come across to Genesis 21. Let's look at what happened here in Beersheba that potentially may be on his mind now. He gets to this point and it's here. He breaks down.

43. 14:32

    He goes into the next level. If we look at verse 31 of Genesis 21, you see here we're in Beersheba. Wherefore, he called the place Beersheba because they swear both of them. Beersheba means the place or the well of the covenant. And, you know, Sheba is literally the number seven. It's the word that we looked at yesterday in the chapter when he sent his servant up seven times.

44. 14:57

    It's covenant. It was what Elijah was trying to do, build back that covenant relationship between God and the people as we saw on Mount Carmel. But let's look at what happened here. Look at the start of the chapter, verse 9. And Sarah, the son of Hagar, the Egyptian. Sorry, and Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, which she had borne with Abraham mocking.

45. 15:17

    And wherefore, she said unto Abraham, cast out this bondwoman and her son. For the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And we see verse 14 that this is the same area, that the wilderness of Beersheba, exactly where Elijah is. And so at this point, the natural seed kicks out Hagar and Ishmael.

46. 15:36

    And there's a lot of similarities between these two events here in Elijah. Both are kicked out. Both lay down under a bush. Both are close to death. Both are visited and are sustained by an angel, both Hagar and Elijah. And I wonder if Elijah came to this point and thought about this incident here, this key incident here with Hagar, and the fact that he found himself in the complete opposite situation.

47. 16:00

    He was the rightful seed. And he was being persecuted and driven away by the unrightful heir. And perhaps that's what sent him into depression. It's the complete opposite. I'm no better than them. I'm the opposite. I'm the worst. I'm the one that's getting driven out. It should be Jezebel and her unrighteous heir should be pushed away.

48. 16:20

    And I think it drives him to the edge. He thinks it's all over. And he asks, as I said there, for his life to be taken away. And obviously that's something horrific and totally against God's wishes. But it shows how depressed Elijah was. He's saying, God, I've failed. I thought my mission was to bring the people back to you, but they haven't come back.

49. 16:41

    I'm no better than my father's. Which, once again, is a glimpse into Elijah's mind. He expected himself to be better than those. He looked to some degree down on the job of his father. It's almost saying it in a bad way. Like, I'm no better than the people before me. And because I'm no better, well, then I'm useless, is what he thought.

50. 16:58

    I'm just as hopeless as they are. Take away my life. And he falls down in this exhausted sleep. If we come back to 1 Kings 19, we see this here.

51. 17:14

    And so verse 5 of 1 Kings 19, as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, an angel touched him and said, arise and eat. And he looked up and behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, a cruise of water at his head. And he did eat and drink and lay down again.

52. 17:30

    Once again, we have another incident of Elijah being sustained by God. First, the ravens, then the widow, and now directly by an angel. And it's even the same meal as the widow. A little cake is what Elijah asked for. And that's what he's given here. So not only is God sustaining Elijah, but he's reminding him that of the great work that he did in that house, the power of the still small voice, what he achieved through that method.

53. 17:56

    Your life hasn't been a failure. I spent three years of your life, Elijah, just getting you to convert that one widow. That was a huge thing. That's what I wanted, God says. And he's trying to remind him of that time. And he was reminded of God's mercy. He cares for the ravens. We saw that.

54. 18:13

    He cares for the widows. And yes, Elijah, I even care for the brokenhearted and the prophets that struggle with their faith. I care for them all. However, with Elijah, there's no reaction, is it? And bear in mind, seeing an angel isn't a normal occurrence. God doesn't work that way in that time. He'd stopped sending angels long ago.

55. 18:33

    But the fact that an angel is there is not enough for Elijah. He rolls over and goes back to sleep. And then so verse 7, an angel of Yahweh came again the second time and touched him and said, arise, eat, because the journey is great for thee. A second time. So even the mighty Elijah needs to see an angel twice before it has any effect on him.

56. 18:55

    And here he was ready to write off all the people because they hadn't immediately turned back to God the first time that he sent fire from heaven. He expected everyone to see the fire. That's it. Turn back. But even Elijah had to have an angel twice before he started to respond and work in this.

57. 19:11

    And so God feeds Elijah. He reassures him that this is not the end, that there's still a long way to go. He denies, obviously, his request to take away his life and says, no, we've got things we need to talk about. Go on your journey. Obviously, Elijah hasn't mentioned this to God, but God knew what Elijah was thinking and where he would end up.

58. 19:30

    I think it's a great example of how God is treating Elijah is a great example of how we should treat people in this instance. He treats him with respect and with gentle hands. He doesn't say, come on, Elijah. Stop mucking around. Let's go. You know, get up. Shake it off. It's okay. Keep going.

59. 19:49

    No, he knows that Elijah is working through some things here. He's seriously depressed. He's got some trials and some difficult things to think through. So God gives him some space. He gives him some time. He supports him and encourages him as he works through these difficult issues of his faith and of his mental health as well.

60. 20:06

    I think it's a great example for us of how to deal with people in these situations as well. And so, verse 8, Elijah arises and eats and drinks and went in the strength of that meat 40 days and 40 nights unto Horeb, the mount of God. So Elijah wanders in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, just like his forefathers.

61. 20:28

    Now, obviously, that's a clear type. But on a one-dimensional level, this is not why Elijah wandered around for 40 days to fulfill a type. I think to go from Beersheba to Horeb is about six or seven days, apparently. But it took him 40 days. And this is Elijah wandering in the desert, mulling everything over, thinking it through in his mind.

62. 20:50

    Obviously, he's physically and mentally depressed and exhausted. So I'm sure there's days where he didn't even get out of bed. He couldn't drag himself out. And he just lay there until finally things start to clear in his mind. He decides to make a purposeful decision to go to a particular place and to do a particular thing.

63. 21:10

    Now, thankfully, we don't need to worry about what are his motives? Why is Elijah doing these things? They're spelled out very clearly for us. We see in verse 9, what's the where? Where is he going? He came hither unto a cave. And most people will have commentators agree that it's the cave. It is.

64. 21:27

    And it refers to the cave that Moses stood at and talked with God. And we saw yesterday and we'll see again in this afternoon that Elijah bases most of his life on Moses. So it makes sense that he would go somewhere that is in connection with Moses. Moses, he wanted to go and see the glory of God.

65. 21:46

    He knew that Moses talked with God at this cave. And so he wants to go there. And it's in Exodus 33, verse 12. And we'll look at that in a minute. But that's the where. What about the why? Why is he going there? Once again, we're thankfully told this. Come across. Keep your hand here.

66. 22:00

    Come across to Romans 11 because we'll come back. But Paul gives us the why. Why did he go here? After 40 days, what's the conclusion he's come to after all of this? After his world falls apart. Well, verse 2 of Romans 11.

67. 22:18

    God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew. Watch ye not that what the scripture says of Elijah, how that he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets. They have digged down their altars. I am left alone and they that seek my life. And what said the answer of God unto him?

68. 22:37

    I have reserved to myself 7,000 men who did not bow the knee to the image of Baal. So here it tells us at the end of those 40 days, Elijah has come to the conclusion in his mind that he and God have done everything possible to turn the people back. There's nothing left that we can do.

69. 22:54

    And so the only option left now is to destroy the people and start again. That's what to make intercession against means, to intercede against them, to say, this is it. We've had enough. I've tried everything. They obviously aren't any good. We just need to get rid of them and start again. It's amazing, isn't it?

70. 23:13

    That's the conclusion he comes to at the end of this. And we'll see why God needs to work with Elijah. But come back to 1 Kings 19. Let's look at this discussion as he makes this intercession there against the people. So 1 Kings 19 verse 9 says, And he came here unto the cave and lodged there.

71. 23:32

    Behold, the word of Yahweh came to him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? So God asked Elijah a very simple but a very powerful question. What are you doing here, Elijah? I didn't ask you to come here. I didn't send you here. We've got work to be done in Israel. We've just started.

72. 23:48

    We've had the great showing. We need to follow that up. Why are you down here in the middle of the desert? Why after 40 days have you decided to come here, Elijah? And Elijah lays it out to God. Verse 10, he says, I have been very jealous for Yahweh Elohim of Arnis, for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, slain thy prophet with the sword.

73. 24:14

    I only and left. And they seek my life to take it away. He says, God, I know I've been jealous. I've been enthusiastic. I've been motivated for you. And he calls him Yahweh Elohim of armies, which some of you will know this is the first time this is ever used. He almost makes up a name for God here.

74. 24:32

    In previous chapter, he called God Yahweh of armies. And here he's saying, I want Yahweh Elohim, the covenant name, he who will be manifested in mighty ones. How? By force, by armies. This is the God that he's come to see. I want the one that's promised to have a covenant relationship, but I want the general, the God of armies.

75. 24:55

    That's who I've come to see. This is Elijah. He's appealing for God's righteousness to be upheld with power and with force. He says, the people have forsaken the covenant. They've thrown down your altars. They've done all these things. They've slain the faithful prophets. I'm left. What have I done? I've kept the covenant.

76. 25:14

    I built up the altar. I slayed the prophets of Baal. But I'm the only one left. And if they kill me, then there's no one left, God. This is the problem. And this is really serious, God. If I die, there's nothing left. Your remnant will be removed and nothing there. You need to quickly get rid of these people and start again with me, is what he's asking of God.

77. 25:35

    So now it's God's turn to reply. He's going to pass by, it says there. And he went out and passed by. This is exactly what happened with Moses. Let's look at that. Let's come across to Exodus 34. What happened the last time that God passed by and showed himself to Moses? What was that like?

78. 25:53

    And what did Moses see? And we'll fill in the story and see the mindset of what he's doing here. And once again, as we said, it's tied in with Moses. And God is going to show Elijah that, unfortunately, once again, he's totally misunderstood Moses. And in doing so, he's misunderstood God. And so in Exodus 34, verse 1 there, And Yahweh said unto Moses, Hew two tablets of stone like unto the first, and I'll write upon those tablets that were in the first which thou breakest.

79. 26:23

    And be ready in the morning and come up to the mountain unto Mount Sinai and present thyself there to me at the top of the mount, at this same cave where Moses was. And verse 4, so he hewed the tablets and he rose up in the morning and he went up there. And verse 5, And Yahweh descended in the clouds and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of Yahweh.

80. 26:44

    And Yahweh passed by before, exactly as we saw in 1 Kings, and proclaimed Yahweh, Yahweh Elohim, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. That will no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the children's children, unto the third and fourth generation.

81. 27:07

    And here we have the balance of God, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, yet more words for mercy than there are for judgment here. But the element of judgment isn't there. He still has this perfect balance. He won't, people won't go unpunished, but I always prefer mercy over judgment. And this hearing this wonderful character of God, Moses drops to his knees and, and prays that God will forgive their sins.

82. 27:34

    We see this in verse eight, after this, Moses made haste and bowed his head towards the earth and worshiped. And he said, if I have now found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go amongst us, for as a stiff-necked generation, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

83. 27:54

    And here we see the total contrast between Moses and Elijah, the fundamental differences between them at this stage in their life. Elijah, as we said, pleaded against the people. They are wrong. I am right. What's Moses doing? He's pleading for the people. He aligns himself with them. Go amongst us, pardon our iniquity, our sin, take us for our inheritance, build it up.

84. 28:19

    In fact, God even says previously, I want to wipe them away and start with you, Moses. And Moses says, don't do that at all. Keep the people. We see the complete contrast between these two characters here. But that's not the character that Elijah saw. We see this character of love and mercy and understanding.

85. 28:35

    What was the character of God that Elijah wanted? If we keep reading, this is the God Elijah wanted, verse 10. And he said, behold, I make a covenant before all thy people. I will do marvels such as not seen on earth, nor in thy nation, and all the people amongst which thou hast seen.

86. 28:51

    And see the work of Yahweh, for it's a terrible thing which I will do. This is the God that Elijah wants to see. This is the one, the covenant God that will do marvels and terrible things and fire from heaven. This is Elijah's God. He says, observe that which I commanded. I will drive out the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Hivite and the Jebusites.

87. 29:12

    Take to thyself. He says, take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. And this is what Elijah is saying. This is what they've done. They've joined with the people of the land. You shall destroy their altars, break down their images, cut down their groves, for thou shalt worship no other God.

88. 29:28

    For Yahweh, whose name is a jealous, is a jealous God. He's saying, if you work and make a covenant with the inhabitants and go whoring after their gods and sacrifice their gods and eat that. And then verse 16, and they'll take of their daughters to be thy sons. This isn't exactly what Ahab has done.

89. 29:45

    They've cut down. They've killed our prophets. They've married. Read verse 17, then shall you make no molten gods. And so Elijah looks at all of this and says, God, you said you were a jealous God. They've done exactly the things that you said that they shouldn't do. They've married. They've gone after the molten gods.

90. 30:02

    They've put all these things up here. Right. You said you were a jealous God, that you would do terrible things and marvelous signs. This is the God that I want. Come and do those things before it's too late. And he focused on that side of God's character. He didn't see the whole of God.

91. 30:18

    And that's what God's going to show Elijah now. If we come back to 1 Kings 19, I'm more than just that God, Elijah. He's going to show him why he's more interested in mercy and grace now, because there's a remnant, Elijah, that you haven't even considered. I'm not going to wipe these people out because there's people still that believe me.

92. 30:37

    And we'll see as he talks about that. So verse 11 of 1 Kings 19, he said, Go forth, Elijah, stand upon the mount of Yahweh. And behold, Yahweh passed by and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and break it in pieces, the rocks before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the wind.

93. 30:56

    And after the wind, an earthquake. And after the earthquake, but he's not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still small voice. So we have these inspiring events, a fierce wind, a tornado that comes through and rips up the mountain.

94. 31:13

    Rocks are smashed around the ground. Next, we have an earthquake that shakes the whole desert, physically moving this giant piece of earth. And then an unnatural fire, possibly a volcano, pours out here, spewing lava and fire out of where Elijah is. All of these mighty, powerful signs of God. But as we know, it says Yahweh was not in those things.

95. 31:34

    Now, obviously, God caused those things. But Yahweh's character is not demonstrated in those actions. In fact, what did all of those events do? They drove Elijah to the back of the cave. They pushed him with fear far away from God. And we saw that with Elijah as well. His approach pushed people away.

96. 31:52

    They were worried. They were uncertain. And this is exactly what we see. It pushed Elijah away. We see that verse 13. And it was so when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in the mantle and went out and stood in the entering of the cave. So he'd been pushed back. But the still, small voice brings him in closer, brings him in to hear.

97. 32:13

    He wants to know more. And this is the whole, this is the focal point of the last three years. Everything God has done with Elijah was to bring him to this point. God knew when he answered Elijah's prayer to stop the rain, he knew it wouldn't be that effective. But it wasn't the greatest idea.

98. 32:32

    He probably wouldn't have done it that way as we talked about. But God knew that Elijah would struggle with the reality of that. But he allowed it to play out, to bring Elijah to this very point, to wipe all of that away, to break him down so that he could build him back up again and be ready for his role in the kingdom.

99. 32:50

    He's going to educate him and bring that faith back. Just like Elijah needed to spend that one year at the brook preparing his mind so he was able to help the widow, the Gentile widow. So God worked with him these last few years. And now he's ready to see and to understand who God really is.

100. 33:06

     I think it's a really powerful thing when we think about that in our own lives. God allows us to go through difficult times, through really challenging times, even events and circumstances that rock our faith, that challenge us mentally, exactly as we're seeing here with Elijah. Just like that. It's the same with us.

101. 33:25

     He allows those things because it's for our greater good to teach us and to teach the people around us powerful lessons to help us better understand God. To appreciate God, to understand who really God is and the character that he has. This is a horrible instance for Elijah. This whole thing has been really difficult, but he's going to come out of it so much better, so much of a stronger person.

102. 33:49

     And it is the same with us. God loved Elijah. He had a really important job for him in the kingdom. But first, he needed to work in his life, to spend years shaping and molding events in his life to bring him to be better prepared for that role. Brothers and sisters, that's exactly what God is doing to us now, isn't it?

103. 34:09

     Our time on earth now. The specifics are different, of course, but it's the same thing. We go through this process. God spends years working with us now, preparing us, doing events in our life, bringing us up and at times bringing us down, but challenging us and helping us to better understand him, preparing us for our amazing role in the kingdom to come.

104. 34:32

     Just like Elijah, God has selected all of us to be in that kingdom, have a role there. And this life is just about preparing us, getting us ready for our real life to come in the kingdom. Elijah has been taught, and again, we've seen this all weekend, he's been taught the power of the still small voice, that God cares about individuals.

105. 34:53

     He cares about working with people. And yes, these shows of power are great and they get people's attention, but they don't convert. It's spending time with people. We saw that Elijah lived with the widow for two years. And I was then able to convert her. It's connecting with people. It's being empathetic, understanding their situations.

106. 35:14

     It's drawing them in, speaking to them directly on a human level. That's where Yahweh is truly manifested in our lives through the power of the still small voice. And there's so much we can talk about that and so much so that we'll look at that at Sunday school. We'll spend more time trying and saying, what does a still small voice mean in our life?

107. 35:32

     What are we being taught here as well as Elijah? But here directly, he's telling Elijah, I'm not in these giant things, Elijah. I need you to go back and actually start talking to the people and spending time with them and talking to them on an individual level. And then you'll be successful. And so Elijah is brought forward and he's asked the same question.

108. 35:52

     Behold, a voice said unto him, what doest thou hear, Elijah? And this time it's not as it was in verse 10, the word of Yahweh thundering out to him. It's the still small voice. What are you doing here, Elijah? I think with Elijah's mind whirling around him about the things that he had been shown, like Moses before him, he'd seen the character of God.

109. 36:14

     He'd seen all sides of him, long suffering and mercy and still as well as power. I think he's a bit rattled here. And he just says almost automatically that the same answer he gave last time. But this time, I think it's not as in defiance and as arrogant as last time. But God is going to reply to him, verse 15.

110. 36:34

     I do have a plan, Elijah. I've got this all under control. Don't worry. And Yahweh said unto him, go return on their way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when thou comest, anoint Hazel to be king over Syria. And Jehu, the son of Nimshat, shall they appoint to be king over Israel. And Elisha, the son of Shaphat, of Abel-Molech, shall thou appoint, Maholai, shall thou appoint to be prophet in thy room.

111. 36:55

     Shall come to pass that him that escaped the sword of Hazel shall Jehu slay him that escapeth from the sword of the sword of Israel. And here we have this balance of God. God is a righteous God. Yes, Ahab and Jezebel and the prophets of Baal, they cannot continue flaunting me like this.

112. 37:12

     They cannot persecute my family. They cannot persecute the prophets and get away with it. I have a plan, Elijah. They will be dealt with. They will be punished. That's not for you to go. And this blanket sort of punishment that Elijah wanted to give. First of all, it was the rain that punished the good and the bad.

113. 37:29

     And then wiping out everyone. That's not how God works. Why? I have people there, Elijah. I'm not going to do that because I can see the bigger picture. And we see at verse 18, I have left 7,000 in Israel that have not bowed the knee unto Baal and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

114. 37:47

     Imagine how Elijah would have felt hearing that. He genuinely believed that he was the only one left. Actually, there was 7,000 people that God considered his people. And we saw in our very first class. That's actually remarkable considering the last 60 years of how idolatry and worship and how the faithful had been persecuted and how most of them had gone down to Judah and gone to safety there.

115. 38:10

     So this was a really bad time in the nation. But even in the worst time, there's still 7,000 people that God considered to be his. That would have blown Elijah away. Well, I haven't seen them. Where have they been? Well, a couple of things, Elijah. You haven't looked for them. You haven't gone out there.

116. 38:30

     Some of them have even approached you. Obadiah was right there. He told you all he had done and you dismissed him. And secondly, I think, Elijah, you missed them because they didn't look like what you expected. He was dismissive of Obadiah because Obadiah was still with Ahab. He hadn't come out and left everything and lived in the wilderness like he had.

117. 38:46

     And so Elijah had this idea of who a righteous person was and who a follower of God. And unless they look like me, unless they dress like me, unless they were as dedicated as I was, well, then they're not a follower of God, obviously. Obviously, Elijah and God had very different ideas of who was a follower of him.

118. 39:04

     And it's a really powerful lesson there, I think. And it's going to be a powerful one for Elijah. He would have been blown away by that.

119. 39:14

     And it's, I think, a wonderful example here of the character of our God. That if there's any chance, if there's any hope, here there was 7,000, but we've seen in other instances, even if there was one, God wouldn't have wiped these people out. That's not how God and our Lord work. Come across to Isaiah 41 as we start to think about the spirit of our God and our Lord.

120. 39:37

     Contrast this to what we've seen of Elijah. We wanted to bring those judgments and pain to all. Instead, what's the God that we worship? Isaiah 45. He's speaking here of our Lord. It says, Behold my servant. Sorry, Isaiah 42, sorry. Isaiah 42, verse 1. Behold my servant whom I will uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth.

121. 40:04

     I have put my spirit upon him. This is not only is it Christ, but he has the spirit of God. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. It's a small, gentle whisper, isn't it? Exactly what we saw.

122. 40:21

     A bruised reed shall he not break. The smoldering flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth. And the isle shall wait for his law. So yes, there's righteousness. There's judgment. But he's not going to go around.

123. 40:38

     And just if there's any little spark left, well, squash that. This reed's broken anyway. Throw that out. I'm here for judgment. He's saying no. This is the perfect balance of God. There is a desire to want to help. It's not the God of the covenant of armies that just wants to clear everything.

124. 40:56

     Says there, if there's even a tiny, tiny spark of faith, even actually if the spark's gone out, if it's just smoking. But if I know that if I can gently blow on that and bring it back, well, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to spend time blowing on that until that spark comes back.

125. 41:12

     If there's a broken reed, I'm not going to dismiss it. I'm going to try and repair it and put it back to where it was. It might look broken to you. But if I can do something about it, I'm going to fix it. And that's the God that we think about. And that's our Lord that we think about this morning.

126. 41:28

     If we've come this morning, as we often do, feeling low, feeling unworthy of God's forgiveness, of God's attention. And we feel we have to connect or we haven't prayed to God in a while. Hopefully we see this morning that that's the God that we worship, our loving heavenly father. It's not here to dismiss us.

127. 41:49

     If we're not good enough, if we don't meet the mold, you're out. No, God says, come to me. I want to build you up. I want to bring, blow on you, bring that spark back to life. We looked the other day, didn't we? That it's Jesus, God's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

128. 42:04

     He wants us to be there. He's called us into the truth, not to fail. He hasn't brought us here to make examples of us, to make us fail. He's brought us here because he wants to save us, because he wants us in his kingdom. He wants that one-on-one relationship with us to build us back up.

129. 42:23

     He believes we are worth saving. He spent time and years with our parents, with our friends to bring us to this point, to bring us to that kingdom. And then in an exhort, we sort of often end and say, well, let's consider the greater than Elijah, and we use that as a way to flick across to Christ.

130. 42:41

     But here, we can actually do that without it being a cliche. Come across to Luke chapter 9, because we do have a remarkable verse. We've considered Elijah and Moses this weekend. But we have a remarkable thing where we have the greater than these men here with us this morning. And we're reminded of all that he's achieved in us.

131. 43:03

     Conclusion, let's come to Luke chapter 9 and verse 28. We have this remarkable time of these three men we've considered all here together at once. Luke 9, 28. And it shall come to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James and went up to the mountain to pray.

132. 43:20

     And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistening. And behold, they talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory. And what did they speak about? They spake of his decrease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. And Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were awake, they saw his glory in the two men that stood with him.

133. 43:43

     It came to pass, as they departed from him, that Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it's a good thing for us to be here. Let us make thee three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said. And while he spake, thus there came a cloud overshadowing them, and they feared greatly.

134. 44:00

     And as they entered into the crowd, there came a voice out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. And so Peter, thinking he was doing the right thing, says, Lord, let me build three tabernacles, one for each of you. You know, he was a compliment. He was saying, Jesus, you're as great as Moses and Elijah.

135. 44:17

     Two of the greatest prophets of the Jews acknowledged. This was a massive compliment as far as Peter was concerned. But God is very quick to step in and say, no, he's not the same. This is my beloved son. He's far more significant than Elijah or Moses. What we have here this morning is the greatest man.

136. 44:38

     And what were they talking about together? It says that they were talking about their exodus. Verse 31 says, he spake of his decrease. That word is actually the word exodus. And these three men here were responsible for an exodus each. Moses was the exodus from Egypt. Elijah will manage the exodus of Israel back out of the land, back into the land.

137. 45:03

     And, of course, our Lord here was the exodus from sin to righteousness. But if you notice here, it wasn't just the exodus they were talking about. It was the exodus which he should accomplish. And that's the main difference between these three men. You see, Moses never completed his exodus, did he? He died outside of the land.

138. 45:23

     Elisha has not accomplished his exodus. He can't yet. It's in the future. Both of these men are completely reliant on Christ accomplishing his exodus first. These men, like us, owe everything to our Lord. But our Lord did accomplish. He did fulfill his exodus. And that's what we come to remember this morning. It's what we have represented before us now.

139. 45:48

     Our Lord has done his part. The way of salvation has been opened up. The chain of events have started. We see the dramatic events in the world around us. And we know that it cannot be long until it's ultimately accomplished. And when we will join him in that kingdom. In the Salmon