The Way of Faith (I Kings 19:1-16)

(sermon given January 2008 - intro and conclusion not included because of specificity to audience)
…So this is what we are talking about today. I think Elijah's life is an incredible testimony to the reality that this journey of faith is never what we expect. I've actually been thinking about Elijah because he was mentioned in the account of the foretelling of John the Baptist's birth in Luke 1. “16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
That last phrase is a powerful statement. Did you see how the angel fleshed out what "the spirit and power of Elijah" looks like? He says it is "turning hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of righteousness." And then he sums up the end result of this thing called the spirit and power of Elijah as a "people prepared for the Lord." So, maybe as we take a look at this story in Elijah's life we can learn how to be prepared to live faithfully in the midst of the this life. I've entitled today's message The Way of Faith. Before we open the Word together, LETS PRAY…
We are going to be in 1 Kings 19 today. Before we get into the text it would be helpful to know the context of the story. In the previous chapter we find the account of Elijah challenging the nation of Israel to come back to Yahweh - her true God. He does this by setting up a wager on Mt. Carmel that pits Yahweh against Baal - a Canaanite god who became the flavor of the month at that time in Israel. If you don't know the story of this showdown take some time to read I Kings 18 sometime, but the skinny is Elijah prayed and Yahweh sent fire down from heaven to consume a sacrifice and Baal did no such thing for his prophets. Consequently, the people of Israel turned back to Yahweh, and the 450 prophets of Baal were executed. Then near the end of the chapter Elijah prays and the drought he pronounced as the judgment of God on Israel ends; because Yahweh said it was time for rain.

So let's pick up in chapter 19. 1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."

As we look through this text we'll see five truths about living a life of faith. Here's the first. The way of faith includes Alarming Announcements. So here is Elijah, the prophet of the Living God, who just saw fire come down from heaven, who executed 450 false prophets, and saw the drought he pronounced 3 years before end as the Lord told him. This same Elijah receives a death threat. Except this death threat is from the current queen, so I guess this would be better termed a death sentence. And this after he had just witnessed an incredible show of God's power right before his eyes.
How many of us have been there before? We have a moment or a season of our life where we experience God’s power and presence in such an undeniable way and then the next thing we know the rug gets pulled out from under us – a miscarriage, a family member is diagnosed with cancer, or you lose your dream job. The more we follow God it seems like this journey is full of unanticipated announcements. Let’s keep going…
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep."
The second reality we see in this passage is the way of faith includes Deserts of Disbelief. After receiving the letter from Jezebel he does what any respectable miracle-working prophet of God does, he runs. Then he does the next logical thing, when he gets to a town he decides to ditch his servant - maybe the only friend he had - and by himself journey into the desert. WOW!
So there is Elijah after walking a day into the desert, he finds a broom tree and prays, "God, enough. I stink at this life. Kill me now." This is why I like Elijah so much, even though he had that whole “prophet of God” thing going, moments like this show he may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed. It's eerily reminiscent of me. When times get rough in my life, I, in all my wisdom, would rather choose to go it alone. Instead of inviting God or his people in those moments to come alongside me, I would rather analyze the situation and find a solution myself; or if all else fails cry myself to sleep on my huge pillow. I appreciate the fact that God allowed Elijah's frailty to be so clearly depicted. It helps me remember that this way of faith will include deserts.
"All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God."
So far we have seen that "the way of faith includes Alarming Announcements" and "the way of faith includes Deserts of Disbelief." Obviously, God doesn't abandon Elijah. He actually chooses to meet him in really practical ways. You see the third truth is that the way of faith includes Providential Provisions. Even though Elijah chose to run, chose to wander in the wilderness, and even asked to die; God still engages Elijah. In what seems to be Elijah's darkest moment He proves He is faithful in spite of Elijah's apparent lack of faith by providing food - twice.
Look how practical this specific provision of food is in Elijah's life. Have you ever tried to get good sleep when you're hungry? It's not easy. So the first time he ate led to real rest, not just the uncomfortable sleep of the disheartened. The second time he woke up led to the angel giving him more food and stating that the journey was "too much for him". It makes me wonder, "what was the journey that Elijah found himself on suddenly?"
It says in verse 8 that strengthened by that food he traveled 40 days and nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. Another name for Mt. Horeb is Mt. Sinai, the same mount in Exodus where God gave Israel the Ten Commandments. Now, we have enough context to understand. You see in that moment God allowed providential provisions in Elijah's life so Elijah could make it to the place where he could be with God. Even then the journey was too much, God chose to make provision for one of His prophets, His people, to be able to meet with Him. I love how this shows God's unchanging heart. He did the same thing later in history through Christ at the cross. Yet with that move He provided the way for all of us.

So what happens next? Let's keep going. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. 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." 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. 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."
A lot happened in these 5 verses, but I want us to catch one thing. Elijah's journey to meet with God led him here to the mountain of God, and here God chooses to begin their time together in a unique way. You see the way of faith includes Intimate Inquiries. God begins this little tête-à-tête with a question. "Elijah, what are you doing here?"
Notice Elijah's response. "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. 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." What a resume! “I’ve been zealously faithful, I am the last prophet standing and now they are trying to kill me!” I know that prayer. I have said to God, “I didn’t sign up to follow You so my wife could have a miscarriage 6 months into our marriage or that my daughter would have to have reconstructive surgery at the age of 4 months. God I thought you would bless us if we chose to follow you!” I’ve been there where Elijah is, have you?
Then notice what God does, He makes Himself known. But he doesn’t make Himself known in the earthquake, the fire, or the wind, but in a whisper. And Elijah does the only thing that is appropriate; he covers his face. Then as He steps out into the presence of God the most unnerving thing happens. In that hushed moment, God inquires of Elijah once more, “What are you doing here?”
Amazingly enough after feeling the force of the wind, cowering through an earthquake, seeing fire, and being terrified of a whisper Elijah gives the exact same answer he gave before. "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. 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."
After all that, God had given Elijah room to see one thing. None of his circumstances had changed. As soon as he walks down the mountain, he will still be a man with a death sentence on his head. Yet, he’s now a man who knows the intimate fear of the whisper of Yahweh. Here's what can feel harsh in the way of faith. Faith doesn’t guarantee a change of circumstance, no matter how much I would like it to at times. All faith guarantees is more of God. Don’t get me wrong, the God of heaven and earth can and does change things and circumstances in our lives. But just because we follow Christ in faith doesn’t guarantee that we miss out on the hurt, disappointment, and loss that happens in this life.
You see when I chose to entrust my life to Christ I was told that He had a wonderful plan for my life. So, in my mind that meant all sorts of things that I would deem good and beneficial for me would happen. What I didn’t realize was that God did have a wonderful plan for my life, except what He deemed good and beneficial for me was more of HIMSELF. That was a huge paradigm shift for me. And in a subtle way God makes that same thing known to Elijah in the mountain meeting. Faith doesn’t guarantee a change of circumstance; it guarantees more of God!

Let’s keep going. 15 The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet." Here's the last thing I want us to see the way of faith includes the Call to Continue.
After God asks Elijah the same question twice and Elijah responds in the same way twice, He issues new orders for Elijah. In some ways it's as if God is saying, "Elijah I am with you, and that's enough, let's keep going." In that moment on the mountain God made Himself available to Elijah, now He's asking Elijah to return the favor by continuing in the way of faith by living a resolute life. This is a life resolved to follow after God not because He changes circumstances, but because more of God is the very good Elijah yearns for and Elijah needs.
The way of faith includes alarming announcements, deserts of disbelief, providential provisions, intimate inquiries, and the call to continue. But it guarantees experiencing and knowing more of GOD...