Discouragement and Restoration

The Facts of Elijah's Discouragement

0:02 Will you please follow in your own Bibles as I read this morning from 1 Kings chapter 19, 1 Kings chapter 19. I trust you are all familiar with the flow of the narrative at this point.

0:26 God has vindicated his name in the sending of fire upon the sacrifice and upon the altar that Elijah had raised, the sacrifice he had offered. There has been, as it were, this at least external acknowledgement that Jehovah is indeed the true God and not Baal. And then Elijah has wrestled in prayer until rain has come in answer to his prayers. And Ahab is returning to the palace.

0:59 And we read in chapter 19, verse 1, And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done. And withal 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.

1:37 But he himself, went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree or a broom tree, a little oasis in the desert, and he requested for himself that he might die and said, It is enough now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers.

2:02 Having considered the times in which Elijah was called upon to live and to minister in our first study, the early part of the week, we then proceeded to a consideration of Elijah the man, his name, his character, and we never did get to touch upon his destiny. And then yesterday we considered Elijah, his mission, the great task he was called upon to perform at that critical point in the history of the nation of Israel. And now this morning we consider Elijah, his discouragement.

2:38 And as I attempt to think with you through this chapter, at least in a suggestive way concerning some of the parts and a bit more exhaustive in others, I shall do so along the following lines. First of all, we shall look at the facts of the narrative. How is it that he came to this point of discouragement? Just the bare facts as they are given to us in the first four verses.

3:08 Then secondly, we shall address ourselves. We shall address ourselves to the very important question, what was the cause of this condition of discouragement? How did this mighty man of faith and spiritual vigor come to the place where he says, Lord, I've had it, take me off the scene? And then we shall consider, thirdly, the gracious work of divine restoration.

3:30 How did God take his servant in hand to bring him back to the place of faith and vision and vigor to accomplish the work? You will notice the facts of the narrative break down in terms of the very verses. First of all, there is the report of Ahab in verse 1. And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how that he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

3:59 Now get the picture. Jezebel is obviously not upon Mount Carmel. She's fully aware of the terms of that encounter and confrontation. She has no...

4:10 She has no doubt passed the hours in great apprehension, mingled fear and hope. She no doubt has seen the gathering of the clouds, the sending of that mighty rain, and she spies in the distance Ahab riding in his chariot to the gates of Jezreel. And with great anticipation, she sees him bound up the stairs, and she perhaps asks the question, Ahab, tell me, were our prophets vindicated? And Ahab then tells, tells not what Jehovah did.

4:43 For all of that miraculous display did not penetrate the hard, blind heart of this ungodly king. All he could do was tell what Elijah had done. And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, indicating that he went through, blow by blow, every part and every facet of that encounter. No doubt recounting.

5:09 Elijah's mockery of the false prophets of Baal. And then he reports the climactic act of the prophet in which he slays the 450 prophets. All of this, then, is reported by Ahab to Jezebel. Then notice in verse 2 the reaction of Jezebel to this report.

5:30 Jezebel sent a messenger saying, in essence, in 24 hours you are going to be right where those prophets are whom you have seen. This wicked woman is filled with fiery fury and rage, and she vows by her false gods that by whatever means necessary she is going to put this man to death.

5:57 Well, then we see the retreat of the prophet in verse 3. And when he saw that, that is, this expression of the rage of this woman, he arose and went for his life and came to bear Sheba. Sheba that belongeth to Judah, a journey of some 90 to 95 miles to the southern limits of Judah. He did not go west, he went south.

6:23 And then we read in the first part of verse 4 that he left his servant, I'm sorry, the latter part of verse 3, and all alone, probably with blistered feet and eyes squinting beneath the burning Palestinian sun, he goes south and back. He goes south and back. He goes south and back. He goes west of the town, a day's journey.

6:44 And there he finds this little oasis by a juniper or a broom tree. And he sits down beneath that tree. And then he prays that God will take his life. And so from the report of Ahab in verse 1 to the reaction of Jezebel in verse 2, we have the record of the retreat of the prophet in verses 3 and 4a.

7:06 And then, fourthly, we have the request of the prophet. A request that God. will take his life. There's no thought of suicide. May I pause to say, for any of you

7:17 who are given to suicidal thoughts, you must face them for what they are. Face them as Bunyan has his famous pilgrim face such thoughts. The scriptures that say, Thou shalt do no murder, that murderers shall have their part in the lake of fire, are the scriptures which do not make an exception for self-murder. And there's no thought of suicide here. There

7:46 is a request. This man who was mighty in prayer, thank God he was not mighty in prayer with this prayer. He prays, O Lord, I've had it, I'm done. And some of his most glorious days were yet to come. Thank God for unanswered prayer that is wrung out of unbelief and petulance

8:04 instead of clear spiritual vision. Well, there he is. Over his famous juniper tree, confused, melancholic, dejected, his vision blurred, his hopes shattered, no thought of suicide but pleading for death, as one man of God says, he came to the place of a panic-stricken paralysis of his faith. And I think that's the most succinct and accurate description of what we have, a panic-stricken paralysis of his faith.

The Causes of Elijah's Discouragement

8:40 having briefly looked at the facts of the narrative, we come in the second place to consider the question, how or by what means was he brought to this place of dejection, despondency, where he has no heart for work? He just wants out of the whole mess. And as I seek to answer that question, I do so fully conscious that interpreting historical narrative is tricky business. Oftentimes, commentary upon historical narrative in the Bible reflects far more the fruits of a fertile imagination than a careful grammatical exegesis. But assuming

9:22 that the Lord Jesus, the angel of Jehovah who administers the remedy, is an omniscient physician who knows accurately the malady, and as a wise physician, gives remedies suited to the malady. My interpretive clue as to how he got into this position is how the Lord dealt with him when he was in it. So that you will understand, I am not expounding on the wings of a fertile imagination, but I trust on a sound interpretive principle. Whatever God did in ministering to his servant is an indication of what the precise need of his servant was. Now, how

10:07 did he come to this position? From the vigor of faith that faces an entire nation, that stands against four hundred and fifty false prophets, that calmly prays this brief prayer for divine vindication, that sees the heavens open, the fire falls, from that position to one of running from one woman, running to the place where he is not strengthening himself in his God, but he has found a hubble in which he grovels in unbelief and in discouragement and despondency. What were the factors that led him to this place?

10:48 Well, let me suggest there were at least four. Number one, there was the draining of all of the faculties of his frail humanity in the preceding activity of the prophet. Remember what had preceded what we read this morning. There was the intense waiting upon God prior to the contest upon Mount Carmel. You remember in his prayer he

11:18 said, Oh God, let it be known that I am thy servant and that I have done all these things at thy command. Elijah came from the closet to Carmel, and knowing that the great issue was the establishment of whether or not God or Jehovah was veiled, there was intense prayer and waiting upon God. Then there was the whole day upon Mount Carmel, and a man of God cannot see people in a frenzied fury worshiping false gods and not have his spirit agitated as was the spirit of the apostle Paul when he was at Athens, and the Scripture says his spirit was stirred within him when

12:01 he saw the whole city given to idolatry. A year ago in the spring when I was privileged to spend some two weeks in the country of Pakistan, I remember how I remember how morning after morning when I would awake and seek to meet God in the secret place for one hour to an hour and a half every morning, anywhere from four thirty or a quarter ten to five, until six or 6.30. I heard the local Tamil through the rigmarole and the prayer system of that false religion. And there were some

12:46 mornings when not just the emotional drain of that din upon the ears, but the realization that a false god was being sought with such fervency. I wonder at the thickness of his vocal cords, because it was almost an unearthly wail, and it would go on five, ten, fifteen minutes, half an hour, an hour, an hour and a half, and one's spirit was agitated almost to the breaking point. Oh, Lord, how long will the air of your earth be filled with the din of such cries to false gods? Well, Elijah felt something of that and much more, for this went on throughout all the hours, you see, of the morning and into the afternoon

13:29 until the time of the evening sacrifice. So we add to the intense waiting, upon God prior to the contest, the drain of that whole day upon Mount Carmel, and then the tremendous elation when the heavens became black and the rain came. The elation prior to that when the fire of God fell, and some of us know something of what it is, when we've waited and prayed and longed for divine intervention in an area of need, and God has come, oft times dramatically and suddenly, and our spirits are raised. We're raised to the place where we wonder if this frail form can hold what Peter calls

14:10 the joy unspeakable and full of glory. And then there was the intense prayer for the rain, and we see that picture of him in the latter part of chapter 18. Then there was the race before the chariot, and then, of course, there was this lengthy journey that now had totaled almost a hundred miles. No taxicab, no Cadillac, no Volkswagen, no car, no Volkswagen, no Honda, just blistered feet making their way over the burning sands in Palestine. And all of this brought about a draining of all of the faculties of the man

14:54 of God. His physical faculties were fully engaged. There was the full range of human emotion, from anger and joy and expectation, and the sense of delight and fulfillment, and the sense of joy and expectation, and the sense of delight and fulfillment, and every one of those capacities of human emotion raised to the highest pitch and even sustained at that pitch for lengthy periods of time. But you say, Pastor Martin, was not all of this done in the power of the Spirit? Yes. But here's the principle. When the Spirit

15:29 of God enables a man in all of his faculties to serve his God, the energy of the Spirit does not bite him. In the world of Christ, this is the most beautiful and amazing thing about our Lord Jesus Christ. The one to whom the Spirit was not given by measure, who is called by Isaiah the servant upheld by the Father. Yes, the servant upheld is set before us in the Gospel record as the servant we read. So we read that in one occasion, in the book of Acts,

16:12 He sleeps soundly in the midst of a raging storm upon the Sea of Galilee. And the buffeting of the waves and the breaking of the waves over the bow and splashing upon His holy face were not enough to disturb the depth of that sleep. It must have been something like the sleep that Spurgeon knew when he slept from Wednesday night till Friday morning.

16:37 And only when the boat is sinking and the disciples come and actually shake Him, is He brought out of that slumber. All of His faculties so utterly drained that He entered into a sleep that was nigh unto a coma. The servant upheld is the servant so weary that he rests upon a well at noonday. And Taylor in his excellent commentary on the life of Elijah states this principle in the most perceptive way I have ever seen it stated.

17:10 And rather than try to give you a reflection of what he has said, I want to give you a reflection of what he has said. And I want to read it as it comes to us in the commentary. In our complex humanity there is a mysterious sympathy between the body and the spirit. When the mind is earnestly engaged, it gives for the time its vigor and energy to the body.

17:31 So that we are not surprised to hear of John Knox that in his last days he had to be supported into the pulpit by a servant on each side of him. Think of it now. So weak that one servant on one. And one and the other must help the dear old man of God into the pulpit.

17:48 So weak is his physical frame. However, but as James Melville says, ere he had done with his sermon, he was so active and so vigorous, he was like to ding the pulpit in blads. That means knock the pulpit to pieces and fly right out of it.

18:10 What happened? The mind became so infused with the power and elevated a reality of truth that it imparted its vigor to the body. So that the man who had to be assisted into the pulpit was like to fly out of it. Not under the energy of his servants, but under his own physical energy.

18:30 But, now here's the principle. On the other hand, when after long continued tension the strain is slackened and the body is run down, the body imparts its weariness to the spirit. It's a two-way. As the spirit and mind can impart their vigor to the body, so the body can impart its weariness to the mind and to the human spirit.

19:02 Mr. Taylor goes on to say, In the heat of a man's enthusiastic devotion to some pursuit, and while the absolute necessity for exertion is upon him, he's not conscious of physical fatigue. But when the work is done and the weight of responsibility removed, both body and mind, sink into a state of weakness and make every thought of exertion a distress. In such a condition, the slightest noise will seem to sound as with the report of a revolver.

19:32 And every call to attention will rasp upon the nervous system with an agony, the intensity of which can be understood only by those who have felt it. Do you wonder why, dear pastors' wives, your husband seems at times to be unusually, unusually insensitive to the slightest little reasonable request you make of him on a Monday? Some of you wondered why your pastor seemed a little irritated when you called on Monday and laid a burden before him which any other time he seemed gladly to take, gladly to sympathize with you. This is the answer.

20:13 When a man is taken by the word to his people, and that's my view of preaching, not taken the word to his people, but taken by the word, that word coming through his frail humanity drains that humanity and all of its faculties so that when he comes from that exercise of mind and spirit, there is a draining of the faculties which can often leave him in a state of dejection and despondency.

20:52 We are told that he was a man of like passions with us, and we, we must not immediately assume that all discouragement and despondency and even yearnings for death that are vocalized in prayer are some kind of direct satanic oppression or spiritual desertion because, you remember, the first thing God did in the restorative process was to minister to his physical and psychological and emotional needs in a way of rest,

21:28 and refreshment. God bypassed his conscience completely, and God fed him and put him back to sleep, and then gave him a special meal that would give him special strength for the new and special task which lay before him. Well, I say that's the first reason for his discouragement. There had been the draining of all of his faculties, the faculties of a frail humanity. Secondly, Elijah is here manifesting the crippling influence of sustained

22:02 isolation and loneliness. When we see him before Ahab, he is alone. He is not a Moses who stands with his Aaron. He is alone. By the brook Kireth, his only companions are

22:17 the ravens who bring him food and the sound of the trickling brook. For a time in the widow's home, he had the companionship. Of that little lad, and also of the widow. But upon Mount Carmel alone, I only am left.

22:38 And I'm not able to discern whether or not Jezebel finally got to those hundred prophets that had been hidden in the cave by the man Obadiah. There's no indication that I can find in the record as to whether or not they were ultimately killed. I think there's a prejudice in favor of that, because Obadiah speaks of it all in the past tense, as though he had hidden them, but that this was not the case. The servants of Jezebel had been discovered and they too had been slain, but whether or not there were still some hidden, as far as Elijah was concerned he stood alone. Alone

23:07 before Ahab, alone by the brook Kireth, alone upon Mount Carmel, and even though for a while he had a servant to minister to some of his external needs, there's no indication that this servant could enter in with true spiritual sympathy to the burden of this great man's heart. And he not only tells him to anoint Elisha, but the scripture is very, very clear in saying in the last verse of chapter 19, then he arose, Elisha, and went after Elijah and ministered unto him.

23:49 And when you come to the closing scene, that relationship is so deep and so intimate and so precious that you know for the rest of his days, Elijah had a confidant, one whose eye was being trained to see what he saw, one whose spirit was being molded to feel what he felt. And what is companionship if it does not involve sympathy of perspective and vision? And that's why, you young people, we don't hate you when we say don't marry anyone who's not a believer. We love you too much to see you cursed with a relationship that only has the fusion of body and the bed

24:34 and the fusion of a few culinary similarities when you buy food and eat it. Companionship that does not touch similarity of perspective and vision at the deepest levels of the heart and mind is one of the most frustrating experiences in all the world.

24:58 And this poor man was crippled. He was crippled. Because of his isolation and loneliness. Look at the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, perfect manhood.

25:10 Among the multitudes, he chose the twelve. And among the twelve, he had three special ones, Peter, James, and John. And among the three, there is only one described as having the perpetual privilege of leaning upon his bosom. When he enters into the agony of Gethsemane, he says, Come with me.

25:31 Leaving the others, he takes the three and says, Could you not watch with me one hour? What is that request? I say we need not look for some deep and mysterious answer. It's the request of true humanity for sympathy of concern and spiritual perspective.

25:52 And oh, how I love that word in 2 Corinthians 7 and 6. And I guess I love it because it cuts right across the grain of hyper-spirituality. Anything that does that is my friend.

26:09 For all that negates what is truly human, militates against what is truly spiritual.

26:18 2 Corinthians 7 and 6, Nevertheless, he that comforteth the lowly, even God, it is God who comforts the lowly and the downcast, comforted us, how? By the coming of Titus. Isn't that precious? One morning, Paul is beginning to get under.

26:37 He's under his own juniper tree. And his spirit is cast down. He hadn't been to the latest Victorious Life conference and learned that a Christian abiding in Christ is never cast down. He hadn't learned the secret of a happy Christian life.

26:54 He hadn't learned four easy steps to be always full of joy and of the Holy Ghost. And he said, I was cast. Could it be that that morning he cried out, Oh God, minister to me in my dejection. And lo and behold, he hears a creak on the door.

27:10 And God's answer is his sympathetic companion in the gospel.

27:19 The crippling influence of loneliness is manifested in this man. Let me say by way of application, no one here is of such stature as to afford the luxury of self-imposed and self-sustained isolation. Friendships are costly. Because they can only be.

27:44 Developed and sustained by a series of self-denials on the part of both parties. And if you're too proud and too selfishness to enter upon a path necessary to cultivate and sustain intimate long-term friendships, you'll pay a dear price. But the scripture says two are better than one. And I paraphrase praise now.

28:22 When one is cast down, the other is there to pull him up.

28:31 The third reason for this man's discouragement, there was not only the draining of his physical faculties, the crippling influence of isolation and of loneliness, but there was the blurring of spiritual vision and perspective. Up until this point in the narrative,

28:51 God fills the vision of the great prophet.

28:55 The formative principle of his character was the predominant principle at every point in the narrative. Up till now, as the Lord God liveth before whom I stand. Here he was within feet of Ahab's throne. But he says Ahab, between me and you and that throne is the living God.

29:16 You can't touch me unless he wills it.

29:22 But what happened now? Well, there was the blurring of that spiritual vision. Look at the emphasis of the narrative. When the threat of Jezebel comes, we read in verse three.

29:32 And when he saw. He saw that. He arose and went for his life and came to bear Sheba. The only incident that I know of in the life of Elijah, where he didn't have a clear word from God as the basis of a geographical relocation.

29:52 Up until then, every time he, as it were, removed his tent, he did so by a specific revelation of the will of God. But when he saw that, what? The first. The fury of Jezebel.

30:06 But something more than that. That's the fury of Jezebel in isolation. The indication seems to be that he came back to the court of Ahab, probably expecting a continuance of the reform begun.

30:24 If the 450 prophets of Baal have been slain and the king does not intervene, could it be that the king will now bring out from Jezebel's table the 400 prophets of the Asherah? Could it be that once again, Jezebel will take his rightful place in the theocracy beginning at the...

30:44 But alas, it's obvious that Jezebel still reigns in Israel.

30:51 That Jezebel still holds the reins upon the neck of this spineless, unprincipled man called Ahab. And when he sees that, the stopping, the cessation of reform, the fury of this woman, what happens? His spiritual vision is temporarily blurred. And all he sees is the imposing figure of this wicked woman.

31:18 All he sees is the remaining prophets of the Asherah, unjudged, free to propagate their heresy and to promote ungodliness in Israel. And when there was this blurring of those hopes, the blurring of spiritual vision and perspective, then he says, Oh Lord, it's enough. I'm no better than my fathers. They saw very little of your working.

31:48 They saw very little of your mighty intervention. And after all of this, oh God, take me out of the wholeness. And then fourthly, there was not only the blurring of spiritual vision, but there was the crippling influence of disappointed hopes and expectations. I've already alluded to that briefly.

32:09 His expectation was that the reform would be carried on. And the scripture says in Proverbs 13, 12, Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. And there's a man with a sick heart under his juniper tree. A heart so sick that he wants God to make it stop beating.

32:27 It is enough. Take away my life. Now my suggestion is that these four influences all come fluescing, all coming together, were more than the poor man could bear. All its faculties drained.

32:45 Mind and spirit and body coupled with that, the frail humanity must also face the crippling influence of sustained loneliness. No one to speak a word of encouragement in his ear. No one to tell him an innocent joke and to banter with him that he might know that laughter that is as medicine to the soul. There's been the blurring of his spiritual vision.

The Agent of Divine Restoration: The Lord Jesus Christ

33:15 There have been dashed hopes. There have been doubts and expectations. Now how does God deal with such a man? We consider now in the third and final place the restoration of this prophet.

33:29 The gracious work of restoration. And I have two questions to ask. Who did this work? And how did he do it?

33:36 Who did this work of restoration? Well, look at the text. We read in verse 5, And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree. And, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.

33:55 Verse 5 gives us the indefinite description of the messenger of restoration, an angel. Well, was this an ordinary angel? One of the multitude who do service to the heirs of salvation? No, for we read in the next verse, sorry, verse 7, And the angel of the Lord came again.

34:19 The second time, and touched him and said. This was no ordinary angel. This was the angel of Jehovah. And the study of this strange personage in the Old Testament has led most Bible-believing men to the conclusion that this angel of Jehovah is a pre-incarnate manifestation of the second person of the Godhead.

34:48 That conviction or conclusion is underscored. Even in the Old Testament. And even more in verse 9. And he came thither into a cave and lodged there.

34:56 Now notice the wording. Behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him. This was no impersonal word. This was the personal word of Jehovah.

35:10 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Who is the instrument and the agent of restoration? It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And I know a few portions in the Word of God which more wonderfully depict the mission of the Lord Jesus as the Restorer of the souls of his people in the language of Psalm 23 than does this section of the narrative.

35:41 Here the Lord Jesus is taking the bruised reed and he refuses to break it. The smoking flax. This lamp that won't break. It's burned with brightness of faith and spiritual vigor that is now giving forth nothing but black smoke and it's about to be extinguished.

36:01 Here we see the Lord Jesus coming, trimming that wick, pouring in fresh oil until once again it burns with a clear and a smokeless light before the face of the nation of Israel. And thank God the angel of Jehovah came in the full glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came in the fullness of time by way of the virgin's womb, joined to the eternal Word as true humanity. And in that true humanity, two distinct natures in one person forever, this one lived in obedience

36:38 to the law of God, died our death, went through death by way of resurrection, has ascended to a throne of glory and power. But that throne does not make him distant from us. He is the Lord Jesus who is with us as he was with his servant, who though in the midst of a wilderness, in apparent and apparent utter isolation, has not gotten beyond the bonds of the eye and the love and the heart of his Savior, the Lord Jesus. So much then for who did the work of restoration, it was the Lord Jesus.

God's Method of Restoration: Assurance and Provision

37:20 How did he do it? Well, as I read the narrative, I see at least seven things he did, and I won't have time to open them all up, and there's no significance in the seven, except that I believe seven things are there. Let me give them to you, and then you can trace them out on your own, and then I'll just take three or four of them, as time permits, and zero in on them. The first thing he did was to assure him of his love and concern, even in his present condition.

37:49 The second thing he did was to meet his immediate need for refreshment. To rest, the waves of hope and patience, and to let go of his worries and fears. The third thing he did was to restore his spiritual fatto, the act of having difficult faith, the act of having faith, and God's presence and power. I'm talking about the freshness of his inner and the light of his presence and power.

37:59 He was able to not let go of his God, and that was so great. The third thing he did was to give him a singular token of his presence and power, verses 7 and 8. The fourth thing he did was to probe his conscience to self-reflection, verses 9 and 13b. And then he revealed to him the diversity of the Divine method, verses 11 and 12.

38:16 Then he set his feet back in the path of duty, verse 15 and following. And then he imparted a three-fold prophetic encouragement. Verses 15 and 20. to 18. Now let's look at the first of these. When the Lord Jesus beholds one of his servants

38:33 who has expended himself in the interest of his kingdom, he's not in a state of dejection because of a guilty conscience for having played games instead of labored in the Word and in doctrine. This is not a professional cleric with a soft belly for spending too much time on the golf links and not even walking but riding his golf cart. Wicked American abomination. Only affluent America could invent such a parody of all the ridiculous things.

39:09 Every time I see it, my soul is vexed. But anyway, this is not a preacher who's grown fat and flabby and whose conscience has troubled into the place of discouragement. No, no. Here's a man who's been poured out.

39:26 Soul and body and mind in the interest not of promoting his own reputation. Some preachers burn themselves out in promoting their own reputation. So the fact that a preacher's worn out preaching and serving is in itself no virtue. But here's a man who could say and God does not in any way controvert his statement, I have been jealous, not for my name, my reputation, but for the Lord of hosts.

39:58 Now when such a man is born, he's not in a state of dejection. He's not in a state of irration. He's not in a state of interruption. The first thing he did was call upon the angels of God that he should dream me like a vávveart when he's only have one wife. And so this

40:24 man will perform. Apostle John semana then. Ravพ erg женщина He prays, Lord, it's enough, I've had it, take me out of this. Verse 5, And he lay down and slept, and an angel touched him and said, What are you doing groveling in your unbelief?

40:44 What's the matter with you, prophet of Israel? Has God died? Has the God of Mount Carmel gone into retreat? Is he like the prophets of Baal on a journey?

40:54 Now up with it! Show yourself! No, no, there's no language like that. The angel smites him, and the first thing he sees when he beholds this divine personage is not a frown and a finger pointing an accusation, but he sees a smile and an invitation to eat.

41:15 The first thing he receives by direct dealings from the angel of the covenant is an assurance of love and concern. God says in essence to the angel of Jehovah, My son, my child, my servant, you've plotted a hundred, you've plotted a hundred miles away from Jezebel's face, and you've left your servant and you're under this tree, and you hope that it'll all be over in a short time.

41:46 In spite of all that's brought you to this posture and everything that's in it that is displeasing to me, I want you to know one thing, my child. You've not walked out of the perimeter of my love.

42:01 Arise and eat. And here is a tangible assurance, may I say, yet without irreverence, God is loving, not in word only, but in deed and in truth. God is doing what he tells us to do.

42:20 So the visit of the angel is an assurance of love and concern, and even the way the angel treats him. Notice the language.

42:31 He slept under a juniper tree, and behold, an angel touched him. How did the angel get Peter out of the prison? It says the angel smote him, but here the angel touched him. And he left him alone to rest until his physical and emotional powers were sufficiently restored to take the probings of his conscience.

43:07 What a wonderful lesson this is on how we are to deal with one another. Oh, may God have mercy upon us when we go probing the conscience, when the person whom we seek to help is so physically and emotionally drained that he's sinful. He simply cannot bear those probings. Oh, my pastor friends, listen to me.

43:30 The greatest ministry you can perform to some of the sheep in your flock when they are groveling in discouragement and unbelief is simply to assure them of your love for them where they are.

43:48 The arm upon the shoulder of that brother, the warm, reassuring word,

43:57 he's in bad shape. You intend, when you know it's the right time, to probe the conscience, oh, to be like our Savior, who assured him of his love and concern, even in his present condition. The second thing he did was to meet his immediate needs as a whole man.

44:21 He let him sleep. What a mysterious thing is sleep.

44:27 After eating, refreshes him physically. Verse 5, he lay down and slept under a juniper tree. The angel touched him, said, arise and eat. He looked.

44:36 Behold, a cake beaten on the coals. A cruise of water. He did eat and drink and laid him down again. The angel came the second time and touched him and said, arise and eat.

44:47 The journey is too great for thee. He arose and did eat and drink, and he went in the strength of that food forty days. You see the tremendous emphasis upon the two most basic physiological needs we have as human beings. Food and drink and rest.

45:05 And God said, my child, you haven't had enough of either of these, and I'm going to give you sufficient. For the tasks that I'm laying upon you. He met his immediate physical needs. And with the meeting of that physical, because of this interplay between the body and the mind, between the psyche and the frame, there is a refreshing of the psychological and emotional strength.

45:33 What a wonderful thing is a good night of sleep.

45:38 The thing that unhinges us at 11 o'clock on Monday evening. We can take in stride without a hitch. 8 o'clock Tuesday morning. And what's happened?

45:50 Well, we've had no strange visitation from heaven. We have simply known the refreshment of rest. There's been a period of time when no current has been running over the hot wires of our emotional system. And those wires have cooled down.

46:05 So the fuses don't blow when you run some current on them.

46:10 Now, it's romantic to say, let me burn out for thee. But for the most part, it's not a biblical approach. God recognized this need and ministered to it. And may I say to you people, seek to be sensitive of this need in your pastor and in your spiritual leaders, your elders.

46:32 You elders seek to be sensitive with reference to this in the one who's appointed to the office of a teaching elder. There are times when perhaps his greatest need is for you to call a meeting and say, look, you've had it for the next two weeks. We don't want you to open a book. We don't want you in that pulpit.

46:52 And you may have to put a self-imposed rest upon him.

46:56 We have someone in our assembly who was literally burning himself out in a diaconate service until we threatened to take the keys away from the room where he worked at the church. And we said, if that's what we're going to have to do, we're going to do it. Or you're going to have a nervous breakdown.

47:13 Well, that we may be like our Lord in recognizing these needs. Well, I skip over the third, a singular token of his power and presence. The fourth, he probed his conscience to self-reflection. And I want to zero in upon the fifth.

God's Method of Restoration: Revealing Diverse Working Methods

47:26 God restored his servant by revealing to him the diversity of the divine method of working. Here is that strange incident recorded in verses nine and following. He came to a cave and lodged there. And the word of the Lord came and said, what doest thou here, Elijah?

47:47 And he said, I've been jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. The children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant. Thrown down. Tell nine altars, slain thy prophets.

47:56 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 in a great and strong wind, rent the mountain and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind.

48:17 And after the wind, an earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire.

48:24 A still, small voice, or as the margin has it, the voice of a gentle stillness. And it was so when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him. What is this strange incident?

48:47 Well, I would not dogmatize because there are no exegetical materials with which to dogmatize. But I would suggest. That what God is doing in the restoration of his prophet is precisely this. My son, my servant, Elijah, you have boxed me into one method of working.

49:08 You've been a man of fire and a wind and of earthquake. I sent you before Ahab like a whirlwind of fire. You're there in his presence with no formal introduction. You hurled down your fiery gauntlet.

49:25 And you announced no rain. Nor dew. But according to your word. I sent you to Mount Carmel.

49:32 And there I vindicated my name. How? In fire! Fire came from heaven and consumed the sacrifice.

49:41 Now, my child, the problem is. You've boxed me into one method of vindicating my name and carrying on my work. Now, I want to teach you something, my child. I want to teach you the diversity of the divine method.

49:55 First of all, there is a wind. A wind so strong. As strong as to split rocks and tear off segments of mountains. I'm telling you, that's a strong wind.

50:07 A wind so powerful that it's. And wind, of course, often in scripture. As with fire, the symbol of divine presence. But the prophet who has known the voice of God.

50:22 Comes to the conclusion that God has no special word. In that mighty wind that breaks rocks. And tears off pieces of mountains. The Lord was not in the wind.

50:35 And then there's an earthquake. Now, I've never been in the midst of an earthquake. But I've read accounts of those who have. And I've talked with people who have.

50:41 And they said, you cannot reproduce with words. That strange experience. No matter what's ever happened around you in the most violent storm. Whenever you've had your feet on the ground.

50:52 That's the one thing stable. The wind may be strong enough to pick you up off it. But it will be there, stable. But to begin to feel the ground itself.

51:01 Rock beneath your feet. Is a strange and awesome experience. And here God makes the crust of the earth to heave. Showing his mighty power.

51:11 There's an earthquake. And after the earthquake. A fire. But no voice of God.

51:21 And then after all this dramatic manifestation of God's mighty power. There is the voice of a gentle stillness. And in that voice. Elijah recognizes.

51:36 The voice of God. What is God saying to his child? I believe. I would not dogmatize.

51:42 But I believe. And I would strongly suggest. This is what he's saying. My son.

51:48 My child. I am not only God of wind and fire and earthquake. I am the God who works by the voice of a gentle stillness. Elijah.

52:01 Elijah. I have seven thousand that I've reserved for myself. Who have not bowed the knee to Baal nor kissed him. I may work by fire and earthquake.

52:17 But I may work imperceptible to your eyes. But it is I who work. And just as surely as I may speak in thunder and wind and earthquake. I may speak by the voice of a gentle stillness.

52:35 Silently. Secretly. But powerfully. And effectively.

52:42 Oh my dear Christian parents. Take heart. And I'm preaching to myself this morning. How I longed that yesterday morning.

52:52 God would take that text from the 18th chapter. And so bear down upon consciences. That ere the hour was over. In this very place.

53:01 There would have been men and women. Boys and girls. Obviously smitten by the fire of God's word. By the earthquake of Holy Ghost.

53:13 And conviction. So that this very building would have been filled with the cries. What must I do to be saved? I leave here after yesterday morning.

53:26 Hearing no such cries. It was a short distance between here and a juniper tree. But oh how wonderful to know. That he is not only God of wind and fire and earthquake.

53:41 But the God who works by the voice of a gentle stillness. And I believe there's some of you. Who found it difficult to go to sleep last night. Because that voice was saying.

53:52 How long go ye limping? How long go ye limping? And where mom and dad were drifting off to sleep in the room. And they thought you were drifting off to sleep.

54:04 God was not shaking your bed with an earthquake. God was not sending balls of fire above your head. But the voice of the gentle stillness was at work. Am I speaking to you this morning?

54:16 That's my confidence. That that voice of the gentle stillness will go on working. Until the cry. How long go ye limping?

54:27 Will become the means of God to bring you broken to the feet of Jesus. And that I shall meet in that day. Some who will mark yesterday morning. As the day when the voice of a gentle stillness.

54:40 Seized upon you with irresistible power. Oh dear preacher friend. This is our confidence. This is our confidence.

54:52 It's not our resting place. So that we do not long that God will vindicate his name by fire. For even though multitudes upon Carmel knew nothing of inward grace. At least this external confession.

55:06 Led to the putting away of the prophets of Baal. And we are not so foolish as to think that good only comes. When it leads to regeneration. We long for a climate.

55:17 That feels the leavening power of the gospel. And that often comes when God visits. With earthquake and fire and wind. In mighty and dramatic visitations of the spirit.

55:29 But I refuse to dishonor my God. By saying he is dead. Because I hear no earthquake. And see no wind.

55:39 And feel no fire. And I believe there is a great danger. In the return to a wholesome biblical longing. For mighty visitations of the spirit.

55:51 To act as though God is dead. Because we see not his works. Did Jesus mean what he said. Mean what he said.

56:01 When he said I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We live in a time when. Much of his work is being carried on with the voice.

56:17 Of a gentle still. Let us not go under a juniper tree. Because we've said God never works unless we see fire. Unless we hear wind.

56:28 Unless we feel earthquake. God showed him the diversity of the divine method. And then in the sixth place. God set his feet back in the path of duty.

God's Method of Restoration: Setting Feet Back in Duty

56:39 And this to me is the wonder. One of the wonderful things about this. After God probes his conscience with the question. What are you doing here?

56:47 God gives no rebuke. And that's what makes that part rather mysterious. I have some ideas of what the Lord is doing. But we're not going to pause for that.

56:56 But will you notice this. After probing the conscience. What does God do? Verse 15.

57:02 And the Lord said unto him go. Return thy way to the wilderness. Or by way of the wilderness of Damascus. When thou comest.

57:13 Thou shalt anoint Hazel to be king over Syria. Jehu the son of Nimshi. Shalt thou appoint to be king over Israel. Elisha the son of Shaphat.

57:23 Of Abel Meholah. Thou shalt anoint to be prophet. In thy rule. What does God do?

57:30 He doesn't send him. From dejection under a juniper tree. To a cave where his conscience is probed. To go back in loneliness to more contemplation.

57:42 No, no. From the probing of his conscience. He plants his feet in the path of active duty. And one of the most wonderful ways to be driven from spiritual melancholy.

57:54 Is to force your feet back into the path. Of revealed duty. And you just won't have time to commiserate with yourself. You mothers who sometimes get so weary.

58:07 With the pressures that are upon you. It seems there aren't enough hours in the day. To do the washing and the ironing. And to respond to the needs of your husband.

58:16 And your children. And you just wish there were six of you. And you say oh for some relief. From this constant round of responsibility.

58:25 It's like a farmer. It's like a dairy farmer. I've said to me that. I mean you just can't tell the cows.

58:35 Hey fellas. You know. Knock off the milk for a day or two. I feel I need a break.

58:40 You just can't go push a button. That says you know. Hold off the milk for a weekend. Day after day.

58:47 Morning and night. That milk's going to drop down in that udder. And she's got to be milked. Or she's going to be moaning and groaning.

58:55 The wearisome task. And often a woman's task in the home. Is like that of a dairy farmer's. But oh you dear women.

59:05 You don't know how much evil. God has spared you. By giving you that kind of responsibility. As your feet are in the.

59:13 Sitting around. Moaning and groaning at how bad it is. And some of us. Who feel that in the work of the ministry.

59:26 And others of you in other pursuits of life. Remember that God's way of restoring his profit. Was to put his feet back. In the path of duty.

59:37 Up till now. All has been retirement. Probably over a month has passed. When there's been no active work.

59:45 Connected with the kingdom of God. But now God says. Here is your task. You're to go and anoint this one.

59:55 And that one. And the other one. The story is told of a certain preacher. Who lost his wife.

60:01 And who would not be consoled. And there was no consolation in prayer. No consolation in conversation with godly ministers. And Christian friends.

60:12 But his testimony was this. When he got back in the pulpit. All the crushing despondency left. And he was once again a man full of joy.

60:23 And of the Holy Ghost. A standing pool pollutes. Becomes polluted. Breeds frogs and weeds.

60:34 And other kind of algae. It is the running stream. That filters. As it flows.

60:42 Oh dear child of God. Be a running stream. Filtering. As it flows.

God's Method of Restoration: Threefold Prophetic Encouragement

60:48 And then finally. God restored his servant. By imparting a threefold prophetic encouragement. May the Lord be pleased to encourage us.

60:59 With this. What was the threefold prophetic encouragement. With which God encouraged his prophet. In other words.

61:06 He told him things that were going to happen. That could not be discovered. By the use of his own natural mind. God had to reveal this.

61:14 If he was to know it. Well the first thing he revealed was this. The work of judgment would be complete. Look at the language of verse 15.

61:23 Anoint Hazel to be king. Verse 16. Jehu. Anoint to be king over Israel.

61:30 And Elisha. Prophet in thy stead. And verse 17. It shall come to pass.

61:36 Him that escapeth from the sword of Hazel. Shall Jehu slay. Him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu. Shall Elisha slay.

61:44 What is God saying? He is saying the work of judgment. Upon all the enemies of Jehovah. Is going to be complete.

61:53 Elijah you are discouraged. You have seen my judgment upon the 450 false prophets. But there are the 400 prophets of the Asherah. Untouched in Jezebel's palace.

62:04 There is wicked Ahab. Wicked Jezebel. Still carrying on their wicked designs. My child listen.

62:12 The work of judgment. The work of judgment. Is going to be complete. Every enemy to Jehovah.

62:19 Will be utterly consumed. And oh my dear friend. When you are tempted to feel. Oh Lord it is not worth it.

62:27 I know better than my fathers. Evil reigns in my day. After all the banner books have gone out. And we have had all of our conferences.

62:36 And we have seen all of the churches raised up. And God raising up preachers. And churches with proper oath. Lord look at the mess.

62:45 We are still here. Oh dear child of God. It is at that precise time. That you need to take encouragement from God's prophetic announcement.

62:59 Those announcements made concerning the ultimate triumph of the kingdom of Christ. And the ultimate destruction of all evil and all evil men. Notice how the apostle Paul did it in 2 Thessalonians. You that are troubled rest.

63:14 And what is their resting point? Not any. Albeit glorious. Glorious future manifestation of the kingdom of Christ in time.

63:24 Now you get that. Some of you whose eschatological purpose is getting out of balance with the scriptures. You thus when. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed in fire.

63:42 Taking vengeance upon all his enemies. Those that obey not the gospel. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. And the glory of his angels.

63:59 Whatever large hopes we may entertain for the triumphs of the gospel. In this age. Our ultimate encouragement is not bounded in. It focuses upon the glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

64:16 When all evil shall be put beneath his feet. He shall consume the world. And the wicked in it. And usher in the new heavens and the new earth.

64:27 Wherein dwelleth righteous. The second aspect of the prophetic encouragement was this. He assured him that the prophetic ministry would be continued. You see one of his complaints was.

64:41 I even I only am left Lord as far as I know. When my voice is silenced. There'll be no national conscience. Or no irritant to the national conscience.

64:54 Lord I even I only am left. And God says my child. I will see to it that the prophetic ministry will be continued. Thou shall anoint Elisha.

65:08 To be prophet. In thy room. You see any semblance of pure worship hinged from the human side. On the continuation of the ministry of the prophet.

65:21 The prophet who continually called the nation back to the terms of the covenant. The purity of worship demanded by the covenant. The holiness of life demanded. By those who claim allegiance to the covenant and to the God of the covenant.

65:36 And Elijah is assured by God. Not only will judgment be complete. But the prophetic ministry will be continued. And as you and I see the advance of Baalism on every hand.

65:49 And we wonder Lord is there anyone left. The godly man ceases help Lord. What a joy it is to know. Every single prophetic voice that is needed.

66:02 To give to the Lord Jesus the reward of his sufferings. God will both prepare and send forth such voice. Not apart from our prayers. They are part and parcel of the means to be used.

66:21 Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest that he send forth laborers. We are to cry to God. We are to plead with him. We are to commit the things we have learned.

66:31 To faithful men who should be able to teach others. We must bend mind and spirit to securing a continuation. But ultimately the issue rests not with us but with him. For the eternal God has made wonderful promises to his own beloved son.

66:49 And those promises must be fulfilled. And so there will be a continuance of the prophetic ministry. And then finally. God gives this prophetic encouragement.

67:01 There will be a preservation of a believing remnant. Verse 18. Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel. All the needs that have not bowed unto Baal in every mouth which hath not kissed him.

67:18 When the work of judgment is at its peak. There will still be found seven thousand. And I don't interpret that as an accurate number. But a declaration not a few.

67:33 The number of perfection. There will be my elect the Israel within Israel. In the language of the Apostle Paul. Who have been arrested by divine grace and sovereign mercy.

67:47 And who have not bowed to nor kissed Baal. You see Elijah's problem was this. Now get hold of this principle. And with this I'm done.

67:59 Don't ever make the measure. Of what you think God is doing. That which you have been privileged to see him doing. You got it?

68:16 Don't ever make the measure of what you think God is doing. That which you have seen him doing. I will obey him. Because that's all Elijah could see.

68:35 But God says I have reserved for myself seven thousand. Elijah the measure of my work. My work is not what you see. But what I see.

68:49 And how wonderfully God reminds us of that. From some remote place. Where we thought there had been no penetration of truth. What happens?

68:59 Someone shows up at a conference like this. And they tell their story. And we stand amazed. How by one contact leading to another and to another.

69:07 God brought that sheep to himself. And then out of the stingy diet. Of very inadequate teaching. Into a richer vein of understanding.

69:18 And he did it all without us being there. And without us knowing about it. You see? You see?

69:29 And who knows where God has some of his most beautiful plants. Seen only by his own eye. I've been told by people who visited deserts. Where perhaps no one traverses for months.

69:42 And certainly in the National Geographic magazine. We see sometimes when divers go down to depths. Where human beings never go. And they photograph some of the most exquisite manifestations.

69:54 Of God's creative handiwork. What are they there for? For God's enjoyment. And God has plants.

70:04 And God has those. Who are marvelous displays of his growth. Of his grace. And are growing and flourishing in the most unusual places.

70:15 And it's known only to God. Now one day it will be known to all of us. For when he comes we shall be gathered together unto him. And then from every kindred, tribe and tongue and nation.

70:27 We shall then know as we could never know here. That the measure of God's working was not what we saw him doing. But what he himself was committed to do. Are you in Elijah this morning?

70:40 Under your juniper tree? Secretly or perhaps even openly wishing. Oh God just to go home. Just to go home.

Application: Restoration for the Discouraged and a Call to the Unbelieving

70:51 Oh my dear friend may the Lord Jesus himself come. By his own word and spirit. And be the restorer of your soul. That's one of his great works.

71:04 As we read in Psalm 23. He restoreth my soul. And how will he do it? Well could it be that he will use the very means that he used with his servant Elijah.

71:15 By granting rest and refreshment to all of the faculties of your drained humanity. By granting to you the blessing of knowing that he loves you. And cares for you in the midst of that present circumstance. By granting to you an understanding that God's ways are not our ways.

71:36 That we must not box God into one method. Could it be that your answer is to get back in the path of duty. Some of you have sat too long in a state of spiritual pouting. And about that person you've thought of many times.

71:54 But you haven't gone and spoken in Christ's name to him. You haven't sent that book. You haven't paid that visit. Up and be doing.

72:03 And in the doing you will find some of the chains of your moroseness. And your dejection dropping from your hands. That's the directive of the Lord in Revelation 2. To those who've lost their first love.

72:18 He says remember. Repent. And do the first works. Don't remember and repent.

72:24 And remember and repent. And remember and repent. And repent. And remember.

72:28 Until you get so sick and melancholic that you even stop remembering and repenting. Remember. Repent. And do.

72:36 And in the path of doing. Blessing and refreshment will come. And never forget the work of judgment will be complete. The prophetic ministry will be sustained.

72:51 And God's purposes of election cannot be frustrated. And some of you who've swept through another conference and said well I made it another year. Those preachers went after me but they didn't get me. Listen to me my friend.

73:09 God will get you. In grace or in mercy. God always gets his man. Why have you come through another conference hearing gospel preaching.

73:26 Impenitent, unbelieving and you're still alive. There's only one answer. The long suffering of God. But every day you despise that long suffering.

73:37 You put a little more in the bank of divine judgment and it's gaining interest. And in the language of the Apostle Paul you're treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. Oh that this last hour would find you saying oh God I'm done with Baal. I shall embrace the Lord Jesus.

73:57 And if you go on in impenitence. Mark my word. God will get you in the day of judgment. While the door of mercy is yet open.

74:11 Come. Not to us. But to the Savior. The same Savior who succored his servant.

74:20 Isn't it a wonderful thing to be treated by the Lord of glory in such a way. That's the privilege of all of his saints. And you're not one of them. Cast yourself upon this Savior.

74:30 You too will come within the orbit of his gracious work of restoring the souls of his own. Let us pray. Our Father how we thank you for your gracious dealings with the prophet Elijah. And that your dealings with him are profitable for teaching and reproof and correction and instruction in righteousness to us.

74:59 And we pray that you will in your own marvelous way apply the word to the instruction and consolation of each one. As you know we have need. We thank you for the record of the life and ministry of this great man of God. A man of light passions.

75:21 We thank you that his Savior is our Savior. His succoror is our succoror. Oh grant. That we may know.

75:31 All that he knew. Of restoration to renewed faith and vigor and clarity of spiritual vision. That we may serve our generation by the will of God. And then.

75:43 Fall on sleep. Hear our prayers. We ask in his name. Amen.