Where is God when I am alone 6/27/10

Message Title: Where is God: Introduction
Message Series: Where is God?
Text: 1 Kings 19: 4-18
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”” (1 Kings 19:4-18, ESV)
Theme: This message will introduce the topic. The idea will be that we all face times when we feel as if we are totally alone. These times are intensified when we begin to believe that God does not even care or might not even be there. This series will take us through some of the situations in which we feel isolated; from people and from God. In the midst of this we will discover how God has interacted within the course of history to “be there” for each of us and this should remind us of His care all of the time.
Introduction: Being alone:

I. Elijah’s Problem
a. He feels discouraged to the point of depression.
i. Captured in his desperate prayer – “It is enough now oh Lord, take away my life for I am no better than my fathers.
1. In the midst of his incredible confrontation with the prophets of Baal, in what should have been his greatest victory, he was confronted with sheer terror at Jezebel’s threat.
2. He understands that this fear is a failing, that running away represented distrust in God’s power.
b. He feels isolated
i. Twice he makes the statement – “…I, even I only, am left.” (10, 14)
ii. Even though the story demonstrates, clearly, that he was not the only faithful follower of the Lord left in Israel.
1. There was the crowd who had stood with him on Carmel.
a. “And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.” (1 Kings 18:39-40, ESV)
2. There was the hundred prophets that Obadiah had hidden.
a. “and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)” (1 Kings 18:4, ESV)
3. At the end of the passage God lets him know that there are at least 7000 who are still faithful in Israel.
c. So this mighty warrior/prophet who had stood eyeball to eyeball against the king and had fought against idolatry in the face of hundreds was brought to a quivering mass of jello by the threats of Jezebel.
d. His feelings of isolation had opened his ears to the big scary voices and it had begun to set up the cycle of negativity which had finally consumed him.
i. In his book “Seasons of Life” Charles Swindoll talks about fear. He relates the story of a flight he took in a twin engine airplane in a completely overcast sky. He said: “It was like hurtling down the Santa Ana freeway at 200 miles an hour with a white bed sheet thrown over the window and the radio turned up just beneath the threshold of audible pain.” He said that all ten of his fingernails left indelible marks in the dashboard of that plane. He then goes on to give this description of the fear he felt and its effects. “Drifting in through the cracks in the floorboards or filtering down like a chilling mist, the fog called Fear whispers the omen of the unknown and the unseen. Surrounding individuals with its blinding, billowy robe, the creature hisses, “what if…what if…?” One blast of its awful breath transforms saints into atheists, reversing a person’s entire mind-set. Its bite releases a paralyzing venom in its victim, and it isn’t long before doubt begins to dull the vision. To one who falls prey to this attack, the creature displays no mercy. As we fall, it steps on our face with the weight of a Sherman tank…and laughs at our crippled condition as it prepares for another assault.”
e. Feeling alone, isolated from everything in the mist and darkness is the open door for fear, anxiety and dread to slither into.
II. God’s answers
a. So if you, like me, have found yourself in Elijah’s position: huddled in the dark of a cave all alone and feeling desperate God has some answers for us. As we explore this series we will look at a lot of situations where we simply do not feel as if God is there. Hopefully you will find the answers that he has for you just like Elijah did in that cave on that lonely mountain. We are totally individuals and I am not trying to intimate that God will deal with each of us exactly alike that would be foolish. But as we look at God tender dealings with this and other fallen servants we will see the handprint of God on our lives.
b. God took care of his body.
i. He sent an angelic messenger to feed him. This must have been incredible food because he operated on it for forty days and traveled 175 miles on foot.
1. God made us physical beings. Our physiology is as much a part of our life as our metaphysical being and needs to be cared for with the same concern.
c. God renewed his focus.
i. Firstly by asking him good questions.
1. What are you doing here? This self evaluative time is critical when we spend time with God. Meditation on the scriptures and devotional prayer time and journaling are all disciplines which teach us to reexamine our walk and evaluate our life. It is only in these brutally honest times that we can learn to grow spiritually and take the next step.
ii. Second by giving him the next steps to accomplish.
1. He was sent to anoint some people into God’s service. Through this God not only put the next step to His plan in place but also reconnected Elijah with his service. It is in our service that we find purpose, real purpose which is worthy of eternity.
d. Thirdly God reminded him he was not alone.
i. There are 7000 people in Israel who are still faithful servants Elijah. You are 7000 times better off than you thought you were – you are not alone.
ii. Finally, and most importantly he reminded Elijah of His own presence in his life.
1. In the stillness following the clamor God was standing silently.
In the fourth book of his Narnian series there is a scene where the children have come back to Narnia but it is a far different Narnia then they ever remembered from their previous experience. As they are traveling along they come to a deep gorge that appears un-crossable. As they stand there little Lucy tells the rest of the troupe that she sees Aslan, none of the rest of them see him and they refuse to follow her. Eventually they go a different direction and wind up wasting a day and a half on the wrong trail. Eventually they find there way back to the gorge, believing that following Lucy down is the only way open to them. Eventually as they trust and strp forward Aslan begins appearing to all of them.
In the midst of this Susan admits to Lucy that she had believed her before when she said that she had seen Aslan but was afraid to admit it. When Aslan comes face to face with Susan there is neat little scene.
“Then after an awful pause, the deep voice said ‘Susan’. Susan made no answer but the others thought she was crying. ‘You have listended to your fears, child,’ said Aslan. ‘Come let me breather on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?’ ‘A little, Aslan,’ said Susan.”