Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20071104.htm
BIOGRAPHIES OF BIBLE SAINTS II. Elijah: Trusting God In A Faithless Generation C. Handling A Faltering Faith Before A Strong, Godless Challenge (1 Kings 19:1-18)
Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

After taking a stand for God's truth in today's world, keeping that stand in the face of strong challenges against it can be hard to do:

(1) In last Sunday morning's sermon, we cited Dinesh D'Souza's article, "A Christian Foundation" (October 22, 2007, USA TODAY) where he reported atheist foes of Christianity fail to acknowledge that the institutions of science and democracy originated with Christianity.

Yet, in the October 29, 2007 issue of that same paper, a letter to the editor by Philip Yaffe of Brussels sharply countered D'Souza in asking: "Just how many centuries did it take Christians to reject the idea that the God-inspired mission to convert 'savages' to Christianity justified enslaving them and subjecting them to unimaginable cruelty?"

True, some in Christ's name have committed atrocities, and we would never condone them! However, in the face of such animosity as voiced by agnostics, it can seem hard to stand for the faith!

(2) At times the challenge comes from others in Christendom: Reverend Henry G. Brinton, a Presbyterian pastor in Fairfax, Virginia, wrote the article, "Do-it-yourself Christianity" in the October 29th USA TODAY that critiqued independent Churches like ours, claiming that "independent congregations cannot be counted on to preserve a historically based understanding of the Christian faith, or to maintain the unity of the church across geographical or cultural boundaries."

Actually, the opposite is true: we left the denomination since it had failed to uphold Scripture truths, and we support missionaries around the globe, fostering unity in the true worldwide Body of Christ!

Yet, such pressures from mainline parties like this can make it more difficult for churches like ours to keep standing for the truth!

(3) A member in our Church sent me an e-mail Wednesday on a film starring Nicole Kidman called "The Golden Compass" that will be shown in theaters beginning December 7th. It is based on a trilogy by atheist Philip Pullman, and it tries to "soft-sell" children into rejecting belief in God! One character in the trilogy is an ex-nun who explains "Christianity as 'a very powerful and convincing mistake.'" (www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp; www.catholicleague.org)

So, we ask, "How do we avoid FALTERING under STRONG, NEGATIVE reactions to our STANDS for the truth?!"

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: " It is hard for me to keep standing for God's truth in the face of strong, godless challenges to it, so what would God advise?!"

1. After the great competition on Mount Carmel where Elijah called down God's fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice, a feat the Baal priests were unable to duplicate, Israel's king Ahab told his evil wife, Jezebel about the competition, and how Elijah had then slain the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 19:1 with 1 Kings 18:30-40.
2. Jezebel reacted viciously in her strong devotion to Baal worship: she sent a message to Elijah, vowing a divine oath to her false gods that she would also die if she had not within 24 hours slain Elijah as he slain the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 19:2!
3. Fearing her FURY in view of her HUMANLY INFLUENTIAL ROLE as KING AHAB'S WIFE, Elijah FLED for his life, 19:3-4b!
4. Yet, in fleeing, Elijah realized he had FAILED God, so he asked the Lord to take his life, 1 Kings 19:4c! Viewing the details shows Elijah's failure had arisen from his adopting a HUMAN VIEW INSTEAD OF sticking with GOD'S VIEW of the whole situation:
1. Elijah failed to recall how God had miraculously preserved his life for six months at Brook Cherith and for three years more years in Jezebel's homeland of Zarephath, 1 Kings 17:2-7, 8-16.
2. Elijah had failed to recall how God had miraculously equipped him to resurrect a dead boy, a feat unprecedented in history to that date, all in vast superiority to the false god Jezebel heeded, 1 Kings 17:17-24.
3. Elijah had failed to recall how God had miraculously sent fire to burn up the sacrifice, wood, altar stones, water and dust around his altar on Mount Carmel in huge superiority to Jezebel's god, 1 Kings 18:1-46.
4. So, all Elijah needed to do in response to Jezebel's threat was to let her try to approach him, and see God send fire down on her as He had sent fire at Mount Carmel, an event similar to what later occurred as Jezebel's son tried to kill him, 1 Kings 22:51 with 2 Kings 1:1-17!
5. However, "Rather than resting in God for His protection as he had in the past three and one-half years, Elijah ran for his life," Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 528. He fell prey to viewing the trial from the human viewpoint rather than viewing it in faith from God's viewpoint!
5. Thus, God GRACIOUSLY began to REINFORCE the DIVINE VIEWPOINT to Elijah, revealing ONCE AGAIN His DEVOTION to PRESERVE Elijah and His people before their foes, 19:5-18:
1. In keeping with God's past help of Elijah at Brook Cherith when he hid from Ahab, the Lord reinforced His commitment to preserve his life in bringing Elijah food for his journey, 1 Kings 19:5-8; 17:2-6!
2. Then, when Elijah arrived at Mount Sinai, God graciously asked him what he was doing there, 1 Kings 19:9. The Lord implied that there was no need for Elijah to have fled from Jezebel, that He would have protected his life before Jezebel in keeping with His previous work of 3 1/2 years to protect Elijah from death by the famine and by Jezebel!
3. Sadly, Elijah faithlessly repeatedly answered God from the human viewpoint, claiming he could not let himself be killed by Jezebel as that would end the last human force for God's servants, 19:10-14.
4. God responded by distancing Himself from the impressive displays that humanly had impressed people in Moses' ministry at that same location: the Lord refused to appear in the displays of such humanly impressive experiences, 1 Kings 19:11-12; Ex. 19:16-19; 20:18-19!
6. However, Elijah persistently failed to adopt God's viewpoint, so the Lord removed him from the trial, but at the price of his ministry:
1. When Elijah persistently resisted adopting God's viewpoint (1 Kings 19:9-12, 13-14) God directed him to anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu king over Israel, and Elisha to replace him as prophet, 1 Kings 19:15-16. These men would destroy Ahab's family and Baalism in Israel, 1 Kings 19:17 with 2 Kings 8:7-15; 13:3; 9:1-10:36.
2. Then, God revealed that, contrary to Elijah's human viewpoint, there were still 7,000 people in Israel who at least had not bowed to BAAL, so God's cause was far from lost versus Elijah's claim, 19:18!

Application: May we (1) trust in Christ for salvation from sin to receive eternal life, John 3:16. (2) As we stand for the truth as a child of God but then are strongly challenged for it, (a) may we RESIST FLEEING in the HUMAN view by (b) RECALLING God's PAST EVIDENCES of His WILL for us, and (b) KEEP our STAND and let GOD AID us in the PROCESS of standing firm!

Lesson: When his STAND for God's truth was STRONGLY OPPOSED, Elijah FAILED to RECALL God's PAST EVIDENCES of His PLAN to PRESERVE his life; so, in the HUMAN VIEWPOINT, Elijah FAILED to TRUST God's HELP, and so fled from Jezebel in spiritual DEFEAT!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

Last Monday, God gave a moving illustration for this sermon:

As in Elijah's case, it came in accord with a precedent of God's work in my life: it came when I was in the lobby of the cancer clinic where you will recall God had given an illustration for a past sermon!

There, as I sat in the lobby waiting for another treatment for my non-cancerous illness, a devout nun of the Roman Catholic Church, who knows I pastor Nepaug Bible Church and who knows well that our beliefs significantly differ from hers, came over to me to speak with me about a woman in our Church! She marveled at this woman's spirit, noting it had even impacted a psychiatric patient she knew!

Though moved by this report, I did not see its full significance until I later purchased the October 29, 2007 issue of USA TODAY. As you recall from this sermon's introduction, it contained the letter from an agnostic who opposed Christians as being cruel toward weaker peoples, and an article by a Presbyterian Pastor critiquing independent Churches like ours. I saw God showing in the conversation with this nun evidences that counter both criticisms: (1) our member's help to a psychiatric patient counters the agnostic's charge that godly Christians harm weaker folk, and (2) our member's demeanor that impacted this devout nun counters the Presbyterian pastor's charge that our Church's independence fosters isolation and a drift from "a historically based understanding of the Christian faith," Ibid.! The nun's words show just the opposite: our ministry is discipling its people to reflect the very godliness that those in the most rigidly hierarchical groups condone!

(3) Besides, on Wednesday when I received the e-mail re: the anti-God film that is based on Philip Pullman's trilogy, a work having the character of an ex-nun who alleges Christianity is "a very powerful and convincing mistake," I saw my conversation with the nun at the clinic countering it, also: if a devout Roman Catholic nun of a different gospel from ours would report how impressed she was by the spirit in this woman of ours, Pullman's work that counters faith in God by the words of an ex-nun becomes futile! God's power in our ministry thus exposes the film, "The Golden Compass," itself to be a huge mistake!

So, in facing STRONG OPPOSITION to our STAND for the TRUTH, may we resort to GOD'S VIEW by RECALLING His EVIDENCES in our lives that HE plans to HELP us, and TRUST HIM to HELP us in HIS POWER while we KEEP our stand!