Restoration 2018:  Our Picture of God

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Restoration Ministry

Dee Casper

What If I Fail?

Sweet Jesus, again, thank you for this privilege to come into your presence in prayer.

And I just ask that you would fill this place with your spirit, that we would better understand how you view us when we fail, and that you would minister to each of our hearts individually.

I know many of us can be discouraged in the Christian walk.

Help us today, I pray, and show us your glory.

And I ask this now in Christ Jesus' name, amen.

What we're going to be doing this evening is looking at the experience of someone who knows a thing or 2 about being in service to God, knows a thing or 2 about following God and then having difficulties.

Anyone here ever heard of a guy named Elijah?

Yeah, so his story we can find in 2 main places, Prophets and Kings 11 and 13, just kind of a history of the Old Testament book, commentary on that.

And then first Kings 17 and 19, that's the main context and the main content that we're going to be overviewing this evening.

And for time's sake, I'm just going to kind of give some overview of that.

So the first call that Elijah is given is that he's to go and tell them that it's to go tell King Ahab that it's not going to rain in this place until I say so, basically.

Now, it's for 3 and 1 half years, but he doesn't give that time when he first addresses Ahab.

So he says it's not going to rain in this place until you know I say so and we're told that like a thunderbolt on a clear sky it's literally like Elijah came up and sucker punched the guy and ran away Because we're told that literally by the time he turned around to see what had happened Elijah's gone the guy has disappeared like a thunderbolt on a clear sky and What Elijah said would happen is indeed true.

It did not rain, but here's what makes it difficult.

When Elijah was given the call to tell Ahab that a drought is coming, there's nothing that he sees that tells him that what he said is true.

Now, you know, the hills are rolling with green verger, the streams are all full of water, and so Elijah has to preach and risk his life based upon what God says in spite of what he sees.

Strong act of faith for this man, but he doesn't.

God promises to provide for him, and he does.

He brings him to the brook Shareth and the ravens bring him miraculous food.

In my mind's eye I would love to believe that that food comes from Ahab's table.

I just think that would be amazing if it was.

Wherever the food came from the ravens feed him directly and he lives by this stream.

When this supply is going to run out, then he eventually ends up going to the widow of Sarepta.

She comes, she's gathering sticks, and he asks for water and some food.

He says, please make me a morsel of bread.

And she's like, I don't know if you understand, man.

What I'm doing is I'm making, picking up a few sticks, and we're gonna cook this small cake of bread before my child and I die.

And he says, trust me in this, the Lord will provide for you.

They are provided for throughout the duration of this famine and throughout this drought.

Then Elijah is eventually given a second call.

He's to go back to Ahab now and tell him that rain is coming, you know, basically get ready for the showdown is what's about to happen.

But just imagine, Jezebel and Ahab have literally searched every rock in Israel for this guy.

They're killing any prophet they can find because they just, the whole land has been cursed because of this guy.

Not recognizing that they're actually the problem.

So he's given the second call and he runs into a servant of Ahab and he says, go tell Ahab that I'm here.

And he's like, do you have any care for me at all?

They literally had checked every rock in Israel.

And if I come back and the spirit of God takes you elsewhere, they're gonna kill me.

I took 50 prophets and I hid them in a cave and fed them myself.

I took another 50 prophets and hid them in another cave and fed them myself.

I fear the Lord." And Elijah says, don't worry about that.

Ahab does come and this is the greeting he gives to Elijah.

Elijah's the problem, not the wicked pagan king and his Baal-worshipping wife, right?

It's Elijah that they say is the problem.

And what Elijah basically tells them is to meet me at the flagpole.

I don't know if you went to public school like I did, but that's where you settled your business, right, if you had that.

And it was actually the clothing store across the street from where I went to junior high.

I was never in that situation, thankfully.

And I was a real big bully, just from my mouth.

A skinny little kid, but I had a big mouth.

That was the grace of God while I was a heathen.

But that is where the fights were happening, was across the street.

He's basically saying there's gonna be a showdown.

Meet me at Mount Carmel and bring all the prophets of Baal.

So many Israelites come, They go meet at the top, and this is where the showdown happens.

How long do you tarry between 2 opinions?

He says, I tell you what, you build an altar and if you call down fire from heaven, that's the real God.

I also will build an altar and if I call down fire from heaven, then he's the true God.

And it seems like a reasonable proposal to them.

So they set up their altar, they put their stuff on it, and they go first.

And then begins this scene of absolute madness.

They're cutting themselves, they're jumping, they're leaping, they're screaming, trying to call upon their God to get their attention to do something.

And we're literally told in Prophets and Kings, after all this madness goes on, they use this amazing line, the sacrifice remains unconsumed.

Elijah even kind of jeers them at some stage and says, you know, maybe you should scream a little bit louder.

Maybe you should cut a little bit deeper, right?

Maybe you know that your God is in a foreign country somewhere.

Just talk a little bit louder and maybe he'll hear you.

And this nonsense continues and we're told that the people on the mountaintop, they begin to become weary of this type of religion.

Not really knowing how they're feeling about this anymore.

And they keep jumping, they keep screaming, and eventually a time comes when 1 looks at 1 and recommends 1 thing Another looks at another recommends another and they eventually get to the point that they just stop Imagine how embarrassing this is they've spent hours guys from morning until the evening sacrifice time which is around like 3 to 4 p.m.

They've made absolute fools of themselves, sure of the fact that their God would do something, and nothing happens.

So then Elijah repairs a torn down altar to the Lord, he rebuilds it, cuts the animal, puts it on top, and then he tells them, first of all, how many pathfinders do we have in this room?

What If I Fail?

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