Click here to download in pdf format.
Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (27-8-1995 Guisborough Evangelical Church)
After some marvellous experiences, Elijah took his eyes
off the Lord, and seeing only his circumstances, he ran away from the situation
where he was most needed. In his deep depression he wanted to die. Many of
God’s people suffer depression for various reasons. Elijah’s depression was
because he was out of God’s will, and he was fearful because things were in
his own hands. But we are in no position to look down at Elijah, for once we
break fellowship with God and take matters into our own hands, we too become as
weak as an unregenerate man, plunged into darkness and despair. Our future
usefulness and experience are put in danger.
Some Christians take steps out of the will of God and
into sin, and though they are later forgiven and get back to God, they are never
fully reinstated. There has been plenty of wreckage in the Christian church to
prove this point. No wonder Paul disciplined his body lest having preached to
others he should be disqualified himself (1 Corinthians 9:27).
We need to be very careful about the assertion of pride
and self-will and self-sufficiency in life. Only if we are humble enough and
helpless enough to walk closely and dependently with God is there any security
for us. God gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).
Now we are going to look at the grace of God in coming again to Elijah and raising him up and recommissioning him. After we look at the love of God shown towards His wayward and disobedient servant, and the practical ways in which it was manifested, we will consider Elijah’s recovery and recommissioning for service.
When Elijah was as far away from God as he could be, and
when he was brought to the depths of despair, even to the point of wanting to
die, the Lord in love comes to him. He does not punish him or ignore him, or say
He is finished with him. Neither does the Lord deal with us as we deserve. When
our clouds are blackest and things could not be worse, He comes. He does not
forsake us in our need, even when our hearts are estranged from Him, and our
self is in the centre. God assures us we are not alone in our loneliness, misery
and despair. Robert Murray McCheyne recalled, “At the very time when I was
beginning to give up in despair, God gave me a token of His presence.” Fancy a
spiritual giant like McCheyne almost giving up in despair!
God did not come in portents of judgement and terror –
wind, earthquake and fire – but in the tenderness and quietness of a still
small voice. Then the gentle rebuke, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Why
are you out of my will, why have you run away, why are you not at your post
where I put you, why are you dishonouring my name? The Lord goes straight to the
matter, but speaks with infinite compassion and tenderness. Elijah pours out his
excuses – how loyal he was to the Lord, how awful his enemies had been. But
the fault was with himself. He was out of the Lord’s will, not in the right
place.
There is compassion and pity for us in a backslidden and
disobedient state, but how unerringly God can put His finger on the right spot
in our lives. After His resurrection, the Lord told His disciples to meet Him at
Galilee, and He expects Peter to be so ashamed because of his denial that he
would not come. But Jesus reminded him that he was not excluded and not
forgotten, despite what he had done. But go, tell the disciples, and Peter,
‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told
you’ (Mark 16:7).
In hardness and despair we forget His love. It is
constant, unchangeable, forever speaking to us. The preaching of the Word,
testimonies of the earnest believer, the printed page, and the inward strivings
of the Holy Spirit, ever remind us of His love. It may be hard to believe, when
we are on our own, and in despair, our souls cast down, laid low by sin. Amid
all the wrecks of what might have been, God says, “take heart”. Hope still
in His love, yield to it, and trust it.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:13,14). He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10). So often our cold hearts can see none of His goodness and love. We murmur and complain, instead of responding by confessing our sins and getting back to God. He yearns over us, feels for us, touches to soften us and bring us back to Himself. Be conquered. Yield to Him. And He will receive you graciously. Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will honour me (Psalm 50:15).
God not only makes His presence known and speaks to
Elijah, but in very practical ways He shows him plenty of “TLC”. Firstly,
His answer was Elijah’s prayer to die was a firm “no”. Elijah’s wish to
die was not in God’s will, therefore God did not grant that prayer. God is not
pledged to answer prayers that are not in His will (1 John 5:14). Some of our
petitions express desires that are far away from His purposes for our lives. And
when we are low and dispirited we can say and want some very stupid things. What
a mercy God did not grant Elijah’s wish. If he had died then, he would never
have known the joy of further service, never founded the school of the prophets,
never have been swept to heaven in a blaze of glory.
How much blessing we would miss if God answered every
whim of ours. How much usefulness in His service and value to others would be
lost if things always went our way. How much better to leave circumstances to
the wise and tender thoughts of God. And we shall one day thank Him that He did
not always give us what we wanted.
We also see God’s love in sending an angel to Elijah,
not just once, but twice. Here is a detail we frequently bypass. We rarely
mention the subject of angels, partly because of Roman Catholic teaching. But
the answer to abuse is not disuse but proper use. An angel delivered Lot
(Genesis 19:15ff), shut the lions’ mouths and protected Daniel (Daniel 6:22),
delivered Peter from prison (Acts 12:7,10), and assured Paul that none on board
the ship would perish in the storm (Acts 27:2). Are not all angels
ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrew
1:14).
The ministry of angels is not a thing of the past, so do
not this materialistic and secular age teach you otherwise. Because they no
longer manifest themselves in visible form, angels are nonetheless real. Their
ministry is for our comfort. The first time the angel came to Elijah, he
provided nourishing food. Elijah had fallen asleep, weary from travelling miles
and miles. An angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat’. 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 (1 Kings 19:5). The
angel’s second visit was to provide food again (1 Kings 19:7).
God is concerned with the body as well as the soul. Jesus
fed the 5000, and cooked the disciples breakfast after His resurrection (John
21:9). He did this for the very men who had forsaken Him and fled on the night
of His betrayal. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians
6:19), and therefore to be cared for, rested and fed. We cannot isolate the
spiritual from the physical, because we are body, mind and spirit. When we are
physically weak, we are more prone to attack of spiritual depression than at any
other time.
How often the inner life is sensitive to outward
conditions – bad weather, lack of exercise, physical weariness and weakness,
lack of sleep. Spurgeon knew of a man who doubted his salvation – until he had
a good dinner inside him! Then his spirits revived, and life took on an entirely
different aspect. No doubt Elijah began to see things differently after a good
sleep and a good meal.
God knows our frame, and is concerned about our physical
as well as our spiritual needs. And so should we. One preacher once confessed
that he used to be impressed by some Christian workers who excused their
overactive lives with “I’d rather wear out than rust out”
– until he read a book which dismissed that statement with, “But what if the
Lord wants you to last out?” The preacher commented that this was not
an excuse for being lazy, but a warning to look after our bodies.
So the Lord showed His love to wayward Elijah in very practical ways. He did not grant his foolish prayer, and He sent His angel to look after Elijah’s pressing physical needs.
Having met, rested and fed him,
and chided him for waywardness, the Lord now sends him back where he belonged.
His work was not finished. Hazael was going to be anointed as king over Syria,
and Jehu as king over Israel. And Elisha was going to be anointed as Elijah’s
successor in the prophetic office. Elijah also had to charge Ahab with murder of
Naboth, rebuke the sin of Ahaziah, and then make his glorious entrance into
heaven at the end.
We are reminded at once of a
similar incident in the New Testament, Simon Peter’s shameful betrayal. But
Peter was forgiven, restored, and transformed, and given much more work to do.
Elijah and Peter are perfect illustrations of David’s words, He restores my
soul (Psalm 23:3).
Elijah had to return to the
place where Jezebel was still living. But having had such a wonderful display of
God’s power and reassuring fellowship with him, who would be afraid of Jezebel
anymore? Furthermore, unknown to Elijah, there were another 7000 in Israel who
had not bowed the knee to Baal. Contrary to what he thought, Elijah was not the
only one who had remained faithful to God. Things were not as bad as he had
thought.
Other characters were secret
believers, out of fear of being the only ones – Joseph of Arimathea who
provided the garden tomb, and Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night. Would that
those secret disciples had had the courage to declare themselves. And the same
today. Those who believe, but do so without anyone knowing, are very much needed
to help and influence those around them.
So God sends Elijah back to finish his work. And He says the same to anyone who has failed. He urges you to retrace your steps, and return to duty. There will be no peace for you while you remain out of the path of God’s will, and out of line with His purposes. With His blessing, you may yet succeed wonderfully where you once failed. Bigger and better work is awaiting. Get back, and go on. There is still much to live for and much to do.
In the midst of failures and defeats and depression, the
love of God remains, unchanged and unchangeable. He is able to forgive, restore,
and send us back to succeed where we have previously failed. Are you going
through a dark hour at present? We have all been there at some time. We need the
divine healer to touch us and bind up our broken hearts, and the Holy Spirit to
breathe new life into us.
God has not finished. When sin abounds, grace super abounds. Let us return to the Lord and He will have mercy on us, and He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7). Keep close to the shepherd, and He will lead you through your present situation, out of it, and into blessing.
