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welcome to everyone it's good to be in the house of our God again this evening we can turn in our Bibles or you can turn with me to Psalm 99 for our call to worship Psalm 99 always good to hear from the Word of God as we enter into the presence of God beginning in verse 1 Psalm 99 the Lord reigns let the peoples tremble he dwells between the cherubim let the earth be moved the Lord is great in Zion and he is high above all the peoples let them praise your great and awesome name he is holy the Kings strength also loves justice you have established equity you have executed justice and righteousness and Jacob exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool he is holy Moses and Aaron were among his priests and Samuel was among those who called upon his name they called upon the Lord and he answered them he spoke to them in the cloudy pillar they kept his testimonies and the ordinance he gave them you answered them O Lord our God you were to them God who forgives though you took vengeance on their deeds exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy hill for the Lord our God is holy amen well please turn in your Trinity heme book to number 109 hymn number 109 will stand as we sing together [Music] well let us pray blessed God and holy father it's a joy and a privilege again on the Sabbath day to come into your house as the psalmist said he'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of wickedness and we affirm that as well Lord God there's no better place for your people to be than in the the Church of the Living God how we thank you for your presence among us how we thank you Lord God that you have promised and purposed to be with your new covenant people as they gather together fort were ship on the Sabbath day and we would pray that tonight as we come to the Father through the son and the power of the Holy Spirit God would be exalted and glorified for God you are holy it's the psalmist said you are Most High and you are worthy to be praised and worshiped and glorified and certainly you have saved us not simply that we might lay back and enjoy the blessings though we should we should do that but you have saved us to proclaim your excellencies that is the purpose for which you called us out of darkness into marvelous light so help us tonight as we sing help us tonight Lord God as we pray and as we look to Holy Scripture may all of our heart soul mind and strength be given to the God of heaven and earth we ask that you would be glorified not only in this church as we gather together she would be glorified in our lives as individuals that you had strengthened us with might and the inner man that you had cause the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts richly through faith that we would go from this place more and more conformed unto the image of our Lord Jesus and that each and every day we would strive to serve and to glorify you as Jesus taught us to pray that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven God we interpret that to mean not only in terms of the church or the state but our private conduct before a holy God must be consistent with that that will and that word of God so grant us power from on high Lord and do conform us under the image of your son and help us to resist sin and temptation help us to pursue holiness and righteousness and help us Lord God to truly glorify you in this world and even now father we are conscious of the fact and mindful that we are transgressors of that law that we lack conformity unto it and so we confess our sins and our iniquities unto you thanking you that there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared thanking you that you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness God may we receive the truths of these texts and may we say with the early Creed that I believe in the forgiveness of sins what a Most Blessed thought this is Lord God that you wash us that you cleanse us that you purge us that you you wash or thoroughly clean us from all sin and transgression and even now Lord God we confess these things praying for forgiveness we ask God that others who do not know this forgiveness would come to know it they would come to appreciate it that through the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ sinners would come to that one in whom there is forgiveness and that one in whom there is a righteousness that avails with God Almighty Lord blessed gospel preaching as it goes forth throughout this world we know that you have purposed that your word does not return unto you void but it always accomplishes the reason for which you send it and we know that you have purpose to save a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and nation as we were reminded and worshiped this morning from Psalm 67 you are the God who causes his face to shine upon the nations and we would pray that that way of God would be made known and that by grace multitudes would turn from their useless idols to the true and living God and know the joy of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and our Father we pray for those in our myths that have temporal need we know there are many struggling with physical challenges and difficulties and we would commit them to you and to the word of your grace and pray that you would sustain and uphold each and every one for all of us God as we come in from out of the world we have our challenges we have our our spiritual trials and our difficulties so we pray for grace and we pray for strength and we pray for perseverance that we may move forward in these in the midst of these trials and difficulties and doing so for the glory of God Almighty we ask that you would bless other churches in our town thanking you Lord that were not alone here we pray for those ministers that are going to proclaim the Gospel tonight that you would fill them with the Holy Spirit and bless the word as it goes forth for the for the sanctification and the edification of the people of God and for the salvation of sinners be with the Saints and Sir Ian and in Vernon we thank you for these works and we pray that they would be blessed and richly encouraged tonight through the preaching of pastor Kirkpatrick and Pastor Vincent and Vernon we just ask that you would bless these brothers and use them for your glory and for your honor and God be merciful throughout this earth where there is suffering for the cause of Jesus Christ we know there are a multitude and various nations that suffer for the cause of Jesus we know that many don't enjoy the liberties that we oftentimes take for granted here in Canada so we pray that you would sustain your people that you would watch over your people we pray for this man in Africa that was beaten we just commit him to you and pray God that he would heal and recover and that you would strengthen him and enable him to get back to his work in proclaiming the truth as it is in Jesus Christ and our Father we just praise you and we thank you that you are sovereign because as we look at this world it does trouble us it does perplex us it does cause us great concern but we know that you are in the heavens and you do whatever you please we know that you are working out your purpose we know that you're working out your plan and that ultimately all things will redound to the praise and to the glory and the honor of God Almighty and that you will in fact vindicate your church that you will in fact cause there to be a time in history or in the future rather wherein righteousness dwells where there is no more lawlessness no more sin no more sorrow no more suffering and ultimately no more death God give us race as we look forward to that may that encourage us and may that help us to March singing the songs of Zion unto that destination and may we bring glory and honor and praise to you our great God and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me again in your Trinity hymnal to number 219 this hymn is adapted from the doxology in revelation chapter five and fitting and appropriate to sing to such a great and glorious God will stand and sing to nineteen together [Music] [Music] well you can turn in your Bibles to the Prophet Zephaniah as we continue to work our way through the Minor Prophets remember they're not minor in terms of importance they're minor in terms of the length of their written documents Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel are considered the major prophets again not because they're more important but because they wrote a lot longer books well Zephaniah prophesied as we see there in verse 1 in the days of josiah the son of Amon now Josiah reigned from 640 to 609 remember your history this is on the eve or getting close to the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah by Babylon that took place in about 587 / 586 BC and so the prophets are calling Judah to repentance the prophets are calling Judah to faith in the Lord God and as well showing them where they have sinned so I'll begin reading in Zephaniah chapter 1 verse 1 the word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi the son of galilea the son of a Mariah the son of Hezekiah in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land says the Lord I will consume man and beast I will consume the birds of the heavens the fish of the sea and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked I will cut off man from the face of the land says the Lord I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem I will cut off every trace of bail from this place the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests those who worship the hosts of heaven on the housetops those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord but who also swear by milcom those who have turned back from following the Lord and have not sought the Lord nor inquired of him be silent in the presence of the Lord God for the day of the Lord is at hand for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice he has invited his guests and it shall be in the day of the Lord's sacrifice that I will punish the princes and the Kings children and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel in the same day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold who fill their masters houses with violence and deceit and there shall be on that day says the Lord the sound of a mournful cry from the fish gate a wailing from the second quarter and a loud crashing from the hills wail you inhabitants of mac - for all the merchants people are cut down all those who handle money are cut off and it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men who are settled in complacency who say in their heart the Lord will not do good nor will he do evil therefore their goods shall become booty and their houses a desolation they shall build houses but not inhabit them they shall plant vineyards but not drink their wine the great day of the Lord is near it is near and hastens quickly the noise of the day of the Lord is bitter there the mighty men shall cry out that day is a day of wrath a day of trouble and distress a day of devastation and desolation a day of darkness and gloom we gloominess a day of clouds and thick darkness a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers I will bring distress upon man and they shall walk like blind man because they have sinned against the Lord their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like refuse neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy for he will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land amen well we see this announcement of the day of the Lord here in Chapter 1 specifically the day of the Lord meaning a visitation from God for judgment we noticed the target is the world in verses 2 & 3 and then specifically Judah in verses 4 to 13 and then if you notice one of the sins that was practiced in both the northern and the southern kingdom something that that I think at times we overlook is a sin called syncretism and essentially what syncretism is it's not the utter abandonment of the true God but rather it is to worship the true God along with another God and that is vile and wicked and abominable geez the Lord God said you shall have no other gods before me or besides me we might also say you'll have no other gods in addition to me and if you notice the tax specifically at verse 4 I'm sorry verse 5 those who worship the hosts of heaven on the housetops those who worship and swear oaths by the lord but who also swear by milcom those who have turned back from following the Lord and have not sought the Lord nor inquired of him in other words it is wicked to not only abandon God but also to approach God while in the company of another God the Lord demands fidelity from his people and that was one of the breaches of the Covenant going on in Judah at this particular time and then at the end of the chapter that the Prophet announces what that day of God is going to look like it's a day of darkness it's a day of judgment a day of wrath and distress and desolation why because all of the curses promised by God in Deuteronomy 28 would be executed upon this people for their having broken God's covenant well let us pray our Father we praise you and thank you for the clarity of your revelation help us to learn the lesson help us to see the New Testament application specifically what we find in Revelation 2 and 3 these letters to the churches these promises of the Savior to withdraw the lamps cand if the People of God the professing people of God are faithless or do not engage the sorts of things we are called unto help us to persevere help us to be faithful to our Lord do forgive us for our many sins and our many shortcomings and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well for our final him before the preaching we can turn to 427 427 will stand and will use the second tune 427 [Music] Oh [Music] turn in your Bibles to the book of first Kings specifically first Kings chapter 19 last Sunday night we looked at the darkness of depression from the book of Proverbs and one of the mentions or one of the persons mentioned in that study was Elijah Elisha certainly had depression or he had an episode of depression or what we might call melancholy or or sorrow and one of the other things stated last week was as those who deal with people suffering or struggling with depression there are right ways and there are wrong ways and I want to make sure that we handle Elijah in a right way he does not manifest the sorts of things that many commentators suggest in this particular passage his depression his sorrow his melancholy is legette not to suggest that everybody else's is not but we need to understand why Elijah is the way Elijah is in first Kings chapter 19 so I'll begin reading at verse 1 and a hab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elisha saying so let the gods do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time and when he saw that he arose and ran for his life and went to bare Sheba which belongs to Judah and left his servant there but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree and he prayed that he might die and said it is enough now Lord take my life for I am no better than my father's then as he lay and slept under a broom tree suddenly an angel touched him and said to him arise and eat then he looked and there by his head was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water so he ate and drank and lay down again and the angel of the Lord came back the second time and touched him and said arise and eat because the journey is too great for you so he arose and ate and drank and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb the mountain of God and there he went into a cave and spent the night in that place and behold the word of the Lord came to him and he said to him what are you doing here Elisha so he said I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword I alone and laughed and they seek to take my life then he said go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord and behold the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord but the Lord was not in the wind and after the wind and earthquake 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 a still small voice so it was when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave suddenly a voice came to him and said what are you doing here Elijah and he said I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts because the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword I alone am left and they seek to take my life then the Lord said to him go return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus and when you arrive anoint Hazael as king over Syria also you shall anoint jehu the son of nimshi as king over israel and elisha the son of shaphat of abel mahalo you shall anoint his prophet in your place it shall be that whoever's escapes the sword of Hazael jay who will kill and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu elisha will kill yet I have reserved 7,000 in Israel all whose knees have not bowed to bail and every mouth that has not kissed him amen let us pray father in heaven we thank you for your word and we thank you God for your blessedness and your holiness and your righteousness we thank you for your goodness as evidence to this prophet and we pray that you'd help us to understand first Kings 19 in the life and the ministry of this prophet help us Lord God to think biblically to think accurately to think rightly concerning men in their various downcast States to to see what it is and to see what it isn't Lord we ask for the guidance and the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit now we again pray for the forgiveness of all of our sins and we ask in Jesus name Amen well some suggest that Elijah basically lost it in first Kings chapter 19 that he cracked up that he had an episode of self-pity he had an episode of selfishness he had an atlas episode wherein he stopped looking to God he no longer walked by faith rather he was fearful he was full of trepidation he feared the thought a Jezebel and so he ran he ran far far far away so that he could evade this murderous Queen and so that he could evade the various things that he had interpreted that were all working against him in fact listen to the way that some of these men write about Elijah one says Elijah cracked up as we read on we see the man at whose courage all Israel had marveled fleeing before the threat of a mere woman we see the man who had spoken as if he had but to raise his hand and God would send legions of angels to aid him in the battle now floundering about for some prop by which to hold himself up we see the man who had been the most spectacular political success suddenly sink into a mood or of despondency and gloom again he dies but not for the reasons suggested by this particular commentator the very worst way you could deal with somebody who's going through or has undergone to pressure is put a spin on it that has no basis in truth whatsoever we need to be kind to Elijah we need to respect Elijah we need to understand what's happening with reference to Elijah another condensate commentator said he exhibited symptoms of manic depression wishing for death together with loss of appetite and ability and inability to manage and with excessive self-pity again not discounting some gloom not discounting some despondency not discounting some melancholy and some depression but nevertheless not the way this fellow suggests in fact even one of our heroes AWP describes Elijah in first Kings 19 this way and it pains me to do this but we need to understand how we ought not to deal with those who've undergone depression he says up to this point Elijah quote had been since sustained by faith vision of the Living God but now he lost sight of the Lord and saw only a furious woman this merely underscores the disastrous consequences of walking by sight her brother is suggesting that in first Kings 19 Elijah is only walking by sight that he is abandoned essentially faith in God and now he is on the road not to apostasy but he's certainly not in a good place he stresses the fact that Elijah went for his life verse 3 but not for God nor for the good of his people but because he thought only of self again as much as I esteem and love and revere our dear brother aw paint that is a bad take on what's happening here with reference to the prophet Elijah if you want to ruin people that suffer melancholy depression sorrow or seasons or episodes of such things put a spin on their situation that has no basis in reality and you will in fact exacerbate their problems so let's look at what the tax actually does say concerning Elijah notice in the first place this flight from Jezebel in verses 1 to 8 and then we'll notice in the second place the revelation at Horeb in verses 9 to 18 now remember Elisha has just witnessed amazing things chapter 18 was the god contest at Carmel remember that scene where the prophets of bale were told to prepare their offering and to call upon bail and then Elijah would prepare his offering and call upon Yahweh the God who responded by fire was in fact the true and living God well the prophets have bailed danced and cut themselves they gash themselves they go into a frenzy all day long calling upon bail but there's no voice there's no response there's nobody to come and consume their offering Elijah conversely prepares of sacrifice praise a simple short prayer and God sends fire down and consumes the sacrifice Elijah saw the manifestation of God's glory in a most powerful way on the heels of that particular episode Elijah then saw the end of the drought and God communicates to his servant his faithfulness in terms of bringing an end to that particular drought now both Spurgeon and lloyd-jones a highlight that depression just to go back to that theme from last week's Sunday night depression often times or episodes can follow seasons of great usefulness it can follow a time of great blessing in other words after revival more often than not in the wake of it there is depression and melancholy we're not seeing the sorts of displays that we saw yeah yet a week ago and that sinks us into a bit of despondency whether that's what's happening here with reference to Elijah or not I simply offer it for your consideration be on guard when you experience a season of great blessing it doesn't mean the rest of your life is going to be a season of great blessing sometimes when we've gone high we fall especially low and we need to be aware of that with reference to our own emotional well-being but now notice with reference to this flight from Jezebel in verses 1 & 2 notice a habit told Jezebel now for those of you who are coming late to the game a having Jezebel are terrible people they're miserable specimens of human beings a hab is the king in the northern kingdom and he marries this woman Jezebel we even used that name today to speak of a woman who's just you know bad she's bad news she's a she's a Jezebel well that's there's a reason for that because Jezebel really was bad news she was a bill worshiping pan wearing a person that called the shots essentially with AF a hab would kowtow to Jezebel and engage in decisions based on her particular desires and whims you'll see that in first Kings chapter 21 but here he basically tells Jezebel all that has transpired remember that Elijah's only had interacting with him he's not had any interacting with Jezebel Jezebel and Elisha haven't hung out they haven't spoken they haven't discussed so Ahab is filling her in on the situation and now notice what we see verse 1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying so let the gods do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time so you see her response to the contest at Carmel we have to take out Elijah we have to stop this prophet we have to kill the tumbler of Israel we cannot allow him to continue on because as Elijah continues on he continually presses people to stop looking to bail and to only look to Yahweh and so Jezebel has a vested interest in spilling the blood of Elijah now notice verse 3 it's important that you follow the argument that I'm about to make the translation of verse 3 is most important the ESV and the NIV all non King James sort of tradition say that Elijah was afraid at the beginning of verse 3 and Elijah was afraid now that little interpretation or translation then colors the interpretation of the tax following from that vantage point just suffice to say I think the King James and the New King James is accurate here it's not that Elijah was afraid but verse 3 and when he saw that he arose and ran for his life and went to Beersheba which belongs to Judah and left his servant there now you see where he runs for his life that's what drives awp to say he wanted to spare his life not the glory of God not all these other things yes he wanted to spare his life but verse 4 he asks that God takes his life I want to suggest to you that in verse 3 Elijah is not afraid he doesn't have a trepidation concerning Jezebel and her threats of having him done in no Elijah sees what happened there's been no change in the royal family there's been no policy change in in Jezebel or in Ahab after the display on Carmel after the end of the drought two things that anybody would think would work to convince Israel to give praise and worship to God alone didn't work so Elijah sees the way things were or the way things are and so Elijah runs for his life not in the sense that he is egocentric that he's full of self-pity that he only concerned about himself he doesn't watch Jezebel to kill him because if Jezebel kills him than Jezebel 1 what Elijah is motivated with is not Elijah it's god it's Yahweh if Jezebel spills his blood then Jezebel's God is to be feared and glorified soul I just sees the situation and Elijah runs for his life now he goes a long way he goes to bear Shiba yes the Dan and Beersheba of the common familiar reference it's in the southernmost part of Judah so Elijah goes a long way from her he leaves his servant there and then he goes another day's journey he's not afraid of Jezebel he is sufficiently far from Jezebel when he leaves his servant and he goes and he gets under that broom tree we do see something of his gloom we do see something of his despondency we do see something of his melancholy and his sorrow but again the larger context indicates for us that it's not egocentrism it is not self-pity but rather it is jealousy for the glory of God Most High and the pure worship of that God within the confines of Israel that's what makes him sad that's the circumstance that provokes this response it's not him it's God it's not him but it's the glory of God it's not him but it's the condition of his fellow countrymen that have witnessed glorious things from Yahweh and nevertheless are still bowing to bale the god of the heathen notice verse 4 but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree and he prayed that he might die interesting prayer from a man that only wants to spare his own neck isn't it interesting prayer from a man who is so driven to protect his own eye he's asking God to take it again it's not death there's Elijah is not death that troubles Elijah it's Jezebel killing him that troubles Elijah and not because he will die but because she will have gotten the victory this is still a god contest as far as Elijah is concerned and that's what sends him to the broom tree and that's what causes him to say to the Lord Lord a he prays specifically to the Lord he prayed that he that he might die and said it is enough now Lord take my life for I am no better than my father's one man said he wanted to die for he was broken he did not wish to die at Jezebel's Han for that would be judged her victory hence his flight but south of the proverbial southernmost city of the southern kingdom in the wilderness of Judah where none would give Jezebel credit for his death there he begged for Yahweh to take his life and again I'm not suggesting this is a legitimate response in times of sorrow and depression but I am suggesting it is a realistic response in times of trial and depression we don't try to kill ourselves suicide is murder it is forbidden by the sixth commandment notice he doesn't take a knife to his own throat he doesn't ingest poison plants but rather he asks God for God to take him now this is the depths of despair and depression brethren persons get to this particular point and how do we respond to that do we reprove them do we rebuke them do we tell them to pull up their bootstraps do we tell them to put on their big boy pants do we tell them to march right in there and face Jezebel no we tell them to have a nap to get some rest and to eat some food because that is precisely what Yahweh does with his servant in this particular instance the recognition that the contest at Carmel didn't work the recognition that the end of the drought didn't work produced a despondency in the Prophet such that he says it is enough now Lord take my life for I am no better than my father's gods response is to provide rest God's response is to provide food God's response is to allow the Prophet a season of refreshment a season of restoration before a season of reconstruction that's the way God deals with his servant in this particular instance notice verse five Dan Issel a and under a broom tree suddenly an angel this may be a capital a angel namely the angel of Yahweh visa V our Lord Jesus Christ then as he lay and slept under a broom tree suddenly an angel touched him and said to him arise and eat my brethren you have to appreciate the goodness and the kindness and the mercy of God here what would you say to your friend if he says oh it's enough I want the Lord to take me now we'd say well you shouldn't talk that way and there's a place for us to say you shouldn't talk that way but would we say you just need to get some rest you're not thinking properly you see that's a reality person shouldn't make life-altering decisions when they're not well rested people shouldn't make life-altering decisions at 2:00 a.m. people should make life-altering a life what's the word altering decisions when they're well rested when they've well thought through things when they've looked at consequences and they've counted the costs you see God the Lord comes to his servant then he says I want you to rest and I want you to eat verse 6 then he looked and there by his head was a cake baked on coals in a jar of water so he ate and drank and laid down again the text is very conspicuous here isn't it it doesn't just say in the next scene we see Elijah on Horeb having covenant dealings with his God know it leads us by the hand to show us the kindness of the God who leads his prophet by the hand arise and eat he provides the food for him there's a freshly baked loaf Elisha eats and Elijah rolls over and he goes back to sleep this is that that holy inactivity that Spurgeon speaks off this is that that that pious recreation that Spurgeon speaks up these are the needful hours for Manta to refresh himself so that he can engage with what God has called upon or God called him to do now notice in verse 7 and the angel of the Lord came back the second time and touched him and said arise and eat because the journey is - great for you so he arose and ate and drank and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb the mountain of God now we need the deal again with some of the sorts of ways that persons look at this passage and see bad Elijah they say why is he going to Horeb this just shows his place this is just shows his his mindset it just shows that that he's pursuing isolation he's pursuing his own high he has no more thought concerning God and his his his expressions to God only evidence is whining his grumbling his sniveling and his sort of God complex that he alone is the only one in Israel a brethren he's already safely far away from Jezebel remember Jessie J's riyals and isn't our right tribe of Issachar we've got Jezreel and then you've got Beersheba which is a long ways away now notice who tells him to go to Horeb some suggest that he went to Horeb of his own bidding he didn't go to Horeb of his own bidding see angel who told him eat this food because you're gonna make a forty day a night trip Horeb is two hundred miles away from Beersheba this was not Elijah's choice in fact I would argue at this point there's no more despondency there's no more melancholy there's no more sorrow you don't walk forty days and forty nights when you're melancholic and sorrowful you find a broom tree and you sit under it and you ask the Lord to take you I think he's been healed of his melancholy and now he's on a mission when he goes to Horeb attacked the bidding of the angel of God eat this food because you have a long track in other words he's directed to Horeb not based on his pity not based on his self-love not based on his desire to evade Jezebel but based on divine direction God sends him to Horeb now let's think about Horeb we know it more commonly identified as Sinai and when we think of Sinai we ought to think covenant because it's at Sinai that God has covenantal dealings with Moses in Israel that's what's happening here at Horeb it's not a prophet who's pitying himself it's a prophet who is functioning as God's prosecuting attorney that is going to engage in a lawsuit against the nation of Israel this is covenantal dealings now some say well God asks him twice why he's there and if God is asking him twice why he's there that's because God is chiding him no I don't think that's it at all let's look at the text and see what happens here at Horeb the common understanding is that it's a self-centered pity party one man says what a contrast Elijah the hero on carmel victorious over bail ISM Elijah the coward of unbelief at Horeb self occupied utterly discouraged wishing to die praying against rather than for God's people if you ever function that way toward your fellow when you don't know the facts or the truth you are doing serious damage to your fellows we should not treat Elijah that way we should not lambaste the Prophet that way we should rather labor to understand and it's not real hard when I say labor to understand it it's not going to take a whole lot to understand what's happening here at Horeb it's not what this man describes but rather it is God's raising up or rather establishing this Prophet as the one engaged in this covenant lawsuit against Israel notice the journey to Horeb came at the prompting of God you can't miss that he didn't just wander there on his own he went because God told him the question posed by God our questions in verses 9 and 13 why twice you know why because verse 9 God says I want you to unburden your soul to me that's how good our God is doesn't Peter say that prayer is an act of casting our burdens upon God because he cares for that's what we have in verse nine when he says why are you here it's simply wrong to read it this way why are you here in Horeb you should be back in Jezreel facing Jezebel and scaring her that's not why God says why are you here he says why are you here so that the Prophet can open his heart he says why are you here so that the Prophet can unburden himself when he asks the question later in the chapter at Horeb when he says it a second time that's when the complaint is formalized that's when we've entered into the realm of covenant lawsuit but here specifically when God says why are you here what are you doing here Elijah it's wrong to read it that way what are you doing here in Horeb why is it the God you told me to come to Horeb right we see that in verses 7 and 8 eat this food because you got to take a forty forty day and night trip and you got to go on the strength of this food because you're going to Horeb so if God didn't know why Elijah was there it's really messed up in terms of what God is because God told him and supplied him with the food in order for him to get there but notice when he says what are you doing here Elijah it's an opportunity for the Prophet that do what he does in verse 10 so he said I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts for the children of Israel had forsaken your covenant torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword I alone him left and they seek to take my life well there it is I alone him and laughed at that egocentric god complex prophet no he says the same thing in first Kings chapter 18 he knows there's additional prophets he knows that Obadiah had spared the additional profits from being slain by Jezebel he knows that there are fellow prophets but there's no fellow prophets standing up to Jezebel the way that Elisha is so he's honest and he's accurate I am the only one facing down this terrible specimen of a human being I'm the only one that's getting close enough to see the Rouge on her cheeks to see the lipstick on our lips to see that Hevy you know I shadow on her eyes I'm the only one god it's not complaining in the sense that I've got this god complex sort of thing no his interests are God's interests how could we ever conclude based on this that Elijah is not walking by faith that Elijah has no longer submitted to the Lord Most High what are his interests I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts for the children of Israel forsaken your covenant torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword I alone am left and they seek to take my life that's him unburdening his soul that's him casting his burdens upon the Lord because the Lord cares for him Davis says is he despondent I think so over what over Yahweh's interests his covenant his altars and his prophets to read into this some sort of a you know messed up episode in the life of Elijah it's just bad and notice God doesn't upbraid him for what he says in verse 4 God doesn't say how dare you ever say such a thing to me and we also ought to appreciate God's answer to prayer in the negative we don't like the negatives but the negatives are good we don't like the no answer but here's a display of God answering know for the benefit of Elijah and for the benefit of Israel Elijah asked God take me God said oh I've got work for you to do I want you to eat I want you to rest I want you to go in the strength of this food to Horeb because it's at Horeb that we're gonna deal together it's at Horeb that I'm going to show you what we're going to do it's at Horeb that I'm going to reveal to you my plan and purpose for this otherwise apostate nation the fact that God answers his prayers the fact that God leads him by the hand the fact that God deals with him the way that God deals with him in this passage completely and utterly demolishes the idea that we have a crisis of faith we have a man who's fearful of Jezebel we have a man that that that has this god complex nothing could be further from the truth let's be kind to Elijah in Romans 11 - the Apostle says do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah how he pleads with God against Israel saying and then notice the Lord's response in verses 15 to 18 demonstrate his approval of what Elijah is doing when Elijah denounces the nation of Israel when Allah this is the state of worship and religion in Israel God in verses 15 to 18 assures him that through God's justice and through God's grace he's gonna deal with the very problem that'll I just mentioned he doesn't say are you crazy Elijah everything's great are you nuts Elijah everything's wonderful no he provides this particular plan verses 15 to 17 justice verse 18 grace that's God's way to deal with the crisis of faith not an Elijah but in Israel that's what's in view in hora now note this revelation this wonderful passage that I'm sure we're all familiar with in verses 11 and 12 and and just if you want to strengthen the covenant connection well I just like Moses here isn't II there's a lot of Moses Elijah parallels going on they're both at hor ad they go there 40 days 40 nights we see the references that that that Moses is hid in the cleft of the rock while God passes by and Moses is able to witness the the hind parts as it were of God there's theophany present with reference to Moses that's a manifestation of God to Moses we have to often II here in Horeb with reference to Elijah Elisha is not having a crisis of faith Elijah is being informed by Yahweh concerning Yahweh's plan for Israel in this crisis concerning Bale and Ahab and Jezebel but notice in verse 11 that he said go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord so before he had been in the cave according to verse 9 he's in the cave and that's where God says what are you doing here and he pours out his heart now he's standing on the mountain before the Lord Covenant Mountain before the Lord this is official business that's why there's repetition that's why twice the first was his unburdening of his heart the second is the formal charge against Israel and that's what we see here he said go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord and behold the mountain Ord passed by and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and and broke the rocks in pieces 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 that earthquake or after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire a still small voice now I think as we move through this particular section we ought to appreciate this the emphasis is upon the Word of God the contest at Carmel didn't change men's hearts the end of the drought didn't change man's hearts it's the Word of God that shapes history it's the Word of God that moves people it's the Word of God that raises men up and puts men down it is that still small voice God doesn't need to manifest himself in the wind he doesn't need to manifest himself in the earthquake he doesn't need to manifest himself in the fire he can certainly do that he can do what he did does in 1st Kings chapter 18 but the emphasis with reference to the prophetic prophetic contact in this point is on the voice of God it is on the Word of God John Gill says which emblems the the powerful the mighty may represent the power of God the terribleness of his majesty and the fury of his wrath which he could display if he would to the destruction of his enemies but that still small voice is the way that he is going to reveal himself davis comments here might this suggest that God will not be giving many dramatic overt proofs of his reality as at Carmel now that such revelation has been officially rejected instead his presence in reality will primarily be seen in his ongoing work of judgment and grace which through his voice and his word he has disclosed disclosed to his prophet the quietness of Yahweh's work does not mean he is not at work but rather that the kingdom of God has gone into its mustard seed mode it's not gonna do what he did at Carmel but he's still present he's still active you see I think there's a great word for charismatic sand Pentecostals and for the rest of us here as well we like the the wind we like the earthquake we like the fire we like the visible manifestation of demonstration of the power of God why don't we like the still small voice why don't we respond to that still small voice the way that we respond to that majestic display of the glory of God no again I'm not suggesting God doesn't reveal himself in the wind and the earthquake and the fire he most certainly does he does what he does there in 1st Kings chapter 18 he does what he does there in acts 5 1 to 11 that was no still small voice when Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead before God most I and his church the brethren if we don't see the great displays of God Almighty we ought never to conclude that there are no displays of God Almighty he comes in the still small voice in the same way that he comes in those thunderous episodes and we need to have ears to hear and hearts to receive so God then asks him officially what his issue is in verse 13 notice that Elijah hears it he wraps his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave pink is excellent here he says the wrapping of his face and his mantel betoken two things his reverence for the divine majesty and a sense of his own on worthiness so again God asked him 13b what are you doing here Elijah again verse 9 unburden your soul verse 13 we're going to formalize the complaint and I'm going to answer and I'm going to show you the program I have established to deal with the situation in Israel so Elijah rehearses or rely Elijah repeats what he said I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts because the children of Israel had forsaken your covenant torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword I alone am left and they seek to take my life now it seems to me that the only way those other guys could be believed concerning their sort of emphasis on Elijah's self-centeredness is if verses 15 and 1818 weren't here but for 15 to 18 is God's response 15 to 18 speaks specifically to the situation that I just just outlined 15 to 18 is how God is going to neutralize the threat of bail ISM and jezebel ISM and a have ism within the northern kingdom it is God's response to the Prophet and it's a favorable one that should indicate for us that whatever is happening at Horeb it is not some episode of self pity walking by sight rather than by faith and basically a prophet who is cracking up under the pressures of the prophetic ministry that's not it at all God answers him and then notice as I mentioned justice and grace justice will come via Haza l.j who and elijah god's judgment will come through those three individuals the king of syria the king of Israel and the prophet Elijah you see this right everybody's with me God answers favorably you get that the Prophet was sorrowful the Prophet was melancholy the Prophet was depressed not because of his own interest but because of Yahweh's interest god refreshes him with rest and with food God then calls him to Horeb when God allows him to unburden his heart and then God says okay let's get down to business and let's fix the problem and I'm going to fix the problem with these three men you anoint Hazael that king of syria is going to be a thorn in the flesh of the northern kingdom you ordained or rather anoint Jehu jay who is going to be a great enemy of bale jay who is going to distinguish himself as one who eradicate bale ism from the northern kingdom and then elisha the prophet he's going to be the the ecclesiastical arm of god's judgment upon the nation of israel but it's not just judgment verse eighteen assures the prophet Elijah that there's grace verse 18 highlights and again this is quoted by the Apostle in that same argument in Romans chapter 10 yet I have reserved 7,000 in Israel all whose knees have not bowed to bail and every mouth that is not kissed maybe this is a little bit of a shading but a gentle reminder to Elijah you're not alone you're not it sometimes the people of God can feel that way can't they we are the only ones that know the truth no we're not God has 7000 he's he's reserved them he has kept them they are recipients of His grace we're not alone in this world brethren that's why in our Sunday morning prayer meetings another Wednesday night prayer meetings we try to lift up our eyes and and look at the fields that are white unto harvest it's good to hear about what God is doing in Africa it's good to hear about what God is doing in Korea it's good to hear about what God is doing elsewhere we can become quite parochial and quite fixated upon our own little neighborhood and forget that God has a vast number of people out there that have not bowed the knee to bail you see he affirms this to the Prophet to assuage the prophets fears that all is lost and all is bleak and all is dismal now the Justice of God through Jay who has Al and and and and Elijah is going to root out Bayless I'm at least for a time in the northern kingdom but as well Elijah Elijah when everything looks bleak and dark realized that I have my faithful remnant that have not bowed the knee to bail nor have kissed him it's not the episode that some would suggest but it is nevertheless an episode where a man a godly and a good man goes through those melancholic waters and we see the mercy of God in sustaining him in the midst we see the mercy of God in answering his prayer favorably not to take his life and we see the mercy of God in answering the specific prayer and the specific burden that he has with a program to correct the very things that the prophet Elijah has bemoaned before his God so it's not the case that he is this cracked cracked up crackpot that that's lost it and he's gone off the reservation he's in Horeb and he's just not doing what he's supposed to do that's just not that's not accurate you can't read the text that way well brethren in conclusion a few thoughts first the faithfulness of Elijah notice not the perfection of Elijah faithful people can suffer depression faithful people can undergo melancholy it's no character defect if somebody's you know aching along and limping along or they say yeah I'm just really down right now don't reprove them as if they're in sin well come on you should be you know sixteen ounces to the pound all the time you're a new covenant believer there should be a spring in your step there should be a smile on your face you know in that old favorite well the Apostle tells us to rejoice always again I will say rejoice yeah depressed people love to be reminded about that it's great it's just fantastic they'll tell you that's exactly what I want to do but I'm having trouble doing it don't yell at me and tell me to do something I'm just having a tough time doing and and may I just say Paul has to repeat that a lot why because it's not native even to the New Covenant Christian it's not the case we all walk around with a spring in our step it's not the case that we all have a big smile on our face it's not the case that we're all disposition Allah given a predilection to joy and happy we need to be told to rejoice why because we need to be told to rejoice faithful people suffer depression so the fact that Elijah's under the broom tree is no indicator whatsoever of any ethical failure on his part to suggest that he is no longer walking by faith but rather by sight is to do positive arm to a champion of the faith how dare we come and Monday Morning Quarterback first Kings 19 and then get it dismal II wrong put him on the the psychoanalyst couch rather than having gone to Horeb at the very direction Yahweh himself so he was a faithful man that suffered depression he saw the great demonstration of God's power on Carmel he saw the end of the drought but he also saw that Jezebel and Ahab we're still there see that's another thing that I think adds to our depression or it can add to our melancholic spirits things that we surmise should work don't always work we think like pragmatists if it if it was right then it'll work and everybody will change that's not always God's Way God has a purpose and a plan it involves hasta el it involves Jehu and it involves Elijah it wasn't the case that first Kings 18 was designed by God to clean everything up and yet for Elijah he suffers kings 18 and it looked surely that it would clean everything up you see brethren we need to learn to think God's thoughts after him we can't be looking for the wind and the fire and the earthquake if God chooses to reveal himself in a still small voice as well the prophet saw the rejection of these displays of God's power by Jezebel by a hat and as we learn as we move through first gangs by Israel as a whole and the Prophet was affected by that remember last week one of the purposes or one of the the causes of depression that I offered from the Proverbs was Hope deferred makes the heart sick well here's some Hope deferred making the heart sick why don't the commentators cut the brother some slack well they gotta pound him over the head because he had this despondency which by all intents and appearances was perfectly legit would any of us been thrilled at that time would any of us witness first Kings 18 in the the contest at Carmel and and then see the execution of the false prophets and and and see the dust settle and Israel continue in their their faithfulness to bail and not been affected so it suggests if Elijah does not respond the way Elijah does here in chapter 19 there's there's possibly something wrong with Elijah you see Hope deferred does make the heart sick and the people of God feel that keenly at times when they see these expressions or displays of God not coming to fruition among the people of God the Prophet was despondent not because of his own interests but rather God's interests now I'm sure that when I taught this material at the Wednesday night Bible study I did address the point to that I have here the discouragement associated with ministry but I will spare all of you those grisly details and just move in finally to the glory of God the glory of God is absolutely positively shining Lee displayed in this passage I would suggest that little cake next to Elijah's head is a demonstration of the glory of God I would suggest that the Prophet got to eat that cake and roll over onto his other side and sleep some more is a display of the glory of God I would suggest that God's bidding him know God's commanding him to go to Horeb is a display of the glory of God that God's allowing himself in verse 9 verse 9 to pour out his heart to God is a display of the glory of God I would submit that what we find in terms of the theophany in terms of this wind and fire and earthquake is a display of the glory of God but as well this still small voice that Elijah supposed to listen to that Elijah is supposed to respond to and Elijah supposed to operate according to I suggest that the plan and purpose of Yahweh through these three historical figures visa vie Haza l.j who and Elijah is a display of the glory of God and that verse 18 reality that I have 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Bale nor kissed him is a display of the glory of God you see the backdrop of Elijah's despondency is the showcase for the glory of God and then the revelation I'm sorry excuse me in terms of that that statement in verse 18 I just want to finish with a quote from Davis again what he says yet have I I have reserved 7,000 and yeah yet I have reserved 7,000 in Israel all whose needs have not bowed to bale in every mouth that is not kissed him Davis says it is the Old Testament equivalent of Jesus I will build my church is it Elijah I have 7000 that haven't bowed that aren't going to bow some interpret the the tense is a future it's a future tense I'm gonna have 7000 in the midst of this sort of exercise of justice and judgment to purge the Northern Kingdom of the bail ISM there's going to be alongside of that this remnant that will not bow the knee to bail whether it's a past a present or a future the idea or the point is is that God has 7000 but he says it is the Old Testament equivalent of Jesus's I will build my church grace will have a remnant the god of grace insists on it Yahweh so the text teaches we'll always have a people even in Israelite people to worship Him upon the earth he has decided that he will have a true people and he will have them and keep them and there is nothing any Jezebel can do about it it is the infectious assurance the Defiant certainty the holy dogmatism of this tax that keeps some of us on our feet and if you are not a believer here tonight the tendency in your heart is to bow the knee to bail it is to kiss bail now you say well I don't know anything about the ancient Near Eastern deities so I don't know a whole host of things about bail well the bail that was worshiped back then is the same sort of guy or the same sort of God that is worshipped today a God who brings you whatever you want a God who delivers the goods and so far as you use the right formulas the God who is akin to a holy horseshoe or or a four-leaf clover the God that that that it's just there for you to do your bidding it's the God that most people manufacture in their minds that's who bail is and if you are not a worshipper of the true and the Living God then I would encourage you to believe the gospel to look unto Jesus to turn from this useless idle bail to the true and living God through his son the Lord Jesus Christ faith in Him bow to him kiss him rather than bail rather than any competitor of our Lord Jesus Christ salvation is graciously given by God and those who believe will know it those who believe will taste and see that the Lord is good well let us close in a word of Prayer father thank you for your word and thank you for this snapshot that we get of Elijah first in Beersheba and then in Horeb god we thank you for the way that you dealt with the Prophet we thank you for the way that you deal with us certainly it is the case that we are better than we deserve and we give all glory to you on that that account help us to be mindful of depressed people around us help us to be mindful of our own melancholic spirits help us to use the strategies afforded to us by the Word of God and help us to be those who aren't like that man who sings songs to heavy hearts like that man who takes away a garment and cold weather pours vinegar on soda but give us kindness and the love and a compassion as we deal with one another who suffers through these things go with us now we pray and help us to glorify you in this coming week and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen you