How Christians Become
Unaware of the Voice of God
1 Kings 19:1-18
Sept 16, 2012
PM
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
I.
Introduction (Hebrews 1:1,2)
A.
God is not silent. He has
spoken throughout all time
1.
From the beginning when He
created the universe (Gen 1, "God
said")
2.
In the garden of Eden, God not
only walked with Adam and Eve, but talked with them, and listened to
(communicated with) them
3.
God spoke throughout the Old
Testament by the voice of prophets
4.
God spoke through the mouth of
Jesus (John 7:46)
5.
Even now, everything in the
universe is held together by that same voice of God (Heb 1:3, "upholding
all things by the word of His power")
B.
But something is wrong with
our communication with heaven, our ability to hear that voice (Act 28:27)
1.
It gets so easily drowned out,
and becomes lost in all the "static"
of life
2.
Our hearts end up hard, and
cold (Heb 4:7)
3.
Jesus ends up on the outside
of even churches (Rev 3:20)
C.
So how does it happen, that we
become deaf to the voice of God? Christians don't start off that way
(John 10:27)!
1.
To get saved, you had to hear
His call to repent - dump your sins
2.
To get your sins washed away,
you had to respond to Christ's command to call upon His name for salvation
3.
To get the new life, the
Christian life, you had to decide to answer Christ's call to "follow Me!"
D.
It all goes back to our heart
- that piece of communications equipment that we all have, but is faulty because
of sin
E.
Elijah – one of the
greatest prophets of all time - had problems with his receiver unit -
became unable to hear God, to hear His words, even after great spiritual
victories
F.
The Lord played it out for us
in 1 Kings for us to learn from him
1.
How we go wrong…
2.
And how to fix it
II.
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(
1 Kings 19:1-18)
A.
How Elijah Became Unaware of the Voice of God
(19:1-12)
1.
He Got Diverted - His
attention was pointed elsewhere (1-3)
a.
Elijah knew what it was like
to walk with God, and to hear His voice (18:1,36), as did the nation of
b.
But instead, he turned his
attention, his focus away:
1)
Listened to his enemies -
Jezebel, and king Ahab. They started talking about how powerful they were, and
that they would kill him - when has it ever been different?
2)
Thought of himself - worried
about his own life – listened to his own complaining
c.
Becomes embarrassed -
just wanted to be alone
1)
When you are embarrassed of
being a Christian, you have been listening to the wrong crowd (i.e., The TV
news, and talk shows, and the ungodly)
2)
You have been thinking of only
yourself, instead of the Lord
2.
He Became Imbalanced (19:4)
- Out of Balance
a.
Concerning his physical body – we are physical beings, and
have physical needs
1)
Forgot to rest!
In the previous chapter, Elijah had just fought and won a major spiritual battle
(1Kg 18:19-40):
a)
Challenged the entire nation
of
b)
Waited the entire day as the
false priests performed their fancy rituals and sacrifices
c)
Then personally, rebuilt a
large stone altar, killed, and cut up an entire bull, prayed, and watched as the
fire of God consumed the sacrifice
d)
He then personally killed the
850 false prophets!
e)
What a day! You better believe
he was wrecked-tired!
f)
But did he rest?
No. His victory quickly slid into
defeat, not because he was beaten, but because he was easy prey for the devil's
lies - like being vulnerable to illness when worn out
2)
Forgot to eat!
He was so attentive to the things being said about him, and the threats facing
him, that he forgot what was needed was a good meal! This is the devil's trap
a)
To get you to work so long and
hard each day
b)
To get you to be so busy - no
time for God or reflection
c)
To get you to have no balance
in your life
d)
So that you are good for
nobody, no how! And heaven becomes millions of light years away!
b.
Concerning his prayer time -
Elijah was a spiritual being as well as a physical being, and was starving
spiritually as well!
1)
His prayers had become only
one-way communications - at
God
2)
His prayers were only to give
out, complain, blame God, want to die - he had given up (did not seek strength
or instructions)
c.
Concerning his perception -
wasn't thinking any longer - just feeling
1)
Of his own faith
- didn't think he was on the winning side any more (it wasn't true, but his
feelings had been allowed to dominate instead of the truth)
2)
Of his own usefulness to
God - thought his usefulness was over
3)
Of God's participation
- thought God was lazy since didn't seem to be doing anything lately - what have
you done for me lately!
d.
Next time you are finishing up
in a spiritual battle, rest, keep in prayer (two-way communication), and prepare
for the next battle
3.
He Ignored God's Goodness
(19:5-8; Rom 2:4) - his heart was hardening
a.
God's Provision – God had
provided food, and protection
b.
God's Persistence - God had
kept at Elijah even when disinterested – didn’t abandon
c.
God's Preparation - God was
preparing Elijah for the battles ahead
d.
God's Power - Elijah didn't
realize that God's power to do the impossible was still on him - to go a 40 day
journey on one meal to Mt Horeb, Mt Sinai, the place where
e.
God was being so good to
Elijah, and Elijah was BLIND to it all!
4.
He Developed Wrong Expectations
(19:9-12) Misunderstood 2 things:
a.
Thought God didn't realize
what was going on
1)
He felt he had better fill God
in on what's been happening down here lately
2)
Thought God didn't know what
Elijah had been busy doing
3)
Thought God should know he was
about to be killed (Mk 4:37,38)
b.
Thought God would act
differently - God presents four situations to see how Elijah would react -
Elijah looked for God in each, except only in the last one did God actually
speak!
1)
A hurricane - expected God was
trying to tell him something
2)
An earthquake - that got his
attention - rocks falling, near death
3)
A furious fire - wide-eyed
Elijah, but no real meaning
4)
A still, small voice - the
same voice Elijah had been hearing all along, but didn't want to listen to
5)
In the first 3 situations we
believe GOD is trying to communicate with us - acts of God. But only in the
last, does God actually speak!
5.
Elijah truly had become deaf,
and unimpressed with God's voice! But God wasn't through trying to get
through to him
B.
God Next Shows How to Repair Your Heart Towards Him
(19:12b-18)
1.
That is how God describes His
Book -
as a still, small voice in this world
2.
So, shut up and sit still
in His Presence - quit squirming around, and fighting the Lord
a.
Quit listening to yourself and
all your own complaining
b.
This "still" voice was
something that didn't come from all sides (like the world), but was coming at
him quietly from just one direction
c.
This voice was like a whisper,
a calm voice - God is never flustered
d.
Requires that we shut up (we
talk too much), and get away from all the noise to be able to hear it (we have
so much noise around us ON PURPOSE) - that's why the prayer closet is so
important! Take a walk, and talk with God, but LISTEN to Him too
3.
Humble yourself there!
a.
This voice of God is a small
voice - not a BIG, BOOMING voice
b.
To hear these words, you are
going to have to not even breathe (Ex: of listening to a noise downstairs at
night)
c.
As a trembling little child
(1Sam 3:2-10; Isaiah 66:2)
4.
Listen to every word of God
- when reading, pay careful attention
a.
You will be really surprised
what just ONE WORD might say right to your heart and to your situation that you
are going through!
b.
Elijah was actually hearing
God’s voice this time - as we all should!
c.
Faith gets repaired, and
stronger by hearing God's faithful words, washing away the sins, cleansing the
mind, clearing the heart
d.
When we ignore God's words, we
reject God's influence and power for our lives!
e.
DO A LOT MORE LISTENING THAN
TALKING!
5.
Answer Him Back
(19:13,14; Cf Rev 3:20)
a.
Talk WITH Him, instead of just
AT Him – HE is talking to you
1)
Through Nature (Ps 19:1)
2)
Through the pages of this Book
3)
Through preaching
4)
Through private prayer time
5)
Talk with Him – HE IS THE BEST
COUNSELLOR
b.
Notice how God started back
over - so patient, and truly merciful
c.
Remember, Elijah was a mature
believer, who should have known better!
6.
Prepare for the next
a.
God's words are not meant to
make your life easier
b.
They are to prepare you for
each battle, and to enable you to win as a team (19:18)
c.
God wanted to use Elijah, even
though Elijah wanted to retire
III.
Conclusion -
A.
How We Become Unaware of the Voice of God
1.
By Getting Our Attention Diverted
– too many of the world’s diversions
2.
By Becoming Imbalanced -
Out of Balance
3.
By Ignoring God's Goodness
- hardening our hearts
4.
By Developing Wrong Expectations
B.
From Now on, When God Seems Silent:
1.
Shut up and sit still around
this Bible - shut out the noise and static so that you can listen
2.
Humble yourself as you listen
3.
Listen to every word of God -
when reading, pay careful attention
4.
Answer Him back - Answer the
door - Communicate, invite Him back in
5.
Prepare for the next