Embrace the Hill

Elijah

The Pre-run…

You have to decideHow you're gonna handleThat hill…

Hate it? Or embrace it?

You don't get a choiceOf whether or not

You'll go throughTrials and hardships…

Things you've doneThings done to youJust life

It will happen…and it can hit sohard and fast…paralyzing you

No matter what happens…

Every hardship has a blessingThe trials come with gifts

If we trust God through them

No ridiculous little sayingsHardships and trials hurtIt's not about "Try harder""Overcome""Be stronger"

Elijah…Persecution and judgment

Prophets of God put to deathFalse prophets celebrated

Elijah is being huntedDeath of an innocent man3 years no rain

1 Kings 18:21…

"Go tell King AhabThat I'm right here…and

Bring the false prophets, too"

Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will

you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is

God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him…”

Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it

And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and

put no fire to it

And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God”

And all the people answered, “It is well spoken”

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it”

And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it

and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon,

saying, “O Baal, answer us!”

But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made

And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or

he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is

asleep and must be awakened”

And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them

Their god desires their bloodTo show devotion to him

Our God went to the crossBecause of his devotion to us

And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the

offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one

answered; no one paid attention

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him

And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been

thrown down

Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”

…and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord.

And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain

two seahs of seed(almost 15 liters)

And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood”

And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second

time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a

third time

And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water

And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the

prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac,

and Israel…

…let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word

Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back”

Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the

dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench

And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God”

Not a great thing…

And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one

of them escape.” And they seized them

And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there

…they have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal- Jeremiah 19:5

Rain comes…after 3 years

God was looking for:Single-minded Faith in the One who supplies

Rather than self-sufficiencyBackup plans and other sources

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed

all the prophets with the sword

This is that moment!

If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they

be convinced if someone should rise from the dead

- Jesus, Luke 16

Discussing the FaithSharing what God has done

Telling your story

Arguing someone to Faith

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow”

Elijah's Response?

Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and

came to Beersheba, 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 asked that he might die, saying…

“It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better

than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept

under a broom tree

"I haven't changed anything""I haven't done my job""I can't make a difference"

What's the problem with that?

God didn't call Elijah to be Accountable for results

He called Elijah to be Faithful to the Call of God

On his life

God didn't call you to be Accountable for results

He called you to be Faithful to the Call of GodOn your life

Great Falls often followGreat Victories

When our eyes are on GodThere's nothing that can beat us

When our eyes are on our Circumstances, we can't help

But be beaten

Every hardship has a blessingThe trials come with gifts

If we trust God through them

Couldn't the God who answered By fire and brought Great victory

Also protect Elijah? Or…bring him home?

Spiritual Rut=One hardship after another:

Permanent- Nothing will change"They're still trying to kill me!"

Spiritual Rut=One hardship after another:

Blinding- all I can see"I gotta run or I'll die"

(No room for faith)

Some of you…Everything filtered throughYour hardship. Can't even

Engage in relationships with People who love you

Spiritual Rut=One hardship after another:

Personal- all about me"The whole universe

is against me!"

And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water

And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second

time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is

too great for you”

You're trying to doIn your own strength

What I never called you to doAlone

And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God

Blinding:"You're not alone

I'm here…I never left"

Living in a cave…

…the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What

are you doing here, Elijah?”

“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword…

…and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life,

to take it away”

It's personal, GodIt's all about how hard

I'm trying and how good I amCompared to everyone else

So why do I have to suffer?

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord”

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind

tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks 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 the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire the sound of a low whisper

And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave

Elijah is fresh off victory

The moment he put his eyes onThe success rather than God's call…He set himself up for a Fall

We can get so busy lookingFor God on mountaintops

That we miss his PresenceIn the Valleys and the Ordinary things of life

Karaoke

Quit trying to reproduce An experience and

Start seeking the GodWho is there regardless

Of your feelings at the moment

Good times will comeHardships will come

God won't changeAnd won't walk away

Keep your eyes on a fixed object

And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you

doing here, Elijah?

He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars…

…and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am

left, and they seek my life, to take it away”

"It's not personal…It's about my Call

My glory and your blessingAs you follow Me"

It's not personal…It shouldn't blind you…

But nothing has changed, right?

And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria

And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of

Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet

in your place

"You don't get to decideWhat's unchangeable

With a wave of my handI can change everything"

And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death

Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have

not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has

not kissed him”- 1 Kings 18-19

I'm so special…working so hardWhy is God doing this to me?

Sucker…I got 7,000 just like youWho said you were alone?

And just like that…It changes

Nothing is permanent but GodSo he's our focus

Our goal is the Call of God

Permanent

Not if your faith is in Jesus"New creation"

Cross guarantees it

Blinding

If all you can see is youYou ain't seeing near enough

God is greater…alwaysAnd he has a Call on your life

Personal

We all struggleThe enemy says "You're alone"God begs to differ

Hate the hill…Or embrace the hill

Hardships come, Trials come

Today…choose your focus and The purpose of your life

Everything else flows from it

Questions, CommentsDisagreements

Pray

Pray for Youth Trip

Next SundayBaptism at 4 PM

Salem Greenway