Subject – GET OVER YOURSELF!
Text – 1 Kings 19:9 (READ 1-13)
Sermon delivered by:
Pastor Henry S. Cotton, Jr. of St.James Missionary Baptict Church in Philadelphia.
1 Kings 19: 5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7 And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake 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:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
Introduction
Who here have heard that saying that: “The Lord Don’t Want No Coward Soldier!?” I’m here to tell you that the Lord don’t even have no coward soldiers. There have been times when even some of our greatest soldiers for the Lord that are mentioned in the scriptures have performed some acts of cowardice (Abraham, David, Jonah, Samson, Peter, Paul, etc.).
This doesn’t mean they were cowards, this merely shows us that the Lord knew what they were made of and was able to use them as soldiers in spite of what they, or others may have saw or thought of them. How many know that you can be used as soldiers in the army of the Lord?
Of all the Prophets mentioned in the Old Testament, Elijah was one of the most known and respected. Elijah came on the scene rebuking the Godless people, and stirring up those who claimed to be followers of the Lord God. His boldness and fearlessness was so well know that when King Ahab saw him he said to him: “Art thou he that troubleth Israel? (1Kings 18:17b) This is the same Elijah who called on God before the people at Mt. Carmel, and God exposed the false prophets for who they were, and Elijah had all 850 of them slain. This is the same Elijah who when Ahab got on his horse at Mt. Carmel and started riding to Jezreel, Elijah started running and beat him to the entrance of Jezreel. Yes, this is that same Elijah.
So we see that this prophet of God was no wimp of a man; yet we find him in a cave instead of on the battlefield for the Lord . . . why? We see in this 19th chapter that Jezebel found out what Elijah had done to her prophets, and swore that she would have the same thing done to Elijah. When Elijah got this message he got afraid and ran into the desert under a broom tree and prayed for death! SOMEBODY SAY FEAR WILL SURE MAKE YOU ACT OUT OF CHARACTER! (*expound). After crying to the Lord, Elijah fell asleep. This is where our text begins.
Points –
- *First of all, It doesn’t make sense that a Prophet this strong in the Lord; after all the things he has already done, would run away from just the threat of what his enemy said she would do to him.
- An angel of the Lord touched him and told him to eat. After he ate he went back to sleep (expound)
- The angel of the Lord touched him a second time and told him to eat for the journey that he was about to take would be too much for him to try without nourishment. Strengthened by this meal, Elijah fasted for forty days and nights as he journeyed to Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God.
- When he reached the mountain, he went into a cave for a night. Then the WORD OF THE LORD and said: “What are you doing here Elijah?
- He had already experience the angel of the Lord; now he has to deal with the Word (Spirit) of the Lord!
- This was no surprise to the Lord for he had already strengthened Elijah for the journey
Conclusion
Elijah found himself in a position where he had to deal with the “Angel of the Lord.” Next he found himself confronted with the Word (Spirit) of the Lord. Then finally he was confronted with the Lord Himself!
I used to wonder why Elijah ran away like he did. The word shows us that he was not a man who was fearful; so why did he run? You see, fear came over Elijah, and when the Lord confronted him, he told the Lord that he was the only prophet of the Lord left, and that they were seeking to kill him.
Now my brothers and sisters, we know that Elijah was not a coward, so I believe that the Lord allowed this feeling of fear to come over Elijah to humble him. Remember how he started taunting and teasing those false prophets about how their gods must be sleep or busy and could not answer them?
I believe that like many of the servants of the Lord, Elijah needed to be given a “wake-up” call. You see, sometimes when we are in the thick of the battle and the Lord allows us a victory (you know what I mean; when you were able to overcome something in your life, or when the Lord has answered one of your prayers), every now and then we get to feeling so good that it can lead to arrogance and self-pride, and the Lord in His own way has to teach, and/or show us that we ought not to “think of ourselves more highly than we ought.”
Knowing that Elijah was not a coward and that he also was a strong soldier for the Lord, I believe that the Lord had to do for him what He would later do for Paul in order to keep him humble so that the Lord would be able to use him. Who here knows that sometimes the Lord has to give those hard lessons in order to humble us? The Lord wants us to be fit and willing soldiers for Him; and order for Him to be able to use us, we must be useable.