SCRIPTURE TEXT----King
James Version
1 KINGS 19:9 through 18
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?
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 alters, and slain
thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and
they seek my life, to take it away.
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:
And after the earthquake a
fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a
still small voice.
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?
And he said, I have been very
jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because 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.
And the Lord said unto him, Go,
return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou
comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
And Jehu the son of Nimshi
shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of
Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy
room.
And it shall come to pass, that
him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him
that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
Yet I have left me seven
thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal,
and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
ST. MATTHEW 16:13 through 20
When Jesus came into the coasts
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, 'Whom
do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that
thou are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or
one of the prophets.
He said unto them,
But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said
unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Then charged he his disciples
that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
LET GOD BE GOD
and when one elects to
let God be God:
A tragic error in the lives of
many people is that they mistakenly fashion God; limit his
attributes, misconstrue (get the wrong idea about) his divine
powers, and reject his love. They fail to recognize God as he
truly exists and often take Him to be someone or something that
he is not. They fail to let God be God.
God had wrought miracle after
miracle on the behalf of the Israelites. And it was Israel that
displaced the Canaanites when they conquered the Promised Land.
Yet, during the prophetic ministry of Elijah many of the
Israelites chose to let Baal be their god. Baal was the most
important and powerful god of the Canaanites, and he was thought
to control rains and fertility. He was worshiped extensively in
western Asia from Babylonia to Egypt. This Hebrew word denotes
owner, master, lord, or husband. In the English versions,
"Baal" designates a Canaanite deity. And deity refers
to a god or goddess; in addition to the essential nature or
condition of being a god, divine, and/or divinity.
To worship and serve a nature
god such as Baal entailed a strong sexual and sensual note, often
including prostitution as a part of the religious ritual. The
immorality associated with the worship of the Baals permeated
Canaanite society and is one of the reasons for God’s
commands to Israel to destroy the Canaanite people completely.
Israel failed to comply fully with God’s commands, and the
pagan practices with their appeal to sensual appetites corrupted
the faith and the life of God’s Old Testament people.
Worship of Baal by many of the
Israelites created a problem whose solution was to be found
through God having to reveal himself unto his people. Therefore,
at Mount Carmel Elijah confronts Ahab and the people of Israel.
The people must choose whom they will worship. The 450 prophets
of Baal call on their impotent god all day. When Elijah prays,
fire falls from heaven to consume a water-soaked sacrifice. The
prophets of Baal are killed and a great rain comes to break the
drought. Baal was supposed to control the rains and fertility.
But God had shut up heaven’s rain for three years. After
God’s victory at Mount Carmel Elijah found himself having to
flee from the wrath and threat of execution at the hands of Queen
Jezebel (a Canaanite woman). Notwithstanding, Elijah chose to let
God be God. And when you choose to let God be God…
GOD WILL REVEAL HIMSELF UNTO
YOU
In revealing oneself, it is
usually the name that comes first. Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai is
where God began the revelation of His name (I Am that I AM) unto
Moses. Mount Horeb is considered by some to be the lower part or
peak of Sinai from which one can reach the top of Sinai from the
south. But according to others Horeb is a general name of the
whole mountain of which Sinai was a particular summit.
The city of Caesarea Philippi
bears the names of Herod’s son, Philip, in honor of Caesar
Augustus. Being in that city, Jesus asked of his disciples who do
men say that I am and then: "But
what about you?" he
asked. "Who do you say
I am?" Simon Peter
answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God." Note he said; not just Christ, for Christ means
anointed and many were and are anointed. But, Christ, the Son of
the living God. That is, the anointed Son of the living God.
Jesus is his name. Acts 4:12----"Neither is there salvation
in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.
What are you doing here,
Elijah? The question implies that Elijah had come to Sinai for
his own misguided reasons and not because the Lord had sent him.
Far as many who are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons
of God. God had not sent Elijah to the cave at Sinai. Elijah was
there out of fear for his life.
Elijah did not give a direct
answer to the Lord's question but implied that the work the Lord
had begun centuries earlier with the establishment of the Sinai
covenant had now come to nothing. Moses interceded for Israel
when they sinned with the golden calf. Elijah condemned the
Israelites for breaking the covenant, and bitterly complained
over the fruitlessness of his own work. But there on the mountain
of transfiguration: Matt. 17:3—"and, behold, there
appeared unto them Moses, and Elias talking with him." I
don’t know exactly what they were talking about, but I do
know that Jesus speaks at St. John 3:17---"For God sent not
his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved."
God knows every puff of the
tobacco and marijuana smoke that you puff, every dip of snuff
that you dip, every woman that you’ve lusted after, every
man that you’ve desired to sleep with. Yes, God knows every
jigger of whiskey and every shot of scotch and soda that
you’ve drank. God knows every evil and unrighteous thought
and deed. Yes, he knows every gram of cocaine that you’ve
snorted, every red devil and purple haze----yes every tab of acid
that you placed into your system, God knows all about it. God
knows every child you fathered or birthed out of wedlock. He
knows whether you have honored him through holy matrimony or
whether or not you are just shacking up. He knows whether you are
paying or refuse to pay your wedding vows. He knows whether you
pay or pay at your tithes. God knows when you are giving just to
get and He knows when instead of giving, you are really placing
your bet. I have come to tell you, that the Lord is Great in our
Mist, and he is not here to condemn you. Rather, he is great in
our mist that through him you might be saved. The Lord can save
you even as I speak. And all you have to do is just let God be
God.
GOD WILL REVEAL HIS PURPOSE
FOR YOUR LIFE.
Who am I? Why was I born? No
one loves me. I feel so all alone I just want to die. Elijah had
fallen into a deep depression, felt like he was the only one left
and he wanted to die. God revealed His divine will and purpose
for the life of Elijah. God let Elijah know the work that He had
for him to do.
He had heard a strong wind, and
saw the terrible effects of it, for it rent the mountains and
tore the rocks. He felt the shock of an earthquake. He saw an
eruption of fire. But, at last he perceived a still small voice.
God chose to make known his mind to him in whispers soft, not in
those dreadful sounds. Gracious souls are more affected by the
tender mercies of the Lord than by his terrors. Only after
hearing the still small voice, he moved forward and stood at the
entrance of the cave. I John 4:1---Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many
false prophets are gone out into the world. I submit you, O
People of God, let God be God and as stated at Hebrews 4:7----Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
I have left 7,000 in Israel who
have not bowed to the knee to Baal. In times of the greatest
degeneracy and apostasy God has always had, and will have, a
remnant faithful to him, some that keep their integrity and do
not go down the stream. It is God’s work to preserve that
remnant, and distinguish them from the rest, for without his
grace they could not have distinguished themselves. God’s
faithful ones are often his hidden ones, and the visible church
is scarcely visible, the wheat lost in the chaff and the gold in
the dross, till the sifting, refining, separating day comes. The
Lord knows those that are his, though we do not; he sees in
secret. There are more good people in the world than some wise and
holy men think there are. When we come to heaven, as we shall
miss a great many whom we thought to meet there, so we shall meet
a great many whom we little thought to find there. God's love
often proves larger than man's charity and more extensive.
The harvest is ripe but the
laborers are few. What are you doing here? Hiding in a cave. This
is not a place for thee now. The Lord said to him, "Go back the way you came,
and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint
Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu king over Israel, and
anoint Elisha to succeed you as prophet. As with Elijah, Elisha's name (meaning
"God is salvation" or "God saves") was the
essence of his ministry. His name evokes memory of Joshua
("The Lord saves"), Elijah is given someone to finish
his work just as Moses was, and Elisha channels the covenant
blessings to the faithful in Israel just as Joshua brought Israel
into the Promised Land.
God has a divine purpose of
each of our lives----we should be compelled to let God be
God-----that we might know that we are loved. God does not want
depression, misery, poverty, or death for anyone. God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.
GOD WILL
DELIVER YOU AND RECEIVE YOU