When I Feel Like Giving Up

Introduction

Good morning. Certainly a blessing to be with everyone here. Certainly, uh, as I go and speak places, I say thank you for the invitation. The second time I say, This is shame on you. You knew what you were getting into. I don’t even begin to know how to explain this invitation to speak. If you all open with me to the first Kings chapter 18. Kashk and I are so thankful. Our hearts are so full to be back and to see so many people we love. I do want to be very clear. If any of you want to move to our area, the door is open. You are welcome to come on up. Don’t worry about what Jim Walcott or Ralph say. We have a place for you.

In 1 Kings chapter 18, we learn about Elijah. And Elijah is a prophet of God, and that’s going to be important to remember because he is a great and he is faithful, and then he’s struggling. And what that tells me is that I can do great things. I can be faithful. And I still very well may find myself struggling. In fact, in 1 Kings chapter 18, notice the presence in verse 1. After a long time the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land. So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace.

Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets. Now Ahab said to Obadiah, go throughout the land to every spring and to every water. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle. Now they divided the land between them in order to cover it. And Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself. Verse 7. When Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell face down and said, Isn’t you, my Lord, Elijah? It is I, he replied.

Go tell your Lord, Elijah is here. But Obadiah said, What sin have I committed that you were handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my Lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said he is not here, he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you. Obadiah is aware of the crisis going on for God’s people. Notice where are the prophets? They are hidden in caves. Then chapter 18 is one of the greatest victories in all of the Bible. But notice at the beginning of chapter 18, where are the faithful? The ones who survived are hidden and barely making it along in caves.

It’s going to be interesting to know at the end of chapter 18 and into chapter 19, where are God’s faithful, despite God’s great victory. As we come to the end of the chapter, it’s important to know that Elijah and Obadiah know each other, and he is aware of what’s going on. Verse 18, he replied, I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commands and followed the Baals. Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the forward prophets of Ashrah who eat at Jezebel’s table, and we know what the stage is being set for. Despite the fact that Obadiah is facing the problems that he is, Elijah, the prophet of God, is going to once and for all answer the question Who should God’s people be serving?

Is it God? Or is it anyone else besides God? Baal, Astaroth, you name it, the options were on the table, the people were sometimes worshiping. And then there’s this great, powerful working at Mount Carmel. There’s going to be a challenge levied by Elijah. Let’s see who the real God is. You will call upon your God for fire. I’ll call upon my God for fire, and whoever answers will be the one true and living God. And we’re going to skip over the section in chapter 18. But Elijah is one of my favorite prophets in part because of his dialogue here. As he’s talking to the prophets, what does he say? You’re calling to your God and he’s not answering. Is he asleep? Is he maybe on vacation?

Why don’t you get in touch with him? Why isn’t he answering? Now, as Christians, we know what is the answer to that. Because those gods aren’t real. They aren’t anything. But the prophets of those gods thought they were. And they did everything they could up to and including cutting themselves to get the attention of their God who was not real and of course did not answer. And when it’s Elijah’s turn, he doesn’t just make it difficult for fire to consume. He throws water upon water. There’s a moat around the altar, the sacrifice is to be doused. And when Elijah calls upon God to show that he is the one true and living God, what does he do? He sends fire from above, and instantaneously it is all consumed.

Our God is awesome and powerful. And we need to remember that. In a world that doesn’t agree, when we’re outnumbered, what seems like at least 850 to one, God is still real. God is still in control, and God will show his power.

Is he in power? It’s how do I handle those moments where I’m not seeing those grand miracles? When I don’t see God’s great strength. After this great victory, arguably the best sign that the Israelites had seen since escaping Egyptian bondage and the parting of the Red Sea. Notice where Elijah is. Remember at the beginning of the chapter, the prophets of God are in caves. Notice in chapter 19 and verse 1. Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the one of them by this time tomorrow. Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life.

When he came to Beersheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, I have had enough, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father’s. And he lay down and slept under the broom tree. How could Elijah do this? How could he go from on top of the world? He has shown and conclusively proven in the sight of everyone that God is real and in control. To fleeing, verse 3 for his life, being afraid, and telling God, please tap me out. I am done. How did that happen? And more importantly than how did that happen? What are we supposed to do with that?

See, it’s one thing to know what God has done. It’s another to say, where and how do I get my faith from? How do I develop it when God’s not answering the way I wish? A first grade class was asked to give prayers of thankfulness. This obviously was a private school. And one kid said he was thankful to God for the stapler, because that was the greatest invention he knew of. But the other one was my personal favorite. He said, Dear God, thank you for the little brother. But what I had asked for was a dog. Sometimes we have our picture of what God should do. And we have this idea that God is going to fix it. God’s going to make my life the way I wished it in the order that I would have ordered it.

1. Be Realistic: I Will Face Moments of Crisis

But what do we all know the reality of that truth is? It’s not even close. Usually it’s for the better, by the way. Sometimes sin just impacts it. That’s what’s happening in 1 Kings 19, isn’t it? Elijah doesn’t just run because he had a victory, he runs because Jezebel is after him. Sometimes sin seems like it’s going to win. So what do we do then? I think that’s what makes us give up. That’s why in Galatians chapter 6, Hebrews chapter 12, just to name two instances, Christians are told, do not grow weary, do not give up, run the race with endurance, looking to the cross. Why is that so important? Because there is a temptation. Even Elijah felt like giving up. And so I would say the first point this morning, let’s be realistic that I am going to face these moments of crisis.

To act like a Christian, a strong faith individual would never have some sort of question in their mind over where is God or should I give up is unfair to everyone in the Word of God. Moses faced this. Certainly, I would imagine, although it’s not recorded that Noah faced this, Elijah is experiencing it. The apostles went through it. This is real. Elijah had even faced monumental victory. Sometimes when we talk about sermons, right, in even Bible classes, we focus so much on when things are terrible. And then we focus on when they’re great. And what I think is interesting about this example in 1 Kings 18 and 19 is do we see it’s both? Life has ups and downs, and sometimes they’re right pressed together. And we have to make sure that when we are in the highs of life, when we see what God has done, we are thankful for the victory while it lasts.

Because everything doesn’t last as long or the way that we think it should. Elijah had this great victory, and yet it passed. He was forced to flee for his life. Now I do want to go back to verse 2 again. Jezebel had sent a messenger to Elijah saying, May the gods punish me induce so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow. Translation, we are going to kill you as you killed the enemies of God, those false prophets. This lesson is not intended to make fun of or say that Elijah is weak or terrible. Elijah is very relatable. This is the queen, by the way, in the Old Testament. If you want to guess someone’s doing something wrong, it’s usually Ahab or Jezebel.

This is the top of the evil chain here. And she says she’s going to kill him. I think that’s a credible threat. And so certainly he finds himself, just like Obadiah and the prophets in a cave, hiding out. This is credible. He was forced to flee just to survive. He wasn’t just discouraged. He wasn’t just thinking, oh, I could have done better. He was fleeing for his life. And by the way, 1 Kings 19 is a good reality check. For me, sometimes the things that are making me feel like giving up aren’t nearly this drastic or dramatic. That doesn’t make it not real either. But sometimes it helps to have some focus and some context on what really does matter. Elijah’s facing his life. He also faced great discouragement.

I think it’s interesting as you read what happens here. He starts to talk, and even as we go down through verse 10, notice how God approaches him. And this is the focus of our lesson this morning. How does God handle us when we are weak? And how can we make sure we’re tapping into God’s strength? In verse 4, again, he had gone on this day’s journey in the wilderness, and he was under a broom tree and prayed that he would die. He had said, I’ve had enough, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father’s. And in verse 5, we already read, he’s laid down. And suddenly an angel touched him. The angel told him, Get up and eat. Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones and a jug of water.

So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord returned for a second time and touched him. He said, Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you. So he got up, ate and drank, and then on strength from that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights to Orab, the mountain of God. I entered a cave there and spent the Mount. Now there’s some jokes out here that are sitting there just on when you’re having a tough time, what do you need to do? You need to eat. We all know hangry people, right? There’s a solution to that. We’re not going to ask who they are, because that creates awkward situations the day after a holiday.

But sometimes you just need to get up and do something. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? Here is Elijah, down and depressed, fleeing for his life, and who provided? God did. God knew where to find him, even though he was in a cave, even though I bet there was no Wi-Fi there. God knew where Elijah was. And he was able to take care of his needs. This did not fix Elijah’s main problem, did it? Elijah’s main problem is he’s fleeing for his life. Having some food in a different location didn’t necessarily solve that crisis. Jezebel’s still in power, still trying to kill him. But God provided what his servant needed. As we read it, continuing at the end of verse 9, suddenly the word of the Lord came to him and he said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

He replied, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left. And they are looking for me to take my life. Elijah is going to see God in his power. Before God shows himself, let’s get the record straight. What I can contribute to the work of the Lord and even in my own life versus what God can do are is an embarrassing comparison. Elijah’s point of view in verse 10, I have been zealous for the Lord, and he had, hadn’t he? He had served, he had shown at Mount Carmel that he would stand up even against all odds and all the other prophets.

He said, I alone am left. They are looking for me to take my life. It’s time for me to give up. I’m the only one left. It can feel that way sometimes, can’t it? Now let’s talk about a couple things. Number one, before God even answers him, we know Elijah’s wrong. We’ve already seen in chapter 18, there were other prophets hidden in caves. So, unless the text doesn’t tell us that they had been taken out, this was clearly wrong, and Elijah knew it was wrong, which means, I know this would never happen to us. It means that sometimes he was so tunnel visioned, he’s forgetting things he already knew to make his case sound a little bit more drastic and dire. He knew there were prophets out there, but in this moment he was surrounded.

What was he dwelling on? All the negative things. God says, I need you to focus on me. As we keep reading in verse 11, then he said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence. At that moment the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains, and it was shattering cliffs before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a voice, a soft whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And suddenly a voice came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah? I have been very zealous for the Lord God of armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life. Then the Lord said to him, Go and return by the way you came to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Haziel as king over Aaron. You are to anoint Jehu, son of Nimshis, king over Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat from Abba Mahalah as prophet in your place. Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Haziel. And Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.

2. Get Up and Look

But I will leave seven thousand in Israel. Every knee that has not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. What do we do when I feel like giving up? Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 3 says, we are to be looking to Jesus to run that race with endurance. Looking to the author and finisher of our faith, the one who, by the way, has already run that race and seen those temptations and taken the blows. But also what we see here in 1 Kings 19 is we need to look to God. But there’s more detail than that. God has basically three points for Elijah here, and I think that would be really helpful for us. Number one is get up and look. If you are feeling discouraged, if you are feeling down, the first thing you have to do is stop wallowing.

It might be that things are going incredibly badly. Elijah is here, and can we say his life’s not going well? Can we say, by the way, that it wasn’t fair? Nothing Elijah did deserves this. Now he stood up for God and he humiliated the prophets, but he didn’t deserve death, at least in terms of obeying God, did he? No. This is sin. This is Jezebel. This is Ahab coming for him. This is unrighteous. This is unfair, unjust, and yet it’s real. But he needs to get up. And God said, I need you to get up, and I need you to go look. And what is he going to see in verse 11 and 12? He’s going to see God’s power. As you see in verse 11, there is this great and mighty wind.

There’s an earthquake and there’s a fire. And you know what’s phenomenal about all that? We think these are the signs of God’s power. This is God in control of nature, but where was God? At the end of verse 12. And after the fire, there was a voice, a soft whisper. It’s a little bit like Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5. Remember the story of Naaman, the Syrian commander of armies? He would go out into the city and he would have all these great victories, but he had a problem. He had leprosy. And of course, this is this little girl who changed his entire destiny because she spoke up and said, There is someone who can take care of you. And when he finally makes the whole journey to Elisha, another prophet of God.

And he’s standing there outside the door, a messenger comes out and says, Go and dip in the Jordan. And Naaman’s going to have all his prayers answered, all his life is going to be solved, and what does he do? He gets mad. 2 Kings 5, verses 10 through 14 reveal he says, Behold, I thought, I thought the prophet was going to come out to me. He was going to wave his hands around in the air, and I was going to be cleansed. By the way, those waters you’re making me dip in, they’re dirty water. There’s other waters that are better. I thought I had a better way that it would go differently. And so what did he do? He went away in a rage. It took the servants to say, Didn’t you come all this way for the solution?

Why aren’t you listening to it? Notice here, Elijah in 1 Kings chapter 18 is a little bit like Naaman. He might be looking for these great signs and power of God, but God gave an answer in a way that he wasn’t necessarily expecting. I would think the answer is in the earthquake or the fire. But God’s voice was in the whisper. In verse 13, when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. We need to be looking for God. And not just where we think he might be. We need to be open to the possibility that God has a bigger plan and better solutions than I can even imagine. In Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 20, Paul would say, God can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.

I would say, think about that for a minute. That kind of violates the spirit of the verse, doesn’t it? I’ll let that one sink in for a moment. God can do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. The question isn’t can he do it? It’s will I trust him? And will I be looking and listening for the answers that he has promised to provide?

3. Get Up and Serve

We also need to get up and we need to serve. Here is Elijah, by the way, the greatest prophet of God, certainly at the moment, it would seem from a Bible narrative point of view. And he’s on the sideline. You know what this says? This says Satan, by the way, has very crafty tools. He doesn’t need me or you to become an atheist. He doesn’t need us to become the worst sinner the world’s ever seen. He just needs us on the sideline. What good is Elijah doing the kingdom in the cave? None. This is the danger of discouragement because he hasn’t switched teams. He’s just not playing. And that doesn’t help God’s kingdom grow. My job is to serve God. And when I don’t serve, I don’t have to be serving against God.

I am failing by not going. And notice God says that’s unacceptable. Even after Elijah gives his plea again, I am the only one left. I have been zealous. None of which God denies, by the way, until the end. In verse 15, the Lord starts with this answer You go and return by the way you came. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hezeel as king over Aram and Jehu, son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And by the way, find this man named Elisha to be a prophet in your place. One of the problems with this discouragement, this weariness that we get is it stops us from serving. And God’s answer for Elijah is get up and do something. Stop thinking about what you can’t do and trust that my plan will work.

What is my plan? I have people in place that you don’t even know, that you couldn’t know. But I need you to go and do your job. Elijah’s job wasn’t to give Eisha everything ever. It wasn’t to make Jehu perfect, and it wasn’t even to anoint Haziel as king over Aram so that he would be the wonderful, most God fearing king in the history of the world. But it was the task that God had given him. And so one of the things I need to do when I’m feeling down and discouraged and weary is stop thinking about what I can’t do and what I am failing at, or how other people have come at me like Jezebel came at Elijah and start saying, what does God need from me that I can do?

Not because I am great, but because God can use me. Remember, God does the impossible, like Mount Carmel. I do the possible, like calling out to him to show his strength, to provide the needs he’s promised. I need to get up. I need to be willing to serve. Because when I sit down, God has someone off the battlefield. That’s a problem. That’s what Satan wants. And more importantly, when I am down and wallowing, does that make my situation better or worse? Who has ever one time said, you know, I was having a really good time, and then when I started to wallow and mire, I just got so down on myself, that really turned everything around. It was when I kept telling people how frustrated and upset I was, that’s when it got better.

Sometimes we need to talk to people. Sometimes we need help. We’re going to talk about that in a few moments. But a lot of times we need to get up and do what we can in the interim, even before all the problems are solved. And part of that is finding that person to talk to and to work with. Part of God’s solution to Elijah wasn’t, hey, Elijah, get better. Get up, get over yourself. No, he says, I have a job for you, and your job, by the way, is to tag some other people in to help you. You’re going to take Heziel, king over Aram. You’re going to get Jehu, son of Numshea as king over Israel. You’re going to bring in Elisha to be a prophet in your place.

And in verse 17, then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Haziel, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. But I will leave 7,000 in Israel, every knee that has not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. One of the millions of ways that God is better than us. If you are God and Elijah’s complaining to you that, God, I am the only one left, and you know that’s not true. What’s the first thing that we’re tempted to say? Elijah, you’re even complaining wrong. There’s more people out there. But if you notice in 1 Kings 19, that’s the last thing that God includes, because that didn’t matter. That was part of the picture, but God’s picture is bigger and better than ours.

And so part of that is to work together. Notice, Elisha is going to end up doing a lot of the hard work. Elisha at the end of verse 17 will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. At the beginning of that, Jehu will put to death, whoever escapes the sword of Hezel. Everyone has a role. And it might not be my job to do all the execution, so to speak. It might be my job to help find someone to pick up the ball and to run with the baton from there. I need to make sure I’m getting outside of myself, though, realizing that God has a bigger plan than what I think should happen. And this isn’t just as basic as God provides our needs, not our wants.

This is God has a role and a function for everyone in his kingdom. It’s will I serve him? Will I trust him enough to do that? If I’m down, if you are feeling down this morning, I want you to know God sees you no matter where you are. I want you to know, secondly, there are people who can encourage you. But sometimes we have to be willing to put our hand up and say, I need help. And by the way, as Christians, we need to be walking around with our hands out, ready to grab any hand that pops up, even when it’s inconvenient. God expects us to work together. This is part of his plan. We say, Where is God? God is here. Not just as we’re worshiping, but this is part of his plan.

4. Difficulty Does Not Have to Define Me

The local church, Christians, as individuals, this is part of his plan. If you trust God, you have to trust his plan. And it’s all or nothing. So as we wrap up, three points. How can I, as the saying goes, keep on keeping on might have wanting to give up? I need to always know three things. One of them is I need to know difficulty does not have to define me. Here’s the challenge, though. It can. We can allow difficulty to define us. We all know people who are the proverbial. We talked about this a lot here, I know. Eeyore, right? Everything’s always bad, everything’s always gloomy. Woe is me, poor me, this is bad, this is the worst. It can, but it doesn’t have to. Look at me in Philippians chapter 4.

This is our reading before the lesson. Philippians chapter 4, again in verse 10. Paul is writing, and he has some very important words, not just verse 13, which is critical, but especially 11 and 12 as well. We’re going to read in Philippians 4 and verse 10. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, because once again you renewed your care for me. You were in fact concerned about me, but lacked the opportunity to show it. I do not say this out of need, for I’ve learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know both how to make do with little and know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being content. Whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or need, I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

You see that in verse 12? I know verse 13 gets the headlines. Verse 13 gets the bumper stickers and the refrigerator magnet and all the fun stuff that goes with hobby lobby there. But in verse 12, I know how to make do with little, I know how to make do with a lot. In every circumstance, I have learned to be content. That’s what Paul said. Now, Paul’s talking about himself. There’s some things going on there. He does not say, in any circumstances, as long as I was treated well and it wasn’t my fault, I am content. He doesn’t say, as long as I am being treated justly, I’m doing the work of God, and no one responds poorly, I can be content. That’s not what he says.

That couldn’t be what he meant, because he was mistreated at every turn. We see that. Certainly, there’s a powerful list of 2 Corinthians of just a little bit of what Paul would have faced for the name of Christ and wearing it the way he did. If you’re struggling, be aware, difficulty is real. It comes for everyone. Elijah is on the highest of highs in chapter 18, and almost immediately he’s at the lowest of lows. Both come for us all. When we are away from God, trouble is lurking. The only peace, the only lasting joy is when we are with God in his fullness forever. That’s where joy is, and difficulty is gone. Eradicated. Think about Joseph. I think of him a lot in Genesis chapter 37, as he’s talking about his brothers.

He’s talking to them about his dream that they’re going to come and they’re going to bow down and worship him. That is not good sibling ethics, right? But he does that. And they respond by throwing him into a pit, wanting to kill him, but out of mercy, he’s thrown into a pit and left to die before they sell him into slavery. Now, again, Joseph did nothing to deserve this. I don’t really think he did a good job knowing sibling ideas there, but he didn’t deserve to be thrown in a pit and left. And then chapter 39, he’s in prison, by the way, because he did the right thing. He literally fled from fornication. And he was lied about, put into jail unjustly at its best. He tells the dreams, he’s forgotten and left to rot for years.

None of this was his fault. None of this was fair. But it didn’t define him. Now we know, as Christians reading the book of Genesis, that God had a plan for Joseph and he needed to get him to Egypt. Can we say, though, if I was Joseph, I would say, is there a different way besides slavery to get me to Egypt? Surely God could conceive of a better way. But for whatever reason, he didn’t. Sometimes I don’t have all the answers, but I do need to know that God’s answers don’t define me in the sense of the difficult moments. Elijah was a prophet of God at its peak. He was a prophet of God in the cave. The difference is whether or not I will be a good worker for him at my highs and my lows.

Paul said, in any and every circumstance, I have learned to be content. How do we do that? That’s where it’s tough, isn’t it? Number one, I need to realize the answers aren’t with me. Just like with Paul and Joseph and Elijah, the world makes things tough. And I have to deal with it. Jesus says, I love not only those who are around me, I need to even love especially, particularly, my enemies. I need to pray for those who persecute me. Unfortunately, that means I gotta pray for just about everyone, including UCF fans who beat Florida this past week. Not that I’m sour about that at all. We’re not defined by just our low moments. We’re defined by every moment. And by the way, that takes out pride, doesn’t it?

5. You Are Not Alone

Because if I am also defined by myself at my worst as well as my best, I’m going to be in the middle. I need to look at myself and others with God’s eyes. Mercy and love, yes. And maybe if I’ve brought the difficulty on myself, I need to cut it out. Sometimes my life is a mess because I’ve made it that way by sinning against God. That’s not Elijah’s problem here, but it might be mine. And the answer to that is trust God for forgiveness and cut out the sin. Don’t be defined by it. Don’t allow it to overcome you. Second thing, perhaps the most important this morning, you are not alone. That’s never been God’s plan. That’s never been the way it’s been executed. God is with you.

If everyone fails, God sees you. Please walk away this morning knowing that, if nothing else. God knows who you are and what you need. You are not alone. But even beyond that, look in the New Testament with me. We’re gonna look at just these two passages in the New Testament. Acts chapter 2. As you think about the people, the new church at Jerusalem, we always think about what a wonderful day it was. And it was on the day of Pentecost when 3,000 souls were added to the kingdom of heaven. It’s remarkable. But some context studies show us that is not the majority of Jews in the area at that time. In fact, that would be a distinct minority. They would face all kinds of problems for that.

They would be renouncing basically everything about their life to follow after Jesus. And while it’s worth it, they still have to live in the here and now. That was part of God’s plan for that in Acts chapter 2 and verse 44. Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God, enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. You see in verse 44, people were together. The believers were together, and they took care of one another.

This is God’s plan. And so when I reject God’s plan, when I say I am alone, I’m doing what Elijah did, thinking back to Obadiah and the prophets in the caves. I’m ignoring that I can look around this morning just here, just now. I know folks are visiting here, and that’s wonderful. The internet allows us to see people in different places. We are not alone, and if we think we’re alone, the devil is lying to us. Don’t believe that. Know that you’re not alone, and part of God’s plan for letting you know that is to put Christians around you. And here’s the challenge of that. Elijah chose to ignore that there were other faithful people out there. Can we do that? Of course we can. We can face that temptation, but we must not give into that.

Now, how do we handle that? Number one, we need to make sure that I am involved in being a part of this family. If I don’t feel like I’m a part, whose job is it to make me? Me. It’s my job. Elijah put himself in the cave. Now he need to come out of that. God didn’t say, Are you just hanging back in the cave? Go ahead, it’s okay. Just stay there. It’ll be fine. I’ll figure it out. He said, You gotta go. You gotta get out of here and go, sir. If you don’t feel like you’re a part of this family or a family of God’s people somewhere, make sure you’re doing your part. Number two, if you are part of a family already and there are those out there who don’t, I need to make sure maybe I take on the attitude of Barnabas.

Look at me in Acts chapter 4. Now, Barnabas really comes into his own of this with Saul. Saul is literally a religious terrorist who’s become becoming the apostle Paul. But Barnabas is the one who’s with him, talking to the church, basically vouching for him. By the way, good luck selling that to a local group. That this terrorist who’s been killing people, maybe family members, is all of a sudden reformed. He’s a Christian now. He’s fine. He’s done with that. Acts chapter 4, after talking about all the sacrifice again that the Christians did. Joseph, verse 36, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas, which has translated some of encouragement, sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid at the apostles’ feet.

Let’s just be really honest. The church, the kingdom, we need more people like Barnabas. We need more sons and daughters of encouragement. We need people who say there are needs out there, and I can fill them. It is my job to help others make sure they don’t feel alone. How can we do that? We have to think. We have to be thinking of others. We need to take time every day to pray. Who can I maybe reach out to? Who is maybe in my sphere of orbit that isn’t in someone else’s? Kin does a great job. The elders and deacons do a great job here, but they can’t know everyone that every member here knows. I don’t live on your street. We don’t live on your block, but you do.

Pray for your neighbors. Pray for your enemies. Pray for everyone. That means I have to stop and think about them. And realize I can serve in such a way that people are aware they’re not alone because they know at least I am there with them. You can tell any number of stories, but just think back to your darkest hour. Think about who was there for you. And if no one was there for you, I am heartbroken and sorry. I mean that. But how life-changing would it have been if someone was there for you in your darkest hour? How desperately would you have wanted that? If they were there for you, be that person. If people have let you down, make sure you don’t let others down in the same way.

6. God Will Always Care for His People

Difficulty doesn’t have to define us, and we need to know we’re not alone. Not only because people don’t fail us, because they’re part of God’s plan, but most importantly because God will never fail us, unlike people who make mistakes. And that’s what we need to know. God will always care for his people. Whether it’s with Joshua taking charge of the people that had been led by Moses in Joshua chapter 1, where he’s told not to depart from to the left or to the right of his word, but that God would not leave him. He would not forsake him. But rather he should be strong and courageous. Press on under what basis? That God is with him wherever he would go. Maybe it’s Philippians chapter 4, verse 6 and 7, the fact that we need to rejoice always.

We need to be thankful, and we need to be thinking about these good things in our heart, dwelling on the good rather than wallowing in the mire. Do you want to conclude with one Psalm? Psalm 34. This is going to be the final passage we look at this morning in the lesson will be yours. In Psalm 34, as we look at the 15th verse, the 34th Psalm. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help. The face of the Lord is set against those who do what is evil to remove all memory from them from the earth. The righteous cry out and the Lord hears and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted.

He saves those crushed in spirit. Isn’t this a wonderful passage? God has promised that his eyes are on the righteous and his ears are open. Who is he against, verse 16? Those who are doing what is evil. God is aware that people mistreat us. He will judge them. In Romans chapter 12, verse 17 through 21, we are told explicitly, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Under what basis? God sees the difficulty.

Conclusion

I need to make sure I trust in God and am not the one doing the evil. Because I don’t want God against me. I want to be the one who can call out and be thankful. As Peter would write in 1 Peter 5 and verse 7, I can cast my anxieties on God because He cares for you. If you’re here and you’ve never become a Christian, recognize that blessing of God isn’t yours, but it is for His people. And He sees you this morning, and He knows what you know. He knows what you can do. And I think all of us here can do the following. We can believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We can confess that He is Lord, and that means His will be done, not mine.

I can repent of my sins, recognizing my way doesn’t work, God’s way does. I need to get out of the cave, stop doing wrong, start following God’s plan. I can be baptized, sharing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. No greater sacrifice is made in the history of the world, and you can take advantage of it right now. Maybe you’re a Christian and like Elijah who had ups and downs, you’re in a down. Please know, you are not alone. I love you. Members of this congregation love you, and most importantly, God loves you. And if you have made this difficulty come upon yourself with sin, no, part of God’s plan is that you have brothers and sisters here who love you, who will pray with you, who will hug your neck, and pray as James 5 would say, we can confess our sins to one another.

We can know that God will answer. Take advantage of his plan. Take advantage of his promise in 1 John 1 9 to confess your sins and be cleansed from unrighteousness. And anyway, make your soul’s destiny known now with certainty as we stand and sing the invitation song.