The Whisper After the Storm
Cries From the Mountain Top • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsElijah was depressed, dejected and destitute. He was the great and might man of God who fell prey into what appeared to be the end according to the standards of this world, but God had a different plan.
Notes
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Why me Lord?
Why me Lord?
There is something about being in the mountains that just makes you feel close to God and away from all the cares of this world. There’s a sense of refugee in those places too. I had a friend of mine that worked at GCC in NC who would make the comment regularly that he needed to get off the grid.. I would laugh when he said it because I knew exactly what he meant! For you see I would get off the grid at least every few months and go to a mountain top in NC called pilot mountain. I would find myself there talking to God and trying to make sense of whatever it was that I was facing at that time.
Listen it was not much different for many at that time to go to the place of refugee in the mountains. I mean after all the mountains was Gods footstool for His throne.
So when we look at Elijah it only makes sense for him to take refugee in the presence of the King of the universes court, humbly at His feet.
Now in order to get the context of the subject here we have to look at a few verses for it all to connect correctly.
8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” 11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
Too often as we face the challenges that lay before us we expect God to come the same way He did before. As in the case with Elijah he expected the same plan of action that had taken place before at Mt. Sinai with Moses and what worked for Moses before he felt should work for him. But that was not God’s plan for him.
9 When he arrived there at the cave, he spent the night there. Then behold, the word of Adonai came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
“The Cave” signify’s repeated location or repeated action. Assuming God is going to come or do it the same way is never good and is very dangerous.
1. Don’t try to move ahead of God, follow the leading of God.
10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
Don’t make a case for your position with God, He’s in control and He already knows what’s going on… Trust Him.
2. Stop sulking and start saluting, God has already won your battle.
The definition for salute is, a gesture of respect and homage. We are about to Salute our King Jesus by blowing our horns as a way of showing our salutations to Him! Ya’ll blow your horns for 10 Seconds....
11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
We all are looking at the terrible and tragic, we all are looking at the man made mountains of support and security, in our jobs, our governments, and may I even add.... the ecclesiastical. God has dismantled all that we are reliant on to get us refocused back on Him and to help us understand He is not in our checking account, He is not in our choice of political candidates, He’s not in your break through, you’ve already broken through.
5 Pestilence marches before him; plague follows close behind. 6 When he stops, the earth shakes. When he looks, the nations tremble. He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the Eternal One!
3. Don’t focus on the main thing, but focus on the main King!
Close with this Story:
A television program preceding the 1988 Winter Olympics featured blind skiers being trained for slalom skiing, impossible as that sounds. Paired with sighted skiers, the blind skiers were taught on the flats how to make right and left turns.
When that was mastered, they were taken to the slalom slope, where their sighted partners skied beside them shouting, “Left!” and “Right!” As they obeyed the commands, they were able to negotiate the course and cross the finish line, depending solely on the sighted skiers’ word. It was either complete trust or catastrophe.
What a vivid picture of the Christian life! In this world, we are in reality blind about what course to take. We must rely solely on the Word of the only One who is truly sighted—God himself. His Word gives us the direction we need to finish the course.
Let’s pray for a return back to God for our Churches, our Countries and our Communities.