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When
You Think You Can’t Go On |
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A Pocket Paper Robert J.
Morgan Today we’re going to begin a new series of summertime messages from the Old Testament, from the life of the prophet Elisha, and our first message is entitled “When You Think You Can’t Go On.” There are times in life when we all feel that way, because life can be so terribly difficult. Perhaps you’re at a place of wondering if you can keep going. The late Menachem Begin was a freedom fighter for Israel -- some say a terrorist -- who late in life became Israel’s Prime Minister. He’s best known for signing the Camp David Peace Accord with Egypt, which was brokered by Jimmy Carter. But you may not know that Begin suffered all his life from bouts of depression, and the last months of his leadership in Israel were arduous. Israel became bogged down in a protracted, thankless war in Lebanon; and during the course of it, Begin’s beloved wife died. He himself was not a well man. One day he abruptly walked into a Cabinet meeting, told his stunned colleagues, “I cannot go on,” and left the room. He spent the rest of his life in seclusion. He was one of the strongest and most tenacious men I’ve ever read about, but he came to a point in which he said, “I just can’t go on.” We all feel that way sometimes, and so did the great characters of the Bible. In the Old Testament, there was a great prophet named Elijah, who was one of the most durable and courageous men in Scripture. He was fearless and formidable. But in 1 Kings 19, he had a breakdown, and that breakdown paved the way for the emergence of another great prophet, a man named Elisha, which is actually the subject of our series of sermons for this summer. But since Elisha is introduced in this story about Elijah, it’s a good place for us to start. That’s the story I’d like for us to look at today from 1 Kings 19, and I’d like for us to go through this chapter verse by verse: Verse 1: Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah
had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. When you read the Old Testament story of Israel, you have three great kings—King Saul, King David, and King Solomon—who ruled over the land for a combined total of about 120 years. But when King Solomon died, the empire broke apart; and the northern tribes became a separate nation known by various names, but we often just call them the northern nation of Israel. From the very beginning, the northern nation departed from the worship of Jehovah and worshipped a golden calf, similar to the one Aaron had fashioned years before at Mt. Sinai. The reason was because the Northern kings didn’t want their people traveling down to the southern kingdom to worship in Jerusalem, so they established idolatrous worship centers in the north. So from the beginning, this northern kingdom lapsed into
idolatry. That was bad
enough. But when King Ahab came
to the throne, he married a woman named Jezebel who was one of the most
wicked women who ever lived. She
had grown up a pagan princess.
Her father was the king of an area up in I don’t have time to go into it, but it involved such heinous aspects as ritualized immorality and child sacrifice. It was extremely vicious, virulent, and very wicked. It was evil raised to a new level of intensity. And in response, God raised up two men—Elijah and Elisha—to combat this evil, and even gave them the power to perform miracles. Elijah combated this evil tooth and nail, and in the
previous chapter—1 Kings 18—we have the famous story of his
contest with the prophets of Baal atop Verse 2ff: So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to
say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this
time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid
and ran for his life. When he
came to This combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion—coupled with horrendous circumstances—caused Elijah to experience a Menachem Begin moment. He told the Lord, “I cannot go on.” He was so defeated and depressed that he was almost suicidal, and he asked God to kill him and take him to heaven. Now we never know what people are going through as they sit in church. Someone said, “There’s a heartache in every pew,” and some of you may be feeling a little like Elijah today; and so it’s instructive to see how the Lord dealt with all this. The Lord is the wonderful counselor. He’s the world’s first and best psychologist. He understands the soul, for He Himself designed it. He knows how to impart strength and grant healing. In this chapter, I can identify for you six medicines or balms that the Lord Jesus applied to Elijah’s heart. Jesus Gives You Rest and Nourishment (vv.
5-8) First, when you think you can’t go on, Jesus wants
to give you rest and nourishment.
Look at verse 5ff: Then (Elijah) lay down under the tree and
fell asleep. All at once an angel
touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head
was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down
again. The angel of the Lord came
back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the
journey is too much for you.”
So he got up and ate and drank.
Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights
until he reached Horeb, the It is important to get the rest we need. Jesus told the disciples that very thing on two different occasions. Once He said, “Come apart by yourselves and rest awhile,” and later He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” I don’t know how to tell you to do this in your own situation, but I can tell you that God did not make your body and soul capable of withstanding prolonged, chronic fatigue. Some of you would find your burdens lessened by 70 or 80 percent if you just had a few good nights of sleep and some proper nourishment. Even in the middle of the climactic moments of frenetic and frenzied ball games, the teams know how to call a “time out” so players can rest a moment and get a sip of water; and sometimes we need a time out, too. Last year, when I realized I was very tired, I made a handful of adjustments. I started being more diligent about taking a day off (Saturday) each week, I set my alarm clock for 6:30 instead of 6:00 each morning, I decreased my work load somewhat, and I began taking steps on Saturday nights to make sure I rested well before Sunday’s ministry—and those little steps made a big difference. If you sat down and thought about it prayerfully, I’m sure you could find some ways of backing away from the precipice of exhaustion. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we’re to care for it. Elijah’s problems were exacerbated by exhaustion, and the first thing the Lord prescribed for him was rest and nourishment. Jesus Reminds You of His Power (vv. 9-11) Second, Jesus wants to remind you of His power. Continue reading with verse 9ff: There
(at God was not in the wind, earthquake, and fire; but the Lord did cause them because Elijah needed a reminder of God’s splendorous power. He had gotten his eyes on Jezebel instead of Jehovah. He had become so distracted by the Queen of Israel that he’d forgotten about the King of Kings. Anxiety is when we come to believe that our problems are greater than God’s power. Elijah had gotten himself into such a state as that, and so the Lord gave him a wonderful pyrotechnic demonstration of His power. The Lord did the very same thing for me recently. One night when I was worried about something, I stood on the back porch and looked up into the night sky. There was the moon, blazing in its whitened glory. The stars were flung out across the sky like lamps against velvet. And the Lord seemed to say to me, “If I can manage My universe, I can surely take care of your little concerns.” I felt like the Psalmist who said, “I will lift up my eyes unto the hills from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” Jesus told us to study the chirping birds and colorful flowers, for they are reminders of God’s power and provision. The Lord surrounds us with displays of His power to let us know that, when all is said and done, He is still the controlling agent of the cosmos and the Lord of our lives. Jesus Speaks to You in a Gentle Whisper
(vv. 12-13) Third, Jesus wants to speak to us in a still, small
voice. Continue reading this
story in verses 12-13: After the earthquake came a fire, but the
Lord was not in the fire. And
after the fire came a gentle whisper.
When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out
and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” The older translations say that God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice; and I’m convinced that He primarily does this in our lives today by the use of His Holy Word. The most precious thing in my life is the way in which the Lord gives me specific verses to bear me through specific times in my life. It’s His still small voice, and it seems to me that has always been the great secret of composed Christians. Recently in studying the life of Ann Judson, the wife of
missionary Adoniram Judson, I read of how she encountered a dreadful set of
problems that would have overwhelmed anyone. She was in That’s the still, small voice of God. The thing is—we have to train
ourselves to hear Him over the noise of the world. A couple of years ago when I was in Dr. McQuilkin’s house is alongside a busy street, and the cars were coming and going incessantly. But as we sat there, Dr. McQuilkin looked at me and said, “You hear the traffic, don’t you? I don’t hear the traffic; I hear the trickling of the water.” He had trained his mind to block out the sounds of the cars and trucks, and he had tuned his ears to hear the trickling and gurgling of the water. I’ve thought of that conversation many times; and it has reminded me to pray, “Lord, tune my ears to block out all the noise of the world and to hear Your still, small voice.” And I believe that happens as we read, memorize, and meditate on His Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us with just the verses we need for the several frustrations of life. Jesus Still Wants to Use You (vv. 14-17) Fourth, Jesus still wants to use you. You may think your exhaustion or failure or breakdown or sin has disqualified you for service in God’s eternal work, but look at what happened to Elijah. God immediately renewed his commission and gave him a new set of assignments. Continue reading with verse 14ff: (Elijah) replied,
“I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your
covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the
sword. I am the only one left,
and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said to him, “Go back
the way you came, and go to the Elijah may have felt defeated by the virulent epidemic of
Baalism in The Lord wasn’t finished with Elijah, and He isn’t finished with you. As long as we are on this earth, God has work for us to do in the extending of His kingdom. You and I have a purpose. You and I have a calling. Jesus Reminds You that Things Are Not as
Bad As They Appear (v. 18) Fifth, Jesus wants to remind you that things are never as
bad as they appear to be. When
God is in the picture, things are never as bad as they seem. I think this is one of the premier
lessons of 1 Kings 19. Look at
verse 18: Yet I reserve seven thousand in Twice in this passage, Elijah had complained to the Lord
that he was the only Jehovah-worshipper in the Northern Kingdom of
Israel. “They have killed
all your prophets with the sword,” he said, “and I alone am left
and they are seeking my life also.” Feeling down in the dumps, sorry for
himself, and miserable, Elijah thought that he was the only preacher
left—and that he himself was as good as dead because of Jezebel’s
threat. But after all the other
therapy and rehabilitation, the Lord ended His session with Elijah by saying,
“Oh, by the way, I actually have 7000 people in What a message for us! What a message for you in your own set of circumstances! Things are never as bad as they appear to be whenever God is in the picture. Jesus Gives You Friends (vv. 19-21) And finally, Jesus wants to give you a friend (or friends)
to encourage and help you; and this is where we come to the subject of this
series of sermons, the young man named Elisha. Look at verse 19: So
Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of
oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his
cloak around him. Elisha then
left his oxen and ran after Elijah.
“Let me kiss my father and mother good-by,” he said,
“and then I will come with you.” “Go
back,” Elijah replied, “What have I done to you?” So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and
slaughtered them. He burned the
plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and
became his attendant. In her book, To Live Again, Catherine Marshall wrote about the devastation she felt when her husband, Peter, died suddenly of a heart attack at an early age. One morning, he complained of chest pains and went to the hospital. He didn’t seem to be in mortal danger, and so she stayed at home just long enough to get their nine-year-old son off to school. But the terrible news came on the phone before she could get to the hospital. Peter was dead. In one instant, Catherine’s world caved in, and in the weeks that followed she felt like Elijah, like Menachem Begin—she thought she couldn’t go on, and she longed to just die. But the Lord gave her a friend, Dr. Rebecca Beard. One day Catherine sought her out. Catherine later wrote: On the afternoon of my appointment, she received me in the small upstairs room in the home where she was a guest. Dr. Beard was a big, gray-haired woman whose outstanding characteristic was motherliness. Soon I was pouring out my heart to her—all the hurt of it, the ineptness and the fear I felt about facing the future alone…. The tears flowed copiously. My friend just let me talk. She said little. She attempted no pat explanation of Peter’s death; offered no advice for the future. Sometimes there were tears in her own eyes as she watched me. Then finally, when the well of my emotion was drying, she said quietly, “As a doctor, I have only one remedy to offer for what ails you. Let’s talk to Christ about it.” Her prayer was a simple heartfelt claiming of Christ’s promise to bind up the brokenhearted. Then when she had finished, without another word she gathered me into her ample arms. That afternoon it was as if a gentle Hand were laid on my heart. From that moment the healing began somewhere in the depths of my being….[1] Until now, Elijah had been one of the most solitary figures in Scripture. He was an eagle that soared alone. But now, he needed a companion, an ally, a friend—and God gave him this young man, Elisha. Tonight, we’ll study the unusual account of the calling of Elisha; but for now I just want you to see the elements that Jesus used to restore Elijah’s soul. The really remarkable thing
about this is the fact that Elijah went to Elijah had totally exhausted his
spiritual fluids. All his gauges
were low. His oil was gone. His transmission fluid was gone. His radiator was dry. His antifreeze was all gone. His break fluid was used up. His fuel tank was empty. His tires were flat. Even the windshield washing fluid was
spent. Nothing was showing on his
dipsticks. His engine was burning
up, and he was on the brink of total collapse. But he realized it, and he knew that he had to do whatever was necessary
and to go wherever was necessary to recover. He was ready to do anything and to go
anywhere. And he knew that Mt.
Sinai was the mountain of God—and so he left the Northern Kingdom of
Israel, fled in fear through the Southern Kingdom of Judah, ran out into the
Negev Desert, realized his pitiful condition and made up his mind that he
would travel on, into the Sinai Peninsula, halfway to Egypt, on to Mount
Sinai—for he knew that there was a great Filling Station where he could
replenish the spiritual fluids that he had to have for divine life and
service. He hit bottom, and that’s
when he started to look up. If
you really want to get better, you can
get better. If you really want to
heal, you can heal. If you really want spiritual and
emotional restoration, you can find it.
But you have to go to Mount Calvary. You have to look up to Jesus. You have to say, “Lord, here at
the cross of My Savior, replenish my energy, restore my soul, revive my
heart.” When you think you can’t
go on, you have to go on to Calvary.
You have to go on to Christ. Jesus, keep me
near the cross, There a precious
fountain Free to all, a
healing stream Flows from
Calvary’s mountain. In the cross, in
the cross, Be my glory
ever; Till my raptured
soul shall find Rest beyond the
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