#3 “The Great
Issues Of Faith From Elijah’s Life” Series
"AGAINST THE OPPRESSION!"
TEXT: 1
Kings 19:1-21
INTRO: Nothing
distorts reality and Christian joy more than depression. Depression can paralyze a Christian with
fear, isolation, criticism, tiredness, and fruitlessness. When it strikes reason disappears, in its
place comes distorted perception.
ILLUS: Like
the mental patient who was convinced that he was dead, he was committed to the
care of a psychiatrist who tried to reason with him to no avail. Finally the Doctor read an anatomy book
and had the patient watch films to show that dead men do not bleed ... then he
took the patient to a room full of cadavers. The doctor poked several of the cadavers
with a pin and showed his patient that none of the dead men bled ... finally the
patient caved in and admitted, "ok, I convinced, dead men don't bleed." Suddenly, the doctor poked him and a tiny
drop of blood oozed out of his patients hand; the patient responded when he saw
the blood, "Well, what do you know, dead men do bleed after all!" THE PROBLEM WASN'T THE FACTS ... IT WAS
HIS PERCEPTION! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
Or ... here's another
Illustration:
ILLUS: A
hunter had a very unusual dog and decided he wanted to show it off to one of his
not so up-beat friends. As they
waited, a flock of ducks finally flew over head and the man shot one. It fell into the water and the man told
his friend, "now watch this REMARKABLE dog of mine fetch that duck, he snapped
his fingers and the dog took off ... RUNNING ON TOP OF THE WATER ALL THE WAY out
to get the duck ... AND ALL THE WAY BACK!
Certain that his negative friend would be amazed he asked him, "What do
you think of my dog now?" His
negative friend replied, "Dumb dog ... can't even swim!"
– SOURCE
UNKNOWN
Nothing grips the heart more than
misery ... and depression is a crippling disease for Christians! Satan's most effective tool against
Christians is not outright sin ... it is discouragement ... which will lead to
many sins; or at best incapacitate a believer to be unproductive, resentful
toward others, and angry at God and man!
Such people are devastating to themselves, the Kingdom of God, and to the
witness of the Gospel of Christ!
PROP.SENT: The Bible teaches that
even the best of Christians can become snagged with depression, and that
depression's damage can be powerful on those who experience it as well as those
who come into contact with those who are depressed. Compassion and companionship are the way
out of oppression and depression!
I. DYNAMICS OF DEPRESSION 1 Kings 19:1-18
A. Fear!
1 Kings
19:1-3
1. Though the death of the
prophets of Baal were the results of God's dealings, it is the prophet of God
that gets the blame! Elijah’s
strong point – courage, becomes his weakness! Fear!
a. Ahab tells Jezebel "everything
Elijah had done."
b. Elijah was still riding high
from the great victory brought by God through his ministry and faithfulness to
the Lord!
2. Jezebel dispatches a
messenger to Elijah to inform him that he was the target of of her death squad
... he had 24 hours at most to live!
a. It seems strange that Jezebel
would even warn him ... perhaps her intent all along was just to scare him
enough to get him out of town!
b. Making a martyr out of him
might have backfired, getting rid of him would discredit him in front of the
people, or at least minimize additional influence on the
people!
c. Perhaps she knew only too
well what has been only too true throughout time immortal; that even the
strongest of men of God can become discouraged and
fearful.
3. A major set-back for Satan
had brought on a major confrontation with Satan's
disciple!
a. It is a dangerous thing to
corner a poisonous snake ... they often will strike
you!
b. Elijah was discovering once
again the down-side to successful ministry ... opposition which can bring on
oppression ... which results in depression!
4. Suddenly, the man Elijah who
was high on victory experienced the full flush of
fear!
a. And so, instead of enjoying
the fruits of his successful ministry he finds himself consumed with his own
sense of well-being!
b. He runs for his life out of
Jezreel to
c. Although Elijah had
encouraged Ahab to eat before going to Jezreel, Elijah had not ... he had run
under the power of God ahead of Ahab and had still not sat down to a decent meal
before this bad news hit! Now he
runs under a different power than that of the Holy Spirit ... it is the spirit
of fear!
d. The spirit of fear energizes
him also for a long distant run ... 100 miles, but this run would not leave him
refreshed like the energy from the Spirit of God!
B. Fruitless! 1 Kings
19:4
1. Leaving his servant in
Beersheba in Judah's southern boundary city he goes alone to the desert, another
full day journey from
a. This guy has done some
serious traveling!
b. Like many people driven by
fear ... they are quite energetic ... but their goals are dry like the
desert!
2. All this fear had created in
Elijah's mind the idea that his ministry was basically fruitless!
a. That fear of one cut short
his ministry in
b. It stole from him the joy of
his ministry on mount Carmel only days earlier!
c. He must have felt all that
victory was now only in vain!
3. What he was feeling was, "WHAT DIFFERENCE DID IT
MAKE!"
4. He finds a "BROOM" tree and
lays down ... trying to get a HANDLE perhaps on events. Under this broom tree he “sweeps” away
all hopes of having any fruitful impact!
a. Ironically, he now prays that
"God would take" his life! God never does answer his prayer to die
… he is translated to heaven directly later!
b. If this was how he really
felt, he wouldn't have had to run away ... Jezebel was more than happy to oblige
this request already!
c. This wasn't what Elijah
really wanted; it was simply his way of saying "My life has been
fruitless!"
d. This is supported by the
additional, “I
am no better than my ancestors” – meaning, "They didn't succeed in bringing
e. The idea: "My ministry is just as much a flop as all
the other failures before me!"
Note: Already he is
distorting reality ... the past ... the present ... and you can be sure the
future will be too!
C. Fatigue
1 Kings 19:5-8
1. What factors have led to his
extreme fatigue and depression?
a. Long term activity without
proper nutritional needs met.
Mistreat the body it does affect the soul!
(1. Remember Elijah hasn't eaten
anything since the confrontation on
(2. Since this covers several
days he must have missed some sleep to have gotten so far on so little
time!
(3. Loneliness, part not his
fault, part his fault, contributes to the weariness. While mostly alone in
(4. He had acted without God's
direction in this trip ... one of the few times he does this in his
life!
(5. He did not pray about the
conflict ... he just panicked and ran!
(6. He sought no council or
advice from any friends or supporters!
(7. He assumed the worst about
himself and about God and God's family!
(8. He forgot all about God's
other expressions of help and goodness, he only saw the
moment!
(9. Made no plans for being in
the desert ... took no provision for survival!
b. This was an emotional
disaster in the making!
2. Rebellious, angry, hurt,
confused, resentful, unthankful, uncaring; all rear their ugly traits in quick
succession as the process of despair unfolds itself!
ILLUS: During
WW II the enemy conducted experiments to find the
3. God in His great compassion
comes to Elijah in spite of the fact that Elijah wasn't where he was suppose to
be or doing what he was suppose to be doing, God cares about him as a person and
his needs!
a. The issues could wait ...
Elijah needed most right now some practical and loving
attention!
b. God as a loving father seeks
to meet that need first, and then the issues can be dealt with at
ILLUS: Benjamin
West, the great painter describes how he came to love painting: As a young boy
he decided one day to paint a picture of his sister while his mother was
away! He got out bottles of ink and
started to paint ... but soon had created a mess all over the room! His mother returned, and of course saw
the mess! Instead of scolding him,
she picked up the portrait from the inking floor and declared, "What a beautiful picture of your
sister" and leaned over and kissed him! Later in life he said, "With that kiss I became a
painter!" ELIJAH HAD MADE A MESS ... BUT GOD WAS
GOING TO KISS HIM! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. Elijah fell asleep; God made
some bread and put on the coffee!
19:5-6
a. Elijah eats and drinks, lays
down again, he was weary!
b. A second time God gets him up
and feeds him more!
5. God feeds him in the desert
to strengthen him for the 40 days, 40 night trip to
a. This "SOUL FOOD" gave him the strength for a
long journey toward God!
b. This trip was intended to be
a break from ministry to recharge the prophet!
D. Fiction! 1 Kings
19:9-14
1. Was Elijah cured? NOPE! He still hasn't focused properly on
reality, though his physical needs have now been met!
a. He is now
rested,
b. He is
fed,
c. He is in God's presence again
... but,
d. Still not seeing things
right!
2. God lovingly asks him, "What are you
doing here Elijah?"
a. This was to give him the
opportunity to respond from his perspective!
b. Unfortunately the answer
Elijah gives indicates just how distorted he still saw
everything:
(1. "I have been
zealous for the Lord (true so far!) ... but
(2. "All the others
are dead … I'm totally alone!" (Not true! He had been told earlier by Obadiah that
at least 100 prophets of God still lived!
(3. Elijah assumed he would die
too, even though he had witnessed God's affirming him in front of all
c. In ROMANS 11:3 Paul states that this response was
almost a prayer against Israel from Elijah! Elijah is simply bitter and puts himself
above his brethren in terms of his devotion to the Lord, assumes the rest are so
hypocritical if alive, or that they wouldn't care about
him!
3. God is not put off by his
bitter servant; indeed, God decides to try another tactic to refocus Elijah ...
something a little more dramatic!
a. Elijah's anger centered
around the seeming unfruitfulness of ministry after the events with
b. Perhaps Elijah was wondering
why God didn't zap Jezebel with fire like the other fire incident ... why didn't
God use more power than just his having to speak out!
4. God sends a powerful wind
that tears rocks apart but the Lord was not found in the
wind!
5. God next sends an earthquake
but the Lord was not found in the earthquake!
6. God then sends fire (this
sounds familiar!) but God was not found in the fire!
7. After the fire there is only
a gentle whisper ... GOD WAS IN THE WHISPER!
8. WHAT'S GOD'S POINT? Simple: The dramatic flare like fire might get
the people's attention but it is the simple spoken Word of God that will bring
about real change and revival!
a. Unfortunately Elijah had run
away before this phase could happen!
b. Yet, he was still angry at
God, blaming God for not doing the next part of the revival ... but this was the
part Elijah himself was to be responsible for!
ILLUS: A
man recently was reported to be suing a hospital. A doctor had performed staple surgery on
his stomach to heLp him lose weight. A couple of days after surgery he raided
the hospital refrigerator and stuffed himself with everything he could find.
This tore opened the staples and
forced another surgery. He was
suing the hospital for having a refrigerator near his room ... he claimed the
temptation was too great, thus the complications were not his own fault, but the
hospital's! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
9. Elijah had done the same
thing, he was blaming God for the failure of the revival to continue in Israel
and his having to run for safety, thus not being able to
preach.
a. God now gently asks
again! "ELIJAH, WHAT ARE
YOU DOING HERE?"
b. Did he get the
point?
c. NOPE! Elijah simply repeats verbatim the same
response to God ... indicating a stubborn refusal to hear what God was trying to
say to him!
d. Elijah did not hear what God
was trying to say to him! BOY, HOW
OFTEN THIS HAPPENS TO CHRISTIANS WHO ARE DEPRESSED ... THEY COULD HEAR A
SERMON ON IT AND STILL MISS THE MESSAGE!
10. It was going to take some specific steps
to restore Elijah ... one item at a time:
II. DESIGN FOR DELIVERANCE! 1 Kings
19:15-21
A. Future! 1 Kings
19:15-17
1. The first step was to get him
to return the way he came, one stop at a time!
a. Running away won't solve your
depression problem, it might temporarily relieve some of it, but even if
you go somewhere else if the issues that cause the depression aren't dealt with
they will return with new faces!
b. The return trip would be in
several stops ... giving time for readjustments!
2. The trip home was given with
the promise of useful ministry ahead; in other words, PURPOSE! Restoring this promise of fruitfulness
in ministry helps bring Elijah some first stages of
healing:
a. The idea was: Back to
ministry!
b. Some specific ministry goals
are spelled out for him by God, thus when completed he would know one after the
other of their fruitfulness!
c. Hope of a future usefulness
is an important healing function!
ILLUS: More
than 30 years ago an old man in east Tennessee was found to have an unusual
morning ritual ... he filled a sack with acorns and taking a wooden stick he
would walk through a burned out forest area in THE mountains. Here and there he stopped and poked a
hole; dropping in an acorn ... then covered it with dirt. When asked why he did this as an old man
he replied, "Someone has to think of THE future." Today there is a
3. Within the scope of this
ministry God clearly tells Elijah that in time the scores will be settled with
those who were evil and seemingly getting away with it! Jezebel will get her reward and all the
other evil people, even if NOT in Elijah's lifetime!
B. "Family" 1 Kings
19:18
1. Perhaps in a deliberate note,
God reminds Elijah too that he is not the only "Zealous" servant of His ... that he is part of
a large family of believers ... some who are just as good, and perhaps, just as
bad as he is!
2. This settles this issue of
aloneness! In a sense these 7,000
others were a notch above Elijah at this point; they hadn't fled for personal
safety like him!
3. His brethren were not the
supposed hypocrites and weaklings he had assumed!
a. Their passion for the Lord
was just as great ... they hadn't kissed the Baals!
b. His view of his brethren just
wasn't accurate at all!
4. He could have sought out his
brethren and found strength, perhaps together they would have easily beaten
Jezebel and sparked the greatest revival in
a. It was time to return to the
family of God!
b. It was time to recognize his
brothers’ commitment to the Lord!
5. Slowly, but precisely, God
was refocusing his perspective of everything!
C. Friend!
1 Kings
19:19-21
1. This final stage was critical
to full recovery! No where does it
indicate that he went back to
2. God was assigning him a new
friend ... someone whose faith was upbeat, strong, and whose commitment was like
Elijah's!
a. Elijah not only needed a HEAVENLY FATHER, he also needed
an EARTHLY FRIEND.
b. This would help prevent the
same crisis from happening again!
c. The choice of companionship
can make the difference in the future!
3. Elijah finds a man named
ELISHA ... found him plowing with 12 yoke of oxen!
a. Elisha was rich, from a
wealthy family ... yet he was plowing himself, a very hard working man! GOD ALWAYS CALLS THOSE WHO ARE PRESENTLY
WORKING! (Remember, Peter was
fishing when the call came, etc.)
b. Elijah goes up to him and
throws his mantle around Elisha!
This was sign of adopting Elisha as his successor in ministry! (GERMAN PHRASE, MANTEL-KIND means "Adopted Child"
still!)
4. Elisha requests just a moment
to return to kiss his father and mother good-bye!
a. This was not meant as a delay
tactic like in LUKE 9:61 where the man wanted
to wait until he buried his father ... meaning when they passed away and were
gone ... possibly a great delay!)
b. This was a sign of respect
and obedience to the 10 commandments, to honor his father and mother, to show
thankfulness for their ministry to him as a son all those
years!
c. Elijah had found the right
kind of friend ... someone who is positive, obedient, loving to his own family,
etc. A good choice of a
friend!
d. Elisha demonstrated also how
much worldly goods affected him ... he burns his plow and slaughters his oxen
... no turning back, no holding on to riches!
e. boy was this guy a great
choice for a friendship!
f. Even the term "attendant" indicates that he was no smart alert
upstart ... telling Elijah what to do, he becomes first a servant, learning and
appreciating Elijah's experience in ministry before
him.
g. This looks like the beginning
of a great friendship and a real healing balm for Elijah's
life!
5. Elijah was back in the saddle
of ministry, this time with some depression proof
help!
CONCLUSION: Even the most faithful servants of God
can have times of failure and depression! At such times God is faithful to love us
and nurture us back to spiritual health. Elijah's recovery included promises of
fruitful ministry, he's not alone, and a close friend who is upbeat and full of
faith and an encourager comes alongside to help him! If you're depressed find the right
friends, if you know someone depressed, be that right
friend!