August 23/24, 2009

Pastor Waldschmidt
August 23, 2009
1 Kings 19:3-9
“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he 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 mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

THE LORD GIVES STRENGTH IN TIMES OF DISCOURAGEMENT
I. We all get discouraged.
II. Let’s look to the Lord’s presence.
III. Let’s do what the Lord is asking us to do.
In the name of Jesus, who gives strength in discouragement, dear fellow redeemed children of God,
In a few weeks my family is putting together the 1st annual Waldschmidt Half Marathon run. To fit the different stages of physical fitness for my family we’ll have several different running events from the 13 mile featured event to the always popular “running to the end of the driveway and back” event. My brother had t-shirts made up for us that have a slow moving vehicle sign on the back. I will probably be running in one of the events closer to the “end of the driveway and back” event. Just before this part of God’s word we heard about Elijah running much farther than the end of the driveway and back. “The power of the Lord came upon Elijah and tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.” That’s almost 17 miles from where they were. Elijah was a powerful man. Yet as God’s word begins, he is in the depths of despair. Let’s see how the Lord handles him. The Lord gives strength in times of discouragement. I. Yes we all get discouraged. II. Let’s look to the Lord’s presence. III. Let’s do what the Lord is asking us to do.
When football heroes win the Super Bowl they often shout into the cameras, “I’m going to Disney World!” Elijah had just been in the Super Bowl- the super bowl of the Gods. That would be the Super Bowl of the Gods- Capitol G for the Lord, the true and only God and the god (small g for the Devil’s sneaky lie for a god) Baal. The king in Israel at this time was Ahab. I once heard Ahab described as “the vilest human toad who squatted upon the throne of his nation—the worst of Israel's kings. King Ahab had command of a nation's wealth and a nation's army, but he had no command of his lusts and appetites.” Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of the Phoenician king. She brought with her the worship of Baal. It infected Israel so much so that when Elijah said one day to the people that they would have to choose. “If Baal is god worship him, but if the Lord is God worship him.” And the Bible records that the people said nothing. It makes us think of the times we have kept silent in this sinful world or even of times we have joined in to worship pleasure and sin.
Elijah proposed a contest on Mt. Carmel where the first God to answer the prayers of their prophets with fire from heaven would be declared the true God. The 450 prophets of Baal went first. They prayed loud and long and they even prayed bloody. It’s hard to imagine but they cut themselves trying to get the attention of their god when their sacrifice stayed stone cold on their altar. Late in the day it was God’s turn. After Elijah had water poured on the sacrifice so that no one could claim spontaneous combustion, the true God answered Elijah’s one brief prayer as fire fell from heaven and burned up the not only the sacrifice but also the stones of the altar. God had shown himself to be the only true God. In an effort to stop this spiritually deadly foolishness of Baal worship among God’s people, Elijah ordered that the 450 prophets of Baal be killed. No after winning a Super Bowl like that where do you suppose Elijah would go? Would he take some of his buddies from the school of the prophets down to Egypt to see the pyramids or cool his heels after a 17 mile run in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea? There would be no Disneyworld and no vacation for Elijah. But there would be a time for us who so often are discouraged to see that the Lord gives strength in times of discouragement. Yes we all get discouraged but the Lord gives strength.
Life so often ends up being like a roller coaster as we emotionally go up so we often emotionally go screaming down. Elijah's triumph was short lived as Jezebel was not happy about the prophets of her pet deity being killed. She sent a nasty gram to Elijah, “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 wouldn’t be going to Disneyland. We’re told “Elijah was afraid [a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.” We can see the pieces of this broken man. He seems to have forgotten what God can do and has lost his courage because he didn’t send a note back to Jezebel saying “Bring it on!” His hope for his nation and his church seems to have faded. He doesn’t want to live anymore. "I have had enough, Lord. Take my life," he prays.
Poor Elijah was having a pity party. Wait a minute! He didn’t invite us. We like to have pity parties too! The truth is that sin has messed up God’s perfect world. Just when the last thing we need is a car repair bill, our car breaks down. The bottom falls out of the economy and we lose our job. We get sick. Our loved ones get bad news from the doctors. Everything and everyone seems to be against us. We feel all alone. We have no real friends. Life just doesn't seem worth living anymore. The list could go on and on in this sin-sick world. Sin has messed us up too. We over react like Elijah when things don’t go our way. We forget what the Lord can do and we sit down under a tree or in a chair or sprawl out on our beds and we pout. The devil is a master at getting us to look at the troubles in our lives and leading us to despair. Sin has messed up our bodies on the inside so much that sometimes that despair can even trigger physical depression. Pity parties sometimes turn into things we need to see the doctor for. Along with St. Paul we have to say, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
When we are having our pity parties, it sometimes doesn’t help very much to know that everybody gets down from time to time. The only thing that really helps is remembering again the love of our God. Remember Paul answered his question “Thanks be to God he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Elijah needed to remember what we need to remember. God loves us. It is a miracle that God loves us and redeemed us. It is a miracle that he is always with us. His love never changes. The God with whom nothing is impossible is with us. He gives strength when we are discouraged. Let’s remember his presence.
Elijah didn’t light the sacrifice on fire. It wasn’t Elijah who preserved his life when Ahab and Jezebel were taking swings at him. It was not Elijah who would preserve his life for the forty days and nights it would take to walk to Mt. Horeb. It was not Elijah who had given him his life, who had given him his faith, who had given him his calling in life. It was God, who dearly loved Elijah.

That God was there to give Elijah strength. “Then he 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 mountain of God.”
When I was growing up my sister was tough. Some of the other boys said they didn’t want to play football if she was playing because she tackled so hard. I remember once telling some mean boys at the tennis courts that I was going to tell my sister that they were bothering us. They were not impressed. They had never been tackled in the backfield. The world may not be impressed with the fact that the Lord is with us. But what the world does and thinks doesn’t change what God has done for you. He sent his Son to suffer and die for you. This same Lord God Almighty directs and controls every aspect of our lives. It is God who has worked within us the miracle of spiritual rebirth. God used the tools of His Word and Baptism to bring us to trust in him. That wasn’t just ordinary food that God provided for Elijah. It is not ordinary food that God provides for our souls. He uses the food of his word and communion to keep us in the Christian faith. God gives strength when we are discouraged.
That discouragement is an awful thing because it can so easily keep us from doing what God wants or if we are going through the motions can steal our joy in doing what God wants us to do. God gives strength in times of discouragement. Let’s get busy with what the Lord has given us to do.
Can you imagine how frustrating it must be to be a turtle? Our turtles would try to walk away from us when we were kids and we would pick them up and plop them back down again right where they started. God in love doesn’t plop Elijah right back in front of Jezebel and Ahab. But God still had work for him to do. He would arrange for a successor to continue his work as God’s prophet. Elijah would be involved in the plans God had for protecting his people from Jezebel and Ahab. Strengthened by the Lord Elijah journeyed on for 40 days and nights. “There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" With a gentle whisper God would direct Elijah back. As the Lord took care of Elijah in love, so the Lord deals with us. Just what our part in God's kingdom plan may be may not always be clear to us, but we can be sure that God knows the work which he wants us to do. And this Lord will continue to walk with us through life every step of the way. He will give us the strength to wipe another nose or answer the same question from Grandpa that we’ve heard 10 times today. He will be with us when we go to work and when we are laid off. He will be with us as we reach out to the friend who needs to hear about the Savior.
The runners in my family’s half marathon might have some slow moving vehicle shirts. But let’s not be wearing slow moving vehicle shirts when it comes to running the race the Lord has laid out for us. The Lord gives strength when we are discouraged. Trusting in his presence and strengthened by his word let’s get busy doing what the Lord wants us to do. Amen.