Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to 1 Kings 19:11-19a
1 Kings 19:11-19
New International
Version
11 The Lord said, “Go
out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is
about to pass by.”
Then a great and
powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the
Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 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?”
14 He replied, “I
have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected
your covenant, torn 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.”
15 The Lord said to
him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get
there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king
over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you
as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and
Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve
seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose
mouths have not kissed him.”
19a So Elijah went
from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat.
-- I want
everybody to look at me for a moment -- mark your place and then close your
Bibles -- put down anything you’re holding -- don’t look at anyone else -- put
aside all distractions -- and then I want you to look up here and just focus on
the altar and the cross for one minute in silence
-- don’t
close your eyes -- don’t look around -- don’t do anything -- don’t fiddle with
your hands -- don’t move -- just look up here and sit in total silence for one
minute -- everyone got it?
-- give me just a second to join
you, and then we’ll start -- okay, let’s begin [time 1 minute of silence]
-- now, I
want you to think about that experience -- how easy was it for you to just sit
there in silence and do nothing? -- if you’re like me, it’s a little unnerving
to do that -- a little uncomfortable -- in our day and age, we’re just not used
to sitting quietly in silence with nothing else going on
-- we tried
to watch the news the other day, and the TV station went dark -- there was no
sound -- no picture -- nothing -- and we all began to panic -- turning the TV
on and off -- trying different channels -- we couldn’t just sit and wait for a
moment to see if it would come back on -- we were uncomfortable sitting and
waiting in silence
-- I had a
friend post online one time that they went to Starbucks and there was a guy
just sitting there at a table with a cup of coffee, doing nothing -- he didn’t
have his phone -- he didn’t have a book -- he wasn’t waiting for anyone -- he
wasn’t talking to anyone -- he was just sitting there, by himself, drinking a
cup of coffee in silence -- and my friend said, “There was something wrong with
him”
-- sitting quietly -- sitting in
silence and not doing anything is not normal anymore because we are so used to living
in this world of constant noise and motion and activity that we’ve lost the
ability to just sit and be still -- to be quiet and do nothing but listen
-- we’ve reached the place where we
tend to always need something to engage us -- to distract us -- to occupy our
minds -- whether that’s our phones or music or TV or books or whatever -- it’s
hard for us to just sit and do nothing these days -- we just saw that when I
had us just sit and be quiet for just one minute as we started this message
-- I’ve even noticed that when
people go out into nature these days, rather than just engaging in the silence
of creation, we’re filling that silence with other things
-- when we went to the beach last
week on a day trip, we finally got down to the water’s edge and set up our
chairs only to be greeted by multiple Bluetooth speakers and phones blasting
music -- and different music, at that
-- I went backpacking one time and
in the middle of the wilderness, I got passed by a guy with a Bluetooth speaker
attached to his backpack that was playing music as he walked by
-- we are a people who are
uncomfortable with silence -- with being still -- with just being quiet and
doing nothing but sitting and not moving for a moment -- we have been so
saturated and inundated with noise and activity our whole lives that we don’t
know what to do without it
-- and what
makes this so troublesome is that in the midst of all that noise and cacophony
-- in the midst of the chaos and the activity -- in the midst of us always
needing something to engage our minds and our eyes and our ears -- God is there
with us -- He is speaking to us -- He is calling out to us -- but we just can’t
hear Him or see Him or experience Him because we’re distracted by everything else
around us
-- we need
to learn how to hear God again -- we need to learn how to be intentional about
listening and looking for God in our lives -- even in the midst of this noisy
and chaotic world -- because God is calling out to us -- He is speaking to us
-- and if we don’t hear His voice, we won’t be able to follow Him or do what He
says
-- this
morning we are going to be starting a sermon series called “Hearing God” --
it's about learning how to hear God's voice again -- it's a study into the
various ways that God normally speaks to us -- as we read the Bible -- as we
study His interactions with people -- we learn that God speaks to us in four
primary ways: His word -- prayer -- the
church -- and circumstances
-- let me
go ahead and say up front that these four ways are the usual ways that God
speaks to us -- I know people who have heard God in an audible voice -- I know
others who have had experiences with angels who brought God's message to them
directly
-- but these are extraordinary
experiences and not the normal means by which God has chosen to communicate
with His people -- the four means by which God usually speaks to His people are
through the Bible, prayer, the church, and circumstances -- and, as we’ll see
as we go through this series, that order is important
-- but before we begin exploring
the ways that God speaks to us, we need to first prepare ourselves and put
ourselves in a place where we will hear Him and recognize Him and see Him when
He does speak or enter our presence
-- so, let’s begin by looking at
the example of Elijah here in 1 Kings 19
II. Scripture Lesson (1 Kings 19:11-19a)
-- before
we turn to this passage, let me give you the background and context so you know
what’s going on here
-- just to remind you, Elijah was a
prophet of God -- he ministered in the northern tribe of Israel -- as you may
know, the nation of Israel was divided after Solomon’s death into two tribes --
10 tribes rebelled against Solomon’s son Rehoboam and formed the nation of
Israel to the north and the tribes of Judah and Benjamin joined together to
form the southern kingdom of Judah
-- sometimes you’ll see the
northern kingdom of Israel called Ephraim or Samaria in the Bible -- so, if
you’re reading in the Old Testament and see references to Israel, Ephraim, or
Samaria after the death of Solomon, know that these are all the same place --
it refers to the northern kingdom of Israel
-- this is where Elijah was from --
this was the people that he ministered to as the prophet of God -- Elijah was
God’s voice and God’s prophet during the reign of the evil King Ahab and his
wife Jezebel -- these two had led Israel into idolatry and made the religions
of Baal and Asherah the national religions
-- it all came to a head on Mount
Carmel, when Elijah confronted the priests of Baal and Asherah in a trial by
fire -- and God proved Himself to be the God of Israel by lighting Elijah’s
offerings on fire -- this led to Elijah killing the false prophets of Baal and the
people repenting of their sin of idolatry and turning back to following God --
which incensed Ahab and Jezebel
-- Jezebel swore to kill Elijah, so
Elijah was afraid and ran for his life from Ahab and Jezebel -- he went off
into the wilderness and hid under a broom tree, where the Lord provided food
for him and eventually led him to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God -- where
Elijah sought refuge in a cave in the mountains to hide from Jezebel
-- which brings us to our passage
for this morning
-- look with me again now at 1
Kings 19:11
1 Kings 19:11 The
Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for
the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and
powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the
Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 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?”
-- so, here’s Elijah -- he has just
had this amazing spiritual victory on Mount Carmel where God showed Himself and
His power in such a mighty way that the entire nation turned back to Him
-- but because of Jezebel’s threats
against him, Elijah took his eyes off God and literally ran for the hills --
he’s on Mount Horeb -- living in a cave -- hiding from Jezebel and the world --
and living in fear for his life -- when the Lord comes and speaks to him and
tells him to go out and stand on the mountain, for the presence of the Lord was
going to pass by
-- now I
think there are a couple of important lessons that we can learn about hearing
and experiencing God from this example of Elijah
-- first, we
need to be familiar with the ways God normally speaks to us
-- the last
time Elijah experienced God’s presence in a noticeable way was when he was on
Mount Carmel, surrounded by all the priests of Baal
-- it was noisy -- it was chaotic
-- the priests of Baal and Asherah were screaming out to their gods and
flailing themselves and making a lot of noise -- and it was in the midst of
that chaos that God chose to declare Himself God in a miraculous way by sending
fire from heaven to burn up the sacrifice on Elijah’s altar -- everyone saw and
heard God at that moment
-- now, if that happened today,
there would be those who would assume that this is the only way to hear from
God and have Him respond to our prayers -- that this is the way to revive the
church -- they would write books -- they would give sermons and messages --
they would lead workshops -- telling everyone that if you want God to come, you
need to do it just like Elijah did -- that you need to build an altar in the
center of town and cry out to God to come down in fire
-- so, Elijah is there in his cave
on Mount Horeb and he is told that the presence of the Lord was going to pass
by -- so, he goes out expecting God to appear this time like He did the last
time -- in an amazing and extraordinary way -- in the midst of noise and chaos
and activity
-- and, sure enough, a great and
powerful wind came up and tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks --
and Elijah has to be thinking, “Here He comes -- the Lord is passing by” -- but
the Lord was not in the wind
-- next an earthquake happens --
and it shakes the very foundation of Mount Horeb -- and Elijah feels the ground
tremble beneath him and he thinks, “This is it -- the Lord must be passing by”
-- but the Lord was not in the earthquake
-- next a great fire came -- flames
engulfed the mountain -- the vegetation burned around him -- and Elijah thought
to himself, “The Lord is passing by” -- but the Lord was not in the fire
-- finally, after the fire, there
was a gentle whisper -- and when Elijah heard the gentle whisper, he went out,
pulled his cloak over his face to hide himself from the holiness of the Lord
God Almighty, and stood at the mouth of the cave -- it was then that he heard
the voice of God speaking
-- when God
speaks to us -- when He calls us into His presence -- it will usually be in the
four ways we read about in the Bible -- through His word, through prayer,
through the church, and through circumstances
-- God is
probably not going to descend on this altar today in fire to get our attention
-- He’s not going to send a great and powerful wind or an earthquake or a fire,
like He did with Elijah -- but He’s going to speak to us in a gentle whisper --
which brings us to the next discovery in these verses
-- in order
to hear God, we have to be actively listening for God
-- we’re
not going to hear God in the noise and chaos of this world -- if we are
spending out whole lives engulfed in noise and activity, we’re going to miss
God when He speaks in a gentle whisper to our hearts
-- Elijah assumed God was going to
be in the wind and the earthquake and the fire, but it was only when he quieted
himself -- when he got still and listened in the silence -- that he heard God
calling out to him -- we have to do the same
-- this is one of the biggest problems that we
have as Christians today trying to hear when God speaks to us -- we're not
actively listening -- we're listening to everything else around us and we're
just not hearing God when He speaks
-- in the
last several years I have become aware of a hearing problem that I have -- not
that I have any great hearing loss -- I've had that checked -- my problem is
that I tend to hear background noise more than what I should be listening to --
I get distracted and don’t hear when people speak
-- I
noticed it when Kim came in and started a conversation with me by saying,
“You’re not even listening, are you?” -- I thought that was a silly way to
start a conversation, but I realized that even though I was trying to hear her,
I was instead hearing the noise around me -- it wasn’t intentional, but I had
missed what she was saying -- so, I’ve tried to make everyone aware of that so
they can make sure they have my attention and I can shut off the TV or whatever
else is going on and I can actively listen to them
-- that’s
what we have to learn to do with God -- in order to hear God, we have to be
actively listening for His voice -- we have to be aware of His presence and
focused on Him in order to know when He is talking to us -- and once we learn
to recognize His voice -- once we are attuned to Him -- then it will be easier
to hear Him and focus on Him even in the midst of the noise and chaos of this
world
-- that's
why it's a good idea to follow the examples in Scripture and get away to a
quiet place when you are trying to hear from God -- over time, as you walk
longer with God and get used to hearing Him on a regular basis, you might reach
the point where you can hear Him at any time and in any place -- no matter what
is going on -- but to do that you need to be actively listening for Him
-- third, we
need to respond when God speaks
-- look
back at the second part of verse 13 here
1 Kings 19:13b Then a
voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I
have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected
your covenant, torn 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.”
15 The Lord said to
him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get
there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king
over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you
as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and
Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve
seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose
mouths have not kissed him.”
19a So Elijah went
from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat.
-- when God
speaks, He does so for a reason -- God doesn't just call us up to chat -- He
calls us into His presence because He wants to tell us something or to have us
do something
-- for that reason, when God
speaks, we are expected to respond -- we are expected to acknowledge His
presence -- to hear His voice -- and to do what He tells us to do -- just as
Elijah does here
-- when Elijah finally learned to
listen for God in the silence and he heard God speak in a gentle whisper, God
asked Elijah, “What are you doing here? -- Why are you here? -- Why aren’t you
serving Me as I called you to do?”
-- it does
no good to learn to listen to God's voice if you don't do what He tells you to
do
-- we can
go to every church service and Bible study until we get calluses on our
backsides from sitting in the pews so long, but unless we are doing something
with what we are hearing -- unless we are actively listening and responding to God's
word, we are just wasting our time -- just like Elijah sitting in a cave on
Mount Horeb having a pity party
-- Elijah
responds to God by telling Him everything he has done for God -- “I have been
zealous for you -- I have proclaimed your word -- I have done everything to
exalt you in Israel -- but the Israelites have rejected you and put your
prophets to the sword and now Jezebel is after me”
-- that’s
all well and good -- but what have you done for me lately? -- what are doing
for me now?
-- we’re
getting ready for college football season -- and my beloved Georgia Bulldogs
have had a good run lately -- National Champions for two of the last three
years -- it was a long time coming -- we had to wait 41 years after our last
National Championship until we got our next one in 2021 -- so, we’ve had a good
run
-- but let
me tell you this -- we don’t want to hear that from Kirby Smart and this team
-- we don’t want to get to the end of this season and hear about the past -- we
want to know what you’re going to do this year -- we want to hear how the
Bulldogs are going to go out and win another National Championship -- it’s not
about living in the past -- it’s not about what we’ve done before -- it’s about
what we’re going to do in the future
-- and that
is what God tells Elijah here -- He listens to Elijah’s whining and hears about
all the things that Elijah did for Him in the past -- and He asks him, “What
are you doing here?” -- in other words,
“you’re in the wrong place -- I didn’t call you to just do what you did -- I
called you for more”
-- so, God
tells Elijah to get up and go back the way he had come -- to go to the desert
of Damascus and anoint Hazael as King over Aram and Jehu as King over Israel
and Elisha as the next prophet of God
-- “Get up
and get moving -- you’re not done yet”
-- when we
hear God speak -- no matter how He speaks -- we need to do what He tells us to
do
-- if all
we’re doing is coming to church and listening to God’s word and studying God’s
word in Bible study and taking notes, but then we don’t do anything with what
we’ve heard God say, then we’re missing the point -- God is not speaking to us
just so we will study His word -- He’s not just speaking to us for us to hear
Him and talk about the experience -- God is speaking to us to tell us what He
wants us to do, and He expects us to go and do what He said
-- here’s
the key point -- when the God of all the universe takes the time to speak to
us, we need to respond to His word
-- Elijah
finally got this point when God called him out -- “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” -- and when God gave Elijah a to-do list -- to his credit -- Elijah
finally got up -- quit having his little pity party -- and he did what God told
him to do
-- so, we need to get in the place
where we can hear God and see God and know God when He speaks -- we need to
actively listen to what He says -- and then we have to act on what He tells us
to do -- that’s the process -- and that’s what we are going to discuss over the
next few weeks
III. Closing
-- I want
to bring this to a close by sharing an example from my own life about doing
these very things -- getting into a place where we can hear God -- actively
listening to God -- and then doing what He tells us to do
-- it seems
like we’ve always had a problem with vehicles -- even right now, my truck is in
the shop -- so, back in the day, we had three vehicles that we kept running just
to ensure that we would always have a spare
-- several
years ago, our main vehicle was an Isuzu pickup -- that was the vehicle we used
for trips and running errands and everything else -- it was the newest vehicle
we had, and it was in pretty good shape
-- one day,
we were going to a Christmas party, and we went across a railroad track in
town, and the truck started making a funny noise -- it lost power -- it would
barely go -- we limped on to the party and then back home -- but it was obvious
that our best vehicle was broke -- which was a big problem because we didn’t
have money to get the truck fixed -- and we needed a dependable vehicle to get
to work and back
-- it was
Christmas season -- I was off work for a few days -- and I spent those few days
having a pity party like Elijah -- I worried about what we were going to do
when I had to go back to work -- I tried to figure it out -- I agonized over
the situation -- starting feeling sorry for myself and blaming God for
everything and praying for Him to fix the problem -- I was walking around
outside and just ranting quietly in my heart to God -- and it was at that
moment, I saw a flash of light
-- it
wasn’t a supernatural messenger from God -- God didn’t send down fire from
heaven -- it wasn’t even a miracle where money just fell from the sky or
someone stopped by to offer to fix our truck -- that flash of light was
sunlight glinting off the windshield of my old Ford truck and catching my eye
-- at the
time, my old Ford truck was over 20 years old -- it still ran, but not well --
the body was rusted -- the floorboards were rusted through in places -- it
didn’t have an air conditioner -- didn’t have much of a heater -- but the worst
part was that the radio was broken -- and, like we talked about earlier, I had
gotten used to having noise on at all times, especially when I was driving --
probably like most of you
-- because
we didn’t really need the truck, I had parked it on the side of our yard a
couple of years ago -- just backed it in the weeds and left it -- didn’t think
anymore about it -- but then God sent that flash of light and called my
attention to it
-- I went
over to it saying, "No Lord, not this -- I think you’re misunderstanding
-- I want a new truck or at least fix my other truck -- I need a radio -- I’ll
only listen to good stuff -- I’ll just listen to the radio preachers and Focus
on the Family and Adventures in Odyssey -- I need a good, dependable vehicle
with a radio, Lord”
-- light
flashed in eyes again -- I sighed and walked over to the truck -- it had weeds
growing up through the hood -- that’s how long it had been sitting there -- so
I said, “Okay, God, if it cranks, I'll take it as a sign from you."
-- I pulled
the weeds out of hood -- got in -- wiped dust and dirt off the dash -- turned
key -- and the thing fired right up -- didn’t hesitate at all -- been sitting
there for over a year, and it cranked like it was brand new
-- and to
be honest with you, my first thought wasn’t, “Thank you, God!” -- it was,
“Crap. Now I have to drive this old
truck with no radio back and forth to work”
-- but
that’s what I did -- I spent about a month driving that old truck back and
forth to work -- all the way with no radio -- six-thirty in the morning -- dark
out -- no one else around -- there I am, driving this noisy old truck with no
radio to keep me company
-- I tried
carrying a walkman and using headphones -- I tried a tape recorder on the seat
-- but the truck was so loud that I couldn't hear over the engine
-- I
finally gave up and rode in silence -- and it was tough -- I’m not kidding --
when you’re used to noise and having the radio there as your companion and you
don’t have it -- it’s tough
-- I tried
to sing songs -- then I prayed -- but after a while I ran out of stuff to sing
and pray so I just sat there for 30 long miles -- and then in the silence, I
started to hear it -- a gentle whisper -- God's voice speaking to me -- asking
me, “What are you doing here?”
-- things
started to change in my spiritual life -- God started leading me down paths of
intimacy I never knew existed -- I started hearing from God in a new way -- I
started responding to God in a new way -- it was at that time that I really
started to mature in the faith and began to accept God’s call into the ministry
-- and, in
the silence of that truck -- through that gentle whisper -- God confirmed the
call and got me ready to step down this new path that He was leading me -- the
path that has led me to this very spot today
-- and it
all came about because of a broken radio and a rusted truck -- it all came
about because God put me in a place where I could hear His voice in the gentle
whisper of the morning -- He led me to hear Him as He spoke -- and I responded
to His word by doing what He told me to do
-- that is
my hope and prayer for us as we begin this sermon series together -- I’m
praying that we can all enter into God’s presence in this way -- that we can
put aside the noise and the chaos of this world -- that we can learn to quiet
the voices competing for our attention -- and that we can hear God when He
whispers to our hearts
-- so, let
us pray that we learn how to do that over the next few weeks -- and that we
learn how to actively listen to Him -- and then to do more than just listen --
to actually do what He is calling us to do
-- God is
speaking right now -- He’s calling out to you right now -- and we need to learn
how to hear Him and respond to Him when He does
-- with
that, let us close in prayer and get ready for the week ahead
-- let us
pray
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