1 Kings 19. Before I begin reading, I'm going
to begin reading in the 9th verse and read verses 9 and 10 with
just a little word of what has happened up until this point. There was a man a prophet named
Elijah. And there was a time when 450
prophets of Baal had aligned themselves against God. Challenge was given to these
450 prophets of Baal, and it was this, ìThe God that answers
by fire, Heís God.î An altar was made. Moloch was
sacrificed, laid, and these 450 prophets of Baal began to cry. unto their God. Of course, they
go all day. Into the late afternoon, Elijah
mocks them and says, What seems to be the problem? Maybe your
God is not listening. Maybe He is not here. Maybe He
is asleep. Then, after they had cut themselves,
Elijah prepared The altar laid the sacrifice, had water to be
poured on that sacrifice, and God answered by fire and consumed
it. Picture the sacrifice of our
blessed Savior. These 450 prophets of Baal were
slain. A threat was made by a woman
named Jezebel. sent word to Elijah, and she
said, ìThis is whatís going to happen to you. Iím going to kill
you.î And Elijah flees, and he comes to this place. God finds him. After he had gone,
in verse 4 of chapter 19, ìHe went another dayís journey into
the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree,
He requested for himself that he might die and said, ìIt is
enough.î ìNow, O Lord, take away my life, for I am not better
than my fatherís.î The Lord sent, in verse 7, an angel, touched
him, told him to rise and eat. The journey was going to be too
great for him. Verse 8 said, He arose and did
eat and drink, and He went into the strength of that meat forty
days and forty nights unto Horeb, the mount of God. And then in
verse 9, this is where I want to look this morning, And He
came thither unto a cave, and lodged there. And, behold, the
word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest
thou hear, Elijah? And he said, I have been very
jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have
forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain
thy prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left. And they seek my life to take
it away." I want to speak this morning on a subject that we
hear about often that is absolutely essential, and it is faithfulness,
faithfulness. Elijah said, ìIíve been very
jealous of the Lord God of hosts.î He was frank, he was honest,
he was sincere. He had been very jealous. for God's honor, to challenge
these 450 false prophets of Baal, to get their God to answer by
fire, to have slain these false prophets when no fire fell from
heaven, for Him to have called upon God Almighty to answer,
and for God to have answered, proved God's faithfulness. And Elijah, having received a
threat from this woman, Jezebel, he was deeply distressed, and
I understand that. He had been jealous, faithful
to the Lord, faithfulness. That's something that all of
us this morning must absolutely think about, faithfulness. Paul
says, I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I kept
the faith. The life of a believer is a conflict. The life of a believer is a race. A believer's life is one to be
of stewardship, faithfulness, the captain of our salvation.
chooses and enlists his own as being soldiers. That is where
we are referred to. It is he who armors and equips
his people. They are chosen to a good fight,
a good cause, under a good shepherd, faithful. He has assured his
people of a sure victory, for he himself has died in their
stead, conquering all his and their enemies." Faithful! Now, there are some that are
here today that are faithful. Elijah said, I've been very jealous
for the Lord God of hosts. Remember, the battle is the Lord's. We are, without doubt, more than
conquerors through Him that loved us. We are to lay hold of eternal
life, to lay hold by faith, to hold fast in confidence. Without
doubt, Elijah truly could say, I have been jealous, for the
Lord God opposed. Have you? Have I? Boy, I tell you, when I think
about that statement, wow! Paul said, and said truthfully,
ìI fought a good fight.î But friend, without him, you can
do nothing. Without him, he is the bind. We are the branch. It is God. that worketh in you to will and
to do of his good pleasure. Except the Lord build a house,
they labour in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the
city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Are God's people faithful? Yes, they are. Are they faithful
in themselves? No, they are not. Jeremiah says,
O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is
not in man that walketh to direct his steps. Turn with me to Luke
17. Luke 17, verse 7. Luke 17, verse
7. But which of you, having a servant
plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when
he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meet? And will
not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and
gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken, and
afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he think that servant,
because he did the things that were commanded him, I trow not,
so likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which
are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have
done that which was our duty to do." God's people are faithful,
but they are faithful in Christ alone. It is Almighty God that
has given us a heart of jealousy for His honor. It is a privilege. and an honor, it's a duty, it's
a command. It is God that shall keep that
chosen vessel with that desire for Him. Elijah was jealous for
God's honor. Think this morning what an honor
and a privilege and a joy it is to admit, even now, I've been
jealous for His honor. What believer would say that
the Lord God has not kept me? What believer would not readily
admit that? Paul says, God forbid, that I
should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom
the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. The faithfulness
of believers, though I admit that the sin of unbelief doth
so easily beset us, is a tribute to the glory of the true and
faithful servant of Almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And
that faithfulness is for the good of His people. To His honor
and to our good, we're faithful. Numbers 25. Numbers chapter 25. I'd like to read a passage here
out of this particular chapter. We'll read a couple of different
passages. Numbers 25, verse 1 to 3. And Israel abode in Shittim,
and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of
Moab. And they called the people unto
the sacrifices of their gods, and the people did eat and bowed
down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto
Baal Peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. Now look at verse 6, And behold,
one of the children of Israel came, brought unto his brethren
a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, in the sight of all
the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And when Phinehas,
the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw it, he
rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand.
And he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust
both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through
her belly, so the plague was stayed from before the children
of Israel." Now, let me tell you something. Up until this
point, here's a picture of all of man by nature, rebellious,
adulterous, spiritually adulterous. Look at verse 10. Here's a picture
of Phinehas, a picture of our Lord. The Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, The son of Aaron, the
priest, hath turned away my wrath from the children of Israel,
while he was zealous for my sake among them that I consume not
the children of Israel. Wherefore, say, Behold, I give
unto him my covenant of peace, and he shall have it, and his
seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood,
because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for
the children of Israel by nature. All of us are spiritually adulterous. We're adulterous by nature. We
must have one. He himself has been faithful. It is Christ, the faithful servant,
and his faithfulness charged to our account. We are faithful,
but we are faithful only in him. Moreover, 1 Corinthians 4 says,
it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. It is a blessed word from the
lips of our Master that's found in Matthew chapter 25. And I
know that I'm looking at quite a few, but I want you just to
look. Look at these words. Look upon
these scriptures in faithfulness. Matthew 25 and verse 34. There's coming a time all men
stand before Almighty God. Now, these moments, these fleeting
moments that we go through right now, how easily it is for us
to forget. But in that day, in that day,
when we stand before Him, blessed will be these words, Matthew
25, 34, Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world." The king himself
speaks. Ecclesiastes 8, verse 4 says,
Where the word of a king is, there is power. And who may say
unto him, What doest thou? Here the king of kings is speaking. And he says to them on his right
hand, Who are they? Well, it's the sheep, those that
He has chosen, God Almighty has chosen from the foundation of
the world to be in this very place kept, kept faithful, kept
in Christ, those that He predestinated under the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself. And here are His words, Come
ye blessed of my Father. Oh, here's the blessed sound.
to those that are kept through faith, blessed of the Father
from all eternity, chosen in the Lord Jesus Christ and blessed
in Him with all spiritual blessings given to Him, bought by Him,
sought by Him, gathered by Him and preserved in Him. Inherit
the kingdom prepared for you. not secured by your faithfulness,
we ourselves, faithless. It wasn't purchased by your well-doings,
but it was prepared for you and given to you, the free gift of
God, according to His good pleasure. Elijah said, I've been very jealous
for the Lord. A truthful statement. Let me ask you this. Had Elijah
been faithful and jealous in himself and of himself? Why are
we here this morning? What was it that caused us to
get up today and have a desire to want to come to sit and to
listen and to hear the message of Him who keeps us by His power? Why was it that we got up today
longing after Him? hungering and thirsting after
His righteousness? Was it just because we could
say of ourselves, well, we believe the gospel, and it's because
of my faithfulness that I've been... No. We're here today
by His grace, by His mercy. All God's people shall hear His
voice, and they shall follow to the glory of Almighty God.
A few words here in closing on faithfulness. Faithfulness as
an object. Faithful. Faithful. John 6, 65-69
says this, Therefore, and the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking,
I said unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were
given unto him of my Father. Do you believe that? Believe
that. The Lord Jesus Christ said this, No man can come to me except
it were given unto him of my Father. Men will stand, and they
will say inwardly and outwardly, That is not true. The Lord Jesus
Christ said that, and from that time Many of his disciples went
back and walked no more with him. Let me ask you something.
Why is it that some have heard those words preached from this
pulpit? I know they have. I've heard
it. I've heard it. I've listened
to tapes. Faithful, faithful, faithful
have the words been preached from this pulpit years and years
and years. Why? Because God Almighty kept
the faithfulness in this poor people. From that time, many
of them walked no more. Why will men not hear that truth? Because Almighty God has not
given them a heart for it. Then the Lord Jesus Christ, after
He said that, and some of His disciples walked no more with
Him, then Jesus said unto the twelve, Will you go away also? What do you want to do? Let me
ask you something. If you go away, if I go away,
why will I go away? Why will you go away? It's because
you have no heart for Christ, no heart for the gospel, no heart
for His honor. Why will you go away? And then
a man will go away and he'll blame somebody else. It's your
fault. It's your fault. It's that one's fault. They offended
me. Listen, you can't drive a believer
away. You cannot. You cannot drive
one away. I don't care what anybody says.
Now, a believer will never intentionally drive another person away. They're
not going to do that. But it's amazing to me how quickly
a man will find an excuse. They walked away. The Lord said,
Will you go away also? Then Simon Peter answered, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Where are we going to go? Thou
hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that
Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." Faithfulness
has an object. People are faithful because they
are faithful to Him. Faithful. Object is Christ. It's precious. Faithfulness. Oh, that's a precious thing. Men are faithful because God
Almighty has given them faith. Faithful. Precious because without
it, no man can please God. It doesn't matter. Say what you want to say. Without
faith, without belief in Him, without looking to Him, without
coming to Him, To them who have obtained," that's what 2 Peter
1, 1 says, "...like precious faith." Faithfulness. Faithfulness is tried. 1 Peter 1, 7 says that the trial
of your faith, or your faithfulness, being more precious than that
of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ." Faithfulness. It's a precious, glorious thing
to behold. Faithfulness. But I'm telling
you, faithfulness that is not tried is not true faithfulness. Faith is tried. If you be without
chastisement, the Lord said, you're none of His. Don't think
it's a strange thing. Faithfulness. Those that are
faithful, they are kept faithful. Luke 22, 31, And the Lord said,
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he
might sift you as wheat. But I prayed for you. I'm going
to tell you, I desire that you here pray for me. I want to pray
for you. I covet that. If I say that, if I'm saying
that correctly, I desire. Paul asked other believers, pray
for me. Pray for me. Pray for me. But I'm going to tell you something.
Do you want to know what just thrills my heart? Let me put my words, my name
right here. Marvin. Marvin. Satan hath desired to have you
that he might sift you as wheat. But I pray to you that your faith
fail not. I pray for you. And if he prays
for me, if he asks, if he intercedes, if he be my mediator, if he speak
for me, God will hear him and will keep me. I am convinced,
I'm convinced, I'm convinced. If He keep me not, I promise
you I'll walk away and I'll justify it. It wasn't my fault. It's never my fault. It's always your fault. 1 Peter 1 verse 5 says that we
who are kept by the power of God through faith, faith is an
evidence of God Almighty's power to keep kept through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Kept. Oh, I've been jealous for the
Lord God of hosts. I've been jealous. Yes, He has.
There's no doubt about it. Kept. But you that believe have
been too. You've been jealous for the Lord
God of hosts. God Almighty's kept you. Psalm
94. Let me just read this to you. Psalm 94, in verse 14, the Scripture
says, listen to this, the Lord will not cast off his people,
neither will he forsake his inheritance. Psalm 125, verse 1 and 2. These blessed words of hope,
Psalm 125, verses 1 and 2, they that trust in the Lord shall
be as Mount Zion, look at this, which cannot be removed. They cannot be removed, but abided
forever. As the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth
even forever. Jeremiah 32, 40 says, And I will
make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn
away from them To do them good, he said, I will not turn away
from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts,
listen to this, that they shall not depart from me. They're not
going to depart. It is required of a steward that
he be found faithful, faithful. that without faith, I know I
will never please God. I know that. But it is not my
faithfulness. It is His faithfulness. It is
His. Charge to me. He keeps me. Cannot be moved. That's what
Psalm 125 says. They cannot be removed. Cannot
be removed from the love of God. They cannot be removed from the
covenant of His grace. They cannot be removed from the
hands of Christ. They're engraven, the Lord said,
upon my palms. Cannot be removed. It's essential to salvation. Matthew, turn with me to this
last passage, Matthew chapter 24. Verse 11, many false prophets shall arise,
this is Matthew 24, 11, and shall deceive many. Now, you know,
I know this, and I think that this week especially
my thoughts have been turned because of events that have happened,
I guess, in this week, have been turned to the thought that many,
Scripture says, are deceived. They are left to themselves.
Verse 12 says, Iniquity shall abound. The love of many shall
wax cold. But he that shall endure unto
the end shall be saved. I know that unless God keeps me, I know
that I will not endure to the end. Faithfulness is a desire,
it is a requirement of salvation. Elijah said, ìIíve been very
jealous for the Lord God opposed.î Many, I realize, that God Almighty
has not kept, have not remained faithful. But Iíll tell you this, unless a man be found faithful,
unless he endure to the end, Unless he perseveres in the faith,
he's not going to see God. He must keep me. He must keep
me. Salvation is of the Lord. Faithfulness
is of the Lord. Faith is of God. It's given unto
you to believe. You that believe this morning,
how thankful that we are I know that we're not thankful as we
ought to be. I'm thinking right now to myself that I got up this
morning to have a heart to stand here, sufficient for these things. I don't see that in myself. I'm
not saying that. But that I get up today with
a heart after Him to be jealous for the Lord God of hosts. My
answer to you is to Him. to receive the honor and the
glory. Thank you that you didn't leave me to myself. Thank you
that I got up today with a heart. Thank you that you prayed for
me. Thank you. I appreciate it. Our Father, how thankful we are that you
would grant us a time to be able to come. Oh, how easy it is Lord,
how easy the presence of sin, how easy it is that we have a
mind that starts to forget. Lord, how thankful we are that
you would not leave us to ourselves. Lord, we make no claim whatsoever
of being faithful in ourselves. You are faithful. You are faithful. You are faithful. Lord, how we
pray today would you cause us to remember the faithfulness
of our blessed Lord, who in every word and thought and deed obeyed. Lord, we realize today that it
is His righteousness charged to our count by which we stand
blameless, justified before Almighty God. How we pray that You would
cause us to think upon these things for Christ's sake. Amen.