Got to see Henry and Doris this
week. I went to Rocky Mount for the
Bible conference. It was really good seeing them.
Doris is no different than she was when I was a little boy.
She's got all her faculties, and Henry has aged. But it was
great seeing him. I was wondering what that noise
was. I guess I'm aging too. Would you
turn to first Kings chapter 19 Beginning in verse 9 And he came hither Elijah after
he had been on that 40-day journey without food or water, he came
unto a cave and lodged there. And behold, the word of the Lord
came to him and said unto him, what doest thou here, 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. And he saith, Go forth and stand upon the mount before
the Lord, and behold the Lord pass by. And a great and strong
wind rent the mountains, and break in pieces the rocks before
the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire a still, small
voice. And it was so when Elijah heard
that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood
in the nearing end of the cave. And behold, there came a voice
into him and said, what doest thou hear, Elijah? And he repeated
himself. And he said, I have been very
jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel
have forsaken thy covenant and 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. And the Lord said unto
him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus. And
when thou comest, anoint Hazel to be king over Syria. And Jehu,
the son of Nemshi, shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel.
And Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abelmillah, shalt thou anoint
to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass that
he that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and him
that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet
have I left me seven thousand in Israel. No, you're not the
only one. Yet I have left me 7,000 in Israel,
all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth
which hath not kissed him. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that you would be pleased in your mercy to speak to us from
your word Lord, may we be enabled to hear the still, small voice
of the living God for Christ's sake. Lord, we confess our sins. We pray for forgiveness and cleansing. We pray that you'd give us the
grace to love you more, to love one another more. And Lord, bless
this day for your glory. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Now, at this time, Elijah is
discouraged. He's depressed. He feels like
he's all alone. He has been going on a 40 day
journey without food and water. He's enabled supernaturally to
do that and he finally gets to Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai. And we read in verse nine where,
and he came thither unto a cave, and it could be the same cleft
that Moses was hid in. I think perhaps it was. And he
lodged there, and behold, the word of the Lord came to him
and said unto him, what doest thou hear, Elijah? Now the Lord
wasn't asking this for information. He's going to teach. Elijah something. That's what this is all about.
Verse 10, and he said, this is Elijah's reply to him, and remember,
he has been discouraged, he has been depressed, and here is his
reply to the Lord. 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. Now, at this time, you know that
Elijah's attitude is wrong. He'd already said, Lord, take
my life. He wanted the Lord to kill him. And even the way he
speaks to the Lord, I, even I only am left. It's kind of like, why
aren't you doing anything? I'm doing what's right and you're
not. Now, whenever someone is out
of sorts and Elijah is, I becomes the biggest word in their vocabulary,
doesn't it? I, even I only am left. Something's wrong with
this picture. You're not doing what you're
supposed to do. Now that's what he's doing. In
some respects, he's mad at the Lord. He's disappointed. Things
have not turned out as he thought they should. Now try to put yourself
in this man's place. Now remember, he's a man of like
passions with us. The same struggles with sin and unbelief you have,
He's a man of like passions, and he's sitting there commending
himself to the Lord. I've been very jealous. I've
been very zealous. I'm the only one that's faithful. I, I, I. That is what is behind
this. Now, I admire his zeal. He was zealous of the Lord of
hosts, and we want to be zealous of the Lord of hosts. But the
way he approaches the Lord is not the way a man comes into
the presence of the living God. I've been very jealous. I've
done right. I'm the only one that's faithful.
Why aren't you doing anything? Why is there not a revival that
has taken place? Now, he was wrong in his assessment. Not only was he filled with I,
he was wrong. Verse 18, the Lord says, no,
you're not the only one. I've reserved 7,000 to myself,
all of which have not bowed the knee to Baal. Now, look in verse
11. And he, the Lord, said, Go forth
and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord
passed by. You remember the way he passed
by when Moses was in the cleft of the rock and he covered him
and passed by? Well, he's passing by again.
And the Lord passed by, and behold, a great and strong wind rent
the mountains and break in pieces the rocks. Now that's some kind
of wind. He was watching rocks fly. I mean, can you imagine
this? But look what it says. But the
Lord was not in the wind. And the wind, after the wind,
an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire, a still, small voice. And it was so when
Elisha heard, he wrapped his face in his mantle. The reason Elisha heard is God
spoke. And I am so thankful that the
Lord speaks, aren't you? He does speak. He speaks in creation. Anyone that wants to look can
look at creation and it has something to say. Somebody made this and
he's all powerful and nobody made him. He's eternal. His eternal
power and God had creation says that the heavens declare the
glory of God. Creation speaks. God speaks through
creation. God speaks through his law written
in our hearts. You know, just the fact that
everybody knows that there's a right and wrong says that God is. If there's no God, who's to say
what's right and what's wrong? Hey, if I'm more powerful than
you, I'm going to take what's yours. Who's to say that's wrong?
The survival of the fittest. But the fact that there is a
right and a wrong, God's law written in the heart of every
man tells us that God is. God speaks by providence. Every
event in our lives tells us that we ought to seek the Lord. All
the things that take place, all the things we see, all the things
that happen to us are speaking to us. We ought to seek the Lord
with all of our heart. But do you know that God only
savingly speaks through His Word? Now that's the point. The point
is, and I've heard people deal with this and say, well, if we
just sit still and listen, we'll hear the Lord. No, that's not
the point. That's not the point. You're never gonna hear his voice
audibly. But he only speaks through his word. Now we have these supernatural
occurrences, these phenomena that took place. I mean, think
of the rocks and boulders being broken up, the fire, the wind,
the earthquake. Now the Lord sent these. When
it says he wasn't in them, it doesn't mean he didn't cause
them. He caused them. The only reason they took place
is because he caused them. But he's not in it. You know,
people are looking for signs and wonders. Oh, I wanna see
miracles. I wanna see God heal people.
I wanna see, and let me say something about healing. I was thinking
about this. The most phony thing in the world is these healing
things religious people put on. Why don't they go to hospitals?
I've never seen one of these faith healers go to a hospital
with people who are really sick in them and come in and start
healing people. You know why? Because they're phonies. That's
the only reason they're phonies. I want to see signs and wonders
that prove that God is working in our midst. I want to see things
I can see. Do you know nobody ever believed because of seeing
a sign or a wonder? And the children of Israel didn't.
They saw fire come down from heaven and consume the sacrifice.
And Moses thought that was going to bring on revival. And it didn't
do a thing. It didn't change anything. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
8. This is what this still small voice speaks of. Beginning in verse 5. And when
Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion,
beseeching him, and saying, Lord, My servant lieth at home, sick
of the palsy, grievously tormented. Now one thing that I see in this
statement is he doesn't tell the Lord what to do. He's letting the Lord know, which
the Lord already knows about his servant. He's pouring out
his heart before him, but he's not telling him what to do. I
mean, when we come into the Lord's presence, thy will be done. That's
got to come first. Thy will be done. Verse seven, Jesus saith unto
him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I'm not worthy that thou should come under my roof. And look at this next statement.
But speak the word only. I don't need you to come under
my roof. I don't need to bring him to
you. I understand authority. You have all authority. Speak the word only. Nothing else is needed. Now that's
this still small voice being spoken of. Speak the word only. That's all that's needed. Speak the word only, you speak
to somebody, and it will beget life. That's what'll take place. That's what the word of God does.
This written word that reveals the living word, the message
from this book, speak the word only. We don't need anything
else. Give me some indication that the Lord's in this. His
word. His word. Speak the word only,
and my servant shall be Now, that's what that still, small
voice is about. We don't need earthquakes. We
don't need tornadoes. We don't need rocks being broken
up. We don't need big, visible results. All that's needed is
the Word of God. Preach the Word, Paul said to
Timothy. That's all that's needed. Preach
the Word. Verse 13, and it was so when
Elijah heard, he heard that still, small voice. It's literally a
whisper. You know all the Lord's gotta
do is whisper and the worlds are created. All the Lord's gotta
do is whisper and life is begat in a dead sinner's heart. Speak
the word only and my servant shall be healed. Verse 13, and
it was so that when Elijah heard that he wrapped his face in his
mantle. If you and I hear from the Lord,
you know what it's gonna do? It's gonna cause us to cover
our face. If it doesn't do that, you didn't hear from the Lord.
It's gonna cause you to be afraid, it's gonna cause you to fear,
just like the seraphims. What'd they do when they were
flying around the throne of God? They hid their faces, they couldn't
look. When the Lord appeared to Moses, he covered his face.
Here, what's the first response of Elijah? He wraps his face
in his mantle, can't even look, he's afraid. Now, let's go on
reading. The Lord repeats the question,
what doest thou hear, Elijah? Now once again, he's not trying
to get information. Elijah's gonna be taught something. And Elijah says the same thing.
Somehow I think he's not so much angry now, scared and confused.
I'm reading in between the lines. He says the exact same thing,
but at first he's mad. Now he's looking for an explanation.
Here's the way I feel. I've been very jealous of the
Lord of hosts, because the children of Israel forsaken thy covenant
and 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 don't know what's going on. And the Lord said unto
him, go return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus. And
when thou comest, anoint Hazel. to be king over Syria. Now, that's
interesting, isn't it? God doesn't only appoint Israel's
kings, he appoints Syria's kings and everybody else's kings. He's
in absolute control over everybody, everything, and every event. Now, at this time, Elijah is
impatient. Why is not the Lord judging these
people for their disobedience? Hazel is going to be used to
conquer Israel, and Israel is going to be brought under them,
and he's the instrument the Lord is going to use to chasten Israel. Now, Elijah, you're impatient. Things aren't going the way you
think they should be going, but things are going exactly the
way I have determined for them to be. And you anoint Hazel,
and he's going to end up dominating Israel. And then he talks about
the next person, Jehu. You remember Ahab and Jezebel? Jehu is going to be used to kill
them. He's gonna kill them. I'm gonna
take care of it. Now, I don't know if Elijah knew
all of this at this time when he was telling him to anoint
these people, but these are the instruments of God's judgment
against them, that he's upset, things are not going as I think
they should. They're going exactly as they should. Everything is
just right. All these days are so bad, they're
just right, because God's on the throne. And he says, you
anoint Elisha, and he's going to take your place. You see,
I, even I, you're not really that important, nor am I. nor is anybody in that sense.
Somebody, well, we can't replace that person. God can replace
anybody easy. Elijah, you're talking about
yourself and Elijah's, he's like me and you. I'm thankful for
him, but you're expendable. You're just, don't take yourself
so seriously. Get I out of your language that
way. I mean, take yourself seriously
in the sense you wanna seek the Lord, you wanna know him, and
you wanna be found in him. But Elijah is accusing the Lord
of not doing the way he thought he ought to do, and everything's
going exactly according to the Lord's timetable. Hazel's gonna
take care of Israel, and Jehu's gonna kill Ahab and Jezebel,
exactly as God said he would. And Elisha is gonna take your
place. Look in verse 17. It shall come to pass that him
that escapeth the sword of Hazel shall Jehu slay. Ahab and Jezebel
escaped him and then Jehu killed him. And him that escapeth from
the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay, yet Yet, I have left me
7,000 in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal,
and every mouth which hath not kissed him. No, Elijah, you're
not the only one. I have reserved to myself 7,000
men." Now, Paul uses this in the New Testament to illustrate
grace. And this is a reminder to us
that everything in the Old Testament, everything without exception,
is given to illustrate some aspect of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now turn with me to Romans 11. Romans 11. Verse one, I say then, hath God cast away
his people? You know, the Israelites don't
seem to believe. Has God just had nothing to do
with them? Has he cast them away? And that's a reasonable question.
You know, Paul anticipates, and one of the things I love about
Paul, he anticipates every question and objection we're ever gonna
have and deals with it. And he says, look at the unbelief
of the Israelites. None of them seem to be following
Christ. None of them seem to care. Has God just cast them
away? His people? God forbid such a foolish thought. I am an Israelite of the seed
of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people
which he foreknew. Now the foreknowledge of God
is the absolute foundation of everything else. He foreknew
his people. Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God. Romans 8, 28, and 29. And we
know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the call according to his purpose. How am I forgetting
the rest of that verse? For whom he did foreknow, There
it is. Whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. Now
foreknowledge does not simply mean God knew beforehand. He
looked down through the telescope of time and foresaw what was
going to take place. A fellow said that to me this
week on the phone. He said, well, election is God foreseeing who
would believe and then choosing them. That's foolishness. That's
not even who God is. Before I formed thee in the belly,
I knew thee. Now, he knows only a person. It's not foreknowledge of whom
he did foreknow. He foreloved everybody in Christ
before the foundation of the world. He knew me. He knew me. He didn't know about me. He didn't
know what I would be like. He knew me. I've always had personality
before God. Whom he did foreknow. And that word foreknow more than
anything else is he loved them beforehand. He loved them beforehand. God's knowledge of a person is
not just his knowledge of facts. Adam knew his wife Eve. Same word. Intimate relationship,
a love relationship. Whom he did foreknow. God's not cast away his people
which he foreknew. You know, there are some people
called his people, and it doesn't really have anything to do with
being of the nation of Israel. They are not all Israel who are
of Israel. It's talking about his elect, those people that
he knew beforehand. God hath not cast away his, verse
two, his people which he foreknew. What ye not what the scripture
saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel?
saying, Lord, they've killed thy prophets, they dig down thine
altars, and I'm left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith
the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal, even so
in the precise same manner at this present time. This present
time, everything's going according to God's purpose. This present
time is God's time. And, oh, things are going out
of control. No, they're not. Everything's
perfect. Everything is exactly as God has ordained it. Nothing
to worry about. Nothing to get upset about. Even
so, at this present time, right now, there is a remnant according
to, what's that say? the election of grace. 7,000 have not bowed the knee to the
image of Baal. It's because I determined for
them not to. I reserved them to myself. I kept this from happening. Who makes you to differ from
another? What do you have that you didn't receive? I've made
sure this doesn't take place. 7,000, that's a big number. in proportion to the world's
population. I guess it doesn't seem that
big, but it's a big number and it's a representative number.
Everybody who hadn't bowed the knee to Baal, there's only one
reason, I've kept them from it. I've reserved to myself 7,000
men. Even so, at this present time,
there is a remnant. There's a number of believers.
A remnant's always a small number. And I don't make any apologies
for that. I remember Spurgeon saying, and I disagreed with
this then. He said, I know that there'll be more people in heaven
than there will be in hell. Well, how do you know that? The
Bible doesn't say anything like that. And he uses the argument
that because of the death of infants, there'll be more in
heaven than in hell, and I don't think you can use that argument.
The Lord said, many go the broad way, few go the straight way.
I mean, the Lord said that. And so, if he saves one, it's
glorious that he gave his son for one, and thousands upon,
millions upon millions, 10,000 times, so whatever the number,
who cares? Whatever the Lord does is right,
amen? Whoever's saved, it's the exact amount that ought to be
saved, but it's according to the election of grace. I love that term, the election
of grace. If you're saved, it's because God chose you to be saved
before time began, and it is all of grace. I love the election
of grace. Not the election of works, the
election of grace. Look in verse six, and if by grace, if elections
by grace, if salvation is by grace and the whole of God's
salvation is by grace, if by grace, then it's no more of works. What are works? Anything that makes any aspect
of salvation dependent upon something you do. That's a work. And anybody that
believes in salvation by works they do not believe in salvation
by grace no matter what they say. If you believe that you're saved
because you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior. The
difference was your acceptance, you accepted, somebody else didn't.
You believe in salvation by works. If you believe that somehow you
become more holy through your efforts and self-denial and diligence
and scripture reading and praying and saying no to sin, you become
more holy and less sinful by what you do. You believe in salvation
by works. If you believe, hey, I believe
grace, but at the end, I'm going to be rewarded and given a place
in glory higher than somebody else because I was more obedient
and more diligent, you believe in salvation by works. Now, it is that simple. Somebody says, is that cut and
dry? Yes. Yes, it is that cut and dry. I love what Paul says
in verse six. And if by grace, then there's
no more works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. If it's by grace, it has nothing
to do with works, or don't call it grace. But if it be of works,
if any aspect of salvation is dependent upon something you
do, then don't call it grace. Don't call it grace. Otherwise,
work is no more work. And look the way he says in verse
seven. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it,
and the rest were blinded. Bruce Crabtree brought a message
once I heard called the elect and the rest. The elect and the
rest. And there you have it. Now God's
people, he's not gonna cast away his
people which he foreknew. And no matter how bad things look,
don't worry, God's in control. And he speaks by that still,
small, omnipotent, powerful voice of his word. And we don't need
outward phenomena to make us think it's so. And if you ever
hear from the Lord, if I ever hear from the Lord, we'll know
we've heard from the Lord. Amen.