Exit Stage Left | Learning From Life's Challenges

Hey everybody, thanks for listening to A New Beginning. This is a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners.

So for more content that can help you know God and equip you to make Him known to others or to learn more about how you can become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Without them, our faith doesn't toughen up and solidify. We learn things in deserts and valleys and times of trial that we do not learn anywhere else. Here's the way I look at it.

Better to be in a valley or a desert with Jesus than anywhere else without Him. Getting everything we want, success, money, respect, would be an amazing way to live, right? Well, look at celebrities who have success and money and respect. And look at how often they suffer from depression and addictions and sometimes die quite young. Maybe many people want the wrong things. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us learn from Elijah. We'll see he learned from some of the toughest challenges lie through with him. And we can too.

Let me start with a question. Have you ever faced a time where you felt isolated and alone? Maybe your friends abandoned you. Maybe even your family abandoned you. Maybe your husband or wife walked out on you. Even your dog left you.

Cats leave all the time. They're irresponsible. But the dog, that was another situation. Maybe you're going through a time right now.

We call it a trial. But it could be compared to a desert, a wilderness, a valley, a storm. You pick your metaphor. But a time where it's hard. Maybe there was a time in your life when you were very active and now you find yourself inactive. A time earlier when you were very mobile.

Now you're immobilized. Well, if any of these things resonate with you, and I think this message before us is going to help. We're talking about the prophet Elijah and how after he went into the court of the king and the queen and told them there would not be any reign because of their worship of false gods, specifically Baal and Ashtoreth, and left the court, the Lord called him to obscurity. The Lord called him to a quiet place to just sort of disconnect. Where did Elijah get this courage?

Where did he get this chutzpah, this boldness? The answer is found in 1 Kings 17, 1. And Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years except my word. What was the secret of the boldness of Elijah? He served a living God.

And you do too. Not only do you serve a living God, but you serve a living God that is with you wherever you go. And if we were only more aware of God's presence in our life, I think it would affect a lot of the things that we say and do. I love how he says, as the Lord God lives before whom I stand.

Like right now, even though I'm standing in the court of Ahab and Queen Jezebel, I'm standing in the presence of God himself. So it's not going to rain. Now you have to realize or remember, he was kind of a gnarly looking dude, right? He was all hairy and he makes this pronouncement and walks out and they probably had a laugh. Where did this guy come from? How did he get past security? What a joke.

I'm sure not going to rain. Then the rain stopped and Elijah went from a joke to public enemy number one. Jezebel, who loved her gods, Ashtoreth and Baal effectively put a contract out on the life of Elijah.

They said he's going to get whacked now, but he disappeared and no one could basically find him. For Elijah, it was exit stage left. So Elijah basically goes from the palace to a barren wilderness, from the throne of power to the desert of obscurity.

It was oblivion and here's what happened next. 1 Kings 17 verse 2, then the Lord said to Elijah, go to the east and hide by Cherith brook. Near where it enters the Jordan River, drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring to you as I've commanded them to bring you food. So Elijah did, as the Lord told him, and camp beside the Cherith brook east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening. He drank from the brook and after a while the brook dried up and there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.

Alright, we'll stop there. So what did we learn from this particular chapter from the life of Elijah? Number one, if you're taking notes, we learn things in deserts that we do not learn anywhere else.

We learn things in deserts and valleys and times of trial that we do not learn anywhere else. So God said you're going to camp out for a while. This was camping not glamping by the way. Glamping is an expression used to describe people that sort of go camping in a rather luxurious way. I saw a motor home a while ago that was so decked out.

I think they spent over a million dollars on it. It has this big giant screen on the outside and all these things. That's one form of camping but that's not what Elijah was doing. Now he's by the brook Cherith. Now maybe we envision this as a charming little scene, a little babbling brook and there's Elijah just hanging out. It's like snow white in the forest. It's wonderful.

Not at all. Actually the word Cherith means the cutting place. The cutting place. God was getting Elijah ready for a huge showdown with the prophets of Baal. It was going to be the shootout at the Carmel corral. God had to get Elijah ready for that. So you know the Lord's working on him. It's sort of like Elijah entered into God's boot camp. You know when we read about him at the beginning of the chapter he's Elijah from the town of Tishbeth.

At the end of the chapter he's Elijah the man of God. So maybe you're going through a time of trial and you're saying this doesn't make sense. Why did the Lord remove me from this position I had? Why did the Lord change this other thing in my life? Because God is preparing you for something else. Because everything in life is preparation for what is next. And there is something next for you. And God has a plan for you as he did for Elijah. But here's the way I look at it. Better to be in a valley or a desert with Jesus than anywhere else without him.

That's it. You know it's like Lord if that's where you're going that's where I'm going. My friend James Merritt jokingly says about his wife Theresa if she ever leaves me I'm going with her. I like that. But Lord where are you going? That's where I'm going.

You're going this way I'm going that way. Even if it's not a place I necessarily want to go to if you're there that's where I want to be. Like count on this the eve of Galilee when a storm hits if that's where Jesus is that's where I want to be.

Kind of to do another version of my earlier statement. Better to be in a storm with Jesus than anywhere else without him. So Elijah is getting ready. Maybe you're in a spiritual desert but a lot of godly people went into the desert before they began the most effective time of their ministry. Moses spent 40 years in the desert being prepared by the Lord to lead the great exodus of the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt. Joseph spent a number of years in a prison cell before he reached his position of power and influence.

Paul spent three lonely years in the desert of Arabia as God was preparing him to be the apostle that would change the world. The cutting place. We went into our cutting place 14 years ago when our son Christopher died in an automobile accident.

I wouldn't wish that on anybody. It was the hardest thing we've ever gone through. It's still the hardest thing we go through. But in this valley in this cutting place we have learned things I don't think I would have learned anywhere else. We've grown closer to the Lord in a way that I really can't explain to you.

God has changed us and he changes us and I might be talking to someone right now that's in that cutting place and they don't know why. Well God has a plan. This was a process Elijah was passing through because before there would be a Mount Carmel for him there must first be a brook called Cherith. Before there will be a crown there has to first be a cross. Before there can be a resurrection there has to be a Gethsemane and a Calvary. Before there can be life there has to be death. Jesus said if you want to find your life lose your life.

In other words commit all of your plans to the Lord. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Emails, phone calls and social media messages from listeners are so encouraging to us and they let us know the effectiveness of these studies. Pastor Greg I love listening to your daily messages. I appreciate how you speak biblical truth with grace. Your stories keep me intrigued and your messages are relatable.

And I love that they're broadcast every day because I always have new content to listen to. Thank you. If you have a story to share why not call us and give us all the details.

Here's the number. Pastor Greg is pointing out the value of trials in our lives as he presents his message called Exit Stage Left. Why do I have to go through a trial? Why do I have to go through a time of difficulty? Why can't I just go from mountaintop to mountaintop in the Christian life? Well the answer is found in James 1. Verse 2 he says, Brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its work in you that you may be mature, lacking nothing. So number two, God allows trials in our lives that we will grow up spiritually.

You know it's one thing to say I believe something. It's another thing to put it to the test. Back when we were all in school. Some of you still are in school. You remember the teacher would occasionally do a pop quiz.

Ok we're going to have a test. And all the nerds got excited. Yeah they're excited. Why? Because the nerds and the geeks they study.

I was never excited because I was too busy goofing off or drawing cartoons or creating distractions for the other students. And that's because they were ready. They were prepared. And sometimes the Lord will say it's time for a test. You say you trust Me. You say you believe in Me.

Now I'm going to put that to the test and make sure that that's really true in your life. Because He wants us to grow and to mature as believers. Number three, God allows hardships, trials, deserts, storms to show us His power. Sometimes it's simply to show us that He's bigger than our problem. And we call out to Him and He delivers us and we realize if God didn't come through for me there's no way I would have got out of this problem I found myself in. So here is Elijah in a hiding place. He says God is going to provide for his needs.

Bring me to point number four, trials and testings produce a necessary quality in our lives. Over in James 1 I quoted it already. Let me quote from a different translation. Listen to this.

I love this translation. With all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don't treat them as intruders but friends. That's an interesting way to look at a trial. Here comes a trial. Oh no, an intruder.

No, it's a friend. What? Yes, because I'm going to learn something through this trial. Realize they come to test your faith in producing you a quality of endurance.

So let that process go on until you're fully developed and you'll be men and women of mature character, of integrity with no weak spots. Similar to going to the gym and working out. How many of you go to a gym or a health club and work out? Raise your hand. Okay. A few of you might want to consider doing that. I'm not going to say who, but I'm looking at you right.

No, I'm not. Well, let's just say in theory you go, okay? I go to a gym. By the way, I hate going to the gym. My favorite time of working out is when it's over, right? But at my age now, it's not so much building muscle because I have so much I felt I had to stop. No, it's maintaining mobility to a large degree, right?

I want to move as quickly as I can, as long as I can. And some people, they love to go to the gym and they make all kinds of noise. They drop the weights. You don't have to drop them, but they drop them and they make a lot of noise when they're pushing, you know, that rep up or whatever. And they leave sweat everywhere.

Some people sweat. I can't stand that. And they post pictures of themselves. Please don't do that. Please don't take pictures of yourself working out.

Please. We don't want to see it. But there they are. Look at me. I'm working out.

Okay, whatever. But the ultimate goal is hopefully to produce endurance and strength and trials and valleys and storms and deserts make us stronger, not weaker. So here's Elijah hanging out by the brook chair. And God says, okay, I'm going to provide food for you every day.

But the way the Lord chooses to do it is so interesting. I'm going to have ravens come to you with your food. Now, a raven? These are the birds that hang around in trees and when some animal gets run over by a car, they call it lunch. And they get the little bits of meat and other gross things and that's a feast of them. So they're bringing meat. Don't envision them bringing little bags of In-N-Out and, you know, Chick-fil-A. Here you go, Elijah. Do you want fries next time?

No problem. Do you like spicy or regular on your Chick-fil-A sandwich? I like both. I created my own Chick-fil-A sandwich.

This really contradicts everything I said about the gym. Okay, so I get a spicy. I get a regular. And I put both of the fillets of chicken in one sandwich and I eat it. Why am I even telling you this? Now, this is kind of gross. You know, basically raven postmates bringing him his food every day. Like I said, they're carry-on eaters.

Little bits of meat and some bread. So how did he let them know when it was time to eat? Well, if Elijah wanted to eat, he shot a tweet out to the ravens.

I had to say it. Now, really, the Lord directed the birds. They probably came at the same time every day. You wonder, why didn't the Lord just provide food like manna? Remember the Israelites? They'd get up in the morning, manna outside of the tent. Now, he has to have food brought by birds? But that was the way the Lord chose to do it.

And here's why. God mixes up the way He does things in our life to keep us on our spiritual toes and keep ourselves dependent on Him. Because He's the provider. Because sometimes we think, oh, my job, that's my provider. Or this person, that's my... No, the Lord is your provider.

Right? He's the provider. He'll provide through your employment. He'll provide through this or that. But then He may close a door there and open a door somewhere else so you'll be reminded, oh, right, it's God that provides for me.

Okay? And we come to see that. You know, it's interesting when Jesus healed people. Have you ever noticed He never healed any two people the same way?

He mixed it up. Sometimes I wonder if He had a little fun with it. Sometimes they'd touch Him like the woman with the medical condition. They were healed. Other times He would touch them.

Other times He would speak the Word. My favorite healing is when He spit on the ground. Lord, I want to be healed.

No problem. Hang on one sec. That's what He did. And He rubbed it in the dirt. Here's mud in your eye, buddy. Go.

You're good. And so He did this so people would not become dependent on a method or a technique or a tradition. But they would just say, Jesus healed me. Maybe it was also a little companionship for Elijah. You know, Elijah's out there all alone. Here come the birds. He probably had names for every one of them. Oh, the birds.

How you guys doing, you know? We have a little bird feeder outside of the window of our house. And there are these two birds that have kind of taken control of it. So my granddaughter, Allie, named one of the birds. She named the bird Irene. And then it turns out Irene has a boyfriend and or her husband.

I don't know what's going on in the bird world, frankly. But so this other little mate of Irene, he's the husband or the boy bird, the male bird. And so what do we name him? Well, he's pretty. So I named him George after George Clooney. I couldn't think of anything else. Could have named him Brad Pitt, I suppose, or Leo or something like that.

Or better yet, Greg. So they come and they eat at the bird feeder. So then we put in a hummingbird feeder. I don't know what's going on with hummingbirds. That is the most hyper bird on the face of the earth.

Is there caffeine in nectar or something? You know, they're buzzing around, buzzing. And they're not coming to the hummingbird feeder. We just put some new hummingbird whatever in it and nectar, fake nectar. And now they're not coming. And I thought, you know, hummingbirds are like the cat of the bird world.

They're just aloof, they're standoffish. Okay, I'm way off my subject. Go get back to the birds. Coming to Elijah, bringing his food. And then this interesting verse. One day the brook dried up. And I wonder if I'm talking to someone that has had their brook dry up. Maybe at one time in your life you had a full bank account, a growing career, a thriving ministry, and then the brook just dried up. Your career stalled. Your ministry slowed down. Your future not looking so bright.

Your kids left home, which was kind of a relief because they were in their 50s, but still. Your brook dried up. Yes, the brook dried up, but God would now close one door to open another door.

Everything was going according to plan. That is God's plan. A reminder to Elijah that water, food, and everything else comes from the Lord.

It is His to give and it is His to take away. I read the story of a bunch of farmers who were raising cotton in the south. So the dreaded bull weevil invaded and started eating their crops. And they realized there was nothing they could do to stop the bull weevil. So they said, well, we can't plant cotton. Let's plant peanuts instead.

Amazingly, those peanuts made them far more money than they had ever made with cotton. So the farmers had a monument made dedicated to the bull weevil. Isn't that funny? So maybe there is something happening in your life. Why is this bull weevil here? Why is this problem here? Why is this difficult person here?

Why is this other situation happening to me? And God can turn it around and cause you to pivot and look for a new way to get things done. God was still at work. Yes, His brook dried up, but God was going to transform Him and use Him to change the world.

Pastor Greg Laurie with some great insights today on handling the bull weevils and other challenges that come our way. We're learning from the life of Elijah in our current series here on A New Beginning. It's called Elijah, The Power to Stand. You know, sometimes God uses trials to build us up, to make us into the people He wants us to be. Sometimes He uses trials to bring us to Him.

He uses them to get our attention. He wants us all to come to Him for forgiveness of sin and give us a new life. Have you ever made that change in your life? Pastor Greg, what would you say to the person listening who would like to make that change today?

I would say that God is just a prayer away. You know, it doesn't take years to become a Christian. It doesn't take months. Frankly, it doesn't even take hours.

It can happen so quickly. It just starts with you saying to God, I know I'm a sinner. I know that You love me. I know that You sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and pay for those sins and then to rise again from the dead, and I want Him to come into my life. So here's my question to you.

Have you done it yet? Because Jesus, who did die on the cross and rose again from the dead three days later, is alive and standing at the door of your life right now, and He's knocking. And He's saying, if you'll hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. Why don't you just stop whatever it is you're doing and pray this prayer with me? Say, Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, but I know that You are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin, and I turn from it now, and I choose to follow You from this moment forward. I ask all of this in Jesus' name.

Amen. Listen, if you just prayed that prayer, the Bible promises that God has heard your prayer and has answered that prayer. The Bible says that we will confess our sin.

He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So, God bless you. You've made the right decision, the decision to follow Jesus Christ.

Yeah, that's right. And listen, Pastor Greg would like to help you start off right living for the Lord. He'd like to send you his New Believers Bible. It features hundreds of helps for new believers, and it's written in an easy-to-understand translation. So contact us for your free copy of the New Believers Bible. Call us at 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. Well, Pastor Greg, I really enjoy reading authors who have a way with words. And we have a special guest today who has a way with words, and he has a way with words from the Word. Maybe you could go ahead and introduce him. I know he's a friend of yours.

That's right, Dave. You're talking about my friend Max Lucado, and boy does he have a way with words. And we're going to talk about his newest book that I think may be perhaps his most important book he's ever written. And the title of it is What Happens Next?

And he has a way of taking that which is complex and making it understandable. Let me just read a quote from his new book titled What Happens Next? We're all headed somewhere. Each day brings us closer to a final breath, a final heartbeat, a final sigh.

No one is getting younger. Death comes to the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the decent, the decadent, the king and the commoner. Shouldn't our destination be an obsession? Great statement that's sort of summing up why you wrote this book, and it's a book on the return of Jesus Christ. Is this the first time you've addressed this topic in a book? I'm sure you've dealt with it before, but is this the first time you've written a whole book about this?

It's the first time, by the way. Thank you, Greg. Thank you. I could spend the whole program telling everybody how much I admire you and love you and Kathy. Could we just change our plans, and would you do that? I'll do that. I'll do that. I could. I could.

No, thank you. Please continue. Yeah, so the book itself is not the very first book I've written about the return of Christ, but it is the first time I've tried to tackle the milestones that are going to happen, at least from my perspective, between now and the end of when Christ returns, and then describing our eternal state.

So it is by far the most detailed dive I've ever taken into the topic of end times. So I can say this to you, Max, because we're close to the same age. You know, we're not young men anymore. Did you write this because you're getting older and you've become more reflective?

Is there something about the age you're at and where you're at in life that's caused you to say, I need to really think deeply, not just about the Lord's return, but about eternity in general? Absolutely, Greg. I'm genuinely curious about what's next. I really am. I am very, very excited.

I'm kind of like a kid outside the amusement park. I just can't wait to get through the gates. I'm super excited about what's going to happen. And I'm just fascinated with every topic. I want to talk about Armageddon. I want to talk about the Millennium.

I want to talk about the eternal state. I even want to ponder the Great White Throne Judgment, as horrible as that's going to be. But I want to have a clear understanding of what happens next.

And so I think that's part of it. I'm curious about what's next for me, but I'm very concerned about what's happening in the world. This is a unique generation in which we find ourselves. Watch what's happening around Israel and Gaza, which is terrible. The innocent people killed on both sides of the border. Watching what's happening with Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan. The plunge in morality here in our own nation. These are things that have caused me to lift up my eyes and say, Lord, is something major about to happen?

So I think this is an important conversation to be having personally in my life, as I close in on 70 years, but also globally, as we're seeing so much chaos around the world. Well, everybody, you want to order this new book just written by Max Lucado. The title of it is What Happens Next? And we're offering this book to you this month for your gift of any size.

Whatever you send will be used to help us continue to preach the gospel, to teach the Word of God, which is so very important, especially in these days as we're waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. Again, it's called What Happens Next? Let us send you a copy really quickly. You want to read this book.

Yeah, that's true. It's full of rich inspiration on a topic that sometimes confuses us. So get in touch with your investment in the work we do each day, and then ask for this new book from Max Lucado called What Happens Next?

The subtitle is A Traveler's Guide Through the End of This Age. You can call us any time, night or day at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or just go online to Harvest.org. Hey, everybody, I want to encourage you to join us for something we call Harvest at Home. It happens every Sunday at Harvest.org and on our brand new app, Harvest Plus, which is available on your mobile TV devices. Download it now, and you can watch Harvest at Home with Christians from around the world as we worship together and study God's Word. So again, join us for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org or on Harvest Plus. Well, next time, more insights from the life of Elijah.

We'll see how God tested him, then used him in a miraculous way. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie. Hey, everybody, thanks for listening to A New Beginning. This is a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners. So for more content that can help you know God and equip you to make Him known to others, or to learn more about how you can become a Harvest Partner, just go to Harvest.org.