Elijah Calls Down Fire [Part 2]

Alan Wright, pastor, Bible teacher, and author of his latest book, The Power to Bless. The Bible doesn't teach that we're morally neutral or certainly morally good, but that every single person is self-centered. And though there might be in your mind a scale of some people are better than other people, God doesn't see it on a scale like that.

He's perfect and holy and we've sinned and we've gone our own way. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, Miracle Man, as presented at Rinaldo Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I'd like to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries.

So as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program, but now let's get started with today's teaching. Here's Alan Wright. What happens at verse 9 is that he came to a cave and lodged in it and behold the word of the Lord came to him and he said to him, what are you doing here Elijah? You know you need to always pay attention when an omniscient being asks you a question. God knows everything so if he asks Elijah a question it's not because God needs information it's because Elijah needs transformation. It's interesting within the Jewish culture especially amongst the rabbis as a common practice to answer a question with a question. Once a student came to his rabbi and said, rabbi why is it that whenever I ask you a question you just answer it with a question? And the rabbi said, ah so what's so wrong with a question? You know Jesus did this. He often did this. Somebody come in and say something like, good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?

And instead of immediately answering Jesus said, why do you call me good? Because you could ask a question and it makes you think which enables you to grow. Sometimes our children you know they come and they might have an assignment to write an essay or something and since I'm sort of the writer and the family they might come to me and say I can't think of anything to write this essay on and what should I do it on?

Well you know I could think of five good ideas right then but instead of just saying here's what you should write it on and here let me give you an outline that doesn't help this child does it? You say well what are you interested in regarding this era of history? What makes you curious? What causes you to pause? What disturbs you about this subject?

What are the things that surprises you? This is how you're going to discover what you should write about. In other words you you want to ask a question because you want them to be able to grow right? So part of this is that God wants him to grow and I think the second part of it is he asks a question because God cares. You know sometimes if you take time to listen if you just ask somebody a question and just listen you might give them the most precious gift that they have ever had just a caring friend somebody that says God becomes Elijah's therapist at least for a few moments Elijah what are you doing here? Tell me what's going on with you Elijah I'm listening and even though Elijah's words are not accurate and his feelings are not really grounded in truth they're still feelings and something we try to remind ourselves in our home is that feelings are feelings and therefore they're valid. If you want to tell somebody how you're feeling we're not going to immediately seek to disqualify that but sometimes what we need to do is just listen and if you could listen before you tried to fix somebody it might really help them and you know God does that with this ask a question but I think thirdly it's a question that is designed to help Elijah admit his aimlessness at this point in his life because the question what are you doing here is in the first place to say Elijah what are you doing? What are you doing? Well I'm just here in this cave talking to you God I mean what are you what are you what are you doing? Well I won this great battle at Mount Carmel it was amazing how you showed up there God that was awesome and then you know I did get discouraged but now I've come a long journey 40 days journey and I've come I've come here to Mount Horner I know I know all that Elijah but what do you what are you doing in this season of your life? Maybe eventually you had to kind of admit to himself well I'm not really doing anything right now I don't know what to do getting in touch with his aimlessness and he's not just saying what are you doing he's saying what are you doing here?

You know I always assumed that Elijah went to Mount Horeb which is probably the same place as Mount Sinai where Moses got the Ten Commandments and I always assumed that Elijah went there because God had told him to but the more I studied this text the more I realized that that's not really the case Elijah when God says what are you doing here Elijah doesn't say well you told me to come here and and furthermore as I began to study it it says he traveled 40 days 40 nights which could be a figure of speech just meaning a really long time or it could be literal but in either event it was more time than what was needed for him to be able to travel there what are you doing here he says you know it's interesting if you if you think about this if you could see this on a map you would realize that that what he did was he started at at at Mount Carmel with this huge victory and then he runs 17 miles to Jezreel nearby where Ahab had a summer home and then he gets discouraged he goes a hundred miles south to Beersheba into the wilderness and God comes and feeds him with supernatural food and with the strength of that food the text says he traveled 40 days to Mount Horeb which Sinai is at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula 200 miles to the south so he's now 300 miles south of Mount Carmel but if you look at the text where does God tell him his real ministry is going to be next he says you're going back to Damascus you're gonna anoint a king there he is over 300 miles away from anywhere that God had a plan for him and what's interesting is that this whole journey down through the Sinai Peninsula that it says was 40 days this is the same wilderness that the people of God wandered in for 40 years after they'd refused to take the promised land so what has happened here is that in a journey that even if he were to go the 200 miles from Beersheba down to Mount Horeb we know that it was expected in that time according to a unusual text in Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 2 this says that from an area near Beersheba down to Mount Sinai that it is about an 11 days journey at Moses should taken him 10 or 11 days to journey down there but he spent 40 days what has he been doing he's just wandering until he finds himself at a cave on Mount Horeb maybe he's just said to himself well this is where Moses came this is a holy mountain he just going aimlessly that's what this is a picture of is the aimlessness of the mighty prophet and how God comes to speak to him now we come to verse 10 hey Elijah said I've been very jealous for the Lord the God of hosts for the people of Israel forsaken your covenant thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with a sword and I even I only am left and they seek my life to take it away there's a whole lot of I and me and my language isn't this isn't it I've been very jealous for the other people hadn't been but I have been and even I I only am left and they can try to take my life away and it's an odd thing that we could become self-absorbed and aimless at the same time but actually they go hand in hand don't they because when you really know where you're going on a mission from God you're not thinking about yourself so much but when you're aimless you wake up every day going what am I supposed to be doing what's my role where am I supposed doing why am I here what am I doing and so God comes to him mercifully in the middle of this man's life that's without direction verse 11 and he said go out and stand on the mount before the Lord and behold the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord but the Lord was not in the wind sounds like me like a tornado like a tornado that would have just swept him away if he hadn't been in a cave and after the wind and earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake the ground shook could have been a huge rock slide everything's like it's falling apart the Lord wasn't in that and then after that a fire but the Lord was not in the fire there is a tornado an earthquake tectonic plates are shifting and a fire that is not a little campfire to warm himself by but a brush fire that is unbridled and consuming everything and its path the forces of nature demonstrating the glory and the power of God and yet God manifests all of these grand things and then reveal himself in the midst of it this mountain where Moses had met with God and the people weren't even allowed to touch the mountain because it was too holy and Moses was meeting with God this mountain where God put Moses in the cleft of a rock and all the greatness of God seen but that's not what Elijah needed at the moment Elijah already believed in the greatness of God he had seen God do great things what he needed was something altogether different it is possible to have seen the greatness of God and even be used by God for great things and feel distant from him Elijah you've experienced some very dramatic things that's wonderful but a walk with me the Lord is saying isn't about you having a Mount Carmel every day it's about you being close to my heart and me speaking to you knowing that God is powerful and awesome is important but that doesn't heal your heart something more intimate is needed that's Alan Wright and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series ever feel like something's holding you back as if you lack an important key that could change everything is there someone you love who seems stuck you'd like to help them but how what's missing blessing we all need a positive faith filled vision spoken over our lives you can learn how to embrace the biblical practice of blessing through Pastor Alan Wright's new book the power to bless which quickly became an Amazon number one bestseller after its recent release until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales but this month Alan Wright Ministries wants to send you the book as our thank you for your donation when you give this month you'll not only receive the best-selling book but you'll also receive a free five session video course in which Pastor Alan teaches how to bless and covers content not found in the book the video course includes a detailed study guide perfect for personal growth or small group discussion make your gift today and discover the power to bless now we are in our final days of offering this special product when you give today we will send you today's special offer call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty that's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty or come to our website Pastor Alan dot org today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan Wright after the earthquake a fire verse 12 but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire the sound of a low whisper was some translations have said a still small voice a little whisper and when Elijah heard it he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave and behold there came a voice to him and asked the same question what are you doing here Elijah so God got his attention with a whisper you know partly this is just a good strategy because if you want to get somebody's attention sometimes you're just gonna get it better with a whisper it reminded me of old trick I used to use when leading kids at camp and stuff and and we do a little song that lead you know trying to get ready for getting them quiet so they could listen to a message and we in the old days we do this song called whose side you leaning on and you ever heard of that whose side are you leaning on and then old kids get I'm leaning on the Lord side and then go I lean I lean I lean I lean and they all lean in loud on the Lord side and then we like whose side are you dancing all and sin on the Lord side and then they just all dance out dance out dance out dance you know and then we get to this point and this is the trick And you get over there, whose side are you shouting on? And there's nothing that elementary age boys like to do more than shout. And so they go out, I'll shout, I'll shout, I'll shout, I'll shout, I'm shouting on the Lord's side. Just let him shout and then you come to him, whose side are you whispering on? Whispering on the Lord's side. I whisper, I whisper, I whisper. And then we got, who's side are you sitting down on?

Sitting down on. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

You just trick them into listening to you. No. No. No. No.

No. Farley, he just wanted to get Elijah's attention, his power and a whisper, whispers the voice of comfort. If a mother's baby's crying, you'll never help the baby by shouting at the baby. But a whisper, a lullaby, comforts. Whispers the voice of closeness. So it's like if Ann and I were in some busy event out in the downtown area and crowds are out and she's on one side of the street, I'm on the other.

If I need to get her attention, it'd be like, Ann, Ann, over here, Ann. You gotta have a louder voice because you're not near each other. But if we were just at a restaurant having dinner with friends and there's some noise all around the restaurant but you're nearby, you're like, Ann, could you pass the salt? But if we have our own dinner, quiet and intimate, maybe a quiet place with candlelight, then your voices go lower, right?

Or closer. And then that evening, and speaking to each other from our pillows, you might whisper. In other words, it's the language, the voice that you use when you're close to someone. And a whisper is the voice of intimacy because you whisper secrets.

This really in many ways what makes a relationship intimate is there are things that I tell you, I don't tell other people and it's not meant for other people. It is a whisper because I want you to know that there's a uniqueness to my love for you. And God has an intimate voice. That's odd, but that intimate voice of God, that whisper in many ways can be more scary than any other manifestation of God. And yet in it is the nourishment that we need because we're made for intimacy with God. We are as God's children on the one hand, we are the people who have become enthralled with His glory and awe. And yet there's a mystery of being a child of God where we are also those children that have had intimate communication from God and a relationship with God so that we're very close to Him as our Father. And this is an unusual thing to be able to hold these in the proper tension, to know His greatness, and in that sense to be in awe of Him and yet to know His closeness and like He is our Father. He's like, makes me think of, you know like you'll watch somebody that just won the Super Bowl and 100 million people are celebrating the celebrity of the quarterback and then he goes and picks up his two year old child. And the child is unimpressed with the Super Bowl victory.

But he's very interested in the rough face of his daddy or just wanting to be hugged or do something silly with him because what is important to him is not that my dad is the Super Bowl champion, but that he is my Father. And I just have both of these things that went on in me all the time with God. I am in awe of His greatness, this One who is greater than anything I could imagine and I'm in awe. But if you're His child, you're His heir and you're a co-heir with Christ and there is a part of what Christian life is all about where you can feel the heartbeat of God and hear His whisper and you are simultaneously impressed by His holiness and yet you are so warmed by His love that you're just a little child in His arms and that's what Elijah needed. He needed to know the closeness of God because sometimes when you go through the most difficult seasons of life, when you so want God to shout, when you so want God to fix every problem, I'm telling you sometimes what God does instead is a greater miracle.

He comes and whispers to you. I've told this story often but I think back and love to tell this miracle story that during one of the hardest seasons of our lives, now many years ago, several things came together to make it very difficult and the greatest problem of which was Anne's little sister Mary had received an unwelcome diagnosis of cancer that no one could have imagined, that a young woman with four little children who's never smoked has lung cancer and so it advanced too far and it got into her bones and she bravely fought and the ministry of the church and the prayer and became the consuming focus of all of our lives, asking God to heal her in this earth and this cancer that eventually took her life, it was also busy trying to take away our joy and consumed every bit of our lives. It's just one of those times. In this same season, not long thereafter, Anne was in a terrible car crash where somebody ran a stop sign full speed, hit her car, overturned it. Our baby girl and one of our nieces was in there.

At first when I saw it, I thought perhaps they were dead and gone and God spared their lives and went therapy for her leg that was injured. Ministry was challenging and difficult. We were understaffed.

We had a very difficult season and who amongst us hasn't gone through seasons like that. Alan Wright. Personal moment from Alan's life here as he's sharing and we're gonna continue with this teaching from the series Miracle Man and today's teaching Elijah Calls Down Fire.

In fact, Alan is in the studio here in just a moment with a final word today. Ever feel like something's holding you back as if you lack an important key that could change everything? Is there someone you love who seems stuck? You'd like to help them, but how? What's missing? Blessing. We all need a positive faith-filled vision spoken over our lives. You can learn how to embrace the biblical practice of blessing through Pastor Alan Wright's new book, The Power to Bless, which quickly became an Amazon number one bestseller after its recent release. Until now, the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales, but this month, Alan Wright Ministries wants to send you the book as our thank you for your donation. When you give this month, you'll not only receive the best-selling book, but you'll also receive a free five-session video course in which Pastor Alan teaches how to bless and covers content not found in the book.

The video course includes a detailed study guide perfect for personal growth or small group discussion. Make your gift today and discover the power to bless. Now we are in our final days of offering this special product. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, pastoralan.org. Alan, reflecting on your own life and even with this story here, examples of the gospel of grace all around? It's when you read the Old Testament, like the story we're in now, and you see Elijah, this calling down of fire, which is a picture of judgment. And some people go, well, yeah, see, that's the way God is.

And others go, I don't wanna have anything to do with God if that's the way he is. But what we're really seeing is the mercies of God, because when Jesus came, his disciples at one point said, shall we call fire down on these people? And they were hearkening back to what Elijah did. But Jesus didn't have them call down fire on people because Jesus himself came to be the man under fire, under the wrath of God. And it's a picture of God's grace. So one of those kind of tough texts in the scripture that nonetheless, when we're going through the difficult times and we wonder, are we under the judgment of God? Are we, no, if you're in Christ, he's taken all the judgment for you. And so it's a powerful picture. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.