Chapter 23: Christ Our Prophet
CHRONICLE OF REDEMPTION – PART 4
Ch 23: The Improbable Champion
Dr. David Platt
6/27/10
As you find your seat, if you have a Bible – I hope you do – let me invite you to open with me to Exodus 20. The main text that we're going to study tonight actually starts in 1 Kings 17, but I want us to give a little context in the biblical story leading up to that point.
Exodus 20, and while you're turning there, I want to express my gratefulness to God for what he's doing in this faith family on two particular levels. Number one, for the gifted teachers that he has entrusted to this body – the gifted teachers of his Word. Now I'm talking here about people outside of myself. Like I'm not saying, "Aren't you grateful to God for such a gifted teacher?" That's not what I'm saying, but to sit here last week, and listen to Bart preach Ecclesiastes, and the week before in 1 Kings 8, and I think there's a real dangerous temptation, first in the history of this church – our church – and then in our church culture as a whole, to have an unhealthy dependence on a person or a personality, instead of having a healthy dependence on the Word of God. And I want in the days to come to make sure that we foster a healthy dependence on God's word.
So Bart preached two weeks this month, and then in July he's going to preach two weeks: one week when I'll be here, and one week when I'll be out of town with family. But I want us – in the days to come – just to grow and to foster a healthy dependence on God's word, and he has gifted us well for that, both in Bart and other teachers. So I'm thankful for that.
Then second, I'm grateful to God for how you are spreading the word. This last week to see all across this community, yards, neighborhoods filled with "Rock-the-Block" backyard Bible clubs, people, families, children, students, neighbors together, diving into the Word and to the Gospel, teaching one-another the Gospel, showing one-another the Gospel. Like it was great to hear stories, and I was challenged to be honest. I thought, "How can we do this some more?" Like this is some of the most effective ministry we do, not just in the community around us, but for the church. Not to quarantine ourselves in this building, but to live out Gospel-centered community, that is attractive to people that we live next to. We need to do this, that way – there was one letter that Kimberly, our Children's Minister, got from one of the leaders of a Backyard Bible Club in Riverside Park. The leader said, "Our team decided, we wanted to continue doing bible study with these kids. Our team is all willing to come together every Friday night and do a bible lesson, and play with these kids. We would continue our Scripture memory, and we would love to teach them the 66 books of the Bible. My question is: Is that okay?” Like, yeah. That's okay. Like clearly the more Gospel ministry we can do in the context of our families, and our neighborhoods, and the context of where we live the better. We don't need to do this, just once in a while. And that's where I was challenged, “How can we do this consistently, all the time, throughout the year?”
How can we do really Gospel-centered ministry all throughout the year? So, anyway, all that I say I'm thankful, and thankful for all that God is doing in this church. It's four years – this June – marks four years since I came here as pastor, and the great evidence of God's grace is your patience with me as pastor. So I thank you, and I just thank you, God, for the privilege to be a part of this.
All right, Exodus 20. We're starting a new part in the biblical story tonight. If you've been tracking along throughout this year as we read through the Bible chronically in our individual time with the Lord, we are every Sunday, looking at the entire story of Scripture. That's why we call it a chronicle, or a story of redemption. And we just finished about ten weeks in part three of that story, which we called "Failed Kings in the United Kingdom." And we saw three kings: Saul, David and Solomon. We saw each of their sinful downfalls, and what happens is, after Solomon leaves the stage, the people of God divide into two kingdoms. You've got the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. And in both kingdoms we're going to see the sinful spiral downward of God's people, and what God is going to do is he's going to raise up in the middle of this prophets who will speak his word to these kings, speak his word to his people. That's why we're calling Part 4, which we start tonight, "Faithful Prophets in a Divided Kingdom."
So what we're going to look at in the next couple of months, really, is all of these different prophets that God raises up. What I want us to do tonight is to look at Elijah – which we're going to get to in a second, in 1 Kings 17 – as a pattern of these prophets who are to come.
Before we even get there, what I want us to see and kind of understand, is the picture of prophecy in the Old Testament. One phrase that sums up prophecy in the Old Testament, “Prophecy is divine communication through human mediation.” This is key: Prophecy – divine communication through human mediation.
Think about the biblical story with me a for a second. You've got Genesis 1 and 2, and Adam and Eve, and they are walking with God in unhindered, uninhibited communion with God. They're enjoying access to God – walking with God, talking with God.
Then Genesis 3 comes in, and sin enters the world, and man's relationship to God is drastically affected, and man is cut off from the presence of God; man is cut off from direct communication with God. Everything changes.
Now we've seen how God called out a people in Genesis 12, for himself, and called Abraham to be his representative before that people, to be a blessing to all peoples. In fact, Abraham is the first person we see referred to as a prophet in Scripture. Genesis 20:7 talks about Abraham as a prophet. But the picture is: God is relating to his people, in the Old Testament, through certain individuals. And we kind of see that through Genesis, that it comes to a height in Exodus, where we are introduced to who is the main Old Testament prophet – Moses. And God calls out Moses and says, I'm going to speak to my people through you, Moses. And even speak to Pharaoh through you in cooperation with Aaron.
That happens at the beginning of Exodus, but here's Exodus 20, and I want us to look at Exodus 20:18. What the situation is, is you've got the people of God at Mt. Sinai, where he gives them the Ten Commandments. And if you remember the scene right before this in Exodus 19, it is intense. You've got this mountain shaking, almost like an earthquake. And you've got smoke coming up from the mountain. And all the people are terrified. Look at what Exodus 20:18 says, "Now when all the people saw the thunder, and the flashes of lighting, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us, lest we die.' Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you that you may not sin.' The people stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was."
So basically, the people said, you talk to him. We don't want to go up to the mountain, we're afraid, as well they should have been, in their sinfulness before a holy God. There was a separation between God and his holiness and man and his sinfulness – his people in their sinfulness. So what we see is God raises up Moses to be a mediator (that's what I mean by "human mediation") – a mediator between God and his people. Moses will go to God on behalf of his people, and Moses will go to the people on behalf of God. That's what a prophet does.
You think about it, here at the foot of this mountain, you've probably got 600,000 families represented there. How is God going to communicate his will to 600,000 families? Is he going to have a conversation with every single one of these heads of families? Or is he going to give everybody the exact same dream, or the exact same vision? No! What he does is, he's going to speak to Moses, and Moses is going to relay his word to his people.
So here's the pattern of prophecy that we are going to see throughout the rest of the Bible. God would speak to his people through a person. This is the picture: God speaking to his people through a person. Divine communication through human mediation.
So all of these pictures that we're going to see throughout the next couple months, most of the books that we have left to read in the Old Testament are prophets, and what they're going to do is speak to the people of God on behalf of God. That's the picture, and the pattern of prophecy.
Now with that foundation, go with me 1 Kings 17. I want to introduce you to Elijah, the prophet. I want us to use his life to set the stage for all these other prophets to come. Here's what we're going to do, I want us to look at the 4 characteristics of the prophets. And after we've looked at each one, I want us to pause, and I want us to, as best as we can, kind of put ourselves in the shoes of these prophets – put ourselves into the text, and kind of feel what they're feeling, and see these truths that we're seeing in their lives come alive in our lives. So after each one of these characteristics we're going to pause and just kind of let them soak in.
So, profile the prophets. Let's start. I know I asked you to turn to 1 Kings 17. Go to the very end of 1 Kings 16:29. I just want you to see the context that leads up to our introduction to Elijah. I want us to see the setting into which Elijah steps.
1 Kings 16:29: "In the 38th year of Asa, king of Judah, Ahab, the son of Omri, began to reign over Israel. And Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria 22 years." Now you see right there the picture: northern kingdom and southern kingdom. You've got Asa who is king of Judah, that's the southern kingdom. Ahab, the son of Omri, is king of Israel, that's the northern kingdom. And that's who's going to be the focus in this thing, Ahab.
"Ahab, the son of Omri" – 1 Kings 16:30 says – " did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. He took for his wife, Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went and severed Baal and worshipped him." In other words, Ahab was already evil, but then he went off and married Jezebel – like bad choice! And she just takes him deeper into sin, and particularly the worship of Baal. 1 Kings 16:32 says, "He erected an altar for Baal, in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria."
A little bit about Baal. Baal was the Canaanite rain god, god of fertility. If you want rain on your land and you want your land to bear great fruit, then you pray to and worship Baal. And so he leads the people of God in the worship of Baal.
It gets worse. 1 Kings 16:33 says, "Ahab made an Asherah," which is another picture of idolatry. Listen to this statement: "Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kinds of Israel who were before him." That is a not a positive commentary on this guy's life.
So that is the situation, the setting, into which Elijah steps. 1 Kings 17:1: "Now Elijah, the Tishbite, of Tishbe and Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.'"
Now think about this with me. Elijah comes on the scene, in a time where the people of God are worshipping Baal, the Canaanite rain god. Elijah's name, literally, means, "The Lord is God" – i.e. Baal is not God. And Elijah comes and says to a people who are worshipping Baal to bring rain. Elijah says, I'm going to show you who God is. For the next few years, there is going to be no rain, no matter how much you pray to or worship Baal, there's going to be no rain until I, as a spokesman for God, giving the word of God, say there will be rain. And you're going to see who is God.
Now this is where it gets really interesting, what happens. After this initial message, listen to what happens. It says, "The word of the Lord came to him" – "him" being Elijah: "Depart from here, and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Kerith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Kerith that is east of the Jordan, and the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening. And he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land."
Now what I find so interesting about this, is that when Elijah comes on the scene, he gives this initial message, and then I would imagine God saying to him, "Okay, we got a lot of ground to cover. We got a lot of sin and idolatry out here, so let's set up some appointments. You go talk to this person about this. You go talk to this person about this. Instead, what God does is he says, Elijah, I want you to come aside with me. I want you to go to a place where no one else is; where nothing else is; where your only friends are a couple of ravens who will give you food in the morning and the evening. And you are going to learn to depend on me, and to trust me, and to be fed, satisfied by me.
The first characteristic of these prophets, they walked in the presence of God. In every one of these prophets lives that we're going to see, there are times when God pulls them aside, where it is just them and the Lord, and personal communion together. Time alone with God. And God is shaping Elijah in solitude here, and it makes sense, because Elijah, as a prophet, is about to go to the people of God to be his representative before them, and everything that he says and everything that he does needs to flow out of a intimate personal relationship with God.
Here's the deal: the most important thing in the prophets' lives was their personal relationship with God. Everything would flow from that – everything they did, everything they said. This is why we see phrases, like with Moses, when it says, "God would speak to Moses face-to-face, as a man speaks with his friend." What an incredible picture of intimacy, and that was necessary for a prophet to be a representative of the word of God, and the presence of God to his people. He had to walk with God, which means the most important time in the prophet's life was the time that no one else saw; where they experienced intimate communion with God, apart from everyone and everything else. That was the key. They needed intimacy with God, because when they went out before the people, oftentimes, even when they were before the people, they were going to be alone, because their message was not going to make them the most popular guy in the class.
So they needed to learn. And this last part here, and this characteristic in your notes: They need to learn to find their strength in solitude with God. That is key. God shapes the prophet in solitude with him. They walked in the presence of God.
Second, they declared the word of God. This was the overflow of walking with God, and really the most important function and responsibility of the prophet, to declare God's word. A prophet would not be a prophet if they were always silent. They're a prophet because they speak – they declare the word of the Lord. Everything in the prophet's life revolves around the word of the Lord, where the word of the Lord tells them to go, and what the word of the Lord tells them to say.
I want you to see this in 1 Kings 17, just this introduction to Elijah's life. Underline or circle every time you see the word of the Lord mentioned, in just this opening charter here of Elijah’s life. End of 1 Kings 17:1, he says, "There shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word," which we're going to see is that when the prophet would speak on behalf of God, his word was equated with God's word.
But then look at 1 Kings 17:2, it says, "The word of the Lord came to him." So circle it or underline it there.
You go down to 1 Kings 17:5: "So he went and did according to the word of the Lord." Circle it or underline it there.
You get down to 1 Kings 17:8, it says, "The word of the Lord came to him. 'Arise, go to Zerapath.'" And what we see is the word of the Lord leads Elijah to go to Zerapath. This is now a time of draught, he goes to this place, where according to God's word he is supplied with this widow and her son, what they need, which is what 1 Kings 17:16 says. "The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah."
Then in the last part of this chapter, the widow's son, that Elijah is staying with, the son dies, Elijah goes to him and basically raises the son to life by the word of the Lord. Listen to what this widow says in response. 1 Kings 17:24, last verse, the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth."
Then you get to the very next chapter, 1 Kings 18:1, and guess what? “After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, ‘Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.’"
So the picture is the prophet is guided by the word, and then when he goes before the people he declares the word of the Lord. The constant phrase we're going to see in the mouth of the prophet throughout the next couple of months is, the prophet says, "Thus says the Lord," or, "This is what the Lord says." Then he'll speak, and he'll speak with the authority of God himself, on behalf of God, they declare the word of God, which means they were utterly dependent on God's power.
Here's the deal, when you go out with the word of the Lord, you are not depending on your own power. You are utterly dependent on God and his word. When you go out to speak to the king, or speak to the people, and all you've got is the word of the Lord, you're dependent on the power of God in his word, which is what we see in 1 Kings 18. And I just want to read this part of the story to you, and it's such a picture of the power of God's word.
So start with me in 1 Kings 18:17. Elijah is going to meet Ahab now, the king of Israel. Listen to what happens. 1 Kings 18:17: "When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, 'Is it you, you troubler of Israel.'" I love that! Like Elijah was known for making problems for idolaters in Israel. Like troubling powers of darkness in Israel. Like don't you want your face on a wanted poster in hell? Like, don't we want this church plastered everywhere down there? Like these are people that make trouble for us Yes! There's a good sermon right there, but we don't have time for it.
1 Kings 18: "He answered, 'I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord, and followed the Baals. Now, therefore, send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Ashrah who eat a Jezebel's table.'"
If you're doing the math, he's just called out a duel with one versus 850 as his odds, in addition to all the people of Israel watching. So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word" – complete silence. And Elijah said to the people, "Even I, only, am left a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God. And all the people answered, 'It is well-spoken.'" In other words, game on!
Here's the picture. A bull on this altar, a bull on this altar. We'll call down, ask our gods to bring down fire from heaven, and we'll see who answers. And he is God, the one who answers with fire.
So, Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose for yourselves, one bull, prepare it first, for you are many. And call upon the name of your God, but put no fire to it. And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, 'Oh, Baal, answer us.' But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them," which in the Old Testament means, began to enter into a bit of holy trash talk.
He mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is amusing, or he is relieving himself" – like that means exactly what you think that means. Maybe your god is on the can, I don't know. It's in the Bible. It's in the Bible.
"Maybe he's relieving himself, or he is on a journey. Or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." This is good. And listen to this, “They cried aloud, and cut themselves after their custom, with swords, and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as mid-day passed, they raved on, until the time of the offering of the oblation. But there was no voice. No one answered; no one payed attention.” This is the lesson of 1 Kings 18. The power of prayer is useless. Power of prayer is useless. They are praying like crazy, and nothing is happening, because it's who you're praying to that matters. Think about it.
Now everybody prays. Hindus pray. Muslims pray. Animists all over Africa pray. Congress prays. Big deal, if you pray! If our goal is just to pray, then we'll be just like everybody else. It's who you're praying to. 1 Kings 18:30: "Elijah said to all the people, 'Come near to me,' and all the people came near to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Elijah took 12 stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, 'Israel shall be your name.' And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.' And he said, 'Do it a second time.' They did it a second time. And he said, 'Do it a third time.' And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water." He's got it doused with water.
In the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah, the prophet came near and said simple prayer, "Oh, Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel. And that I am your servant, that I have done all these things" – catch it – "at your word. Answer me, oh, Lord. Answer me, that this people may know that you, oh, Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The Lord, he is God. The Lord, he is God.'"
The power of prayer is useless, but the power of people who connect with almighty God is unstoppable. You cannot stop the people of God with the word of God, declaring the glory of God. You can't stop them.
That was the picture. Not just utterly dependent on God's power, but utterly devoted to God's mission. This is the picture. Elijah and what all the prophets were going to see or doing, they are declaring "He is God. The Lord is God. Worship God." And that was the goal, so that people would fall and say, "The Lord, he is God." They wanted his glory. And the prophets were willing to give their lives to making his glory known; willing to risk their lives to make his glory known.
Here's the deal. These guys, they took God-sized risks. One versus 850, not your best odds. Proclaiming the word of the Lord, not an easy job when everyone around you is turning away from the Lord. But the prophet takes the risks. The prophet takes God-sized risks, and the prophet expected God-sized results.
Listen to what happens next. 1 Kings 18:40. Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Let not one of them escape. And they seized the prophets, and Elijah brought them down to the brook, Kishon and slaughtered them there." Not a good day for those guys.
1 Kings 18:41, listen to what Elijah does. He goes to Ahab, he says, "Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the rushing of the rain." Pause right there. There's no indication of rain anywhere yet, we're about to find out. No indication of it anywhere, but Elijah goes to Ahab and says, "There is the sound of the rushing of rain.
“So Ahab went up to eat and to drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel, and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, 'Go up now. Look toward the sea.' And he went up and looked, and said, 'There is nothing.' And he said, 'Go again,' seven times. And on the seventh time he said, 'Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.' And he said, 'Go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down, less the rains stop you.'"
Do you see this picture? He's bowing down, praying. There's no sign of rain anywhere in the sky, but the word of the Lord said, "It is coming." So he's calling out, God be faithful to your word. Show your glory. And he calls out persistently, pressing in in prayer until God brings the rain.
And then, I love this. 1 Kings 18:45: "In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel." So Ahab gets in his chariot, he's riding, and the hand of the Lord was on Elijah. He gathered up his garment, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. You know what picture I've got there in my mind? Forest Gump. Like Ahab's riding and Elijah just comes running right behind him, like tuck up your skirt and go bro! And he is running right past Ahab with the power of the Lord on him, like – yes!
This is it. These prophets took God-sized risks, and expected God-sized results, because they believed in the power of God, and were devoted to the mission of God, and declared the word of God with boldness, no matter what it cost them. They glimpsed the glory of God. They glimpsed the glory of God.
1 Kings 19 is so interesting. I want you to read it with me. 1 Kings 19:1: "Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, 'So may the gods do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.'" In other words, Jezebel sends a note that says, I'm going to kill you the next day. And Elijah was afraid, and he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he, himself, went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough now, oh, Lord. Take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers."
What is this? Elijah has just experienced this awesome victory, seen the glory of God. You would think sky-high with confidence in God. And all it takes is one message, from Jezebel, and he's running scared for his life. He sits down under a tree in the desert and says, I just wish I could die.
When I read that I think, "How can that be?" But if I could be honest with you – totally honest with you. When I look at my own life, even in ministry, it seems like some of the times when things are at their height in life and ministry, I find myself open to attack from the adversary in entirely new and vulnerable ways. That it's oftentimes when things are going well in our lives, and even seeing God move in the mightiest of ways, that we are most open to attack, which is what I love about what happens next.
1 Kings 19:5 says, "Elijah lay down and slept under a broom tree, and behold, an angel touched him and said to him, 'Arise and eat.' And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on a hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate, and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him, and said, 'Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.' And he arose, and ate, and drank, and went in the strength of that food 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mount of God. There 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?'
I love this. Here is Elijah running from God. We do not see the word of the Lord leading him here. He's running in fear, in a sense throwing a pity party: I just wish I could die. And what we see is God still with him. These prophets experienced God's grace in ways they did not deserve.
Now I want you to think about this with me. Brothers and sisters, aren't you glad that God is faithful to his people, even when they are not faithful to him? Aren't you glad that God, even when his servant is running away from him, God runs after him and stoops to serve him, even in his rebellion? That's grace – it's undeserved grace.
Look at what happens next. Listen to what Elijah says in 1 Kings 19:10: “‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, for the people of Israel have 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.’ And listen to what God says, ‘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. 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 the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave."
Think about this. How God has shown his glory. What we saw in Exodus 19 and 20, this picture of a mountain shaking like an earthquake and smoke coming up. What we've just seen from the glory of the Lord in 1 Kings 18, fire coming from heaven, and yet Elijah, when he needs a glimpse of the glory of God, it is not in this earthquake or this fire, but a gentle whisper – the simple sound of the voice of God. These prophets experienced God's grace in ways they did not deserve, and they beheld his glory in ways they did not expect, in simple, unexpected ways, glimpsing his glory. It's when he heard the simple sound of his voice that he covered his cloak over his face.
So they walked in the presence of God. They declared the word of God. And they glimpsed the glory of God in undeserved and unexpected ways. Finally, they trusted the promise of God. Now there's so much to fly over here. God says to Elijah in 1 Kings 19: You're not alone. I have other prophets. You're not quite as indispensable as you think. He begins to raise up others, including Elisha, at the end of 1 Kings 19. We see interaction with Ahab; Ahab gone, and the rest of 1 Kings.
Then you get to 2 Kings 1, Elijah calls down some more fire on some guys, just all in a day's work. And you get to 2 Kings 2:1, that's where I want us to pick up. The end of Elijah's time on earth. Look at 2 Kings 2:1: "Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal." Now pause for a second. Not a lot of people get taken up to heaven by a whirlwind, and we're going to find out later, Elijah knows this is coming. So if you know you're about to get taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, like there's a sense of anticipation rising in you. And what happens is, he takes Elisha with him, and they go to a couple different places (Bethel and Jericho, these are places were these other prophets are), and they cross the Jordan River. You get to 2 Kings 2:9, when they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." He knows he's about to be taken. And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me." And he said, "You have asked a hard thing, yet if you see me as I am being taken from you" – he knows it's coming – "it shall be so for you. But if you do not see me, it shall not be so." And listen to 2 Kings 2:11. Just picture this scene: "And as they still went on and talked, behold chariots of fire and horses of fire separate the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, 'My father, my father. The chariots of Israel and it's horsemen!' And he saw him no more."
Like just put yourself in Elisha's shoes, or Elijah's shoes, either one. To see this, chariots of fire – horses of fire, come in-between you and your buddy. And all of a sudden he gets taken off and he's gone. What a scene! And for Elijah to know this is coming and to take this ride of all rides into heaven.
Now it didn't happen this way with every prophet, but this was true of every prophet: On a whole, the knew this world was not their home, and they were living for another world. Hebrews 11 talks about them. It says they were like strangers in a foreign country. They were aliens here, looking for a better country of their own. This world, it says, was not even worthy of them. End of Hebrews 11, listen to this. It says, "They were all commended for their faith, but none of them received what had been promised." This is the picture, all these prophets in the Old Testament, they gave their lives, risks and all. They faced persecution, and danger, and suffering, and not one of them received what they had been promised – what they had prophesied about. Instead, they all lived looking forward. They, in fact, died looking forward every single one of them. Not looking back, these guys lived and died looking forward. Looking forward to what you ask? I'm glad you asked.
Turn over to the New Testament, 1 Peter 1. Feel free to use the table of contents if you need to. Go past Hebrews, James, 1 Peter 1:10. Here's the deal, you've got to see this, all these prophets: Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Zechariah, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, and so on, all the way to Malachi – all these prophets lived and died looking forward. To what?
1 Peter 1:10, Peter is talking here to the church about the salvation they have been given, about how God has saved them. And listen to what he says, 1 Peter 1:10: "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ was in them. The Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them (listen to this) that they were serving, not themselves, but you. And the things that have now been announced to you, through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look."
Oh, what imagery here. Peter says, these prophets, they were not serving themselves, they were serving – he says to these New Testament believers, you and to us by implication, serving us, pointing us to who? Christ! These prophets are saying – not only saying, but the way they said it, pointing us to Christ and angels, almost like they're peering over from heaven, longing to look into how this story is all pointing to the pinnacle of prophecy, Jesus Christ.
Go with me to Hebrews 1. Two books to the left, go past James, skip over him, and get to Hebrews 1:1. Pinnacle of prophecy – all these prophets pointing forward to one prophet – Jesus. Now I want to be careful here. While you're finding Hebrews 1:1, when I talk about Jesus as prophet, there are ways in which Jesus is viewed as a prophet that are unbiblical, and not what I'm talking about here. Most notably in Islam, Muslims view Jesus as a prophet. He is one among many. That is not what I'm saying. That is not what Scripture is saying when Jesus is referred to, or given in imagery of prophet, because he is not one among many. He is unique among all. He is over and above all. But he is prophetic in a sense.
Listen to Hebrews 1:1: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the" – what? “Prophets.” They were his spokesmen. “But in these last days he has spoken to us by” who? “His son, Jesus, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God, and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Jesus is the pinnacle of prophecy. For all these years God spoke his word through these prophets, but now he has spoken through Jesus.
How is Jesus the pinnacle of prophecy? Think about it. In light of all these characteristics we have seen, and then think about Jesus. He is the presence of God. He doesn't just walk in the presence of God like those prophets did. He didn't just walk in intimacy with God. Jesus is God. He fully and perfectly represents God to man.
It's what Hebrews 1:3 says, "He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature." Remember, why we looked at the picture of prophecy, divine communication through human mediation. A mediator between God and man, and Jesus comes on the scene, and he is the perfect mediator. 1 Timothy 2:5, it says, "There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” He is fully human, able to relate fully to man. He is fully God, able to relate fully to God. He is the perfect mediator. The very presence of God in the flesh.
Now this is where this truth just comes alive in this room for our hearts. Think about it. In the Old Testament, you had this division – separation between holy God and sinful man. And there were only a couple of people here – Moses, Elijah, other prophets – who would go to God (and even this was in a guarded sense), and hear the word of the Lord, and then speak the word of the Lord to the people. Yet only a few select people who had that kind of privilege of communion with God, but then in the New Testament Jesus comes on the scene, and he is the perfect mediator. He reconciles men to God, through his death on the cross, so that – get this – because of Jesus, all men – every single man and woman in this room, who trusts in Jesus – is reconciled to God, and now has direct access to intimacy with God. What Old Testament saints could have only longed for. Every single one of us in this room has the privilege of experiencing direct communion with God through Christ. Which means, the most important thing in your life, is your personal relationship with Jesus. There is nothing more important. At this moment, tonight, the most important thing where you sit right now is your personal relationship with Jesus. It is the most important thing now. It'll be the most important thing when you get out of bed in the morning. And next week at this time, and next month at this time, and next year, and in the next ten years, and 50 billion years from now, it'll still be the most important thing in your life.
There is nothing more important, which is where pastorally I want to say to every single brother and sister, every single believer in this room, guard your personal intimacy with Jesus with everything you've got. This world that we know and all of it's business, even the church world, and all of it's business, will rob us of intimacy – of communion with God through Christ. Don't let it happen. The most important time in your life is the time that no one else sees, where you and God and Christ are alone together. This is the spring from which everything flows; from which your relationships; and your friendships, and your marriage, and your parenting, your family – everything flows from this time with God and Christ.
What I want to say to you is find your contentment in communion with Christ. It is better – he is better – time with him is better than any T.V. show, anything you can look at on the Internet, or any of the other thousands of activities that we are bombarded with in our schedules on a daily basis. He is better. He's better. He is the presence of God. He is the word of God. Jesus comes, he doesn't just speak for God, he speaks as God. He is the word (John 1:1), which is huge. Not just for who Christ is, but what this means, again, in our lives. Oh, there's so much here, we don't have time to dive into it all. Just thing about this, if Jesus is the word of God, and Jesus dwells in you, and he puts his Spirit in you, do you realize what this means?
Acts 1:8: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Christ comes upon you. And you will be" a what? A witness. What do witnesses do? And not just witness, like they speak, they talk. You don't put a witness on a stand to just sit there silent. No, a witness talks, testifies, says, here's what I've seen, and here's what I've heard. And this is now.
Now I'm not saying that we're equated with Isaiah in the Old Testament, but in a very real sense – and we see this in Acts 1, I wish we could go there and spend the next hour there and I could show you some really cool things. We don't have time, so take my word for it. The beauty is, when the Spirit comes down on his people, and the Spirit dwells in us, then you and I have authority to go into the world and to speak the word of God, to testify to what we have seen and heard. This doesn't mean that we get big orange neon crosses and put on sackcloth and ashes, and go into Birmingham pronouncing judgment and doom on everyone. Like that's not the kind of prophecy we're talking about here. This is you and I can go to any person or home in our neighborhood, or co-workers, acquaintances, friends and family. You go to them, anyone, and say, "There is a God who is holy, and just, and gracious. And he has sent his son to die on the cross, to cover over his peoples' sins, so that everyone who trusts in him will be reconciled to God forever." You speak that anywhere in Birmingham, you are speaking the authority of the very God of the universe, and the power of God is there to bring men to salvation. That's good.
Go and speak! We have power to proclaim his word, and he's given us a mission to multiply his word – to be witnesses – where? Acts 1:8, "To the ends of the earth." Jesus is dwelling in his people. This is so great, even about what we do in this room tonight. Like we don't just come into this room to hear the prophet speak, and we'll come back next week and hear the prophet speak. No, like we scatter from this place tonight as the prophet, so to speak, with the Spirit of God and the word of God in our hearts, to go throughout Birmingham, to go to the ends of the earth speaking the word of God, multiplying the Gospel of God. And, brothers and sisters, that is worth taking God-sized risks to do – to go into tough places, tough areas in Birmingham, and to go into tough places in the world, and to take God-sized risks proclaiming his Word, expecting God-sized results for his glory. He's the word of God. He draws on us. Jesus is the glory of God.
John 1:14: "We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only." Oh, think about it. In Christ, isn't it true, what was said of Elijah can be said of us. We have received undeserved grace. He has served us with the salvation that we do not deserve. We deserve nothing of the sort. And then his grace – Christ – we now behold unimaginable glory.
2 Corinthians 4: "We behold the glory of God in the face of Christ." Jesus is the presence of God, the word of God, the glory of God, and he is the promise of God to which they were all pointing.
At the end of Hebrews 11, it says, "None of those prophets have received what had been promised." God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us they would be made perfect.
Oh, the picture there, is they were pointing to something – a reality that would come in Christ, that we would enjoy, and they were pointing to, and together one day we would enjoy the culmination of our salvation together, and the completion of our salvation together in Christ, which is why we must hear these prophets speaking to us tonight and reminding us: Brothers and sisters, this world is not our home. Birmingham is not our home. And the United States in not our country. We are longing for a better country – a heavenly one. And our home is there. And our hearts are set there.
Think about it, what we just saw. In 2 Kings 2, we saw Elijah and Elisha walking, and this incredible scene, and we're saying, "Well, how cool would that be to have been a part of that scene." Well, I am not saying there's going to be chariots of fire, or horses of fire, but check this out.
First Thessalonians 4. Try this on for size. You have to turn there. Just listen. Just like picture it. About those who are asleep: "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you, by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep, for the Lord himself will one day descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and we will also be with the Lord. Encourage one another with those words.” That's encouraging!
Like there is coming a day, it could be tonight, it could be tomorrow, it could be next week, it could be next year, it could be before you or I die, or after you and I die, it doesn't matter. There is coming a day when a trumpet will sound from heaven, and the Lord will return to redeem his people fully and finally. Redeem creation – the end of the story is coming, so live looking forward. And die looking forward, with anticipation to the day when we are going to be caught up in the air with him, and together experience the culmination of our salvation.
Ch 23: The Improbable Champion
Dr. David Platt
6/27/10
As you find your seat, if you have a Bible – I hope you do – let me invite you to open with me to Exodus 20. The main text that we're going to study tonight actually starts in 1 Kings 17, but I want us to give a little context in the biblical story leading up to that point.
Exodus 20, and while you're turning there, I want to express my gratefulness to God for what he's doing in this faith family on two particular levels. Number one, for the gifted teachers that he has entrusted to this body – the gifted teachers of his Word. Now I'm talking here about people outside of myself. Like I'm not saying, "Aren't you grateful to God for such a gifted teacher?" That's not what I'm saying, but to sit here last week, and listen to Bart preach Ecclesiastes, and the week before in 1 Kings 8, and I think there's a real dangerous temptation, first in the history of this church – our church – and then in our church culture as a whole, to have an unhealthy dependence on a person or a personality, instead of having a healthy dependence on the Word of God. And I want in the days to come to make sure that we foster a healthy dependence on God's word.
So Bart preached two weeks this month, and then in July he's going to preach two weeks: one week when I'll be here, and one week when I'll be out of town with family. But I want us – in the days to come – just to grow and to foster a healthy dependence on God's word, and he has gifted us well for that, both in Bart and other teachers. So I'm thankful for that.
Then second, I'm grateful to God for how you are spreading the word. This last week to see all across this community, yards, neighborhoods filled with "Rock-the-Block" backyard Bible clubs, people, families, children, students, neighbors together, diving into the Word and to the Gospel, teaching one-another the Gospel, showing one-another the Gospel. Like it was great to hear stories, and I was challenged to be honest. I thought, "How can we do this some more?" Like this is some of the most effective ministry we do, not just in the community around us, but for the church. Not to quarantine ourselves in this building, but to live out Gospel-centered community, that is attractive to people that we live next to. We need to do this, that way – there was one letter that Kimberly, our Children's Minister, got from one of the leaders of a Backyard Bible Club in Riverside Park. The leader said, "Our team decided, we wanted to continue doing bible study with these kids. Our team is all willing to come together every Friday night and do a bible lesson, and play with these kids. We would continue our Scripture memory, and we would love to teach them the 66 books of the Bible. My question is: Is that okay?” Like, yeah. That's okay. Like clearly the more Gospel ministry we can do in the context of our families, and our neighborhoods, and the context of where we live the better. We don't need to do this, just once in a while. And that's where I was challenged, “How can we do this consistently, all the time, throughout the year?”
How can we do really Gospel-centered ministry all throughout the year? So, anyway, all that I say I'm thankful, and thankful for all that God is doing in this church. It's four years – this June – marks four years since I came here as pastor, and the great evidence of God's grace is your patience with me as pastor. So I thank you, and I just thank you, God, for the privilege to be a part of this.
All right, Exodus 20. We're starting a new part in the biblical story tonight. If you've been tracking along throughout this year as we read through the Bible chronically in our individual time with the Lord, we are every Sunday, looking at the entire story of Scripture. That's why we call it a chronicle, or a story of redemption. And we just finished about ten weeks in part three of that story, which we called "Failed Kings in the United Kingdom." And we saw three kings: Saul, David and Solomon. We saw each of their sinful downfalls, and what happens is, after Solomon leaves the stage, the people of God divide into two kingdoms. You've got the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. And in both kingdoms we're going to see the sinful spiral downward of God's people, and what God is going to do is he's going to raise up in the middle of this prophets who will speak his word to these kings, speak his word to his people. That's why we're calling Part 4, which we start tonight, "Faithful Prophets in a Divided Kingdom."
So what we're going to look at in the next couple of months, really, is all of these different prophets that God raises up. What I want us to do tonight is to look at Elijah – which we're going to get to in a second, in 1 Kings 17 – as a pattern of these prophets who are to come.
Before we even get there, what I want us to see and kind of understand, is the picture of prophecy in the Old Testament. One phrase that sums up prophecy in the Old Testament, “Prophecy is divine communication through human mediation.” This is key: Prophecy – divine communication through human mediation.
Think about the biblical story with me a for a second. You've got Genesis 1 and 2, and Adam and Eve, and they are walking with God in unhindered, uninhibited communion with God. They're enjoying access to God – walking with God, talking with God.
Then Genesis 3 comes in, and sin enters the world, and man's relationship to God is drastically affected, and man is cut off from the presence of God; man is cut off from direct communication with God. Everything changes.
Now we've seen how God called out a people in Genesis 12, for himself, and called Abraham to be his representative before that people, to be a blessing to all peoples. In fact, Abraham is the first person we see referred to as a prophet in Scripture. Genesis 20:7 talks about Abraham as a prophet. But the picture is: God is relating to his people, in the Old Testament, through certain individuals. And we kind of see that through Genesis, that it comes to a height in Exodus, where we are introduced to who is the main Old Testament prophet – Moses. And God calls out Moses and says, I'm going to speak to my people through you, Moses. And even speak to Pharaoh through you in cooperation with Aaron.
That happens at the beginning of Exodus, but here's Exodus 20, and I want us to look at Exodus 20:18. What the situation is, is you've got the people of God at Mt. Sinai, where he gives them the Ten Commandments. And if you remember the scene right before this in Exodus 19, it is intense. You've got this mountain shaking, almost like an earthquake. And you've got smoke coming up from the mountain. And all the people are terrified. Look at what Exodus 20:18 says, "Now when all the people saw the thunder, and the flashes of lighting, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us, lest we die.' Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you that you may not sin.' The people stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was."
So basically, the people said, you talk to him. We don't want to go up to the mountain, we're afraid, as well they should have been, in their sinfulness before a holy God. There was a separation between God and his holiness and man and his sinfulness – his people in their sinfulness. So what we see is God raises up Moses to be a mediator (that's what I mean by "human mediation") – a mediator between God and his people. Moses will go to God on behalf of his people, and Moses will go to the people on behalf of God. That's what a prophet does.
You think about it, here at the foot of this mountain, you've probably got 600,000 families represented there. How is God going to communicate his will to 600,000 families? Is he going to have a conversation with every single one of these heads of families? Or is he going to give everybody the exact same dream, or the exact same vision? No! What he does is, he's going to speak to Moses, and Moses is going to relay his word to his people.
So here's the pattern of prophecy that we are going to see throughout the rest of the Bible. God would speak to his people through a person. This is the picture: God speaking to his people through a person. Divine communication through human mediation.
So all of these pictures that we're going to see throughout the next couple months, most of the books that we have left to read in the Old Testament are prophets, and what they're going to do is speak to the people of God on behalf of God. That's the picture, and the pattern of prophecy.
Now with that foundation, go with me 1 Kings 17. I want to introduce you to Elijah, the prophet. I want us to use his life to set the stage for all these other prophets to come. Here's what we're going to do, I want us to look at the 4 characteristics of the prophets. And after we've looked at each one, I want us to pause, and I want us to, as best as we can, kind of put ourselves in the shoes of these prophets – put ourselves into the text, and kind of feel what they're feeling, and see these truths that we're seeing in their lives come alive in our lives. So after each one of these characteristics we're going to pause and just kind of let them soak in.
So, profile the prophets. Let's start. I know I asked you to turn to 1 Kings 17. Go to the very end of 1 Kings 16:29. I just want you to see the context that leads up to our introduction to Elijah. I want us to see the setting into which Elijah steps.
1 Kings 16:29: "In the 38th year of Asa, king of Judah, Ahab, the son of Omri, began to reign over Israel. And Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria 22 years." Now you see right there the picture: northern kingdom and southern kingdom. You've got Asa who is king of Judah, that's the southern kingdom. Ahab, the son of Omri, is king of Israel, that's the northern kingdom. And that's who's going to be the focus in this thing, Ahab.
"Ahab, the son of Omri" – 1 Kings 16:30 says – " did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. He took for his wife, Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went and severed Baal and worshipped him." In other words, Ahab was already evil, but then he went off and married Jezebel – like bad choice! And she just takes him deeper into sin, and particularly the worship of Baal. 1 Kings 16:32 says, "He erected an altar for Baal, in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria."
A little bit about Baal. Baal was the Canaanite rain god, god of fertility. If you want rain on your land and you want your land to bear great fruit, then you pray to and worship Baal. And so he leads the people of God in the worship of Baal.
It gets worse. 1 Kings 16:33 says, "Ahab made an Asherah," which is another picture of idolatry. Listen to this statement: "Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kinds of Israel who were before him." That is a not a positive commentary on this guy's life.
So that is the situation, the setting, into which Elijah steps. 1 Kings 17:1: "Now Elijah, the Tishbite, of Tishbe and Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.'"
Now think about this with me. Elijah comes on the scene, in a time where the people of God are worshipping Baal, the Canaanite rain god. Elijah's name, literally, means, "The Lord is God" – i.e. Baal is not God. And Elijah comes and says to a people who are worshipping Baal to bring rain. Elijah says, I'm going to show you who God is. For the next few years, there is going to be no rain, no matter how much you pray to or worship Baal, there's going to be no rain until I, as a spokesman for God, giving the word of God, say there will be rain. And you're going to see who is God.
Now this is where it gets really interesting, what happens. After this initial message, listen to what happens. It says, "The word of the Lord came to him" – "him" being Elijah: "Depart from here, and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Kerith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Kerith that is east of the Jordan, and the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening. And he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land."
Now what I find so interesting about this, is that when Elijah comes on the scene, he gives this initial message, and then I would imagine God saying to him, "Okay, we got a lot of ground to cover. We got a lot of sin and idolatry out here, so let's set up some appointments. You go talk to this person about this. You go talk to this person about this. Instead, what God does is he says, Elijah, I want you to come aside with me. I want you to go to a place where no one else is; where nothing else is; where your only friends are a couple of ravens who will give you food in the morning and the evening. And you are going to learn to depend on me, and to trust me, and to be fed, satisfied by me.
The first characteristic of these prophets, they walked in the presence of God. In every one of these prophets lives that we're going to see, there are times when God pulls them aside, where it is just them and the Lord, and personal communion together. Time alone with God. And God is shaping Elijah in solitude here, and it makes sense, because Elijah, as a prophet, is about to go to the people of God to be his representative before them, and everything that he says and everything that he does needs to flow out of a intimate personal relationship with God.
Here's the deal: the most important thing in the prophets' lives was their personal relationship with God. Everything would flow from that – everything they did, everything they said. This is why we see phrases, like with Moses, when it says, "God would speak to Moses face-to-face, as a man speaks with his friend." What an incredible picture of intimacy, and that was necessary for a prophet to be a representative of the word of God, and the presence of God to his people. He had to walk with God, which means the most important time in the prophet's life was the time that no one else saw; where they experienced intimate communion with God, apart from everyone and everything else. That was the key. They needed intimacy with God, because when they went out before the people, oftentimes, even when they were before the people, they were going to be alone, because their message was not going to make them the most popular guy in the class.
So they needed to learn. And this last part here, and this characteristic in your notes: They need to learn to find their strength in solitude with God. That is key. God shapes the prophet in solitude with him. They walked in the presence of God.
Second, they declared the word of God. This was the overflow of walking with God, and really the most important function and responsibility of the prophet, to declare God's word. A prophet would not be a prophet if they were always silent. They're a prophet because they speak – they declare the word of the Lord. Everything in the prophet's life revolves around the word of the Lord, where the word of the Lord tells them to go, and what the word of the Lord tells them to say.
I want you to see this in 1 Kings 17, just this introduction to Elijah's life. Underline or circle every time you see the word of the Lord mentioned, in just this opening charter here of Elijah’s life. End of 1 Kings 17:1, he says, "There shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word," which we're going to see is that when the prophet would speak on behalf of God, his word was equated with God's word.
But then look at 1 Kings 17:2, it says, "The word of the Lord came to him." So circle it or underline it there.
You go down to 1 Kings 17:5: "So he went and did according to the word of the Lord." Circle it or underline it there.
You get down to 1 Kings 17:8, it says, "The word of the Lord came to him. 'Arise, go to Zerapath.'" And what we see is the word of the Lord leads Elijah to go to Zerapath. This is now a time of draught, he goes to this place, where according to God's word he is supplied with this widow and her son, what they need, which is what 1 Kings 17:16 says. "The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah."
Then in the last part of this chapter, the widow's son, that Elijah is staying with, the son dies, Elijah goes to him and basically raises the son to life by the word of the Lord. Listen to what this widow says in response. 1 Kings 17:24, last verse, the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth."
Then you get to the very next chapter, 1 Kings 18:1, and guess what? “After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, ‘Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.’"
So the picture is the prophet is guided by the word, and then when he goes before the people he declares the word of the Lord. The constant phrase we're going to see in the mouth of the prophet throughout the next couple of months is, the prophet says, "Thus says the Lord," or, "This is what the Lord says." Then he'll speak, and he'll speak with the authority of God himself, on behalf of God, they declare the word of God, which means they were utterly dependent on God's power.
Here's the deal, when you go out with the word of the Lord, you are not depending on your own power. You are utterly dependent on God and his word. When you go out to speak to the king, or speak to the people, and all you've got is the word of the Lord, you're dependent on the power of God in his word, which is what we see in 1 Kings 18. And I just want to read this part of the story to you, and it's such a picture of the power of God's word.
So start with me in 1 Kings 18:17. Elijah is going to meet Ahab now, the king of Israel. Listen to what happens. 1 Kings 18:17: "When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, 'Is it you, you troubler of Israel.'" I love that! Like Elijah was known for making problems for idolaters in Israel. Like troubling powers of darkness in Israel. Like don't you want your face on a wanted poster in hell? Like, don't we want this church plastered everywhere down there? Like these are people that make trouble for us Yes! There's a good sermon right there, but we don't have time for it.
1 Kings 18: "He answered, 'I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord, and followed the Baals. Now, therefore, send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Ashrah who eat a Jezebel's table.'"
If you're doing the math, he's just called out a duel with one versus 850 as his odds, in addition to all the people of Israel watching. So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word" – complete silence. And Elijah said to the people, "Even I, only, am left a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God. And all the people answered, 'It is well-spoken.'" In other words, game on!
Here's the picture. A bull on this altar, a bull on this altar. We'll call down, ask our gods to bring down fire from heaven, and we'll see who answers. And he is God, the one who answers with fire.
So, Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose for yourselves, one bull, prepare it first, for you are many. And call upon the name of your God, but put no fire to it. And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, 'Oh, Baal, answer us.' But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them," which in the Old Testament means, began to enter into a bit of holy trash talk.
He mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is amusing, or he is relieving himself" – like that means exactly what you think that means. Maybe your god is on the can, I don't know. It's in the Bible. It's in the Bible.
"Maybe he's relieving himself, or he is on a journey. Or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." This is good. And listen to this, “They cried aloud, and cut themselves after their custom, with swords, and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as mid-day passed, they raved on, until the time of the offering of the oblation. But there was no voice. No one answered; no one payed attention.” This is the lesson of 1 Kings 18. The power of prayer is useless. Power of prayer is useless. They are praying like crazy, and nothing is happening, because it's who you're praying to that matters. Think about it.
Now everybody prays. Hindus pray. Muslims pray. Animists all over Africa pray. Congress prays. Big deal, if you pray! If our goal is just to pray, then we'll be just like everybody else. It's who you're praying to. 1 Kings 18:30: "Elijah said to all the people, 'Come near to me,' and all the people came near to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Elijah took 12 stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, 'Israel shall be your name.' And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.' And he said, 'Do it a second time.' They did it a second time. And he said, 'Do it a third time.' And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water." He's got it doused with water.
In the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah, the prophet came near and said simple prayer, "Oh, Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel. And that I am your servant, that I have done all these things" – catch it – "at your word. Answer me, oh, Lord. Answer me, that this people may know that you, oh, Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The Lord, he is God. The Lord, he is God.'"
The power of prayer is useless, but the power of people who connect with almighty God is unstoppable. You cannot stop the people of God with the word of God, declaring the glory of God. You can't stop them.
That was the picture. Not just utterly dependent on God's power, but utterly devoted to God's mission. This is the picture. Elijah and what all the prophets were going to see or doing, they are declaring "He is God. The Lord is God. Worship God." And that was the goal, so that people would fall and say, "The Lord, he is God." They wanted his glory. And the prophets were willing to give their lives to making his glory known; willing to risk their lives to make his glory known.
Here's the deal. These guys, they took God-sized risks. One versus 850, not your best odds. Proclaiming the word of the Lord, not an easy job when everyone around you is turning away from the Lord. But the prophet takes the risks. The prophet takes God-sized risks, and the prophet expected God-sized results.
Listen to what happens next. 1 Kings 18:40. Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Let not one of them escape. And they seized the prophets, and Elijah brought them down to the brook, Kishon and slaughtered them there." Not a good day for those guys.
1 Kings 18:41, listen to what Elijah does. He goes to Ahab, he says, "Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the rushing of the rain." Pause right there. There's no indication of rain anywhere yet, we're about to find out. No indication of it anywhere, but Elijah goes to Ahab and says, "There is the sound of the rushing of rain.
“So Ahab went up to eat and to drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel, and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, 'Go up now. Look toward the sea.' And he went up and looked, and said, 'There is nothing.' And he said, 'Go again,' seven times. And on the seventh time he said, 'Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.' And he said, 'Go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down, less the rains stop you.'"
Do you see this picture? He's bowing down, praying. There's no sign of rain anywhere in the sky, but the word of the Lord said, "It is coming." So he's calling out, God be faithful to your word. Show your glory. And he calls out persistently, pressing in in prayer until God brings the rain.
And then, I love this. 1 Kings 18:45: "In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel." So Ahab gets in his chariot, he's riding, and the hand of the Lord was on Elijah. He gathered up his garment, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. You know what picture I've got there in my mind? Forest Gump. Like Ahab's riding and Elijah just comes running right behind him, like tuck up your skirt and go bro! And he is running right past Ahab with the power of the Lord on him, like – yes!
This is it. These prophets took God-sized risks, and expected God-sized results, because they believed in the power of God, and were devoted to the mission of God, and declared the word of God with boldness, no matter what it cost them. They glimpsed the glory of God. They glimpsed the glory of God.
1 Kings 19 is so interesting. I want you to read it with me. 1 Kings 19:1: "Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, 'So may the gods do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.'" In other words, Jezebel sends a note that says, I'm going to kill you the next day. And Elijah was afraid, and he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he, himself, went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough now, oh, Lord. Take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers."
What is this? Elijah has just experienced this awesome victory, seen the glory of God. You would think sky-high with confidence in God. And all it takes is one message, from Jezebel, and he's running scared for his life. He sits down under a tree in the desert and says, I just wish I could die.
When I read that I think, "How can that be?" But if I could be honest with you – totally honest with you. When I look at my own life, even in ministry, it seems like some of the times when things are at their height in life and ministry, I find myself open to attack from the adversary in entirely new and vulnerable ways. That it's oftentimes when things are going well in our lives, and even seeing God move in the mightiest of ways, that we are most open to attack, which is what I love about what happens next.
1 Kings 19:5 says, "Elijah lay down and slept under a broom tree, and behold, an angel touched him and said to him, 'Arise and eat.' And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on a hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate, and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him, and said, 'Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.' And he arose, and ate, and drank, and went in the strength of that food 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mount of God. There 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?'
I love this. Here is Elijah running from God. We do not see the word of the Lord leading him here. He's running in fear, in a sense throwing a pity party: I just wish I could die. And what we see is God still with him. These prophets experienced God's grace in ways they did not deserve.
Now I want you to think about this with me. Brothers and sisters, aren't you glad that God is faithful to his people, even when they are not faithful to him? Aren't you glad that God, even when his servant is running away from him, God runs after him and stoops to serve him, even in his rebellion? That's grace – it's undeserved grace.
Look at what happens next. Listen to what Elijah says in 1 Kings 19:10: “‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, for the people of Israel have 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.’ And listen to what God says, ‘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. 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 the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave."
Think about this. How God has shown his glory. What we saw in Exodus 19 and 20, this picture of a mountain shaking like an earthquake and smoke coming up. What we've just seen from the glory of the Lord in 1 Kings 18, fire coming from heaven, and yet Elijah, when he needs a glimpse of the glory of God, it is not in this earthquake or this fire, but a gentle whisper – the simple sound of the voice of God. These prophets experienced God's grace in ways they did not deserve, and they beheld his glory in ways they did not expect, in simple, unexpected ways, glimpsing his glory. It's when he heard the simple sound of his voice that he covered his cloak over his face.
So they walked in the presence of God. They declared the word of God. And they glimpsed the glory of God in undeserved and unexpected ways. Finally, they trusted the promise of God. Now there's so much to fly over here. God says to Elijah in 1 Kings 19: You're not alone. I have other prophets. You're not quite as indispensable as you think. He begins to raise up others, including Elisha, at the end of 1 Kings 19. We see interaction with Ahab; Ahab gone, and the rest of 1 Kings.
Then you get to 2 Kings 1, Elijah calls down some more fire on some guys, just all in a day's work. And you get to 2 Kings 2:1, that's where I want us to pick up. The end of Elijah's time on earth. Look at 2 Kings 2:1: "Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal." Now pause for a second. Not a lot of people get taken up to heaven by a whirlwind, and we're going to find out later, Elijah knows this is coming. So if you know you're about to get taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, like there's a sense of anticipation rising in you. And what happens is, he takes Elisha with him, and they go to a couple different places (Bethel and Jericho, these are places were these other prophets are), and they cross the Jordan River. You get to 2 Kings 2:9, when they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." He knows he's about to be taken. And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me." And he said, "You have asked a hard thing, yet if you see me as I am being taken from you" – he knows it's coming – "it shall be so for you. But if you do not see me, it shall not be so." And listen to 2 Kings 2:11. Just picture this scene: "And as they still went on and talked, behold chariots of fire and horses of fire separate the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, 'My father, my father. The chariots of Israel and it's horsemen!' And he saw him no more."
Like just put yourself in Elisha's shoes, or Elijah's shoes, either one. To see this, chariots of fire – horses of fire, come in-between you and your buddy. And all of a sudden he gets taken off and he's gone. What a scene! And for Elijah to know this is coming and to take this ride of all rides into heaven.
Now it didn't happen this way with every prophet, but this was true of every prophet: On a whole, the knew this world was not their home, and they were living for another world. Hebrews 11 talks about them. It says they were like strangers in a foreign country. They were aliens here, looking for a better country of their own. This world, it says, was not even worthy of them. End of Hebrews 11, listen to this. It says, "They were all commended for their faith, but none of them received what had been promised." This is the picture, all these prophets in the Old Testament, they gave their lives, risks and all. They faced persecution, and danger, and suffering, and not one of them received what they had been promised – what they had prophesied about. Instead, they all lived looking forward. They, in fact, died looking forward every single one of them. Not looking back, these guys lived and died looking forward. Looking forward to what you ask? I'm glad you asked.
Turn over to the New Testament, 1 Peter 1. Feel free to use the table of contents if you need to. Go past Hebrews, James, 1 Peter 1:10. Here's the deal, you've got to see this, all these prophets: Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Zechariah, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, and so on, all the way to Malachi – all these prophets lived and died looking forward. To what?
1 Peter 1:10, Peter is talking here to the church about the salvation they have been given, about how God has saved them. And listen to what he says, 1 Peter 1:10: "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ was in them. The Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them (listen to this) that they were serving, not themselves, but you. And the things that have now been announced to you, through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look."
Oh, what imagery here. Peter says, these prophets, they were not serving themselves, they were serving – he says to these New Testament believers, you and to us by implication, serving us, pointing us to who? Christ! These prophets are saying – not only saying, but the way they said it, pointing us to Christ and angels, almost like they're peering over from heaven, longing to look into how this story is all pointing to the pinnacle of prophecy, Jesus Christ.
Go with me to Hebrews 1. Two books to the left, go past James, skip over him, and get to Hebrews 1:1. Pinnacle of prophecy – all these prophets pointing forward to one prophet – Jesus. Now I want to be careful here. While you're finding Hebrews 1:1, when I talk about Jesus as prophet, there are ways in which Jesus is viewed as a prophet that are unbiblical, and not what I'm talking about here. Most notably in Islam, Muslims view Jesus as a prophet. He is one among many. That is not what I'm saying. That is not what Scripture is saying when Jesus is referred to, or given in imagery of prophet, because he is not one among many. He is unique among all. He is over and above all. But he is prophetic in a sense.
Listen to Hebrews 1:1: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the" – what? “Prophets.” They were his spokesmen. “But in these last days he has spoken to us by” who? “His son, Jesus, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God, and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Jesus is the pinnacle of prophecy. For all these years God spoke his word through these prophets, but now he has spoken through Jesus.
How is Jesus the pinnacle of prophecy? Think about it. In light of all these characteristics we have seen, and then think about Jesus. He is the presence of God. He doesn't just walk in the presence of God like those prophets did. He didn't just walk in intimacy with God. Jesus is God. He fully and perfectly represents God to man.
It's what Hebrews 1:3 says, "He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature." Remember, why we looked at the picture of prophecy, divine communication through human mediation. A mediator between God and man, and Jesus comes on the scene, and he is the perfect mediator. 1 Timothy 2:5, it says, "There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” He is fully human, able to relate fully to man. He is fully God, able to relate fully to God. He is the perfect mediator. The very presence of God in the flesh.
Now this is where this truth just comes alive in this room for our hearts. Think about it. In the Old Testament, you had this division – separation between holy God and sinful man. And there were only a couple of people here – Moses, Elijah, other prophets – who would go to God (and even this was in a guarded sense), and hear the word of the Lord, and then speak the word of the Lord to the people. Yet only a few select people who had that kind of privilege of communion with God, but then in the New Testament Jesus comes on the scene, and he is the perfect mediator. He reconciles men to God, through his death on the cross, so that – get this – because of Jesus, all men – every single man and woman in this room, who trusts in Jesus – is reconciled to God, and now has direct access to intimacy with God. What Old Testament saints could have only longed for. Every single one of us in this room has the privilege of experiencing direct communion with God through Christ. Which means, the most important thing in your life, is your personal relationship with Jesus. There is nothing more important. At this moment, tonight, the most important thing where you sit right now is your personal relationship with Jesus. It is the most important thing now. It'll be the most important thing when you get out of bed in the morning. And next week at this time, and next month at this time, and next year, and in the next ten years, and 50 billion years from now, it'll still be the most important thing in your life.
There is nothing more important, which is where pastorally I want to say to every single brother and sister, every single believer in this room, guard your personal intimacy with Jesus with everything you've got. This world that we know and all of it's business, even the church world, and all of it's business, will rob us of intimacy – of communion with God through Christ. Don't let it happen. The most important time in your life is the time that no one else sees, where you and God and Christ are alone together. This is the spring from which everything flows; from which your relationships; and your friendships, and your marriage, and your parenting, your family – everything flows from this time with God and Christ.
What I want to say to you is find your contentment in communion with Christ. It is better – he is better – time with him is better than any T.V. show, anything you can look at on the Internet, or any of the other thousands of activities that we are bombarded with in our schedules on a daily basis. He is better. He's better. He is the presence of God. He is the word of God. Jesus comes, he doesn't just speak for God, he speaks as God. He is the word (John 1:1), which is huge. Not just for who Christ is, but what this means, again, in our lives. Oh, there's so much here, we don't have time to dive into it all. Just thing about this, if Jesus is the word of God, and Jesus dwells in you, and he puts his Spirit in you, do you realize what this means?
Acts 1:8: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Christ comes upon you. And you will be" a what? A witness. What do witnesses do? And not just witness, like they speak, they talk. You don't put a witness on a stand to just sit there silent. No, a witness talks, testifies, says, here's what I've seen, and here's what I've heard. And this is now.
Now I'm not saying that we're equated with Isaiah in the Old Testament, but in a very real sense – and we see this in Acts 1, I wish we could go there and spend the next hour there and I could show you some really cool things. We don't have time, so take my word for it. The beauty is, when the Spirit comes down on his people, and the Spirit dwells in us, then you and I have authority to go into the world and to speak the word of God, to testify to what we have seen and heard. This doesn't mean that we get big orange neon crosses and put on sackcloth and ashes, and go into Birmingham pronouncing judgment and doom on everyone. Like that's not the kind of prophecy we're talking about here. This is you and I can go to any person or home in our neighborhood, or co-workers, acquaintances, friends and family. You go to them, anyone, and say, "There is a God who is holy, and just, and gracious. And he has sent his son to die on the cross, to cover over his peoples' sins, so that everyone who trusts in him will be reconciled to God forever." You speak that anywhere in Birmingham, you are speaking the authority of the very God of the universe, and the power of God is there to bring men to salvation. That's good.
Go and speak! We have power to proclaim his word, and he's given us a mission to multiply his word – to be witnesses – where? Acts 1:8, "To the ends of the earth." Jesus is dwelling in his people. This is so great, even about what we do in this room tonight. Like we don't just come into this room to hear the prophet speak, and we'll come back next week and hear the prophet speak. No, like we scatter from this place tonight as the prophet, so to speak, with the Spirit of God and the word of God in our hearts, to go throughout Birmingham, to go to the ends of the earth speaking the word of God, multiplying the Gospel of God. And, brothers and sisters, that is worth taking God-sized risks to do – to go into tough places, tough areas in Birmingham, and to go into tough places in the world, and to take God-sized risks proclaiming his Word, expecting God-sized results for his glory. He's the word of God. He draws on us. Jesus is the glory of God.
John 1:14: "We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only." Oh, think about it. In Christ, isn't it true, what was said of Elijah can be said of us. We have received undeserved grace. He has served us with the salvation that we do not deserve. We deserve nothing of the sort. And then his grace – Christ – we now behold unimaginable glory.
2 Corinthians 4: "We behold the glory of God in the face of Christ." Jesus is the presence of God, the word of God, the glory of God, and he is the promise of God to which they were all pointing.
At the end of Hebrews 11, it says, "None of those prophets have received what had been promised." God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us they would be made perfect.
Oh, the picture there, is they were pointing to something – a reality that would come in Christ, that we would enjoy, and they were pointing to, and together one day we would enjoy the culmination of our salvation together, and the completion of our salvation together in Christ, which is why we must hear these prophets speaking to us tonight and reminding us: Brothers and sisters, this world is not our home. Birmingham is not our home. And the United States in not our country. We are longing for a better country – a heavenly one. And our home is there. And our hearts are set there.
Think about it, what we just saw. In 2 Kings 2, we saw Elijah and Elisha walking, and this incredible scene, and we're saying, "Well, how cool would that be to have been a part of that scene." Well, I am not saying there's going to be chariots of fire, or horses of fire, but check this out.
First Thessalonians 4. Try this on for size. You have to turn there. Just listen. Just like picture it. About those who are asleep: "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you, by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep, for the Lord himself will one day descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and we will also be with the Lord. Encourage one another with those words.” That's encouraging!
Like there is coming a day, it could be tonight, it could be tomorrow, it could be next week, it could be next year, it could be before you or I die, or after you and I die, it doesn't matter. There is coming a day when a trumpet will sound from heaven, and the Lord will return to redeem his people fully and finally. Redeem creation – the end of the story is coming, so live looking forward. And die looking forward, with anticipation to the day when we are going to be caught up in the air with him, and together experience the culmination of our salvation.