James Merritt - Life Begins Here
Every poll that I have seen says that the two of the top issues this year for everybody is inflation and immigration. And so as I thought about that, you know, there is a border war that’s going on. I just talked to a man out after our first service who lives right on the south border of Texas. He lives this every day. And there’s a battle over the border because the United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. You may not know this, 20% of all immigrants in the world live in the United States. And more people want to come to America than any other country on Earth. But the question is, why does everybody want to come here? Why are we such a magnet for people all over the world?
Well, according to a 2023 KFF survey, 75% of immigrants say the main reason they wanted to come to United States, the number one reason was not to watch my beloved Bulldogs play football. It was not to enjoy the beautiful lakes and rivers and streams and mountains that we have. It was not to eat at some of the best restaurants you could eat at anywhere in the world. They said, the reason why we wanna come to America is very simple. We wanna live the good life. We wanna have the same economic opportunities that you have. We see what’s going on, and that’s what we want. We want to have the good life. And in fact, who doesn’t wanna live the good life? I mean, many of us are living the good life.
In fact, I would just tell you something some of you may not believe. Most all of us in this room are living the good life. And you say, well, you don’t know how I’m struggling to make it. I don’t. But let me tell you, I can take you to other places in the world and show you real quick how good you’ve got it over here. So we really do live the good life. And you say, well, do you mean by that? Well, let me tell you what I mean. If you say that someone’s living their good life, you mean they’re living in comfort and luxury with few problems or worries.
Now again, some of you may say, yeah, you don’t know about my problems. You don’t know about my worries. No, I don’t. But let me tell you, I can take you to countries today where if you had even thought about coming to open worship like this, you would’ve been killed before you got to church. I can take you to countries today where they have church service, not above ground, but underground. And when they go to their church service underground, they always live with the knowledge that somebody may break down their door and take all of them off, never to be seen again or killed. So yeah, you really do. We really do live the good life. And you can’t blame anybody for wanting to come to a place where you can live the good life. And let me just say before I get started, I’m not being Negative Nick. There’s nothing wrong with living the good life.
In fact, the word of God says, God’s given us all things to richly enjoy. So if you are living what you would call the good life, that’s wonderful. Here’s all I want you to understand. You are not put here to live the good life. You are put here to live the God life. If we’re gonna talk about this, this is the series that we’re starting today. And you say, well, what’s the difference between the good life and the God life? Let me just give you one big one. You don’t have to follow Jesus to live the good life. But only true followers of Jesus can live the God life.
Now, I’m gonna prove that to you. Most of us live in neighborhoods where people live the good life, and God’s not even on their radar screen. There’s empty seat, after empty seat, after empty seat, after empty seat. Not just in our church, but churches all over America. It’s not because we don’t have the people, not because we don’t, you know, we’re running out of folks to come. God’s not even on their radar screen. They don’t have any use for spiritual things. They couldn’t care less about hearing God like me preach and talk about God. They’re well educated. They got great jobs. They make great money. They are happy. They’ve got beautiful families, they’ve got wonderful kids. They’ve got great connections. They are happy, they’re content. They live in beautiful homes. They’ve got every luxury life you could imagine. And they don’t have any desire at all to follow Jesus.
You don’t have to follow Jesus to live the good life. But only a true follower of Jesus can live the God life. However, there’s a catch. If you only live the good life, it will end up being a bad life and a sad life. Because when the good life ends, it’s over. But the God life is forever. That’s the difference. You live it up, live the dream. Get the golden brass ring, get to the top of the corporate ladder. Drive the Mercedes, live in the mansion, have the beachfront condo. But if that’s all you do, when you die, that life is gone. But when you live the God life, guess what when you die, you’re just getting started. It lasts forever and forever. So you say, what do you mean by the God life?
Let me just give you my definition. The God life is a life lived in the presence of God, through the power of God, for the praise of God, accomplishing the purpose of God, to give glory to God and good to others. Now, that’s a long definition, and I wanna just leave that up there for just a moment. But that’s what the God life is all about. See, here’s the difference. The good life will give you happiness here and now, but the God life will give you joy forever and ever. The good life’s temporary. The God life is eternal. Well, there’s a man in the Bible who personified the God life. There’s a man in the Bible that shows us what an extraordinary God can do through just an ordinary person. He is absolutely one of my favorite characters in the Bible.
Let me tell you why I’m so excited. I have waited 30 years to do a series on this man. I’ve been gathering materials for 30 years on this man. He’s one of the most fascinating men in the Bible. You’ve heard about him, his name is Elijah. And the reason why I wanted to do a study on him is because he lived in a day, he lived in a time, he lived in a country just like our day, just like our time, just like our country, desperately needing people to live the God life. So I want you to take God’s word, and I want you to turn to a book in the Old Testament called First Kings. It’s real easy to find. Go to Genesis and turn left. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth. Joshua should never judge anybody. Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, First Kings. About, I don’t know, eight or 10 books past. Go to First Kings chapter 17.
Now let me tell you what’s going on. This happened about 3000 years ago. It’s about 900 BC. And you may wonder, well, what in the world is a country or a nation or a man 3000 years ago has got to do with me? Well, let me tell you what’s going on. It’s been about 50 years since David reigned over the kingdom of Israel. Solomon dies. When Solomon dies, all hell breaks loose. There is a civil war. The country’s break apart. There’s a northern kingdom called Israel. There’s a southern kingdom called Judah. Elijah is a prophet in the kingdom of Israel. And he’s in the moral minority, not the moral majority, the moral minority.
Let me tell you why. Because ever since they split, ever since Judah went to the south and Israel went to the North, Israel, over 200 years has had 19 kings. Every single king was sorry. Every single king was wicked. Every single king was godless. Every single king couldn’t care less about the God of heaven. Every single king deserted the faith of his fathers. Every single one, 19 kings, 200 years, they don’t have one good king. They don’t have one godly king, they don’t have one spiritual king at all. So now we’re going back in time, and we’re living in the nation of Israel. Here’s what you’re watching. So listen now, gonna sound familiar. Priest, we’re watering down the word of God or ignoring the word of God altogether. People were leaving church by the droves. Nobody went to church. Everybody said, nope, we don’t have time for all that stuff.
In fact, we learned in one Kings chapter 19, verse 18, and that entire nation of Israel, there were only 7,000 people that were left that would at least acknowledged that they still loved God and had the courage to say so. So this was a nation. Now listen carefully. Gold had replaced God. Wealth had replaced worship. Prosperity had replaced purity. Politics have replaced principle. Sound familiar? So, hey, I think I’ve heard that before. Well, on top of that, this nation is being led by this demonic devilish duo named Ahab and Jezebel. So we’re gonna pick up in 1 King 16 and listen to where this is going to kind of give you the backdrop of the story. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.
Now listen, we’re gonna be dealing with Ahab a lot in this series. So just keep one thing in mind. God said, this man was so wicked. This man was so mean. This man was so godless. He was more evil, more godless, more dirty, more filthy than every other king put together, the king before him. He was one bad dude. But he not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. It wasn’t just that he said, we’re not gonna worship God. It wasn’t just that He said, we’re gonna shut down the church. It wasn’t just that He said, we’re gonna worship a pagan God. It was worse than that. He married this woman named Jezebel.
I’m gonna tell you something I know is true. You’ve never met a woman named Jezebel. If you do, run. If your son even thinks about marrying Jezebel, even thinks about it. I don’t know, sleeping pills, put a gun his head, I don’t know. Don’t get around Jezebel. I mean, she is the bad girl of the Bible. She worships the wicked idolatrous God Baal. She was the one that made Baal worship the official religion of the nation. You talk about a real good religion. Do you know what they did? Do you know their religion was built around three things, Child sacrifice, they would burn their own children. Prostitution, one of the ways they thought you worship God. Men would go to a temple, they’d get serviced by the women. Women would go to the temple, they’d get serviced by the men, and sexual orgies.
So in other words, everywhere you looked, everywhere you went Israel, you saw three things. You saw spiritual idolatry, sexual immorality, social iniquity. Then God steps in, and he brings back his word, and he does it in the strangest way. He brings back this country bumpkin named Elijah. Let me tell you about Elijah. Elijah was uneducated. He was unknown, he was unimpressive, just an ordinary guy. And yet he’s the most talked about prophet in all of the Old Testament. He lived 3,000 years ago, and his ministry only covered just a few brief years. But if there was a Mount Rushmore for prophets, he would be on it. Let me put it to you this way, but what Babe Ruth is to baseball, what Michael Jordan is to basketball, what Tiger Woods is to golf, Elijah is to the prophets.
Every prophet looked up to Elijah. When they looked at the life of Elijah, they saw the power that he had, they saw the love for God that he had, they saw the zeal that he had, they saw the great works that he did. They saw the unbelievable courage that he had to stand up to kings and to queens. They said, you are the gold standard. That’s how I wanna be. That’s the kind of prophet I wanna be. Well, that raises a question. So why is Elijah so important, and what has Elijah got to do with you? And what’s Elijah got to do with me? It’s a fair question. Well, we got a clue. Do you know what the name Elijah means? Elijah means the Lord is my God. That’s a great name. The Lord is my God.
Now you say, well what’s that got to do with me? Let me ask you a question. You don’t need to raise your hand. Is the Lord your God? If I were to come to you right now individually, say, excuse me, is the Lord your God? Yeah, oh yeah, pastor. Yeah, the Lord’s my God. Really? Yeah, the Lord’s my- Really? Yeah, the Lord is my God. Well then guess what? You’re an Elijah. God’s called you to be an Elijah. Elijah is in the Bible to show us this is how you live the God life. This is how you do it. This is the way it works. This is what you ought to be. This is the kind of life that you ought to live. We were all meant to live just like Elijah. We were all meant to be just like Elijah.
So here’s the point I want you to keep in mind of this whole series we’re gonna do. God calls ordinary, natural people to live extraordinary lives. God calls ordinary, natural people to live extraordinary, supernatural lives. God made you different so you would make a difference. And the way you do that is you live the God life. So that raises the question, well, what does that mean, and how do you do it? Well, it’s gonna begin with understanding, realizing and believing three things that are true about every one of us if you are follower of Jesus, if you know God, if God is your Lord, if the Lord is your God, there are three things that are true about you that are true about me, just like they were true about Elijah, alright?
Number one, we all have a special calling from God. All of us. See, some of you walk in here and you say, well, yeah, I know, you are called to preach. Well, I’m not the one that’s got a calling. You got a calling, and you got a calling, and you got a calling. We all have a special calling from God. I’m gonna show you why I know this is true. You know, the problem you’re gonna have to overcome, even in this message. When we talk about these great heroes of the faith, we talk about these great men and women in the Bible, and these people who do great mighty things. Here’s the first thing we think. Well, we couldn’t do that. I mean, I’m not Elijah. I mean I there’s no way I could be an, I couldn’t be an Elisha, I couldn’t be an Elijah. I couldn’t be an Esther. I’m just an ordinary person.
Well, guess what? Elijah was just a dude. He’s just a guy. And I saw what I said. You ready for this? The Apostle James, we’re gonna come back to this verse over and over. The apostle James said something about Elijah, I’m gonna remind you of right now. Listen to what he said. He said, Elijah was a human being. Can you say those words right there? Say it loud. Even as we are. James said, this Elijah you’re gonna study, this Elijah you’re gonna look, this Elijah that’s so famous, this Elijah that was talked about more than any other prophet in the Old Testament and the new. He was just a guy. He put his pants on one leg at a time just like you do. He had to eat, and sleep, and breathe, and walk just like you do. He was a human being just as we are.
Elijah didn’t come out of a phone booth. He didn’t have a cape or a costume. He experienced despair, and doubt, and depression and discouragement just like he would, just like we do. Let me tell you what made Elijah so special. He wasn’t Superman. He was God’s man. I want every man to look up at me. Every man, look at me. Every man look me in the eye. Every man look me in the eye. You’re not Superman, but you ought to be God’s man. I want every woman to look me in the eye. You may not be Superwoman, but you ought to be God’s woman. And you can be a man of God just like Elijah was. And you can be a woman of God just like Elijah was. We can all be the same thing.
And here’s the point. He was a man of God because God called him to be a man of God and empowered him to be a man of God, and we’re all called to be men and women of God, and we can be. And that’s just not positive talk. I mean, listen, let me show you how ordinary this guy was. You’re not gonna believe this. You would think that the greatest prophet in the Old Testament, or one of the greatest at least, you would think when he was introduced, it would’ve been with a parade, press conference, front page news, CNN, Fox News, red carpet treatment, boy bands playing, parades- You would think that’s what he’s introduced. Are you ready for this? This is how Elijah comes on the scene.
Now, Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead. Now, doesn’t that just wanna make you just read all about that guy? I mean, doesn’t that just fire you up. Man, Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe. Now you may say, well first of all, pastor, where was Tishbe? You ready for this? Nobody knows. No bibles. The only place it’s ever found is in the Bible. It was a thousand miles from nowhere. That’s all we know. Well you say, well he was a Tishbite. Well, what does that mean? He was a Tish that was bitten by Tish. I don’t know what that means. As a matter of fact, that word’s only used one of the time in the Bible, in Leviticus 25. And it describes a stranger, a hobo, a drifter, a rolling stone. In other words, Elijah was a nobody from nowhere.
So he walks into this palace of this king and this queen, as you’re gonna see in just a moment. He walks into this palace. He has no degree, he has no pedigree, he has no influence, he has no political connections, he’s never seen a palace. He’s never met a king. He’s never met a queen. And this country bumpkin, this Tishbite from Tishbe, whatever that means, probably couldn’t even sign his own name. He walks into this palace of the most powerful man and woman in the nation. Unannounced, uninvited, no appointment, no permission to speak, doesn’t even introduce himself, but he delivers one of the most powerful speeches in history. 27 words that was gonna be a game changer for that nation.
Here’s what he said. As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain the next few years except at my word. I like this guy. This old country boy walks in barefooted, beating up shawl, dirty fingernails to the king and the queen of Israel. I love it. He throws down and walks out. Just, hey, just came to give you a message. Here’s the message. There is a real God, and you ain’t him, and neither is your Baal. But I serve this God and I’ve got a message from this God. And you need to hear me, because I’m telling you right now, the spigot’s about to be shut off, there’s not a thing you can do about it. And I’m gonna tell you something. It blew their mind. They could not believe what he had just done. He goes in there and he lets, he throws down and gets out, and you say, wait a minute, Pastor, how could he do that? Why did he think y’all could do that?
I’ll tell you why did it. He had a calling from God. 'Cause when he walked in there, there were three things that he knew when he walked into that palace. Number one, he knew who God was, the sovereign ruler of the universe. He knew who they were. They were sinful rebels against this sovereign ruler. And he knew who he was. He was a spiritual representative of that God. And even though they thought Baal was the God that controlled the rain, and Baal was the God that controlled the sun, and Baal was the God that controlled the weather. And Baal was the one that made it rain, and Baal was the one that made it stop. He walks in and says, oh, got a news for you. There is one climate controller and he’s my God. And you ain’t that God. And he ain’t that God. And I serve the only God that there is.
You say, boy, how in the world could a country bumpkin walk into a guy that could have him killed just like that. No flinch, no fear, no stuttering, no stammering, no sweating. Just walk right in. Get in that guy’s face and said this is what’s coming down. I’ll tell you why. He had a call from God. God had called him in there. When you get a word from God and you bring a word for God, you don’t have to stammer and you don’t have to stutter. And guess what? As you’re gonna find out in this story, there was not only one drop of rain, there was not even an inch. There was not even a speck of dew on grass for three and a half years. Now keep in mind, this is an agricultural society. No water, they don’t live. No water, they don’t know how they’re going to make it because the ground would receive about 150th, a one inch of dew every morning.
Now you may not think dew was a big deal back then. It was, because that dew would coat the grass, and it would coat the plants, and the grass would grow and the plants would grow. That would give life that was needed for vegetation, which would feed the people and the animals. So when that country boy walked in and said, hey buddy, no more rain, no more dew til I say so, he was predicting the most catastrophic drought that you could imagine. But he just had one job. I’m just the messenger boy. I’m just telling you what God told me to say, and I’m gonna leave the results to him.
Now what does that mean for you and me? Well, we’re Elijah. You’re gonna be an Elijah. And if you’re gonna be an Elijah, and if you’re gonna live the God life, you’re called to do three things. You’re called to stand with God, you’re called to speak for God, and you’re called to surrender to God. I’m just gonna be very honest. You know what we need in American today? We need students in our school doing that. And we need some of you going back to your business where you work and do that. And we need some of you who are bosses to lead your employees to do that. And we need political leaders in government to do that. Well, as you can imagine, that doesn’t sit too well the Ahab and Jezebel.
So you know what they did? They put up bounty on Elijah. They put out a wanted poster. He becomes public enemy number one. They got a BOLO on this guy. They got an APB on this guy. Matter of fact, we’re told later in the story, Obadiah, Ahab’s chief of staff told Elijah this. He said, as surely as the Lord your God lives, there’s not a nation or a kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. So let me just say something before I move on. Some of you may already be saying, boy pastor, I wanna live the God life. I really wanna live the God life, alright? Let me just warn you of one thing. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. You can be popular, you can be comfortable, you can get along with everybody. You can stay in your comfort zone, or you can live the God life. You cannot do both. You cannot do both. Nobody’s gonna criticize you for living the good life, but they’re gonna nail you to the wall if you live the God life.
If you’re gonna answer the call of Elijah, stand with God, speak for God, surrender to God. I’ll give you a quick example. Jesus is the only way to God. Marriage should only be between a man and a woman. The Bible is the only true word of God. All sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is sin. And there’s only two genders, male and female. I just lost a crowd. I just lost a crowd. Now I’m homophobic, I’m transphobic, I’m a bigot, I’m intolerant. Just pick, take your pick. So you can live the God life, but there’s going to be a cost. I just wanna tell you, you’re gonna find this out over and over. When you go to work for God, God goes to work for you. So first of all, we all have a special calling from God.
Number two, we all should have sure confidence in God. Confidence in God, now what’s this? This is where the story really gets kind of funky to me. Elijah tells, does what God tells you to do. So go tell the king, go tell the queen. No more rain, no more dew. So he puts his life on the line, walks into the lion’s den, then he shares this one sentence message. He gets him put on every wanted poster all over Israel. He’s now a hunted man. Everybody wants him dead. All right, so what does God do? I mean, he’s obeyed. He’s done what God told him. So what does God do? Does God give him a trophy? Does God make him the sports illustrated man of the year? Does God call a thousand angels to protect him? No, this is the thanks he gets for obeying God.
Watch this. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, «Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith ravine, east of the Jordan». He says, Elijah, you have done exactly what I want you to do. Now, go hide yourself. Now, let’s be honest, I’ll tell you what I’m saying if it’s me. Are you serious? Are you kidding? I’m in tishbe minding my own business, and you tell me to go to a king and put my life on the line and my head on a chopping block, and the best you’ve got? Now you want me to go into the middle of nowhere myself and get away and be by myself? I mean, could you at least put me in an embassy suite, or a Marriott, or a Hyatt Regency? No, I want you to go to a creek. I want you to go into this mountain wilderness between Jerusalem and Jericho.
And until I give you further notice, you’re gonna live off of water from a creek and bread delivered by birds, and that’s all you’re gonna have. And it’s all gonna be by yourself. Why would God do that? What was God up to? Elijah is a nobody from nowhere. And what does God do? Now he puts him in the middle of nowhere, away from everybody. Elijah does what God tells him to do. He says what God tells him to say. And God puts him in his witness protection program. Why does God do that? Are you ready? That word hide in the Hebrew language doesn’t mean what you think it means. The word hide does not mean to consider yourself so nobody can find you. What it literally means is to take a retreat.
You know what a retreat is? That’s when you get along with God. Here’s what God said to Elijah. Elijah, I’ve got a lot of other big work I want you to do, but you’re not ready yet. So I’m gonna do two things for you at the same time. I’m gonna protect you, I’m gonna hide you. I’m gonna put you in a place where nobody will find you. But I’m not primarily doing it for your protection. I’m primarily doing it for your preparation. Because you see, look what, think about what God could have done. God could have just sent angels to protect him. God could have just taken Ahab and Jezebel out. But see, this was not primarily for his protection, it was his preparation. I want you stick with me, I’m gonna teach you something.
When you study the life of this great man, you’re gonna find God’s just getting started with Elijah. This is just a warmup for Elijah. He’s got a lot of other great things he’s gotta do. God’s got a lot greater work for this man to do. But he knew something. Elijah, before you can serve me better, you gotta know me better. You don’t know me yet, Elijah, but we gonna get to know each other real well because the best way to get to know me is get with me by yourself where you turn off the cell phone, turn off the computer, get away from the world, and it’s just me and you. 'Cause Elijah, you will not do for you what I want you to do for me, till you know me like you ought to know me. 'Cause when you know me like you ought to know me, then you’ll love me like you ought to love me, and then you’ll trust me like you ought to trust me. Then we can do business.
Now you may say, is that the way God works? Have you ever thought about how many times God did that to some of the greatest men in the Bible? God, see, God always puts preparation before performance. Let me just give you some examples. Take Moses. God said, Moses, you are gonna lead the people to the promised land. You’re gonna lead them out of Egypt. But before that, you’re gonna be on the backside of a desert for 40 years. Why? God’s preparing Moses. What about Joseph? Joseph, you’re gonna become the Prime Minister of Egypt. I’m gonna make you the instrument to save the nation of Israel from starving to death, wiping it, being wiped out, so the Messiah will eventually come. I’m gonna use you to do that. But oh Joseph, in the meantime, you’re gonna be kidnapped, taken away in slavery, and spend 12 years in prison for something you didn’t even do.
What about the Apostle Paul? He gets saved on the Damascus road. Does he start preaching? Does he start planning a church? He spends three and a half years by himself in Arabia. Nobody hears from him. Now what about Jesus? For 30 years of his life, Jesus lived in total obscurity. Nobody knew anything about Jesus. Nobody heard anything about Jesus. For 30 years, they just thought he was just another Jewish kid. And then when he gets started in his ministry are trumpets blaring, parades marching, angels singing? No, God puts him in a wilderness, in a desert for 40 days to pray and fast and be tempted by the devil. He’s getting Jesus ready. God always prepares us first. If you’re a Marine, you’re understanding.
By the way, we have anybody here served in the Marines, just curious? Hey, if you stood, would you stand up if you don’t mind? If you served in the Marine Corps, would you, I’m sorry to embarrass, I want you to stand up. Would you just let them know how much you love them and appreciate them? Yeah, simplify, Rico, simplify. Okay, you, listen. They’ll appreciate this. You wanna be a Marine? Let me tell what you gotta do. Before you are in the right to be called a Marine to wear the Eagle, that’s the globe, the anchor, eagle, this EGA. You gotta go to either Paris Island, or you gotta go to Camp Pendleton for 13 weeks. And they run you through this gauntlet of drill instructors. They run you, they march you, they push you, they scream at you till you start acting like a Marine. You get through bootcamp, you think, oh I finally made it.
Oh no, you’re just getting started. Then you’ve gotta go through a 54 hour marathon, a 40 mile hikes, obstacle courses, combat exercise. There’s very little food, very little sleep. It’s called the Crucible, 'cause they know that’s what makes a Marine a Marine. Listen to me, God’s bootcamp is when he gets you alone with him. God’s bootcamp is when he puts you in such a situation. You say, God, if you don’t come through, I am sunken. And God says, now I’ve got you right where I want you. I’m preparing you. I’m getting ready.
The worst six months of my life was spent in Snellville, Georgia from 1985 to 1986. It was hell on Earth. Six months. I developed a blood pressure problem. I started losing my hair. I was sweating under my suits. I was getting anonymous letters. It was just, I mean the tension was almost unbearable. But I look back, it was one of probably the greatest six months of my life because I learned so much, not only about me, I learned so much about God. And I learned that if you’ll just stay faithful and you’ll stay true, God keeps his word. He will not fail you, he will not leave you. He will come through for you. And I’m the man I am today because of six months of hell I went through. I know what I’m talking about. That’s the way God does it.
See, one of the biggest lessons we’re gonna have to learn is in the God life, is just to trust and obey. In other words, to trust God. When he tells us to do something and obey him, when he does. You go where God tells you to go. You do what God tells you to do. You give what God tells you to give, even when it doesn’t make sense. 'Cause God is working on you and God is preparing you. And I’m telling you, God knows what he’s doing, 'cause listen, this is the greatest lesson I learned in that six month period. Before God can do more with us, he’s got to do more in us. And there’s some of you right now, I wanna do something great for God. He wants to do something great through you, but you’re not ready yet.
So maybe that’s why you’re in that tough time. Maybe that’s why things are hard for you right now. And when you live the God life, you just gotta have the confidence that even though we may not know why and we may not know how, we’re gonna obey God, believing he will come through for us in the end. Let me tell you a story. I just read this story the other day. It’s a great story, it really is. There was a story about a little bird, and he was gonna migrate to the south 'cause winter was coming, but he procrastinated and didn’t get started, you know, early enough, and he didn’t play in strip real well. So he got caught in a snowstorm. And ice formed on his wings, and he crashed landed in the middle of nowhere.
And so this bird thinks, well that’s great, now I’m going to freeze to death. But a cow came along, and dropped manure on him. Well at first the bird thought, this is unbelievable. I’m gonna die covered with cow manure. But the cow manure was warm, and began to melt the ice on his wings, and all of a sudden he realized he could fly. So he started to chirp and sing because he could fly. Well that attracted a cat who jumped on him and ate him. Well the man who told that story said we can learn three lessons from that story. Number one, not everyone who drops manure on you is your enemy. Number two, not everyone who digs you out is your friend. And number three, when you’re in manure, sometimes it’s helping to keep your little chirper shut and just wait it out.
So when you feel like you’re up the creek without a paddle, listen to me. God knows what he’s doing. And in his time, he will come through. So, you are gonna live the God life. Okay. Then you understand you’ve got a special calling from God, and that’s the, whatever you’re doing for a living ought be what God’s called you to do. And then you’ve got this sheer confidence in God. You say, I’m telling you, I’m gonna trust God no matter what. And then lastly, we should have a strong commitment to God. Now watch how this works out. You gotta admire Elijah’s obedience, right? God goes and go to the middle of nowhere. He goes to the middle of nowhere, live next to a creek, get fed by a bunch of birds. I love this next statement. God tells him to this.
Now listen to this next statement. I love it. So he did what the Lord told him. What a great statement. Didn’t complain, didn’t gripe, didn’t ask why. Just did what God told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him food and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Oh, I obeys. Okay, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. Well, he’s been there for who knows how long. And now, you know, well maybe the time has come. God’s gonna really do what he ought to do. He’s gonna give him a sabbatical, three month paid vacation to Hawaii, shopping spree at the finest mall in Israel. Well guess what happens next? Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this? Sometime later, the brook dried up 'cause there’d been no rain the land.
Now you’re Elijah. You’ve got to be kidding me. Oh it’s worse. Whose fault was it that the brook dried up? Elijah’s. He’s the one that called the told the thing to stop. So now this brook is dried up, his only source of water. So at this point, you know Elijah’s going, what in the world is going on? I’ve taken my life in my hands. I’ve become public enemy number one. I’ve been hiding out in the middle of nowhere for who knows how long. I’ve been drinking creek water, eating bread delivered by the birds. And now the brook dries up. You couldn’t blame Elijah if you got angry, if you got frustrated, if you got irritated, you said, what in the world are you doing? This is not working out, this is not worth it.
Now watch this. I know I struck a nerve because I had a lady right outside after the 9:15 service coming at me bawling her eyes out, because of what I’m about to tell you right now. See, some of you right now, your brook is dried up, hasn’t it? Your financial brook has dried up. It’s all you can do to make ends meet. It’s all you can do to pay your bills. Your vocational brook has dried up. You worked for that company 25 years and they gave you the pink slip 'cause you got too old. Your relational brook dried up 'cause somebody you love just died. Your spiritual brook just dried up 'cause you feel like God’s just shut his ears off to you. Your health brook is dried up because you used to be healthy but now you’re sick.
Well Elijah’s about to teach us a lesson if that’s where you are, just because that same lady that was bawling her eyes out out there that I prayed with, 'cause she’s got a daughter that’s getting away and she can’t do anything to stop it. That’s her brook. And this is the lesson. When you live the good life and your brook dries up, you’ll cry, you’ll sigh and you’ll deny. But when you live the God life and your brook dries up, you just keep trusting God. You just keep walking with God. You just keep believing God. You just keep loving God. You see, when your book dries up, and I know I’m talking to some of you right now, you’re about to cry. 'Cause you know what she said to me? How did you know about my brook? I said I didn’t. I just know people, I know brooks. 'Cause I’ve had times my own brooks dried up. And when your brook dries up, here’s what God’s gonna ask you. You listen to me.
When your brook dries up, this is what God’s gonna ask you. Where’s your trust? You know what he said to Elijah? Elijah, have you been trusting the brooks and the birds? Are you going to trust the one that created the brook and created the birds? So let me ask all of you a question right now. Where’s your trust? It really interesting, where’s your trust? Is your trust in your bank account? Is your trust in your 401(k)? Is your trust in your corporation, your company, your job? Is your trust in your health? Is your trust in your connections? Is your trust in your education? I got news for you. Everything I just said to you can fail you and one day will fail you. But the good life when that happens is the God life. But when you live the God life, you remember, you know what?
The same God that dries up the brook turns another one on, 'cause there are three things that people that live the God life always remember. I want you to remember this. If you’re one of those people right now, and you’re sitting there going, how did you know, pastor? How did you know what I’m going through? How did you know I’m about ready to throw in the towel? How do you know I can’t sleep at night? How do you know I’m worried sick about my situation? How did you know? I didn’t. But if you’re gonna live the God life, you better remember three things and you better never forget them. Number one, God never forgets us. Number two, God never forsakes us. And number three, God never fails us.
You better remember that when your brook dries up. You better take your eyes off your circumstances and put your eyes on the God that controls your circumstances. He’ll never forget me. He’ll never forsake me. He will never fail me. Because see, when God shuts one door, he always opens another. In fact, listen to verse eight and nine. Then the word of the Lord, when is then? When the brook dried up. Then the word of the Lord came to him, «Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food».
Well, son of a gun, we learned it all over again. I’ve told you this a thousand times. Where God guides, God provides. Where God directs, God protects. Where God leads, he meets the needs. And when you live the God life, you realize I’ve got a special calling from God. I’m gonna walk with assured confidence in God. I’m gonna live with a strong commitment to God. See, the story we’re about to, this whole story we’re gonna, this whole series that we’re in, this whole man we’re gonna study. It is not the story. Listen to me. This is not the story of what an extraordinary man can do for a great God. It’s the story of what a great God can do with an ordinary man. A man who is just like you, and a man who is just like me, and a person who is just like us. What God can do.
So I want to ask you one last question. We’re going to pray and be done. What is there in your life that can only be explained by your faith and trust in the living God? What is there in your life that can only be explained by your faith and your trust in the living God? See, here’s the thing. I know probably most all of you believe in the existence of God. My question is, do you believe in the presence of God? Do you believe in a God that will never leave you, and a God that will never forsake you, in a God who’s always listening, even when you don’t think he is? In a God who’s awake even when you think he’s asleep. In a God who is there when you may think he’s not. Because at the end of the day, when the brook dries up, and your brook will dry up, give it time, every brook dries up.
At the end of the day when your brook dries up, you’re gonna find out one or two things. Was your trust in the brook or the God that created the brook? That’s what the God life is all about. The God life is all about putting trust in a God that loved us so much, he sent his son to die for us, and brought him back from the grave. Not just to take us to heaven, but while we’re on this Earth to show a lost and dying world, this is how a God life looks. This is how life looks at trust the Lord, this is how life looks that walks with Jesus. This is how life looks that says, even if it slays me, I will trust in him. And when you finally reach that point, that’s when real life begins. Would you pray with me?
Lord, in the name of Jesus, as I worked on this message weeks and weeks ago, oh God, I wanna live the God life the rest of my life. I want people to look at the way I act, and the way I talk, and the way I walk, and know there’s a God in heaven that’s changed my life. And that’s my prayer for our church, for our people. Lord, for people who are watching right now that may not even know Jesus Christ is Lord, are people in this room. People who say, well, I’d like to live the God life.
If you don’t know Jesus, you’ll never get there. You cannot live the God life without Jesus.
Lord, I pray that the day would be the day they would say: Lord Jesus, come into my life. I need a savior. You died for me. God raised you from the dead. I accept you as my Lord. I trust you as my savior. I repent of my sin. I turn away from the good life. Help me to live the God life.