Well, today you and I are going to have some
of that old -fashioned Missouri cornbread. A
good heart -to -heart talk. And we're going to
talk about one of the greatest problems of the
human spirit. A very practical problem. What
to do about discouragement. And don't you sit
there and tell me that you're never discouraged.
I don't care how spiritual you may be this hour.
I don't care what glorious mountaintop experiences
you may have had. I don't care what confidence
and faith, how great your trust is in the Lord.
Sooner or later there will be moments of discouragement.
Discouragement is a hard fact of human existence.
Something that comes to each of us at one time
or another. You can't wish it away. You have
to face it. And the person who faces it and masters
it... goes a long way toward mastering life itself.
Let me just ask you, very pointedly, very candidly,
are you a master of discouragement? Have you
learned the secret of mastering discouragement?
Or are you mastered by discouragement? Now just
face it. Just let's face facts. The fact is that
sooner or later there will be moments of discouragement
in your life. But the question that we want to
answer today, are you being mastered by discouragement
or are you mastering your discouragement? You
know, there's something about the Word of God
that portions of it I cry over. I never read
without weeping. And then there are certain portions
of the Word of God that as I read, I find myself
just filled with laughter. And I don't know whether
you feel the same way about the 19th chapter
of... First kings or not. But it's also human.
And I just love it when I see how human some
of these wonderful saints of God were. I mean
that. Oh, it encourages me like everything. If
they were without their weaknesses, then that
would discourage me sometimes. I'm encouraged
many a time. by the weaknesses that I see in
some of these wonderful saints of God, you know?
And it's just like that. I appreciate Peter probably
more than anyone living today because I get great
encouragement when I see that he had his weak
moments too. And when it comes to Elijah, I just
love this 19th day. chapter of 1 Kings. Now,
pause just a moment before I read a few verses
from the 19th chapter of Kings. Remember, go
back, if you will, please, to the 17th chapter.
There you find Elijah, this wonderful spiritual
giant. as the power of God takes hold of and
works through this vessel of humanity. And we
see Elijah as he raises a widow's son, literally
raises him from the dead. I'll read a couple
of verses. And he stretched himself upon the
child three times and cried unto the Lord and
said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, this child's
soul come into him again. In other words, the
child was dead. Let this child's soul come into
him again. Now, I prayed some prayers. I prayed
a thousand times, a thousand times. May the great
resurrection power flow through this body. But
I have never had the faith to pray, Oh God, let
this child's soul come into him again. But Elijah
had that faith, had that confidence, and he prayed
that prayer. And the Lord heard the voice of
Elijah and the soul of the child came into him
again and he revived. And Elijah took the child,
brought him down out of the chamber into the
house and delivered him unto his mother. And
Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman
said to Elijah, now by this i know that thou
art a man of god and that the word of the lord
in thy mouth is truth now one would have thought
that after elijah had seen the wonders of the
lord take place had seen this wonderful miracle
take place before his very eyes This man of God
who had the faith, the confidence in Jehovah
God to pray the prayer. Dear God, even though
death has come to this child, please restore
life to this one. And he stood there and saw
one given life. One would have... thought after
that wonderful miracle he would never again be
discouraged never oh methinks that elijah walked
out of that house somehow even talking about
it i know just a little bit of what his feelings
must have been god was so near to him and so
real to him because when you see miracles take
place before your very eyes it does something
to you personally you can't help it you just
can't help it and then on top of it all the mother
turned to elijah and said now by this i know
that thou art a man of god and that the word
of the lord in thy mouth is truth but that's
not all that's happening go a little further
if you will please in the eighteenth chapter
of first kings oh you know it well when elijah
stood there and literally challenged the prophets
of baal oh i'm sorry i missed it I wish I could
have been there. I would have stood on the sidelines
and I would have been his greatest cheerleader.
And I would have said, sick him, Elijah, sick
him, go do it. You and I both know that God is
still God Almighty. Challenge the prophets of
Baal. God will come forth. He'll honor your confidence.
He'll prove himself. He always has, and he'll
do it again. Watch. And it came to pass at the
time of the offering of the evening sacrifice
that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord
God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it
be known this day that thou... art God in Israel,
and that I am thy servant, and that I have done
all these things out of thy word. Hear me, O
Lord, hear me, that this people may know that
thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned
their heart back again. Then the fire of the
Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and
the wood and the stones and the dust and licked
up the water that was in the trench. When God
does it, he doesn't do it halfway. He does it
right the whole thing. The fire of the Lord not
only consumed the burnt sacrifice, not only consumed
the wood and the stones, but the dust and even
licked up the water that was in the trench. And
when all the people saw it, they fell on their
faces and they said, The Lord, He is the God.
The Lord, He is the God. Can you just imagine
what Elijah's feelings must have been? Methinks
he stood there awed. It was almost more than
he could take. Because Elijah knew that it wasn't
any power of his own. that could perform this
miracle it was the supernatural power of a supernatural
god and methinks if i had been there that day
i would have put my arm through the arm of elijah
and as we walked away i would have said to him
well elijah you and i can believe god for just
anything after this Oh, wasn't that glorious?
Elijah, we'll never know a discouraging moment
again. Never. You and I'll never doubt the power
and the presence of God again. Elijah, he's still
God Almighty. we'll never know a moment of discouragement
again. That's human nature. Go just a little
further, if you will, please. The 19th chapter
of 1 Kings. Remember I told you when I began
this heart -to -heart talk that We're going to
talk about one of the greatest problems of the
human spirit. Discouragement. Discouragement.
And perhaps you almost caught your breath when
I said, I don't care how spiritual you may be,
there'll be moments of discouragement. After
all that Elijah saw. following the greatest miracles
that perhaps any human being ever stood and beheld.
Here we see him, so human. That which was mortal
had not yet put on immortality. You know, he
was still in the flesh. And Ahab told Jezebel
all that Elijah had done and how he had slain
all the prophets with the sword. And Jezebel,
wouldn't you know it would take a woman? He could
face enemies. He could face armies. He could...
faced the prophets of baal he took it all but
he got scared and ran at the threat of a woman
then jezebel sent a messenger unto elijah saying
so let the gods do to me and more so if i make
not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow
about this time. He got scared stiff. A woman
made a threat, and he started running for Tall
Timber. One moment he stands there, the great
spiritual giant, afraid of nothing. And then...
At the threat of a woman, he turns and runs.
And when he saw that, he arose, went for his
life. He was scared to death. I just got through
telling you that. He went for his life. Scared
to death? He did. He himself went a day's journey
into the wilderness. i told you he ran into the
wilderness and he came and he sat down under
a juniper tree the man who just a short time
before looked up and said oh god please restore
life to this child this one who is dead restore
life Restore the soul to this body, and God performed
that miracle. Restored life to a child that was
dead. Here you see this bit of humanity as he
runs into the wilderness for his life, scared
to death, and came and sat down under a juniper
tree, and he requested for himself that he might...
I don't know whether you appreciate this portion
of the Word of God as much as I do or not. I
don't know whether you appreciate this chapter
in Elijah's life as much as I appreciate it.
I'm so glad he was human. is great encouragement
to me. Dear God, he said, please let me die.
It's enough now, O Lord. Take away my life, for
I am not better than my father's. And as he lay
and slept under a juniper tree, behold, an angel
touched him and said unto him, arise and eat
you know something we've got a wonderful heavenly
father he's interested in our weaknesses as much
as in our strength we're his children we're children
of his care i'm so glad my heavenly father never
takes me you know at my word i think i would
have died several times if he had taken me at
my word, you know? I'm glad that when I say things,
he knows that inside of me, I really don't mean
it. He knows his children. If you're a parent,
you know your children. They say things that
really inside of them, they don't mean. And you
as a parent, you know they don't mean it. You
know they don't. and methinks the heavenly father
just turned to one of the angels and said poor
child he's worn out he hasn't had sleep for such
a long time poor child let him sleep a while
and then when he's awakened i want you to do
something He'll be hungry. I want you to go down
there and bake a cake. Now that's the first real
honest -to -goodness angel food cake that was
ever made. When Elijah awakened, he looked, and
behold, there was a cake, baconed on the coals,
and a cruise of water at his head. The Heavenly
Father even remembered the water. And he did
eat and drink, laid him down again. He was so
dead tired, he went back to sleep again. And
the angel of the Lord came again the second time,
touched him and said, Arise and eat, because
the journey is too great for thee. There are
more things to do. Your heavenly Father has more
work for you. You're rested. You're well fed
now. Get up and go to work. That's... Our Heavenly
Father.