1. How God wants me to live in 2012.… More of Him and less of me… 1 Kings 19:3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 1

2. From Elijah last time… 1 Kings 19:1-3 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.“ 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. Anyone is susceptible to Broom Tree Living. What led to Elijah’s losing his way? –Elijah lost his way because he lost a view of who God is –He lost a view of what it meant to worship God. In the news… 2

3. From the News… LAS VEGAS — For much of his public career, Sen. John Ensign has appeared a model of the religious right. By this week (2009), he had become just another politician diminished by scandal. Rattled, humbled and alone at the podium, Ensign acknowledged to reporters an extramarital affair, the sort of moral failing he’s criticized in the past. The Nevada Republican once called on President Bill Clinton to resign, declaring “the truth must come out.” In October 2007, he was sharply critical of former Sen. Larry Craig, of Idaho, calling the Republican’s arrest in an airport bathroom sex sting “embarrassing for the Senate.” His own admission Tuesday came at a time when the two-term Nevada Republican was building his national profile and assuming leadership in his party. He had recently traveled to Iowa, fueling speculation about his White House ambitions. The senator has said the Republican Party was in need of new leadership. He hoped to be among the fresh faces, and he built his resume by serving as the GOP’s top Senate candidate recruiter in 2008 and as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee in the Senate, the fourth-ranking leadership post. On Wednesday, he resigned from the position on the policy committee. For Nevadans, he was known as a polished pro-business Republican and well- spoken ally of the state’s religious conservatives. He was a member of Promise Keepers, a men’s Christian group that espoused devotion to family and marriage. 3

4. The fork in the road 1 Kings 19:3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 4

5. Initial Context - Observations Elijah – afraid –Runs for his life –Tells God to take his life … thinking clearly? Sleeps Angel wakes him up – why? Feeds him bread and water – –Exactly what he asked the widow for in 1 Kings 17:9,10 Happens a second time – what’s different? God provides what Elijah needs… Where does he go? 5

6. Horeb = Mt. Sinai 2 potential sites ~200 miles = Wheaton to Indy 40 days – symbolic What happens for 40 days? 6

7. Where to from the tree? 1 Kings 19:9-12 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.“ 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.“ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.. 7

8. Observations A question from God … –What are you doing here? –Strange question? What’s the word that jumps out to you from verse 10… We know what Obadiah did in 1 Kings 18:4 –4 While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) Lesson - ? 8

9. Observations continued… What happens next? A theophany – the presence of the divine. What should this make us think of… Where is Elijah? –Ex 19:16-19 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. –Any person reading the story in OT times would have made the connection… The lightening/thunder, shaking the earth etc. were also attributed to Baal… Then darkness and silence part of any ANE inner sanctuary After these was a “gentle whisper” – Could be translated “a brief sound of silence” 9

10. Where to from the tree? 1 Kings 19:13-18 13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?“ 14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 15 The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel-all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him." 10

11. Observations… Elijah’s response God repeats the question –Did God know the answer? If so, why repeat it? Kind of like showing up at the grand canyon and saying look how big I am… What’s God’s response? What is this doing? God’s footnote… by the way 11

12. A goal to strive for Revival defined –The life of the Lord Jesus poured into my heart and overflowing to others. Seeing His power demonstrated in our hearts and lives. –“God visiting His own people - restoring, reanimating, and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing.” Stephen Olford Revival and commissioning always begins with me being broken and bent. –Not I but Christ. –Bending of my I to become C. 12

13. Stepping back: Take-aways In the midst of God breaking us – He wants to speak to us. Being broken is “both our work and God’s. He brings the pressure to bear, but we have to make a choice.” –Rom 14:11-12 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Brokenness is a daily experience. 13

14. Object lesson… 2 metaphors for brokenness… 14

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16. God Wants Your Attention 2 Chron 33:10-13 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God. 16

17. Some key takeaways – part 2 God was not unaware of the problems in Manasseh’s life –In this case, HE CAUSED THEM God knows and will do what it takes to get our attention –not just for salvation, but for daily obedience and dependence on Him. How we respond to God as he breaks us is either the start of revival or the start of a bitter spirit.. –Notice – God wasn’t moved by Manasseh’s situation, but rather his reaction to it… Manasseh’s brokenness is followed by a time of blessing Any number of things may be leading you around by the nose and you may not even get it… 17