Sermon

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August 3, 2008
Pentecost 12a
1 Kings 19:9-18
Pastor Ben Berger

The Quiet Voice of God

“Boo-hoo, nobody likes me. Everyone is out to get me. I’m all alone. Boo-hoo.” In the last year I’ve learned that whining starts at an early age and I don’t think it gets much better as we get older. We all have problems and most of us whine about them in self-pity. We don’t think we should have any problems. We’re good people and we don’t understand why God would let such bad things come into our lives. We really think that others are out to get us. Your boss treats you worse than the others or you got passed up for the promotion. Your teacher never gives you the benefit of the doubt. Your parents lie awake at night devising ways to make life miserable. Your children know just how to push your buttons. And since God lets all this happen, he must be out to get you too. So you really are all alone. Everyone is out to get you. Nobody likes you. Boo-hoo-hoo.

Elijah was suffering from the same self-pity. He had just come off of his mountain-top experience. He challenged the prophets of Baal and beat them. They built an altar to Baal and shouted and cried and cut themselves all day long. Baal never answered. Elijah built an altar to the LORD, drenched it in water and prayed once. The LORD consumed the animal and the altar and the water all at once. Then Elijah killed those 450 prophets of Baal. What a victory. Certainly the people would turn away from Baal and follow the LORD, right? Wrong.

Elijah really did have some problems. Those 450 prophets of Baal were also servant of Queen Jezebel. She promised Elijah that he would be dead like them within a day. Elijah ran. The people of Israel were no better. In spite of the LORD’s victory they still worshipped Baal. They didn’t repent. They didn’t change their hearts. They didn’t follow the LORD. Elijah ran. He ran to a cave and started to whine. “Boo-hoo, nobody likes me. Everyone is out to get me. I’m all alone.” The LORD answered Elijah’s whining and today he answers our whining. He responds in a quiet voice. The Quiet Voice of God 1) Strengthens, 2) Sends and 3) Supports.

The quiet voice of God strengthened Elijah. Before God spoke to Elijah, he strengthened him in other ways. While Elijah was running to his cave, he had stopped under a tree and prayed to die. God strengthened Elijah by sending an angel. The angel gave him food and water and strength to go on. Elijah ran for forty more days and nights until he reached the cave at Mount Horeb. Then the LORD strengthened Elijah with his quiet voice.

The LORD asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” Elijah 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.” Boo-hoo. Then the LORD told Elijah to go stand out on the mountain and wait for him to pass by.

Wind tore the mountains and rocks apart. Then there was an earthquake. Then fire. But the LORD wasn’t in any of these mighty forces. The LORD wanted to show Elijah that he doesn’t always work in visible, mighty forces. Elijah then heard a gentle whisper, the quiet voice of God. The LORD was in the quiet voice. The quiet voice of God strengthened Elijah. He came out of the cave with his head covered. And the LORD again spoke to Elijah as before. I’m guessing that Elijah responded with less whining this time.

The quiet voice of God also strengthens us. How often we look for God is mighty, visible signs. “Lord, give me a sign; show me that you care. Take away the cancer. Give me a job. Fix my marriage.” Those are all fine prayers, but the LORD doesn’t always work in signs. He usually comes to us in the quiet voice of his word.

With the quiet voice of his word the LORD speaks to us. He says, “I love you. You are my child and I want what’s best for you. I sent my son to live for you so that you could become my child. You won’t always understand what I’m doing, but trust me. I love you. I chose you to be my own even before the creation of the world.  Don’t carry around guilt for your sins. I sent my son to die on the cross for your sins. I have forgiven them. Don’t worry, I will provide for you. Don’t think you’re all alone; I am with you. Don’t be afraid of death. I raised my son from the dead to guarantee your eternal life.” Sometimes God does make his quiet voice visible. He connects his word to water so we can see his love. He connects his word to bread and wine so we can taste and touch his forgiveness. The quiet voice of God in word and sacrament strengthens us.

That same quiet voice of God sends us. God had work for Elijah to do. There wasn’t time for Elijah to sit on his rear in some cave whining in self-pity. After strengthening him God essentially told Elijah to get off his rear and get back to work. He specifically sent Elijah to anoint three people. Hazael would become king of Aram and be God’s tool to punish his rebellious people. Jehu would become king of Israel to destroy the current, evil King Ahab and his idolatrous family. Elisha would succeed Elijah as God’s prophet of truth. In the meantime Elijah would continue to preach God’s truth himself until God took him home to heaven.

The quiet voice of God also sends us; God has work for us to do. There isn’t time to sit in our rooms whining in self-pity. God wants us to get off of our rears and get to work. He has sent us to make disciples of all nations. God has forgiven our sins. He has even forgiven our self-pity, our whining and our lack of faith in his word. He has pointed us back to his Son, Jesus. He has pointed us back to the cross. He has pointed us back to the empty tomb. Now he sends us to point others to Jesus, the cross and the empty tomb.

He sends us first to our families. Do you ever hear whining in your house? Is anyone ever sulking in self-pity? Here’s your chance to do the work of God. Take the quiet voice of God to strengthen your family members. Address their sin with God’s law. Bring out a little quaking and fire to show that God is displeased with our whining and complaining, with our self-pity and lack of faith. Then offer the gentle comfort of the Gospel. When they cover their head in repentance, tell them of God’s love. Tell them of God’s forgiveness. Tell them of God’s promises to be with them, to take care of them, to take them to heaven. Then pick them up off their rear and send them to do the same for someone else.

God also sends us with his quiet voice to others in our lives. Do you hear whining at work? At school? Among your friends? Do you know someone on your street or in your neighborhood that is hurting or feels all alone? Take the quiet voice of God to strengthen them. Show them God’s love with a hug. Show them God’s presence with your own. Offer forgiveness and eternal life by showing them Jesus and his cross and his empty tomb.

Because this is tough work and God knows its tough work, the quiet voice of God supports us. The LORD told Elijah that he was not alone, that he had support. “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel – all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” Elijah was not alone. Not only was the LORD God Almighty on his side – and that should have been enough – but there were seven thousand other believers. Elijah was not the only one who remained faithful to the true God. Elijah now knew that while some were trying to kill him, God and many others were on his side. Elijah now had physical, emotional and spiritual support.

The quiet voice of God also supports us. God has provided an entire family of believers to support us. For many of us that family begins at home. God has blessed us with believing family members who will share his word with us regularly and support us in our daily life. God has also provided all of us with an extended spiritual family. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ gathered together as fellow members of Mount Olive. We are here to support one another. That includes addressing sin and offering forgiveness. It includes greeting one another before and after worship. It includes friendships and time spent together outside of church. It includes opportunities to serve and share God’s word with others together. And in addition to our congregation we belong to a church body of nearly 400,000 other believers. We all pray for each other and offer support. What a blessing!