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Sorry the batteries died All right, amen so There in first Kings chapter 17 We're gonna look at 17 and 18 tonight and I'm gonna preach a sermon entitled the man of God Elijah and I just want to go through here and get a few points out of The life and the ministry of Elijah, of course if we were to go through the whole ministry of Elijah, you know We'd be here for you know, quite, you know, several sermons can be preached out of it But we're just gonna look at these first two chapters and kind of and see if we can't draw some application here but mainly I want us to help us understand some truths about the man of God about the man of God and You know a man of God is a somebody who is unique, you know It's a unique calling in life to to be a man of God and you know If we're in church, we have a man of God in our life You know, we if we're in and if we're in a church, you know, the preacher is the man of God today Of course, you know Elijah was called the men of God and he was a prophet He was a preacher but you know We could look into the New Testament where men like Timothy are called a man of God that are pastors that are preachers So this is an applicable term, you know, and the point being that if we're in church, you know You have a man of God in your life. Why? Okay, so, you know might not be the man of God you wanted But you're stuck with him. All right, and You know the man of God serves an important lives in a certain purpose in our lives and you know I think back on the men of God in my life and think about how much they helped for me and shaped me and Made me into the man. I am today. No, that was a great credit to the men of God in The my past, you know, so the man of God is somebody who plays a very important role in our lives At least they should and we need to understand that their position is not a common one You know, you can't and you can't just find a man of God anywhere, you know You can't even in a lot of churches today in a lot of churches. You'll walk me You'll find a woman of God so-called right and stand up behind a pulpit or you'll see a man of God Who's not really a man of God. He's just there to you know, collect a paycheck or just try to you know Earn some kind of earthly reward, you know, he's not in it for the right reasons Okay So I just want to look at the life of Elijah here his ministry in these two chapters and just draw some points about the man of God Elijah and let's first of all look at his making the making of the man of God, you know Elijah is an interesting character because he just kind of comes out of nowhere He just kind of comes out on the scene all of a sudden there in first Kings chapter 17 verse 1 It says in Elijah the Tishbite who was of the inhabitants of Gilead and that's really all the background we have on him We just know that he was a Tishbite, you know, which was a city which was in Gilead that region and that's really it You know, and I think that God kind of did that on purpose to show us that you know the call to ministry is open to those who desire it and This is important to understand because there's a lot of people that will teach the strange thing about you know You have to have a very specific, you know God-given call on your life in order to come into the ministry that it's only for certain people But that's really not what the Bible teaches and with Elijah we see him just coming out of obscurity just coming out of nowhere He wasn't you know, he's like Amos. He wasn't he wasn't the son of a prophet at least that we don't know I mean, he doesn't say that he was he just kind of comes out of nowhere He comes out of Gilead and all of a sudden he's got this great ministry Now, you know, the ministry is open to those that desire it But and if you would go over to 1st Timothy chapter 3, I know we actually go to 2nd Timothy chapter 3 2nd Timothy chapter 3 We know that it's open to those who desire it But of course we understand that there's you know, there are certain qualifications that have to be met You know You have to meet certain Qualifications if you're going to be a preacher if you're going to be a pastor if you're going to be a deacon if you're going to Be a man of God Yes, it's open, you know, but it's it's open within that That doesn't mean that there's no requirements people have to meet certain requirements The Bible says in 1st Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 This is a true saying if a man desire the office of a bishop, that's not good enough He has to have this mystical calling on his life in order to fulfill that office No it says at 1st Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 that if a man desired the office of a bishop he desired the good work and Then it goes on and gives us the qualifications for the man of God that we know have to be there but look the most of The desire is that who's eligible to be a man of God the guy who has the desire the guy who needs the qualifications Not just the guy who you know What's some Bible college and paid a bunch of money and got a rubber stamp on a piece of paper and said you're a pastor Now, I know you are not married I know you don't have any kids, but go ahead and be a pastor now go ahead and lead people now You're a man of God, you know that that's the real irony, you know, is that some people that want to teach this this mystical calling of You know the call to the ministry the room has to be filled with light all my hair stood on end I heard an audible voice from heaven preach the Bible, you know That's there. Those are the same people that are gonna teach that they're the same people that'll send out unqualified guys They're the same people that say oh you it's a very elect very elitist very special calling. That's mystical. It's magical You know, it's not for everybody but then they'll just totally ignore 1st Timothy 3 They'll just totally ignore You know Titus 1 and just send out whoever just send out some guy who doesn't even meet the actual literal biblical Qualifications that are just laid out plain as the nose on your face in Scripture those guys that you know They'll say well, yeah, anybody can do it You know as long as they have some kind of divine calling on their life. Look, it's a bunch of nonsense It's trying to it's what they're doing is they're trying to make them feel make themselves feel more important than they really are And here's the thing about it. It's like why why do you need to puff yourself up like that? Well, I'm a pastor because you know, I had this divine calling at some point in my life Isn't just being the pastor or being the preacher doesn't that make you feel important enough as it is I mean, it's already an important calling enough. Why do we have to add this extra layer of you know? I was I was God called, you know, and these other guys, you know, they weren't God called like I was Look at the Bible says if a man desire if a man desire, you know emphasis on the man these days, right? But if a man desire the office of a bishop he desire the good work, you know Paul wasn't trying to you know Tell Timothy to discourage other people that had that desire to not do it So if he desires an office of a bishop Timothy make sure you know, he's had some kind of a mystical calling in his life Make sure he's of a certain pedigree, you know, or he's not gonna be good enough, right? That's not what the Bible teaches. Obviously there are requirements in 1st Timothy 3 in Titus chapter 1 But there there must be both a desire and the requirements He's both have to be met met and if they are guess what that means that it's open to anybody That has that desire and that meets those qualifications. It's open to anybody that can do that Now I will say this, you know, there doesn't have to be this mystical calling But certain attributes must be present in those that desire the office of a bishop, you know If you desire to be a preacher if you desire to be a man of God, there should be certain attributes that you You know Possess, you know and I've seen guys in the past that you know, they had the desire they met the qualifications But there were just some things that are probably not they're just weren't gonna cut it You know the in one of those one of those things you should probably have to you should have the attributes is you have What's been called the killer instinct? You know the ability to get up and just be mean from behind the pulpit I'm not saying every sermon you had to get up and tear people's faces off, you know But there has to be a time where you know, you can draw a hard line and say what the Bible says Okay, the Bible says if you're there in second Timothy verse 16 It says all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's profitable for what for doctrine Look, there's a lot of guys that can get up and teach a lot of really good doctrine Can't they they can if they can get up and they can just clearly expound all the deep things of God They can take all the hard things that are stood and make them very plain and very easy to be understood You know that that's they can take the doctrine and teach it that's great It's profitable production. It's also profitable for a proof and for curve and for correction, you know That's where some people lack you have to have both you can't just be this profound teach yet to also be able to get up and rip face when appropriate and Say it like it is and not hold back and preach the whole counsel of God That's why the scripture is given to us. It's given by inspiration of God Why did he give it for to us for doctrine for approved for correction for instruction righteousness? That the man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works Look at chapter 4 verse 1 I charge thee therefore Before God and before the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead and at his appearing and at his kingdom Preach the word, you know, that's good advice for any preacher. Anyone desires a preacher. Well, I don't know what to preach Just preach the Bible Preach the word there's like there's so much here to preach, you know, just just pick a chapter and preach it You know, we should go is get obsessed with I having to come out with some kind of new thing or try to impress people With our preaching, you know, it's the basic truths. It's the simple truths that need to be repeated These are the things that people need to hear preach the word. You can't go wrong That's what I was always told just preach the word and you can't go wrong Preach the word be instant in season out of season. But again notice reprove rebuke and exhort Reprove rebuke and exhort. There's that killer instinct You have to be able to get up and say like is you have to be willing to reprove you have to be willing to Rebuke and to do the exhortation the exhortation is important, isn't it? It's important to encourage people and motivate people and inspire people But you know when I'm reading this list, it's two negatives. It's reprove and rebuke and then exhort So it seems to me, you know, if you're gonna preach the whole counsel of God You're gonna do a lot of negative preaching, you know, you're gonna step on a lot of toes You have to be willing to do that You have to be willing to put yourself in that position where people aren't gonna like you for what you said So now you can kind of start to see why you know The man of God is a little maybe a little bit more rare today because not everybody's willing to do that Why a real man of God is a little bit more rare to find today Because there's a lot of guys are getting up that want to call themselves a man of God But they don't want to do any reproving. They don't want to do any rebuking They just want to preach, you know, all the love and all that and look there's a time and place for that I understand that but we want to preach the whole counsel on the Word of God I mean look at let's move on from Elijah's making let's look at his message. What kind of preacher was Elijah, right? Well, you know It says there right in the beginning. He starts just tearing face right away If you look there, you know, he starts preaching about judgment That's one of the first things that was his first message that we see in Scripture Elijah comes out of the scene out of nowhere. It's like okay. It's time to preach What are you gonna preach about verse 1 and Elijah the Tishbite was of the inhabitants of Gilead sent to Ahab Who was the king by the way? Anyone, you know and it was and he's preaching to one guy, you know We're getting a little nervous because there's only that's a small crowd tonight, you know, but here's the thing You're all just as important as anybody else, you know, my family's here and I'll preach to you, too You know, you need to be edified You take the time to come out and be here on a Sunday I'll preach to you just like I was preaching to a thousand, right? But the man we would say oh it's what kind of servants gonna be when it's smaller and people are gone and sick and whatever Well, at least it's not down to one wicked backslidden guy like Ahab, you know, I think that's what that's you know I go. Oh, it's so hard to preach to a small crowd. Yeah, go tell it to Elijah Go tell it to a guy whose first message is to go up to the king of Israel who had all this power Who was just this wicked heathen guy and rip his face, right? You go up there and say and said unto Ahab as the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand there shall not be Do nor reign in these years, but according to my word, I mean his first message is that of judgment It wasn't Oh Ahab, you know God loves you and God wants his best for you and he wants the best for Israel and he really would like it You know, no, it was like hey, you know what God's gonna judge this country, you know, God's gonna judge you There's not gonna be rain for three years until I say so You mean right away? What else do we see in his ministry? We see him calling out sin. This is his message, right? We see the making the man of God now We're looking at the message of the man of God look at first Kings 18 verse 17 and it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab sent him art thou he that troubleth Israel, you know That's always the accusation that people that bring against the man of God you hear it so often You give Christians a bad name. You're the one you're the reason why people are turning away from the faith You know, well, whoa, and see what all men speak. Well of you We're so sore so to their pro the the their fathers of the false prophets, you know that you that it's actually a good Thing when people don't like the preacher It's actually a good thing when the Google reviews are like in the negatives, you know It's it's actually a good thing We have the the Facebook post where people are telling them how bad this church is and everything like that Then that just tells me. Oh, there must be a man of God there, you know when you're saying oh they trouble They trouble Tucson. They trouble Arizona. They're the trouble or in Israel That was a haves take on it He said I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house I mean you could just see him pointing that finger right in his face, you know, you're the problem They have this is his message right of judgment and of what of calling out sin. This is the work of the man of God This is his making this is his message calling out sin He said he's he calls him out I have not troubled Israel But thou and thy father's house and that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and that thou hast followed Balaam I mean, he's just ripping face. He's getting up and just immediately calling out sin, you know And this is what the ministry is. This is what the man of God is called to do He calls out sin. He calls out sinners and sin by name when appropriate, okay? Go over to 1st Corinthians chapter 5 1st Corinthians chapter 5 1st Timothy 1 he said again this charge a community son Timothy according to prophecies which went before on thee That thou by them mightest war good warfare holding faith and of good conscience and some which some having put away have made Concerning faith that made shipwreck of whom is high Moneus and Alexander. Oh, I can't believe Paul just named the name Yeah, Paul names names when it's you know, sometimes there's a there's a time and place to just name the name You know and there's just there's nothing more frustrating to watch preachers get up and just like just vaguely refer to people Just start criticizing some church You know some church in Arizona some church in California I mean, I I remember from day one I started doing that as soon as I decided I was gonna move to Phoenix, Arizona I had to listen to some preacher get up. There's this guy out in Arizona It's like well, I know who you're talking about. Why don't you just say the name? Why don't you why don't you actually just get up there and preach like Elijah didn't just call it out Why don't you be more like Paul and just if you feel that strongly about it once you just say the name And Then people, you know get all upset when when you do say when you do call out names when you just say hey It's this person that I'm talking about And then people want to get all you know touchy-feely at that point then it's like oh now you've crossed the line You've actually called out the name That's not what I see Paul doing I don't see him tiptoeing around, you know, you know, there's some people certain people You know who made shipwreck concerning the faith now, I don't want to say who? And everyone's like well, we know you're talking about That's what's so stupid about being vague from the pulpit. Everyone already knows who you're referring to. Why don't you just say it? The reason though I don't want to say this because then they can just say well I was referring to them I was just speaking in general, you know, I was you know, and it's just it's a total gaslighting maneuvers when it is And he's saying of whom is hymenaeus and Alexander there I said it Whom I have delivered unto Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme look at 1st Corinthians chapter 5 Look the man of God he his message is to preach against judgment. It's to call out sin It's not only just to call out sin. It's to call out sin and sinners by name And of course you want to use discretion obviously I understand we're not gonna you know If you come to the man of God and you know, you have some kind of dealing with him He's gonna just you know, air your dirty laundry the whole congregation. I get that Well, there's certain sins that do get called out in Scripture first chapter 5 or first Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1 He says it is reported commonly that there's fornication among you and such fornication is not so much as named as among the Gentiles Paulson you're calling out calling out the sin in the church. Look there's fornication among you Well, what where does he who does he think he is calling out, you know the sin in the church? Well, here's the problem. It's reported commonly. It's not like he's telling anybody anything new. They already know everyone already knows Oh, yeah, the Corinthians, you know, that's what's going on in that church He's like so I'm just gonna call it out and he gets real specific that one should have his father's wife And he are puffed up and have not rather mourned that he had done this team might be taken away from among you Do you think the Corinthians knew he was talking about? Of course he did He says in uh in verse 5 deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh the spirit Maybe say in a day the Lord Jesus. I mean, he's just calling him out He calls out people in 2nd Timothy chapter 4, you know Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil The Lord reward him therefore according to his works He just calls him out right by name That is part of ministry calling out sin Calling out sinners calling out heretics calling out the false prophets and people get all upset when you do that, but that is the ministry Well, I just don't think we should you know talk about sin, you know, we shouldn't why do we have to call out people said Well, he said in Isaiah chapter 58 Christ allowed spare not lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their Transgression and the house of Jacob their sins. That's what God sent Isaiah to go do to cry out Just to lift up his voice and actually call out sin. That's his message You know a lot of preachers don't want to do that today, you know, they don't want to get up and just call out sin They don't want to call a spade a spade. You know why they don't want to do it because it comes with consequences Because it comes with consequences And again, this is why the man of God is becoming increasingly more rare today because they people aren't stupid They know if they get up and they call out sin, there's going to be consequences. I Mean how many times have we seen it? You know with our friends where you know, some preacher gets up and rips on the homos and next thing, you know They're throwing bombs through the window. They're protesting. I mean, it's multiple times You know, well, there's only been one bombing but I mean, hey How many do you need to understand that when you get up and you call out sin, there's going to be consequences In Matthew chapter 14 and look the man of God has to live with that knowledge Man of God has to get up and preach these things knowing there's probably going to be consequences with this And if the man of God's not willing to do that, you know what he needs to do sit down and shut up Let somebody else do it and let people go to a church where that is gonna happen Because it comes with consequences verse 1, you know, John the Baptist, you know and John the Baptist didn't really preach anything that controversial It says in verse 1 at that time Herod the Tetrarch Had of the fame heard of the fame of Jesus and said unto his servants. This is John the Baptist He is risen from the dead now. We know how he died, right? He got beheaded in prison, right? Well, what was he doing in prison? Well, it says in verse 3 for Herod had laid hold on hold on John and bound him and put him in prison for a Rhodias of sake his brother Philip's wife for John said unto him is not lawful for thee to have her He just said hey, you know what it's not lawful for you to get divorced and remarried it's not lawful It's not what the scripture teaches that landed him in jail and eventually got and you know And she gets so bitter Herodias that she you know takes opportunity to have him beheaded Look, it's one, you know, it's the job of the man of God His message is to get up and to call out sin, but you better understand that there are consequences You know, I remember sitting in a preaching class and hearing you know Pastor Anderson making this abundantly clear to the men in that and I think about this often Is that he got it and said, you know what? There's guys in this room who have the ability that have the desire But they're gonna wash up because they're not willing to pay the price that is that you have to pay as a man of God You need to count the cost if you want to be a preacher if you want to take a stand for God To whatever degree in your life. You need to be willing to pay the cost count the cost Beforehand, you know because the man of God has to live with the knowledge that you know, what someone might call CPS You know someone, you know that some news crew might show up at my front door. Did you really say? You know the bottom the death threats might come my way The bomb might get thrown in our window, you know, there are consequences for calling out sin for calling out sinners But that is the message of the man of God And you know, but that's not all it is, you know, it's also calling people to make decisions Calling people to make changes in their lives It's not every sermon isn't just you know, rip ripping face here tearing off the head there You know and just putting everybody in their place every sermon and that's not it, you know I kind of talked about this morning You know, we want to help people along and be gentle and so on and so forth But there is a time and place to call it out But another part of its message if you're there first Kings 18 is to call people to make decisions He says in verse 21 Elijah came into all the people and said how long halt you between two opinions You know people do this all the time in their life They know what they should do and then they know what they want to do Like oh, I know I need to make this decision I know what the right decision is, but I'm just gonna stand here halt and or I'm just gonna make the wrong one Now sometimes they make the right one and that's great But that's part of the message, you know calling people to make decisions to make changes in their life He Said how long halt you to between two opinions if the Lord be God follow him But if bail then follow him and the people answered him not a word They didn't know what to say. I'm just like well, we don't know what to do So he says in verse 37 hear me Oh Lord hear me that this people may know that thou art Lord the Lord God and that thou has turned their heart back again And that's what his ministry was was to turn their heart back again You know people are you know So often just at a place in their life where they need to start making decisions for God. They need to start, you know making changes in their life and they just need a man of God to come along and And to preach and to bring a message and to pray and to and to put them over the edge To get them to make it is not to just stand their halt but to actually nudge them in that direction or you know Run them off That's what he said if bail be bay if bail be God, you know what go serve him If that's what you want, you want bail you want all that you want the world just then just go do that But don't just stand here half in half out. Don't be lukewarm Either get in or get out, you know, that's what the man of God does And we might as well just get used to it in this church that people are gonna come They're gonna get on fire for a little while and then they're gonna get drawn to some kind of a decision their life and they're either Gonna make the right decision or they're gonna make the wrong one They're either gonna serve God or they're just gonna go back to where they were Before they got here and that's just the ministry folks. But you know, and it's real tempting to just get up here, you know And I guess it isn't But it could be real tempting for me to just get up here and well, let me just compromise everything we believe Let me just make this a more seeker friendly church and you know, so we can just get some big crowd in here You know, but what people what would that benefit anybody? It wouldn't bet anybody anything for them. Just what I mean So we could feel like we have a big church But nobody's making decisions. No one's growing. No one's moving in the right direction. That's not what I want That's not what the man of God is called to the man of God is called to put people in a place in their life Where they have to make decisions make changes in their life That's what Joshua did He said if it seemed evil unto you to serve the Lord this day choose this day whom you will serve You know, Jesus said man cannot serve two masters. He will love the one or hate the other you cannot You have to make a decision people have to make decision their life whether they're gonna serve God or mammon That's a very real decision that people have to make. You know what people don't always make the right decision And you know, it's not and I'm not you know, I'm the deacon here. I'm not your daddy I'm not gonna sit here, you know and try to just persuade everybody to do the right thing I'm just gonna tell you here's the right thing. Here's the wrong thing. You decide you make up your mind what you want to do with it He said choose you to stay in you serve whether the gods which your father served the other side of the flood or the Gods of the Amorites and whose land you dwell but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, you know That's not just a nice little scripture to put up on your wall at home, you know in your calligraphy, you know it looks nice that's that's an actual like Motto that is something you have to actually live and flesh out in your own life And you know a great thing you take from this is that the only people you have any control over in your life Are you? you know, I'm talking, you know, that's plural but You're the only person you have any control over now obviously, you know as a husband and father I have control over to some degree. I have a great deal of influence over other people's lives Right, but I can't control what every person does that comes in here But you know what I can do as a man of God I can put him in a place where they have to make a decision That's my job. That's what a man of God is called to do So we looked at his making we looked at his message. Let's look at his ministry, right his ministry Go back to first Kings chapter 17 than his ministry, you know, if a person wants to get involved become a man of God Or once you know and this could be applied to people who maybe they're not gonna be a pastor one day But they just want to serve God. They just want to be a soul winner. They want to be a faithful church member They want to just do things for God, you know, there's gonna be some level of sacrifice required You know the ministry of the man of God requires sacrifice You know Sacrifices required of anybody that wants to serve God to any capacity. It's going to require sacrifice on your part Look at first Kings chapter 17 verse 2 and the word of the Lord came on us and Saying get the Hents and turn the ace word. Oh, where are you taking me? Some probably some nice cush place Where I can just relax for a little while while this drought goes on and God's just gonna have you know Peeled grapes brought to me and I'm gonna be fanned every day. I'm gonna be kept safe No, he said get the Hents attorney is work and hide thyself by the brook chariot. That is before Jordan Jordan He's saying you know what Elijah Elijah go up and hide in the wilderness Go out into the bush over there by some river and hang out there You know, that's a sacrifice. He didn't say, you know, go find some nice home Go go back home to where you're from Go back, you know to your town and Gilead and get comfortable and put your feet up and wait a while He said no go out in the wild Go out there and he said in verse 4 and it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook No milk, you know, no fresh goats milk No fresh squeezed grapes. No pomegranate juice no, you're gonna go drink, you know like an animal out of the brook and I have commanded the Ravens to feed thee So when he went and did according unto the word of the Lord before he went and dwelt by the brook chariot That is before Jordan and the Ravens brought him his bread and flesh in the morning. I Mean and I don't think you know, I don't think these were like gourmet chefs either I don't think the Ravens were showing up with like those little chef hats on in an apron, you know and pulling up You know starting a little fire and like what would you like today? Prophet, oh thou man of God, you know, would you like a little flambe? You know quiche with a nice spinach and feta cheese me on the menu and like it was probably some real basic Just you know, maybe some flesh he had to cook. Maybe they found some carcass somewhere, you know They that they're scavengers, you know what I mean? Who knows maybe they swept in and like someone threw some bread out that they've gotten old and they picked it up. Who knows? Right, it's but it's not this gourmet meal. And even if it were he's still sitting out in the bush You still you know, what am I trying to put that? What's the point? I'm making here his ministry required sacrifice He had to give up some comforts. He had to give up some luxuries he had to be willing to you know, take a lesser portion in life and The Ravens brought him his bread and his flesh in the morning and the bread and flesh in the evening and he drank of the Brook and it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up Then the brook dries up, you know, then the drought even gets to him and here's the thing you have to Consider the fact here that God could have kept Elijah safe anywhere. I Mean couldn't you have couldn't you have told him? Hey go go to that cave You're gonna go to a little while, you know, and I'll have a guy there who will you know, make you whatever you want to eat No, he told me go hang out in the bush next to a brook and be there till it dries up and I'm gonna feed You with you know, some whatever the birds bring you look the ministry of the man of God requires sacrifice And it requires discomfort that doesn't sound very comfortable comfortable to me You know anyone who's got doesn't he got a kind of camping, you know camping is kind of a leisurely thing But we wouldn't want to live that way. I Don't think so. Anyway You know that you know, everyone wants to romanticize the pioneer life, but it was pretty hard life You know, we're I was talking about with somebody the other day I can't remember who but we're talking about how Crazy would be for us to go back in time because you know people kind of get this attitude of like oh, man I was born in the wrong century, you know, I should have been born back in you know The 1800s or whatever when people were different, you know, we didn't have all even this modern life is making everybody so soft I mean imagine going back in time and telling people where you came from and how things are today Yeah, we have you know These things in our pocket called smartphones and we can basically just entertain ourselves You can have any kind of information at our fingertips I mean I could just push some buttons and being able to bring food to my door It's like it's like the most exotic food like to them would be just like the most exotic thing that they think they've never even heard Of like, you know mango habanero Chicken wings, you know, we're just getting by the dozens, you know, and we're just so sick of this pampered modern life We're gonna go back. We wish we could just go back in time You know if you went back and told people that the kind of life you were living now and that you decided to come back There and live with them. They'd look at you go. You're crazy. What's the matter with you? They would trade places with us in a heartbeat It's not comfortable, you know, we romanticize it but it's not a comfortable existence and the man of God is not called to a comfortable Existence God puts us in uncomfortable positions. Sometimes he will put us, you know next to a brook That's got he knows is gonna dry up I Mean you think about again going back to the example of John the Baptist I mean he went out when he started his ministry. He was out in the wilderness and you know He didn't have Ravens bringing him anything. He was eating, you know locusts of wild, honey You know, he's like trying not to get stung to get his meal and then he's eating insects flying around and you know He's wearing he's gird with a leather girdle and camel's hair That's not exactly the most comfortable thing to wear, you know some hairy jacket But you know what? God does not call the man of God to a life of ease and comfort He doesn't really you can apply it to any of us. Hey quit talking So, you know, I'd say all that to say this is that the ministry isn't for everyone and that's just the facts, you know Yeah, it's open to everyone. It's open to any man that has the desire that meets the requirements But you know what? It requires a certain level of character It has you have to have some level of you know You have to be somebody who's willing to count the cost and is willing to be put in some uncomfortable positions Somebody who's willing to pay the price and deal with the consequences So his ministry, you know required sacrifice required discomfort, but only you know It also focused on the needs of others, you know, that's the calling of the man of God It's to focus on the needs of other people, you know real quick first Kings chapter 17 verse 8 We know the story here and the word of the Lord came unto him This of course this is after the the brook dries up the Lord sent him saying arise get thee to Zarephath Which belongeth unto Zidane and dwell there behold. I have commanded a woman would a woman there to sustain thee So he arose and went to Zarephath and when he came to the gate of the city behold the widow woman Was there gathering of sticks and he called her and said fetch me I prayed thee a little water in a vessel that I may drink and she was going to fetch it and he called her and said Bring me I pray thee a morsel of bread in thine hand and she said as the Lord thy God liveth I have not a cake but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil and a cruise and Behold, I'm gathering two sticks and am I going in and dress it for me and my son that we may eat it and die So everyone's just starving in this story and Elijah said under here fear not go and do as thou has said but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it to me and after thee Make for thee and thy son for thus saith the Lord God of Israel the barrel of meal shall not waste neither shall the cruise Of oil fail, so it sounds at first like, you know, he's just going there for himself, you know He's going there to just rob this little woman of the last bit of meal that she has, right? Well, what's really going on? He's going there to perform a miracle for this woman because the man of God, you know, his ministry focuses on what the needs of others God's concerned about people, you know, he got a concern about those that have any and this is you know A great example of that and it's not just all rip in face and you know Calling people out and call and sin out, you know a big part of it is helping people Big part of it isn't giving people helping them with their needs whether it's physical or spiritual praying for one another Encouraging one another that's a big part of the ministry focusing on the needs of others That's why you know Sacrifice and discomfort are required because if we're just only concerned about ourselves, you know, we're not going to be concerned about the needs of others But if we can just accept the fact that you know what I'm gonna be uncomfortable I'm not gonna have everything that I want. I might not even have everything that I think I need I'm gonna be put in an uncomfortable situation I have to make sacrifices for willing to set accept that then we can start to think about well Let me focus on the needs of others And we know the story here It says in verse 15 and she went and did according the story the saying of Elijah and she and and he and her house Did eat many days and the barrel of meal wasted not that was a really good meal for Elijah I bet he was real glad after eating whatever those birds were bringing them sit down and have a nice home-cooked hot meal And drinking some some fresh water and neither did the cruise of oil fail according the word of the Lord Which he spake by Elijah so, you know again, it's not just ripping face Look, there's a time to rip face, but you know, let me just come out and say this is that you know I'm not just up here to be a preacher tainer I'm not just here for preacher tainment There are there are sermons that have to be preached that some people are gonna hear and go Well, that wasn't very exciting. Yeah, but somebody else is gonna hear it and go I needed that I needed to hear some sermon about you know, being gentle to other people, you know I needed to hear some sermon about you know How to raise children or some sermon whatever the topic that isn't going to just be this rip-roaring sermon this ripping face sermon That's gonna get you know thousands of views on YouTube or whatever But those are the sermons that need to be preached because the man of God is called to be focused on the needs of Everyone the needs of others It's not just all you know, sticking your finger and a haves face and calling him out, you know, it's also visiting the widow You know and providing needs Verse 17 it says and it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman the mistress of the house fell sick And his sickness was so sore That there was no breath left in him and she said unto Elijah what have I to do with thee? Oh thou man of God if thou come to call my sin before to my remembrance and slay my son And he said unto her give me a nice son and he took him out of her bosom and carried him up into a loft And there he abode and laid upon him his own bed and he cried in the Lord and said, oh Lord My God hast thou brought this evil upon the widow whom with whom I sojourned by slaying her son And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried in the Lord and said, oh Lord my God I pray thee let this child's soul come into him again And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him and he revived and Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber under this house under the house and delivered him on his mother and Elijah said see thy son liveth now, I want you to pay attention here because God Elijah just did this amazing miracle this woman right and you would think that that would be enough for her She would say oh, you know you are a man of God But notice what she says in verse 24 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 that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth You know, she had to see her needs met before she was willing to Accept Elijah for what he was before she was willing to give Elijah his respect, you know before she was willing to acknowledge him She says now by this by what by the fact that you came And raised my son from the dead now, I know thou art a man of God Because you met my need because not because you showed up and reminded me how how wicked Ahab is You know, she already knew that not because you showed up reminded me the fact that you know Israel's worshipping Baal You know those sermons need to be preached but there's also the sermon where you know We have to just come and take care of somebody's need You have to help somebody with something that is very important to them and she said now by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the word of truth is in my mouth You know part of the ministry of the man of God, you know, it's focusing on the needs of other It's more than just reaping ripping face. It's bringing the dead to life And this isn't just the ministry of the man of God This is the ministry that God has given to all of us man woman boy and girl. It's bringing the dead to life You know, I'm don't worry. I'm not going full Pentecostal on here We're not gonna start reading like I'm not talking about literally raising the dead But we spiritually do that when we go so many don't we? spiritually go out and bring life to those that are dead the Bible says in second Corinthians chapter 5 for the love of Christ constraineth us Because we thus judge if one died for all then we're all dead They were all dead when you're out there preaching the gospel, you know, you're you're like Elijah You're going out there and you are reviving somebody's child. You were bringing somebody back from the dead literally Not maybe not literal in the sense that they're dead. You know, you're bringing them back to life in this story, but literally spiritually speaking There that is a literal reality that they're gonna go to the place of the dead they were gonna go, you know to the lake of fire They were gonna be dead there, but now they've been brought back to life eternal so we see that the you know, the ministry of the man of God it requires sacrifice it requires discomfort so he can stay focused on the needs of others and The needs of others isn't always just the rip ripping face sermon, you know, it's the real needs that people have It's it's soul-willing it's it's preaching the nuts and bolts of the Christian life But I also want to you know, we'll wrap up here in a minute, but I want to look at his humanity Look at his humanity. It says in first Kings chapter 19 first Crannock Kings chapter 19 and you have to remember this is out of this is out of the after the the high point of Elijah's ministry where he's just you know killed the prophets of Baal. He's turned the hearts of Israel back to the Lord God He's just called fire down from heaven. Just this huge miracle, right? It says in verse 1 and Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how with all he had slain all the prophets with The sword then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying so let the gods Do to me and more also if I make not thy life as one of them by tomorrow at about this time So she's you know, breathing out her death threats And when he saw that he arose and went for his life You know that might surprise us, you know, you know, whenever I read that story, it's kind of like it's kind of surprises You I mean, he's just on a tear Got and especially after everything that he's got is done with him so far. I mean he's provided for him in the wilderness He's provided with the miracle with the the widow woman. He's even allowed him to bring her son back to from the dead I mean, he's he's he knows God's with him But at this point, you know, the pressure just becomes too much the or I don't know what's going on Exactly, but it seems to me like he has kind of a lapse in faith You know this great spiritual high that he on is immediately followed by this low in his life And when I'm pointing out here is the man of God is human He's just he's he's human like anybody else the man of God is just like the rest of us He's a man of like passions. It says that when he heard that Verse three and when he saw that he arose and went for his life and came to Beersheba which belong at the Judah and Left his servant there. He's like you probably don't want to hang out with me I'm a dead man, you know run for your life every man for himself But he went himself a day's journey the wilderness and came there and down and said under juniper tree and he Requested for himself that he might die He's like Lord kill me and he said it is enough now Lord take away my life where I have not better than my father's You know, I read you read this story. Just like what is going on here and we can't understand about you know We couldn't understand is that Elijah is a man of God a man of God. He's not God He's not perfect and no man of God is perfect They all have faults every man of God in Scripture is flawed, you know with the exception of Jesus Christ And even if it's not recorded, you know, there's some you could look at like Daniel you'd be like, well, what was Daniel's flaw? I don't know, but he had one I Guarantee you they all did and I love the bet the Bible records their flaws So they records their failings their shortcomings because it's relatable because we're all that way It's his humanity, you know, and we need to make sure that we don't We want to respect a man of God. We want to you know, we want to But we don't want to put him on this pedestal, you know and and and exalt him up You know think about man that which is written, you know, think about him above measure You know because that's just setting yourself up for disappointment You know, I don't think anyone in this room has a problem with that Of putting me up, you know in some high lofty position and but if you are Let me just go ahead and remind tell you right now you prepare to be disappointed Because you're gonna find out that I have flaws I'm gonna say or do something It's gonna offend you that might even be you know wrong for me yet to have said or done You know, I'm probably going to you know, do something that is not right at some point You know what? I mean now, I'm not talking about gross, you know, just negligent sin You know man of God should never be accused of those things. There are certain things that should just never happen, obviously But you know what? I am human, you know, just like the rest of us just like Elijah here, you know I might have a bad day. I might have a hard time, you know There might be maybe maybe you're not gonna like the look on my face one day when you walk in, you know But maybe I just had a hard week just like you did, you know Maybe I'm gonna be in a bad mood or maybe I'm gonna You know need some time by myself or whatever it is because I'm just a man I mean, I might be the man of God down here, but I'm still just a man and no man of God is perfect They're all flawed In James chapter 3 said this my brethren be not many masters He's talking about being that many masters, you know, not being many instructors not being many teachers Why knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation the man of God has held. Yes held to a higher standard and Because of that, you know when he slips up or he does something wrong. There's a greater condemnation There's more risk. Look I have more opportunity to get up here and just you know, you know hurt people through my words or teaching something wrong or You know, there's there's a greater risk for the man of God because he has more people's attention More people are looking to him more people are listening to them. There's more pressure there You know, they shall receive the greater condemnation for in many things. We offend all he said in many things we offend all If any man offend not in word the same as a perfect man and able also the bride of the whole body And he goes on talks about the tongue right and it's the tongue that gets us all into trouble You know and my job is there's a lot of the use of the tongue in this job The man of God is doing a lot of talking You know and sometimes the man of God is gonna get up and he's going to offend people In fact, the Bible said in James 3 he's going to offend all And he said in many things, you know, I think what he's saying there is that even if I never made a mistake Let's make let's just say I never made a mistake or never misspoke or whatever even if I just every word came out of my mouth perfectly and everything I said was just you know, righteousness and truth and and and Never made a mistake I would still offend everybody eventually just pick up just by the nature of the Word of God just because the Bible steps on people's toes just because people are all different stages in their in the Christian growth people are coming from all different areas people have all kinds of different sins in their lives and things like that and Even if I get up and start to preach the whole counsel of God like I'm supposed to his man of God It's only a matter of time until I said everybody the Bible says In many things we offend all I might not offend everybody all at once but eventually I get to you You haven't been offended yet. Just give it time You know your day's coming and look I don't ever set out to just offend people. I don't ever go to church In fact, a lot of times sometimes I come to church I think you know what I put that in my sermon, but I think I was just in the flesh I think I'm just gonna you know, save that for another day. Not that I'm holding back But just I'm saying you know what that's not gonna benefit anybody You know if I just put something in there just for the sake of offending something, you know I'm gonna take it out because I'm not just out of going out of my way to offend people I don't have to try to do that I just preached the Bible and people will get offended Bible says but the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison How are you gonna offend somebody just with the words that come out of your mouth? So we see, you know the humanity of the man of God. We've looked at you know, his his his His ministry his message is making his humanity and I want to close here in I know I said that a minute ago in a minute his meekness. Look at his meekness real quick You know Elijah he wasn't in it for the notoriety, you know, some guys get in the ministry They want to get behind a pulpit. They want to get on YouTube, you know And I'm not against getting on YouTube and getting big on YouTube. That's that's that's great. It's a great tool, you know Some people are better at it than others. I'm just it's just not my I'm not good at it. All right, I don't tell you You know, I just I'm just not that big of a draw on the internet, you know And I'm not doesn't bother me like I get it. Like I'm real picky about my who I listen to You know, I've only got so many hours a day. I can't listen to every preacher that's out there You know if I'm gonna listen to somebody I'm gonna listen to somebody that I want to listen to I guess just a lot of people don't listen to it But you know what? There's a group of people that come here three times a week that listen, you know, and that's good enough for me And I hey if people want to listen online it gets big great, you know But that's not why we should be in it as a man of God for notoriety You know to be known and if we're known great, that's wonderful. That's not should not be our motive That's not why he was in it. He was very meek, right? He was jealous for his God first Kings chapter 19 verse 9 After he you know runs for his life and requests to die, you know God sends an angel and he feeds him and he goes 40 days and the strength of that meat And it says in verse 9 And he came thither into a cave and he lodged there and behold the Word of God came to him and sent unto him What doest thou here Elijah he said I've been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts and for the children of Israel for the children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant and thrown down in altars And has slain thy prophets with the sword and I even I only am left now He certainly felt that way and he I don't think he knew the full situation and that you can't really blame him for saying You know, I'm the only one that's left because that's what he honestly thought was going on. Right? But where is his heart? You know, he's not like I'm the only real man of God in town It's just that he honestly thought that he was the only one and God had to correct him in the end He said, you know, there are 70,000 and not yet bow the knee to bail But he says again, you know the voice comes to him again verse 13 verse 14 He says and I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts because the children of Israel Have forsaken thy covenant and thrown nine altars and slain thy prophets with the sword and I only am left So we see that the heart his his meekness is the fact that you know He wasn't in it for the wrong reasons. You can't get into the ministry. You can't be a man of God with the wrong motives Because you'll compromise You'll you'll compromise you'll turn aside under the vain jangling You'll discern aside under filthy lucre. You'll get in it the wrong reasons. You're you're bound to just make a mess of things The man of God must be motivated to serve God only Why are you why you know, why do we want to be a man of God? Why do we want to serve God? You know, is it because we love the Lord that should be our motive That was that was his motive because I love God and then you know what it won't matter It won't matter how big the church is or isn't it won't matter You know how popular I get or don't get as a preacher What'll matter is whether or not God is being served or not and if we have the right motive, you know, God will be served and That should be why we get into things. We need to have in the you know, that requires what meekness, you know being motivated We'll close here it says the last thing I want to look at is this It's his mantle his mantle because if you remember there the end of verse 15 when God kind of straightens him out in the cave And it tells him what he needs to do He says in verse 15 the Lord said unto him go and return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus And when thou comest anoint Hazeel to be king over Syria in Jehu the son of Nimshai shall thought anointing to be king over Israel and Elijah the son of Shaphat of Abel Meloah shall thought anoint a point anoint to be prophet in thy room You know, he had a man of God Elijah. He had a mantle that needed to be passed on There was somebody else that had to pick up that mantle because here's the thing about a man of God Going back the fact that he's human this means what something this means that he's gonna die one day He's not always gonna be here You know and if if people are gonna what's required is that somebody else has to be willing to pick up the torch and carry It on that mantle has to be passed on to somebody at some point That's what he told him to do. He said look you're gonna go find Elijah the son of Shaphat And you're gonna anoint him to be prophet in thy room. You know when you go away. He's gonna take over for you Verse 19 so we depart thence and found Elijah the son of Shaphat who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him I love that picture there. You know, he's got these 12 yoke of oxen before him and he's plowing with them, right? He's he's out working. He's got you know, he's out in the field. He's doing the work, you know That's where you find a man of God is someone who's out actually doing the work already You know something who's already not someone's gonna show up and just be like well, you know, I'll work I'll put in the labor as long as I get to be the man of God. That's not how it works You know people come to you and say, oh, I'm willing to help in the church. What can I do go scrub a toilet? Oh, I won't do that. Well, they never mind, you know what go do something else then, you know, go go do whatever I don't care because you know, we're not Well, I won't do that, but I would love to you know, leave the songs But that's been an example I've had in the past well, I know I want something in the spotlight Well, no, I need you to run a vacuum you want to do that I need you to take out trash I need you to wipe down the windows. I need you to do some menial tasks that no one's gonna notice The no one on YouTube is gonna go. Wow, what a great that guy did a great job wiping the windows who keeps that place So clean man, those chairs are straight. No one says that on YouTube and some people, you know, they want the glory Their motives are wrong. You know, that's not who's gonna get the mantle That's not who you want to pass the mantle on to you want to find an Elisha somebody who is already doing the work is already out there and is in it and it says there and You know some other characteristics about Elisha and the passing on of Elijah's mantle It says so he depart 16 and J who the son of Nimshai shall to be I'm sorry verse 19 so he depart thence and found Elisha the son of Shaphan who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him and With he with the 12th and Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah You know, he left what was But you know, he didn't try to do both Because that's the calling of a man of God. You can't you can't try to do both things Look, I'm not saying that, you know, sometimes we have to work another job and and and pastor at the same time I get that but you know what you can't have this divided interest in your life if you're gonna be a man of God You know that break that has that I've seen guys get into ministry and try to fulfill this role of a man of God But they but they're you know, they they leave their heart in the world. They leave their heart in some secular position You know, they're not like Elisha who's willing to say well the oxen, you know, whatever Yeah, I'm not interested in that I don't want you know like you can either plow the field or you can take on the mantle of the man of God, but you can't do both and the guys that I've seen that try to straddle both and Not out of necessity but just because you know, they weren't quite sure whether or not they wanted to get all you know They end up failing in the ministry end up getting out of the ministry They end up quitting the ministry and look I get it. It's not for everyone But you know, you should know that going into it people need to know that's going into the ministry that it's not for everybody And if you would rather, you know go out and and go earn a living in the secular world then go do that Because you can't do both You know eventually at some point you had to be all-in You know unless it's out of I understand sometimes out of necessity of the pastor has to work two jobs. I get that But if not, you know, why don't just be all-in, you know, why not just leave the oxen with the oxen? Don't let this old life hold you back You know have the right priorities. That's what he had to do He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said let me I prayed to kiss my father my mother and then when I felt He say I want to say goodbye to my family, but then I will follow thee And I love what he says to him He says and he said unto him go back again for what have I done to thee? Yeah, you know what seems like you really get a full picture of his personality But sometimes I wonder if Elijah wasn't a little bit of a grumpy guy He wasn't kind of kind of a maybe kind of a tough guy to be around a little bit And he lived a hard life and he's out living in the wilderness. You know, he might have been a Little rough around the edges. What have I done to thee whatever? But again showing kind of his meekness again, he's like, you know Do with what you want with it, you know, and I'm nobody He said go back again for what have I done to thee and he returned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and Slew them and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen and gave unto the people and they did eat I mean he just burned it all at the end. He just said, you know what goodbye to that old life Goodbye to all those old ambitions. Goodbye to all those dreams and all that I'm just gonna leave that all behind and just fully follow the man of God and just take on that mantle And then he arose and he went after Elijah and then notice those last words and ministered unto him and then you don't hear About Elisha or Elijah for a long time after that until Elisha until he actually is able to take on that mantle But we know that he was there the next time you hear about him. He was he's Identified as him that poured hands upon the waters of Elijah or Elisha He in that port, excuse me Elijah again next both time. That's what he's known as that's what he goes on and does You know part of taking on that mantle is just serving just serving and serving and serving and and you know That's it because after all that's what the ministry is at the end of the day That is the calling of the man of God to service to sacrifice So if you're gonna take that mantle on, you know That's where you start. It's just through service The ministry of the man of God begins and ends and everywhere in between with service So that's because that's the nature of the ministry, you know So I just want to look at that tonight and remind us about the man of God, you know that they're rare We don't have a lot of them and for good reason, you know because of the fact that People need to be willing to count the cost because it does come at a sacrifice because it does, you know It is uncomfortable because people are going to be offended because it is a tough job to do But look somebody needs to do it Somebody needs to stand up and stand in the gap that God should not destroy, you know The wicked God someone needs to stand up and preach the counsel of God and make up the hedge You know and we need to do that here in Tucson Look, we need to do that all around the world all around this country You know people are clamoring for good churches everywhere and you know what? I'll be perfectly honest a lot the list of guys that are even close to being able to go out in the ministry is Very very very short at least in this church You know, it's incredibly short And I feel like a lot of times we kind of put them in this weird position of like saying, you know Well, if you express any interest in wanting to do it, then you know Maybe you're not the right person for it because you know a real man of God wouldn't you know? He's happy do another thing. You know what I mean? Like we say like, you know The people that insist on doing it are probably not the people you want, right? So then people like well I want to do it, but I don't want to insist You see I'm saying it's like this catch-22 with people Well, look, we need guys that are willing to step up and fill that position You know either as pastors as preachers as servants in the local church like there's a real need for people to Serve God today and to and to and to reach people and to you know Not just do the face-ripping but also ministering to the needs of other going out and doing what bringing a life Back bringing life back to the dead raising people from the dead spiritually But if we're gonna do that We're gonna say I'm willing to take on that mantle just understand it Begins and it ends with service because that is the very nature of administrative man of God. Let's go ahead and pray