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all right amen first Kings chapter number 19 so I'm gonna title this sermon from a brave man to a caveman yes that's what we're gonna go with a my caveman I'm not insulting Elijah I'm not saying like he's like a Neanderthal you know we don't even believe in that junk okay it'll make sense here in a moment what I mean by that but we left off last week really with a great picture of Elijah's bravery I believe that Elijah was one of the greatest prophets to ever live you know we talked was it last Sunday you know I titled Sunday morning sermon even the greatest have doubts right it was talking about John the Baptist now even you know as great as he was the greatest man born among women he still got into a position of doubt and what did Jesus do gave him that man I gave him that bread right which is the Word of God well obviously there's a lot of similarities between John the Baptist and Elijah the Prophet and so another title for this could be even the greatest fear okay even the greatest people can fall into fear fear is a natural human emotion and there are some positions that will wind up in maybe God will lead us to that will cause us to fear this chapter is gonna bring out what to do about that and why that happens okay so again last week right great chapter I heard a lot of people online and tick-tock land really loved it so that's that's great news you know we want to help people out but we saw that Elijah the Prophet I mean you want to talk about bravery okay you got this prophet what does he do he takes on 450 prophets of Baal a challenge them challenges the king of Israel to like this this the spiritual duel if you will not to mention and don't forget you know always forget and I always gloss over this it was 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the groves okay Elijah took them all on okay I mean that's a brave thing to do right one versus what 850 people plus you know however many else that are there that you know hanging in the balances that are doubting him and he stood like a champ he did right he did mighty by the hand of God and then if you remember what happened after that obviously he slew those prophets of Baal and completely took him from the face of the earth which is another bravery an act of bravery another mighty work for God and then what does he do right he invites Ahab to the sacrifice okay so remember yes Ahab is married to Jezebel yes Ahab is a wicked king however he wasn't destroyed with those prophets of Baal okay he was invited to participate in that sacrificial meal which I think is huge because God is giving him that opportunity God sees something in him and said basically saying like hey Ahab this is the way it's supposed to go okay you were supposed to believe in God you shouldn't be setting up you know an altar of Baal a temple for the devil you know this is like 101 like Christianity 101 here okay but nonetheless Ahab gets the invitation to participate in that and then we're left with this picture okay where Elijah tells Ahab you know it's gonna rain so you better get down to Jezreel in a hurry so Ahab on the chariot okay and he's going down to Jezreel and then what happens Elijah on foot just flies right by him just completely smokes and obviously that is what we talked about last week a picture that the king is always supposed to follow the Word of God we're kings and priests we need to be following the Word of God so I believe that's why God preserved that in there for us to let us know that so many people today get it backwards right they want the Word of God to follow them right and sometimes we get like that we're like we want the Word of God to follow us in our agenda but it's the other way around so I believe that's why that miracle took place why we're reading it so we're left off with his acts of bravery and just some some awesome things but let's get started here okay from a brave man to a caveman look at verse number one so it says in Ahab told Jezebel okay this is what starts off this this whole issue here and Ahab told Jezebel now remember she's his wife Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and with all how he had slain all okay all means all all the prophets with the sword and when I read that I can't help you know I have this this picture of Ahab almost like a simp you know and you'll see why here in a second okay I almost picture him going back to Jezebel and just hoping and this is just my opinion okay you're just hoping man when I tell my wife this maybe she'll come around right because there's a lot of people like that that don't get the reprobate doctrine they don't get it once you're a child of the devil you're always the child of the devil once you're the child of God you're always the child of God so I almost wonder if he goes like I'm gonna tell her this and maybe this will change her mind and I'll actually be able to be king you know again that's just kind of how I view Ahab it doesn't say that but that's just you know that's just my own little opinion there but look at verse number two says so after Ahab tells his wife these things look what it says then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah saying so let the gods do to me and more also if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time came now look at verse number three and when he saw that he arose and went for his life and came to Beersheba which belongeth to Judah and left his servant there so I want to draw your attention to these two words at the beginning of verse verse number three where it says and when he saw that okay what did he see well obviously Jezebel sent the messenger to him but what is it that he actually saw okay and what he saw was that Ahab is not in charge okay Ahab is not really calling the shots yes he is named the king of the northern kingdom of Israel we get that we understand that but who ultimately is in charge who is running the political show it's almost like a Hillary Clinton thing here okay remember Bill and who's old enough to remember that that rain there yeah yeah the 90s right yeah you know brother Joe right you know there was this this joke around in the 90s it was it was true okay when Bill Clinton was president the United States people would call him the first man yeah because Hillary was always the one out there you know proclaiming this and proclaiming that and and she's a Jezebel of sorts in fact I don't know why I saw this I got this video recommended to me and it was like a 60 minutes interview with Bill Clinton back in the 90s over the whole Monica Lewinsky thing and Hillary Clinton's there and she's like I'm standing behind my man because I love him and this and that and she's just going on lying right and this like light falls right behind him and almost hits him and then she blasts themes like three different ways just boom real quick in the way she said it I'll have to pull it up for you guys after the service the way she said that blast me I was just like whoa okay that I mean that came out quick from the heart like like that that there just shed light you know that I was like that's Jezebel you know that's just like she's literally calling shots and obviously I believe both of the Clintons are wicked I believe that a habs better better human being than Bill Clinton here but what Elijah the Prophet saw is he literally sees that she's calling the shots because a hab where where's he at I mean why isn't he why does he gonna say why is he like hold on hold on it was it was miraculous just well you should have seen it a hab I mean he I mean Elijah he drenched the offering in water and the fire came down and licked up everything and it wasn't a drop left and then Elijah prayed seven times and the rain came look it's raining she don't want to hear none of that she wouldn't hear none of that and he knows that and Elijah sees the situation for what it is and he realizes a habs not gonna help him and in that moment he forgets the one who can help him in will help him which is God and so he is in I mean he's literally fearing for his life he sees that Jezebel is the real ruler naive a hab I mean think about this who's the one ultimately responsible for getting all the prophets I mean yeah it's a hab you know he's he's married to her he helped facilitate bail worship and all that and I'm gonna keep calling a bail until the end of the series I know somebody wrote down on the sidewalk out there that I need to learn how to pronounce ball or bail whatever I'm just gonna keep calling bail I don't care the guy's a cluck anyway it's not even a real God okay so it doesn't matter but the point is Jezebel was the driving force into getting the prophets of God out that's what Satanists do okay when Satanists are in power they want to remove God's people because we are the literal true resistance we're what stop that agenda we are the salt of the earth in the light of the world I mean that rings true from the beginning of the Bible all the way to the end okay so he sees this here he sees chest balls in charge I need to leave I need to get out of here because a hab even though he saw the miracles even though he took part in that meal he ain't gonna help me okay so look at verse number four it says but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness okay so I mean like a ha I'm sorry Elijah he flees the country okay he goes down to Jude to Judah he leaves his servant there verse number four but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat under a juniper tree and he requested for himself that he might die and said it is enough now Oh Lord take away my life for I am not better than my father's okay so you know when you read that there what is he saying well it's kind of feeling sorry for himself I bet everybody in here at some point in our lives can look to this situation here and be like yeah I've felt that way okay if not there may come a day where you do feel like this so you're gonna want to pay attention to see what happens how does he get over this how does he go from a brave man to a caveman what does that cave do for him and then you'll see the rest of it here in a moment but you know literally what he's saying here he's like I'm not greater than any of my father's so he's literally saying these people are worse than they were in the days of Samuel they're worse than you know then then the prophets who came before me he's like I'm not better than those guys so there's no way I can make a difference look God's not looking for somebody who's just better at speaking or just better at this he's looking for somebody who has a heart and has some zeal that is what God wants if you're zealous you've got the truth God can use you okay so don't ever forget that and don't get hung up on they say well I'm not as good as this person I'm not as good as that person doesn't matter do you want to serve God and if you do and you've got that zeal God will use you he might bring you to the cave to get some rest and to get some nourishment and to get built up that's okay that is needful that's necessary we need that from time to time but the point is don't quit on yourself okay because as soon as you do that I mean God can't use us you know we're a lot like electricity you know like like like a load remember that that illustration I did several months ago where I plugged a fan in in an order for that fan to work what does it have to have it has to basically have the capability to allow electricity to run through it right well you know it's like that with the Holy Ghost right I mean obviously we're all indwelt by the Holy Ghost if you're saved you have the Holy Ghost but what separates somebody who can do work for God versus somebody who just can't and it's just their will that's what it is people who just decided our hearts you know for whatever reason I'm not as good as this person I've done too much in the past or whatever I can't do it you know God's like hey I can't use that I can't use you because you just won't work I can't flow through you God is simply just looking for somebody to say Lord I'm here please use me I know I'm not the best at this or this but hey I've got this gift I've got that gift doesn't matter you know think about Moses okay we're gonna talk about Moses here in a minute you know Moses what was his resistance when God called him I'm not eloquent you know God's like hey I designed the mouth I control that I can help you I can still use you and what ultimately happened God still used Moses okay so just never forget that Elijah here he's in this situation where he realizes he has not even calling the shots he he probably thought you know when they did this great sacrifice and all the prophets of Baal were gone he probably thought man this is what's gonna change there's gonna be mass revival and it didn't come Jezebel's like oh you're dead okay and so he's confused he's kind of like John the Baptist was kind of like the disciples were right and we all will find ourselves in those positions at certain times in our life so let's move on here look at verse number five it says and as he lay and slept under a juniper tree behold then an angel touched him and said unto him arise and eat and he looked and behold there was a cake bacon on the coals and a cruise of water at his head and he did eat and drink and laid him down again verse 7 and the angel of the Lord came again the second time and touched him and said arise and eat because the journey is too great for thee so when I read these here you know my mind automatically goes on offices I've been studying this but the first place it went to was obviously what we talked about last Sunday morning John the Baptist in prison okay and he's doubting he's like are you the one that is supposed to say are you the Messiah right Jesus obviously what does he do gives him the Word of God says hey you know this is what's gonna make you sure don't forget John you were the one that Isaiah prophesied you were the one that was talked about and I knew that I knew you before you were even born okay and he gives him that comfort and strength with which I believe supplied him with a great encouragement until the moment he died and then the next thing I think about is John chapter 21 when Peter's like well this didn't work out like a thought you know I thought I was gonna be benign the son of Jehoiada or maybe you know you know the sons of Zariyya and none of that happened Jesus died and you know who knows what's gonna happen next is I go fishing right the disciples are like yeah let's go fishing okay and then what happens they don't catch anything they're toiling they're not catching anything and then finally the Lord on the shore unbeknownst to them says hey cast thy nets over here right and so they catch him and all of a sudden they're like wait a second here that's the Lord and so they work real hard to get all that fish to shore right and they get to shore what happens what do you see you see and you read how Jesus already has bread and he has fish over coals right and how often do we find ourselves in that position to where we're toiling and we're just trying to do the work that God's already done you know yeah they get to shorten like they got all this fish and dinner's already done okay that's how the Lord works he does the work for us that's what he's doing here in these verses with Elijah you know Elijah's you know just just obviously he's distraught he's confused he's afraid he's fearing for his life and what does the Lord do it doesn't belittle him doesn't rag on him doesn't cut him down he just simply feeds him allows him to get rest feeds him allows him to get rest and that's what we need to do when we find ourselves in these fearful situations we need to go back slow down take a look at things get some rest take a nap and just just recharge and then get after it because the answers to all of our problems in some way shape or form are always found in this book if we can't discover that you know sometimes you know we get in these situations where we're panicked you know what you do in that situation you go find someone else who's thinking clearly thinking level-headed and you go to them you talk to that person about what's going on with you and then they from a calm perspective can supply you with that bread with that meal with that nourishment you know what I'm saying with that comfort and get you back on track that's why we need each other that's why church is important that's why we have such a big problem with these people that want to cut down church and say oh well churches wherever two or three are gathered together you don't need to go to a building you know you know there's a lot of things you don't need to do but if you don't do them you're gonna have a lot of trouble okay you know yeah there's only one thing you must do to be saved but there's a lot of things we should do after that and that's what the whole Biles for I mean you know part of all that is preserving what's going on out here so let's take a look here let's move on look at verse number eight he says Andy arose and did eat and drink and went in the strength of that meat now here's a very interesting thing 40 days and 40 nights unto Horeb the mount of God now keep your place right there but go back in the Old Testament if you would to the book of Exodus so Genesis Exodus go to Exodus chapter number 24 Exodus chapter number 24 let's take a look at some here so one of the things that I see in this chapter is I see some parallels between Elijah's ministry here and Moses okay now I'm not saying I'm not getting up here and you know gonna argue over who the two prophets are at the at the end I don't have time to get into that but I do think that it's very interesting in the parallel here you often will see this you'll see Moses and Elijah somehow connected and then obviously at the Mount of Transfiguration you see Moses and Elijah and so that take that for what it is but Exodus 24 look down at verse I don't see the verse number 17 so verse 17 says this says and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring foul fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel so we're gonna come back to that here in a moment so don't forget that phrase they're devouring fire so the sight of the glory of the Lord came now look at verse 18 and Moses went into the midst of the cloud and got him up into the mount and Moses was in the mount 40 days and 40 nights I don't believe that these things are in the Bible by coincidence okay I believe that God has preserved these things in a manner for us to tell us something to show us something and to teach us something and one of the things that was supposed to be pulled from this lesson was the very fact that generations coming on the scene later that would read these things would say yes this belongs in the Bible okay because you have a lot of people that come along and say well that doesn't really belong there that's like apocryphal that's like extra biblical type stuff well God always leaves these nuggets where you can tie it back to another book and so it's very easy for us in my opinion to say yes this belongs in the Bible you know because there's all sorts of weird doctrines out you know there's the book of Elijah out there you know apparently and people sometimes when we knock on their doors they'll point to that what about the book of Elijah it says this and this and this it contradicts the rest of the Bible and it's like yeah so it's why are you talking about it I mean if it contradicts the Bible we reject it just like if so-called science contradicts the Bible we reject it if archaeology contradicts the Bible we reject it if some bonehead scholar goes and digs up a piece of paper and it has some Bible verses that seem different we reject it okay I mean that's how we operate so you know keep your place there cuz I want to come back to this verse here in a little bit but let's go back to first Kings chapter 19 all right so let's read on here and so we're gonna read some verses and we're gonna kind of come back and explain all of this here but let's look at verse number nine so it says and he came thither unto a cave and lodge there so remember God has told him to go to this cave so in the process of him being brave to all of a sudden fleeing Jezebel this tiny woman who paints her face and you know is an absolute Satanist isn't that crazy though the things that'll you know little scare people it's like you weren't scared of 850 people they hated your guts you know these prophets you weren't scared of Ahab though he was looking for you you know you weren't scared of any that but all of a sudden Jezebel says it and you know he's scared and it's because he understood okay it's because he saw where the real power was where the real shot caller if you will was he saw that and he understood that but what does God do he brings him to this cave to recharge and to teach him a lesson to show him something here let's take a look at what that is so verse nine and he came there there unto a cave and lodged there and behold the word of the Lord came to him okay and said Randy said unto him what doest thou hear Elijah okay we're gonna come back and break that down here in a moment look at his answer he said I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant thrown down thine altars and slain thy prophets with the sword and I even I only am left and they seek my life to take it away so again God drives him to this cave here the word of the Lord comes to him in this cave this is a good thing God is teaching him something here we'll look at that here more closely in a moment look at verse 11 and he and he said go forth and stand upon the mountain before the Lord and behold the Lord passed by okay this is key here the Lord passed by and a great strong wind rent the mountains and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord now don't miss this here it says but the Lord was not in the wind okay so what's going on here okay so the Lord passes by so Elijah like Moses is in this rock and some people say it was the same one the Bible doesn't say that but you know he's in the same area same same mountain cave same same spot basically or area and the Lord passes by and all of a sudden the mountains rent what does that mean the mountains tore they they they they broke look what it says about the rocks it says they break in pieces the rocks before the Lord but the Lord was not in the wind so in other words the Lord didn't say okay win destroy these rocks just the fact that the Lord passed by okay that was the result that is what happened so look what it says next okay so it says but the Lord was not in the wind and after the wind an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake verse 12 and after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire a still small voice okay so we're gonna back up and just break this down okay so we have the first thing that happens after the Lord passes by what is that it's the wind okay and then you have the quake the earthquake and then you have the fire and then you have the still small voice you have four things okay we're gonna take a look at the first three and then we'll explain the significance of number four so what does the wind represent here well obviously we saw physically what happened physically what happened is the mountains tore it was just a magnificent sight I would imagine rocks just breaking in pieces I mean could you imagine wind so strong just doing that just tearing rocks apart that would terrify anybody in here okay well what does that mean for Elijah why is God showing him this well what I think is going on is that when you're reading through the book of Kings right you're you're like okay you know Jeroboam the son of Nebat you know he sets up this false religion and then it's just bad King you know you Zimrai, Omri, Tibni you just got all these guys and there's Ahab and all his wickedness and all of a sudden boom here blows in Elijah right isn't that kind of how it reads when you're reading this all the way through Elijah literally comes up like it like the wind and this is a good thing he just blows right and just shows right up and all of a sudden the northern kingdom of Israel is in trouble because their Baal worship is now being challenged being called into question so I believe what that section represents is basically that game how Elijah showed up as a whirlwind well what about the earthquake well remember what we read in Romans a couple weeks ago that Elijah interceded against Israel okay you know people always tell us today right you know if any nation comes against Israel or anyone they're gonna get destroyed Elijah doesn't get destroyed he actually what does he do he prays that God would withhold rain why does he do that because Elijah knows the law he knows that that is what God said that he would do if the children of Israel were to ever go as far as they did okay so Elijah prays for no rain there's no rain Ahab the the government they're after him they are upset so literally what does that do that shakes people up that is a quaking okay it shakes people up here's another thing that basically shook people up the fact that he went and took care of a widow woman that wasn't even in the nation of Israel okay that shook people up in fact that was so catastrophic to the Jews that when Jesus preached that in Luke chapter number four they tried to throw him off a cliff okay so that event shook people shook Hebrews and Jews for centuries and still shakes them to this very day so overall Elijah shook the nation by his actions cable what about the fire well go back to Exodus 24 real quick okay remember what are we talking about here we're talking about how the Lord passed by and the result like this residual stuff that happened was the result of God passing by okay now remember God told Moses you can't look on my face and live and he said I'm gonna pass by you and you're gonna see my hinder parts and things of this nature here and part of that is the sight of the glory of the Lord so in verse 17 look what it says it says and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel so obviously when Moses went to meet the Lord and now just that event was enough to frighten people almost to death okay and so what I believe that we're reading here is literally this fire preaching that Ahab did I'm sorry that Elijah did I get him mixed up sometimes I was just just for you mean so obviously what does Elijah do he comes up to Ahab like a wind shakes him up and basically says hey go get these prophets of Baal go get these prophets in the grove and let's have a battle let's see who's God is the real one okay that's what we looked at last week he confronts his confrontational method here which was endorsed by God isn't it was literally a picture of fire right we need this preaching that's like a whirlwind right that shakes people that that's fire in brimstone that's literally how Elijah was Elijah was a hard preacher he was not like these guys that we have today he wasn't like the scribes that didn't teach with any authority no he was all about the Word of God it's so much so that when he went to Ahab he was able to be that bold he was able to take on those 450 because he knew what the Lord had told him said you know the Lord said hey obviously I'm gonna come down here and take up this offering and demonstrate to my people that I am the true God so that represents the fire now let's talk about this game all of these things are necessary okay because these three are different than the fourth one that's still small voice what these three things do is necessary they're great they're outstanding in a spiritual way we all can you know find these these attributes here and do these things but they don't connect us to God they don't maintain that fellowship with God okay these things picture the works that we do so in other words we're not supposed to live in the past we're not supposed to live in the things that we've done yeah we should talk about them yeah we should be proud of them yeah we should be thankful for the things that we've done we should be thankful that we've gone to a lot of these small towns around here this year and gotten people saved we should be thankful that we stood up to the bullies and they left we should be thankful for that but we shouldn't stop there because the moment you stop the moment that momentum stops we put ourselves in a position to be succumbed to fear okay and so what is the next thing that happens well look at verse number 12 and after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the fire so if the Lord's not in any of these three things what is he in he's in the word he's in this voice look at it and after the fire a still small voice obviously this is the Word of God so essentially Elijah he goes from a brave man to becoming a caveman which is a good thing to a dray man because the rest of the chapter what is it about it's God telling Elijah finally now that you're rested now that I have you alone now that I have you in an understanding posture okay this is what's gonna happen you're gonna go anoint this king of Syria you're going to anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi and you're going to anoint Elisha the prophet and these three are gonna deal with these people that comforts him that edifies him that connects him to God God is in that voice he is in the Word of God he is in the Bible not just the works we are supposed to do the works we are supposed to be like the wind and go all over the place we're supposed to shake people up like John the Baptist did like Elijah did we are supposed to spit fire out into the community but it's that still small voice it's the Word of God that ultimately will drive us to doing more and keeping us consistent in winning the race that is set before us so that's a mouthful let's move on here so what we're gonna do now is we're gonna kind of back up okay we're not gonna read everything again but I want to highlight something here that God also teaches Elijah so real quickly back to verse 9 okay so Elijah's in the cave now notice this here notice what God does God asks him a question okay he says what doest thou hear Elijah verse 10 what does Elijah do he gives an answer okay well look at verse number 13 look at the end of the verse rather what doest thou hear Elijah so God notice God is asking a question of what okay now verse 10 Elijah gives an answer verse 14 Elijah gives the same answer okay now now don't miss this here God asks what Elijah gives the why okay you see that Elijah gives why he's there but that's not the question God asked what are you doing here what doest thou hear Elijah what doest thou hear Elijah both times Elijah gives the why okay so what does that mean well why questions are asked for an explanation or a reason okay that's typically why we ask people hey why did you do that give me a reason give me an explanation God is asking what what questions are used to ask questions about things or actions so what God is literally asking Elijah is what can you justify your actions why are you here okay why is he like what are you doing here like what what is this profiting you running to Judea and then going further south what is that doing Elijah what are you doing okay he just gave him a lesson about the wind the quake the fire he's literally showing him his ministry before his face in the physical and hoping he connects it okay which he obviously does and so God asks in that and really what God is looking for is what are you doing he wants Elijah to basically say yeah I'm running from Jezebel I'm not trusting you okay there is a difference between what and why okay and so again obviously the application there is for us a lot of times you're reading the Bible you may hear a sermon preached and the Bible is asking you what are you doing and we respond with the why which oftentimes are just excuses okay God's saying love go of the excuses Elijah and get to work so let's move on here look at verse number 15 it says and the Lord said unto him go return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus when thou comest anoint Hazeel to be king over Syria right again these is his ale of the children of Israel no okay I bring that up because people today obviously Zionists you know oh they had no dealings with other well here God is gonna use a Gentile nation to punish the northern kingdom of Israel I mean isn't that what it says there look at verse 16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi and of course I'm looking forward to this one of my favorite characters in the Bible is so God's telling him hey you're gonna anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi shout thou anoint to be king over Israel and Elisha the son of Shaphat of a Belmoyah I butchered that but look at the rest of the verses shout thou anoint to be the prophet or a prophet in thy room verse 17 and it shall come to pass that him that escape with the sword of his ale shall Jehu slay and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay now obviously this is a picture of the father son the Holy Ghost no one can escape God okay no one is escaping the triune God that we serve and that obviously just a quick picture of that you can find pictures of the Trinity throughout the entire Bible and so you know these people that are just oneness and against the stuff it just drives me absolutely nuts verse 18 it says this yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal and every mouth which hath not kissed it so why say that because once a person bows the knee kisses Baal or basically yokes up with Baal decides in their heart they're gonna trust Baal or Satan to be his follower that's it they're done okay that's why this is written in this manner here okay and God's saying Elisha I'm sorry Elijah guess what you're not alone hey I've reserved seven thousand they have not bowed the knee okay just because you don't know who they are right now doesn't mean they aren't there you're not alone because a lot of times we feel alone you know a lot of times we feel alone out here but we're really not there are a lot of people in the Treasure Valley that agree with us a lot and they'll message all the time you know with ten you know ten minutes from the church watch your videos look so great thank you keep doing what you're doing you know don't stop you know even people I have this guy I've had several these I've shown some of you guys this you know I don't go to church man but if I did I'd go to yours it's like oh man that's just the worst to hear that because it's like you know these people are out there and they could be a powerhouse for God and it's like ah but nonetheless it's still comforting isn't it it's still encouraging when you get those types of messages so there's that verse 19 look what it says next says so he departed dance and found Elisha the son of Shaphat who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him and he with the 12th and Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him so he's doing exactly what God said so remember he went from a brave man to a caveman he learned his lesson in that cave in the time in the wilderness so to speak and now he is a drave he is a driven man he now has that encouragement he has that right understanding and so he's doing the Word of God and he finds Elisha cast his mantle on him verse 20 and he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said let me I pray thee kiss my father and my mother and then I will go or I will follow thee and he said unto him go back again for what have I done to thee okay now obviously we took a look at this a few weeks ago because you know obviously reading the Gospels where Jesus is trying to get disciples and people like oh Lord let me go back and bury my father you know let me go back and do this everybody has excuses here okay and Elijah's like hey what have I done you know you want to go back go back but obviously he means it he's Elisha is sincere he is gonna come back but look at verse 21 it says 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 then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him so just a quick picture that I see here at the end of the chapter and then we're done so again I don't believe that these numbers in here are in here for coincidence I'm not a big super numerology guy but these things got to make you think when you read them you know why is it why does it highlight the fact that he has 12 yoke of oxen you know Elisha okay well obviously he pictures a person working on Israel I mean insert yourself back into this time maybe you're one of these seven thousand okay you know I bet you a lot of those people probably thought like man I really hope this kingdom gets restored I really wish we could just become twelve tribes again have our King you know and just be a full united nation again okay and that's kind of what I see here with Elisha plowing with these twelve yoke of oxen okay but what is he what is required of Elisha to put that all away okay get rid of that let go of that because God is literally done I mean from here on out things just get worse for the whole nation up until the time of Christ when he tells him you know the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits there up so what I see here is Elisha just giving up on the physical nation and running to the Word of God where obviously the true nation of Israel always is just because the northern kingdom of Israel is called the northern kingdom of Israel doesn't mean that they are you know special it doesn't mean that they're all going to heaven in other words okay so even within Israel there's always a remnant a real Israel okay and I'm not talking about the one today I'm just simply saying that though it has the name Israel okay doesn't mean they're all getting saved doesn't mean they all get a free pass or anything like that it's simply giving us a clue to what was gonna happen in the future okay the true Israel of God follows the Word of God just like we do today okay if somebody comes up to you and say well I'm a Jew you know people do that to us all the time out here don't they all the time you sure you're gonna have I'm a Jew boom shut the door or once in a while they'll invite me and Jeff inside you know and try to convert us you know they are just just mock us or whatever but the point is so what first of all the northern kingdom of Israel are not Jews they're Hebrews and just because they're Hebrews doesn't mean they're special the people of God the true people of God have always been the people who have made the Lord their God okay and so that's the lesson there okay Elijah's done with the or Elisha is done with the physical going to the Word of God and now it's it's highlighting a spiritual aspect because these people are literally going to clean house you're gonna see Hazele just basically mop a lot of Israel you're gonna see G who just go absolutely crazy and mop everything that he didn't get and obviously Elisha himself he's gonna handle some serious business as well and so we're gonna leave it on that picture and then we will pick it up in chapter 20 next week so let's bow our heads and have a word prayer thank you so much Lord for these great great truths in the Bible just pray you help us to remember these things in the plan to our lives in Jesus name I pray amen