“Encouragement For The Discouraged” I Kings 19:1-10 & 13-18 Compass of Salinas/Marina Life Group Discussions February #1

1. Please read 1 Kings 19:1-18. Several times and slowly for understanding. • In a couple of sentences describe what is happening here. Why is Elijah in the desert?

2. Consider this: Discouragement almost cut short Elijah’s ministry. Elijah was a towering figure of courage in the Bible. Of all the great personalities in the Old Testament, the word ‘BRAVE’ fits Elijah best. He confronts evil in the politics of his day. He stands alone before Ahab, the king and Jezebel, the queen, and says that God’s judgment is coming on them for their evil deeds. That was brave. And then he challenged idol worship by God’s people. And he faced them alone. Courage. BRAVE. Impervious to intimidation. That’s Elijah. There is a statue on Mt Carmel of Elijah that reflects his courage. When I take tours there and read the passage of him challenging Jezebel’s 850 priests on Mt Carmel and the fire from God coming down from heaven, we imagine the courage of Elijah. It is a spectacular spot. But the rest of the story is that a few days later Jezebel sends a message to him saying that she will have him killed as revenge for the slaughter of her priests on Mt Carmel. And he flees. He runs 3 days far into the Sinai Desert and collapses there under a juniper bush. The good news is that you don’t need to know Hebrew to see the obvious which is that Elijah was not afraid of death. In verse 5 Elijah says “Take my life. Kill me. I am no better than my ancestors.” He is not afraid of death. He wants to die. Why? Because of what he saw. And what was that? That Jezebel is still in control. The miracle on Mt Carmel didn’t change anything. The people did not revolt against her policy of national idol worship!!! Mt Carmel, as great as it was, did not produce change in the people. It was all for nothing he thought. • Sum up in a couple of sentences why that quote says Elijah was depressed and ready to give up.

• Is there someone you have done your best to get to change destructive, self-sabotaging habits but your words have had no effect? Can you explain in a few sentences why people refuse to change, why people reject God’s Word that calls for something to change?

• Here are some reasons people won’t change. Circle the one you think is the biggest reason and explain why. o Too lazy—changing a habit takes work. o They don’t see their behavior as wrong since most everyone they know is this way. o There is a payoff the way are that they don’t want to lose – a bad temper helps control people and get their way. o They would lose friends if they changed – eg, gossip makes friends. o I’m too busy to think about changing; it’s working for me so why bother? o Honestly, I don’t much care what Jesus thinks. o ______What would you add as to why people don’t change.

3. Elijah is discouraged because his words have fallen on deaf ears. The people have not changed despite seeing the miracle of fire from Heaven. They definitely believe in God. They simply resist change. So consider this quote about how God helped him overcome his discouragement. 1st, God tells him; Persevere: Giving up stops the miracle God is bringing. Surely someone here is thinking, “Pastor Mike, you don’t know how hard I’ve tried and what I have suffered.” And I don’t know. But I can say that I have been through plenty of dark valleys. I know what it’s like to be in your shoes and feel myself start to slowly give up. I wonder if anyone here is slowly giving up? When that happens to me I talk to myself and say remember that when we give up, we guarantee the results we most dread. Success is usually a little ways beyond discouragement and the temptation to give up! I read a marvelous biography of Walt Disney. He was fired as a cartoonist because his bosses said he was not creative. But he didn’t quit on his dream. He rented a small room in a seedy part of town and kept drawing. Mice were a problem. They would run along his bookshelves and scurry across the floor. Guess where he got the idea for Mickey Mouse? Albert Einstein said, “I’m not smarter than other people. I just keep trying longer than most people.” So many good things don’t happen because people give up too soon. I read a book entitled What Sport Tells Us About Life and the big conclusion was that talent is overrated. The author said there are lots of talented athletes who don’t make it because they get discouraged and quit. His research showed that perseverance is maybe even more important than talent! Elijah told God he was giving up. And God said, “No you aren’t. I’m sending you back to anoint a new king in Assyria and your successor whose name is Elisha. Go back and keep on preaching. Persevere Elijah. OVERCOME the temptation to give up! Good things are going to happen if you don’t quit.” • Underline the most important sentence and say why it matters to you.

• (private and personal)What or with whom in your life do you need the power from God to persevere and resist the temptation of giving up?

4. Too often people give up because they can’t see God doing anything. Nothing is changing, so they give up just before the miracle happens. Remember that often God is working with a stubborn person, and that takes time……. Consider the following quote: 2ndly, just because you can’t see God working doesn’t mean He isn’t! You cannot see the wind but it can power a sailboat. You cannot see oxygen but it keeps you alive. You cannot see God, but that does not mean He is not working. God’s Word says in Hebrews 11 verse 1 “Faith is being certain of what we do not see.” God said, ‘You don’t see it but there were 7,000 more men just as faithful as you are. I have been working even if you don’t see it.’ Genesis describes the creation of the universe as ‘ex nihilo’, which literally is translated ‘OUT OF NOTHING’. There was nothing for God to work with. In the beginning there was nothing. Then out of nothing God created the universe. Our God is the ex nihilo God. He does miracles out of nothing, no raw material. You may see nothing in your marriage for God to work with, but He is the ex-nihilo God. You may be about to give up on something as hopeless but God is the ex nihilo God. If you believe in the God of the Bible, then ‘impossible’ should not be in your vocabulary. God is the ex nihilo God! Catherine Marshall was a great Christian woman who wrote many books. She wrote that she grew up in a negative family and later had to break the habit of negativity. She wrote “My negative attitude blocked God in my life. Negativity is a lack of faith in Almighty God and that is a miracle killer!” • Underline the most important sentence and say why.

• Catherine said “My negative attitude BLOCKED God in my life, that negativity was a miracle killer.” Think about it: How can being negative BLOCK God or kill a miracle?

• All around you – maybe in your family or marriage – are negative people. Suggest to the group one or two things we might do to save them from negativity. (Is it making their days bright and happy? How does negativity affect them or others? Etc.)

• Find at least one verse in the Bible to help a negative person become more optimistic and positive. (Use your computer or the tools in the back of your Bible)

5. What does I Thessalonians 5:11 command us to do?

• Do you think Elijah needed someone to do that to him?

6. Consider the following: 3rd, Christianity is personal but it’s not private. Elijah had been operating alone. He had no one to encourage him, no one to challenge his perspective, no one to remind him of God’s promises. So God said go find Elisha. He will be a loyal, strong, encouraging friend. Did you know that God actually commands us to encourage one another? I Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 11 says “Encourage one another and build one another up.” Because it is a commandment, it is actually sin not to encourage others. Does that surprise you? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t need encouragement. Sometimes you may think that someone is so gifted or so strong they don’t need encouragement. You would be wrong. That’s why God commands us to encourage one another. David had Jonathan, Moses had Aaron, Paul…Timothy, and now God gave Elijah…Elisha. • Underline the most important sentence and say why.

• Maybe you are very private and strong. But think about this: Paul was strong. So was Moses and David. But they all needed an Elisha to encourage them. Why do even private, strong people need an Elisha to encourage them?

• We are commanded to encourage others. So…are you on the lookout for people who need encouragement? Honestly, who have you encouraged since Christmas? Maybe the habit of encouraging others is one we need to develop……

Pray for each other.

Memory: “Encourage one another and build one another up.” (I Thessalonians 5:11)