Under a Tree – 1

                                                                         Under a Tree – 1

Subject – Finding the Courage to Move from Where You Are

By Rick Welborne

1 Kings 19:1-8 (NLT2)
¹  When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal.
²  So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”
³  Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
⁴  Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
⁵  Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!”
⁶  He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
⁷  Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
⁸  So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 

--Today we are starting a new series that I feel is going to resonate with many. Sometimes we find ourselves in a place much like Elijah. He had been greatly and miraculously used by God. Now it’s dark. 

--Someone was sharing with me their frustration with life. This person had been very successful, plenty of finances, surrounded by family and friends, and had a miraculous encounter with Jesus…healed. 

--I told this person…ninety percent of your life absolutely could not be better. The problem is that 10% that you cannot get where you want it to be. You pray, you fast, you beg God but it’s sucking the life out of you.

--This is not something you have dealt with for a few days, a few months, this is your thorn in the flesh. How did you know? I knew because I have had the 10% syndrome also making me feel the same way. 

--Why is human nature that way, 90% of our lives can be wonderful but we can’t seem to enjoy it because the 10% keeps us pre-occupied with hurt and frustration and emptiness. Where am I going?

--Why has this journey with Jesus turned into a wearisome journey? For those who deny it, I will give you the benefit of the doubt that your life is always all together. 

--I think Simon Peter was in the middle of one of those dark road experiences when he said, “I am going fishing.” My guess is Peter was on the edge of physical, spiritual, and psychological burnout.

--Too much was happening too fast in his life and he was struggling to process it all. Judas betrayed Jesus, he denied Him, the trial, the crucifixion, and rumors of Jesus’ resurrection was taking its toll.

--The inner world of Peter could only absorb so much and we could argue he should have been informed and ready, the truth is, he wasn’t. Neither are we ready all the time when things mount up.

--He became numb and retreated to the only thing he knew he could do with certainty…go fishing. Maybe going back to what he was familiar with would restore what he had lost. What’s your default?

--When things do not go well for us we all have a default mechanism that we run to…hopefully it is God, but many times, that is not the case. Porn, drugs, relationships, alcohol…maybe you go fishing or play tennis.

--Peter’s struggle, Elijah’s struggle with all this weariness did not go on forever. Jesus showed up for Peter and the angel of the Lord (the pre-incarnate Christ) shows up with loving kindness for Elijah.

--The similarities are amazing…they show up with food, water, and hope. Jesus is doing the same thing for you and me today, He is showing up with food (the Word), water (Holy Spirit), and with hope of a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT2) ¹¹  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 

--Jesus shows up to encourage…He dealt with the pain in Peter’s life of guilt and shame, He comes to restore us. To heal us. The mission of Jesus is to get us to the place where we say…I can’t stay under this tree. 

--We think we can arrive at this place of contentment by doing more, if we are busier and going at a break-neck speed, we can arrive at our destination faster. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way.

--We find that every mile we travel we grow more and more frustrated and tired. I must admit that there is no fatigue like thinking I have to get myself to a destination in a hurry. End up under a broom tree.

1 Kings 19:3-4 (NLT2)                                                                                                                                   ³  Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
⁴  Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” 

--We have all seen people crash and burn. Others seem to just disappear and we wonder where in the world did they go? Under a bridge.

--If we are fortunate enough to have not crashed (that anyone knows about) or have not disappeared we keep pressing forward knowing we can’t go back but we are becoming wearier. Exhaustion.

--We have all had well-meaning Christian friends who have given us the plan, the formula, the teaching, the conference, the evangelist, or whatever that guaranteed would bring us out of our valley. It didn’t.

--What I quickly discovered was that there are no shortcuts, no gimmicks, no easy ways to cultivate an intimacy with God and attain the resulting passion that should carry one through life’s journey.

--Listen to Elijah’s words (the guy who just called fire down from heaven and killed 850 false prophets), I have had enough, Lord. Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors who have already died. 

--How many of you are glad that God has not answered all of our prayers. We can try the methods and the gimmicks there are no shortcuts or no easy ways to cultivate a close loving relationship with God.

--What I do know about being in this valley of the shadow of death is this…I can’t stay under this tree. I need someone who can bring me out and renew the passion that will carry me through.

--We feel one more criticism from our spouse, one more negative thing from a church member, one more straw on the camel’s back and something is going to break. We hear about a wonderful breakthrough:

Gordon MacDonald – It dawned on me that I and scores of others were paying a terrible price for this search for some magical breakthrough. We were trying harder, working longer, breathing heavier, and getting wearier. And it was an unpleasant journey when it should not have been. We would have never admitted it, but we were tired of God, of faith, and faith’s people. Now, how could a call to abundant living turn into such dullness of spirit. That we should tire of Him was not God’s fault. Rather this weariness calls into question the system of spirituality many of us have been taught. 

--The Bible is filled with story after story about great breakthroughs that people have experienced, but if you think like I do, you ask what happened during those times that are not recorded in the Word? Joseph.

--When he was a teenager he was given great promises. Best estimates say that it was about a 22-year process to get him to the prize. I have asked the question how did he handle the meanness of his brothers, Potiphar’s wife? 

--Yes, we have glimpse of his heart and endurance but we do not see it all. Just like with each other, we get small windows into each other’s lives but we do not know what the whole story is.

1. Between the promise and the prize there is a process.

--You see; it is during the process where the battle is won or lost. We can all come and worship God on Sundays or Wednesdays, but it is a long lonely time from one service to the next.

--Until we become transparent about the alone times and the struggles we have, it will be hard for us to find healing and wholeness in our lives. We all have been hurt or we have hurts we are dealing with now.

Luke 4:18 (NCV)
¹⁸  “The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly… 

--There it is…God sent Me to free those who have been treated unfairly. During the quiet times we try to process why people and even why God is treating us unfairly. It hurts. Marriage, family, church, work.

--We have to be willing to get past our stage face and be honest with ourselves, honest with others, and honest with God. Between the promise and the prize there is a process and it hurts. 

2. It is much easier to tell others how to get out of their pit than to get out of ours. 

Psalm 40:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
²  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
³  He has put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. 

--We just want to hear he is out of the pit but he is in a time of waiting (process), a time in a horrible pit, and a time of being stuck…miry clay. We must realize we can’t stay under this tree. 

--The purpose of this series and these verses, God wants to bring you out of your pit, to set your feet upon the Rock (Jesus), and to put a new song in your heart. 

--Many need a song…I need a song. You cannot understand what I am talking about today, please pray for those of us who need their spiritual passion to be renewed by what God does in us. Take notes. 

3. I can’t stay here.

--So why am I preaching this series? I believe there is a real group of American Christians who are growing more and more weary as they continue on this journey.

MacDonald – We have tried the gimmicks, the programs, the promises of a thousand and one gurus of the faith. Here and there one view or another seems to catch on. But for many, the journey is a bore-some task, but we can’t turn back, but we’re almost too tired to go on. 

1 Kings 19:4 (NLT2) ⁴  Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” 

--Elijah had had it and many of you, many of us, have had it too. I see it in your faces. Elijah was physically, spiritually, and emotionally worn out…burn out. God had a word for him and for us!

Get up and eat! Declare…I Can’t Stay Under This Tree Anymore!