God is Never Finished with us

By Garold Andersen

I want to remind you of how wonderful ministry is. A little outreach from people can bless someone so deeply. The kindness that we can extend to people is a body of living water. It doesn’t have to be extreme, it is simply kindness. If you give a cup of water in Jesus’ name, your reward will be eternal.

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My background is theatre, so when I communicate from the Gospel I like to bring it to life. I think this is one of the most theatrical moments in the Bible, in 1 Kings 18.

The people of Israel have been pulled away from worshipping God. The prophet Elijah said God was going to cause a drought in the land, and it happened. In Chapter 18 Elijah comes back and meets with the people of God who are serving the gods of the land they are in. Baal was one of these gods. They had a god for everything. And Elijah was calling them back to the one true God. he comes to the people and says, ‘Who do you want to serve? All these foreign, stone gods? Or the one true God?’

Then Elijah tells the prophets of Baal to sacrifice to their gods, and if fire comes down and consumes the sacrifice, it will prove that their gods are real. They tried everything they could. They danced; they even began to cut themselves, but nothing happened. Then Elijah pours water on the sacrifice, prays, and fire consumes the offering, the water, and the stones. Then Elijah destroyed the prophets who had been misleading the people. He then prays for rain, and rain begins to come.

Now we get to Chapter 19. Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, so she sent a messenger to Elijah.

1 Kings 19:2

She would sacrifice her own life to destroy his.

1 Kings 19:3-5

Imagine that you are at this scene, and Elijah knows that God is real. He knows what God has spoken to him, and he brings the word of the Lord to the people. But the words of Jezebel struck fear in his heart. As he ran something happened in his heart. He thought he had failed God.

Sometimes when we’re facing the things that we believe God has called us to, we think we only have one chance. We think that if we fail now, it’s over. Elijah has just experienced the power of God in the greatest moment of his life, and the fear of the enemy gripped his heart. Now he says to God that he is worthless.

Consider the response of God. Elijah is asleep, and all his energy was gone. He feels fear, failure, depression, and he is sleeping.

1 Kings 19:5

What’s the most spiritual thing that can happen to him now? An angel tells him to get up and eat some food. We think ministry is the moment where Elijah is calling down the fire from heaven, but now the angel is ministering to Elijah simply with kindness.

1 Kings 19:6-7

In the reality of what this scripture is saying, in Elijah’s exhaustion, he needed food. Sometimes the greatest ministry is to find out what people need.

I once met a couple in Germany who were having terrible problems in their marriage, and my wife went to their house, and they were living in a construction zone. Their floor was cement and the carpet was a roll in the corner. The sink wasn’t working so the wife had to wash the dishes in the bathtub. What these people didn’t need was counselling of some spiritual kind. They needed someone to fix their sink and lay their carpet, and so we did. It transformed their lives. Sometimes ministry isn’t something supernatural. It’s giving someone a ride somewhere. It’s something simple.

Elijah is refreshed, and he knows where he’s going. There has been this fascinating miracle with fire coming down, and now fear is in his heart so he runs to the wilderness. He could run on to Mount Horeb to meet with God, but he doesn’t want to because he feels like he’s really let God down. And this God brought down fire from heaven.

God had told him to come to Mount Horeb to meet him, but Elijah sat there wondering for forty days.

1 Kings 19:9

I often find a question comes into my heart from God when he has a task for me to do. God isn’t going to give Elijah an easy answer because the answers we need are already within ourselves. Questions bring them out of us.

In France we have a house where we invite people who are going through difficult times. It’s a ministry of hospitality and asking questions. When people are really stuck and they don’t know which way to turn, they need to listen to the question.

Elijah finally arrives at the mountain, and God speaks to him and says, ‘What are you doing here?’

1 Kings 19:10

Elijah’s response doesn’t answer God’s question. He talks about all the terrible things that have just happened to him. But God is asking what he is doing here. What is this moment about and how do we go on from here?

I find it so beautiful that the angel ministers to him through food, and the first thing that God does is ask him a question.

1 Kings 19:11-12

One pastor in America, A W Tozer, said that nothing twists or distorts the soul like a misunderstanding of who God is. When we fail, if we understand who God really is, that he is a God of compassion, love and mercy, we are drawn to him. But in this moment, Elijah thinks he is the fire, the earthquake and the wind. God was certainly able to use these things to demonstrate his power, and to lead the children of Israel, but when Elijah comes here feeling so desperate and so down, he lets the wind come, and Elijah realises the power of the wind is not the nature of God.

1 Kgs 19:12-13

Now his heart has been prepared, because in that soft voice he heard the voice of God. Elijah realises it’s not over.

It’s the same question, and Elijah gives the same response, but something has changed. Because now Elijah isn’t trying to defend himself, he is talking about the nature of God towards him.

1 Kgs 19:15-16

There are many people who have said Elijah disappointed God and so God was replacing him. But no. This was the highlight of Elijah’s life.

God said, ‘What are you doing here?’ And then God tells him what he is doing here. He was here to receive the next orders. He wasn’t over. He was getting ready to set up a system that was going to take over from the corruptness. Elijah had not failed, he had done a great work.

If we see God as the heavy task master, we are so fearful of coming to him. Elijah was encouraged by the angel and he faced his fear. He faced the wind and the earthquake and the fire. But God wasn’t in that.

It is so important that we understand the heart and the nature of God. One of the greatest things that Jesus did when he spoke to people was to communicate to them who God is.

Luke 12:36-37

The God that we serve, the God that Elijah went to face, is not a God who is looking to curse us. He is a God who calls us to do great things. When fear is in our heart, God is a God of mercy and compassion. He is a God of service. Elijah came to hear the voice of God, and it is in a whisper that gives him courage.

I don’t know what dreams and thoughts that you have had in your life. I don’t know if you think that you have missed your opportunities. I want to remind you that the reality of God is to be ready with service in your heart. We might think that we’ve failed, but we are ready to do the next thing. The master brings the food and serves us.

Elijah saw a God of power. But he comes down upon his knees to whisper to his children and to ask us questions and to encourage us. That is our awesome God.
God is never finished with us.

Time to Put Jesus First

We make the flimsiest of excuses to live our own lives. But the only true way forward is with Christ first in everything and we need to set the plan for our lives accordingly.

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Previously we looked at the first half of Luke 14 which deals with Jesus having a meal with the Pharisees. It was a trap - they wanted to see if Jesus would heal a man who was there on the Sabbath. He healed the man, and Jesus answered what was in their hearts – is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? Jesus pointed out to them that they would rescue an animal on the Sabbath.

As the people gathered for the meal, Jesus saw them jostling for position. But you have God as your heavenly father and the life of Christ within you, and it is God who will exalt you if you humble yourself. We saw that we should love mercy, do justice, and walk humbly. Woe betide us if we puff ourselves up.

God will honour your stand as a Christian in your place of work. He’s been there all the time, and takes notes. We work as unto God – in all that we do. He’s sorting things out for our future.

In verses 12-13, Jesus says we should not invite those who will invite us back, but should look to those who blind, halt, maimed etc. We should see people as people. Visitors are welcome for who they are and we want to help where we can.

Luke 14:15

My words today will be directed at everyone. This first part may be to do with those people who currently are making an excuse for not becoming a Christian.

Then I will preach to certain individuals God wants to speak to specifically.

Luke 14:15 – 20

Three excuses. It’s odd the way we cling to flimsy excuses. Who would buy a piece of land without having seen it? Who would buy oxen without knowing their strength? Any excuse!

There has been an invitation to you. Jesus is talking here to the Pharisees and is highlighting the fact that they’re being invited to know Him, but in time the Gospel would go to the Gentiles.

God has been clear on you weighing things up as regards becoming a Christian.

Luke 14:21 – 24

Jesus Christ died and rose again from the dead to purchase a people – the Church. And one way or another, God is adding people to His Church. It’s important to those of you who have been weighing things up over the last months to stop making excuses.

You could say from this that God will not always knock at the door of your heart. I’d rather say that God is faithful, and has been nudging your thinking. Some of the excuses you have come up with are so flimsy, it’s ridiculous.

The house of the person giving the dinner party will be filled. Nothing will hinder what God will do for His people and the people He gave His life for. I want to make sure that anyone here is clear that God is being faithful to you in pointing out time after time that now is the time for you to get serious with Him. The invitation has gone out. Three of them came back with flimsy excuses – to do with possessions, with outward wealth, and with the question of what you value most. What is the most important thing in your life?

When Jesus said these words to the people around the meal table, the Pharisees and so on, it was clear what He was saying. The faithfulness of God is that He speaks clearly to you. This hits at the priorities in your life, how you spend your time, your ambitions. But it’s narrowing down to you as an individual.

Luke 14:25 – 27

Why does it use the word 'hate'? I thought the Bible said to honour your father and mother. In this context, 'hate' questions who is the number one in your life. Is it your children, your wife, your husband, yourself?

Jesus is continuing from what He spoke of earlier. He had spoken of those who made excuses because of wealth or natural associations. Now He is saying that we have to be open before God: He should be the number one in our life. Some of you are fed up with your own life, and God will use these words to sort things out.

Now is the time for Jesus Christ to come first. It may be that I’m more concerned about father, mother, children, brothers, children, than Jesus Christ. It may be that I’ve decided to postpone things for a few years, assuming that God will keep me alive to that point when I might think about Him. A flimsy excuse!

How do you hate your own life? For those who are aware of what sin can do in a life, of what it is to be so fed up with yourself, at the things you think and do wrong ... for you it’s not difficult to hate your own life. And it’s when you reach the position where you know you can’t fulfil the law of God, that there is inside you something which takes you the wrong way. We realise as the Holy Ghost convicts us of sin, that our lives stink, and we realise that the only way forward is with Jesus Christ.

There are pressures we’re all facing, and God is asking where we are with the priorities in our lives. What is your current excuse? “I’ve bought some land, bought some oxen, married a wife and involved with the family, involved in sorting things out for myself. I’m more involved with these things than with God.”

Jesus was direct – you can’t be my disciple unless there is nothing in the way of Me. This is a God of love speaking. It’s not a tyrant’s diktat. It’s a God of love.

Luke 14:27 – 30

In a natural sense, we make plans. If we’re going to build a house we want to know we have the funds. You’d plan things so you could finish the house. Now Jesus is asking, "What is the plan?" What is the plan of your life? If I handed out sheets of paper and asked you to write down the first things you want to happen, what would it be? What should be first? The first thing needs to be Jesus Christ first in my life. What I want to do in my life is what God has called me to do. In terms of number of years, I haven’t got much of a life if you compare it to eternity, so I want to fulfil Your purposes in my life.

Luke 14:31 – 32

We’re very good at making plans. True, we need to make plans. We’re good in the natural things. You draw up a business plan. If you’re building, you weigh up what it will cost. You weigh up the odds if you’re going to war. In the natural that’s what you do. So how does that transpose to your relationship with Him? You plan in your life. What’s the plan with Jesus? Well, the plan is Him first, whatever He wants.

Luke 14:33

That’s pretty definitive. You can’t be a disciple of Jesus Christ unless everything else is secondary. “That seems hard.” No.

There are people here now to whom God has been pointing this out. He has been calling you to the ministry of God. He has been faithful in talking to you over the last weeks. And the challenge to you is this verse above. God has been speaking to you specifically. You know He has been talking to you. On the one hand are all the temptations, and on the other hand is what God wants you to do. What is holding you back? Now is the time to address it.

Luke 14:34 – 35

If you dig out the Dead Sea area, apparently it’s full of a number of minerals, and you have to isolate the salt if you want it. What’s the use of what is left?

It’s time for those of you whom God is calling to say, “You have been faithful to me. You have given me those abilities.” God will make provision for you. Get on with it. That’s the requirement. And to everybody, looking at the priorities in our lives, as He sat at the dinner table with the Pharisees and as He talked to the multitude, He wasn’t trying to be a dictator – He was talking about the secret of life. The way forward is Jesus Christ first in my life. Very specific.

Ephesians 2:19 – 22

We all need to take our place in the building fitly framed together, growing to a holy temple in the Lord. Jesus Christ first in my life, and the place I have in the Church of God, reaching out to other people, going out to people in need.

Ephesians 4:14 – 16

Christ is the head. This is His church. I’ve been appointed pastor. That means I’m a servant of all, under Him, who is the shepherd of this church. And if He is lifted up, He draws people to Himself.

So today, the challenge to your heart is whether Jesus Christ is first in your life. Are you sitting there with the excuses, or are you listening? There’s a time when He speaks by His Holy Spirit. There are some here today for whom this is a specific direct challenge to go with God 100%, fulfilling the ministry He has given you to do.

We each have our part to play, in the body of Christ.

Luke 14:11, 33

He that hath ears to hear let him hear.