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Week:13, Season:1,
2012
Posted on Saturday by PCT
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From “here” to “there”
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Scripture：《
1 Kings 19:1-8
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19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
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Why would a prophet who had single-handedly defeated 850 prophets who had worshipped idols, become weak？ What was the reason that made him choose to run for his life？ What was the reason that made him want to give up his life before God？ Are Christians allowed to pray like Elijah, saying, “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors” and choose to escape from suffering？ Will God save me when life is desperate with only a uncertain future ahead？
One success does not equal the “final victory”
Elijah fought a good fight on Mount Carmel. Starting at 1 Kings 17, we can tell he is a person with great faith. His proclamations and his offerings all relied on God’s power to achieve. When Elijah met Ahab, he proposed a competition of faith; a final life and death match. Elijah waited steadily with great faith and finally won an overwhelming victory, and God sent abundant rain to the land and ended a 3-year long drought (1 Kings 18).
So far everything looked really smooth, but why did Jezebel’s challenge make Elijah lose his faith and ran for his life？ (1 Kings 19:1-4) Perhaps the primary lesson we should learn from this is: the one success does not equal the final victory. The great victory on Mount Carmel is not the final victory!
The final victory results in “triumphant faith”
God sent the confident Elijah to the wilderness from Mount Carmel. There he walked for 40 days and nights with few food supplements. Little did he know that God had set a turning point on “Horeb”, the mountain of God. God asked Elijah why he was there. Elijah answered that he was zealously working for God and he was the only prophet left. God let Elijah see the powerful wind, earthquake and fire but spoke to him with “a gentle whisper”. Then God asked Elijah again what he was doing there. As previously, Elijah told the same answer. We can tell from this that Elijah had faith but that his faith was established on “his own”!
As God’s servant it is good to have faith. But if you become a lonely servant of God, there is a great possibility that you will face a dilemma as Elijah did: no one can be his successor. It is for this reason that God re-examined Elijah’s faith to let him understand that the source of the victory to a servant who has experienced ups and downs is the faith gained from listening to the gentle whisper! Elijah thought that only he was left as a servant of the Lord in the whole nation. So if he was killed by Queen Jezebel, then God’s work on earth would be terminated. He only saw the importance of ‘I’ instead of hearing the tiny voice hidden behind this ‘I’. Only when the external ‘I’ is broken that the inner ‘I’ can be seen.
Be tested in “suffering” and win by faith
God wanted to adjust Elijah’s faith, so he asked Elijah to go back the way him came. God also told him to replace King Aram as King of the Israel, and find the successor Elisha. For it was God’s purpose to eliminate those evil persons. God also told Elijah that He had reserved seven thousand people in Israel for him. This was indirectly telling Elijah that his worries were useless. “The way back” for Elijah not only took him 40 days but also 20 years to accomplish God’s will to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel. But on this way back to Israel, Elijah’s faith was doubled. No storm or other difficulties could defeat him again until he reached the destination where a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared to take him to the heaven. What a heroic scene!
Serving the Lord in favorable circumstances will not build great faith in us. But to enhance our faith, we should seize every opportunity to face challenges and listen to God’s whisper by heart, and he will guide us the best way!
Jesus’ suffering shows his determination
Isaiah 53:6-7 says: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Jesus conquered all the trials, failures and sufferings to point out a triumphant road for us, the road towards Heaven. As Jesus walked this suffering road himself, how could we find an excuse for saying no？
In 1947, the 228 incident broke out and spread to Chiayi County. The army of the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China was blocked by militia at the Chaiyi airport. The People's Purge Committee in Chiayi agreed to send representatives to open the negotiation. Artist Mr Chen Chengpo was elected as the negotiator with other senators and the other eight for peace negotiation at Chiayi Airport, commonly known as Shueishang Airport. They carried a full cargo of fruit and supplements for the government army to show their goodwill. Unfortunately, as soon as they arrived the airport, all of them were arrested. Without any public trial, they were tied to Chiayi Train Station where they were shot to death in front of the general public. The day artist Mr Chen Chengpo was executed was the “Art Day” announced in Shanghai the year before the 228 incident. Since then, 25th March is not so much as an “Art Day” for Taiwanese people; it is “Good Friday of the arts and human rights” of Taiwan.
October 2006, at a Hong Kong Sotheby’s Auction, an oil painting Tamsui was sold for $34,840,000 HKD (approximately $144 million NTD), which broke the auction’s record for work by a Chinese artist. The author of this painting is Taiwanese artist Mr Chen Chengpo.
Before Passion Week and Easter Day, we should reflect on meanings behind the two stories we shared today: Elijah was once famous, but he nearly gave up his life. Artist Mr Chen Chengpo’s sacrifice made his name be raised by people and eventually the history will treat Mr him fairly. Temporary winning is no better than the eternal victory. Have you made up your mind today to follow Jesus’ example from Elijah’s story？ To leave the comfort zone of your service now and bravely face the next challenge？ If we surrender to our current circumstances, trials are nothing related to us. But the price behind this is perhaps costly. If Elijah had decided to retire in the wilderness, this prophet from Mount Carmel would have been only a nine days wonder. But this hero came back to Israel from Mount Horeb, from “this mountain” to “that mountain” and even met Jesus Christ truly in the New Testament! (Matthew 17:1-8).
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For discussion：
1.Did you experience God’s protection in the trial？ Please share your experience.
2.What is the faithful attitude you should have when suffering comes？
Please pray for：
1.God’s help in developing our persistence in faith through suffering.
2.That we will declare through difficulties: ‘through Jesus Christ, everything is secured, my body is healthy and my soul is strong.’
Prayer：
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for raising me when I fall down. Although my ability is limited, I trust in you that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Even though I failed, I believe the final victory belongs to Jesus Christ. My faith in you will help me take firm steps toward the triumphant road. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
Something you can do：
Plan a trip to the plaza in front of Chiayi City Cultural Center. Take a look of Chen Cheng-po’s sculpture created by sculptor Pu Hao-ming. Reflect on the title of this piece of art work: I AM THE EMBODIMENT OF OIL PAINTINGS‧1895～1947.
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