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 Fear
is the great obstacle to faith and human accomplishment. For this reason, terrorists
work for one objective: to promote a sense of fear and disruption. This week
a team from Ginghamsburg Church traveled through Chicago's O'Hare airport. I
was shocked at the absence of people at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday. On one of the
planes we boarded this week half of the people who had purchased tickets did
not show up. Every day when you pick up the newspaper you learn of a new threat.
Chemical and biological warfare. Crop dusting planes were grounded this week.
Fear disrupts life direction. Fear even has physical consequences. Some of you
know that I hate to have my blood drawn. I hate to even think about having my
blood drawn. About half the time, I pass out. One time, I had several cups of
coffee beforehand, they had just pulled the needle out and I went down and went
into convulsions. Again, in July, I went for a physical. They had me strapped
in a chair this time. The nurse asked me how I was feeling. I told her I was
feeling fine. I just had two more tubes to go. The next thing I knew, I woke
up and there was a doctor with me. They told me I was convulsing again.
 We are going
to look at a man who was temporarily sidetracked by fear - Elijah. Turn in your
Bibles to I Kings 19. Elijah was a prophet of God. He had experienced the power
of faith in his life many times. He was able to deal with all kinds of adversity.
He had an innate sense of God's direction and of being in the right place at
the right time. He lived in the time of the terrorist reign of Ahab and Queen
Jezebel who were assassinating the spiritual leaders of Israel. He took a stand
against 850 Taliban-like prophets of idolatry and hate on Mt. Carmel. And he
won. In a climate of compromise, when the people of God lived comfortably between
two contradictory world views, Elijah remained faithful, focused and obedient
to God's call. He had been a model of life success, unwavering integrity, and
courageous faith. But the force of good will always encounter disruptive events.
Good will always come against a force of resistance. Jesus said to his followers,
"I send you out as sheep among wolves." After many great successes in faith,
Elijah entered a time of desert depression. We see what brought this desert
depression. Not only was terror at work in the country of Israel, against the
people of God, but now Jezebel, one of the terrorists, turns her hate directly
against Elijah. We read: "This man of great courage, impeccable integrity, was
afraid and ran for his life." Most of us have had experiences like this. We
were doing really well, we were experiencing the success of going forward in
God's direction, and we entered a time of desert depression. Have you been to
a place of desert depression? You regress in your spiritual journey. You come
to a point of plateau or paralysis. Elijah took residence in the darkness of
a cave. When we feel fear, one of the first weapons we pull out of the arsenal
is control. When we were interviewing folks in downtown Dayton this week, one
man hit the nail on the head. When something bad happens, we revert to control.
Listen to what he says: |
