Elijah Camps at Cherith

If you got your Bible, 1 Kings chapter 17, 1 Kings chapter 17, we're going to look once again at Elijah, that great prophet, and the camping trip that God takes him on to a place called Kareth. It's a brook, and that's where the Lord takes him. And lo and behold, you will realize tonight there are many of you camping at Kareth as we speak. Now what does that mean? You will see as we begin to understand the text. In verse number one, we saw where Elijah was one who was convinced of the reality of God.

He was a man who was commissioned as a representative of God. He was a man who was commended because of his reliance upon God, and he was a man who was courageous in his rebuking for God. And we saw last week that he was a man of the word and a man of prayer. He understood not just the prophetic ministry, he understood the priestly ministry. He understood what it meant to pray and to depend upon God, as well as to proclaim the truth of God's word that gave him the courage he needed to stand before King Ahab and declare to him that it would not rain until he gave the word, and he was able to stand boldly before the king.

But that was a brief first impression. God had led him to the king, and God had used him to speak to the king, and now God was going to move him out of the king's presence. His moving would be to a place that most of us never want to go. But it was a place that was much needed for Elijah, as we will soon see. And you will also see it's a place where you too will need to be. It's a lot different than the palace. The palace is prestigious, but the brook, the brook is a bummer. It just is. But that's where God would bless Elijah, and that's where God would do a mighty work in the life of Elijah, just like when you go to camp at Kareth, God will do a mighty work in your life as well.

He would move based upon God's word, and when God spoke, he moved quickly, which is a good thing for you and I to understand, because for the most part, when God speaks, we want to question his directions. We don't want to be too hasty in our obedience, and yet the psalmist said over in Psalm 119, verse number 60, I hastened and did not delay to keep thy commandments. Wouldn't it be good if every one of us was to write that across our forehead, that I would hasten to keep the commandments of God, that there'd be no delay, there'd be no debating, there'd be nothing but complete, total obedience to the word of God.

And God was going to take Elijah, having moved him into the presence of the king, now to move him out of that presence to a little brook for quite a while. Let's read it together. Verse two, 1 Kings 17, And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Kareth, which is east of the Jordan. And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commended the ravens to provide for you there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord.

For he went and lived by the brook Kareth, which is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening. And he would drink from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. Now, those few verses are going to help you immensely in your spiritual pilgrimage. Just by reading them, it's more than just another story. It truly reveals to us God's working in your life and in mine. Elijah was in need of several things.

One, protection. Two, provision. Three, preparation. And four, patience. He was in need of what God was going to do, and so God would move him in order for him to understand the working of God in his life. First of all, he needed protection.

Now, isn't God almighty and isn't God powerful enough to protect Elijah? Answer, yes. But God did something to protect Elijah. He moved him, and this is what he said. He said in verse number three, go away from here and turn eastward and hide yourself.

Hide yourself? He's a prophet of the Lord. Why does he have to hide himself? Because this would be God's means of protecting Elijah from King Ahab and from all of Israel. Because he would become Israel's most wanted man. Oh, not right away. He had just spoken to the king, and the drought had really not taken effect yet. But God would move him ahead of the drought because he would need protection. From who? Everybody in the land. Because you see, 1 Kings chapter 18, verse number 10 tells us that Ahab would search all over the land of Israel for Elijah because he wanted him dead.

Everybody wanted him dead. Why? Because it was because of him there was no rain. Really, it was because of God. They just attributed everything to him. They can't touch God, but they can touch the messenger of God, see? And so if they could get rid of Ahab, or, I mean, get rid of Elijah, then so be it. But God knew he would need protection. Why? Simply because he was a man who spoke the truth of God. You see, we think that when we speak the truth of God that everybody's going to like us. On the contrary.

When you speak the truth of God, you're going to gain more enemies than you are friends. Because truth will confront sin. Truth will expose sinful attitudes and sinful lifestyles. Truth will explain the judgment of God. It will explain the wrath of God. And people who like to live in their sin don't want to hear about the wrath of God, the justice of God, the holiness of God, because that confronts their sinful lifestyle. And, of course, Elijah would pronounce judgment upon the land. There will be no rain.

There will be no dew until I give the word. Based on the fact that Jehovah is Israel's God, and Jehovah is alive. So he would become the arch enemy, not just of Ahab, and not just of Jezebel, but all of Israel. Protecting Elijah was important because he was the messenger of the one true king, the Lord God of Israel. You see, Satan does all he can to stop your service, to delay your devotion, to be able to keep you from staying committed to Christ. He will stop at nothing to take you off course. And so the Lord, who knows that already, puts Elijah in a place where nobody can find him.

Right by a little brook called Kareth, east of the Jordan, where it's just him and God alone. That's where he wants him, no place else. And so this became another judgment upon Israel, because they would receive no message from God. Elijah was the prophet of God. He would be the messenger. He would be the one that would instruct the nation. But if Elijah is nowhere to be found, what word will they ever get from God? And this becomes the silence of God to a nation. And you never want to be in a place where God's not speaking.

Because if you are, you have no direction. You don't know what to do. And as much as they hated Elijah, and they would grow to hate him over the three and a half year time span. Now remember, Elijah didn't know how long it was going to be. He just knew there was going to be a drought, and there would be no rain until he said it was going to rain. But he couldn't do that until God told him it's going to rain. So he had no idea it was going to be three and a half years. He didn't know if it's going to be two years, one year, 10 years.

He had no idea. He just knew what God had told him. And that's what he said. And so he would become the enemy, not just of Ahab, but of Israel. And he wouldn't become the enemy of Ahab right away because it would take a while for them to realize there was no rain. That a drought was taking place. It wouldn't happen in a week. It wouldn't happen even in a month. But over the weeks and over the months, all this then would begin to come true. And they would realize that the words of Elijah were true words.

That he was a true prophet of the living God. And so because Elijah wasn't speaking, Israel would hear nothing from God. You see, that's one of the ways that God brings judgment upon man. He hides himself from them. Remember what it says over in John's gospel. In John chapter 11. John chapter 11. As Caiaphas made this prediction about Christ and the conspiracy to kill Jesus. It says in verse 53 of John 11. So from that day on, they planned together to kill him. Jesus therefore no longer continued to walk publicly among them or among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness into a city called Ephraim.

God would move away from them, no longer speaking to them. And then it says over in John 12, Christ says in verse 35.

For a little while longer, the light is among you. Walk while you have the light that darkness may not overtake you. He who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the light, believe in the light in order that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke and he departed and hid himself from them. But though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in him. That the word of Isaiah, the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke. Lord, who has believed our report.

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For this cause they could not believe. For Isaiah said again, he has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart. Lest they see with their eyes and perceive with their heart and be converted and I heal them. These things Isaiah said, because he saw his glory and he spoke of him. You see, they had, the Jews had received all the revelation, but they rejected it. And God would become silent to them. He would withdraw himself from them. It's called in Romans one, the wrath of abandonment.

It's the worst wrath men can ever experience outside eternal wrath in hell, which is the ultimate abandonment. But the very fact that God would remove himself from people and no longer speak to people. Because in the midst of overwhelming evidence, they rejected the truth. Well, for 60 years in Elijah's day, Israel had lived in idolatry. They had lived in immorality. They had lived according to their own desires and their own pleasures. And they would not follow God. They rejected his word. So the prophet would come on the scene, pronounce judgment upon them.

And then all of a sudden he would disappear. Where did Elijah go? Can anybody find Elijah? And God would hide him in such a way that no one would know where he was. Because God knew if Elijah was found, he would be killed. But God had a plan for Elijah. God wasn't going to let Elijah die because he would ascend into glory and God would take him home. And so God had a plan for him. Elijah didn't know that at the time. In fact, he didn't know much until God spoke to him. He waited for God to speak and then he would move.

But think about it this way. Here was Elijah. He was convinced of the reality of God. He was commissioned as a representative of God. He was commended for his reliance upon God. And he was courageous for rebuking others because of their rejection of God. And yet God has to protect him because he speaks the truth. Same way, remember Stephen? Stephen proclaimed the truth. And so what did they do? They stoned him. Paul proclaimed the truth and they imprisoned him. John the apostle proclaimed the truth and they exiled him to the island of Patmos.

And Joseph, he spoke the truth just to his brothers and they threw him in a pit. You see, when you speak the truth with authority like Elijah, Joseph, Paul, and Stephen, John, people oppose truth. People who love their sin will hate the truth. That's always the way it's been. And that's always the way it's going to be. That's why they put Jesus on a cross. Because they hated everything he said and everything he stood for. And so Elijah was in need of protection. And so God would remove him from this prestigious palace to a little brook east of the Jordan to hide him there because he would need protection.

But the second thing that Elijah needed was provision. That somehow God would provide for him. And that what God does is very unique. God would provide for him food and God would provide for him water. But no, he would only receive the food in one place. That was at the brook. He wouldn't be fed if he went to Bethlehem. He wouldn't be fed if he went to Samaria. He wouldn't be fed if he went to Jerusalem. He wouldn't even be fed if he went back to Tishba where his homeland was. He'd only be fed by the brook.

Because the text says these words back in 1 Kings chapter 17. It says, And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there. There, that's it. I provided the ravens to meet your needs. Now the ravens were an unclean bird. But God would use the means of his choice to give him bread and to give him meat. And he commanded the ravens to provide for Elijah in a supernatural kind of way. But if Elijah decided to leave the brook and go someplace else, guess what?

He'd miss a meal or two or three. So he couldn't leave the brook. He had to be right there at Kareth. He couldn't leave. Or he would have no food. And while the drought was going to come, and people would die, and livestock would die, and crops would be devastated, he would need to eat. And God made sure that his prophet received the provisions that he needed while he was there. It was a divinely appointed place. And the only place he would be fed was there. And note, the ravens would come once in the morning and once in the evening.

That's when they would come. Because they would not bring food for Elijah to store up so that he could have an abundance of food in case he wanted to make a trip someplace. So they would bring just enough in the morning and just enough in the evening because God would take care of his daily needs. It isn't that what Jesus said in Matthew chapter six, that when you pray, pray this way. When you ask the Father, give us this day our daily bread. Not give us this week our weekly bread, or give us this month our monthly bread, but give us this day our daily bread.

Because God promises to provide for his own on a moment by moment basis. Elijah didn't need a week's worth of meat or a week's worth of bread. He needed just that day's worth. That's it. That's all he needed. He had no guarantee of the next day anyway. All he knew is that God would provide for him in a supernatural way in the morning and in the evening through ravens who would bring him bread and bring him meat. God would provide for his needs on a daily basis. Because you see, when you find yourself camping at Kareth, God will take care of your daily needs because that's the way God is.

He says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be added unto you. But first you gotta seek me.

First, my kingdom must be a priority. And if my kingdom's a priority, I will take care of all your material needs. I will take care of all your physical needs. I will watch over you, but seek first the kingdom of God.

Elijah was a man who sought after God, wanted to honor God. And I'm sure there was times that Elijah must have wondered, how long will I be here? He had no idea how long he would be there. The Bible didn't tell us exactly how long he would be there, but it did tell us he would be there and the brook would dry up. You see, the water wasn't supernatural. The water was just flowing through the brook. And maybe it was coming down from Mount Hermon with the snow caps melted and the water would flow down Mount Hermon and it would come down into the various valleys and hit the Jordan River and hit into different brooks and springs.

But soon there'd be no more snow to melt, there'd be no rain, and the brook would dry up. And then there'd be no water. What would God do then? How would God take care of those needs? You'd think that an intelligent man with a half a brain would realize, hey, you know what? Soon there's not gonna be any more water. Maybe I need to make a journey to a place where there is water. But he didn't do that because God hadn't moved him. Folks, that's a good lesson for all of us. Never move until you have clear, distinct direction from God.

No matter what you might think in your logical brain, never step out and move until God himself makes it very clear for you to move. Elijah stayed put. He could see that the brook was going down. And you know, God didn't take him to a river, God took him to a brook. And the water would trickle down and he'd see the water, but soon the water would stop and there'd be no more water, the brook would dry up. What would he do next? He still had to wait for God to speak, to move him. And that's what he did.

He was dependent upon the true and living God. You see, God was gonna take care of Elijah, but Elijah had to learn, sitting by the brook, careth to trust God. He had to trust God for daily provisions. Because if you can't trust God amidst daily provisions, you'll never trust him amidst difficult situations. You need to mark that one down because that is such an ironclad fact in scripture. Unless you are trusting God day by day, when the difficulties come, you're gonna falter. Because as you build trust in God every single day, and those spiritual muscles are developed, when hardship comes, you'll be able to trust him.

But you must trust him for daily provisions. Let me show you how this works. Turn with me to Mark chapter six for a moment.

Mark chapter six. In Mark chapter six, we realize that Jesus sends out the 12th and then the very next story is about the death of John the Baptist. And he was the great prophet of God. He was one like Elijah. He was one who was courageous and bold and spoke like Elijah the prophet. And he is murdered in Mark chapter six. Disciples are out sharing the gospel. They don't know that John is dead yet. And so it says in verse number 30 in Mark six, and the apostles gathered together with Jesus and they reported to him all that they had done and taught.

You can imagine their excitement. You can imagine their joy. They had just gone out. They had preached the gospel and great things were happening and they had performed great miracles and they were ecstatic about ministering for the Lord Jesus. And Jesus says this, Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest for a while.

Come away and rest. If you don't come apart, you will eventually come apart. Come apart for a while and rest because Jesus was going to explain to them that amidst all their excitement, what was before them was going to be a difficult road. He would have to inform them of the death of John the Baptist. And then he takes them and there's this great miracle there on the side of the Galilee where he feeds 5,000 people, literally 25,000 people when you count the children and you count the women, a great miracle.

And they had to learn to trust God for daily provisions. Because the Lord knew that if they didn't trust him amidst daily provisions, they would never trust him in difficult situations. And so in verse number 45, immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side to Bethsaida while he himself was sending the multitudes away. And after bidding them farewell, he departed to the mountain to pray. And when it was evening, the boat was in the midst of the sea. He was lower in the land and seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them.

At about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea and he intended to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost and cried out for they all saw him and were frightened. But immediately he spoke with them. Instead of them, take courage in his eye, do not be afraid. And he got into the boat with them and the wind stopped and they were greatly astonished. For they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

We've told you before that there's one miracle recorded in all four gospels. It is the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. If you miss what that miracle is about, you will have a difficulty when hardship comes your way. Because it's learning to trust God for daily provisions, for the food that they would need every single day. That's why when it was all done, he gave them 12 basketfuls, little cofinos they're called, little coffin shaped baskets that they would keep their food in. There were 12 baskets filled after they fed the 5,000.

They had to trust God for daily provisions, knowing that he would take care of every need they had. And as they would learn to do that, they could trust him in difficult situations. But he immediately put them in a boat. He immediately put them out to sea. He then went up to pray because he knew what was going to happen because he had orchestrated the whole event. And they were so afraid when the storm came and these were fishermen. These were men who knew the sea, who lived on the sea, but they were so afraid that Jesus shows up.

He calms the storm, but they had a hard time because their hearts were hardened. Why? Because they had not learned the lesson of the loaves. Elijah would learn that lesson through the daily feeding that God gave to the ravens in the morning and in the evening, every day. And he would get his bread and he would get his meat and he would drink the water from the brook. But soon the water would be gone. Because the brook would be dry. But you see, there's more than just physical protection. There's more than just material provision.

There is spiritual preparation. Spiritual preparation. Because while he was by the brook, while he was all alone, it was just he and God. There was nobody else there. And it was in this arena that Elijah would be alone with his God. It would be here in the place of solitude, he would learn the lesson of what it meant to be silent before God. Remember, the Psalmist said in Psalm 46, verse number 10, be still and know that I am God. Over in Psalm 62, verse number five, these words are spoken. Psalm 62, verse number five, my soul, wait in silence for God only.

For my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold. I should not be shaken. On God, my salvation, my glory rest. The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Elijah would begin to learn one of life's most important lessons, that unless you are silent before God and quiet before him, you will not be prepared to climb Mount Carmel and slay 450 prophets of Baal. There is something about your alone time.

There is something about the silent time. There is something about the quiet time that is so important to cultivate our spiritual lives, that Elijah would be one who would sit and commune with his God. Because as those ravens would come every morning and every evening, he would be reminded of the great provision of his God. And as that brook would begin to dry up, he would have to begin to learn to trust in his God, to provide for him, because he knew that only there by the brook would he receive food.

And everything else around him was dying. Vegetation was dying. Animals were dying. People were dying. And yet he was eating. He had the food, because the Lord would take care of his own. But soon the brook would dry. And what would God do to give him the necessary water to drink? You see, Elijah's need was more than just physical protection. More than just material provision. There was a spiritual preparation that God had designed for Elijah that would move him to greater things than he had accomplished yet.

Although he had no idea what was going to happen. Some of you are camping at Kareth as we speak. You're all alone. There's no one there. Just you and God. And you might wonder why you're so alone. You might wonder why there's no one else with you. You might wonder in the midst of your isolation, does anybody really care? Does anybody really know about me? And the answer is yes. The only one who matters does. The Lord God of the universe. And as he sat there day after day, sleeping there night after night, in isolation, in solitude, in silence, God was preparing this man for great and mighty things.

You see, God is in the midst of preparing you. God's going to isolate you. God's going to put you alone. God's going to put you on an island all by your little lonesome. Because he's got greater things in store for you than what you did in the palace a week, or a month, or a year ago. As prestigious as it was, as popular as you became, in the midst of your popularity, in the midst of your prestige, that's not where God trains you. God trains you in the isolation, in the solitude, in the alone times.

Where you are quiet before him, learning to trust him daily to take care of you. So that when the difficulty arises, you will shine for the glory of your king. This place, this place of aloneness was not just Elijah. Paul would spend three years in the desert in Arabia, all by himself before he began his ministry. John was exiled to Patmos, in the middle of nowhere in the Aegean Sea. And Paul was exiled to prison. People are exiled to those lonely places. And there, there, God fuels them. God restocks them.

God does something to energize them. That's what he wants to do with you. You find yourself in that lonely place. You find yourself in that place of isolation. This was a very humiliating place for Elijah. Think of it. He shows up. He makes a great first impression because he only has one chance to do that.

He confronts the king. He tells him what's going to happen. He looks like he knows everything. And then God sweeps him away and puts him in isolation for the next three and a half years. No one sees him. No one knows about him. What happened to Elijah? You see, we like being in the limelight. And God likes us in the low light. But we love the limelight. We love the spotlight. We love to be seen because that's where everybody can applaud us. That's where everybody can affirm us. And God says, take a back seat.

Relax, Elijah. I got something I need to do in your life to make you trust me, to believe in me, to live for me. And maybe God has you in that place right now.

Maybe you are wondering what God is doing with me. You're located by a little tiny brook all by yourself. And you're wondering, what am I doing in this place? And God says, I'm taking care of you.

I'm watching out for you. I am protecting you. And the one thing I'm protecting you from is your pride, is your arrogance. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up in due time. He will. God opposes the proud. He gives grace to the humble. And before Elijah could ever climb Mount Carmel and slay 450 prophets of Baal, he had to learn to live in isolation, in solitude, in humility. So everything he did was totally dependent upon the living God. God had a plan for Elijah. And this was part of the plan.

God has a plan for you. And God puts you in places of isolation where you are in obscure places so that he can do his number on you. He can do the molding of your life. He can refine your character. He can put you in a place that would allow him to work on you so that when you come out of that place, the glory of the Lord shines. That's what he's doing. He needed that preparation and God gave it to him. But there's something else he learned there. And that was patience, patience. He had to learn to wait on God.

Elijah was a man of action. And God made him inactive for a reason. Because he had to learn what it meant to trust in God and to wait upon God. We don't like to do that. Elijah was no different than us. He was a man with a nature just like you and me. James tells us that. So he was a man who was very impatient like you and I are very impatient. And so he was taken to a place where he would learn to patiently wait upon God. Because for all practical purposes, he was the prophet of God. He knew that he had to make decisions for God.

The brook is drying up. I gotta move. I gotta go someplace where there's water. Where do I go? If I leave, I leave the food behind because the ravens only know to go one place. That's right here. God told him where to come. If I move, they're gonna be lost. They wouldn't know where I'm at. And God said, I'm gonna feed you there. Not over there, but here. So I make a choice. Do I eat or do I drink? Or do I just wait on God to move me? And that was the choice he made. He waited upon God to move him.

Most of us don't wait. In our minds, we think, okay, this is a better job. I'm taking this one. This is a bigger house. I'm buying this one. This is a nicer car. I'm buying that one. I'm gonna move here because it's a better place. It's a cheaper place to live. Without ever consulting God, the Bible says in Psalm 106, that God will give us the desire of our hearts and send leanness to our souls, barrenness to our souls, emptiness to our souls.

God says, you want it? Go ahead, take it. But there you'll be barren. There you'll be so lean, you will not experience me. And so Elijah learned to wait upon God. A man of action moved to inactivity, learned to trust the true and living God. He waited for God to instruct him. Psalm 37 says it this way. Psalm 37, verse number seven, Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way. Because the man who carries out wicked schemes, cease from anger and forsake wrath, do not fret, it leads only to evil doing.

Don't fret. I'm sure Elijah's sitting there saying, the water's going, the water's going, the water's gone. Is he gonna fret? Is he gonna worry? Or is he gonna trust God because he knew that God moved him there? Listen, if God moves you someplace, you don't leave until God clearly says it's time to go. And sure enough, it says in verse number eight, Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.

See, God took care of him. He waited long enough for God to say, okay, now it's time to go. I provided another means for you, Elijah, and now it's time to go. Elijah had to wait for God to speak. And patiently, he sat there until God moved him again. Oh, how impatient we are. Remember Saul, he was told by Samuel, you need to wait seven days until I arrive. And then we'll offer the burnt offering to God. And so the Bible tells us in verse number eight, Now Saul waited seven days according to the appointed time set by Samuel.

But Samuel did not come to Gilgal. Wait a minute. It's been seven days and where is Samuel? He's not here. I've been waiting seven days and the man didn't show up. So it says, and the people were scattering from him. He was losing control. So what do you do as a man when you lose control? You take what? Control. That's what Saul did. So Saul said, bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offering. And he offered the burnt offering. I'm gonna do it. I'm not waiting on Samuel. I don't have time to wait on Samuel.

He's too slow. He's not as fast as I am. He's not as quick as I am. He is not authoritative as I am. He is not as sharp as I am. I'm gonna do it without Samuel. And it came about as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering. Guess what? Samuel shows up on the seventh day. Just like he said. It just wasn't early enough in the seventh day. So Saul takes things into his own hands and handles everything. And lo and behold, here comes Samuel. And the most astonishing thing about the whole story is it says, and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.

He went out to say, hey, Samuel, glad you showed up. You know what? We already offered the burnt offering. We couldn't wait on you any longer because you're just too slow to get here. Samuel said, what have you done? And Saul said, because I saw that the people were scattering from me and that you did not come within the appointed days. He did though, by the way. And that the Philistines were assembling at Mishmash. Therefore I said, now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord.

He thought that he could disobey God and still ask his favor and God would bless him. It doesn't work that way. But the king thought so. So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering, Saul said. Samuel said to Saul, you have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.

What a tragic story. Here was the king of Israel, gave a clear command by Samuel. He couldn't wait. He was too impatient to wait. He lost the kingdom. He lost the kingdom. There are many of us who lose kingdom blessing, because we will not wait upon the Lord. Some of us marry too soon, because we will not wait upon the Lord. We fear that if I don't marry him, or I don't marry her, there might not be another one. So I better grab the one I got, even though the one you got is not that good. You think that's it.

And then all of a sudden down the road, you realize if I would have waited, what would God have given me? But you would not wait. You see, so many times we miss kingdom blessing, because in that place called Kareth, where we are all alone, and there's no one there but me and God, and I'm all lonely, and I have nobody to give a prophetic message to. I have nobody to rebuke. I just have ravens coming in the morning and coming in the evening. I have no friends. Oh God, I have no friends. Where would we be without friends?

That's Elijah. He could have said, I gotta have a friend. I gotta have a friend. I'm gonna leave Kareth and find myself a friend. He could have done that, he did not. But see, we will use any excuse like Saul we can to get out of obeying the commandment of God, and then rationalize it thinking it's okay. And lose kingdom blessing. If you learn anything at the brook called Kareth, learn this, that you must learn to wait patiently upon the Lord for Him to lead and to guide. And when you do, there will be so much blessing for you, but you gotta wait.

We just don't like to wait. We like to handle it right now. We wanna move. Because in my belly, there's a desire that must be fulfilled. And God says, wait patiently upon me.

Sit in silence and wait for God only. And when God speaks, He will move you. And when He moves you, wait and see what happens. And next week, God would have moved Elijah. And wait and see what happens at the widow's house in Zarephath. You won't wanna miss it. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight, a chance to be in your word, the blessings you give us because you speak to everyone of our hearts. Our prayer is that we would be open to all that you've said. And that, Lord, for many of us who find ourselves camping out at Kareth, realizing that we have no friends, realizing that we're lonely, realizing, Lord, that I have nothing to do but wait, help us to learn that you have taken us there for a purpose. Because there's greater things ahead. And we don't know what they are, but you do.

So may we be found faithful, waiting for the Lord to open the door that we might walk through and experience true kingdom blessing. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.