06/18/2018 DAB Transcript

1 Kings 19:1-21, Acts 12:1-23, Psalms 136:1-26, Proverbs 17:14-15

Today is the 18th day of June. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is great to be here with youtoday as we move forward by taking the next step in the Scriptures. And we’re in the middle of some dramatic territory in the Bible in 1 Kings. In our Old Testament reading, we’re reading about the prophet Elijah. Of course, in the New Testament we’re reading of the early church and God sending out his Holy Spirit and pouring it out upon Gentiles and everyone having to try to figure out what that means. So, let’s dive in. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. 1 Kings 19 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, every time we come past this this particular territory in 1 Kings and talk about Elijah, it’s one of those stories that… It’s just hard to blow by because there’s so much there for our own lives. Elijah, obviously a powerful prophet of God. I mean, we just watched this massive showdown with the prophets of Baal, we just watched torrential rain come back to the land. So, Elijah is a very powerful and respected prophet, even though Jezebel, the king’s wife, the queen, worships Baal and has tried to stamp out the worship of God, the God that brought the people into the land. She’s trying to completely eliminate that from the land, from the northern kingdom of Israel. Obviously, the events that happened atop Mount Carmel in front of all of the people, as well as the elimination of the prophets of Baal, that puts a dent in her plan. She is beyond furious. And, so, she sends a note to Elijah, essentially telling him that she’s going to do everything she possibly can and wants God to judge her harshly if she doesn’t succeed to kill Elijah within 24 hours. So, Elijah takes off. And he doesn’t just take off a little bit. That’s the thing about it. What the Bible says is that he leaves the Jezreel Valley and runs all the way to Beersheba. That becomes really crystal clear when we’re traveling around the land because that’s quite a long ways, like several hours in a car. So, if you imagine that you’re going to do it on foot it’s a long ways. He has to leave the north country and go all the way to the southern border of ancient Israel, which is Beersheba, right? From Dan to Beersheba. And then from there, he has to go all the way down into the Sinai Peninsula, down into Egypt to get to Mount Sinai. We are talking hundreds and hundreds of miles on foot, right? So, he doesn’t get this note from Jezebel and then just run across town and get into somebody’s basement and hide out. He is gone. So, it seems like great lengths that he is going to to escape Jezebel, even though he has stood up and confronted the king and even though he has had the showdown with the false prophets of Baal, he’s on the run from Jezebel. And he has one thing burning in his heart, one thing that he wants God to understand. He is the only one. There is no one else. Everyone is against him. No one is listening. So, he does get to Mount Sinai. He’s in a cave, God comes and says, why are you here? And Elijah shares what he needed to share. And then God invites him to come out and meet with him on the mountain, right? And then this famous story. Wind is on the mountain shaking the mountain; God’s not in it. An earthquake shakes the mountain; God’s not in it. Fire is on the mountain; God’s not in it. But then a gentle breeze as this translation we’re reading from this week says. Others say still small voice or the sound of a low whisper. And Elijah goes out to meet with God, who essentially tells him to head back in the direction that he came from. He’s got two new kings to appoint, as well as appointing his successor. Okay, so that’s how the story goes. That’s how the story reads. How do we overlay our lives and find ourselves in this story? It’s pretty easy. We move along in our lives, we feel the Holy Spirit leading us, we feel the power of God going before us and we are doing what we’re supposed to be doing until we get that note, right? Until that nasty thing comes in on social media or we get some other unexpected communication. And it’s like all of that authority and power that we were walking in is drained right down the drain and we’re alone and there is no one else and we’re running. And we run until we’re exhausted and it’s like God comes for us and says, what are you doing here? So, we pour out or hearts and we’re invited into His presence, but we’re expecting all the bombastic stuff but he’s not in that. It’s calm, low whisper. It’s still small voice saying Go back the way you came. You’re not finished. There’s some other things we still gotta do. There’s important work to be done. And all of the sudden we see ourselves right here in this story. So, let’s give that some thought today. What are we on the run about? What are we trying to say? What is God coming to us and saying, what are you doing here about? And are we looking for whirlwinds and fires and earthquakes or are we seeking the low calming whisper of the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our lives?

Prayer:

So Father, as we often do, we invite you into that. Your Word brings up stuff all the time than we then come to you and say we invite you into that, the stuff that that’s bringing up. And invite you to counsel, comfort and direct and lead our paths. And so we invite you into this. Come Holy Spirit. Show us what’s intimidating us, what’s making us want to run and say we’re the only ones, the places that we’re looking for bombastic things when we should be looking for the still small voice. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here.  so, like I say most days, be sure to check in, check it out.

The prayer wall is there for you to pay for your brothers and sisters and maybe you need some prayer so that’s a great place to go to connect. The Daily Audio Bible shop with resources that are designed to travel along with us as we travel through the Bible in a year, so stop in there.

If you wanna partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you. Thank you. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174.

And, as always if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for here is tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey Daily Audio Bible family. This is John, husband of Pastor Gene. I just know you guys love her. And she’s…she and our family…in spite of our serving the Lord…have kind of been under unrelenting attack, circumstances have been happening. And particularly, particularly in Gene’s job. And it’s gotten so bad that for the first time in her life, she’s said I don’t want to do this job anymore. So, I would just ask you all to pray for her, for God to open a door and provide a way out, a way of escape. As it says in First Corinthians 10:13, that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able but will, with temptation, provide a way of escape so that we may stand up under it. So, I just pray for her and ask that you pray for her and our whole family as we seek the Lord and try to serve Him. So, God bless you, thank you, and I know we’ll feel your prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Good morning family this is Erin in Michigan. I’m on my way to work and usually I listen to the Daily Audio prayer, yeah, the Daily Prayer, read by Brian, and I just love it. And it just calms me as I’m driving to school and it’s been a particularly tough year this year. There’s lots and lots of changes, lots of things added to our teacher’s plates, lots of student need, both inside and outside of the classroom. So, that Daily Prayer, just as I was driving to work…it will just calm me and focus me. It would remind me to invite the Holy Spirit into my day and into my students lives. And, so, that has been by routine, on my way to work, that’s what I do. I have about a 12-minute drive. So, today I want to offer my own prayer. Holy Father, Creator of all, I praise You. I praise You for life. I praise You that this is the last day of the school year. I praise You Lord for helping me through this very trying year. I praise You for the amazing people that I get to teach with Lord and I give You…I give You honor for the amazing people You’ve created that I get to teach Lord. Going into their summer, keep them safe. Help them to make good choices. Help them to love themselves as You love them. Help them to love each other. Lord, and I just praise You that I get to do this again next year. And I praise You, most importantly, for this break in between, so that You can…You can rest and bless my soul so that I am ready to do it all again next year. I praise You Jesus. I love You. I thank You, thank You, thank You. And I pray all this in Your name. Amen. Alright family, have a blessed, blessed Friday. And…its the last day of the school year, hallelujah.

Gerd morning Daily Audio family. This is Jay from Tennessee. I’m calling this morning to pray for my brothers and my sisters who are trapped, bound, and held captive by drugs and alcohol. The Bible tells us many different Scriptures that we are not to be slaves to anything, including drugs and alcohol. Let us pray. Heavenly father, in the mighty, precious, holy, powerful name above every name of Jesus Christ, we come before you this morning Lord thanking, praying about our brothers and sisters who are trapped, who are held captive, who are bound up by drugs and alcohol. Lord, we know that through You all things are possible. So, we pray now the mighty name of Jesus Christ that You will open their hearts, their minds, their eyes to a way away from these things. Lord, You know that I was bound myself with drugs and alcohol. I couldn’t escape. For 16 years I drank and drunk my way through life desiring a relationship with you continuing to hope and seek out a way. And Lord, You provided freedom, you provided a way of escape for me. So, I know Lord its possible. So, I pray God that You will continue to provide hope for them, continue to remind them that there is a way out. Just keep praying. Just keep seeking. In the mighty name of Jesus, Christ we pray. Amen. Those of you who are like me, who are stuck on drugs and alcohol, there is a way out. Keep praying. Keep seeking the Lord. I love you.

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Dan from Arkansas. I just wanted to say how instrumental Daily Audio Bible has been in changing my life. Two months ago, my marriage was in a bad place. My relationship with my wife and my kids was in a horrible place and it’s due to anger and anxiety. And, so, a friend of mine suggested that me and some guys from work start listening to an app, or, you know, a daily audio bible type thing. And, so, we did. And now there’s five of us at work. And we listen almost every day and we discuss the word as often as possible. And it has absolutely changed my life. I can’t give enough praise to Brian and his team for putting this together and just to God for bringing me to this community. It has been absolutely amazing. I thank you guys. I love all of you. I pray for you daily. And, thank you God. I hope everybody has a great day.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. Let’s pray. Giver of all, another day is started and we take our place in our great redeemers cross, where healing streams continually flow, where balm is poured into every wound. Lord, we are washed in the all cleansing blood, confident that you see us in Christ. Help us to take up the worries of our minds, to quicken our steps, to speed as if each moment where our last, that our life be joy and our death glory. We thank You for the temporary blessings of this world, the fresh air, the sunlight, the food that renews our strength, the garments that clothe us, the sleep that gives rest, the canopy of stars at night, the summer breeze, the flowing stream, the relationships with family and friends. Our cup runs over. Help us appreciate these daily mercies. Your hand gives blessings. Your power turns away evil. And we bring our tribute of thanks through Your graces, that for warmth of faith, the presence of your Spirit, the strength of your restraining realm. Blessed be our Father, Lord. This, from the Valley of visions. A little updated word. For Ali in Boynton Beach. I just wanted to say, have a blessed day. And I want to lift up the lady with her husband who had retired. Lord, I pray that you give the wife of the doctor that retired a new, refreshed foundation of who she is in Christ and to give her a new perspective on her husband’s struggle to find his identity upon retiring. And that maybe, we all Lift him up, that he finds his identity in You, Your love. In this season of life, we must be prepared for it because it is a season and You are with us through them all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.