"Eat, Drink, and Sleep: Part 1" Kathryn Kuhlman Elijah & Overcoming Fear and Anxiety

Well, today you and I are going to have some of that old -fashioned Missouri cornbread. A good heart -to -heart talk. And we're going to talk about one of the greatest problems of the human spirit. A very practical problem. What to do about discouragement. And don't you sit there and tell me that you're never discouraged. I don't care how spiritual you may be this hour. I don't care what glorious mountaintop experiences you may have had. I don't care what confidence and faith, how great your trust is in the Lord. Sooner or later there will be moments of discouragement. Discouragement is a hard fact of human existence. Something that comes to each of us at one time or another. You can't wish it away. You have to face it. And the person who faces it and masters it... goes a long way toward mastering life itself. Let me just ask you, very pointedly, very candidly, are you a master of discouragement? Have you learned the secret of mastering discouragement? Or are you mastered by discouragement? Now just face it. Just let's face facts. The fact is that sooner or later there will be moments of discouragement in your life. But the question that we want to answer today, are you being mastered by discouragement or are you mastering your discouragement? You know, there's something about the Word of God that portions of it I cry over. I never read without weeping. And then there are certain portions of the Word of God that as I read, I find myself just filled with laughter. And I don't know whether you feel the same way about the 19th chapter of... First kings or not. But it's also human. And I just love it when I see how human some of these wonderful saints of God were. I mean that. Oh, it encourages me like everything. If they were without their weaknesses, then that would discourage me sometimes. I'm encouraged many a time. by the weaknesses that I see in some of these wonderful saints of God, you know? And it's just like that. I appreciate Peter probably more than anyone living today because I get great encouragement when I see that he had his weak moments too. And when it comes to Elijah, I just love this 19th day. chapter of 1 Kings. Now, pause just a moment before I read a few verses from the 19th chapter of Kings. Remember, go back, if you will, please, to the 17th chapter. There you find Elijah, this wonderful spiritual giant. as the power of God takes hold of and works through this vessel of humanity. And we see Elijah as he raises a widow's son, literally raises him from the dead. I'll read a couple of verses. And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried unto the Lord and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, this child's soul come into him again. In other words, the child was dead. Let this child's soul come into him again. Now, I prayed some prayers. I prayed a thousand times, a thousand times. May the great resurrection power flow through this body. But I have never had the faith to pray, Oh God, let this child's soul come into him again. But Elijah had that faith, had that confidence, and he prayed that prayer. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again and he revived. And Elijah took the child, brought him down out of the chamber into the house and delivered him unto his mother. And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, now by this i know that thou art a man of god and that the word of the lord in thy mouth is truth now one would have thought that after elijah had seen the wonders of the lord take place had seen this wonderful miracle take place before his very eyes This man of God who had the faith, the confidence in Jehovah God to pray the prayer. Dear God, even though death has come to this child, please restore life to this one. And he stood there and saw one given life. One would have... thought after that wonderful miracle he would never again be discouraged never oh methinks that elijah walked out of that house somehow even talking about it i know just a little bit of what his feelings must have been god was so near to him and so real to him because when you see miracles take place before your very eyes it does something to you personally you can't help it you just can't help it and then on top of it all the mother turned to elijah and said now by this i know that thou art a man of god and that the word of the lord in thy mouth is truth but that's not all that's happening go a little further if you will please in the eighteenth chapter of first kings oh you know it well when elijah stood there and literally challenged the prophets of baal oh i'm sorry i missed it I wish I could have been there. I would have stood on the sidelines and I would have been his greatest cheerleader. And I would have said, sick him, Elijah, sick him, go do it. You and I both know that God is still God Almighty. Challenge the prophets of Baal. God will come forth. He'll honor your confidence. He'll prove himself. He always has, and he'll do it again. Watch. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou... art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things out of thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. When God does it, he doesn't do it halfway. He does it right the whole thing. The fire of the Lord not only consumed the burnt sacrifice, not only consumed the wood and the stones, but the dust and even licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the God. Can you just imagine what Elijah's feelings must have been? Methinks he stood there awed. It was almost more than he could take. Because Elijah knew that it wasn't any power of his own. that could perform this miracle it was the supernatural power of a supernatural god and methinks if i had been there that day i would have put my arm through the arm of elijah and as we walked away i would have said to him well elijah you and i can believe god for just anything after this Oh, wasn't that glorious? Elijah, we'll never know a discouraging moment again. Never. You and I'll never doubt the power and the presence of God again. Elijah, he's still God Almighty. we'll never know a moment of discouragement again. That's human nature. Go just a little further, if you will, please. The 19th chapter of 1 Kings. Remember I told you when I began this heart -to -heart talk that We're going to talk about one of the greatest problems of the human spirit. Discouragement. Discouragement. And perhaps you almost caught your breath when I said, I don't care how spiritual you may be, there'll be moments of discouragement. After all that Elijah saw. following the greatest miracles that perhaps any human being ever stood and beheld. Here we see him, so human. That which was mortal had not yet put on immortality. You know, he was still in the flesh. And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. And Jezebel, wouldn't you know it would take a woman? He could face enemies. He could face armies. He could... faced the prophets of baal he took it all but he got scared and ran at the threat of a woman then jezebel sent a messenger unto elijah saying so let the gods do to me and more so if i make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. He got scared stiff. A woman made a threat, and he started running for Tall Timber. One moment he stands there, the great spiritual giant, afraid of nothing. And then... At the threat of a woman, he turns and runs. And when he saw that, he arose, went for his life. He was scared to death. I just got through telling you that. He went for his life. Scared to death? He did. He himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. i told you he ran into the wilderness and he came and he sat down under a juniper tree the man who just a short time before looked up and said oh god please restore life to this child this one who is dead restore life Restore the soul to this body, and God performed that miracle. Restored life to a child that was dead. Here you see this bit of humanity as he runs into the wilderness for his life, scared to death, and came and sat down under a juniper tree, and he requested for himself that he might... I don't know whether you appreciate this portion of the Word of God as much as I do or not. I don't know whether you appreciate this chapter in Elijah's life as much as I appreciate it. I'm so glad he was human. is great encouragement to me. Dear God, he said, please let me die. It's enough now, O Lord. Take away my life, for I am not better than my father's. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, an angel touched him and said unto him, arise and eat you know something we've got a wonderful heavenly father he's interested in our weaknesses as much as in our strength we're his children we're children of his care i'm so glad my heavenly father never takes me you know at my word i think i would have died several times if he had taken me at my word, you know? I'm glad that when I say things, he knows that inside of me, I really don't mean it. He knows his children. If you're a parent, you know your children. They say things that really inside of them, they don't mean. And you as a parent, you know they don't mean it. You know they don't. and methinks the heavenly father just turned to one of the angels and said poor child he's worn out he hasn't had sleep for such a long time poor child let him sleep a while and then when he's awakened i want you to do something He'll be hungry. I want you to go down there and bake a cake. Now that's the first real honest -to -goodness angel food cake that was ever made. When Elijah awakened, he looked, and behold, there was a cake, baconed on the coals, and a cruise of water at his head. The Heavenly Father even remembered the water. And he did eat and drink, laid him down again. He was so dead tired, he went back to sleep again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, touched him and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. There are more things to do. Your heavenly Father has more work for you. You're rested. You're well fed now. Get up and go to work. That's... Our Heavenly Father.