Blue Lake Presbyterian Church | 6-19-2016
Good morning and welcome to Blue Lake on this wonderful Sunday, Happy Father’s day.
The message this morning is: Lonely in a broken world.
The Jacoby Storehouse and the Philips house in Arcata and the Holy Trinity Church in Trinidad, according to the National register of places, are listed among some of the oldest structures in Humboldt County dating back to 1850’s for Humboldt that is pretty old.
Last week we visited Holland, looking at newest varieties of lilies and researching some of the latest technologies that are used in the Dutch flower industry. One day we grabbed some lunch in Medemblik, a City that was incorporated back in 1289 and some buildings dating back are still there.
Later that day we had dinner in area called Wieringen. Prior to 1924 this was an island before all the water around it had been pumped out and turned into land. On this former island there was a church, built in the 1100’s using prehistoric rock.
Even though this church had been restored several times the original rock was still on parts of this church. Seeing buildings that were built in 1100’s brings a new perspective to what we consider historic in Humboldt.
Now let’s go back even farther in time to 900 BC in the land of Israel, which brings us to the story of Elijah, recorded in 1Kings and it continues into its sequel, 2 Kings. These books describe the Kings that followed King David starting with his son Solomon and HIS sons and the split of the Kingdom. with 10 tribes forming the Northern Kingdom of Israel with King Jeroboam The tribe of Judah and Benjamin forming the Kingdom of Judah with King Rehoboam and Jerusalem as its capital.
The kingdom of Judah counted 20 kings over a time span of nearly 350 years ending with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC and the exile of its people to Babylon.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel counted 19 kings over a much shorter period of just two centuries when Samaria the Capital of the northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians.
The book of Kings describes each of these Kings in detail and without exception the 19 Kings of Northern Kingdom of Israel were evil in the sight of the Lord, in 853 BC King Ahab came to the throne and in 1 Kings 16:30 the bible describes Ahab as more evil than all, who were before him.
He took as his wife Jezebel, daughter of the King of the Sidonia. Elijah comes onto the scene in chapter 17.
He warns the King of his evil doings and worshipping the idol God called Baal. Elijah challenges the King and 450 prophets of Baal, to construct an altar while slaughtering a bull. The prophets of Baal plead with their God to ignite the fire, but not surprisingly, nothing happens, to the dismay of the King.
Elijah prepares a similar altar but instead, drenches the pile of wood with so much water it fills the trenches around the altar.
He says a simple prayer to the God of Israel and the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the altar, and the offering, as it went into flames. Then Elijah kills all 450 of the prophets of Baal. King Ahab and Jezebel are now out to get Elijah.
Today’s reading started with Elijah having fled, taking shelter from the scorching sun under a Broom tree. He is not only scared but also depressed, to the point where he says, I have enough of all this, just take my life.
But the Lord sends an angel instead, with freshly baked bread, and a jar of cool water. The Angel wakes him up after a good nap and tells him to get up and eat and get ready for the journey, a journey of 40 days and 40 nights to Mt Horeb.
But where is Mt Horeb. It is called the mountain of God, the place where Moses had his first encounter with God while in hiding from Pharaoh.
Exodus 3 reads: Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
So this was in the land of Midian the same place where he would return with nearly 2 million Israelites after crossing the red sea, months later.
Most bibles will have a map that shows Mount Horeb to be in the Sinai desert, but there is no biblical evidence that this was the case. Based on writings in Exodus and Deuteronomy it is more probable that Mt Horeb was in the land of Midian, nowadays Saudi Arabia, on the mountain that today is called Jebel el Lawz rising 8500ft above sea-level.
The entire top of this mountain is black, burned from the fire when God descended on the mountain in exodus19. At the base of the mountain there is a rock, split in two with evidence of heavy erosion, as this is likely, the rock Moses struck, providing water for the Israelites.
12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel are still at the base of the mountain, so is the stone structure that could have been the altar, built for the Golden Calf and the boundary markers that were set up by Moses as instructed by God in Exodus 19:23.
Local traditions dating back to 250 BC, publications including one from the Base Institute, and an increasing numbers of biblical scholars all point to Mt Horeb in North Western Saudi Arabia. Ron Wyatt went back to this site several times during the 80’s. The Saudi government has since built a huge fence around to entire Mountain and access is prohibited.
For Elijah to travel from the Northern part of Israel to the Saudi Arabian desert could easily have taken 40 days by foot.
In verse 9 he has finely arrived at Horeb where he spent the night in a cave. Then a voice came from the Lord, what are you doing here. Elijah makes his case “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” The voice says go outside stand before the Lord and Lord will pass by. Then there is a strong wind, an earthquake and a great fire.
The Lord did not appear in any of these acts of nature, but the voice of the Lord DID appear after a moment of sheer silence……………………
What can we learn from this, how often are we looking for a solution now, not next week, not tomorrow, not even later today, we want it now.
And then there is sheer silence,,,,,, silence and then a voice: Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.
Elijah was frustrated, depressed, and lonely in a world where there seem to be no light at the end of the tunnel, an evil King and Jezebel his wife, worshipping Baal, and a nation following in these evil ways, doing the things that were displeasing to God.
Is this where we are today? We don’t have Kings and Queens in our Country or in the State of California, but we DO have lawmakers that hold the power, to affect our lives and also set the tone, as leaders of our Country and State.
Two weeks ago some fellow flower farmers and I went to Sacramento to meet with members of the State Assembly and their staffs, to brief these legislators on issues facing their constituents.
Once a year in early summer, an event called the California Roast is held in Sacramento.
As California flower farmers we donated the flowers for this evening and in return were given a table to witness this private event with 600 in attendance.
This Roast is organized by California Center of Civic Participation and over the past 34 years, Governors, Senators, Assembly Speakers, and other government officials have been recognized by their peers in an amusing setting.
This year it was Senator pro term Kevin DeLeon’s turn, to be roasted by current and past leaders in Sacramento. The audience included legislators other government officials.
After a great meal, the Roast convened, and as new comers to this event, we couldn’t believe what we heard, as the F bombs started flying through the sound system. In the little more than an hour presentation by 6 speakers, I heard more F words than in the last two years combined, interweaved with sexually suggestive language, and insinuation of sexual promiscuities.
At one point it starting feeling like a bad dream, how did we find ourselves in this place? We later heard that this year’s event was mild compared to the Roast last year.
I thought by myself, here we have the leadership of California a 2.5 trillion economy. By itself the 7th largest economy in the World and these are our leaders?
These are the folks imposing standards of conduct on the people of the State of California but apparently adhere to a different standard as it comes to their own behavior, yet it is emblematic of where we are heading as a nation.
The foundation of our society is eroding as we are seeing a moral collapse of our values.
In his Book called “The beginning of the End” Michael Snyder points to some facts, of why America is eroding at the base.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention roughly one-third of the entire population of the United States or 110 million people currently have a sexually transmitted disease.
America has the highest STD infection rate in the entire industrialized world
The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, there are 747,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. 106,000 in the state of California alone.
According to Pew research poll, the marriage rate in the United States has fallen to an all-time low with 6.8 marriages per 1000 people.
As we celebrate father’s day today, approximately one out of every three children in the America, lives in a home without a father.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that doctors in the United States write more than 250 million prescriptions for antidepressants each year.
There are 70 million Americans that are on mind-altering drugs of one form or another.
Americans spend more than 280 billion dollars on prescription drugs each year.
Children in the United States are three times more likely to be prescribed antidepressants than children in Europe.
According to the World Health Organization, America has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.
Dr Erwin Lutzer in his book, “When a Nation forgets God” describes how laws currently are made, and where America is heading. Laws, reflect a Nations belief, a culture, they reflect morality and values. Early American laws were based on the moral laws found in the Bible, acknowledging a higher authority than a man or a king, that is, God Almighty!
However with secularism gradually entering into America’s way of life, man slowly displaced God’s authority in the laws that were made.
Thinking about Elijah sitting under that broom tree depressed, and in despair, filled with darkness, there are moments where we can relate today, and wonder where this is all leading to.
But there is hope, a beacon of light in the darkness, and good news.
Five years ago my wife and I visited Israel. We toured the northern part one day; the bus took us through the fertile Jezreel Valley. On the east side of this valley the tour guide pointed to Mt Taboor as he called it, the site of the transfiguration of Jesus.
Not knowing what that meant at the time, but based on its apparent significance, I snapped some pictures. After the trip reading the Gospel accounts of the transfiguration in Mark, Matthew and Luke and the second letter of Peter, it became clear that this was an important event in history.
This was the mountain where Peter, John and James had fallen asleep and by the time they woke up, Jesus was shining with bright rays of light. Then Moses and Elijah appeared next to him and were talking with Jesus.
Isn’t this interesting, here we have Moses who was frustrated with his countryman, the unbelieving Israelites, after coming down from Mt Horeb they had made a Golden Calf.
God forbid him and his people to enter the Promised Land and they spent the next 40 years in the wilderness.
600 years later Elijah was frustrated and depressed with the Israelites and their King and Queen during HIS life time and he was in despair and darkness and traveled 40 day to the same mount Horeb, back to the roots of the law, the Mountain where Moses received the 10 commandments.
Moses died and was buried in the land east of the Jordan river, Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind and chariots of fire after he had crossed the Jordan east of Jericho as described in 2Kings. The Jewish people are still awaiting his return to this day as prophesied in Malachi.
Here Moses, Elijah and Jesus are together and they are talking in a manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Moses and Elijah were messengers; God had spoken directly to them at Horeb. But Jesus the son of God, brings a completely new dimension. A cloud came over the mountain and a voice came out saying: this is my son, my chosen, listen to him.
Ironically, those pictures I snapped that day on the tour, show a cloud hanging over this mountain on an otherwise sunny day.
The voice said: this is my son, listen to him. Moses and Elijah were recipients of the power of God. Jesus on the other hand IS the power.
He is the gift to humankind.
Here is the good news; we can receive this gift of Jesus Christ. We do not need to be lonely in a broken world.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians: Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Repent of your sins, change your mind, and turn loose of the old things.
Jesus will enter your heart, come into our life with peace.
He will break the chains that are holding us down.
He will forgive our sins, take away our guilt and shame and create a brand new slate.
Are you ready to put your faith in Jesus?
Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
He will lead us to the ultimate Kingdom.
That narrow path to eternal life.
Amen
Podcast: Play in new window | Download