The Credit We Desire
The passage from 1 Kings 19:9-10 provides crucial insights into the longing for recognition and affirmation. This reflection delves into the human desire for credit and validation, offering a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play in our pursuit of acknowledgment. Through exploring the context and implications of these verses, readers can gain valuable perspectives on the nature of validation and its impact on individual identity and self-worth.
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Presentation Transcript
The Credit We Desire 1 Kings 19:9-10
Have I Ever Desired Credit?
All is yellow to the jaundiced eye. -Alexander Pope
God, I thank You that Im not like other people -greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get (Luke 18:11).
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, God, turn Your wrath from me a sinner! I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:13 14 HCSB
He entered a cave there and spent the night. Then the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? He replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts, but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life. Then He said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord s presence. 1 Kings 19:9 11 HCSB
Self-pity - comes from the feeling of not getting noticed, not getting the credit. -Rev. R.T. Kendall
So when the spotlight you shine does not get acknowledge you can feel slighted by both self-pity and self-righteousness, I did great, I deserve credit, where is my credit.
Sowhat are you doing here, Elijah?
Why did God have Elijah travel for 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Horeb (Mount Sinai) - the Mountain of God?
40 days and 40 nights or 40 years is a significant : Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights (Mt. 4:2), Jesus remained on the earth for 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3), God gave Ninevah 40 days to repent (Jonah 3:4), woman are pregnant for 40 weeks, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights leading to end of all life on earth except those in the arc (the Flood; Gen 7:4), Moses was on Mount Sinai (Mountain of God; Horeb) for 40 days and nights (Ex. 24:18).
The spies searched Canaan for 40 days (Num. 13:25), Moses was again with God for 40 days and 40 nights to make the new tablets (Ex. 34:28). God allowed the promised land to rest for 40 years (3x, Judges 3:11, 5:31, 8:28), God gave Israel over to their enemy for 40 years (Judges 13:1), Goliath presented himself for 40 days (1 Sam. 17:16), Eli judged Israel for 40 years (1 Sam. 4:18), King David ruled over Israel for 40 years (2 Sam. 5:4; 1 Kings 2:11).
When God sends on a journey to His mountain it is usually to think to think about who really deserves the credit.
The wilderness of self-pity and self- righteousness is where we want to go, but God desires to lead us back to His mountain, His glory.
Self-righteousness is the inability to see and admit that, I am wrong.
Self-righteousness is the failure to see and admit that I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They ve got their reward! But when you give to the poor, don t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:1 4 HCSB
What Do We ChooseThe Mountain of God or the Wilderness?
Then He said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord s presence. At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. 1 Kings 19:11 18 HCSB
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah? I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts, he replied, but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they re looking for me to take my life. Then the Lord said to him, Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 1 Kings 19:11 18 HCSB
You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. But I will leave 7,000 in Israel every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him. 1 Kings 19:11 18 HCSB
But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, Why did you make me like this? Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor? And what if God, desiring to display His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath ready for destruction? And what if He did this to make known the riches of His glory on objects of mercy that He prepared beforehand for glory Romans 9:20 23 HCSB
For He knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust. Psalm 103:14 HCSB
When we believe we are the only one standing for the truth of God, there is always a remnant one bigger than we think.
Do Not Go Looking for Credit
The self-righteous wallow in the wilderness, looking for credit. God, though, desires to bring us to Himself, through journeys of reflection, not condemnation.
