Discouragement

I want to speak this afternoon of one of the giants that we all face. Now, we've enjoyed some very practical, encouraging ministry from our brethren this morning, and I don't want to take away from it, but I'd just like to maybe steer in a little different direction today, because we are in a battlefield, and one of the giants that we're facing is the giant of discouragement. So I want to read about three men, and I just perceive that these three men, what we're going to be reading about was not their finest hour.

It wasn't the top point of their lives. It was the low point. But that's the amazing thing, and the very realistic thing about the Bible is that it doesn't cloak anything, does it? It exposes us for what we really are, and yet in the midst of difficulties and failure and discouragement and dark days and down times, yet the grace of God continues, and that's wonderful, isn't it? He's dealing with us.

He's not going to let us go, and we just appreciate the kindness of God to us. So I'm going to read in Numbers chapter 11. I'm going to just read very quickly as far as the pertinent portions are concerned, and I trust God will bless even our reading.

We'll do the reading first in the way it comes in the Scriptures. Numbers chapter 11 and verse number 12. We were hearing about Moses this morning, and in Numbers chapter 11 and verse number 12.

Now look at verse 11. As a nursing father beareth the sucking child unto the land which thou swearest unto their fathers, whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? For they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

And if thou deal'st with me, kill me. I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight, and let me not see my wretchedness. Second reading in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 27.

1 Samuel chapter 27. This time it's not Moses. This time it's David.

And in 1 Samuel chapter 27 and verse number 1. Now David, of course, has been hunted. He's like a partridge in the wilderness. Here's the end conclusion.

1 Samuel chapter 27 verse 1. And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines. And Saul should despair of me to seek me any more in any coast of Israel.

So shall I escape out of his hand. And David arose, and he passed over with the 600 men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maok, king of Gath. And David dwelt with Achish of Gath.

He and his wives, Ahinoam of the Jezreelites and Abigail the Carmelites, Nabal's wife. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath, and he sought no more again for him. Keep going in your Bible to the book of 1 Kings chapter 19.

1 Kings chapter 19. This is after the very dramatic story on Mount Carmel, where the fire fell. But now the circumstances have changed.

And 1 Kings chapter 19 verse 1. And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and with all how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah saying, So let the gods do to me in war also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life, came to Beersheba, which belonged to Judah, and left his servant there.

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree, and he requested for himself that he might die. And he said, It's enough. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better, not better, than my father's.

Just drop down to verse 9. And he came thither unto a cave and lodged there. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, slain thy prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And he says, Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord.

Keep going to Isaiah chapter 42. This was read last night, and I'd just like to read a couple of more verses, a couple of more words, actually. Isaiah chapter 44, and we'll read verse 4. Isaiah 42, verse 4. It says, He shall not fail, notice this, nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth.

And finally, Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, and verse number 24. Hebrews 10, and verse number 24.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love, I'm sorry, to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, encouraging one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Likely people in Garneville will never get discouraged, and that's a very wonderful thing. But maybe they do.

And I think if we're honest, we all have to acknowledge that there have been some low points in our life when we have just kind of come to the end of it all, and we said, I just don't think I can keep on going. Now, I don't think anyone has come here to Garneville to the conference, and you said, I want to die. I don't think anyone has said that.

At least I hope you haven't. But I think maybe with Elijah, some of us are like Elijah, and you might just say, it's enough, Lord. I've had it.

I've had it. So just want to leave this misery. Or maybe with Moses, we might say, these people are just too much for me.

Or to bring it maybe into more familiar terms, my family has caused me so much grief and sorrow and heartache, I just can't handle it anymore. Or we might be like David, as we have read of his concerns in 1 Samuel chapter 27, and we might be like David and say, look, I just can't go on any longer. Things are never, never going to change.

Now, I hope you don't say that, but I've heard those sentiments. Things will never change. And so we put ourselves under the dark cloud of the impossibilities that things will just continue on, nothing will ever change, and that's where David was.

Well, discouragement is a real thing, isn't it? It's a loss of courage, a loss of courage. And if you have come to this conference with a loss of courage, you're discouraged, well, I can give you a very, very simple solution. And for you in Iowa, it's very, very simple.

It's very near. I'm going to suggest that you move to the state of Kansas. You say, why Kansas? Well, have you ever looked at the state song of Kansas? I wonder how many would know what the state song of Kansas is.

Here it is. Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play, where never is heard a discouraging word, and the sky is not clouded all day. Who wouldn't want to live in Kansas? I mean, man, never a discouraging word there.

The sun always shines in Kansas, so let's go. Well, I don't think there's any takers on that one. Now, that's not a solution, is it? God is able to meet our need where we are.

You know, when I think of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have read that very amazing statement in Isaiah chapter 42, Jehovah's servant. And last night we just spoke briefly on the fact that he shall not fail. And that's wonderful truth, isn't it? That's assuring truth.

That's confirming truth. That's encouraging truth. He shall not fail.

And his purposes for us individually and collectively are going to be carried out. He said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And despite the ups and downs of testimony and despite the ups and downs of believers, and I'm not just talking about assembly believers, but the church as a whole, God is still doing his work.

The Lord Jesus is still bringing individuals into his church. And there's a day coming when that mighty project, that mighty ministry is going to be completed. I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

He shall not fail nor be discouraged. And that to me is amazing. Because I've often thought if there was one man, humanly speaking, all right, if there was one man, humanly speaking, that should have been discouraged, it should have been our Lord Jesus Christ.

We read this morning, consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. And from the get-go, there was opposition. There was pushback.

There was a contradiction. The little image that comes to mind, and it's not in the passage, but to me, I just get the picture of a speedboat on the Mississippi River. And this boat is hitting the swells time after time after time.

And the Lord Jesus, from the very start, was hitting the swells of rejection and unbelief and reproach and shame, day after day after day. You see, his birth was questioned, wasn't it? We be not born of foreign occasion, as you were, is what they were implying. His grace was taken for granted.

I've often wondered how many people ever came back to the Lord Jesus and said thank you. Now, we know that there was one leper that came back. Where were the other nine? How many people said thank you for that very wonderful meal that we had from those little boys' lunch? That was fantastic.

Now, 5,000 men, plus women and children, so, I mean, who knows, three times. Thousands of people. I remember just by the side here reading an article on what kind of food requirements are involved in a cruise ship.

Now, there might be 3,000, 4,000 passengers, plus all the crew, and so the food volume is incredible. And if you've ever been on the cruise and you've watched the supplies coming in with the lift trucks, I mean, there's a lot of food coming in for just seven days. Here's 5,000 men, plus women and children, and yet the Lord Jesus was able to meet their – and it wasn't just a little tidbit.

No, they had as much as they wanted because there were 12 baskets left over. How many said thank you, thank you, really appreciate that? You know what they said? Let's make him a king. This is a win-win for us.

He can give us free bread. And the Lord moved away from that rabble crowd. His death was demanded, wasn't it? We want this man out of here.

And they got their wish. His words were twisted. His grace was spurned.

People didn't understand why he was there, and they didn't understand that he loved them. They passed by all of that. His death was demanded.

His resurrection was denied. And his ascension was disregarded. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And yet it says he shall not fail nor be discouraged. And that's why, as we have read this morning, who for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. He had the end point, and yes, not just the end point, but far beyond into eternity, as he appreciated the fact that this great mission that he was on, the very purpose for his coming, would bring glory to his God, to his Father.

And there would be a day when he would stand alongside of all the redeemed, and he'd be able to say, behold, I and the children which God has given to me. Thank God we're going to be among that great, great crowd, undeserved on our part. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied.

Was he ever discouraged? No, no. And that's an amazing thing. Because he could have been.

But he had his eye on the faithfulness of his God. And he had his eye on the people that he'd come to bless. And he had his eye on the eternal purposes of God.

Well, we have read about three men. I'll watch that clock. Now, we have read about three men that, I just put it this way, they fell into the basement of discouragement.

This is not their finest hour. No, this was the low point in their life. We have read in the 11th chapter of Numbers about this dear man, Moses, that we were hearing of this morning, a remarkable man.

And he finally came to the place where he says, look, Lord, I just can't handle these people anymore. It's too hard for me. You know, when I read that passage, I just couldn't help but think that the volume or the tenor of his voice was kind of going up.

He was actually accusing God of saying, look, why did you put me in this circumstance? I can't handle it anymore. You could almost get a sense of anger. He said, look, just kill me.

Just let me get out of my misery. What was the problem? Well, to me, the problem was that Moses was looking at the failure in others alongside of his faithful leadership. And, you know, I'm speaking to elders here and their wives.

You're seeking to guide the Lord's people. It's not an easy task, is it? It's tough. It's tough.

And sometimes there's criticism. Sometimes there's disregard. Sometimes there's all kinds of arrows thrown at you.

And here's Moses. And he says, look, I just can't handle it anymore. Just, Lord, just kill me.

Kill me. Now, in one sense, and Fr. John is likely going to amplify this, but in one sense, it's almost a bit surprising, isn't it, that he would come to this place in his life because he had seen so much of the evidence of God in his life.

There was the incident of the burning bush, and he turned aside, and he was made aware that he was in the very presence of God. Take off your shoes. You're standing on holy ground.

And we see this old 80-year-old shepherd, and he gets down on his knees, and God speaks to him. He saw the tremendous power of God in the plagues there in Egypt. He was there at the Red Sea when that miracle highway opened up.

He was there at Merah when he threw that tree into the bitter waters. It was made sweet. He was there when the manna fell.

He saw all kinds of evidence of God's dealings in his life and the life of these people. But suddenly, that was all blurred. Suddenly, that just kind of lost focus because he had come to a place where he had reached the breaking point, the breaking point.

And he became wretched, and he became miserable and distraught, and he just preferred to die. You say, what was the reason for that, Marv? Well, if you read it carefully, you will find that he used the personal pronoun 13 times, I, me, my, 13 times, just a couple of verses. And so there was now self-occupation.

And every single one of these incidents involved that, self-occupation. It's all about me. I can't handle this anymore.

Why have you put me in these circumstances? And very sadly, he assumed responsibility that really belonged to God. Now, yes, he was out in front. He was the leader.

He was the spokesman, you might say. But he had the assurance that God would take care of his people, and he did. But he forgot about that.

God had promised to bring them into the promised land, and he did. But Moses somehow lost sight of that. You know, he only saw failure instead of faithfulness in these circumstances.

Now, we are a failing people. I don't think that has to be said too loudly because, I mean, we just feel this, don't we? And, you know, it's a very sad thing when, and I'm just going through Exodus, and, you know, it's not very long, not very long, when we hear some murmurings, murmurings. That's sad, isn't it? They were barely out of the land.

Well, in fact, they were just at the Red Sea. And, of course, they were boxed in, and they began to cry out and said, why have you brought us here? Why didn't we stay in Egypt? We had all kinds of things there, and they started to murmur. That's the human heart.

That's my heart. You know, when we murmur, we lose sight of appreciation for what God has done. They fail to look back to where they once were or where they just recently were.

Lack of appreciation of God's grace. And that's one of the reasons why I believe the Lord brings us back to the Lord's Supper every Sunday to remind us, yes, where we once were, what we once were. But what we have been brought into in the wonderful purpose and the wonderful sacrifice of Calvary.

When people murmur, there's a lack of association of Christ. We read this morning, learn of me. My yoke is easy, my burden is light.

We should be a thankful people, as we were reminded this morning. Lack of association. Unthankfulness is not part of the workings of the Holy Spirit.

It marks this world. They're going to be unthankful in these last days. We should be a thankful people.

But when we murmur, it's a lack of appreciation, a lack of association. It's a lack of anticipation. I mean, I would not want to be murmuring when the Lord returns.

And so I trust that we might just understand that God's purposes are being worked out. And as we look at others, and yes, we're going to see flaws. We're going to see failures.

We're going to see disappointments. But I trust we might understand that God is working in the lives of every believer. And we might not just see failure, but we might see God's faithfulness in what he's doing.

We come to Elijah. And when it comes to Elijah, it's almost a similar thing, isn't it? Because here's this one man in a very dramatic scene, isn't it, on Mount Carmel. One man, hundreds of the prophets of Baal.

And there was a day when a moment came when Elijah made that very simple altar. And the sacrifice was put on there. And there was doused with water time after time until that moat around that altar was filled with water.

And then a man prayed a very simple prayer. And the fire fell. The fire fell.

And the next day, the next day, he was running for his life. What a tremendous transformation. And I think what Elijah came to was just the simple fact, I put it down this way, that he was convinced that his whole testimony and his whole witness and his own life of standing for God was fruitless, fruitless.

Despite a courageous stand. And maybe there's somebody here today. You've taught a Sunday school class for years.

You say, nothing's happened. No fruit. Sometimes we have gospel series and there seems to be nothing done.

And there are believers and they live courageously and faithfully for their Lord. And it's not always easy, is it? And here's a man, here's a dear prophet, one of the great men of the Old Testament. And he just came to the place where there was seeming fruitlessness despite his courageous stand.

You know, I've often wondered if Elijah had only stayed. You see, the nation was being awakened. They were being brought back from apostasy.

The fire of God had fallen. And very likely the gains could have been made. These 7,000 that were unseen to Elijah's eyes, they very likely would have amassed together and brought revival in their midst.

But now Elijah's running. And he leaves a servant along the way and he goes another day's journey, crawls under a juniper tree, and he says, Lord, I'm finished. It's enough.

I'm no better than those before me. I'm going to die. And I think when we look at this very personal passage, we understand that there are some causes.

You see, here's a man and he was marked by physical exhaustion, physical exhaustion. It was a physical thing, wasn't it? And sometimes the Lord's people, they go through some really tough times physically. And they just reach the end point.

He was keenly sensitive to his lonely position. He says, I'm the only one that's left. And so that's the Elijah complex, isn't it? I'm the only one that's left.

Sometimes we get to feel like that. And that's a very, very sad, sad moment. In fact, I don't think Brother Clark has ever, I don't know if you've ever heard of this.

But you see, he was infected with ingrown-itis, eyeball-itis. Have you ever heard of that? Ingrown-itis, eyeball-itis. Well, that just simply means that he saw two of everything.

It was all about poor Elijah. And he looked away from God to his circumstances. You see, he had endured previously as seeing him who was invisible.

But when he heard Jezebel's threats, he said, I better run. I better get out of here. You know what's interesting? When dear Peter was walking on the water, that was an act of faith, wasn't it? Got out of the boat, walked on the water, something that none of us have ever done.

But dear Peter was. But it just says when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. He began to sink.

Well, sometimes we see the wind boisterous around us, don't we? And we're convinced we're the only one that's left. And we begin to go down. You see, Elijah, he didn't think realistically.

He got caught up in the backwash of this tremendous victory on Mount Carmel. And he was hit in the most vulnerable place. So what's the solution, very quickly? The solution was he was given a very well-deserved rest.

And, you know, believers, when you're going through tough times physically, and I know there's fathers and mothers here, and sometimes you're pushed to the extremity, come to your part and rest a while. It's very practical, isn't it? We need physical rest to kind of regroup, to refresh, to get a new, just a new perspective, mentally, physically. We need a well-balanced diet.

We were hearing about spiritual health this morning, a well-balanced diet. And so here's the angel, and he came and he says, Elijah, rise up and eat. It's a good meal.

Then he went down to sleep again. And what Elijah needed was a well-needed look at God and his faithfulness. And that's what, of course, took place outside the cave.

You know, I think that's one of the reasons for a conference like this, that God would allow us to come and have another well-deserved, well-needed look at the realities of our God. We might count on God's faithfulness. God is still doing his work.

And though we might not see 7,000 believers around us, yet God has his people. And the work of God is continuing. Do you know what's interesting? I'll just mention this before I pass on.

It's interesting that the angel never reproved him, did he? He did say, what are you doing here? But you know, when a Christian, when a person is discouraged, you don't have to thunder at him. You don't have to reprove him. They're in a precarious position.

And very likely we're facing believers that are discouraged. They've lost courage. They've lost strength.

Walk carefully with them. They need to be built up in their confidence before God. We've read about David.

And David, there was a sense of frustration with circumstances that seemed to be unchanging. And I think a lot of us can relate to that. Sometimes we pray.

Prayers are left unanswered, it seems. Circumstances never change. Sometimes we're in assemblies, and sometimes it's really tough, tough to continue on.

We see all kinds of things that distress us. And here's David, and he's being hunted. Haunted, relentlessly, by a king that hated him and was plotting to give his life.

And so if you ever go to Israel, you'll go to a place called En Gedi. And if you go there, it's an amazing thing, because you'll come to David's waterfall. And there are very steep pathways going up.

Now, there's handrails there now, but not when David was there. He was being hunted, and he was being pursued. And he finally came to the place where he says, look, I'm going to perish.

I'm going to perish. I'm going to die. I'll never, never, never accomplish what God wants me to do.

And he says, it's just better for me to go to the enemy, and Saul won't search for me. You know, the sad thing about this is that there was a fallout for dear David. Yes, Saul stopped following him, and so there was a false sense of security.

David likely said, it's working, it's working. But it wasn't where God wanted him to be. He now had an alliance with the enemy, with the adversary.

There was a lengthy period of compromise. And do you know of any psalms and any songs that were written during those years, those months? There was nothing, nothing. He lost his identity, and finally it ended up at Ziklag, didn't it? Where he lost his homes, and his wives were taken, and his families were taken.

It was a down time in David's life. And yet, we understand that even in those circumstances, David sought to encourage himself in the Lord. I need to close because I just want to say this.

Encouragement is a tremendous need among us. And it's a responsibility for all of us concerning fellow believers. We read in Hebrews chapter 10, consider one another to provoke them to love and to good works, and to exhort one another, to build one another up, to encourage them.

And so it's a responsibility of all of us. It's a tremendous need, and I trust that we might take it to heart. There are likely believers here, and maybe they're going through some hard times.

So as I close, just let me just suggest this. I think there's two questions. Who can I encourage this week? Who can I encourage this week? And number two, how can I do it most effectively? As you look around the assembly, as you look around individuals that you rub shoulders with, they might have a very wonderful smile, but maybe deep down within, there's weeping, there's sorrow, there's heartache.

Who can I encourage? Who can I put strength into? And how can I do it most effectively? It might be just a cup of coffee. It might be a phone call. It might be an email.

It might be just say, look, let's get together. I've been thinking about you. I just want to encourage you.

I really appreciate what you've done. And you might find some honest way of seeking to build them up. That's the need of today.

I like this story. Maybe you've heard it, but there was a little newspaper boy in the city of Chicago, and you're well aware that Chicago is known as the Windy City, and it is. And it was wintertime.

This little boy was standing on the street corner. It was past closing time. It was dark.

It was wintertime. He was dressed very poorly. And he was standing there, and crowds had diminished.

And the businessman was going home. And he just about passed the little paper boy, passed it by, and when he noticed out of his side of his eye, he says he saw this little boy, and he must have been cold. So he stopped.

And he said, how many papers do you have, son? He says, I have six. He says, I'll take them all. And the little boy could hardly imagine that this businessman would take all of his papers.

And so he gave him the six papers. The businessman gave him some money, and the businessman said, that's a pretty cold night, isn't it? The little paper boy said, it's a lot warmer since you came. And you know, that's what we need, isn't it? It's a lot warmer since you came.

And I trust as we rub shoulders with one another, we might increase the temperature in a very beneficial way, that we might encourage the Lord's people's hearts. We might build them up. We might associate ourselves with them.

We might try to understand where they come from. And that in the midst of all of life's trials, and there are some, and there are a lot, we might not be discouraged. The loss of strength.

May the Lord bless His Word.