Richvale Community Church
Sunday, September 6, 2026
- Good Morning…We’re in our sermon series on the life of Elijah, “How to Hear God Through the Noise.”And today we’re looking at how to avoid the pitfalls of burnout.We’ve all had that check-engine light come on in our cars..And it always seems to come on at the most inconvenient time.How many of us have ignored it?We think, “I’ll give it a day or two and see what happens.”then we pray…Some how it’s still on..Have you noticed..thatNothing good ever happens when we ignore something that needs our attention.And that is true of our lives —There are warning signs that begin to show up when we’re running low.Maybe it’s fatigue.irritability.discouragement.Maybe you start losing your joy.you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by things that normally wouldn't matterBut..We keep pushing through.We keep telling ourselves,“I’m fine.Because it’s “just a busy season”I just need to get through this week.”But what happening is actually our soul telling us, “You’re running on empty.”These can be signs of burn out..BURNOUThas been Defined as ..“ a state of mental, physical and spiritual exhaustion.”It’s about not having enough fuel in our tanks.IT is a gradual process… OF DEPLETED ENERGY ..AND it is like slow leak.Over time, the weight and demands of life begin todeplete US OF our Joy.. our resources.And if we keep pushing without paying attention to those warning signs, eventually something gives in.And here what’s interesting —The things we ignore aren’t necessarily negative…We can love what we’re doing..We can love our familyWE can love our jobWe can love serving peopleAND STILL EXPERIENCE BURNOUT..And that's what makes the story of Elijah so important.Because Elijah wasn't running from God.He wasn't a man who had abandoned his calling.He was a man who had been faithfully serving God…But he was living in difficult times..The Northern Kingdom had fallen into apostasy and had entered one of the darkest periods in its history..God used himElijah stood up as Gods voice before king Ahab.He confronted the false prophets of Baals.He stood on Mount Carmel and watched God answer with fire from heaven.He Saw Israel returning from idols to the true God ..You would think That Elijah would be on a spiritual high.,And may rhe was for a moment..But just a short time later,We find Elijah sitting under a broom tree.—Tired, depressed and burned out..Wanting to end it all..How does that happen?James tells us that Elijah - was a man like us — Who was also had prone to weaknesses.. who needed to depend on God..T/S We learn from the life of Elijah — How to Avoid the Pit Falls of Burn out.1. Don’t Let yesterdays Victory Exhaust you.One of the mistakes we can make as Christians is thinking the victorious life always trends upward.We think it goes from one mountaintop to another—one victory to another, one breakthrough to another.But we have seasons in life.We have Summers and winters.. Spring and fall..There are times when things are growing, and there are times when it feels like everything has gone dormant.There are seasons of blessing and seasons of battles.Thomas Brooks said,“The best of saints have their seasons of darkness.” Thomas Brooks1 Kings 18 ends on a high.There has been this incredible contest on Mount Carmel between 450 prophets of Baal and Elijah,Elijah lays out the challenge.One altar.One sacrifice.One God who answers by fire…is the true God..And God answers.Fire falls from heaven.The prophets of Baal are defeated.The people turn their hearts back to God.But Elijah isn't finished.BecauseGod had promised rain.. Even after the battles there is need to hold on to the promises..Elijah tells Ahab, “Get ready.” (Rain is going to come — the promise is coming)I love this. Elijah hears the sound of rain before he sees the rain. Thats Faith..Elijah goes up to the top of Carmel, gets down on his knees, and begins to pray.He sends his servant to look toward the sea. Nothing.The servant comes back. Nothing.Elijah sends him again.Nothing.Seven times Elijah sends him.And then, on the seventh time, the servant comes back and says,“Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”And Elijah says to Ahab, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’”The heavens grow black with clouds and wind.And suddenly the rain comes.Verse 45 says,vrs 45.
1 Kings 18:45–46 ESV 45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.Do r you love the rain at the end of summer…Rain is simbol of blessing snd restoration in the Bible…There are former rain sand later rains …There is nothing like a seasoned of blessing ..and when..God pours out blessing there is a sense of victory… excitement and energy…feel God’s annointing and presence on your life..God is movingWe told that hand of the Lord was on Elijah…He could feel.- His Power, Strength and direction..In that powerfully..Elijah lifted up his long garments — runs to Jezreel…Elijah - Fueled up God power and runs to Jezreel —and miraculously arrives there before Ahab….This is the Pinnacle Elijahs of Ministry— Huge win for Elijah and God’s people…… we have to know when God is moving we are often a target if the ememy..I recently read David Platt’s comments on this passage,He said that when he looks at his own life, even in ministry,some of the times when things are going the best ..are the times when he felt most vulnerable to the attack of the enemy.And I understand that…because rhis often happen a.Because in these seasons of blessings..You’ve often giving. You’re serving. You’ve been pouring yourself out.And sometimes, right after a great victory, you’re simply tired.We see this in some of the greats likeCharles Haddon Spurgeon.He was known as the “Prince of Preachers.”By the time he was twenty-two years old, he was already one of the best-known preachers in London.His church grew so quickly that they eventually built the Metropolitan Tabernacle, a building that could seat around six thousand people.Every Sunday, people would come to hear Spurgeon preach.He preached to millions of people during his lifetime, and his sermons continued to reach millions more after he was gone.You look at a life like that and you think, “Man, God really used that guy.”And He did.But here's what is interesting about Spurgeon.Behind all of that ministry was a man who struggled with deep discouragementSpurgeon once told his students,“I know by most painful experience what deep depression of spirit means.” Spurgeonhe felt depression..And on another occasion, he wrote to a friend ..and said..that although he had never lost his faith in God, there were times when he felt like “the cable has been strained to the limit.”Elijah the great man of God..had just experienced one of the greatest victories of his life.And yet..Elijah finds himself exhausted, discouraged, and sitting under a tree asking God to let him die.The truth is..You can be faithful to God and still become exhausted.T/S We learn from the life of Elijah — How to Avoid the Pit Falls of Burn out.1. Don’t Let yesterdays Victory Exhaust you.2. Don't Let Today's Fear Rewrite God's Story —A few years ago, my nephew Brendan AND his wife Camile got married in Florida, and our whole family came together for the wedding.After the wedding, we had planned to spend a week together at Daytona Beach. We were really looking forward to having that time as a family.And then we arrived.And the weather was terrible.There was this blustering wind and rain, and it just wouldn't stop. It rained pretty much the entire week.Now, in one way, you could say the weather ruined our family gathering. We had traveled all that way, we had just celebrated a wedding together, and we were looking forward to this great week at the beach.But that's not how I remember it.Because even though the weather didn't cooperate, we decided we were going to make the best of it…We played board …told stories…we had so much fun..We ended up making some amazing memories…Here is the thing..the way we narrate or frame our lives matters.We can look at everything that went wrong.We can focus on the rain.We can focus on the disappointment.Or we can look for God's grace and recognize ..ALL the blessings that were there in the middle of it.In Chapter 19 When King Ahab arrives in Jezreel..He goes straight to Jezebel and tells all that had happened at Mt Carmel..He tells Jezabel that he found Elijah …but.. he had challenged and defeated the prophets of Baal…And people had turned back to the God of Israel..you can imagine How this news impacted Jezebel..Jezebel responded immediately and threatened Elijah life—1 Kings 19:1–2 ESV 1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”so— Jezebel threatens Elijah … that sure as see is a live..Elijah is go to die….and this threatImpact Elijah’s ..Elijah Realized something..He may have beaten Ahab and all the false prophets, but he hadn’t beaten Jezebel, and now all her fury was directed at him.…that there him I to a tail spin..He allows fear to take over the narrative..He allows the Fear of Jezabels words to rewrite the Story..Just one threat from Jezebel sent Elijah running..—1 Kings 19:3–4 ESV 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”There is Lesson here…about whose voice we listen too…. There so me people that will never give you the affirmation you are looking for..movie on!Elijah allowed Jezebels voice to be louder then everyone else.Notice the progressionFirst He leaves with his servant .. and goes to Beersheba.. in Judah…This as far as you could get from Jezreel.....Northen kingdom all the way South.— When he gets to BeershebaHe leaves His Servant behind…Here is the thing.he leaves..The one person who would encourage himThis is the same servant thatwitnessed the miracleThe one who was sent t go and look for the cloud..The same servant that witnessed his faith now sees a very different Elijah..But ..He could have encouraged Elijah..He leaves his servant there…he goes on his own .He then goes a days journey into the wilderness. that is About 15 mile journey…. into the middle of nowhere — sits under a broom tree…He begins to look all the failures.... He not only looks at h is won ministry..He numbers himself with all the prophets who have failed…Elijah says “I am no better than my fathers,”We have all fail Ed —the looser prophets who failed to turn Israel from idolatry..Burn out has a way if making things a loss worse thank they are..You cans see the processess— Victory →Threat →Fear →Flight →Isolation →Exhaustion →Despair— He thought he would be better off dead..This one of Satans biggest lies… for,these who have ever entertained this thought..When we tell our selves we no good… we put our selves above tribunal in heaven..God the Father the Son and Holy Spirit..all see our worth..God says we are enough..God himself, took our punishment …so we would he free…not only from sin…the guilt and shame..We need to remember our Enemy is set on our destruction.1 Peter 5:8 ESV 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.the Bible are to resist.the enemy…and he will flee..T/S We learn from the life of Elijah — How to Avoid the Pit Falls of Burn out.1. Don’t Let yesterdays Victory Exhaust you.2. Don't Let Today's Fear Rewrite God's Story —3. Let God's Grace Restore Your Strength for Tomorrow —William Carey, the “Father of Modern Missions,” spent years translating the Bible into the languages of India.Then, on March 11, 1832, disaster struck.The printing press at his mission headquarters caught fire and burned to the ground.Years of work were destroyed—Bibles, manuscripts, dictionaries, books.Work that had taken years to produce was gone in a matter of hours.When Carey heard the news, he was devastated.He said,“The work of years—gone in a moment.”But then he wrote,“We are cast down, but not in despair.”And they started the work again.The printing ministry was rebuilt, and God continued to use Carey to put the Scriptures into language after language.I love that because Carey understood something:A setback doesn’t mean the story is over.Sometimes you have to stop.Sometimes you have to rest.Sometimes you have to let God restore your strength.And then, when you’re ready, you get back up and keep going.And that’s exactly what God does with Elijah.1 Kings 19:5–8 ESV 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.I love the way God responds to Elijah.God doesn’t begin with a lecture.God doesn’t say, “Elijah, what’s wrong with you?”He doesn’t rebuke him for being exhausted.God begins by taking care of him.He allows Elijah to sleep.Then an angel wakes him up and says, “Arise and eat.”And there at his head is a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water.Elijah eats.Then he goes back to sleep.And I think there’s something here that we often forget when we’re burned out.We are physical beings.Sometimes we want to make every problem spiritual.We think, “I just need to pray more.”And certainly, we need to pray.But sometimes you also need to eat.Sometimes you need to sleep.Sometimes you need to step away.Sometimes you need to let your body catch up with what your spirit has been carrying.God created us as whole people—body, mind, and spirit.And notice something else.God doesn’t just feed Elijah once.1 Kings 19:7 ESV 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”He feeds him a gain again says..The journey is too great for you.That’s an incredibly gracious statement.God is acknowledging something Elijah needed to acknowledge:You have limits.You can’t keep going forever on your own strength.You can’t live indefinitely on yesterday’s adrenaline.You cannot keep pouring out without eventually needing to be poured back into.And sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is admit,“I’m tired.”“I need to stop.”“I need to rest.”Because rest is not weakness.Rest is not quitting.Rest is recognizing that you are not God.You have limits.But here’s the good news:Your limits do not limit God’s grace.God knows what Elijah needs.God provides what Elijah needs.And God gives Elijah strength for what comes next.Elijah thought he was finished.1 Kings 19:8 ESV 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.here is the turn arround the reversal if the Story..Elijah thought the story was over. But God wasn’t finished with Elijah.God was preparing him for the next chapter.Godmgives him strengthened form40 more days..CONCLUSIONGrowing up, my family had dirt bikes, and I’ll never forget one time when my dad had just bought a new Yamaha.He took it out for a test ride—and he was gone for hours.We started getting worried, so my brother and I went looking for him.Eventually, we found him pushing that motor cycle..up and down this hill.First he thought he had stalledHe realized had run out of gas.We found he look Ed so tried..My brother got on the bike, turned on the reserve tank—and the thing started on the first try.He forgot…abiut thr deserve tank…My dad hadn't run out of fuel. He had just reached the end of what was immediately available to him.And I think sometimes that's what happens to us spiritually.We reach the end of our strength and we assume we've reached the end of God's provision.But that is where God is..But Elijah had reached the end of himself—not the end of God's grace.Grace gives us strength….charles AllenIn the Bible there are three distinctive meanings of grace; it means the mercy and active love of God; it means the winsome attractiveness of God; it means the strength of God to overcome.Charles L. AllenGod gives strengthened.. 40 day journey…But whenOur hope is that when our strength runs out, Christ is still enough.And maybe that's where some of us are today.You may be tired, but you're not finished.You may have reached the end of your strength, but you have not reached the end of His grace.…Grace is his strengtheningWe can .. Labor Day…Come to me all you who are warey and I’ll will give you rest..Let God restore today what He has called you to do tomorrow.the God who met Elijah under that tree is the same God who meets us in our weakness.And when our strength runs out—His grace doesn't.Amen.Communion.. 1 Kings 18:45–46ESV
1 Kings 19:1–2ESV
1 Kings 19:3–4ESV
1 Peter 5:8ESV
1 Kings 19:5–8ESV
1 Kings 19:7ESV
1 Kings 19:8ESV
Richvale Community Church
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