Have you ever noticed that when watching an action adventure movie or intense drama that they always play up the danger or imminent peril?  If there is a bomb that has to be defused, the hero will always take so long to defuse it that there will be only a few seconds left then guesses which wire to cut.  If someone is looking for treasure, the bad guys will always show up at the worst possible time? Or you will have to run from the authorities to prove your innocence and If there is a worst case scenario then you can bet that is the one that will unfold before you.

Now some will say that is just how you make the show more exciting and who wants to go to a movie where nothing exciting ever happens.  I mean, who wants such a boring life anyway…..

Well I do

If we go to the Doctor, what do we want to hear?  Oh its nothing, don’t even worry about it.  If we are driving, do we want a car chase?  No.  Do we want to enter the bank right as its being robbed?  I don’t think so.  And maybe hanging off a ledge may seem fun for some but not me.

But we do have drama in our lives.  It may not be the stuff of movies.

 

• Will we get that Job
• Will we have a place to live
• That trial at work
• That Health trial 
• That strife at home
• What if this or that doesn’t happen.  Drama, drama, drama.

 

Our lives are filled with Drama.  Sometimes it’s one big trial, other times its lots of little ones.  But most people want an easy life.  And while there are people that seem to seek drama and create it if they can’t find it, we are not like that, are we?  That is the stuff for Hollywood movies ……. Oh, and God too.

The title for today’s sermon is

NO MORE DRAMA

We can reduce the amount of drama in our lives.  I saw a poster once that said, “If you create your own storms, don’t get mad when it rains”.  Sometimes we just go looking for it.  Other times we create it for attention.  But sometimes, God uses Drama to get our attention.  Today I am going to give you 3 ways that God uses Drama in our lives.  Of course, if we could just believe what God says and follow him every day we would rarely ever have to deal with drama.  But we wrestle with the human nature which means we wrestle with drama.  If we learn what He needs us to, then we can avoid drama in the future.  The first way that God uses Drama in our lives is:

1.To Teach us Valuable Lessons 

Our bibles are full of drama and exciting cliffhangers recorded many times over.  Think about the lessons that are right there in our bibles that we can read again and again and save ourselves from having to learn the hard way.  The Drama in Abraham’s life taught him faith and that allowed him to survive the biggest challenge of his life, sacrificing his son.  Joseph suffered greatly by being attacked by his own brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused and then thrown into Jail.  All to learn character. 

Drama, with all of its stress, has its uses.  Turn over to 1 Kings 18. 

The life of a prophet was always loaded with Drama.  From the Life of Samuel to that of Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Jerimiah.  One prophet that knew drama well was Elijah. Samuel had to deal with the Saul and his problems, Jerimiah had the weak kings that brought down Judah.  But look at what Elijah had to deal with.  Elijah was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel after its split with Judah.  Judah had many good kings; something the northern kingdom desperately needed all of its existence. Let’s read how Expositor’s Bible Commentary says about this time.

Expositor's Bible Commentary

Ahab's twenty-two-year reign marked the depths of spiritual decline in Israel. No more notorious husband and wife team is known in all the sacred Scriptures. Ahab built on his father's foundation, not only in bringing Israel into the arena of international conflict but causing it to serve and worship Baal.

 

Ahab was a man of complex character. The remainder of this chapter makes it clear that he was unconcerned with true, vital faith. Not only did he participate personally in the sins of Jeroboam, but having willingly married Jezebel, he followed her in the worship of Baal-Melqart, officially instituting and propagating Baal worship throughout his kingdom.   There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD"

This is the world that God Called Elijah to work in.  And if he is going to give these people a chance to repent then God is going to use drama to do it.  Lots of drama.  We will set the stage in 1 Kings 18:1-2

1 Kings 18:1-2   NKJ And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."  2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria.

So times were very tough and water and food was scarce.

 

1 Kings 18:21-29   21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.  22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.  23 "Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it.  24 "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God."

 

This is high drama.  Think about how hungry the people were sitting there all day and watching this sacrifice bake in the sun and they get none of it.

26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!" But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.  27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."  28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.  29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.  But then what happened?

 

1 Kings 18:33-34   33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood."  34 Then he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time; and he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time.

 

Did you catch the part earlier where it was a severe famine and drought in the land?  Elijah took precious water, a lot of it.  And poured it out all over the ground right in front of very thirsty people.  Do you think God had their attention?  This will be one of those miracles that no one will be able to deny.  They were about to get to the bottom of the issue once and for all.

 

1 Kings 18:37-38   37 "Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."  38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

 

 

God allows trials in our lives to turn our hearts back to him.  We need to stop when a big trial hits or even lots of little ones and ask ourselves, where is our heart right now.  Does God have our full attention? 

Do we need more drama to get the point across? 

 

2.  To Change Our Minds or Even Our Will 

Now ultimately we have free moral agency.  But to save an entire planet He uses people, animals, even the earth itself to bring about His will.  Ultimately we can be assured that God’s will be done.  Take the story of Jonah as a perfect example. 

 

Jonah 1:1-3  NKJ Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amitta-i, saying,  2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me."  3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

 

 

Jonah was highly motivated not to go do the work of God.  Now we often think of Jonah as just this guy that God picked up off the street, minding his own business.  But here’s the problem with the abducted innocent bystander idea.  The main issue with Jonah was wanted to be a great prophet but complained to God that if God does not destroy Nineveh like He said, then Jonah might be considered a false prophet.  But to be a great prophet you needed Character and that seemed lacking in Jonah so God put him in a situation where it would be Jonah’s will, or God’s.  The end of chapter 1 says:    

   (Reading from the NLT in verse :17)

 

Jonah 1:17 - 2:10  17 Now the LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.  NLT Jonah 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish.  2 He said, "I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the world of the dead, and LORD, you heard me!  3 You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.  4 Then I said, 'O LORD, you have driven me from your presence. How will I ever again see your holy Temple?' 5 "I sank beneath the waves, and death was very near. The waters closed in around me, and seaweed wrapped itself around my head.  6 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was locked out of life and imprisoned in the land of the dead. But you, O LORD my God, have snatched me from the yawning jaws of death!  7 "When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.  8 Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God's mercies.  9 But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone."  10 Then the LORD ordered the fish to spit up Jonah on the beach, and it did.

 

It is clear reading here that when Jonah’s will had broken, then, and only then, would he turn to God and accept whatever job God had for him.  Each of us has had those trials where we are going down the wrong road but we are too stubborn to turn around, repent and ask God for help.

Can you think of a time when you wanted one thing and God said no?  That doesn’t mean you can never have it.  God may ultimately give it to you just to teach you a lesson.  If this has ever happened to you then you know that getting what you want is not always the best thing.

It was like the time I wanted to bring a car back to Ambassador for my second year.  I had it all worked out but it kept breaking down and I sunk most of my money into fixing it because I wanted that car there and I wasn’t taking no for an answer.  Well, I took that car to college after sinking most of my tuition getting it running.  I had it there that whole year and realized I needed to sell it to pay my college bill.  Had I listened early I would have had my tuition and my car and when I got back from school I would not have gone without wheels.

The Last reason I want to share today on how God uses the Darkest before the Dawn concept in our lives is this:

3.  He wants us to Fully Rely on Him and Not Ourselves 

We all should know the story of Moses and the Children of Israel marching out of Egypt with their heads held high.  All they needed to do was rely on God to keep doing what they saw Him do in front of Pharaoh and life would be good. But instead of relying on God they doubted at every turn.  How does God get through to them?  Turn over to Exodus 13.  The people had no clue what awaited them and instead of going like a child being led by a parent, they went kicking a screaming like a different kind of child.

 

Exodus 13:17 - 14:14   17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt."  18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt. 

 

So at first Glance, God is leading the people away from Danger so they don’t get scared and return to Egypt.

 

Moving down to verse 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.  22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

 

He Leads them by Pillar and they people could always see the LORD and knew He was always with them.  Then in chapter 14:1 He leads them into a trap.  And He Tells Moses in Verse 3:

 

  NKJ Exodus 14:3  3 "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.'

 

Then he leads them in a way that would make the Pharaoh believe they are in distress. And, as if that is not enough, in Verse 8 He adds even more drama.

 

8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.  9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.  10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

 

Now the Israelites went out with boldness (This is good, right?).  Then to make sure Pharaoh takes the bait, He hardens his heart so that he pursued the Israelites

Here again, God had their whole attention.  He wanted them to rely only on Him.  We often go first to fix problems ourselves and only when we see that we can’t fix them that we turn to God.

Why don’t we turn to God first?  Why do we always try to fix it first?

13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.  14 "The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

God sometimes let trials in our lives go a long time so that we can really trust Him.  If you have a trial that has gone on way too long.  Ask yourself If you have really let go of the worry about how it will end?  Are you really free of it?  The tendency is to think about and go over what may or may not happen again and again. 

But what God really wants is for us to truly rely on Him for our future.

He has given us so many resources for answers to life’s problems.  First of all we have our relationship with Him.  It should be first and foremost in our lives.  Every problem, every decision, every question starts there.  Then He gives us His Word in the form of our bibles and in the Body and Spirit of Jesus Christ to live in us and help us each and every Day.  We only need to follow Him.  And we have each other to build each other up and lean on one another as we get through the all the Drama of this life.  I read that

“Faith is not knowing what the future holds, but knowing who holds the future.”

We may not want drama in our lives but when we find it, we need to learn what God wants us to and then maybe we can learn to avoid so much drama in the future.