The Messenger
1 Kings 19:1-3 NKJV
Elijah Escapes from Jezebel
19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
Jezebel first appears in Scripture as the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, who became the wife of King Ahab (1 Kings 16:31). She did not merely practice idol worship in private; she sought to reshape the spiritual atmosphere of an entire nation. Her goal was never simply personal sin but the replacement of the worship of the true God with the worship of Baal.
She promoted false religion, supported hundreds of false prophets, and persecuted the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4, 19). Her greatest enemy was never Elijah himself; it was the Presence of God. Wherever God’s people were called to repentance, surrender, and covenant worship, Jezebel sought to establish counterfeit worship instead. The same influence is still seen today whenever entertainment replaces reverence, compromise replaces holiness, or religion replaces genuine intimacy with God.
The Lord Jesus also referred to Jezebel in His message to the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2:20-23. There He rebuked the church for tolerating a woman symbolically called “Jezebel,” who was leading God’s servants into immorality and idolatry through false teaching.
Notice the progression: first comes false teaching, then seduction, then compromise, and finally destruction. The enemy rarely begins by asking people to openly reject God. Instead, compromise is introduced slowly until what was once unthinkable becomes acceptable. Deception almost always begins by making sin appear harmless.
The messenger of 1 Kings1:2 was an influencer; they came with a word to the Prophet of God. Jezebel’s greatest weapon against Elijah was not her sword but her message.
An important lesson from Elijah’s life is that even mighty servants of God can become vulnerable when they are physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and spiritually weary. After Mount Carmel, Elijah fled into the wilderness. Yet God’s first response was not rebuke. He gave Elijah rest, food, water, and another encounter with His presence before speaking to him in the still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12). Sometimes the greatest answer to spiritual warfare is not another battle but a fresh encounter with the Lord. God’s presence restores what fear attempts to steal.
The devil would love to hijack the term Messenger, The term Angel really means messenger.
Unlike the messenger of 1 Kings 19:2, that messenger had no power or authority. Angels carry messages, and authority to use Power to fulfill the assignments of God, speaking for God.
Matthew 28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
Look at this messenger.
Daniel 6:22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”
Protection of Daniel: In the Book of Daniel, angels are depicted as protectors of God’s faithful servants. When Daniel is thrown into the lions’ den, an angel is sent to shut the mouths of the lions, demonstrating God’s will to protect His servant. “My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him”
The messengers of God come to fulfil the divine will of God.
The Nature of Repentance: Repentance is more than mere regret or sorrow for sin; it involves a genuine turning away from sin and a turning towards God. It is a transformative process that aligns the heart and mind with God’s will. The joy of angels over repentance signifies the profound spiritual change that occurs when a sinner returns to God, marking a new beginning and a restored relationship with the Creator.
Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The messengers of heaven carry revelation they have been with the Lord they have been in the throne room.
I cannot over emphasis what it means to walk where Angels walk, let’s walk with the Lord, he gave us the invitation.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The realm of the Spirit is supernatural, this is the realm where God’s throne is, and when your born again the kingdom of God comes inside of you; the abiding Presence of God will live in your heart.
Acts 1:8 says you shall receive Power: 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Notice it’s not talking about Angels now, it’s talking about us, the church.
Messengers of Light
John 1:6-9 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
Ephesians 6:12-13 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Tonight I don’t come with a message, God said its time to receive Power. It is your time to be set free, I see the door of your tomb rolling open not closed. Hell has a plan to kill you, but God has another plan.
Tonight the nature of repentance is changing your outcome. You will not commit suicide.
This night the Lord will visit you, this night your strength is coming. This night your life will turn around, you have been in a 10 round fight. You have fought with all you have and it looks as if the enemy will defeat you, then all the sudden strength comes you land a left upper cut then a right. Out of nowhere you land the winning punch. Tonight is your night.
Perhaps you feel crushed by the weight of life. Remember this: olives are crushed to release oil. The pressure has not come to destroy you but to reveal what God has placed within you. Fresh oil is coming to your lamp. The Holy Spirit is breathing fresh strength into your soul. You will burn brightly for Jesus in a generation that desperately needs His light.