The Depths of Loneliness

Well, good afternoon, everyone. It’s wonderful to be together on this beautiful Sabbath day.

Brethren, I would like to start with a simple question asking you, where would you rather like to be? I’m going to give you two options, you can just choose one of these two options, but think about it where you would like to be maybe at this moment. The one option is on an island, all alone on an island.

You may have been in a shipwreck, and you woke up on the beach, you can consider maybe reading books in the past about stories like that, or maybe seeing movies about it, but imagine yourself landing on a beach and you’re all alone. You walk around the island, and you see it’s a small island, but you are all alone. That’s the first option when I started to ask the question, where would you like to be? The other one is, in a sports stadium surrounded by tens of thousands of people.

Where would you like to be? One of those two questions either completely alone or surrounded by thousands and thousands of people. Now, some people might say, “That’s easy, I like to be alone.” From time to time, I would take the island option, and some other people might say, “No, I like to be around people. I like sporting events, thinking about maybe the Olympics coming up and thinking about maybe a football game, or a basketball game, or a baseball game. Where there’s many people, I would choose that option.”

But brethren again, where would you rather like to be? Where are we at this moment? You and I. Let’s go today early into Scripture thinking about ourselves right now where we are. Please turn with me everyone and let’s go to a scripture by turning to Luke chapter twelve. Luke chapter twelve, and we will read verse thirty-two. We are asking the question, where are we right at this moment? You and I, brethren, and thinking about those two questions that I asked just now as we started.

Verse thirty-two of Luke chapter twelve, and it says, “Fear not little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Now, we are in God’s Church, everyone, and we think about Christ that made this statement right there at the beginning when the Church began. When He walked this earth, He made this statement that said, “Fear not little flock.” You and I, brethren, are in the seventh era of God’s Church. We are at the way end and the back end of the called out ones, the Church.

We are living in that era and that statement, just as well, is applicable to you and me to fear not little flock. This gives us a bit of a window into God’s mind. He says we are little. The Church of God is little. Throughout the ages, from the beginning of the Church when Christ started to call out his first disciples and all the members of the Church that followed afterwards, He said that they are little. Little in size, in quantity, number, or amount, or influence.

Have you ever thought about that, brethren, where you and I are at this moment in God’s Church, members of His Church that this is a statement that Christ made that throughout the ages wherever we went in society, the light that we shined as Christians, the called out ones, the people God’s Church, we would be collectively small in size, in quantity, and number and amount and even in influence. That’s what the word little means there. This applies to us as a Church collectively. And when you think about members in God’s Church, you’ve been attending for some time and you came into God’s way and you saw that there are brethren that can be scattered, small in size, and maybe you think as well in influence, or it can be individually, brethren, where sometimes you and I can where we are, where we find ourselves in God’s Church, a little flock. Think about yourself, I’m the only one in God’s Church in my family.

I’m the only one. When I come to services, I’m the only member of my family, or you hear about brethren that are scattered or you might be single. A single member. I’m not married at this point. Where we are, brethren, at this point might sometimes let us feel alone. These examples that I’ve shown that we can be feeling alone. I’m alone, the only one attending. There’s no congregation, I have to travel to meet in a congregation, or I’m the only one in my family called out in God’s way, or I might be single.

I’m looking for a mate. There might be other examples that you think about but you can think about just as we started with being alone on an island, you might feel I’m alone in God’s way, but we should not feel lonely, brethren. Loneliness can be a real struggle for some of us in God’s way, but again, there is hope. There are solutions to loneliness. This is a subject that we do not often touch on but that is when we look and see in God’s way that that is a question that can come up from time to time and there might be a feeling that some of us have from time to time as well.

As I mentioned, brethren, there are solutions. Today, we are going to plummet the depths of this subject of loneliness and explore the solutions that God gives us. Where we are in God’s way that we’re going to go into His mind, brethren. See, what are the solutions for this, what we sometimes feel where we might feel like I’m alone? I want to encourage those that might feel that, brethren, bringing God’s mind, bringing the understanding of this subject to us and that’s what we are going to cover first when we say we’re going to plummet the depths of loneliness.

To have a solution, to overcome it, we have to understand it first. We have to understand the causes and the effects behind loneliness. Let’s do that and we are going to gradually go into the understanding of loneliness. How deep does loneliness go? All people, everyone, it’s not just us in God’s Church that might feel loneliness. When I started and looked at the subject, everyone, I saw a picture. I read an article and I saw a picture of an old man and he held up a picture of... probably of his family and pondering about maybe better days when he was younger or his family was with him.

And as I read the article, it said that loneliness for older people can have such a detrimental effect on them, that it’s worse than smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. It has a far worse effect on their health than cardiovascular disease. So, this is something that people are struggling with all over. Something in society where we seem to be more connected, but more and more people struggle with it. More people face it. But brethren, you and I, in God’s Church, we might be called a little flock but we have the solutions. God has given us the solutions and He would like to give that solution to all people, but you and I have been given the true solution to loneliness. Now, if we look a little bit and begin to understand it, we could say, brethren, that loneliness is loaded. It’s more a feeling that you and I can have when we are alone. It’s more than just being alone when you think about loneliness. It can invoke a feeling of emptiness, something that’s void, but that can drag you down that feeling of, “I’m alone. I’m alone in this struggle, I’m alone in this walk, I’m alone in this trial.” Whatever it is that you might face or anyone can face, that’s a feeling that a person can experience.

Again, brethren, we are going to look at... We first have to understand loneliness before we can look at the solutions, and the solutions will encourage you. But someone that is alone can feel discouragement, can’t they? Sometimes they feel discouraged. When you read about it people can feel depressed or hopeless. That is something that can drag somebody down. That is on the spiritual end. I mentioned about older people physically. Anyone that’s lonely, they say it can affect your immunity, so you can be more prone to health problems.

Your immunity can go down and people can become easily having an infection or have certain diseases that come because your immunity has been affected just by maybe the long-standing feeling of being alone. Those are the effects, brethren. When we look at the causes and effects, we first look at the effects at this point, what the effects are on people, but overall, it can affect your quality of life.

In every area of your life, just thinking about being alone, either if you like to be alone and be sometimes on your own, that’s different from what we are speaking about right now, about loneliness. Loneliness is more than just being alone. Brethren, the most dramatic effect from loneliness is that it can make people so discouraged, even in God’s way, that they walk away from the truth and from God’s Church. That is a course where people can become so discouraged.

This is something for us as Christians to be aware of. That’s something to think about and again, to find the solution so that you and I, if we are in that situation or having that experience or being alone and having the feelings of loneliness that we can overcome them and God wants us to overcome them. He wants us to win that battle of loneliness. Let’s secondly, brethren, look at the causes. Let’s go and delve a little bit deeper, as we say, “How deep does loneliness go?”

We want to understand loneliness a little bit better. Let’s go to Isaiah fourteen. There’s many ways from different angles how we can address, can tackle this subject, brethren, but let’s look at first of all, a couple of scriptures thinking about loneliness. Where did it originate? What are the causes of loneliness? Again, you and I, brethren, have been given the solutions. The solution of loneliness is right on our lap. What God’s mind is on the subject.

He wants us to understand it so that we can learn lessons from it and that we can ultimately overcome it. Let’s go again. If you are in Isaiah chapter fourteen, and we will pick up in verse twelve. Isaiah fourteen and verse twelve. It says, “How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer...” speaking about Satan here, “...Son of the morning, how you are cut down to the ground, which that weaken the nation’s...” So here we see that he had an influence on nations not just on individuals but nations.

“...For you has said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High, yet you shall be brought down to the grave, to hell to the sides of the pit. They that see you, shall narrowly look upon you and consider you saying, ‘Is this the man that made the earth to tremble?”

There is going to be a point in God’s plan, brethren, where nations will look and see what Satan the effect of His ways were that made the earth to tremble, that shake kingdoms. His influence over mankind over six years is tremendous, but here we read in verse seventeen, “Ye, that made the world as a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof. That open, not the house of his prisoners?” They’re thinking about the wilderness. If you’re on an island, or in the desert, you are deserted, that’s a place where you do not want to be.

Satan’s desire is destruction. His desire is to bring loneliness. He wants people ultimately the world to be in a wilderness and it says He doesn’t want to open the house of His prisoners. Think about loneliness. If you’re in that prison, in that feeling where you cannot come out of loneliness that can feel like a prison. But here, it begins to tell us, brethren, who is the great isolator, who is the originator of making people to feel isolated, like being in a wilderness all alone and lonely, and he doesn’t want them to break out of that prison.

He wants them to be dragged down, feel that emptiness, feel that discouragement. But, brethren, if you and I understand the cause, the origin of this, where it comes from, and what it leads to, then we can begin to overcome it as well, we can begin to apply the solution to this as God wants us. Let’s go to Revelation Chapter twelve. Again, looking at the course, we first look at the effects of it, as we begin to understand loneliness, now we look a little bit more at the course.

Revelation Chapter Twelve and verse nine. A very familiar scripture that you and I often read, but we can apply this now to loneliness. Revelation twelve and verse nine, it says, “And the great dragon was cast out...” No uncertainty who this is, “...that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceives the whole world. He was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Brethren, he is also the one that with his attitudes, that is sowing those seeds of loneliness.

He has been doing that. He’s been deceiving the whole world about this subject, the truth about the subject, and ultimately, how to overcome it. He wants to keep people in that prison that they can feel lonely and maybe begin to feel more and more lonely, more isolated. But again, brethren, there is solutions to that. But let’s first look again at First Peter, five, in just looking a little bit at Satan’s influence as one of the causes of that feeling of loneliness. You can throw that seed when you are alone. It doesn’t mean that you have to feel lonely. But he can throw in those seeds, those thoughts of emptiness or making us discouraged. We can begin to ponder. When you are alone, you can maybe have too much time on your hand and begin to ponder things about the past or maybe better days while you think more and more... When you are in that situation, you can begin to feel more and more lonely. And this is, brethren, if you are in First Peter five, we are just going to read verse eight.

That is when he, as our adversary, would want to strike. In First Peter five verse eight, it says, “Whom resist, steadfast in the...” Excuse me. Verse eight. I started with verse nine. Verse eight. “Be sober and vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour.” Seeking who he may cut off, who he may isolate, who he may want to feel lonely, and all on their own. That is what he wants to do. What does a lion do? They usually strike those that are alone, maybe those that are a little bit weaker.

When you think about a flock of sheep, we read that in the first verse that we covered, that we are flock. If a lion detect a herd of antelopes or a flock of sheep, that’s where their focus is, to try to take out those that maybe are a little bit more alone or standing on their own. So that is his focus, brethren, not just to want us to be alone, but also to be able and want to look at those that he may devour. What does verse nine says?

It says, “Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions...” loneliness, in this case maybe, “...are accomplished in your brethren that are around the world.” So that verse where verse eight might say, there is something that we have to look at. Verse nine says, brethren, there is a solution. We are not alone because those that might feel lonely, there are others that feel exactly the same. We are not alone, and we are going to drive that point, brethren, right through this message that we are not alone even if you might feel lonely.

Brethren, it’s not just Satan as the great isolator that can bring those attitudes and those thoughts, those feelings of loneliness and what it caused and the effects of it, but also, let’s look at Isaiah fifty-nine. What are other things that can cause isolation? Again, we bring God’s mind to this subject, ultimately to find the solution, brethren, that we can grow and overcome, whoever we are that feel that. Isaiah fifty-nine, you are with me here, and let’s read in verse one, “Behold...”

Isaiah fifty-nine verse one, “Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened.” When you are alone you might think that God’s hand is too short to reach me. I am maybe too disconnected or too far away. God is too far away. But this verse is actually saying, brethren, no. God says, I am close to you. My hand is not shortened, that I cannot save neither his ear heavy, that he cannot hear. God says, in effect, it’s not from my end. But here in verse two it says, “But your iniquities have separated.”

There we see separated. Brethren, our sins can separate us, bring isolation and separation between you and your God. There we begin to look at, first of all, where real loneliness starts, brethren, that is an isolation or a separation through our own inquiries between you and God. That’s where it starts between you and God and your sins. Have He hid His face from you that He will not hear? Again, thinking about solutions, we are not just looking at the problem today.

We want to find the solutions, brethren because it’s not just us that feel lonely. It’s not just me or you that sometimes feel lonely. Everyone at one point in their life or another might feel lonely. But let’s go to Galatians. Sin that can isolate us, separate us. Galatians chapter five, just looking at the list, brethren, and seeing how finding proofs that show us this. Verse nineteen of Galatians chapter five. As a cause, another cause, looking at another cause of what sometimes bring that loneliness.

You don’t know what it is at that moment. You have that feeling, you feel that discouragement, but what is the cause? And God, again, brethren, is giving us the cause of it, the understanding of it. We’re delving deep into the understanding of loneliness so that we can overcome. Verse nineteen of Galatians, as you are there, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery and fornication...” Think about adultery for a moment. That brings separation between a husband and a wife. When that happens, that’s bring separation between people.

First of all, it starts with, God says, “That separation starts with me, but also, that isolation. If you sin, it brings separation between people. A relationship that might have been close, there is no reparations needed. There’s forgiveness needed. The same with fornication. Fornication in the moment can have an effect on people long term, about their family going forward in the future. What about “uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred”?

Hatred brings separation between people that can isolate them. Variance, meaning when we have emotions and variance, when they strife between people, whether it is at work, whether it is in a family, whether it is in a sports team, whatever situation you find yourself where there’s variance that separates people from each other. “Wrath, strife, seditions, heresies.” Heresies, false teaching ultimately can take people out of God’s truth. “…Envyings and murders.”

When somebody murders somebody and is convicted, what do they do with them? They put them sometimes in isolation. They are not just imprisoned, but also for severe murders, they put people in isolation. That is a cause, brethren, severe causes, but we are looking at just some causes of isolation and loneliness. “Drunkenness…” everything that flows out of that, “…revellings and such alike: of the which I tell you before, as I’ve also told you in times past, that they which do such things, shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

That’s ultimately the worst loneliness, brethren, not to be part of the Kingdom of God. So if we understand the causes that simply Satan and self plays a role in our feeling lonely, that can drag people down, brethren, understanding that gives us the tools ultimately then to overcome it. And overcoming it is much more simple than we might think. Much deeper than what we think, brethren, but sometimes our victories can also lead us to tests of loneliness. Let’s go to Ecclesiastes. It’s not just Satan and our selves that can cause it. Let’s go to Ecclesiastes. Sometimes we just had a victory. And then soon after that, we can be tested with the feelings of loneliness or isolation. Go to Ecclesiastes chapter seven and verse fourteen.

Something for us to consider. There in verse thirteen, it says, “Consider the work of God for who can make straight which He has made crooked.” Sometimes He wants us to learn lessons, brethren. Here is, as we read in verse fourteen, “In the day of prosperity…” when you be joyful in your victory, you overcome something.” Maybe we think about those victories we have during the Spring Holy Days we’ve been together, at the Sabbath after services, you are on a high. You learn something. You fellowshipped with fellow brethren. You are on a high after the Feast.

Think about the Feast of Tabernacles or another example is you wanted to fast about something. You were in a fast. You were on a high. You drew closer to God. And then just after that, maybe after a fast or going home on the Sabbath or after the feast, you are tested. You might feel a little bit alone again at work. There’s trouble with your employer. He’s making it more difficult for you or a spouse, as you come home. There are certain things that suddenly you feel alone.

I’m not with the congregation at that moment anymore. Suddenly, I was on a high. I was in a state of prosperity as Ecclesiastes say here, “...but in the day of adversity...” brethren, as we read on, “...consider, God also has said to one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after Him.” God said prosperity or victories, and sometimes those times, as we say from time to time we might feel lonely, those are also there, brethren, that we can learn lessons from.

But there is a distinction, brethren, and I touch on it a little bit. There is a distinction between loneliness and being alone. And I want to go into that a little bit more. These are not connected. We talked about being alone, using the word ‘alone’ and the word ‘loneliness,’ but I want to make a distinction between them. And we can say loneliness versus being alone. What would be an example of that? You might be single in God’s Church and looking and praying for a mate. That means that you are alone, but that doesn’t mean that you have to feel lonely.

Let’s go to the first verse speaking about marriage, speaking about family. The first verse that God had on His mind when He thought about being alone and loneliness. Let’s go to Genesis. God addressed this subject, brethren, how to overcome it in many places in scripture. Genesis chapter two and verse eighteen. You are praying for a mate. You are single at this point. You might be young and going into that stage, that age of your life where you are looking for a mate, or you might be older and still feel alone, looking for somebody.

Here in verse eighteen God says, “And the Lord God said...” After he created everything, after he created man, he says, “...it is not good that the man should be alone.” You can put in that a lady, a woman should not be alone. God does not want us to be alone right at creation, right at the start of His plan for mankind that was on His mind. He could have forgotten that. He could have just continued with His plan, so to speak, and forgot about the fact that He doesn’t want man to be alone.

Brethren, that’s almost silly to think about. God had on His mind, in His mind, that He doesn’t want us to be alone, let alone lonely. You might be alone for a certain period of time. There might be lessons that you can learn while you are single. You as a man or a lady can begin to grow in certain characteristics. You can bolt your character, so to speak. You can begin to get yourself financially ready during that time while you are waiting and praying. So you are alone, yes, but that doesn’t mean that you should be lonely. Brethren, God was thinking about the solution for loneliness from the beginning.

There might be periods in our lives that we’re alone, but again, that should not make you feel lonely. There’s a distinction between the two. What about loneliness and being surrounded? I’ll come back to the start of the message where you are in a crowd. That crowd can be a physical crowd or it can be a social media crowd. Think about today. In the past when you talked about crowds, you had to physically go to a crowd where there are a lot of people.

But today, man solution for loneliness in a way was all right, we have to get people connected. People are more connected today than ever before through the fact that we have means to get to other people, the way that we can travel. We can travel across the globe and we can be together. We can go online and be in contact with somebody immediately. You have a phone or a computer. You can go and be in contact with people almost every second and hour, minute of each day.

But still brethren, this is when you read about it and you look in the news, you look at people’s lives, that loneliness is affecting people probably more than ever. So you can still be lonely and be in a crowd. So it’s not about the social contact that alleviates the problem brethren, it’s the lack of social intimacy. It’s the death of the relationships that is the challenge. It’s not the fact that you are just around people who have many relationships. It is the depth of the relationships that we want to address.

That’s why we plummeted the depth of loneliness so that we can get to the depth brethren of the solution of the problem. Again, alone and not lonely. Let’s go to Second Timothy. You can be alone, from time to time in our lives, we will all be alone. When you are traveling you might be alone. When you are at work, driving in a car, or there are periods in your life that you are alone. From time to time, we will be alone. But God doesn’t want us to feel lonely.

Let’s go to Second Timothy chapter one and pick up in verse seven. Alone, but not lonely. This is a verse, brethren, that when you are lonely, and I’m specifically bringing this verse to our mind, a memory verse that you can bring up to your mind when you struggle with loneliness, and I’m using this one for a purpose. We will go back to it later on. But first of all, let’s read. There are three elements in this verse that can help us against loneliness, but we’ll focus for now just on the one.

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear...” Remember when Christ talked about my little flock, what was the first thing that He told people? Fear not. He says, “Fear, do not fear.” He didn’t give us the spirit of fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of becoming lonely, “...but of power, love, and a sound mind.” Meaning in that situation, brethren, how long you have to be alone for whatever situation you find you’re in your mind should be secure. That’s what a sound mind means. It means undisturbed.

Being alone and all the factors that play into your life to want to make you lonely should make you understand. What example can we use about that? You are in a hotel, what do you usually have at the hotel door? You have a little sign that says, “Do not disturb.” So when loneliness wants to knock on your door, brethren, you are unfazed. You know I’ve put out the sign of, “Do not disturb.” Your mind is secure, it’s level.

When loneliness wants to come, and it will come to all of us, brethren, that feeling of discouragement or maybe emptiness, something that wants to draw you down, whether it’s from our own mistakes, whether it’s a situation that you find in your life, whether it’s Satan that might be tempting you, it will come to us. But if we use this power that God gives us, it will help us to be undisturbed.

We have to discipline our mind. And that’s why you can just use one verse, brethren, each time when loneliness wants to come to you, knock on your door remember this verse that says, God wants me to have a level, secure, undisturbed mind. What would be another example? We say that a level mind, undisturbed. When you go to the gym and you do exercise and you want to do bench press, you have these machines. Sometimes you get these machines that help you to bench press.

Yes, you can say, “I’m doing a bench press of two hundred pounds,” or whatever you do, but the machine helps you, and both of your arms are equal. The machine helps you to bench press. But let’s go on free weights, and you lay down on the bench, and there’s no machine, it’s just the bar and the weights on the side, and there might be somebody that’s helping you.

But once that weights are put on your shoulders so to speak, and pressing against your chest, and you have to push back, the one arm might push a little bit more, the right arm push a little bit more or the left arm push a little bit more and the right arm is weak, you have to balance it, you have to keep the bench that weight level. That’s the same thing, brethren, that happens with loneliness. Loneliness wants to tip the scale off that balance, that wants to pull you down. But if we have a level mind, you will push it at the both strengths.

Brethren, your mind will stay level, it will stay secure, unfazed. Let’s look at an important biblical example when we think about loneliness. Let’s go to First Kings. Again, brethren, this subject is on God’s mind because He wants you and I to have the solution. He wants us to overcome it. He wants to show the world that there is a way to overcome it. And He sometimes uses His leaders, brethren, to show us the lesson. Leadership, you’ve heard many times, can be lonely.

But let’s go here into an account, First Kings nineteen. As you turn there with me, First Kings chapter nineteen, and we will pick up in verse one. If you are there, First Kings nineteen, verse one. I’m jumping a little bit ahead of the account that happened in verse eighteen. We will go back and read momentarily, but I wanted to start with verse one. And it says, “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done...” Elijah did something just now, moments ago, is it days, a couple of days back, weeks, “... and withal, how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.”

So what did Elijah do? Let’s just go to chapter eighteen. Turning back to chapter eighteen, and read verse twenty, getting a little bit of a background here about what did Elijah do. What we read just now, Ahab told his wife Jezebel what Elijah just did. And chapter eighteen verse twenty says, “So Ahab sent unto all the children...” So we are going back into the account, back into a couple of days, we don’t know exactly how long, but let’s say it’s a couple of days, what happened? “Unto all the children of Israel, and gathered them, the prophets, together unto the Mount Carmel.” A very intense account of what we’re going to read here. In Verse twenty-one says, “And Elijah came unto all the people and said, all of the people that have been there, how long halt ye between two opinions?” How long are you going to go on and waver between... here we see, “If the Lord be God, follow Him.” That was the one opinion that people had. Is God truly the God that we have to obey and serve? Or, “But if Baal, then follow him.”

At this point, we are seeing an example of what happened in history, Brethren, when people were gathered to Mount Carmel and they had a decision to make, who is God? We’re not going to read through the account, but ultimately, here in Verse twenty-two, it says, “Then said, Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, I alone, remain a prophet of the Lord. I’m the only prophet of the true God at this point. I’m alone, he said, a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.”

We read the account there, and you can go and read it at home, where Elijah started to mock the prophets. He was that account, brethren, as God came through for him. He had a victory. God showed through him. The prophets of Baal started to cut themselves. They chanted. They went on for a long period of time, and their god, Baal, did not answer them. Then, Elijah went ahead, he prayed to God. You can recall how the whole offering, the animal that was consumed at that point, was drenched with water.

God came through for Elijah. He prayed, and God showed who is God. It consumed the animal, it consumed the rocks, the altar, and also all the water that was in a trench around the altar. God showed in a very dramatic way, brethren, that He was God. Elijah went on, and he killed, in Verse forty-six, “And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel,” after he killed four hundred and fifty prophets.

Then we go into verse one that we read, and now we read verse two of chapter nineteen that says, “Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah saying, so let the gods do unto me, and more also, if I make not your life as the life of one of those prophets that you killed by tomorrow, about this time.” Elijah found himself in a situation where he was alone, but God came through for him, and now suddenly, he is in a more difficult situation. There’s a warrant out for his life, so to speak.

“And when he saw that, he arose, and he went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” He had a servant with him, and now he was physically alone. “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 said, it is enough now.” Brethren, one of God’s greatest leaders, a prophet, a man that we think about John in the New Testament has been a type.

We know that there will be a type in the end time of Elijah, a man that God used, a prophet, but he also, at one point, came to a point where he felt alone. He said, “It is enough.” He was so down, so discouraged at that point that he wanted to die. Brethren, if one of God’s greatest leaders can feel that way, certainly you and I can get to a point like that as well. That should not be strange to us, but again God has the solutions.

He said “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under the juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him and said unto him arise and eat.” God wanted to take care of Elijah. He had a plan. He had something still to do. “And he looked, and behold there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head and he did eat and drink, and laid down again. And the angel of the LORD came again unto him a second time, and touched him, and said arise and eat because your journey is too great for you. And he arose and he did eat and he drank and went in the strength of the meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.”

Let’s go to verse eleven or let’s first read verse ten, everyone. Elijah now speaking to God and he said, “I’ve been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, throw down your altars,” so now Elijah’s just mentioning to God what happened, “thrown down your altars and slain your prophets with the sword.” God had other prophets, but they all were killed. “And even I alone, am left and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Again, I only, I’m alone God. I’m the only one that is left. I feel alone. He felt alone that he said to God, “This is enough.” He must have felt isolated after that great victory brethren but Elijah lost perspective of God’s plan in a moment, but he wasn’t alone. He was not alone. Let’s go to verse eighteen. God could have left it there and we are going to read through the rest of the account that we are skipping now a little bit later, but let’s just go down to verse eighteen that says, God speaking to Elijah, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal and every mouth which has not kissed him.”

Elijah, from his perspective, felt alone, but God said, “No, you’re not alone, actually, there are seven thousand of those left that did not bow the knee to Baal. Elijah, you are not alone.” Brethren, in summary we can say that being alone and feeling loneliness brings two things. It brings isolation to the person. That feeling of being isolated, being lonely and the loss of connections, the loss of relationships. There is a great lesson, a great lesson, brethren. We’re going to go through a couple of verses.

Genesis twenty-six, to learn this great lesson. Genesis chapter twenty-six. Elijah had to learn it and God wants you and me to learn it as well. Genesis chapter twenty-six and verse twenty-four. Speaking about Isaac, and the Lord appeared unto him the same night and said unto him “I’m the God of Abraham your father fear not.” There we see again often when God came to His people, He started with, “Fear not for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.” The point there I am with you.

Brethren, how we don’t hear God audibly saying to us that He’s with us. He’s saying through His scripture today, if He’s been with Isaac and Abraham, He is with us. Joshua one. There is a simple lesson, brethren, that you and I must learn, Joshua chapter one. This is sometimes in our victories we learn it and then we fall short again, but that’s where God wants our mind to stay level at all times.

Joshua chapter one, again, a very familiar account. Joshua chapter one and verse nine, Again Israel coming out of Egypt, through the wilderness, going into the promised land. Moses just died. Again, a time of uncertainty, a time of change again for Israel as they came out of the wilderness, walking in the wilderness for forty years. Here it says in verse nine, as Joshua took over the leadership from Moses. Verse nine, “Have not I commanded you, be strong and of good courage.” There again, “Be not afraid.” God wants us not to be afraid. “Neither be you dismayed. Don’t feel alone. Don’t let loneliness overcome you, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

That’s something, brethren, that’s not just for Joshua and for the nation of Israel, that’s for you and me. God says, “I am with you.” Isaiah chapter forty-one. Isaiah forty-one and verse ten, it says, “Fear you not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” That brethren should bring you and me encouragement when we feel alone from time to time.

Let’s go to Romans chapter eight, not just in the Old Testament, but also God gives us that encouragement in the New. If you go to Romans chapter eight everyone. We are just going through a couple of verses showing God’s mind on the fact, brethren, just as how deep loneliness can go, so deep and profound is the solution, brethren, the remedy for that, to hear from God, you are not alone. That is the first thing that you and I should realize, is that God is with His people. That’s something that you and I should believe.

Here it says in Romans eight, if you are there, everyone, when you read through verse thirty-one and you get to verse thirty-eight. We read verse thirty-eight, “Therefore I am persuaded that neither death,” death is the ultimate isolation, brethren, ultimate loneliness, “nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor heights, nor death, nor any other creature,” anything that can cause in your life. God is going through any scenario, so to speak.

Any person in your life, any creature that can cause you to become lonely, He says, “None of them shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” Again when we read in Isaiah, God said, “My arm is not short.” God says nothing will be able to separate you, isolate you from the fact that I am with you. Whatever brethren you and I face, when we are faithful to God, when we obey Him, when we fear Him, He says you can face anything.

You can be physically alone, like Elijah, but you should not feel lonely because I am with you. Hebrews chapter thirteen, another one that you can just write down. God is- saying this over and over to us, that it hits home brethren that we can learn this great lesson, a simple one that you and I are not alone. Hebrews thirteen, verse five, it says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have, for He has said,”

God has said, what did he say? “I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Wherever you are brethren, in whatever situation, when you are maybe alone in school or in college, or you are going through a period where you feel lonely, when you are waiting for a mate, when you are single, when you are alone in a congregation where you are waiting for more members to be added in that congregation, God says, whatever time you are in that situation when you are alone, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Let’s go to Matthew, a final verse on that lesson, Matthew twenty-eight. We read the first verse that God spoke about being alone, thinking about marriage. God didn’t want Adam to be alone. Here He is speaking to His Church. When He gave the two great commissions. The first commission to take the gospel to the world and also to feed the flock, to shepherd the flock of God, those that have been called into his Church. God had this same subject of loneliness in mind.

Let’s read Matthew twenty-eight and just verse twenty, Christ giving His disciples soon-to-be apostles, He gave them instruction, teaching them to observe all things, “I have commanded you and lo, I am with you,” 50 percent of the time. Maybe just when you are not alone. No, He says, “Always.” God made that promise, brethren that He says, “From my side, from my purview, from my perspective, Elijah, you are not alone.” Put your name there. Put your name into this account, brethren.

You are one of the called-out ones in a little flock where God says, “You are not alone because I am always with you. Even to the end, the end of the world.” We are still progressing in the final era brethren towards a time where we might feel afraid, where we might feel alone, more alone, or lonely. God says to us, encouraging you and me right here today that I am with you always. Brethren this promise of God saying that He will never leave us alone is always connected to His Church and to His work.

Matthew chapter sixteen, that promise is always connected to His Church and to His work. Let’s read here. Matthew chapter sixteen and verse eighteen. It says, “And I say also,” Christ speaking to His disciples here, and in particular to Peter, and to you, “That you are Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church.” Brethren, often we hear the term church so many times that we might fall into the thinking that God is speaking about buildings.

God is not speaking about buildings when He’s speaking about building His Church. Yes, we are a building, we are a temple, but He’s speaking about human beings. He’s speaking about the called-out ones. He’s speaking about you and me in God’s Church that He says, “I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The gates of hell meaning there, the openings, the entrance of a prison. I’ll come back when we talked about Lucifer that do not want people to get out of prison. He keeps people inside.

Christ said that prison of loneliness that Satan wants you to be in, that prison will not prevail over the Church. That feeling of loneliness will not prevail over you and me, even if we’re a small flock. Even if we look through history, brethren, and can see that God’s people always have been a small flock. He promises that the gates of hell will never prevail. That opening to a prison. We will not be in prison, so to speak by loneliness, overcome by loneliness. That’s a promise that’s connected to God’s work and to God’s Church.

If you continue, brethren, in God’s way, that promise is for you and for me. That solution brethren, that we are going to look at now is for you and for me. Interestingly, as we begin to dig into some of the solutions for the remainder of the message, everyone, that solution, you don’t have to go online, you don’t have to dig very deep, brethren, for the solutions. The solution is right on your lap. The solution of loneliness.

What is the first one that we are going to cover? Very, very simple and it is, brethren, build deep relationships. We are getting out of that plummet the depths of loneliness. We are now looking at the solutions. God promising that He’s with us. He’s building us up. He’s strengthening us from that. He’s saying build deep relationships. The first one, we touched on it throughout the message a little bit, but here build a deep relationship with God first. That’s so simple.

For us, it is almost a no-brainer, brethren, but the world when somebody is in loneliness, they don’t even know the true God, let alone to be able to build a relationship with Him, a deep relationship, a deep connection with Him. You recall that we said that the thing that falls short is not the amount of connections that we had, but that they must be deep. The first one, for us to overcome loneliness, brethren, is to build a deep connection with God.

Matthew twenty-seven. You are in Matthew sixteen. Let’s go to Matthew twenty-seven and we will pick up in verse forty-six. That is a great relief. It’s such a simple thing that you and I can do, difficult, but having the knowledge, having the understanding that is a solution, brethren, for us against loneliness. Matthew twenty-seven, verse forty-six, “And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.”

That is to say, God wants us to understand. If we were not schooled in Greek, we would not understand this point, but he says that is to say He wants you to understand, brethren, Christ is saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Brethren, Christ had to go through... We just went through a period of the Spring Holy Days. Christ had to be forsaken. He was ultimately the one that had to face the ultimate loneliness. He and the Father has been alone for many, many years.

Think about for yourself being alone for one day. That can be a challenge for us. What about for a week? What about a month? What about a year? Then you begin to go on through decades or centuries. Brethren, God, and Christ, they’ve been together, but only the two of them, they’ve never been separated. They were connected. They were alone. Yes, they were angels, but they were the only two God beings in the family of God.

Christ never experienced being isolated for all that time that they’ve been together. We don’t know how long it’s been, but at this point, when Christ cried out, He took on that ultimate feeling of being isolated, forsaken, separated completely. From people? No, from the greatest relationship He had for all eternity, and that was with God, His Father. That relationship, brethren, was severed for that period of time so that you and I can fulfill that promise or God can fulfill that promise for us never to be forsaken.

Let’s go to Psalm thirty-seven. Psalm thirty-seven and verse, let’s pick up in verse twenty-three. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delights in his ways. Though he fall,” maybe you fall in isolation or being lonely, “he shall not be utterly cast down. For the Lord upholds him with his hand. I have been young and I’ve been old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread.”

Verse twenty-eight, “For the Lord loves judgment and forsake not His saints. They are preserved forever, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut down.” Brethren, there we have it. That if we are close to God and build a relationship with Him, that you and I have the promise that God will never forsake us, even if we are alone from time to time. What are the next connection that you and I have to build? That’s with people. If we first strengthen our relationship with God, then we should strengthen our relationship with people.

Let’s go to First John. First John chapter one and we will pick up in verse three. “That which we have seen and we declare unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. If we build our relationship, that deep relationship with God first, God has given us fellowship, brethren. Seek fellowship with the brethren that you are connected with.

We might be separated by distance, but God has given us technology, technology to come closer to each other, that you can reach out to those that are lonely in your congregation and you that are lonely must make that initiative, everyone, to reach out. “Because our fellowship, when we fellowship…” we do not only strengthen our relationship with each other, but also with God. “…Our fellowship truly brethren, is with God, the Father, and Jesus Christ.”

That is where you will overcome loneliness. If you seek fellowship, seek those that are alone to make them feel less lonely. Somebody that might be shy in a congregation or stand-alone stayed by him or herself, those are telltale signs of somebody that might be lonely, somebody that’s discouraged, maybe having a negative attitude, that can be somebody that is lonely. Let’s go to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter four and we will pick up in verse eight.

Often we read these verses in the context of a family. Ecclesiastes four verse eight, it says, “There is one alone and there is none a second. Yes, he has neither child nor brother, yet is there no end of all his labor. Neither is his eye satisfied with riches, neither says he, For whom do I labor, bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity. Yes, it is a sore travail. Two are better than one.” Two people in a congregation, two people reaching out to each other, having fellowship, because they have a good reward for their labor. Through your labor, through fellowship, brethren, you can alleviate each other’s loneliness.

“For if they fall,” If you build that deep relationship with others, and you see they might be lonely and you help them through that, “that one will lift up his fellow.” We lift each other up through fellowship. “But woe to him that is alone when he falls, for he has none other to help him up. Again, if two lie together then have the heat, but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

If you strengthen the cord, brethren, of fellowship and the relationship that you have with each other, society is unraveling. I want to give you a bit of a tongue twister, so to speak.

When you say society, if a cord is unraveling, is it correct to say raveling or unraveling? When you say something is unraveling or raveling which is the best, when you say the cord of society is unraveling? I learned this a couple of days ago, when you say ravel or unravel, they are both the same.

Ravel means unravel and unravel means unravel, so there it is brethren. Society is unraveling but through fellowship, you and I brethren can strengthen that bond and have as we read here in Ecclesiastes, a solution against loneliness. Again, widen your circle of friends and support. Think about the communication that I mentioned. We would maybe one day ask the question to Moses or the New Testament Church, “How did you communicate quickly to Israel when you needed to communicate to them or to the Church?”

They might turn around brethren and they might ask, “How were you as a small flock be able to stay in touch, to fellowship, to strengthen each other when you were scattered at the end of the age?” We have valuable communication tools which helps us to feel less lonely and more connected. Get others to talk about what they are interested in. Talk to brethren about that. Make it easy for them to talk to you. Have edifying, uplifting conversations. Those are simple ways, brethren, that can help us to overcome loneliness.

Here’s another one. Appreciate the little things. The little things, other solutions. First of all, very simple, brethren, relationship with God, relationship with each other, the next one here is Psalm hundred and two and verse seven. Psalm hundred and two, verse seven. You can read the whole Psalm, it’s a very inspiring Psalm in many ways to read brethren, but I wanted to focus on verse seven. It says, think about loneliness. “I watch and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.”

God just throw in this verse to say that David felt like a sparrow on the house top. Sparrows are insignificant. They are small. It makes me think about when I was in college, everyone, I had moments where I felt alone but my grandmother, she made little biscuits for me and my brother that you can dip in your coffee. Sometimes I would break these biscuits up and there were a little family of sparrows in our yard that would come and visit, and I would feed them.

When I felt lonely these little creatures gave me a little bit of something to do, something to think about, and not to be alone. Here it says, “I watch and I’m as a sparrow alone.” Insignificant. The small things. If you and I appreciate brethren, the small things in life. Let’s go to First Kings, I should begin to draw to a close. Look at what God said to Elijah. First Kings chapter nineteen and just verse twelve. God brought an earthquake, He brought a storm, an earthquake, and a fire thinking back on Elijah.

“After the earthquake,” in verse twelve, it says “a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” God allowed Elijah to hear a whisper, a calm, quiet voice, brethren, a crushed, dwarf thing, a little thing. God wasn’t in the big things. He wasn’t in the earthquake. He wasn’t in the fire. He wasn’t in the storm. He showed us sometimes, He gives us the little things to enjoy that can help you and me actually to appreciate them.

That can help us, brethren, the little things in life is actually the big things that God can show us and give us to feel less lonely. Brethren, let’s turn to one final verse. Matthew chapter one. Matthew chapter one and we will only read verse twenty-three. Matthew chapter one verse twenty-three, a promise that God made and was fulfilled, brethren, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, God with us.”

That is a name. God’s name is very important to Him, brethren. That one of His names means that God is with us, or with us is God. Brethren, God called us, the called out ones, a small flock. You might be the only member. You might be single. You might be the only member in your family or only member in a congregation. That we might feel from time to time this sting of loneliness, being alone and become lonely. God allowed His servants, His great leaders, and us from time to time to experience loneliness as well.

Why? Because there’s a lesson for us in it, brethren, to know that God promises us to never be alone. He will never leave us alone or forsake us. Build deep relationship first with God and with each other, brethren, and ultimately, that will, brethren, never again that we being alone make you feel lonely.