A Remnant According to the Election of Grace

This passage deals with the extreme situation in which Elijah, after his victory, faces Jezebel's threat to kill him, flees into the wilderness, and pleads with God to take his life. Elijah complains that he has worked zealously for God and that he alone is left, and he longs for God's judgment. But God, after showing him majestic signs — a strong wind, an earthquake and fire — reveals that he is not in any of them.

The sermon points out that Elijah, in his pride, misread his own zeal and miracles, and was trapped in his own feelings and human judgment rather than seeing from God's perspective. Instead of the judgment Elijah wanted, God sought to change his heart through a still, small voice. This warns that when believers boast of their own merits or focus only on what happens in the world, they can become dull people who fail to see God's grace and sovereignty. As Paul testifies, God never abandons his people, and he carries on his work of salvation through the remnant.

It is when believers listen to the still, small voice and confess their own weakness and God's complete grace that they finally stand as a true remnant. The sermon asks whether believers are standing humbly according to God's election, rather than boasting of their own achievements.