Sermon note (3rd svc)
God knows exactly what we are going through right now. He knows the thoughts in our minds that give us depression. He knows it all and He loves you! He wants you to rest in His presence and allow Him to love you.
We have nothing but what He has given from above.
He must increase but i must decrease. A man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from above.
The anointing of God is timeless.
The messages China listen are years ago or months ago and yet they receive their miracles.
We can also pray for the sick. We can lay hands on them and they can recover.
One of the subtle weapon against the ministers and pastors and leaders who proclaim Jesus, the devil seems to bring discouragement.
God cares for us!
James 5:17-18
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Elijah was a man with nature like ours!
This man prayed with result and yet he was a man with nature like ours. When we feel discouraged we feel we cannot pray for others. It is not the end! God has bright future for us!
Northern kingdom of Israel had their own kings. Southern kingdom mostly are Godly kings.
The nature of the famine. How God put Baal to no effect.
1 Kings 17:1-4
Chapter 17
Elijah Proclaims a Drought
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
God works in 7 usually.
Note -> Before whom I stand.
God is rich in grace and mercy! Emphasis grace and mercy!
God has wrath but is not His nature. He is love!
When God is angry it is His strange act.
We are not focused on His wrath today because grace has come.
God’s heart is not into judgement. God perform justice, love mercy!
Baal could do nothing in the midst of famine
“There” is the place where God wants us to be. There where I provide for you.
1 Kings 17:6-9
The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah and the Widow
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
Even in the wilderness, God sent manna in the morning and in the evening.
Pastor made it for his meals to be 2 meals a day. But not legalistic about it.
When the area of your work dry out, it means there is a timing involved. Not because God did not put you there. It does not apply to marriage.
God can dry something out. It does not mean it is devil. Now God has something else in mind for us.
Note -> there to provide for you.
God has a new “there” for us.
The widow has heard from God that Elijah was coming.
1 Kings 17:15-16
So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
You never lose out when you give to the Lord
God used Elijah to raise that child from the dead.
1 Kings 18:1
Elijah’s Message to Ahab
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.”
When He sent the rain, the man of God must appeared. It was by His word that it was famine and by His word that it rains! So that it shows that it was not Baal who provide the rain.
Elijah asked Baal’s prophets to go first. They were challenging whose God is the real God.
Baal’s prophets were calling for fire from morning to evening but nothing happened
Elijah mocked them.
3pm, the time of the evening’s prayer. Elijah stood up and it was his turn.
1 Kings 18:30-39
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 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.” 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. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 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.”
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. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
“The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
–> Yahweh Elohim! Yahweh Elohim!
Professor or possessor
Keep unity. Not make unity.
We only need to recognise we are united.
We are one. Whether we see it or not.
Elijah prepared 12 stones even though they were divided. He prepared the way God sees them, united.
God answered by fire for Elijah. His prayer had the element of answered prayer.
He prayed for
1. God’s glory (Greater glory of the Lord Jesus Christ!)
2. He prayed for the blessing of the nation of Israel. Pray for the good of the church.
God’s glory and man’s profitability is tied together. Learn to hide ourselves.
Give me a revelation that will so glorify Jesus and bless the church!
Revelation of the gospel of grace!
God takes care of His own.
The Lord’s glory is always healing.
Elijah prayed less than 25 seconds! The effective prayer does not mean it must be long.
God loves me and He gave up His Son for me
He is all powerful
Do i have a claim on His power? If He gives up His Son how shall He not freely give us all things?
The fire of the Lord fell and consume the burnt sacrifice and the nation goes free!
The fire had to fall! If God is God, it must fall!
Will it fall on our family or on the sacrifice?
The fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice!
Even the 12 stones, wood disappeared!
The fire of judgement was greater than sacrifice.
At Calvary, when He who knew no sin and did no sin, offered Himself as our sacrifice. The fire fell on Him to consume the Sacrifice.
The sacrifice is greater than the fire of judgement. He consumed the fire! When the fire of judgement fell, He endured it and consumed it!
Until He shouted, “finished!”
Sacrifice remain and He consumed the fire!
Now we see the sacrifice is greater than the judgement
Sound of the abundance of rain! After the judgement comes the blessing!!!
I hear the sound of the abundance of rain!!
Sometimes we must remember after a great victory, fall on the dust and realised we are nothing and He is everything!!
One of the best way is to fall flat and know the glory is His!
Because He is coming, lets pray!
Elijah prayed. He heard by the spirit the sound of abundance of rain.
He prayed and asked the servant to go and check if there are rain. He prayed for the rain 7 times and asked the servant to check. There was no rain for years. Never despise small beginnings. The servant saw a small cloud at the 7th time.
Go send a message to Ahab. The cloud turned and rained!
Elijah knew how to honor God and honor the king. Prophets of Baal were killed.
1 Kings 19:1-2
Chapter 19
Elijah Escapes from Jezebel
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 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.”
1 Kings 19:3
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.
After a great victory..
Leaders and ministers, after a great demonstration of God, the ministry seems to be the past.
Elijah started to walk by sight! He saw that, he arose.
Hebrews 11:27
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
The secret is when we see the One that is invisible. We walk by faith and not by sight.
We are snared by the visible. We lose sight of the invisible God.
God of the resurrection who rose the boy from death to life!
Any of us can fall away from faith. When believers walk by sight they are weaker than the people of the world. It is just a principal.
Based on the Word of the Lord, looking at Jesus, Peter walked on the water.
And Peter saw the wind and he lost sight of the living Lord and he began to sink
We take our eyes off the invisible and look at the visible.
Some of u are so afraid. You make decision based on the fear of human. You made the human bigger than God.
The moment we take our eyes off the living God, we got discouraged.
We want to see more of God’s act, see nothing of ourselves and all of God! He is everything!!
I am empty, He is my everything.
1 Kings 19:4
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
See how God answered his prayer-
Elijah never died and has never died!!
The other man who never died was Enoch.
Rapture happened in the old testament.
Have you been to a place where after all you have done and your ministry seems to fail?
Don’t be discouraged, you don’t know what God is doing.
Take our eyes off Elijah and put our eyes on our Lord!
During this time of utmost rejection, as many received, in the midst of seemingly failure of Elijah’s ministry…he praised the Father and thank the Father.
When we see any minister fail, we should not be discouraged, take our eyes off the servant and put our eyes on the Master!
Is who we have faith in that is the most important.
1 Kings 19:5-6
Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.
We are subject to depression, and what the Lord does for us is to let us sleep.
From this day forth you will see things happening to your finances.
The fishermen caught all night, they are expert fishermen! Experts are failing even this day!
Know the voice of the One who is Expert!
They were fishing all nights they were cold and hungry! The resurrected Lord cooking!! Coals of fire to warm them!! Will He answers us physically and practically? Yes!! He made coals of fire to warm them up. He made them fish to feed them!!
Come and dine! Come and eat!! Jesus spoke!
Words of love.
Our minds cannot reach His level of goodness.
1 Kings 19:7-8
And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
In and of ourselves, we see that are not encouraging, the journey is too great for us. But our Lord is going to give us food for our journey!
Keep on coming and hearing! One word from God can cause us to grow in strength! We got food from heaven!
1 Kings 19:9-10
And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
God is preparing a chariot of fire! He will not allow His servant to die discouraged in deserted place somewhere.
“For God to say what are you doing here” God was also there!
Elijah fled because of angry woman. God never leave us nor forsake us.
In the day of Elijah’s depression, God’s angels wait on him and God was with him and fed him!
Elijah said twice,” Only I am left”
He looked at the surrounding and thought only he has left.
1 Kings 19:18
Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
The problem is Elijah was more conscious of what God was doing in judgement but he was not conscious of what God was doing in grace.
1 Kings 19:11-12
God’s Revelation to Elijah
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
Earth wind and fire.
Earthquake – a ministry that shakes things up
Wind – demonstration of power
Fire – bring down the fire! Sing about fire
God is not in the earth, wind and fire!
After the fire, a still small voice!
A calm whisper of gentleness! A ministry of grace!!
Elijah had a ministry of fire and thought all will turn around. It will not win their hearts.
You cannot let people come to church because they are fearful. Threatening them won’t cause them to stay.
The Lord is not like a master who will put someone aside after the person is used and “useless”
The devil can use someone for a while and give him “glory” and drop the person aside after finished using.
Singing –
Even when you are growing old, i hope you realised, you will always be a child in My eyes. When you need some love, My arms are opened wide.
You will always be a child in My eyes…
Sometimes we are not led..
In the valley, we walked into the valley..
Even then, God never leave us. His heart is tender.
Friend this is our God. Give Him praise
In the name of Jesus i command all spirit of depression leave! Now holy spirit pour the love of God into their hearts! Even though we walk in the shadow of death, He will not leave you. When you are down, tell Jesus! What a wonderful Friend He is!
