Welcome to a new Carter Report series, 00:00:01.36\00:00:03.90 The Game Changers. 00:00:03.93\00:00:05.83 These rare individuals appear once in a lifetime 00:00:05.87\00:00:09.47 like a blazing meteor across the night sky, 00:00:09.50\00:00:12.44 they change the course of history, 00:00:12.47\00:00:15.31 they show us the way forward. 00:00:15.34\00:00:18.15 Welcome to The Game Changers. 00:00:18.18\00:00:22.48 I just want to give you warmest welcome today. 00:00:26.25\00:00:29.36 This program is called... you know what it is? 00:00:29.39\00:00:32.79 The Game Changers. 00:00:32.83\00:00:34.16 Yeah, this is one of the Game Changers series. 00:00:34.20\00:00:37.23 History tells the story of a few good men and women 00:00:37.27\00:00:44.24 who've stood out against the crowd 00:00:44.27\00:00:46.57 for a good reason, for high good, 00:00:46.61\00:00:49.54 we call them the game changers. 00:00:49.58\00:00:52.61 Martin Luther, 00:00:52.65\00:00:54.15 Protestant reformer was a game changer. 00:00:54.18\00:00:57.35 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor 00:00:57.39\00:01:00.89 who stood out against Hitler was a game changer. 00:01:00.92\00:01:03.86 He said, "We are not to simply bandage 00:01:03.89\00:01:07.23 the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice." 00:01:07.26\00:01:12.37 We are to drive a spoke into the will itself. 00:01:12.40\00:01:16.94 Pretty good, aye? 00:01:16.97\00:01:18.84 Winston Churchill, 00:01:18.87\00:01:20.21 the great leader of Great Britain 00:01:20.24\00:01:21.71 during the dark days was a game changer. 00:01:21.74\00:01:24.81 Desmond Doss, 00:01:24.85\00:01:27.02 who refused to carry a gun. 00:01:27.05\00:01:32.05 I don't agree with that, 00:01:32.09\00:01:33.62 doesn't fit into our society and doesn't matter 00:01:33.66\00:01:36.29 what we think about it, 00:01:36.32\00:01:37.66 but he was a man of principle, 00:01:37.69\00:01:40.40 he's the hero of Hacksaw Ridge, a game changer. 00:01:40.43\00:01:45.90 Florence Nightingale, the British nurse, 00:01:45.93\00:01:49.70 who brought help and nursing to the battlefield 00:01:49.74\00:01:54.64 was a game changer. 00:01:54.68\00:01:56.14 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian 00:01:56.18\00:02:00.52 who stood out against the communists 00:02:00.55\00:02:03.39 who was thrown into the concentration camps, 00:02:03.42\00:02:07.32 was a game changer. 00:02:07.36\00:02:12.23 These people are a rare breed, 00:02:12.26\00:02:15.56 they've escaped the herd mentality 00:02:15.60\00:02:18.27 that was so eloquently described by Nietzsche, 00:02:18.30\00:02:24.91 the game changers. 00:02:24.94\00:02:26.37 I would like to be, God helping me, 00:02:26.41\00:02:29.74 a game changer, wouldn't you? 00:02:29.78\00:02:32.51 Yeah. 00:02:32.55\00:02:33.88 Today, we're going to talk about 00:02:33.92\00:02:35.25 one of the most extraordinary 00:02:35.28\00:02:36.65 but least known characters in history, Elijah. 00:02:36.69\00:02:43.32 Elijah, the Tishbite. 00:02:43.36\00:02:44.69 Take your Bible please and turn to James 5:17. 00:02:44.73\00:02:49.43 James 5:17. 00:02:49.46\00:02:54.20 But I'm going to take it today from the NIV. 00:02:54.24\00:02:57.41 It says, "Elijah was a man..." 00:02:57.44\00:03:00.88 He was a man. "Just like us. 00:03:00.91\00:03:05.58 He prayed earnestly that it would not rain 00:03:05.61\00:03:08.12 and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years." 00:03:08.15\00:03:12.02 The Bible says 00:03:12.05\00:03:13.49 he was not an extraordinary man, 00:03:13.52\00:03:16.86 he was an ordinary man 00:03:16.89\00:03:19.13 who did extraordinary things. 00:03:19.16\00:03:24.40 The name Elijah means my God is Yahweh the Lord. 00:03:24.43\00:03:30.74 It took a lot of courage to say that you stood for God. 00:03:30.77\00:03:34.48 There are some reasons 00:03:34.51\00:03:35.84 why we include Elijah in our top game changers. 00:03:35.88\00:03:39.81 He's mentioned by Christ in the New Testament. 00:03:39.85\00:03:43.05 He raised a dead person to life, extraordinary. 00:03:43.08\00:03:47.46 He stood for Yahweh the Lord 00:03:47.49\00:03:50.19 when Baal worship had taken over Israel. 00:03:50.23\00:03:53.66 It was like a Christian today living in the land of ISIS. 00:03:53.70\00:03:59.70 He called down fire from God out of heaven, 00:03:59.73\00:04:02.60 he predicted the deaths of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, 00:04:02.64\00:04:07.51 and it came to pass. 00:04:07.54\00:04:10.05 He escaped death. 00:04:10.08\00:04:12.71 That makes him a game changer. 00:04:12.75\00:04:14.55 He was caught up by a fiery chariot 00:04:14.58\00:04:17.15 and travelled through space, never died. 00:04:17.19\00:04:20.59 Now 1 Kings 17:1, he is introduced to history. 00:04:20.62\00:04:26.70 Now this of course is in the Old Testament. 00:04:26.73\00:04:31.03 And we will stay for a bit today in the Book of Kings. 00:04:31.07\00:04:36.40 And I'm going to read 00:04:36.44\00:04:37.77 from the Bible a great deal today, 00:04:37.81\00:04:40.34 1 Kings 17:1. 00:04:40.38\00:04:43.58 "Then Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, 00:04:43.61\00:04:49.72 said to Ahab, 00:04:49.75\00:04:51.79 'As the Lord God of Israel stands 00:04:51.82\00:04:55.26 before whom I stand, 00:04:55.29\00:04:57.13 there shall not be dew no rain these years, 00:04:57.16\00:05:01.33 except at my word.'" 00:05:01.36\00:05:03.63 He appears out of nowhere. 00:05:03.67\00:05:06.07 Moses doesn't appear out of nowhere. 00:05:06.10\00:05:08.37 But Elijah, he is out of nowhere, 00:05:08.40\00:05:10.41 he's called the Tishbite, 00:05:10.44\00:05:12.34 we're not even quite sure where that town is, 00:05:12.37\00:05:14.68 the town of Tishbe, 00:05:14.71\00:05:16.08 but he comes from the land of Gilead. 00:05:16.11\00:05:19.18 And you'll notice it's east of the Jordan. 00:05:19.21\00:05:24.19 He doesn't come from Jerusalem or Samaria 00:05:24.22\00:05:27.46 but Gilead, the hill country. 00:05:27.49\00:05:30.49 It was a land of forest 00:05:30.53\00:05:32.66 and a land of little streams. 00:05:32.69\00:05:37.73 This man, Elijah, 00:05:37.77\00:05:40.24 was what we would call a mountain man. 00:05:40.27\00:05:45.94 Apparently, with God, stuff doesn't make us strong, 00:05:45.97\00:05:50.05 virtuous, intelligent, or wise. 00:05:50.08\00:05:53.31 We are into the stuff society 00:05:53.35\00:05:56.79 where a golden Rolex 00:05:56.82\00:05:59.59 or something like this, this is terribly important. 00:05:59.62\00:06:02.72 God often sends his man or woman into the wilderness. 00:06:02.76\00:06:05.53 Moses for 40 years, Jesus into the wilderness, 00:06:05.56\00:06:10.67 John the Baptist came from the desert, 00:06:10.70\00:06:13.34 Luther came from a Roman Catholic priest 00:06:13.37\00:06:17.21 because apparently stuff doesn't matter, terribly. 00:06:17.24\00:06:21.34 Elijah was a man from the wild mountains 00:06:21.38\00:06:23.45 and the lonely desert. 00:06:23.48\00:06:24.81 He was not from the seminary or the theological cemetery. 00:06:24.85\00:06:30.72 I was attending a, little while ago, 00:06:30.75\00:06:32.49 a meeting in my homeland of Australia. 00:06:32.52\00:06:35.79 I was at a college. 00:06:35.82\00:06:37.16 A professor said 00:06:37.19\00:06:38.53 when I was called to work at the cemetery... 00:06:38.56\00:06:41.76 Oops he said, "I mean the seminary." 00:06:41.80\00:06:47.34 Maybe he should not have corrected himself, 00:06:47.37\00:06:49.24 maybe he was right. 00:06:49.27\00:06:50.67 Elijah came from the desert 00:06:50.71\00:06:52.84 where the sky was his ceiling, the earth was his table, 00:06:52.87\00:06:56.95 and God was his teacher. 00:06:56.98\00:06:59.58 His mind was not polluted with garbage 00:06:59.61\00:07:04.39 like ours so often. 00:07:04.42\00:07:07.16 He had a direct link to the creator of the universe, 00:07:07.19\00:07:10.43 he was ordained by man, 00:07:10.46\00:07:13.53 and he never worked for a church organization. 00:07:13.56\00:07:17.70 So what do you say about that? Boy, fancy that... 00:07:17.73\00:07:23.47 In fact, we would not have given him a job today 00:07:23.51\00:07:26.84 in any church. 00:07:26.88\00:07:28.68 Look at 1 Kings 17:1 again, 00:07:28.71\00:07:32.01 "And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, 00:07:32.05\00:07:35.48 said to Ahab, 00:07:35.52\00:07:37.95 'As the Lord God of Israel lives 00:07:37.99\00:07:39.55 before whom I stand, 00:07:39.59\00:07:40.92 there shall not be dewn or rain these years, 00:07:40.96\00:07:43.29 except at my word.'" 00:07:43.32\00:07:45.26 Who was Ahab? 00:07:45.29\00:07:49.03 Ahab was the corrupt king of Israel 00:07:49.06\00:07:51.47 married to the voluptuous, 00:07:51.50\00:07:54.37 the beautiful Jezebel, high priestess of Baal. 00:07:54.40\00:07:59.21 And he goes in before the king of Israel, this man, 00:07:59.24\00:08:03.88 and he says, "God has had enough of you and your filth. 00:08:03.91\00:08:09.55 No rain except at my word, 00:08:09.58\00:08:14.69 until I say so." 00:08:14.72\00:08:16.06 How old was Elijah? 00:08:16.09\00:08:17.96 There's no evidence to say that 00:08:17.99\00:08:19.49 he was an old man as all the pictures say, 00:08:19.53\00:08:22.20 you see a picture of Elijah, he's an old fogy. 00:08:22.23\00:08:26.77 John the Baptist was like Elijah. 00:08:26.80\00:08:30.87 And Elijah was around 30 years of age 00:08:30.91\00:08:33.81 as was our Lord. 00:08:33.84\00:08:36.18 God can use old men with white hair, 00:08:36.21\00:08:41.55 but he can doubly use young men. 00:08:41.58\00:08:45.62 Don't forget it. 00:08:45.65\00:08:46.99 God is looking for men who are strong whom he can use. 00:08:47.02\00:08:53.76 Now look at 1 Kings 17:2 and 3, 00:08:53.80\00:08:57.03 "Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 00:08:57.07\00:08:59.10 'Get away from here and turn eastward, 00:08:59.13\00:09:01.10 and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.'" 00:09:01.14\00:09:07.08 We're not quite sure 00:09:07.11\00:09:08.61 where it was, it's hard to identify, 00:09:08.64\00:09:10.55 just a little trickle. 00:09:10.58\00:09:13.21 So God sends him to the Brook Cherith 00:09:13.25\00:09:16.28 to get out of harm's way for the time being. 00:09:16.32\00:09:19.82 And if you look at verses 4 and 5, 00:09:19.85\00:09:25.76 "And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, 00:09:25.79\00:09:28.96 and I have commanded the ravens 00:09:29.00\00:09:32.60 to feed you there. 00:09:32.63\00:09:36.20 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, 00:09:36.24\00:09:39.37 for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, 00:09:39.41\00:09:42.71 which flows into the Jordan." 00:09:42.74\00:09:49.68 This is quite an extraordinary thing 00:09:49.72\00:09:52.22 because God says 00:09:52.25\00:09:54.09 I'm going to take care of you in an extraordinary way. 00:09:54.12\00:09:58.93 And if you notice I think it is... 00:09:58.96\00:10:02.66 I think verses 6 and 7, 00:10:02.70\00:10:07.57 "The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, 00:10:07.60\00:10:10.07 and bread and meat in the evening, 00:10:10.11\00:10:12.01 and he drank from the brook. 00:10:12.04\00:10:15.44 And then the brook dried up 00:10:15.48\00:10:17.78 because there had been no rain." 00:10:17.81\00:10:22.22 God says to this man, 00:10:22.25\00:10:25.05 "Even though there is a famine, 00:10:25.09\00:10:28.29 there's no water, and everything's dying. 00:10:28.32\00:10:32.09 I will take care of you." 00:10:32.13\00:10:34.76 And God says, 00:10:34.80\00:10:36.20 "In the time of trouble, I will take care of you." 00:10:36.23\00:10:43.51 You see, even if the economy collapses, 00:10:43.54\00:10:48.04 which it will do, 00:10:48.08\00:10:51.41 it cannot in America continue 00:10:51.45\00:10:54.25 on this suicide right of uncontrolled deficits, you see. 00:10:54.28\00:11:01.92 But even if the economy collapses, 00:11:01.96\00:11:05.09 God says, "I will take care of you." 00:11:05.13\00:11:07.93 There are two philosophies, 00:11:07.96\00:11:10.50 number one naturalism and number two supernaturalism. 00:11:10.53\00:11:15.80 Now you're going to believe one of the two. 00:11:15.84\00:11:19.51 Naturalism says that nature is God, 00:11:19.54\00:11:22.81 everything that happens, 00:11:22.84\00:11:25.31 even the emergence of the human species 00:11:25.35\00:11:29.28 is simply by nature, nature becomes the God. 00:11:29.32\00:11:33.49 And the other philosophy says, 00:11:33.52\00:11:35.26 there is a self-existent creator 00:11:35.29\00:11:38.79 who controls nature 00:11:38.83\00:11:41.23 and everything is in the hands of Almighty God, you see. 00:11:41.26\00:11:46.87 Elijah believed in God, I believe in God. 00:11:46.90\00:11:51.21 Now look at 1 Kings 17:8 and 9 I think, 00:11:51.24\00:11:58.08 "Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 00:11:58.11\00:12:00.02 'Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, 00:12:00.05\00:12:04.42 up on the Mediterranean coast, and dwell there. 00:12:04.45\00:12:07.12 See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.'" 00:12:07.16\00:12:13.03 And so he gets up, 00:12:13.06\00:12:14.86 and he walks over the dust and the dirt 00:12:14.90\00:12:18.97 and the dead vegetation, 00:12:19.00\00:12:20.77 and he comes to the Mediterranean coast, 00:12:20.80\00:12:23.27 and he comes to this little town. 00:12:23.30\00:12:26.68 And here comes a woman, 00:12:26.71\00:12:29.88 and she's in great distress, she has a son. 00:12:29.91\00:12:34.75 And he says to her, and this seems absurd, he says, 00:12:34.78\00:12:40.86 "Can you give me something to eat, please. 00:12:40.89\00:12:44.13 I'm really hungry. I could have a good meal now." 00:12:44.16\00:12:48.26 And she says, "I'm just getting some sticks 00:12:48.30\00:12:52.07 and I'm going to anoint the sticks. 00:12:52.10\00:12:55.57 I've got a little bit of flour 00:12:55.60\00:12:57.87 and I've got a few drops of oil. 00:12:57.91\00:13:01.14 And we're going to eat this and we're going to die." 00:13:01.18\00:13:07.28 But she didn't realize that 00:13:07.32\00:13:09.92 because there is a God in heaven 00:13:09.95\00:13:13.25 that her night was passing 00:13:13.29\00:13:15.66 and the sun was going to rise up on her. 00:13:15.69\00:13:19.09 So when things look worse, 00:13:19.13\00:13:22.13 it is because God is preparing us, 00:13:22.16\00:13:25.20 you know, for the best, don't forget this, you see. 00:13:25.23\00:13:30.24 The worst moment 00:13:30.27\00:13:31.61 but God had a great blessing, unexpected. 00:13:31.64\00:13:33.41 Never, never, never, never, Churchill said, 00:13:33.44\00:13:37.15 give up because your sun is about to rise and shine. 00:13:37.18\00:13:43.25 Don't listen to the pessimists, 00:13:43.28\00:13:46.96 don't listen to the naysayers, 00:13:46.99\00:13:50.13 don't listen to the defeaters, for the child of God, 00:13:50.16\00:13:54.46 the best is still to come, you see. 00:13:54.50\00:13:58.43 Now look at chapter 17:13 and 14. 00:13:58.47\00:14:02.77 "Now Elijah said to her, 'Do not fear, 00:14:02.80\00:14:05.34 go and do as you have said 00:14:05.37\00:14:07.24 but make me a small cake from it first 00:14:07.28\00:14:10.18 and bring it to me, 00:14:10.21\00:14:11.55 and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 00:14:11.58\00:14:17.02 Verse 14, "For thus says the Lord God of Israel..." 00:14:17.05\00:14:21.72 Put this down in the molecules of your mind. 00:14:21.76\00:14:25.16 "The bin of flour shall not be used up, 00:14:25.19\00:14:28.03 nor shall the jar of oil run dry, 00:14:28.06\00:14:31.73 until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth." 00:14:31.77\00:14:35.60 God says there will always be enough. 00:14:35.64\00:14:39.77 You'll never run out. 00:14:39.81\00:14:41.71 Always enough oil. 00:14:41.74\00:14:44.48 Always enough meal. 00:14:44.51\00:14:46.82 It doesn't matter how bad things get, 00:14:46.85\00:14:49.38 it doesn't matter how much you use it, 00:14:49.42\00:14:51.35 there will always be enough left over, you see. 00:14:51.39\00:14:56.32 This is the difference between naturalism and supernaturalism, 00:14:56.36\00:15:00.66 always enough oil and flour. 00:15:00.70\00:15:02.83 There's a text in the New Testament 00:15:02.86\00:15:04.33 Philippians 4, it says, 00:15:04.37\00:15:06.03 "My God shall supply all your needs 00:15:06.07\00:15:10.54 according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 00:15:10.57\00:15:16.04 And listen to this, 00:15:16.08\00:15:18.11 if you believe in the God of Elijah, 00:15:18.15\00:15:21.65 then you will never come to the place 00:15:21.68\00:15:23.69 where there is not enough, you see. 00:15:23.72\00:15:28.69 I can remember years ago, 00:15:28.72\00:15:32.13 when we're on the Broadway 00:15:32.16\00:15:33.70 in Glendale in Southern California, 00:15:33.73\00:15:35.93 we came to the place, 00:15:35.96\00:15:37.30 this happened quite a few times. 00:15:37.33\00:15:40.00 We didn't have enough money to make payroll. 00:15:40.04\00:15:43.97 What are we going to do? 00:15:44.01\00:15:45.87 We believe God has called us, 00:15:45.91\00:15:48.01 we don't have enough money to pay our bills. 00:15:48.04\00:15:52.21 But let me tell you folks something, 00:15:52.25\00:15:55.72 God said to us, "Just hold on and keep trusting." 00:15:55.75\00:15:59.75 That's what I say to you 00:15:59.79\00:16:02.62 because on every occasion 00:16:02.66\00:16:04.59 when it appeared to us 00:16:04.63\00:16:06.43 that the barrel had no food left in it, 00:16:06.46\00:16:10.13 no grain left in it. 00:16:10.17\00:16:13.40 And the little pot had no oil left in it. 00:16:13.44\00:16:17.91 God was ready to do something great for us. 00:16:17.94\00:16:22.11 And so there are two types of people in this world, 00:16:22.14\00:16:24.98 people who are naturalists and who don't have faith, 00:16:25.01\00:16:30.09 and there are people 00:16:30.12\00:16:31.45 who believe in a supernatural God. 00:16:31.49\00:16:34.16 Now look at 1 King 17: 15 and 16, 00:16:34.19\00:16:38.06 "So she went away and did 00:16:38.09\00:16:39.69 according to the word of Elijah, 00:16:39.73\00:16:42.43 and she and he and her household ate 00:16:42.46\00:16:45.83 for many days." 00:16:45.87\00:16:47.64 Now this is a great, great text, 00:16:47.67\00:16:50.11 get it down into your mind. 00:16:50.14\00:16:52.14 "The bin of flour was not used up 00:16:52.17\00:16:57.15 nor did the jar of oil run dry, 00:16:57.18\00:17:02.25 according to the word of the Lord 00:17:02.28\00:17:04.52 which He spoke to Elijah." 00:17:04.55\00:17:06.86 God will take care of you. 00:17:10.89\00:17:12.49 There will always, always be enough. 00:17:12.53\00:17:17.27 And then when things were looking bright and cheery 00:17:17.30\00:17:22.07 as often happens, 00:17:22.10\00:17:23.44 when things seem to be going so good all of a sudden, 00:17:23.47\00:17:27.14 the bottom fell out. 00:17:27.18\00:17:29.98 And you can read the story in verses 17 and 18, 00:17:30.01\00:17:34.42 "Now it happened after these things of the son of the woman 00:17:34.45\00:17:37.12 who owned the house became sick. 00:17:37.15\00:17:39.95 And his sickness was so serious 00:17:39.99\00:17:41.99 that there was no breath left in him." 00:17:42.02\00:17:43.69 He died. 00:17:43.73\00:17:45.19 "So she said to Elijah, 00:17:45.23\00:17:46.73 'What have I to do with you, O man of God? 00:17:46.76\00:17:48.86 Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance 00:17:48.90\00:17:52.07 and to kill my son?" 00:17:52.10\00:17:54.57 So this is a terrible tragedy. They got enough food. 00:17:54.60\00:17:58.44 Widow had got nobody else in the world, 00:17:58.47\00:18:01.14 and she's got a boy. 00:18:01.18\00:18:04.65 What good of feeding a boy if he dies. 00:18:04.68\00:18:08.08 And the boy dies. 00:18:08.12\00:18:09.88 Verses 18 and 19, 00:18:09.92\00:18:11.25 "And he said to her, 'Give me your son.' 00:18:11.29\00:18:16.42 So he took him out of her arms 00:18:16.46\00:18:18.76 and carried him to the upper room 00:18:18.79\00:18:21.46 where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.'" 00:18:21.50\00:18:27.30 Verse 20, "And he cried out to the Lord and said, 00:18:27.34\00:18:31.27 'O, Lord my God, 00:18:31.31\00:18:33.14 have you also brought tragedy on the widow 00:18:33.17\00:18:35.98 with whom I lodge, by killing her son?" 00:18:36.01\00:18:41.02 And verse 21 and 22, 00:18:41.05\00:18:45.19 "And he stretched himself out on the child three times, 00:18:45.22\00:18:49.82 and cried out to the Lord and said, 00:18:49.86\00:18:51.99 'O Lord my God, I pray, 00:18:52.03\00:18:54.56 let this child's soul come back to him.'" 00:18:54.60\00:18:58.50 Let it come back into him. 00:18:58.53\00:19:01.54 And then if you look at verse 22, 00:19:01.57\00:19:04.54 "Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, 00:19:04.57\00:19:07.11 and the soul of the child came back to him, 00:19:07.14\00:19:13.18 and he revived." 00:19:13.21\00:19:14.75 Almost too hard to believe, isn't it? 00:19:18.65\00:19:22.12 He thought the boy was dead. 00:19:22.16\00:19:24.56 But you've got to think too 00:19:24.59\00:19:25.93 we believe it's supernaturalism but just naturalism. 00:19:25.96\00:19:28.86 If we go just by naturalism, the boy is dead 00:19:28.90\00:19:31.60 and he's finished and so are you. 00:19:31.63\00:19:34.30 So when we die like Richard Dawkins, 00:19:34.34\00:19:36.60 somebody said, "What are you going to do?" 00:19:36.64\00:19:38.37 Dr. Dawkins, the most famous atheist in the world, 00:19:38.41\00:19:41.48 "What are you going to do, Dr. Dawkins, when you die? 00:19:41.51\00:19:44.21 He said, "I'm going to stand 00:19:44.25\00:19:46.21 on the deck of the ship and salute." 00:19:46.25\00:19:48.92 What's the good of saluting 00:19:52.62\00:19:53.96 when you're going down to nothingness? 00:19:53.99\00:19:58.63 But here is a boy who dies, 00:19:58.66\00:20:01.16 and the Bible tells us that the supernatural God 00:20:01.20\00:20:05.33 who is over all things over nature 00:20:05.37\00:20:11.11 brings the boy back again. 00:20:11.14\00:20:15.41 It's extraordinary. 00:20:15.44\00:20:17.28 We see the promise of resurrection every spring. 00:20:17.31\00:20:22.02 I've been in Siberia in winter 00:20:22.05\00:20:23.75 when it is so extraordinarily cold, 00:20:23.79\00:20:26.79 a white freezing wilderness, spring comes 00:20:26.82\00:20:30.03 and that which was dead comes to life again. 00:20:30.06\00:20:32.46 God has given us images in nature 00:20:32.49\00:20:35.66 so that you and I will not be in despair, 00:20:35.70\00:20:39.03 but we believe in the God who raises the dead. 00:20:39.07\00:20:43.20 This is the teaching in the Bible, 00:20:43.24\00:20:44.77 and verses 23 and 24, 00:20:44.81\00:20:47.81 "And Elijah took the child and brought him down 00:20:47.84\00:20:50.31 from the upper room into the house, 00:20:50.35\00:20:52.01 and gave him to his mother. 00:20:52.05\00:20:53.58 And Elijah said, 'See, your son lives!' 00:20:53.62\00:20:56.45 Then the woman said to Elijah, 00:20:56.48\00:20:58.75 "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, 00:20:58.79\00:21:01.22 and that the word of the Lord in your mouth 00:21:01.26\00:21:05.93 is the truth." 00:21:05.96\00:21:08.53 So here today as we talk about the game changers, 00:21:08.56\00:21:13.54 we're talking about a man 00:21:13.57\00:21:15.30 who is in touch 00:21:15.34\00:21:16.81 with the Almighty God of the universe. 00:21:16.84\00:21:19.41 And when you are in touch 00:21:19.44\00:21:20.78 with the Almighty God of the universe, 00:21:20.81\00:21:22.51 nothing is too hard for you. 00:21:22.54\00:21:24.91 Believe it, believe it, 00:21:24.95\00:21:27.05 step out of the darkness, step into the light. 00:21:27.08\00:21:29.68 Now the great confrontation, 00:21:35.32\00:21:40.23 look at 1 Kings 18:7 and 8. 00:21:40.26\00:21:47.00 1 Kings 18:7 and 8, 00:21:47.04\00:21:49.84 "Now as Obadiah, 00:21:49.87\00:21:51.21 servant of God was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him, 00:21:51.24\00:21:54.01 after three years, he recognized him, 00:21:54.04\00:21:56.31 and fell on his face, and said, 'Is that you, my lord Elijah?' 00:21:56.34\00:21:59.41 And he answered, 'It is I. Go, tell your master.'" 00:21:59.45\00:22:03.22 Tell Ahab Elijah is here. 00:22:03.25\00:22:07.42 Ahab wants to kill him. 00:22:07.46\00:22:10.49 Now Elijah goes to Obadiah, 00:22:10.53\00:22:12.33 who is the man of God, who works for the king. 00:22:12.36\00:22:14.10 He says, "Go and tell the king Elijah is here". 00:22:14.13\00:22:20.24 Now this Obadiah had been hiding the servants of God 00:22:20.27\00:22:26.47 from the wraths of the king and his wife. 00:22:26.51\00:22:30.88 Look at verse 1 Kings 18:13, 00:22:30.91\00:22:36.89 "Was it not reported to my Lord 00:22:36.92\00:22:39.02 what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord..." 00:22:39.05\00:22:43.69 Jezebel was murdering the prophets of God. 00:22:43.73\00:22:49.10 "How I hid one hundred men of the Lord's prophets, 00:22:49.13\00:22:53.00 fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?" 00:22:53.03\00:22:58.67 Here's a man, 00:23:01.78\00:23:04.51 and he's living in a time 00:23:04.55\00:23:08.75 of the greatest apostasy in the church. 00:23:08.78\00:23:13.46 I want you to notice now, 00:23:13.49\00:23:17.13 this is most important that you see this 00:23:17.16\00:23:18.79 because we're going to call, 00:23:18.83\00:23:20.23 we're going to bring a better parallel 00:23:20.26\00:23:22.33 between those days and the days 00:23:22.36\00:23:25.13 in which we live now in America. 00:23:25.17\00:23:28.47 I want to talk now about the times 00:23:28.50\00:23:31.74 and the prevailing sentiment. 00:23:31.77\00:23:35.31 Before the great confrontation, 00:23:35.34\00:23:37.35 I want to just have a look at 00:23:37.38\00:23:38.71 Ahab and Jezebel and Baal. 00:23:38.75\00:23:45.29 Ahab was the king of Israel and the leader of the church. 00:23:45.32\00:23:52.36 It was around 60 years since Solomon, son of David 00:23:52.39\00:23:56.56 and each successive King 00:23:56.60\00:23:59.33 had been worse than his predecessor. 00:23:59.37\00:24:03.81 Ahab was a weak man, 00:24:03.84\00:24:09.18 ruled by a strong woman. 00:24:09.21\00:24:13.15 He was not the first, and he will not be the last. 00:24:13.18\00:24:16.08 Look at 1 Kings 16:30 and 31. 00:24:16.12\00:24:21.02 1 King 16:30 and 31, 00:24:21.06\00:24:23.73 "Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, 00:24:23.76\00:24:27.96 more than all of whom were before him. 00:24:28.00\00:24:30.70 And it came to pass, 00:24:30.73\00:24:32.37 as though it had been a trivial thing 00:24:32.40\00:24:34.67 for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the sons of Nebat 00:24:34.70\00:24:39.61 that he took his wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, 00:24:39.64\00:24:45.91 king of the Sidonians, 00:24:45.95\00:24:48.12 and went and served Baal and worshipped him." 00:24:48.15\00:24:52.92 So the king of Israel marries 00:24:52.95\00:24:57.13 the high priestess of the god Baal. 00:24:57.16\00:25:03.80 And I wonder what they did. 00:25:03.83\00:25:06.97 Would you please notice verse 32 and 33, 00:25:07.00\00:25:10.41 "Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, 00:25:10.44\00:25:13.88 which he had built in Samaria. 00:25:13.91\00:25:15.78 And Ahab made a wooden image. 00:25:15.81\00:25:22.22 Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger 00:25:22.25\00:25:26.72 than all the kings of Israel who were before him." 00:25:26.76\00:25:31.79 In the second part of this presentation, 00:25:37.47\00:25:40.57 I'm going to talk to you about 00:25:40.60\00:25:43.00 the degrading practices of Baal worship, 00:25:43.04\00:25:48.34 perverted sex, violence, 00:25:48.38\00:25:52.58 and the murder of babies. 00:25:52.61\00:25:56.62 And we're going to ask the question, 00:25:56.65\00:26:01.62 "Is there need today for Elijah?" 00:26:01.66\00:26:06.06 More in a moment. 00:26:06.09\00:26:07.50 The reviews for the John Carter biography are in, 00:26:20.84\00:26:23.78 and this is what they say: 00:26:23.81\00:26:25.88 "Anyone who reads this fascinating book 00:26:25.91\00:26:27.82 and is not moved should check to see 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