We're doing a series right
now on the subject of Elijah.
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And where we pick
up our story right now,
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Elijah has just had
this climatic experience
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on top of Mount Carmel
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where there was
this incredible showdown
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between himself
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and these 850
prophets of Baal and Asherah.
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And they've all been executed.
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And at this point
our story, go to 2 Kings,
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I'm sorry, 1 Kings chapter...
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Well, I guess we'll be
starting with chapter 19
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with last few
versus of chapter 18.
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So go to verse 41.
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And after they
took the prophets down
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to the brook Kishon and
they were executed there.
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It says in verse 41,
"Elijah said to Ahab, the king,
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'Go up, eat and drink,
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for there is the sound
of abundance of rain.'"
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Now part of the
reason he's saying this
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is because they had been storing
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every little morsel of food
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and trying to stretch
it as far as they could
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because there had been no
rain and there was a famine.
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Elijah's basically saying,
"You can go eat and drink now,
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you don't need to
scrounge and store all your food
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because rain is coming.
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And there is gonna
be an abundance of rain.
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Well, when he said this
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there was not a
cloud in the sky,
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there had not
been a cloud in the sky
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for three and half years.
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There had not even
been any dew on the ground.
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So this took faith.
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But Ahab believes him
because he had just said
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fire was gonna come
down from heaven and it did.
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And so it tells us that
Ahab went up to eat and drink
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and Elijah went to
the top of Mount Carmel.
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It's interesting.
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Ahab goes to eat,
Elijah goes to pray.
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That's the difference
between the church and the state
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I guess, but...
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Yeah, he sends
out for pizza, I mean,
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I don't know if I would
be able to eat that day.
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You think about it,
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if you saw fire come
down from God out of heaven,
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if all of a sudden
all the false prophets.
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If I were Ahab, that
would be time to fast,
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and pray, and
humble yourself and say,
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"Wow, I've been misleading
the nation all these years."
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But it doesn't
bother him, he goes to eat,
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and Elijah goes
to the top of Carmel.
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"And he bows down to the ground,
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and he puts his
face between his knees,
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and he prays, and
he says to his servant,
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'Go up now and
look towards the sea.'
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And he went and he looked,
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and he said, 'There is nothing.'
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"Now it may be before this
whole famine business began
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that Elijah had an apprentice.
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It was typical for the
prophets to have an apprentice
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that they would train
into be their replacement.
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And could be when he
was hiding by the brook,
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and during the
time the famine began
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he left him go.
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But now that there's
been this great demonstration
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in God's favor, he
figured it was safe again,
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his servant joins up with him.
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"And he says, 'Go and look
and see if you see anything.'
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And he comes back, he
says, 'There is nothing.'
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And seven times
he said, 'Go again.'
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And it came to
pass the seventh time."'
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Have you noticed how
many times in the Bible
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the blessing
comes the seventh time.
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It was on the seventh day
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they marched around
the city seven times,
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they blew the trumpet
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and the walls of
the enemy fell, Jericho.
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It's after he goes
down in the Jordan River
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and he washes seven times
that Naaman the leper comes up
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and he's cleansed.
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And you could probably
think of your own examples
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that I might be missing
of how the blessing came
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the seventh time.
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"And the seventh
time he says, 'Go again.'"
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He keeps praying and
says, "Is there anything?"
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And he prays again,
"Is there anything?"
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And he prays again.
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You know, it
teaches us something about
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persistence and
tenacity in prayer.
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Perhaps you remember
the story in the Bible
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where Jesus tells in
Luke 18 about a certain widow.
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And she comes to
the judge and she says,
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"Avenge me, I'm
being taken advantage of."
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And the judge says,
"Look, you have no money,
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you're poor, you can't bribe me.
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I've got other important cases."
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He doesn't say that,
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but that's the
way he treats her.
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And she keeps
coming, and she keeps coming,
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and she keeps coming.
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Finally the
judge says to himself,
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"Even though I
don't regard God or man,
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I'm gonna deal with this widow
and give her what she needs
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because otherwise
she's gonna wear me out."
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And then the Lord
says, and this in Luke 18:7,
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"Hear what the unjust judge says
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shall not God
avenge His own elect
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who cry out day
and night to Him,
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though He bears long with them?"
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The Bible says,
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"Here is the
patience of the saints."
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Sometimes you got
to pray for something
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that's worthwhile
more than one time.
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You might be praying for
a loved one that is lost,
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you don't give up.
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You keep praying and
then you raise your periscope
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and say, "Is
there anything yet?"
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And get down, you pray
again. "Is there anything yet?"
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And eventually you'll
come up and you'll see that
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there is a sign that
God is doing something.
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So eventually the
servant comes back and he says,
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"You know, I do see a
cloud rising out of the sea
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about the size of a man's hand."
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In a way I think that translates
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is just like the
size of a man's hand
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with a concave part down.
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And it's just a
little sign out of the sea.
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He says, "I
think I see something."
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That's all Elijah
needed, he needed that evidence.
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Now I don't
wanna take it too far,
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but I think
it's interesting that
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here he stood on Mount Carmel
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and he prayed and fire came down
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and now he's
praying for the rain,
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and he kneels upon his knees,
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and he humbles
himself before the Lord.
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The rain in the Bible,
the latter rain is a symbol
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for the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit.
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We're told in scripture
that we're to be praying
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for the latter rain.
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That means you may not pray once
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and you may not pray only twice,
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you may need to
continue to pray.
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There is nothing
really more important
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that we should ask for.
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In fact when
Jesus talks about prayer
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in the Gospel of Luke,
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He said, "If you have a son
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and he asks for a loaf of bread,
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would you give him a stone?
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If he asks for an egg or fish,
will you give him a serpent?
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Or if he asked for an egg,
will you give him a scorpion?"
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He uses three
illustrations in Luke.
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And this is how he closes.
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"If you, then being evil,
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know how to give good
gifts unto your children,
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how much more will
your Father in heaven
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give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask."
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The one specific
thing that Jesus says
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we should ask for
is the Holy Spirit.
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Can you think of
anything more important
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that we could ask for?
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If God gives you
every earthly blessing,
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if you've got money in
the bank and you've got health
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and all of your
friends like you,
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and you have all the
comforts and conveniences,
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but you do not
have God's Spirit,
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then how do you
really gain any ground?
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But if you lose every
earthly blessing and comfort,
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but you are filled
with the Spirit of God,
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then you have everything.
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You know, on Mount Carmel
that day there was a king,
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and there were a lot of
prophets and a lot of people,
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but the one the
closest to God had nothing
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but he was full of
God and that's Elijah.
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In the last days the
Lord wants an army of people
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that are full of God.
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I hope you wanna be
one of those people.
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So he knelt on his
knees just quickly.
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Daniel went to his upper
room and he knelt on his knees
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when he prayed.
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"When Jesus withdrew from
them about a stone's throw,
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he knelt down and he prayed."
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Acts 9:40,
"Peter, put them all out,
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and he knelt down and he prayed
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when Dorcas was raised."
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Solomon dedicating the
temple, "Knelt this is the king,
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knelt upon his knees before God
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and spread out
his hands to heaven."
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And then later
God says to Elijah,
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"I have 7,000 knees
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that have not
yet bowed to Baal."
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There's something
about kneeling when you pray,
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especially in formal
worship, it doesn't mean
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you can't pray
when you're sitting,
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we do that when we eat,
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you can pray
when you're standing.
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There's examples
of that in the Bible.
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But let's not get to
the place where we forget,
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you actually say
something with your posture
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when you worship God.
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And I just read you...
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Everybody from Daniel to
Jesus and the Apostle Peter,
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they still knelt
when they prayed.
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Let's remember that we
worship an awesome God.
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And at some point
during every worship service,
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it's becoming
less and less common
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in evangelical churches,
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but at some point
during every worship service
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you should get on your
knees before God if you're able.
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You know, if you get
old and your knees hurt,
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can't get back up
God understands that.
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But if you're able,
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you say something
with your posture.
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Sometimes I'll go
to introduce myself
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to someone I meet
and they're sitting down
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and they start to get up
and it's a sign of respect,
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and I say, "Don't get up."
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Especially if they're
older, it's too much work.
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But, you know, people
still do that as respect.
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When we worship God, we
should get on our knees.
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In our homes, we
kneel and we pray to God.
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In our family
when I go downstairs,
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I turn around my office chair
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and I kneel
right there and pray.
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And I think God...
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I think that
God is more inclined
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to answer the prayers
of those that understand
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how mighty He is
that reverence His name.
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Elijah, you would think
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you're pretty proud
of yourself when you talk
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and fire comes down from heaven,
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when he was praying for the rain
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he got on his knees.
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"If my people that
are called by my name
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will humble
themselves and pray."
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What does it mean to
humble yourself and pray?
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So that's part of that.
I won't take that too far.
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And don't forget his
persistence in prayer.
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Zechariah 10:1,
00:10:00.60\00:10:02.43
"Ask of the Lord rain in
the time of the latter rain,
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and the Lord will
make flashing clouds
00:10:05.53\00:10:07.74
thunder and lightning,
00:10:07.77\00:10:08.80
He will give
them showers of rain,
00:10:08.84\00:10:10.87
grass in the
field for everyone."
00:10:10.91\00:10:14.31
And so we should be asking
persistently for this rain.
00:10:14.34\00:10:17.98
Now after he prays like this,
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it says in the mean
time, in 1 Kings 18:45,
00:10:21.38\00:10:26.32
"The sky became
black with clouds."
00:10:26.35\00:10:28.32
Started with a small cloud,
the sign is of a man's hand,
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that's how the second
coming of Jesus will begin,
00:10:31.43\00:10:34.00
a little sign that will
then grow bigger and bigger,
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until soon the
heavens are in developed
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with this blackness
and flashing clouds,
00:10:39.60\00:10:42.27
thunder and
lightning are rolling.
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"And he tells Ahab, he says,
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'You better head for cover,
there's an abundance of rain.'
00:10:48.71\00:10:52.45
And there was a heavy
rain so that Ahab rode away
00:10:52.48\00:10:55.45
and he went to Jezreel."
00:10:55.48\00:10:56.58
About 9 or 10 miles
away from Mount Carmel,
00:10:56.62\00:10:59.19
he is riding back
towards the palace.
00:10:59.22\00:11:01.69
He had one at
Samaria and one at Jezreel.
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And that time it says,
00:11:04.66\00:11:06.83
"The hand of the
Lord came upon Elijah,
00:11:06.86\00:11:10.47
and he girded up his
loins, and he ran ahead of Ahab
00:11:10.50\00:11:14.07
to the entrance of Jezreel."
00:11:14.10\00:11:15.64
Now why did he do this?
00:11:15.67\00:11:16.81
First of all, the
king, he's in his chariot,
00:11:16.84\00:11:19.97
he's probably got
the thing wide open,
00:11:20.01\00:11:22.44
throttle all the
way down as they say.
00:11:22.48\00:11:24.58
And the horses he's trying to...
00:11:24.61\00:11:26.51
You know, it
never makes any sense.
00:11:26.55\00:11:27.68
I used to ride a motorcycle,
you get caught in the rain,
00:11:27.72\00:11:29.62
and somehow you want
to get out of the rain
00:11:29.65\00:11:30.95
so you go faster, but
you know what happens,
00:11:30.99\00:11:32.29
you go fast in the
rain, you just get wetter.
00:11:32.32\00:11:34.89
It doesn't really help.
00:11:34.92\00:11:35.96
But anyways...
00:11:35.99\00:11:38.23
he's going as fast as he can.
00:11:38.26\00:11:39.46
And the Bible says
that, "Elijah, the prophet
00:11:39.49\00:11:42.56
girds up his loins,
he ties up his robe,
00:11:42.60\00:11:45.30
and he begins to
run before the king."
00:11:45.33\00:11:47.04
Now why did he do that?
00:11:47.07\00:11:48.10
And the spirit of
the Lord came upon him
00:11:48.14\00:11:50.67
so that he was able to run
with a supernatural strength
00:11:50.71\00:11:54.28
and not get tired and
somehow keep up with the horses.
00:11:54.31\00:11:58.88
As the scripture
in the Bible it says,
00:11:58.91\00:12:00.82
"If you can't keep
up with the footmen,
00:12:00.85\00:12:02.35
how will you
contend with horses?"
00:12:02.38\00:12:04.72
But Elijah is
running before the king.
00:12:04.75\00:12:07.22
Why does that
happen? Couple of reasons.
00:12:07.26\00:12:08.96
Well, several probably.
00:12:08.99\00:12:11.86
You know, the king
of Israel is a position
00:12:11.89\00:12:15.23
that had been chosen by
God, not necessarily Ahab,
00:12:15.26\00:12:19.23
but it was God
that divided the kingdom
00:12:19.27\00:12:21.10
between the southern
and the northern kingdom.
00:12:21.14\00:12:23.47
God wants us to
respect those that rule.
00:12:23.51\00:12:26.71
The Bible's very
clear about that.
00:12:26.74\00:12:28.71
Ahab had just been
terribly humiliated,
00:12:28.74\00:12:31.51
all of his prophets were killed.
00:12:31.55\00:12:33.25
And now God is
wanting to show Ahab,
00:12:33.28\00:12:36.42
"You can participate in
supporting this revival,
00:12:36.45\00:12:41.06
we are gonna
recognize you as king."
00:12:41.09\00:12:43.36
Elijah runs before the king,
00:12:43.39\00:12:45.19
as messengers would normally do.
00:12:45.23\00:12:47.23
Ahab doesn't have...
00:12:47.23\00:12:48.96
You remember
Absalom prepared a chariot
00:12:49.00\00:12:50.93
and 50 men to run before him.
00:12:50.97\00:12:52.67
Kings often had
servants that ran before him.
00:12:52.70\00:12:55.17
Now there's no
servants running before Ahab,
00:12:55.20\00:12:56.87
they're all starving,
00:12:56.91\00:12:58.84
the people now are
making their way back
00:12:58.87\00:13:00.51
towards the cities
of Samaria and Jezreel
00:13:00.54\00:13:02.61
following this great
experience on Mount Carmel.
00:13:02.64\00:13:05.48
And as they make their
way back they see Elijah
00:13:05.51\00:13:07.98
running down the road
00:13:08.02\00:13:09.18
leading Ahab's
chariot through this storm.
00:13:09.22\00:13:13.02
You know, the
Bible also tells us that
00:13:13.05\00:13:14.72
one of the jobs of the prophet
00:13:14.76\00:13:18.19
was to go the
way before the king.
00:13:18.23\00:13:20.56
Perhaps, you
remember in Isaiah 40:3
00:13:20.60\00:13:24.80
and this is what
John the Baptist quoted,
00:13:24.83\00:13:26.94
"The voice of one
crying in the wilderness,
00:13:26.97\00:13:29.20
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
00:13:29.24\00:13:31.14
make straight in the
desert a highway for our God.'"
00:13:31.17\00:13:35.18
In the way that a
servant ran before the King,
00:13:35.21\00:13:38.58
John the Baptist
came to prepare the way
00:13:38.61\00:13:40.88
before Jesus, the King of kings.
00:13:40.92\00:13:43.22
John the Baptist came
in the spirit and the power
00:13:43.25\00:13:45.72
of what Old Testament prophet.
00:13:45.75\00:13:48.39
Elijah, right?
00:13:48.42\00:13:50.23
And so here you have
Elijah running before the king
00:13:50.26\00:13:54.03
as the rain is coming.
00:13:54.10\00:13:55.33
John the Baptist
came and ran before Jesus
00:13:55.36\00:13:58.33
to prepare the way
00:13:58.37\00:13:59.47
and then the
showers came, right?
00:13:59.50\00:14:02.14
And so it's also I
think a type of that.
00:14:02.17\00:14:04.17
So he runs before the
king, the king goes inside,
00:14:04.21\00:14:07.31
he begins to tell Jezebel
everything that happened.
00:14:07.34\00:14:09.88
And Elijah
bunkers down at the gate.
00:14:09.91\00:14:11.95
There is often
some shelter at the gate
00:14:11.98\00:14:13.62
where the guards would hang out.
00:14:13.65\00:14:15.85
And now go back to 1 Kings 19,
00:14:15.88\00:14:18.05
we start with verse 1.
00:14:18.09\00:14:19.85
1 Kings 19.
00:14:19.89\00:14:22.42
Jezebel did not
go to the showdown
00:14:22.46\00:14:25.76
on Mount Carmel.
00:14:25.79\00:14:27.20
She did not like the idea
00:14:27.23\00:14:28.46
that there was still
a prophet of God alive.
00:14:28.50\00:14:30.30
She'd been killing
all the prophets of God,
00:14:30.33\00:14:32.23
trying to instate Baal
worship in the kingdom.
00:14:32.27\00:14:35.47
She was the greatest
advocate of Baal worship.
00:14:35.50\00:14:38.61
She was one
killing the prophets.
00:14:38.64\00:14:40.68
So she didn't go.
00:14:40.71\00:14:41.74
Ahab comes back,
they had no internet,
00:14:41.78\00:14:43.51
she didn't know
what happened out there.
00:14:43.55\00:14:45.78
He comes back, and she can tell
00:14:45.81\00:14:47.08
by the look on his face.
00:14:47.12\00:14:48.68
He had just had an
encounter with God.
00:14:48.72\00:14:51.79
I have a young friend.
00:14:51.82\00:14:53.79
Oh, he's not that young anymore,
00:14:53.82\00:14:54.86
but when he was a young man,
00:14:54.89\00:14:57.06
he got chased by a bear
for about quarter of a mile.
00:14:57.09\00:15:00.93
He was running down the
hill, he told his parents
00:15:00.96\00:15:03.53
they were taking
all the switchbacks
00:15:03.57\00:15:04.87
down to their
place by the river.
00:15:04.90\00:15:06.63
He said, "I'll bet
you, I can run faster
00:15:06.67\00:15:09.27
than you can drive,"
00:15:09.30\00:15:10.37
all these switchbacks
just going straight down,
00:15:10.41\00:15:12.07
they said, "Well, try it."
00:15:12.11\00:15:13.24
He was like 14, 15
years old, he gets out,
00:15:13.27\00:15:15.98
he starts to run down the road
00:15:16.01\00:15:17.28
and soon he hears
this noise behind him,
00:15:17.31\00:15:18.58
and a bear had seen him
running through the woods
00:15:18.61\00:15:20.18
took off after him.
00:15:20.22\00:15:21.95
Well, that just
made him run faster
00:15:21.98\00:15:24.05
so he runs faster and
faster and a lot happened,
00:15:24.09\00:15:26.35
he stopped at one
point, the bear stopped,
00:15:26.39\00:15:27.66
he threw rocks
at it, he ran again,
00:15:27.69\00:15:28.89
the bear chased him,
it's an interesting story.
00:15:28.92\00:15:32.36
He comes bolting in...
00:15:32.39\00:15:34.13
He finally
leaves the bear behind,
00:15:34.20\00:15:35.46
he comes bolting into
his grandfather's house
00:15:35.50\00:15:37.80
and he tells the grandfather
about this experience,
00:15:37.83\00:15:39.57
so I talked to his
grandfather Jack, and I said,
00:15:39.60\00:15:43.71
"He said that he
was chased by a bear."
00:15:43.74\00:15:45.34
I said, "Do you think
he's really chased by a bear?"
00:15:45.37\00:15:47.11
He said, "I saw
the look on his face,
00:15:47.14\00:15:49.58
he was chased by a bear."
00:15:49.61\00:15:53.11
Said, "If you saw what I saw,
00:15:53.15\00:15:55.95
I know he could not act
that expression on his face,
00:15:55.98\00:15:59.42
he was chased by a bear."
00:15:59.45\00:16:01.56
When Ahab comes into
the palace, he's like,
00:16:01.59\00:16:04.13
"You'll never let me tell you
what happened at work today."
00:16:04.16\00:16:08.00
And he tells about all
this and the fire coming down
00:16:08.03\00:16:10.40
and the prophets
of Baal dancing around
00:16:10.43\00:16:11.70
and nothing happened.
00:16:11.73\00:16:12.77
But Elijah prays
and the fire comes down,
00:16:12.80\00:16:14.64
and he took all
the prophets of Baal
00:16:14.67\00:16:16.54
and he killed them all.
00:16:16.57\00:16:17.57
And Jezebel's not
liking what she hears.
00:16:17.61\00:16:20.14
Ahab thought she would say,
00:16:20.18\00:16:21.21
"Yeah, I guess it's
true, God is Jehovah."
00:16:21.24\00:16:24.15
But she doesn't
care about the evidence.
00:16:24.18\00:16:27.08
You know, it's amazing that
00:16:27.12\00:16:29.42
when a person
makes up their mind,
00:16:29.45\00:16:30.59
they want to believe
what they want to believe.
00:16:30.62\00:16:32.75
Evidence doesn't matter anymore.
00:16:32.79\00:16:35.56
Even after all of the
evidence that God provided
00:16:35.59\00:16:38.76
that He was real
and Baal was false,
00:16:38.79\00:16:40.76
when Jezebel hears
that instead of saying,
00:16:40.80\00:16:42.33
"Well, I need to humble
myself and worship Jehovah,
00:16:42.36\00:16:44.40
He's the real God."
00:16:44.43\00:16:45.93
She sends a messenger to
Elijah and threatens his life
00:16:45.97\00:16:50.57
because she is so enraged
00:16:50.61\00:16:52.67
that all the
work that she has done
00:16:52.71\00:16:54.41
to establish Baal worship
00:16:54.44\00:16:55.61
and to kill the
prophets of Jehovah
00:16:55.64\00:16:57.38
has been turned over in one day
00:16:57.41\00:16:59.95
by this
incredible demonstration.
00:17:00.05\00:17:03.05
And she sends this
message to Jezebel, verse 2.
00:17:03.08\00:17:05.72
Sends a message to Elijah
saying, "So let the gods..."
00:17:05.75\00:17:09.29
Notice, she worship gods.
00:17:09.32\00:17:11.53
She didn't say Jehovah, God.
00:17:11.56\00:17:13.06
"So let the gods do to me
and more also, with an oath,
00:17:13.09\00:17:16.20
if I don't make your life
like the life of one of them
00:17:16.23\00:17:18.63
by tomorrow at this time."
00:17:18.67\00:17:21.57
Now how would you react?
00:17:21.60\00:17:23.97
Elijah had a long day.
00:17:24.01\00:17:25.91
He is, you know, first of all
he travels down, he gets Ahab,
00:17:25.94\00:17:29.98
they gather the nation together,
00:17:30.01\00:17:31.45
they dance all day
long, there's a sacrifice,
00:17:31.48\00:17:33.98
a fire comes down, he
prays, the rain comes,
00:17:34.02\00:17:35.78
and then he has to run
10 miles supernaturally
00:17:35.82\00:17:38.59
before Ahab,
finally he get tired.
00:17:38.62\00:17:41.16
And he starts to
hunker down and sleep,
00:17:41.19\00:17:43.12
maybe he found a
piece of bread to eat
00:17:43.16\00:17:45.13
and he spent, he's
tired, he's hungry,
00:17:45.16\00:17:48.06
and he gets jolted awake
by this messenger that says,
00:17:48.10\00:17:51.17
"You know Jezebel,
she's the one that killed
00:17:51.20\00:17:52.73
all the other prophets.
00:17:52.77\00:17:54.67
You're next by tomorrow."
00:17:54.70\00:17:56.84
And he panics.
00:17:56.87\00:17:59.67
I mean, here's
this man who stood up
00:17:59.71\00:18:01.84
to all of these other people,
all of these false prophets,
00:18:01.88\00:18:05.45
in one day he was fearless.
00:18:05.48\00:18:08.02
Where have you ever
seen so much backbone?
00:18:08.05\00:18:11.02
And the message of one
woman scares him so much,
00:18:11.05\00:18:15.42
he runs for his life.
00:18:15.46\00:18:18.43
And I've often
marveled at how women manage
00:18:18.46\00:18:21.76
to intimidate men.
00:18:21.80\00:18:25.20
Solomon is the
wisest man in the world,
00:18:25.23\00:18:27.94
but through the
influence of his wives
00:18:27.97\00:18:31.61
he puts false
gods in the temple.
00:18:31.64\00:18:35.48
Samson is the
strongest man in the world,
00:18:35.51\00:18:38.08
and he's got his
wife badgering him
00:18:38.11\00:18:39.75
to know the
riddle, and he gives in.
00:18:39.78\00:18:43.85
Peter, ready to die for
Jesus, he pulls out a sword
00:18:43.89\00:18:46.65
and he's ready to lay
down his life for Jesus,
00:18:46.69\00:18:48.32
a little while later a
girl is making fun of him
00:18:48.36\00:18:50.49
and he says, "I
don't know who Jesus is."
00:18:50.53\00:18:54.23
Women have some kind
of strange power over men,
00:18:54.30\00:18:56.80
it's just.
00:18:56.83\00:19:00.20
Well, while you're
applauding, let me tell you.
00:19:00.24\00:19:04.04
There is also that
verse in the Bible that says,
00:19:04.07\00:19:06.04
"It's better to
dwell in an attic
00:19:06.07\00:19:07.38
than with a contentious woman."
00:19:07.41\00:19:09.41
So rather than stay
in Jezreel with Jezebel,
00:19:09.44\00:19:14.62
Elijah panics and it says,
00:19:14.65\00:19:17.69
"He arose and he
runs for his life,
00:19:17.72\00:19:21.62
and he goes to Beersheba."
00:19:21.66\00:19:23.59
One minute he's
running before the king,
00:19:23.63\00:19:25.56
and the next verse
he's running from the queen.
00:19:25.59\00:19:29.50
If you play chess
which piece has more power?
00:19:29.53\00:19:31.37
The King or the Queen?
00:19:31.40\00:19:34.20
I don't know
what to make of that,
00:19:34.24\00:19:35.27
it just came to me.
00:19:35.30\00:19:38.34
So he goes, he think that
I'm in the northern kingdom,
00:19:38.37\00:19:40.71
maybe if I go to
the southern kingdom,
00:19:40.74\00:19:42.24
I'll be safe.
00:19:42.28\00:19:43.51
And so he's got a hard time.
00:19:43.55\00:19:45.11
He runs, his servants
trying to keep up with him.
00:19:45.15\00:19:46.95
Elijah is hard to
keep up with his running.
00:19:46.98\00:19:49.58
And he probably
could win a marathon.
00:19:49.62\00:19:52.42
Goes down to
Beersheba, which is way south.
00:19:52.45\00:19:55.56
And then he realizes...
00:19:55.59\00:19:58.29
You know, who's
ruling in Beersheba?
00:19:58.33\00:20:00.93
Jehoram and his wife Athaliah.
00:20:00.96\00:20:03.93
You know, who Athaliah is?
00:20:03.97\00:20:06.13
Jezebel's daughter.
00:20:06.17\00:20:08.84
Jezebel's daughter
marries the son of Jehoshaphat.
00:20:08.87\00:20:12.87
And he thinks,
"Well, I'm not gonna be safe
00:20:12.91\00:20:14.48
here either."
00:20:14.51\00:20:16.28
And so he's got to get up
00:20:16.31\00:20:17.31
and he's got to keep on running.
00:20:17.35\00:20:20.42
One minute he is running
before God, before the King,
00:20:20.45\00:20:23.69
the next minute he is running
intimidated from the enemy.
00:20:23.72\00:20:27.76
You know, it's
amazing how quickly
00:20:27.79\00:20:29.56
even the mighty people of God...
00:20:29.59\00:20:31.83
Have you read in the Bible?
00:20:31.86\00:20:33.56
David, you get one vignette
of David and there he is,
00:20:33.60\00:20:37.93
fighting with
Goliath in the valley,
00:20:37.97\00:20:40.60
and in the next vignette
00:20:40.64\00:20:41.80
he is sacrificing his principles
00:20:41.84\00:20:43.54
from his rooftop,
00:20:43.57\00:20:45.41
and just goes all of a
sudden from one scene of victory
00:20:45.44\00:20:49.04
to terrible scene of defeat.
00:20:49.08\00:20:51.58
Be careful when you
are experiencing victory
00:20:51.61\00:20:57.05
because, "Let him
who thinks he stands
00:20:57.09\00:20:59.89
take heed lest he
fall," even the greatest.
00:20:59.92\00:21:04.29
Peter said, "Though
all men forsake thee,
00:21:04.33\00:21:05.89
I'll never forsake thee."
00:21:05.93\00:21:07.73
Be careful.
00:21:07.76\00:21:09.06
It's like the mother
whale told the baby whale,
00:21:09.10\00:21:11.97
when you go to the
top and you start to blow,
00:21:12.00\00:21:13.64
you get harpooned, so
you got to be careful.
00:21:13.67\00:21:18.77
Right, I don't know
if he was being proud
00:21:18.81\00:21:20.84
but anyway he got
scared and he ran.
00:21:20.88\00:21:23.71
And when he gets to Beersheba,
00:21:23.75\00:21:25.95
then he leaves
his servant there,
00:21:25.98\00:21:28.15
and by the way that was 70 miles
00:21:28.18\00:21:31.35
and he himself
went a day's journey
00:21:31.39\00:21:33.25
into the wilderness
00:21:33.29\00:21:34.86
and he came and he sat
down under a broom tree,
00:21:34.89\00:21:37.79
a juniper tree.
00:21:37.83\00:21:40.00
It's a kind of a tree
00:21:40.03\00:21:41.63
that they used to
cut broom cloth out of
00:21:41.66\00:21:44.10
and he prayed that he might die.
00:21:44.13\00:21:47.27
And he said it is
enough, now Lord, take my life,
00:21:47.30\00:21:49.60
I'm no better than my
fathers, what am I running from?
00:21:49.64\00:21:51.97
She's killed all
the other prophets,
00:21:52.01\00:21:53.58
why am I any better?
00:21:53.61\00:21:54.94
Your people are always
persecuting the prophets."
00:21:54.98\00:21:58.25
I thought if he
really wanted to die,
00:21:58.28\00:21:59.68
he didn't need to
leave Jezreel, right?
00:21:59.71\00:22:03.02
But don't you
think that the same God
00:22:03.05\00:22:05.15
who had guided him step-by-step
00:22:05.19\00:22:07.96
all through this
famine and helped him escape
00:22:07.99\00:22:11.23
and fed him through the famine,
00:22:11.26\00:22:12.93
would He have
led Jezebel take him?
00:22:12.96\00:22:16.30
I don't think so.
00:22:16.33\00:22:18.17
So he became
discouraged, which is a lesson
00:22:18.20\00:22:20.64
that even God's
people get discouraged.
00:22:20.67\00:22:24.07
Take my life, I'm no
better than my fathers.
00:22:24.11\00:22:27.14
Now, I want you to
notice a few things.
00:22:27.18\00:22:29.51
You know, he is
running before the king
00:22:29.54\00:22:31.01
and then he is running scared,
00:22:31.05\00:22:33.82
and it goes from
fire on the mountain
00:22:33.85\00:22:36.22
to the mud in
the valley of Jezreel
00:22:36.25\00:22:38.95
and he becomes discouraged,
and then you find him
00:22:38.99\00:22:41.52
praying to die.
00:22:41.56\00:22:44.26
Did Jonah ever get discouraged?
00:22:44.29\00:22:47.10
Even after he
survived the whale,
00:22:47.13\00:22:48.56
Jonah is out
there above Nineveh,
00:22:48.60\00:22:50.27
and he is under a gourd tree,
00:22:50.30\00:22:53.10
kind of like Elijah
is under the broom tree
00:22:53.13\00:22:56.77
and Jonah says,
00:22:56.81\00:23:00.14
"It would be
good for me to die."
00:23:00.18\00:23:02.84
Even God's servants
sometimes get discouraged
00:23:02.88\00:23:05.41
and just are ready to give
up, but God was still with him.
00:23:05.45\00:23:10.82
And so he falls to
sleep under this tree.
00:23:10.85\00:23:12.95
He's tired, he's thirsty,
00:23:12.99\00:23:14.66
he's hungry, and he just thinks,
00:23:14.69\00:23:17.53
"I will just die out
here in the wilderness."
00:23:17.56\00:23:20.90
And all of a
sudden he gets woken up
00:23:20.93\00:23:22.93
and it says this,
00:23:22.96\00:23:24.03
"Angel of the Lord comes to him
00:23:24.07\00:23:26.37
and says, 'Arise and eat.'"
00:23:26.40\00:23:29.44
And so I think
this is interesting.
00:23:29.47\00:23:30.74
It says, there he lain, he
slept under the broom tree,
00:23:30.77\00:23:33.64
suddenly, verse 5,
00:23:33.68\00:23:35.01
"The angel touches him
and says, 'Arise and eat.'"
00:23:35.04\00:23:38.35
And he looked
and thereby it said
00:23:38.38\00:23:40.28
he hears the angel's voice.
00:23:40.32\00:23:42.48
He wakes up and there
is a cake baked on coals
00:23:42.52\00:23:46.25
and a jar of water.
00:23:46.29\00:23:48.09
So he ate and he drank.
00:23:48.12\00:23:49.26
Now, Elijah this is a guy
who's fed miraculously by birds
00:23:49.29\00:23:52.19
and then he is fed
miraculously by this widow
00:23:52.23\00:23:55.56
and so he is not surprised
that God can feed His people
00:23:55.60\00:23:58.00
in the wilderness.
00:23:58.03\00:23:59.83
Angel wakes him and
says, you need something to eat
00:23:59.87\00:24:01.44
and God a' la
carte brings his prophet
00:24:01.47\00:24:04.24
some food in the wilderness.
00:24:04.27\00:24:07.78
You'll remember if
you were here last message
00:24:07.81\00:24:10.41
that at the end of
three and a half years
00:24:10.45\00:24:13.55
God miraculously
feeds him in the wilderness.
00:24:13.58\00:24:16.22
You read in Revelation,
it talks about God's church
00:24:16.25\00:24:18.95
fleeing into the wilderness
where she is nourished
00:24:18.99\00:24:22.22
by the Lord for 1,260 days,
00:24:22.26\00:24:25.09
so you get a lot
of the same imagery
00:24:25.13\00:24:26.96
from the story of Elijah
that appears in Revelation.
00:24:27.00\00:24:29.60
If you want to
understand Revelation,
00:24:29.63\00:24:31.57
it's good idea to
know your Old Testament.
00:24:31.60\00:24:35.24
So he eats and he's so tired,
he just falls back to sleep.
00:24:35.27\00:24:40.38
And the angel of the
Lord came back the second time
00:24:40.41\00:24:44.58
and touched him.
00:24:44.61\00:24:45.65
It says, "Arise and eat
00:24:45.68\00:24:48.02
because the journey
is too great for you."
00:24:48.05\00:24:51.19
The journey.
00:24:51.22\00:24:52.75
Now I'll talk about that
journey in just a minute,
00:24:52.79\00:24:56.42
but I think it's interesting
that the angel brings him
00:24:56.46\00:25:00.26
miraculous bread and
says you must eat this bread
00:25:00.30\00:25:03.70
if you're going to make
it through the wilderness
00:25:03.73\00:25:05.93
because the journey
is too great for you.
00:25:05.97\00:25:08.34
You and I cannot
survive our journey
00:25:08.37\00:25:10.74
through the
wilderness without God's bread.
00:25:10.77\00:25:13.78
When Jesus went
out into the wilderness
00:25:13.81\00:25:16.28
to be tempted of the devil,
00:25:16.31\00:25:18.05
how did Jesus
fight every temptation?
00:25:18.08\00:25:21.45
Man doesn't live by bread alone,
00:25:21.48\00:25:23.02
but by every word.
00:25:23.05\00:25:24.15
That's exactly what
Jesus said to the devil.
00:25:24.19\00:25:26.72
If we want to make it
through the wilderness,
00:25:26.76\00:25:28.56
we need to have
angel's food, right?
00:25:28.59\00:25:31.59
The Bible tells us
that Christ is that bread
00:25:31.63\00:25:33.46
that came down from heaven.
00:25:33.50\00:25:34.50
He is the Word of God.
00:25:34.56\00:25:35.56
I say this all the time, I know,
00:25:35.60\00:25:37.17
but it's true that
00:25:37.20\00:25:38.30
the key to having a
vital Christian life
00:25:38.33\00:25:40.30
is your personal relationship
with Jesus, loving the Lord,
00:25:40.34\00:25:44.01
knowing the
Lord through His Word
00:25:44.04\00:25:45.91
and good inspirational material.
00:25:45.94\00:25:48.34
So he eats this angel's food,
00:25:48.38\00:25:51.78
and it must have
been really good.
00:25:51.81\00:25:53.65
It says, he went in
the strength of that food
00:25:53.68\00:25:57.25
40 days and 40 nights.
00:25:57.29\00:26:00.76
He is not just walking one day.
00:26:00.79\00:26:03.09
He is walking 40
days and 40 nights.
00:26:03.12\00:26:06.90
Now, we're going to
put a map up on the screen.
00:26:06.93\00:26:09.20
It says, he came to
Horeb, the mountain of God.
00:26:09.23\00:26:11.93
Just I don't want
you to be confused,
00:26:11.97\00:26:13.54
Mount Sinai, Mount
Horeb are the same mountain.
00:26:13.57\00:26:17.61
Here I have a map.
Hopefully you can see that.
00:26:17.64\00:26:19.51
I just borrowed
this from Google Earth,
00:26:19.54\00:26:21.01
I hope that's okay.
00:26:21.04\00:26:22.68
Up at the top
where the red star is,
00:26:22.71\00:26:25.65
that's where Jezreel is,
00:26:25.68\00:26:27.52
so he gets the
death threat from Jezebel
00:26:27.55\00:26:30.39
up here at the top.
00:26:30.42\00:26:32.55
He then runs to Beersheba,
00:26:32.59\00:26:34.12
that's where the orange star is,
00:26:34.16\00:26:36.02
not far from the Dead Sea.
00:26:36.06\00:26:38.53
And there he leaves his
servant and he goes by himself
00:26:38.56\00:26:42.66
and he flees
into the wilderness,
00:26:42.70\00:26:43.93
a day's journey, we
don't know where that was,
00:26:43.97\00:26:45.83
but somewhere
off in the wilderness
00:26:45.87\00:26:48.14
and the angel appears to him,
00:26:48.17\00:26:49.20
he eats this
miraculous bread and it says,
00:26:49.24\00:26:51.11
he goes from the
strength of that food
00:26:51.14\00:26:52.61
40 days and 40 nights.
00:26:52.64\00:26:54.01
He ends up at Mount Sinai.
00:26:54.04\00:26:57.25
Now you know,
what I think happened?
00:26:57.28\00:26:59.85
Children of Israel,
when they came out of Egypt,
00:26:59.88\00:27:01.42
they started at Mount
Sinai and then they go 40 years
00:27:01.45\00:27:04.95
and then they go
into the promised land.
00:27:04.99\00:27:06.86
Elijah is making the
journey of Israel in reverse.
00:27:06.89\00:27:12.46
I think it doesn't
take 40 days and 40 nights
00:27:12.49\00:27:14.50
to get to Mount Sinai.
00:27:14.56\00:27:15.63
By the way, there is a
couple of different locations.
00:27:15.66\00:27:17.40
Some believe
Mount Sinai is actually
00:27:17.43\00:27:19.57
in the Sinai Peninsula,
the Bible says it's in Arabia.
00:27:19.60\00:27:23.04
It's more likely that
it's where the yellow star is
00:27:23.07\00:27:26.54
and as opposed to
St. Catherine's Monastery
00:27:26.57\00:27:29.24
in the Sinai Peninsula
00:27:29.28\00:27:30.81
but it's still
about 350 mile journey
00:27:30.85\00:27:36.62
but you can make that in,
00:27:36.65\00:27:38.85
a man on foot can
make that in a week.
00:27:38.89\00:27:41.29
He goes 40 days and 40 nights.
00:27:41.32\00:27:43.63
He is retracing, I believe,
00:27:43.66\00:27:46.39
the journeys of
the children of Israel
00:27:46.43\00:27:48.06
and God is reminding
him, look at what I did,
00:27:48.10\00:27:50.37
look at how I gave
them the bread from heaven,
00:27:50.40\00:27:52.67
he goes to that
spot, and he says
00:27:52.70\00:27:53.94
look at how I gave them
water and he goes to Marah
00:27:53.97\00:27:56.07
where the waters were
made sweet that were bitter
00:27:56.10\00:27:57.94
and all along the way the
Holy Spirit is guiding him
00:27:57.97\00:28:01.11
and bringing back to his mind
00:28:01.14\00:28:03.38
how God had led His
people through the wilderness,
00:28:03.41\00:28:05.51
and then he goes to Mount
Sinai and he finds himself
00:28:05.55\00:28:07.92
up on that mountain,
the top still scorched
00:28:07.95\00:28:11.05
from the day
when the fire of God
00:28:11.09\00:28:12.52
came down on the mountain.
00:28:12.55\00:28:14.92
He can still see the
remnants of the camp of Israel
00:28:14.96\00:28:17.76
scattered around
the base of the mountain
00:28:17.79\00:28:22.30
and he went into a cave.
00:28:22.33\00:28:24.67
Now I like this story.
00:28:24.70\00:28:28.30
"He went into a cave
00:28:28.34\00:28:30.11
and he spent the
night in the place
00:28:30.14\00:28:32.91
and behold, the Word
of the Lord came to him
00:28:32.94\00:28:35.58
and he said to him,
'What are doing here, Elijah?'"
00:28:35.61\00:28:39.58
And he begins to
rehearse to the Lord.
00:28:39.61\00:28:41.02
He says, "Lord,
didn't you see what happened?
00:28:41.05\00:28:42.72
I've been very zealous
for the Lord God of host
00:28:42.75\00:28:45.05
and for the children of Israel.
00:28:45.09\00:28:46.49
They've forsaken your
covenant, torn down your altars,
00:28:46.52\00:28:48.72
killed your
prophets with the sword,
00:28:48.76\00:28:50.39
I alone am left
00:28:50.43\00:28:52.23
and now they
seek to take my life."
00:28:52.26\00:28:55.03
God said, "Go
stand on the mountain
00:28:55.06\00:28:57.40
before the Lord."
00:28:57.43\00:28:58.60
God probably leads
him to the very spot
00:28:58.63\00:29:00.60
where Moses
stood on that mountain
00:29:00.64\00:29:01.97
and received the
Ten Commandments.
00:29:02.00\00:29:05.07
Do you find Moses and
Elijah standing together
00:29:05.11\00:29:07.48
on another mountain
in the New Testament?
00:29:07.51\00:29:10.15
They stood on the same
mountain in the Old Testament.
00:29:10.18\00:29:15.42
"Go and stand on the
mountain before the Lord
00:29:15.45\00:29:18.65
and behold, the Lord passed
by and a great strong wind
00:29:18.69\00:29:23.19
tore into the mountain
and broke the rocks in pieces
00:29:23.22\00:29:26.29
before the Lord,
00:29:26.33\00:29:27.83
and the Lord was
not in the wind."
00:29:27.86\00:29:29.33
Now this is not just a
gust of wind that comes by,
00:29:29.36\00:29:31.33
this is like, I mean
it must be, you know,
00:29:31.37\00:29:33.20
kind of an F5 tornado.
00:29:33.23\00:29:35.67
It's not over the
ocean so it's not a typhoon
00:29:35.70\00:29:38.31
or a hurricane, it's a tornado
00:29:38.34\00:29:40.78
that sometimes goes
through these deserts
00:29:40.81\00:29:43.28
and it starts to
throw rocks around,
00:29:43.31\00:29:46.05
and somehow he is
protected from it all
00:29:46.08\00:29:47.88
but it says God
wasn't in the wind.
00:29:47.92\00:29:51.15
Then after the
wind, an earthquake,
00:29:51.19\00:29:53.19
everything on the
mountain starts to shake,
00:29:53.22\00:29:54.62
and things are
rolling down the hill
00:29:54.66\00:29:55.96
and he can
barely keep his stand,
00:29:55.99\00:29:59.46
but it says the Lord
was not in the earthquake.
00:29:59.49\00:30:03.87
And after the earthquake a fire,
00:30:03.90\00:30:05.80
a desert brush
fire goes through.
00:30:05.83\00:30:07.50
There has been a
famine and everything is dry,
00:30:07.54\00:30:09.87
but the Lord
was not in the fire,
00:30:09.90\00:30:13.78
and then a still small voice.
00:30:13.81\00:30:16.08
You know, it's interesting that
when Moses was on the mountain,
00:30:16.11\00:30:18.68
did the mountain quake?
00:30:18.71\00:30:20.92
Was there fire on the mountain?
00:30:20.95\00:30:22.82
Probably wind as well
when God was speaking.
00:30:22.85\00:30:26.55
It says but God
isn't in those things.
00:30:26.59\00:30:29.39
It says God speaks
in a still small voice.
00:30:29.42\00:30:33.19
Sometimes people come to church
00:30:33.23\00:30:34.63
and they want to
see something exciting.
00:30:34.66\00:30:40.07
They want to see wind and fire.
00:30:40.10\00:30:42.30
When the Holy
Spirit was poured out,
00:30:42.34\00:30:44.67
were there tongues
of fire on the apostles?
00:30:44.71\00:30:47.08
Was there a mighty wind?
00:30:47.11\00:30:49.28
When Jesus died on the
cross, was there an earthquake?
00:30:49.31\00:30:51.95
There was.
00:30:51.98\00:30:53.28
But you know how God
usually speaks to us?
00:30:53.31\00:30:55.92
A still small voice.
00:30:55.95\00:30:57.82
If we don't have too
much background noise,
00:30:57.85\00:30:59.85
we can hear it.
00:30:59.89\00:31:02.89
So he heard it.
00:31:02.92\00:31:03.96
He wrapped his face in
his mantle and he went out.
00:31:03.99\00:31:06.03
His face is
wrapped in his mantle
00:31:06.06\00:31:07.30
because of the
dust from the wind
00:31:07.30\00:31:08.40
and the smoke from the fire
00:31:08.43\00:31:09.86
and he stands at the
entrance of the cave.
00:31:09.90\00:31:11.80
Evidently he was in the cave
when these things passed by,
00:31:11.83\00:31:14.77
and suddenly a voice
came to him and it said,
00:31:14.80\00:31:17.41
this still small voice,
00:31:17.44\00:31:18.91
"What are you
doing here, Elijah."
00:31:18.94\00:31:21.01
You noticed that up
until now God said to Elijah,
00:31:21.04\00:31:24.15
I want you to go,
show you something to Ahab.
00:31:24.18\00:31:25.81
I want you to go
stay by the creek.
00:31:25.85\00:31:27.55
I want you to go stay
with the widow at Zarephath.
00:31:27.58\00:31:29.42
I want you to go back
to Ahab and God never said,
00:31:29.45\00:31:32.35
I want you to run for your life.
00:31:32.39\00:31:34.89
And God had been
directing him all along the way
00:31:34.92\00:31:37.86
and all of a sudden
he finds himself way down
00:31:37.89\00:31:39.53
in the middle of the
desert and God said now,
00:31:39.56\00:31:42.26
"Did I tell you to
abandon my people?"
00:31:42.30\00:31:45.17
"Oh, but they're so bad,
00:31:45.20\00:31:46.80
Lord, you don't
know what they're doing.
00:31:46.84\00:31:48.77
Their church is a mess.
00:31:48.80\00:31:50.24
I'm going to go out
in the desert by myself."
00:31:50.27\00:31:53.74
A very important point,
I don't want to rush past.
00:31:53.78\00:31:56.68
Do you know
people? I know you do.
00:31:56.71\00:31:59.05
They don't go to church anymore
00:31:59.08\00:32:00.18
because the church
is in such a bad state.
00:32:00.22\00:32:03.18
They say, I'm just
going to go out here in a cave
00:32:03.22\00:32:04.92
by myself and worship God.
00:32:04.95\00:32:08.19
Can you bail a boat
when you're in the water
00:32:08.22\00:32:10.19
or do you need
to be in the boat?
00:32:10.23\00:32:12.29
Can you clean a house
if you're not in the house?
00:32:12.33\00:32:16.16
If the church needs revival,
then where do we need to be?
00:32:16.20\00:32:20.14
Need to be in the church.
00:32:20.17\00:32:21.47
Does a church need revival?
00:32:21.50\00:32:23.10
And there are
problems. Yes, absolutely.
00:32:23.14\00:32:24.94
Probably as much
now there ever has been.
00:32:24.97\00:32:27.28
God's people are getting
mixed up with Baal worship
00:32:27.31\00:32:30.28
and we need to pray for
an outpouring of the spirit.
00:32:30.31\00:32:32.35
We need to humble ourselves
and pray and seek his face
00:32:32.38\00:32:34.78
and turn from our wicked ways,
00:32:34.82\00:32:37.75
and then he will
hear from heaven.
00:32:37.79\00:32:41.62
But you don't do that
by running off by yourself.
00:32:41.66\00:32:45.29
When God's people
did not have faith,
00:32:45.33\00:32:47.50
when they first came
out of the wilderness,
00:32:47.56\00:32:48.83
when they came to the
borders of the promised land,
00:32:48.86\00:32:51.07
and they lost faith
that they can make it
00:32:51.10\00:32:53.03
into the promised land.
00:32:53.07\00:32:56.00
God didn't say to
them, Joshua and Caleb,
00:32:56.04\00:32:59.47
you guys had faith,
you go in by yourselves.
00:32:59.51\00:33:01.88
When the children of Israel
had to wander for 40 years,
00:33:01.91\00:33:04.81
Joshua and Caleb
wandered with them.
00:33:04.85\00:33:08.42
God wants His people to
stay together, doesn't He?
00:33:08.45\00:33:11.69
Now the day may come
where it's impossible for you
00:33:11.72\00:33:16.16
to stay part of
the body of Christ.
00:33:16.19\00:33:19.09
It may become illegal
for us to gather together
00:33:19.13\00:33:21.83
publicly at some point,
00:33:21.86\00:33:23.57
and we may have to
gather in small companies
00:33:23.60\00:33:25.60
out in the
wilderness at that time
00:33:25.63\00:33:28.07
when this whole scenario
00:33:28.10\00:33:29.57
about the mark of
the beast is instituted,
00:33:29.60\00:33:32.34
but as long as
you're free to preach
00:33:32.37\00:33:35.18
and to practice your
convictions in the church,
00:33:35.21\00:33:38.41
you'll do a lot
more good in the church
00:33:38.45\00:33:40.65
in spite of the problems.
00:33:40.68\00:33:42.62
God wants us to be
part of the answer.
00:33:42.65\00:33:44.92
God says sometimes to those
00:33:44.95\00:33:46.59
that are hiding
up by themselves,
00:33:46.62\00:33:48.29
"What doest thou here?"
00:33:48.32\00:33:51.83
And you may have heard
God ask you that, you know,
00:33:51.86\00:33:54.46
sometimes people are
raised in Christian homes
00:33:54.50\00:33:57.23
and they drift
away a little bit.
00:33:57.27\00:33:58.37
These young
people find themselves
00:33:58.40\00:33:59.67
at a rock concert
where things are going crazy
00:33:59.70\00:34:02.07
and a little voice says to
him, "What are you doing here?
00:34:02.10\00:34:05.04
What doest thou here?"
00:34:05.07\00:34:08.08
And if you're a Christian,
sometimes you'll find yourself
00:34:08.11\00:34:11.98
in the wrong environment.
00:34:12.01\00:34:14.35
Maybe you've
made some bad choices
00:34:14.38\00:34:17.22
and you'll hear
that little voice say,
00:34:17.25\00:34:18.65
"What in the world
are you doing here?
00:34:18.69\00:34:20.19
Is this where a
Christian belongs?"
00:34:20.22\00:34:23.56
So you got to listen
to that still small voice
00:34:23.59\00:34:25.36
and He will still guide you.
00:34:25.39\00:34:27.76
So then the Lord
says, all right, look
00:34:27.83\00:34:29.96
I'm not done with
My revival in Israel.
00:34:30.00\00:34:32.43
Here's what I want you to do.
00:34:32.47\00:34:35.27
He says go return, verse 15,
00:34:35.30\00:34:37.61
"Go, return and on your way
to the wilderness of Damascus,
00:34:37.64\00:34:41.51
he was to go the back way
in, when you arrive in Damascus,
00:34:41.54\00:34:45.35
anoint Hazael
as king over Syria,
00:34:45.38\00:34:48.72
also you'll anoint
Jehu, the son of Nimshi,
00:34:48.75\00:34:51.32
king over Israel..."
00:34:51.35\00:34:52.89
Thus he's gonna
replace Ahab and his sons.
00:34:52.92\00:34:55.29
"And Elisha, the son of
Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
00:34:55.32\00:34:58.39
you shall anoint as
prophet in your place."
00:34:58.43\00:35:00.60
In other words,
00:35:00.63\00:35:01.63
"Elijah, I'm going
to take you to myself.
00:35:01.66\00:35:03.40
I want you to
anoint an apprentice
00:35:03.43\00:35:05.87
that you can train
that will replace you."
00:35:05.90\00:35:10.27
And that's
exactly what happened.
00:35:10.31\00:35:12.17
Hazael became the king of Syria.
00:35:12.21\00:35:14.84
Elisha was later the
one who sent his servant
00:35:14.88\00:35:17.41
to anoint Jehu who
became king of Israel.
00:35:17.45\00:35:19.91
Jehu brought about
the greatest revival
00:35:19.95\00:35:22.68
in the sense that he
destroyed Baal worships.
00:35:22.72\00:35:24.45
See, Jezebel
stayed on the throne.
00:35:24.49\00:35:26.39
Jehu is the one who
took care of Jezebel.
00:35:26.42\00:35:29.36
Elijah was told by
God, "I've got someone
00:35:29.39\00:35:32.16
who's gonna take
care of Jezebel."
00:35:32.19\00:35:33.40
And I don't know if you remember
00:35:33.43\00:35:34.40
the story of Jehu, I
preached on it a while ago.
00:35:34.46\00:35:37.40
He pretended to
have a feast for Baal.
00:35:37.43\00:35:39.10
He said, "Anybody
that worships Baal,
00:35:39.13\00:35:40.60
let's all go to
the temple of Baal.
00:35:40.64\00:35:41.97
Nobody is to be missing."
00:35:42.00\00:35:44.01
All the Baal worshippers
went into the temple of Baal
00:35:44.04\00:35:46.01
and he told the soldiers,
00:35:46.04\00:35:47.21
"Exterminate
everybody in the temple."
00:35:47.24\00:35:49.71
And Jehu eradicated
Baal worship from Israel
00:35:49.74\00:35:53.52
the hard way.
00:35:53.55\00:35:55.08
God gave him a
chance to turn voluntarily
00:35:55.12\00:35:57.55
during the time of Elijah.
00:35:57.59\00:35:58.72
Jehu said,
00:35:58.75\00:35:59.79
"No, we're just
gonna snuff it out."
00:35:59.82\00:36:01.99
So more happens.
00:36:02.02\00:36:03.69
And I just want to get Elijah
to heaven before we're done.
00:36:03.73\00:36:07.30
More happens and you know,
if you read the end of 2 Kings,
00:36:07.36\00:36:11.87
Elijah sits around and he
tells Ahab about his faith
00:36:11.90\00:36:14.60
because of what
Ahab have does to Naboth
00:36:14.64\00:36:16.67
in the vineyard.
00:36:16.71\00:36:17.84
And then if you go
to chapter 1 of 2 Kings,
00:36:17.87\00:36:20.38
jump to chapter 1 of 2 Kings,
00:36:20.41\00:36:22.38
here, Elijah
tells the son of Ahab
00:36:22.41\00:36:25.21
that he's gonna perish
00:36:25.25\00:36:26.31
because he's worshipping
Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron.
00:36:26.35\00:36:29.38
And Jump with me to
chapter 2 of 2 Kings.
00:36:29.42\00:36:33.09
2 Kings 2, "And it came to pass,
00:36:33.12\00:36:37.53
when the Lord was about
to take up Elijah to heaven
00:36:37.56\00:36:40.16
by a whirlwind,
00:36:40.20\00:36:41.73
that Elijah went
with Elisha from Gilgal."
00:36:41.76\00:36:44.10
Now Elijah is going
through the wilderness
00:36:44.13\00:36:46.70
and he casts his
mantle on the shoulders,
00:36:46.74\00:36:49.24
he calls his
replacement, he anoints Elisha
00:36:49.27\00:36:53.34
who is to be his replacement.
00:36:53.38\00:36:55.68
And Elisha begins to
faithfully follow him.
00:36:55.71\00:36:58.08
He leaves all of his
family and his earthly wealth.
00:36:58.11\00:37:00.82
So he's got this
apprentice servant named Elisha.
00:37:00.85\00:37:03.39
Their names are confusing.
00:37:03.42\00:37:05.29
Elijah means my God is Jehovah.
00:37:05.32\00:37:08.62
Elisha means my God is Savior.
00:37:08.66\00:37:11.26
Very similar names
00:37:11.29\00:37:12.36
but it's easy
to confuse the two.
00:37:12.39\00:37:15.70
And Elijah says, "Stay here.
The Lord is sent me to Bethel."
00:37:15.73\00:37:18.97
He says, "As the Lord
lives, and as your soul lives,
00:37:19.00\00:37:20.94
I will not leave you."
00:37:20.97\00:37:22.90
So they go to Bethel together.
00:37:22.94\00:37:24.77
"And the sons of the
prophets were at Bethel,
00:37:24.81\00:37:26.64
they come out to Elisha,
00:37:26.68\00:37:28.28
and they say, 'Have
you heard, do you know
00:37:28.31\00:37:30.58
the Lord will
take away your master
00:37:30.61\00:37:32.55
from over you today?'
00:37:32.58\00:37:33.92
He says, 'Yes, I
know. Keep silent.'"
00:37:33.95\00:37:35.78
They have these
schools of prophets
00:37:35.82\00:37:37.52
that would preach in
the northern kingdom.
00:37:37.55\00:37:39.49
Southern
kingdom had the Levites,
00:37:39.52\00:37:41.36
northern kingdom have
the schools of the prophets.
00:37:41.39\00:37:43.96
God told Elijah
00:37:43.99\00:37:45.26
that he would
miraculously take him to heaven.
00:37:45.29\00:37:48.26
But before he ascends to heaven,
00:37:48.30\00:37:50.27
he goes and he
visits with his disciples
00:37:50.30\00:37:52.50
to strengthen their
faith, to teach them,
00:37:52.53\00:37:54.44
to encourage them.
00:37:54.47\00:37:56.77
Isn't that kind of
what Jesus did before
00:37:56.81\00:37:58.57
He ascended to heaven?
00:37:58.61\00:37:59.84
He went and met here
and there with the apostles
00:37:59.87\00:38:02.71
and the disciples
to encourage them.
00:38:02.74\00:38:06.28
And then he says to Elisha...
00:38:06.31\00:38:08.92
Or the servants of
the prophet say to Elisha,
00:38:08.95\00:38:12.55
"Have you heard that
he's gonna take away Elijah
00:38:12.59\00:38:14.39
from being over you."
00:38:14.42\00:38:16.12
He says, "I've
heard it. Hold your peace.
00:38:16.16\00:38:17.46
I want to serve him.
Don't tell me about it."
00:38:17.49\00:38:20.33
And then Elijah says,
"Now we need to go to..."
00:38:20.36\00:38:23.97
First he goes
from Gilgal to Bethel,
00:38:24.00\00:38:27.00
and then he goes
from Bethel to Jericho.
00:38:27.04\00:38:30.67
Sons of the
prophet say the same thing,
00:38:30.71\00:38:31.94
"Have you heard the word?"
00:38:31.97\00:38:33.01
He says, "I heard
it, hold your peace."
00:38:33.04\00:38:35.28
And then the Lord
calls Elisha and says,
00:38:35.31\00:38:36.85
"We must go from
Jericho to Jordan."
00:38:36.88\00:38:40.28
And the sons of the
prophets at the school
00:38:40.32\00:38:41.75
that was at Jordan,
00:38:41.78\00:38:43.59
they say, "Have
you heard the news."
00:38:43.62\00:38:45.95
You know, all these
sons of the prophets,
00:38:45.99\00:38:47.46
there are lot of
prophesying going on.
00:38:47.49\00:38:48.79
They've all know that
Elisha is not gonna die
00:38:48.82\00:38:51.49
the death of the average man
00:38:51.53\00:38:52.69
but God was
going to do for Elijah
00:38:52.73\00:38:55.13
what he did for Enoch.
00:38:55.16\00:38:57.80
And they knew about that.
00:38:57.83\00:38:59.40
He says, "I
know, hold your peace.
00:38:59.43\00:39:00.67
I'm happy to serve him."
00:39:00.70\00:39:03.10
Elisha was called the one
00:39:03.14\00:39:05.41
who poured water on
the hands of Elijah.
00:39:05.44\00:39:08.91
He went from being the
wealthy son of this farmer
00:39:08.94\00:39:12.31
to serving a poor prophet
and he was happy to do it.
00:39:12.35\00:39:16.99
And so he says,
00:39:17.02\00:39:18.82
"Wherever you go,
I'm gonna follow you."
00:39:18.85\00:39:21.49
And Elijah says to Elisha,
00:39:21.52\00:39:23.06
"God has sent me now to Jordan."
00:39:23.09\00:39:25.29
You know, Jordan
means descending.
00:39:25.33\00:39:27.93
The work Jordan is like a
type of death in the Bible.
00:39:27.96\00:39:31.27
And we need to be following
our Jesus wherever He goes.
00:39:31.30\00:39:35.27
The word Gilgal means circle.
00:39:35.30\00:39:37.44
Sometimes it seems like
00:39:37.47\00:39:38.54
the Lord is
leading you in circles,
00:39:38.57\00:39:40.11
you follow Him.
00:39:40.14\00:39:41.81
The word Bethel
means house of God.
00:39:41.84\00:39:45.11
When the Lord leads
you to the house of God,
00:39:45.15\00:39:47.22
you follow.
00:39:47.25\00:39:48.72
The word
Jericho means fragrance.
00:39:48.75\00:39:51.52
Sometimes God leads
us in fragrant places.
00:39:51.55\00:39:54.16
You follow Him.
00:39:54.19\00:39:55.56
And the word
Jordan means descending.
00:39:55.59\00:39:58.13
And in the Bible,
it's a symbol of death.
00:39:58.16\00:39:59.73
It's a symbol of baptism.
00:39:59.76\00:40:01.06
It's where Jesus was
baptized and Naaman was washed.
00:40:01.10\00:40:04.03
It's the lowest
river in the world
00:40:04.07\00:40:05.57
and it means like death
burial and resurrection.
00:40:05.60\00:40:08.70
And sometimes the Lord
leads us through the Jordan.
00:40:08.74\00:40:10.94
Have you ever read
about that in the Bible?
00:40:10.97\00:40:12.97
Read all the times where
it talks about the Jordan.
00:40:13.01\00:40:16.04
Through Jordan stormy
bellows and go through Jordan,
00:40:16.08\00:40:18.61
thou leadeth me.
00:40:18.65\00:40:20.28
It's talking about
through difficult times,
00:40:20.32\00:40:22.25
self surrender.
00:40:22.28\00:40:23.99
He says, "I'll
follow you even to Jordan."
00:40:24.02\00:40:27.22
So as they go together,
it says here in verse 7,
00:40:27.26\00:40:29.92
2 Kings 2:7,
00:40:29.96\00:40:33.80
"And fifty men of
the sons of the prophets
00:40:33.83\00:40:36.33
went, and stood
facing them at a distance
00:40:36.36\00:40:38.80
and the two of them
stood by the Jordan.
00:40:38.83\00:40:41.04
And Elijah took his
mantle, and he rolls it up
00:40:41.07\00:40:44.37
and he strikes
the waters with it,
00:40:44.41\00:40:46.11
and it divides
this way and that way
00:40:46.14\00:40:48.38
so the two of them
crossed over on dry ground."
00:40:48.41\00:40:51.08
Do you notice that
Elijah is repeating
00:40:51.11\00:40:53.31
the history of
Israel in his life?
00:40:53.35\00:40:55.88
He goes through the
wilderness where Israel went.
00:40:55.92\00:40:57.95
He goes to Mount
Sinai where Israel went.
00:40:57.99\00:40:59.79
And now he
miraculously crosses the Jordan
00:40:59.82\00:41:02.09
like Israel did.
00:41:02.12\00:41:03.76
You remember when
God parted the Jordan
00:41:03.79\00:41:05.03
when they came
in to promised land?
00:41:05.06\00:41:08.03
Now because the
Jordan represents death,
00:41:08.06\00:41:11.03
what made it possible for them
to cross over on dry ground?
00:41:11.07\00:41:16.37
Elijah took his
mantle. What is a mantle?
00:41:16.40\00:41:19.07
It's just another word for robe.
00:41:19.11\00:41:21.78
He takes his robe
and he strikes the water.
00:41:21.81\00:41:24.75
Now I don't know
if he rolled it up.
00:41:24.78\00:41:26.95
If any of you
were in the military,
00:41:26.98\00:41:29.52
you know, sometimes, you
ever had a rat tail fight?
00:41:29.55\00:41:32.82
You know what that is
00:41:32.85\00:41:34.22
where you make a
rat tail out of a towel,
00:41:34.26\00:41:36.36
you make a whip, yeah.
00:41:36.39\00:41:38.63
And when I was
in military school,
00:41:38.66\00:41:41.10
you got to be real
careful around the showers.
00:41:41.13\00:41:44.07
And you know, sometimes
00:41:44.10\00:41:45.33
even you got to get
your boys' attention
00:41:45.37\00:41:46.80
if you're a father and it works.
00:41:46.84\00:41:48.17
It's just like bob.
00:41:48.20\00:41:50.04
And I just in my
mind, I picture Elijah
00:41:50.07\00:41:52.71
rolling up his mantle
and dramatically going...
00:41:52.74\00:41:56.38
And the water is
parted like that.
00:41:56.41\00:41:58.61
But what's
really impressive to me,
00:41:58.65\00:42:02.38
his robe parts the Jordan.
00:42:02.42\00:42:05.92
So they go across on dry ground
00:42:05.95\00:42:08.36
and they come up
clean on the other side.
00:42:08.39\00:42:10.93
That robe
represents the robe of Christ.
00:42:10.96\00:42:13.53
What makes it
possible for us to cross death
00:42:13.56\00:42:16.56
and come up clean
on the other side?
00:42:16.60\00:42:19.33
Only the
righteousness of Christ.
00:42:19.37\00:42:22.20
So they cross over and
the sons of the prophets
00:42:22.24\00:42:24.31
were watching from a
distance, the waters part.
00:42:24.34\00:42:27.51
They go over, the
water pulls back up again.
00:42:27.54\00:42:30.21
And they go walking off
into the desert together,
00:42:30.25\00:42:32.68
Elijah and
Elisha, the two of them.
00:42:32.71\00:42:35.52
And as they're walking,
Elijah says to Elisha, verse 9,
00:42:35.55\00:42:42.06
"Ask what I might do for you,
00:42:42.09\00:42:43.79
before I'm taken away from you."
00:42:43.83\00:42:48.13
Now before Jesus
ascended to heaven,
00:42:48.16\00:42:49.70
did He say to the
apostles, "Ask, up till now,
00:42:49.73\00:42:52.50
you've asked nothing in my name.
00:42:52.53\00:42:54.07
Ask that your joy might be full.
00:42:54.10\00:42:56.74
Ask what I might do for you."
00:42:56.77\00:42:58.54
And Elisha, he
doesn't asks small,
00:42:58.57\00:43:00.51
he says,
00:43:00.54\00:43:01.68
"Please let a double portion
of your spirit be upon me."
00:43:01.71\00:43:05.85
Why did he asked
for double portion?
00:43:05.88\00:43:08.35
Who in the Bible
got a double portion?
00:43:08.38\00:43:11.45
I see two groups.
00:43:11.49\00:43:13.19
The first born son
will get a double portion.
00:43:13.22\00:43:16.52
Do you ever read
about Elijah's wife
00:43:16.56\00:43:18.63
or Elijah's children?
00:43:18.66\00:43:20.36
He had no wife and children.
00:43:20.40\00:43:21.93
That would be tough
to be Elijah's wife.
00:43:21.96\00:43:23.77
I mean, he was
always going here and there.
00:43:23.80\00:43:25.23
And he stayed with a widow
for a year and half, you know.
00:43:25.27\00:43:27.77
That wouldn't look right.
00:43:27.80\00:43:29.50
Elijah had no
wife. He had no children.
00:43:29.54\00:43:32.21
Elisha was adopted like his son.
00:43:32.24\00:43:34.34
Elisha left his
family and his inheritance
00:43:34.38\00:43:36.54
to follow Elijah.
00:43:36.58\00:43:37.81
He said, "If you're going,
00:43:37.85\00:43:39.81
I want your
inheritance like a first born."
00:43:39.85\00:43:42.68
And the first born
gets a double portion.
00:43:42.72\00:43:44.05
All you've got is a Holy Spirit
but I want a double portion.
00:43:44.09\00:43:47.96
You know who else
got a double portion?
00:43:47.99\00:43:50.29
The Bible says that
Elkanah had two wives.
00:43:50.33\00:43:52.53
One named Hannah,
the mother of Samuel.
00:43:52.56\00:43:55.06
The other named Peninnah.
00:43:55.10\00:43:56.53
But because he loved Hannah,
he gave her a double portion.
00:43:56.56\00:44:00.34
He said, "If you love
me and if you adopted me,
00:44:00.37\00:44:03.44
I want a double portion."
00:44:03.47\00:44:05.24
Does Jesus love us? Yes.
00:44:05.27\00:44:07.34
Has He adopted us to
be... We become His children.
00:44:07.38\00:44:11.81
He says, "You've
asked the hard thing."
00:44:11.85\00:44:14.38
And this is the criteria.
00:44:14.42\00:44:15.55
He says, verse
10, "Nevertheless,"
00:44:15.58\00:44:17.69
Elijah says to Elisha,
00:44:17.72\00:44:19.02
"if you see me when
I am taken from you,
00:44:19.05\00:44:22.02
it will be so for you,
00:44:22.06\00:44:24.06
but if you do not see
me, it will not be so."
00:44:24.09\00:44:27.56
So it happened in verse 11.
00:44:27.60\00:44:30.60
"As they continued and talked,"
00:44:30.63\00:44:32.67
they didn't know
when it would happen
00:44:32.70\00:44:34.17
but as they walked and talked,
it could have been anytime.
00:44:34.20\00:44:38.01
You may not know
when the spirit will fall
00:44:38.04\00:44:40.44
or Elijah will rise.
00:44:40.48\00:44:42.24
We may not know
the day or the hour
00:44:42.28\00:44:43.78
when Jesus will come.
00:44:43.81\00:44:45.11
But he said, "In such an
hour you think not suddenly
00:44:45.15\00:44:48.48
it's gonna happen."
00:44:48.52\00:44:50.05
Holy Spirit, when it
fell, do you know what happened?
00:44:50.09\00:44:53.82
Came to pass on
the day of Pentecost,
00:44:53.86\00:44:55.46
and suddenly there
was a sound from heaven
00:44:55.49\00:44:57.83
of a mighty rushing wind.
00:44:57.86\00:45:00.10
The Holy Spirit
may come suddenly,
00:45:00.13\00:45:01.90
Jesus may come suddenly.
00:45:01.93\00:45:04.10
Suddenly, but you notice,
00:45:04.13\00:45:05.60
they were walking
and talking together.
00:45:05.63\00:45:07.60
They had a relationship.
00:45:07.64\00:45:09.70
If you want to
receive that spirit
00:45:09.74\00:45:11.44
when God pours it out,
we need a relationship now
00:45:11.47\00:45:14.41
where we are walking
with the Lord, right?
00:45:14.44\00:45:18.31
"A chariot of fire
appeared with horses of fire,
00:45:18.35\00:45:21.45
and separated the two of them,
00:45:21.48\00:45:23.89
and Elijah went
up by a whirlwind..."
00:45:23.92\00:45:25.72
This is vortex of fire,
glory comes in like a tornado,
00:45:25.75\00:45:30.36
he's caught up in this
wind and angels are singing
00:45:30.39\00:45:36.63
and the heavens part
and Elijah is going up
00:45:36.67\00:45:39.77
and Elisha is kind of
pushed away by it all,
00:45:39.80\00:45:42.87
he falls to the ground
like Paul when he sees Jesus.
00:45:42.90\00:45:46.31
And as Elijah is going up,
I think he tells the angels,
00:45:46.34\00:45:51.01
"Hold on, just a moment."
00:45:51.05\00:45:53.15
The angels are
probably surprised by all this.
00:45:53.18\00:45:55.35
"Wait a second here, you know,
we send a heavenly limousine
00:45:55.38\00:45:58.75
to pick you up and he's awake?"
00:45:58.79\00:46:01.49
And he takes off his mantle
00:46:01.52\00:46:03.43
and he tosses it down to Elisha
00:46:03.46\00:46:06.53
because now Elisha is gonna
be the prophet in his place.
00:46:06.56\00:46:10.83
So it gives him his
uniform so to speak.
00:46:10.87\00:46:14.40
"And the chariot of
fire with the horses
00:46:14.44\00:46:15.84
that separated the two of them
00:46:15.87\00:46:17.04
and Elijah went up by
a whirlwind into heaven.
00:46:17.07\00:46:21.04
And Elisha saw
it." Now you catch that?
00:46:21.08\00:46:22.88
Elisha saw it.
00:46:22.91\00:46:24.81
What did he say
what have to happen
00:46:24.85\00:46:25.91
if he was gonna get a
double portion of the spirit?
00:46:25.95\00:46:28.35
He said, "If you
see it," see what?
00:46:28.38\00:46:30.59
"If you see me lifted up."
00:46:30.62\00:46:32.72
Christ said, "If I am lifted up,
00:46:32.75\00:46:34.32
I will draw all men unto me."
00:46:34.36\00:46:36.93
How are we gonna see that?
00:46:36.96\00:46:38.96
Now if you knew
that in order for you
00:46:38.99\00:46:41.66
to get a double
portion of Elijah's spirit,
00:46:41.70\00:46:44.30
you have to see
00:46:44.33\00:46:45.70
when he's caught away to heaven.
00:46:45.73\00:46:47.50
And Elijah has a
habit of disappearing.
00:46:47.54\00:46:50.41
How would you
fix your eyes on him?
00:46:50.44\00:46:54.38
Would you lock your eyes on him
and just you try not to blink.
00:46:54.41\00:46:57.58
You blink one at a time
to rest your eyes, right?
00:46:57.61\00:46:59.61
I'm not, yeah,
yeah. Aha-aha. Yeah.
00:46:59.65\00:47:03.28
You're walking through this,
you're tripping over things,
00:47:03.32\00:47:05.05
says you don't want to
take your eyes off of Elijah.
00:47:05.09\00:47:08.52
Wouldn't you to
fix your eyes on him,
00:47:08.56\00:47:10.13
if you knew that
was the criteria?
00:47:10.16\00:47:13.86
If you knew in
order to have your wishes
00:47:13.90\00:47:15.73
answered by a genie,
00:47:15.76\00:47:17.33
you had to keep
your eyes on the bottle,
00:47:17.37\00:47:18.93
would you keep
your eyes on the bottle?
00:47:18.97\00:47:21.20
Trying to make this
some way you can relate to.
00:47:21.24\00:47:26.88
I mean, you rub
the bottle, genie says,
00:47:26.91\00:47:28.78
"Ask what you want."
00:47:28.81\00:47:31.78
Elijah says to
Elisha, "Ask what you want."
00:47:31.81\00:47:33.68
What does he ask
for? The Holy Spirit.
00:47:33.72\00:47:36.79
When God said to
Solomon, "What do you want?"
00:47:36.82\00:47:38.49
What did Solomon asked for?
00:47:38.52\00:47:40.89
Wisdom, but really
what he's asking for
00:47:40.92\00:47:42.66
is the Holy Spirit
00:47:42.69\00:47:43.99
'cause that's one of
the gifts of the Spirit.
00:47:44.03\00:47:45.96
What's the most important
thing we could pray for?
00:47:45.99\00:47:49.26
The Holy Spirit.
00:47:49.30\00:47:50.97
He fixed his eyes on him.
00:47:51.00\00:47:52.37
If we want to
have the Holy Spirit
00:47:52.40\00:47:53.70
when Jesus pours it out,
00:47:53.74\00:47:54.84
we need to fix
our eyes on Jesus.
00:47:54.87\00:47:56.40
Don't let Him out of your sight,
00:47:56.44\00:47:57.67
follow Him wherever He goes
like Elisha followed Elijah.
00:47:57.71\00:48:01.64
I'm almost done, friends.
00:48:01.68\00:48:04.08
The Bible tells us,
00:48:04.11\00:48:06.85
"He saw it and he cried out
and he said," I'm in verse 12.
00:48:06.88\00:48:10.02
"My father, my
father, the chariot of Israel
00:48:10.05\00:48:12.35
and its horsemen!
00:48:12.39\00:48:13.42
You're the power of
the Israel, not the army,
00:48:13.46\00:48:16.22
and he saw him no more.
00:48:16.26\00:48:17.79
And he took hold
of his own clothes
00:48:17.83\00:48:20.76
and he tore them
into two pieces."
00:48:20.80\00:48:22.96
All of our righteousness
is like filthy rags.
00:48:23.00\00:48:25.47
"And he took up
the mantle of Elijah
00:48:25.50\00:48:27.60
that had fallen from him."
00:48:27.64\00:48:29.44
See, I told you
it fell from him.
00:48:29.47\00:48:31.37
In order for it to fall
he had to be going up, right?
00:48:31.41\00:48:34.94
Notice what's happening.
00:48:34.98\00:48:36.01
What does clothing
represent? Character.
00:48:36.04\00:48:38.95
What does he do
to his own? Tears it.
00:48:38.98\00:48:41.15
What does he do with
Elijah's? Takes it up.
00:48:41.18\00:48:43.15
When we come to
Jesus, what do we do?
00:48:43.18\00:48:45.25
I have no righteousness,
nothing in my hand I bring.
00:48:45.29\00:48:48.52
We tear our own like Bartimaeus
threw aside his garment
00:48:48.56\00:48:51.56
when he came to Jesus
00:48:51.59\00:48:53.43
and we take up
the mantle of Elijah.
00:48:53.46\00:48:55.90
What did Christ
leave behind for us?
00:48:55.93\00:48:58.10
His robe of righteousness.
00:48:58.13\00:49:00.14
And there's power in that robe
00:49:00.17\00:49:01.94
not only to cover
us but to sanctify us.
00:49:01.97\00:49:05.67
"And then he takes it up
00:49:05.71\00:49:08.94
and he goes back
to the Jordan River.
00:49:08.98\00:49:11.41
And he takes
the mantle of Elijah
00:49:11.45\00:49:13.15
that had fallen from
him, and he strikes the water,
00:49:13.18\00:49:16.25
and he says,
00:49:16.28\00:49:17.29
'Where is the
Lord God of Elijah?'"
00:49:17.32\00:49:19.85
Now that doesn't mean he
said, "I don't believe in you."
00:49:19.89\00:49:22.79
He's saying, "I want
to see the answer now.
00:49:22.82\00:49:24.29
You promised that I
would have a double portion
00:49:24.33\00:49:25.93
of Your Spirit.
00:49:25.96\00:49:27.20
Now I want to see this answer."
00:49:27.23\00:49:29.26
And he does
exactly what Elijah did
00:49:29.30\00:49:31.17
and does the same answer come?
00:49:31.20\00:49:33.64
You know what Jesus
said to the disciples?
00:49:33.67\00:49:36.17
"These miracles
that I have done,
00:49:36.20\00:49:37.44
greater things
than these will you do
00:49:37.47\00:49:38.94
because I go to the Father."
00:49:38.97\00:49:40.64
Jesus ascended to heaven
00:49:40.68\00:49:42.58
and He sent the
Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
00:49:42.61\00:49:45.58
Did the disciples heal the sick?
00:49:45.61\00:49:47.62
Did they preach the
gospel? Did they raise the dead?
00:49:47.65\00:49:50.12
Everything that
Jesus did they did
00:49:50.15\00:49:52.42
because they watched
Him, they modeled His life.
00:49:52.45\00:49:55.99
Christ hasn't withdrawn
His promise, did you know that?
00:49:56.02\00:49:59.53
He wants His church
to have that power today.
00:49:59.56\00:50:01.53
We need to be
praying for the baptism
00:50:01.56\00:50:03.26
of the Holy Spirit.
00:50:03.30\00:50:05.33
And the key is to
do what Elisha did,
00:50:05.37\00:50:07.20
to keep our eyes on Him.
00:50:07.24\00:50:08.97
Now you notice in the
first part of our story
00:50:09.00\00:50:11.51
when the fire comes
down on the mountain,
00:50:11.54\00:50:13.48
the people humbled themselves
and God sends the rain.
00:50:13.51\00:50:17.88
"If my people that
are called by my name
00:50:17.91\00:50:20.05
will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face
00:50:20.08\00:50:23.52
and turn from their wicked way."
00:50:23.55\00:50:25.39
So it's not just all
grace, grace, friends.
00:50:25.42\00:50:27.22
God gives us grace to turn.
00:50:27.26\00:50:29.69
"Turn from their wicked ways,
00:50:29.72\00:50:32.73
then I will hear from heaven,
00:50:32.76\00:50:34.83
I will forgive their sin."
00:50:34.86\00:50:36.43
They will see His face
and He will forgive their sin.
00:50:36.46\00:50:40.70
And in the same way,
00:50:40.74\00:50:42.00
"He now meets with all
the sons of the prophets
00:50:42.04\00:50:44.34
and He ascends to heaven
00:50:44.37\00:50:45.54
and He sends the
Spirit on Elisha.
00:50:45.57\00:50:48.34
The Jordon
parts, Elisha comes back
00:50:48.38\00:50:50.68
and the sons of
the prophets said,
00:50:50.71\00:50:52.48
'Surely, the spirit of
Elijah rests on Elisha.'"
00:50:52.51\00:50:59.29
By the way, you know that
song, "Swing low sweet chariot"?
00:50:59.32\00:51:03.43
I looked over
Jordan and what did I see,
00:51:03.46\00:51:05.59
coming to carry me home?
00:51:05.63\00:51:07.30
A band full of
angels coming after me.
00:51:07.30\00:51:08.93
He's talking about
the sons of the prophets
00:51:08.96\00:51:10.47
that looked over the Jordon
00:51:10.50\00:51:12.17
and maybe in the
distance they saw
00:51:12.20\00:51:13.87
this pillar of
light catching up Elijah.
00:51:13.90\00:51:17.27
But they saw Elisha,
00:51:17.31\00:51:19.44
"When the sons of the prophets,"
00:51:19.47\00:51:20.94
I'm at verse 15.
00:51:20.98\00:51:22.08
"Who were at
Jericho saw him, they said,
00:51:22.11\00:51:23.81
'The spirit of
Elijah rests on Elisha.'"
00:51:23.85\00:51:28.52
The spirit of Elijah
rest on John the Baptist.
00:51:28.55\00:51:33.46
"Behold, I send you Elijah
00:51:33.49\00:51:34.99
before the great and
dreadful day of the Lord."
00:51:35.02\00:51:37.26
The spirit of Elijah
needs to rest on people today.
00:51:37.29\00:51:41.50
God needs an army of Elijahs
and Elishas in the last days.
00:51:41.53\00:51:45.03
It's really the Spirit
of Jesus that He sends.
00:51:45.07\00:51:48.40
So how do we get that rain?
00:51:48.44\00:51:51.27
We need to humble
ourselves before the Lord.
00:51:51.31\00:51:53.64
We need to fix
our eyes on Jesus.
00:51:53.68\00:51:55.94
We need to be willing to
turn from our wicked ways.
00:51:55.98\00:51:59.65
I want to be
filled with God's Spirit,
00:51:59.68\00:52:01.05
friends, don't you?
00:52:01.08\00:52:02.32
Yes.
00:52:02.35\00:52:03.42
You know, it could be
falling on everybody around us
00:52:03.45\00:52:05.09
and miss us and
we'll never know it.
00:52:05.12\00:52:08.66
And we've got to keep
our eyes fixed on Him.
00:52:08.69\00:52:11.66
You know, I love
the story of Elijah
00:52:11.69\00:52:13.40
because it's really a
story of ancient Israel
00:52:13.43\00:52:15.06
and it's a story
of modern Israel.
00:52:15.10\00:52:16.93
It's a story of
God's church today,
00:52:16.97\00:52:19.03
it's a story of each one of us.
00:52:19.07\00:52:21.67
If Elijah, man just like us,
00:52:21.70\00:52:23.84
the Bible says Elijah was a man
00:52:23.87\00:52:25.67
subject to the same passions
that you and I wrestle with.
00:52:25.71\00:52:28.88
But he stood up for God
and God stood up for him.
00:52:28.91\00:52:31.85
He had his ups and
downs, he got discouraged
00:52:31.88\00:52:34.22
but his life ended in victory.
00:52:34.25\00:52:35.85
He went to heaven in glory.
00:52:35.88\00:52:37.45
How many of you want to
go up when Jesus comes down?
00:52:37.49\00:52:39.82
Amen.
00:52:39.85\00:52:40.96
You want to be
ready when He comes.
00:52:40.99\00:52:42.36
We need the Holy Spirit
00:52:42.39\00:52:44.06
filling our
lives as it did Elijah.
00:52:44.09\00:52:46.59
If He did that for Elijah
00:52:46.63\00:52:47.96
and He did it
for John the Baptist,
00:52:48.00\00:52:49.06
He can do for us today.
00:52:49.10\00:52:50.40
Have you ever heard
the expression before,
00:53:07.98\00:53:10.02
"They eat like a bird?"
00:53:10.05\00:53:11.22
Talking about somebody
that has a miniscule appetite.
00:53:11.25\00:53:14.62
Well, you might want
to think twice next time
00:53:14.66\00:53:16.36
you use that expression.
00:53:16.39\00:53:17.96
For example,
take the humming bird.
00:53:17.99\00:53:20.50
In order for it to maintain
its incredible metabolism,
00:53:20.53\00:53:23.37
it has to eat about 50%
of its body weight everyday.
00:53:23.40\00:53:27.90
To put that in perspective,
00:53:27.94\00:53:29.37
if a 100 pound woman was
to eat like a humming bird,
00:53:29.40\00:53:32.67
she would have to eat
50 pounds of sugar a day
00:53:32.71\00:53:35.34
just to
maintain her body weight.
00:53:35.38\00:53:37.01
Imagine that.
00:53:37.05\00:53:38.45
Maybe you don't
want to imagine that.
00:53:38.48\00:53:41.15
But perhaps you want to
consider this another way,
00:53:41.18\00:53:43.42
the humming bird
typically consumes
00:53:43.45\00:53:45.32
between four to
seven calories a day.
00:53:45.35\00:53:47.66
On the other hand, a human
about 3,500 calories a day.
00:53:47.69\00:53:51.66
But if you were
to eat like a bird,
00:53:51.69\00:53:53.09
a humming bird,
00:53:53.13\00:53:54.23
you'd have to eat over
150,000 calories a day.
00:53:54.30\00:53:59.90
That's like a man 170 pounds
00:53:59.93\00:54:02.07
that would be
eating 3,000 Oreo cookies.
00:54:02.10\00:54:05.87
Under normal conditions,
00:54:05.91\00:54:07.51
a humming bird needs to
eat every five or ten minutes.
00:54:07.54\00:54:10.31
But there's actually
one time during the year
00:54:10.35\00:54:12.18
the humming bird will
eat its entire body weight
00:54:12.21\00:54:14.55
every day.
00:54:14.58\00:54:16.58
You see, once a year
they make these migrations,
00:54:16.62\00:54:19.19
500 miles across
the Gulf of Mexico,
00:54:19.22\00:54:21.92
from Texas to the
Yucatan Peninsula.
00:54:21.96\00:54:25.83
In order to do that,
00:54:25.86\00:54:26.96
the humming
bird feasts on nectar
00:54:27.00\00:54:29.40
and gorges
themselves on this nectar
00:54:29.43\00:54:31.73
for about a week
doubling their body weight.
00:54:31.77\00:54:34.84
That's the only way they
can store enough calories
00:54:34.87\00:54:36.94
to help them with their
70 wing beats per second
00:54:36.97\00:54:40.68
or roughly four million
wing beats on that journey.
00:54:40.71\00:54:44.55
You know, in the
same way, friends,
00:54:44.58\00:54:45.68
as we near the end of time,
00:54:45.71\00:54:47.22
we need to be
feasting and gorging ourselves
00:54:47.25\00:54:49.65
on the nectar of God's word.
00:54:49.68\00:54:51.45
We've got to be able
to have that strength
00:54:51.49\00:54:53.05
to get us through the
times of trouble that are ahead.
00:54:53.09\00:54:55.69
So when it comes to the Bible
and your personal devotions,
00:54:55.72\00:54:58.59
if you're gonna eat like a bird,
00:54:58.63\00:55:00.23
eat like a humming bird.
00:55:00.26\00:55:01.63
Amazing Facts changed lives.
00:55:26.62\00:55:29.52
I couldn't understand
just buying any kind of drugs
00:55:35.53\00:55:38.37
just to do for myself
00:55:38.40\00:55:39.90
because it just made sense
to invest it in something else
00:55:39.93\00:55:42.97
and then I can
make all the money back
00:55:43.00\00:55:44.64
and have weed that I
could smoke for free.
00:55:44.67\00:55:48.04
I was having a lot of fun,
00:55:48.08\00:55:51.35
at least at first.
00:55:51.38\00:55:54.48
I was making more money
than anybody that I knew.
00:55:54.52\00:55:57.12
I've got, you know,
00:55:57.15\00:55:59.05
pounds and pounds
of weed in the closet,
00:55:59.09\00:56:01.12
I've got a beautiful
fully furnished apartment,
00:56:01.16\00:56:04.53
the chandelier
hanging in my living room.
00:56:04.56\00:56:06.53
I've got a luxury
car, all leather interior,
00:56:06.56\00:56:09.43
I got the hottest girlfriend.
00:56:09.46\00:56:12.20
I have every single thing
00:56:12.23\00:56:13.74
that this world
tells me that I need.
00:56:13.77\00:56:17.87
And that's when I
realized how empty I really was.
00:56:17.91\00:56:23.45
Eventually, smoking
weed didn't do it anymore.
00:56:23.48\00:56:26.51
I started going to
doing a lot of acid,
00:56:26.55\00:56:30.35
LSD and ecstasy.
00:56:30.39\00:56:32.89
Of course, other hard
drugs came to the picture.
00:56:32.92\00:56:36.16
I found out that you
can't run away from yourself.
00:56:36.19\00:56:40.10
No matter where
you go, there you are.
00:56:40.13\00:56:41.83
It was very difficult
to reconcile a faith in God
00:56:41.86\00:56:45.10
and then this lifestyle
that I was choosing to live.
00:56:45.13\00:56:48.27
And at this point I
had made that choice
00:56:48.30\00:56:50.07
to lead that lifestyle
but I couldn't reverse it.
00:56:50.11\00:56:53.61
Even though I wanted to
stop or at least slow down,
00:56:53.64\00:56:57.48
I had no power.
00:56:57.51\00:57:00.25
I said, "God, do whatever it is,
00:57:00.28\00:57:01.75
you got to do to change me."
00:57:01.78\00:57:03.79
I get arrested for DUI.
00:57:03.82\00:57:06.12
I've been to
jail many times before
00:57:06.15\00:57:07.82
but I used to think that
the reason that I went to jail
00:57:07.86\00:57:10.66
is because God was sick
of me, that God hated me.
00:57:10.69\00:57:14.30
There I am in jail
00:57:14.30\00:57:16.23
and I'm starting to see
the fact that God loves me
00:57:16.26\00:57:19.80
to know the
emptiness of this world,
00:57:19.83\00:57:21.74
to know that this
life really stinks.
00:57:21.77\00:57:27.24
But there is hope.
00:57:27.28\00:57:29.41
And the hope that I
found can only be seen
00:57:29.44\00:57:34.52
or known in Christ Jesus.
00:57:34.55\00:57:36.48
Together we have
spread the gospel
00:57:44.63\00:57:46.93
much farther than ever before.
00:57:46.96\00:57:49.70
Thank you for your support.
00:57:49.73\00:57:51.70
For life changing
Christian resources,
00:57:57.01\00:57:59.37
visit afbookstore.com.
00:57:59.41\00:58:01.84