An Altar To "Tears"
In ancient Athens, at the gateway to the famous Parthenon, there stood an altar dedicated to "Tears." No sacrifices were offered there and no offerings were made. It was simply a place where the penitent and grief-stricken could bow to weep out their sorrows.
Although this may have given some psychological relief, it did not touch their basic need. Grief in itself is of little value if it is only the venting of penned-up emotions. Grief must have spiritual overtones and effect permanent changes in the life and personality if it is to please the Lord. Worldly men usually regret the results of their evil deeds because it adversely affects their own futures or social standing.
The "Horns" On The Altar
The old Israelite tabernacle consisted of a covered sanctuary enclosed in a large oblong court. The one and only ingress to the latter was at its eastern end; and the first object inside it was the Altar of Sacrifice.
That altar was made of stout wood overlaid with brass. It was exactly square, each of its four sides measuring five cubits, that is, approximately seven feet six inches.
According to divinely ordained pattern, at each of the four corners there was an ornamental projection called a horn. Ornamental to some degree those four horns of the altar certainly were, but they had a more than merely ornamental purpose. They were "horns of refuge."
When an Israelite was in danger from one who sought his life, he could flee to the tabernacle and lay hold on the horns of the altar, knowing that as long as he stayed there, his pursuer dare not touch him (see 1 Kings 1:50)."And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt [test] Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (vv. 1, 2). There are three parts to this command: whom to sacrifice, when to sacrifice, and where to sacrifice.
The extreme clarity of God's command about whom to sacrifice instructs us that when God tells us to do some unusual deed, He will make it very clear to us what that deed is. God never asks us to take extremely unusual action without giving us much assurance as to what the action is. This truth not only encourages us, but it also warns us that before we make any unusual decision or take any drastic action, we need to be certain that we have clear and strong commands from God for it. Some have run clear off the reservation with hardly a hint that God has so ordered them to take such extreme action. Then when failure results (and it will when we lack God's orders), they blame God. They are all wrong, of course; for if we act as God says, though extreme the action may be, there will be no failure.
From verse 2 and several later verses in Genesis 22, we note here three important descriptions of Isaac, the one to be sacrificed. These three descriptions of Isaac are the lone son, the loved son, and the law-abiding son. These descriptions will help us to better see the nature of the sacrifice Abraham had to make and will show us how wonderfully Isaac foreshadows Christ.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
But God
Ephesians 2:1-6
Notes on verse 2: “Ye walked…” means, you lived. The word course signifies all the tendencies, thoughts, pursuits, and deeds of our character.
No one can say that they have not done anything wrong. As sure as we breathe, we have all walked the path of sin.
The Prodigal Son- Luke 15:11-16
This young man took his destiny in his own hands and tried to do it his own way. How many of us has tried to do something without waiting on God? Luke 15:16b says, “no man gave unto him”. When the world sees that you have lost it all, they will desert you. But all the while, when he was trying to find a friend out in the muck and the mire of sin, his father was home looking out over the fields hoping to see his son return home.
We have a heavenly Father that cares. The reason someone tries alcohol and drugs or can’t seem to find any happiness anywhere is because they’re looking for something, and they don’t know what it is they are looking for. The song says, “I searched for Him, and knew not what I searched for…”. They are physically trying to resist the urge to do what the body was spiritually made to do and that is worship. God is just trying to get you to do what you were made for. The Bible says that if we don’t praise Him, then the rocks and mountains were going to.
So, when you resist this urge, a heaviness becomes prevalent on you. That is the unhappiness that you feel. It’s the tug on your very soul that is connected to God. Our spirit knows when God is calling out to us. There comes a time in everyone’s life when God calls out to us.
-He called the children of Israel out of Egypt. He didn’t go in there and get them, the Bible says that He met them in the wilderness. God is not going to go into your sins and pull you out. It requires action on your part to physically withdraw yourself from the sin. The Israelites had to come out of Egypt on their own; and sometimes you have to do it with the enemy right on your heels trying to pull you back in.
Psalm 23:6
The passage says ALL the days of your life. It doesn’t say it will start to follow you when you get saved. These guys are on the job right when you take your first breath of life.
Goodness- another name for it is grace. God’s grace will work miracles in your life. You say that you have done some bad things and you don’t know how God could save a sinner like you! But you can’t have sin without having grace!
Romans 5:20 “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Much MORE! No matter how far you run, grace will always be there! Get this, a great sinner has that much more grace surrounding him! Grace is unbiased and without judgment. Jesus said that He didn’t come here to condemn the world, but to expel grace out of Himself so that you and I might be saved. Not only do you have the promise of grace, but you also have a Savior that is willing to hunt you down and call you out of your situation! Now that’s a Savior worth having!
Ephesians 2:4- Paul is talking about us as sinners. He could’ve ended the chapter right there, because that is true of every one of us (v. 1-3). However, Paul doesn’t leave us hanging. He followed those scriptures with, “But God…”. Now, through God’s grace, we are able to put everything that we have ever done in past tense.
Its hard for some people to let go of the past. Sometimes, in the flesh, we can’t comprehend the change that takes place in our lives. We tend to point fingers at each other and whisper among ourselves about some of the things other people were guilty of. We forget that we were once a sinner too!
Now we can say:
· I used to be a drug addict- But God
· I used to be an alcoholic- But God
· I used to do this or do that- But God
Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound! Grace was there when you were in Hell’s kitchen, and you barely escaped coming out of there with smoke on your clothes! The war between sin and grace is no contest! Your stuff is in the past and don’t allow yourself to be discouraged when the enemy tries to bring it up! You’ve got to remember…But God!
The grace of God is an expression of His goodness towards the undeserving. You and I didn’t deserve grace…But God.
But God- These words in v. 4 shows God’s response to man’s sin. The way this sentence is used in the English language proves that some sort of action is taken by God on our part.
1 Corinthians 13:11- Rearrange this Scripture: “When I was a sinner, I spoke as a sinner, I understood as a sinner, and I thought like a sinner: BUT, when I became a Christian, I put away those sinful things.” That one little word changes the whole sentence structure. It tells the reader that they can forget about everything before the word “but”.
Verses 1-3 shows how we were as sinners, it shows how each of our lives didn’t mean anything. However, v.4 turns the viewpoint around 180 degrees.
The enemy already knows that you have him defeated. His power comes from making you think that you aren’t victorious! If he can get you to forget those two little words and get you started thinking about Ephesians 2:1-3 then he has you right where he wants you! The devil doesn’t mind if you go to church and clap your hands. All he is concerned with is keeping you right where you’re at, letting you think things like “I’m not good enough” and “if they only knew this about me”. Don’t let the enemy bind you with things that you’ve done in your past, because you already have a key to that lock!
If it had not been for the Lord on my side where would I be?!!
Job- The devil came to Job and told him all of his children were dead, his wife had left him, and everything that he had ever worked for was gone! But Job looked at the enemy and said, “Because I’m not what I used to be, the Lord may give, and the Lord may take away, and even though He may slay me, I’m still gonna say. ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord’”.
The enemy has got some of us bound down with thoughts of what we used to be, but you are more than conquerors through Jesus! Its about time we stop taking a beating from the devil and stand up for ourselves! We need to go into the enemies camp and take back what he stole from us and claim the victory! You are more than conquerors! That means that not only did you win the battle, but you also got your stuff back!
You need to fight with everything you have in you! I’m not afraid of you devil! You’ve walked on me long enough, now its my turn!
Ephesians 1:22- “And hath put ALL things under his feet…” Get your stuff back! Get your desire back! Get your prayer life back! Be active in the house of God! Don’t let the enemy get you down by reminding you of your past! Tell him…”But God!”.
Notes on verse 2: “Ye walked…” means, you lived. The word course signifies all the tendencies, thoughts, pursuits, and deeds of our character.
No one can say that they have not done anything wrong. As sure as we breathe, we have all walked the path of sin.
The Prodigal Son- Luke 15:11-16
This young man took his destiny in his own hands and tried to do it his own way. How many of us has tried to do something without waiting on God? Luke 15:16b says, “no man gave unto him”. When the world sees that you have lost it all, they will desert you. But all the while, when he was trying to find a friend out in the muck and the mire of sin, his father was home looking out over the fields hoping to see his son return home.
We have a heavenly Father that cares. The reason someone tries alcohol and drugs or can’t seem to find any happiness anywhere is because they’re looking for something, and they don’t know what it is they are looking for. The song says, “I searched for Him, and knew not what I searched for…”. They are physically trying to resist the urge to do what the body was spiritually made to do and that is worship. God is just trying to get you to do what you were made for. The Bible says that if we don’t praise Him, then the rocks and mountains were going to.
So, when you resist this urge, a heaviness becomes prevalent on you. That is the unhappiness that you feel. It’s the tug on your very soul that is connected to God. Our spirit knows when God is calling out to us. There comes a time in everyone’s life when God calls out to us.
-He called the children of Israel out of Egypt. He didn’t go in there and get them, the Bible says that He met them in the wilderness. God is not going to go into your sins and pull you out. It requires action on your part to physically withdraw yourself from the sin. The Israelites had to come out of Egypt on their own; and sometimes you have to do it with the enemy right on your heels trying to pull you back in.
Psalm 23:6
The passage says ALL the days of your life. It doesn’t say it will start to follow you when you get saved. These guys are on the job right when you take your first breath of life.
Goodness- another name for it is grace. God’s grace will work miracles in your life. You say that you have done some bad things and you don’t know how God could save a sinner like you! But you can’t have sin without having grace!
Romans 5:20 “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Much MORE! No matter how far you run, grace will always be there! Get this, a great sinner has that much more grace surrounding him! Grace is unbiased and without judgment. Jesus said that He didn’t come here to condemn the world, but to expel grace out of Himself so that you and I might be saved. Not only do you have the promise of grace, but you also have a Savior that is willing to hunt you down and call you out of your situation! Now that’s a Savior worth having!
Ephesians 2:4- Paul is talking about us as sinners. He could’ve ended the chapter right there, because that is true of every one of us (v. 1-3). However, Paul doesn’t leave us hanging. He followed those scriptures with, “But God…”. Now, through God’s grace, we are able to put everything that we have ever done in past tense.
Its hard for some people to let go of the past. Sometimes, in the flesh, we can’t comprehend the change that takes place in our lives. We tend to point fingers at each other and whisper among ourselves about some of the things other people were guilty of. We forget that we were once a sinner too!
Now we can say:
· I used to be a drug addict- But God
· I used to be an alcoholic- But God
· I used to do this or do that- But God
Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound! Grace was there when you were in Hell’s kitchen, and you barely escaped coming out of there with smoke on your clothes! The war between sin and grace is no contest! Your stuff is in the past and don’t allow yourself to be discouraged when the enemy tries to bring it up! You’ve got to remember…But God!
The grace of God is an expression of His goodness towards the undeserving. You and I didn’t deserve grace…But God.
But God- These words in v. 4 shows God’s response to man’s sin. The way this sentence is used in the English language proves that some sort of action is taken by God on our part.
1 Corinthians 13:11- Rearrange this Scripture: “When I was a sinner, I spoke as a sinner, I understood as a sinner, and I thought like a sinner: BUT, when I became a Christian, I put away those sinful things.” That one little word changes the whole sentence structure. It tells the reader that they can forget about everything before the word “but”.
Verses 1-3 shows how we were as sinners, it shows how each of our lives didn’t mean anything. However, v.4 turns the viewpoint around 180 degrees.
The enemy already knows that you have him defeated. His power comes from making you think that you aren’t victorious! If he can get you to forget those two little words and get you started thinking about Ephesians 2:1-3 then he has you right where he wants you! The devil doesn’t mind if you go to church and clap your hands. All he is concerned with is keeping you right where you’re at, letting you think things like “I’m not good enough” and “if they only knew this about me”. Don’t let the enemy bind you with things that you’ve done in your past, because you already have a key to that lock!
If it had not been for the Lord on my side where would I be?!!
Job- The devil came to Job and told him all of his children were dead, his wife had left him, and everything that he had ever worked for was gone! But Job looked at the enemy and said, “Because I’m not what I used to be, the Lord may give, and the Lord may take away, and even though He may slay me, I’m still gonna say. ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord’”.
The enemy has got some of us bound down with thoughts of what we used to be, but you are more than conquerors through Jesus! Its about time we stop taking a beating from the devil and stand up for ourselves! We need to go into the enemies camp and take back what he stole from us and claim the victory! You are more than conquerors! That means that not only did you win the battle, but you also got your stuff back!
You need to fight with everything you have in you! I’m not afraid of you devil! You’ve walked on me long enough, now its my turn!
Ephesians 1:22- “And hath put ALL things under his feet…” Get your stuff back! Get your desire back! Get your prayer life back! Be active in the house of God! Don’t let the enemy get you down by reminding you of your past! Tell him…”But God!”.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Count It All Joy
James 1:1-3
After salvation, there is a period in a young Christians spiritual life where God places a hedge of protection around them. This gives the new convert time to grow spiritually, and get ready for the battles ahead.
At a certain point, God eventually removes this barrier. Almost like a mamma bird trying to help her babies learn to fly. When we are spiritually “reborn”, God keeps us in His nest of safety. However, we’ve got to get out of the nest sooner or later.
When this happens, we become members of the Army of God. We soon realize what team we’re on. When you bend your knees and bow your head in repentance to God, you have just picked your side. You personally realize that you have waged war on Hell. Now you’ve got to fight!
Ephesians 6:12- We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities and rulers of darkness. This verse suggests a spiritual turmoil that is going to come our way eventually.
James 1:2- When the fight comes, count it all joy. Be happy for it. This is God’s way of making us stronger Christians.
My Dad taught me how to fish. He catches upwards of 1000 Bass every year. The man can fish. Ben Franklin said, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
This battle is God’s way of teaching us how to defeat the enemy! Not just in this trial, but the next one as well. So we should count it joy when we fall into spiritual hardships because God has shown an interest in us to make us better. However, when most Christians today go through trials, it tends to make them bitter instead of better. They are not counting the joyful factor. Remember this…those Christians whom God can use the most, are those whom God has bruised the most.
Resistance- This coupled with our faith makes us stronger. Example: Bodybuilding is based on the principle of resistance; the more the weight, the more the resistance, and the more the resistance, the more the muscles develop. Competition weight lifters welcome resistance. In fact, they keep increasing it to push their strength to the limit.
The trials that we go through are stepping stones to build our faith. Accept them as a challenge to the practice of your faith. Spiritual resistance is spiritual bodybuilding.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
The word resistance means, “to stand against”. The greek term of resist is “antihistemi”, the English translation of this word is “antihistamine”. An antihistamine is medication that helps us “stand against” the symptoms of illness.
The enemy will either destroy you or test your spiritual skills. If you give in to him, he will devour you. If you resist him, he will flee from you.
Count it all joy! This trial that you’re going through is not going to destroy you. We are more than conqueres through Christ Jesus! Resist the Devil!
Another word for resist is the word restrain, and a synonym of restrain means, “to bind”. When you resist the devil, you restrain him, and when you restrain him, you bind him. I’m not trying to preach a Do-It-Yourself message. You have to understand that only through the power that is within you, can you turn the tables on the enemy. Paul is famous for saying, “Not I, but Christ.” He knew that within himself he could do nothing. That goes back to the human notion in every one of us that tries to take a problem and fix it on our own.
Zechariah 4:6- Only by the power of God and our authority in Jesus are we able to resist and overcome the situations that we’re going through. The mountains of life, and the strongholds of our spiritual enemies are removed! Count it all joy! This battle is not yours, it’s the Lord’s!
I’ve heard this message preached many different ways, however, the same problem is prevalent in every case:
1. The devil has besieged you.
2. It looks like there is no way out of the situation that you’re in.
3. You are so discouraged you don’t know what to do.
James 5:16b- God lets us go through trials so we can exercise our faith. Faith is not something you have after the battle is over, but faith is something you build right in the middle of the fire! Faith is not you waiting on an outcome where you don’t know what the end result will be. The prayer of faith discerns God’s will and perseveres until that desired outcome is accomplished. I’m here to tell you and encourage you that no matter how you decide to fight your battle, God is with you. He said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you…” God has heard your cry in the night and joy is going to come in the morning!
Count it all joy! God will never leave you!
Count it all joy! God will never forsake you!
Count it all joy! God said He would go with you all the way!
The trial- How long does it last? A day, week, month, or year even? Why is there no specified timeframe when we first enter in our trial?
The promise- 1 Corinthians 10:13
You have to realize that you’re not going to get through this on your own! The best way to resist the enemy in your trial is to fight by letting go of everything that seems natural for you to do, and take a step back and let God do the fighting for you! 1 Corinthians 10:13 already said that you were going to come out victorious! God’s not going to let you go into something just so you can get bitter and backslide! That’s the enemy talking to you!
Understand This: Satan knows that you already have a way out. He knows that God has made a way for you to escape! But his job is to keep you thinking about everything around you, and letting you worry about something that you should have already given to God! His job is to keep you from submitting so you cant resist him. The very moment when you believe that you’re going to come out a winner, is the moment when you start resisting the devil! And that’s the very moment you start binding the devil! So believe on God! Believe that He is a rewarder to them that diligently seek Him!
Crawl out of that corner that the devil has you backed up into and pick yourself up and dust yourself off, because the battle is not yours it’s the Lords! Take the chain of doubt that Satan has you tied up with and resist him! Bind him hand and foot with the very problem that your facing and tell him that you have just started to count it all joy! This thing you’re going through, Satan meant it for evil, but God made it good! Count it all joy when you fall into the hands of the enemy! Devil you can’t stop me, and you can’t hold me back! I’m gonna get my breakthrough in the name of Jesus! I’m going to win this battle if I have to fight you tooth and nail! If I have to crawl to the altar, I’m gonna get it because God has made a way for me to get out of this! Devil you can’t stop me! I resist you right now in the name of Jesus!
After salvation, there is a period in a young Christians spiritual life where God places a hedge of protection around them. This gives the new convert time to grow spiritually, and get ready for the battles ahead.
At a certain point, God eventually removes this barrier. Almost like a mamma bird trying to help her babies learn to fly. When we are spiritually “reborn”, God keeps us in His nest of safety. However, we’ve got to get out of the nest sooner or later.
When this happens, we become members of the Army of God. We soon realize what team we’re on. When you bend your knees and bow your head in repentance to God, you have just picked your side. You personally realize that you have waged war on Hell. Now you’ve got to fight!
Ephesians 6:12- We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities and rulers of darkness. This verse suggests a spiritual turmoil that is going to come our way eventually.
James 1:2- When the fight comes, count it all joy. Be happy for it. This is God’s way of making us stronger Christians.
My Dad taught me how to fish. He catches upwards of 1000 Bass every year. The man can fish. Ben Franklin said, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
This battle is God’s way of teaching us how to defeat the enemy! Not just in this trial, but the next one as well. So we should count it joy when we fall into spiritual hardships because God has shown an interest in us to make us better. However, when most Christians today go through trials, it tends to make them bitter instead of better. They are not counting the joyful factor. Remember this…those Christians whom God can use the most, are those whom God has bruised the most.
Resistance- This coupled with our faith makes us stronger. Example: Bodybuilding is based on the principle of resistance; the more the weight, the more the resistance, and the more the resistance, the more the muscles develop. Competition weight lifters welcome resistance. In fact, they keep increasing it to push their strength to the limit.
The trials that we go through are stepping stones to build our faith. Accept them as a challenge to the practice of your faith. Spiritual resistance is spiritual bodybuilding.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
The word resistance means, “to stand against”. The greek term of resist is “antihistemi”, the English translation of this word is “antihistamine”. An antihistamine is medication that helps us “stand against” the symptoms of illness.
The enemy will either destroy you or test your spiritual skills. If you give in to him, he will devour you. If you resist him, he will flee from you.
Count it all joy! This trial that you’re going through is not going to destroy you. We are more than conqueres through Christ Jesus! Resist the Devil!
Another word for resist is the word restrain, and a synonym of restrain means, “to bind”. When you resist the devil, you restrain him, and when you restrain him, you bind him. I’m not trying to preach a Do-It-Yourself message. You have to understand that only through the power that is within you, can you turn the tables on the enemy. Paul is famous for saying, “Not I, but Christ.” He knew that within himself he could do nothing. That goes back to the human notion in every one of us that tries to take a problem and fix it on our own.
Zechariah 4:6- Only by the power of God and our authority in Jesus are we able to resist and overcome the situations that we’re going through. The mountains of life, and the strongholds of our spiritual enemies are removed! Count it all joy! This battle is not yours, it’s the Lord’s!
I’ve heard this message preached many different ways, however, the same problem is prevalent in every case:
1. The devil has besieged you.
2. It looks like there is no way out of the situation that you’re in.
3. You are so discouraged you don’t know what to do.
James 5:16b- God lets us go through trials so we can exercise our faith. Faith is not something you have after the battle is over, but faith is something you build right in the middle of the fire! Faith is not you waiting on an outcome where you don’t know what the end result will be. The prayer of faith discerns God’s will and perseveres until that desired outcome is accomplished. I’m here to tell you and encourage you that no matter how you decide to fight your battle, God is with you. He said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you…” God has heard your cry in the night and joy is going to come in the morning!
Count it all joy! God will never leave you!
Count it all joy! God will never forsake you!
Count it all joy! God said He would go with you all the way!
The trial- How long does it last? A day, week, month, or year even? Why is there no specified timeframe when we first enter in our trial?
The promise- 1 Corinthians 10:13
You have to realize that you’re not going to get through this on your own! The best way to resist the enemy in your trial is to fight by letting go of everything that seems natural for you to do, and take a step back and let God do the fighting for you! 1 Corinthians 10:13 already said that you were going to come out victorious! God’s not going to let you go into something just so you can get bitter and backslide! That’s the enemy talking to you!
Understand This: Satan knows that you already have a way out. He knows that God has made a way for you to escape! But his job is to keep you thinking about everything around you, and letting you worry about something that you should have already given to God! His job is to keep you from submitting so you cant resist him. The very moment when you believe that you’re going to come out a winner, is the moment when you start resisting the devil! And that’s the very moment you start binding the devil! So believe on God! Believe that He is a rewarder to them that diligently seek Him!
Crawl out of that corner that the devil has you backed up into and pick yourself up and dust yourself off, because the battle is not yours it’s the Lords! Take the chain of doubt that Satan has you tied up with and resist him! Bind him hand and foot with the very problem that your facing and tell him that you have just started to count it all joy! This thing you’re going through, Satan meant it for evil, but God made it good! Count it all joy when you fall into the hands of the enemy! Devil you can’t stop me, and you can’t hold me back! I’m gonna get my breakthrough in the name of Jesus! I’m going to win this battle if I have to fight you tooth and nail! If I have to crawl to the altar, I’m gonna get it because God has made a way for me to get out of this! Devil you can’t stop me! I resist you right now in the name of Jesus!
Monday, April 20, 2009
A Dry Place
1 Kings 17:1
Ahab and Jezebel
History of both, and Elijah’s history with the king.
Hiding at the River Cherith-
-The Devil will come after us when we try to do the right thing and stand up for God.
Elijah was fed by ravens until the brook dried up. He probably was thinking, “God I went to the place You told me to go, and now this happens!”
-The first thing we do when something bad happens to us is complain. When we feel like we’re in a dry place, we tend to focus on all of the bad things that are happening, not realizing that God is still feeding us with little miracles just like He did Elijah by the brook.
-God will let things happen to us to show us His power
-Even though Satan meant it for evil, God will turn it into something good for us!
Elijah is in a dry place-
Somebody is there right now- Oppressed, depressed, or maybe you just spent your last dollar and you don’t know where the money is gonna come from.
I can see Elijah as he looks up to the sky hoping to see that raincloud.
-Ahab is still hunting him
What/Who is the Ahab in your life while you’re going through your dry place? It feels as though Ahab himself is knocking on your door. By human nature, we try to figure the problem out on our own, and it still seems to mess things up. Every time you take two steps forward, the Devil knocks you four steps back!
-The result of a dry place
1. It will make you weak because you cant drink from the fountain of living water.
2. It will make you weak because you don’t feel like eating…getting the spiritual help that you need.
It seems like the devil will attack you at your weakest point in a battle. When you think it cant get any worse, the bottom falls out on you again. You really don’t think that God ever hears your prayers, and you wonder if God has actually left you all alone. Has anyone ever been there?
Job said, “I looked for Him on the right and couldn’t find Him. I looked to the left, and He wasn’t there.”
When you feel like you’re at your weakest, God is at His strongest! His strength is made perfect in our weakness! God will not withhold any good thing from any of us!
-The Bully and the Stick story-
Jason thought Billy was down for the count, but he didn’t know that Billy had a secret weapon!
-Get tired of the Devil! Its time to get tired of that thing that’s been bothering you for so long! God is your secret weapon! Don’t give up now, you’re finally at the place where you can trust God the most!
1 Kings 18:7-8
Elijah was still in the middle of his dry place, and he was still looking for that cloud.
The challenge
Baal vs. God
Familiar story but Elijah had about all he could take.
Are you fed up with the devil yet?
“Devil, I’m tired of running, I’m tired of looking over my shoulder all the time”
We are troubled on every side, yet not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed! Its time to go into the enemy’s camp and tell the devil you’re here to claim your victory!
Square your shoulders and look him right in the eyes and tell him, “Listen to me devil, let me tell you what I’M gonna do. You’ve walked on me long enough, now I’m gonna walk on you!” You can hit me, knock me down, and make me bleed, but I’m gonna keep getting up! This time I’m ready for a fight!
-Elijah defeats the false prophets, but he is still looking for that cloud.
Kings 18:41
The drought is still there, the battle is still there, but wait a minute! I hear the sound of an abundance of rain!
Definition of Abundance- In the Old Testament they most frequently stand for "to cast together," "to increase." In Proverbs 8:24 the primary idea is "to be heavy", in Deut. 33:19 and Job 22:11 it is "to overflow", in Job 36:31 it is "to multiply”.
God is not only going to give you the victory over your Ahab, He is also going to wash out your dry place! The rain that had not been seen for such a long time soaks up the wet cracked ground of your depression, it soaks up the dust of your past, and it gives you the strength to go another mile! Don’t give up, your redemption draws nigh!
Ahab and Jezebel
History of both, and Elijah’s history with the king.
Hiding at the River Cherith-
-The Devil will come after us when we try to do the right thing and stand up for God.
Elijah was fed by ravens until the brook dried up. He probably was thinking, “God I went to the place You told me to go, and now this happens!”
-The first thing we do when something bad happens to us is complain. When we feel like we’re in a dry place, we tend to focus on all of the bad things that are happening, not realizing that God is still feeding us with little miracles just like He did Elijah by the brook.
-God will let things happen to us to show us His power
-Even though Satan meant it for evil, God will turn it into something good for us!
Elijah is in a dry place-
Somebody is there right now- Oppressed, depressed, or maybe you just spent your last dollar and you don’t know where the money is gonna come from.
I can see Elijah as he looks up to the sky hoping to see that raincloud.
-Ahab is still hunting him
What/Who is the Ahab in your life while you’re going through your dry place? It feels as though Ahab himself is knocking on your door. By human nature, we try to figure the problem out on our own, and it still seems to mess things up. Every time you take two steps forward, the Devil knocks you four steps back!
-The result of a dry place
1. It will make you weak because you cant drink from the fountain of living water.
2. It will make you weak because you don’t feel like eating…getting the spiritual help that you need.
It seems like the devil will attack you at your weakest point in a battle. When you think it cant get any worse, the bottom falls out on you again. You really don’t think that God ever hears your prayers, and you wonder if God has actually left you all alone. Has anyone ever been there?
Job said, “I looked for Him on the right and couldn’t find Him. I looked to the left, and He wasn’t there.”
When you feel like you’re at your weakest, God is at His strongest! His strength is made perfect in our weakness! God will not withhold any good thing from any of us!
-The Bully and the Stick story-
Jason thought Billy was down for the count, but he didn’t know that Billy had a secret weapon!
-Get tired of the Devil! Its time to get tired of that thing that’s been bothering you for so long! God is your secret weapon! Don’t give up now, you’re finally at the place where you can trust God the most!
1 Kings 18:7-8
Elijah was still in the middle of his dry place, and he was still looking for that cloud.
The challenge
Baal vs. God
Familiar story but Elijah had about all he could take.
Are you fed up with the devil yet?
“Devil, I’m tired of running, I’m tired of looking over my shoulder all the time”
We are troubled on every side, yet not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed! Its time to go into the enemy’s camp and tell the devil you’re here to claim your victory!
Square your shoulders and look him right in the eyes and tell him, “Listen to me devil, let me tell you what I’M gonna do. You’ve walked on me long enough, now I’m gonna walk on you!” You can hit me, knock me down, and make me bleed, but I’m gonna keep getting up! This time I’m ready for a fight!
-Elijah defeats the false prophets, but he is still looking for that cloud.
Kings 18:41
The drought is still there, the battle is still there, but wait a minute! I hear the sound of an abundance of rain!
Definition of Abundance- In the Old Testament they most frequently stand for "to cast together," "to increase." In Proverbs 8:24 the primary idea is "to be heavy", in Deut. 33:19 and Job 22:11 it is "to overflow", in Job 36:31 it is "to multiply”.
God is not only going to give you the victory over your Ahab, He is also going to wash out your dry place! The rain that had not been seen for such a long time soaks up the wet cracked ground of your depression, it soaks up the dust of your past, and it gives you the strength to go another mile! Don’t give up, your redemption draws nigh!
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