1 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,840 Great things going on in our kids and youth ministries. 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:12,960 God is faithful. Welcome to Spring House. Are you glad to be here this morning? 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,200 Glad to see you. If you're joining us on Livestream. Thank you for joining us 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,440 today. I just got back from a 5 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,160 trip to Seattle. This is Shari and me in Seattle. And 6 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,770 yes, we are wearing hoodies and coats, but because it was a 7 00:00:28,770 --> 00:00:32,490 nice 65 degrees in Seattle, which caused 8 00:00:32,490 --> 00:00:36,250 me to go, somebody here today needs to repent. So the Lord will open 9 00:00:36,250 --> 00:00:39,050 the windows of cool air in Smyrna, Tennessee. 10 00:00:40,970 --> 00:00:44,690 But the weather was fabulous. Well, why were you in Seattle, Kevin? Well, we were 11 00:00:44,690 --> 00:00:48,490 there celebrating Shari's mom and dad's 50th anniversary. 12 00:00:49,610 --> 00:00:53,320 50 years is something to celebrate because 13 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,920 it has all the markings of faithfulness. And Rich and Robin 14 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,840 have moved to Tennessee and they are now part of our Spring House body 15 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,360 here. So I do encourage you to get to know them. Very dear, 16 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,800 sweet people. And we just celebrate them 17 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,720 in their 50 years together. 18 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:16,400 Today we're gonna talk about a real wonderful character 19 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,040 in scripture. His name is Elijah. And actually 20 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,240 we're gonna talk about Elijah today, next week, and the 21 00:01:25,060 --> 00:01:28,740 going to take three weeks. And this probably is one of the more 22 00:01:28,740 --> 00:01:32,460 familiar passages of scripture, if 23 00:01:32,460 --> 00:01:36,300 you know the Old Testament. And so we're going to see what the Lord has 24 00:01:36,300 --> 00:01:39,980 to speak to us through this story. Do 25 00:01:39,980 --> 00:01:43,740 not mind the man with the bandana on his head as he 26 00:01:43,740 --> 00:01:46,420 rolls the. Oh, it's not a bandana, it's a hat. 27 00:01:48,020 --> 00:01:50,580 The flame on your shirt, that's how I feel. And 28 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,360 Smyrna heat. We're 29 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,480 going to read one verse of Scripture today, and it is not from 1st Kings 30 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,200 17 through 19. Would you stand with me and would you read as if 31 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,520 you're so thankful? We're only reading one short verse today 32 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,600 together. Here we go. Let's read. Without faith, 33 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,960 it is impossible to please God because 34 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,560 anyone who comes to him must believe that he 35 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,200 exists and. And he rewards those who earnestly 36 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:23,640 seek him. Father, I thank you for your word. It brings us life. 37 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,720 And Lord, I pray that your word would come to life today in us. Lord, 38 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,360 it's not happenstance that we are here. Lord, I pray that you would 39 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,000 move, that you would give us boldness and faith, Lord, today to 40 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,760 believe you are who you say you are in Jesus name. And everyone 41 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,640 said, amen. You may be seated. 42 00:02:43,570 --> 00:02:46,610 Well, today, next week and the week after, we're going to talk about Elijah. And 43 00:02:46,610 --> 00:02:49,250 for the next two weeks, or for today and next week, we're going to talk 44 00:02:49,250 --> 00:02:52,810 about faith and fear. Faith and fear we're going to 45 00:02:52,810 --> 00:02:55,970 major a little bit more today on faith. But the bulk of the teaching is 46 00:02:55,970 --> 00:02:59,170 actually going to happen next Sunday because we're going to do something a little unique 47 00:02:59,170 --> 00:03:02,970 and interesting here in just a little while. So the bulk 48 00:03:02,970 --> 00:03:06,170 of it will be next week. But over the next two weeks, we're going to 49 00:03:06,170 --> 00:03:10,010 be taking the story of Elijah. Today we're going to take it 50 00:03:10,010 --> 00:03:13,850 from his introduction through the encounter at Mount Carmel. 51 00:03:13,850 --> 00:03:17,230 And then next week we'll go beyond that. 52 00:03:18,270 --> 00:03:21,230 So our story in First Kings starts with. Actually 53 00:03:21,870 --> 00:03:25,710 starts in the middle of a narrative about 54 00:03:25,710 --> 00:03:29,310 a man named Ahab. Ahab was the king of 55 00:03:29,310 --> 00:03:33,110 Israel. Not just any king. He was a bad king. Everybody say bad 56 00:03:33,110 --> 00:03:36,790 king. He was a bad king. And he was not just a bad king, but 57 00:03:36,790 --> 00:03:39,430 the Bible tells us that he did more evil in the eyes of the Lord 58 00:03:39,430 --> 00:03:43,150 than any other king in Israel. So this was a really bad 59 00:03:43,150 --> 00:03:46,590 dude. But as I've unpackaged the story and I've 60 00:03:46,590 --> 00:03:50,030 studied King Ahab, what I've come to realize is 61 00:03:50,030 --> 00:03:53,510 Ahab, yeah, he was certainly an evil king, but I think it was because he 62 00:03:53,510 --> 00:03:57,270 was a very insecure king. If you read Ahab and you 63 00:03:57,270 --> 00:04:00,910 look at his interactions with everybody, he tends to just do whatever 64 00:04:00,910 --> 00:04:04,630 everybody else tells him to do. And so, you know, I'll tell you, the 65 00:04:04,630 --> 00:04:08,030 one thing you don't want in leadership is somebody who's insecure. 66 00:04:08,350 --> 00:04:11,990 Especially in Christian leadership. In Christian leadership, you gotta be secure. 67 00:04:11,990 --> 00:04:15,730 Because guess what? Lord is the one who appoints you. And the people when 68 00:04:15,730 --> 00:04:18,770 they come against you, especially those of the world, you gotta have your strength and 69 00:04:18,770 --> 00:04:22,330 know your call. Is that true? Cause that thing, well, that booger will chase you 70 00:04:22,330 --> 00:04:25,930 away. But if you're in Ahab's case, he was connected to a 71 00:04:25,930 --> 00:04:29,650 lady named Jezebel. Now, Jezebel, I'll tell you, she was not insecure. She was 72 00:04:29,650 --> 00:04:33,450 actually over secure. She was very confident. And in fact, if you crossed her, 73 00:04:33,450 --> 00:04:37,010 she'd kill you. She was a 74 00:04:37,010 --> 00:04:40,410 force to be reckoned with. And these two together were leading 75 00:04:40,890 --> 00:04:44,170 Israel. And Jezebel was somebody that he could 76 00:04:44,490 --> 00:04:47,990 sic on people that he didn't want anything to do with. And she would certainly 77 00:04:47,990 --> 00:04:51,510 take care of them because she was a ruthless warrior 78 00:04:52,070 --> 00:04:55,830 and she worshiped false gods. So you have this powerhouse couple 79 00:04:55,830 --> 00:04:59,270 here who everyone fears, and God raises 80 00:04:59,350 --> 00:05:02,630 up a man by the name of Elijah. 81 00:05:02,950 --> 00:05:06,510 Now, Elijah means the Lord is my God. Would you say that 82 00:05:06,510 --> 00:05:10,350 the Lord is my God? Elijah means the Lord is my 83 00:05:10,350 --> 00:05:13,990 God. And would you not just know it would be just Like 84 00:05:13,990 --> 00:05:17,730 God, to raise up someone whose name is the Lord. Lord is my 85 00:05:17,730 --> 00:05:21,450 God. To go and tell somebody who the real living, true God 86 00:05:21,450 --> 00:05:24,610 is. And so he raises up Elijah, and he 87 00:05:24,610 --> 00:05:28,050 commissions Elijah to go and share with 88 00:05:28,210 --> 00:05:31,970 King Ahab. Now, here's the thing. I want to 89 00:05:31,970 --> 00:05:35,770 look at the introduction to Elijah, because, you know, typically you would think, okay, 90 00:05:35,770 --> 00:05:39,330 if you're going to raise somebody up to go to the most evil king, you 91 00:05:39,330 --> 00:05:42,570 probably are going to get some backstory on this dude. You're going to probably get 92 00:05:42,570 --> 00:05:45,890 some information. But guess what? We don't get any information 93 00:05:46,290 --> 00:05:49,830 on Elijah. He just shows up in the middle of passage. The Lord 94 00:05:49,830 --> 00:05:53,590 says, now, Elijah, the Tishbite in Gilead said 95 00:05:53,590 --> 00:05:57,430 to Ahab, as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, whom I 96 00:05:57,430 --> 00:06:01,230 serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years, except 97 00:06:01,230 --> 00:06:05,070 at my word. This is the first introduction we get to this man named 98 00:06:05,070 --> 00:06:08,630 Elijah. Now, that may not really. That really may not 99 00:06:08,630 --> 00:06:11,350 matter in your mind if you're just reading the story for the first time. But 100 00:06:11,350 --> 00:06:15,030 when you see what Elijah is about to do in the next few chapters and 101 00:06:15,030 --> 00:06:18,830 beyond, you'll go, man, what? This guy must have some type 102 00:06:18,830 --> 00:06:22,570 of backstory. Now, we don't have a backstory on Elijah, but I love this 103 00:06:22,570 --> 00:06:26,370 introduction. I love that we don't have the backstory. Because here's the 104 00:06:26,370 --> 00:06:30,130 thing. So many times when we share our stories, when we share our 105 00:06:30,130 --> 00:06:33,850 testimonies, we share so much more about us than we do 106 00:06:33,850 --> 00:06:37,650 our God. And let me tell you something. The power in your testimony has nothing 107 00:06:37,650 --> 00:06:40,890 to do with you. Has everything to do with what Jesus does in your life. 108 00:06:40,970 --> 00:06:44,330 Here's the point. The greatest part of your story has little to do with you 109 00:06:44,330 --> 00:06:47,790 and a whole lot to do with Him. Amen. 110 00:06:47,950 --> 00:06:51,110 The greatest part of your story has a little to do with you and a 111 00:06:51,110 --> 00:06:54,670 whole lot to do with him. I got an American 112 00:06:54,830 --> 00:06:58,230 Express card a little while ago, and I have just 113 00:06:58,230 --> 00:07:01,790 graduated last night to elite status. Okay? 114 00:07:02,829 --> 00:07:05,910 Now, I don't know exactly what that means, but they notified me that I am 115 00:07:05,910 --> 00:07:09,270 now elite status with American Express. That just means that my 116 00:07:09,270 --> 00:07:12,990 shenanigans are expensive and I still have to pay off the card. But I've 117 00:07:12,990 --> 00:07:16,590 made elite status. Here's the thing. This is what I want to tell 118 00:07:16,590 --> 00:07:20,050 you. God's not waiting for you to climb the ladder and become 119 00:07:20,050 --> 00:07:23,570 elite before he chooses to use you. He 120 00:07:23,570 --> 00:07:27,290 wants to find you right where you are. And if you have a willing 121 00:07:27,290 --> 00:07:31,050 yes on the table and you're willing to believe he is who he says 122 00:07:31,050 --> 00:07:34,570 he is. And he can do what he said he will do. He will use 123 00:07:34,810 --> 00:07:38,130 someone like you. Let me tell you, somebody needs to hear that this morning because 124 00:07:38,130 --> 00:07:41,810 somebody walked in here feeling very insignificant this morning. As if 125 00:07:41,810 --> 00:07:45,130 your story doesn't matter. As if God didn't have a plan for you or knows 126 00:07:45,130 --> 00:07:48,450 your name. But can I tell you, the God who breathes stars knows your name 127 00:07:48,450 --> 00:07:51,550 and he has a plan and purpose for your life. The enemy would be out 128 00:07:51,550 --> 00:07:54,990 to kill and steal. That dream would be out to say, you don't matter. You 129 00:07:54,990 --> 00:07:58,190 don't have a place. You don't have a place in my kingdom. You're 130 00:07:58,190 --> 00:08:01,790 insignificant. Look what they are doing, look what that's going on with their life. But 131 00:08:01,790 --> 00:08:04,870 can I tell you, if you will just lean into the Lord, if you will 132 00:08:04,870 --> 00:08:08,230 believe he is who he says he is, he'll use you. He will use you 133 00:08:08,790 --> 00:08:12,390 in a mighty, mighty way that ripples into all 134 00:08:12,550 --> 00:08:16,150 eternity. Now, we don't know what Elijah's life was before 135 00:08:16,150 --> 00:08:19,960 this point, but what we do know is that Elijah 136 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,480 serves the Lord. That's the first thing he says. 137 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:27,360 My name means I know the Lord and I serve 138 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,040 the Lord, right? So we know he serves the Lord. And in an act 139 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,880 of faith, Elijah decides to walk in obedience to the 140 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,560 Lord. Can I tell you this morning that obedience requires faith? If 141 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:42,320 you're going to walk in obedience to the Lord, it's going to require faith. 142 00:08:42,560 --> 00:08:46,320 Well, that makes a whole lot of sense because if God's telling you to do 143 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,980 something, you're probably not going to do something from somebody you don't believe in, right? 144 00:08:49,980 --> 00:08:53,820 So obedience, right, requires a degree of 145 00:08:53,820 --> 00:08:56,780 faith when God asks you to do something. 146 00:08:57,820 --> 00:09:01,460 My best buddy John and I were in a 60 day challenge together. And one 147 00:09:01,460 --> 00:09:04,939 of the things that he prayed over me this past week is he prayed, lord, 148 00:09:04,940 --> 00:09:07,980 allow Kevin to go in and be a conduit of joy when he walks into 149 00:09:08,620 --> 00:09:12,220 different places. And so I'm in Seattle and 150 00:09:12,540 --> 00:09:15,820 that morning I got up and I went to Kroger and I got the cart 151 00:09:15,820 --> 00:09:18,820 out and you know, I'm looking for joy. And how many know that you're not 152 00:09:18,820 --> 00:09:22,400 going to find very much joy at Kroger? I was there. Now, I was 153 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,720 planning on getting up to that elite status that morning, but I was there and 154 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,360 I was joyful. I was smiling, I was pushing my cord, and nobody was 155 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:33,120 joy. I mean, it literally. Everybody had something, some type of chip on 156 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,440 their shoulder. Something was going on. And I was like, what is going on here? 157 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,160 So I check out and I'm like, lord, there is no joy in this 158 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,640 Kroger. And so I check out and I get my receipt. And 159 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,600 I'm about to walk out the door, and there's a man at the door. He's 160 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,920 the security officer, and he's going to check my receipt to make sure I didn't 161 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,420 steal anything, right? So I'm walking by the door and he says, come here. And 162 00:09:53,420 --> 00:09:56,940 I was like, me? Yeah. Okay. So I put my card over there. And he 163 00:09:56,940 --> 00:10:00,500 said, sir, do you know what today is? And I said, no, sir, I do 164 00:10:00,500 --> 00:10:03,380 not. He said, today is Happy Face Friday. 165 00:10:05,460 --> 00:10:09,140 And I just said, yes, sir, it is. And here's my happy face. 166 00:10:09,140 --> 00:10:12,780 And he said, and here's mine. You have a great day. And as I walked 167 00:10:12,780 --> 00:10:16,620 out, the Holy Spirit said, it is so simple. It 168 00:10:16,620 --> 00:10:20,260 is so simple to render the joy of the 169 00:10:20,260 --> 00:10:24,100 Lord to people. See, some people think you gotta have a soapbox, a platform, a 170 00:10:24,100 --> 00:10:27,680 microphone. Microphone. You can render the good news of Jesus 171 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:30,480 Christ in a simple interaction that has no words. 172 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,920 And so I went to the coffee shop right after that, and it's a small 173 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,560 little coffee shop. There's 25 people or so in there. And I walk in, 174 00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:42,480 and I walk in, and as soon as I walk in, there's these two guys, 175 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:46,440 I presume they're maybe pastors or some type of leaders of church. And they've got 176 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,760 this big white book, both of them, and it says, by Tim Keller, 177 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,440 jesus is King. I walked right in there and I looked across the 178 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:57,060 25 people are sitting there, and not one ounce of joy in that room, 179 00:10:57,060 --> 00:11:00,460 including the two fellas who have this big book that they're proud to be talking 180 00:11:00,460 --> 00:11:03,580 about. So I walk up to the counter and I order my coffee and order 181 00:11:03,580 --> 00:11:07,420 some avocado toast. It was great avocado toast, by the way. And I 182 00:11:07,420 --> 00:11:10,060 order my avocado toast, and I go over and I stand by there and I'm 183 00:11:10,060 --> 00:11:13,380 thinking, lord, do you want me to engage these fellows who have this book, Jesus 184 00:11:13,380 --> 00:11:15,460 is King? What do you want me to do here? And he says to me, 185 00:11:15,460 --> 00:11:19,300 I want you to wait. Okay? So I'm just waiting right there. And I'm 186 00:11:19,300 --> 00:11:22,350 overhearing these fellows conversations, and can I tell you, 187 00:11:22,980 --> 00:11:26,700 their conversation was absolutely nothing about Jesus 188 00:11:26,700 --> 00:11:30,540 being king. They were talking about so and so, did so and so and 189 00:11:30,540 --> 00:11:33,140 did so and so. To so and so and so and so was not going 190 00:11:33,140 --> 00:11:36,860 to get so and so. And it was not a very pretty conversation laden with 191 00:11:36,860 --> 00:11:40,420 gossip, fueled with frustration whilst 192 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:44,340 holding a book called Jesus is King. I said, 193 00:11:44,340 --> 00:11:48,060 Lord, man, I wish they would turn that book over so people wouldn't be around 194 00:11:48,060 --> 00:11:51,740 them seeing that and watching Jesus as king at the same time. And the 195 00:11:51,740 --> 00:11:55,450 Holy Spirit said, just wait. I said, okay, well, in walks 196 00:11:55,450 --> 00:11:59,050 this lady and this man, and this lady and this man had these yellow fluorescent 197 00:11:59,050 --> 00:12:02,850 vests on, tattered, messed up, got oil stains on them. And they worked at 198 00:12:02,850 --> 00:12:05,770 the train depot right down the road. And they come in and can I tell 199 00:12:05,770 --> 00:12:09,530 you, they walked in and all 25 people in that store, in 200 00:12:09,530 --> 00:12:12,770 that coffee shop got a smile from that lady, said, hey, how you doing? It's 201 00:12:12,770 --> 00:12:15,930 good to see you today. Hey, I love that shirt that you're wearing. And she 202 00:12:15,930 --> 00:12:19,360 went around to every single table and just spread 203 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,680 joy. The atmosphere changed. Do you know your actions 204 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:27,240 can change the atmosphere? Your actions, the joy of the 205 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,880 Lord will change the atmosphere. While I'm standing there and I'm looking at this 206 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,640 stark contrast as I'm staring at Jesus as king and I'm 207 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,080 seeing this lady parade around with such joy and the Holy Spirit said, get in 208 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,520 front of her and pay for her coffee. So I went up there, I took 209 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,360 out my American Express and I paid and I paid and I paid 210 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,210 for her coffee. And she had the best smile. And you know 211 00:12:48,210 --> 00:12:50,730 what, she said, my name is Andy, it's great to meet you. And so I 212 00:12:50,730 --> 00:12:52,850 paid for a coffee. And I said, my name's Kevin. She said, why are you 213 00:12:52,850 --> 00:12:56,650 here? And I said, well, we're celebrating my wife's parents anniversary. And 214 00:12:56,650 --> 00:13:00,090 she said, do you know what? My husband died 215 00:13:01,130 --> 00:13:04,690 seven years ago this month after 25 years of 216 00:13:04,690 --> 00:13:08,410 marriage. And I felt that my role 217 00:13:08,650 --> 00:13:12,410 was to spread the joy, spread cheer to everyone I 218 00:13:12,410 --> 00:13:15,240 meet after my husband's death. And I said, andy, you are 219 00:13:15,630 --> 00:13:19,470 absolutely doing that. You changed the atmosphere of this coffee 220 00:13:19,470 --> 00:13:22,110 shop. Do you know, because of my obedience 221 00:13:23,150 --> 00:13:26,510 by faith, I was able to encourage Andy in her walk 222 00:13:27,150 --> 00:13:30,910 despite other people being in the room. Over. Here's the thing, just because 223 00:13:30,910 --> 00:13:34,470 somebody has Jesus on their T shirt does not mean that they 224 00:13:34,470 --> 00:13:37,910 know the Lord Jesus Christ. Just because they're carrying a 225 00:13:37,910 --> 00:13:41,710 billboard or a book does not mean that they've got a relationship with the 226 00:13:41,710 --> 00:13:45,290 Creator. Andy had been through some stuff, let me tell you, and the Lord 227 00:13:45,290 --> 00:13:48,650 God had touched her life. Now, we didn't have an overt conversation about the Lord 228 00:13:48,650 --> 00:13:51,930 there, but it was very apparent who was in the middle of that conversation. 229 00:13:52,890 --> 00:13:56,690 Obedience requires faith. So you may not know how it's 230 00:13:56,690 --> 00:14:00,530 going to turn out, but know that the outcome is 231 00:14:00,530 --> 00:14:03,690 God's responsibility. Obedience is yours. 232 00:14:04,330 --> 00:14:08,090 Obedience Is yours. Elijah goes before Ahab and tells him about 233 00:14:08,090 --> 00:14:11,920 the coming drought. And then the Lord instructs Elijah to go 234 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,360 into hiding. To go into hiding. 235 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,880 Have you ever had a situation where God calls you out, calls you up, and 236 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,720 then he says, now go sit down. That's just like 237 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,560 God. Let me give you the T shirt. I'll give you the position. 238 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,800 I'll give you the title. I'll give you the accolade. Now get out of the 239 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,480 way. That's just like the character of God. Let's look at David. David's 240 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,040 life. David, he knows he's king. Now go back into the field and tend the 241 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,890 sheep. Let me tell you something. God is not 242 00:14:40,890 --> 00:14:44,690 about the business of elevating you. He's in the business of elevating himself. 243 00:14:45,330 --> 00:14:48,850 And everything that you're about and everything that you're doing in your life is 244 00:14:48,850 --> 00:14:52,610 supposed to be about elevating the name of the Lord. 245 00:14:52,690 --> 00:14:56,210 Amen. So the word of the Lord tells us 246 00:14:56,530 --> 00:15:00,050 that Elijah obeyed and he drank from a brook, 247 00:15:00,130 --> 00:15:03,820 and the Lord commanded ravens to bring him 248 00:15:03,820 --> 00:15:07,340 food. What kind of God do we serve that birds obey 249 00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:10,740 his command? He tells the 250 00:15:10,740 --> 00:15:14,380 ravens to come and bring him food. Now, 251 00:15:14,380 --> 00:15:18,140 here's the thing. I want you to picture this. Elijah did 252 00:15:18,140 --> 00:15:21,660 announce the drought to Ahab. But Elijah is also 253 00:15:21,740 --> 00:15:25,020 succumbing to the drought. He's also in the middle of this drought. 254 00:15:25,420 --> 00:15:28,940 And can I tell you that his environment around 255 00:15:29,100 --> 00:15:32,860 him was everything that the Lord said. But the Lord will provide for 256 00:15:32,860 --> 00:15:36,680 you when you are obedient. And so in the 257 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,440 midst of this drought, the Lord provides a brook and he provides the 258 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:44,120 ravens to bring him food. Can I tell you something? You 259 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,920 may be in a dry season of your life right now. You may be in 260 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,879 a place where you have not heard the voice of the Lord. You may be 261 00:15:50,879 --> 00:15:54,280 in a place of questioning this morning. What is my purpose? What is his plan 262 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,000 for my life? Can I tell you? Look for the ravens. Stop looking at the 263 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,840 environment around you. Stop looking at the drought around you. Stop looking at 264 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,210 what everybody else is pointing out to you. But look at. Look for how he 265 00:16:05,210 --> 00:16:08,850 provides the ravens. If you lean into the Lord. If you know the 266 00:16:08,850 --> 00:16:12,610 Lord God, he will always provide a raven to come and sustain you 267 00:16:12,610 --> 00:16:16,410 in the middle of the drought. Lean into him. It is the time to 268 00:16:16,410 --> 00:16:19,570 build your trust in the Lord, to build your faith in the Lord so that 269 00:16:19,570 --> 00:16:22,930 he. When he was ready to call you up and out, you'll be ready to 270 00:16:22,930 --> 00:16:26,330 go. The greatest development 271 00:16:26,570 --> 00:16:30,130 of your faith actually will happen in private places. 272 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:35,200 The greatest Development of your faith happens in private places. 273 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,680 We tend to see the ravens and want to stand up and shout and tell 274 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:40,840 everybody, you need to have a raven, and you need to have a raven. But 275 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,360 here's the thing. There's so many things that happen in your life, in your 276 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:48,200 private life with the Lord that is between you and the Lord. It's not 277 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,000 made. Guess what? He's building a case for himself. He's building a foundation. But 278 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,760 there's so many little things that happen that he wants you to focus in on 279 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,560 him. He's doing in your private interactions with him, 280 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,500 your private interactions in your home, the way your attitude. Here's 281 00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:05,740 the thing. You know, there are times when I wake up and I don't want 282 00:17:05,740 --> 00:17:09,380 to be joyful to Shari. I choose 283 00:17:09,380 --> 00:17:13,100 joy. But how inauthentic would it be if I 284 00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:16,020 choose joy? And then I tell Shari, I just chose joy? There. I just want 285 00:17:16,020 --> 00:17:19,500 you to know, I just chose to be joyful. I chose to 286 00:17:19,500 --> 00:17:22,780 listen to you listen. I chose to. I just want you to know. I chose 287 00:17:22,780 --> 00:17:26,460 to serve you in this moment. Just want you to know. Okay, no, The 288 00:17:26,460 --> 00:17:30,030 Lord's doing that work on the inside. He's doing it. He's calling 289 00:17:30,030 --> 00:17:33,070 less. It's less of Kevin and more 290 00:17:33,630 --> 00:17:37,070 of him. So Elijah is fed by the ravens daily, 291 00:17:38,030 --> 00:17:41,830 quietly hidden. In Romans 12, it 292 00:17:41,830 --> 00:17:45,470 says, Take your ordinary, everyday sleeping, eating, going to work life and place 293 00:17:45,470 --> 00:17:49,310 it before God as an offering. Why do we do that? Because it is 294 00:17:49,310 --> 00:17:52,830 in the mundane, ordinary things that God cultivates 295 00:17:53,070 --> 00:17:56,710 his reality in your life so that your faith can be built and be 296 00:17:56,710 --> 00:18:00,390 used everyday life. You don't need to 297 00:18:00,390 --> 00:18:03,390 wait till a moment that you need a miracle to begin to lead in. In 298 00:18:03,390 --> 00:18:06,790 fact, those are the moments when you're drawing on the bank that you've already stored 299 00:18:06,790 --> 00:18:10,470 up in those mundane moments. So we need 300 00:18:10,470 --> 00:18:13,990 to have an everyday lifestyle that 301 00:18:13,990 --> 00:18:17,670 leans in to the Holy Spirit. What God 302 00:18:17,670 --> 00:18:20,990 had for Elijah at this season, at this moment in his life, 303 00:18:21,230 --> 00:18:24,950 was not fire. See, we know the story because we have the privilege of knowing 304 00:18:24,950 --> 00:18:28,460 the end from the beginning. But at this point in his life, he didn't have 305 00:18:28,460 --> 00:18:32,260 fire. He didn't have crowds. It was just Elijah, God, 306 00:18:32,260 --> 00:18:35,580 and some birds. And some birds. 307 00:18:37,500 --> 00:18:40,900 Some of us are way too focused on the environment he's placed us in to 308 00:18:40,900 --> 00:18:44,740 recognize and acknowledge his powerful move. What ravens is 309 00:18:44,740 --> 00:18:48,500 he sending? In your life right now? God is 310 00:18:48,500 --> 00:18:52,020 preparing Elijah for something huge. And can I tell you, he's also 311 00:18:52,020 --> 00:18:55,600 preparing you for something huge. Now, huge is a 312 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:59,400 relative subjective statement, because huge in My eyes is different than huge in his 313 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,040 eyes. So when I say he's 314 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:06,800 preparing you for something huge, it may not look like your neighbor, it may 315 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:10,040 not look like the other huge moves of people that you saw in your life. 316 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,480 But in the Lord's eyes, in the kingdom's eyes, it's huge. 317 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,800 And the ripples go through eternity. And your 318 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,530 quiet seasons, in your quiet seasons, the Lord preparing 319 00:19:21,530 --> 00:19:25,330 you. Because here's the thing. Public faith is built on quiet 320 00:19:25,330 --> 00:19:29,010 private trust. Public faith is built on 321 00:19:29,010 --> 00:19:32,690 quiet private trust. We rolled out on January 322 00:19:32,770 --> 00:19:36,610 1st the greatest stories ever told. We put a booklet together for a 323 00:19:36,610 --> 00:19:40,290 Bible reading plan. And so many of you have been faithful to that reading 324 00:19:40,290 --> 00:19:43,810 plan all the way through this time. But somewhere around March, April, 325 00:19:44,130 --> 00:19:47,720 February, some of you threw in the towel because you gave up reading or you, 326 00:19:47,870 --> 00:19:50,270 you've skipped a few days or you didn't get in the groove. And you said, 327 00:19:50,270 --> 00:19:53,590 man, I just have to toss in the towel because I have now lost the 328 00:19:53,590 --> 00:19:57,430 momentum. July 1st is on Tuesday. Can 329 00:19:57,430 --> 00:20:00,750 I tell you, it is never too late to start reading the Word of God. 330 00:20:00,910 --> 00:20:04,430 And let me tell you, as you cultivate this private trust, it 331 00:20:04,430 --> 00:20:08,190 takes soaking hours in His Word. Soaking time 332 00:20:08,190 --> 00:20:10,790 in His Word. And let me tell you, if you've given up, you've thrown in 333 00:20:10,790 --> 00:20:14,070 the towel, you say, I don't. Kevin, I don't have an active relationship with the 334 00:20:14,070 --> 00:20:16,650 Word of God. Can I tell you, you are missing out on one of the 335 00:20:16,650 --> 00:20:20,450 most fundamental, incredible experiences of your 336 00:20:20,450 --> 00:20:24,290 Christian journey. It is time to pick up the Word of God and 337 00:20:24,370 --> 00:20:28,090 know the Word of God. It's time to pick up and dive in. Guys. 338 00:20:28,090 --> 00:20:31,770 If you've been journeying, if you've been with us over the last six months and 339 00:20:31,770 --> 00:20:34,810 you've been faithful to read that one chapter a day, let me tell you, let 340 00:20:34,810 --> 00:20:38,450 me encourage you. It's time to ante up. Let's go to two chapters. 341 00:20:38,770 --> 00:20:42,530 Let's add to it. Let's continue to move forward. Let's lean in 342 00:20:42,530 --> 00:20:46,350 deeper because he has more for us. Us. Let's 343 00:20:46,350 --> 00:20:50,070 be a Bible reading, Bible believing church. Amen. 344 00:20:50,550 --> 00:20:53,950 Amen. We have to know the Word in order to believe it. We have to 345 00:20:53,950 --> 00:20:57,470 know the Word in order to live it. And so the brook dries 346 00:20:57,470 --> 00:21:01,109 up and there's no more water. But God 347 00:21:01,110 --> 00:21:04,750 has a plan. And isn't that just like God? Sometimes he sends us right to 348 00:21:04,750 --> 00:21:08,110 an area he begins to provide for us. And then the brook dries up and 349 00:21:08,110 --> 00:21:11,750 there we are and we go. Lord, you told me to come here and 350 00:21:11,750 --> 00:21:15,490 now look what's going on. And all of a sudden, instead of crying out 351 00:21:15,490 --> 00:21:19,330 to the same God who sustained you with the ravens, you begin to 352 00:21:19,330 --> 00:21:23,010 complain about your circumstance and your situation. And instead 353 00:21:23,010 --> 00:21:26,530 of complaining, I believe that the God is wooing us to say, draw 354 00:21:26,530 --> 00:21:30,290 deeper into me. See, here's the thing. In the 60 day challenge, I'm doing 50 355 00:21:30,290 --> 00:21:33,090 pushups every day. Can I tell you, the first day I did those push ups, 356 00:21:33,090 --> 00:21:36,770 that next day, my arms were on fire. They were 357 00:21:37,010 --> 00:21:40,730 killing me. Okay. But, you know, as I continue to do those 358 00:21:40,730 --> 00:21:44,430 push ups, each day, it gets. Can 359 00:21:44,430 --> 00:21:47,350 I tell you, as you flex the muscle of faith and trust in the Lord, 360 00:21:47,350 --> 00:21:51,190 it gets easier and easier. As you. As you. And he begins 361 00:21:51,190 --> 00:21:54,990 to be able to put more weight, he begins to trust you with 362 00:21:55,070 --> 00:21:58,870 more. You begin able to lift more. You become a warrior in the 363 00:21:58,870 --> 00:22:02,670 kingdom. See, here's the thing. Elijah, he had a story before he was raised up 364 00:22:02,670 --> 00:22:06,150 in that moment to go to king. King Ahab was the evilest king in 365 00:22:06,150 --> 00:22:09,990 Israel. Elijah had a backstory. 366 00:22:09,990 --> 00:22:12,670 I don't know what it is, but he had a backstory. And he was lifting 367 00:22:12,670 --> 00:22:16,210 those faith muscles. Muscles. In order to be called up and raised up by God. 368 00:22:16,370 --> 00:22:19,650 Are you lifting your muscles of faith? 369 00:22:21,170 --> 00:22:24,810 So God leads Elijah to a woman, a widow with a son, who 370 00:22:24,810 --> 00:22:28,530 has nothing to give. Seems like the situation is worse than it was 371 00:22:28,530 --> 00:22:32,250 before, initially, because she's got some flour and some oil and she's cooking her 372 00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:35,930 last meal. How many 373 00:22:35,930 --> 00:22:39,560 know that we serve a God who can make something out of nothing? 374 00:22:39,710 --> 00:22:43,230 Nothing. He knows how to make something out of nothing. 375 00:22:43,390 --> 00:22:46,910 She's gathering sticks for a final meal, but Elijah says to her, 376 00:22:46,910 --> 00:22:50,670 feed me first. Some of you may be the person who 377 00:22:50,670 --> 00:22:53,870 has just a little bit of flour and a little bit of oil, 378 00:22:54,350 --> 00:22:58,070 and you're not willing to relinquish it for the Lord. Can I tell 379 00:22:58,070 --> 00:23:01,870 you? God can take what little you have, and he can make it explode 380 00:23:01,870 --> 00:23:05,670 into extraordinary, extravagant things if you're willing to let 381 00:23:05,670 --> 00:23:09,190 it go. Landon and Kaylan were just up here talking about offerings. Some of you 382 00:23:09,190 --> 00:23:11,870 get that bank account and you're looking at the number and you say, no, I'm 383 00:23:11,870 --> 00:23:15,470 going to hold on. I'm going to control it myself, God, 384 00:23:15,710 --> 00:23:18,990 because my plan is better than yours. Now, we don't say that out loud, but 385 00:23:18,990 --> 00:23:22,670 our actions say that very loudly. And God is saying, let me tell you 386 00:23:22,670 --> 00:23:26,510 something. If you give me that negative bank account, I'll do some things in your 387 00:23:26,510 --> 00:23:30,270 life that only I can do. Do you 388 00:23:30,270 --> 00:23:33,630 trust me? Do you trust me? Because I got A raven 389 00:23:33,790 --> 00:23:37,190 that's going to come and save you. I got a brook 390 00:23:38,060 --> 00:23:41,580 for you to drink from. It feels outrageous unless you're 391 00:23:41,580 --> 00:23:45,180 walking by faith. And so the flour and the oil for the bread, they don't 392 00:23:45,180 --> 00:23:48,980 run out. Not because she could afford it, but because she trusted 393 00:23:48,980 --> 00:23:52,660 the Lord. You see, faith begets faith. And when you see faith in 394 00:23:52,660 --> 00:23:56,420 action, it spurs others on in their faith. When I was 395 00:23:56,420 --> 00:24:00,020 in third grade, I rode a church bus to Sunday school at a 396 00:24:00,020 --> 00:24:03,820 Baptist church. And there was the kid living next to me. His name was Brian. 397 00:24:04,060 --> 00:24:06,940 And I so wanted Brian to go to church with me on Sunday. I wanted 398 00:24:06,940 --> 00:24:08,900 him to get on that bus with me. And he didn't want anything to do 399 00:24:08,900 --> 00:24:12,680 with. So, you know, I would ask him week after week to ride the bus. 400 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,440 Well, there was this one day he wanted. One Saturday, he wanted to go fishing 401 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,040 with his dad. And it was raining outside. It was pouring. I mean, it was 402 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:22,760 really, really raining outside. And he stormed out of the house so fast. And I 403 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,760 was like, what's going on, Brian? He said, I want to go fishing with my 404 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:29,400 dad and that stupid rain is stopping us. And I said, well, why don't you 405 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:33,000 pray and ask that, Ask God for the rain to stop or 406 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,240 whatever. And he said, I tell you what, you pray to God and ask him 407 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,190 to stop the rain, and if he does, I'll go to church with you. Well, 408 00:24:39,190 --> 00:24:42,830 I took my King James Bible and I went, right now I'm a Baptist boy. 409 00:24:42,830 --> 00:24:45,870 I don't believe in the whole. This all woohoo stuff, you know, at this point. 410 00:24:45,870 --> 00:24:47,990 And so I go over there and I'm just. I get in the middle of 411 00:24:47,990 --> 00:24:51,150 the road, drench the rain, and I hold this King James Bible up to the 412 00:24:51,150 --> 00:24:54,950 sky and I say, lord, make the rain 413 00:24:54,950 --> 00:24:58,390 stop so my friend Brian will go to church with me. 414 00:24:59,270 --> 00:25:01,350 Thirty seconds later, the sky looked like that. 415 00:25:03,110 --> 00:25:05,940 I was shocked. I was like, what? 416 00:25:06,740 --> 00:25:10,580 Whoa, whoa. Now, Brian never went to church with me, but. 417 00:25:11,220 --> 00:25:15,020 But I guarantee you he remembers that 418 00:25:15,020 --> 00:25:18,660 moment. Cause we made a big deal out of it. 419 00:25:19,540 --> 00:25:22,980 God can do extraordinary things with a little bit of faith. 420 00:25:23,460 --> 00:25:26,980 But can I tell you, in that moment, that moment 421 00:25:26,980 --> 00:25:30,580 wasn't about. Listen to this, this is important. That moment 422 00:25:30,580 --> 00:25:34,040 wasn't about let the rain let up so fishing can happen. Happen. 423 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,960 The reason God answered that prayer was somebody needed 424 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,680 to believe. Someone needed to believe. 425 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,400 And God answered this. The, the, the prayer. 426 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:51,640 The widow's son dies in the middle of this. And Elijah calls 427 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:55,160 out to the Lord and the Word tells us that the Lord uses Elijah 428 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,000 to Bring this boy back to life. Do you see this small 429 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,700 faith getting bigger? And he's seeing God is moving 430 00:26:02,700 --> 00:26:06,260 in Elijah's life. And supernatural, incredible things are happening because of 431 00:26:06,260 --> 00:26:09,940 Elijah's faith to go to the Lord. With every circumstance and 432 00:26:09,940 --> 00:26:13,780 situation. God was building Elijah's trust. So by the 433 00:26:13,780 --> 00:26:17,380 time he got to Mount Carmel, he knew God would come 434 00:26:17,380 --> 00:26:21,100 through. Isaiah 55 says this. For my 435 00:26:21,100 --> 00:26:24,740 thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the 436 00:26:24,740 --> 00:26:28,510 Lord. And many times we say, lord, my thoughts are better than your thoughts, and 437 00:26:28,510 --> 00:26:32,110 my ways are better than your ways. So get out of my way, Lord. But 438 00:26:32,110 --> 00:26:35,750 the Word tells us that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. 439 00:26:36,070 --> 00:26:38,510 And let me tell you, if Jesus is the way, I don't want to be 440 00:26:38,510 --> 00:26:42,309 in his way, because it is only through him 441 00:26:42,310 --> 00:26:45,630 that we can go to the Father. We don't want to be in the way. 442 00:26:45,630 --> 00:26:49,310 We want to be a conduit of grace. We want to be a conduit and 443 00:26:49,310 --> 00:26:53,040 an example. We want to be able to see God's display in our life 444 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,440 so that others may come to know him. That is the point, 445 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:00,200 fellow believers, when I often. When. We often think 446 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,960 that the fight is between. Listen to this. We often think 447 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,640 that the fight is between radical faith and radical 448 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,320 fear. We got radical faith over here, and here's the fight. Lord, I can't get 449 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:15,160 over here where I'm just believing you wholeheartedly, or 450 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,330 it's radical fear. I'm over here shuddering in my bones and so scared. 451 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,800 I don't think the fight is between radical faith and radical fear. For 452 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,240 most of us, the real battle is between faith and doing nothing at all. 453 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,240 It's not that we're paralyzed by fear. It's that we're comfortable 454 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,680 with our circumstances and just want to see how everything 455 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:36,480 plays out. 456 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:42,720 God hasn't called you to passively exist. 457 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:45,680 He's invited you to actively believe. 458 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:51,520 The greatest enemy of your faith may not be fear. It 459 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,320 may be that you are spiritually neutral, 460 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,520 that you just stand idly by and you say, I believe in this God, but 461 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:01,600 I'm not leaning in. We'll just see what happens. 462 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,880 And therefore you are utterly. Listen to this, friends. This is harsh. 463 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,240 You are utterly useless in the Kingdom 464 00:28:11,610 --> 00:28:14,810 because without faith it is. Say it again. 465 00:28:15,930 --> 00:28:19,570 Impossible to do what? Who wants to please the Lord in this 466 00:28:19,570 --> 00:28:22,210 place? I want to be a church full of people who want to please the 467 00:28:22,210 --> 00:28:25,970 Lord. It's impossible to please him without faith. Faith requires 468 00:28:25,970 --> 00:28:28,570 action. Faith requires action. 469 00:28:32,970 --> 00:28:36,770 You're not shaking in a corner, but you're also not building any altars. 470 00:28:36,770 --> 00:28:40,290 You're just letting life play out. And that's not faith. 471 00:28:40,690 --> 00:28:44,410 John and I were on the way to see Sam Strong this past 472 00:28:44,410 --> 00:28:47,410 week. Philip Strong went into. Philip went into 473 00:28:48,290 --> 00:28:51,930 the hospital because he had a heat, something like a heat 474 00:28:51,930 --> 00:28:55,770 stroke. Brain activity was gone. And in 475 00:28:55,770 --> 00:28:59,490 the car on our ride up there, John and I just began to pray 476 00:28:59,490 --> 00:29:03,170 out loud. Boldly, we said, lord Jesus, 477 00:29:03,410 --> 00:29:06,750 we believe for Philip. We believe that he is your. 478 00:29:07,620 --> 00:29:11,220 We believe that you will do a testimony and a work in his 479 00:29:11,220 --> 00:29:15,060 life and in his father's life and in his mother's life. Through this, we began 480 00:29:15,060 --> 00:29:18,580 to proclaim. Before we even got to the hospital, we were proclaiming 481 00:29:18,580 --> 00:29:21,620 victory. And we walked in there and we looked at the vitals and I looked 482 00:29:21,620 --> 00:29:24,060 Sam right in the eye and Lark in the eye, and I said, hey. We 483 00:29:24,060 --> 00:29:26,980 were praying before we got here that we believe that your son's going to be 484 00:29:26,980 --> 00:29:30,500 okay. He's going to be released this coming week, I'm sure. Is that true? He's 485 00:29:30,500 --> 00:29:33,060 going to be released this coming week. The Lord's touched him. Of course he did, 486 00:29:33,060 --> 00:29:34,440 because that's the kind of God we saw. 487 00:29:41,310 --> 00:29:45,150 The truth is, passive waiting is often disguised 488 00:29:45,150 --> 00:29:48,910 as disobedience. Passive waiting is 489 00:29:48,910 --> 00:29:52,630 often disguised as disobedience. God is not asking you to figure it 490 00:29:52,630 --> 00:29:56,270 all out. He's asking you to take a step. 491 00:29:56,670 --> 00:30:00,180 When was the last time you took a step of faith? 492 00:30:01,770 --> 00:30:05,530 I'm going to ask that again. When was the last time 493 00:30:06,010 --> 00:30:09,650 you took a step of faith? I'm taking 494 00:30:09,650 --> 00:30:13,210 a step of faith and trusting you, Lord, in this new relationship. 495 00:30:13,530 --> 00:30:17,330 I'm taking a step of faith on the job front. I'm taking a 496 00:30:17,330 --> 00:30:20,290 step of faith, though things around me don't seem the way I want them to 497 00:30:20,290 --> 00:30:23,130 seem. I'm taking a step of faith that you have me right where I am. 498 00:30:23,370 --> 00:30:26,530 I'm taking a step of faith in that bank account that seems to dry up. 499 00:30:26,530 --> 00:30:29,940 I'm taking a step of faith for that healing in my body 500 00:30:30,420 --> 00:30:34,180 that you would cure me. I'm taking a step of faith of that prodigal son 501 00:30:34,180 --> 00:30:37,820 that he or she would come home. I'm taking a step 502 00:30:37,820 --> 00:30:41,620 of faith, God, I'm believing what I say. I believe because you 503 00:30:41,620 --> 00:30:45,380 are the God who breathes stars. And I can't trust you with my life. 504 00:30:45,380 --> 00:30:49,060 I can trust you with my circumstances because I don't belong to this world. 505 00:30:49,060 --> 00:30:52,500 I belong to the kingdom and I have a God who loves me. 506 00:30:53,300 --> 00:30:56,880 God hasn't called you to passively exist. He's 507 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,520 invited you to actively believe 508 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:04,240 you have access to the King of the universe, access to the God who 509 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,920 breathes stars. So why would you be content standing on the sideline? 510 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:13,360 And so the time has come for God to use Elijah in a 511 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:16,560 powerful way. A servant of the Lord by the name of 512 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,400 Obadiah, who's working for King Abel, King Ahab comes 513 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,080 and meets Elijah. And Elijah says to Obadiah, go tell 514 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,870 Ahab I am ready to meet with him. I've got a word for him. 515 00:31:27,350 --> 00:31:31,190 Obadiah replies, oh, Lord, please don't send me to King Ahab, 516 00:31:31,190 --> 00:31:34,950 because if I go to King Ahab and say your name, he surely will 517 00:31:34,950 --> 00:31:38,790 kill me. What do you think Elijah's thinking? 518 00:31:39,270 --> 00:31:42,990 His faith muscles are so flexed at this point. But 519 00:31:42,990 --> 00:31:46,670 can you imagine? Some of us get a situation like that. The messenger 520 00:31:46,670 --> 00:31:49,990 comes, and then we say to the messenger, go deliver the message for me. 521 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:56,080 God didn't tell Obadiah to go. He told Elijah to go. 522 00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:00,400 And he said to Obadiah, tell Ahab I sure will meet with him 523 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,960 today. So the two fellows meet up. Ahab, evil King 524 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,599 Elijah, the man of the Lord, and they have this discourse with 525 00:32:07,599 --> 00:32:11,280 one another. And Elijah says, here, let's do this. Let's go to Mount 526 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:15,040 Carmel. Now, here's the thing. Ahab's gonna do everything that Elijah says. 527 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:18,400 Because Ahab's an insecure king. He does. He just. Whatever, that's fine. Yes, let's do 528 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,880 it. Okay. But he says, okay, Elijah says, let's have the 529 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:25,720 450 prophets of Baal come to Mount Carmel, and I'll come 530 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:29,280 as well. And we're gonna build an altar, and we're gonna put 531 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:33,320 a sacrifice on the altar, and we're gonna cry out 450 532 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:37,080 prophets. You cry out to your God and see if fire comes down 533 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:40,920 and burns this altar up. And then after you get done, I'll cry out 534 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:44,760 to my God and we'll see if fire comes down. And whosever God answers the 535 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:48,270 prayer, that's the one true God. They say, oh, that sounds good. Let's do that. 536 00:32:48,270 --> 00:32:51,750 Yay. Okay. So 537 00:32:52,310 --> 00:32:56,150 he says, be my guest. You start. So they build the altar, and they 538 00:32:56,150 --> 00:32:59,830 start crying out, 450 prophets of Baal. Start crying out, 539 00:32:59,830 --> 00:33:03,510 crying out, crying out, Baal, Baal, come down. 540 00:33:03,830 --> 00:33:07,670 Send fire. It's not working. So they thought, oh, well, if we start 541 00:33:07,670 --> 00:33:11,030 cutting ourselves and we start dancing, we start doing all these religious 542 00:33:11,030 --> 00:33:14,030 exercises, maybe that will help. Help. It doesn't work. 543 00:33:15,390 --> 00:33:18,790 See, you can start getting real confident in the Lord. You start to get real 544 00:33:18,790 --> 00:33:22,270 excited. Because you know the real God. Elijah starts to taunt them. 545 00:33:23,150 --> 00:33:26,510 He starts to say, where is your God? What's going on? 546 00:33:27,070 --> 00:33:30,790 Where's he at? Maybe he's sleeping. Maybe he's having 547 00:33:30,790 --> 00:33:34,510 breakfast. Maybe he's getting the elite status with the credit card. Something's 548 00:33:34,510 --> 00:33:38,110 going on, but he's not here. And then he 549 00:33:38,110 --> 00:33:41,920 says, okay, my turn. Not only am I going to call fire 550 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,720 down from heaven, but let's take some water and 551 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,240 let's pour it on this trench once. Let's pour it on this 552 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,080 trench twice. Let's pour it on this trench three times. 553 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:57,800 As if to say, I am so confident that my Lord is going 554 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,200 to move. We're going to make it nearly impossible for it to be 555 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:04,960 anything else but him. And he calls out on the 556 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,410 name of the Lord and he says this incredible Praise, 557 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,640 Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Let it be known today that you are 558 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:15,640 God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things 559 00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:18,840 at your command. Answer me, Lord. Answer me. Listen to this 560 00:34:19,720 --> 00:34:23,400 so that these people will know that you, Lord, are God 561 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:26,520 and that you are turning their hearts back again. 562 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:30,680 Guys, the powerful move of God. The purpose of God's power is 563 00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:34,360 his glory, not our relief. The reason he called down 564 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:38,000 fire, the reason God answered that fire, was so that 450 565 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,740 people would see his power on display and that they would believe that all of 566 00:34:41,740 --> 00:34:45,500 Israel would see what was going on and they would believe. Hearts 567 00:34:45,500 --> 00:34:49,140 were being turned back to the Lord because of this display 568 00:34:49,380 --> 00:34:53,180 of God. It wasn't to elevate Elijah. It wasn't so 569 00:34:53,180 --> 00:34:56,660 that Elijah could be like, look what I've done. I'm the king. I'm a pyro. 570 00:34:56,660 --> 00:35:00,380 I'm the king. Pyro. I do all the fire. No, no. It was so 571 00:35:00,380 --> 00:35:04,180 that God Almighty could be on display, so that people would believe. And 572 00:35:04,180 --> 00:35:06,780 you know what they did? As soon as the fire came down, they all fell 573 00:35:06,780 --> 00:35:09,980 down in reverence to the one sovereign, true God. 574 00:35:11,900 --> 00:35:12,940 God is faithful, 575 00:35:16,380 --> 00:35:20,100 and so it's for his glory. Psalm says 576 00:35:20,100 --> 00:35:23,820 this, not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory 577 00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:27,980 because of your love and your faithfulness. Guys, this should be our cry 578 00:35:28,940 --> 00:35:32,540 when God's moving in our life. This should be our prayer, our cry to 579 00:35:32,540 --> 00:35:36,350 your name be the glory. Elijah didn't ask for 580 00:35:36,350 --> 00:35:40,030 fire so that he could win a debate or feel vindicated or validated. 581 00:35:40,030 --> 00:35:43,630 His prayer wasn't about him. It was about people. It was about revival. It was 582 00:35:43,630 --> 00:35:47,190 about glory returning to its rightful place. He 583 00:35:47,190 --> 00:35:50,789 doesn't answer for our comfort. He moves for his glory so 584 00:35:50,789 --> 00:35:54,310 people will believe. We also see this in the heart of Jesus. Remember the story 585 00:35:54,310 --> 00:35:58,110 in John 11 where he raises Lazarus from the dead? What does 586 00:35:58,110 --> 00:36:01,950 he say out loud? He says all of the things about why 587 00:36:01,950 --> 00:36:05,510 he's there and Lazarus to come forth. And he says out loud, I said 588 00:36:05,820 --> 00:36:09,500 this for the benefit of what? The people standing here. Why? 589 00:36:10,060 --> 00:36:12,700 So that they may believe that you sent me. 590 00:36:13,660 --> 00:36:17,420 God's power on display is about people coming to know 591 00:36:17,420 --> 00:36:21,100 him, that their faith may be increased in the one true living 592 00:36:21,100 --> 00:36:24,700 God. The miracle wasn't for Mary and Martha. It was for the people in the 593 00:36:24,700 --> 00:36:28,380 group. God moves publicly so people will publicly 594 00:36:28,380 --> 00:36:31,580 believe. So Elijah prays not to 595 00:36:31,980 --> 00:36:34,150 prove his reputation, but to turn hearts back. 596 00:36:35,820 --> 00:36:39,620 And the fire falls. It consumes the sacrifice, the stones it licks up, 597 00:36:39,620 --> 00:36:43,180 the water, it ignites. And God was proven faithful. 598 00:36:43,420 --> 00:36:46,980 And when it comes to faith, our brother James says to us, faith by 599 00:36:46,980 --> 00:36:50,620 itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is 600 00:36:50,620 --> 00:36:54,300 dead. Guys, we do not want to be a people whose faith is 601 00:36:54,300 --> 00:36:58,060 dead. He invites us to take a step. And today 602 00:36:58,060 --> 00:37:01,180 I'm going to invite you to take a step. I got some instructions that I'm 603 00:37:01,180 --> 00:37:03,400 going to give. We're going to do some movement here. It's going to get messy. 604 00:37:03,870 --> 00:37:07,470 And what I need, because you guys are so excellent, you're such great listeners, we're 605 00:37:07,470 --> 00:37:10,630 going to be moving quickly, and we're going to do exactly what I need you 606 00:37:10,630 --> 00:37:14,190 to do to make this work. Capiche? Yes, sir. Got it. Okay, here we go. 607 00:37:14,270 --> 00:37:16,910 All right. If you have a testimony, 608 00:37:17,870 --> 00:37:21,630 if you have a story, everybody here has a testimony. Let me qualify that if 609 00:37:21,630 --> 00:37:25,150 you have a fire falling from heaven story, 610 00:37:25,950 --> 00:37:29,770 you have seen firsthand the miraculous power of God in your life 611 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:33,880 in some way, shape or form, any way, shape, or form that you could 612 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:37,320 easily tell somebody about this morning. I want you to come up right now and 613 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:41,160 I want you to go to that tub and grab a lighter. I 614 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:45,000 have seen. I firsthand could tell this morning of a fire moment 615 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,320 in my life where fire fell from heaven. In this situation, 616 00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:52,880 grab a lighter and you can go back to your seat 617 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:54,560 quickly once you get your lighter. 618 00:38:02,490 --> 00:38:06,090 Okay. Behind them. Everybody listen. Everybody listen. 619 00:38:06,810 --> 00:38:10,490 Because those of you with lighters may qualify for this second thing as well. 620 00:38:11,290 --> 00:38:14,810 If you are here and you are believing 621 00:38:14,970 --> 00:38:18,770 God for anything, you're believing for the prodigal son, a healing, a 622 00:38:18,770 --> 00:38:22,570 job situation, finance. You are believing God for something. You need 623 00:38:22,570 --> 00:38:25,250 to have faith, to believe God to do something. I want you to come up 624 00:38:25,250 --> 00:38:28,560 here and grab A bottle of water, it's over. In that case, over there to 625 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:31,880 the left or to your right, rather, grab a bottle of water. Now, if you 626 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,360 got a lighter, you can also get a bottle of water if you need that. 627 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,320 But if you are believing God for anything, I need God to move in this 628 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:41,960 way. Anything at all. Grab the bottle of water. 629 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:48,760 Thank you guys for being so quick. 630 00:38:57,330 --> 00:39:00,370 Now we've got good insurance. I pray that you won't burn our church down. 631 00:39:07,650 --> 00:39:11,410 Okay, thank you so much for doing that so, so 632 00:39:11,410 --> 00:39:13,890 swiftly. Here's what we're going to do. 633 00:39:15,250 --> 00:39:17,420 I'm going to ask for you all 634 00:39:19,180 --> 00:39:21,500 to gather in groups of 10. 635 00:39:23,020 --> 00:39:26,700 Gather in groups of 10. And every group, I need 636 00:39:26,700 --> 00:39:30,460 at least one person with a bottle of water and one person 637 00:39:30,460 --> 00:39:34,260 with a lighter. You can have multiple people with lighters, multiple people with bottles 638 00:39:34,260 --> 00:39:36,900 of water, but I need. In every group, I need at least one person who 639 00:39:36,900 --> 00:39:40,460 has a lighter and one person who has a bottle of water. Would you 640 00:39:40,540 --> 00:39:44,240 stand? And on the count of 10, can we be in groups of. Of 10? 641 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:48,080 I believe we can do this very quickly. You can be in these groups all 642 00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:51,680 around the room. You don't have to come down front necessarily. So 643 00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:55,520 find your group of 10. I'm going to count to 10, and we're all going 644 00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:59,120 to be in groups of 10. Somebody in your group has a 645 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:00,640 lighter. Somebody has a water. 646 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:03,463 1, 647 00:40:03,913 --> 00:40:05,711 2, 648 00:40:06,161 --> 00:40:07,960 3, 649 00:40:08,409 --> 00:40:10,208 4, 650 00:40:10,658 --> 00:40:12,456 5, 651 00:40:12,906 --> 00:40:16,410 6. If you see somebody around you not 652 00:40:16,410 --> 00:40:20,010 standing, it's because they don't know where to go. So help them. Invite them along. 653 00:40:20,170 --> 00:40:22,498 7, 654 00:40:23,015 --> 00:40:25,084 8, 655 00:40:25,602 --> 00:40:27,930 9, 656 00:40:30,890 --> 00:40:34,610 and 10. Okay, if you have a lighter, 657 00:40:34,610 --> 00:40:37,400 would you hold it up with the flame up high? 658 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:41,800 We have lighters in every group? Yes. 659 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,600 Excellent. If you have a bottle of water, would you hold your bottle of water 660 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:50,200 up, please? Perfect. Okay, you may put all that down. 661 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:54,360 Okay. When Elijah, before 662 00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:58,160 the fire came, Elijah took water and 663 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:01,390 he poured it on the trench the water represents. 664 00:41:02,020 --> 00:41:05,700 I am confident that God will meet me where I am. 665 00:41:05,860 --> 00:41:09,460 I'm confident that he will answer this prayer. The 666 00:41:09,460 --> 00:41:13,260 fire represents the answered prayer, the fire 667 00:41:13,260 --> 00:41:17,020 of God, the testimony of his faithfulness. We're going to take 12 minutes. 668 00:41:17,020 --> 00:41:20,860 I need everyone right now to nominate a timekeeper. Raise your hand if you're the 669 00:41:20,860 --> 00:41:24,020 timekeeper in your group. That means you have a cell phone or a watch. 670 00:41:24,340 --> 00:41:25,220 Timekeeper, 671 00:41:27,550 --> 00:41:31,270 Timekeeper, raise your hand. Okay, everyone in 672 00:41:31,270 --> 00:41:34,910 your group is going to have one minute to share either their 673 00:41:34,910 --> 00:41:38,670 fire testimony or the prayer that they're believing God 674 00:41:38,670 --> 00:41:42,350 for. Why one minute? Because you got groups of 10. I'm giving you 12 675 00:41:42,350 --> 00:41:45,630 minutes. But I want everyone to have an opportunity to share. So the 676 00:41:45,630 --> 00:41:48,710 timekeeper has got to be able to say, I'm sorry, your time is up. Let's 677 00:41:48,710 --> 00:41:52,430 move on to the next person. You understand? Okay, go ahead. You have 12 minutes. 678 00:41:52,430 --> 00:41:56,110 Let's share. The 679 00:41:56,110 --> 00:41:59,710 fire is the testimony of God's movement. 680 00:42:00,990 --> 00:42:04,830 We are supposed to be fire starters. When we share 681 00:42:05,310 --> 00:42:09,150 our stories with one another, it sets things ablaze in 682 00:42:09,150 --> 00:42:12,910 the kingdom. But there's also a time 683 00:42:12,910 --> 00:42:16,670 and a season where we have water, where 684 00:42:16,670 --> 00:42:20,470 we're in the position of saying, I believe God. You are who you say 685 00:42:20,470 --> 00:42:24,140 you are, and I want to believe with confidence you're going to 686 00:42:24,140 --> 00:42:27,780 answer my prayer. Three months ago, I was 687 00:42:27,780 --> 00:42:31,540 struggling with a nerve 688 00:42:31,620 --> 00:42:35,180 in my back that was being pinched. And I didn't think much of it because 689 00:42:35,180 --> 00:42:37,460 it was controllable with my neck. And 690 00:42:38,740 --> 00:42:42,540 about four weeks ago, my jaw started hurting and I started having chest 691 00:42:42,540 --> 00:42:45,860 pains. So I thought, well, I probably need to go get this checked out. So 692 00:42:45,860 --> 00:42:49,460 I went to see a cardiologist. She said my heart was 693 00:42:49,460 --> 00:42:53,250 inflamed and I needed to get a CT scan. And so I went in and 694 00:42:53,250 --> 00:42:56,490 got a CT scan. And real 695 00:42:56,570 --> 00:43:00,170 positive testimony from that is. You know, I've 696 00:43:00,170 --> 00:43:03,970 struggled thinking there's things wrong with my heart for a very long time because 697 00:43:03,970 --> 00:43:07,330 of, you know, my dad's side of family. There's a lot of heart issues and 698 00:43:07,330 --> 00:43:11,010 things like that, but my heart is completely fine. It's zero calcium. I mean, 699 00:43:11,010 --> 00:43:14,810 it's great, strong heart. But when I was in the 700 00:43:14,810 --> 00:43:18,410 CT scan, the cardiologist looking at the radiologist 701 00:43:18,410 --> 00:43:21,740 found a spot on my liver, 3.8 702 00:43:21,820 --> 00:43:24,940 centimeter mass. And so 703 00:43:25,500 --> 00:43:29,300 they said I needed to follow up with my pcp. And so I 704 00:43:29,300 --> 00:43:33,060 did. And, you know, the PCP said, we 705 00:43:33,060 --> 00:43:36,820 probably need to look at this specifically. So I did 706 00:43:36,820 --> 00:43:39,420 another CT that was specific for that region, 707 00:43:40,460 --> 00:43:44,140 and that result came back this past week. And it seems that the mass has 708 00:43:44,140 --> 00:43:47,710 grown a little bit. Bit. And so they're needing me to go in and do 709 00:43:47,710 --> 00:43:50,990 some more tests on it this week. And 710 00:43:51,390 --> 00:43:55,150 so I want to proclaim that I'm pouring water on this 711 00:43:55,150 --> 00:43:58,430 trench and I'm believing 712 00:43:58,750 --> 00:44:02,390 in the sovereign God who has sustained my 713 00:44:02,390 --> 00:44:05,470 life and given me testimony after 714 00:44:05,470 --> 00:44:09,150 testimony of his faithfulness in my life that I can 715 00:44:09,150 --> 00:44:12,880 draw from and know that if he's been good, then he'll be good 716 00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:15,560 now. But here's the step of faith. 717 00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:20,600 Even if this God of the universe chooses not to touch 718 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:24,120 me, he is still sovereign and he is still good. 719 00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:28,440 And when you get to a place where you know he's good no matter what. 720 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:32,520 You lean into the faith of eternity because our stint 721 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:36,360 here on earth is so short, but we have an eternity 722 00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:40,200 with a God who's gonna split the sky. And the word says, in revolution, 723 00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:43,850 he's gonna wipe every tear. There's gonna be no. No more death, no 724 00:44:43,850 --> 00:44:46,850 more suffering. How many are waiting and excited about that day? 725 00:44:48,290 --> 00:44:52,010 And so whatever it is you're believing in, he can take 726 00:44:52,010 --> 00:44:55,730 that water and he can burn it up. He can cause 727 00:44:55,730 --> 00:44:59,570 a flame and a testimony. Do you believe it? Today let's 728 00:44:59,570 --> 00:45:03,410 be a church who exercises faith in 729 00:45:03,410 --> 00:45:07,130 this sovereign God. Would you stand with me? We're gonna sing this song. If you 730 00:45:07,130 --> 00:45:10,810 have something you were believing for, if you had a bottle of water this 731 00:45:10,810 --> 00:45:14,550 morning, said I'm believing for something, I want you to come down. Want all 732 00:45:14,550 --> 00:45:17,910 of our fire blazers behind them to lay hands and just begin to 733 00:45:17,910 --> 00:45:21,590 proclaim victory, Provision, healing, 734 00:45:21,590 --> 00:45:24,030 whatever it is. So if you have a bottle of water, come on down. If 735 00:45:24,030 --> 00:45:27,750 you have fire, come on behind them. Don't burn anybody up for real, but lay 736 00:45:27,750 --> 00:45:31,550 some hands on them and let's proclaim this God we 737 00:45:31,550 --> 00:45:34,710 say we believe in. Yes. Can we do it? Let's sing. Come on. Come on, 738 00:45:34,710 --> 00:45:35,550 team. Let's go.