Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20251019 - When A Word Is All You Need - 1 Kings 17:1-16

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#20251019 - When A Word Is All You Need - 1 Kings 17:1-16 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
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resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
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into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
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dot Church or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
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Good morning, everybody. Hope everybody is doing well.
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Yes, yes, yes. This is a family Church of ours.
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Just thankful to be here. I want to tell you this, I said
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it in the previous services and whatnot, but I'm thankful for
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your pastor. And if you don't know this, if
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you're new around here, I've been a lot of places.
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And I want to say that Pastor Ed is the real deal.
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I'm thankful for him. I'm thankful for his leadership.
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And you're blessed to have the pastor that you do have his
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family. I love them.
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Come on, y'all give it up for Pastor Ed?
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Yes. And the team around him, I know
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makes him better. And so I'm just blessed to be
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here today and thankful you know I for the last several years
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have mis refreshed because refresh seems to always land on
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our anniversary. Ruthie and I have just recently
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celebrated 27 years of marriage and just amazing by God's grace.
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Yes, He's kept us and continues to build us.
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We have 4 lovely children age ranging from 28.
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Yes I got a 28 year old and I also my youngest is 18 and just
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finished up high school. Yes yes yes but do this for me
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please. Would you just pray for my son,
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my 28? My 23 year old was just deployed
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on Friday to Abu Dhabi for at least six months.
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And so please keep them in prayer this morning.
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If you have your Bibles, we are going to 1st Kings chapter 17,
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First King chapter 17. We'll look at the 1st 16 verses
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this morning as you turn in there.
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The title of the message is when a word is all you need.
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When a word is all you need. You know, I wonder today if
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you've ever been in a season where all the signs disappear,
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there's no clear direction, no visible results, and all you
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have left is a word from God. Maybe you felt like God told you
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to start something, to stay faithful, to forgive someone, or
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to even wait right where you are.
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But now it feels quiet. It feels like God's forgotten
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you. And maybe, you know, this is a
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season of what we would consider silence.
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You know, as I think of this, even maybe today you're here
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because somebody brought you here.
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And you all just wondering, just man, what is it?
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What is it about this Bible? What is it about this God there
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were people talking about? And you know, I believe this
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today. I believe, you know, maybe even
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in your place of disappointment, maybe in your place of hurt,
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maybe you're trying to make sense and make life work for
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yourself. But I believe even in those
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places, God still speaks and he still calls.
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And so this morning, as we look at this, this morning, I really
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wanted to challenge you with this thought of do you have a
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word from God? You know, I faced this situation
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many a times in my walk with Jesus.
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But I want to tell you this, in 2022, we started this venture
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after serving in Newark, NJ at that time probably about for 16
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years. And the ministry had been going
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well. And I don't know if you're
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familiar with Newark, NJ, but it's rough.
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It's rough. It's not a suburban church.
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It's hood. I know that term hood.
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It's where when you when you go through a certain community, you
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roll up your windows and lock your door.
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Now you got it. If you ain't familiar with that
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neighborhood when it's getting dark, you want to say, man, I'm
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getting out of here is that kind of neighborhood is that kind of
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city. And that's where God happened to
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call me to some people call to Hawaii.
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I'm called to Newark, NJ. Glory got to be better.
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And so here, look when you think about this really in all
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seriousness, hey, you know, we started in this place and in
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2022 transitioning over to a neighborhood that was three
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times worse than where we were currently at.
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And I'm saying, God, I'm getting too old for this man like man,
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like things are working, things are moving forward.
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God is blessing. He's doing the work.
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And as we stepped into that venture that we had no resources
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for but just a word, God began to make provision, supernatural
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provision, that every time I would look back, he would be
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like, Nope, this is the direction, here it is.
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And it would be like man like. And then there became this time
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where it was silent. I'm waiting on God.
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For a year and a half. We needed a new roof.
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The roof was $130,000. Now when I say we have, it might
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be different than when you say you don't have, when I have
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nothing but a word to stand on. And we couldn't do anything in
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this place, this place that was abandoned for 11 years,
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squatters in it burned out. But this way, God calling us.
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But I had a word from a young man say, man, you know what I
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want you to know something is a different building.
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And God said that it's not going to be a financial thing, it's
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going to be a favorite thing. And so God blessed us in
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purchasing the place. But then there was a time when
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we're waiting, we're praying, we're calling on God.
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God, would you give us this place for and things are working
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on across town, but you bringing us over here.
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But look here, I want you to notice, I remember in 2022,
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Pastor Ed happened to be in Newark, NJ at our church.
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And he walked out of the pulpit and he said this, hey, if God is
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calling your pastor to faith, to go from faith to faith, he's
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calling this church to go from faith to faith safe.
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And I believe one day that that would be a title of a book that
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God would allow us to write. And so I pray y'all pray with us
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about that. But here, look, watch this.
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After moving into the place this year in April, April 6th, we
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started our first Sunday there. You know, there was a loss of my
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mother-in-law just three days after our first Sunday morning
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gathering. A month later, I had to remove a
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pastor that we actually started the beginning process to remove
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him. That started the ministry with
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us. Month after that, my daughter
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miscarried our first grandchild. Oh my God, what's going on?
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And I needed a word, but He gave me a word to sustain us through
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this time. And so with clarity of what God
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was saying, I was able to lean into the pain and the difficulty
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of what we were facing. Knowing this, hey, you know
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what, even in the blessings of God, hey, there's difficulty
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even in communion, right? He, God took the bread.
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Jesus took the bread, and he did what?
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He blessed it. And what broke it?
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And so in the reality of our walks with Jesus, there's going
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to be blessings and there's going to be brokenness here.
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Hey, this is a word for somebody this morning, I believe, as we
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look at the life of Elijah. And we want to learn something
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first before we go into first Kings chapter 17 here.
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It says in James chapter 517 through 18, it says Elijah was a
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man with a nature like ours. And he prayed earnestly that it
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would rain, that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the
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land for three years and six months.
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And then he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the
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earth produced his fruit. You notice this, Texas says
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Elijah was just like you and me. You have concerns.
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You face depression, you face anxiety.
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Maybe that's not your thing, but maybe you want to be in control
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of everything movement that you make.
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But it says here Elijah was he had a nature just like you and
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me. And so when you look at the text
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today, don't think of Elijah like some super being.
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See that he was just like you and me.
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But one thing I wonder today, like Elijah, do you have a
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prayer life? I'm not talking about the pretty
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prayer life, you know, Oh, in the morning, thank you God.
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I pray that you bless everything that I go and do.
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I'm not talking about the lunch prayer when you, oh, thank you
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God for for this lunch. I'm not talking about the night
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prayer when you say, oh, God bless me, keep me alive as I
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sleep. I'm talking about the prayer
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that is spoken of here about Elijah, that he prayed
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earnestly. There's some desperate prayer.
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You got some desperate prayer in your life.
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Hey, you know what? Sometimes when you don't see the
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answer, when you can't see God at work and you're wondering
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what's going on, it'll move your heart to desperation.
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You know about it, you been there.
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Hey, you know what? I want to challenge every person
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that, hey, where's the last place that God has put you in a
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place of discomfort for his purposes?
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I'm not talking about when you're living a life of sin and
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rebellion and disappoint and, and, and just doing your own
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thing. I'm talking about, hey, God has
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put you in a place to stretch you here.
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You need to consider this today as we think about in this text,
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what's happening around it is Israel is in a deep place of
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idolatry. They're in a place of idolatry.
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Ahab is the king, his wife is Jezebel, and they're in a place
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where they're worshipping Baal, the God of the rain and and the
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God of futility. And in this time, it was a time
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of rebellion, just like the day with of today, the day that many
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people don't even want to deal with people in the world.
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And I would say the church needs to repent about that.
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Stop your little, you know, in house huddles and get outside
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and answer the Great Commission. Oh, I know this may rub you the
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wrong way, but this is been good diet for you and me as believers
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to get around. Some non believers, some people
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that don't look like you, some people that don't act like you,
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some people you disagree with deeply.
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But God has called y'all to come together because that's the soul
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that God wants to win. And so here when we see this
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here, this is a crazy place. But Elijah, God raises up.
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He's a rugged prophet from nowhere.
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Hey, you know what? He walks in the Ahab's office
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and he says, Hey, I got a word from you for you.
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There's going to be a drought on the land.
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And sometimes before God can work through you, he has to work
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in you. And that often happens in the
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hidden place. SO35 things I want to give you
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this morning if you're taking notes, the place of obscurity #1
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through verses one through 3, prepared in isolation, verses 4
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through 6. Thirdly, pressed by dry seasons
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in verse 7 and then prove through risky faith in verses 8
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through 12 and then provided for supernaturally in verses 13
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through 16. Father, we thank You for Your
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living word today, and we ask that you would go before us.
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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
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acceptable to you and you alone. Oh God get glory from this time
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in Jesus name, Amen, Amen, Amen. We said the first thing is
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placed in obscurity, and verse one we pick it up, it says, and
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Elijah, the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to
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Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there
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shall be no dude nor rain these years, except that my word.
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Then the word of the Lord came to him saying get away from here
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and turn eastward and hide by the brook sheriff, which is
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flowing into the Jordan. Elijah's name means Jehovah is
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my God. And here he steps up on the
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scene from nowhere. Hey, we don't know where Tish is
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and but here watch this. Hey, he's from Gilead and we are
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familiar with that and the reality that it is a farmland.
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It is not city life, it's not LA, it's not New York City.
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Hey, you know what? And you pull this guy that's
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from the farmland and moving right into the King's palace and
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to testify a word that he received from the Lord.
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Notice it says here Elijah stood before the Lord and so that's
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why he could stand before Ahab. I wonder if you stand or sit in
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the presence of God before you go and tell your kids what next
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move they should make, what decisions you should be moving
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in. Hey, I wonder if you sit in the
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presence of God and just inquire of him before we move in
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rationale here, when we see Ahab, I mean when we see Elijah,
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he's going and stood before the Lord.
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The Lord calls him to step in and speak to Ahab here.
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And then right after that it says there in verse three, if
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you see it with me, it says get away from here and turn eastward
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and hide yourself. Now think about this.
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If God gave you a word to go and talk to Donald Trump, you walk
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in, security lets you through, you move in through the office
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and you go through the Oval Office, I got a word for you.
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It's not going to rain for all these years.
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And then you leave. You would think that God's next
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mission was a worldwide ministry.
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You, After all, you use me out with the king.
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I mean with the king, you use me with the president.
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What's next? It's got to be lateral.
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It's going up. And so now what happens is he
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said, no, no, that's why I want you to, I want you to get out of
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here and I want you to go down to the brook sheriff, and hide
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yourself. Now, this is the place I believe
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that God wants to teach us something here, because sheriff
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means cut off a place of separation and isolation.
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It's a brook that flows into the Jordan, which is a type of
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separation, A separation. No fellowship.
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Your brother's not with you here.
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Look, understand, there's a place alone.
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There's no one that's responsible for you but you, and
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you have to take ownership of your own spiritual growth in
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that place. Well, you have nobody else but
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the Lord, and the Lord will often close out some space to
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get you in a place to hear from Him, to build fellowship with
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Him. And so here he hides him.
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He puts him in a hiding place. And I want you to know today,
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hidden isn't punishment. Too many people thinking that
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hiding place is punishment, but I believe it's preparation.
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I believe God is wanting to prepare his church when He's
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hiding you, when He's hiding me, when He's putting us in a place
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if we would only lean into the pain, the pain of feeling
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rejected, the pain of feeling overlooked.
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Hey, God wants to speak and meet us in that place when you've
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been forgotten, when you felt this way.
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It's the place I begin, I believe is the beginning place
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that God wants to move. And so here, look, understand,
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Alan Redpath put it this way. He said when God wants to do an
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impossible task, he takes an impossible man and crushes him.
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How's that for some encouragement this morning?
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How many people are willing to be crushed so that new wine, new
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oil comes out, something fresh that God wants to do in your
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life today. Amen.
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This is what I believe as you look at the Elijah he's called
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to go down to the brook sheriff and I want him to tell you today
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your maturity is not in your Bible knowledge.
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Maybe you here today and you read through the Bible every
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year and you badge of honor. I've been reading the Bible
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through how whole year some of y'all on the faster track.
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I've read the Bible three times this year.
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Kudos to you, but watch this. Your Bible knowledge is not the
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sign of your maturity. Your Bible knowledge is not the
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sign of your maturity. Your serving is not the sign of
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your maturity. You know what the sign of your
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maturity is? Obedience.
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So you have to ask yourself, when's the last time God told me
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to do something and then measure from there?
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How fast did you respond and what He told you to do and you
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will find and discover, hey, this is the level that God is
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saying my maturity is at. How mature are you today when
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you measure according to that measurement because I've met a
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many of people that can hide behind Bible verses.
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I met a many of people that thought their identity was
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around serving God wouldn't obey the principal things of God
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here. Look as you think about this for
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yourself. I wonder if you have some
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clarity. Write it down.
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Get clear about what are the things that God is speaking and
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are you mature enough to walk in them.
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Hey, look, understand obscurity isn't the absent of purpose.
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It's the birth place of obedience.
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We looked at first place the place into obscurity, but now
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we're looking at verses 4 through 6 prepared in isolation.
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It says in verse 4, it says, and it will be that you shall drink
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from the brook, and I have commanded the Ravens to feed you
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there. So he went and did according to
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the word of the Lord, and he went and stayed by the brook
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sheriff, which flows into the Jordan.
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And the Ravens brought to him bread and meat in the morning
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and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the
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brook. Look here, understand many of
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you are Bible students and you know that.
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Hey, you know what he's feeding me with?
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What? Ravens.
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You know that Ravens are scavengers.
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You know that Ravens are considered unclean.
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And for some of us, when God tells us to do something that's
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out of our tradition, a little uncomfortable, there's no way
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that God could ever do that. This is the point where we say,
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Nope, I'm not doing that. But I want to challenge you
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today. When you look at the text, what
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you see is God is saying, hey, the Ravens are going to feed you
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there. He never said go eat them.
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And the many of us here today are missing out on seeing God do
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something supernatural in and through your life.
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Because watch, wait, watch. Because you're rationalizing
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from your head. But here, understand the Bible
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isn't, you know, some text that it is to be discovered
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information. But there's a person, there's a
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real relationship with God. And when God speaks and we move
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in obedience, even when everybody else says, man, you're
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crazy. Oh, no way you can do that.
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The Bible says this right here. No way, no how.
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And you got a word that you have to stand on by God.
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Look here, you want to see God do something in your life, be
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obedient to him and walk in it. But watch this.
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What it says here is simply this.
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It says in verse 5. So he did what you reading with
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me. Three people like Ian said they
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still they wait. And when's the game today,
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right? Like look, now he what he went,
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notice it, underline and mark it down.
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And what did according to what the word of the Lord.
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And he went and this is the big part for you and me.
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He did what? He stayed some people in the
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room. Hey, you know what, you went and
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you got married according to the word of the Lord.
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But right now there may be some people online, there may be some
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people's right here in this room as I speak.
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And you are thinking and contemplating, should I stay?
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And God is saying, you better stay in that covenant.
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You better honor that covenant. Don't step outside of it.
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Don't sneak around and do some other foolishness.
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Hey, you know what? Honor me in that place.
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Oh, but you don't understand my wife.
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Oh, you don't understand my husband.
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Hey, you know what, I'm not saying stay in abusive
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situation. Go tell your pastor.
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Let them get with them. But I am saying this, that is a
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covenant that was made with God and here look, understand, just
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because, oh, you know what, we starting to feel like we are
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separating in heart. And you know what, I'm not
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feeling loved by them. Hey, you know what, you get on
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your knees, you pray, you ask God to turn it around for you
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and watch this in the midst of this, watch this while God is
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doing and working there, you know, and he's really working
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that right in you. This is the gospel.
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Death, burial, resurrection. You want to see resurrection,
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Holy Spirit power in your marriage?
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Let yourself go into a place of dying to self first.
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It's not. Hey, Damn, Damn, damn, damn,
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damn. For a long time, I was stuck in
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that mindset. I felt like a victim.
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I was acting like a victim. I'm blaming.
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How could I blame somebody like Ruthie?
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She's perfect. I mean, she's great.
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I'm a Sinner and when I started to own my own stuff, I watch God
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do some crazy stuff radically changing our marriage, and I'm
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thankful for it today. But look here.
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Amen. We stayed.
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We stayed when we didn't want to.
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We stayed. And here, watch this, Elijah
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stays, God provides through unclean things as we see here,
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unexpected provisions. Elijah stays and doesn't know
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exactly God's plan, but he stays because he trusts God's word.
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Here it wasn't with abundance. It was simple.
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It was just enough. I think some of our problem is
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we got the Chick-fil-A, we got the in and out.
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We, we ain't got in and out in on the East Coast yet, but y'all
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got in and out and all y'all Californians migrate here and
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thankful for in and out here. You got raising canes, you got
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Biggie fry, super fry, super sizing.
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You got a lot. We got a lot.
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You know, I remember them raising my kids, four of them.
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I told you we're getting a minivan.
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We pull up to the drive through. I said man, you could buy.
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We can get something from the dollar menu, They get something
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in the dollar menu, we get a big cup, buy a drink and then we get
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4 cups to spread out the shares. Until they went and hung out
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with my friends one time and they get in the car and they
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talking amongst each other. I'm going to get the fries, you
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get the Nuggets and then we'll share them and then our friends
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like, hey, no, you can buy your own the meal, you know, the the
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fries, the drink and the the sandwich or the chicken,
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whatever. They come back home.
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You know that menu bigger all labels.
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Keep your eyes on this side of the menu.
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That stuff don't even apply to us.
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But here, look, understand, when you see Elijah, he's there.
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And I would challenge us to beware.
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And I believe this is a word for some of us here because we need
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to beware of complaining when God is still providing, He's,
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He's providing when even when you feel dissatisfied, He's
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making it just enough. Hey, you know what?
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Even when you lack contentment here, He's making it just
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enough, hey? And you cannot lead to learn how
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to have some gratitude for God's faithfulness in our lives.
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Look the hide in places where you know dependency grows deeper
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with the Lord and I know it well today.
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Elijah stayed not because he understood, but because he
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trusted. God doesn't just, you know, give
25:56
us things to appease our own desires, but so that He can get
26:01
glory from our lives. But He'll give you enough to
26:05
sustain you. One of you know that God is
26:08
saying today, what is that? Is that specific word that you
26:12
know that He has given you to sustain you in this time?
26:16
Is it enough for you? Look, some of you might not even
26:19
be at that place yet, but you know this.
26:23
You're tired of running on empty.
26:26
You're running in circles. You have no clarity, and God is
26:31
saying, hey, he's still calling. Even though you're running on E,
26:34
he's still calling you to surrender your life.
26:39
Look, when we want the palace, God sends us into a brook.
26:45
Tozer put it this way. He said it is doubtful whether
26:47
God can bless a man greatly until he has heard him deeply.
26:52
We looked at number one placed in obscurity.
26:55
We looked at prepared in isolation.
26:58
Now let's look at pressed by dry season.
27:01
Here we see it in verse 7. It says, and it happened after a
27:05
while, not immediately but after a while that the brook dried up
27:09
because there had been no rain in the land.
27:12
Look, the same drought Elijah prophesied it to Ahab was the
27:16
same drought that affected him. It impacted him.
27:20
The brook dried up, but the word of God, God didn't.
27:24
That's what we need to know today.
27:26
The source may have, but God's word will not, and we can hold
27:32
on to Him in that respect. God uses dry seasons to move us
27:36
into divine shifts. I believe that today.
27:40
Are you listening as He is leading, not listening to the
27:44
microwave. Hey, you know what?
27:46
2 minutes and I got a word and now I'm gone.
27:50
Sometimes we got to get into that posture of desperate
27:52
prayer. God, what are you saying?
27:54
Praying earnestly, asking him, God, what would you have me to
27:57
do? And you stay there until he
28:00
answers, even when the brooks dries up and you wait on him.
28:04
But here, watch this. I wonder today if you would have
28:07
like a cactus mentality that hey, that water that I've been
28:10
receiving from his well, one day when it dries up, it's enough to
28:15
sustain me in this place. Where are you today?
28:22
What are you holding on to? Maybe you're right in a dry
28:25
season. I don't know if it's your
28:26
marriage. I don't know if you're looking,
28:29
Hey, you know where God's going to use my life.
28:32
I need some clarity, God, or what next step to take.
28:35
But I do know this, if you've been drinking from his well and
28:38
not wasting time with the world, that he has a word for you and
28:43
you can wait and you can wait on Him and you can be built up on
28:47
Him and seeing Him watch and speaking and moving in these
28:52
this very place. God drives up comfort to stir up
28:56
calling. Are you too comfortable today
29:03
and you can't hear the voice of God because you're so consumed
29:06
with yourself and other things in this world?
29:10
God is trying to shake up your life so that He can call you
29:14
into an abundant life Here. Look, understand, as we see this
29:19
here, we looked at placed in obscurity, we looked at prepared
29:23
in isolation. We looked at press by dry
29:25
seasons. And I wonder today if you're in
29:27
the dry season. But I want you to see something.
29:30
It can be proved through risky faith.
29:33
And I believe we see that here in verses 12.
29:36
I mean, 8 through 12 we see it says.
29:38
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Arise and go to
29:42
Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there.
29:47
See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.
29:51
So he arose and went to Zarephath.
29:54
And when he had came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was
29:58
there, just like God said, gathering sticks.
30:01
And he called to her and said, Please bring me a little water
30:06
in a cup that I may drink. And as she was going to get it,
30:10
watch this. He called her again and said,
30:13
please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.
30:17
And so she said, as the Lord your God lives, I do not have
30:23
bread, only a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a
30:29
jar. And see, I am gathering a couple
30:33
of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my
30:39
son, that we may eat it and die. Look, the next word wasn't
30:44
immediate, but it was risky here, as he's called from the
30:49
place that God was providing for him in.
30:52
Now he's shifting him to, Hey, I want you to trust a poor widow.
30:59
Now watch this. There were many widows in Israel
31:02
at the time. But this is the thing we need to
31:05
notice that the word was specific.
31:08
There's a woman that is by the gate and she is there and you
31:13
need to ask her and continue to move forward with her.
31:16
He could have chosen many. That's the broad thing.
31:19
But the media thing was the specific thing.
31:21
And I want to challenge you today.
31:23
Yes, we have the logos of the word.
31:26
We have the general, but what is the specific Rhema word that God
31:30
is speaking to you? Not just a pretty verse you saw
31:36
on you on you version, but the specific word that God has for
31:41
you to stand and to sustain you Here, watch this.
31:46
He goes and he steps into this place, but Elijah in verses in
31:51
this place can be really shaken. Why else?
31:55
You see where he's told to go to Zarephath?
31:58
You Bible students know this. That hey, you know what?
32:01
Jezebel's hometown now? Elijah been gone for a while.
32:08
Jezebel was was Jezebel. I'll take care of it.
32:14
Ahab, let me go put out some one ad press.
32:20
This guy got a bounty on his head and God tells him to go
32:24
there. Look here, many of you not
32:26
stepping in that place where God's called you because you
32:28
looking for safety, you looking for comfort, you looking for
32:31
convenience. But God is saying, Nope, that's
32:33
the place you say that, that that definitely can't be God's
32:35
voice. And you'll miss out if that's
32:40
where God is calling you to a place of uncomfortability, to a
32:44
place where you thought it was unsafe.
32:48
We've been in Newark, NJ. You don't know about it.
32:51
Google it. Let me tell you something about
32:53
Newark. It is unsafe in the world.
32:58
I but we've been navigating through there for the last 18
33:04
plus years by the grace of God, people from the immediate
33:10
neighborhood that grew up in that city.
33:11
I ain't grew up there. There's been people in the
33:13
neighborhood. They say, yo, how you walk
33:15
through these projects like that?
33:18
Because I ain't here for this foolishness.
33:19
I'm here to win souls. I know the mission.
33:22
And so I can step there. Yeah, it could be guys with guns
33:25
and all the faces and tattoos, but I got a word that God gave
33:28
me to stand on. And so here, you know what?
33:31
I ain't worried about that. It's not that I don't get
33:34
concerned or or should I? And what I I have all those same
33:37
things just like Elijah would have had because he's a nature
33:40
like ours. But I'm going to step into it
33:44
because God's given us a word of directive.
33:47
And I don't know what that context looks like for you, but
33:49
there is something that God is calling you to get uncomfortable
33:52
with because He's trying to take you out of your comfort zones.
33:56
And so here when we look at this here, we must understand he's
33:59
gone there 18 through 10. Elijah's obedience stretches
34:03
him. So he arose and went to a place,
34:08
to a place notice that stretches him.
34:11
And he moves not with certainty, but with the word, he gets that
34:16
the gate and that woman's there playing pick up sticks.
34:20
And he steps into it. And he says to her, bring me a
34:25
drink that I may drink. He says, bring me some water
34:29
that I may drink. But notice in verse 11 through
34:32
12, it's not just him that's being stretched, but it's the
34:35
widow also that's being stretched into a place of
34:38
obedience water. OK, she went and got it.
34:42
She's going on her way. And then Elijah says, oh, by the
34:45
way, can you get me a a Marshall of of bread in your hand?
34:52
She probably was like, boy, you asking a little too much.
34:58
I was good with the water, but now you asking for more.
35:04
Now look at her response. Her response is one that's like,
35:09
I don't have you see it there only a handful, a little oil.
35:20
Look, I challenge us today when we look at the text in verse 12
35:24
to consider, hey, when God says bring him something, do you say,
35:30
oh, I only have enough for my annual vacation.
35:37
I only have a little for my college career here.
35:43
Look, understand when God calls you, he says, hey, give it to
35:46
me, bring it to me. And Elijah's there telling her
35:51
this and she like but look, watch this.
35:54
This is the word that Elijah is receiving from the Lord to give
35:57
to her. And so here watch this.
36:00
This is her opportunity. She may not have a church to go
36:04
to. She may not have theological
36:06
points to point at, but she has a word to choose to walk in or
36:10
not. And so here when we see it, we
36:13
noticed that in verse 12 she said I don't have I only a
36:16
little prepare me for my son and me and mines.
36:21
Are you a me and mines kind of thinker?
36:27
Is that you today me and mines You'll never see God do some
36:34
great things in your life if all you can focus on is you and
36:37
yours. God's calling us out of a place
36:41
of selfishness to do and trust Him with the little.
36:50
And here look, as we see this here, the Lord says, bring me a
36:54
little and a bit more. And we often think in small
36:59
terms, but God says, hey, if you would give me that handful
37:04
versus knowing just that little oil, I'm going to hold on to it.
37:09
Hey, you know what, you could be a blessing in someone else's
37:12
life. Hey, this is the reality that we
37:14
only have one life. And here God is calling us to
37:17
live it for his glory. Hey, faith to give in the midst
37:22
of poverty, like the widow. We see that from the Church of
37:26
Macedonia in Second Corinthians chapter 8 verses one through 2,
37:30
the same same kind of call was not put out there.
37:32
But this widow didn't have all these things, but she had a word
37:38
to step into. And so we consider even as one
37:41
person said, God's past faithfulness demands my present
37:46
trust. I wonder today.
37:49
His Word always demands more trust than logic.
37:57
So all you're doing is thinking about how it connects in your
38:00
head, in your thinking, the way you think it should be.
38:03
Or are you leaning and stepping into steps of faith?
38:08
Because I tell you what steps of faith calls you to risky faith.
38:14
It doesn't make sense. It is uncomfortable.
38:17
You don't know how it's all going to play out.
38:19
But you know your God. And when you know your God, you
38:23
know how He moves and you can trust Him.
38:27
Do you believe that? I believe that because I've seen
38:32
him. And watch this.
38:33
Elijah now moves into this place as we move into our last point.
38:37
He's placed in obscurity. He's prepared in isolation.
38:41
He's pressed by the dry season. He's proven through risky faith.
38:45
But now watch how this provision made for supernaturally.
38:51
I'm on somebody. Verses 13 through 16 it says.
38:54
And Elijah said to her, do not fear, go and do as you have
39:01
said, but make me a small cake from it.
39:05
Notice 1st and bring it to me. And afterwards make some for
39:11
yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of
39:15
Israel, the bin of flower, notice who he's standing on, the
39:18
Lord said. And he says The bin of flower
39:21
shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the
39:26
day of the Lord sends rain on the earth.
39:30
So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah.
39:35
And she said and, and she and he and her household ate for many
39:41
days. Verse 16, nabina flower was not
39:44
used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry according to what the
39:49
word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah.
39:53
The miracle wasn't flashy. It wasn't.
39:56
It was daily. It was quiet.
39:58
It was continuous. God sustained.
40:00
Sustained them but notice what happens in verse 13.
40:03
He says this Elijah says do not fear you've been there before
40:10
when God says something maybe he used somebody.
40:12
Hey, step into that. There's a word God's given me to
40:15
share with you. Hey, you hear it and then watch
40:19
you say, man, I don't know if I could ever do that.
40:22
It's too big. But here, watch this.
40:25
Elijah could say to her step into it because he was the first
40:29
partaker. He had learned the lesson at the
40:32
brook. He had learned the lesson as he
40:35
it was at the brook and God gave him some new directives.
40:38
He had learned the lesson in the Oval Office, if you may, of
40:42
Ahab. He had learned the lesson.
40:44
And so now because he had learned the lesson, he can go
40:47
and tell somebody else. He's the first partaker.
40:51
I wonder today, what are some things that you have partaken in
40:54
that you've seen God's faithfulness in, that you can go
40:56
and tell somebody else, tell somebody else to stay in that
41:00
situation, tell somebody else to step away from that situation
41:03
because you've seen what God has done.
41:05
Hey, you know what, maybe it's a simple word.
41:07
Hey, leave that alcohol alone. Leave that extramarital affair
41:11
alone. Leave that guy alone.
41:13
Leave that woman alone. Hey, you know what God is
41:15
calling you? Hey, leave that drink alone.
41:17
Leave that weed alone. I know Denver get high just like
41:22
the East Coast. So many people think, oh, I'm a
41:26
bring the weed and Jesus and me and him go and chop it up
41:30
together. I mean talk together, you know,
41:35
but the reality is this God is saying give it to me, give that
41:39
little bag to me, give it to me. And we see here simply that God
41:48
is saying, Hey, if I if you would do that, watch how I would
41:53
use your life for my glory. Give it to him.
41:56
Look, watch this. He says this, don't fear.
41:58
But now as we see it, he goes into that and he says, hey, in
42:02
verse 2013, he says, so she went and did according to what it was
42:10
that God had told him, go and do, but make me first.
42:15
He says a cake. You can think he was very
42:18
selfish. Give it to me first, but watch
42:22
what happens that he says, bring it to me first and then it says
42:25
and afterwards make some for yourself.
42:30
That's a word for somebody. Today they got to saying, yeah,
42:32
I understand what you need. Give it to me first, and
42:37
afterwards you'll see what I do with it.
42:40
When you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,
42:44
and then all the other things will be added unto you, if you
42:47
would just trust Him with your life, and you will see all the
42:50
other things come in line with His will.
42:54
The miracle again was daily, not instant, and we need to
42:59
understand, even as the 11 said, Jim Elliott actually at the age
43:03
of 26 says this. He is no fool who gives what he
43:06
cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
43:10
Look here today as we think about this for ourselves.
43:13
Do you believe that God can fulfill in your life?
43:16
Philippians 419. Yeah, nineteen.
43:19
My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in
43:24
glory. Look here.
43:26
He did it for Moses when Moses trusted him and stretched out
43:29
that rod. He was freed the children of
43:32
Israel out of Egypt. He did it for Gideon when he had
43:36
300 men but defeated our army even larger than the locusts in
43:40
the land. He did it for David when he had
43:44
five smooth stones but put David on his back, I mean Goliath on
43:48
his back. And he did it also with a boy
43:51
with five loaves feeding over 5000 people.
43:56
Supernatural here he did it with a woman with two mites and got
44:01
the attention of heaven and he'll do it in your life and
44:05
understand if you would just have faith the size of a mustard
44:08
seed, you can move mountains. I believe this today church and
44:13
I just don't I hope that you you just let this go over your heart
44:17
and head, but understand this, whether it's your talents that
44:20
God is calling you to surrender to him, whether it's your your
44:24
treasure that God is calling you to surrender to him.
44:26
I want you to know this that God can do the supernatural.
44:30
Hey in your service. You may not know what to do, but
44:34
hey, you step in in obedience. God has said give your time in
44:37
this place and hey, even in that secret place you say man don't
44:41
have enough time to sit and spend time in the presence of
44:44
the Lord. Yes, you do.
44:45
How I know? Because you got 24 hours in a
44:48
day just like me and we all busy and there's always going to be
44:52
something else to do. But God says, hey, come sit with
44:55
me, come sit. I think it was John Wesley who
45:00
said, man, the days that I was busy, I spent more time with
45:03
God. And so here, look, understand,
45:06
when we live by the word, the specific word, we don't just
45:09
survive, we become someone others can be blessed by.
45:14
And that's what we see in Elijah's life as he hey calls
45:18
her into a place she's blessed. Now she's stepping into it in
45:22
obedience. And I wonder today if God can
45:24
get glory out of our lives because I know this is true.
45:28
Anything God has done before he can do today.
45:31
Anything he has done anywhere else he can do right here.
45:34
And the reality is this does if he did it for someone else, he
45:38
can do it for you. He fixed somebody's marriage, He
45:43
delivers somebody from drug and addiction.
45:45
He freed somebody from pornography.
45:47
He can do it for you. It's heartbreaking to see men in
45:53
the church and there is hooked on pornography and it is putting
45:57
them in a place of sedation and they can't walk with the
46:01
authority and the power that God wants to use you in.
46:05
And God is calling you to be free to be free.
46:09
Listen church, we need to repent.
46:12
God is calling us to be free from addictions.
46:18
God wants your life. He wants my life and I'm tired
46:23
of men saying, oh man, you, you just don't understand.
46:27
I know I've been there. I can tell you I'm the first
46:29
partaker. God freed me and it can free you
46:33
and you can begin to walk in God's mission and call.
46:37
And so here I call you. I call you today to consider as
46:40
we wrap up here, understand and I understand there may be people
46:44
in the building that don't know God this way.
46:47
There may be people online on the radio.
46:49
God is calling you. We're living in the last days.
46:56
Do you see what's going on? We need to awaken to the call of
47:01
God. And so here understand maybe you
47:05
realize this story is bigger than Elijah.
47:08
It's you, it's me, it's our story, it's God's call.
47:12
But understand this, it's bigger than even me.
47:16
And you, you know, in John chapter one, verse 14, the word
47:22
became flesh and dwelt among us. That's what happened.
47:28
And so the word is bigger than just a word.
47:31
It's a specific word, yes, but it is also a person, and that
47:35
person is Jesus. And this is the reality when you
47:38
think about Jesus, He's the greater Elijah who was hidden in
47:41
Nazareth, 30 years in obscurity. But in Matthew chapter 4, verse
47:46
4 says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
47:50
that proceeds from the mouth of God.
47:52
When you see Jesus as the first partaker, he was led into the
47:56
wilderness, but he was fed by the word of God.
47:58
When you see Jesus, He was dependent on every word that
48:02
proceeded from the mouth of God and He was is obedient unto the
48:06
point of death that we may live. Hey, you know what, when you
48:09
think of Jesus, when all had, all He had was a word He trusted
48:14
and through His obedience our salvation is secure.
48:18
If you would just put your trust in Jesus.
48:23
And so here consider. So when all you have is a word,
48:28
you can trust Him and you can take it to the bank.
48:32
He changes lives today and I believe today, maybe you're here
48:35
today, God is calling you to be the first partaker so that you
48:42
can go and testify. I was lost, but now I'm found
48:46
that you could testify. Hey, you know what, from this
48:49
point, no, don't worry about what's happened behind you.
48:51
But hey, from this point Jesus is saying, man, come to me, all
48:57
who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest and you
49:01
will find rest for your soul. Some people need some soul rest.
49:05
Today you're worried about many things, but I wonder if you have
49:12
a specific word that God has spoken to you.
49:14
And maybe that happened right here in this space, that God has
49:16
given you a specific word. I wonder today as the worship
49:20
team comes forward, would you obey what God has called you to
49:23
do Maybe your thing. You look at people all day They
49:27
don't the people that needed to hear this was the people that
49:30
they're struggling with porn. But you struggling with pride.
49:35
You ain't put your trust in Jesus.
49:37
You haven't surrendered that and so don't look over there because
49:41
at the foot of the crosses equal flame field.
49:44
We all are in need of Jesus. I need him and I'm whoever
49:49
keenly aware of that. But I wonder today for yourself,
49:55
you sit here and you hear what God is calling you to.
49:58
There's next step. Are you clear?
49:59
What's the next step? God is calling.
50:01
Maybe today is just repent and turn from your sin and say yes
50:04
to Jesus. And if that's you, I want you to
50:07
stand to your feet and just testify.
50:09
I know God has spoken to me today and I need salvation.
50:12
Would you just stand right there?
50:13
Where you at? I just want to pray with you.
50:16
I want to encourage you. I want to challenge you.
50:19
Hey, you know what? Make that public declaration
50:22
that your life is yielding to Jesus today.
50:25
I'm turning. I want change today.
50:27
I need change today. Praise the Lord, praise the
50:30
Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Amen.
50:33
Thank you God, thank you God, thank you God and we just going
50:38
to bow our hearts in prayer. Father thank you for those who
50:41
have stood and just pray with me.
50:42
A simple prayer. God forgive me for my sin.
50:46
I need your salvation. Come into my life and be my Lord
50:49
and Savior. Fill me with your Holy Spirit,
50:54
change me from the inside out, build me to have godly character
50:59
that is pleasing with you and overflow my life to give you
51:03
glory. And it's in Jesus name we pray.
51:07
Amen, Amen and Amen. We pray that you've been
51:10
encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
51:13
sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
51:16
Call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
51:25
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51:28
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51:33
or download our free Calvary Church app.
51:36
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.