SNT 0434 Elijah’s Three-Year Dry Spell - 1 Kings 17&18
Elijah’s Three-Year Dry Spell: I Kings 17 & 18
January 4, 1970
Interesting and humorous expository teaching.
SNT – 434
Format: audio
Publication Date: 01-04-1970
Victor Paul Wierwille was a Bible scholar and teacher for over four decades.
By means of Dr. Wierwille's dynamic teaching of the accuracy and integrity of God's Word, foundational class and advanced class graduates of Power for Abundant Living have learned that the one great requirement for every student of the Bible is to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Thus, his presentation of the Word of God was designed for students who desire the in-depth-accuracy of God’s Word.
In his many years of research, Dr. Wierwille studied with such men as Karl Barth, E. Stanley Jones, Glenn Clark, Bishop K.C. Pillai, and George M. Lamsa. His formal training included Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Theology degrees from Mission House (Lakeland) College and Seminary. He studied at the University of Chicago and at Princeton Theological Seminary from which he received a Master of Theology degree in Practical Theology. Later he completed his work for the Doctor of Theology degree.
Dr. Wierwille taught the first class on Power for Abundant Living in 1953.
Books by Dr. Wierwille include: Are the Dead Alive Now? published in 1971; Receiving the Holy Spirit Today published in 1972; five volumes of Studies in Abundant Living— The Bible Tells Me So (1971), The New, Dynamic Church (1971), The Word's Way (1971), God's Magnified Word (1977), Order My Steps in Thy Word (1985); Jesus Christ Is Not God (1975); Jesus Christ Our Passover (1980); and Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed (1982).
Dr. Wierwille researched God's Word, taught, wrote, and traveled worldwide, holding forth the accuracy of God's "wonderful, matchless" Word.
1Ki 17:1-15
1Ki 17:16; 18:1-18
1Ki 18:19-35
1Ki 18:36-39, 18:41-45; Jam 5:17
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snt-0434_elijahs-three-year-dry-spell(vpw) DRAFT
SUMMARY KEYWORDS: Elijah, God, Obadiah, Ahab, rain, prophet, Israel, altar, eat, pray
All we hear you young people have been basically in Scripture which is specifically addressed to you. And that's wonderful. But tonight, I'd like to take you back into the greatness of God's word also from the Old Testament, chapter 17. And Elijah despite, without the inhabitants of gilliat, set onto Ahab, Elijah was the prophet Ahab was the king of the Northern 10 tribes of Israel. And Elijah said to Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel, livet, before whom I stand, there shall not be do nor rain these years, but according to my work, why do you think all they have political they're like, why he thought you wrap your little old prophet you a little old man of God, you tell me the King Ahab, that we're not going to have any Ray. Why that's silly. But when you say, we're not even going to have do, you got to be off your rocker. Because if you're not going to have any dew or rain, I want to tell you something, we're headed for a dry spell. Real dry, was what he told me. And the word of the LORD came unto him onto a lie onto a lie just saying, Get the hands, get out of here and turn the eastward and hide thyself by the book. Count it that is beyond before Jordan. Why did God tell old Elijah get out there? Get out of there to hotfoot it out of there just as fast as he could go on his Harley 70 for some get going. Why? Because he had talked to Ahab, the king, and all they have was used to chopping off heads with a sword, you know, and then standing on the hill and watching them roll down. And the Lord knew what this would do all they have. So immediately after the word of the Lord came to Elijah, and Elijah said to Ahab, we're going to have a dry spell. The Lord said to Elijah, you better get out of here. Only Elijah headed down toward the brook, count it according to the Word of the Lord. And the Lord also told him, it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook. And I've commanded the ravens to feed the there. So he went, he a Elijah went and did according to the Reader's Digest, life look or time can't be Saturday Evening Post, it's out. So his life looking time, didn't do according to what he thought or the neighbors thought he did it according to what did he do it lead truly, definitely, if we want the results of God's word, we have to carry out that word of God literally. He went and did according to the Word of the Lord, before he went and dwelt by the brook callate. That is before Jordan, and the Raven brought him bread and fish in the morning bread and fish in the evening and drank the book. And it came to pass after a while that the book dried up, it's getting dry. The prophet had said there wasn't going to be any rain for a spell, nor any do. So finally, the brook dries up. Because there had been no rain in the land very safe. And the word of the Lord came on to him, Elijah again saying the word of the Lord. You see, if we're going to walk, we got to have the right of the Lord. If we're going to manifest forth what God wants us to manifest, we have to be sure we got the word of the Lord. He said, Arise, get the two set of them, which belongs to Sidon and dwell there. Behold, I've commanded a will with a woman there who sustained the so he arose, and he went, where Sarah fat Did he go where God told him to go? Definitely. You see, for every place in the Bible, where you see men and women get delivered, or the power of God is there, or the greatness of the word is in manifestation. They always literally carried out God's word. So he goes to set a path and when he came to the gate of the city, Behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks. And he called her and he said, It is Kentucky language fetch me. I prayed the little water in a vessel that I made drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called her it's said, Bring me I pray the a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord died, God, livid. I have not a cake, not a cake in the house, only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a crude and behold, I'm gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son that we may eat, and that she had come to the end of the road. She didn't have 7 million in the new Knoxville bank.
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She just had nothing left quite a famine. Hadn't no do no rain. Nothing. What would happen in a farm if you didn't have any rain or any do? We're talking about farming with the Mr. Hamilton who came down with our friend Mr. Kator Lee to pick up that snow which machine that Sandy Jacoby ran into the fans. Get a boy sitting on the back. He must have been tickling her. That's why she ran the fence. And it wasn't our fence. The neighbors we haven't got a fence in the place. You know?
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I told on you didn't. That means I love you. Well, anyways, they've come to the end of this thing. Nothing left.
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Farmers like would understand this. We're talking about this. That's how I got on this thing wasn't Mr. Hamilton this year for our beans. We took 23 cents a bushel less this year than last year. On the farms. He took about 40 Would you tell me 48 proximately 48 cents a bushel lips. Every other thing goes up in the United States. But the farmers there Adam, they're chopping them. They're killing them. You can't afford to be a farmer. I like to hold a job in a city. And I like to see you city boys operate farms. Well, anyways, I make a good nfo man. Not but I know the farmer understands this. If there's no rain, not even any do. His crops are really going to get it just won't be any. Right? Well, this woman had gotten to the end of the rope to well, they lie just said to her. In verse 32, great words, you know what he said to her? Fear? What? Boy, isn't that fabulous? When you have come to the end of the rope, the thing to do is tie a knot in it. And hang on. Why? We got the message of the Lord to the church, the body of believers today that time and time again says fear not. I heard it tonight in the messages. Fear not. It says current and alive today as it has been at any time in the history of the world. He said to that little woman, the man of God said it. Well, where do you get his info from? Some God? God gave the information he lived your life and gave it to the woman? And he said Fear not. Boy, what our message what a message when you have come to the bottom of the barrel, or someone to again declare in our day in our time, Fear not. He said that to her. He said go and do as well as sit. But make me there have a little cake first. He was real selfish was me. Now he was the man of who? Amen. The man of God who had shed the Word of God whether and when that is true. He was to get first that's he was teaching that teaching I just love because I see it all through the Word. When you look at it sense knowledge why'd you say well the old hypocrite has come he wanted first Why do you like the woman he first after all, a woman Adi for not word and after make for the ad for the Eilat sun, verse 14. For thus saith the LORD boy those words ring like a bell that set the Lord God of Israel, the barrel a meal shall not waste neither shall the crews of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the year. I want to tell you that gal could eat breakfast at 630 have our farmers brunch at 10 o'clock in the morning. Have a big dinner at 12 noon, and then have her Australian tea and cakes in the afternoon at three o'clock and eat a big dinner at Six o'clock in the evening, and then stuffer yourself just before she went to bed. He said it wouldn't run out, it's not going to run out, you can just eat all you want. Whoa, cool. And then it's not going to run out until the day the Lord's going to send some rain. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah. Now how are we going to get the word of God unless a man speaks? A lie just spoke the word. These men and women who stood here in this platform this week, spoke the word. That's how we get the word of God through men and women to whom God gives that word. Whether he gives it by the revelation, which has already been given, or if he gives it directly by word of knowledge or word of wisdom, that's the only way you can get it.
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Walter comes after him summer bills message the other night brought that poem up that I've used 100 times here and across the nation. God has no hands but our hands with which to give them bread. He has no feet but our feet with which to move among the almost day. We say that we are his and he his hours. Deeds are the proof of that not words. These are the proving hours. APR, we live in a time we live in an age we live in a day, when somebody has got to get turned on for the Lord again. And this is it. This is it. How many years we have left to do it. I don't know. But we got tonight. And if the Lord doesn't come tonight, we got to her. Maybe doesn't come tomorrow, we got the day afterwards. That's why people we've got a message for our day in our time. But it's got to be the men and the women who speak that word. Would you have the courage of Elijah, to walk up to an Ahab without his swords all polished and shine because it cuts so many heads off and say, Hey, have no rain. Not even any do because you are living outside of the will of God. That takes a little courage. We sometimes have a problem talking to the neighbor, or the man we work next to in the shop, or those with whom we meet in our colleges and in our universities and in our high schools. You want the word to live. You and I have to take and the only way people are going to hear it is if we say it. Well, verse 16, bless your heart, and the barrel a meal wasted not, neither did the crews of oil fail according to the Word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. Well then there's another wonderful miracle that comes to pass, which I'd like to bypass for the moment because I want to get some rain back to the situation. And to do that we go to chapter 18. It came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year. It hasn't rained for three years. Not even any do it was so dry, you can hardly spit. And I want to tell you that put the Baptists out I'm for Joel.
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And all the Methodist would have left to be a dry rag or Episcopalians they'd have to go alcoholic. Hey, that's something three years. The word of the Lord finally comes. And he said, The Lord said, I will sand rain upon the earth. Well, the Lord said he wasn't going to sand rain. Not even do now the Lord says he's going to send rain.
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And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab How would you like that trip? Three years. You get the picture. I have got it. He was hotter and a little red hen in June. Hot that is I don't know, but boy he was effervescent at the tea foaming at the gills. As as a matter of fact, he had all the FBI boys out looking for that property Elijah for three years. He had everyone a mouth. The Word says, mentioned FBI out fright three years. And you know why they never could find you like somebody hitting Oh, God, first put it down at some simple hello Brooke nobody ever go to then took him into the home of a woman. Nobody would visit with her she was a widow. I won't tell you the Orientalism figured out. But they're at an old Ahab sent every place to find the prophet of Elijah three years, but he was worried because if he could get he was going to chop his head off. That truck couldn't find you. Finally old Elijah went to show himself to a Yeah. And that was a solar famine in the In summary, you know, what sort of famine means sort of famine? That was a famine, what was a famine? That sort of thing. And Ahab, and Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. Now, Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. Obadiah was a believer, he reverenced respected the Lord greatly. For it was so very sport. That when Jezebel Jezebel was Ahab's wife, she was the belle of the Orient. And for it was so when Jessa Belle she didn't ring very true. Cut off the profits of the Lord, cut them off. You know what that means? Chop heads are all the prophets of the Lord that you could find killed Obadiah took 100 profits right under her nose, and King Ahab's knows he took 100 profits and hit them by 50 in a cave. And He fed them with bread and water. Where'd he get the water? The king had it? Do you think the Kings gonna run out of water? Everybody else may run out of water. When the king runs out of water. Nobody's going to have any water. Right? So when there wasn't any rain, the old king started filling the barrel after barrel after barrel. And pour old overdyed steal something from it, you know, right, slip around about 230 in the morning, take her down in the cave. And he'd go go in the kitchen and open the refrigerator and get something out of the deep freeze from the little old queen jealous of Bell's kitchen and he slipped down. Three years he did that. I want to tell you if you've been on the frontlines as a scout up ahead a little bit. Your old heart goes like that once in a while. Why do you think Obadiah his heart went like when he'd had to sneak in. Now they couldn't just eat once a month he had to eat regularly at least every three days. So you know from just sheer logic, he must have taken a little food out of the coffer and a little water out of something. To feed these prophets of the Lord right? Takes a little took a little boldness right right out under the nose of the king and his queen Jezebel.
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And Ahab set onto Obadiah going to land onto all fountains of water, and onto all groups per adventure we may find grasp to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them past throughout it. Ahab went one way himself. And Obadiah went another way by himself, meaning they took groups with them, but they were the leaders. And as Obadiah was in the way, see he was in the way of a die. So the way ministry is not the new. Anybody who's believed God's word at any time has been in the way we're in a good company. The only thing you can get in the way the wrong way sometime. If you don't believe God's word, and they get in the way of the minute God who do believe God's word. Well, this is the right way. Where am I what Bruce? Tell me, please, seven feet hold the hold Obadiah was hunting, behold, a Elijah met him. And he Obadiah knew him and fell on his face and said, Thou that my Lord Elijah, where have you been? He like you my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am. You gotta tell by Lord Ahab, the whole Elijah is here. Oh, how would you like that job. He sent him out to look for water. They just weren't looking for water, if you know the rest of the way, they were looking for the Prophet. That's why the king himself went, headed up his FBI and said his top man Obadiah to help the rest of the FBI, your job? Your dirty, little extra horrible, isn't it? Because it said it all dried up. So you see, I see the economy. They weren't really looking for water, what were they looking for the man of God, they want to chop his head off. You want to get rid of the man of God, because that's the worst thing an unbeliever can have around the place as a man of God. Because he sort of sets the unbeliever. Well, Elijah's here. And he said, Obadiah said, verse nine, what have I sinned, that thou wood is delivered, thy servant Obadiah into the hands of Ahab to slay me. As the Lord die, God limit, there is no nation now watch it, no nation or kingdom, whether my Lord has not sent to one sick day. They were really out for him worth it. And when they said, when those people returned and reported that Elijah is not there, they had to take an oath of the kingdom, and nation that they found the knot. Oh, that's something is they had to swear to the nation and to the kingdom that they had not seen or found it like when they returned. And here, Elijah said to Obadiah, go tell a bomb here. And now they'll say it's verse 11. Go tell thy Lord, behold, Elijah is here. And you know what's going to happen Elijah, as it shall come to pass, as soon as I'm gone from the, that the Spirit of the Lord, job period, the weather I know not. And so when I come, and I tell Ahab, and he cannot find the he shall what? Slay me. But I, but I serve and fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my Lord, what I did when Joseph Bell slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hit 100 Men of the large profits by 50 in a cave and fed them with bread and water, and now thou say it's hotels, I lo and behold, Elijah's here, he's y'all slaving. Why argue my daughter. Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts limit, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto Him today are 60. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him, and Ahab went to meet you like, now we're going to get the king and the man of God together. Right?
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It came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, they have said unto him, God he's a trouble at interview. You're the fellow that's responsible for no rain. No do you're the one that troubled is your you're the one that made all the trouble in my community. God you taught the Word. You're the one that upset the school system and the local unbelieving denomination or charge sounds like was written this afternoon 330 or o'clock? And he answered, very safety. I have not traveled to Israel. I haven't troubled Israel. I'm not the one to blame for this. I didn't trouble Israel, but and I others, audio like back for laying it on the line shooting it straight. element as it is why in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord. and you'll find out after balem after pagan god our God stands a lot of things for men and women. There's one thing he never stated, and that is when you worship other gods that's just why things like the Katy situation to Genie Dixon's and all the rest of that stuff, not just turns God often he chunks, no other way. That's what he told him. Now verse 19, therefore, Ahab, sand and gathered to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, Mount Carmel, is in the Northern Territory of what we call Palestine. On the top of Mount Carmel, you can look right down over the Mediterranean. The city of Haifa is built at the foot of Mount Carmel. He said gather me all Israel under Mount Carmel, and all the prophets of Baal 400 and harmony 50 and the profits of the group vomiting, which eat at Jelsa bells Swat. That makes 850 profits that gal was feeding prophets of bail. Was she a religious woman? Was she religious? She was 850 religious. She was so religious it stuck out of her ears. She had surrounded herself with 850 prophets. That's why I keep telling off people. Christianity is not a religion. This gal was religious as all get out people that they are religious, that doesn't cut any ice with me. Why? Because the God whom I serve is not the God of the religion, that God who we serve is the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is only one God, not a Trinity only one.
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And we serve Him. womb to know is to have life and have it eternally.
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It is not a religion, religion is man made. There's a lot of religion in so called Christianity, and so called Christianity is nothing but religion. Christianity is the way of a father with his family. God is our Father, we are His children. It's what God did in Christ. Not what man does. Well, we all religious gal was to spend all their time in church 850 So Ahab, verse 20, then until all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on the Mount Carmel, and Elijah came on to all the people and said, How long all G Israel chosen of God supposed to be but they'd certainly drifted away? How long hulky between two opinions. If God if the Lord big God, follow him, buddy bail, be God, then follow up. Him and the people answered him not a word. That's right. The crowd cry of our day in our time is the same as this. Again, we've got to declare it to people the right of the Lord and say to people make up your mind or you're going to serve the true God or are you going to serve religion and paganism and all that baloney? How long are you going to hold between two opinions? Boy, you and I leaving this youth advanced in this auditorium tonight to go back in our areas we better be sure whether we're going to stay put on God's Word or the first time somebody sticks up his little old snazzy little the weaker wonder you know? Nah. Oh, between two opinions. If the Lord be God, they're what? Follow him. And if he isn't God, then follow. April, let's make up our minds. If God's word is God's will, let's do it. And if it's not God's word, and it's not God's will, let's check it. Let's not play it on the misty flux. Trying to hold both in the middle you can like find a climbing electric fence that's charged all the way through and it's on top of a seven foot other fence. You just can't get over it without touch Elijah, verse 2200s of people, I even I only remain a prophet of the Lord. I'm the only one here that's a prophet of the Lord, but Dale's prophets 450 Let those fellows them therefore, give us two books. And let them choose one bullet for themselves and cut it in pieces, lay it on the word put, but no fire under it, however, and I, the man of God, the prophet of God will address the other bullet and lay it on wood and put no fire under and call it on the name of your gods. And I'll call on the name of Lord and the God who answers by fire. Let that one or let him be what, God. Okay, we're going to have a ton. A little do d double O long. Oh, and all the people and all the people answered and said, That's well spoken. You know why they said this because of the odds. 450 Watt, one. Yeah, the other 400 who would sit around and pray and you'd have 150 to one. I want to tell you if you had that at a horse race at the Kentucky Derby and you were on the winning side, you'd make some money 350 to one wouldn't you? That's why the people didn't answer a word earlier but boy when he set up this thing 850 to one two people said That's good. That's good. We got it. We got it. We got bam. They just knew they had this one in the bag
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Well, now let's see. Verse 25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of bale choose your one book for sale dress furniture and you're calling me Your God but but no firemen and they took the book which was given them the dresses told the name of bale how long from morning even until noon. That's a pretty long call. From morning till what noon they called on the name of bail saying oh, here Oh bail Won't you please hear us all bail? Don't you know we worship you and we love your bail. How about little fine but there was no voice no response from bail. Nor anything that wasn't answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made they were Pentecost a lot and Pentecostals They not only Luke. They got up on top of the altar and they whooped and hollered and they shouted and they leaped up and they said oh fail heroes are failure more and I bet the profit sector had to put his fingers after all you've got 450 Yellin at the top of their voices got a little noise around the place. Oh, this is neat. Verse 27. And it came to pass at noon that Elijah Matson oh boy that's putting salt in the wound. And he said why don't you tell us cry a little louder or he is a God? Or maybe he's talking to someone he can hear yell a little louder. Or he is pursuing he's out for a walk spotty and get gone and new German people you know on nicely on a nice little walk with his buddies you know, he can hear you yell a little louder. Or perhaps he just went on a trip to Europe took a journey or maybe he's sleeping and you have to wake this is why in so called Hindu temples you know?
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Every time you enter the temple you're ringing the bell that tells the god you're coming it's time for him to wake up and what your church true and when you leave the temple your ring the bell and tell him he can now go for a walk Rican rest because you've left this date all over. It's like, this is just like it's written today people. Maybe God sleeping y'all to yell a little louder. Used to be I'd go to meetings. You know, I've been with people who pray for one hour and a half And they get real, you know, sort of effervescence on the situation. And of course, I didn't know any better than either. When I thought you had to pray long and loud and hard till you got worn out so god No You were worn out then you were humble enough, maybe come and do a little bit. Later on. I learned that we talked so long and so loud because we believe so little. They talked long and loud, didn't know what else they did verse 28, they cried aloud, and they cut themselves. Even with knives showing that boy we're letting out our blood for you bail. And landslips filled up blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass when midday was passed. And they want oh boy, they propped it where the religious Why sure there were prophets of Baal is religious you could get they washed their hands at the right time in their feet, they had everything just in perfect order, candles, everything beautiful. He did this until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice nor any to answer, nor any that regarding not one thing happened. And Elijah said unto all the people, you'll come on over here to me. And all the people came near unto him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, they jumped on it so much he broke it down. He had to get the carpentry crew in to repair it. That was broken down. And Elijah took 12 stones according to the number of the tribes and sons of Jacob and to whom the word of the Lord came saying, Israel shall be thy name. And with the stones, he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two majors of seed. And he put the wood in order on the altar, and he cut the block in pieces, laid the full arc on the wood and said, fill four barrels with water and pour it on top of the burn sacrifice on the wood. Now, that's tremendous. Those other fellows had had dry wood. They had put it into in the woodbox back in September, when it hadn't rained yet. And that word was drawn. When Elijah gets to build the altar, he gets that wood all their dirty lights and says, Hey, fellas, has water at all that's stupid. After all, if you're going to have a fire, you don't want to put water on it. We're not trying to build one at escaping that enough trouble with a snow. But they watered her down at five verse 34, and he said do it it was a second time. And they did it. And he said do it one that's really watering at night, three time. And the water ran round about the altar. And it felt also the whole trench with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. That Elijah the prophet came near and said, he shout. Now I just said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac in Israel, let it be known this day that our God is real, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at die. What? Why did he pour water on it? God told me, why do you pour it on three times for the Trinity? No, God told. Here's what he prayed. Hear me, oh Lord, hear me. That this people may know that thou art the Lord God, that thou has turned their heart back again. It's my brain didn't pray from morning to new
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than 38 then the fire of the Lord fail and consume the burn sacrifice and the word and the stones and the dust and lift up the water that was in a trance that was a hot fire. Fire that ate up stones is a hot fire that was so hot that it was eating the desk. That's a hot fire. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces that the Lord is God the Lord is God the Lord is God abhors before when the prophets challenge them to serve the true daughter bail out worthy for as a mouse. When he offered them the opportunity of building an altar and having them call on bail, or on the true God, they said, that's a good deal. When they all wasn't able to produce anything. And Elijah got the results he immediately people change. Ladies and gentlemen, you don't build this ministry or any true Ministry of God's word on people, you build it on God.
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That's what people will come and go, they will blow hot and cold. They may stand with you today. But tomorrow, they may turn your back on you, but God will, and His Word will. Now they're all for the true God. Like Israel all the years. Well look at verse 41. After all of this, Elijah said unto Ahab, get the up, eat and drink for there as a sound of abundant sublime. Right? So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he cast himself down upon the earth, and he put his face between his knees. And Orientalism that means Elijah had come to the end of the room, he said, Well, what is just what is the why teach people God's word? Why bring to people God's Word? For one minute, there'll be for Matt, for bail, then if the true God does something, there'll be hot for the true God for a half a minute, then they'll swing back. Why God do anything for Israel. That's why he put his head between his knees, he said, Lord, I'm done with this. You don't get out of it that easy. And he said, Did servant verse 43, you'll go up now and you take a look toward the sea,
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would be toward the east, or not be looking toward the west from Mount Carmel, because the Mediterranean is both west and north. But he'd be looking toward the sea in the Mediterranean and why know what he's talking. He's looking toward the left from the top of Mount Carmel. That's where the storms come from. The rain comes from even to this day. And he went up, look him back to the Prophet. He said, no rain, Elijah. And he said, go again, seven times. Verse 44, and it came to pass at a seven time that the Prophet Serban came back and he said, behold, there arises a little cloud, out of the sea, the size of a man's, you're not going to get much rain out of a cloud, that's not just going to be like an empty float. Isn't I went over there once and looked, nothing. Went over twice and look, not three times nothing. Four time. Seven time he goes over and takes a look. comes back and he says, well, Elijah can't be today. The most I can find out there is a cloud, the size of a man.
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But God had said we were going to have war. Not he said, an abundance of rain. Not just rain. We are going to have rain while it is raining.
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And abundance of all the profit the servant of the prophet could see was a class. It isn't built upon the size of the cloud. It's built upon the authority of God's Word. God said it was going to walk rain. Yeah, and abundance of Great, thank you. Now we're going to have an abundance of rain if we have to have it without cloud. Why? Because God said it and God is not a liar. What God has promised he is also able and willing to purple. He is a faithful God rises a little cloud. He said go up say under Ahab prepared I chair it and get the down at the rain stop. And it came to pass in the meanwhile Heaven. Heaven was blocked with clouds and wind. And there was a great great way. Why? Because of the faithfulness of God and His wonderful match take your Bibles and look at the book of James. Hebrews James
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James chapter five. James chapter five verse 17. He lives series called alias that's Septuagint trends. But it's Elijah verse 17 517. Elijah was a man subject until like what? patience as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not want and it rain not on the earth by the space of three years and want a man
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glory a man subject to like passions as we'll he got discouraged. He got disgusted with people who wouldn't believe who wouldn't stand with him who wouldn't support the ministry.
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He blew his stack. He was a man subject to like passions as we are. And yet he prayed earnestly and for three years and six months, it didn't rain. Him Somerville Summerville it's our got any less tonight but then we just pussyfoot we just toy with the stuff. Because we live in a day in a time when nobody believes nobody. We go to church on every corner, but nobody believes.
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Because if we ever got around to say an hour, God's alive is doing something you'd have all funeral. Everybody die. Nobody's expected. Nobody's believing that you sang about nobody. They just missed. Class. Either God's alive retold the truth. And if God was more powerful than than he is today, we should live data not in our day and time but that's not true. Because in Christ Jesus, we are more than conquerors. In Him we have life which is lower than that than anything else more abundant. How far? Can we go? As far as God's Word becomes real to us? As far as the revelation is genuine to us, as far as we believe, to walk? Isn't it a wonderful time to be alive? Isn't it a great age to live you? Isn't it a tremendous decade to open on a Sunday night like this with the greatness of that revelation for our learning, not even addressed to us but for our learning, from which we can learn that our God is not only able but he's willing to perform what he's promised. Our God can supply all of our need according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we shall be but we know beyond a shadow without we know we do not question we do not date. But we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that when he shall appear, we shall be like Him.
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Or we shall see Him as He is. We've only got one life to live in one life to give you and I have to make up our mind. For what and for whom we're going to live it and get it. I made up my mind some years years years ago, that as much as lot would lie with him. I would give my utmost for his heart I challenge you on this the first Sunday night of this new decade to say Lord here I am. Anything you your word stands for dress to me I'll stand I'll stand for that word and I'll declare that word. I'll sit around and I'll learn that word till I know it's like an accurately declared He still has no hands but our hands with which to give people bread. The odds no feet, but our feet with which to move among the almost. We say that we are his and that he is our deeds are the proof of that, not words. And these are the proving hours.