The Lord comes to save not to condemn

The Lord provided for Elijah through the widow and in doing so the Lord blessed the widow and her son. She was miraculously provided for during the drought where her bin of flour and her jar of oil kept being replenished supernaturally.

However something tragic happened.

1 Kings 17:17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.18 So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?"
19 And he said to her, "Give me your son." So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.20 Then he cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?"21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him."22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives!"
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth."

The widow's son suddenly fell sick and died. Her immediate response was that her sin was the cause. She felt the death of her son was the condemnation of God for her past sins.

Elijah immediately asked for the boy and carried his lifeless body to the upper room. The widow must have provided a room for Elijah and he must have spent much time praying and in communion with the Lord. The upper room was Elijah's meeting place with the Lord. And so in that place he prayed for the boy to be restored to life.

Notice here that Elijah prayed 3 times.
We need to learn persistence from Elijah.
He prayed 3 times. He was full of faith but yet he prayed 3 times.
Repetition need not be done in unbelief.
Jesus also prayed 3 times, apparently over the same thing in the garden of Gethsemane.
We need to learn to PUSH in prayer.
Pray Untill Something Happens.
We need to persevere, to persist, to travail, to cry out, to wait....to fight!

It was a time with just Elijah and the Lord.
We need those times of solitude with the Lord to push things through.

The widow's words after Elijah gave back her son was,
"Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth."

We glorify God when we walk closely to Him, obey His voice and do His will. And people around us will know that our God lives and that He speaks and does miracles out of His great love and compassion.

PEOPLE NEED THE LORD. The way they will find Him is through us who knows Him, walks with Him and obeys Him.

Let's seek to know Him intimately and obey Him promptly.

Moving with the Holy Spirit continuously

We saw how Elijah, who has an intimate walk with the Lord, who stand before the Lord, heard the Word of the Lord and obeyed accordingly in 1 Kings 1:1-6. He went to the Brook Cherith where there was water and was feed miraculously by ravens that the Lord sent daily to bring him bread and meat. In the midst of God's judgment of drought God's people will be protected and provided for by the Lord when we listen to Him and obey Him.

But following that we read that the brook dried up.

1 Kings 17:7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12 So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.' "
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.

When the brook dried up the Lord spoke to Elijah to go to Zarephath and that He has arranged for a widow to provide for him. And Elijah obeyed and went. It was quite a long way to go. It could have taken him weeks to get there. But he went in obedience to the Lord.

We need to do the same. In times of the shakings of God, we must stay close to the Holy Spirit and move with Him. He will speak but we must obey. The Lord will do a new thing. Don't be stuck in one place because the Lord directed us there before. He can and will move us on. He probably will lead us to another place.

We see here also Elijah's faith in God's providence through a widow.
Elijah believed that the Lord will provide through the widow. If God were to provide through the widow He must provide for the widow too.

As Elijah directed the widow to bring a meal to him, the Holy Spirit directed him to prophesy to the widow that her bin of flour will not run out and her jar of oil will not run dry. And the miraculous providence took place for the widow!

Elijah's obedience to the Word of the Lord not only blessed himself, it blessed the widow and her son.
Our obedience to the Lord will always bless us and others around us.

So my beloved brothers and sisters, keep walking with the Holy Spirit and keep obeying His voice.
You will be blessed and you will be a blessing.

If we stand before the LORD we will be able to withstand any storm

Our scripture reading is from 1 Kings 17:1-6
1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."
2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,3 "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.

Elijah the prophet of God has a testimony of himself that he is one who STANDS BEFORE THE LORD!

The Lord used Elijah to speak His judgments because of the sins committed by King Ahab.

1 Kings 16:30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

Elijah's prophecies was the Word of the Lord and would surely come to pass.

Do you realise that Elijah had to live with the drought that he prophesied?

Today the Lord is bringing His judgments on the earth. We, His people have to live with the consequences of the judgments BUT we will be covered by Him - if we know how to hear His voice and obey Him.

Elijah did that. He always stands before the Lord and he hears His voice.

The Lord directed him to go to the brook Cherith and drink from the river. He also declared His provision for him by the special delivery service of ravens. So Elijah obeyed His voice and he went and there he had water to drink and food delivered to him morning and evening. Just imagine that. The Lord used ravens. The most unlikely means. Ravens are scavengers. They will gobble up everything themselves but the Lord used this channel to tell us that when He provides anything is possible! He can use the most unlikely source to provice for you and I!

This is our key to living in these last days!
To hear His voice and obey Him.

It comes from having been familiar with His presence and His voice.
We are to take delight in Him always!
Elijah always stands before the Lord.
Do you and I always stand before the Lord?

Let's be convinced that our FIRST and most important call is to minister to the Lord! Let's put first thing first and KNOW that all other things will fall into it's rightful place. If we put God first surely He will take care of us!

Matt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Matt 5:3 " Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The nations that were known to be very rich like US, England and Greece are going through financial crisis and on the verge of going broke.

Why is this happening?

God is shaking the heavens and the earth and all that can be shaken will be shaken. He is causing the financial system of the world to collapse.
These nations once put their trust and faith in God. They were once God fearing and God blessed them greatly.

But now they have turned their backs on God. They are trusting in their own might and wisdom. They think they are rich and they don't need God. They have become godless!

In Revelation Chapter 3
14 "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
17 Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' --- and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked ---18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." ' "

May these nations humble themselves and turn back to God and pray to Him and honour Him! LORD HAVE MERCY!

Being in the King's service

Being in the KING’S service 10th July 11

1 Tim 1:1-17
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia --- remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.
5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,
9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,
11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Living a life that really matters
*Q. What do you think is a life that really matters?
*Q. Do you agree that most people think it is the kind of jobs they have?

In 1 Timothy Paul the aged Apostle was writing to Timothy who was left in Ephesus to establish the church that has already been started. Paul here writes of the most important matter – God’s love for His church and His will through His church.

To live a life that really matters is to be in the King’s service
From this passage we see a few vital things about being in the King’s service.

We are to:-
· Obey HIS commands – His command is not a suggestion or advice to us
· Receive HIS grace, mercy & peace –Paul obtained mercy and received His exceedingly abundant grace. Timothy need to receive and so does all of us
· Learn and teach HIS doctrine soundly – we are to stop wrong teachings, not to be deceived or be distracted from the truth
· Know HIS heart – LOVE – love the Lord will all our hearts, souls, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves
· Be faithful to HIS mission to bring the Glorious Gospel of Grace and Truth to the lost

We see here that Paul was constantly before the throne of God, the throne of grace to OBTAIN MERCY and find GRACE to help!

Reigning under the King's authority

Living a life that really matters – Reigning under the King’s authority
Read 1 Tim 1: 17- 2:15

Introduction
The greatest privilege in life is to be in THE KINGS’S service.
Being in the King’s service is to serve the King in His Kingdom with His authority. The reality of being in God’s Kingdom is that there are enemies to the King. There is a kingdom called the kingdom of darkness where satan is “king”. And we are in a war, a spiritual battle against him. The good news is that satan has already been defeated by King Jesus. However he uses lies, deception, fear, pride and temptations to defeat man. When men believe his lies, fall into his temptation; they defeat themselves. The devil is out to steal, kill and destroy lives with his deceptions. We are to follow our victorious King to destroy the works of the devil, to save lives, to make disciples, to shine His light and dispel darkness.

1:18-20
Timothy was charged to wage a good warfare having faith and a good conscience according to the prophecies given.
“We are in a war”
· Comment on this statement.
· Share how conscious you are that we are in a spiritual war.
· Share what you see in this war that is taking place now e.g. the fight that is going on, casualties etc.
· Can you think of the weapons the devil is using in this war? Name them.
· One of the battlefields is the MOUTH – i.e. what we say. Have you been wounded by what people say? What are some words that we should not say? 2 Tim 2:16-17, Eph 4:29
· What are words that we should consciously and constantly say to win in the war?

Prophecies are always in line with God’s written Word. They are words that the Holy Spirit takes from the Word of God and declares to us and we are to believe them and hold fast to them and obey them till it is fulfilled.

There are just 3 main things we are to do in this war for victory.
1. Hear the Word
2. Pray the Word
3. Obey the Word

Our King wants His subjects, men and women to fight in this war in unity. In doing so we will be used of Him to extend His Kingdom reign.

God wants men to be victorious in prayer.
· Share on the strengths and weaknesses of men.
· Share why it is so important for men to pray and do God’s will.
· What are some of men’s greatest temptations?

God wants women to be victorious in His love and security.
· Share on the strengths and weaknesses of women.
· Share what women should do to be even more effective for God.
· What are some of women’s greatest temptations?

God wants us all to be victorious under His Divine order.
Women are to respect God’s order of authority, have a submissive spirit and to serve under authority. In this way they can teach/preach the Word. When Paul says that he does not permit women to teach or to have authority over a man, it was in the context of the church then and was a temporary instruction and not a permanent rule.

Conclusion
Men and women need to understand how God made us differently and dwell together in unity. Then we can be effective and mighty soldiers in His army that will fight victoriously to extend God’s Kingdom territories in our lives, our families, our community and nation.