The Spirit and power of Elijah.
PPT 1 (Series Title)
PPT 2 (This scripture)
Lu 1:15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.
Lu 1:16 "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
Lu 1:17 "It is he who will go [as a forerunner] before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
We are continuing our series of messages on John the Baptist, in our first message we talked about the 4 key ingredients of his spiritual makeup and how they needed to be in balance. They were: Passion; Purity; Power; and Purpose. For example passion without power leads to burnout. In our next message we talked about how John was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mothers womb, and we noted that spirit filled people are able to reach those firmly encased in sin:
No one could speak into David's life, then came Nathan.
Paul breathing out threats. - then he met Steven.
Gadarene demoniac no man could tame or bind. - then he met Jesus.
Let me read the description of this man, from the biblical record:
PPT 3
Mr 5:2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. Mr 5:3 This man lived in the tombs, and no-one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. Mr 5:4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No-one was strong enough to subdue him. Mr 5:5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
That is what the power of the Holy Spirit is all about. The ability to touch people, even those so distraught with life they are cutting themselves. There are a lot of different ways to cut yourself. Dancing with the devil will hurt you. John had an anointing that could reach people even those the most bound by sin.
In our last message we talked about how John spent most of his life in the wilderness and how time in the wilderness has a unique way to craft us and shape us for God's use. The bible says John grew strong in spirit while in the desert. We grow strong in spirit in the same way we grow strong physically... we exercise. And because God is such a good trainer He always works on those things that need it the most, but we like least to work on. That is what desert time is all about.
Today I want to talk about the spirit and power of Elijah. The angel of the Lord prophesied and said John would go before Jesus in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
What exactly is the spirit and power of Elijah?
Lets divide those two ideas and look at them individually.
1. What is meant by the spirit of Elijah?
I think that when the bible speaks about the spirit of Elijah it is referring to the focus, direction, and the emphasis of his life. In other words what was he passionate about. What was the emphasis and flavor with which he ministered.
So what was Elijah passionate about?
If you want to know what a Christian is passionate about all you have to do is figure out what they pray about.
PPT 4
Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
For 3 ½ years Elijah prays that it would not rain in Israel so that the people might realize they have sinned and brought God's displeasure upon themselves. The drought was to prepare the people to repent. The drought was to awaken their sleeping conscience through the door of human need. God often has to get our attention in the natural, before He can speak to us about the spiritual. We begin to get a picture of man who's concern for Israel was so great that he didn't care if they suffered in the natural, if it led to spiritual revival. The text in James doesn't simply say, "he prayed," but that he prayed, "earnestly." He was so moved by their sinfulness that he earnestly asked God, "do whatever it takes to get this people's attention."
The spirit of Elijah was most animated that people would be saved, that they would turn from the world and turn to God.
David prayed in Psalm 51: "Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me." I think that among other things a right spirit means one like Elijah had, that was tremendously burdened for lost souls.
We live in a time like that described in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. There is a darkness that is growing. You may be safe in your castle today, but it is growing and it is coming. Too much of the church is caught up with fighting darkness, with the sword of men. Our real passion should be the saving of the lost.
2. What is meant by the power of Elijah?
Elijah performed 8 major miracles. John performed none. So when God is speaking about the power of Elijah he is not talking about miracle working power. What does that leave us with?
a. His prayer life.
PPT 5
Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
The drought was brought on and ended because of prayer, that is what the bible says. The ramifications of that thought are incredible. Can prayer change North Korea? Iran? Your marriage? His prayer life was powerful, God save us from wimpy dimpy, sleepy dopey prayer lives. Give us unction!
PPT 6
Sometimes prayers are small and dictated by our fears. What would happen if we started praying big prayers? What if we took one target and aimed at it, consistently? That is what Elijah did. He prayed, he prayed fervently, and he affected his nation for God.
Elijah was a man of prayer and so was John.
Lu 11:1 ¶ And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
This text tells us several things about John and prayer.
1. John taught his disciples to pray, and he was famous for it. The disciple who spoke to Jesus phrased his question in a way that we know he wasn't one of John's disciples, but had heard of his prayer life.
Not one prayer of John or Elijah's is recorded. Probably because of man's tendency to copy the form of a thing rather than the spirit that animates it. Form is easy to copy, the spirit of a thing is much harder.
b. The other aspect of the power of Elijah was that through his life and message he had the ability to convict people of sin as did John. Good preaching will make you realize you are guilty before God, and make you long for cleansing and change. That is real spiritual power.
Illus: 4 types of evil speaking. I read this and it convicted me.
1. Whisperer: --- One who secretly or privately passes on evil reports to others.
Psalms 41:7, "All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt."
2. Gossip: --- One who magnifies and sensationalizes rumors and partial information.
3. Slanderer: --- One who seeks to destroy another's credibility or reputation with damaging facts, distortions of facts, or evil suspicions.
4. Busybody: --- One who digs up evil reports and makes it his business to spread them by means of gossip, slander, or whispering.
How long will you stand in the middle? Get on one side or the other. - Elijah
JOHN - Lu 3:14 And [some] soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And [what about] us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse [anyone] falsely, and be content with your wages."
Jesus wrote in the sand, John pointed a finger and got right in their face. When you live and walk with God, others will be convicted of sin.
Some people live such compromised lives people have no idea they are Christians.
Real Christians such as Elijah and John live in such a way that people are convicted and made to want to repent of sin in their life. That is an incredible power to have working in you. If the devil can't destroy your soul, he wants to ruin your testimony.
PPT 7
If I were the devil (powerful video available on the internet)
Close in prayer with a special challenge for men. "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John..." O for God sent men!
