America.."You Better Start Praying"
1kings 18:1-2 MSG
18 1-2 A long time passed. Then God’s word came to Elijah. The drought was now in its third year. The message: “Go and present yourself to Ahab; I’m about to make it rain on the country.” Elijah set out to present himself to Ahab. The drought in Samaria at the time was most severe.
1 Kings 18:8-12 NKJ
8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
9 So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here”’! 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.
Illus.
Billy Graham used to tell a story of a professing Christian who got a job in a lumber camp that had the reputation of being very ungodly. When a friend heard that he had been hired, he said to him, “If those lumberjacks ever find out you’re a Christian, your going to be in for a very hard time!” The man responded, “I know it, but I really need the job.” After he had been working at the camp for a year, he met the friend who had predicted the ridicule and persecution he would receive from the other lumberjacks. “Well, how did it go?” he asked the friend. “Did they give you a hard time?” “Oh no, not at all,” the man replied. “They didn’t give me a bit of trouble---they never found out that I was a Christian!”
That's what's wrong with America, or should I say the church nowadays!
It seems as though..we've all forgotten the little song
We all learned so long ago in vacation bible school..
Does anyone remember it? It goes like this..
This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine.
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine.
It was written by Harry Dixon Loes around 1920..
What we learned in bible school was of course the children's version..
Here's one of the verses from the original song as written..
Monday gave me the gift of love,
Tuesday peace came from above,
Wednesday told me to have more faith,
Thursday gave me a little more grace,
Friday told me to watch and pray,
Saturday told me just what to say,
Sunday gave me the power divine,
Just to let my little light shine.
It's amazing what god can do in your life all through the week
When your not afraid to let your little light shine..amen?
1 Kings 18:17-24 MSG
17-19 The moment Ahab saw Elijah he said, “So it’s you, old troublemaker!”
“It’s not I who has caused trouble in Israel,” said Elijah, “but you and your government—
(Kind of reminds us of what we've seen on the news from Texas..
About the mayor and the 5 preachers sermons that were trying to be censored)
It certainly makes you wonder what you're going to see next on the news?
“It’s not I who has caused trouble in Israel,” said Elijah, “but you and your government- you’ve dumped God’s ways and commands and run off after the local gods, the Baals. Here’s what I want you to do: Assemble everyone in Israel at Mount Carmel. And make sure that the special pets of Jezebel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of the local gods, the Baals, and the four hundred prophets of the whore goddess Asherah, are there.”
20 So Ahab summoned everyone in Israel, particularly the prophets, to Mount Carmel.
21 Elijah challenged the people: “How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it’s Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!”
Nobody said a word; nobody made a move.
(Sometimes it seems as though..that's where we're at in America right now)
22-24 Then Elijah said, “I’m the only prophet of God left in Israel; and there are 450 prophets of Baal. Let the Baal prophets bring up two oxen; let them pick one, butcher it, and lay it out on an altar on firewood—but don’t ignite it. I’ll take the other ox, cut it up, and lay it on the wood. But neither will I light the fire. Then you pray to your gods and I’ll pray to God. The god who answers with fire will prove to be, in fact, God.”
All the people agreed: “A good plan—do it!”
You see a lot of people hear a good word… And they know the word should be carried out… But they sit on their hands and never get involved in carrying out the word..
They say as long as it doesn't affect me what does it matter..
They say as long as it doesn't change my world what does it matter..
They say as long as it doesn't take away my rights what does it matter..
They say, they say, they say…
Guess what church It matters!
In case you your too busy to notice..
What they are saying..is affecting you
If you ever want to see the rain again..IT MATTERS!
Illus.
The story is told of a man who, resisting the cost of the oats he fed his mule, began gradually to change over to sawdust in its diet. Day by day, the animal was fed less oats and more sawdust until, finally, it was all sawdust. Everything went fine for a while—but by the time the mule became satisfied with sawdust, he died of malnutrition! Don’t be satisfied with the ways of man or you will find yourself spiritually dead!
In Ephesians 6:13, Paul says, “to Stand your ground, and after you have done everything you can, stand!”
We don't see a lot of standing nowadays..
what we see is a lot of falling in the world..Amen?
That's what had happened in Elijah's time..to the point
That he thought he was the only one left to stand..
So what did he do? He stood!
1Kings 18:25-29 MSG
25 Elijah told the Baal prophets, “Choose your ox and prepare it. You go first, you’re the majority. Then pray to your god, but don’t light the fire.”
26 So they took the ox he had given them, prepared it for the altar, then prayed to Baal. They prayed all morning long, “O Baal, answer us!” But nothing happened—not so much as a whisper of breeze. Desperate, they jumped and stomped on the altar they had made.
27-28 By noon, Elijah had started making fun of them, taunting, “Call a little louder—he is a god, after all. Maybe he’s off meditating somewhere or other, or maybe he’s gotten involved in a project, or maybe he’s on vacation. You don’t suppose he’s overslept, do you, and needs to be waked up?” They prayed louder and louder, cutting themselves with swords and knives—a ritual common to them—until they were covered with blood.
29 This went on until well past noon. They used every religious trick and strategy they knew to make something happen on the altar, but nothing happened—not so much as a whisper, not a flicker of response.
That's the way the world is..
Oh they can talk a big game…
Oh they can make promises…
Oh they can tell you this and that would happen if you only…
But when it comes time to deliver....there is no delivery
And that's the way it was in Elijah's day…
The prophets of bahl, they tried everything under the sun to get
Their Gods to make it happen for them..
but there was no way it was going to happen that day..or any other day
And that's when the prophet Elijah said..
Guess what boys.. this little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine!
1 Kings 18:30-35 MSG
30-35 Then Elijah told the people, “Enough of that—it’s my turn. Gather around.” And they gathered. He then put the altar back together for by now it was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of Jacob, the same Jacob to whom God had said, “From now on your name is Israel.” He built the stones into the altar in honor of God. Then Elijah dug a fairly wide trench around the altar. He laid firewood on the altar, cut up the ox, put it on the wood, and said, “Fill four buckets with water and drench both the ox and the firewood.” Then he said, “Do it again,” and they did it. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. The altar was drenched and the trench was filled with water.
There has been some debate of the amount of water that four buckets would be… Keep in mind they were in the middle of a drought and that water was a very precious commodity…
So no matter how much water it was..it was a very valuable commodity!
I believe the Elijah did this because..
he knew God was a God of more than enough
not just a God of barely get by...but a God of more than enough
And that's why he ordered it to be drenched not once, twice, but three times
1 Kings 18:36-41 MSG
36-37 When it was time for the sacrifice to be offered, Elijah the prophet came up and prayed,
When it came time to trust God, he prayed..
Did you know that… Some people think that prayer
is the least that you could do it any situation...
But while in fact praying to the God of all possibilities..is the most that you can do in every situation when it comes time to asking Him..
to do what seems to be impossible! Amen?
That's what every man, woman and child..
Who call themselves Christian should be doing right now in the world..
Letting the little light shine all together as one bright Beacon..
Praying for the Peace and Safety of Israel
2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJ
14. if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Genesis 12:2-3 MSG
2-3 I’ll make you a great nation
and bless you.
I’ll make you famous;
you’ll be a blessing.
I’ll bless those who bless you;
those who curse you I’ll curse.
All the families of the Earth
will be blessed through you.”
If America is ever to be great again and prosperous this is what we need to do…
We need to get down on our hands and knees and pray to God to come and intervene in every situation that we face..
And put Him first place again..
He is the only one who can turn the situation around for us!
1 Kings 18:36-41 MSG
36-37 When it was time for the sacrifice to be offered, Elijah the prophet came up and prayed,
“O God, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make it known right now that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I’m doing what I’m doing under your orders. Answer me, God; O answer me and reveal to this people that you are God, the true God, and that you are giving these people another chance at repentance.”
38 Immediately the fire of God fell and burned up the offering, the wood, the stones, the dirt, and even the water in the trench.
39 All the people saw it happen and fell on their faces in awed worship, exclaiming, “God is the true God! God is the true God!”
40 Elijah told them, “Grab the Baal prophets! Don’t let one get away!”
They grabbed them. Elijah had them taken down to the Brook Kishon and they massacred the lot.
41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Up on your feet! Eat and drink—celebrate! Rain is on the way; I hear it coming.”
What he was doing right there was making a proclamation… He was verbalizing his faith out loud, so that all could hear..
Hebrews 11:1-3 NKJ
1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
1 Kings 18: 42-43 MSG
Ahab did it: got up and ate and drank. Meanwhile, Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bowed deeply in prayer, his face between his knees. Then he said to his young servant, “On your feet now! Look toward the sea.”
He went, looked, and reported back, “I don’t see a thing.”
“Keep looking,” said Elijah, “seven times if necessary.”
44 And sure enough, the seventh time he said, “Oh yes, a cloud! But very small, no bigger than someone’s hand, rising out of the sea.”
“Quickly then, on your way. Tell Ahab, ‘Saddle up and get down from the mountain before the rain stops you.’”
45-46 Things happened fast. The sky grew black with wind-driven clouds, and then a huge cloudburst of rain, with Ahab hightailing it in his chariot for Jezreel. And God strengthened Elijah mightily. Pulling up his robe and tying it around his waist, Elijah ran in front of Ahab’s chariot until they reached Jezreel.
Got delivered on what he told the prophet… He had made it rain
And the series of miracles working up to the promised miracle
was nothing short of spectacular..
God is always a God of more than enough… Over-the-top… Everything and more that you need and able to deliver what he says each and every time! Amen?
God strengthened Elijah mightily..
How many believe that God can give you what you need just when you need it?
The story goes on to say that Jezabel, Ahab's wife found out..
and when she found out, she put out a death threat against Elijah.
And when he found out he ran scared…
Even after all that had happened and all the miracles..
that he had witnessed the hand of God perform..he ran scared
And the reason that he ran scared was..
that he thought that he was the only prophet left that was serving the Lord.
But an angel of the Lord came in revealed to him that he was not the only one…
In fact..there were 7000 silent witnesses that were still serving God!
Sometimes it seems still today when you hear things happening on the news that the Christians are in the minority..
But the Lord would have me tell you today..
that his people are not in the minority…
There are so many more of us than you think.
However his people have kept quiet for long enough..
And that it's time to stand up and be counted, to let your shine
Mathew 11:33-36 MSG
33-36 “No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It’s put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they’re going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don’t get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room.”
Are you doing that with your life today?
Illus.
When Bishop Philip Brooks, author of “O, Little Town of Bethlehem,” was seriously ill, he requested no friends come to see him.
But when an acquaintance of his named Robert Ingersoll, a famous anti-Christian propagandist, came to see him he allowed him to come in right away.
Ingersoll said, “I appreciate this very much. Especially when you aren’t letting any of your close friends..come and see you".
Bishop Brooks responded, “Oh, I’m confident of seeing them in the next world, but this may be my last chance to see you.”
Our time is short Church..the return of Jesus is closer than you think.
Mathew 28:18-20 MSG
18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”
We can remain silent no longer..
We must..
Stand up, stand up for Jesus! the strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song;
To him that overcometh a crown of life shall be;
He with the King of glory shall reign eternally.
Amen?
Let's pray!
