FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS
By Pastor Jim May
This past week my wife and I took a few days off and went down to Foley, Alabama near the gulf coast. I’ve never been much for swimming or sunbathing. In fact I haven’t done either of them for nearly 35 years now. And besides, I would look like a beached whale. No, we didn’t go to the beach except to drive along and watch the waves for a few minutes. Instead we went to the Tanger Outlet Mall. Now if you guys really want to have a wonderful time – just to the Outlet Mall. You’ll never have so much fun anywhere, especially if you are with the one person you love more than anyone in the world!
I had the great opportunity to spend some quality time with my wonderful wife. That’s something that I always look forward to and sometimes we need to get away.
The first night we were there it was raining cats and dogs. Well, it was more like mountain lions and St. Bernard’s. There were flash flood warnings everywhere and a number of streets were flooded. For nearly 24 hours the rains came hard and heavy. If there is one thing that the Gulf Coast isn’t having, it’s a drought.
But that’s exactly what was happening in Israel in I Kings. Elijah had prayed and the rain had ceased, and no dew had formed on the ground for about 3 years now.
(And we here in South Louisiana think that we have a drought if it doesn’t rain for two months.)
The land of Israel was under God’s judgment for its sin of idolatry. Evil King Ahab and his wife, Queen Jezebel, had brought Israel deeper into sin than ever before so God had sent Elijah to shake them into repentance. But Israel wouldn’t hear, so the drought came.
I have often wondered why Israel waited so long to fall on their face before God. Why didn’t they just get right to start with and end the drought sooner. After all, the Lord would have lifted the drought at the word of Elijah and Elijah was only waiting for Israel to turn from idolatry. But Israel never made it easy for their selves. They were a stubborn bunch if I ever saw one.
Do you know some stubborn folks in the church today? I think that some of them are so stubborn that the only thing that will break their will is for God to break their heads off and throw away that old hard head and install a new one. Some folks can’t be moved with a stick of dynamite. It takes something far more powerful than that to move them. But I’ll tell you this – I do believe that the power of the Holy Ghost is strong enough to move anybody! Just let that fire of the Holy Ghost and the Glory of God to fall on them and they will be moving, I guar-on-tee (like the Cajun humorist Justine Wilson used to say).
Now Israel’s hard headedness had been finally shaken. God had sent down the fire and consumed the sacrifice on the altar, and 450 false prophets of Baal were dead. The people finally turned back to God and the Spirit of the Lord was in the land once again to bless them.
King Ahab even had to admit that God was God and that Baal was an idol. My friend, when the Spirit of the Lord begins to flow and the power of God is revealed and the anointing breaks the yoke of sin, men will turn back to God and worship Him!
Elijah began to “hear” the change that was coming. He knew that God’s judgment against Israel was at an end. The blessings were about to be poured out! Could it be that the praises of Israel were already reaching to the Throne of God and that God was pleased with their praise? Elijah had stopped the rain and now it was time to start it again.
King Ahab and Elijah stood together at the Brook Kidron looking over the dead prophets of Baal. There was no remorse for killing the false prophets, only a sense of having finally accomplished what God had said to do. From the first day that Israel had entered into the Promised Land God’s instructions had been to destroy every living creature lest Israel would become infected with the sin of idolatry that reigned in the land.
1 Kings 18:41-42, "And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,"
Elijah was already “in tune” with God. He already had Heaven’s frequency dialed in on his heart. He knew that God was getting ready to pour out his blessings upon Israel once again. Long before the clouds came, before the winds were visibly blowing and kicking up the sand and dust, and long before the first bolt of lightning or clap of thunder, Elijah knew what was coming.
That’s the way it is when you are tuned in to the Lord’s frequency. Have you ever “felt” or “sensed” that something great was going to happen? I have that feeling when I come to the House of God. If I didn’t expect, or sense, that something great was going to happen and that the presence of the Lord would fill the house, then why would I want to come? Do we walk in the doors expecting a miracle? Do we walk in the doors expecting the Holy Ghost to be poured out in the service? Do we walk in the doors with a great expectancy of what God is about to do? I think it’s time that we get tuned in to God, don’t you?
When you have that feeling of expectancy and you know that God is here, it isn’t hard then to have faith that great things are about to happen. That’s the way it was for Elijah. He just knew, he could already hear it starting, he could sense the moving of the Spirit of God – the miracle was about to happen.
Ahab, you had better go get you something to eat and drink. Enjoy this victory for a moment, then hitch up your chariot and ride before you get caught in the flood!
Elijah didn’t do like so many preachers today. After his great victory and miracle of God at Mount Carmel, Elijah didn’t scoop up the ashes that were left of the sacrifice and the altar and try to sell them to everybody that came along to make a dollar. He didn’t sell T-Shirts that said, “I Survived God’s Fire at Carmel”. He didn’t set up bus tours and sell tickets to see the “place where the fire fell”. He didn’t even build a new altar that was designed to burn like the first one so that he could build a whole new ministry by re-calling down the fire!
No, Elijah wasn’t worried about fame and popularity. He was just a servant of the Lord and he set about doing the Lord’s work. He fell on his face before God, that same God that had answered him by fire on moments before. He touched his face to the ground and humbled himself before God and began to pray for Israel once more.
While Ahab was on the hill, sitting in his tent, eating, drinking and wondering how he was going to explain all this to Jezebel when he got back to the palace, Elijah was on top of Mount Carmel praying.
1 Kings 18:43, "And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times."
Elijah knew that God was going to answer. He knew the rains were going to come, but he prayed on anyway until the Lord began to answer the prayer. He never moved one more inch until the answer came.
Sometimes I think that we need to learn a lesson from Elijah. Even when we know what the will of God is, even when we can sense that there is a mighty move coming, sometimes the best thing we can do is just stand still and see the Lord work.
Elijah heard the rains coming, yet he prayed on. He sent his servant seven times to look for the signs of a rain cloud in the sky, but he prayed on. He could have said, well God’s going to do it in His own time and quit praying, but he prayed on. He could have started walking back to town and kept faith in what God was about to do, but he prayed on. He could have began to worship God for the answer, believing that it was coming, but he prayed on. This was a time to pray and keep humble before God and let God be God!
Six times the servant climbed to very top of Mount Carmel and six times he came back empty handed. I have to admire that servant of Elijah. He didn’t question the prophet, he just kept doing what he was told to do. He didn’t start to murmur about being tired of the going back and forth. He didn’t sit down at the top and say, “well I’ll just wait here until something happens, then go back down.” He didn’t tell the prophet to go see for himself if he wanted to know so badly. He just kept climbing the hill and coming back for more instructions.
Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
If you were to ask most people to climb the hill once to see if the cloud was coming, they would just fall out on the floor complaining about their back hurting, their legs hurting, or their busy schedule.
If you were blessed enough to get someone to climb the hill once, but then ask them to climb it again, all you would get is complaints about how hard it is to climb and excuses of how I’ve already tried that and it didn’t work the first time why do you think it would happen now?
If by some wild chance you would get them to go twice, don’t push your luck for the third try, much less seven. It’s hard to find people who will be faithful to keep on keeping on until the job is finished, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is to do the work.
I read a story once called “Getting a Message to Garcia”.
In 1898, when war broke out between Spain and the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents in Cuba. General Garcia was somewhere in the mountain forests of Cuba but no one knew where. No mail or telegraph message could reach him. President William McKinley knew that he must secure General Garcia’s co-operation, and quickly, before Spain could gain full control of Cuba.
But what could he do? How could he get a message to Garcia?
That’s when someone said, “Mr. President, there is a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia for you, if anybody can."
Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. Rowan took the letter, sealed it in an oil skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, and in four days landed in the dark of night on some obscure spot on the coast of Cuba having rowed in from a great distance out at sea in an open boat. He quickly disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traveled across a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia.
McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia. Rowan took the letter and did not ask, "Where is he? How am I going to find him? How am I going to get there? How long will it take? Is it going to be a dangerous mission? How am I going to make it back? What’s so important about the message? Can’t you get George to do it instead?
No, Rowan just went to work and figured it out the best way he could and got the job done, no matter how long it took or what dangers he had to face. There is no doubt that his steadfastness and stubborn sense of duty to his country and his President greatly influenced America’s quick victory over Spain in what Theodore Roosevelt would one day call “America’s Splendid Little War”!
God is looking for few good Rowans! He is looking for someone who will go not just once, twice or three times to the top of the mountain. He is looking for those who will go the distance and finish race set before them. Every church, every ministry, every business needs some good Rowans!
Thank God that Elijah’s servant was a “Rowan”! He just kept on going until the job was done!
On the seventh time to the top, the answer began to arise so that all could see it coming. A little cloud, either in the shape of a man’s hand, with columns of clouds coming out of a central cloud, or a cloud that was no bigger than a man’s hand off in the distance, or maybe both, was all that the servant saw, but that was enough! The answer to the drought was coming and it was time to move and strike while the iron was hot!
1 Kings 18:44-45, "And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel."
By this time Ahab had learned that he had better listen to the words of the prophet! Maybe he was afraid that the fire was coming! Or maybe he knew that if Elijah said the rains were coming, it might mean a flood of epic proportions. Whatever the reason, Ahab jumped in his chariot and off he went as fast as the horses could run before the floods could block his path and drown him in the process.
The clouds grew and darkened the sky. The winds began to howl and great clouds of dust and sand rose before the winds. Then came the rain and the Bible says that the rain was great. The drought was over and the blessings of God were being poured out; so many blessings that the land couldn’t soak them up fast enough!
Onward rode Ahab, lashing the whip at the horses, his driver yelling to the top of his lungs to run boys, run like the wind, run, run, run. You have to faster! The water is about to rise and our very lives are at stake. Run! We have to make it to the safety of Jezreel!
Are you ready to run? Are you ready for the blessings to be poured out in your life? Are you ready for the rain of the Holy Ghost in your life? Are you ready for the coming of the Lord? Are you ready for the storm clouds that are rising in the earth? Are you ready to move on in the Lord! It’s time to run! It’s time to ride! It’s time to believe God for great things! It’s time to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church! It’s time to get on with the work that God has given you to do! It’s time to be a Rowan for Christ!
1 Kings 18:46, "And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel."
Can you picture what’s happening here?
Ahab is pushing his chariot and horses to the limit! They are trying to outrun the storm; heading for the safety of Jezreel!
Then, all of a sudden they see Elijah coming up along side. The prophet’s tennis shoes are glistening in the sun and they look like a blur. He’s running like a Superman, or like Dash on the Incredibles! The Spirit of the Lord has come over Elijah and he is passing the horses – on foot!
I can see it now! Ahab is astounded as he watches the prophet run ahead of him and leave him way behind. If it is dusty, before the rain has begun to fall, there’s a cloud of dust coming off Elijah’s feet like he is riding a motorcycle! If it is getting wet, and the rain has begun to fall, then Elijah’s feet are kicking up a “rooster tail” of water like a fast speed boat on the lake! What a sight that must have been!
When Ahab finally gets to Jezreel, Elijah is just leaned against the city gates and he isn’t even breathing hard. “What took you so long, Ahab? Do you need some more horsepower?”
God is pouring out His blessings – are you ready to run? God is sending the rain of the Holy Ghost – how much do you want? God is pouring out the anointing, he has opened the spout where the glory comes out – how fast do you want to run? How much can you stand?
The Flash Flood Warnings of the Spirit of the Lord are being broadcast! Isn’t it time that we take on the attitude of a Rowan and start running under the anointing power of God?
Put on your running shoes and let’s get moving!
