The Purpose Of This Place

The Purpose of This Place

By

Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.

OPENING: - The Kingdom of God is not a religious institution, a spiritual club, or even your local church or denomination. The Kingdom of God is the realm where God reigns supreme, His authority is recognized, and His will is obeyed. The Kingdom of God is not based on space, politics, or territorial dominance, but of kingly rule, reign, and sovereign control. The kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority and live accordingly. Those who defy God’s authority and refuse to submit to Him are not part of the kingdom of God. Being in the Kingdom of God is not based upon a particular denomination, your church attendance or Bible reading but upon ones surrendering to God’s rule in your heart.

One very important aspect about the Kingdom of God is understanding our purpose within the Kingdom. Unfortunately, many people in the Kingdom of God do not have a true concept about the kingdom of God or their purpose within the Kingdom because their concept of the Kingdom is based upon the traditions of man. They believe if I go to church, give God praise, pay my offering and tithes that I am on my way to heaven, and I am so glad. To understand our purpose in the Kingdom God will have us go through places in our life to develop within us that which we need to fulfill our purpose.

We must understand the purpose of this place because an understanding of the purpose of this place will not only lead to understanding our purpose but have us to develop a better understanding so we can effectively operate within the Kingdom of God.

PRAYER: -

SCRIPTURE: - 1st Kings 17:1-7 “And Elijah the Tishbite, [who was] of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, [As] the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that [is] before Jordan. And it shall be, [that] thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that [is] before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land”.

Let me build this message and to do that we must go back to the 16th chapter. In chapter 16 we are introduced to a king by the name of Ahab. Ahab was the king of Israel for 22 years. He reigned as King of Israel from approximately 874 B.C. to 853 B.C.

In those 22 years the Bible says “He did more evil than all the kings before him” therefore he is the worst king Israel ever had. He provoked God. Although he seen the ruin of the wicked kings and their families before him, he didn’t take it as a warning or a lesson to be learned, but he hardened his heart and became enraged against God. He thought it a light thing to walk in the ways of Jeroboam, who didn’t have a problem with idol worship. Ahab even went as far as to marry the daughter of Ethbaal King of the Zidonians whose name was Jezebel. After marring Jezebel, he brought idol worship back into the Children of Israel. He built an altar for Baal. He built a temple for Baal in Samaria for him and the people to worship close to home this violated several laws of God. God commanded that they travel to the place He had put His name to worship and that was Jerusalem. He made a grove about this temple to conceal the abominable impurities that were performed in the filthy worship of Baal. As the leader and ruler of God’s chosen people he caused the Children of Israel to sin.

WATCH THIS: - God needs to get the attention of the people to get them to stop worshipping idols and turn to Him. So, he is going to start at the head and challenge the theory of Baal.

So he chooses a man named Elijah of Tishbi in Gilead.

The name Elijah is a unique name. El = God, Jah = from the name God is called in covenant Jehovah. The letter I is in the middle indicating that I am wrapped up in God. His name begins with God and ends with God. God said I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega.