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Father, from the bottom of our 
hearts, we do thank you that in 

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Christ we are rich with every 
spiritual blessing. 

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Lord, we pray that as we come to
your Word, you would help us 

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excel in the things that you 
call us to mature and including 

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Thanksgiving. 
But, Lord, we pray that what we 

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study tonight will help us soar 
in faith. 

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Help us soar in worship and love
to you and love to one another. 

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Cancel and delete everything in 
US that's none of you. 

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Anything that we've accumulated 
this week that's outside of your

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will, your purpose for us. 
But we just pray that it would 

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be crushed by the weight of your
glory as we just sang. 

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The glory that would shine forth
through the word of life. 

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Thank you, O God, that we are 
here to meet with you and you 

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are faithful to meet with us. 
For your word says draw near to 

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God and he will draw near to 
you. 

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That's what we have come to do. 
And we thank you that in Jesus 

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we can do it freely. 
We can do it in any place at any

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time. 
That grace, Lord, we do not take

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for granted. 
In Jesus name we pray. 

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Amen. 
Well, meet me in First Kings 17 

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please. 
And we will begin from verse 8. 

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I will not give you a 
introduction into this portion 

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of scripture. 
I'm just hoping that you 

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remember where we paused last 
week. 

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We know that Elijah was at the 
Brook Kareth and he remained 

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there because God instructed him
to remain there. 

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And as long as he remained 
there, he would be fed 

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supernaturally by the assistance
of these Ravens who came every 

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day to provide breakfast and 
dinner. 

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And that's where we stopped. 
And now we continue from that 

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scene. 
We briefly brushed on verse 8, 

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but we'll look at it in greater 
detail, and I just want to read 

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from verse 8 down to verse 16 to
have a holistic picture of the 

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scene before we dissected 
together. 

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So let's read from verse 8. 
Then the word of the Lord came 

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to him. 
Arise, go to Zarephath, which 

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belongs to Sidon, and dwell 
there. 

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Behold, I have commanded a widow
there to feed you. 

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So he arose and went to 
Zarephath. 

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And when he came to the gate of 
the city, behold, a widow was 

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there gathering sticks. 
And he called her and said, 

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bring me a little water in a 
vessel that I may drink. 

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And I she was going to bring it.
He called her and said, bring me

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a morsel of bread in your hand. 
And she said, as the Lord your 

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God lives, I have nothing, baked
only a handful of flour in a jar

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and a little oil in a jug. 
And now I am gathering a couple 

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of sticks that I may go in and 
prepare for myself and my son, 

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that we may eat it and die. 
And Elijah just said to her, Do 

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not fear, Go, and do as you have
said, but first make me a little

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cake of it, and bring it to me, 
and afterward make something for

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yourself and your son. 
For thus says the Lord the God 

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of Israel, the jar of flour 
shall not be spent, and the jug 

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of oil shall not be empty until 
the day that the Lord sends rain

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upon the earth. 
And she sent and did as Elijah 

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said, and she and he and her 
household ate for many days. 

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The jar of flour was not spent. 
Neither did the jug of oil 

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become empty. 
According to the word of the 

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Lord that he spoke by Elijah. 
There are two things that we can

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take from the opening verse of 
this study. 

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Look at it again, Verse 8 reads.
Then the word of the Lord came 

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to him. 
Full stop. 

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I want you to observe at least 
two things from this. 

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The first thing has to do with 
the timing of God's instruction 

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for Elijah. 
Notice that it came after the 

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brook dried up. 
If you need to remember that, 

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look at verse 7 And after a 
while the brook dried up because

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there was no rain in the land. 
Verse 8. 

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Then. 
Then the word of the Lord came. 

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Now we would think that God was 
a little late. 

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We would prefer that if God was 
to give instruction that in his 

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mercy, supposedly he would have 
done so before the resources 

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were removed. 
Before, maybe just right before,

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things would have evaporated. 
But the first thing that you and

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I have to observe from verse 8 
concerning the character of God 

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is that God is never late. 
God is never late. 

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He's never late with his 
direction. 

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He's never late with his 
providential provision. 

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He's never late with his 
protection. 

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God is always on time. 
And where you and I have to be 

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careful is being tempted to 
grade God's guidance from a 

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carnally dimensional way. 
Because God leads us and He 

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guides us, and He does what he 
does in and through us in a way 

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that is deeper than what we 
might perceive. 

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We look at surface level things.
God looks for deeper things, and

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God's transitions in our lives 
are prompted by things that we 

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don't recognize right away. 
And that's OK. 

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That's what makes him God. 
What was God trying to teach 

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Elijah by removing the brook in 
this way? 

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I'm sure it was many things. 
And I think this is predominant,

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that I see day by day depended 
on this resources. 

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God reminded him. 
No, no, no, no, no. 

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I am your ultimate source. 
I am the one that you depend on.

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I am the one that you lean on. 
And when you and I can get very 

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comfortable in our routine, you 
can get very comfortable with 

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the blessings that God has given
us to begin with. 

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Where we lose sight of God, we 
lose sight of him being The 

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Fountainhead of everything that 
we enjoy, of our security, of 

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our of our blessings, of our 
rejoicing. 

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And so in this very real, 
tangible way, the Lord reminds 

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Elijah keep your eyes on me. 
Not that he lost focus. 

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No, there's no indication of 
that. 

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But this is an illustration of 
what can be if we were in that 

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same position. 
Now here's the thing. 

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Did God, in doing this, 
accomplished what he wanted to 

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accomplish in Elijah's life, 
which is the second observation?

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I say yes. 
The faith that he was looking 

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for in Elijah, the faith that he
was refining and and working on 

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did develop, did arrive where it
was supposed to be. 

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It passed the test. 
How do we know? 

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Look at the first word of verse 
9. 

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Arise. 
What does that imply? 

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That Elijah stayed put even 
though the brook dried? 

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He didn't panic. 
He wasn't frantic. 

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He wasn't drawing a plan in the 
sand. 

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No, he was staying right there 
as though that brook was 

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bubbling with water and the Lord
recognized that and that's where

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he found them. 
So he says, Elijah, time to get 

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up, Time to get up, because 
that's something else for you 

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now. 
You know there is a quality of 

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genuine faith that we often 
miss. 

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There's something that the Bible
provides us in a obscure passage

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that is very beneficial for us 
concerning one of the 

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characteristics of true trust in
the Lord. 

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We're not going to do much cross
referencing in this Bible study,

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but this is one place worth 
going to. 

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It's in Isaiah 28 and verse 16. 
I want you to see what the Holy 

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Spirit says concerning what true
believing looks like, how it 

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manifests, how you can measure 
it even for yourself. 

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Isaiah 28, verse 16. 
It's in the last part of this 

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verse. 
Here's what the scripture says. 

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Therefore. 
Thus says the Lord God. 

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Behold, I am the one who has 
laid as a foundation in Zion a 

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stone, a tested stone, a 
precious cornerstone of a sure 

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foundation. 
Here it is. 

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Whoever believes will not be in 
haste. 

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Whoever believes will not be in 
haste. 

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And what implies that a person 
who trusts in the Lord doesn't 

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panic. 
They don't flee when there are 

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no answers. 
They don't rely on the strength 

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in the arm of the flesh. 
There are times in life where 

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circumstances will demand you to
act, to act even promptly. 

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But there are moments, like in 
Elijah's case, where things are 

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happening outside of your 
control, and those things that 

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are outside of your control can 
sometimes go out of control. 

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And in those moments, true faith
should arise. 

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And what that looks like is 
this. 

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You do not act in haste. 
We sang it over and over today, 

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waiting on the Lord. 
And so if God is never late, 

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then the second truth from verse
8 is that we must learn how to 

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wait. 
We must learn how to wait again.

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That doesn't mean that you're 
passive. 

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No. 
God gives us wisdom, and God is 

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very practical. 
You should be able to, in 

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certain circumstances. 
Many circumstances solve it with

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the wisdom and the principles 
that God has provided you. 

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But when it comes to stuff like 
this, where you can't do 

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anything to change the outcome 
of it, he who believes is not in

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haste. 
He's not in haste. 

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And that's what we see with this
man of God. 

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He doesn't erupt in doubt, He 
doesn't panic, he doesn't act 

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frantically. 
He's found there waiting, And 

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the Lord says arise. 
And if you ever need comfort in 

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those moments where you you're 
trying to search for answers, 

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you're trying to kick down, 
doors open, and you might even 

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be questioning God's 
faithfulness, look again at 

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verse 9 and realize this awesome
insight of God's preparedness on

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our behalf. 
Verse 9 again, arise. 

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Go to Zarephath, which belongs 
to Sidon, and dwell there. 

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Read your Bible slowly, please. 
Look at the last part of verse 

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9. 
Behold, I have commanded a widow

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there to feed you. 
What does that tell you? 

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That while the brook was drying 
up, God was preparing another 

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vessel to feed Elijah, and 
Elijah didn't even know about it

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until now. 
So here's Elijah depending on 

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this and his lovely. 
I wonder if he named the Ravens 

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at that point. 
He was accustomed to this, and 

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what's God doing? 
God knowing because he's ahead 

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of us. 
This brook is going to dry up. 

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I want to see if there's true 
faith in my servant's heart, but

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I'm also making a plan. 
I'm also getting things ready 

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for the next leap of faith that 
Elijah is going to have to make.

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This is a wonderful insight to 
comfort your heart and mind that

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God has everything set up before
you even walk into it. 

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It's all prepared, even the 
promised land. 

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You're told in Ezekiel that God 
already spied out the land. 

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Ezekiel tells us that. 
So even though those 12 spies 

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went in originally, God already 
did the work. 

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And it's a reminder for you and 
I that God is 10 years ahead of 

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you, 10 years ahead of you. 
Know he's at your funeral and 

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your birthday at the same time. 
He's outside of time. 

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It's not the way you see it. 
You're standing on the side of 

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the road looking at the parade 
chronologically. 

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God has a helicopter view. 
He sees it all. 

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And so this is the God that we 
serve. 

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This is the God that we lean on 
and depend on. 

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Here we are told that he already
commanded a widow. 

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I already have it set up for you
there inside on. 

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00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:02,080
All you have to do is trust in 
me. 

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00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:04,680
No wonder we shouldn't be in 
haste. 

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00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:09,880
Now if you thought living by a 
brook and depending on Ravens to

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deliver food to you every day 
was challenging, this next 

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00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,560
instruction is very challenging.
Can you tell me why, based on 

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verse 9 alone, you have you can 
share it. 

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00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:22,840
You don't have to give a sermon.
Just tell me the points. 

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Give me one reason why this is 
difficult to obey. 

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00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:31,800
Yes. 
Oh, widows, widows. 

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Widows. 
Widows of this time. 

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Oh man, they were destitute to 
begin with. 

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They needed help. 
And now you're telling your 

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servant that this widow is going
to help you? 

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00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:43,960
When? 
When the economy is booming? 

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00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,000
No. 
When there's a drought of all 

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times, of all the candidates, of
all the people you could have 

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found, you're going to get a 
widow to host me. 

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00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,200
That is challenging. 
Sure. 

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Another point at least one more 
Sidon is a gentile, modern day 

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Lebanon. 
So I want you to go to a country

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you've never been to before. 
Imagine that. 

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00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:09,760
Imagine being told one night. 
I want you to pack your bags in 

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00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,680
the morning, take a flight, fly 
over to a foreign nation that 

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you've never been to, and I want
you to wait there at the 

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00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:16,240
airport. 
There's going to be somebody 

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00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:17,880
that you've never met before 
that's going to invite you to 

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the home and take care of you. 
Well, you said that sounds 

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exciting. 
Less exciting for Elijah. 

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Can I tell you why? 
Let me remind you how Sidon 

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connects to this story. 
Go back to Chapter 16, verse 31 

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00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,680
of First Kings. 
And as if it had been a light 

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thing for him to walk in the 
sins of Jeroboam, the son of 

230
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Nabat, he took for his wife 
Jezebel, the daughter of 

231
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Ethbaal, king of the Where 
Cydonians, and went and served 

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Baal and worshipped him. 
So out of all the gentile 

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neighboring nations, go where 
Jezebel is from, go where the 

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center, go where the heart of 
Baal worship is. 

235
00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,400
Now Jezebel gives us a hint of 
how Baal worshippers feel about 

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worshippers of Yahweh, right? 
She was slaughtering the 

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prophets of the Lord. 
So you would think, OK, if if 

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that's what these people do to 
my people, probably go in the 

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00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,040
opposite direction and God says 
no, I want you to go to the 

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00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,680
heart of it. 
Go dwell inside on and inside on

241
00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:27,480
A Prince, a wealthy woman. 
No, a widow is going to take 

242
00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:30,080
care of you. 
So put yourself in Elijah's 

243
00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,600
sandals for a second and feel 
it. 

244
00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:35,520
Feel it. 
Don't just brush over it. 

245
00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,400
Put yourself there. 
This is what he was called to 

246
00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:41,840
do, and the overall observation 
to make from this is simple. 

247
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:46,960
God's guidance is often 
unexpected and unpredictable. 

248
00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:48,520
Can I tell you something heart 
to heart? 

249
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I give up predicting how God's 
going to lead my life. 

250
00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:56,520
I gave up a few years ago when I
first came to the Lord, I I was 

251
00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:00,280
very, very specific and clear 
with my request, and I had 

252
00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,360
expectation that it was going to
play out exactly how I thought 

253
00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,880
it was going to play out. 
Can I tell you how much of it 

254
00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,360
played out? 
Exactly 0 zero. 

255
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,160
Never thought I would move to 
this country. 

256
00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,040
Never thought I would do 
ministry in the context that I'm

257
00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:15,640
doing ministry. 
Never thought I would. 

258
00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:20,880
Every aspect of who I am, 
marriage, where I live, the car 

259
00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:25,280
that I'm driving, everything was
beyond my expectation. 

260
00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:27,320
And guess what? 
That's OK. 

261
00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,360
You know why? 
Because my little blueprint 

262
00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,360
pales in comparison to what God 
has in mind. 

263
00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:35,760
Do you think, Elijah, I wonder? 
I wish. 

264
00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:37,640
I'm going to ask him one day. 
We have a lot of time and 

265
00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,040
eternity. 
I'm going to ask him, did you 

266
00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,160
expect that I have all the 
things God could have told you 

267
00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,640
for this next chapter for your 
life at this point that you 

268
00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:47,960
would have had to move to side 
on and be taken care of by a 

269
00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:49,160
widow? 
I wonder what he would have 

270
00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:51,840
said. 
It's just shocking and it's 

271
00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,240
supposed to be. 
So don't put don't put too much 

272
00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:58,680
stock in you trying to have a 
forecast of how God's going to 

273
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,920
take care of every single part 
of your life plan in your heart.

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00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,240
Scripture says plan, but the 
Lord determines your steps 

275
00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:10,760
ultimately, So enjoy the ride. 
Yes, pray, have expectations. 

276
00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,120
Yes, bring things before the 
Lord, even your desires. 

277
00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:15,840
But trust that whatever the 
outcome is, it's going to be 

278
00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:19,560
better than what you thought. 
And at the same time here I'm 

279
00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,680
comforted to know that as 
cryptic as the reasons for God's

280
00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:26,680
instructions may be here, there 
is one thing, one thing about 

281
00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:32,160
this next leap for Elijah that 
we obviously see and we should 

282
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,560
expect for ourselves. 
I mean, what do what do you mean

283
00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,880
by that? 
Do you know what Zeraphath 

284
00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:39,480
means? 
Anybody have an idea? 

285
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,840
I'll. 
I'll let a couple people guess, 

286
00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,440
if you dare. 
Zeraphath, you ready for this? 

287
00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,000
This is awesome. 
You can't make this stuff up. 

288
00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:54,960
Refinery refinement in the same 
way that you would refine 

289
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:56,560
metals. 
That's exactly what Zeraphath 

290
00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:58,680
means. 
How fitting for what we're about

291
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:03,040
to study in Elijah's life that 
where he's going to go is in 

292
00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:06,280
fact going to be more refining 
than where he was before. 

293
00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:08,400
And not only is it going to be 
refining for him, it's going to 

294
00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,160
be very refining for the widow 
who's going to have him at her 

295
00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,200
house. 
Do you know what you can have 

296
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,200
certainty about? 
No matter what season you're in,

297
00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:18,320
whether it is a predictable one 
or an unpredictable one, you can

298
00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,800
guarantee this, That whatever it
is that you are enduring, 

299
00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:23,640
whatever it is that you're 
entering into, whatever it is 

300
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,280
that you're waiting on God for, 
it's meant to conform you to the

301
00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:31,360
image of Christ. 
Every time, all the time. 

302
00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:34,280
It's an unending promise. 
You've been predestined to that.

303
00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:38,080
According to Romans 829, you've 
been predestined to be conformed

304
00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,240
to the image of Christ, which 
means that no matter where 

305
00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,600
you're at, because you're in 
Christ, the destination for you 

306
00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,400
is that he's going to use 
everything for your conformity 

307
00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,680
to that image. 
And that's what Romans 828 is 

308
00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,280
all about, that all things work 
together for our good. 

309
00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:54,200
All things. 
Why? 

310
00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:56,880
Because of verse 29? 
Because everything has been 

311
00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,720
destined for you to be conformed
to the image of the Son of God. 

312
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,680
So Zarephath is where he's 
going. 

313
00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,160
What is he to expect inside on? 
What is he to expect from a 

314
00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,560
widow? 
Very little, perhaps, But one 

315
00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,319
thing that is for certain is 
that he's going to be refined. 

316
00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,800
Even this man of God has more 
refining to undergo so that he 

317
00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:19,920
can be ready for the next thing 
that God has in mind for him. 

318
00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,200
That's what I'm comforted by. 
No matter what phone call I get,

319
00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:25,960
no matter how things drag, no 
matter how things may not be 

320
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,880
going according to my preferred 
schedule, one thing is for 

321
00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,040
certain, this is meant to 
conform me. 

322
00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,120
When things go fast, when things
go slow, when things are 

323
00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:35,520
favorable, when they're 
unfavorable. 

324
00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,640
God has designed everything to 
be for that purpose. 

325
00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,440
And so let's see what happens. 
So verse 10. 

326
00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,520
He arose, went, and went to 
Zarephath, and when he came to 

327
00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,080
the gate of the city, behold, a 
widow was there gathering 

328
00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,240
sticks. 
And he called her and said, 

329
00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:54,840
bring me a little water in a 
vessel that I may drink. 

330
00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,640
Look at verse 10 again. 
So he arose and went to 

331
00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,880
Zarephath. 
The unquestioning obedience of 

332
00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:02,400
this man is to be greatly 
admired. 

333
00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,920
It's the same thing that we saw 
when he was initially instructed

334
00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:06,800
to go to the brook and to 
receive from the Ravens. 

335
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,520
No questions. 
My questions would have been 

336
00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:11,000
very similar to the original 
command. 

337
00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:13,720
How is a widow going to take 
care of me? 

338
00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,800
Exactly, Lord. 
And how long is she going to be 

339
00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:18,360
able to provide for me in this 
drought? 

340
00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:21,640
Are you going to put a 
protective bubble around me as I

341
00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,440
am now behind enemy lines? 
All these different things, 

342
00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,360
nothing coming out of Elijah's 
mouth. 

343
00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,120
He's walking in total trust in 
the Lord and he goes there. 

344
00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,520
And when he goes there, here's 
what you have to see. 

345
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,480
That when you walk with that 
yielded Ness to the Lord, when 

346
00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:39,280
you walk in that obedience, that
full hearted trust, you can 

347
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,600
expect this reward among many 
other rewards in obedience. 

348
00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:48,880
Providence, perfect Providence, 
working in your favor. 

349
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:53,000
That's one of the jewels of 
walking with the Lord in 

350
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:54,680
obedience. 
Notice what happens. 

351
00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,000
He comes to Zarephath, and when 
he came to the gate of the city,

352
00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:00,720
look at this word. 
Behold, like, hey, check this 

353
00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:02,840
out. 
A widow was there gathering 

354
00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,040
sticks. 
So the moment he enters into the

355
00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,200
the gate of the city, the very 
person that God said would take 

356
00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:10,480
care of him appears on the 
scene. 

357
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:12,480
Coincidence. 
Providence. 

358
00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:18,200
Providence and if you want to be
assured in your life of God's 

359
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,920
divine orchestration, working in
every detail of your day-to-day,

360
00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,360
just walk with him hand in hand 
in obedience. 

361
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,600
That's that's going to give you 
the ability to see everything 

362
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,800
with that wonderful lens. 
God is orchestrating everything 

363
00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,240
here. 
Sometimes it's very obvious like

364
00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,240
this and other times you learn 
it down the road. 

365
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:45,160
But I love to be reminded here 
that these this kind of leading 

366
00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,560
that God has for his servants is
is yours and mine as long as you

367
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,240
remain close. 
One of the things that I always 

368
00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,720
think of is Ruth example, she 
was a mobitis. 

369
00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,680
She comes into a foreign land 
with a foreign God. 

370
00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,480
She says your people will be my 
people, your God will be my God.

371
00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,000
And she right away walks in 
obedience and as a poor person 

372
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,560
she what takes advantage of the 
welfare system of Israel. 

373
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,520
So she gleans, she gleans from 
the fields, that's walking in 

374
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:09,320
obedience. 
And where where does she find 

375
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:11,640
herself In Boaz's field. 
And the rest is history. 

376
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,640
When you walk in obedience, you 
position yourself, so to speak. 

377
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:18,920
You put the pen in God's hand to
write out your story in 

378
00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,120
Providence. 
There's a lot of mess when you 

379
00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:25,800
step outside of the will of God.
I don't recommend it for many 

380
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,240
reasons, but all the assurance 
that you inherit, like Elijah 

381
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,760
shows here, so he does come and 
look. 

382
00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:35,160
He he calls to her and he says, 
bring me a little water in a 

383
00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:39,520
vessel that I may drink. 
In verse 11. 

384
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:40,880
She didn't seem to have a 
problem with that. 

385
00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:43,400
And as she was going to bring 
in, he called her and said bring

386
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:44,880
me a morsel of bread in your 
hand. 

387
00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:49,920
That's where it got costly. 
We tend to be very attracted to 

388
00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:51,800
the things that don't cost as 
much in obedience. 

389
00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:53,960
But when it comes to things that
have a price tag on it, we're a 

390
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:55,600
little bit more hesitant, are we
not? 

391
00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,320
So she obviously expressed this 
hesitation. 

392
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,840
Look at verse 12. 
And she said, as the Lord God, 

393
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:06,120
your God lives, I have nothing 
baked only a handful of flour in

394
00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:07,880
a jar and a little oil and a 
jug. 

395
00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:11,120
And now I'm gathering a couple 
of sticks that I may go in and 

396
00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:14,040
prepare it for myself and my 
son, that we may eat it and die.

397
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:19,480
What is sad comment, This is 
going to be the last meal that 

398
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:25,800
we eat before we both die. 
And Elijah comes and he says, 

399
00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,480
can you get me something to eat?
Actually complete stranger. 

400
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,040
Imagine how difficult that would
be. 

401
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,480
You have your boy back at home 
and he he, he's just 

402
00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,280
experiencing grumbles in his 
stomach for days and so are you.

403
00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,240
And with a little strength that 
you have only surviving on 

404
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,160
water, you're going to prepare 
your last meal to just satisfy 

405
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:47,960
yourselves and just lay there 
and die. 

406
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:51,920
So you can sympathize, 
sympathize with her a little 

407
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,880
bit. 
Right, yes, but it depends on 

408
00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,520
how you understand verse nine. 
Look again at verse nine of the 

409
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:01,760
second part. 
Behold, the Lord says I've 

410
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:03,840
commanded a widow there to feed 
you. 

411
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:10,440
I am persuaded that based on 
that verse, this widow had 

412
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:14,520
received the prior revelation 
from the Lord of what was to 

413
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,840
come in Elijah arriving and what
she was to do. 

414
00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,480
I believe that. 
And I think verse 12 gives us a 

415
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,120
hint of how she had that 
revelation. 

416
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:25,280
Because she says to him as the 
Lord, that's Yahweh. 

417
00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:28,480
She knows the covenant name of 
God as the Lord. 

418
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,320
Your God lives now. 
Just because she had received 

419
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:33,200
that instruction doesn't 
necessarily mean that she was a 

420
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:34,800
believer in the true and living 
God. 

421
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,800
And we have many instances of 
people who receive dreams or 

422
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:39,520
revelations that we're not 
serving God, but we're 

423
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:41,160
instructed by God. 
And I believe this is one of 

424
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,240
those cases. 
So she was prepared. 

425
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,360
She was prepared by the Lord for
this very moment, but she was 

426
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:51,520
still hesitant. 
And you can relate to that, 

427
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,440
where you know what the will of 
God is in a particular manner in

428
00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:58,760
a particular situation, and yet 
you're still hesitant to act 

429
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,320
upon it because you can feel how
much it's going to cost you, 

430
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,920
whether that be awkwardness or 
your job and anything else. 

431
00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,320
You can feel it sometimes. 
You can feel the heat of it. 

432
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,760
You can feel the consequences 
coming as you begin to entertain

433
00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,680
me walking in the way God wants 
me to walk here and now and so 

434
00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:19,200
we can relate to her. 
But it doesn't excuse her. 

435
00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,120
I'm I'm persuaded by that. 
Some would explain it otherwise 

436
00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,360
but I think it's very clean and 
clear and plain. 

437
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,160
So she's been prepared. 
So she's she has this 

438
00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:28,320
expectation. 
It should have been. 

439
00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,000
It should have been clear to her
that OK, this God that revealed 

440
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,480
this to me, it's obviously 
coming to pass. 

441
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,800
This is being manifest. 
But instead she shrivels up in 

442
00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:41,480
her faith and what does Elijah 
do, this fire breathing prophet.

443
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,560
You know, if you have a a 
silhouette understanding of who 

444
00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,680
Elijah is, you would expect him 
to say Thus says the Lord, 

445
00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:52,560
because you have not shown faith
and it pronounced some kind of 

446
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,440
judgment on her. 
That's not what he does. 

447
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:58,600
Look at verse 13. 
And Elijah said to her, do not 

448
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:03,080
fear, do not fear. 
Go and do as you have said. 

449
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,720
But first make me a little cake 
of it and bring it to me, and 

450
00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:08,680
afterward make something for 
yourself and your son. 

451
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,440
You know, I've heard prosperity 
preachers use this verse to tell

452
00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:15,080
people who who can't afford 
their rent and pay off their 

453
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,200
mortgage to 1st give them 
something and then God will 

454
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,120
bless them. 
Here's the thing that they left 

455
00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:27,200
out, God told the widow first 
tracking with me and God told 

456
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:31,160
one widow not every widow in 
America on top of that too, 

457
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:32,320
right? 
Just a side note. 

458
00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:38,040
So the Lord prepares her. 
He says, don't be afraid. 

459
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:42,080
Don't be afraid. 
And here, here's the beautiful 

460
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:43,760
thing about this part of the 
Bible study. 

461
00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,080
You can learn something from the
widow, You can learn something, 

462
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,120
obviously about the Lord. 
And you can learn something from

463
00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:50,040
Elijah's perspective. 
And right here I learned 

464
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:51,600
something. 
There's something that I gleaned

465
00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:56,400
from Elijah's example. 
He doesn't reprimand her. 

466
00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,320
He doesn't overwhelm her with 
condemnation. 

467
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:06,000
He encourages her, he quells her
fears, and he stirs her up to 

468
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,760
love and good works. 
And I see the absolute value and

469
00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,360
blessing it is to have a voice 
in your life to help you obey 

470
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:17,600
God better, to help you obey God
with greater strength, with less

471
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:21,840
fear and concern and anxiety. 
And this is the blessing that 

472
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:25,280
Elijah was up to this point, 
that he was able to nudge her 

473
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,240
and guide her into the place of 
obedience, even though she had 

474
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,280
already heard and knew about it.
It's amazing what community 

475
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:34,400
does. 
It's amazing how God has put 

476
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,080
people in our lives to help us 
love God better. 

477
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,480
And if you think for a moment 
that you can do it on your own, 

478
00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:44,200
I assure you that you will not 
be able to know better, worship 

479
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,760
better manifestations of the 
Spirit, better opportunities to 

480
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,360
please God unless you are 
connected to a body. 

481
00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:55,400
Elijah here says don't be afraid
and he says just do it. 

482
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,640
Trust the Lord and He gives her 
a promise according to verse 14.

483
00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:04,840
I wonder if you have been able 
to identify God's provision in 

484
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,280
your life in the same way this 
woman was provided through 

485
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:09,720
Elijah. 
Were you able to recognize the 

486
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,000
voices and the examples of those
who are present in your life 

487
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:18,680
that help you obey God? 
Better they are out there. 

488
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:23,800
I believe Maranatha Bible Church
is filled with them, and so 

489
00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,560
Elijah serves as that example 
here. 

490
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,640
And before we move on, I want 
you to remember last week how I 

491
00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:31,960
mentioned Elijah being a 
significant reference in the New

492
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,680
Testament. 
And this very passage is 

493
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,280
actually quoted by the lips of 
the Son of God himself. 

494
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:41,200
And I want you to turn there in 
Luke chapter 4 to see how he 

495
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,240
interprets and applies this very
scene in redemptive history. 

496
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:49,240
Look at Luke 4 quickly in verse 
25 and 26 just to get the 

497
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:56,280
citation from Christ. 
I wonder if you knew that Jesus 

498
00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:03,760
quoted this passage. 
But in truth, he says, I tell 

499
00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,840
you, there were many widows in 
Israel in the days of Elijah, 

500
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,840
when the heavens were shut up 
three years and six months and a

501
00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:15,680
great famine came over all the 
land, and Elijah was sent to 

502
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,920
none of them, but only to 
Zarephath and the land of Sidon,

503
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:25,120
to a woman who was a widow. 
So he he describes this very 

504
00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:28,040
scene that we just finished 
studying perfectly. 

505
00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,040
But what's the context? 
Jesus at this point in his 

506
00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:33,720
ministry, early in his ministry,
is in a synagogue in his 

507
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,880
hometown, Nazareth. 
He opens the scroll to Isaiah's 

508
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,040
passage about the anointed, the 
spirit anointed Messiah. 

509
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:43,200
He quotes Isaiah 61, at least 
the 1st 2 verses. 

510
00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:47,160
And then he tells the very 
hearers of that passage. 

511
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,640
This scripture has been 
fulfilled in himself. 

512
00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,240
And we're told there that the 
people marveled, they marveled. 

513
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,240
But that amazement was short 
lived because it was quickly 

514
00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:59,960
replaced with skepticism, doubt,
and even scorn. 

515
00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:02,280
They begin to say, is this 
Joseph's son? 

516
00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:08,280
Isn't this Joseph's son? 
And so Jesus responds to their 

517
00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:14,640
unbelief and he mentions how a 
prophet is accepted generally, 

518
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,320
everywhere, definitely not in 
his own town. 

519
00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,280
And he is. 
He's exemplifying that not just 

520
00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,560
what's happening in that moment.
But then he begins to go to 

521
00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:25,520
history and pull out one of the 
greatest prophets by way of 

522
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:28,800
example of how that is true. 
And he goes to Elijah and he 

523
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:33,080
says, you know, Elijah was 
received by a widow Jew or 

524
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:38,360
Gentile, not a Jew. 
Elijah because he represented as

525
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,680
a messenger of God the truth of 
God was rejected by his own 

526
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:46,240
people and was accepted by the 
faith of somebody who did not 

527
00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,080
know the covenant blessings that
the Jewish people knew. 

528
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,000
And here's what he's saying and 
conveying this truth to them. 

529
00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,000
The same is happening with the 
Messiah. 

530
00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:57,360
The same is happening with the 
Messiah. 

531
00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,360
You, the Jewish people, not just
the Jewish people but from my 

532
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,680
own hometown, are not willing to
receive me. 

533
00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:06,880
And so he is compounding on that
truth that a prophet is not 

534
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,720
received from his own people. 
But he says something even for 

535
00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:12,960
that would have irked them. 
In fact it did irked them big 

536
00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,880
time. 
He takes it a step further. 

537
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:19,520
He goes, it was a gentile. 
It was a gentile who received 

538
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:21,960
Elijah and received the blessing
from the Prophet. 

539
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:24,440
And I'm giving you a heads up 
because of your rejection. 

540
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,600
The Gentiles will receive a 
blessing. 

541
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,000
The Gentiles will not just 
receive a blessing, they will be

542
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,760
grafted in. 
They will be accepted. 

543
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:34,080
They will receive me, unlike 
you. 

544
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:39,320
So by giving this prediction, by
going back to Old Testament 

545
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,720
truth, the people were so 
disturbed. 

546
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,040
And I'm sure the people did not 
like this story in the Old 

547
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:49,480
Testament because it shows again
God's heart for people who 

548
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,320
worship false gods, who again 
did not have the heritage and 

549
00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:54,480
history with the true and living
God, and yet God still willing 

550
00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:56,640
to extend mercy. 
Here's a reminder for you in 

551
00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:59,880
First Kings seventeen 8 to 16 of
a gospel truth. 

552
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,520
God's heart for the Gentiles has
always been there. 

553
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,600
It's always been there. 
And it's more than just the book

554
00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:07,280
of Jonah. 
You haven't even here with this 

555
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,800
prophet who's willing to go 
outside of the boundaries of the

556
00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:12,480
promised land to bless somebody 
who didn't deserve it. 

557
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:15,800
And it's a foreshadowing of what
the Messiah would do, 

558
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,480
culminating in the New Covenant,
where people from all nations 

559
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:21,880
would have access to the mercy 
and goodness of God. 

560
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:24,880
So this is what Jesus is showing
by coming to this text. 

561
00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:29,960
So again, reminder, you can find
gospel in your study of the 

562
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:34,640
Hebrew scriptures. 
Now let's continue back in First

563
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:45,320
Kings verse 17. 
After this the son of the woman,

564
00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,520
the mistress of the house, 
became ill, and his illness was 

565
00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:53,960
so severe that there was no 
breath left in him. 

566
00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:58,120
And she said to Elijah, What 
have you against me, O man of 

567
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:00,680
God? 
You have come to me to bring my 

568
00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:03,840
sin to remembrance, and to cause
the death of my son. 

569
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:06,680
And he said to her, Give me your
son. 

570
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:11,000
And he took him from her arms, 
and carried him up into the 

571
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,560
upper chamber, where he lodged 
and laid him on his own bed. 

572
00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:18,160
And he cried to the Lord, Oh, 
Lord, my God, have you brought 

573
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,440
calamity even upon the widow 
with whom I sojourned by killing

574
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:23,920
her son. 
Then he stretched himself upon 

575
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,520
the child three times, and he 
cried to the Lord, Oh Lord, my 

576
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:29,680
God, let this child's life come 
into again. 

577
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:34,320
And the Lord listened to the 
voice of Elijah, and the life of

578
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,280
the child came into him again. 
And he revived. 

579
00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:40,600
And Elijah took the child, and 
brought him down from the upper 

580
00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,480
chamber into the house, and 
delivered him to his mother. 

581
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,240
And Elijah said, see, your son 
lives. 

582
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,800
And the woman said to Elijah, 
Now I know that you are a man of

583
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:53,080
God, and that the word of the 
Lord in your mouth is truth. 

584
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,600
What a shift. 
What a shift of themes. 

585
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:03,560
What a shift of experience. 
The keyword to this next section

586
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,800
are the 1st 2 words of verse 17.
Look again with me after this. 

587
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,120
After what? 
Not just the widow's obedience 

588
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:17,680
to the command of God, but to 
the experience that she had with

589
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,160
the outcome of her obedience 
according to verse 15. 

590
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,560
Look at verse 15 again. 
And she went and did as Elijah 

591
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,080
said, and she and he and her 
household ate for many days. 

592
00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:30,640
The jar of flour was not spent, 
neither did the jug of oil 

593
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:32,520
become empty. 
According to the word of the 

594
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,840
Lord that he spoke by Elijah. 
You got to stop and play that 

595
00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:37,400
through your imagination a 
little bit. 

596
00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:43,440
This woman was rewarded from 
heaven for her faith in what God

597
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:44,960
had said. 
And do you know what that reward

598
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:49,480
looked like? 
You had one jar for the flour, 

599
00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,600
yet another jug for oil. 
And they took that and they made

600
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:55,360
a cake. 
That day Elijah came and they 

601
00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:57,200
realized when they made it for 
him, there was enough for 

602
00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,040
themselves. 
And every time they ate for the 

603
00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,760
day, went to bed and woke up, 
they found those vessels full 

604
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,000
every day. 
And we're told that it was many 

605
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,240
days that they ate. 
Can you imagine that? 

606
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:11,760
Can you imagine going to your 
fridge, going to your cupboard? 

607
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:13,800
And what you find in there, no 
matter how much you ate the day 

608
00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,480
before that it was restocked by 
an invisible hand. 

609
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:19,880
This is spectacular. 
This is. 

610
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:21,880
This is awesome. 
This is incredible. 

611
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,560
No trips to the grocery store. 
Nothing. 

612
00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,960
No, you couldn't anyway, This 
time, nothing of the sort. 

613
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:32,360
Just this private daily 
intervention from God where he 

614
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,920
was giving them exactly what 
they needed every single day. 

615
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:41,440
And with this overflowing 
experience of blessing comes 

616
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:45,280
crashing through a tragedy that 
was so unexpected. 

617
00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:53,760
The son of this woman dies 
Young, filled with life, tasted 

618
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:55,840
the the goodness of God for 
himself. 

619
00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:59,840
And what we see here is that 
this may be a strange experience

620
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:03,560
for somebody who had such a 
quality of heavenly supervision.

621
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:07,200
This isn't really a revelatory, 
is it? 

622
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,040
No, it's just you and I being 
reminded, and you're confronted 

623
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:11,760
with something. 
You're you're confronted with 

624
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:15,040
this truth that you can never 
fail to forget that you have 

625
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:19,440
this woman here who had 
experienced radical faithfulness

626
00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,159
and also gloriously favored by 
God and yet she was not exempt 

627
00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:29,000
from suffering. 
She showed amazing faith and she

628
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:33,600
experienced amazing reward and 
yet that did not dismiss her 

629
00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:38,280
from knowing severe tragedy. 
I'm thinking of Mary in John 

630
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,000
Chapter 11. 
I love that portion of 

631
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:42,480
scripture. 
The 1st 5 verses. 

632
00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:46,520
Been sharing that lately. 
What we're told there that Mary,

633
00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:50,840
the one who anointed Jesus. 
So that description of Mary, not

634
00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:54,719
just to signal her out as the 
Mary that blessed Jesus in this 

635
00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:57,240
way, because there's many 
Mary's, but the Mary who showed 

636
00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:00,480
such extravagant worship to the 
Lord and in that same context 

637
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:02,120
you learned that her brother was
ill. 

638
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:05,960
You would think that a woman who
had a revelation that the 

639
00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:09,800
disciples did not even have by 
giving Jesus that kind of 

640
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:11,880
treatment in preparation for his
burial. 

641
00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,280
You know what that tells me? 
Mary was listening even when the

642
00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:19,000
12 weren't. 
Mary understood that this Jesus,

643
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,480
he, he's talking about death. 
He's talking about his burial. 

644
00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:24,200
He's talking about him being a 
sacrifice. 

645
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:30,640
Mary heard what the 12 apostles 
could not register, and she 

646
00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:34,400
demonstrated her faith by giving
him a ceremonial anointing, so 

647
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,960
to speak, from her heart, 
preparing him for burial. 

648
00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:40,840
You would think such a woman 
with such caliber of insight, 

649
00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:44,120
such caliber of worship and 
devotion would be saved from any

650
00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:46,520
peril or problems. 
And yet we're told it's that 

651
00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:52,680
Mary, whose brother died. 
Keep that in mind. 

652
00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:56,720
Your love for God, as intense as
it might be, it might outshine 

653
00:35:56,720 --> 00:35:59,440
the love that other people might
have for the Lord, does not 

654
00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:02,280
cancel out the possibility of 
you being tested by suffering. 

655
00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,640
And that's exactly what this 
woman is about to experience 

656
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:08,240
now. 
You think it's hard enough to 

657
00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:09,960
lose? 
I can't even fathom it. 

658
00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:13,480
I don't have children of my own.
I pray that I will one day. 

659
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,080
I have nieces and nephews. 
I have brothers and sisters in 

660
00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:19,600
Christ who have lovely babies 
and children. 

661
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:23,160
I can't even entertain the 
thought of what kind of pain 

662
00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:27,000
results from the loss of a 
premature death. 

663
00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:31,120
But let's let's realize and 
remember, she's a widow. 

664
00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:36,360
She already lost her husband. 
So at this time, she didn't have

665
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:37,960
government backing like we do 
today. 

666
00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,440
She already lost her husband. 
All her hope for a secure future

667
00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:44,720
to being taken care of was in 
that boy. 

668
00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:46,640
And now that's been taken from 
her. 

669
00:36:47,240 --> 00:36:49,840
She has no one, never mind 
anybody, to take care of her. 

670
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,680
Who's there to be just her 
companion, who's there that she 

671
00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:57,920
can enjoy life with who, who's 
there for her to make memories 

672
00:36:57,920 --> 00:36:59,800
with. 
All of that is taken from her. 

673
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:03,440
So again, feel it. 
Feel it. 

674
00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:06,920
Imagine being the only one left 
in your immediate family. 

675
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:13,040
Everybody's been taken by death,
and this is on the other side of

676
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:17,040
obeying God when it was really 
difficult to obey God with very 

677
00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:19,600
little foundation to work with 
as a gentile woman. 

678
00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:25,000
And yet the Lord does this. 
And you think to yourself, maybe

679
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:29,280
honestly, what's the purpose of 
this like? 

680
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,480
Wasn't it enough? 
Didn't she prove herself enough 

681
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,360
by what she did in the previous 
verses? 

682
00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:36,920
Didn't she demonstrate that she 
did trust the Lord? 

683
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:40,560
What What do you get from taking
these loved ones from her? 

684
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:44,400
And as you think about it, you 
have to remember how God works 

685
00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:47,000
with these things. 
That despite the devotion she 

686
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,320
showed and the love that she 
showed and the exemplary faith 

687
00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:51,240
that she showed, there was still
more. 

688
00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:54,360
There was still more. 
Listen. 

689
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:59,680
Faith for her to develop more 
worship for her to offer more 

690
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:05,680
polishing in her character, to 
create that can only come about 

691
00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:09,640
through the fires of suffering. 
Only there's some things that 

692
00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:13,040
you can never know, never 
realize unless you endure 

693
00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:16,640
something. 
And that's exactly what she's 

694
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:18,600
about to experience. 
Can I give you a hint how I know

695
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:20,840
that's to be true? 
Look at the last verse of this 

696
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,320
chapter, one more time, Verse 
24. 

697
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:27,360
And the woman said to Elijah, 
Now I know that you are a man of

698
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:31,520
God and that the word of the 
Lord in your mouth is truth. 

699
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,480
Not that she didn't have a 
revelation before, but it's now 

700
00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:39,280
more confirmed, just like Job. 
Job was a man of God who feared 

701
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:42,840
God. 
My ears have heard of you, but 

702
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:45,120
now my eyes see you. 
Isn't that what he said at the 

703
00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:47,600
end of it all? 
So there's deeper revelation, 

704
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,360
deeper insight. 
That's the that's the consensus 

705
00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:52,080
of the Bible. 
There is always something 

706
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:55,600
profoundly good to come about 
with, something that seems 

707
00:38:55,600 --> 00:39:00,920
profoundly horrible. 
So this son is now taken from 

708
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:05,040
her, and we see here that both 
her and Elijah made mistakes 

709
00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:07,720
that we must avoid when we were 
visited by any level of 

710
00:39:07,720 --> 00:39:09,120
devastation. 
Here's the first one. 

711
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:13,320
Look at verse 17 again. 
His illness was so severe that 

712
00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,120
there was no breath left in him.
Verse 18. 

713
00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:17,920
And she said to Elijah, what 
have you against me, O man of 

714
00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:21,520
God, you have come to me to 
bring my sin to remembrance and 

715
00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:25,480
to cause the death of my son. 
So something about this tragedy 

716
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,960
awakened her conscience of 
something that she has done in 

717
00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:30,800
the past, where she now thinks 
God has punished me for this 

718
00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:32,640
past sin. 
We're not told what that sin 

719
00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:35,960
was, but it was severe enough 
for her to be haunted by it. 

720
00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:37,720
Do you have, like a kind of past
like that? 

721
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:41,200
Do you? 
I wonder. 

722
00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:43,240
It's OK. 
You don't need to tell anybody. 

723
00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,880
God knows about it, though. 
And here's the thing that you 

724
00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:51,600
got to really be careful of to 
always equate suffering with 

725
00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:55,040
punishment. 
God is allowing this. 

726
00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:59,640
God is doing this because I did 
this, and though chastisement is

727
00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:03,320
a reality for the true child of 
God, though, God can't even 

728
00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:06,520
wound somebody for their sin to 
awaken them to repentance. 

729
00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:10,320
I can tell you this guaranteed 
because the Bible says so. 

730
00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:12,760
If it's a sin that's been 
repented of, it's a sin that you

731
00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:13,920
should never be worried about 
again. 

732
00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:19,200
If it's covered by the blood of 
Jesus Christ, if you've given it

733
00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:21,480
to the Lord, if you've left it 
at the foot of the cross, you 

734
00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:23,960
never have to for a waking 
moment, think that God's going 

735
00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:28,360
to get me back for that. 
What is the expectation of you 

736
00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:29,960
when you forgive somebody who's 
hurt you? 

737
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:32,560
People always have these 
convoluted ideas of what 

738
00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:34,080
forgiveness looks like in the 
Christians life. 

739
00:40:34,240 --> 00:40:36,720
It's very simple. 
Forgiveness is a vow that you 

740
00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:40,200
make that you will never take 
vengeance on someone for hurting

741
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,640
you or causing you pain. 
You leave vengeance to God and 

742
00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:45,840
you go beyond that where you're 
willing and you actually want 

743
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:49,720
them to be blessed instead. 
And that kind of release is 

744
00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:52,760
stimulated by your revelation of
God's mercy towards you. 

745
00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:56,520
So forgiveness is expected of 
you to look like I vowed to 

746
00:40:56,520 --> 00:41:00,120
never entertain even the thought
of somebody experiencing pain 

747
00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:01,600
because of the pain they caused 
me. 

748
00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:05,080
Is it any less true for God in 
his relation to you? 

749
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:08,840
You should never fear for a 
moment that God is going to 

750
00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:12,000
retaliate against you when you 
have expressed your desire for 

751
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:15,720
him to forgive you. 
And so this idea to equate 

752
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:18,040
whatever suffering I'm going 
through with something that I 

753
00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:22,160
must have done, if it's been 
plunged in the blood, it's done.

754
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:26,560
It's in the sea of forgetfulness
for a reason, and God has no 

755
00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:30,480
intention of recapturing it and 
rubbing it in your face. 

756
00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:33,440
So this is where this woman went
wrong. 

757
00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,960
And she thinks that this is 
because of something you admire 

758
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,040
her for humility. 
In some ways it's like a mixture

759
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:39,920
of different things that she's 
showing here. 

760
00:41:40,720 --> 00:41:43,320
She acknowledges that she's a 
Sinner, but she's applying that 

761
00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:46,800
truth in a wrong way. 
Here's another thing to look 

762
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:49,680
here. 
She doesn't just talk about her 

763
00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:50,360
sin. 
What does she do? 

764
00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:55,480
Who she blaming here? 
She's blaming Elijah. 

765
00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:01,560
It's like it's you. 
You came to my house. 

766
00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:05,960
You did this, You caused this. 
Implying probably would have 

767
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:08,360
been better if you. 
You know, we never met. 

768
00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:15,240
I look at this and I'm reminded 
here you have a man who was used

769
00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:18,080
as an instrument of God to not 
just bring blessing to this 

770
00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,480
woman, but to actually be the 
means for her survival. 

771
00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:24,160
You want to talk about somebody 
coming into your life and being 

772
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:26,960
a blessing. 
That's incredible. 

773
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:32,560
God used this man to help this 
woman, not die her and her son. 

774
00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:35,880
And how does she return the 
favor when things go bad? 

775
00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:43,600
It's your fault, Elijah. 
Be prepared as a servant of God 

776
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:48,200
who serves God's people to be 
unjustly blamed for things that 

777
00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:52,600
have no relation to you or that 
lightly relate to you. 

778
00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:56,480
Be prepared for people to even 
in their pain, when they're 

779
00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:58,480
trying to understand the 
problems that they're 

780
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:02,000
experiencing and navigating 
through the hurt and the pain in

781
00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:05,200
their lives, to project that on 
you. 

782
00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:09,440
This is especially true for 
leaders, especially true for 

783
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:12,280
leaders. 
If you're a leader serving God's

784
00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:15,280
people in any capacity, 
sometimes the people that you 

785
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:19,080
serve will have unrealistic 
expectations of you. 

786
00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:24,400
And because of those unrealistic
expectations, when you fail to 

787
00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:27,040
do what they think that you 
should do, they will accuse you,

788
00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:30,720
They will blame you, They will 
project their heart hurt and 

789
00:43:30,720 --> 00:43:35,040
their injury on you. 
Talk to anybody who's been in 

790
00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:37,720
ministry long enough and they 
can tell you that to be true, 

791
00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:40,720
that that is something that they
often experience. 

792
00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:44,280
Here you have Elijah, who's only
done nothing but good, who's 

793
00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:48,480
only blessed this woman, and yet
what does she do in return? 

794
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,840
She blames him, and there are 
many reasons for that. 

795
00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:53,440
I can tell you some interesting 
stories of people that I know 

796
00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:57,240
that were heaped on with 
condemnation from those words. 

797
00:43:57,240 --> 00:43:58,600
It's like, that doesn't even 
make any sense. 

798
00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:00,400
But it's just human nature, is 
it not? 

799
00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:03,440
There are some people who just 
don't know how to handle pain 

800
00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:06,720
and how to interpret the 
problems that they are enduring.

801
00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:12,640
So Elijah here gives me an 
example of how to learn from 

802
00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:16,800
that experience. 
Verse 19, he said to her, give 

803
00:44:16,800 --> 00:44:20,480
me your son. 
What an amazing man of great 

804
00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:23,760
compassion. 
He doesn't rebuke her again. 

805
00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:28,160
He doesn't lash out on her. 
He sympathizes with her. 

806
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:30,960
So here's some of that might be 
able to relate to you. 

807
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:35,960
Listen, if you're a Christian, 
you're going to see other people

808
00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:39,000
suffer, especially if you're in 
the church long enough. 

809
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:42,160
You're going to see people 
suffer even in the world, the 

810
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:44,240
people that you associate with, 
you're going to see them going 

811
00:44:44,240 --> 00:44:46,840
through some things. 
And when that happens, can I 

812
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:52,640
give you a suggestion? 
It is not warranted in the 

813
00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:54,920
presence of someone's deep 
brokenness where they're trying 

814
00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:57,360
to pick up all the pieces and 
put it together and make sense 

815
00:44:57,360 --> 00:44:59,000
of it. 
For you to give a theological 

816
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:04,160
treatise of why that's happening
to them, That makes sense. 

817
00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:09,720
You don't have to preach to them
as they are enduring their 

818
00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:15,200
suffering and people for some 
reason have the need to do so 

819
00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:19,480
That while this person is 
shattered and broken and 

820
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:22,760
expressing their pain, 
Christians just feel like they 

821
00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:26,240
have to explain it. 
You don't have to explain it, 

822
00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:28,840
actually. 
Sometimes the best thing you can

823
00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:34,400
do is just weep with them. 
And I've actually learned from 

824
00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:36,960
people who have suffered 
tremendously that Christians 

825
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:39,400
have actually done more harm by 
trying to give them an 

826
00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:42,800
expository reason of why. 
What they're going through is 

827
00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:46,760
why they're going through it. 
So wisdom doesn't just look like

828
00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:49,160
and what you say and thinking. 
It's going to be profound. 

829
00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:51,320
Wisdom actually looks like this.
You know what it looks like? 

830
00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,320
Not saying anything. 
A wise person doesn't talk all 

831
00:45:56,320 --> 00:45:58,960
the time. 
And if you're serious about 

832
00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:03,400
being one who comforts others, 
learn from that example. 

833
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:08,160
Just be still and be present. 
And one day, as time goes on, 

834
00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:10,320
you might have a conversation 
with that person where they have

835
00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:12,360
questions and you can expound on
those things with them. 

836
00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:17,560
But learn to suffer with people.
Learn to suffer with people. 

837
00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:21,200
Elijah here, it doesn't blow up 
on her, doesn't try to go 

838
00:46:21,200 --> 00:46:22,800
through this great deep thing 
with her. 

839
00:46:23,720 --> 00:46:25,400
He just simply is there to an 
extent. 

840
00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:28,280
His words are very brief, and in
this particular scene, he's 

841
00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:30,120
actually going to try to do 
something about it. 

842
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:32,280
And what does he do? 
He says, give me your son. 

843
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:34,680
He took her from her arms, 
meaning when she said that she 

844
00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:37,120
had him in her arms. 
And he went up to the upper 

845
00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:39,240
chamber where he lodged and laid
him on his own bed. 

846
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:44,240
And look what he does. 
Elijah himself is conflicted by 

847
00:46:44,240 --> 00:46:47,120
this trial. 
So it's not just this woman. 

848
00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:51,160
Elijah's not bulletproof here, 
and he's not just saying you 

849
00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:52,320
don't have faith. 
Give me this. 

850
00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:55,760
Let me take care of this. 
Well, I'll be back in 30 

851
00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:57,040
minutes. 
Watch, watch, watch what you 

852
00:46:57,040 --> 00:46:58,360
missed out on. 
He doesn't do that. 

853
00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:01,560
He takes this boy, goes up to 
the room, and look what he says 

854
00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:03,560
in verse 20. 
And he cried to the Lord, Oh, 

855
00:47:03,560 --> 00:47:06,960
Lord, my God, have you brought 
calamity even upon the widow 

856
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:08,960
with whom I sojourn by killing 
her son? 

857
00:47:10,560 --> 00:47:13,000
You know, in James Five, we're 
told that Elijah was a man with 

858
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:14,880
a nature like ours. 
And he prayed, and the heavens 

859
00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:17,480
shut up for three years and six 
months, and he prayed again, and

860
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:20,160
the heavens poured out rain. 
And we're like, yeah, that's how

861
00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:21,920
this man of God prayed. 
True. 

862
00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:26,440
But I'm so thankful that First 
Kings 17 includes this man's 

863
00:47:26,440 --> 00:47:28,800
prayer. 
In this way, it's like, Lord, 

864
00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:31,960
what's going on? 
What is going on here? 

865
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:36,000
I did not see this coming. 
And he begins to pour out his 

866
00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:39,840
heart to the Lord. 
So in this brief moment, here's 

867
00:47:39,840 --> 00:47:43,160
here's a study within a study. 
Elijah gives us an example here,

868
00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:47,200
a model of what to do when 
unexplainable tragedy visits 

869
00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:49,240
you. 
When some kind of suffering 

870
00:47:49,240 --> 00:47:55,960
surprises you, what do you do? 
We praise He comes to the Lord. 

871
00:47:55,960 --> 00:48:00,000
That's his immediate reflex. 
He goes to the throne of grace. 

872
00:48:00,440 --> 00:48:04,800
And I have three reasons why 
Elijah made that his reflex. 

873
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:08,480
First thing is verse 20. 
He cried to the Lord, Oh Lord, 

874
00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:11,160
my God, have you brought 
calamity even upon the widow 

875
00:48:11,240 --> 00:48:13,040
with whom I soldier and by 
killing her son? 

876
00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:16,160
The first thing that Elijah 
acknowledges indirectly in 

877
00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:19,160
asking this question is that he 
believes in the sovereignty of 

878
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:22,200
God. 
You want to know how you can run

879
00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:24,120
to prayer something that's 
almost a reflex? 

880
00:48:24,240 --> 00:48:26,720
You have to 1st establish the 
sovereignty of God. 

881
00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:29,720
So in this Elijah is admitting 
God. 

882
00:48:29,720 --> 00:48:32,320
Nothing runs by you under your 
nose. 

883
00:48:32,320 --> 00:48:34,760
Nothing is under your radar. 
You see all things. 

884
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:37,720
You know, all things. 
You permit and allow things. 

885
00:48:37,960 --> 00:48:41,240
And so, Lord, I'm here to just 
bring this perplexed thing and 

886
00:48:41,240 --> 00:48:44,800
I'm asking you, the sovereign 
God, how what? 

887
00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:49,080
What's going on here? 
So Elijah is able to commune 

888
00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:52,760
with God with his problems 
because he believes in a big God

889
00:48:53,360 --> 00:48:55,600
who sees it as aware and and 
he's there. 

890
00:48:56,240 --> 00:48:59,600
So the sovereignty of God, but 
not just the sovereignty of God 

891
00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:01,960
closely associated with that is 
verse 21. 

892
00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:04,400
Here's the second reason why 
Elijah ran to prayer as his 

893
00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:07,520
response. 
Then he stretched himself upon 

894
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:11,960
the child three times and cried 
to the Lord, Oh Lord my God, let

895
00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:15,440
this child's life come into him 
again. 

896
00:49:16,160 --> 00:49:18,480
So not just because God is 
sovereign that Elijah pray, but 

897
00:49:18,480 --> 00:49:20,080
he believed God would answer 
prayer. 

898
00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:23,280
You can have very little 
motivation to pray if you don't 

899
00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:26,520
believe God answers prayer. 
If you just think that's 

900
00:49:26,520 --> 00:49:28,760
something that you should do as 
a mental and emotional exercise,

901
00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:32,840
good luck praying like this man.
But if you really believe that, 

902
00:49:32,840 --> 00:49:38,560
because he's sovereign, he's not
distant, he's very much aware he

903
00:49:38,560 --> 00:49:41,080
can also intervene. 
So he brings this thing before 

904
00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:42,720
the Lord. 
He says, Lord, I'm asking you 

905
00:49:42,720 --> 00:49:46,840
here, can you please bring life,
bring life to this young man's 

906
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:49,280
body again? 
And you know what makes this act

907
00:49:49,280 --> 00:49:53,200
of faith so impressive? 
This is the first resurrection 

908
00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:59,320
miracle in all of the Bible. 
There is no recorded miracle 

909
00:49:59,320 --> 00:50:02,200
before this where somebody rose 
from the dead. 

910
00:50:03,440 --> 00:50:06,280
So this is the first of its 
kind, and you're going to see a 

911
00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:08,720
couple more and you're going to 
see a few more in the New 

912
00:50:08,720 --> 00:50:10,680
Testament. 
But this is the there is no 

913
00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:12,600
category for this kind of 
miracle yet. 

914
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:17,000
But Elijah had such a revelation
of who God was, the author of 

915
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:20,440
life, the giver of life, the 
taker of life, that he's able to

916
00:50:20,440 --> 00:50:23,200
pray with such confidence and 
liberty. 

917
00:50:23,600 --> 00:50:29,080
Lord, I believe that you can 
answer this, but it's not just 

918
00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:30,960
the fact that God can answer 
this prayer. 

919
00:50:33,240 --> 00:50:37,160
Look at this verse 22. 
And the Lord listened to the 

920
00:50:37,160 --> 00:50:42,040
voice of Elijah. 
He believed that he can. 

921
00:50:42,040 --> 00:50:43,440
These are very closely 
associated. 

922
00:50:43,440 --> 00:50:45,840
He believed God was sovereign. 
He believed that God can do 

923
00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:47,480
something. 
And lastly, he believed that God

924
00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:51,200
actually heard him. 
God actually heard him. 

925
00:50:51,240 --> 00:50:52,720
The Lord listened to the voice 
of Elijah. 

926
00:50:52,720 --> 00:50:55,240
And what comforts me is that God
heard him and honored his 

927
00:50:55,240 --> 00:50:58,160
prayer, even though he came so 
honestly in the way he did in 

928
00:50:58,160 --> 00:51:01,760
verse 21. 
He didn't come in saying, oh 

929
00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:07,480
resurrection and power, oh the 
giver of all life, oh, the one 

930
00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:10,720
who conquers death in the grave.
I believe without a shadow of a 

931
00:51:10,720 --> 00:51:12,240
doubt that you can raise this 
boy from that. 

932
00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:14,720
Not right away at least. 
He comes with questions. 

933
00:51:14,720 --> 00:51:18,320
He spills his heart, He empties 
his soul before the Lord, and 

934
00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:21,720
God still listen to him. 
Elijah is a prophet, a mighty 

935
00:51:21,720 --> 00:51:23,880
man of God. 
But listen, Elijah is a man like

936
00:51:23,880 --> 00:51:26,120
you and I, and here's an example
of that. 

937
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:28,560
He comes to the Lord with 
honesty. 

938
00:51:28,720 --> 00:51:31,240
He comes to the Lord with just 
raw emotion. 

939
00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:35,080
And I read here in verse 22 that
the Lord listened to him. 

940
00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:36,800
The Lord wasn't offended by 
that. 

941
00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:40,440
The Lord isn't sensitive like 
you and I might be sensitive. 

942
00:51:40,440 --> 00:51:43,720
He's very understanding. 
And so, as this man comes up 

943
00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:46,640
with the Lord with such raw 
emotion, the Lord honors him, 

944
00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:53,160
listens to him, and answers him.
We read something that perhaps 

945
00:51:53,160 --> 00:51:54,840
you wonder, why didn't we stop 
on? 

946
00:51:55,520 --> 00:51:58,520
Look at verse 21 again. 
Then he stretched himself upon 

947
00:51:58,520 --> 00:52:01,040
the child three times. 
Did you catch that? 

948
00:52:04,080 --> 00:52:07,240
That's kind of strange. 
What's he doing here? 

949
00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:10,720
Many people have made attempts 
to try to explain these actions.

950
00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:16,840
It could be that Elijah in his 
praying, was so desperate, was 

951
00:52:16,840 --> 00:52:20,800
so expressive that not only is 
he vocalizing it, but it's even 

952
00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:25,680
demonstrating what he wants. 
Lord, Lord, this bring this boy 

953
00:52:25,680 --> 00:52:28,320
to life and he lays upon the boy
and he does it again, is it's 

954
00:52:28,320 --> 00:52:31,200
almost like a physical reaction 
to this request. 

955
00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:34,760
Sometimes in desperation, you 
and I, we lay prostate, we bend 

956
00:52:34,760 --> 00:52:38,000
our knees, we lift our hands. 
And it's just a way for what's 

957
00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:41,000
in our hearts to show through 
our limbs, saying, Lord, please 

958
00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:43,200
look down here, Lord, please 
see, hear me. 

959
00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:45,880
And it could be that this man is
just laying upon this boy 

960
00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:48,400
expressing his desire. 
The life that's in here, would 

961
00:52:48,400 --> 00:52:50,640
it would you impart life into 
him? 

962
00:52:53,200 --> 00:52:57,400
Could be that he's just doing 
something that some would do 

963
00:52:57,400 --> 00:53:00,400
practically. 
And knowing that this boy was 

964
00:53:00,760 --> 00:53:06,040
fresh still he he just died 
providing natural warmth to his 

965
00:53:06,040 --> 00:53:10,080
body and trying to preserve with
whatever he could do in with his

966
00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:12,280
own body while he's seeking the 
Lord. 

967
00:53:12,400 --> 00:53:15,760
If that is true, than what a 
wonderful example of what prayer

968
00:53:15,760 --> 00:53:19,360
also looks like. 
If Elijah is doing more than 

969
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:24,280
just being expressive, but he's 
being practical here, then you 

970
00:53:24,280 --> 00:53:26,680
and I have to understand that 
when we pray and ask God it 

971
00:53:26,680 --> 00:53:30,520
doesn't replace being practical.
That's it. 

972
00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:35,200
So we should seek the Lord for 
the impossible. 

973
00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:37,680
We should ask and bring before 
the Lord all things even as the 

974
00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:40,280
first thing. 
But we should also do our part. 

975
00:53:41,040 --> 00:53:44,720
And as we do our part, we can 
trust and continue to win on the

976
00:53:44,720 --> 00:53:47,840
Lord and ask him to do his part 
again. 

977
00:53:47,840 --> 00:53:50,960
If that's what Elijah is doing, 
then what a comfort it is to not

978
00:53:50,960 --> 00:53:57,920
be overly dramatic or unwise and
not acting in what we can do to 

979
00:53:57,920 --> 00:54:01,000
try to preserve or try to 
provide or try to make things 

980
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:03,400
happen. 
Not dismissing prayer, but not 

981
00:54:03,400 --> 00:54:06,600
also dismissing to be real and 
to be practical. 

982
00:54:06,600 --> 00:54:10,080
It's a dance, and it's a 
beautiful dance when the 

983
00:54:10,080 --> 00:54:12,880
Christian knows how to be wise 
and how they approach certain 

984
00:54:12,880 --> 00:54:15,400
things. 
So you can equate that to 

985
00:54:15,400 --> 00:54:17,960
anything that you need. 
Yes, God can answer every 

986
00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:20,680
prayer, but God also asks us to 
do stuff too. 

987
00:54:21,520 --> 00:54:24,440
When you do both in honor of 
him, he can do the miraculous in

988
00:54:24,440 --> 00:54:26,320
between. 
So here's what he's doing. 

989
00:54:26,800 --> 00:54:30,320
He's laying, He's asking three 
times, and he cried out to Lord.

990
00:54:30,320 --> 00:54:32,400
This is desperate. 
Cries out to the Lord, cries out

991
00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:35,520
to the Lord, and what happens? 
The Lord answers you read it. 

992
00:54:36,040 --> 00:54:38,680
Here's where we're ending. 
And Elijah took the child and 

993
00:54:38,680 --> 00:54:40,640
brought him down from the upper 
chamber into the house and 

994
00:54:40,640 --> 00:54:43,960
delivered him to his mother. 
And Elijah said, see your son 

995
00:54:43,960 --> 00:54:47,720
lives. 
And the woman said to Elijah, 

996
00:54:48,320 --> 00:54:52,160
Now I know that you're a man of 
God, and that the word of the 

997
00:54:52,160 --> 00:55:02,520
Lord and your mouth is truth. 
So this woman that Elijah went 

998
00:55:02,560 --> 00:55:05,080
to, God sends Elijah to this 
woman inside on. 

999
00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:08,680
Perhaps for many reasons, but 
perhaps one of them is so that 

1000
00:55:08,800 --> 00:55:12,280
this Gentile woman who is 
surrounded by Baal ISM, would 

1001
00:55:12,280 --> 00:55:14,280
have a chance to hear about the 
true and living God and be 

1002
00:55:14,280 --> 00:55:18,600
saved. 
God loves the lost. 

1003
00:55:19,400 --> 00:55:22,800
He really does. 
And you might be wondering, why 

1004
00:55:22,800 --> 00:55:25,400
do I have the job that I have? 
I don't want to be here, but 

1005
00:55:25,400 --> 00:55:26,760
it's the only opening that I 
got. 

1006
00:55:26,760 --> 00:55:31,240
Maybe there's somebody in there 
that God wants to use you to 

1007
00:55:31,240 --> 00:55:34,720
touch. 
I know you want better hours and

1008
00:55:34,720 --> 00:55:36,240
you want this and you want that,
and that's fine. 

1009
00:55:36,240 --> 00:55:39,320
God will honor that. 
But God loves lost souls more, 

1010
00:55:40,160 --> 00:55:43,080
and you should too. 
So be sensitive to that. 

1011
00:55:43,600 --> 00:55:46,320
You may not be particularly 
happy about where you're at, but

1012
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:49,520
maybe because there's something 
there, there's someone there 

1013
00:55:49,800 --> 00:55:51,360
that the Lord wants to touch 
through you. 

1014
00:55:52,480 --> 00:55:55,400
So we have that. 
But there's something also even 

1015
00:55:55,400 --> 00:55:58,680
I believe, for Elijah, like, 
it's so plain, it's it's not 

1016
00:55:58,680 --> 00:56:00,920
deep really, right? 
You have like these episodes in 

1017
00:56:00,920 --> 00:56:04,840
Elijah's life and and in these 
two episodes so far, it's all 

1018
00:56:04,840 --> 00:56:07,480
about faith stretching. 
And so you have him at the brook

1019
00:56:07,480 --> 00:56:09,920
with the Ravens, and he passes 
that, and then he comes into a 

1020
00:56:09,920 --> 00:56:12,680
new semester in the school of 
God and it's what a widow and 

1021
00:56:12,680 --> 00:56:15,480
Sidon and what else? 
The sun dies, never mind the 

1022
00:56:15,480 --> 00:56:18,560
bread and the oil being 
multiplied, but the sun dies. 

1023
00:56:19,880 --> 00:56:23,960
And so Elijah here sees what he 
sees, God's resurrection power. 

1024
00:56:24,120 --> 00:56:26,240
Do you think that's just random?
No, no, no, no, no. 

1025
00:56:26,240 --> 00:56:28,400
There's a Chapter 18 that we're 
about to study. 

1026
00:56:28,560 --> 00:56:30,280
And what is going to happen in 
Chapter 18? 

1027
00:56:30,680 --> 00:56:33,360
God's going to say arise, show 
yourself to Ahab. 

1028
00:56:34,560 --> 00:56:36,160
And what's going to happen on 
this face off? 

1029
00:56:36,280 --> 00:56:39,520
He's going to confront Ahab. 
He's going to confront hundreds 

1030
00:56:39,520 --> 00:56:43,320
of false prophets on a mountain 
top with a wavering compromise 

1031
00:56:43,320 --> 00:56:46,160
nation. 
And he's going to stand alone 

1032
00:56:47,400 --> 00:56:50,600
and demonstrate devotion and 
trust in God, pray in their 

1033
00:56:50,600 --> 00:56:52,760
presence and see a miracle come 
to pass. 

1034
00:56:52,960 --> 00:56:56,400
Well, listen, it's very hard for
you to come to zero to 100, is 

1035
00:56:56,400 --> 00:56:58,240
it not? 
So what does God do? 

1036
00:56:58,520 --> 00:56:59,760
Something that he does in you 
and I. 

1037
00:56:59,760 --> 00:57:03,360
He builds his faith. 
He stretches him, He teaches 

1038
00:57:03,360 --> 00:57:06,960
him, and then he prepares him 
through that to be positioned 

1039
00:57:06,960 --> 00:57:09,520
for this glorious testimony. 
Can I say something to somebody?

1040
00:57:10,760 --> 00:57:13,000
Maybe you're a person who really
wants to be used by God. 

1041
00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:14,240
That's a wonderful desire to 
have. 

1042
00:57:14,240 --> 00:57:16,720
I can't think of a better one. 
There isn't a better one. 

1043
00:57:18,360 --> 00:57:19,800
You want to know God more 
intimately. 

1044
00:57:19,800 --> 00:57:22,360
You want to be used God by by 
God more intensely. 

1045
00:57:22,720 --> 00:57:30,320
Do not despise the days where 
God hides you, where God may 

1046
00:57:30,320 --> 00:57:32,680
limit you. 
Like think about it. 

1047
00:57:32,680 --> 00:57:36,200
This is a mighty prophet of God 
like Elijah. 

1048
00:57:36,840 --> 00:57:41,880
OK, Elijah, who in the beginning
of chapter 17 prayed and the 

1049
00:57:41,880 --> 00:57:47,400
heavens shut. 
And after Elijah prays such a 

1050
00:57:47,400 --> 00:57:50,200
mighty prayer and even 
demonstrates the Ahab. 

1051
00:57:50,200 --> 00:57:52,760
Hey, God is the one behind us 
and I'm his instrument. 

1052
00:57:52,960 --> 00:57:56,120
God takes Elijah and he puts him
in a desert. 

1053
00:57:56,720 --> 00:57:58,600
And then from the desert where 
does he stick him? 

1054
00:57:58,600 --> 00:58:02,360
In a home of a widow with a son,
He says. 

1055
00:58:02,360 --> 00:58:05,800
Stay there. 
And this man with such great 

1056
00:58:05,800 --> 00:58:09,800
potential, this man with so much
power, this man who can, we're 

1057
00:58:09,800 --> 00:58:13,120
about to find out, brings a 
nation to its knees, spends 

1058
00:58:13,320 --> 00:58:15,160
years. 
Because why we're We're going to

1059
00:58:15,160 --> 00:58:16,760
learn verse eight, chapter 18, 
verse one. 

1060
00:58:16,960 --> 00:58:20,840
After three years he is going to
go to Ahab. 

1061
00:58:21,120 --> 00:58:25,960
So for years he's in this home, 
ministering to one woman and her

1062
00:58:25,960 --> 00:58:29,880
son. 
So don't despise the days of 

1063
00:58:29,880 --> 00:58:32,200
small beginnings. 
Don't despise the days of 

1064
00:58:32,200 --> 00:58:34,760
hiddenness. 
You have Elijah, who was tucked 

1065
00:58:34,760 --> 00:58:38,400
away in a home outside of 
Israel, and he served God 

1066
00:58:38,400 --> 00:58:42,040
faithfully. 
Serve God faithfully wherever he

1067
00:58:42,040 --> 00:58:47,640
puts you, wherever He puts you. 
And even if your ministry is to 

1068
00:58:47,640 --> 00:58:50,840
bless somebody in your 
household, never forget Elijah. 

1069
00:58:51,600 --> 00:58:54,640
That's what he did, this mighty 
man of God taking care of a 

1070
00:58:54,640 --> 00:59:01,600
woman and her child. 
So this faith was being built up

1071
00:59:01,600 --> 00:59:03,920
in this man of God. 
And let me end it on this point.

1072
00:59:04,640 --> 00:59:06,960
Not only did he witness God's 
resurrection power, I mean, 

1073
00:59:06,960 --> 00:59:09,400
that's going to build up your 
faith to go against Ahab for 

1074
00:59:09,400 --> 00:59:11,160
sure. 
But his calling was even 

1075
00:59:11,160 --> 00:59:14,360
confirmed. 
It was affirmed by this woman. 

1076
00:59:14,360 --> 00:59:15,720
She's like, you're the real 
deal. 

1077
00:59:16,200 --> 00:59:22,040
Like you're the real deal. 
And God used that to speak into 

1078
00:59:22,040 --> 00:59:26,080
Elijah's life. 
I'm sure if you don't know 

1079
00:59:26,080 --> 00:59:28,600
Elijah's story fully, remember 
that in a couple of chapters 

1080
00:59:28,600 --> 00:59:32,760
he's going to doubt his calling.
He's going to just. 

1081
00:59:32,800 --> 00:59:34,480
I'm a failure. 
Just Lord take me up. 

1082
00:59:34,640 --> 00:59:36,680
I'm no better than my father's. 
I'm ready to go home. 

1083
00:59:38,040 --> 00:59:40,720
And you have this woman early on
saying what I know that you're a

1084
00:59:40,720 --> 00:59:43,120
man of God. 
I know that you're a man of God.

1085
00:59:43,120 --> 00:59:44,520
I know that what's in your 
that's true. 

1086
00:59:44,560 --> 00:59:46,680
You're the true. 
You're the true speaker of God. 

1087
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:50,880
You're the true minister of God.
Can I say something in closing? 

1088
00:59:52,240 --> 00:59:54,440
For this woman to come to this 
confirmation, you know what it 

1089
00:59:54,440 --> 00:59:57,640
required? 
It didn't just require a trial. 

1090
00:59:58,120 --> 01:00:01,640
It required a man of God who was
also going through a trial but 

1091
01:00:01,640 --> 01:00:06,520
responded to it well. 
Do not underestimate the 

1092
01:00:06,520 --> 01:00:10,800
suffering you're enduring, child
of God, because you have no idea

1093
01:00:10,800 --> 01:00:15,640
who's watching and you have no 
idea how your response to that 

1094
01:00:15,640 --> 01:00:23,000
suffering can melt the heart. 
Of a skeptic can persuade the 

1095
01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:28,000
heart of a penitent person that 
can bring a person closer to the

1096
01:00:28,000 --> 01:00:30,600
Lord, that can open their eyes 
in ways that they've never seen.

1097
01:00:30,600 --> 01:00:33,320
God, that can even bring a 
person from unbelief to belief. 

1098
01:00:33,560 --> 01:00:36,160
You know what my favorite one of
my favorite examples of that 

1099
01:00:36,160 --> 01:00:38,040
truth is? 
I said I was finished, but I 

1100
01:00:38,040 --> 01:00:41,120
have to open my Bible again. 
I'll finish here one verse. 

1101
01:00:41,320 --> 01:00:49,040
I promise Acts 16, verse 25. 
This will be a good place to 

1102
01:00:49,080 --> 01:00:51,400
end. 
I'm sure you agree with me. 

1103
01:00:51,960 --> 01:00:57,680
Yes, that is a place to end. 
Acts 16, verse 25, About 

1104
01:00:57,680 --> 01:01:01,160
midnight. 
Paul and Silas were praying and 

1105
01:01:01,160 --> 01:01:04,840
singing hymns to God and the 
prisoners were listening to 

1106
01:01:04,840 --> 01:01:06,880
them. 
I love that. 

1107
01:01:08,200 --> 01:01:14,160
Gashed, bloodied, bruised. 
And they're chained hand and 

1108
01:01:14,160 --> 01:01:18,800
foot, praying and singing God to
God, hymns to God at midnight. 

1109
01:01:19,280 --> 01:01:22,960
And the Holy Spirit wants you 
and I to know those criminals in

1110
01:01:22,960 --> 01:01:25,040
that very same place. 
We're listening to them. 

1111
01:01:25,920 --> 01:01:29,000
We're listening to them. 
You have no idea who's watching 

1112
01:01:29,000 --> 01:01:31,720
you. 
You have no idea who's looking 

1113
01:01:31,720 --> 01:01:36,800
at your social media posts. 
You have no idea who's listening

1114
01:01:36,920 --> 01:01:41,200
to you. 
And the same way Elijah, who was

1115
01:01:41,200 --> 01:01:44,520
able to gently, compassionately 
filled with faith, prayerfully 

1116
01:01:44,880 --> 01:01:49,240
push through this trial, this 
woman said in response to that 

1117
01:01:49,800 --> 01:01:52,720
you're the real deal. 
May God help us to do the same. 

1118
01:01:52,720 --> 01:01:54,400
Lord, we thank you for this 
Bible study. 

1119
01:02:05,430 --> 01:02:08,190
We pray, Lord, that we would be 
able to remember these things, 

1120
01:02:10,510 --> 01:02:12,990
more importantly, to apply them 
to real life. 

1121
01:02:18,610 --> 01:02:20,850
We thank you that you lead us 
step by step, and you're showing

1122
01:02:20,850 --> 01:02:24,330
that through Elijah's life. 
Help us. 

1123
01:02:24,330 --> 01:02:27,040
Be patient. 
Help us not be in haste. 

1124
01:02:27,480 --> 01:02:30,960
Help us to wait on you and help 
us like Elijah, if we find 

1125
01:02:30,960 --> 01:02:34,920
ourselves in a limited space, in
a foreign space, in an 

1126
01:02:34,920 --> 01:02:39,080
uncomfortable place to serve you
and not just serve you. 

1127
01:02:39,600 --> 01:02:46,600
But Lord, when things do not go 
our way to honor you and to 

1128
01:02:46,600 --> 01:02:50,040
trust that people will see that 
and it will register Well. 

1129
01:02:50,920 --> 01:02:52,760
Lord, we thank you for this time
again together. 

1130
01:02:52,760 --> 01:02:55,520
We pray that you would receive 
our worship as we rejoice over 

1131
01:02:55,520 --> 01:02:59,120
your word. 
We're blessed to be fed by the 

1132
01:02:59,120 --> 01:03:01,000
truth that your Holy Spirit has 
given us. 

1133
01:03:01,400 --> 01:03:03,560
In Jesus name we pray. 
Amen. 

1134
01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:05,400
Amen. 
Let's stand and worship the 

1135
01:03:05,400 --> 01:03:05,880
Lord. 
Yeah.