Fire from God

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10.26.08

1 Kings 17

1. historical interpretation
These are historical events that actually took place

they show us that Yahweh is the one God
Elijah means “yahweh is God”

that Yahweh is in control of all things
he can cause the rain to stop
he can feed a man by ravens
he can cause oil to never run out
he can bring a boy back from the dead
he does not always work this way, but he demonstrated his power in this day

he is faithful to his own
as we see him faithful to Elijah
delivering him in the midst of very difficult days and times

2. a moral interpretation
we find nothing specific, no commands

but a general truth that we must obey God
and it is wrong to ignore God and go our own way

3. a spiritual interpretation
(as Paul interpreted the OT looking for signs of Jesus and his salvation)

many of you in this room
although you are not worshiping Baal or another god

you live for yourself
your worship of God is not real, it is fake and external and artificial

and though your external circumstances may be fine, you may be in fine health and fine financial situation

you are under a spiritual drought
as Israel was under drought
your spirit is empty and without God

even very religious people are living in a spiritual drought, the Spirit of God is not in them,
they are living in their own power and for their own purposes

but as Elijah was nourished by God
we can be nourished by Jesus Christ, by the Spirit he gives us
God must feed us this life daily by the Spirit
as he sent meat and bread to Elijah by ravens

Are you being fed daily by Jesus Christ? Is the Spirit in you nourishing you?
Or do you live in spiritual drought?

We can’t love without God helping us to love, he is the source of love

the life of love is the only life that is blessed, joyful, a delight
a life of real spiritual nourishment

People without the Spirit have no oil and they die
only God can continue to give us from his own limitless resources

notice even the sinner Gentile woman
is a type of all of us Gentile sinners
who receive grace from God
when the man of God brings salvation to us
and we turn to the real God

1 Kings 18

1. Historical interpretation,
all these events did occur
Yahweh did answer by fire

and this event showed to Israel at that time that Yahweh is God
and the other gods are false
that God spoke through his prophet Elijah to his people
God gave this demonstration of his power through his prophet to turn the people back to him again (37, 39)

as many of us need to turn back to God again

2. Moral interpretation is again very general
There are no specific commands

but Obadiah and Elijah are presented as men
who serve and worship Yahweh (12,15)

and Ahab is presented as one who has abandoned the Lord’s commands and followed other gods (18)

A Call for decision is demanded: follow Yahweh or Baal (verse 21)
we must decide are we going to obey God’s commands or are we going to do something else? and we cannot waver between

3. Spiritual interpretation
we cannot expect literal and physical fire of Yahweh to fall
to demonstrate for the people of the USA or Chattanooga his power

but that is not because the day we live in is less powerful, today is more powerful

Yahweh is causing his fire to fall

The Spirit is falling upon his people
and manifesting itself in
new life on the inside and actions of love on the outside

this is the power of God demonstrated in the world today
this is a much greater than the fire in Elijah’s day

Jesus said people must be born from above

Has the Holy Spirit fallen upon you from above?
Has God worked his powerful demonstration of himself in you?
new love and joy and peace

The heavy rain that God brings to his people when they acknowledge him
also speaks of Jesus and the Spirit that he rains upon his people

Are you living under the refreshing rain of the Spirit?
Jesus called the Spirit “living water”

*
If you are without the Spirit, today die to your self, surrender you whole life God
and receive from God the refreshing rain of the Spirit

if you have gone back to living in your own power and an external religion again
seek from the Lord to be filled by his Spirit
to give you the love which is the only real blessing and joy

What is God? (V)

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8.26.07

What is God?

God is creator, God is king
today: God is judge

this is the simple idea:
because God made every human being
God is an advocate for every human being
if you treat with injustice another human being
he will bring judgment on you

God is judge because he loves human beings
when one man brings cruel injustice against another
there is a future day coming
when God will right that wrong

(not usually in the lifetime of the people,
but at the coming of the kingdom of God)

Job 31: 5-8

If I had done injustice to others by using deceit
in my business practices
then God should punish me

9-12
If I had done injustice to a man
by trying to steal his wife
then God should bring destruction upon me

13-15
even the lowest in status, my servants
are God’s creations
and God defends them and advocates for them

God will call me to account
for how I have treated every one in my life

16-23

Job rescued and defended the needy, orphans and widows
and he knew that if he did not
God would bring destruction upon him
for treating other human beings with injustice

skip to 29-30

he could not even curse an enemy
because he is a human being
created by God

31-32

he even care for strangers and aliens wandering through
he showed them hospitality

We should not dare to treat other human beings
with contempt or injustice
God made each one
and God himself will defend each one with his judgment
when we dare to even mock or ridicule another human being
we bring God against us
we should tremble and fear
and act with reverence
when dealing with other men and women like ourselves

1 Kings 21:1-24
1 Kings 22:29-38
2 Kings 9

God is judge
because Ahab has acted with injustice
against Naboth
God brings judgment on him
God is the advocate for Naboth
this is just a sign of what will happen at the coming of the kingdom

2 fundamental facts
1. every one of has sinned against other human beings
2. a day of Judgment is coming

Is it a doomsday when the world will be completely destroyed? No
Judgment is not just a negative thing
it is a positive thing
it is the day God sets the world right
and rids the world of all injustice and cruelty
God will destroy only those who persist in this unjust way of life
and will not turn from it

In response to the truth of your sin against others
and the reality of judgment
what should you do?
Humble yourself before God
Acknowledge your sins against others
and the judgment coming against you
Repent: turn from a way of injustice
to a way of justice in your treatment of others
Make restitution with those you have sinned against

What will God do?
God will forgive you
(even the murderer)
God will give you his Spirit,
a spirit to act with justice and love
God will rescue you on the day of Judgment
from this world of injustice
he will set the world right
and protect you from all injustice

God Can Make Iron Float

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8.20.06

2 Kings 6:1-7
Simple message here:
God can make iron float

I have been asking God this weekwhat does this mean for me?

It was 3 years ago last week that I came to this church

many individuals and families
have joined the church
or started attending the church
but during that same time
many have stopped attending
many have left us

many came briefly and drifted away
and many of you sitting here this morning
(some who used to be very involved) are drifting, drifting away

some of you who have begun attending
have stayed on the edges and never really gotten very involved
and it may not be long until you drift away as well

Why?
There are many reasons
but one reason is very common
People often leave a church because
nothing powerful seems to be happening in their lives
they begin to think
perhaps, if I go to another church
perhaps there something will happen to me that has not happened here
And I know there are some of you who are growing restless
and getting ready to leave us looking for power

let me tell you this:
There is no church out there
that can make iron float
make you something that you are not, if you are dead you are dead

There is no program that we can add
There is no change we can make
no worship style
no preaching style
no book or curriculum
that can make iron float

since I have been here I have been told
we need to have all contemporary music
we need to bring in rituals and liturgy because “younger evangelicals” dig that
we need to quit traditional church and go to house church
we need to have communal meals
we need to have professional and beautiful music of great sophistication
we need get everyone in a small group
we need to have extended prayer meetings
we need to preach topical sermons
we need to preach exegetical sermons
we need to proclaim grace alone and all will fall into place
we need to serve the poor
we need to evangelize the community
we need to do 40 days of purpose
we need to buy everyone a ticket to the Passion of the Christ
I have learned little things from all these suggestions
but I don’t believe any of them are going to make iron float

you can point to hundreds of churches dying who do each of the suggestions above
only God can make iron float
only God can make the impossible happen

was it the stick that Elisha threw in that made the iron float?
of course not
was it Elisha?was it anything that Elisha did?
no
it was God who made the iron float

There is nothing that will fix the fact that many of you have no power in your life
there is no solution
no technique
no church
no strategy
no ten steps

Only the power of God
coming in from outside
will change your life

Prayer is not enough.
Asking God in silent or audible words for his power is not enough.

6:8-14

many pray and ask for power
but do not really want it

Elisha asked for powerand God knew he wanted it
because he killed his oxen and burned the yoke
and left everythingto do what God led him to do

he followed God no matter where it lead
even to a city surrounded by an enemy army

Many of us ask for power
but we don’t really want itand the way it will upset our lives

God does not answer the insincere, double-minded prayer

Like the man who says he wants a Mercedes
but he doesn’t have one
“if you want a Mercedes so badly
why don’t you have one?”
because he doesn’t want it bad enough
to give up everything else
to pay all the money it will cost him
so he drives a toyota

When you ask for the power of God to make the iron float
are you ready for wherever that leads?

6:15-17

many ask but ask without faith

Do you really believethere are fiery chariots all around you?
The message here is that if we could seewhat was really here,
we would know the awesome power of God is here,
ready to respond to the prayer of faith

do you really believe the power of God is here?
do you really believe God can make iron float?
do you believe he can do the impossible in you?
or do you believe in human strategies, programs, techniques?

Pray in faith

6:18-23

God defeats this enemy army
by his power
not by any human armyor human action

he responds to a prayer of faith
he strikes them blind by his power

our hope is not in human efforts, human strategies, techniques, churches, books
but in the power of God to come in from the outside

and he will come if we ask
earnestly desiring to follow him
and believing in his power
and not in human efforts

Act Like You Believe

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8.13.06

2 Kings 2:1-14

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”
Elisha is saying:
I know God was with Elijah,
is God with me?

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”
and Elisha strikes the Jordan
and his answer comes:
“the water was parted to the one side and to the other”
just as it was for Elijah

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”
“He is here”

Do you believe the God of Elijah
the God who parted with Jordan river
is with you?

Do you believe the same God
is still working with the same power today?

Do you really believe it?
Then act like it.

Where are you refusing to obey because
you do not believe that God is with you?

Are you living like everything is up to you?
acting like you are on your own?
acting like God does not work with power anymore?

And yet Jesus told us this was the day!
We are not Israel in exile.
We are not under the wrath of God.
We are under his grace,
his power is at work in those who will by faith stand up and answer his call.

2 Kings 2:15-18

Elijah’s time is over
and yet these men think they still need Elijah.

It is not Elijah we need.
It is God.
God was now with Elisha.

We do not need any of the greats of the past.
We need God here now.
We need Jesus working through us.
Do you believe God can work here as he did in the past?
Then act like it.

2 Kings 2:19-22
the water was bad not fit for drinking
and the land was unfruitful because of the bad water

There are people all around us
whose wells hold poison water
they need to be healed by God

do you believe that you can be an instrument of God’s healing?
do you believe he can still heal today?
Do you believe a stodgy Presbyterian church of the frozen chosen can be used by God?
do you believe people can be healed?
Then act like it!

2 Kings 2:23-25
“move on”, “get out of here”

Elisha did not curse them because they were mean to him, or because his feelings got hurt.

A rejection of Elisha as the prophet of God with God’s message was a rejection of God.

Even when God is with us in power
people will reject us and his way.

This is not to surprise us. Jesus told us this would happen.

God is not less powerful because some reject us.
God will deal with those who reject him. (perhaps not immediately)

God will still work salvation for many.
His power will still be seen.

2 Kings 5:1-19

Do you believe that God can heal those who are not church-going,
raised in church,
raised in Christian homes people?

People like Namaan who grew up apart from God.

Do you believe he can do this?
Then act like it.

Why does the PCA, why does this church simply move people in from other churches?

Why do we rarely see healing of those outside the church?

Is it because we do not believe in his power to heal and convert?

2 Kings 5:19-27

Another warning.
Even in our midst, in our churches,
among our brothers and sisters
there are those who do not really belong here,
those who do not serve God
but serve themselves.

Jesus said this would happen.
There are those among us who claim to be followers, but they are not.

Jesus had 12 disciples yet one of them was a devil.

They will continue to grieve us and cause us problems,
but this does not lessen the power of God
God will still work powerfully despite false brothers

Do you believe in the power of God?
Act like it.

Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?

No audio available for this sermon.

8.6.06

1 Kings 19:19-21
19So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

Two men: Elijah and Elisha

Elijah was the greatest prophet in Israel.
And this is the story of the calling of Elisha as Elijah’s disciple.

he calls him by putting his cloak on him,
the cloak was the symbol of the prophet

Elisha returns only to say goodbye
and to burn his bridges
he burns the tools of his former life
Elisha leaves everything to follow God.

2 Kings 2:1-2
1Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

This is not a command.
Elijah is speaking politley
He was permitting him, not prohibiting him.

Elijah knows he is about to be taken away by God, so he gives Elisha permission to stay behind

but Elisha also knows Elijah is about to be taken away
and he refuses to leave Elijah
because he wants the power of God that has been with Elijah to be passed on to him

verse 3-5
3And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
4Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.
5The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

Elijah is on his way to the Jordan
but first he stops at Bethel and Jericho
on the way

In both places are companies of many more prophets.

Elijah appears to be checking on the other prophets of God
No doubt he strengthens them before his departure.

But they do not speak of the departure.
Elisha silences them on that topic.

verse 6-8
6Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.
8Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.

Elijah parts the waters of the Jordan
as Moses and Joshua had parted waters in the past.

The Lord is with him. The power of the Lord works through him.

verse 9-10
9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” 10And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.”

the double-portion does not mean twice the amount of his spirit
the double-portion was the inheritance given to a man’s firstborn, his heir
Elisha is the spiritual son of Elijah
and he asks to inherit Elijah’s spiritual power

verse 11-12
11And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Elisha sees the real army of God
not the human army of Israel

Elijah is taken away without death

Elisha calls him his “Father”
remember he asked for the spiritual inheritance of Elijah

he tears his clothes as a sign of grief
for the loss of Elijah
but also he is shedding his old life
because he is about to take up
the cloak of Elijah

verse 13-15
13And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. 15Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”

Elisha is asking an important question.

He is saying:
I know God was with Elijah.
But Elijah is now gone,
is God with me?

Is God with me as he was with Elijah?

And that is the question for everyone of us this morning.
Is God with you?
Do you believe he is with you
as he was with Elijah?

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”
and Elisha strikes the Jordan
and his answer comes:
“the water was parted to the one side and to the other” just as it was for Elijah

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”
the answer comes: “He is with you”

You gathered here today
are not the heirs of Elijah,
you do not have his cloak,
you did not see him taken up into heaven.

but many of you are greater than Elisha
you are heirs of Jesus
you have a double-portion of his Spirit
you are his disciples

the power at work in you is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead

it is not a power to work physical miracles
but to work spiritual transformation
in your inner being
and to transform others around you
which is a greater work than a miracle

If we do not see that transformation
we have quenched the Spirit’s fire

In the next story Elisha makes the bad water of Jericho turn good
you are bad water,
turned good by the Spirit in you,

you have the power of God to work miracles in others around you
the miracle of transforming power
to change people
every one who God has ordained

Do you know what God is calling you to do?
Seek his call. Listen to his call.
ask God to show you what he would have you to do today.

When you know that call,
burn your plow.
Leave whatever it is that hinders you from following that call.

Ask for a double-portion of the spirit of Jesus

and go forward with a boldness
that God is with you
and you are doing his work!

There is no greater joy

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”

He is here.
He is with me.
Today I am going to walk from this place
in that power.
Today I am going to do his work.

is the Lord, the God of Elijah with you today?

If so, do his work today
not tomorrow

today