WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.219 Sharing good news of great joy to all people, 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:09.759 Elation Church. Today, the title of the message 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:18.019 is this, Demonstration and Power. Demonstration 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:25.120 and Power. Here we go. Going to start out by 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:28.640 reading 1 Kings chapter 18. Going to start with 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:32.609 verse 16. So if you just want to write down 1 00:00:32.609 --> 00:00:35.710 Kings 18, 16 through 19, and then read it again 00:00:35.710 --> 00:00:40.549 this week, because it's a lot of verses. And 00:00:40.549 --> 00:00:43.070 I want you to listen like you've never heard 00:00:43.070 --> 00:00:46.850 this story before, even though if you've spent 00:00:46.850 --> 00:00:48.850 any time in church, you've heard this story. 00:00:50.490 --> 00:00:53.070 Sometimes when we're very familiar with something, 00:00:53.189 --> 00:00:57.630 we put our mind on idle. Do you know what I'm 00:00:57.630 --> 00:01:01.280 talking about? My mind's been on idol a lot because 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:07.079 I thought I knew it. Well, I need to know what 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:10.719 God wants to speak to me today, right? So don't 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:14.920 put your mind on idol. 1 Kings 18, verse 16. 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:19.500 So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:24.379 come. And Ahab went out to meet Elijah. Ahab 00:01:24.379 --> 00:01:28.739 is the king, in case you didn't know that. Elijah 00:01:28.739 --> 00:01:31.019 is the prophet, in case you didn't know that. 00:01:31.739 --> 00:01:36.459 When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, so is it really 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:44.200 you, you troublemaker of Israel? Well, Ahab had 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:49.180 a point. We could say he had a point. Because 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:55.280 Elijah had been led by God. To prophesy that 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:57.560 it wasn't going to rain until he said it was 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:01.439 going to rain. So now we've gone over three years 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:09.900 in a drought. To put it in context. Here's the 00:02:09.900 --> 00:02:19.199 deal. God wasn't punishing the people. He was 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:25.310 trying to wake the people up. Look to the person 00:02:25.310 --> 00:02:28.710 beside you and say, wake up. See, God had promised 00:02:28.710 --> 00:02:34.430 that as long as they acknowledged him as God, 00:02:34.629 --> 00:02:40.689 worshiped him and obeyed him and kept his word, 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:46.090 God said it will always rain. There will never 00:02:46.090 --> 00:02:49.969 be a famine. There will never be a drought. That 00:02:49.969 --> 00:02:55.719 was God's promise. But guess what? The people 00:02:55.719 --> 00:03:01.400 had turned away from God. So just to make sure 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:03.759 they knew that that was a problem, the prophet 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:06.219 said, okay, it's not going to rain until I say 00:03:06.219 --> 00:03:11.020 it's going to rain again. So it wasn't just something 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:15.379 just happening by chance. Okay, it's just, we're 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:18.180 not in a rainy season. So, you know, we have 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:21.210 cycles and it's... and it rains sometimes, and 00:03:21.210 --> 00:03:23.909 it doesn't rain sometimes, El Nino and all that 00:03:23.909 --> 00:03:27.150 kind of stuff, right? Somebody smile at least. 00:03:27.250 --> 00:03:31.509 I mean, I know that's not a joke, but just so 00:03:31.509 --> 00:03:34.629 they couldn't say, well, you know, that happens 00:03:34.629 --> 00:03:39.689 every once in a while. It had been raining. The 00:03:39.689 --> 00:03:41.629 prophet said, okay, it's not going to rain anymore 00:03:41.629 --> 00:03:45.909 until I say it rains. At that point, wouldn't 00:03:45.909 --> 00:03:48.310 you know that God had something to do with it? 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:58.639 So Ahab, a wicked king, married to Jezebel, an 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:02.060 extremely wicked woman. I don't know why people 00:04:02.060 --> 00:04:06.740 named their little girls Jezebel. Maybe they 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:12.900 heard it in some kind of country song. But please 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:19.360 don't name anybody Jezebel. She was very wicked. 00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:25.990 So he says, is that you? You're the troubler. 00:04:26.269 --> 00:04:28.129 You're the one who said it wasn't going to rain. 00:04:29.870 --> 00:04:33.050 So is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel? 00:04:35.970 --> 00:04:40.769 Elijah says, I have made no trouble for Israel, 00:04:41.009 --> 00:04:46.410 Elijah replied. You and your family are the troublemakers. 00:04:50.990 --> 00:04:55.290 They were the ones promoting false religion, 00:04:55.449 --> 00:05:00.089 false gods, that all the people had turned to. 00:05:01.290 --> 00:05:05.209 Jezebel is the one who spearheaded that. You 00:05:05.209 --> 00:05:07.689 and your family are the troublemakers, for you 00:05:07.689 --> 00:05:10.290 have refused to obey the commands of the Lord 00:05:10.290 --> 00:05:13.350 and have worshipped the images of Baal instead. 00:05:14.949 --> 00:05:17.250 The trouble is coming from you, not from me. 00:05:18.750 --> 00:05:24.370 Now summon. Elijah's coming on purpose because 00:05:24.370 --> 00:05:26.569 Elijah has heard God. Everybody say you heard 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:30.910 God. Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount 00:05:30.910 --> 00:05:34.889 Carmel along with the 450 prophets of Baal and 00:05:34.889 --> 00:05:38.310 the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported 00:05:38.310 --> 00:05:48.509 by Jezebel. So here's 850 false prophets supported 00:05:48.509 --> 00:05:55.529 by... The queen, I guess. So Ahab summoned all 00:05:55.529 --> 00:05:58.170 the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount 00:05:58.170 --> 00:06:02.589 Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and 00:06:02.589 --> 00:06:07.930 said, How much longer will you waver, hobbling 00:06:07.930 --> 00:06:13.230 between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow 00:06:13.230 --> 00:06:22.509 him. But if Baal is God, then follow him. Quit 00:06:22.509 --> 00:06:27.750 wavering. Because I'm sure, even though they 00:06:27.750 --> 00:06:31.310 were worshiping Baal, they would throw in God 00:06:31.310 --> 00:06:34.410 a little bit. You know, God's the one who brought 00:06:34.410 --> 00:06:39.649 us out of Egypt, but we worship Baal. You know. 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:48.689 They probably had Yahweh as an add -on God. They 00:06:48.689 --> 00:06:56.779 still remembered some things. How much will you 00:06:56.779 --> 00:07:01.180 waver? How much longer will you waver? Going 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:08.300 back and forth. Everybody say mixture. If the 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:10.500 Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal is God, 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:15.800 then follow him. But the people were completely 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:21.579 silent. Then Elijah said to them, I am the only 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:23.860 prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal... 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:28.939 has 450 prophets. Now bring two bulls. The prophets 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:32.220 of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and 00:07:32.220 --> 00:07:34.839 cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:38.379 their altar, but without setting fire to it. 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:41.339 I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the 00:07:41.339 --> 00:07:46.420 wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. Then 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:50.139 call on the name of your God, and I will call 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:53.540 on the name of the Lord. The God who answers 00:07:53.540 --> 00:07:57.699 by setting fire to the wood is the true God. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:03.319 All the people agreed. Then Elijah said to the 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:06.879 prophets of Baal, You go first, for there are 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:10.199 many of you. Choose one of the bulls and prepare 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:14.579 it and call on the name of your God, but do not 00:08:14.579 --> 00:08:18.069 set fire to the wood. So they prepared one of 00:08:18.069 --> 00:08:20.430 the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they 00:08:20.430 --> 00:08:23.129 called on the name of Bell from morning until 00:08:23.129 --> 00:08:29.569 noontime, shouting, Oh, Bell, answer us. But 00:08:29.569 --> 00:08:35.169 there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, 00:08:35.250 --> 00:08:40.309 hobbling around the altar they had made. I don't 00:08:40.309 --> 00:08:44.470 know why they chose the word hobbling. They danced 00:08:44.470 --> 00:08:48.639 around the altar. Jumping around. I don't know 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:50.179 what hobbling looks like. I was going to do it 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:58.519 for you. About noontime. Everybody say trash 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:03.100 talk. About noontime, Elijah began mocking them. 00:09:06.259 --> 00:09:11.659 You'll have to shout louder. He scoffed. For 00:09:11.659 --> 00:09:16.860 surely, he's a God. Perhaps he's daydreaming. 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:21.200 Or he's relieving himself. Perhaps he's gone 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:32.320 to the bathroom. Maybe that's why he's not answering 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:35.320 you. That'd be a long bathroom break. Because 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:41.399 they've been going for hours already. Or maybe 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:47.879 he's away on a trip. Or is asleep and needs to 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:52.500 be wakened. So bump it up a notch. Get louder. 00:09:52.740 --> 00:10:00.240 Dance bigger. Stir it up. So they shouted louder. 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:04.080 And following their normal custom, they cut themselves 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:08.519 with knives and swords until blood gushed out. 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:11.279 I mean, they're ramping it up as hard as they 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:23.110 can. They raved all afternoon until the time 00:10:23.110 --> 00:10:25.049 of the evening sacrifice. Everybody say three 00:10:25.049 --> 00:10:28.330 o 'clock. They raved all afternoon until the 00:10:28.330 --> 00:10:34.429 time of the evening sacrifice. But still, there 00:10:34.429 --> 00:10:39.929 was no sound, no reply, no response. So I imagine 00:10:39.929 --> 00:10:41.909 they've been working it up for about five hours. 00:10:44.870 --> 00:10:46.610 Because it was noontime the last time. It had 00:10:46.610 --> 00:10:48.049 already been going for a long time. Now they 00:10:48.049 --> 00:10:53.429 went for three more hours. I'm just going to 00:10:53.429 --> 00:11:05.090 say, Bell had his chance. More than enough. By 00:11:05.090 --> 00:11:08.269 the way, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:10.230 it was three o 'clock when he said he was finished. 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:13.860 Time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:19.039 just in case you don't know that. Then Elijah 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:22.639 called to the people, come over here. They all 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:26.320 crowded around him as he repaired the altar of 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:28.840 the Lord that had been torn down. You see, there 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:34.379 had been an altar on Mount Carmel to Yahweh. 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:41.179 It had been abandoned. It had been torn down 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:50.940 even. People weren't worshiping God, acknowledging 00:11:50.940 --> 00:12:00.360 him. So he began to pick up the 12 stones, each 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:06.720 stone representing the tribes of Israel. So he 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.940 places those stones back and makes an altar again. 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:12.700 It was just a pile of stones. It had been knocked 00:12:12.700 --> 00:12:15.220 down by the people. We don't know who knocked 00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:20.019 it down. Maybe Jezebel knocked it down. We don't 00:12:20.019 --> 00:12:24.980 know. But it was someone who was not honoring 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:29.539 God. That was the person who knocked it down. 00:12:29.659 --> 00:12:31.779 And there were quite a few people not honoring 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:35.200 God. He took the 12 stones, one to represent 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:38.080 each of the tribes of Israel, and he used the 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:42.059 stones to rebuild the altar in the name of Yahweh, 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:46.340 the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar, 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:51.960 large enough to hold about three gallons. Or 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:54.659 you could say two seas of seed, but three gallons 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:56.940 communicates a little bit better, I believe, 00:12:57.019 --> 00:13:02.690 to our minds. He piled wood on the altar, cut 00:13:02.690 --> 00:13:05.669 the bull into pieces, laid the pieces on the 00:13:05.669 --> 00:13:10.029 wood. Then he said, fill four large jars with 00:13:10.029 --> 00:13:14.470 water and pour the water over the offering and 00:13:14.470 --> 00:13:20.070 the wood. If you're looking for fire, you probably 00:13:20.070 --> 00:13:23.129 don't need to drench it with water. I'm just 00:13:23.129 --> 00:13:26.750 saying. After they had done this, he said, do 00:13:26.750 --> 00:13:29.679 the same thing again. And when they were finished, 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:33.120 he said, now do it a third time. Make sure it's 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:38.799 good and wet and waterlogged. So they did, as 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:42.320 he said. You got to remember, it hadn't rained 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:50.379 in over three years. And now he's got, I don't 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:59.669 know, 18 gallons of water that he's poured, Over 00:13:59.669 --> 00:14:03.309 this altar. And can you imagine people saying, 00:14:03.509 --> 00:14:07.909 well, that's a waste. We're struggling for water. 00:14:08.049 --> 00:14:13.909 Our crops are dying. Our animals are dying. We 00:14:13.909 --> 00:14:18.269 don't have enough water. Why are you wasting 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:25.549 all this water? Well, after all this was over, 00:14:25.629 --> 00:14:31.350 he said, I see a little bitty cloud. Do you see 00:14:31.350 --> 00:14:39.710 it? I see a cloud. And even though it looks tiny, 00:14:39.929 --> 00:14:46.350 rain's coming. I didn't mean to get to that part 00:14:46.350 --> 00:14:50.269 of the story, but anyway. That's how, by faith, 00:14:50.289 --> 00:14:51.870 he could just waste all the water he wanted. 00:14:53.350 --> 00:14:55.190 Because he was going to call the end of the drought 00:14:55.190 --> 00:15:00.539 right after what God was going to do. And how 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:06.159 the people were going to respond. After they 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:07.879 had done this, he said, do the same thing again. 00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:09.600 When they were finished, he said, now do it a 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.720 third time. So they did as he said. And the water 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:16.639 ran around the altar, even filled the trench. 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:21.700 So the sacrifice is soaked. The wood is soaked. 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:26.500 The stones are soaked. The ground is soaked. 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:31.820 And there's a trench of standing water around 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:38.220 it. At the usual time for offering the evening 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:41.659 sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the 00:15:41.659 --> 00:15:51.860 altar and prayed. Oh, Lord. Oh, Yahweh. The God 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:56.899 of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Listen to what 00:15:56.899 --> 00:16:02.539 he says. Prove today that you are God in Israel. 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:09.240 Prove that you're God. That I'm your servant. 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:13.360 Listen to what he says. Prove that I have done 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:18.980 this at your command. Elijah wasn't just sitting 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:21.779 in his cave or his tent saying, you know what 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:29.299 would be cool? He's doing exactly what God told 00:16:29.299 --> 00:16:34.279 him to do. Not what he created in his own imagination. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:40.000 He's doing what God told him to do. Prove that 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.899 I have done all this at your command. Oh, Lord, 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:47.279 answer me. I mean, I bet he's praying loud because 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:50.120 there's thousands of people out there. He's talking 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:51.659 to God, but he's wanting to make sure everybody 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:56.460 can hear. Answer me, Lord. Yahweh, answer me. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:02.460 Answer me so these people will know that you, 00:17:02.700 --> 00:17:10.680 O Lord, O Yahweh, are God. Not this bell stuff. 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:15.819 Answer me so they'll know that you are the one 00:17:15.819 --> 00:17:25.109 and only true God. Answer me, God. O Lord. Do 00:17:25.109 --> 00:17:27.369 this so that everybody will know in the sound 00:17:27.369 --> 00:17:33.509 of my voice that you love them and you want them 00:17:33.509 --> 00:17:40.589 to come back. Right? So these people will know 00:17:40.589 --> 00:17:43.230 that you are Lord, are God, and that you have 00:17:43.230 --> 00:17:50.130 brought them back to yourself. Now based on these 00:17:50.130 --> 00:17:54.599 statements, We know that Elijah had heard God. 00:17:56.599 --> 00:18:00.799 And for him to call everybody out, the whole 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:04.579 nation and the prophets of Baal and Asherah, 00:18:04.579 --> 00:18:07.640 to call them out to the mountain, to call all 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:11.160 the people. We know something. We know that he 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:13.299 believed God. We know that he had confidence 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:16.599 in what God had told him. We know that he was 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:23.779 standing in great expectation. You might want 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:30.039 to write these three things down. Or four things 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:33.980 or five things. How many ever I got there? I 00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:35.559 don't have a little star here, but these are 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:38.359 important things. Not just for Elijah, but for 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:43.279 you. These are important things. Elijah heard 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:49.539 God. Elijah believed what God said. Elijah had 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:53.559 confidence in what God said. Elijah expected 00:18:53.559 --> 00:19:09.599 God to do what he said he was going to do. Do 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:11.380 you see it in what he said? Do you see those 00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:20.380 things? Do you see that he obeyed God? These 00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:27.940 are key things. for all of us, every day, every 00:19:27.940 --> 00:19:37.259 moment, every challenge. Here's what happened. 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:45.359 Immediately, everybody say immediately. Immediately, 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:51.660 the fire of Yahweh, every time it's all caps, 00:19:52.490 --> 00:19:56.829 L -O -R -D, it's our English derivative of Yahweh. 00:19:58.829 --> 00:20:03.049 Immediately, the fire of Yahweh flashed down 00:20:03.049 --> 00:20:09.130 from heaven, burned up the soaking wet, drenched 00:20:09.130 --> 00:20:14.289 young bull. Burned up. It didn't say like a little 00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:16.529 spark started and a little flame came and then 00:20:16.529 --> 00:20:20.450 they had to wait, you know, 30 minutes for the 00:20:20.450 --> 00:20:26.329 bull to be burned up. Does it? Burned up the 00:20:26.329 --> 00:20:32.130 young bull. Burned up the wood. Burned up the 00:20:32.130 --> 00:20:46.849 stones. Twelve big boulders. It's just all turned 00:20:46.849 --> 00:20:52.900 to ash right before their eyes. Immediately. 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:59.900 Everybody say immediately. It even burnt the 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:07.500 dust. It even licked up all the water in the 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:09.859 trench. No more water. The trench was full of 00:21:09.859 --> 00:21:17.559 water. It's dry. Bone dry. Don't know how that 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:21.220 translates in the Spanish or French. Bone dry. 00:21:25.869 --> 00:21:29.450 And look what happened. When all the people saw 00:21:29.450 --> 00:21:38.190 it, they fell face down on the ground. Everybody 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:42.930 say a posture of worship. We went through, you 00:21:42.930 --> 00:21:46.269 know, authentic praise and worship and one of 00:21:46.269 --> 00:21:50.210 the, well, often in the Old Testament when you 00:21:50.210 --> 00:21:52.910 just read the word worship, it's talking about 00:21:52.910 --> 00:21:58.619 a position. He's talking about falling face down 00:21:58.619 --> 00:22:03.180 before God. That's a posture of worship. And 00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:06.960 it's considered worship to God. When you do it 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.579 out of a heart, you know, when it starts on the 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:12.799 inside, not just every time you lay face down, 00:22:12.940 --> 00:22:15.279 that's not technically worship, but if it begins 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.599 in the heart, like you're just amazed and you're 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:23.900 in awe of God and you lay down face down. He 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:28.619 receives that as worship. When all the people 00:22:28.619 --> 00:22:33.599 saw it, how many? Just about 10 or 20 standing 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:39.339 around the altar? Thousands of people. When all 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:41.160 the people saw it, they fell face down on the 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:57.769 ground and cried out, Yahweh is God! Can anybody 00:22:57.769 --> 00:23:07.329 see why it was about to rain now? The demonstration 00:23:07.329 --> 00:23:14.049 of the power of God was instrumental in the people 00:23:14.049 --> 00:23:18.130 turning away from the powerless counterfeit. 00:23:20.990 --> 00:23:23.890 They turned away from the powerless counterfeit 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:36.309 and they turned to The real living God. I love 00:23:36.309 --> 00:23:42.410 this story. But the Bible is not just a history 00:23:42.410 --> 00:23:50.690 book. It contains some history. But it's not 00:23:50.690 --> 00:23:54.650 just a history book. It's more than a history 00:23:54.650 --> 00:24:02.170 book. We shouldn't sit here and say, God, that 00:24:02.170 --> 00:24:04.910 was amazing that you used to be able to do that. 00:24:09.069 --> 00:24:12.670 Boy, it sure is amazing. All those Old Testament 00:24:12.670 --> 00:24:16.269 stories that I read, it sure is amazing that 00:24:16.269 --> 00:24:18.869 you did these remarkable things. God, that was 00:24:18.869 --> 00:24:33.470 so awesome. Demonstration and power are important. 00:24:34.990 --> 00:24:39.150 It's just as much important today as it's ever 00:24:39.150 --> 00:24:53.769 been because we live in a world that's looking 00:24:53.769 --> 00:25:10.500 for something real. Oh, they've had experience 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:19.400 with church before. But they've never seen the 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:29.859 real living God. I'm here today to tell you that 00:25:29.859 --> 00:25:37.740 He's the same. Same God. Same God. He doesn't 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:47.589 change. So many people are desperate for something 00:25:47.589 --> 00:25:57.710 real. They're searching for something real. But 00:25:57.710 --> 00:26:03.690 what do we have to offer them? I want to break 00:26:03.690 --> 00:26:05.069 down this verse and then we're going to be done. 00:26:05.589 --> 00:26:07.849 Don't take that as we're about done and about 00:26:07.849 --> 00:26:11.150 to walk out the door because it's going to take 00:26:11.150 --> 00:26:14.170 a few minutes to break down this verse. 1 Corinthians 00:26:14.170 --> 00:26:23.579 2. verses 4 and 5. This just shows us that Paul 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:25.880 believed the same thing that Elijah believed. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:32.960 Very clear. He's talking to the Corinthians. 00:26:33.019 --> 00:26:39.099 There's been false prophets, false teachers. 00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:44.900 trying to mess up. I mean, Paul would go to a 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:50.359 place and plant a church in a community, and 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:52.299 then other people would come in and they would 00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:56.319 say, well, you know, what Paul says isn't actually 00:26:56.319 --> 00:27:00.839 true. You've still got to earn righteousness 00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:06.759 just like we used to. You know, all this great 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:12.029 stuff, we can't run away with that. We can't 00:27:12.029 --> 00:27:14.670 get too wrapped up in that because, you know, 00:27:14.710 --> 00:27:20.329 we got to work for it, earn it, deserve it. And 00:27:20.329 --> 00:27:23.910 then there were other people doing witchcraft 00:27:23.910 --> 00:27:29.029 in these cities. And they're saying, we have 00:27:29.029 --> 00:27:33.250 the power to help you deal with the situations 00:27:33.250 --> 00:27:38.529 that you're dealing with. We can help you. That's 00:27:38.529 --> 00:27:43.619 how they were making a living, you know. Just 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:48.579 like the signs up and down 27. Palm reading. 00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:54.039 All this kind of stuff. It's no different, same 00:27:54.039 --> 00:28:01.240 thing. Here's what Paul said. He said, my message 00:28:01.240 --> 00:28:06.039 and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:16.539 words. Paul was smart. Paul was, they called 00:28:16.539 --> 00:28:21.980 him a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had studied under 00:28:21.980 --> 00:28:25.140 the most renowned Pharisee, Gamaliel, that there 00:28:25.140 --> 00:28:28.259 was at the time. He had studied under him. He 00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:33.079 was highly educated. And we find in Romans when 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:37.799 he went to Athens, he like dealt with them philosophically 00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:41.019 because that's what they were talking about. 00:28:42.410 --> 00:28:45.069 When he said, oh, you have this statue to an 00:28:45.069 --> 00:28:52.150 unknown God. Let me tell you who that is. You 00:28:52.150 --> 00:28:59.109 know? But it was more than that. My message and 00:28:59.109 --> 00:29:02.829 my preaching were not with, I would say, just 00:29:02.829 --> 00:29:11.750 wise and persuasive words. But, with a demonstration 00:29:11.750 --> 00:29:16.809 of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might 00:29:16.809 --> 00:29:22.930 not rest on human wisdom, but that your faith 00:29:22.930 --> 00:29:30.190 can rest on God, on God's power, so that your 00:29:30.190 --> 00:29:35.289 faith can rest on a real God doing real things 00:29:35.289 --> 00:29:45.460 in front of your eyes. Think about that a minute. 00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:55.720 We're going to look at four Greek words. Message. 00:29:55.859 --> 00:30:03.039 He said, my message. That's the word logos. Now, 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:05.019 when I did a word study, normally I would say 00:30:05.019 --> 00:30:07.400 logos is a written word and rhema is a spoken 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:09.279 word. I mean, because that's just what I've heard 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:11.940 all my life. But, hey, you look it up and you 00:30:11.940 --> 00:30:15.170 do a word study. Look it up yourself. This verse, 00:30:15.410 --> 00:30:24.769 interlinear. Go to Bible, which one? Bible Hub? 00:30:25.789 --> 00:30:29.750 Bible Hub, interlinear. Look at, you know, the 00:30:29.750 --> 00:30:35.529 summary. Go down, read it yourself. Logos is 00:30:35.529 --> 00:30:38.089 actually attached to Lego. Who remembers talking 00:30:38.089 --> 00:30:43.640 about Lego? When we're talking about faith and 00:30:43.640 --> 00:30:48.240 we're talking about our words, it's a systematic 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:55.759 discourse where you're building something. So 00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:58.299 what Paul is saying is, when I've been talking 00:30:58.299 --> 00:31:00.259 to you, when I've been writing to you, I've been 00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:05.019 building something with my words. That's my message. 00:31:06.859 --> 00:31:09.839 And I'll go ahead and put it this far. When you 00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:13.009 come to Elation Church, And Jeffrey and I are 00:31:13.009 --> 00:31:16.650 preaching and bringing a message. We are building 00:31:16.650 --> 00:31:25.150 something with our words. Because we use words. 00:31:25.269 --> 00:31:29.769 We have a microphone, right? So we're building, 00:31:29.829 --> 00:31:38.589 building faith with our words. Building hope 00:31:38.589 --> 00:31:44.940 with our words. Building life with our words. 00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:53.059 Building a way to a relationship with God with 00:31:53.059 --> 00:32:00.940 our words. Faithfulness. And his preaching. He 00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:07.579 said, my message and my preaching. This word 00:32:07.579 --> 00:32:11.720 means an authoritative, public, good news announcement. 00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:18.839 delivered on behalf of a sovereign. See, this 00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:24.059 good news announcement, this authoritative public 00:32:24.059 --> 00:32:30.019 good news announcement is not delivered from 00:32:30.019 --> 00:32:36.880 Paul. He's delivering it from God. It's a public 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:41.420 declaration of God's redemptive work in Christ. 00:32:46.440 --> 00:32:52.500 So the preaching is supposedly building a case 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:57.059 and letting you know what it means to be in Christ, 00:32:57.240 --> 00:33:02.599 what God has made available to you, who you have 00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:07.779 become, who you are in Christ, who God is, what 00:33:07.779 --> 00:33:12.819 God does. Does that sound familiar to anybody? 00:33:17.180 --> 00:33:21.440 Here's the deal. It's more than words and ideas. 00:33:23.660 --> 00:33:29.160 It is words and ideas. But if that's all it is, 00:33:29.339 --> 00:33:33.980 then every single one of us, we're just wasting 00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:36.839 our time. If we're just coming together, together 00:33:36.839 --> 00:33:39.900 to look into God's Word just for more words and 00:33:39.900 --> 00:33:43.700 more ideas from the preacher, we're completely 00:33:43.700 --> 00:33:50.470 wasting our time. And we would be just like so 00:33:50.470 --> 00:33:58.230 many. We couldn't offer anybody anything. Because 00:33:58.230 --> 00:34:01.150 people could come here and hear these words and 00:34:01.150 --> 00:34:04.630 these ideas and they could leave no different. 00:34:08.409 --> 00:34:15.889 Unchanged. And leave going, I tried that religion 00:34:15.889 --> 00:34:19.849 thing again and it's just not working. There's 00:34:19.849 --> 00:34:27.389 no demonstration and no power. If all it is is 00:34:27.389 --> 00:34:30.929 words and ideas, then we might as well load it 00:34:30.929 --> 00:34:35.469 up and go to a theme park on Sunday morning. 00:34:38.389 --> 00:34:46.570 They have words and ideas too. Come on somebody. 00:34:51.019 --> 00:34:54.960 But what did Paul say? My message and my preaching 00:34:54.960 --> 00:34:57.260 were not with wise and persuasive words. It's 00:34:57.260 --> 00:35:03.840 more than words, more than ideas. It's a demonstration 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:09.260 of God's power. Because the Holy Spirit is God. 00:35:12.099 --> 00:35:18.360 Demonstration of God's power. Demonstration. 00:35:20.489 --> 00:35:24.150 Here's your Greek word. What does that mean? 00:35:25.289 --> 00:35:33.190 It means a manifest, observable proof that validates 00:35:33.190 --> 00:35:36.650 a claim. And I ask you, does that sound like 00:35:36.650 --> 00:35:42.150 what Elijah said on Mount Carmel? Prove to the 00:35:42.150 --> 00:35:45.170 people that you're God. Prove that I'm your servant. 00:35:45.429 --> 00:35:47.230 Prove that I've done all these things at your 00:35:47.230 --> 00:35:55.420 word. A manifest observable proof that validates 00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:59.559 a claim. And get this, it's the tangible way 00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:06.219 the Holy Spirit authenticates the preaching and 00:36:06.219 --> 00:36:17.039 the message. The proclamation. Power. Same word 00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:19.440 in Acts 1 -8 where it says, you'll receive power. 00:36:23.239 --> 00:36:25.199 When the Holy Ghost comes upon you, you will 00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:33.300 receive power. It's power to achieve. Get this. 00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:40.159 It's power to achieve by applying the Lord's 00:36:40.159 --> 00:36:48.000 inerrant abilities. So it's not our power. God 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:56.360 empowers us. It's the process of him applying 00:36:56.360 --> 00:37:03.119 his inerrant abilities. You could put it this 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:07.679 way. Power through God's ability. Not human power. 00:37:10.019 --> 00:37:18.519 Power through God's ability. So, how does this 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:23.960 apply to us? We've got some statements. that 00:37:23.960 --> 00:37:27.539 I really need you to consider. I'm not going 00:37:27.539 --> 00:37:29.460 to have it up here so long that you can write 00:37:29.460 --> 00:37:31.179 it all down, but take a picture of it, write 00:37:31.179 --> 00:37:39.719 it down later. As followers of Christ, we shouldn't 00:37:39.719 --> 00:37:47.780 be just expecting information. Words and ideas. 00:37:50.829 --> 00:37:53.590 Now if you come expecting just words and ideas, 00:37:53.670 --> 00:37:55.170 that's probably what you're going to leave with. 00:37:56.250 --> 00:37:58.969 Because that's what you were expecting. And God 00:37:58.969 --> 00:38:01.170 will meet you at the point of your expectation. 00:38:05.349 --> 00:38:10.349 But God is expecting us to expect more than words 00:38:10.349 --> 00:38:21.079 and ideas. Not just expecting information. As 00:38:21.079 --> 00:38:24.159 Christ followers, as children of God, we need 00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:27.860 to always be expecting a demonstration and a 00:38:27.860 --> 00:38:32.519 transformation by God's power. Now listen, some 00:38:32.519 --> 00:38:34.219 of you are like, well, I'm not going to go build 00:38:34.219 --> 00:38:36.860 an altar and ask God to call down fire when I'm 00:38:36.860 --> 00:38:39.199 at work this week. What are you saying, Dean? 00:38:39.300 --> 00:38:40.760 Is that what you're saying we need to do? We 00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:43.320 need to go get some rocks, stand out in our front 00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:47.800 yard, call all of our neighbors, you know. Round 00:38:47.800 --> 00:38:50.059 up the stray cat in the neighborhood. Put it 00:38:50.059 --> 00:38:54.840 on the altar. I'm allergic to cats. That's why 00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:59.800 I use cats. I mean, is that what you're asking 00:38:59.800 --> 00:39:02.679 us to do? Get our neighbors to come over? Say, 00:39:02.760 --> 00:39:09.219 hey, y 'all watch this. Y 'all watch this. Oh, 00:39:09.219 --> 00:39:16.769 God. Prove yourself. By burning. up his cat. 00:39:19.030 --> 00:39:21.190 The cat's already dead. Maybe it was run over 00:39:21.190 --> 00:39:24.690 in the road. I don't know. Like I said, I'm allergic 00:39:24.690 --> 00:39:33.329 to cats. What should I use? I like possums. I'm 00:39:33.329 --> 00:39:38.489 just kidding. If you put them in a sweet box 00:39:38.489 --> 00:39:41.909 and give them some good cornbread, they might 00:39:41.909 --> 00:39:45.849 turn into a good... I do know a guy that... Eight 00:39:45.849 --> 00:39:49.369 possums. But anyway, after you sweeten them up. 00:39:53.030 --> 00:39:58.650 Don't get lost in the joke. Here's the deal. 00:40:01.650 --> 00:40:09.849 Now listen to me. With God, there is no difference 00:40:09.849 --> 00:40:18.719 in what we might consider a small demonstration 00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:27.239 of his power and the fire on Mount Carmel. It's 00:40:27.239 --> 00:40:34.539 all the same to him. But I am telling you, he 00:40:34.539 --> 00:40:46.210 wants to work in you to demonstrate His power. 00:40:48.829 --> 00:40:50.909 Because people are looking for something real. 00:40:52.590 --> 00:40:56.230 We don't just replicate the things that we read 00:40:56.230 --> 00:41:02.409 in the Old Testament. God wants to work in you 00:41:02.409 --> 00:41:11.969 and through you where you are. He wants to show 00:41:11.969 --> 00:41:22.230 himself. To those around you. So that they will 00:41:22.230 --> 00:41:31.730 see him and know that he's real. And he wants 00:41:31.730 --> 00:41:38.309 to do that in you and through you. You need to 00:41:38.309 --> 00:41:42.630 come expecting God to speak to you. Every time 00:41:42.630 --> 00:41:44.909 you open your Bible, you need to expect God to 00:41:44.909 --> 00:41:48.070 speak to you. Because He is speaking to you. 00:41:49.769 --> 00:41:52.969 That He would cause His Word to come alive. It's 00:41:52.969 --> 00:41:55.690 not just a history book. I said it before. It's 00:41:55.690 --> 00:42:02.190 the living Word of God. So we need to expect 00:42:02.190 --> 00:42:08.849 to hear from God. He's living in us. We need 00:42:08.849 --> 00:42:11.989 to acknowledge Him and ask Him to speak to us 00:42:11.989 --> 00:42:17.239 and give us ears to hear, eyes to see. Here's 00:42:17.239 --> 00:42:21.559 the problem. We go about our life just in a flesh 00:42:21.559 --> 00:42:35.840 and soul mode. Almost all the time. But we need, 00:42:35.960 --> 00:42:40.000 get this, we need to learn to be who we are. 00:42:40.119 --> 00:42:44.280 We are a spirit. We live in a body and we have 00:42:44.280 --> 00:42:48.059 a soul. We need to start working on living as 00:42:48.059 --> 00:42:51.300 spirits in this world. Because that's who we 00:42:51.300 --> 00:42:54.940 are. But the world will tell you that you're 00:42:54.940 --> 00:42:57.059 just your mind, your will, and emotions in a 00:42:57.059 --> 00:43:02.380 body. But we are spirits created in the image 00:43:02.380 --> 00:43:09.079 of God. Walking in this earth. Representing God 00:43:09.079 --> 00:43:14.079 who is spirit. He made us like himself in his 00:43:14.079 --> 00:43:20.510 image. We're spirits. We need to learn to live 00:43:20.510 --> 00:43:26.949 as spirits, not as soulish and fleshly beings. 00:43:29.150 --> 00:43:32.190 We need to expect God to speak to us. We need 00:43:32.190 --> 00:43:35.050 to be determined to take action on what he says. 00:43:37.349 --> 00:43:39.369 Just as kind of revealing some of the sermon 00:43:39.369 --> 00:43:40.969 because I was so excited about it. I was like, 00:43:41.050 --> 00:43:43.630 well, God, just help us say yes even before you 00:43:43.630 --> 00:43:48.099 say anything. Help us to be in that point where 00:43:48.099 --> 00:43:53.480 we're going to say yes. Speak to me, God. Show 00:43:53.480 --> 00:43:58.280 me a step. Show me a word. Show me a touch. Show 00:43:58.280 --> 00:44:03.440 me a gift. Whatever it is. I'm ready to say yes 00:44:03.440 --> 00:44:10.980 even before you ask me or tell me. You think 00:44:10.980 --> 00:44:13.099 that might be where Elijah was before he just 00:44:13.099 --> 00:44:20.199 summoned everybody to the mountain? We don't 00:44:20.199 --> 00:44:23.380 know that for sure. It's not written, but somebody 00:44:23.380 --> 00:44:32.880 that bold? God's not asking you to call down 00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:35.820 fire from heaven to consume the possum. I'll 00:44:35.820 --> 00:44:38.280 switch to possum. They got run over in the road. 00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:46.059 Because the majority of us would say, ain't no 00:44:46.059 --> 00:44:56.480 way, God. Ain't no way I'd do that. I'd look 00:44:56.480 --> 00:45:05.460 like a fool. All my neighbors would run me out 00:45:05.460 --> 00:45:09.199 of the neighborhood. Call me a crazy old fool. 00:45:13.420 --> 00:45:15.460 Well, if you just did it in your own imagination, 00:45:16.000 --> 00:45:20.159 I'd call you a fool too. Hey, but if God told 00:45:20.159 --> 00:45:23.380 you to do it, Would you have the expectation 00:45:23.380 --> 00:45:30.780 and the confidence to do it? Expecting God to 00:45:30.780 --> 00:45:33.340 speak to you. Be determined to take action on 00:45:33.340 --> 00:45:40.699 what he says. I don't want to ever argue with 00:45:40.699 --> 00:45:44.519 God when he tells me to do something again. Because 00:45:44.519 --> 00:45:48.539 I've done it. I don't know if you've done it 00:45:48.539 --> 00:45:53.090 or not, but I've done it. We need to get away 00:45:53.090 --> 00:45:58.630 from that. See, demonstration and power are connected 00:45:58.630 --> 00:46:01.110 to our hearing, believing, and doing, just like 00:46:01.110 --> 00:46:10.190 it was Elijah. I see you taking pictures. For 00:46:10.190 --> 00:46:20.269 us to see it, for God to use us in this way, 00:46:22.190 --> 00:46:24.550 It's going to be connected to our hearing God, 00:46:24.690 --> 00:46:28.409 our believing God, and our obeying God, doing 00:46:28.409 --> 00:46:36.949 what he says to do. Quickly. We need to live 00:46:36.949 --> 00:46:41.309 our lives expecting to see and experience a demonstration 00:46:41.309 --> 00:46:51.019 of God's power. Most of the time when we talk 00:46:51.019 --> 00:46:54.420 about faith, we're talking about how it can benefit 00:46:54.420 --> 00:47:01.820 us. Aren't we? Most of the time. To help us through 00:47:01.820 --> 00:47:07.539 the trouble that we're in, the hurdle that we're 00:47:07.539 --> 00:47:12.639 facing, the past thing that's messed up today, 00:47:12.800 --> 00:47:22.489 we can have faith to overcome those things. Based 00:47:22.489 --> 00:47:29.389 on what God has said. And it is. Look to the 00:47:29.389 --> 00:47:31.429 person beside you and say, you're going to enjoy 00:47:31.429 --> 00:47:35.170 it. You're going to enjoy the demonstration and 00:47:35.170 --> 00:47:37.949 power of God working. You're going to enjoy it. 00:47:40.889 --> 00:47:46.289 You're going to enjoy it. How many of you think 00:47:46.289 --> 00:47:53.039 Elijah just, this is amazing. Do you think he 00:47:53.039 --> 00:47:54.900 enjoyed it that day when the fire came down and 00:47:54.900 --> 00:47:58.320 consumed the sacrifice? I mean, he was expecting 00:47:58.320 --> 00:48:03.219 it. He was confident. He did it. But it's always 00:48:03.219 --> 00:48:10.059 awesome to see God do it. I've got testimony 00:48:10.059 --> 00:48:14.139 after testimony after testimony where I believed, 00:48:14.280 --> 00:48:19.219 I heard, and I believed, and I expected, but 00:48:19.219 --> 00:48:21.099 it's always pretty awesome when God does it. 00:48:21.320 --> 00:48:29.500 And we see it. Right? So we're going to enjoy 00:48:29.500 --> 00:48:35.920 it. We're going to enjoy the breakthrough. We're 00:48:35.920 --> 00:48:40.159 going to enjoy overcoming and the victory. We're 00:48:40.159 --> 00:48:43.619 going to enjoy the deliverance. We're going to 00:48:43.619 --> 00:48:47.159 enjoy the restoration. We're going to enjoy the 00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:56.610 miracle. Right? It's for you, but it's for more 00:48:56.610 --> 00:49:00.949 than you. Look to the person beside you and say, 00:49:00.989 --> 00:49:07.050 it's for more than you. I mean, you might can 00:49:07.050 --> 00:49:09.949 live the rest of your life without the breakthrough, 00:49:10.170 --> 00:49:12.289 without the victory, without the deliverance, 00:49:12.289 --> 00:49:14.550 and without the restoration, without the miracle. 00:49:17.829 --> 00:49:20.789 You can live the rest of your life without that. 00:49:23.009 --> 00:49:25.190 And still make it to heaven one day when you 00:49:25.190 --> 00:49:32.889 die. Right? How many of you think it'd be a whole 00:49:32.889 --> 00:49:36.030 lot better with it? And here's the deal. It's 00:49:36.030 --> 00:49:42.530 for more than you. Because this is generational. 00:49:43.730 --> 00:49:45.730 We need to start thinking generational. When 00:49:45.730 --> 00:49:48.849 we read our Bibles, we see that so many promises 00:49:48.849 --> 00:49:52.420 and so many things actually... kept multiplying 00:49:52.420 --> 00:49:55.579 over generation, over generation, over generation. 00:50:02.079 --> 00:50:12.840 Here's an example. Abraham. Did he ever have 00:50:12.840 --> 00:50:19.239 more physical children walking around his house? 00:50:20.010 --> 00:50:22.989 Did he ever have more children than the stars 00:50:22.989 --> 00:50:27.949 in the sky? I mean, did he ever experience that? 00:50:28.110 --> 00:50:31.530 Were there like millions of children running 00:50:31.530 --> 00:50:37.710 around him and Sarah? But he heard and he believed. 00:50:40.510 --> 00:50:46.150 And he received a miracle. Right? 100 -year -old 00:50:46.150 --> 00:50:49.059 man, 90 -year -old woman having a baby. Look 00:50:49.059 --> 00:50:50.480 to the person beside you and raise your eyebrows 00:50:50.480 --> 00:50:53.019 and say, that's a miracle. That's a miracle. 00:50:55.059 --> 00:50:57.239 He received a miracle, but it was for more than 00:50:57.239 --> 00:51:04.659 him. Over a million people coming out of Egypt. 00:51:05.619 --> 00:51:09.380 That's a lot of children, but it was generational. 00:51:13.219 --> 00:51:17.619 His offspring got the land that God had given 00:51:17.619 --> 00:51:28.860 him. It's generational. Here's the deal. You 00:51:28.860 --> 00:51:34.579 experiencing the demonstration and the power 00:51:34.579 --> 00:51:40.599 of God in your life in such a way that is not 00:51:40.599 --> 00:51:43.119 just something that you keep a secret, but everybody 00:51:43.119 --> 00:51:51.369 else can even notice the change. Notice the transformation. 00:51:53.829 --> 00:52:01.730 Notice the miracle. They see evidence of the 00:52:01.730 --> 00:52:08.110 testimony. Because sometimes we can give testimonies 00:52:08.110 --> 00:52:12.849 in church that are not really a reflection of 00:52:12.849 --> 00:52:21.619 what's happening on Tuesday morning. preaching 00:52:21.619 --> 00:52:29.480 good. It's generational. See, that same list 00:52:29.480 --> 00:52:31.679 again. Your breakthrough, your victory, your 00:52:31.679 --> 00:52:37.179 deliverance, your restoration, your miracle is 00:52:37.179 --> 00:52:40.699 going to make a difference. That demonstration 00:52:40.699 --> 00:52:45.139 of the power of God instead of just your words 00:52:45.139 --> 00:52:50.719 and your ideas about God. When your family sees 00:52:50.719 --> 00:52:54.880 a demonstration of the power of God in your life, 00:52:54.920 --> 00:52:58.659 when they see something real that has changed, 00:52:58.679 --> 00:53:06.760 not just words changing, but a real change, it's 00:53:06.760 --> 00:53:08.699 going to get their attention. It's going to be 00:53:08.699 --> 00:53:12.179 just like that fire coming down on Mount Carmel 00:53:12.179 --> 00:53:15.980 when it's a real deal by a real God and there's 00:53:15.980 --> 00:53:18.739 no other explanation. other than God did it. 00:53:18.760 --> 00:53:21.880 You know who I used to be, but look what the 00:53:21.880 --> 00:53:29.380 Lord has done. They might even say, something's 00:53:29.380 --> 00:53:33.639 done happened to you. You're not the same person 00:53:33.639 --> 00:53:40.059 you used to be. And that's when you can, let 00:53:40.059 --> 00:53:51.840 me tell you what God did. It's not only generational, 00:53:51.860 --> 00:53:55.559 it's territorial. Everybody say territorial. 00:54:01.280 --> 00:54:05.380 Because when your life becomes a testimony or 00:54:05.380 --> 00:54:10.559 a proof, hello somebody, when your life becomes 00:54:10.559 --> 00:54:17.840 a proof of the goodness of God, it's going to 00:54:17.840 --> 00:54:24.170 change more than your family. It's going to change 00:54:24.170 --> 00:54:30.190 everywhere you go. Because people who used to 00:54:30.190 --> 00:54:34.670 know the way you were, or they knew what you 00:54:34.670 --> 00:54:43.590 have been dealing with, and they see, I'll pull 00:54:43.590 --> 00:54:47.929 up the list again, when they see, when your co 00:54:47.929 --> 00:54:53.039 -workers, when your neighbors, See the breakthrough? 00:54:56.880 --> 00:54:59.920 It's no different than the fire from heaven coming 00:54:59.920 --> 00:55:09.280 down. Same thing. God sees it the same. It's 00:55:09.280 --> 00:55:16.599 all spectacular to Him. But when they see the 00:55:16.599 --> 00:55:18.360 breakthrough in your life, when they see the 00:55:18.360 --> 00:55:23.219 victory in your life, when the wine is permanently 00:55:23.219 --> 00:55:34.360 removed from your voice, you're just whining 00:55:34.360 --> 00:55:45.039 like the world. I love it when I think about 00:55:45.039 --> 00:55:52.369 things that aren't in my notes. when the wine 00:55:52.369 --> 00:56:00.389 is gone from your voice, when the problem that 00:56:00.389 --> 00:56:03.070 they have seen in your life because you've been 00:56:03.070 --> 00:56:09.170 whining about it, when they see the breakthrough, 00:56:09.309 --> 00:56:11.130 when they see the victory, when they see the 00:56:11.130 --> 00:56:13.829 deliverance, when they see the restoration, when 00:56:13.829 --> 00:56:28.329 they see the miracle, God wants to use your life, 00:56:28.530 --> 00:56:34.030 the situations of your life, to prove himself 00:56:34.030 --> 00:56:55.980 by demonstrating his power in your life. Let's 00:56:55.980 --> 00:57:02.800 pray. God, I thank you for your word. Thank you 00:57:02.800 --> 00:57:06.079 for what you've been working in me all week. 00:57:06.380 --> 00:57:10.579 Thank you for the things that you've brought 00:57:10.579 --> 00:57:14.280 to my mind even as I presented what I knew so 00:57:14.280 --> 00:57:19.639 far. Thank you for those touches to speak to 00:57:19.639 --> 00:57:22.000 my heart and to speak to each person's heart 00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:27.019 in here. Help us to take hold of it. Don't let 00:57:27.019 --> 00:57:29.119 us run away from it. Help us take hold of it. 00:57:34.199 --> 00:57:42.519 God, we expect, I expect, to see demonstrations 00:57:42.519 --> 00:57:47.099 of your power in your people in this room this 00:57:47.099 --> 00:57:51.400 week. I expect to see it. And I expect to hear 00:57:51.400 --> 00:57:56.909 about it. And I expect, just like Elijah, that 00:57:56.909 --> 00:58:03.789 people will be drawn to you because you are proving 00:58:03.789 --> 00:58:09.170 your goodness and your faithfulness and your 00:58:09.170 --> 00:58:19.070 word through your people as we become the demonstration 00:58:19.070 --> 00:58:33.599 of your power. Thank you. Thank you. In Jesus' 00:58:33.699 --> 00:58:38.559 name I pray. Amen. This online worship experience 00:58:38.559 --> 00:58:41.059 was brought to you by the friends and partners 00:58:41.059 --> 00:58:42.099 of Elation Church.