WEBVTT

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Today I'm going to continue my heart -to -heart

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talk regarding something that is the most practical

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thing in the world. And it's a part of our inheritance

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in Christ Jesus. Oh, if only we could learn how

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to live. Honestly, there never was a generation

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that knew more about life than this generation.

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And it's just like that. And yet... I still contend

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that there never was a generation that knew less

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about living than this generation. And if only

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you and I could learn how to live this Christian

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life. Because every provision has been made by

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the Master for a daily, triumphant, consistent,

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happy life. But there are some things that are

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necessary if we're going to live according to

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God's plan for a happy life. I talked to you,

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you know, about the power of God. Oh, you've

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heard me talk over and over again about the power

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of God. And that's the only part that I play

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in this ministry, really, is to just get you

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to see how big, God is. Just to remind you how

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great is His power. And when once you realize

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the bigness, the greatness of God, then it's

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simple, it's easy for the two of you to work

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everything else out from there on out. But there's

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something else I want you to see. Not only the

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bigness of His power, But the fact that his presence

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with his people is real, it's not just a theory.

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Oh, you know, we've got so many theories. But

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this, what I'm talking to you about, is something

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that is not a theory, but a fact. The most real

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thing to you as an individual. And that is his

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presence. presence with you. Now some folk act

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as though they feel that when they have troubles,

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when there's sorrow, when tragedy comes to them,

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that God just turns his back and he walks away,

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leaving them. That's the way people do sometimes,

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you know. People are so fickle. Oh, sure, most

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of our friends, when you really analyze it, are

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sunny weather friends. As long as you can buy

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them a meal, and as long as you are doing the

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giving, and as long as they are receiving from

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you, as long as the sun's shining and everything's

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going well, they're good friends. But just a

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minute, something goes wrong. Where are they?

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They never come around any longer. As long as

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your husband is footing the bill. But the minute

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he loses his job, where are they? They aren't

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hanging around anymore. They don't come to your

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house anymore. Oh, human nature is so fickle.

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And some of us get the idea that God is like

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that. But he's there. He's just as real. He's

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just as near to you. He's just as dependable.

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He is just as powerful as He was when you were

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in the Holy Sanctuary feeling the power and the

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presence of the Holy Spirit. And you were receiving

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His glorious presence. Oh, that's glorious. Remember

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that. presence with His people is not merely

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a theory, it's a fact. But I want you to see

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something. We're going to go a little deeper.

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The Word of God says, obedience is greater than

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sacrifice. I didn't say that, but I have found

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it's true. God knows exactly what he's talking

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about. Now, if I were to have made a statement,

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in my limited knowledge, I would have said, the

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greatest thing in the world to you is sacrifice.

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And we hear so much about sacrifice. Oh, sacrifice.

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Sacrifice. Sacrifice is wonderful, but... I found

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out that there is a place in Christ Jesus that

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when we love him enough, nothing is really a

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sacrifice. When you love somebody enough, no

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matter what you do for them, you never consider

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it a sacrifice. Because love is something you

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do. Nothing. No matter what you paid for it.

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No matter what you had to go through to get it,

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no matter how much of yourself was involved,

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when you love someone enough, nothing is a sacrifice.

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You only wish you could do more. If you really

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want to test your love, that's one of the greatest

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tests I know anything about. Mm -hmm. And so

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it is with the master. When you love him enough,

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The hours are never too long. You're never too

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tired. Nothing that you give, nothing that you

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do, is ever considered a sacrifice. You only

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wish you could do more. The Word of God says

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that obedience is greater than sacrifice. Obedience

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is something. That was one of the lessons I had

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to learn early in life. And I learned it the

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hard way. Seems to me that everything I've ever

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learned in life was the hard way. Oh, dear me.

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What I've gone through in life would have been

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enough to kill the average person. But I was

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always the kind that... Every time I got knocked

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down, up I came again, you know. A little stronger.

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Fought a little harder. I've always tried to

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learn. And everything. You see, it's because

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I didn't get anything that I know from a seminary.

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I didn't get anything that I have learned in

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life out of a textbook. I never went to a college

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in my life. I never went to a university. In

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my life, I didn't have these privileges. I got

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mine the hard way. Sometimes it was mighty hard.

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And this is one of the lessons I had to learn.

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This thing of obedience. And sometimes you follow

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him in obedience in blind faith. Mm -hmm. Yeah.

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Abraham, go. Go where, God? Where? Never mind,

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Abraham. Go. Go. I've given the command. Go.

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And he went. Moses, go. But I can't, Lord. I

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have a stammering tongue. I'm not big enough

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to meet the situation. I can't carry this responsibility.

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Lord, dear me, are you sure you're not making

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a mistake? Go, Moses. All that I ask of you is

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to be obedient. That's all. And God didn't show

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Moses how he was going to lead. He didn't lay

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out a blueprint before him. He didn't give him

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one bit of assurance. Of any provision. Not really.

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He just showed Moses himself. And said, Moses,

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keep your eyes on me. Go. And as long as you

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are obedient to me. And there came the hour when

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Moses stood face to face with the Red Sea. With

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the thousands behind him that he was leading.

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to the word of God, and God never opened the

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Red Sea three feet ahead of Moses. I do not believe

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that the waters of the Red Sea parted two feet,

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18 inches, 12 inches. God said, go, Moses, and

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it was when Moses literally lifted his foot,

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as though he were placing it up on water, that

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the waters of the Red Sea rolled back as mold

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and glass on either side, and God led through.

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Obedience, that's it. And there's more involved

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in obedience than you and I can realize. Do something,

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if you will, please. Turn to the portion of the

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Word of God, and I won't have time to read it

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all to you. You read it. It's 1 Kings, the 17th

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chapter. Just mark it down if your Bible isn't

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handy. I want you to read the whole thing. Spend

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time with it. Elijah is involved in this one.

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Elijah was obedient to the Lord. And you are

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never in God's perfect will unless you are following

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Him in obedience. All the way. But there's more

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than Elijah mixed up in this portion of the Word

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of God. Before we're through the entire thing,

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there's Elijah, who was obedient first, then

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a little widow who was obedient. And then finally,

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because this thing is like a snowball, it keeps

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getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Obedience

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isn't for just a moment, not for just that one

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experience, not for just a day. When you're obedient

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to him, the thing keeps snowballing and gets

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bigger and bigger and bigger. All right, watch

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it. Elijah, arise. And in obedience, he did exactly

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that. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman

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to sustain thee. I am now beginning with the

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ninth verse of the 17th chapter of 1 Kings, but

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you read the entire thing. And when he came to

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the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman

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was there gathering of sticks. And he called

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to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little

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water in the vessel that I may drink. He probably

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had never seen her before. She had never seen

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him. She didn't even know who he was. But God

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knew the whole thing, and he never makes a mistake.

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Oh, I'll tell you, and he runs on schedule. And

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as she was going to fetch it, he called her and

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said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread

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in thine hand. See, the water? She could get

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him. But when she started to get the water, he

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called back and said, And say, would you mind

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please bringing me a morsel of bread? And she

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said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not

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a cake. I don't have. a cake. I'm a poor little

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widow woman. All on earth I have is a handful

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of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruise.

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And behold, I'm gathering two sticks that I may

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go in and dress it for me and my son that we

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may eat it and die because that was all she had.

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That was all honors. Wouldn't one have thought

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that God would have sent Elijah in his time of

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need? To a wealthy person? Somebody who had much

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to give? It's the strangest thing. God doesn't

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work that way. Do you want to know who is supporting

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his work? Not the millionaires, but those who

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have just a handful of meal in a barrel and a

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little oil in the cruise, and they are the ones

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who will receive the reward. It's always been

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like that. She said, that's all I've got. I've

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only got a little handful of meal, just enough

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for one meal for my son and myself. I've got

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a little oil in the cruise. And behold, I'm getting

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sticks. That's what I was doing when you saw

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me, that I may go in and dress it for me and

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my son, that we may eat it and die. Because that's

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all we have. There's no chance of getting any

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more. And Elijah said unto her, fear not. Go

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and do it as thou hast said. But make me, therefore,

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a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and

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after make for thee and for thy son. For thus

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saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal

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shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of

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oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth

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rain upon the earth. And she went and did according

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to the saying of Elijah. And she... And he and

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her house did eat many days. God always blesses

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obedience. Always. I've learned a long time ago

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that the reason many, many people never get anywhere

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in life is because they have never learned of

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this wonderful secret of being obedient unto

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the Lord. They get so greedy. They get so selfish.

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And the minute that you do, you lose the blessing,

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and year passes, and five years pass, and still

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you have no more than you had the first year.

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And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did

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the cruise of oil fail, according to the word

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of the Lord. which he spake by Elijah, is at

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the end. No, it's not the end, because obedience

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continues. It grows. Because the little widow

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woman was obedient in something that on the surface

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seemed very small, there came a time when she

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needed something big from the Lord. He remembered

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her obedience. This continues. And it came to

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pass after these things that the son of the woman,

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the mistress of the house, fell sick. And his

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sickness was so sore that there was no breath

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left in him. And she said unto Elijah, she remembered

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the preacher. What have I to do with thee, O

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thou man of God? Art thou coming to me to call

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my sin to remembrance and to slay my son? And

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he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took

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him out of her bosom, carried him up into a loft,

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where he abode. They were just poor people. They'd

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lived up in a loft. And he laid him upon his

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own bed. And he cried unto the Lord and said,

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O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon

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the widow with whom I sojourned by slaying her

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son? And he stretched himself upon the child

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three times and cried unto the Lord and said,

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O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's

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soul come into him again. And the Lord heard

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the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child

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came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah

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took the child. brought him down out of the chamber

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into the house and delivered him unto his mother.

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And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the

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woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that

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thou art a man of God and that the word of the

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Lord in thy mouth is truth. But I do not... believe

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that this miracle would have happened if the

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little widow woman had not been obedient with

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the handful of meal in the barrel and the little

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oil that was left in the cruise. God bless you.