30 November 2014 - Overflowing Life And Health—Keys From The Story Of Elisha - Pastor Joseph Prince Sermon Notes Online - New Creation Church Sermon Notes Online
Before we become self-righteous, we all have those times where we are low on faith too. Even these great Men of God, Elijah, even David. Then what about us? Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mt Sinai - it took 7 chapters to write about it, whereas Creation is only 1 chapter. God talked with him about His Son in types, figures and shadows, and gave Moses the two tablets of stone (with The Law) only on the last day. God loves to hear about and talk about Jesus. He who has The Son (Jesus), has all other blessings too. Because of the cross, God is righteous in justifying sinners. God's righteousness is satisfied because of His Son. He is so satisfied that He makes us His sons! The way to teach the Bible is to unveil Jesus in the Scriptures. Why were Cleopas and the other disciple prevented from recognising Jesus in person on the Road to Emmaus? Why didn't Jesus just show them the marks in His hands and feet to make them believe? Revelation given to Pastor Joseph Prince: It's more important for us to see Jesus in the Scriptures than to see Jesus in person while alive, so that all generations would have the equal chance to see Jesus in the Word. Elijah and Elisha appeared during the most corrupt period in Israel, during the reign of King Ahab who married the witch, Jezebel. There is a succession to priests and kings, but not for prophets. God can raise a prophet from anywhere. The only instance of prophetic succession is Elijah to Elisha. Elijah (His name means "My God saves") reminds us of John the Baptist whereas Elisha reminds us of Jesus. Elijah's miracles are miracles of judgement whereas Elisha's miracles are miracles of grace. Elijah's first miracle was to prevent rain in Israel. Elisha moved among the common folk and was easily accessible. Elijah dressed roughly and differently. Luke 1:17 - John the Baptist comes in the spirit of Elijah. "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”" (Luke 1:17 NKJV) Elijah's ministry was cut short. One of the most famous incidents regarding Elijah is when he confronted the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal were cutting themselves - God will never ask you to mutilate yourself. God heals. Elijah put twelve stones together representing the twelve tribes of Israel. God's fire descended from heaven consumed the sacrifice and even all the water surrounding it was gone. Under the Law, the judgement is greater than the sacrifice. Under grace, the sacrifice (Jesus) is greater than the judgement. At the cross, Jesus consumed all the judgement of God and was still alive. Luke 7:33-34 - Legalism cannot be satisfied. They will either say you're too strict or too licentious. They said that John was to severe and Jesus too indulgent. The words that they used as an accusation towards Jesus becomes a wonderful accolade for us today. Jesus is our friend (we were all sinners before receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior). Jesus is a ready, gracious friend. He always meets our needs. "For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’" (Luke 7:33-34 NKJV) We would have thought that after the confrontation at Mount Carmel where the Lord proved that He is the true God, Israel would have turned back to the Lord, but they did not. Elijah was greatly discouraged. There's nothing more crushing than failure in ministry. When Jezebel heard that Elijah killed the prophets of Baal, she swore to kill him, and Elijah in fear, ran away to escape from her. When you take your eyes off Jesus, things become bleak. Keep your eyes on Him! Elijah threw himself under a juniper tree and told the Lord, "Let me die!" If he really wanted to die, he could have waited for Jezebel to come and kill him. When we take our eyes off God, we become a walking contradiction. We should make small our problems, and make God big! Instead of answering Elijah's prayer, God put him to sleep. Aren't we glad that God doesn't answer all our prayers? He sees our needs and supplies us with what we lack. God sent an angel and prepared food and drink for Elijah, and after eating, Elijah went back to sleep again. After Elijah woke up again, the angel fed him again. Jesus is the only Food that nourishes us. Spend time to feed on Him through reading the Word.
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Hi I'm Milton Goh,
30, from Singapore. I am married to a beautiful wife and have one adorable 7 year old daughter. I am a Christian writer/author and I blog on this website about Christian, Parenting and Lifestyle content. Thanks for reading!
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