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.
Pastor Joseph Prince Sermon Notes Online - This parable teaches us many lessons. One of which is that Satan comes to steal God's word that is planted in our hearts. We must guard our hearts and let the word bear manifold fruits. (I do not own this image. It belongs to Allisence Chang and Logos Bible Software.)
Romans 11:2-4 - Elijah is recounting the sins of Israel to God. He is interceding against Israel. We are not saved to recount the sins of our fellow brothers. Sometimes we feel like the only faithful one left. The enemy puts that in our minds. Whenever a servant of God presents himself as indispensable to God, God has an answer for that person. Never think of yourself as being indispensable to God. "God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, “ LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”" (Romans 11:2-4 NKJV) Romans 11:4 - God is never lacking. He is well supplied. God is eternal, our time on earth isn't. "But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”" (Romans 11:4 NKJV) 1 Kings 19:1-13 - God is saying that sometimes when a ministry has the loudness (the earth, wind, and fire), it may not accomplish the results that it should. God's way is the way of grace. What all the preaching of judgement cannot do, grace will. We have to learn to hide ourselves like Elijah. "And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”" (I Kings 19:1-13 NKJV) I Kings 19:14-16 - The moment you think you're indispensable to God, He asks you to anoint the next successor. Elijah's ministry was cut short. "And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” Then the LORD said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place." (I Kings 19:14-16 NKJV) Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah's anointing. Elijah did 8 miracles. Elisha did 16 miracles, and his last miracle happened after he died. Someone touched Elisha's bones and was healed. Those who seek to save their own lives will lose it, and don't who lose their lives for Jesus's sake will find it! Time sacrificed to do God's work will be multiplied back to you. 2 Kings 4:38-44 - This incident is about both the Holy Communion and the Tithe - about Healing and Provision. Gilgal was supposed to be a place of blessing. Gilgal means "a rolling away". At the cross, Jesus' finished work rolled all our sins away! One person tried to improve on what God already made. The wild gourd was shining, it looked good, and he added it to the stew even though he didn't know what it was. It all began in the Garden of Eden. God placed Adam and Eve in a place of finished work, prepared a feast for them, but man tried to use his own wisdom to improve on what God did. God wants man to rest in His finished work, but man always feels like he should improve God's perfect work, which ends up producing death. Elisha (representing Jesus) commanded for flour to be added to the pot. The way of the world is to remove something bad from the situation, because uncleanness spreads in the natural. Even if your food is 90% clean and 10% dirty, the whole thing becomes unclean. Only Jesus can step into the unclean situation and make it completely clean. No one ever died in Jesus' presence. He IS (not has) the Resurrection and the Life. God's way is to add something greater (Jesus) that eliminates the bad. The way we partake of the fine flour now is through the Holy Communion. When the man tithed (gave his first-fruits), the people were well-fed and there were leftovers. There are two differences between Elisha and Jesus. The first difference is the SCALE of the miracles. Elisha fed 100 men whereas Jesus fed 5000 men, not including women and children. In Elisha's miracle, there was some leftover, whereas in Jesus' multiplication of the loaves, there were 12 basketfuls leftover. Second difference: Elisha had to say "thus says the Lord", whereas Jesus IS the Lord. God always supplies us with more than enough - His provisions are always greater than our needs! "And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.” But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ” So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD." (II Kings 4:38-44 NKJV) Leviticus 2:1-2 - This is a picture of Jesus. Jesus is totally balanced in His entire character with no coarseness, just like fine flour. When He is firm, He is not hard. Mary was impregnated through the Holy Spirit overshadowing her. (Oil being poured), and He is a sweet aroma to God. God loves to be reminded about His Son, Jesus. "‘When anyone offers a grain offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD." (Leviticus 2:1-2 NKJV) Leviticus 2:4 - Jesus was in Mary's womb (mixed with oil) and when He was 30 years old, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit in the river Jordan when the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove. "‘And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil." (Leviticus 2:4 NKJV) Mark 4:17 - Some preachers are afraid to preach about healing because of the counterattacks that come from the devil (example: striking their children with sickness). The devil is afraid that the Word of God will take root in the hearts of people, so he attacks those who spread the Word. "and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble." (Mark 4:17 NKJV)
Pastor Joseph Prince Sermon Notes Online - Elijah calls down the fire of God to consume the sacrificial offering successfully, after the priests of Baal failed in their repeated attempts to invoke their god to do so. Under the Law, the judgement consumes the sacrificial offering. Under grace, the sacrificial offering (Jesus) is greater than the judgement.
The grass looks greener on the other side until you are on the other side and see the truth, that what you had was better. Be thankful for the good things that you already have. When we think that we have the ability, God ceases to be our ability. When we rest in His grace, God becomes our ability. In every situation we face, say "Lord, this problem belongs to You." Luke 22:31-34 - Sometimes Jesus allows us to go through a difficulty with our faith, to let us emerge victorious on higher ground (healthier, wealthier, etc.). "And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”" (Luke 22:31-34 NKJV) Psalm 66:12 - We may feel attacked by the devil and others at times, but look for the "out" - the "out" will not be the same place where you came "in". If you defeat the devil through faith, you will come out of the trial with the spoils of war, and enter into a place of abundance! The Hebrew word for "abundance" here is "revayah". The devil has to think twice about attacking you because if you win through faith, you will reach a place of prosperity. "You made men ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water, Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance." (Psalms 66:12 NASB) Psalm 23:5 - The word "overflows" in this verse is the same Hebrew word "reveyah" (for abundance). In the midst of your trials, declare your victory, take communion. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows." (Psalms 23:5 NASB) I hope that you have been blessed by reading this post on "30 November 2014 - Pastor Joseph Prince Sermon Notes Online - New Creation Church Sermon Notes Online - Miracles of Judgement and Grace - Elijah and Elisha". Do any of the suggested articles below interest you?
Want to receive Jesus into your life, be saved from your sins and inherit unmerited favor and eternal life as a child of God? Go this link and simply pray the prayer aloud! Welcome to God's big, happy family - You are now a child of God! Would you like to help to keep this blog alive and get exclusive rewards (including ALL my sermon notes in a downloadable e-Book format)? Visit my Patreon page for more details now! Please Like, Share and Comment on this post if you were blessed by reading these sermon notes! Be blessed and walk in divine favor, Milton Goh ---------------------------------------------- Follow me on Instagram @miltongohblog Connect with me on FaceBook here. Watch my videos on YouTube here. * Please Take Note: These sermon notes are not official New Creation Church (NCC) or Pastor Joseph Prince sermon notes. These sermon notes are not affiliated with NCC or Pastor Prince. I highly recommend purchasing Pastor Prince's sermons on his mobile app "Joseph Prince" on Apple App Store or Google Play Store even after you read these notes as I may have missed out something he shared and the overall experience is definitely different when you listen to him preaching directly! Use these notes as a revision guide instead of solely depending on them! These sermon notes are independently-compiled by me, and I'm just a loyal and regular attendee of the the church's Sunday services, and I feel led to take detailed personal sermon notes of Pastor Prince's anointed messages to share them with the world, which desperately needs the true word of God and the original gospel of grace. I feel blessed to be able to attend Pastor Joseph Prince's services in person, and would like to help everyone who isn't able to attend in person, to get hold of the messages as soon as it is preached! Many blessings and thanks to Terence Koh and Shanice Ng for supporting this blog as our Superabundant Grace tier patrons!
2 Comments
Rachel
10/12/2014 01:27:01 pm
I am really blessed and inspired by your message! May God bless you pastor Prince!
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AuthorHi I’m Milton Goh, I'm 31 years old and i'm a blogger who writes about Christianity, Parenting, Life Lessons that I learn from Movies/Shows, and Lifestyle. |