1 Kings 18:42, “So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,43 And said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up, and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, “Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.”
45 And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.” Did you hear that! “There was a great rain.” A downpour! Living in California we have been experiencing a drought for many months. Do you know what some of the effects of a drought are? Write these things down. It is my desire that you will become note takers. (Show my stash.) The lessons that you are receiving are coming down from above. This is how we received our bible. From the note takers. One day in the future it might be your notes that someone is reading, so make sure you gear your note taking to how God is expressing Himself to you. You ready? 1. A drought can cause you to begin to ration. It brings fear and you begin to store up for emergencies. Listen to this again: “It brings fear!” It brings fear that you will not have enough of what you need. 2. A drought causes people to do things they would ordinarily have never done. It makes you have irrational thoughts and behavior. 3. A drought can make you focus more on your lacks. It will highlight the things that you need to the point where you can only see the need. 4. A drought can block your vision. You become so focus on what is happening in the now that you cannot see the true state of the moment. Someone say elevate my vision Jesus. But a drought can bring so much more than these things if you allow it to. 1. It can elevate your vision. – Either it will take you to a place of hopelessness or it will take you to a place of promise. 2. It can enhance your desires. – It can take you to a place of focus on your desires and make you want those things even more. 3. And educate you on your future. - You can get divine revelation on how to act, or what you need to do. We all know that before the breakthroughs there is always a time of trial and hardship. Most people believe this to be Satan trying to block your blessings, but this is usually not the case. It is a time of preparation. Why preparation? You are either carrying something that needs to go or you are lacking something vital to your destination. God either wants to strip you down or He wants to build you up. Let’s face the truth right now. We have lived in this world and embraced many things of this world due to our lack of knowledge. So now you gained knowledge, but what about those things that have already attached themselves to you from the world? Do they just fall away? It would be nice if they did, but what really happens is you forget that they are there because they have become an intricate part of your being. The roots have dug in very deep and you usually can’t even see these less desirable things. But the Word says, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3) And if these things just disappear as you gave your life over to Christ, God would not have made a provision of deliverance. Even our beloved Paul had to go through deliverance after he became a follower of Christ and his deliverance came through testing. Your testing is leading to your deliverance right now. Self-evaluate. I cannot say that enough. Self-evaluate. Self-evaluate. Self-evaluate. Say with me, “self-evaluate.” Write this down: What am I speaking to others? How am I acting in front of others? Do I look like replica of Christ or do I look like a replica of man? Am I ugly because I look just like the world, or am I beautiful because I look just like Jesus. Self-evaluations are not a onetime thing to do. It must be repeated every day, every step of the way. Whenever things get funky, do a self-evaluation. Look at your inner-self first. Take a good look at yourself and see what God is trying to cut out or off of you. Your season of drought will not end until God has completed this process of removal. Struggles. Struggles come in times of drought. The Bible says we will have these times, but we must stay focused on the promises. 2 Corinthians 4:8 - 9 says, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” It’s getting ready to rain guys, but I we have no need for an umbrella. We want to get thoroughly soaked in this rain. Verse 16 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” Step into your daily process with a self-evaluation and a determination to change. Verse 18 “ While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Stop looking at the drought. Stop looking at the problem. Your solution lies in the rain that is to come, but you have to see it, you have to wait for it, and you have to pray for it. James 5:7-18 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Do you know how we judge others? We criticize what others say and do? If you are criticizing others then you better take a good look inside yourself. You ugly! That’s right I said you ugly. What did we just say earlier? If you are looking like the world the, you are ugly. 10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. God is forgiving. He shows mercy to us when we err. But He never wants us to stay the same. Look at your neighbor and say, “Grow Up.” Now look at your other neighbor and say, “Grow Up.” 12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Stop saying one thing and meaning another. Stop lying to yourself and to others. Self-evaluation. 13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. You know, I can’t stand to lie. The reason why is because 9 out of 10 times if I lie I’m going to tell on myself within 10 minutes of the lie. But I don’t think of that as a bad thing. It’s a good thing. It keeps me accountable before God and man. Are you being accountable? Look at your neighbor and ask them, “are you being accountable?” Now tell them that you are going to pray for them. Now close your eyes and pray for them right now… because if you wait too long to do it you might forget. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Are your prayers being answered? If not then you need to… self-evaluate. Repeat after me, “I need the rain.” “Lord send me your rain.” Let us pray.
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January 2016
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