And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, See, your son lives!

Transcription

1 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son? 19 And he said to her, Give me your son. So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD and said, O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son? 21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, O LORD my God, I pray, let this child s soul come back to him. 22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, See, your son lives! 24 Then the woman said to Elijah There are two things that happen here when God performs this miracle in this widow s home and both have to do with this widow KNOWING SOMETHING, BEING CONVINCED OF SOMETHING, BEING FULLY PERSUADED OF SOMETHING! NOW THERE IS NO DOUBT ANYMORE, NOW THERE IS NO MORE HESITANCY, NO MORE UNCERTAINTY LEFT IN HER THINKING! What s interesting is that Elijah never did say that the boy s life was going to come back to him. Perhaps she hears him praying in the upper chamber of the house, I m positive that she did. I have a feeling that Elijah may have been as surprised as she was that this dead boy is now alive! This was so out of the ordinary, even for Elijah to see this take place, but he prayers in faith, believing God. The Word of the Lord in his mouth may have been the prayer that he prayed in faith for this boy! Because he never did say that this boy was going to live again, but he did pray and ask God to do just that! The miracle was evidence of the faith of Elijah, and to this widow it was evidence that Elijah was indeed a man of God, and that God s word was truth! I can t go into a lot of detail about this fact but Elijah is carrying in his arms the evidence of the words of his praying for this boy. This little boy being carried back down into the house has become living proof that God is real, alive, and a worker of miracles! This little boy of whom we don t even know his name becomes the very first to have died and risen from death. HE S PROOF NOW, HIS LIFE IS EVIDENCE NOW OF THE MIRACLE WORKING POWER OF GOD! In our contemporary churches, our preaching of the Word of God should always have this convincing evidence of the power of God.

2 And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming to you the testimony of God concerning salvation through Christ, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom no lofty words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might do; for I made the decision to know nothing, that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection. I came to you in a state of weakness and fear and great trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom using clever rhetoric, but they were delivered in demonstration of the Holy Spirit operating through me and of His power stirring the minds of the listeners and persuading them, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom and rhetoric of men, but on the power of God. - A few minutes of the Spirit's teaching will furnish us with more real, useful and new knowledge and revelation and inspiration--than toiling through entire books of commentators writing about the Word. It will become our wisdom to deal less with the mundane issues of life and be closer in applying wisdom to dealing with the critical issues of life. THE SCRIPTURE ITSELF, AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD--ARE THE BIBLE IS THE BIBLE ITSELF.. THE BEST INTERPRETOR OF Whatever men have that is of value in their writings about God--they got it from Scripture; and the Scripture is as open to us--as to any of them. There is nothing required to gain new revelation and inspiration from the Word of God but a humble, teachable spirit.

3 And understand this, that a mere academic learning that we might gain giving us some kind of degree even is not necessary or required in order to receive a revelation of God and His ways through His Word! God can and will reveal His truth through His word to all who approach His Word with a humble, teachable spirit. EDUCATION, AGE, SOCIAL STATUS, WEALTH, PRESTIGE, POSITION none of those things make any difference as to someone qualifying to receive revelation and inspiration from the Word of God. Because your only qualification to receive truths, to be enlightened, to receive inspiration from the Word of God is your redeemed heart and life and a humble teachable spirit! How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

4 O LORD, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me. For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, Violence and plunder! Because the word of the LORD was made to me A reproach and a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name. I was weary of holding it back, And I could not. SO THEN FAITH COMES BY HEARING, AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD. In the context of these verses Paul is talking about an individual having the faith to accept Christ as savior of their life. He is talking about the fact that FAITH is stirred in a person s heart when they hear the preaching of the Word of God. Paul, I believe also, is revealing a principle in regards to FAITH He is saying that if our faith is weak, lacking, unable to get us through what we are going through, it is a direct result of not hearing the Word!

5 piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life, the soul and the immortal spirit, and of joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. The entire purpose of reading, studying God s word, and hearing God s word is not found in trying to just gain information. Yes the Word of God will inform you, but more than that, far more important than that, the Word of God has within itself the awesome power to transform your life! It is not just some contemporary, philosophical, psychological, and psychosomatic, self-help book designed for just the purpose of self- improvements to your self-image. However, a study of it and application of its principles will have an extremely powerful, positive affect on your entire person! What better source of help for me could there be than from the one who created me! Why would I put my trust in anything else or anyone else than the one who is the designer of my most inner being

6 PAUL STATES TO THE YOUNG PASTOR TIMOTHY THAT HE IS TO PREACH THE WORD AND I BELIEVE THIS IS PAUL S ADMONITION TO ALL PASTORS IN THE DAY AND HOUR IN WHICH WE LIVE! IN THIS CULTURE THAT IS CONTINUALLY MORE ANTI-CHRISTIAN, ANTI- GOD, AND A CULTURE THAT IS TRYING TO CONVINCE US THAT THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO GOD WE SO DESPERATELY NEED AGAIN TO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD PREACHED! I CHARGE YOU THEREFORE BEFORE GOD AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. I can t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so ; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don t ever quit. Just keep it simple. You re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you keep your eye on what you re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God s servant. THE SPIRIT OF GOD INSPIRED THE SCRIPTURE AND BREATHS THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE AND IT LIVES TO EXALT THE CHRIST OF SCRIPTURE. Preaching did not have its origin within the Christian church! Preaching was something already taking place in villages and cities through the world in Paul s day, and much later in history. A preacher in Paul s day was first of all a town crier or a village crier. Preaching is not just explaining or teaching it s making a declaration, a pronouncement, it s making an announcement

7 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel SO PREACHING IS NOT JUST EXPLAINING OR TEACHING, PREACHING IS HERALDING OR ANNOUNCING. Preaching is heralding and exulting or rejoicing because of a message from the king! Preaching is more than teaching. It is the proclamation, the declaration, and the announcement of the Word of God! Preaching is thus saith the lord It is the joyful proclaiming of the good news from our king; it is infallible, indestructible, and inerrant, dependable, reliable, imperishable, eternal, and absolutely unchanging because it is his word, his message to us! "Preach the Word," means "exult in the Word." That is, announce it and revel in it. Speak it with intense feelings as it is amazing news. Speak it from a heart that has already been moved by it, touched by it, influenced by it, inspired by it. Preach it gladly and announce the message of good news!

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