Elijah, Jesus and End Time Prophets pt. 2

Mark Finley: I have not taken you this far to let you down yet. I've got this incredible purpose for your life. You may be in the cave right now, but you come out of that cave and stand on a mountain. Because I have a destiny for you. I have a purpose for you. God has a purpose for you that you do not understand right now.
Guest (Female): This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, Elijah, Jesus, and End Time People, part two. Enjoy and remember, you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: Seven great lessons of faith, lesson number one. The blessings of God come on those who step out in faith. We forfeit those blessings if we live openly in disobedience. Lesson number two, faith does not need to understand, faith needs to trust and obey. Lesson number three, First Kings chapter 18, verse 20 and 21. Our faith always deepens at the point of a test. Our faith always deepens at the point of a test. God allows tests to come in our life. And those tests are allowed by God to deepen our faith. First Kings chapter 18. Here, Elijah comes to Mount Carmel. And as he comes to Mount Carmel, we look at verses 20 and 21. So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to the people and said, how long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him, but if Bale, follow him, but the people answered not a word. Now, notice, Elijah says to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord. But Bale's prophets are 450. Elijah says, okay, this is what we're going to do. We're going to put God to a test. You build an alter and on that alter, you pray to your God. And if he is God, let him send fire down from heaven and burn the sacrifice on the alter. So they begin to pray and they pray early in the morning. They begin to scream. You know, Elijah must have had a little sense of humor because you know what he said. He said, maybe your God is on vacation. You know, maybe he's on vacation. Then Elijah says, well, maybe your God is a little hard of hearing. Maybe he can't hear you. They scream louder and louder. They're screaming, send fire down from heaven, send fire down from heaven, burn up this alter. And Elijah's triding him a little bit. They come to the end of the day, they cut themselves, they flail themselves, all day they're praying. Then Elijah calmly kneels down and he repairs the altar of the Lord that has been trampled down. He kneels and he says to them, here's the sacrifice on the altar now, pour water on the altar. Now pour water on the altar again. And he prays and miraculously fire comes down from heaven. And the fire is so bright that they are stunned and driven back. What do you think that that answer to prayer did for Elijah? It strengthened his faith. He was facing this incredible test on Mount Carmel. And as he saw the working and power of God, his faith was strengthened. There's a wonderful reference in Prophets and Kings page 174 and 175. And it says this, to wait patiently. Did Elijah wait patiently? Indeed he did. To trust when everything looks dark is the lesson that the leaders in God's work need to learn. Heaven will not fail them in their day of adversity. Nothing is more apparently nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on God. Listen to this reference again. Nothing is apparently more helpless, but more invincible than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on God. God is going to bring you in your life into circumstances that there's no human solution. God is going to bring you in your life to tests, to tests that there's no way out around or through. The mountain is going to be so high, the the the mountain is going to be so large that you're going to sit back and say, God, I don't know how I can get through this. God, this seems to be impossible to me. Why is God allowing that to strengthen your faith? He is building in you end time faith. Just like our muscles become flabby and weak if we don't lift weights. But when you lift weights, your muscles strengthen. So tests, trials, obstacles, impossibilities are the stuff that end time faith is made out of. So God is allowing you, he's going to allow you this week to go through some test. And rather than say, oh God, why'd you allow me to go through that? This is terrible. Thank you, Jesus, because you are building an end time faith. Elijah prayed and miraculously fire came down from heaven. Consumed that altar. There's a fourth thing about end time faith. You see, Elijah's faith grew at the point of a test. Fourth thing about end time faith, end time faith perseveres. It never gives up. It believes in the God of the impossible. When the fire consumed that altar, Elijah said to his servant, you go out the end of the mountain and look out there because the rain is going to be coming. Now, it's very interesting if you look at First Kings chapter 18. Here's lesson number four. Faith perseveres, faith never gives up. It believes in the God of the impossible. Notice First Kings chapter 18 and you're looking there at verse 41 to 44. Then Elijah said to Ahab, go up and uh go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the abundance of rain. And Ahab went up and ate and drank and Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel and he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and said, there is nothing. And seven times he said, go again. Elijah said to his servant, you go up there. And the servant says, I don't see anything. Elijah said, I'm not concerned what you see and what you don't see, go up there again. Elijah goes up the second time, comes back, I don't see anything. I'm not concerned about what you see and what you don't see. I want you to go up there again. Six times he goes up and looks and Elijah said, look, I want you to go the seventh time because God told me it was going to rain. And I can accept the promises of God. I am staking my life on the promises of God.
Guest (Male): That's right. Amen.
Mark Finley: Faith does not mean that the first two minutes you get on your knees and pray, you're going to find an answer. But what faith means is you're never going to give up. That you believe that when God says I shall God says I'll supply your every need, you believe God's going to do that. He is going to supply your need. Faith never gives up because God never lies. And God is the God of the impossible. An end time people will face trial. An end time people will face difficulty. An end time people will face challenges. But an end time people will never give up because they serve the God of the impossible. They have a faith that perseveres. This is not some sugar coated, candy colored, candy, sugar coated faith. It's not some cotton candy faith. It's not a faith that says I praise God when everything goes good in my life, but when things don't go good, God must be off on some vacation. It's not a faith that says I praise God when I'm financially prosperous, when I'm healthy, wealthy and wise. It is not the prosperity gospel at all. That is a million miles from genuine biblical faith. Genuine biblical faith perseveres when the going gets tough because genuine biblical faith believes that God is sufficient to solve every problem and answer every difficulty. That when I have a problem in my life, God's going to do one or two things. He's either going to move the mountain and take it away, or he's going to give me the strength to be a mountain climber and climb right over the mountain. If I don't go over the mountain, he's going to give me the strength to walk around the mountain. If I can't go around the mountain, I'm going to dig in the mountain and find gold. Because faith always perseveres. Four lessons of faith so far, what are they? Number one, end time faith is obedient to God and expects the blessings of God. Number two, end time faith may not always understand, but end time faith always trusts, believes and obeys. Lesson number three. What's lesson number three?
Guest (Male): Faith, it always deepens at the point of a test.
Mark Finley: Yeah, end time faith in lesson number three, says what? It's nothing you understand.
Guest (Male): Always deepens at the point of a test.
Mark Finley: It deepens at the point of a test. So we can expect some tests, can't we? End time faith is going to what? Deepen at the point of those tests. Fourth thing about end time faith, what is it?
Guest (Male): Faith perseveres. It does not what? Give up.
Mark Finley: Fifth thing about end time faith is this. End time faith is always accompanied by great humility. End time faith is never arrogant. Now, there's something really, really interesting in the story that is so easy to miss. And I want you to notice it. So, Elijah challenges the prophets of Bale. Fire comes down and consumes the altar. God then sends the rain. Elijah's faith has persevered. But you notice verse 45 and verse 46 of First Kings chapter 18. Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah and he girded up his loins and he ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. Now, this is an amazing Bible passage because here's why. The rain is pouring down. Ahab's driving the chariot and he can't see. Have you ever been driving and a terrible thunder storm has come up and the heavens have opened and the rain is just come down and down and down and you can't see? So you pull over to the side of the road underneath a bridge and you kind of wait for the rain to go. Think of it, you were in a chariot.
Guest (Female): We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence his life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: Ahab is in this chariot. It hasn't rained for three and a half years. Now, if you have a drought for three and a half years and it hasn't rained, what typically happens if you get the heavens just open, you get a lot of flooding, right? Because the earth is hard and it can't handle the water. So, picture this scene. The sky is incredibly dark, the dark clouds are hanging low, the rain is pouring down like everything. You can't see, visibility is poor, there's a great deal of flooding. Ahab is the man that's going to kill Elijah. Ahab is the one that led Israel into apostasy. Ahab would have killed him during these three and a half years. Ahab is Elijah's worst enemy. But God comes upon Elijah and he says, look, Elijah, you are the prophet of God. You know every inch of this land. You walk ahead or run ahead of Ahab's chariot and get him home to a place of safety. So Elijah, through the pouring rain, through the darkness, humbly and kindly leads his worst enemy to a place of safety. An end time people will not be vitriolic against those who disagree with them. An end time people will have a kindness and a humility, a care and a concern, not an arrogance. They will reach out to their worst enemies and see their hearts broken with the love of Christ. They will reach out to those that disagree with themologically. They'll reach out not in compromise, not in tolerance, but in care, in love, in gentleness. Elijah, the one that would be translated without seeing death, was one of the most humble of all men. Sometime ago, when Tini and I were in China, we were visiting in a church that was in Shenyang. We have two large churches in Shenyang, China. One has about 6,000 Adventist members, the other about 1,000. We were in both of them, but in this story came out of the one in 1,000 members. And we're sitting around with the pastor and two or three associate pastors and I was asking if they always had been Seventh Day Adventist. And one of the associate pastors looked up looked up at me and he said, let me tell you my story. And he pointed to the elder of the church and he said, you see the elder there? He said the pastor of the church, the senior pastor and the elder were smuggling, he didn't use the word smuggling, he used the word secretly. They were secretly bringing the book Desire of Ages by Ellen White translated into Chinese to other Adventist believers and they had these books in sacks with groceries and other things and they were going to bring them to the train station to give them to some of our believers to take the book Desire of Ages because it's against the law in some places in China to print a book like Desire of Ages unless you have approval from the government. And so they were taking them there. While they took them there, the pastor and the elder got arrested. The pastor was let go finally after he was interrogated, but the elder was thrown in prison. It was a very rough Chinese prison and each evening the prisoners would go into the cell, a number of them, five or six of them, seven or eight of them, sometimes 10 of them, they would crowd into the cell of this Adventist elder and they'd beat him. And he would be beaten, lying on the floor, bloody and bruised and each evening as he was beaten, he would make a prayer like this, dear Lord, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. He reached out in kindness to his tormentors, to the ones that beat him. And the man sitting next to me said, I was one of those prisoners. I was one of those prisoners. And when I saw his humility, when I saw his love, when I saw his care, when I saw his concern, when I saw this in his life, it was something that in my heart, I longed for. You remember what it says in Romans chapter 12? That prisoner, incidentally, when they get out of prison, the elder get out of prison, they both went to the Adventist Church. The prisoner said to the elder, I want to go to the church you go to. They went together, the prisoner took Bible studies, was baptized, eventually became the assistant pastor of that church. There is a marvelous passage in Romans chapter 12, you don't want to miss it. You'll find it there in Romans 12 and when in faith we reach out to others in kindness, God works unusual miracles. Notice what it says in Romans in Romans chapter 12, verse 20 and 21. Therefore, if your enemy hungers, he's your enemy, and he hungers, do what? Feed him. If he thirst, give him what? A drink, for in so doing, you'll heap coals of fire on his head. Now, you know, there in Romans 12, it's quoting. What does it mean to heap coals of fire on his head? What do you think that means? Heap coals of fire on his head? You will cause him to burn with a desire to know why you're doing that. You you'll cause him to you will cause him to stop doing what he's doing, he's your enemy. But there this quote from Romans 12, 20 and 21, 21 says, do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. This quote comes from the book of Proverbs. So what I'd like you to do now is turn back to the book of Proverbs because the quote we've just read is only half the quote in Proverbs. So Proverbs chapter 25, verse 22. Proverbs 25, verse 22. End time faith reaches out to those that do not agree in kindness and love. End time faith is humble, it is not arrogant. Proverbs 25, verse 22. Now, you'll notice something different in this text than we read in Romans 12. Proverbs 25, verse 21 and 22. If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat. Did we read that in Romans 12? We did. If he's thirsty, give him what? Water to drink. Did we read that? For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will do what? Reward you. Do you want the richest reward of heaven? Reach out to somebody that has offended you. Reach out to somebody that considers you as an enemy. Are you at some institution as somebody offended you at that institution? Has somebody offended you at your place of work? You say they shouldn't have done that. Well, bless your heart. I know they shouldn't have done it. But whether they should have done it or not, what does scripture say? If your enemy is hungry, give him what? Bread to eat. If he's thirsty, give him what? Water to drink. And what will the Lord do if you go out of yourself? If you humble yourself to go to another who has wronged you, what will the Lord do to you?
Guest (Male): Reward you.
Mark Finley: He's going to do what?
Guest (Male): Reward you.
Mark Finley: If you want richest rewards. What is the fifth lesson of end time faith? End time faith is humble. End time faith reaches out to others that don't deserve it. When I give others love that they do not deserve, God blesses me with the abundance of blessings that I do not deserve. Elijah, First Kings chapter 19. Elijah has had a rough day. He's been on Mount Carmel all day. First Kings chapter 19. Sixth lesson, Elijah has been on Mount Carmel all day. Elijah's weary, he's exhausted, he is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually wasted. He spent all day on Mount Carmel challenging the prophets of Bale. God was on trial before all of Israel. The honor of God was at stake. Elijah prayed, he believed God, he experienced a miracle. But something happens, First Kings chapter 19, what is it? 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 like the life of one of them by tomorrow this time. When he saw that, he ran for his life. He sits under a broom tree. Now, that broom tree is not a verse four. It's not a tree that grows brooms. A broom tree is like a juniper tree. It's an evergreen that's beautiful yellow flowers incidentally. And he prays. He said, it's enough. Now, the Lord take my life for I'm no better than my fathers. Now, here is a man who for three and a half years believed and trusted God. Here is a man who's challenged the prophets of Bale. Here is a man that's seen the mighty miracles of God. But now he's tired, he's weary, he's exhausted. And he runs and he wants to die, he doesn't want to live. Are there times that mighty men and women of faith get discouraged? Are there times that God's leaders in his local church, elders and deacons get discouraged? Are there times that members get discouraged? Are those people preparing for translation? Was Elijah preparing for translation? Now, it's interesting to me what God did not do. God did not come over to Elijah and say, Elijah, where's your faith, man? Let's get going here. Didn't you see what I did on Mount Carmel? It's amazing that God did not preach a sermon to Elijah. It's amazing that God did not read Bible promises to Elijah. What did God do? Verse five, Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said, arise and eat. And he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water, so he ate and drank and laid down again. The angel came the second time 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 40 days and 40 nights. Now, look, there's a time to preach, but there's a time to get your arms around somebody. Faith is practical. Faith is practical. And there are times when people don't need a sermon. What they need is for you to get your arms around them, bring them a loaf of bread, bring them a bowl of soup, give them some hope and encouragement. This is Jesus medical missionary work for Elijah. Elijah now goes into a cave. You see, the sixth lesson that we learn is this, faith is not exempt from trials. Elijah came down from the mountain and went to the valley. He came from the sunlight of encouragement to the darkness of despair. Lesson number six, faith is not exempt from trials. Last lesson today, here we go. And we look there, and he's in this cave feeling that his life is over. And God comes to him, First Kings chapter 19, verse nine. 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 said, what are you doing here, Elijah? Elijah gives him all these excuses, I've been zealous for the Lord of hosts, but Lord, they've all forsaken you. And God says there are many others that have not bowed and need to bail. Then the classic text verse 11, he says, go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. I have not taken you this far to let you down yet. I've got this incredible purpose for your life. You may have failed, you may have disappointed me. You may be in the cave right now, but you come out of that cave and stand on a mountain. Because I have a destiny for you. I have a purpose for you. God has a purpose for you, a purpose that you can't imagine, a destiny far beyond what you can ever understand. By faith, an end time people believe that they were called to the kingdom for such a time as this.
Guest (Female): You've been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.
Mark Finley: End time faith is real. End time faith is practical. It is the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ to people around us who see needs.