PRAYING FOR OUR LEADERS

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  ‎For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior….  (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

The Christian is a citizen of two kingdoms.  We are citizens of the United States of America and citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We pledge allegiance to the flag but our ultimate allegiance is to Christ.  Jesus said it this way, “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.”  The Christian is to impact both kingdoms.  One way we do this is through prayer. 

Paul tells us PRAYER FOR OUR LEADERS IS REQUIRED.  Would it be a sin to commit murder?  Do you believe it is wrong to commit adultery? What about stealing, lying, blasphemy, or drunkenness? Why do you believe these things are wrong? The Bible says so. Then, let me ask, is it a sin to fail to pray for our leaders? Yes, because in the Word of God we are commanded to do so. It is easier for us to complain to other people about the failures of government than to confess our own failure to God in neglecting to pray for government.  The Apostle says that prayer is to be the first choice not the final chance. 

Furthermore, PRAYER FOR OUR LEADERS BRINGS RESULTS.  The results of praying like this are evident.  Our leaders have tremendous power for good or evil.  It has been said that prayer changes things. That’s absolutely true.  It can change the hearts of those who are in power.  Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”   Just as a rushing river exerts pressure against its banks and in the process of time, cuts into the bank and even wears away the rock, so God is able to put pressure on a ruler to move him or her to do the will of God.  Did you know that we have the responsibility to pray for our leaders regardless of their political party?  God has the last word.  Man may rule, but He overrules.  

Let every leader know that it is not the hand that appointed you, nor the hand that pulled the lever in the voting booth, but the hand of God that has brought you to your position.  Your accountability is not ultimately to your constituents, but to Christ before whose judgment seat you and all other humans will stand. You will give an answer for this stewardship for Scripture calls you a minister of God to praise the good and punish the evil (Rom.13). That’s why you need and deserve our prayers. 

Many do not vote and many Christians aren’t involved in the political system because they think it is often rotten and corrupt.  But God has ordained that we be salt to arrest the spread of corruption.  If our world is dark, is it that we have hid our light under a bushel basket?  Prayer changes things and many times it changes us.  We become motivated to be involved. How do we know whom to vote for?  God will guide us as seek Him.

PRAYER FOR OUR LEADERS DEMANDS REGULARITY, also.  We need a regular period, place, and pattern.  Pray specifically and Scripturally.  Pray with focus, fervency and faith.  God will work!

PORTRAIT OF THE ANTICHRIST

And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features….  (Daniel 8:23)

There is coming a day—maybe soon—when Satan’s handpicked ruler will dominate the world.  For seven years his reign of terror will extend, until the King of Glory—the Lord Jesus Christ—thunders from the skies with heaven’s armies, crushing His opposition, and establishing His kingdom on earth.  The eighth chapter of Daniel .gives us a preview of the Antichrist in the person of a ruler in history known as Antiochus Epiphanes.

In the first eight verses Daniel takes his readers into the near future.  Babylon would fall soon, following this vision.  Cyrus would lead the Medo-Persians into world prominence.  That kingdom is symbolized by the ram.  Soon, another power would arise to challenge the Persian Empire—the Greeks under Alexander—typified by the he-goat.  The Greeks would overthrow the Medo-Persians, but at the height of his power, Alexander the Great died as a young man.  His kingdom was divided among four of his generals. One of those kingdoms is dealt with in detail here because of its location—including the Holy Land and Jerusalem—as well as its domination of the Holy People, the Jews.

The prominent figure of that Syrian kingdom—“the little horn” presented in verses nine through fourteen—is Antiochus Epiphanes.  He was a bloodthirsty man who brutalized the Jews.  Antiochus set himself up as a god—in fact the title “Epiphanes” that he took to himself, means God manifest!  He desecrated the rebuilt sanctuary by sacrificing a pig there.  As an enemy of truth, He destroyed the copies of Scripture he could find.

Clearly, he is a forerunner of the coming Antichrist.  The final verses of this chapter feature another “little horn,” the Antichrist, which Antiochus foreshadowed.  When the Antichrist comes on the world scene, he will possess the charisma of a John Kennedy, the oratory of a Winston Churchill, and the military skills of a George Patton.  During a time of global crisis, he will arise—even as the world clamors for a savior.  Since he is in league with Satan, supernatural power will belong to him.  This will lead the world to bow to him.

Like Antiochus did, the Antichrist will profane the temple (rebuilt in the last days).  This is at the midpoint of the tribulation and marks the beginning of a holocaust unleashed upon the Jews that will excel Hitler’s horrors. The Antichrist will set himself up as god, as did Antiochus before him (see 2 Thess.2 and Rev.13).

His dominance will quickly end.  Jesus will return in power and glory.  He is coming again, don’t you know?  The Antichrist will be slain and cast into hell—along with all who follow him. 

As a child of God, I am not watching for the Antichrist—I’m looking for Jesus!  He could come at any time.  Are you prepared to meet Him?  My heart pounds, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

IN TUNE WITH GOD

 

Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon [Elisha]….  (2 Kings 3:15b)

Musical instruments need to be tuned.  Time and use take their toll and the result is that the same keys or strings may be struck on different instruments, but will have a different sound.  That’s not good.  We can also be out of tune spiritually.  There can be no harmony with God until we get in tune with Him.   Are our thoughts, motives, and passions in alignment with His?  Elisha was a man in tune with God.  There are several lessons concerning this in 2 Kings 3.

There can be a DROUGHT OF A WORD FROM THE LORD (v.1-10).  King Jehoram wasn’t in tune with God.  While the text acknowledges that he wasn’t quite as bad as his perverse parents, Ahab and Jezebel, he was still an idolater.  He didn’t hear from God because he worshipped idols rather than the true and living God.  If we depend on the arm of flesh we can’t be lifted by the arm of God.  If we listen to the wisdom of the world, we can’t receive the Word of the Lord.   Thus, the army found itself in a wilderness without water.  They would become weak and be defeated. Isn’t that a picture of God’s army today? Here we are a church of Christian soldiers in a spiritual wasteland.  The drought we are experiencing is a scarcity of the water of the Word of God. 

This brings a DEMAND OF A WORD FROM THE LORD (v.11-19).  Perhaps our drought will elevate desire to the point of desperation.  We must demand a Word from the Lord.   Bring a man of God with a message from God! There will always be someone in tune with God, if we take time to listen.  Elisha did not answer because of the plea of Jehoram, but because of his association with Jehoshaphat.  The King of Israel was undeserving of a response, so Elisha did it for the King of Judah’s sake.  Thus, we can cry out to God in faith that He will answer, not for our sake—we are undeserving—but for the sake of another, the King of kings, Jesus Christ.  We pray in His name.  This was a matter of faith.  They were to prepare themselves to receive water, although there was not a cloud in the sky.  They were to dig a channel to receive the miracle God had for them.  We are to make our lives channels to receive the flow of truth and then God will send it.  How?  We must dig into the Word and pray to the Lord.

Then comes THE DELIVERANCE BY THE WORD OF THE LORD (v.20-27).  Great things happen when we get in tune with God.  The people of God went from impending defeat to overwhelming victory!  That’s what happens when we get in tune with God.  Everyone recognized that it was God who brought the victory and not man. God works in such a way that He receives the glory.  A church that draws crowds through gimmicks and compromise will have only that—a crowd—and they’ll get the glory.  But, it is a stench in the nostrils of God.  The church, however, that is built on the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of God in the power of the Spirit will produce disciples and God will be glorified.  Let us personally get in tune with God, lead our family to be, and insist that the church is!

DARE TO BE A DANIEL

So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions.  (Dan.6:16a)

One of my favorite parts of the circus is the lion-tamer act.  What courage it must take to walk into a cage with those powerful beasts!  Yet, those lions are well-fed, extensively trained, and the lion-tamer has some protection.  It took far more courage for Daniel to take a stand that would cause him to be cast into a den of ravenous lions!  Would we dare to be a Daniel?

Scripture is clear: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim.3:12).  Since the dawn of time, there has been enmity between the seed of the serpent and the children of God.  Daniel was in that godly line that began with Abel, who Cain killed, and proceeds to those who take a stand for righteousness today.

Daniel was chosen by King Darius due to his moral character.  He was a man of integrity.  Daniel was godly and it was a quality the King recognized.  Do people see that in us?  That very nature of godliness, however, is hated by those who are anti-God.  They cannot reach up to heaven and assail Him, so they turn their wrath on His followers.  A plot is hatched to attack Daniel in his devotion to God.  If you dare to be a Daniel, people may hate you, but they won’t be able to ignore you!

Daniel’s foes secure an edict where only King Darius is to be petitioned for 30 days.  Violation of that decree would bring the sentence of being cast into a den of lions.  They knew Daniel’s habit of prayer, and that would be his downfall.  What would you do?  It’s hard to get people to come to a prayer meeting now—I can only imagine how few would show up if it meant a death sentence!  Daniel did what he always did.  He didn’t cave under pressure.  He didn’t pray to be seen of men, but he didn’t mind if he was.  I would suggest that Daniel didn’t compromise his principles because he was consistent in his prayers!

Even the pagan king recognized the special qualities Daniel possessed and sought a way to deliver him.  Pride had caused him to sign the law, and know the monarch has no choice but to honor it.  If deliverance is to be found, it will be the hand of God who secures it.  Daniel must rely on the King of kings.  We can entrust our lives to a faithful God.  He will give us life on earth so long as there is a work for us to do, and when our mission is complete He will call us to a better land!  Notice that Daniel wasn’t delivered from the dwelling place of the lions, but from the deadly power of the lions.  Should God permit us to be devoured by them—as many Christian martyrs experienced in the Roman Coliseum—only the body of flesh is destroyed.  You cannot enter heaven in that form.  The real you—the person you are in Christ—cannot be harmed.  God doesn’t exempt us from lions, but delivers us from loss!  Heaven is all gain!

Daniel’s enemies reap what they sowed.  Sooner or later, God exacts justice on the believer’s persecutors.  It may be in this life, or in the world to come.  The end result is that God is glorified.  This is what can happen if we dare to be a Daniel!

THE HANDWRITING IS ON THE WALL

In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace….  (Daniel 5:5a)

When something is a foregone conclusion some will say, “The handwriting is on the wall.”  This means that although the event has not happened, it assuredly will.  What we may not know is that Daniel 5 is the origin of that expression.  There are certain indictors found here that mark the demise of nations—and as we examine them, we may well wonder if our own country is not ripe for judgment.  Is the handwriting on the wall?

The government God judged had flaunted God’s laws—it was immoral and idolatrous.  Even in the face of enemies that encircled Babylon, the rulers had no concern.  Such was the arrogance they possessed.  And why not?  The city’s walls were as high as three football fields—seemingly impenetrable.  So, Babylon’s leader’s decided to have a party instead of preparing for battle.  What they failed to recognize was that Cyrus and his Persian hordes were not the supreme threat, but a Holy God who had purposed to bring doom upon Babylon.  The defenses would thus be breached by Cyrus because God ordained it. 

How prideful we can be!  God is ignored, His name profaned, His laws rejected—and we think nothing will happen to America.  Some leader will rise up and promise security and prosperity, and we will drink the Kool-Aid!  The fact is that a massive tree whose bark has withstood the onslaught of storms across the decades, can eventually fall from small insects that eat away at the inside.  That is way sin works in a nation.

Americans love to party hearty.  Someday—maybe soon—God will act as He did with the Babylonian Empire and say, “The party’s over!”  The terror that gripped the tyrant Belshazzar was dramatic.  One finger extended, writing on a wall, and this king is horrified.  What will it be when sinners stand before a Holy God and He points that finger at them!

None of the “brains” of the kingdom of Babylon had an answer, so the man of God, Daniel, was summoned.  He had lived in the pagan culture without principles being compromised.  He would be faithful to shine the light of truth in the darkness of the times.  That is God’s mission for His people today. 

that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,  ‎holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.  (Phil.2:15-16)

The sentence on the sinful nation is pronounced.  Their number was up, they did not measure up, and the kingdom would be divided up.  The handwriting was on the wall!

On old farm couple were sound asleep one night, when midnight arrived and something went wrong with the clock—it chimed thirteen!  Eb leapt from his bed crying, “Get up, Martha!  It’s later than it’s ever been!”  Indeed it is.

WEREWOLF OF BABYLON

That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.   (Daniel 4:33)

When I was a kid, I loved to watch monster movies.  I found them both fascinating and frightening.  My favorite movies were of the Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney, Jr.  He was a good man, until the full moon, and then he became a bloodthirsty creature.  He didn’t want to do that, but the tortured soul could only be put out of misery by a silver bullet fired from a gun held by the hand of someone who loved him.  I can recall the words of the old gypsy, Maleva, who said, “Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.”  The movie was rooted in European legends rising from a form of insanity known as lycanthropy.  Such madness gripped the monarch of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.  It was sent as a judgment of God upon his pride.  Before there was a film and a song about werewolves of London, there was the werewolf of Babylon!

Impressed by the miraculous deliverance of the three Hebrew youths from the fiery furnace, we find the king issuing a decree concerning the greatness of their God (Dan.4:1-3). Yet, there is no personal confession of a penitent who has come to faith, just an acknowledgment of the God of the Jews as being the greatest among gods.  Many a politician still finds it useful to talk about God, while giving little evidence of true conversion.  One may know the vocabulary of the Good Book without knowing the Author!

The story continues to unfold with a nightmare the king has (Dan.4:4-18).  In the midst of immense luxury and the trappings of power, we find a troubled man.  Sin will do that.  Conscience pains the wicked—they are likened to a storm-tossed ocean.  He summons the soothsayers who have no answers.  How foolish people are to try to find a message for their future in astrology, palmistry, and such!  It is the man of God who has the Word of God—Daniel, in this case—who can give guidance.

Though delivering a word of judgment to this malevolent monarch might mean the prophet would lose his head, Daniel proclaims the truth, nonetheless (Dan.4:19-27).  Such threats never silenced Elijah, not stopped John the Baptist.  Daniel shows his compassion in being alarmed more for the king than his own life.  I wonder in these days when judgment seems imminent, are the people of God more concerned about their own preservation than the salvation of sinners?  The coming of judgment on this nation and its leaders should not surprise us.  Daniel reminds us here that God is sovereign.  Nations rise and fall; rulers come and go; God rules!

Nebuchadnezzar was given opportunity to repent, but refused (Dan.4:28-33) and retribution fell.  God was patient, but at last the deadline was crossed.  The madness that descended on him—his lycanthropy—brought on the behavior of a beast.  Really, it just revealed what was in his heart!  This is how sin degrades us.

After seven years of this, sanity is restored by a gracious God (Dan.4:34-37).  The king is more than willing to humble himself and confess the glory of God.  Nebuchadnezzar never forgot this lesson—and neither should we!

A PURE WALK IN A PORNOGRAPHIC WORLD

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality....  (I Thessalonians 4:3)

Playboy magazine has decided to stop publishing nude pictures.  The pioneers of porn can no longer profitably produce that which is available for free in the most graphic form to anyone on the internet.  We live in a pornographic world.  Yet, the Bible calls us to a pure walk in this evil environment.  One must stay very close to God not to go astray—but you can.  That is the thrust of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

God is not against sex.  He invented it.  Sex within marriage is wonderful.  God's design is not just for the procreation of the species, but the pleasure of the spouse.  Genesis 2 portrays the beauty of husband and wife, naked and unashamed.  Fire within a stove will keep your house warm, but if it gets out it will burn it down.  The fire of sex can keep a marriage hot, but outside those bounds becomes destructive.  God doesn't want to keep us from pleasure, but from pain.  He does not mean to deny sex, but to delay it until their is a covenant relationship.  

Yet, premarital sex seems the accepted thing.  It is the thought of "test driving a car"--but, people are not vehicles.  It's not just the vice of teens and young adults--senior adults are increasingly shacking up for financial considerations.  

Not only is premarital sex a sin, but so is extramarital sex.  That is adultery.  It is a betrayal of trust.  

We further are forbidden to yield to “passion of lust” (v.5).  Other translations render this “passionate desire”; “concupiscence”; “lustful desire”  The Greek word is epithymia and it means surrender to sensuality and sexual obsession. That fuels the billion dollar porn industry—no longer just for lecherous old men, but epidemic even among women.  The rise of child pornography, sexual violence, homosexuality, and all kinds of perversion is due to this surrender to sensuality (see Rom.1:24-32).  Lust has an insatiable appetite—never appeased.

Another evil is expressed as to “take advantage of and defraud” (v.6).  Other translations render it: “overstepping the rights of and wronging” ; “transgress and wrong” ; “take advantage of and exploit.”   It is a composite of two Greek terms meaning to raise desires that cannot be legitimately fulfilled and taking that which is not yours.  Those desires are raised by provocative dress, sexual innuendo, and physical contact that may stop short of intercourse, but nevertheless is immoral.  You don’t have to go all the way to go too far!  We show portions of our anatomy that should only be seen by our spouse and touch portions of the body meant only for our mate.  

The positive dimension of this is a call to sanctification and holiness.  This means to be set apart for God.  It calls for consecration (v.1-3a).  We are to present our body to God.  We belong to Him.  He created us and redeemed us, so that we are doubly His.  This consecration should lead to control (v.4).   It is possible or God wouldn’t command it.  We may argue, “I’m only human.” Not if you’re a child of God!  You are a partaker of the Divine nature now!  An additional help is to meditate on the consequences of sexual sin (v.6-8),  This is not something to take lightly.  God does not.  Forgiveness is possible, but let us not use grace as an excuse for disobedience!

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude?  Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ ”  (I Kings 20:13)

The last time I went trout fishing, I hooked a monster fish, but he got away!  A fish may be hooked and even brought into reach and still escape. There have been times they have even been brought onto the boat or the bank,  flopped back into the water, and were gone.  Likewise, God's people get to the point of victory at times and stop short of success.  They have it in sight but don’t press on.  The momentum is there and they ease up.  We can get right to the brink of blessing and turn back.  A church can arrive at the threshold of revival and not cross over.  1 Kings 20 illustrates this truth. God provided Ahab, king of Israel, with victory, but he didn't reel it in!

We might think the Israeli/Syrian conflict is something new, but it isn't.  The antagonism is thousands of years old (v.1-12).  Our spiritual enemies are just as real.  This world is a dangerous place for the child of God.  War is deadly business.  The Christian is at war according to Ephesians 6--not with flesh and blood, but demonic forces.

Ben-Hadad made his demands and fear gripped Ahab.  Satan seeks to terrorize us as a roaring lion.  He wants us to freeze in fear instead of fighting in faith, that he may devour us.  We dare not give in.  We must stand strong and face the foe.   “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Eph.6:13)  Ahab had all he needed to win, for God had purposed it to be so (v.13-30).  God has furnished believers today with the armor to wear and arms to wield that are needed to overcome our enemy.

Why does God permit Satan to attack?  We will learn much about God in our battles that we could not understand otherwise.  There are lessons of faith and obedience engraved on our soul through the struggles.   God was going to show who was boss!   Satan is no match for God and God wants everyone to know it!

It was an overwhelming victory.  Scripture teaches that we are "more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Rom.8:37)  Our intent isn’t just to defeat the enemy, but spoil his goods!
Spiritual warfare is a fight to the finish--there can be no truce!  Yet, that is the folly of Ahab the compromiser (v.31-43).  The devil will say, “If I can’t beat them, I’ll join them.”    Failing to overcome us by force, he will try to be our friend.  Do we not understand that, "Friendship with the world is enmity with God"?  (James 4:4)  That is witnessed here.  In v.35-36 we find a man who was disobedient to the Word of the Lord and paid the ultimate price.  The next fellow would not repeat that error.  He didn't want to become the lion's next meal!  Ahab has allowed the "big one" to get away.  This opportunity was lost.  I wonder if in heaven if we will be judged not only for the works we did, but have our reward diminished by failing to achieve the potential we might have reached.

CONTACT WITHOUT CONTAMINATION

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.  (Daniel 1:8)

Christians are to be in the world, yet not of the world.  The firefighter is in the fire, but not of the fire.  He cannot do his job without being close to the fire, but if he becomes of the fire it is life-threatening.  Believers are to have contact with our world, but not contamination from the world.  The story of Daniel and his three young friends in chapter one of his book provides insight.

We are presented with a complex and perplexing dilemma  (v.1-4)  How in this world can I be holy?  We live in a world filled with filth bent on polluting us.  Yet, God has deliberately placed us in this kind of environment—otherwise, we could not carry out our mission.  These four teenagers faced such a challenge to their faith.  They had to learn to be conversant with a pagan culture, but not corrupted by it.  Jesus has not called us to be isolated, but insulated, from the world.  We are not summoned to a monastery, but a ministry.  We are to be salt that seasons society and arrests the spread of corruption, but salt has to make contact before it can help preserve and season.  If it remains in the salt shaker it can’t do any good.  We are also to be the light of the world—and a flashlight at noonday won’t do much, but put it in the dark and it can show the way.  

This is not to minimize a clear and present danger (v.5-8).  It is the little compromise that opens the door to a major catastrophe.  How often Satan says, “That’s not so bad—people do much worse.”  Or, “Just this once—what could it hurt?”  Just a little wine—Satan whispered to Daniel—everybody else is doing it.  You don't have to be an oddball.  So it begins.  No one starts out with the goal of becoming an alcoholic, but you’ll never have to worry about that if you don't take the first drink.  Nobody intends to become a drug addict, and you won’t if you don’t smoke that first joint.  People don't become bankrupt from gambling without placing the first bet.  You won’t become  pregnant out of wedlock or contract an STD, if you don’t surrender your virginity.

We must make a committed and persistent decision (v.8-10).  They drew a line in the sand.  The old country song is so true, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”  That line you draw will have to be redrawn again and again.  Temptation functions like gravity.  It is constant and must be resisted.  The chief of the eunuchs was worried about losing his head—Daniel’s fate might be the same.  You don’t tell a tyrant, “No.”  But Daniel wasn’t worried about death for he had already died—died to self and to the world.

This brought a complete and powerful deliverance (v.11-20).  Daniel says, “Watch me and I’ll prove God is real!”  If God didn't come through, he was through!  Our world isn’t impressed with words—it waits to see the reality of our faith.  Miracles come to those expecting one.  Even the pagans had to take notice.  We can make a difference by being different.  Will we?

THE CONTEST ON CARMEL

“Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”  (I Kings 18:24a) 

One person + God = a majority.  God told one man, Elijah, to go on the offensive and challenge the devil to a duel.  Too often God’s people have a fortress mentality.  We see ourselves as outnumbered and outgunned by the enemy and hope we can just hold out.  Yet Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  The church is to be militant, storming the very gates of hell.  Maybe you remember the Ali-Frazier fight, “The Thrilla in Manila” or the Foreman-Ali bout, “The Rumble in the Jungle.”  We have a ringside seat for "The Contest on Carmel!"

We find Israel in a sad state brought on by sin (1 Kings 18:1-19).  It was time for the evil to be confronted and God calls Elijah to do it.  I say it is time for us to show the courage of Elijah and throw down the gauntlet. It is time for us to trust God.  If change is going to happen, it will not be through legislation or education but through spiritual transformation as we repent and seek God’s face.  Obadiah is an example of the godly remnant the Lord has in every generation--even the darkest hour.  Will you be part of a people zealous for God?

God’s people cannot straddle the fence (1 Kings 18:20-40).  Jesus won’t let us.  He says that we are for Him or against Him--there is no middle ground.  Christ told the church at Laodecia, “You make me sick.  I wish you would be cold or hot, but because you are lukewarm you nauseate me.”  Elijah's faith is on display here.  I love the way he pokes fun at the false prophets.  He wasn’t intimidated.  We do not need to be.  We have truth on our side.  After the frenzied blood-letting and screaming fails to bring down fire from heaven, Elijah goes to extremes to assure recognition of a miracle,  dousing everything with water.  Then in contrast to the false prophets, this true prophet of Israel prays a short, simple prayer and gets dramatic results!  The response of the people to this is worship.  We desperately need the fire of heaven to fall once more!

Elijah prayed and the heavens were shut.  He prays again and the heavens open (1 Kings 18:41-46).  James 5:16-18 uses this as an example of the power of prayer and reminds us that Elijah was a man like us.  Can you pray like Elijah?  Well, of course you can!  But the best thing to remember is that Elijah's God is our God!  He hasn’t changed. The size of the cloud is interesting.  When it first appeared it didn’t seem very promising.  It can be true of God's work in our life.  Maybe you sense a need to get closer to God but don’t know where to begin. You need to read your Bible and pray--why not start with 10 minutes of Bible reading and 5 minutes in prayer?  Build that discipline in your life and God can take you farther down the path of spiritual maturity as you walk with Him.  One man yielded, one woman praying, one step of faith taken can bring a downpour!  Open the heavens, Lord!  We need You! 

THE SMALL STUFF

(a guest article from Derrick McCarson, Pastor of Liberty Baptist Church, Candler, NC)

There is an ancient Indian legend of a king who loved chess. He challenged visitors to a game, and was usually victorious. One day a traveling sage visited the kingdom and was challenged to a game by the king. To entice him to play, the king offered to give the sage whatever reward he asked if he won. When the sage explained that his prize would involve rice, the king thought nothing of such a small reward.

To the king’s amazement he was swiftly defeated in just a matter of a few moves! To honor his word, the king ordered a bag his servants to go to the granary and locate the rice. But the sage, had something more in mind. He asked for one grain of rice to be placed on the first square of the chessboard, and then that it would be doubled on each following square until all 64 squares were filled.

The request seemed modest, and the king ordered a bag of rice to be brought. One grain was placed on the first square, two on the second, four on the third, eight on the fourth and so on. But it quickly became apparent that the terms of the request were impossible to meet. By the twenty-first square more than one million grains of rice would be required. By the thirty-first square the total would go over one billion—with more than half of the chessboard still left to go. By the end, the wise man had a lifetime supply of food at his disposal because he understood the power of exponential growth.

Small things have a big impact when they are added together. The Scriptures have a lot to say about the value of small things. Zechariah encouraged us not to “despise the day of small things” (4:10). Solomon warned us to be on the lookout for the “little foxes” which can rob us when we aren’t looking (Song 2:15). Proverbs 13:11 tells us that wealth which endures is gathered “little by little” over a lifetime. Jesus taught that as stewards of His kingdom resources we ought to be faithful in the “small things” (Luke 16:10). Christ even compared His ministry to a tiny mustard seed that grew into a towering tree (Mark 4:30-32). Remember one of Jesus’ most fantastic miracles began with just a little boy’s sack lunch of sardines and bread (John 6:9).    

When you think you don’t have much to offer, remember God has a special way of using routine faithfulness in the “small things” to accomplish great things! Too many of us get caught up in future, grandiose thinking.  “The Lord is going to give me a great ministry down the road.  Then I will matter to Him and to others.” The danger in being caught up in “someday I will do a great thing for God” is that we may miss the frequent and daily opportunities to serve Him which, by the way, may make an extraordinary impact for the Kingdom.

Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks. The little things in life determine the big things. There will always be more people willing to do “great” things for God than there are people willing to do the little things. The race to be a leader is crowded, but the field is wide open for those willing to be servants.

So where do we begin? Moses had a staff. David had a sling. Samson had a jawbone. Rahab had a string. Mary had some ointment. The widow had two mites. Paul had a pen. What do you have? Start small and give it to God. 

~Derrick McCarson, 2015