Kneeling on the Promises of God
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Kneeling on the Promises of God
Kneeling on the Promises of God
Is anyone among you sick? 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. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
James 5
If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Matthew 8:17
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Observations regarding God’s Promises.
Observations regarding God’s Promises.
1. God’s promises are not automatic.
1. God’s promises are not automatic.
2. Not every promise in the book is mine.
2. Not every promise in the book is mine.
3. Some promises are conditional.
3. Some promises are conditional.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:
4. Sometimes God speaks a promise to your heart.
4. Sometimes God speaks a promise to your heart.
Principles for seeing God’s promises come to fruition in our life.
Principles for seeing God’s promises come to fruition in our life.
I. We must be Obedient
I. We must be Obedient
After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”
1 Kings 18:1
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria,
and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord.
While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)
:
As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you.
:10
But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’
II. We must have Faith
II. We must have Faith
II. We must have Faith
II. We must have Faith
II. We must have Faith
And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water?
And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
III. We must separate ourselves in Prayer
III. We must separate ourselves in Prayer
III. We must separate ourselves in Prayer
III. We must separate ourselves in Prayer
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.
1 Kings
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
Luke
The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Luke 9:26
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
Mark 9:
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
IV. We’ve must pray Persistently
IV. We’ve must pray Persistently
“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
pray without ceasing,
1 Thessalonians 5:
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians
cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder.
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ”
Luke 18:1
yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Luke
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
Psalm
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
V. We must live Expectantly
V. We must live Expectantly
The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
1 Kings
Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.
The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Closing Observations
Closing Observations
1. God’s promises are for all people, not just Old Testament prophets.
1. God’s promises are for all people, not just Old Testament prophets.
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
2. God’s promises are available, but they are not automatic.
2. God’s promises are available, but they are not automatic.
3. The God who makes the promises (when we do our part) keeps the promises.
3. The God who makes the promises (when we do our part) keeps the promises.