"The Spirit Of Elijah" Part 3 "The God Who Answers By Fire!"

Kings 18:20-24 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but i1f Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 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." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken." NKJV

Now it’s time for the show down on the mountain. The question Elijah asked the people: How long will you falter between two opinions? Let’s define “Falter” and see if we can get a better understanding.

Falter: To hesitate, to stumble, to be lame, to waiver in purpose action or intent, to give way, to speak hesitatingly or brokenly, to move unsteady, to stumble. 

This describes the state that most of the world is in. But even more alarming then that is the fact that much of the church is in this state too! Many people are wavering in purpose action and intent. As a whole we don’t know what we really believe or why we believe it. This is why we are so hesitant when we speak. False religions are passionate in what they believe. Many of those that belong to terrorist organizations are so passionate that they will lay down their lives willingly for what they believe. Do we really believe what we really believe? It’s time for a showdown and a confrontation of the doctrines of demons, mindsets and demonic strongholds that keep people in this state of confusion and wounded hesitation! God is bringing forth "The Spirit of Elijah" to prepare the way of the Lord. Most of the problems that we now face are due to the fact that we have traded the one true God in for all these little gods that rank higher in our minds the one true God!

Elijah makes a statement that is really the “bottom line” and deals directly with the issues of the heart. “If the Lord is God follow him. If Baal is god follow him.” This is exactly what needs to be confronted in the people of that day’s hearts. Jesus also made similar statements when people He encountered had these same issues. What in creation have we exalted above the true and living God? This is the question that will be answered in this showdown on Mt Carmel and will be answered for all of creation before the Lord returns!

When Elijah asked this question, it says the people answered him not a word. Now this in itself speaks volumes! Why did they not say anything? Because just like it says they were in a perpetual state of indecision and uncertainty! They were stumbling around because of standing on a foundation of opinions and without a true revelation of the living God! Let’s define opinion.

Opinion: A view or judgment formed about something not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. Belief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowledge, but on what “seems true”, valid or probable in ones mind. 

This is the state of mind many people in the world are today and a large number of us in the church. We are all about to be delivered from this by the God that answers by fire! Now let’s set up the scenario that led up to this place. The Baal gods represented aspects of creation in which the people were believed to represent. They had sun gods, and moon gods, rain gods, harvest gods and on and on and on! Elijah had prophesied a drought in the land and now because of food and water being scarce, the people were now in a place of desperation. This sets up the scenario for the true and living God to show up and demonstrate! This is exactly what is going on in “this” season preceding the coming of the Lord. When the God of fire shows up, and He answers by fire, we will be faced with a choice! Why? Because the Truth will be in your face! You can either believe and receive the truth, or you can reject it! Either way you will be delivered from opinions.

Here comes the challenge: “The God who answers by fire!” This is a bold step of faith! This is what Elijah was born to do, and it’s what you and I were born to do! We are called to demonstrate the works of God! He told them to call on all of their gods and He would call on his God and the God who answers by fire, He is God! All the people then answered and said “It is well spoken.” In other words, Elijah couldn’t of laid out a better challenge or communicated it any better than he did. They were to prepare their sacrifice and put wood under it and he was to prepare his sacrifice and put wood under it. “The God who answers by Fire!”

1 Kings 18:25-29 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it." 26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!" But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. NKJV 

The false prophets of Baal called on theirs gods from morning to evening but no voice answered. The leaped around the alter, and nothing happened. At noon Elijah starts mocking them! “Maybe you should be a little louder!” “Perhaps he’s busy!” “He must be on a long journey and hasn’t returned yet!” “Maybe he’s sleeping!”

Elijah knew the truth about the false gods, because he knew his God. He walked with God and was confident that He will show up and prove that He’s the one true and living God! He understood who the true and living God was and now he was toying with the false prophets! The interesting thing that I want to point out was the fact that they began to cut themselves with knives and lances until blood gushed out on them. This is always associated with demonic activity and in their case they were demon possessed. It reminded me of a scripture from the new testament in which I will quote here.

Mark 5:1-5 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. NKJV 


Notice here that the man from Gaderene was cutting himself with stones. We find out that when Jesus goes to deliver him from this, He asks this the demon: “what is your name?” It replies "legion, for we are many!" These Baal prophets were cutting themselves. This is a sure tell tale sign of demonic oppression or possession. If you’re reading this blog and you have been cutting yourself and you would like to be free, please contact me. My Email is apostlewick@yahoo.com. I will walk you through the process of deliverance so that you can be free.

The prophets of Baal continued to call, cut and whoop it up until the night, but to no avail. Nothing happened and no fire came down and nobody heard anything!

1 Kings 18:30-39 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name." 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood." 34 Then he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time; and he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!" NKJV 

Now it was time for the one and only true and living God to answer by fire! He told the people to draw near. He then proceeded to repair the alter of the Lord that was broken down. You and I are the temple of God, so let me ask you a question. Is the alter in your heart broken down or does it need to be repaired? If the alter in your heart needs to be repaired, draw near to God and offer the sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving and repentance. He is waiting to restore you! But you must let Him do the work in you and repair your heart. Once you draw near to Him he is going to draw near to you! The fire of God will consume your sacrifice and demonstrate how much He loves you! God’s ultimate purpose is reconciliation. He is going to judge those things that not him so that we will not be condemned with the rest of the world! This showdown is to show who the real enemy is and deliver His people! Remember these people gathered on Mt Carmel are His people! We are His people, and He wants to answer by fire!

Elijah takes twelve stones to rebuild the alter which represent Jacobs 12 sons. Remember Jacob wrestled with the Lord because he was promised a blessing and had not come into his full inheritance. Jacobs name means: heel-catcher (i.e. supplanter); deceiver. After he wrestled all night with the Angel of the Lord, He granted his desire and promise of blessing but brought him to his true destiny. it required a name change. His name was changed from Jacob to Israel. Israel means: He will rule as God. When alter of your heart is rebuilt. You will come into the true destiny and purpose of your life. You will not serve the Baal gods, but begin to rule under the almighty God who has destined you for victory over all of your enemies! These 12 stones represent the age old foundations being raised up. the foundation is the most important thing that must be raised up and built or repaired right!

After Elijah rebuilds the alter, he steps up the challenge with an unusual instruction. He tells the people to dig trenches and fill four water pots with water and pour it on the wood. This is very significant because they filled the four water pots and poured them on the offering. He then tells them again to fill the four water pots and pour them out on the offering. After they did this a second time. he tells them to do it a third time. This caught my attention and I realized that he was performing a prophetic act. The number four represents creation. There are four seasons, four living creatures, four winds, four direction points North, South East and West. These are all aspects of creation. The people were worshiping the creation instead of the One who created it all. The first four waters pots represent the Creator who created it all! The true and living God! When you add the next four water pots you now have eight. Eight represents a new beginning. Circumcision and dedication to God was on the eighth day. Noah was the eighth soul saved from destruction. Eight is the number of New creation. God is a God of mercy and when he shows up by fire, His ultimate goal is to save and restore and give us a new beginning. This number eight was a prophetic act to represent His desire to give His people a new beginning. When you add four more water pots you have a total of twelve. Twelve represents the government of God. There were twelve Tribes, Twelve Apostles, God doesn’t just want us to have a new beginning, He wants us to rule and reign with Him! We are the Body of Christ and we are seated in heavenly places now! The government will be upon His (Christ) Shoulders and we are His body!

Let’s sum up this prophetic act: They are going to transition from worshiping the creation to the creator, the true and living God. They were going to have a brand new beginning with Gods government in place. Witchcraft is false illegitimate authority and has to be overthrown. Jezebel must be taken out. All the steps must be completed. The 4+4+4 is the prophetic symbolism of the transition that was going on. This was the destiny of Elijah! To restore the hearts of the children back to the Father and the heart of the father back to the children. The people must be left with Gods government in place.

I Kings 18:38-39 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!" NKJV 

Continued Next Week!

The Spirit Of Elijah Part 2 "Provision In The Dry Time"

1 Kings 17:1  And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."  NKJV

Elijah proclaims a drought by the word of the Lord.  Now the very important thing that we need to grasp here is that  he has to live through the very drought that he just prophesied.  Is it possible that much of the shaking we are seeing in the earth right now may be because the Lord is acting as he did in the old testament when alters are set up to false gods?  He will have no other gods before him.  However this story is more about redemption then destruction. The shaking is for the purpose deliverance and not total destruction.  He will provide for those that are really seeking him.  What about those people who a caught between two opinions?   The Truth is the only thing that will set them free!

Look what the Lord does in regards to Elijah’s provision.

1 Kings 17:2-4  Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." NKJV

Remember Elijah had prophesied the drought into existence and then had to live through it.  This may give us a clue into end time matters.  Also remember the last book in the Bible is called “The Revelation Of Jesus Christ.”    Many who have taught on end times out of that book have focused on the plagues, disasters, the antichrist, the beast, the system, the 666 etc.  But the last book should cause us to focus on Jesus and keep our focus on the revelation of Him.  In Elijah’s day God had sent Him to tear down the false gods, alters and all the high places that had been set up to the Baal gods.  His primary calling was to confront the powers that be and demonstrate who the real God was.  So the first thing that God had him do is prophesy a drought.

Worshiping the Baal gods was putting your faith in for instance the rain god, or the sun god. Or some other god that they believed controlled some aspect of creation.  With the drought, they were all finding out that the real God is in control of all of creation.  But what about the provision for “The man of God?”  According to the above scripture the Lord has a plan to take care of his own.

First Elijah had to get in geographic alignment.  This is very important because where we are supposed to be  where the Lord has directed us to be!  Many people are geographically out of step with the Lord because they made a decision to move based on economics or hard circumstance or a whole host of other reasons that was not the Lords direction, but their own.  It is important that we find the place that God wants us to be and in relationship with those he has called us to be with.  If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask from God who gives to all men freely.  However do not doubt.  He who doubts or is double minded can easily be swayed by every which way the wind is blowing and is unstable in all his ways.  It is very important to know your place, especially now in this stormy season we have entered into.

Elijah did as the Lord commanded and went and hid by the brook Cherith.  Just as a side note here, the word Cherith comes from a word that means covenant.  When we are in covenant with our God,  and that means we give the best we have and He gives us the best that he has.  We are in this together and He will provide, but we must take our direction from Him.   Elijah drank from  this brook and ravens brought him food every night.  God was using those things that He had created to help him.  God is going to use creation to help us during this time.  All of creation is groaning to see the manifestation of the Sons of God in this hour!  It says He commanded the ravens to feed him there.

1 Kings 17:7-12  And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." 12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."  NKJV

Now verse 7 says here that after a while. The brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.  Remember we are going to have to live through the very things we prophesied.  In the place that the Lord had sent him for provision is now in crises.  It does not matter the crises, God has a plan and our steps are ordered.  In Elijah’s case his natural circumstances were changing and it caused him to listen to what the word of the Lord was going to do now in this present circumstance and crises.  Sometimes becoming thirsty and hungry in the natural is a good motivator to press into God.  This is also true in the spiritual.  Sometimes God in our thinking is last instead of first, but when things don’t work out the way we thought, then we will press into God.  This season that we have entered into is going to force us to press into God for direction.

Here comes another geographic change to bring Elijah to another phase of his calling.  He was sent to a widow and she was going to provide for him.  The vision just got bigger then self preservation, now he was going to have to depend on someone other than himself.

I Kings 17:10-12 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." 12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."  NKJV

Let's take a closer look at the season of change that Elijah went through to bring him to the point of his true mission and calling.  Ultimately He was called to confront Ahab and Jezebel who had introduced Gods people to false Baal gods and now those people did not know who the true God was.    The Lord spoke to him to go to the brook “Cherith”   The Lord will provide because we are covenant with Him!  However it was now time to move on to the next place of his mission and calling.  The brook had dried up and the ravens quit coming and it was time to seek the Lords direction!  The Lord speaks to him again and he was going to have to make another geographic change and now his mission was going to have to include other people.  In fact the Lord tells him that He had commanded a widow to provide for him in that place!  He obeys and goes to that place.

If he would have just looked at the natural and reasoned within himself he would have thought that what the Lord told him to do would have been foolishness.  The Lord told him to find a widow that would provide for him.  Think about this.  It is a drought, food and water are scarce, and she was a widow.  Meaning her husband was dead and she had no way of supporting herself.  In the natural this would have seemed like foolishness.   But God has plans that go way beyond natural possibilities.  As we go through this intense season that we have entered into it is going to be very important to get our eyes off of the natural and go where He tells us to go.  We must obey Him because our very provision is connected with our obedience.

When Elijah comes into the place the Lord had commanded, the widow was gathering sticks to start the last fire she was going to kindle for the last meal they were going to eat.  The timing was perfect.  She was out of provision and so was Elijah.  God knows who to divinely connect you to be in a position to depend on each other.  What if Elijah had just perceived this in the natural?  He would have missed God and both the widow and he would have missed out on what God had for the both of them.

Now let’s look and see how Elijah was really seeing this.  He asked the woman to bring him something to drink and asked her to bring him some bread in her hand.  He was looking past the natural with the eyes of faith.  He was seeing bread in her hand.  Why? Because he believed the Word of the Lord!  No matter what it looks like or whatever we face, we must believe the Word of the Lord because that is where the provision is.  She responds with an answer that could have made him doubt.  She said: “I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."  Doesn’t look like a very bright future in the eyes of the natural!  How does Elijah respond?

I Kings 17:13-16  And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.' 15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah. NKJV

He says to the widow; “Do not fear!”  His perfect love for each of us will cast the fear out!  He does care about you and I and He will provide!  The promise he tells her is the flour will not be used up and the oil in the jar will not run dry!  This is divine provision based on obedience and faith in what the Lord says!

Do you know His voice?  It is going to become increasingly important to hear His voice and obey speedily in this season!  These acts of obedience saved their lives and furnished them provision for the remainder of the drought!  There are going to be many storms and trouble in this season, so let’s look at the next very big thing that they had to face on the way to the showdown of God verses the false gods!

1 Kings 17:17-18  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?" NKJV


 This looks to what appears to be major setback in path to Elijah’s  ultimate destiny which was a showdown on Mt Carmel against Jezebel and all the false prophets.  The son of the widow gets so sick, that he dies.  Of course the woman is anguished and begins to blame the “Man of God”.  She does in fact rightly connect sin with the curse and with death.   Now think about this, just a short time before this, she is gathering up sticks to start the last fire and cook her last cake and she and her son were prepared to die.  How soon we forget how much we have to be thankful for, when  another crises comes.  Put yourself in remembrance of the former things the Lord has done.

1 Kings 17:19-21  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?"  NKJV

Elijah now is faced with some questions of his own.   He takes her son and heads up to the upper room where he was staying.  He lays him on the bed he had been sleeping on.  Now this is very significant because this place that he had brought the son to was the very place they he had spent much time in intimate relationship to God.

If you have questions that need answers then shut yourself away in that secret place where you have been meeting with God.  He cried out to the Lord asking why He killed this woman’s son.  This is a contradiction of Gods nature and purposes because He had sent Elijah to this house to not only bring provision to himself, but to this woman and her son.  It did not make sense to the woman or Elijah and now he was taking it before God!  Does God answer him?  The answer is no.  This is where Elijah decides to act on what God has already said and began to expect this child to live!  So let’s look at what God had already said:

1 Kings 17:13-14  And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'" NKJV

Yes the provision and the promise was for the widow, her son and Elijah.  We need to stand on what God has already promised and expect!.  Elijah acted on this and stretched himself out on the boy not just once but three times.  Now isn't it interesting how he was walking in faith here and was not deterred when the boy didn't get up after the first time he stretched out on him? You know sometimes when we are praying for the sick and they die, we have a tendency to give up, but there is one more step to look at and believe.  We are called to raise the dead!

One time I was preaching a funeral, and right in the middle of my message, I suddenly had this unction or nudging to raise this dead person.  Now I got to tell you I was suddenly conflicted in myself!  I was arguing with God inside about the people that were at this funeral and how they may not understand this if this dead person got up.  And there was also a fear of what if he didn't get up when I prayed!  These were the things that I was using as my rational in my argument against this.  I heard the Holy Spirit ask me: "Where is it going to be more relevant then at a funeral to raise the dead?"  Now I would like to tell you that this story had a resurrection testimony, but it didn't because I had not settled this issue in my heart and fear shut me down!

When this was over I went before the Lord and repented for letting the fear of man and other issues of unbelief shut me down.  What attracts the spirit of fear to you is the pride in you. Pride is worship of self. When we come into a true revelation of the Love of God for us and others fear will flee!  God wants us to be healthy and alive.  For God so loved us that He sent his only Son to die on the cross to deal with the sin issue (The widow was referring to this) but he also dealt with sickness and beat death.   However he was raising people from the dead before he went to the cross.

Elijah was not giving up but stretched out on the boy three times!  Let us never come in agreement with the natural, but the Super Natural!  The same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within us.  We must stand on what God has already promised us no matter what it looks like!

I Kings 17:21-24  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, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth."  NKJV

God’s Word is the truth that should be in our mouth!  What has He promised you and I?  The widow became totally 100% convinced that the Word of God  which was the Word of Truth was in Elijah's mouth.  This is the Truth that you and I have to come to grips with in this hour.  We must believe the Word that God has already said and stand on it and act on it no matter what the circumstances look like or actually are!

 Kings 18:1-3  And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."  2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. NKJV

It is now the third Year of a severe drought in the land and now it was the time for the showdown on Mount Carmel.  The People who had put their faith in the gods that Ahab and Jezebel had taught them to worship and had set up alters to were now most likely questioning everything they believed.

He had learned that in this season that provision came from obeying the Word of the Lord and in a timely fashion.  During this season we must learn obedience. it will be necessary for our provision.  Do not lean on your own insights or understandings.  Obey the voice of the Lord.   Also at certain times we are not going to hear a fresh  Word from the Lord, so we are going to have to rely on what God has already said.  When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil, He  spoke “It is written” to the devil. This is relying on a previous revelation from God to overcome the temptation.  The previous revelation was: “This is my beloved Son in whom I’m well pleased!”  The devil  said: “If you’re the Son of God”   Jesus was the Son and knew his father was well pleased with Him!  Perfect Love cast out fear!  God Loves you!

Elijah now was sent to confront the false Gods.  This is what the Spirit of Elijah is going to do in this hour.

I Kings 18:3-8  And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock." 6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.  7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, "Is that you, my lord Elijah?" 8 And he answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'"  NKJV

Obadiah was also a Prophet who had remained covert before Ahab and had hidden 100 prophet’s and fed them bread and water.  Jezebel, Ahab’s wife had massacred the prophets of the Lord.  Ahab had started to become desperate and told Obadiah to go throughout half of the land to see if he could find any green grass to keep the animals alive.   Ahab was going the other way to the other half of the land for the same reason.  As Obadiah was on his way, he meets Elijah. After they greeted one another Elijah tells Obadiah to go tell Ahab that “Elijah is here”.

1 Kings 18:9-15  So he said, "How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here"'! 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. 13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here."' He will kill me!"  Then Elijah said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today." NKJV

Now this is a very important conversation that they are having.  Obadiah is concerned that Elijah is going to take off after he goes and tells Ahab that “Elijah is here”.   Ahab had made other kings take an oath that they could not find him.   Another thing that Obadiah tells Elijah is He hid 100 other prophets .  Now this is very important because one of the greatest deceptions that we can fall into is to think were the only one left.  I have seen this over and over with saints.  Saying things like:  "I’m the only one left”   “I’m the only one with this truth”.  And of course this can go on and on.  But God always has prepared and spared others to partner with you.  Isolation is a deception that we must confront in our own selves.  Elijah was given the truth by Obadiah, but because he continued to believe he was all alone, it eventually caused him to fall short of his call and destiny.  This does not take away what he did accomplish, but it did cut him short from his ultimate purpose. We will look at this in more detail in the next parts of this series.  But consider the following verse of scripture, because it spells out very clearly the danger of isolation and the reasons why people have fallen into this deception.

Prov 18:1 18 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.  NKJV

1 Kings 18:16-19 6 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?" 18 And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." NKJV

Now comes the showdown!........Continued next week!

"The Spirit Of Elijah" Part 1 "Hot Like An Oven"

Mal 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." NKJV

This week I want to look at Elijah’s life because this scripture promises that before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, He is going to send Elijah the prophet.  This scripture is really talking about the Spirit of Elijah.  When I began to meditate on this scripture, it dawned on me to take a closer look at Elijah’s life in scripture.  But first let’s look at this scripture because it outlines the mission of the Spirit of Elijah.  First let me back up a few scriptures and see what the season looks like when he comes to prepare the way of the Lord.

Mal 4:1-2 "For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the Lord of hosts,"That will leave them neither root nor branch.  2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.  NKJV

In the day that the Spirit of Elijah comes, it is going to be a day burning like an oven.  What this speaks of is a day that is very intense.  If you were to look around this world right now, I think we are beginning to qualify for intense and hot.  With the earthquake in Japan followed by a tsunami and then a nuclear meltdown of their reactors, for them it is about as intense at it is ever going to get.   Here in our own country, Recent Tornado's in the south that officials are now saying has done more damage than Hurricane Katrina. Also Tornado's in Missouri  practically destroying Joplin.  Flooding and earthquakes on the East coast!  And the worldwide economies including the United States on the verge of collapse.   Things are rapidly changing to a state of “beyond human remedy.”  This reveals the proud and all of his great ideas. The world will quickly find out that God is the only one that can fix this.  Those that won’t let go of their pride will be the first judged in this time.

 A while back I was up very early one morning and I heard the voice of the Lord speak to me and he asked this question:  “Do you know what pride is?”  Now as I have been saying for years, when the Lord asks you a question, it’s not because he doesn't know the answer.  I have also learned (from experience…LOL!) that it’s not a good time to prove how smart you are.   I answered Him this way, "I thought I did, but please tell me."  He said:  “It is worship of self.”   When He said that to me, I realized how true that really was and I got to tell you it affected me very deeply.  If you trust in self and what you can do, instead of the one who created you and gave you everything you have, this indeed is the most basic form of pride.  Our society has continually looked for a way to try to say there is no God and man is the captain of his own ship and the master of his own fate.   All who are proud will be the first ones to see that this has been a lie and either be delivered or be destroyed.  This may sound hard, but this is the very scripture we are looking at.  However if we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God we will be exalted in due time or the right time.  It says in the above scripture: Those that fear His name, the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.  So no matter how hard it gets, if we fear His name we will have healing and provision.

Now let’s look at the mission or goal of the Spirit of Elijah.  He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the hearts of the children and the hearts of the children to the hearts of the fathers.  God who is our Father has always had a heart of restoration.  Jesus who is His Son paid with His own blood, the penalty for sin that had made a separation between the Father and us, His children.  We now have access of fellowship with our Father.  When we understand how much the Father loves you and I and the entire world, we will begin to see how far the Father will go to bring the lost in.  He gave the best that he had, His own Son.  His heart is turned toward us!  Is our heart turned toward Him?

Matt 11:9-15  But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  10 For this is he of whom it is written: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'  11 "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.  13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!  NKJV

Now let's look at John the Baptist who Jesus said if they would receive it, was Elijah or the Spirit of Elijah that was to come.  According to Mal 4:5-6.

 Elijah’s  primary mission is to turn the hearts of the Fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the Fathers.  This is a very interesting and powerful revelation as to the primary mission of the Spirit of Elijah.  What is in a lot of cases is misunderstood about how this works, let’s look a little closer at John the Baptist’s ministry.

Matt 3:1-3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'"  NKJV

John was a voice of one crying in the wilderness.  That means he was loud!  His voice was loud and clear as to be heard over all the other voices of that day.  This is very important because one of missing ingredients in the way the gospel is presented is the loud voice.  This is not to be critical of how one presents the gospel.  However if we overlook this or don’t think it’s necessary or are critical of those that do have loud voices, we may be rejecting what may be the primary element for preparing the way of the Lord.  Let’s define the word.

Crying: NT:994 GREEK(bo-ah'-o); apparently a prol. form of a primary verb; to halloo, i.e. shout (for help or in a tumultuous way):(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's)

He was loud and tumultuous!  I’ve heard people over the years become very critical about people whom God uses that are loud.  Jesus himself was able to speak to masses of people without the benefit of a P.A. system. If your critical of loud or offended with it just consider the voice of the Lord as used in Psalms 29!

The next critically important part of John’s ministry was the message. It was repentance.  Let’s define this word.

Repent: NT:3340  GREEK metanoeo (met-an-o-eh'-o); from NT:3326 and NT:3539; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction):KJV 

Repent, latterly means to change your way of thinking about something.  God’s word is Truth.  We must line up with God’s way of thinking.  In fact we are told not to lean on our own insights and understandings.  Many people have opinions and understandings as well as doctrines that may not line up with Gods way of thinking and will have to be repented of.  Going right along with the message of repentance is “Make His paths straight.”   The message that we are called to preach is the message of the cross. This is where the real power is and passiveness and fear of rejection may try to soften this message.

Now let’s look at some of the instruction concerning what John said to the religious people of the day as to what they must do to prepare for the way of the Lord.

Matt 3:4-12  Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." NKJV

John was sent to prepare the way of the Lord.  It is obvious that John did not fit the mindset of the religious system with all of its customs and traditions.  He did not dress the way they most likely expected.  This in itself was probably very offensive to many and they could not near his message because of their offense of the way he dressed and what he ate. The message was a very serious one and still is, but can be minimized by pride that will accompany the religious mindset.   The religious mindset is actually always looking for the messenger to have something wrong with him so they can be critical.  Because of the way he was, some were probably thinking he was "wounded" and this was just outward manifestations of rebellion because of the wound.  Or here’s another one: "John was just looking to get attention from people."

Now let’s look at the way Jesus described this religious mindset.

Matt 11:14-19 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!  16 "But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions,  17 and saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.'  18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a  glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."NKJV

The Spirit of Elijah is going to deal with the religious mindset by coming straight at it.  Many people are offended very easy and walk away in offence.  A healthy vital church life will deal with these issues.  But most have stayed offended about things, severed relationships and have walked away from the very person that God may be using in their life to break off wrong thinking.  Would God be in that?  Yes, but one that is that way will usually have what they think is a spiritual reason, when it is just natural reason rooted in the flesh.  Of course I’m sure that this is what was going on in John’s case and people were offended with the messenger and the message.  Are you an accuser of the brethren and thinking you’re being  lead of the Lord?

1 Kings 16:29-34  In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.  NKJV

Let's look at the real Elijah and begin to understand his lives calling and mission.  After all if the Spirit of Elijah precedes the coming of the Lord, we should find out some things about him.  First let’s look at the season and the circumstances that Elijah showed up in.  Ahab had just become king of Judah and was a very bad king!  In fact the Word of God makes it a point not just once, but says twice of him being worse than any king before him and did more to provoke the Lords anger than all the kings of Israel!   He had a very trivial attitude concerning the sins of Jeroboam.  What were the sins of Jeroboam?   He introduced false gods to the people and taught them to follow them and set up alters to them in the high places.

Ahab married Jezebel and went and served her gods which were the gods of Baal.  However he went farther than that and built a temple and alters to Baal.  This indeed is what provoked the Lord to anger.  It also brought people to a place of much confusion as to who the true God was.  What was the one and only true God’s response?  He sent the Prophet Elijah to tear down this kingdom of false gods.......Continued Next Week!

Mal 4:1,5-6  1"For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do  wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the Lord of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch.  5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."NKJV

"Healing 101"

Matt 4:23-25 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. NKJV

I've been a Christian for more than 31 years now, and have had many teachings and preached many messages on the finished work of the cross. Jesus has paid the price for our sins, our pains, griefs, sorrows, mental disorders and every sickness and infirmity known to man. My intention in this article is to give you a refresher course on this subject so if you've got sickness or disease or any other kind of thing wrong with you, get ready to be healed as we look at the ministry of Jesus right now through the eyes of Matthew.

Jesus first of all preached the gospel or good news of the kingdom. There needs to be an emphasis on kingdom here because that represents authority. We must exercise dominion and authority over sickness. Now let me say something right up front. Healing is a finished work that Jesus won the victory over on the cross. We are not going to approach this from the standpoint of trying to get God to do something. He has already said: "It is finished!"  Gods Word is true and we are going to put our faith in what he has said, not our past experiences, opinions, doctrines, or anything else. Faith comes by hearing God.  So lets ask God to speak to us again from a fresh revelation of His Word.  According to the scripture above, He healed all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of diseases. I've did a very extensive study of the greek to determine what "All"  means here. All means All!

There is a distinction between sickness and diseases. Sickness means: A weakness or a physical affliction of the body. Jesus healed every kind of sickness including yours if you have a physical affliction. The other word used in this scripture is disease. Disease means: Your not at ease. This can involve mental issues such as anxiety, depression, chemical imbalance, or any other kind of metal torment. Jesus healed every kind of disease including yours if you have one. They brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments. He also freed those who were demon possessed, those that had epilepsy, and those who were paralyzed. He healed them all! Jesus has bought and paid for with His own blood the price necessary for us to be healed of every disease and every sickness! Now if you have anything wrong with you, put your hand on the area that is affected and I am going to pray for you! If your not able to reach the area with your hand or you can't move then just expect to be healed. Jesus will himself touch the affected area and you will be healed! He loves you and it is His will for you to be healed! It is finished and we are going to declare the finished work of the cross over you right now! Are you ready?

Okay lets pray!  Father I thank you that you sent your Son Jesus Christ who bought and paid with own blood, the right to be completely 100% healed, whole, saved and delivered! So I come against every sickness, spirits of infirmity, spirits of death, cancer, malady, epilepsy, bi-polar, tumors, stroke, lung disease, backaches, headaches, blood disorders, aneurysms, bone disease, flu symptoms, sore throats, thyroid problems, acid re-flux or any and every kind of sickness, disease or symptoms, and I command you to loose everyone of these people right now in Jesus name! I command your body in come into divine alignment with Gods Word and Jesus finished sacrifice. You will live and not die! You are made 100% whole right now! In Jesus Name! Now do something right now that you could not do. If you could not bend over, as an act of faith bend over. As Our friend John Kirby says: "Twist it, Turn it, Bend it , Shake it..Do what you could not do!"

Matt 8:5-13 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.7 And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him.8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it.10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.And his servant was healed that same hour. NKJV

Lets break down this very powerful scripture and learn the principles of how the gospel of the kingdom works. Here is a situation where a soldier comes to Jesus on behalf of his servant who is at home paralyzed and dreadfully tormented. That means he was unable to move for sure, not able to feel or walk and possibly not able to talk. One thing is for sure, he was dreadfully tormented. Jesus did not say I will come and pray for him, He said: "I will come and heal him!" Let me ask you a question. How did Jesus know that this person was going to be healed?  This is a good question. He knew because he was able to reach forth into a place where neither time nor distance exists and partake of a benefit that would come as a result of what he would do on the cross in the future. He knew the plan of God and what His destiny was. He would go to the cross and die and redeem mankind from the curse. Sickness and disease is part of the curse that we were delivered from. He knew the Fathers will and this is the very foundation of our faith. It is Gods will for all to be healed! Jesus understood Gods will and acted on it. This soldier understood how authority worked. He explained that when he gave an order to one of those who was under him, that the order would be carried out without question. So he tells Jesus, you don't have to come to my house, just order it so, and it will be done. This indeed was the principle that Jesus was already operating in. He knew the Fathers will concerning healing and knew because he would obey, or come in agreement of the Fathers will that healing would manifest!

When the soldier explained this to Jesus, it says Jesus marveled. That means Jesus really admired what the soldier said! If we can grab a hold of this principle of the kingdom, carry out the orders that we have already been given, just think of how many more healing manifestations we are going to see! Jesus says about the soldier, I have not ever found such a person in Israel with this kind of great faith!  Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.  And his servant was healed that same hour. Do we expect that when we lay hands on people that they will be healed? Jesus said to the soldier I will come and heal him. Determine this week that when you lay your hand on someone that they will be healed!   When you lay your hand on the affected area and  release the power of God and the finished work of the cross!

Pray a prayer over them like this: Father we just carry out the orders that have been given and release the power of heaven into this body and command every sickness, infirmity and disease to get out!  Let the manifestation of healing come forth right now in Jesus name Amen!

Matt 12:14-22 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. Behold, My Servant 15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 18 ;Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!I will put My Spirit upon Him,And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel nor cry out,Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed He will not break,And smoking flax He will not quench,Till He sends forth justice to victory; 21 And in His name Gentiles will trust.22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.In verse 15 of this scripture, again Jesus healed all of them. 

Now its important to note here that the Pharisees were plotting against Jesus looking for a way to destroy Him. In this day and age if your preaching and manifesting the gospel of the kingdom, there are going to be those modern day Pharisees and Sadducee s , who have a religious spirit and a lot of pride that will hope you fail and may even plot against you. So fear not and let not your heart be troubled. One of the main truths here concerning healing is found in verse 18. He will declare justice to the Gentiles! There is a direct connection here between healing and justice! Lets define justice.

Justice: 1. The quality of being just; fairness. 2. a. The principle of moral rightness; equity. b. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness.

Healing is just and fair! This again is the plan of God concerning what Jesus bought and paid for with His own blood. When the sick were brought to Jesus He healed all of them!  He brought justice to all who were oppressed by the devil. We need to fully grasp the fact that God is no respecter of persons. He is not a God who heals some and others he doesn't.  By the stripes that were put upon Jesus, you are healed! He sends forth justice to victory! We can trust Him.  blind, mute and everyone who had any kind of affliction were healed!

Matt 12: 23-40 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David? 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. 25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?  27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. NKJV

Here come the religious folk again with another accusation against Jesus. Now they are attributing the works of God and the casting out of demons to Beelzebub the ruler of the demons! ;One thing they knew was right, they believed in demons! In this day and age there are many people that don't even believe that demons exist. Much, if not all sickness is directly related to demonic activity. In this scripture they accuse him! It says: "He knew their thoughts."  And  He also said: "Every kingdom divided against itself comes to desolation and every city and or house divided cannot stand."  This is a very important point concerning you as well. If you are divided in your thinking about it being  Gods will to heal you, it will be almost impossible for you to stand with confidence. This is where you must make up your mind and decide that Jesus died for not only your sins, but your sicknesses, pains and griefs!

Mark 5:25-33 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes?  31 But His disciples said to Him, You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' 32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.

This is a wonderful testimony of how pressing into Jesus draws the healing power out of Him. This woman had this issue with a flow of blood for twelve years! It says here that she had suffered even more with what the doctors had given her for treatment. The doctors were not really helping because she got even worse because of them. Now I'm not knocking doctors or hospitals, but how many of us put more faith in them, then we do in the Lord? This is a good question. Remember doctors are to never take the place of God. Everything in creation comes from God, so we must acknowledge Him first. In this case the doctors made her worse and she suffered even more because of them. Jesus was the last hope she had and she was desperate! She recognized the healing power that was coming from Him and she said: "If only I may touch His cloths I may be made whole. She pressed in. I'm sure that there were many people trying to get something from Him but she was desperate and did whatever it took to get close enough to touch Him. It says when she did, immediately the fountain her blood dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction! Jesus felt the healing power go out of him! It must have been her desperation and her faith that made a demand on the power to heal! It got Jesus's attention so much so that he asked: Who touched me?" His disciples saw the crowd of people thronging him and must of thought He was asking a ridiculous question. Jesus paid no attention to them he just kept looking around. Why?  Because this woman had pressed in and drew power out of him! This is desperation and hunger!

This women was probably thinking she had done something wrong! She comes fearing and trembling to Him and tells Him the whole truth. He wanted to know who had made such a great demand on Him! He says to her: Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace and be healed of your affliction. This same power that came out of Jesus to heal this woman is in you! Do you really believe this is true? We must press into to him until we see the manifestation of this power released in us and whosoever we lay hands on or comes in contact with us!

Mark 5:21-23, 35-36 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further? 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not be afraid; only believe.

This testimony of the woman with issue of blood comes right in the middle of this testimony of Jesus on His way to heal Jairus's daughter Jesus is commending her about her faith making her well and a messenger comes from his house and says it's too late your daughter is dead. Jesus was never moved by how the circumstance looked.   He says without missing a beat: "Do not be afraid, only believe."  Fear is the one thing that we must deal with, and the way to deal with it is to receive the Love that God has for us! Perfect love casts out fear because fear is part of the torment and is a roadblock to faith.

Fear is: believing the worst is going to happen! Faith is: believing that what God said is going to happen. The woman with the issue of blood had spent all of her money and time in faith in the doctors healing her but they made her worse. She had nothing more to fear because she was living out the worst case scenario. But she knew (believed) that if she could just touched Jesus, she would be healed! It's time to believe what God had already said and what Jesus has already done! Believe that you receive and you shall have it! If any two agree as touching any one thing and it shall be done! This is the Word of the Lord!

Now back to Jairus.  He is begging Jesus to come and lay his hands on his daughter because she was almost dead. Jairus was desperate. Here he was ,one of the rulers of the synagogue, and his position was not going to save his daughter. He realized that Jesus was walking in something that would possibly save and heal his daughter. As he was humbling himself by throwing himself at Jesus feet, the worst possible news comes to him from some in his house telling him: "It's too late your daughter is dead, so there's no need to bother Jesus any further. Let me state again , Jesus recognized fear as the leading issue. Now ;mind you Jairus was fearful that his daughter was going to die and while he is yet speaking to Jesus, his worst fear comes to pass! But Jesus was about to inject hope. He says: Do not be afraid; only believe. This indeed is an insight and principle that we must grab a hold of. This is by definition double mindedness.

Fear and Faith cannot share the same platform in the mind. The truth does not bow the knee in any circumstance as the truth does not change. The circumstance must bow the knee to the truth. The truth is, no matter how serious the sickness is, even if it leads to death, there is hope of resurrection and total restoration! We put the limitations on God. He tells us with men it impossible, but with God all things are possible. We are relying on what we can do for ourselves, when God has freely given it to us. This is by definition pride. Pride is what attracts the spirit of fear.

Years ago, the Lord showed me that you can measure how much pride a person has, by how much fear they have. Likewise you can measure fears by how much pride a person has. ;Remember this God has provided all of us with healing and he is no respecter of people. If we think we have to earn what God has freely provided then we must repent. Perfect Love, if we can receive it will cast out fear. Fear cannot exist on the same platform with the love of God either! Faith works through the receiving of the Love that God has already freely given us! Is forgiveness and Love only extended for a few?  No, it is for those that can receive the Love that God has for all of us. His Love for us was while we were yet sinners! Fear not and only believe!

Mark 5:37-43 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, Talitha, cumi, which is translated,Little girl, I say to you, arise.42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.  NKJV

This is a very powerful passage of scripture because as Jesus has just told Jairus to not be afraid, only believe. He then permits no one to go with him except Peter, James and John. Why? Because it's important that fear and unbelief are not be the dominating influence. Jesus believed and received. This is how the works of God are accomplished. When Jesus arrives at the house, people are wailing and in great tumult. He again addresses the fear and hopelessness of the people. This is affecting the atmosphere. He says: "Why make this commotion and weep?"  The child is not dead, but sleeping.This again was an attempt to inject faith and hope into the circumstance. What did they do? They ridiculed him. Unbelief and fear can affect the atmosphere and be counter-productive to miracles. What does Jesus do? He puts them all outside. Sometimes this is going to be necessary to really break through and see the full manifestation of healing. In this case the dead was about to be raised.

Notice here He doesn't say "God come here and do something.", He says: "Little girl, I say arise."  This is declarative, because Jesus already knew it was the Fathers will. If we ask anything according to the Fathers will, It shall be done. Healing is all in the package of salvation. It is the Fathers will and we must become declarative and know that it will come to pass. Is anything to hard for God?  No! With God all things are possible! We are with God and he is with us and in us. I speak over you right now in Jesus name life! May you be completely saturated with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead! I command every infirmity, disease and spirit to leave your body and mind and be healed in Jesus name. May you totally fulfill all of your steps that are ordered and come fully in to you destiny!  Amen!

Email me at  apostlewick@yahoo.com and tell me your healing testimony!