HOLY SPIRIT, HOLY FRIEND

Sermon Series by Rev. Richard Jones

rec0701-112341 

“Baptism, Indwelling & Filling”

Various Texts

BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT

(Relates to Position)

Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV)
¹³  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
¹⁴  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

1 Corinthians 10:1-2 (ESV)
¹  For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
²  and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

Romans 6:3-5 (ESV)
³  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
⁴  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
⁵  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (ESV)
¹²  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
¹³  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body””Jews or Greeks, slaves or free””and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Galatians 3:26-28 (ESV)
²⁶  for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
²⁷  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
²⁸  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 3:7-12 (ESV)
⁷  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
⁸  Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
⁹  And do not presume to say to yourselves, ”˜We have Abraham as our father,”™ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
¹⁰  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
¹¹  “I baptize you with water for 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 fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT

(Relates to Presence)

John 14:15-20 (ESV)
¹⁵  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
¹⁶  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
¹⁷  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
¹⁸  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
¹⁹  Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
²⁰  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Acts 2:36-39 (ESV)
³⁶  Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
³⁷  Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
³⁸  And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
³⁹  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV)
¹⁶  Do you not know that you are God”™s temple and that God”™s Spirit dwells in you?

Romans 8:9 (ESV)
⁹  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

FILLING OF THE SPIRIT

(Relates to Power)

Acts 2:1-6 (ESV)
¹  When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
²  And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
³  And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
⁴  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
⁵  Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
⁶  And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

Acts 1:4-5 (ESV)
⁴  And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;
⁵  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 2:4 (ESV)
⁴  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 4:7-10 (ESV)
⁷  And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
⁸  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,
⁹  if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,
¹⁰  let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead””by him this man is standing before you well.

Acts 4:29-31 (ESV)
²⁹  And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
³⁰  while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
³¹  And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Galatians 5:16 (ESV)
¹⁶  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Ephesians 5:17-19 (ESV)
¹⁷  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
¹⁸  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
¹⁹  addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

HOLY SPIRIT, HOLY FRIEND

Sermon Series by Rev. Richard Jones

rec0624-113511

“Presence, Promise & Pictures”

Various Texts

PRESENCE (in the OT)

Genesis 41:38 (ESV)
³⁸  And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”

Numbers 27:18-19 (ESV)
¹⁸  So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
¹⁹  Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight.

Daniel 6:3 (ESV)
³  Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

Judges 6:34 (ESV)
³⁴  But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.

Judges 16:20 (ESV)
²⁰  And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

1 Samuel 16:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Psalm 51:11 (ESV)
¹¹  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

PROMISE (in the NT)

John 14:15-20 (ESV)
¹⁵  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
¹⁶  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
¹⁷  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
¹⁸  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
¹⁹  Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
²⁰  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

PICTURES (in the NT)

Clothing

Luke 24:49 (ESV)
⁴⁹  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Dove

Matthew 3:16 (ESV)
¹⁶  And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;

Seal

Ephesians 1:12-14 (ESV)
¹²  so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
¹³  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
¹⁴  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Oil

1 John 2:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰  But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
²¹  I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

Wind

John 3:8 (ESV)
⁸  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

HOLY SPIRIT, HOLY FRIEND

Sermon Series by Rev. Richard Jones

rec0617-112552

“Author of Scripture”

Various Texts

REVELATION

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
¹⁶  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
¹⁷  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Micah 3:8 (ESV)
⁸  But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

2 Samuel 23:2-3 (ESV)
²  “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.
³  The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God,

1 Corinthians 14:37-38 (ESV)
³⁷  If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.
³⁸  If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

INSPIRATION

2 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰  knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone”™s own interpretation.
²¹  For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 27:15 (ESV)
¹⁵  And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.

ATTESTED BY JESUS

Matthew 4:3-4 (ESV)
³  And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
⁴  But he answered, “It is written, “”˜Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”™”

Matthew 5:17-18 (ESV)
¹⁷  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
¹⁸  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

ACKNOWLEDGED BY NT WRITERS

Acts 1:16 (ESV)
¹⁶  “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

Hebrews 3:7-8 (ESV)
⁷  Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,
⁸  do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,

Acts 28:25-26 (ESV)
²⁵  And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
²⁶  “”˜Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

John 14:25-26 (ESV)
²⁵  “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
²⁶  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

1 Thessalonians 4:15 (ESV)
¹⁵  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

2 Peter 3:15-16 (ESV)
¹⁵  And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
¹⁶  as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

ILLUMINATION

1 Corinthians 2:12-13 (ESV)
¹²  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
¹³  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

HOLY SPIRIT, HOLY FRIEND

Sermon Series by Rev. Richard Jones

rec0610-112143

“The Person of the Spirit”

Various Texts

THE PERSONALITY OF THE SPIRIT

Mind

1 Corinthians 2:10 (ESV)
¹⁰  these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

Romans 8:27 (ESV)
²⁷  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Will

1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV)
¹¹  All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Acts 16:6 (ESV)
⁶  And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

Emotion

Isaiah 63:10 (ESV)
¹⁰  But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)
³⁰  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

THE DIVINITY OF THE SPIRIT

John 15:26 (ESV)
²⁶  “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

John 14:16-17 (ESV)
¹⁶  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
¹⁷  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Luke 11:13 (ESV)
¹³  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Job 33:4 (ESV)
⁴  The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

1 Corinthians 2:11 (ESV)
¹¹  For who knows a person”™s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Psalm 139:7 (ESV)
⁷  Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?

THE EQUALITY OF THE SPIRIT

2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
¹⁹  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

THE WORKS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Convicts

John 16:7-8 (ESV)
⁷  Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
⁸  And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

Inspired

2 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰  knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone”™s own interpretation.
²¹  For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Gives Life

Titus 3:5 (ESV)
⁵  he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Indwells

Romans 5:5 (ESV)
⁵  and hope does not put us to shame, because God”™s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Teaches

John 14:26 (ESV)
²⁶  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Sermon Series by Rev. Richard Jones

rec0527-112825

Standing for God in a Godless Culture

1 Kings 18:41 – 19:18

RAIN IS COMING

1 Kings 18:41-46 (ESV)
⁴¹  And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.”
⁴²  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.
⁴³  And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times.
⁴⁴  And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man”™s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ”˜Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.”™”
⁴⁵  And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.
⁴⁶  And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

RUNNING IN FEAR

1 Kings 19:1-4 (ESV)
¹  Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
²  Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”
³  Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
⁴  But he himself went a day”™s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

REVIVING HIS STRENGTH

1 Kings 19:5-8 (ESV)
⁵  And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.”
⁶  And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.
⁷  And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”
⁸  And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)
³¹  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

REVEALING GOD’S WAYS

1 Kings 19:9-14 (ESV)
⁹  There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
¹⁰  He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
¹¹  And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
¹²  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
¹³  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?”
¹⁴  He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

RETURN TO YOUR WORK

1 Kings 19:15-18 (ESV)
¹⁵  And the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
¹⁶  And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
¹⁷  And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.
¹⁸  Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Psalm 103:13-14 (ESV)
¹³  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
¹⁴  For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

REFUSAL OF THE FAITHFUL

1 Kings 19:18 (ESV)
¹⁸  Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Romans 11:1-5 (ESV)
¹  I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
²  God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
³  “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
⁴  But what is God”™s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
⁵  So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

Sermon Series by Rev. Richard Jones

rec0520-111922

Standing for God in a Godless Culture

1 Kings 18: 17-40

POISONED PERSPECTUVE

1 Kings 18:17-19 (ESV)
¹⁷  When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”
¹⁸  And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father”™s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals.
¹⁹  Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel”™s table.”

TRUTH TRIAL

1 Kings 18:20-24 (ESV)
²⁰  So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
²¹  And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
²²  Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal”™s prophets are 450 men.
²³  Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it.
²⁴  And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”

Revelation 3:15-16 (ESV)
¹⁵  “”˜I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!
¹⁶  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

BEGGING BAAL

1 Kings 18:25-29 (ESV)
²⁵  Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.”
²⁶  And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
²⁷  And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
²⁸  And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.
²⁹  And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

DIFFICULT DEMONSTRATION

1 Kings 18:30-35 (ESV)
³⁰  Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down.
³¹  Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,”
³²  and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed.
³³  And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
³⁴  And 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  And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

AFTERNOON ANSWER

1 Kings 18:36-40 (ESV)
³⁶  And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
³⁷  Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
³⁸  Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
³⁹  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.”
⁴⁰  And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (ESV)
¹  “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,
²  and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ”˜Let us go after other gods,”™ which you have not known, ”˜and let us serve them,”™
³  you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
⁴  You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.
⁵  But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

John 17:14-18 (ESV)
¹⁴  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁵  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
¹⁶  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁷  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
¹⁸  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV)
³  For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
⁴  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
⁵  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

APPLICATON:

1. We don’t see miracles today like the ones in the Old Testament. Most of the time, God’s actions are quiet and unseen, but the results of them are visible.

2. We are called to stand for God in our own Godless culture.

3. We don’t kill anybody, but we are to put to death the lies of a Godless culture.

Sermon Series by Rev. Richard Jones

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Standing for God in a Godless Culture

1 Kings 17: 8 – 18:15

THE JUG THAT WOULD NOT EMPTY

1 Kings 17:8-16 (ESV)
⁸  Then the word of the LORD came to him,
⁹  “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”
¹⁰  So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”
¹¹  And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
¹²  And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now 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.”
¹³  And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.
¹⁴  For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ”˜The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.”™”
¹⁵  And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.
¹⁶  The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

THE LIFE THAT WOUD NOT END

1 Kings 17:17-24 (ESV)
¹⁷  After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
¹⁸  And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”
¹⁹  And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.
²⁰  And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?”
²¹  Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child”™s life come into him again.”
²²  And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.
²³  And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.”
²⁴  And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

THE MEETING THAT WOULD NOT CHANGE

1 Kings 18:1-15 (ESV)
¹  After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”
²  So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
³  And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly,
⁴  and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)
⁵  And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.”
⁶  So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
⁷  And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
⁸  And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ”˜Behold, Elijah is here.”™”
⁹  And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give 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 lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ”˜He is not here,”™ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.
¹¹  And now you say, ”˜Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.””™
¹²  And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.
¹³  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?
¹⁴  And now you say, ”˜Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here””™; and he will kill me.”
¹⁵  And Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

Habakkuk 2:18-20 (ESV)
¹⁸  “What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!
¹⁹  Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.
²⁰  But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”