Intimacy Requires TRUST
What do you do when things don't go your way or adversity strikes? Do you lose faith in God? When Job's world came crashing in on him...what did he do? Listen to Barbara Sandbek and find out.
Keep Listening!
Barbara Sandbek has been taking us on a journey with the prophet Elijah. We’ve seen how God worked IN Elijah to groom his faith, and make him a man for the times, and how God worked THROUGH Elijah to call his unfaithful people, Israel, back to Himself. We’ve seen Elijah at his best at the Mt. Carmel showdown, and at his worst when he retreated from Queen Jezebel’s threat. On this program, Barbara will conclude this series, with a lesson from Elijah’s final days, and a summary of what we’ve learned from his life.
Testing precedes blessing
On our last program Barbara Sandbek talked about Elijah’s discouragement over Queen Jezebel’s threat to take his life. We saw how misplaced confidence, misplaced armor, misplaced energy,missed prayer, and missed rest, all contributed to bring him to the valley of despair. On this program,, Barbara will share a time in her life when she, too, faced discouragement.
Why the discouragement?
On this Grace Notes program, Barbara Sandbek will follow the prophet Elijah as he moves from his mountaintop experience, to the valley of depression. We’ll see what caused this seasoned man of God to succumb to the temptation to lose hope.
Persistence in prayer pays off
On our last progra, Barbara Sandbek took us to the showdown at Mt. Carmel, where Elijah, the lone prophet, single handedly, with the help of God, defeated the 450 prophets of Baal. It was not only a victory for him, but it finally convinced the Israelites that Jehovah is God. Baal, considered to be the Lord of the rain clouds, was powerless to give rain, even after the ecstatic raving of his prophets. What a dramatic demonstration of Baal’s impotence. With simplicity and dignity, Elijah rested his case on the certainty that the Lord would answer his prayer. Why? Because there is strength, power, and hope in the name of Lord.
The SHOWDOWN
Barbara Sandbek has been taking us on a journey with the prophet Elijah. As God’s spokesman, Elijah was called to deliver God’s unpopular message of doom to Ahab, the King of Israel. He told him that there would be no rain or dew on the land until he said so. After his speech, he followed God’s orders and hid in the wilderness for a time. From there God sent him to Zarephath where he learned the power of prayer, and the power experienced through waiting on God. During this 3 ½ year period, God blossomed Elijah’s faith. Now God has given Elijah his marching orders to go back to Ahab and finish the task he started – to bring revival to the land.
The waiting period - a must
Barbara Sandbek has been following the life and works of the prophet Elijah. We’ve seen him travel from a palace, to a wilderness, and then to a pagan land. God has protected him from the wrath of a king, provided for him through a wild raven and a starving widow, and has powerfully wakened the widow’s son from death. Elijah’s faith has grown as a result of his obedience. Now he’s ready to face Ahab again, and do the job these experiences have groomed him to do – that of calling the Israelites back to God.
Making a New Start
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:2…”I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” This knowledge allowed him to endure the many sufferings he received in his ministry, and still write heartfelt instructions from his experiences that even we follow today. Resolutions are good things to make as long as we rely on the direction of the Lord to DEFINE them and His strength to KEEP them. On our program today, Barbara Sandbek will discuss how we can determine what makes a Godly resolution.
ELIJAH - a man for the times - God’s Glory increases our Faith
Barbara Sandbek has been following the prophet Elijah on his ‘BOARDWALK’ of life. Elijah seems to have a MONOPOLY on receiving God’s prophetic word and seeing His promises fulfilled. He LANDED first at a palace. To avoid being sent ‘DIRECTLY TO JAIL’ by King Ahab when he told him of God’s impending punishment, he fled into a wilderness. There he was fed from the COMMUNITY CHEST by a raven. When his WATER WORKS dried up, he moved to a pagan city, where he took the CHANCE to trust God to provide his needs through a starving widow. This certainly wasn’t the HIGH RENT DISTRICT, but he didn’t have to pay rent at any of these places - God gave him FREE PARKING. The widow ‘ROLLED DOUBLES’ when she obeyed Elijah’s command to make a cake for him, first, and then for herself and her son. God kept his promise. There was enough food for ALL of them until the rain came. Elijah may feel like HE’S been winning the monopoly game so far, but this next faith test will show him that God is in control, especially when he comes to the end of his resources. On this program, we’ll hear about another miracle God performed for the widow. This one will finally cause her to believe.
The Gifts Jesus Gives Keep on Giving!
Today, on Grace Notes we will cover several other gifts under the tree. This is the last program in our Christmas tree series. Have you started making your ornaments? Time’s awastin’.