Yesterday’s quote from the sermon:
“Your past victory means nothing to the devil.”
The text was from 1 Kings Chapter 18 where we find Elijah challenging the over 800 prophets of Baal and Asherah to set up an altar to their god and if their god was real, fire would consume the altar they made for him. But, after lots of prayer, we know nothing happened. Now, Elijah had the hand of God upon him…he set up an altar to The God of Israel and wet everything on top and even made a trench of water around it. Guess what…fire came down from heaven and consumed every drop of water there! Now, after all this, Elijah ordered the prophets of Baal to be seized and he killed every last one of them! He sent word back to Ahab (the king) that rain would be coming after a long drought…of course I would guess Ahab was a little worried, because it says in the Bible he got in his chariot and went to Jezreel. When he got there, Ahab went to Jezebel and told her everything. Let’s not forget she was a priestess of Baal, so she was upset when she realized that she lost all her “prophets”. After learning this, she sent word back to Elijah that if she wasn’t dead by tomorrow, he would be! Now remember, the hand of God was on Elijah and he had just killed over 800 men, so I’m sure you’re thinking he was ready for whatever evil Jezebel could throw at him.
Nope.
He took off and ran. He was frightened by the words of Jezebel. Her words apparently made him forget everything that he had seen God do just a few days earlier!
My word…aren’t we like that? We forget the miracles, the blessings, the scriptures hidden in our heart as soon as the enemy of our soul starts creeping in and telling us lies. He is quick to say that God has left us and make us feel all alone in our struggles. He wants us to believe his lies that God is far from us. Don’t forget that those past victories in God mean nothing to the enemy. His goal is to knock you down spiritually and have you scratching at the ground to get up and run far away from God! Let’s not forget he knows what God can do and he will try to intimidate you in any way he can! Even if he has to use other people to do it!
The enemy’s voice can be loud and frightening at times, but in these moments of struggles or depression we must remind ourselves and tune our ears to hear God’s voice, cling to His truths and heed his instructions. The devil will try to disable the work of the Lord in your life and make you feel ill-equipped to accomplish the plans God has for you…but my God is an enabler! He provides you with everything you will need to be effective for His glory!
Don’t let the enemy tell you today what he is going to do to you…remind him of what God is going to do to him! Don’t let his noise keep you from hearing the voice of God. If you have allowed the enemy to defeat your spirit, allow God to tenderly restore you (like Elijah under the broom tree) and meet your needs. He will always remind you in the cave of your depression to get up and go stand in His presence on the mountain, because there you will find your next victory in the Lord!
1 Kings 18 & 19
