Elijah: A Study in Building A Portfolio Of Faith How God builds Trust One Circumstance At A Time

Backdrop: May the God of grace … after you have suffered for a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and SETTLE YOU. -1 Peter 5:10 The most exalted of the redeemed host that stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, clad in white, know the conflict of overcoming, for they have come up through GREAT TRIBULATION. -5T p. 215

Why Do We Need Rain & Downpours In Our Lives ? Our Father Knows That We Listen Best & Trust Him Most In Times Of Adversity.

The Bottom Line God wants us to be people of faith. He wants us to trust Him with everything. Living by faith is the most rewarding and exciting way to live; BUT It is also the most difficult. We like to know what is ahead and God builds our FAITH-portfolio on a Step-By- Step one day at a time basis.

Let’s Look At The Life Of Elijah To See How Our FATHER Goes About Building Our Portfolio of Faith – One Circumstance At A Time

Lessons #1 At the foundation of Faith (trusting God to take care of us) is – HUMILITY

Lesson #2 You build your portfolio of Faith by being – OBEDIENT TO GOD’S CALLINGS

Lesson #3 God is not afraid of our confusion and our doubts Pour Out Your Heart To God. —Ps 62:8

Lesson #4 God Is Still The God Of Impossible Situations. God Continues to say, “Come To Me – Seek My Face.”

Lesson #5 There Are Widows (and students) All Around Needing To See The Character of Christ In YOU & Through YOU Every Day.

THE END

#1: At The Foundation of Faith Is Humility God knew exactly what He was doing. He knew that widows were the lowest level of support in all of Israel. But God wanted to take Elijah as low as He could in order to teach him a deeper level of what it meant to walk by faith (trust in God) & not by sight.

#2: Obedient To God’s Calling God promises to be faithful to all of those who will obey Him. Every time you are obedient, you give God an opportunity to show that He is faithful. Over time, you begin to develop your portfolio (your record of events) of how God has taken care of you.

#3: God is Not Afraid of our Confusion or our Doubts When your brook dries up & you are confused and bewildered, do what Elijah did – go to your upper room and talk with God. What so many of us do instead, is we get angry and shake our fist at God, or we play the martyr, or we cover up the confusion and doubt. What God says through the example of Elijah is – COME TO ME & POUR OUT YOUR HEART.

Lesson #5 God’s Promises & Blessings Usually, Not Always, Hinge On Our Obedience. Obedience is saying, “God, I’m going to do what you say because I trust you. I’m going to take You at Your word that You will honor those who trust You. The faithful know that God can be trusted to do what is BEST.

Lesson #6: Our Father needs the witness of people who will cling to Him no matter what happens in their lives. God needs your life to be a witness on this earth and to angels and unfallen beings that your love for Him far surpasses earthly circumstances.

Elijah’s Super Bowl: Lessons For Us 1. God Plus 1 Constitutes A Majority:Divine math is different from earth math. God is not impressed with numbers – 850 to one means nothing to Him. 2. Don’t focus on the size of the challenge – focus on God. Spiritual indecision is as bad as idolatry 3. The best TOOL to handle difficulties in your life is – PRAYER. Every time God moved in Elijah’s behalf it was as a result of prayer. 4. Never underestimate the power of one totally dedicated life: God uses unlikely people.