PERFECT LOVE

God gave me an opportunity to come here in the states

I have a working visa

I am studying in Regent

I got scholarship

Azalea volunteered to help me out in school

I still have a job

I am well and not sick

I have a great church and ministry

I have wonderful friends

I have a loving family

Yes Lord, I've counted my blessings and I praise You for You said perfect love cast out fear.

I'm living in Your perfect love.

I will not be afraid...

PREACHING

STEP UP!

YA Fellowship

September 18, 2009

DISCLAIMER: Please know that I do not intend to condemn you in this preaching in anyway.

The title of the message today is STEP UP!

Before we read our scripture for tonight I would like to give you a little background.

The prophet Elijah has been in hiding for almost three years after he said something not so good on 1 Kings 17.

He said to Ahab the king

"As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."

So for 3 years he's been hiding because of what He said and I guess a lot of people were looking for him because they’re in need water…

Obadiah is a believer but was serving in Ahab’s palace. He hid 100 prophets when Jezebel was killing all of the Lord’s prophets.

Elijah showed up and told Obadiah to tell Ahab that he’s here.

1 KINGS 18:16-39

16  So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"

 18 "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

 20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."

      But the people said nothing.

 22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces

and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on

the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God."

      Then all the people said, "What you say is good."

 25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

      Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."

 34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again.

      "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"

King Ahab was the king at that time. King Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him (1 Kings 16:30)

Not only that but he married Jezebel, the evilest queen you'll ever know.

She worshipped Baal.

I don’t know about you but Elijah is my favorite prophet ever.

He is a person of character.

The first scene you'll ever see him in the bible was him saying that there will be no rain or dew.

Elijah after 3 years of hiding came out and convicted the king of his wrong doing.

I believe that that right there is something profound.

In 1 Kings 17, we know that Elijah served the Lord. That’s basically the only thing we know of him. Here’s what I think from reading his story. I think that he was already serving the Lord when God gave Him a chance to STEP UP.

1. Step up/out and come out of your hiding place

The Lord in our faithfulness creates an environment for us to step up and come out of our hiding place.

I wonder if we would be like Elijah who would take up the opportunity to be the voice of the Lord in this generation.

Elijah and all the other people in the scriptures are people just like you and me. The difference is this:

When they were presented with something worth standing up for, they did it.

“Nigeria: Pastors Beheaded

On July 26, 12 Christians were killed, including three pastors, in northern Nigeria after members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram launched attacks on police and government bases, according to contacts at VOM Canada.

The violence, which began in Bauchi state, spread to Borno, Kano and Yobe states. Churches were set ablaze and several people were abducted, including Christians. Many believers were threatened with death if they refused to convert to Islam. According to media reports,

assailants behead three pastors: Pastors Sabo Yukubu, Sylvester Akpan and Pastor George Orji. The assailants were reportedly acting on the instruction of the extremist group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Yusuf was later killed by authorities.

The militants attempted to force the pastors to convert to Islam, but they refused to abandon their faith. They were then beheaded by guards who shouted "Allah Akbar" and fired several gunshots into the air in celebration.

These recent reports of persecution in Northern Nigeria reflect the trials believers endure.” (www.persecution.com)

Christians being persecuted in other countries were forced to abandon their faith or they will be killed… When they were presented with something worth standing up for, they did it. Even if it costs their lives.

 I wonder if you and I will stand up for the Lord even when faced with everyday things.

It might be just speaking up to a person who blasphemes the Lord everyday. Or people who makes fun of you for believing the Lord. I wonder if we would stand up and be that voice?

STEP UP!

2. Make a decision

 In verse 21:

Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."

In this story we see that the prophets were worshipping Baal and they have chosen to side with him (and for that matter, any “god” that presents itself as godlike.)

How long will you and I waver between two opinions? We either serve the Lord or serve the enemy. There comes a time when you have to choose. There’s no such thing as half baked! I rarely say the word hate because it invokes a deep dislike that comes from a person’s core. But I hate half baked! Jesus said in Revelations to the church of Laodicea…

Revelations 3:15, 16

15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

The Lord Jesus was the same, He detests lukewarm people. You have a decision to make. Are you gonna follow Christ or are you gonna stand there and pretend that you’re following Him? He knows the deal! Just like the church of Laodicea either you’re hot or cold!

How long will you waver between two opinions?

How long will you play church?

How long will you mock the Lord?

I know these are tough questions to answer. But there comes a point in your life where you have to answer these. If not now, when? Why not now?

3.  Know that God wants you to turn back to Him

The prophets of Baal screamed and yelled with all their might yet their sacrifice was still there.

Elijah on the other hand showed confidence knowing that the God he served is the Lord God Almighty.

I Kings 18:36, 37

 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

God wants us to turn our hearts back to Him.

He wants us to be consumed by His fire.

To return to Him.

To go back to our first love.

It says in 2 Timothy 3

1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

I believe we are in the last days and that all of these things are happening around us. Maybe even to our own selves, I don’t know.

But God is telling us to return to Him.

Go back and repent from our evil ways.

In this preaching I shared that

• You have to Step up/out and come out of your hiding place
• You have to make a decision
• You have to know that God wants you to turn back to Him

We will be ending tonight’s fellowship differently.

I want you to find a corner/place where you can talk to the Lord…

I believe that the one for you is him who is the

physical manifestation of Jesus to you

-- chat with muts today

LET GO

As soon as I stop worrying,
Worrying how the story ends
I let go and I let God
Let God have His way

That’s when things start happening
When I stopped looking at back then
I let go and I let God
Let God Have his way

There’s so much going on
Sometimes I can’t find my way
And often times I struggle
Struggle from day to day
I have to realize that it’s not my battle
Not my battle to fight
I have to know if I put it in your hands
Everything will be alright

-- I have a story that comes with this. Will post it soon :) 

NEW YEAR

          I’m officially back in VA. It took me 2 weeks and some days to really settle in again. My trip to the Philippines was surreal. Everything happened so fast (although at that time, I really think it was very slow). I have to get use to the idea that dad is not with us anymore. I have to constantly remind myself not to include him in my daily devotions. There are times when I just think about him and feel a little sad…

          It’s been a long time since I last blogged… I just turned 27 and also 7 years with the Lord. Both are major turning points in my life. (oh yeah, I now have a car here! – a gift to myself for both occasions.)

          I was just reading my past blogs and it made me look back at those times when dad was still with us and how God carried us through. God is faithful. And although I won’t be able to celebrate Christmases and other special occasions with dad, I still believe he is in a better place. He is with the Lord!  Only a few of us can say that… I am thankful that God used dad’s sickness to humble him and through that, accept Jesus in his life…

         I am re-starting my life here in Virginia Beach and I’ll be moving out soon and will finally have my “own” place. I am so excited! Help me pray also for church. I am currently attending a COG church here, yet I don’t feel like I’m growing as much as I would like. I know, I know, it’s not about the church… But it still plays a major part. I’ve been trying to talk with the Lord about changing church but it just doesn’t feel right to leave the church where I am now…

It’s the start of a new season and a new year for me!

It’ll be an adventure! Wait and see J