extreme faith - message notes

7/31/2019 EXTREME FAITH - Message Notes

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[1]

F A I T HFantastic

AdventuresIn

TrustingHim

vs.

F E A RFalse

EvidenceAppearing

Real

EXTREME

1 Kings 17:22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and theboy's life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah pickedup the child and carried him down from the room intothe house. He gave him to his mother and said,"Look, your son is alive!

Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead, raisedto life again.

Phil 3;13,14 Brethren, I do not count myself to haveapprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting thosethings which are behind and reaching forward tothose things which are ahead, I press toward thegoal for the prize of the upward call of God in ChristJesus.

We TOO can have this kind of enduring faith - All thewhile trusting God for the end result!

Abramham - BELIEVED God could raise his sonfrom dead - Gen 22

Zarephaths widows son - 1 Kings 17:17-24

Shunamite womans son - 2 Kings 4:29-37

Jairus Daugther - John 20:1-10

Widows Son in Nain - Luke 7:12-16

Lazarus - John 11:38-44

Father of Prodigal son - Luke 11

Peter raised Dorcus - Acts 9 36-42

Paul raised Eutychus after a fall - Acts 20:7-12

JESUS and MANY others Mt 27:52

We need to recognize that it is GODs WORK -OnlyJESUS has ability to initiate, restore and redeem life!No amount of GOOD teaching, intention orupbringing makes LIFE possible.

All our children, a dead in the sin nature, we need tobeseech God seeing with eyes in the spirit that truth.

Ezekiel - 37 - Valley of Dry Bones, whose were they?

It is a one-on-one encounter, not a second handencounter, No servant good enough, no staff goodenough. We need to have a vibrant, vital, evenviolent encounter with the SOURCE of LIFE.

2 Kings 4:29-37

Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
http://bible.cc/1_kings/17-22.htmhttp://bible.cc/1_kings/17-22.htmhttp://bible.cc/1_kings/17-22.htmhttp://bible.cc/1_kings/17-22.htm


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The Shunammite

Woman's Son

LET me call your attention to a very

instructive miracle wrought by the

prophet: Elisha, as recorded in the Book

of II Kings 4.

The hospitality of the Shunammite woman

had been rewarded by the gift of a son;

BUT unfortunately, earthly mercies and

favor are of always without guarantee,

and after a few years the child got sick and

died.

The distressed but believing mother hurried

to the man of God; through him God had

spoken the promise which satisfied her

heart's desire, and she was going to plead

her case with him directly, KNOWING he

would bring it before HIS Divine Master.

Elisha had to deal with a dead child. It is

true that it was natural death;

But the death with which WE have to come

in contact is no less real death because it is

spiritual.

Our children are, just as us grown-up

people, "dead in trespasses and sins." A

Adam - all are in sin and all die.

We need to fully realize the state in whi

all human beings are naturally found.

Unless we have a very clear sense of th

utter ruin and spiritual death of even OU

children, we will be incapable of beingmade a blessing to them. We need to

approach them not as sleepers who we c

by our own power awaken from their sl

but as to spiritual corpses who can only

quickened by a power divine.

Elisha aimed at nothing less than the

restoration of the child to life. I have be

guilty of being content with aiming at

secondary benefits,or even with realiz

them; BUT I want to strive for the gran

of all ends, the salvation of their immor

souls.

To merely to teach children to read the

Bible, to barely live by the duties of

morality, to instruct them in the basic le

of the gospel and stories of goodness is

secondary at best... Our high calling is t

PRESSING IN

Who was this woman?

Child bearing age, but oldhusband

Weathly, prominent, wellconnected

Hearts desire, to have a child

A Woman of Faith, Servantsheart

What did this woman do?

sought out the Prophet whomade the original promise

hurried, through roughterrain to get to him

she pleaded her case and wasunrelenting

What didnt this woman do?

Didnt complain about herchildless lot

Didnt seek out salvation ofher husband when child died

Didnt speak a word of whathappened to anyone butProphet

Didnt satisfy with servanttaking staff ahead of prophet

Didnt leave prophets side,until he arrived at her home


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the means, in the hands of God, of bringing

life from heaven to dead souls.

NOT out of a FEAR of their death, but an

ANCHORED HOPE in their

RESURRECTION.

Resurrection, then, is our aim!

To raise the dead is our mission!

How is so strange a work to be achieved?

If we yield to unbelief or fear, we will be

staggered and overcome by the EVIDENT

FACT that the work to which the Lord has

called us is COMPLETELY beyond our own

personal power.

We cannot raise the dead.

We are, no less & no more powerful than

Elisha! He in himself could not restore the

Shunammite's son.

Should this fact discourage us?

Instead it should direct us to the true Source

of power by shutting us off from our own

fantasy and might?

As with Elisha and the countless other

miracle workers of the Bible, we being NO

different should be aware that the man or

woman who lives in the region of faith

dwells in the realm of miracles.

Elisha was no common man now that God's

Spirit was upon him, calling him to God's

work, and aiding him in it. And you,

devoted, anxious, prayerful teacher,

remain no longer a common

being, you have become, in a

special manner, the temple of the

Holy Ghost; God dwells in you,

and you by faith have entered

upon the career of a wonder-

worker.

We are sent into the world not to do the

things which are possible to man, but those

impossibilities which God works by His

Spirit, by the means of His believing people.

We are to work miracles, to do marvels.

We are not to look at the restoration of dead

children, as being a thing unlikely or difficult

when we remember who it is that works

through our weak vessels of flesh, emotionsand intellect.

In SUMMARY:

We can see here a few key lessons in the life

of faith from 2 Kings 4:8-37:

(1) She trusted the Lord instead of her

status: The Shunammite was a well-to-

do lady, which she leveraged for the

Kingdom of GOD. Knowing financial

prosperity can not insulate from sin, trials

and stresses of life. She was content,

with life to an older man & childless. Her

faith was seen as it was excercised on

behalf of others benefit. She illustrated

the principle of1 Timothy 6:17-19: (a)

she did not trust in the uncertainty of

riches, (b) she was not proud and

arrogant over her wealth, and (c) she used

her wealth for others in need, laying up

treasures in heaven.

(2) Faith needs to grow; it cannot stand

still. Either it grows or it will regress. We

must progress in our life of faith and

grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus WITHOUT FAITH....

Hebrews 11:6

... withoutfaith it isimpossible to please Him(GOD): for he that comes toGod must believe that HeIs (I AM), and that He Is a

rewarder of them thatdiligently seek him.

The eyes of the LORD searchthe whole earth in order tostrengthen those whosehearts are fully committed

to Him. 2 Chron. 16:9

ANCHORED HOPE
http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=Hebrews+11:6&version=9http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=Hebrews+11:6&version=9


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Christ (cf. Rom 4:19-20). The

Shunammites faith grew: her faith was

demonstrated by her desire to know the

Word, by her hospitality, by her

contentment (see verse 13), by being

willing to provide for others, take a

risk, and finally, by her calm

dependence in the midst of great

sorrow as she sought Gods solution

and answer to an incredible tragic

event.

(3) To live by faith also means learning

to immediately go to the Lord in all

of life, not only in its trials, pressures,

or calamities, but in everything because

we believe that He is the God of all

wisdom and comfort and He alone is

able to direct our lives. (Jer. 10:23;

Prov. 16:1; 2 Cor. 1:3-5). We may notsee an immediate solution or

deliverance from our calamity as did

the Shunammite in receiving her son

back to life, but believing in the Lords

compassion, love and eternal purposes

we can find comfort and hope and

know that God will answer our need

and our prayers in a better time and in a

better way (cf. Heb 11:38-40;

12:25-29).

This woman did not rely on thestrength of those around her to gether the help she sought or thecomfort she needed...

How often in our moments ofintense trial do we loose it when weare being required of the Lord tocome, and yet we are wanting

someone else to do the workfor us...?

Both the Woman, needed to

have a personal encounter

with the Man of God, and

even the MAN of God,

needed to have anencounter with

death. Neither could

send someone else,

though others can come

along, it is OUR encounter!

2 Corinthians 5: 7- For we walk by faith,not by sight.

PAUL LEARNED THAT HIS NATURAL EYES BLINDED HIM TO

SEE THE SPIRITUAL TRUTHS , SO GOD RADICALLY ALTERED HIS

SIGHT PERSPECTIVE- WE NEED TO ASK GOD TO DO THE SAME,

TO GIVE US THE EYES TO SEE LIKE THE PROPHET ELISHA, THE

SPIRITUAL TRUTHS THAT SURROUND US.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you. Do

not be dismayed. I am your

God. I will strengthen you; I

will help you; I will uphold you

with My victorious right hand.

1 Peter 5:7

Let Him have all your worries

and cares, for He is always

thinking about you and

watching everything that

concerns you.

John 14:18

No, I will not abandon you or

leave you as orphans in the

storm - I will come to you.

Living Translation
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%205:%207;&version=50;http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%205:%207;&version=50;

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