Spirit of Elijah
Pastor Phil Derstine 11-7-21
Spirit of Elijah - The character and personality of the Last Day's Church
· I Kings 18:39 “When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, The LORD – he is God! The LORD – he is God!” (Repentance)
· We need the Fire of God – so that the world can SEE and believe! (God’s Presence & Power revealed)
· Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
· Great day of the LORD – 1st Coming; birth of Christ
· Dreadful day of the LORD – 2nd Coming; judgement
John the Baptist - came in the Spirit and Power of Elijah
· Luke 1:17 (John the Baptist’s birth announced) “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
· Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
The Remnant Church - operates in the Holy Spirit’s Power, as did Elijah
1. Forerunner Spirit - to prepare the Way of the Lord (The coming of Christ)
· Matthew 11:13 “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. (14) And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.”
· John 1:23 “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.”
2. Praying Spirit - a people of prayer
· James 5:17 “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it might not rain…”
· I Kings 17 & 18 – Elijah heard the Word of the Lord, and declared it.
· II Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray…”
· P.U.S.H. - Pray Until Something Happens
3. Confrontational Spirit - confronting the status quo
· I Kings 18:21 “How long will you waver between two opinions?”
· Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
· II Kings 1:10 (God protected Elijah) “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men! Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men."
· II Kings 6:17 “And Elisha prayed, Oh Lord, open his eyes so he may see. Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
· Increased spiritual intensity brings increased warfare!
· I Samuel 17:29 (David) “Is there not a cause?”
· Acts 4:13 “When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they knew they had been with Jesus.”
4. Passionately Relational Spirit - close to God and compassionate towards people
· I Kings 18:37 (Elijah’s Prayer) “Answer me, O LORD, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
· John 3:29 - John the Baptist found joy in the wilderness by knowing the voice of the bridegroom (Jesus).
· II Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect (fully committed) toward him.”
