“And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” 1 Kings 17:1 KJV.

In reading the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 17, you will see that Elijah did SPEAK TO AHAB and DECLARE that it would not rain for 3 and 1/2 years. I can just follow these words and envision Elijah as he walked into the King’s chamber and began to speak. He was very demonstrative for sure, bold is the word. Over the years I have wondered about where he got such boldness. Did Elijah hear the Lord say to him, Go to Ahab and tell him it will not rain? Did Elijah just obey God when he went, or did Elijah BELIEVE that His God would do it? That his God would SHUT UP THE HEAVENS IF HE ASKED! Wow! Well, that is a good question. There is another verse in the Bible that sheds some light upon this; it is found in James of the New Testament:

“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. ¹⁸ And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit” James 5: 17-18 KJV.

***((( NOTICE: THIS SCRIPTURE ABOVE FROM JAMES IS… IN THE NEW TESTAMENT… and it ties us in with the Old Testament. God is saying that we too must BE CONTENDERS IN BELIEVING GOD… even as Elijah was. )))***

In James’ writing we discover that ELIJAH PRAYED EARNESTLY. In other words HE ASKED HIS GOD TO DO IT with great enthusiasm. Then again, after the drought he did PRAY AGAIN FOR RAIN TO COME. Well to me this does indicate that Elijah did SEE THE NEED TO BANKRUPT THE DEVIL’S CROWD… and then ASK GOD TO DO SOMETHING. Prayer is ASKING and believing. I believe that God will answer prayer.

The fact, that the same Scripture states that Elijah was a man of LIKE PASSIONS as we are… In other words the Scripture Challenge of James is this: If Elijah, who was just a man as we are, could pray and get things done, then so can we. The fact is the Bible does teach that only God can shut up the Heavens, but was it not Jesus who said, HAVE FAITH IN GOD AND MOVE MOUNTAINS ETC……… Again He said…

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” MARK 11: 24.

Did not Elijah look around and see the terrible unbelief and conditions of Israel. He had observed this for years, every since King Jeroboam had brought in and allowed the worship of Baal with their alters set up in the land. Elijah knew his history lessons, he had seen how the country had gone away from God and had fallen into False Religion. No doubt Elijah had seen how King Ahab had even done worse than King Jeroboam had ever done. Did he not see the evil of Ahab’s wife Jezebel, that controlling spirit of evil which even encouraged the sexual perversion of the Grove worship of Asherah? Yes, Elijah did see the horrible fact that men and women were worshiping a god by sexual orgies in the Groves that she did allow and encourage her husband Ahab to build in the Land.

Elijah did see the influence of the evil Baal Prophets and had numbered them all, four hundred and fifty. He saw the horrible condition of his country.

We today talk about how horrible our country is and how far it has gone from God. Well it is NOTHING NEW. In this land even as it was in Elijah’s day, SEX was the order of the day. Why even in worship men pervert the way of God, right here in this Land. There is nothing new under the sun, says King Solomon in his wisdom. No NOTHING NEW. The pure fact is, perhaps it was even WORSE IN THAT DAY when men and women did practice PHYSICAL SEX IN WORSHIP. They did wander into the Groves and have sex orgies thinking to worship god. Well, and even homosexuals were encouraged and allowed.

So what did motive Elijah to be a CONTENDER and challenge Ahab?

I believe he did understand the horrible fact, that THINGS HAD GONE TOO FAR FOR ANY MAN TO STRAIGHTEN OUT. Elijah did know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that only his God could now work out this problem and cause the land to return and worship God. There must be something done which will STOP THEM IN THEIR TRACKS. What he saw in prayer is that his God was totally against this horrible condition and that his God was waiting for an intercessor to believe and stand in the Gap. Elijah prayed and knew his God…. and knew that God would move upon this evil corruption bringing this evil to DESPERATE STRAITS. Therefore he asked God to SHUT UP THE HEAVENS AND BANKRUPT THE ENEMY. The fact is the god of Baal was the god of water that insured the success of crops and prosperous harvest. The Baal god was worshiped for this reason, and when hard times came upon the land the Baal worshipers would throw a child into the fire as a sacrifice to please their god and invoke his blessings upon their land. The Baal God was represented in Elijah’s day as a idol of a bull or golden calf. They worshiped this false god as the idol worshipers had for many years to bring prosperity upon their land.

Elijah did ask God to show his mighty power over the god of the water and plenty, by shutting up the heavens and rain for three and a half years. In doing this the false god would come down in the eyes of all the inhabitants of the land and the truth about him would finally be revealed. Their prosperity would fail and their false god would fail and become useless. The “water” even played a part in Elijah’s challenge to the Baal prophets, later on when he challenged the false prophets openly, when he dug a ditch and poured barrels of water over his sacrifice. He was SURE that the God of Heaven would prove this false god a failure and disclose the truth about him. God would show the people their sin and they would return to Jehovah God. The fire of God would lick up the water that was needed for their prosperity. Baal would be revealed false.

Elijah, KNOWING HIS GOD SO WELL AND BELIEVING GOD TO STAND AGAINST THIS EVIL, then went to King Ahab and DECLARED HIS FAITH IN HIS GOD… “THERE WILL BE NO RAIN FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS…. and he added…”ACCORDING TO MY WORD”. His Faith in his God did move the Lord to act upon Elijah’s Word of Faith, and sure enough the Heavens were shut up and it did not rain.

It was no LIGHT MATTER or one of EASY CONSEQUENCE that Elijah did move God for. He was boldly declaring that many people would SUFFER and the Land would not have adequate rain for their provisions. There would be a famine, and very hard times. It was NOT AN EASY JUDGMENT THAT ELIJAH ASKED FOR.

The challenge here is just this, WE WHO BELIEVE NOW should know our God so well and KNOW HIS WILL that we too can pray and DECLARE God’s mighty power over the enemy. By prayer we do fellowship with God and come to know God’s will. The Scripture says that when we ABIDE IN THE LORD we can ASK WHAT WE WILL and IT WILL BE DONE.

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. It is the KNOWING what God’s Will is that EMBOLDENS US. Nothing of ourselves can be done, but, THIS IS THE CONFIDENCE that we have in him….” John 15:7.

If we will ABIDE in Him, we will KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING AND WILL BE MOVING WITH HIM. But he who does not abide will not know of God’s Will. Therefore we must PRAY AND WALK WITH GOD. When we do the Scripture tells us that we can MOVE IN CONFIDENCE ASKING …***(ANYTHING). That anything must be ACCORDING TO HIS WILL. But when we walk with him, abiding in Him, we will KNOW OF HIS PLANS AND MOVE WITH CONFIDENCE OR BOLDNESS. This is what made Elijah A CONTENDER and moved him in much BOLDNESS.

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” 1 JOHN 5:14-15.

Jesus told his Disciples that they would have power to destroy the enemy? Yes, he did. He gave them the Authority. Now not only do we have this authority and hold it within our grasp to be used, but, we have the Word of God to even completely show us God’s perfect will. Going even further, we HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST within us and we HEAR HIS VOICE.

 

EPHESIANS 1:17-22

“….our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: ¹⁸ The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, ²⁰ Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: ²² And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church”

ELIJAH WAS A CONTENDER. He did move in MIGHTY FAITH IN A MIGHTY GOD. Elijah KNEW HIS GOD AND HIS GODS WILL AND PURPOSE. Elijah did MOVE IN HIS FAITH IN HIS GOD TO PUT DOWN THE EVIL OF HIS DAY. Should we not, seeing the Scripture has already told us, ELIJAH WAS A MAN OF LIKE PASSIONS AS US…, cast off our unbelief and worry of SELF WORTH and MOVE IN GODS AUTHORITY???

God has given his church body His AUTHORITY. We MUST LIKE ELIJAH…

USE IT.

What do we see that needs to be done which is ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL? Is our land sat upon today by false Baal god/s and False prophets? The Vision of our God and a clear vision of His Will…. should EMBOLDEN US TO BE …

CONTENDERS and move out to STAND AGAINST …. baal.

baal (I deliberately do not cap his name to dishonor him…..)…. is no power up against our GOD ALMIGHTY. God will DO WHAT WE ASK, ACCORDING TO HIS WILL. ARE WE GOING TO MOVE OUT AND DARE TO CONTEND? WILL WE BE BOLD AND SPEAK TO THE KING?

It will not be fun and games, and many will think evil of you, even as they did about Elijah, who WAS A BOLD CONTENDER FOR GOD.

 

– Prophet Ken Dewey

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Evangelist/Prophet/Pastor Ken Dewey is the founder of “OUT OF THE DESERT MINISTRIES” in Belen, New Mexico, USA. He writes on this Web Site, many Prophetic words, Sermons and teachings while leading people into true church settings and preaching in an End Time Gospel Ministry.

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