Are We Tuned into ABUNDANCE?

 

1 Kings 18:41-46  NKJV……41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain." 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again." 44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.' " 45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 

Are we tuned into Abundance? God is the God of Abundance! Elijah spoke: I hear the sound of the abundance of rain: So our ears are to hear God's heart.....GOD’S SPIRIT TO MY SPIRIT MAN.……Sound = vibrations……. my SPIRITUAL ear has picked up the vibration of something that is coming. The "something" from God is on its way to me! I can't see it, I can't touch it, I CANNOT feel it…….. but IT IS on the way!

Sound always indicates something: it can be good or it can be bad, but something of sound is occurring! When 120 men and women had gathered in the upper room waiting for the promised power, the Bible says: Suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

There was a sound: The sound was an indication (Something is coming).
Suddenly cloven tongues as fire appeared on each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

These men and women came together in prayer. They came with one thought to receive the Promise!

I hear the sound of an abundance of rain: Elijah spoke in a place and a time where there had not been rain for sometime because famine had been present in the land for some 31/2 years.

What did that mean ? (Rain) as being the river of God meant for Israel: new life, restoration, the rivers will run again, fish will be caught again, the crops will grow again, there will be gladness and joy that will have  replaced sorrow, there will be laughter where there has been weeping. 

Psalm 65:9-13……..9 You visit the earth and water it,

You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water;

You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it.

10 You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows;

You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth.

 

11 You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.

12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side.

13 The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain;

They shout for joy, they also sing. NKJV

 

 Prayer is communication where God is present in His word and as we communicate with Him. And it is God WHO desires us to prophesy and say to the dry bones, get ready, Rain is on the Way!  RAIN IS ON ITS WAY…….. God’s answer is on the WAY!

We STAND! We look and are expectant. It is not giving up, but it is praying in giving thanks for the answer is coming. The fire burns brightly, giving away to a new strength to continue in the Lord! 

The more You and I spend with God, the more we will hear Him speak. Even in the midst of chaos, in the time of a bad report, the Lord still speaks. There are days I can walk outside and I sense change. It is there in the atmosphere! I cannot see it, I cannot hear it, but there is a sound of change in the atmosphere.

So God tells Elijah in a sound, abundance of rain. IT IS A DOWNPOUR………….. GOD IS PROCLAIMING IT IN THE SPIRIT REALM…………IT IS ONLY PICKED UP IN THE SPIRIT REALM………in 1 John 5:3-4…..we are told this: 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. NKJV

Our faith, our trust in the Lord, and hearing HIM declare that there will be rivers in the wilderness……..….. Isaiah 43:19-21…19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.  20 The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. 21 This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. (NKJV)

 

When we trust the Lord and are expectant, we can know in our spirit man that we have changed, we have grown, and not trusting in the flesh creature anymore. Our spirit man is in the ascendancy to receive what the Lord speaks and to declare to our body, the five senses, get ready for abundance is on its way.

When we really start to hear Him, we move from Hindered Street to Power Boulevard and the atmosphere is changing.I declare His Word of abundance over me and my family and move to more than enough Avenue! 

 Like Elijah, we can see the result of answered prayer.

We can see God turn things around for our good!

The rain was on the way but there was work to be done: Ahab went to play and Elijah went to pray.

E.M. Bounds, one of the greatest men of prayer that ever lived said: “God does nothing except in answer to prayer.”
So if things seem to be stagnating around us and nothing appears to be moving then we should be looking at our Prayer life. When we have no prayer, we have no life! If you have no prayer life then you have no power in your life!

 

John Wesley was quoted as saying, “Prayer is where the action is."

"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties." Oswald Chambers

"Prayer is not learned in a classroom but in the closet."  E. M. Bounds

 

Before interceding in prayer, we must find the quiet place to worship God. We are to have the thankful heart.  Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. If we truly are the Redeemed, then we must let God know how thankful we are to be HIS REDEEMED! Psalm 107:1-3 NKJV…….Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, 3 And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.

 

 As Elijah, when God gives us the sound of something coming………whether it is change either spiritually, physically or financially, we keep our eyes on Jesus. Thanking the Lord for you heard the sound and you begin to prophesy to the walls.

We cannot look at the circumstances surrounding us. The servant returned with an answer……….. I’m looking but I don’t see any evidence of an answer to your prayer.
But Elijah just keeps on praying, he sends his servant back to the sea and while the servant is running Elijah is praying.

There are times that we must continue to pray. In prayer, we continue to look at the Word and not the circumstance……EVEN …..when a word from God in our spirit has come, we keep on praying. We hold in our heart: the sound of abundance of rain. 

We should never stop if the answer does not come right away! We are to continue our worship to God, and keep expecting. For every moment we move aside to the secret place and pray, we put pressure in the spirit man to hear God completely, with no noise, only the sound of His voice speaking.

What am I expecting? What are you expecting? What do you require? God gave me a sound…………..I heard it……….I keep praying, keep seeking, I keep knocking and believing I will see what I heard in the spirit. I give thanks for a "hearing ear" to hear Him speak to me!

It is on the 7^th return to Elijah that the servant speaks……..”  Behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea.”  He heard the sound in the spirit and then a Rhema word came………
A Rhema word: A specific word, for a specific purpose, for a specific time.
There’s something about faith that lets you see the greatness in little things:

Faith can see:  mass destruction in the jawbone of an ass ( Judges 15:16-17), a small child’s lunch feed 5000 men ( Mark 6: 30-44), or a king in small ruddy-faced young boy who shepherds sheep ( David: 1 Samuel 16: 1-13).

Elijah prayed and the servant saw……..he saw the cloud the size of a man’s hand………….but Elijah remembered the sound……….it was a gully washer coming, it was going to be the rainstorm of rainstorms to end drought and to fill rivers to overflowing capacity.

I don’t care how big the problem may seem to you, or how long it has existed: The promises of God come in concentrated form and one little word from God will set you free, and will "destroy" that thing forever.
Jesus said: All it takes is faith like the size of a mustard seed and you can command mountains to jump into the sea and they will have to go.

Jesus told us in Luke 17 of faith……….. Luke 17:6………….6 So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. NKJV

Elijah got off his knees and told Ahab: It’s here, The rain is here, If you don’t get that chariot rolling you aren’t getting off this mountain.

And while Elijah was prophesying, the wind blew, and the clouds turned black and the rain came. It was Elijah who heard it with his spirit man, prophesied it with his mouth and saw it with his eyes.
 And then Elijah out ran a king in a chariot and horse to get to the city where the queen was waiting. 

How did Elijah do that? How could he outrun a chariot drawn by a fast horse in the mud? Prayer helped him! That which he prayed for the nation would also come to him. Seeds sown for the good of another came to Elijah. Elijah had a relationship with God. And it was God who broaden the path under Elijah.

Behaving under pressure is revealed by how we behave in everyday life when a "suddenly" appears. Because a "suddenly" can bring extra pressure to you, your well-being and your check book or savings account!

Prayer picks fights! Prayer seeks God and His presence. Prayer seeks that which belongs to God. Prayer helps us to guard truth! It is carrying the right name of Jesus as our treasure which is above silver and gold! Prayer in us and through us will set up the word which has free course to be free running through our lives that is of His justice, His peace, His strength, His power and His love.

Prayer is submitting to God and resisting the devil: James 4:7-8 NKJV Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinner; and purify your hearts you double-minded. Choosing prayer in the time of prayer for Elijah was choosing to draw near to God to hear Him and to receive rain! Faith is not accidental. Faith is a like a bull dog holding onto the edge of someone's coat with teeth showing and with no outward appearance of letting go of that coat edge. It is being determined to hear God, being determined to embrace God's life and renounce the enemies lies.

Prayer is knowing God and being known by Him! And the opposite will appear, that those who pray will be known they just came from God and He God knows them well because they speak with a bold response of a believer by faith in Him.

Today, you and I have the Holy Spirit. May He the Holy Spirit magnify the ability in prayer through us. May we forget the past and regard today that is alive unto God where His counsel to us is wisdom and revelation through Christ Jesus. May our eyes be opened and our ears to hear what the Lord will speak. For by the Spirit of Grace, we are directed into a spiritual life where abundance is seen and received in the physical. It is that place where we give thanks as we walk into that abundance place that it our inheritance. 

Are you ready to pick a fight? Are you ready to see abundance come? Make sure you are kneeling for the "right thing" for it is found only in God and in Him alone. Amen!

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No Ill Effects!

Acts 28:1-6..........28:1 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.   NIV

In reading Acts 27, we see Paul being a prisoner and taken aboard a vessel to sail for Italy. It was called the Adramyttium. It would sail along the coasts of Asia. After a few more days out,they boarded an Alexandrian ship which would sail for Italy.  We find that they, those who piloted the ship seemed to drag their feet in going at the opportune time so as to avoid all the wind. But as the season proved for more winter time weather, the going became difficult for the ship to hold a course. For in verse 9, it represents that some time had passed and must have been well past the time for ships to cross safely to avoid any hurricanes or "northeaster's. They came to Fair Haven's, which was near a town called Lasea. But the harbor was unsuitable to winter in. So it states that the majority decided to sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. (the majority of who decided)

Paul tries to warn those over ship and crew about the impending danger, but the centurion who keeps watch over the prisoners, chose not to listen to Paul but listen to the pilot of the ship and the owner of said ship.

Alas, we know God to be with Paul and how important it is to receive some information that would keep one safe, but was not to be so with said crew on this ship! So reading through verse 13-20, we find the "northeaster" presenting a great storm that raged for many days.

With the storm swept seas closing in on this vessel, Paul tells them all.......in verse 21, "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete, then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss."

He now tells them of the angel who came to warn them, that the ship would be lost, but no man's life would be lost. Paul goes on to say what the angel stated, "Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you."

Then Paul adds his words to this, and speaks, "So keep up your courage men, for I (Paul) have faith in God that it will happen just as he (the angel) told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island."

Notice Paul said they would run aground on some island. He did not say where the island was or it's name!

As the fourteenth day was passing and the ship was being driven across the Adriatic Sea, those aboard the ship found that they were nearing land. The concern was that the ship would be dashed against rocks, so some of the sailors were choosing to save themselves and went to let down a lifeboat.

With those pretending to do some drop anchors over the bow, Paul told the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved. " So the ropes that held the lifeboat were cut and it (the lifeboat)  drifted away from the ship!

With the dawning of the 14th day, Paul urges those to get food. And he tells them that none of them would lose a single hair from his head. (verse 34)

So thanks was given to God for the food and they ate. With all being encouraged and filled with what they needed, the ship was lightened by throwing the rest of the grain and supplies into the sea. There were 276 on board the ship. With the light of day, they could see the beach that was close by. They cut loose anchors, and hoisted the foresail to the wind. The ship struck a sandbar and ran aground.

Although the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners, so none could swim away or escape, yet the centurion spared Paul's life. So orders were that all would go ashore and they fell into the water, with planks or pieces of the ship, everyone reached land in safety. (verse 44)

When God is with you, the orders will go out, that all go together and not one life will be lost!

Ever notice how someone chooses to do something, that just does not line up in being safe or keeping wisdom as the principle thing in decisions?

In writing this today, I was thinking of how people make their decisions based on a human "whim"! A whim? You know like an urge, impulse, a spur of the moment kind of decision that is just "Wrong"!

In seeing the centurion in chapter 27 of Acts, choosing to go along with the pilot of ship and the owner of the ship, would you not think that these would at "least" have knowledge to know the difficult passage that would lay ahead in seeing the season's had changed and winter was on its way? 
Sometimes people let pride get the best of them. They are the "men" and they have a ship and "know the seas". Well, they did not know how to receive good instruction, as when Paul told the centurion what would transpire in all this.
Those who may have made the trip a thousand times does not make them the "most knowledgeable" or able-bodied men to finish the trip in wisdom and safety. Now I know not how anything of this "centurion" , but I do think he knew of Paul and possibly of what he spoke in regards to hearing from God. My curiosity is stirred up in regards if the centurion was told by the Holy Spirit to listen to Paul. For I certainly believe Paul was praying for all of those men involved in the trip to get to Italy. 

Did not matter how many ships or men, but that prayers had to be going on for all and Paul was the man to do it!
It is also interesting to me how they chose to do what they did. YOU know those who choose to move out in the wrong timing of like moving ships or even ministry. The whole timing thing is off and things out of order. To me that is the same is trying to wash your clothes with you in them or wearing them or like writing a check for something and you have no money to back up the written check.

Then the winds start to blow, and then the northeaster comes in and like most northeasters, they bring high winds and very cold temperatures and generally snow. The waves themselves would cause many aboard to stay "green" in the face for many, many days. Their stomachs probably felt like they had been turned inside out!  Because Paul warns them about the 14th day to eat........why? because they had not eaten due to the truth of violent waves tossing that ship around like a toy in a bathtub. Imagine the intense waves and the motion of the ship...........up and down, side to side, and then up and down again. Let me off this ride!

And we find that they have neared a beach, and though the ship is breaking up in pieces, all find safety just like Paul spoke.

This year has been a year of hardships for those who do their business on the seas. There have many been fishing vessels sunk this year due to some rogue waves that seem to come out of nowhere.( you can even read of rogue waves hitting cruise ships and even yachts) And those waves have proven their strength time and again showing the man-made vessel has no standard to hold against such waves of strength. Even in the last few days there has been mention of another vessel going down somewhere near Alaska. I believe it was a fishing vessel. Another ship is lost to the sea forever. I think of the movie 2012 and that ocean liner that is capsized by the gigantic wave of a tsunami! Now that is a "rogue wave"!

Arriving at Acts 28, they have made it to an island called Malta. The islanders showed some awesome hospitality. The islanders built a fire and welcomed them all in the rain and the cold. Yes, seems like it is some bad time for traveling!  But we see in verse 3 of Acts 28, that Paul is helping and as he gathers the brushwood, and places the wood into the fire, it is a viper that fastens itself on his hand. Of course, all look on, and those of the islanders who see the snake hanging from his hand speak, "this man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."

Then it is Paul who shakes off the viper and he suffered no ill effects. Nothing happened to Paul!

Justice is the word that seems the most prophetic today. Justice, that like Proverbs 21:2-3 states,

2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
But the LORD weighs the hearts.

3 To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. NKJV

It is doing that which is honorable to all people. Paul held relations in justice with others. In all that he exercised in following the Lord proved an example of a justice  that God resides over. In determining that what we do reflects on what we believe, that which we hold in our hearts. In Paul's case, what he held to was a belief that God would take him where he needed to go and have him do what God desired Paul to do! It is seem in every step that Paul takes forward in his life.

In Matthew 22:18, we see what Jesus perceived as wickedness in those sent by the Pharisees and the Herodians and their plot to entangle him in such a way to discredit him altogether. But what do we find Jesus replying to them?

Matthew 22:15-22...............15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" 21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.   NKJV

First, Jesus called them hypocrites and asked why they test Him.
Jesus then told them to render to Caesar the things of Caesar and to render to God the things that are God's.

Matthew 22:37-40.........37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." NKJV

AND Jesus said that we are to love the LORD our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. And that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. On these two commandments hand all the Law and the Prophets.
Yes, from the very same passage of scripture, we find Jesus pulling it altogether for us.

In Paul's walk thus far, he was always seeking God and giving care for his neighbor. 


1 Peter 3:8-17......................8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For 

"He who would love life 
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.  
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.  
12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil."  

13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled."  15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.   NKJV

WE are told in 1 Peter 3 that the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers, but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.
And WHO WILL HARM YOU IF YOU BECOME FOLLOWERS OF WHAT IS GOOD?
BUT even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, YOU ARE BLESSED.
YOU STILL COME OUT SMELLING LIKE A ROSE. YOU COME OUT ON TOP. YOU COME OUT THE HEAD AND NOT THE TAIL, ABOVE AND NOT BENEATH.
DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEIR THREATS, NOR BE TROUBLED, BUT SANCTIFY THE LORD GOD IN YOUR HEARS. GIVE A DEFENSE TO EVERYONE WHO ASKS YOU A REASON FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU WITH MEEKNESS AND WITH FEAR.

JUSTICE: My favorite scripture is Psalm 37:5-6............5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice, as the noonday. NKJV

Today, no matter what ship you happen to be on, whether that job, that ministry, that new position, that new city, the appearance of being alone, the appearance of being the forgotten, or the one just left behind when others seem to want to lead, remember God has a plan. He has "justice" for you in the right place at the right time!

Remember today, that your best days are ahead. Remember the whole leadership of the company may have degrees that are framed and fill their offices several times over, BUT it is not the degree that will take you EVERYWHERE YOU NEED TO GO FOR GOD. It is by knowing God and His plan that brings into the necessary motion of life that brings results to see the greatest things God has for you and you alone. It will always include others and those humble in spirit. Remember it may appear dark, and the waves high, and MAYBE meals are not your priority RIGHT NOW, BUT I can guarantee that like Paul, you can sleep through a wild storm. You can have the answers for others just like Paul did and you can continue to see, whether on the beach or on the ship, God is with you and will lead you through to the end!

Father, Your word says that when we commit our way to the  LORD, and trust in YOU that YOU bring forth righteousness as the light and YOUR justice as the noonday. According to this Word , we pray for Justice to be done in our lives. We who faithfully follow, stumble some, but keep our eyes on YOU, seek YOUR plan and purpose to the end. YOU are the Light and have brought us out of darkness. 

It is YOUR Word that protects us and in this we apply that word and send it out in prayer. Your word is true and does not lie…….we are assured and certain the things YOU have promised but that we cannot see at this moment. (Hebrews 11:1)…

Scripture tells us that we are not to withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in our power to act. There are those today who are worthy of their pay, of their advancement, of their growth in ministry, worthy to increase and not to be divided by divorce or sickness. There are men and women today who are being led by those who operate in whims. today, we say by the authority of the name of Jesus and by His shed Blood, that stops now. For those who have faithfully complied, and have kept the word of God in their hearts, we expect to see a harvest in their finances, a harvest of souls in ministry. We expect favor in the workplace, favor from outside the church building. We expect favor for those who render music, in praise and worship to have contracts fulfilled and finances come now into the kingdom of God! May there be favor of those in the new place, the new position that fulfills God's plan to the end! May there be righteousness, justice and fair dealing in every area and every relationship connected with this teaching today. With whatever storms, we expect pace of God to rule and reign in all proceedings. Whatever phone calls and or meetings, may they all be held in the spirit of excellence in God Himself.

Father, thank YOU for all deliberations to be done justice. We give praise to Your name and may the Holy Spirit be loosed now into all situations. If God be for us, then who can be against us? Amen.


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