 Calvary Chapel. How you guys doing today? Praise the Lord. It's such an honor and blessing and privilege for me to be back with you again to study God's word and never take these moments for granted that we get a beat together and so grateful to your pastor, Pastor David and his wife Marie and the pastor that he's been to me and for the last 40 some years to Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley and it's amazing to see what God has done. The Roman has been obedient and faithful to the call that God has placed upon his life to see the evidences of that and I'm so thankful and I know that you are too and I think we should praise the Lord one more time for the pastor and pastor's wife that he's given to this church. Well it's good to see each and every single one of you at church and I am so glad that you've made it to church today because I believe God has something special for each and every single one of us individually today because whenever God's people gather together in his name he is in our midst and God's word will not return void and it's impossible to have an encounter with a resurrected Savior and remain unchanged and so I hope that you are excited for what God has in store for you today. Are you guys ready to get into God's Word today? Then would you take your Bibles and turn with me to First Kings chapter 17? We're gonna be in the Old Testament today. First Kings chapter 17. Today I want to talk to you about how God uses the seemingly insignificant things in our lives to prepare us for all that he has for us in our lives. I want to share a message with you that I've called the little things. The little things. I want you to write that down. If you're taking notes, if you take notes in church you actually get a better house in heaven so no that's not true at all but write it down anyways because we are believing God to speak to us that we would receive from God what would impact our lives and plus if you're anything like me if you don't write something down then you forget it five minutes later and then we spend the next six hours of our lives trying to remember what that one thing was that God was gonna use that would change the world forever but because we didn't write it down we forgot it and now it will never happen so take notes in church but let's pray and let's ask God to bless this time that we have to study his word together. God we love you and we are so thankful for your love for us. As we go through your word God we pray that your word would go through us. God would you give us the answers? Would you open our eyes? Would you encourage the discouraged? And most importantly would your spirit speak to our hearts? Lord help us today to realize that there is a God that is for us that you have what's best in store and since you are for us Lord that we understand there can be nothing against us. There is a future and a hope for everyone so God we pray that you would do what only you can do change and transform our lives to make us into the people that you would have us to be. We give you complete permission and authority to have your way within us. Speak to us meet us exactly where we are at individually in Jesus name and all God's people say amen. Something that is insightful beneficial and helpful for any person who desires to be used by God in great ways is reading biographies of people who have accomplished great things. I love reading biographies of people have accomplished great things because the biographies give you what you wouldn't normally know from their story. Seeing their story we see the highlight reels of their lives but what we need to understand is behind every highlight reel is the editing floor. There's the real life there's the sacrifices there's the trials there's the difficulties that people have been willing to go through in order to see great things be accomplished in their life. The biographies tell the behind the scenes of people's lives when all we normally would see is the highlight reel. This is true for professional athletes who have highlight reels but what we don't see often times is the behind the scenes. Like the professional athlete for Houston Texans JJ Watt who signed the largest contract in NFL history up until that point which was a hundred million dollar six year contract extension. We see the highlight reels of JJ Watt who leads the NFL or led the NFL I should say in in defensive linemen tackles and blocked passes but what we don't see behind the highlight reels is the sacrifices that someone's willing to make to be able to step into the greatness. You see JJ Watt the next morning after he signed a hundred million dollar contract extension he awoke at 3 a.m. to arrive to the NRG stadium by 4 a.m. to begin his training and workout. Now if it was me after signing a hundred million dollar contract I'd probably go on vacation. Take a day off at least maybe go on vacation for a week or two or a month or six. You know I'm set but people who are committed and dedicated to greatness we see that behind what every person has accomplished is a behind the scenes of the lifestyle of preparation to accomplish those things. Many people want to do great things but often times aren't willing to live a life of preparation to accomplish those things but we never just arrive in great things. Do you realize that? You know you go to the Olympic games you travel to the Olympic games and you see someone in line at the concession stands you know buying a couple Dodger dogs. I know they're not called Dodger dogs there but all hot dogs at any stadium are called Dodger dogs by me and so he's there with a couple Dodger dogs and you know you know this heathen has a couple of bears you know and he's there holding his mugs he's holding his hot dogs and someone comes up to him and taps him on the shoulder and says hey someone just got injured in the pre-limbs and now they can't run in the race and we have an extra lane would you consider running in the race and he goes down there and runs and then he comes back to you says hey could you believe this they just tapped me on the shoulder and I told him I would finish I'll do the race after I finish my dogs and drink my drinks and and then I went and ran and I won the gold medal no that doesn't happen that never happens why does that never happen because those who compete to win live a life of preparation and dedication so that they can perform at the level that would be their very best people don't just accidentally arrive in accomplishing great things know it's a life of preparation you don't win gold medals by never training just ask Michael Phelps who is the most decorated Olympian of all time holding 28 Olympic medals 23 of them being gold medals and people say oh you know he's just naturally gifted that's why he won all the gold medals and that's true he is they've researched and studied his genetic makeup and his bodies built to be a swimmer they even found that between his toes he has extra skin that work as a webbing for when he swims he is like built-in flippers and so he can swim faster but people say well that's why you know he's able to know that's not why I could put flippers on and still lose an erase to him but oftentimes what we don't see is the life of preparation Michael Phelps while he was training would train six hours a day for six days a week even if training fell on Christmas he would still do a full workout he would swim 50 miles a week over eight miles each training day I don't even walk eight miles a day and here he is swimming them and then he would take ice baths to recover also he would have to eat 12,000 calories a day to be able to sustain the type of workouts and many viewers say well I could do that part of his training and you wonder how could he eat 12,000 calories a day until you realize he was suspended for drug use and you realize he just had the munchies really bad what do you know about that too many people know about that in church today if you don't know what we're talking about just God bless you brother God bless you you don't know the whole story by looking at a person's accomplishments no you get the whole story from watching the person's trials difficulties decisions habits and disciplines that are going on behind the scenes that you would never see in a highlight reel it's the little things that people have been faithful in that has gotten them to a point to accomplish great things and the same is true in our lives today God has created you and called you to accomplish what he has made you for to accomplish great things in and through your life but God will allow you to go through little things that would work as seasons of preparation for what God has for you next and if you are not faithful in the little things you will never be prepared for all that God has for you that's why the Bible declares that we ought to be faithful in the little things and that God will reward us with greater things and as we are faithful in the little things God will use those things in our lives because God always prepares his vessel God has a plan for your life he has a purpose in the way that he's created you the way that you are with all of your corks and personality and character God made you the way that you are to accomplish his plan in and through your life in a way that only you can but if we aren't faithful in the trials and the difficulties and the seasons of hardship then we'll never see what God would have done if we would have remained faithful that's why Galatians 6 9 says for us not to grow weary in doing good but in due season we will reap if we do not give up we will a guarantee from God and that's why I love biographies because biographies share the stories if it's a professional athlete or Olympian and the biography that I want to look at today with you is one from the pages of the Bible the biography we're going to be looking at today is of a prophet named Elijah he was used by God to accomplish great things he did so many amazing things but what we can often forget is behind the great things is a man who was prepared for great things simply because he did the little things God told him to do and I want to share with you today four little things that Elijah did that got into a place of being used by God in greatness let's look at first Kings together chapter 17 beginning in verse 1 it says in Elijah the tishbite now you might be saying what is a tishbite we don't really know what a tishbite is all I know is I don't want to be bitten by one no one wants a tishbite but Elijah anyways the tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab as the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand there shall not be due nor rain these years except by my word then the word of the Lord came to him saying get away from here and turn eastward and hide by the brook chariot which flows into the Jordan and it will be that you shall drink from the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there so he went and according to the word of the Lord for he went and stayed by the brook chariot which flows into the Jordan the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the brook the first little thing that I want you to write down is this obey without delay and God will make away obey without delay and God will make away this is what I call obedience with expedience you see when God told Elijah to go to the brook and wait for ravens to bring you food now our response would normally be God I don't know about this plan Lord birds bringing me food Lord I don't like bird food like Lord if you told me like there's gonna be a cow that's gonna walk over to the river and then die and fall over onto a fire and then we're gonna have a barbecue and some ribeye with extra butter on top Lord I like that plan but ravens this doesn't seem logical or let's talk about this but it doesn't say that Elijah doubted or that Elijah questioned even though it might not have been logical it just says that Elijah did as the Lord told him obedience is the fundamental principle in moving into all that God has for us throughout the Bible the people that were used by God to accomplish great things were men and women who simply did what God told them to do when God told them to do it they were obedient to God when God told them to do what he told them to do and because of their obedience they were used by God I think of Philip in Acts chapter 8 when God told Philip to leave the prominent ministry and to go into the desert it says that Philip immediately got up and went and when he did he found an Ethiopian traveling back to Ethiopia it was a powerful man he served directly under the Queen of Ethiopia and Philip walked alongside of him and he heard him reading from the prophet Isaiah and he said do you know what you're reading about he said I have no idea how can I know unless someone teaches me and he invited Philip up Philip does this crash course on the entire Bible everything in the Old Testament pointing to the New Testament shares these things with the Ethiopian he places the faith in Jesus gets baptized and many scholars believe that the first trace of the gospel of Jesus Christ getting to the continent of Africa was most likely through this Ethiopian man who would have a place of power and prominence in Ethiopia and the gospel could spread through him because Philip immediately obeyed there was a divine appointment could you imagine if he didn't he would have missed what God wanted to do in that moment not only Philip but when God told Peter in Acts chapter 10 when he was on the rooftop of Simon the Tanner's house God gave him a vision and then he told Peter there's going to be some men coming and knocking on the door I want you to go with them Peter hears a knock on the door and he gets up and it says that he immediately went with them to the house of Cornelius when God told Paul in Acts chapter 16 verses 9 and 10 when Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia standing and begging him it says that he said come over to Macedonia and help us now after he had seen the vision it says this immediately we sought to go to Macedonia concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them over and over and over again we see in the Bible the people that were used by God were simply those who responded with an sense of urgency obedience with expedience and the reason we need to obey with out delay is because of this simple truth delayed obedience is still disobedience do you realize that and I think you do know that because that's something that my wife and I are trying to teach our kids in this season you see I have a nine-year-old I have a seven-year-old and I have a five-year-old and we're teaching our kids that when mom or dad says to do something you need to do it right anybody have parents here you have to do it right yes you know well they don't and I'm trying to teach them you need to obey right away mom says hey I need you to come do this it's not okay I'll get around to it no you're gonna get over there and you're gonna do it right now we know that and we expect that of our children but how many of us don't model that to our children and the way that we respond to what God told us to do when God says here's what I want you to do okay God you know I'll get around to that especially when it comes to the topic of forgiveness God says I want you to forgive that person that person I'll forgive them God one day in like 20 years from now make them pay first though God let's get them God what do you say God I want you to forgive them I'll get around to it next week next month next year or obedience when it comes to our finances tithing and oh here we go you know okay God I will give to you my tithe which is a 10% of my income I'll give that to you when I have enough when I can make all my bills and can save a little bit and then then God I'll give to you you know one day you know if I can get there whatever area it's in in our life what God has instructed for us to do individually delayed obedience is still disobedience we need to respond right away I love how the psalmist puts it in Psalm 119 verse 60 it says without delay I hurry to obey your commands I think we ought to have that sense of urgency when it comes to what God has called for us to do with our lives we need to obey the Lord right away obey without delay and then we'll see God make away number two the second little thing that we see Elijah do in his actions number to write this down obedience is the root to bearing much fruit obedience is the first step into walking into all that God has for you you've heard the same before where God guides he provides something that your pastor has said something that pastor Chuck Smith the founder of Calvary Chapel often would say and it is true where God guides he provides but what we often fail to realize this is if you want to see God's per provision you need to be obedient to his direction where God guides he provides but if you are not walking in God's direction and being obedient to where he is directing you you will miss out on seeing his provision if you want to see God's provision you have to be obedient to his direction when God told Elijah to go to the brook and wait for some ravens to bring him food do you realize that it wasn't until after Elijah was obedient to what God told him to do it was then he saw God's provision he obeyed God then he saw God work in the miraculous Elijah was abiding then he saw God providing we can miss God's provision because we aren't taking the steps of obedience that God has called us to take and we won't see God do what he would do until we do what he's already told us to when God told the people of Israel to cross the Jordan River to go into the promised land many scholars believe that at that season the river would have been at flood level the way that the snow would melt the river would fill that river would have been raging at this time and God tells Joshua to tell the the priests to take the Ark of the Covenant and to take a few steps into the river well a few steps into a flooding river would bring them up to their necks or maybe even literally in over their heads but it wouldn't be until they would take a few steps into the river that they would see the river dry up a lot of us Christians want to live our life like Lord I'll get my toe wet I'll stick it in okay Lord is the river am I seeing your provision come through if not I'm gonna pull it back out no God has called us to commit fully to what he's called us to to go in over your head to go all in and then you'll see God come through in a way that he only could do we won't see it until we are first obedient to what God has already told us to we can say you know we love Jesus so much and I love Jesus and we have these chants that we like to say you know like we love Jesus yes we do we love Jesus yeah how about you and then everyone else is oh we love you and it goes back and forth forever let me ask you today with the show of hands how many of you would say I love Jesus I love Jesus some of you are saying don't raise your hand he's setting us up yes I am you know the Bible declares Jesus said in John 14 verse 15 if you love me then keep my commandments if you love Jesus the greatest way that we can express our love to God more than worship more than praise more than anything the greatest way that we can demonstrate our love for God is the way that we live in obedience to him this is the fork in the road that many people are faced with the fork in the road for people who are used by God in great ways and people that end up wasting their lives you know we can have the stickers honk if you love Jesus and you can honk all you want but those that truly love Jesus will live in obedience to doing what God has told them to do when God says I want you to forgive that person I want you to move out of your own agenda and start doing what I want you to do with your life I want you to step up from where you're at and step in to all that I have called you to not stepping back from it I want you to be faithful with that little ministry that I've entrusted to you or that little thing that you do I want you to be faithful in that little thing because that little thing is what I'm using in your life presently to prepare you for the next thing and you have to be obedient in the little things because the little things are the things that God will use in your life to make you more into who he wants you to be and so we see Elijah realize the obedience is the root to very much fruit number three the third thing that we can learn from the biography of Elijah is that crazy obedience is sometimes necessary when God told Elijah what he was going to do and Ravens were going to feed him that would seem so absurd to me you mean birds are gonna bring me food there are times when God calls us to do things that simply just don't make sense sometimes what God calls us to do can seem crazy but I'll tell you what's crazier is to hear God's voice and not be obedient to it it might be crazy or seem crazy what God's calling you to do but it's crazier to hear what God's called you to do and not do it if you look at the Bible characters before knowing the end of their story I bet it looks so outrageous in the process of their obedience think about Noah for example Noah is building a boat in the middle of the desert where there is no water in a world that many scientists believe at that point in history hadn't ever rained yet and there's Noah spending over a hundred years of his life building a boat could you imagine if that happened today what we would think of that person you know we often they give everyone else a hard time like I can't believe they didn't follow Noah but if that happened today like someone's like in Pomona Valley with a hammer and some wood judgments coming you got to get on board really oh yeah that crazy guy out there yeah that guy's nuts that's how what we would often think of somebody it must have looked crazy in the process of Noah's obedience but I'll tell you what nobody thought Noah was crazy for obeying when they saw the result of his obedience Joshua Joshua respectfully sir you mean you want us to march around the walls of Jericho and then just come home and that's gonna bring the walls down respectfully sir now you want us to do it seven times on the seventh day like I'm tired of walking can we just go to battle already can we do something that's gonna make something happen respectfully sir I don't know how this is gonna do anything but in order to be victorious sometimes you have to be willing to look ridiculous if you coward in the cynics and the doubters you will never be used by God in the way that he wants to use you Nehemiah what are you doing trying to rebuild this wall this task is way too big for you dude what are you thinking this would take someone centuries to accomplish Nehemiah how do you think you can do this there's no hope but he simply obeyed what God told him to do and the wall was rebuilt in 52 days what would normally take 52 years Peter Peter he's out fishing all night didn't catch anything when fishing is at its best Peter who is a professional fisherman Peter who grew up in that area of the Sea of Galilee Peter who knew all the good spots where the fish would bite Peter a carpenter from the shore calls out when he's coming back now the middle of the day after catching nothing nada zilch zippo nothing Peter didn't even catch a little minnow and he's coming back completely empty-handed and Jesus says hey Peter throw your nets on the other side of the boat could you imagine Peter oh my goodness he's a carpenter I'm the fisherman and my boat's only like four feet wide he's like the fish don't swim underneath the boat I'm dragging the nets that would catch the fish anywhere near me nevertheless Peter simply obeyed what seemed to be ridiculous and what went from Peter's greatest problem having no fish became his greatest problem fish sinking his boat because he obeyed what God told him to do this doesn't make sense but God because you said it I will do it you know it's crazy to obey God but it's crazier to hear God's voice and not obey it if you want to continue to be used by God in great ways then obey and be faithful when he gives you something little to be faithful in it's through those simple acts of obedience you have to be obedient to the little things because the little things God will continue to use to prepare you for what he has for you next and something we need to understand today is this when God gives us a command that we need to be obedient to he doesn't give that to us to ruin our lives you know growing up you know with our parents your parents ever tell you can't do something why won't you let me why do you have to make me eat my vegetables I want to go there I want to go be a part of that and your parents say nope not a chance you hate me you're ruining my life and then you grow up some a little slower than others and then you realize they were right God's commands are not to burden you or to bum you but to bless you first John chapter 5 verse 3 declares that very truth and his commands are not burdensome God desires to see your life blessed and so when we are simply obedient to him obedience with expedience obeying without delay obedience is the root to very much fruit and crazy obedience is sometimes necessary there's one more thing I want us to see from Elijah's biography that we can learn from the fourth little thing that will enable you to be used by God in great ways is this number four trust God and forget the formula it goes on to say in first Kings chapter 17 in verse 7 and it happened after a while that the brook dried up and because there had been no rain in the land then the word of the Lord came to him saying arise go to Zeraphat which belongs to side on and dwell there see I have commanded a widow there to provide for you so he arose and went to Zeraphat and when he came to the gate of the city indeed a widow was there gathering sticks and he called to her and said please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink and as she was going to get it he called her and said please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand so she said as the Lord your God lives I do not have bread only a handful of flour in a bin a little oil in a jar and see I'm actually gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son that we may eat it and then die talk about a grim outlook on life this is our last meal now you want to eat our last meal and Elijah says to her in verse 13 do not fear go and do as you have said but make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me and afterward make some for yourself and your son for thus says the Lord God of Israel the bin of flour shall not be used up nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth so she went away and notice her response she did according to the word of Elijah and she and he and her household ate for many days the bin of flour was not used up nor did the jar of oil run dry according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah in our story we see God now provide through different means you see in our story we see God provide originally through a brook and a bunch of birds but just because God worked that way at one time doesn't mean that's how God will always do it we actually see that season come to an end and another one begin and now Elijah is faced with a choice will I trust in my provider or will I trust in the means in which I have been provided through which one do you trust in it's easy for us to fall back on per on trusting in the means in which God has provided for us through whatever that might look like in your life it's easy for us to fall back on that but we have a choice that we need to make will I trust the provider or the means in which the provider has provided for me through Elijah had that choice when he was told to leave the brook and he left the brook why because it was dried up and he was told to go to a widow's house now that seems like that wouldn't be a good form of provision because a widow oftentimes couldn't provide for herself culturally speaking a woman in that society in that day wouldn't be able to provide for herself financially because of the limitations that she would have and so oftentimes they would be enslaved to their debtors and and all the horrible atrocities would take place and and now she's has nothing left they're about to die and now God says this is who I'm going to provide through you for we need to be careful who we don't count out listen imagine if the disciples counted out a little boy that Jesus would use to feed the multitudes you remember the story of the feeding of the 5000 well that's 5000 men because in that culture they didn't count the women or the children listen the boy who was counted out was the one that God would use to feed everyone and we need to be careful we don't count out those that we would suspect God can't use that person in that way in my life what do they know and that type of attitude and count people out or discount them all together Elijah now receives provision from someone who couldn't even provide for herself or her family because of what God would do in her and through her you see there's a tendency in every person for every move of God to try to box it label it write the directions on how to accomplish it come up with an online seminar for it just do this formula and you will see God work follow these ten ten steps to accomplishing great things for God it's a glory day mindset that says this is how we've done it this is how God worked in the past so this is how we will always do it but it could it be that what we saw had nothing to do with the method but simply by the God who was behind the method God chooses different ways to do his work at different times to reach different people and if we are stuck in the old thing we will never experience what God wants to do next Elijah had a choice will I trust in what God has always done or will I move into what God is going to do next a lot of us are stuck at the dried up Creek waiting for God to do something and never following the leading of his Holy Spirit see water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit in the Bible and the Holy Spirit was no longer leading or providing in that way at that time anymore the worst thing that Elijah could have done is to stay there but instead he followed God's direction and an unlikely candidate for God to use would then be the source of God's provision for him listen today we need to realize God will not allow himself to be reduced to a formula just because God did it one day once doesn't mean that he's going to do it the same way again we see that pictured over and over and over again in the Bible in 2 Samuel chapter 5 David is told by God that the enemy will be attacking and David is given an exacting strategy David does what God tells him to do and David has great victory that day well just a few verses later in that same chapter the enemy begins to attack in the exact same way once again now if I was David I would just think okay the way we did it last time it worked perfectly let's just do the same thing again and we'll have the same results but that's not the case it says that David sought the Lord again inquired of the Lord God what do you want me to do this time and God gave David a completely different strategy that again would bring about great victory it was when Joshua would go to take the the city of AI in the battle of AI it was the time that he didn't seek the Lord why because this little po-dunk town it wasn't that big of a deal we just took Jericho in these other places I mean it's not I mean we don't even send our whole army just send a few men out there and we'll take it and they were beaten badly and when he asked the Lord why God told Joshua because you did not inquire of me when David inquired of the Lord God gave him a completely different way to do the same thing to get the same results because it's not about the method it's about God God is the method man God is the one that is the director and the guider and the leader and the provider Jesus would heal a blind man at one point by spitting in dirt making mud and then wiping it on a guy's face and another time Jesus would just speak to somebody and insight would be given but you know what we do if we lived in that day well I'll tell you what we would do well we would start the first church of the spitting mud we're I'm part of the spitting mud church the first church of spitting mud why because that's how Jesus worked and that's how we're gonna do things too now God wants to do new things in new ways to reach new people and God will do a new thing for the old school purpose of getting his will done yet so many people so many times miss what God wants to do next because they're so focused on perfecting the old thing that God has already moved away from church trust God and forget the formula that's what we see Elijah doing trusting in the provider not in the means in which he was provided through and the same God speaking to the same people doing the same work only now it's coming through a different channel Elijah decided his loyalty wasn't gonna be to the brook but to God but how many times do we get attached to the brook do you know what I mean we get attached to the way that things always were we get attached to the songs of 1992 oh those were the anointed years of church you know Carmen Amy Grant's all those were the those were the ones that God had chosen you know why don't we play Lord I lift your name on high anymore Lord I lift her name on high why don't we play that song anymore in church those were the anointed days maybe because God used that at that time but maybe God wants to do something new at this time do you think that God isn't anointing songwriters and worship leaders for what he wants to accomplish today that were so stuck on what God once did at one time do you realize that there's a lot of people that are outside the church that know nothing about Carmen or Amy Grant and maybe some of you in church are like who's Carmen and Amy Grant 1980s Christian music I was a church kid hallelujah what they need is not that song but what they need is an encounter with Jesus Christ what people need is Jesus and we should never be so concerned with our own personal preferences that it would supersede what God would want us to do and what he would want his church to be to reach more people if you've been walking with the Lord for any length of time then you need to realize because we live in Southern California that's so driven by consumerism and what we like we've we've caused culture to creep into the church where we've made the church nothing more than what we want and what we like and so we try to get all that we like and we want church to be what we want how about we ask God God what do you want the church to be forget what I want God what do you want and Lord would this church be such a church that it could be the church that continues to reach people throughout Southern California throughout this country and around the world not because I wanted to be my personal preferences but God I'm simply following you and your spirit's leading God you make it what you want it to be trust God forget the formula the moment that we start talking about God's work in the past tense what God had done we go from a movement to a museum a museum with artifacts of what God has done in the past but if you ever move to a museum it won't be long before you move to a mortuary now we need to be thankful for what God has done and always celebrate what God has done that's why God told us people to often build monuments so they wouldn't forget God's faithfulness in the past but the faithfulness in the past was only to be motivation for them to continue to take steps of faith forward in their future we believe that God still has yet better things to do and we know that this land needs revival our country needs revival and the only thing that will save our land is Jesus Christ there's no politician that can save the world the Jewish people were looking for one when Jesus came and it caused them to miss the Messiah because Jesus wasn't doing what they thought he should be doing as the deliverer they were looking to Jesus to deliver them out of their current problems and Jesus said I've come to deliver you out of your current sin I've come to be your savior not of your current problems but of your sin so that you can spend eternity in heaven God's agenda is so much bigger than our own Elijah is wise because he aligns himself to what God wants to accomplish instead of trying to stay and make God do what he wants to accomplish our prayers ought to be God not my will be done on earth as it is in heaven but I will be done not my will God but I will that's how Jesus taught us to pray and that's how we ought to live out our lives if you have something where maybe you've been hanging on to we thank God for it but maybe it's time to let it go and move on there's a lot of things that God wants to do in and through your life individually and we have a choice we're at that fork in the road will I be used by God in great ways or will I just meander throughout my life I can hang out at the dead brook or I can move as the Holy Spirit leads and follow his prompting and be obedient to what he's called me to do listen a lot of us try to pour water into the dried up brook to bring it back to life when God's already moved from it all we need to do is follow what God wants to do and we will see God do what we never knew he could do God wants you to step out of the ordinary into the extraordinary God wants you to step out of the plain and the mundane into the divine insane that's who he is and that's what he does and we are told to not despise the days of little things or small beginnings because it's the little things that God will use in our life to prepare us for the greater things he's still yet to do through our lives so church what do we do follow Jesus be flexible to the leading of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to do what he's told you to do today and you'll see God do great things in and through your life because you followed him stay close to Jesus Lord we pray that you would help us