WEBVTT - Take The Lid Off A Little 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.600 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.080 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.440 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.520 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:16.560 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:21.120 Hey Siri, are you ready for the word? Hey, tif 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:23.079 are you ready for the word? Hey Joey, are you 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:25.959 ready for the word? Hey? Fam are you ready for 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:35.760 the word? Stay standing? Stand up? Stay standing or stand up? 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.000 Just make sure you're standing. I want to read to 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:43.920 you from One King seventeen. There's something that the Lord 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:45.760 was showing me today that I think is really going 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:48.760 to speak to your situation. Please take a moment and share. 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:51.320 If you're just joining us, make sure to let us 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.040 know in the chat where you're watching from. It was 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:56.400 so cool last week that after the sermon was posted, 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:59.520 everybody who watched the sermon went and said, here's where 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:01.760 I'm watching from, and they said, I'm here for it. 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.759 And it was so cool to see all the places. 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:07.319 And our team then gets to go through and they 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:09.400 get to pray for you by name that God would 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:11.960 speak to you. So put it in the chat. But also, 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.800 don't just be blessed today, be a blessing. Be a blessing. 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:18.440 What if you took a moment right now to share 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:22.480 this experience with someone and it lifted them out of depression. 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:25.280 What if you took a moment to share this with 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:29.880 someone right now and it helped them to breathe deeply 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:33.760 and not have a panic attack later this week. What 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:36.240 if you shared this message with someone right now and 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:38.759 God spoke a word that kept them from doing something 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:42.120 stupid that was going to mess up their life. I'm 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:44.479 telling you the Word of God is powerful and you're 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:47.080 going to see that in the text. But by faith, 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:51.360 right now, share it. Hit the share button or text somebody. 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:53.320 You know how to do it, and you know who 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:55.760 God puts on your heart. And let's move into the 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:58.400 Word of God together. We've already had an awesome time 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:02.320 of worship. We've already praised God, We've already been singing 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:05.880 to Him. We spent this week serving and now let's 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.520 go to the Word and see what God will give 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.440 us to sustain us for these crazy days we live 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:17.840 in One Kings chapter seventeen. Now Elijah the tishbite from 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:22.360 Tishby in Gilead said to ahab As the Lord, the 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:26.280 God of Israel, lives whom I serve, there will be 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:31.760 neither do nor reign in the next few years except 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:35.399 at my word. Then the word of the Lord came 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:42.280 to Elijah. Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:47.200 Careth Ravine east of the Jordan. You will drink from 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:51.360 the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:57.360 you with food there. We talked last week about unschedulable blessings. 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:01.800 Unschedulable blessings. It's a word I made of It's a 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:04.440 thing you can't put on your calendar. But God is 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.200 going to come through for you. He's going to come 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:11.360 through for you sometimes after you've given up. But this 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:15.040 is an unusual way for God to provide for his servant. 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:19.200 It's an unusual source. So he did what the Lord 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:21.679 had told him verse five, and he went to the 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:26.000 Karath Ravine east of the Jordan and stayed there. The 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:28.480 ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:31.400 bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:36.080 the brook. Sometime later, the brook dried up because there 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:39.200 had been no rain in the land. Then the word 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:41.840 of the Lord came to him. Go at once to 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:45.680 Zerapath in the region of Sidon, and stay there. I 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:49.040 have directed a widow there to supply you with food, 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:53.040 and I watch this. So he went to Zarapath, and 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.440 when he came to the town gate, a widow was 0:03:56.480 --> 0:04:01.880 there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, would 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:06.920 you bring me a little water in a jar? Just 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:12.120 slow water? Uh uh uh uh oh, hang on, let's 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:15.960 see if we can get that fixed, little water. Isn't 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:19.800 it weird? Come on out, tech support, How many out 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:21.400 real quick? Because I know we can get this fixed. 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:27.440 Isn't it weird? Come check this out? I'm broadcasting right now. 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:33.080 Can you can you fix it? Isn't it weird? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, no, 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:36.400 no no, yeah. See if we get fixed, you can't 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:39.200 fix it. No, fix it in the back and bring 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:41.520 it back in the weird. Look, look, we're broadcasting to 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:43.960 the whole world. Why can't you don't leave me hanging 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:48.039 in We're broadcasting to the whole world. Isn't it weird? 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:54.760 How something so little, I mean, we're broadcasting all over 0:04:54.800 --> 0:05:00.240 the world. Isn't it weird? How something so little can 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:04.200 control something so big. Bring that back to me on stone. 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:06.559 We see if we can fix it. He said, bring 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:11.719 me a little water? How much water? A little? So 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:13.679 let me have a dream. And as she was going 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:17.040 to get it, he called, and bring me, please a 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:21.960 piece of bread. As surely as the Lord, your god lives. 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:26.000 She replies, I don't have any bread, only a handful 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:32.080 of flour in a jar, and a little how much 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:39.440 a little olive oil in a jug. A little flour 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.200 in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.359 I am gathering a few sticks to take home and 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:47.560 make a meal for myself and my son, that we 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:51.360 may eat it and die. Now here's the word of 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:55.479 the Lord. Elijah said to her. Don't be afraid. Go 0:05:55.560 --> 0:06:00.120 home and do as you have said, But first to 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:03.680 make a small loaf of bread for me from what 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:07.720 you have, and bring it to me, and then make 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.480 something for yourself and your son. For this is what 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:14.200 the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The jar of 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:17.440 flower will not be used up, and the jug of 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:21.320 oil will not run dry until the day the Lord 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:25.240 sends rain on the lands. So she went away and 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:28.640 did as Elijah had told her. So there was food 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:31.839 every day for Elijah, and for the woman and her family, 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:36.719 For the jar of flour was not used up, and 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:40.160 the jug of oil did not run dry. In keeping 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:45.479 with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah, a 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:50.960 little olive oil in a jug, A little olive oil. 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:53.720 Here's what the Lord sent me to tell you today. 0:06:54.680 --> 0:07:02.840 Take the lid off a little, you ready, Father, We 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:06.480 stand under an open heaven, thanking you for your blessings. 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:10.040 We thank you for rain in due season. We thank 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:12.240 you that you speak what we need when we need it. 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:14.520 And when you speak, there's nothing the enemy can do 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:17.840 to snatch what has sown. Our hearts are good soil. 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:20.760 We are open to your word. We are open to 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:23.880 the possibility that in this season you are leading us 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:27.280 like never before into a place that you prepared for 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:30.600 us before the world began. We give you praise for 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:34.960 it in Jesus' name. Everybody who receives this word, clap 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:40.680 your hands. Amen, you may be seated. Take the lid 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:44.720 off a little. That's crazy, Zach, how a little thing 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:49.040 you'll be seated. How a little thing, something so little 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:55.320 can affect something so big. I mean, this word I 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:58.800 just told you is going all over the world, and 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:03.320 one little wire wires. We were in a church one 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.800 time and the sound guy said, quit on hooking my wires. 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:08.760 We had our little sound system we were setting up 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.560 that he said, quit messing with my wires, my wires. 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:16.480 Isn't it weird? One little, one little thing? And in 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:18.920 the text I was reading, they're gonna think we worked 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:20.680 this out ahead of time, but we did it. Isn't 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:23.720 it crazy? In the text we read, the Bible says 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:28.440 it didn't rain for three years because of the word 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:33.760 that came from Elijah's mouth. How can the word from 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:38.680 one man's mouth control the weather? How can something so 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:43.920 little affect something so big? What happens all the time 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:48.679 in your life, I mean, the littlest thing in your 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:52.960 day can set you in a direction that you don't 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:58.199 even realize until it is so depressing. I mean, my 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:02.559 die and didn't even realize something so little. That's why 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.800 I have to be so very careful. What the first 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.400 thing I look on my phone for when I get 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:13.280 up in the morning. Because it doesn't take much. It 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:15.240 doesn't take much. And I don't care who you follow 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:17.280 on Instagram, they find a way into your feed. The 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:19.960 people you unfollowed, they find a way back in. The 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:23.240 algorithm will attack you. Somebody said. The devil is a 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.400 Lauren Ryan Lyon. So is the Instagram algorithm. It is 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:29.040 looking for someone to devour. That's why they call it 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:35.360 a feed. I figured this out. He's looking to eat 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:40.079 you alive. Ah, something so little. It said that the 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:46.360 word from Elijah's mouth controlled the weather system. How could 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:51.360 something so small? How could how could a wet market 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:55.400 on the other side of the world have you shut 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:59.360 down and grounded from traveling. There's never been a better 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:00.880 time for me to p this message that I want 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:04.839 to appreciate today because everybody has to agree in this moment. 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:09.520 If you've never agreed before that the littlest thing in 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:13.480 your life or the littlest thing in someone else's life 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:17.640 can affect you in a way, I'm telling you right 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:21.079 now that the littlest things in your life right now, 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:24.640 if you can receive this word from the Lord today, 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:29.200 are controlling the things. And maybe we can help make 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:33.000 this connection through studying Elijah little bit controlling the things 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:34.800 that you have no control over, And I'll do my 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:37.800 best to break it down as we move. I've always 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:42.760 read Romans eight twenty eight with a very specific categorization. 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:47.199 Romans eight twenty eight is my favorite Bible verse because 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:50.400 it gets me through anything. It says that all things 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:54.559 work together for the good of those that love God 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:58.800 and are called according to His purpose. How could I 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:02.760 have quoted it for so long and only seen it 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:06.920 through the lens of good things and bad things. I 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:11.400 always read Romans eight twenty eight that all things, whether 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:16.480 good or bad, work together for the good for those 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:22.000 who are called according to God's purpose. Now I realize 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:25.000 that Romans eight twenty eight doesn't just apply to good 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:29.680 things and bad things. It applies also to big things 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:33.679 and little things. Turn the lights on and wake them up. 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:35.360 I can't get I can't get any help out here. 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:37.880 It said all things turn the lights on and wake 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:39.560 them up. Do something, pull the lights up because it's 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:41.280 sleep Yeah, yeah, yeah, yah, that's better. I need to 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.160 see y'all sleeping. Y'all are sleeping on me. I'm about 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.319 to clear out the whole room. It doesn't just mean 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:50.800 good things and bad things. It means that the big 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:54.760 things and the little things. And that's why you cannot 0:11:54.800 --> 0:12:01.840 despise the day of small beginnings, because everything little leads 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:08.360 to something big. That's how you got here. I'm gonna 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:11.360 give y'all a minute for the for the YouTube delay. 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.840 That's how you got That's how everything you see got here. 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:21.000 It started with somebody's thought, an impulse in the brain 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:25.120 that you cannot even see with the human eye. A 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:29.559 virus has shot down the world. Show me a coronavirus. 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:32.840 You can't show me the effects of it. You can't 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:38.680 get away from it. How can something so little affect 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:43.719 something so big? How can something that happened to you 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:46.959 when you were twelve still be haunting you when you're 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:54.040 forty two? How can something so little control something so big? 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:58.240 And that's the lens at which I was looking at 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:01.800 the prophet Elijah's life. I was say he controlled the 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:07.400 weather with his word, And I thought about how our 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:13.360 words control the weather. How when we speak things, when 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:17.360 we say things, when we say them, not even out loud, 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:23.400 but to ourselves, it affects the weather of our heart. Yeah, 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:27.240 how can a little thing like a thought lead you 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.680 down the track? I mean, it's such a little thing. 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:38.560 By little things lead the big things. Little things lead 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:43.959 the big things. So the prophet Elijah prophesies at drought, 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.680 and it's a wonderful story, and we could elaborate on 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:49.079 it for days, but we just want to talk about 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:51.600 this little instruction that God gave them in verse to 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.400 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, leave here, 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:59.800 turn eastward and hide in the care of Ravine east 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:05.960 of the Jordan. Okay, that verse right there. It kind 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:09.280 of sounds on the surface like like God will tell 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.680 you everything that you need to do in your life. 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:14.480 But I want to show you something very interesting about 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.160 how God spoke to Elijah. One time someone asked me, 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:19.560 what do you mean when you say God spoke to me? 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.200 And he asked it very innocently. He said, I hear 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:24.920 you preaching and say God spoke to me. I'm not 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:26.440 sure God ever spoke to me. What do you mean 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:29.840 when you say God spoke to me? And the challenging 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:33.400 thing about it was he was hearing that as a voice, 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:36.600 but really I meant it as a thought. I don't 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:42.800 experience God through my ears. I experienced him through my thoughts, 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:45.640 and then I call it God spoke to me, but 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:48.640 I didn't hear a voice. And here's what's interesting about 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:50.680 how how God was leading Elijah. Because you got to 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:53.200 you got to pay attention to the small things in 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.560 the text, because the little things matter. It said he 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.400 told him leave here, turn eastward and hide into care 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:02.200 of Thravinis to the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:05.400 and I have directed the ravens to supply you with 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:11.560 food there. Whoe? Can we stop for a minute and 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:20.200 talk about how ridiculous? How's this gonna work? We just 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.320 read it, right, we just skip right past it. Yeah, yeah, 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:24.880 you go down there in the birds, bring him the birds. 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:31.360 Get ready for God to explode your box of how 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:37.360 you think He's going to provide for you. Huh. We 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:39.880 have all these limitations on ways that we think God 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:42.680 can take care of us. We have all these limitations 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:44.640 on ways that we think that God can take care 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:47.440 of our family. We have all these limitations on ways 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:49.560 that we think God can use us. We have all 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:51.960 these limitations on ways that we think that God can 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.320 order our life and ways that we think. But God said, 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:58.600 get ready for me to take the lid off and 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:03.920 start blessing you through birds. And not just birds, not 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.440 just any kind of birds. But I'm gonna use ravens, 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:14.680 unclean birds, dirty birds. Have you ever had God bless 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:17.280 you through a dirty bird. I need you to put 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:19.880 a dirty bird bless it in the chat. If you 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:23.920 ever had God use something just ridiculous, didn't make sense, 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.240 didn't see it coming, didn't even like it. God has 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.480 used people I didn't even like to bless me before 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:38.400 dirty birds. The ravens were dirty birds. God said, I'm 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:42.120 gonna I'm gonna use a dirty bird to feed you 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:47.560 by the charath ravine. And he does this for a while. 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:49.400 He does this for a while. If I could tell 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:51.960 you the whole story, I would, because Ahab Now he 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.280 needs to see that God controls the rain, not bail. 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:57.760 He needs to see that God controls the rain, not bail. 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:03.000 He needs to know that that God is in control, 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:07.360 that God is not only in control of the big 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:09.560 things in our life, but the small things in our life. 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:12.360 Follow me, I promise you. This is a powerful, profound 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:14.679 word for those who can receive it. And so he 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:19.040 takes Elijah to a place where he feeds him what 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:23.280 he needs in that season. Now, E've been in a 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:27.000 season lately where God hasn't been feeding you the same 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:30.919 way he used to feed you. And the word is 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:33.919 so relevant right now because up until now you had 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:36.399 a certain way of how you thought it had to be. 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:41.080 I had a certain way I thought church was supposed 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:44.159 to be. I thought in order to have church, you 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:48.400 had to let people in the building. But God took 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:52.480 the lid off of that. Come on, God is trying 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:54.640 to take the lid off of that just to show 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:57.399 me that church is not just going to be contained 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:02.760 to a physical location. And now I'm setting you up. 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:05.359 God is trying to show you the same thing. In 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:11.000 your life. You've had some people leave you because God 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:14.280 wanted to show you that you don't need them to 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:19.480 make it less. Claps, y'all were clapping when I talked 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:23.000 about closing the church. That was weird. You just left 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.320 me because what's what the Bible says. It says that 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:30.959 every day the birds brought him bread in the morning 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:34.520 and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:39.199 from the brook. But in verse seven, verse seven, it 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:43.760 says that sometime later the brook dried up because there 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.120 had been no rain in the land. Let's talk about 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:49.200 cause and effect. The brook dried up because there had 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.400 been no rain in the land. Why had there been 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:54.280 no rain in the land, Because Elijah spoke, there will 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:56.560 be no rain in the land. So now he is 0:18:56.600 --> 0:19:04.600 the victim of the consequence of his own obedience. It's 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:08.160 causing effect. And every day he goes out to get 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:10.440 some water from the brook, there's a little bit less. 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:12.800 And every day he goes out to get water from 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:15.320 the brook, it's a little bit less. And every day 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:16.840 he goes out to get water from the brook is 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:19.600 a little bit less. And you gotta be wondering right 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:23.600 about now, when is God gonna stop it from going down? 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:26.640 Have you been wondering that lately? Like when is God 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:29.520 gonna stop it from decreasing? And this is not a 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:32.080 message for everybody. If you're living in a time of overflow, 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:34.840 it's wonderful. I'll see it next week. I'll preach next week, 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:37.159 I'll live it in the overflow. But this message is 0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:41.480 about the little bit every time he came to the brook. 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:43.280 This did happen all at once. It's just a little 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:46.840 bit less, a little bit less, a little bit less, 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:51.600 a little bit less until the point where one day 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:56.479 it comes to the brook and there's nothing there and 0:19:56.560 --> 0:20:04.560 he has to move to the next mealracle. So how 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:08.679 does God move you to your next miracle? Let me 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:12.359 ask you a question. It's a conversation. Now, do you 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:20.040 want God to lead you? How did God lead Elijah 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:26.160 from the brook to the widow's house. How does God 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.920 get us from where we are to where he's taking us? 0:20:30.280 --> 0:20:33.040 How does he get us from the good work he 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:35.280 began to the good work he wants to finish. It 0:20:35.280 --> 0:20:38.320 may not be the way that you think, because the 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:45.280 Bible says that God led Elijah to his next assignment 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:52.600 through a limitation, give him a teaching stool. We often 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:56.399 say things like, where God guides, he provides, and he does. 0:20:57.320 --> 0:20:59.200 He'll put a dirty bird to feed you by a brook. 0:20:59.840 --> 0:21:03.040 He'll show you a secret stash that nobody else in 0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:05.520 the neighborhood even knows about. How many know I'm right 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.000 about it. God will encourage you in ways that are 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:12.040 specific to you. But just as sure as that is true, 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:17.880 this is also true. Sometimes God will lead you through 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:24.840 what you lose. And this is the more painful thing 0:21:24.920 --> 0:21:29.040 to talk about, but I think it's very important. Is 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:36.160 God trying to lead you by limitations? And is God 0:21:36.240 --> 0:21:39.480 trying to lead you just as much by the doors 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:45.240 that he closes as the doors that he opens. If 0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:49.520 the brook had kept flowing, miraculously, Elijah never would have 0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:54.520 left that spot. If Elijah never would have left that spot, 0:21:54.920 --> 0:21:58.760 he never would have met that widow. If he never 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:02.600 would have met that widow, that widow and her family 0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:06.080 would have died of starvation. If he never would have 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:09.439 gone to Zaraphath, which was right in the heart of 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:12.760 Bail territory, he never would have got to Mount Carmel, 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:16.000 where he called down fire and the whole nation repented. 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:20.959 Isn't it crazy how a little thing can lead to 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:24.679 a big thing. Isn't it weird how something can go 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:27.640 all over the world but start with one little connection. 0:22:28.119 --> 0:22:31.240 Isn't it crazy how God can can use something in 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:34.000 your life that you thought it was bad, but later 0:22:34.080 --> 0:22:36.720 you look back and say, no, it wasn't a bad thing. 0:22:37.040 --> 0:22:39.520 It was just a thing that led to a thing. 0:22:41.160 --> 0:22:43.719 It's just a thing that leads to a thing. So 0:22:44.040 --> 0:22:48.639 all things work together for the good. So if the 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:53.520 brook doesn't dry up, Elijah doesn't move on. If they 0:22:53.560 --> 0:22:56.840 didn't break your heart, you wouldn't have learned the lesson 0:22:56.880 --> 0:23:01.199 that you learned. If you didn't go through Goliath, you 0:23:01.240 --> 0:23:04.280 wouldn't have been ready to be a king. If you 0:23:04.320 --> 0:23:06.960 hadn't been thrown in a pit, you wouldn't have been 0:23:07.000 --> 0:23:11.119 positioned in eg to feeds the aerations. You met it 0:23:11.200 --> 0:23:17.679 for evil, but God used it for good. Put it 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:20.720 in the chat. Take the lid off. Take the lid off. 0:23:21.320 --> 0:23:23.800 You know we have all of these lids, or I 0:23:23.800 --> 0:23:26.720 could call it all of these limitations on the ways 0:23:26.800 --> 0:23:29.560 that we think God can move. And if it feels good, 0:23:29.600 --> 0:23:31.720 we think it's God. And if it feels bad, we 0:23:31.760 --> 0:23:34.199 think it's the devil. But God is calling us to 0:23:34.280 --> 0:23:40.639 recategorize in this season of our life. I prove it 0:23:40.680 --> 0:23:45.200 to you. David came to Goliath and saw him as 0:23:46.000 --> 0:23:48.800 a meal ticket. The rest of the nation saw him 0:23:48.840 --> 0:23:54.359 as an enemy. The king said, if you kill Goliath, 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:57.199 you never pay taxes again, and you can marry my 0:23:57.240 --> 0:24:03.479 heart daughter, the hot one. David said, what now, let 0:24:03.520 --> 0:24:07.920 me do the math on this. Okay, how big is he? 0:24:08.000 --> 0:24:17.880 It doesn't matter. What's this because a little thing I'm 0:24:17.880 --> 0:24:21.000 waiting on. I'm to catch up. You look like you 0:24:21.480 --> 0:24:24.200 look like you know the power of a little thing. 0:24:25.040 --> 0:24:28.760 A little thing. Saul said, you're only a boy. You 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:33.760 can't fight him. He's nine feet tall. You think somebody 0:24:33.840 --> 0:24:36.720 as little as you can kill somebody as big as him, 0:24:36.920 --> 0:24:39.679 and David said, no, no, no, I only look little. 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:44.080 See the reason I look little is because I have 0:24:44.200 --> 0:24:48.679 to be hidden. I'm a secret weapon. A secret weapon 0:24:48.720 --> 0:24:53.240 can't be real. Big. God had to sneak me to 0:24:53.400 --> 0:24:56.160 the battle line. And how did he get there? How 0:24:56.160 --> 0:24:59.960 did he get there through bringing a lunch to his brother? 0:25:00.200 --> 0:25:03.000 That's a little thing. What did he see when he 0:25:03.040 --> 0:25:06.400 got there? A nine foot tall giant? That's a big thing. 0:25:07.119 --> 0:25:11.040 Isn't it crazy how a little thing can lead to 0:25:11.080 --> 0:25:17.000 a big thing? How you coming through Monk's Corner South 0:25:17.040 --> 0:25:23.000 Carolina could lead to lead me to Christ? Isn't that 0:25:23.040 --> 0:25:26.199 crazy that I went to North Greenville and met my 0:25:26.240 --> 0:25:28.879 wife because you came through Monk's Corner, because you signed 0:25:28.960 --> 0:25:35.240 up for the ministry and you obedience, little thing, Take 0:25:35.240 --> 0:25:39.760 the lid off a little, because I found out that 0:25:39.800 --> 0:25:41.440 what you call little might be the thing that God 0:25:41.520 --> 0:25:48.280