WHAT SPIRIT ARE YOU?
Elijah was a prophet during a time the House of Israel was unfaithful and had forsaken the ways of God’s Word and sought to worship the God’s of the Nations.
King Ahab was a very wicked king who allowed his wife Jezebel to seduce him to do evil.
1 Kings 16:29-33GNT
29 In the thirty-eighth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for twenty-two years. 30 He sinned against the Lord more than any of his predecessors. 31 It was not enough for him to sin like King Jeroboam; he went further and married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon, and worshiped Baal. 32 He built a temple to Baal in Samaria, made an altar for him, and put it in the temple. 33 He also put up an image of the goddess Asherah. He did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel before him.
After Ahab’s death he had a son named Ahaziah who took his place and reigned over the House of Israel the Northern Kingdom from Samaria.
1 Kings 22:51-53 GNT
51 In the seventeenth year of the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for two years. 52 He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of his father Ahab, his mother Jezebel, and King Jeroboam, who had led Israel into sin. 53 He worshiped and served Baal, and like his father before him, he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel.
2 Kings 1: 1-16 ASV
And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this sickness. 3 But the angel of Jehovah said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.
5 And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned? 6 And they said unto him, There came up a man to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. 7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he that came up to meet you, and told you these words? 8 And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, the king hath said, Come down. 10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 11 And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. 12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 13 And again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. 14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in thy sight. 15 And the angel of Jehovah said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.
The third Captain humbled himself before Elijah and asked him to count his life as precious.
Precious: To esteem, be prized, be valuable, be precious, be costly, to be appraised
Isaiah 43:4GNTI will give up whole nations to save your life,
because you are precious to me
and because I love you and give you honor.
John 3:16 AMP
16 “For God so [greatly] lovedanddearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Luke 9:51-56 NKJV
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to savethem.” And they went to another village.
· THE SAMARITANS DID NOT RECEIVE JESUS THAT DAY BECAUSE OF THE HEATED DIVISION BETWEEN THEM AND JERUSALEM THE CAPITAL OF JUDAH WHERE THE TEMPLE WAS.
· THE SAMARITANS HAD NOT WORSHIPPED CORRECTLY SINCE THE TIME OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL WHO WORSHIPPED IDOLS AND THE FALSE GOD’S OF BAAL AND ASHERAH(ASHTORETH).
· THE SONS OF THUNDER JAMES AND JOHN GOT CAUGHT UP IN A WRONG SPIRIT
· CAN YOU IMAGINE THEIR SURPRISE HAS THEY GOT REBUKED BY JESUS?
· REBUKE: TO CHARGE STRICTLY, To tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely
· Jesus said you don’t know what manner of spirit you are of!
· THE DISCIPLES HAD IT WRONG TOO! THEY FOCUSED ON THE FAULT AND SIN OF THE PEOPLE RATHER THAN THE MISSION OF THE LORD.
*Luke 19:10
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 9:56 JUBILEE BIBLE 2000
For the Son of man is not come to lose men's souls, but to save them. And they went to another village.
· This is the time for the church to get back to the mission of Jesus!
· Let’s go and Save the Nations!
· We must count souls and lives as PRECIOUS!
Matthew 18:10-14
10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
EXAMINE YOURSELF TODAY?
WHAT SPIRIT ARE YOU OF?
IT’S TIME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THE LOST!
JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS BECAUSE OF LOVE FOR THE PRECIOUS SOULS OF THE LOST!