Elijah was a man just like us. James 5:17

2. Elijah was a man just like us. James 5:17

3. Elijah So Far... • Confront evil and powerful king • Do a miracle for a starving widow & son • Remain faithful, waiting 3 years • Challenge evil king and 850 followers • Faced off against an entire nation • Performed one of most dramatic miracles in history

4. Elijah was a man just like us. - James 5:17 HOW?!!

5. What is a false prophet?

6. Every false prophet has at least someone who considers them a true prophet.

7. False Prophets? • Joseph Smith • David Koresh • Jim Jones • Charles Manson

9. In Elijah’s day, false prophets primarily taught worship of idols. Today, false prophetsteach worship of false values.

10. The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 1 Timothy 4:3

11. These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.” Isaiah 30:9-10

12. I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. But smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people. Romans 16:17-18

13. True Prophets False Prophets • Work for political purposes to benefit themselves • Work for spiritual purposes, to serve God and the people • Hold or seek positions of great wealth • Wealth is not influencer; messages not based on financial gain • Speak only true messages, according to Scripture • Give false messages, according to Scripture

14. True Prophets False Prophets • Compare themselves with others • Compare themselves with God Let he who boasts boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:31

15. True Prophets False Prophets • Compare themselves with others • Compare themselves with God • Know that sin is serious • Refuse to take sin seriously

16. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:8-10

17. Have you ever heard...? • “We’re all born good.” • “We’re all basically good people.”

18. True Prophets False Prophets • Compare themselves with others • Compare themselves with God • Know that sin is serious • Refuse to take sin seriously • Know that all revelation from God will be confirmed by Scripture • Claim they possess secret knowledge that gives them authority outside of Scripture

19. True Prophets False Prophets • Are not willing to suffer significantly for their beliefs • Count it all joy; know death could only bring glory

20. Are they servants of Christ? I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. II Corinthians 11:23-25a

21. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brothers. II Corinthians 11:25b-26

22. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food. I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. II Corinthians 11:27-28

23. True Prophets False Prophets • Are not willing to suffer significantly for their beliefs • Count it all joy; know death could only bring glory • Speak only what God tells them to say, no matter how unpopular • Speak only what the people want to hear

24. Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. James 3:1

26. At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again.” 1 Kings 18:36-37

27. Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” 1 Kings 18:38-39

28. Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there. 1 Kings 18:40

29. Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” 1 Kings 19:1-2

30. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, I am no better than my ancestors.” 1 Kings 19:3-5

32. Elijah’s Three Mistakes 1. When we forget God’s past faithfulness, we fail to factor in His future faithfulness.

33. Elijah’s Two Problems • There were some things he had forgotten about. • There were some things he didn’t know about.

34. When you forget God’s faithfulness in the past, you will be fearful about the future. When you remind yourself about God’s past faithfulness, you will be strengthened for your future tasks.

35. Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there. 1 Kings 18:40

36. Elijah’s Three Mistakes He acted on His own, without God’s guidance or instruction.

37. In the span of a few hours, Elijah has just gone from performing the greatest miracle of his time to orchestrating a mass murder.

38. “Although we tend to see our need for God more clearly in adversity, seasons of success can be our most perilous because we are so easily deceived into thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.” John Bloom

39. There is a great danger that lurks in all blessings.

41. miracle worker murderer

42. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life ... and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, I am no better than my ancestors.” 1 Kings 19:3, 5

43. Elijah’s Three Mistakes We are always most susceptible to defeat immediately after a great victory.

44. PCD: Post-Competition Depression Happens when you leta single event define you

46. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me. Philippians 3:12-14

47. Elijah was a man just like us. James 5:17

48. Ask Yourself... • Are you consistently reminding yourself about God’s faithfulness? • Are you following God’s leading and not your own? • Are you focusing on God’s prize and not being distracted by events?