“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” – James 5:17-18 (NASB)
(v.1) Faith begins by acknowledging in me
“Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.” – Deuteronomy 11:16-17 (NASB95)
(v.1) Faith begins with a foundation on
“Who prepares for the raven its nourishment, when its young cry to God and wander about without food?”
– Job 38:41 (NASB95)
(vv.2-4) Sometimes God needs to work you before He can work you
(vv.5-7) We are called to and trust Him with the
(vv.8-9) A step of faith is rarely a step of
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” – John 15:2 (NASB)
“And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.” – Luke 4:24-26 (NASB)
(vv.10-12) Faith in Jesus is a call to and in Jesus, then to
(vv.13-16) Faith often takes but leads to God’s
2 Questions to Ask Yourself:
Am I from being God’s blessing to me?
Am I as a blessing to others?
“And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” – Hebrews 13:16 (NASB)
(vv.17-18) Our greatest is often followed by our biggest
“And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’ – John 9:2-3 (NASB)
(vv.9-23) Our faith is revealed by our
(v.24) My will increase the faith of
Conclusion:
Faith takes place
Ask yourself, what is my ?