THE LAST DAY CHURCH-ELIJAH-

SERIES: ELIJAH

TEXT: MALACHI 4:5

We are starting a series on the prophet Elijah as a type of the last day church. The prophet Malachi likens Elijah as one who will come before the day of the Lord.

Malachi 4:5, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Luke 1:17 we read about John the Baptist a forerunner of Jesus Christ. “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts to the children and the disobedient to the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

From the above passage we see a type of one who prepares the way of the Lord.

Luke 7:24-27 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But I say to you and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written; Behold I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.

• The context was taken from Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 40:3-5.
• From these scriptures we can assume that the “Spirit and power of Elijah” is a picture of those who prepare the way for the Lord.
• We know that Jesus Christ is coming again that is not an issue.
• But what about the “last day church?
• Should the church of the last days not function as John the Baptist, preparing a way for the king to come again?
• With this revelation in mind, the life of Elijah becomes a very practical demonstration of the characteristics of this forerunner church.
• Elijah means “My God is Jah or Jehovah is God.
• Elijah’s name is mentioned 30 times in the N.T which is the number of priesthood denoting the throne of God, authority and maturity.
• Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel is a prophetic panorama of End-Time spiritual warfare.
• John’s name means “Jehovah favored.”
• Following are 8 comparison that we can see in the lives of Elijah and John from which we can doam parallels of the last day church. Let us learn:-

1. The true church revealed-1^st Kings 17:1

• Elijah appreciated suddenly unexpected. The true church exists today but certainly has not been seen from the standpoint of the world.

2. The church that comes from the wilderness.

• A people that are prepared in the wilderness, we all are destined for the wilderness, seasons.
• This is a Biblical principle. The following are some truths about the wilderness.

The wilderness is God’s will.

• Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness as were God’s people in Exodus.
• The wilderness season has a determined time period.
• Jesus Christ time in the wilderness was 40 days and 40 nights.
• God’s people were in captivity 400 years. God’s covenant people wilderness experience was 40 years.

The place of teaching.

• The wilderness is a desert. Hebrew word for wilderness is “dabar” meaning “To teach or to be taught”-Deut. 8:2-3.

The place of divine provision.

• In the wilderness God provided for His children Israel manna, water, health etc.

The escape from enslavement to expectation and advancement towards your promise.

• Wilderness wanderings are complex.
• People around you will not understand what you are going through.
• But understand and know that the wilderness is a “departure from enslavement” and “advancement towards your promise, you will stay focused to get to your next place and level.

1. The place of learning God’s ways.

• There are several routes through your wilderness. The decision of the route determines the amount of warfare you will experience.
• Sometimes the best route is not what seems to our mind as the “best” or shortest route-Exo. 13:17.

1. The place of becoming an overcomer.

• The wilderness teaches us how to war.
• Jesus is the best example of becoming the wilderness wanderings.
• How we submit ourselves to God in the wilderness many times will determine how long we will wander.
• Jesus Christ overcame every temptation for us in the wilderness. He surrendered fully to the father.
• He resisted pride. He resisted presumption. He resorted lust of the eyes.
• He resisted the promise of grandeur.
• Because of His promise, he was able to understand His wilderness time in 40 days-Matt. 4.

The place where power is imparted.

• There is about to be a release of God’s spirit on the earth and those who are willing to receive will receive power.
• When power is properly processed by faith, we see authority demonstrated.
• Let your wilderness time develop a new strength and power within you.
• He gives us power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy-Luke 4:13-15.
• Power is the ability to act or produce an effect. Power also signifies the possession of authority that an individual has over others.
• God revealed His act during creation. We are about to see new creative acts of God occur.

3. A counter culture church instead of a sub-culture church.

• Separation to God-Mark 1:6.
• We are called to be a unique people, to be distinct from the world.
• John is a man who knew how to stand alone.
• John the Baptist and Elijah were alike especially in relation to their appearance-2^nd Kings 1:5-8.
• His dress was symbolic and stood for:-

His chosen poverty and priorities-material things were not on his priority list.

His separation and denouncement of the world-he was not controlled by lifestyle of the world.

• He was separated to the Lord as God’s servant.

1. His official office and purpose in life-he was a proclaimer of the word of Yahweh.

• He knew who he was (God’s representative). Where he was (I a sinful world that stood opposed to the purpose of God).

4. A transitioning church.

• Zachariah-John-Jesus three transitions from O.T priesthood and temple to wilderness and repentance to Jesus and gospel.
• John’s message was transitional and preparatory.
• To understand John the Baptist we must know the times in which he lived.
• John’s preaching was the beginning of the gospel.

5. A church with a prophetic message.

• John’s message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”-Matt. 3:2.
• The king was soon to appear. John was and likened himself to a voice, crying in the wilderness, the Messiah was greater than John the forerunner-Matt. 3:11.
• The baptism of Jon was water, the baptism of Jesus Christ is with fire and far greater.
• Men must repent not so that the kingdom of God may come, but men are to repent because the kingdom of heaven is coming.
• The outward symbol of repentance was baptism. The only baptism the Jews of that day knew about was prostyle baptism.
• In prostyle baptisms, the believer would baptize himself and then (if a male) he would be circumcised.
• The self-baptized and circumcised Gentile thus embraced Judaism and placed himself under the O.T law.
• The meaning is clear. If the Jew had to repent in anticipation of the Messiah’s coming, he must thereby confess the inadequacy of Judaism to save him from his sins.
• By embracing baptism he likewise placed himself on the same (lower) level as a gentile.
• Both gentiles and Jews were required to prepare for Messiah’s appearance in the same manner.
• Repent of the false system in which they had formerly trusted.
• Confess their sins.
• Be baptized, like the Gentiles who became Jewish proselytes.

6. A church that bears witness to the gospel-John 1:6-8.

• John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus Christ-the last day church must prepare a way for the Lord to come in His glory.
• The last day church must point people to Jesus Christ as the answer to all things-John 1:23; Isaiah 40:3-6; Mark 1:29.
• John’s witness was 3-fold-John 1:29-34.
• Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world-John 1:29.
• Jesus is the only true God who is preexistent-John 1:30.
• Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit-John 1:33.

7. The church that encounters demonic opposition.

• Elijah ministered during the days when a “Pretender” Ahab was on the throne. He had no right to be on the throne of David.
• In John’s day, the “pretender” was Herod, a half breed.
• As Ahab’s wicked wife Jezebel, the idol worshipping daughter of a Sidonian king sought to kill Elijah.
• So Herod’s wicked and ill-gotten wife Herodias sought to kill John-Matt. 14:1-12.
• Athaliah, the daughter Ahab and Jezebel was very wicked women who married Jehoram king of Judah-2^nd Kings 8:16-19.
• The daughter of Herodias was like wise instrumental in the downfall of king Herod and the death of John the Baptist-Matt. 14:1-12.
• As Elijah stood against the king and queen of Israel, so John the Baptist confronted king Herod and his wife Herodias.
• The last church will seek the rise of the anti-christ and false prophets.

8. A church that needs to persevere in its belief.

• Elijah mistakenly perceived that he had failed in his ministry-1^st Kings 19.
• John the Baptist questioned whether he had failed in naming Jesus as the Messiah-Matt. 11:2-5.
• May the last day church never question the second coming of the Lord.

CONCLUSION

• These are the days of Elijah.
• This church is the last day church.
• We face the test of what we preach. We may not see the signs, wonders and miracles but we must persevere.
• We like John the Baptist must seek to turn people from sin to faith in Jesus Christ-These are the days of Elijah.