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In this season, immeasurable numbers of Christ's Church find themselves in an either/or situation. Many have received promises, yet have not seen fulfillment of them. They are standing for a restoration which will advance them into destiny. Having been faithful, they await timely instructions for proceeding. On the other hand, countless others have also received true promises, yet are adrift in a sea of circumstance, feeling defeated by situations and even the enemy.

Regardless of which side of that we find ourselves, the world, the flesh and the devil want us endlessly stuck between promise and fulfillment. That way, we live wondering, working, and strategizing religiously, enduring whatever stress necessary to create an Ishmael. Or, we forsake our part in the fight of faith, throw up our hands and put it all on God in a way He never intended. But reconciling that ?this is what we have to do? because ?this is just the way it is? is not our heritage; it will not lead us not destiny. Neither will we see change by refusing to take part in the battle, just because we don't know how to proceed.

Elijah did not live in the hopes of a better day and spend all his energy in a labor to create it. Neither did he give up and pretend he'd never received a word, a call, and a mandate. Elijah moved in what God had for him in the day he found himself: whether at Cherith, in Zarephath, or confronting a King who could have immediately put him to death.

Elijah stayed focused, living out daily life with God in the Spirit. So must we. This is especially true in times where everything seems "iffy" or even impossible. We need to understand reality by the Spirit. That way, we can envision God's preparation of both us and the stage he is setting for Him to be displayed. We must hold to the eternal reality that no matter what we experience, it will produce a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look at the things which are unseen? (2Cor.4:17-18).

Elijah had been moved by God's grace through multiple seasons of preparation which seemed unrelated to the ultimate call on His life. He had obeyed God in releasing a clear prophetic word to the nation. He then had to die to the fulfillment of it by trusting God in multiple ways, at differing places. Even when confronting Ahab on the eve of going to Mount Carmel, he finds himself at a moment in time where both he and his actions must be absolutely pure in heart or he will fail, having gone through everything for nothing. And all this is not even about him. Such a failure on his part would have brought a further discrediting of the Lord to the people. So like Elijah, we must be absolutely sure to authentically demonstrate who our God is and what He wants, not only to faltering believers, but to a world without Christ.

God releases Elijah, trusting him. Why? Because it is time; Elijah has been made ready. It is time not just or even primarily because of the need for rain, but because Elijah has been moving through the tests of the Lord in such a way that God can be not only proclaimed, but truly seen through his life. Elijah has continued through God's maturing seasons in God's way, on God's terms and at God's timing. Are you being made completely ready through your Cherith and Zarephath? Are you more able than ever before to follow only the Spirit to do battle, in any way the Lord directs?

God's Righteous Power:  Elijah & the Mount Carmel Anointing

Now it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth." (1Kings 18:1)

Those fully prepared for the next "now" of their calling will know when it is time to move. How? By the Spirit of God. But when that move begins it can shake everything and everyone up. It can seem and actually be very inconvenient, inconsiderate to the flesh of ourselves and others - even dangerous as well.

Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, "Is this you, Elijah my master?" He said to him, "It is I. Go, say to your master, 'Behold, Elijah is here.'" He said, "What sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, 'He is not here' he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. And now you are saying, 'Go, say to your master, "Behold, Elijah is here.'" It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. Has it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, that I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? And now you are saying, 'Go, say to your master, "Behold, Elijah is here'"; he will then kill me. Elijah said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today."  So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah."  (1 Kings.18:7-16)

But while it is clear from Scripture that Elijah's obedience did expose Obadiah's fear, it also reveals that God protected him because of obedience. That said, the temptation to get and keep everyone on board before moving forward can be tremendous, but one anointed for an Elijah ministry must always follow God's conditions in order to obtain the promise (18:1-2). Obedience to the Lord is not only the best defense against the enemy, it is also the only way to insure the safety of others involved. 

The enemy is always trying to neutralize such an Elijah and prevent that type of anointing from getting loosed and flow through the body of Christ. And once a steady stream of Elijah anointing begins to flow, the devil will begin to manifest as well. But before that even happens, Hell will have pulled out all the stops to subvert the Elijah call and anointing. For one, Hell will use false leadership of the Jezebel or Ahab type to oppose and threaten (18:17). Another tactic of the enemy may be to provoke an unsubmitted part of the body to accuse the Anointing (e.g., "my prophecy didn't come to pass"). Sometimes, Elijah's will be charged with being out-of-order ("the drought was an improper use of authority," "if you're a true prophet, then you should have released God's blessing on the people, not curse us!"). But the one truly anointed and readied as an Elijah will counter such subterfuge and false accusation by signs.  And that is what a Mount Carmel is all about: demonstrating the righteousness and power of the only true and living God.

Instead of such a supernatural demonstration, we are often either arrogantly triumphal in moral and spiritual superiority, or constantly on the defensive, circling the wagons in some dysfunctional protectionist mode. For example, we seek out civil government to legislate morality. We somehow hope that if it furthers our doctrine and the masses adhere, our lands will be safe from God's judgment. But the only way to insure God's blessing is to believe and trust Him for salvation in daily life (Hab.2:4; He.11:6). We have forgotten that ?judgment begins at the house of God,? and that ?to whom much is given, much is required? (1Pe.4:17; Lk.12:48).

Still, we tend to think that economy, national security and politics are what will ultimately make the difference. Yet, God has designed that those who walk in covenant with Him will prosper, be protected and be vindicated by what they reap as a result of their "sow" (Dt.8:16-19; Isa.1:18-20; Mal.3:7-12; Hos.1:12; Gal.6:7-10). And such promises from God are not dependant on surroundings or circumstances. Indeed, God can and will move in spite of them.

But as a result of these fallacious mindsets, intercessory and activism efforts center in us and ours.  These are mostly about protecting comfort and obtaining favor over others, rather than advancing the Gospel of the Kingdom. But instead, we have been called through training for reigning toward a destiny with Christ in the Age to Come (1Cor.6:1-3; Col.3:1-5).

We really need to embrace two important truths in this hour. The first is that when God calls for a Mount Carmel type of "showdown," He issues the terms for it through ones anointed as an Elijah. The world, flesh and devil set neither the terms nor the agenda for the Church: God does. The second eternal reality is that these opportunities from God are given so that people's hearts will return to Him, not for conditions to ease so they can live however they want.

The Lord uses His anointed ones to demonstrate His nature and power, and through that provide clear witness of who God is, wants He wants, and how He operates in covenant through Christ. It is time for God's people to see Him as He is, worship Him in Spirit and truth, and take hold of what He took hold of them for.

Bill Click