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Now, let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip's son, Nate Heitzig. The first thing we always need to do when there is an army that is attacking us is to turn and cast our problems upon Jesus. And it doesn't just have to be a physical army. It could be the army of your health. It could be the army of your finances.
It could be the army of your relationships. And these armies are attacking you. And so often, our first inclination when there's a big calamity that happens is to feel anxiety, right? and think in our minds, what can I do? What can I do to fix this?
Who do I need to call? What money do I need to move around? What do I need to sell? Where do I need to go? Who can help me?
And we start thinking of all the ways we can fix our problems. But the best thing to do when an army is attacking us is to get on our knees. Do not worry about anything, but in everything with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God. Christian, prayer isn't preparation for the battle, prayer is the battle.
So often we think it's preparation for the battle. Lord, give me strength before I go into this battle. No, prayer is the battle because we battle not against flesh and blood, but against spirits and principalities. When Mary and Martha saw their beloved brother Lazarus was sick, they immediately sent word to the Lord, he that you love is sick. When the people griped and complained about Moses' leadership, he cried unto the Lord.
When Hezekiah received a threatening letter from a king who threatened his life, he spread it before the Lord. When John the Baptist was beheaded, his disciples went and told Jesus, Christian, you do not serve a God who is disinterested in your life. He wants you to run to him. He wants you to bring it to him and submit it to him in his will. He is compassionate.
He is caring. He is concerned. And he wants to help.
So we've seen what it is. Number two, let's look at who can use it. Look at verse 17. It tells us about who can use it, who this man was. It says, Elijah.
was a man with a nature like ours.
So James references someone we should all be familiar with, Elijah. And I think this is important because God always has his representatives on this earth, no matter how dark the times are. In the days when man was continually wicked and violent, there was Enoch and Noah. When the Jews were in slavery, there was Moses. When the future of the Jews was at stake, there was Esther.
When God was ready to send his own son to this earth in a little city known for its immorality, there was a pure young girl named Mary. And in this wicked time, there was Elijah.
Now, when we think of Elijah, what do we immediately think of? We immediately think of his powerful miracles, right? The incredible things he did. And he did some incredible things. He ran for days at a time at super speed.
He called fire down from heaven. In this passage, we read that he prayed that it wouldn't rain and it didn't rain. And then he prays again that it would rain. He was bold. He was courageous.
He was full of faith. And the Bible is full of stories like this. A woman named Hannah. Is unable to have a child. She prays.
And she has a baby named Samuel, a baby who would one day become one of Israel's greatest prophets. Samson prays, and in spite of his previous disobedience, God gives him his strength back. Paul and Silas are in prison for their faith. They pray, and in a moment's notice, an earthquake comes and they're free. Peter is in prison.
The church prays, and in hours he's released. Elijah here prays. Rain stops. He prays again. It returns.
He prays even again, and fire comes down from heaven. And we look at these men and women, and we say, Well, these are the great men and women of faith in the Bible. I'm not one of those guys, I'm not one of those girls. They were super spiritual. We might look at them and say, What good is it to look at people like that?
What principles could I possibly learn to apply to my own life? They were superhuman. But what does James say about him? A man with a nature like ours. The King James Version translates that as Elijah was a man subject to the same passions we are.
The NLT translates it as, Elijah was as human as you and me. Or more simply, Elijah was a man just like us. He was afraid. He was cowardly. And at one point, he was so despondent that he even wanted to die and asked God to kill him.
His story is recorded here to remind us once again that God can and does and chooses to use imperfect people. That it's possible to live godly in an ungodly world, even if it seems like we're all alone. And now we finally see the secret of his power, the secret of his faith, the secret of his boldness. It wasn't him, it was God. It wasn't his courage, it was God's courage.
It wasn't his faith, it was God's faith. It wasn't his strength, it was God's strength. And sometimes we think that unless we're perfect, God won't use us. We look at our lives, we look at the things we've done, and we say, we can't possibly be used by God because of what we've done, who we are. We believe that the sins, the struggles that plague our lives somehow disqualify us from spiritual use.
But I want you to pause for a moment and look at some of the people that God used in Scripture. Abraham was a liar who was willing to let a king sleep with his wife. Noah was a drunk. Elijah struggled with depression and asked God to take his life. David had sex with another man's wife after he pulled the most major creeper move ever and spied on her taking a bath.
If that doesn't disqualify you, I don't know what does. Samson sacrificed his strength and witness for a booty call. Peter denied that he had ever met Jesus and cursed out a crowd.
So don't tell me you can't be used. Don't tell me God only uses perfect people. God has a history throughout the entirety of Scripture of using anything but perfect people, imperfect tools in the hands of a perfect God. That's the principle. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, an imperfect tool in the hands of a perfect God.
And look what God used him to do. Christian, your shortcomings and your mistakes are not proof that God can't use you, they're proof that God can use you. See, there's no room for people who think that they've got it all together. Who think that they are perfect and they're God's gift to mankind? People who think they're perfect are often the cruelest and most judgmental people, just like the Pharisees.
But those people who are flawed, sinful people have the ability to show the love and the grace of Jesus because they themselves have experienced that same grace and love. 1 Corinthians 1.26 to 27 puts it this way. Think of what you were. when you were called. Christian, do this right now.
Think of what you were before you became a Christian. Think of your life prior to Christ. Think of what you were before you were called. Not many of you. were wise by human standards.
Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth, but God chose to use the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Christian, can we just take a moment and thank God for that truth, that reality, that he has chosen the weak things, the foolish things of this world to put to shame the wise? I'm so thankful that God doesn't look at us with human eyes. That it's not like an elementary school kickball game in the park and we're choosing teams and God's like, give me that kid.
He's really big and looks like he's in college. He's definitely taking steroids. I want that kid on my team. God doesn't look with human eyes. He's not looking for the strongest or the biggest or the wisest.
He's just looking for an imperfect tool who's willing to submit themselves to a perfect God. Your objections are God's qualifications. When the oversized Philistine Goliath was taunting Israel, no one would step up and answer the call. Not the sizable, powerful king Saul or the standout brother of David Eliab. The only person who did was a little shepherd boy with a big god.
Israel was living in fear of their enemies, the Midianites, and God finds their leader, Gideon, where? Hiding from the enemies. The point is that God can do a lot with a little. And God is looking for availability. Not ability.
That leads us to our third point. That's what's the impact.
So now we know what the weapon is. We know who can use it.
Now let's see what the impact of the weapon is. The last part of our text says this: He prayed earnestly. that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
So what's the impact? What does prayer do?
Well, simply, Prayer always does something. Prayer always changes things.
Sometimes it's visible, sometimes it's not.
Sometimes it's spiritual, sometimes it's physical, sometimes it changes our circumstances, sometimes prayer is just there, Christian, to change us. I love that song that we've been singing sometimes. Called that's the thing about praise. There's a line in it that says, That's the thing about prayer. It's praise, it doesn't always fix your problems, sometimes it just shows you how small they are.
It doesn't always move your mountains.
Sometimes it just gives you the strength to walk up the mountains. That's the thing about praise. That's the thing about prayer. It always changes something, it just isn't always the thing that you want. We don't know what it will change.
We don't know what the impact of it will be, but we know that it will change things.
Now, I want to point out in this story, that doesn't mean it's going to happen today. The battles we fight through prayer today might not be won until tomorrow. The battles we fight today through prayer might not be won until next year or 10 years from now, but we know that prayer changes things. You know, I talked about that idea that some of us have a hard time with this, with God, because not only do we view God as the divine Santa Claus, but we also don't want to wait till Christmas. We're like, God, give me what we want, but I want it now.
I don't want to wait till the 25th. I want it today. I want to open all my presents right now. It's like Burger King: have it your way. We want it where we want it, when we want it.
And when God says, hey, no. Or hey, wait, we have a problem with that. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We'll return to Nate Heidzig's teaching in just a moment. Have you ever struggled to study the Bible consistently?
or wondered how to really enjoy your time in the word? In his book, How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It, Pastor Skip gives you the tools and insights you need to dig into scripture with joy, clarity, and love. clarity and confidence. This practical guide is our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to reach more people with God's Word through Connect with Skip. Request your copy when you give today at connectwithsgift.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888.
Now let's get back to the teaching of Nate Heitzig. For Elijah, the weight was three and a half tons. Years. From when he got the promise to when he saw it answered.
Now, I want you to think about this because we read this text and it's one verse: Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three and a half years, and then it rained. And we're like, oh, what a sweet story! Three and a half years. Elijah waited for the promise.
In your own time, read 1 Kings 17, 18 and 19. You'll see this story. And you'll see that in those three and a half years, it wasn't smooth sailing. Elijah was hated. He was running from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.
He was going from village to village to some people that were being affected by the drought. They probably looked at Elijah and, hey, you're the guy who made the rain stop, right? We hate you. Get out of here. And this entire time, Elijah was going to and fro, waiting on the promise of God.
And by the way, it says here in this verse that he prayed it wouldn't rain, it didn't rain, then he prayed again and it would rain. But the 1 Kings actually tells us that. God came to Elijah and told Elijah he was going to make the rain stop.
So Elijah prayed the rain would stop. And then God says, I'll tell you when the rain's going to start again.
So Elijah's prayer was predicated on Elijah listening to God to tell him when the right time to pray was. And he had to wait those three and a half years on the promise, keeping his eyes not on the pain, but on the promise, keeping his eyes not on the situations, but on the promise, on Jesus, on scripture. Elijah had to train his eyes to look ahead to the promise, not to the pain. He had to wait and he had to have faith and he had to have trust, much like Noah, who received a promise from God: hey, a flood's gonna come, the world's gonna be destroyed, go build the boat.
Okay, God. Decades later. The rain still hadn't come. God, why am I still building? Don't you think he was being mocked?
He was. It tells us he was mocked by people. Where's the storm? Where's the rain? Noah's like, well, God told me to build a boat and the water would come, but we're in the desert.
He had to have faith. He had to have trust. He had to keep his eyes on the promise, not on the pain. We need to pray in accordance to his will, but we also need to pray in accordance to his timing. When you come to the Lord and you ask Him for things, pray, Lord, this is what I need, but if this is not your will, Lord, don't give it to me because I don't want it.
But also, Lord, this needs to be in your timing. Give this to me when I need this, not before and not after. And I want to let you know: if you're here today and you feel like God's given you a promise, maybe you felt like a long time ago God spoke to you audibly and gave you this promise. And you've been carrying this promise. And it hasn't come to pass.
You haven't seen the fruition of this promise, and you're starting to doubt, and you're holding on to this promise, and you're having a hard time trusting, you're having a hard time believing because it hasn't happened yet. Can I challenge you? Stop looking at the situation, Christian, and keep looking at the promise. Keep trusting God. Keep trusting his timing and his plans for you.
Knowing that all things work together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose. And if you don't have it yet, it's because you don't need it yet and you shouldn't have it yet. And God's going to give it to you when you need it for the people in your life who need it for you. God has his timing, he has his plan, and you have to trust his process. This is where a lot of people have trouble with God.
They grow impatient with Him. Lord, when are you going to open this door for ministry? Lord, when are you going to introduce me to my husband or wife? Lord, are you going to keep letting these wicked people get away with all the things they're doing? Lord, when are you going to judge the world and come back for us?
But his delays are not necessarily his denials because sometimes he doesn't give us what we ask for. Get this.
Sometimes he doesn't give us what we ask for. because he wants to give you something way better at a later time. Life's pain will always point to the Lord's promise. And the point is that even though we can't see how the situation will end or why it's come upon us, we can know that it flows from the love of God and it's controlled by Him. Christian, when God doesn't do it the way that you think He should do it.
Will you still trust him? Often I find the reason Jesus works this way in the Bible and within our lives is because God wants to do something way better than the thing that we've been asking him for. This is incredible if you think about this. Again, the verse where we get this idea is: God says, I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. Plans of good, not evil.
Plans to give you a future and a hope. And sometimes we can be asking God for something, and God meanwhile is saying, I know you want this, but I'm not going to give this to you because if you wait just a little bit longer, I'm going to give you something way better down the road. And if I give you this now, I can't give that to you later. And if I give this to you now, but you realize what I have for you later, you would tell me, Lord, wait, I can wait, I can be patient. And God has these plans.
He has this future that he wants to bring into your life. And he doesn't want the things that you're asking for now to derail your life from the things that he wants to bring you. And so the question is: do you trust God more than you trust yourself for the things that you need and the things that you want? Do you trust God's plan for you more than the plans that you have for yourself? Do you want what God has for you, or do you want what you have for you?
And sometimes we can be praying for things that we want, but we don't even realize that they're small prayers. And God's not going to give you that because He says, I have something better for you later. Mary and Martha wanted healing, but God wanted to do better than that, He wanted a resurrection. Abraham and Sarah wanted a son, but God wanted to do better than that. He wanted a nation.
Joseph wanted out of a pit, but God wanted to do better than that. He wanted him sitting next to kings. The disciples wanted a lunch break, but God wanted to do better than that. He wanted a feast. Moses wanted a way around the sea, but God wanted to do better than that.
He wanted a way through the sea.
So maybe your prayer is too small. Perhaps you want healing, but God wants resurrection. Maybe you want something good, but God wants something great.
So you need to come to the realization that your expectation is your limitation. Your expectation of who God is and what He can do is your limitation because you have this expectation and it stops. And there's way more that God could do, but you just don't think he can do it.
So stop limiting yourself with your expectation because I believe that when God makes us a promise, that promise extends as far as our faith allows. Peter took as many steps as his faith would let him. The children of Israel took as much land as their faith would let them. Abraham bargained for as many lives as his faith would let him. And his ability is always greater than your capacity.
So start praying that God would extend your capacity so you're ready for his ability. By the way, you only feel crazy when you're preparing for blessing, not when you're experiencing it. Noah only felt crazy when he was building the ark and people were mocking him, but when he was on that ark and they were all on the water, he didn't feel crazy anymore. He was experiencing the blessing. You only feel crazy.
You only have doubts when you're preparing and waiting for the blessing.
So look ahead, keep your eyes on the blessing, keep your eyes on the promise, and trust that in the waiting, God is preparing you for the blessing. What armies are you facing right now? We started out by asking you what armies you might be facing. We are in this war with culture, this war with the world. Maybe it's not a physical army, but maybe it's an army at work.
Maybe it's an army in your finances. Maybe it's an army in your relationships. Maybe it's an army within your health. Maybe it's an army in the sin that you're battling or the temptation that you're experiencing. If you're battling an army today, I encourage you to do what Jehoshaphat did.
Stop what you're doing. And pray. When we don't know what to do, when we don't know where to go, when we don't know which direction to turn, the most clear instruction we can have is to place our eyes upon Jesus and to pray. Because Christian, in light of Jesus, in light of what he's done for us, in light of what he is going to do for us, it's incredible how the problems, how the pain, how the armies that are coming against us suddenly become really small. They become small.
You need to have tunnel vision. We're bringing this to a close, but can I challenge you to be like a pigeon? What? A pigeon? I hate pigeons.
Have you ever watched how a pigeon walks? It's really weird, right? They You do like this. And you're like, what are you doing, bro? Like, what's happening?
I actually found out why they do that. Pigeons do that because they don't have the best vision. Pigeons are actually really smart, but they don't have the best eyes. And so a pigeon has to constantly bring his head up to look and remember where he's going and look down and tell his feet to move. And he's got to do this constantly.
Where am I going? Keep going. Keep going, just keep moving. They've got to constantly remind themselves, Christians, we need to have eyes like pigeons that when we don't know what's happening, we just look at the cross, we look at Jesus, and we look at our feet and say, just take two more steps. I know you feel like you can't do it.
Just take two more steps. Look at the cross. There it is. There's Jesus. There's the promise.
There's the blessing. There's what I'm looking forward to. There's what he's leading me to. Two more steps. Two more steps.
We need to just keep taking those faith steps. Don't get drawn and distracted by the world and what's happening. Just take two more steps and look at the cross. Just take two more steps and look at the cross because we realize the army and the battle that is ahead, Jesus Christ has already won that. And we don't have to fight that battle.
Jesus is going to fight that battle for us. Jesus is going ahead of us. And we know that no matter what the outcome of the battle is, the war is already over and Christ is victorious. Christian, we don't fight for victory. We fight from victory.
When Jesus was on the cross and he rose from the dead, he soundly defeated Satan as he stomped the head of that serpent. And we live in the victory that he has. The cross doesn't just carry the penalty for our sin. It carries the weight of our burdens.
So instead of collapsing under the weight, start rising under his strength. Lord We look at this world, we look at the assault on morality, on the Bible. and on Christians. And Lord, we don't know what to do. We have armies that are attacking us in our own personal lives, armies of sickness and finances and relationships and all these other things.
Or we don't know what to do. But our eyes are on you.
So, Lord, we humble ourselves, we repent. We see you. Lord. Heal our land, Lord Jesus. Help us to utilize the most powerful weapon that we have, and that is the power of prayer.
Help us realize that it is accessible to us, that the same power that rose Jesus from the dead is alive in us today. Help us access that. Help us to live righteous lives. Help us to remove sinfulness and the things that can block our prayers from being heard. And help us to cling to that which is good to Jesus Christ.
Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig, today featuring Pastor Skip's son, Nate Heitzig. Before you go, don't forget to request this month's featured resource, How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It. This book from Pastor Skip offers practical, encouraging help to take your Bible study deeper and get more out of every verse. It's our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to help share God's Word with more people. Call 800-922-8888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash offer.
And be sure to sign up for weekly devotionals and get your free one-sheet how to approach studying the Bible. It's a great tool to jumpstart your time in Scripture. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection! Make a connection at the foot of the crossing.
Catch your burdens on his wood. Make a connection. Connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
