It's Not a Miracle, It's a Promise

Welcome. Thank you for being here tonight. I am so excited about the message that God gave me for you tonight. I'd like to start by asking who here believes that the Bible is true? Yes. Who believes that God keeps his promises? Who believes in miracles? Yes. And how many of you would say that in one way or another at some point in your life, big or small, you have actually seen a miracle? Yes. So why is it then, if we believe the Bible and we believe God and we believe in miracles and we've even seen miracles, that the moment something bad or scary happens in our lives, we start to doubt God? Why is it that we say things like, well, I believe in salvation, but God could never actually forgive me for the things that I did. Or I believe God hears my prayers, but not for healing. Or I believe in protection, but I can't even talk to God about prosperity. Could you imagine talking to God about my finances? My favorite line in the Bible, because of its just raw honesty, is when the man says, I believe, help my unbelief. Because I can relate to that. I want to believe everything God says. I want to believe every word of the Bible, but sometimes it's hard. What I want to talk about tonight, what we're going to share, are two stories in the Bible, two stories of miracles, amazing miracles that God did. And then we're going to look at how the people or persons who saw the miracles, how they responded afterwards. Because you would think, once you've seen a miracle, that you would just have complete faith in all of God's promises. But as I just showed you, that's not necessarily true. So we're going to look at one story in the Old Testament, one story in the New Testament. If you have your Bibles, we're going to start in 1st Kings chapter 18. If you don't have your Bible, it's okay, it'll be up on the PowerPoint. Maybe it won't. It might not be on the PowerPoint behind us, but it doesn't matter. I will be reading it out loud. I'm going to be in the New King James Version tonight. So we're going to pray and then jump right in. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the opportunity to be here tonight. Lord, thank you for your Word. Thank you that we can feel your presence here tonight, that the Holy Spirit is here, Lord God. And we just thank you for your presence. I thank you for this Word, Lord God. I thank you for the opportunity to be used to share this

message. Father, I pray that the people who are hearing it, that their hearts are softened, that they are ready for this Word, Lord, that it plants seeds in their lives for change. Lord, I pray that if I say anything that doesn't line up with your Word, that you close their ears or close my mouth, and I pray more than anything that every word tonight and every action glorifies you. In Jesus' name. So we're going to be in 1st Kings 18, but I just want to do a quick summary for you of what happened in chapter 17 so that you can see where we're at. As I talked about the last time, if you were here, Israel keeps getting themselves stuck in this cycle of sin. They love God, they worship God, but then they get distracted. They get distracted by idols, they get distracted by other things, and they start turning away from God. And the further that they get from God, the more trouble that they get themselves into. And at some point, they're just devastated, they cry out to God for help, and God sends someone to help them. And then they turn around and love God again. And that happens for a little while, and then they get pulled away again, and they just get stuck in this cycle over and over. And that's where the Israelites are at in this book. They're stuck in this cycle, and they're worshiping other gods. One in particular, his name is Baal, and he's the god of the sky. Okay, so he, in their eyes, they believe he controls the weather. And God decides that he is going to show them that he's the true Lord, that he's the only one who controls the weather, that he's the only one who controls anything. So he sends Elijah, his prophet, to go and talk to them, and to tell them that there's going to be no rain, that God has determined there will be no rain until he says so, so that the people know that he's the true God, and that this Baal... that they're worshiping has no control over anything. So chapter 18 starts, it's the third year of the drought. You can imagine for three years, not a drop of rain has fallen, no dew has formed on the grass even for three years. The people are hungry, they're devastated,

and they're angry because they're blaming Elijah. So Elijah finally shows up because God says it's time to bring the rain. Go let them know. So Elijah finally shows up and he goes to the king whose name is Ahab, and he comes to tell the king that God is going to make it rain again. And that's where our story is going to start today. Verse 17 says, and then it happened. When Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, is that you, O troubler of Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have. For in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table. Now Asherah was another god that they worshiped. It said that she stood next to the altar of Baal, the god of the sky. And Jezebel is the king's evil wife. So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people and said, how long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if it's Baal, follow him. But the people answered not a word. They didn't want to have to make a decision.

They wanted to worship whoever it was most convenient to worship at that time. He says, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. Therefore, let them give us two bulls and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you will call on the name of your gods and I will call on the name of the Lord. And the God who answers by fire, he is God. He says, we're gonna have a little contest here. We're gonna put these bulls out and we're gonna see whose God answers. So the people answered and said, it is well spoken. Now, Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose one bull for yourself and prepare it for you or many and call on the name of your God, but put no fire under it. So they took the bull which was given to them and they prepared it and they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, oh, Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they made. And so it was at noon, Elijah mocked them and said, cry aloud for he is God. Either he's meditating or he's busy or he's on a journey or perhaps he's sleeping and must be awakened. I love that he's mocking them.

And I want you to notice his miracle hasn't happened yet. It's not like his God already started a fire so he has confidence, his miracle hasn't happened yet. But he has such faith and confidence that his God is gonna do what he said he's gonna do, that he has the audacity to mock them because he's not scared. And they cried aloud and they cut themselves as was their custom with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was passed, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to the people, come near to me. So the people came near to him and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took 12 stones according to the number of tribes of the son of Jacob to whom the word of the Lord had come saying, Israel shall be your name. Then with the stones, he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two siahs of seed, which is about three to four gallons. And he put the wood in order, cut the bowl in pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said, fill four water pots with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. Then he said, do it a second time.

And they did it a second time. And he said, do it a third time. And they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar and also filled the trench with water. Elijah wants to be very sure that there is no doubt in anyone's mind that when his God starts this fire that there could be no other explanation than it's a miracle of God. Nobody could start justifying it in their mind. No one could start thinking, well maybe it's really dry and there's been a drought and maybe two pieces of wood rubbed together and it created a spark and that's what started the fire. There is no chance that there can be any explanation other than this is a miracle of God. And it says, and it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, that I have done these things at your word. I think it's also interesting to note here that he didn't cry and beg all day. The prophets of Baal cried all day to prepare for the evening sacrifice. All day long they were trying to reach their God to make sure he showed up, but Elijah didn't because he knew his God was going to show up. So he waited until it was time, when the time was right, and he said, all right God, I know it's time. Let's do this. He said, hear me, oh Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Lord God and that you have turned their hearts back to you again. He wants to make sure that this situation gives all the glory to God, that everything that's about to happen, that it's not Elijah, it's not something he did, it's not his faith, that this was coming from God, and he wanted to use his situation to turn people's hearts back to God. And verse 38 says, then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, the Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God. Wow, could you imagine being there to see that? Could you imagine being Elijah, watching as he says a prayer, and God literally sends fire from heaven and consumes everything.

How amazing that would have been. But the miracle doesn't even end there, it gets better. God's not done yet, because when we started this story, he promised to bring the rain, right? And now, because of this miracle, people believe in God again, and they're ready to receive the miracle of the rain, right? So in verse 41, Elijah said to Abraham, go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of abundance of rain. Hasn't started raining yet. They're in a severe famine, and he says, go eat whatever you want, go drink whatever you want, because the rain is coming. This drought is over, God promised it's going to rain, and it's about to rain, so go prepare yourself for this. In verse 42, Ahab went up to eat and drink, and Elijah went to the top of Carmel, and he bowed down to the ground and put his face between his knees, and then said to his servant, go up now and look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and said, well, there is nothing. There's nothing. Elijah said, the rain is coming, and the servant says, I don't, I don't see anything. There's nothing. I don't see any evidence of this rain that you said is coming. I don't see the promise of God. Elijah, maybe you're wrong. Elijah says, go again, and the servant came back again, and Elijah says, go again, and the servant came back again, and I'm sure the servant is thinking, this isn't happening. I know that's what I would be thinking, but Elijah's not looking at his circumstances. He's not looking at the world around him. He's saying, I don't care what my circumstances say. I don't care what the world says. I don't care what my friends say. I don't care what my neighbors say. I don't care what my doctor says. I don't care what my boss says. God made a promise, and he's sticking to it, and it's coming, so go look again, because it's coming. Seven times he said, go look again, because I believe it's coming. He trusted God, and on the seventh time, the servant said, Oh, I think I see a little cloud, a little tiny cloud back there in the back. And Elijah said, get ready because the storm is coming. In verse 45 says, now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind and there was a heavy rain. Wow, that is so amazing.

Two miracles in a row, Elijah got to witness, he got to see them firsthand. He said a prayer and God delivered two times in a row. I often say, God, I wish I could see big miracles like that. How that must build your faith. But here's what's confusing to me. In the very next couple of lines, it says Jezebel, the king's evil wife, she was angry. As you can imagine, she had been mocked. Her prophets had been killed. The God she thought she believed in didn't come through for her. And she was angry and she threatens Elijah's life. Now I'm thinking at this point, Elijah says, really? You threaten my life? Do you know who my God is? Do you know the God I serve? I would think Elijah would be laughing in her face at what he had just seen. But the Bible says he ran for his life. He was scared. He was so scared. He was so terrified. He ran into the middle of nowhere, out into the wilderness. He brought no food, no water. He was so scared. At one point, he sat down under a tree and cried out, God, just kill me now. Just kill me because I cannot live the rest of my life in fear. Elijah, who had just prayed for fire and fire came from heaven. Elijah, who prayed for rain after three years of doubt and rain came from heaven, was so scared of a woman's threats that now he's praying that God would just take his life because he can't live in fear. Wow.

I'd like to say I don't get it, Elijah. But deep down inside, I kind of do. I kind of understand. But here's the thing. The God we serve is so filled with grace and compassion that what he did for Elijah, he sent an angel to minister to him because he knew Elijah was hungry and Elijah was tired. And God knows how we act when we get hungry and tired, right? We don't quite think the same way. And he knew that Elijah needed his physical needs met first. So he sent an angel down to minister to him. And once he was feeling a little bit better, he called Elijah up to the top of the mountain. And he says in verse 11, he said, Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by. And a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still, small voice. Elijah was able to trust God in dramatic manifestations. He could look for him in the huge situations. He could look for him in the ways he'd seen him come through before. But sometimes God wants to speak to us in different ways. Sometimes God wants to speak to us in different situations. And sometimes God wants to speak to us in still, small ways. And it doesn't make it any less powerful. It just takes us listening a little closer. And God said, Elijah, what are you doing?

And Elijah starts complaining. He's all alone. He has no help. People said that all the other prophets died. And he's by himself. And he's feeling sorry for himself. And he's listening to gossip. And he's listening to the world around him. Well, guess what? He's not all alone. Because there are 7,000 more of you out there. The gossip isn't always true. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. God told him, now go do something. God actually gives him four jobs to get his mind off of feeling sorry for himself. off of his situation and focused on God because we need to stop looking at ourselves all the time. We need to stop looking at our situations. We need to start just keeping our eyes focused on God. When my dad was sick with cancer he was he was in a lot of pain. He felt very very sick and the more he thought about how bad he felt the harder it got to get up and do anything in the day. And so we after praying we had this idea come to us and we we made a calendar and on the calendar we put three people's names and every day in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, whenever we said grace over a meal, whenever we looked at the calendar, whenever we thought of it, both of us we stopped everything we were doing and started praying for those three people on the calendar. And when my dad was able to stop focusing on his pain and his fears and start thinking about other people his whole attitude changed. Everything changed because Colossians tells us set your mind on things above not on the things of this earth. I want to move to the New Testament and share another miracle there. We're going to be in Mark chapter 6. Do you know in the four

Gospels which recorded Jesus's life, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there are 35 specific miracles of Jesus recorded in those in those four books. But John tells us in John 21 25 that Jesus did many other things as well. He said if every one was written down the whole world would not have enough room for the books that would be written. When Jesus walked this earth he did amazing things and so so many of them. But this miracle we're going to talk about today it's one you've heard I promise. It's the only one recorded in all four Gospels. Now this tells me if it's the only one recorded four times that there must be something really special about it. And I've used this in my messages before probably two or three times so when I tell you it you'll say well Katie we've heard that before. But I believe that the Word of God is alive and I believe that there are many different ways that God can speak to us through the same word and I believe that you can read one story and 18 different people will be affected 18 different ways by the story because that's how the Bible works. And every time I read this story God shows me something different in it. This is the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. Now as as the story is starting we're going to start in verse 30 I want you to keep in mind that the Apostles have been out working, they're tired, they're hungry similar to Elijah, they're ready to be done and rest when all the people come for more messages from Jesus. It says in verse 30, then the Apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things both what they had done and what they had taught and he said to them come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. They needed some rest, they were tired, they were hungry, and they had just found out that John the Baptist had been killed. So I'm sure there was some emotional turmoil going on as well. It says for there were many coming and going they did not have time to eat so they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves but the multitude saw them departing and many knew him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came to him and Jesus when he came out saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things and when the day

was now far spent his disciples came to him and said this is a deserted place and the hour is late send them away that they may go into the surrounding countries and villages and buy them bread for they have nothing to eat. It doesn't say this but I think the disciples were hungry. I don't think the disciples were really worried about the people not having enough to eat. I think they were disappointed because they were hungry and they thought that they were going to get some rest and some food and now all these people are coming here and they're kind of making excuses to Jesus, send them away, they have to be hungry. They must be hungry, the hour is late, send them away. But Jesus said to them you give them something to eat and they said to him shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread. and give them something to eat. But he said to them, how many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they found out, they said, five and two fish. Then he commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks in hundreds and in fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them and the two fish. And he divided them all. So they ate and were filled. And they took up 12 baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now, those who had eaten the loaves were about 5,000 men. Now, we know that 5,000 men, the men were the only ones that they counted to come up with that number, that there were also women and children there.

So it's estimated that there's probably somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 people that day being fed. Could you imagine living on earth at this time and being one of the disciples? Could you imagine standing next to Jesus Christ himself? Could you imagine walking with him as he's healing the lame, walking with him as he's bringing the blind, their sight back, walking with him as he's bringing people back from the dead, and then literally getting them to come back from the dead, and then literally getting to participate in this miracle? It says he gave the loaves to the disciples. They went out. And somehow, they're breaking the bread, and they're putting it down, and it's not getting less. They keep breaking it. They're giving it to people, but they keep having more and more and more. They are participating in this miracle firsthand. And they never ran out. Oh, man, I just wish I was there. That would be such a neat thing to see. And what I think is really interesting is that there were leftovers. Now, I don't believe in coincidences, so I believe every single word in the Bible has a meaning. And I believe that God uses numbers often to show us things, and so I think it's no coincidence

that there were 12 basketfuls of leftovers and 12 disciples. So each one got their own basket. And it says, the very next verse, verse 45 says, immediately, he made his disciples get in the boat and go before him to the other side to Bethsaida, where he sent the multitudes away. Immediately, he made them get in the boat and sent them away. Now, the Bible doesn't say this, but this is Katie's version. Katie believes that there's 12 baskets of leftovers and 12 disciples, and immediately, they're leaving, and they're going to be going on a long trip. I believe they took the baskets with them on the boat. OK, they're going to be hungry. They're going to need food. So I believe they take those baskets on the boat with them so that they have something to eat. Jesus departed to the mountain to pray. Now, when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. So it's starting to get windy. They're starting to struggle. Have you ever been on a body of water when the wind starts picking up, and you start getting waves, and it starts getting choppy? It can be scary. I don't know if you saw the news story a week or two ago about the cruise ship that was out when a storm hit, and the waves were bigger than the ship.

They were bringing helicopters in to evacuate people off of the ship, because it's scary what happens to the water when it gets windy. Verse 48 says, now, about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them. OK, a second ago, it said it was evening, and he saw them struggling. And now it says the fourth watch of the night. The fourth watch of the night would be about 3 AM. OK, so he watched them from evening until 3 AM. It says, and they saw him walking on the sea, and they supposed it was a ghost, and they cried out, for they all saw him and were troubled. But immediately, he talked with them and said, be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid. And then he went up into the boat, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves, beyond measure and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened. They had not understood about the loaves. They didn't understand that Jesus was going to protect them. They believed that Jesus could heal the blind. They believed that Jesus could feed the multitudes, but now I'm in a storm. This is different. This looks different. Where's Jesus? I believe Jesus waited until 3 a.m. to give them a chance to prove that they understood what was happening, to give them a chance to believe in him, or maybe give them a chance to tell the wind themselves to calm down, because Jesus said he gives us power in his name. We don't need to wait for him to walk to us. Those disciples had been casting out demons in his name.

Why did they believe they could cast out demons, but they couldn't calm the wind? Because they believe him for one thing, but they don't believe him for another. They didn't understand the miracle of the loaves. I believe, as they're sitting in the boat, they're still looking at the loaves of bread. I believe the baskets of leftovers are still sitting at their feet. They still have evidence of the miracle of God that had just happened hours before, yet they're doubting God can come help them. They're doubting that they can get through this storm. They're afraid, and they're scared, because they didn't understand. They didn't understand how could Jesus save me here? I want to share a personal story really quick, and actually you can come up and get ready anytime. I talked a few minutes ago about my dad. My dad died of cancer about five years ago, a little over five years ago, and when he died, I was never angry with God, but I was confused. I was confused about why God saved some people but not others. I believed all the other promises in the Bible, but I started to question the promise of healing. I believed, well, God already has his mind made up who he's going to save and who he's not, so why bother praying? Why even bother asking him for healing, because he already has that decided. I couldn't bring myself to pray for healing, and I would have people come to me and say, Katie, will you pray for this person who's sick? And I would say the words, but I couldn't believe them in my heart, and this was up until just a few months ago when I had such conviction about being able to believe every other word the Bible said except for this one, and I just started crying out to God, and I said, God, I believe. Help my unbelief. I want to believe in healing. I want to believe every promise is true, but it's hard. Could you show me a miracle? Could you please show me a miracle, God, and not something little that I can make up in my mind some other reason that it happened. I want a big miracle like Elijah. I want one that there's no question that it's you. Could you do that for me, please? And I would pray that over and over, and a few weeks later, this family got brought into our lives. Out of the blue, this wonderful Christian family, and we really connected with them, and after knowing them a very short time, we found out that the woman had a

very aggressive form of breast cancer. She said the doctors told her she's going to die. There's no hope. She's dying, and the idea of this woman leaving her four beautiful little children behind devastated me, and I just cried out to God, God, how could this happen? How could this happen, God? And then selfishly, I said, God, I don't know if I can go through this again. I'm already struggling with my faith in healing. I don't know if I can watch someone else die, and God said to me, Katie, I'm gonna show you a miracle, and from that moment on, I said, okay, God, I'm gonna believe for that miracle, and I started thanking God in advance. I started saying, God, thank you that somehow this woman is going to be healed. Thank you that the cancer's gonna be gone. Thank you that she's gonna live a long life, and I just started thanking God. Every time a doubt would creep in my head, I would just thank God over and over and over. I told you a minute ago, I don't believe in coincidences, so it's no coincidence. Incidents that a week ago We went to lunch with this woman and her husband and we had been trying to go to lunch for a week But she has four kids. We have six at home. You know, it's hard to get together sometimes There was always one thing that came up. We probably canceled four or five times Someone was sick. Someone fell and got hurt. Someone had a doctor appointment Something happened and we had to cancel that very morning We were scheduled for breakfast and something happened and we had to cancel but we said we're not gonna keep canceling this let's meet for lunch And we meet for lunch And it's no coincidence that we were meeting together for lunch when her phone rang And it was the doctor and the doctor had just done a scan and He believed the cancer would have doubled in size because of the aggressiveness of the cancer He was measuring it to see if it had doubled in size like he expected But what he said was I? Can't find it. I Can't find the cancer. I see no evidence. I see no signs on my scans And I think we sat there in shock

For a couple of minutes and it wasn't till later on that evening when I had some time alone and I was crying I just cried and I was just thanking God for his goodness And I said, thank you God for this miracle But God said to me in the most gentle and loving and compassionate way. He said Katie Her healing isn't a miracle And I said, what do you what do you mean? He said healing is a promise My healing is a promise Your belief is the miracle Do you know the definition of miracle? It's something highly improbable So by me saying wow, that's a miracle I'm saying God I know you promised healing But it was highly improbable that you were gonna follow through on your promise. So since you did it must be a miracle It's not a miracle. It's a promise of God I was greatly amazed the disciples as they're in the boat when Jesus walks on the water to them It says they were greatly amazed beyond measure. They were Marveled they were shocked that Jesus did what he said he could do I Told me stop being amazed when I keep my word He said I promise healing I'm going to deliver healing But people say Katie your dad died. Why did he die if God promises healing? You know what? I don't know. I may never know but I have decided that I am no longer going to look at my past I'm no longer going to look at the circumstances. I'm no longer going to look at the world around me I'm gonna look at the Word of God and if the Word of God promises healing then that's what I'm going to believe because the Word is truth God says I will bring you life and I will bring it in abundance. That's not a miracle I don't care what the world says. I don't care what the doctors say and my friends and the unbelievers I care what God says Second Peter 1 4 says because of his glory and excellence. He has given us great and precious Promises when God promises something it's not flippant. It's not casual. God is making rock-solid

Commitments and God is faithful So there's no question that he's going to keep his promises Do you know how many promises God gives us? I? I Didn't count them. I use the Internet the Internet says there are five thousand four hundred and sixty-seven promises from God in the Bible God promises to but so favor and honor upon you. He promises to prosper you He promises to bless you abundantly. He promises that we will lack nothing. He promises freedom from captivity He promises life in abundance He promises peace and salvation and protection and safety and forgiveness and supplication and rest He promises victory. He promises power and boldness and increase and yes, he promises healing He promises over and over and over in his answer in Christ is always yes Why I don't know we don't deserve it We don't deserve it but God is faithful and his word is true and All He wants us to do is believe it. God's miracle for me is removing my unbelief because it was highly improbable that I could do that on my own. I'm no longer the person who says, I believe, help me, I believe. That's not me anymore. If I remember correctly, earlier tonight, you said that you believed the Bible was true and you believed God kept His promises. Well, it's time to get rid of any belief you might have to. You can be thankful, you can be overwhelmed by God's goodness, but we should not be surprised. So tonight, I wanna do something a little bit differently. I'm gonna ask you not to come up front for prayer, okay? And I believe in prayer,

and I believe in coming forward for prayer, and I believe in asking the elders to pray for you, and I believe where two or three people gather, that that's wonderful. I just want you to take a step of faith and say, I don't need anyone else to do this. I want you to say, instead of begging God to just do what He said He's gonna do, that you just say, you know what, God, I'm just gonna thank you in advance that you're about to do something big in my life, that you keep your promises. I just want, I'm gonna have Ashley sing a song. I just want you to stand or sit or raise your hands or clap, whatever you wanna do, but I just want you to, in your heart, say, thank you, God. Thank you for your promises. Thank you that even though I don't see it yet, like Elijah with the cloud, I know the rain is coming. Thank you that you're going to keep me strong because your word promises strength until it manifests itself. Thank you that you are good and your word is true and your promises are coming for me. ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah ♪