Beyond Prosperity, Part 1

Greetings friends and new listeners and welcome this program in the Archie Harding ministries. I'm sure not that I'm so glad you tuned in today because we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The message you will hear today is beyond prosperity, which the Lord gave to me after telling me to read first Kings 17 out loud. I didn't see the need to since the widow of Sarah Pfaff is the most preached about what I would Bible history and I knew her story quite well. But the Lord didn't disappoint me and I hope you will also be blessed by the amazing things I learned in beyond prosperity or how I love the Lord and love the presence of God Amen there's nothing like God's presence and there's nothing like the word of God. I'd rather eat the word any day over any meal or any food that I am my favorite dish I rather have the word of God. What about you turn your Bibles with me to first Kings, the 17th chapter now Elijah in the little widow woman barely a week that goes by that some ideas not preaching about the widow. We know our name. But we know the story, we know about Elijah and the widow woman you hear continually, and I remember now in the fall last October.

I know it, but I know the Lord said to me to read the book to read the chapter 1st Kings 17 and I thought to myself. Now I do not need to read that chapter because I preached at least once a week. I mean somebody is preaching about that widow woman.

We know that usually the main thrust of it, and it's nothing wrong with that. I'm not saying it's not biblical and rule but you know we will get that were going to get this big blessing back in our oil and our cruise the boiler barrel will get the miracle annually or preached all the time how many would agree with me on that.

Okay, I may think it's reasonable to say that her or close to it.

And so when the Lord will not hard to read the chapter I thought I need to read that chapter because I really don't need to read and me to read it and read it, but he told me to read out loud not using it near your home, you generally don't sit around read by well at least I don't. Maybe some people do with how many usually read the Bible out loud. Okay, sometimes. And so I fell below one and he said because if you just read it you will will skip you'll read what you think is already in your mind that you know this chapter so you just berated and you won't.

But if you read how some things that I want to show you, you will be begin to pick up on so were going to read it first first Kings, and I know you know the story you probably anybody or promise to preach this message without even look in the Bible as far as the story is that were generated. Nevertheless, an Elijah in the Tish bite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead set on a had, as the Lord God of Israel live it, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word and the word of the Lord came on to him, saying, Henson turned the eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Terrace. That is, before Jordan and it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to be there. And the ravens brought him bread and splash in the morning, and bread and flashing the evening and he drank all the brook and it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land and the word of the Lord came on him, saying that which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there, behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain me, so he around and went back and when he came to the gate of the city. Behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks. And he called her and said to me, I pray the a little water in the vessel that I may drink and she was going to fetch it and she was going to fetch it. He called to her and said bring me I pray be a morsel of bread in nine and she said because the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruise, and behold, I am gathering sticks that I may go in and rested for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said under her fear not go and do as thou hast said we need thereof a little cake first and bring him to me after make for the and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, and neither shall the cruiser will fail until the day that the Lord send rain upon the earth, and she went and she did according to the saying of Elijah and she and he and her house to eat many days and the barrel of meal wasted not. Neither did the cruise that will fail. According to the word of the Lord I Elijah most the time.

Here, this is the end for most of the time that the message but were not going to stop that read the whole chapter and it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house felt this sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him and she sat on the Elijah about to do with the old man of God, art thou come on to me to call my Cindy remember to display my son and he said under her give me thy son and he took him out of her bosom and carried them up into a loft where he abode and laid them upon his own bed and he cried to the Lord and said, oh Lord my God, hast thou also brought the widow with whom I so enjoyed by sliding her son and he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried on the Lord and said, oh Lord my God, I pray the child's soul, and to him again and the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again and he hereby Elijah took the child and brought them down out of the chamber into the house and delivered them into his mother and Elijah said, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah now. Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the word of the Lord not now is truth. So here we are.

This chapter that is preached over and over, and probably 52 times a year, I'm sure. And God said, but I want you to go and read it and as I read it out loud.

I begin to pick up on some things and there are seven things that I saw in a different light that the Lord showed me in this chapter that I want to share with you tonight and each one of the things will sort of elevate go a little higher spiritually will sorta start off down here in the flesh were, you know, we spent a lot of time and it will wind up a little bit will start climbing the ladder until we get the number seven and will be where God wants us to be and can't meeting a man so here we have Elijah and he just explodes on the scene told us that he was the son of a Tish bite and we don't know anything else we don't get any credentials we'll know what Bible school he went to we don't know if he was a doctor of Bishop apostle. We all know that we just came home and he began immediately without any preliminaries. It comes right to the point he says is the Lord God of Israel live in and I like that you start right off the bat speaking a had. He says the Lord God of Israel live it because he's making it very clear you and your wife Jezebel. Your servant Dale. He's nothing but a piece of stone he can see can hear you can speak can do anything you like. I'm around taking what you want to go but the representative of the living God, the God who is alive… The servant of the most high God he can hear you when you cry, you can see you when you're hurting can be touched with the feelings of your many and he can do something about it so I want you to know that I'm representing the living God, before whom I stand like that because a lot of it was just came from the presence of God.

And when you get in God's presence.

It'll make you feel we have had here to tell you what God and it's not going to be something you want to hear, but I'm not afraid to tell you what I've been in the presence of the living God. And so he says I've been with God relationship with him. He knows I'm not afraid of you a does not know God and I like this. He is according to my word noticed that Elijah said according to my word because when you spend time in God's presence. When you know when you're with God enumerated his word all the time is where it becomes a part of you and when you begin to speak, according to my because you're speaking at the option of the Holy Spirit, Elijah, and he just comes right to the point is, I'm here representing the living.I know him. He knows me. I've been in his presence have authority to speak this word and this is the word I'm speaking to you. I want you to know that there's coming a drought. It's not being rain. It's not going to be due on the grass until I say so now we found out later, it lasted three and half years, but here he just say so.

There be no rain. What happens when there's no rain. After a while, the drought goes along it brings spanning especially over there in the Middle East, especially not part of the world. The devastation in Africa. Even right now they're showing some of those nations like Nigeria, but there's starving to death because of the drought and the fact. And so that's what was going to happen here but he said I'm here to tell you something, there's going to be the judgment of God is going to come nothing like this.

What is judgment in this trouble. The thing about what he was going to have to go through it to. They go through the drought go through the famine God's judgment to be all around us.

But the thing went by judging the bill is able to make away and the world because I have commanded the ravens know God talks to birds and birds listen they hear his voice commanded the ravens to feed you and you can drink from the brook, so there he made in the shade just the drought was getting worse and the famine was getting worse but he didn't care.

He was just an easy brook to drink from. Any time he was thirsty and he the first emergency airlift in the time of famine. While he had his own private the airlift every morning and every evening here, Raven, and here's the first of the secrets I want you to see a good start in the flesh is that's where we live here come the ravens. He said then and what we read every morning and every evening what the ravens ring him/and read a man we know that flesh means was some kind to me it way whether it was the chicken leg or turkey wing. I know I know it wasn't a pork chop that much. I know, but one box ready because it would been culture, but it was me now. It might've been like chicken, turkey, and nothing is our carnivorous bar eat meat ravens were food and bring it to the prophet and you do not meet raw meat know he what that was a bit against the law for him to be all me. So these ravens and get me out there snapped a chicken on the barnyard break to bring some cooked food, and I don't know maybe they flew in the window and snapped a chicken leg. Jezebel and that which was meant for the king and queen brought to the prophet but what I want you to see is that he brought every morning and every evening they had bread and lash.

They had carbs and proteins.

They had carbohydrates and proteins. They had a balanced diet just bread and even had just protein because God made the human body. You know how it works to keep it well to keep it from getting sick. And if you read in the Bible, the type of error again and again. If we go back in the wilderness when they were in the wilderness God Them for 40 years now.

I know people say, well, all they had all the but that's not true I'm not taking the time that you can look up yourself later.

It's an accident scene and eight and 12 through 14, the Bible says that he get them every morning. He gave them the man in the morning and again in the flesh in the evening in the morning they came there with Matt on the grass in the evening he sent the quail and not only that one fee to the sacrifices in the tabernacle, and they slayed the goats that she throw them away so they had to eat in the wilderness because like that made your body and they want you to balance if we go up into the New Testament and we go to the one that is recorded, all was the only one more is the feeding of the 5000, and you know the little boy lunch barley bread and Jesus bless you and David to the disciples with carbohydrates and protein because you have a balanced diet and read my carbohydrates are doing harm to your body and your body with a bunch of carbohydrates and you don't have the proper balance of the prompting you're doing harm to your body. God made your body a balanced diet on the news this week is Corporation. The one big new nothing about the little cards are going bankrupt. Now their file bankruptcy because people realize it's just another only works for some time but eventually you've got to get your body in balance and I think the way God made you to be healthy. You did not get this picture now when a balanced diet and you need the carbs and the proteins I'm not going to going to the whole thing.

You know there's plenty of information out there, just say this wasting away.

I'll say this much lower, now carbohydrates take away from the white stuff.

The white flower the white sugar. The white rice is the white IS just junk it is not the stuff that's in the Bible. The plan God gave them was not like this junk. The people reading today. The bread wasn't like we were eating, you know, the white stuff and and all that they didn't have all that then and still I'm talking about the whole-grain and the complex carbohydrates. So the very first thing that us all, and there is a God says he wants us to have balanced diet. All right, now go little fire okay and shady spot ravens prompting all the water you need and it was good water to be knitted fluoride in it but averages with fresh water in the road, but alas, alas, alas, and the brook dried up.

Amen. So it didn't matter how much food the ravens brought into God have water, you can make it without water and dried up the blasted stop flowing you all about me and Aiden have to get up and drive down the giant groceries he just laid back and enjoyed and chatted with the Lord and just let himself be fed by ravens but when the brook dried up. He had to do something.

And sometimes God seen this seemingly because you jump up and got into Christians, we are the bless the prospered of the most high, and we troubles like this, we don't.

The brook dried up, because you can get so comfortable and you think you can start the real beauty and weak when you don't use it to bring us to a place where we got up and get some work in the carbohydrates and proteins something it just, you forget that God is going to open up when God made me something place one place no longer become ho-hum and you become your expected and you just think you know that you're just laying back and you you can even become unappreciative, human nature, we just selfish like that. We just after a while, you know, logistics to be the way they are. But sometimes God like he didn't you just sit back and just staying there. So when the brook dried up, do not be discouraged by "deceiving God is not something because I doubt that for a widow woman to feed you. You see he was blessed to be more blessed he was just blessed and we just sit back and think about the body else but God's blessings, Joe was able to live amen I did get up, but he would never know if the brook had dried up, and then God is against you forgot you had an opportunity to God wants to do something for you.

Something true miracles and we use the word miracle so lightly. We watered it down, you know we sell. That was a miracle. This was a miracle really wanted because the miracles when no human help can bring it about. When it takes to buy mentioned that it's a miracle if we said we need $1000 right here right now. We must take. But what if every person here because somebody came in with a gun and said give me all your money every person just ending out the person or while all that secret money stuff. The weighing compartment and winning all we had $1000 would not be a miracle because we had in here would be if he said I want to thousand dollars to shoot everybody and everybody got their money and really know $25 but God multiplied that would be a miracle because the baby stage of all city called me.

Now go it has to start with an impossibility. It has to start with the dilemma.

It has to start with things going backwards before God can step in and sometimes he gets worse and worse because the greater the difficulty.

The brighter the adversity, the greater the miracle how many say amen.

So we had to come to the place where the brook dried up and the blessings were cut off, but when that happened. The Bible says in verse 10, so he arose and went to the gate of the city. Now here's the key immediate obedience around and think, well, you know, I'll wait and see. Maybe Gotto let the brook more water I'll wait till tomorrow and see maybe the Lord I mean after all he's been feed me by ravens. What's the big deal. I mean, Courtney had to bring me some water. I mean, what's that sat around and tried to reason in his mind, but he did. He… He rose up immediately and this is a lesson for us to know that when God truly harden our spirit and we know it's the law. We must act immediately if we do not count us to.

We call the problem to not mean resolved because all the other events like a domino in order for the other things to fall in place. First, obey God because what and when he got. Can you imagine widow was there gathering sticks. She just happened to be when he got there she was in her backyard. She wasn't in her neighborhood. She lives in her own she would live at the gate of the city somewhere in the city. The city was the entrance city is whether judges were business was taking care of the gate of the city God of what happened happened that way know it didn't just happen that way. It wasn't a coincidence incident but not obeying God and arose immediately when God told him to my to got there. Later, got her to and going home and had her cake and that would be the end all these years. A lot of people would run out of material breach onto so they need to. Thank God Elijah rose up, because when he got there she was. Another thing I want you to see here why it's important to know when God says move and obey God always listen to this analysis important.

God always works for both ends always works in both the woman's heart to go there.

We know that he did why he said that he can win a woman to be commander don't know we didn't get the privilege of getting a detailed, did you have a dream. Did you have a vision Angel, did you hear a voice that you just get this impression in our spirit we take her.we don't even God put in her heart, and there she was waiting to move in your life.

This is what happens door closes.

Now you can start getting a frame you can start can show about and you can start making things happen yourself, my God, what are we going to do not overhear Iran ago know you're not here in volume 1. All these places are not hearing God, you're not looking for the door that he has open that you close the door to my closet open the one you want and I'll walk him how hard it when you when God knows he can trust you that you'll do not pray one thing with your map and get up and do another thing God whenever God is about to do somebody's working. I mean, if somebody comes to you if you're a single mailer single woman in this church and somebody comes you told me you are my life. My husband said no marriage date from God.

One party not tell the other immediately that people sometimes got somebody that your wife and naming the person for another five years. But God revealed that white one, and that person is not married and had the slightest interest in them. Nice wonderful person but they're not. But it God when he will deal with the person that person they are. It's true God. God wants two people to do something, whether it's ministry if he says he's calling somebody to work for him in a certain ministry. Placer maybe work full time, quit their job, or from the Lord, not the other up and quit your job if you haven't heard from you. Sometimes you have to take a step of faith in your fear as a whole, whole got a hold on the Lord picture when I do this is you shaking a baby legs okay to do it afraid when you are afraid you will have to pay.

Amen.

I hope you're seeing some of the new facets of the story of the widow of zero cents. I believe her to be the most preached about widow in human history is the centerpiece of most prosperity messages. So when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart to read first Kings 17 out loud I thought why I know this story very well. I've heard it preached and dissected hundreds of times but I obeyed. And as I read aloud I picked up 17 powerful principles that I had never seen or heard in this story before, which take the story to a higher level of blessings that far exceeds just financial prosperity. Some of these are the part that overcoming fear played in her miracle and that sometimes before God opens the door to a miracle. He first closes the door like what occurred when the brook dried up, and Elijah had to get up and go to Sarah for if the brook had not dried up. He would never obeyed and had he hesitated he would have not arrived at the exact time when he came upon the widow but the crown jewel of this great story came much later, when the widow's son had died and Elijah persisted in prayer three times to raise him up, then the mother said.

Now I know you are truly a man of God you see financial prosperity alone is not proof of God's blessing even sinners prosper because of the divine law of sowing and reaping anyone can preach prosperity and when people act on it. They will get results because of the universal law of reciprocity. But what Elijah had money could not buy. Paul says in the last days, a symptom of many Christians is going to be. They count gain is godliness, but only the true power of God can heal the sick, deliver from death is when Peter and John told the cripple at the gate beautiful silver and gold have I none but such as I have I give him to D in the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk today's message beyond prosperity is available on CD for a love gift of $10 or more for the radio ministry request offer S K-1 16 that's S K-1 16 mail to Archie Hardy ministries PO Box 1744, Baltimore, MD 21203 go online@archiehardy.org once again the offers S K-1 16 for beyond prosperity for a minimum love gift of $10 mail to PO Box 1744, Baltimore, MD 2123 till next time. This is Sr. Sharon saying they're not