<TITLE>09. Par 20-23</TITLE>L-20 Now, that's the simplicity of faith. But Israel had got away from God in these times and faith was very scarce. So there was a man Jehoshaphat, who was a righteous man, the King of Judah. And he went up, and King Ahab, you know how bad he was... And Elijah, the prophet, had prophesied concerning him--concerning him and about the garden that he had taken through Jezebel. Had killed Naboth, taken this vineyard. And Elijah said, "The dogs will lick your blood." A prophet, sent from God, told him that the dogs would lick his own blood, because how he had done this righteous man and cheated and took his vineyard.
And then, here his son come along, Jeroboam, taken the place of his father and was a very wicked man, still worshipping the idols of his mother Jezebel, a little Egyptian princess. Marrying out of their ranks, that's what did it. It'll do it in your home too. Marry amongst unbelievers and see what takes place. You lose your victory right there.

L-21 Watch. Then, when they went out and Jehoshaphat what a slip-up on him, to make an alliance with such a person as that fellow, an unbeliever. He got in the same trouble we did when we made alliance with Russia and sent them over all of our planes and things during the other war. Now, they're going to fly them back and shoot them at us. See? "How can two walk unless they be agreed?" We wouldn't accept the cross of Christ that was preached, and now we got a double cross. It's exactly right. Same thing taken place there. And there Jehoshaphat went out with the--the King Jeroboam, the King of Jerusalem, and they went out to make war with the--with the kings or the Philistines, or Moabites, rather. And they went seven days... Now look, all tied up in business, didn't stop to consult God.
When you come to the meeting tonight, if you're sick, did you come say, "Now, Father, I'm going down there. I ask You to be merciful to me, and let my faith be raised up tonight to a place where I can believe Your Son and be healed." Did you think to pray when you heard the meeting was going to be up here at Connersville? Did you pray, go around and get the neighbors and have little prayer meetings. We forget those things and that's why we get in trouble.

L-22 They went seven days out into the wilderness. Never fetched no compass. And come to find out, they got in trouble; they went without consulting God. And all the water supply was cut off. That's what's the matter with the church tonight. The water supply is cut off, trying to carry the church on without the supernatural. Trying to try to carry the church on just in it's natural. Trying to pattern after the other churches of the world, and that's the reason we're not having the blessings we use to have.
Someone said, "I'd walk fifty miles on cobblestones, barefooted to get to a good old fashion Holy Ghost revival again. What's the matter? God's still God. You haven't consulted Him lately. Pray. That's the only way to find.
We used to sing a little song:
Pray, pray, the only way to reach higher ground,
Pray, pray, the prayer of faith will bring God's blessings down.
That's the only way to do it.

L-23 All right, but they went without consulting God, and found out their water supply was cut off. They were in the middle of a desert dying. So they happened to be enough religion in one of them to think about consulting God, and that was Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, a righteous man. He said, "Isn't there a prophet of the Lord somewhere that we could consult about this thing?" Kinda late to think of it then, wasn't it? "Seek ye first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things will be added."
Said, "Isn't there one somewhere?"
And one of his servants came and said, "Yes, here is Elisha who poured water on Elijah's hands. My, let's rub off a little bit now and then.


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