This post is from a message I preached ten years ago in Kinshasa. Had I written it today it would have probably came out a lot different. I didn't change any of it for this post. I didn't bother sharing it on Facebook since I shared it there a couple of years back. If it blesses you please share it with someone else. Thanks!
This morning I want to talk to you about restoration because I believe with all of my heart that the Lord is about to restore His Church to a place of power, authority, and purity here in Kinshasa. Today is a new day for the city of Kinshasa and God has called you to make a difference here. You are the ones that God has empowered to reach this city for the glory of God.
We are going to look at a story that took place with the prophet Elijah.
Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?" "Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!" The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!" Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth. I Kings 17:17-24
There are many parallels between Elijah and the Church today. Elijah was a mighty prophet that God raised up in a time where God's people were living in mixture. If there was ever a time where the Church has been full of mixture it is today. But, I want to tell you in the name of Jesus that's about to change here in this city.
There are two kinds of prophets. You have prophets of words like Jeremiah, Daniel, and Isaiah. Then you have prophets of action like Elijah and Elisha. Elijah was a prophet of restoration. His ministry focused upon bringing restoration to the people of Israel. Malachi 4:5 says that God will send Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord. Now we know that John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah. He was a partial fulfillment of that prophecy. But after John the Baptist's ministry we don't see all things restored, so we know that his ministry was just a partial fulfillment. The Elijah ministry speaks of an end time prophetic ministry that the Lord is raising up in the earth to prepare the way for His coming. The Lord is calling you to be a part of that company that moves in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the coming of our Lord.
Here we see a story where the son of a widow woman fell sick and died. Here in this story the son that fell sick and died can speak to us of the testimony of the Church here in Kinshasa. Prior to this woman's son falling sick, this woman and her house were miraculously preserved because she obeyed the Word of the Lord that came to her through Elijah. This woman came into a place of blessing in which the flour and the oil, which she had, didn't run out. Many times your hardest tests will come right after you have received the blessing of the Lord. There was a time when the Church here fell sick and the blessing and testimony was lost. Because of that the Lord is releasing the prophetic ministry of Elijah to recover what has been lost.
This woman lived in the city of Zarephath, which was in Zidon. Zarephath means refining. Have you ever noticed that when the Lord begins to refine us situations come in our life that disturb us? We always want to get out of our refinement process. We say, "Lord, take this affliction our of my life." And the Lord says, "I thought you said, 'do whatever it takes Lord.'" Isaiah 48:10 says, "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." When the Lord refines us he takes us through the furnace. Zidon was the area from where the wicked Queen Jezebel was from. This was the place in which God was going to birth restoration and bring a testimony. Jezebel was one that brought mixture to Israel. The same can be said for the Church here in Kinshasa. She has seen much mixture, but the Lord has chosen this city to be a place for restoration.
We see that this woman couldn't live off of yesterday's blessings. We can't live off of yesterday's revelation, yesterday's blessing, or yesterday's word. We must live off of a fresh revelation, fresh blessing, and a fresh word. Otherwise we will die like this widow woman's son.
So this woman comes to Elijah and says, "Elijah, my son is sick. Why did this happen? Did you do this to call my sin to remembrance?" Many times when we get into a desperate place of need the first thing that the enemy does is tell us that the reason things are going the way they are is because of our sin. What we need to realize is that the Lord is bringing that place of need so that we can have a fresh revelation of Him. Yes, the reason things are the way they are in Kinshasa is because of sin. But, I tell you in the name of Jesus that things are going to change.
Elijah didn't bother answering her questions. He just said to her, "Give me your son." He then took this child and carried him. Part of the prophetic ministry of Elijah is bearing the infirmities of those who are weak. We as a Church need to learn to bear the infirmities of the weak. The Bible says, "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." If we want to see the testimony of the Church change here in Kinshasa then we need to learn to bear one another's burdens. Jesus carried your burden all the way to the cross.
Elijah carried this child up into the loft. So many times when we get into a trying situation instead of going up to the Lord we stay horizontal. What we need to do is go vertical. Bring that one in need into contact with Jesus. Faith begins when we come into contact with the Lord Jesus Christ. As a Church all we need is to come into contact with the Lord and from that place God will raise up His Son in us.
In that place of contact with the presence of the Lord there is a release of life. John 10:10 says, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." The thief came to this widow woman, stole her blessing, killed her son, and destroyed her dreams. We have seen this same kind of work here in Kinshasa. The enemy has come and tried to steal your blessing, tried to kill the promise, and destroy your testimony in the earth. We have seen much of the power of the enemy here in Kinshasa. They day is coming in which the Lord is going to match that power with the power of His Church. The enemy's day is over here in Kinshasa. Isa. 59:19 declares, "When the enemy comes in like a flood, then the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard." That standard that the Lord is lifting up is the Church. The Lord is raising a standard in the Church.
We see that Elijah took this child into the upper room and cried out to the Lord for his life to come back into him. Prior to this event we have no record of anyone ever being raised from the dead. That didn't stop Elijah from crying out. Just because you may be in a situation in which you have never seen an answer don't let that stop you from crying out to the Lord. Don't limit God. Elijah was one that was persistent in prayer. Many Christians today get to their place of need and just give up when they see no sign of change. What the Lord is saying is ENDURE because I'm about to bring your breakthrough. James 5:16-17 says, "The fervent prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elias was a man just like us, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." Don't give up just because you haven't seen your results yet. The moving of God's Spirit is coming to this city in a greater dimension than what we have ever seen, but we must learn how to pray for it if we truly want it.
As Elijah cried out to the Lord, he stretched himself upon the child three times until his life came in again. This speaks to us of an impartation of life. When we have come to a place of defeat what we need is an impartation of life from the prophetic ministry of Elijah. So Elijah stretched himself three times. Stretch, stretch, stretch, and then the soul of the child came into him again and he revived.
The word stretched in the Hebrew means to measure as with a line. Much of the Church today has fallen sick and died. Much of the Church today doesn't have the strength of the early Church. But the Bible declares that the latter house will have a greater glory than the former. Jesus has been measuring his Church for the last two thousand years to see if His Church has met the standard of His Word, but for the last two thousand years the Church has not. But, the third time Jesus measures His Church her life is going to come into her and she is going to arise. In Luke 13:32 Jesus said, "Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." What did Jesus mean by the third day I shall be perfected? He couldn't have been talking about His death, burial, and resurrection because when He was in the tomb he didn't cast out devils or do cures. So this must have some other meaning. He is the Head and we are the Body. ON the third day the Church is going to rise up into a place where they will fully apply the life of Christ and they are going to rise like this child.
Here in this passage it says that the Lord heard the voice of Elijah. There is something about coming to the Lord with a boldness knowing that you have received what you asked. The Bible says in 1 John 5:15, "If we ask him anything knowing that he hears us, then we have received what we have asked for." God is for you and because of that no one can stand against you, not even the devil himself. Ask God for restoration.
After this miracle was performed Elijah took this child and displayed him to his mother. He didn't just stay there in the upper room rejoicing in what God had done. But he put this child on display. When God restores you don't just keep your restoration to yourself. But display it to the lost. They will begin to come to you and say I want that too. When God has truly touched someone what they have been given from the Lord begins to become contagious. People want what you have. The Lord is bringing a restoration to this Church in Kinshasa. Not so that you can just be blessed but so that you can be put on display to the nations. This woman said, "Now I know that you are a man of God." The nations are going to say, "I know that your God, He is God because of the testimony of the Church of Kinshasa."
This morning you may say I'm in a place much like this widow woman. "God has given me dreams and promises, but it seems like the enemy has stolen them. I'm going through trials like you wouldn't believe. What can I do?" I want to tell you that God is for you and that this desperate situation that you may be in is just an opportunity for God to reveal Himself and give you a testimony. The Lord is going to restore the Church of Kinshasa but he's going to do it one by one and he wants to use you.
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