Roger:
>WHERE IS THE SPIRIT OF ELIJAH?
>
>When Ahab led the nation of Israel into unrighteousness, Elijah stood up
>to him.  In Luke 1:17, the Bible speaks of one named John the Baptist
>who came "in the spirit and power of Elijah."  John the Baptist had
>several things in common with Elijah, including a tenacious call for his
>king's repentance.  Where is the spirit of Elijah in our pulpits today?
>
I believe that a Christian does not have to be in the pulpit to have the 
spirit of Elijah. James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature similar to 
ours, and he earnestly prayed that there might be no rain: and no rain 
fell on the land for three years and six months. 18 Again he prayed, 
and the sky gave rain and the land yielded its crops. 1 Kings 18 tells 
us that Elijah prayed 7 times for it to rain. He persisted and prevailed 
in prayer. The Greek text for Matthew 7:7 suggest continuous action such 
ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, and knock and keep on 
knocking. The dichotomy between clergy and layperson is overstated and
such thinking encourages a pew sitter only mentality. Church leaders
need to help congregations find and develop their gifts. The church 
needs to be running on all cylinders and fuel in the tank. Perhaps the
traditional structure developed in order to control the gnostics. I see
the text in 1 Cor. 14 - What did God speak to you only? - as rhetorical.


Frank