As It Is In Heaven | Week 3

Jesus announces in Luke 4 that the long-awaited promise has arrived: good news for the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed. These are not just familiar words read from a scroll. The Word made flesh speaks with authority because he is their fulfillment. Jesus stops before Isaiah’s announcement of vengeance because he came to take the vengeance so others could have freedom. Heaven touches earth as hunger, sickness, and bondage meet the restoring power of God.

First Kings 18 exposes a problem that still gets in the way: worshiping God “and.” Israel had not simply abandoned Yahweh. The people had added Baal, the supposed god of the storm, hoping for rain, harvest, and increase. The same divided trust can attach itself to retirement funds, social media, politics, or the next best thing. Three years without rain expose the inability of that other god to provide.

Elijah rebuilds the broken altar and calls on God to turn the people’s hearts back again. The water poured over the sacrifice is precious in a drought, not something easily spared. One possible reading places its source among the people’s own supplies for the journey home. On that reading, surrendering the water becomes a concrete declaration that God alone is enough. God does not need their water; he desires their hearts.

The fire falls, the people recognize the Lord, and the sound of heavy rain announces provision. Restored sight means recognizing again where help actually comes from. That renewed vision takes practical shape in generosity toward hungry children through Convoy of Hope. A day’s wages and an entire weekend’s undesignated offering become an invitation to equal sacrifice, not equal gifts. The church is called beyond wearing “on earth as it is in heaven” to trusting God with something costly, while Christ continues to offer salvation, freedom, healing, and renewed vision.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus Brings The Promise Into Reach. Seven hundred years of waiting meet their answer when Jesus declares Isaiah’s promise fulfilled. Good news, freedom, and restored sight are not distant hopes detached from his person; they arrive in him. His authority rests in being the Word made flesh, not merely another reader of familiar words. [25:20]
• 2. Divided Trust Can Hide Inside Worship. Israel’s trouble was not simply rejecting God but worshiping God “and” another source of security. Believers can repeat that pattern when money, approval, or politics becomes an additional anchor for identity and hope. The searching question is not only whether God receives worship, but whether something else receives the trust that belongs to him. [30:31]
• 3. God Desires Hearts Rather Than Water. Water poured out during a drought carries a cost that ordinary abundance can hide. The proposed picture of families surrendering their journey supplies makes that cost personal, while remaining an inference rather than an explicit detail of the text. The spiritual issue is clear: God desires to be the sole place of trust, not one option alongside a protected backup. [45:45]
• 4. Generosity Gives Renewed Vision Concrete Expression. Hungry children are not an abstract problem when their names are known and their meals depend on provision. Giving one day’s wages invites equal sacrifice without demanding equal gifts from people with different resources. The church’s willingness to release an entire weekend’s undesignated offering puts its own daily needs inside the same call to trust God. [56:18]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [19:49] - Heavy Rain After A Long Drought
• [21:55] - Jesus Announces His Purpose In Luke 4
• [25:20] - The Promise Stands Fulfilled In Jesus
• [28:21] - Israel’s Temptation To Worship God And Baal
• [31:47] - Three Years Without Rain
• [33:40] - The Showdown On Mount Carmel
• [36:51] - Rebuilding The Altar And Pouring Water
• [39:39] - God Answers And Turns Hearts Back
• [42:06] - The Cost Of Water In A Drought
• [46:42] - Fire From Heaven And Returning Rain
• [51:01] - Feeding Hungry Children Through Convoy Of Hope
• [55:51] - One Weekend To Feed The World
• [59:33] - Responding To Christ’s Freedom And Grace

Bible Reading

Luke 4:16-21
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” [21:55]

1 Kings 18:20-39
“So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, 'I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.' And all the people answered, 'It is well spoken.' Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.' And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, 'O Baal, answer us!' But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, 'Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.' And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, 'Come near to me.' And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, 'Israel shall be your name,' and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, 'Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.' And 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. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, 'O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.' Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.” [19:49]

Isaiah 61:1-2
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;” [25:20]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 4:16–21, which people and needs does Jesus identify as central to his mission? What does he announce about his relationship to Isaiah’s promise? [25:17]
2. What were the Israelites hoping Baal would provide, and how did the drought expose the weakness of their trust in him? [30:12]
3. In 1 Kings 18:30–35, what does Elijah do to prepare the altar and sacrifice? Which details make the setting of a drought especially important? [42:20]
4. What does Elijah ask God to accomplish in the people’s hearts, and how do the people respond when the fire falls? [39:59]

Interpretation questions

1. How does Jesus’ announcement in Luke 4 move Isaiah’s promise from something people were waiting for to something present in Jesus himself? Why does his identity matter to that claim? [25:28]
2. How can someone continue worshiping God while giving money, approval, or politics the trust that belongs to him? What distinguishes using these things responsibly from depending on them as an ultimate source of security? [30:58]
3. The source of the water at Mount Carmel is not stated in the passage. If it came from the people’s journey supplies, how would that deepen the picture of surrender? What remains clear about God’s power even without knowing where the water came from? [44:00]
4. How does Elijah’s prayer show that the encounter is about more than winning a contest against Baal? What does it reveal about God’s desire for people whose trust has become divided? [39:59]

Application questions

1. When you feel uncertain about money, your future, or your identity, where do you turn first? Is there a good thing in your life that has begun carrying more of your trust than it should? [30:58]
2. Elijah rebuilt an altar that had been torn down. Is there a neglected practice—such as prayer, worship, or time with Scripture—that could help you turn your attention back to God? What might returning to it look like this week? [36:51]
3. God desires our hearts, not merely our resources. What is something you find difficult to release because it helps you feel secure? How could you prayerfully explore whether God is inviting you to surrender it? [45:45]
4. Generosity involves different sacrifices for people with different resources. As you consider the invitation to give a day’s wages toward feeding hungry children through Convoy of Hope, what would a willing, meaningful response look like in your circumstances? [56:30]
5. Hungry children are people with names, families, and futures—not just a large number. What could help you keep a particular person or family’s needs in view, and what practical response could follow? [54:01]
6. Jesus offers freedom, healing, and renewed vision. Where do you most need his help today, and, if you feel comfortable sharing, how could this group support you in taking a next step toward him? [59:42]