It's Time To Run | Pastor Daniel Groves | Hope City

Hebrews 11:1 puts faith right in the middle of the waiting. Faith trusts God before the diagnosis changes, before the positive test, before the bank account catches up, and before any visible evidence shows up. Expectation becomes good soil for miracles because people worship differently when they remember the battle God already brought them through. Revival cannot be a great August or a spiritual vacation that fades after seventy two hours of revelation.

Elijah’s story begins in a nation divided between Yahweh and Baal. Ahab and Jezebel lead Israel into idolatry, tear down the Lord’s altars, and trust a fake god to control the rain, the crops, and the future. God closes the heavens because He will not share the heart with Baal. God never gives His people a life where He is not necessary, because apart from Him, every attempt at self-sufficiency eventually leaves them spinning their wheels.

Elijah confronts the divided heart with a straight question: How long will Israel hobble between two opinions? The living God refuses half-surrender, one foot in worship and one foot in control. Elijah repairs the altar before fire falls, revealing that God often rebuilds prayer, hunger, worship, conviction, and faith before He changes the circumstances around His people. Altars come before fire. God’s people cannot ask for revival while protecting the very things that killed their hunger in the first place.

God answers Elijah’s bold prayer with fire that consumes the sacrifice, stones, wood, and water. The fire turns hearts back to God, but the fire is not the end of the story. Elijah hears the sound of rain before a cloud appears because God’s promise existed before Elijah’s experience. A promise from God does not remove the need for prayer; it becomes an invitation to keep praying and thanking Him until the answer comes.

Elijah keeps sending his servant to look, even when the report remains, “Nothing yet.” Yet matters. Delay is not always denial, and nothing yet does not mean nothing is coming. The little cloud the size of a man’s hand becomes the sign that God is moving, because God has never been intimidated by small beginnings. The call is to keep going, keep praying, keep obeying, keep serving, keep rebuilding, and keep looking through the eyes of faith.

The rain finally comes, and God gives Elijah special strength to run ahead of Ahab’s chariot. God does not merely change Elijah’s environment; He changes Elijah’s capacity. New ground requires new capacity, and God supplies grace, strength, and anointing for the season He calls His people into. Jesus must remain front and center, because the greatest evidence of revival is not what happened in a worship moment, but what changed after the moment was over.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith trusts before evidence arrives Faith does not wait for the report to improve before it begins trusting God. God’s word carries substance before circumstances offer proof. The unseen promise can become stronger than the visible drought when faith remembers who God has been. [13:56]
• 2. Repair the altar before seeking fire The altar represents the place of surrendered worship, prayer, hunger, and obedience. God often restores what has been torn down inside a person before He sends outward breakthrough. Fire without an altar becomes a moment, but a rebuilt altar becomes a life. [20:21]
• 3. Nothing yet is not nothing Elijah’s servant saw no sign of rain six times, but Elijah kept praying because God had already spoken. Delay can be a hidden place where God develops capacity, roots, and endurance. The word “yet” keeps faith alive when the sky still looks empty. [32:38]
• 4. Small beginnings carry God’s future The cloud was small, but Elijah recognized it as the beginning of what God promised. God does not measure a future by the size of its first visible sign. A little restored faith, a small step of obedience, or a new hunger for God can become the beginning of rain. [33:46]
• 5. God gives strength for the run Elijah ran in the rain with strength that did not come from natural ability. God supplies grace for the very season that His promise creates. The answered prayer may become the assignment of the next season, but God’s hand brings strength for every mile.
  
  ## [41:58]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:33] - Faith Before the Evidence
• [02:28] - Expectation and Revival Fire
• [06:23] - Elijah and Israel’s Drought
• [09:25] - A Divided Heart and False Gods
• [12:05] - God Speaks Rain Before It Appears
• [15:00] - Choose the Living God
• [20:03] - Repairing the Altar
• [22:26] - Fire Falls From Heaven
• [23:45] - The Fire Was Not the End
• [29:33] - Praying Through the Nothing Yet
• [33:31] - The Cloud the Size of a Hand
• [37:14] - Get Ready to Run
• [40:14] - Special Strength From God’s Hand
• [46:48] - Salvation and Rededication

Bible Reading

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” [00:33] [13:56] [14:09]

1 Kings 18:30-39
“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.’” [20:21] [22:26] [22:54]

1 Kings 18:41-45
“And Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.’ So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ And he went up and looked and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And he said, ‘Go again,’ seven times. And at the seventh time he said, ‘Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’ And he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, “Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.”’ And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.” [23:45] [29:33] [33:31] [33:46]

1 Kings 18:46
“And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” [40:14] [40:21] [41:58]

Observation questions

1. What did Elijah do before he prayed for fire, and what details show that the altar was fully rebuilt and the sacrifice was impossible to ignite naturally? [20:21]
2. What was Elijah’s main request in his prayer: personal success, rain, or that the people would know the Lord is God and turn their hearts back to Him?
3. In 1 Kings 18:41-45, what did Elijah say he heard before there was any cloud, and what did he keep doing while the servant repeatedly reported, “There is nothing”?
4. What changed from the first six reports to the seventh report, and how did Elijah respond to the small cloud? [33:21]

Interpretation questions

1. Elijah repaired the altar before fire fell. What does this show about why God may first restore prayer, worship, hunger, conviction, and surrender before changing outward circumstances? [21:00]
2. Elijah had already received God’s promise of rain, yet he still bowed down and prayed. How does this shape the way believers should respond when they are trusting God for something He has placed on their hearts? [31:04]
3. The people declared, “The LORD, he is God,” after the fire fell, but the rain still had not come. Why is a powerful moment with God not meant to be the finish line? [23:53]
4. Elijah ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot only because the hand of the Lord was upon him. What does this reveal about the strength needed for a new season, a new responsibility, or an answered prayer? [42:06]

Application questions

1. Where are you currently waiting for visible evidence—perhaps in your health, finances, family, work, or faith? What would it look like for you to trust God before the report changes? [00:49]
2. Is there an altar in your life that needs repair: consistent prayer, honest worship, time in Scripture, obedience, hunger for God, or a heart that has been divided? What is one small, specific step you could take this week to rebuild it? [20:24]
3. Are there places where you have tried to stay surrendered to God while also holding tightly to control? What would choosing the living God with your whole heart look like in that situation? [16:10]
4. What is your “nothing yet” right now? How can adding the word “yet” change the way you pray, speak, and keep showing up this week? [32:38]
5. What small cloud might God already be allowing you to see—a restored desire to pray, a hard conversation, a small improvement in a relationship, a new opportunity, or a step of faith? How can you recognize that beginning without despising its size? [36:34]
6. Has there been a meaningful moment with God that you do not want to fade into a “spiritual vacation”? What practical rhythm could help you carry that renewed faith into ordinary days at home, work, and in your relationships? [28:18]
7. What answered prayer or new assignment feels bigger than your current strength? Where do you need to ask God to place His hand on your life and give you grace for the run ahead? [40:21]