The altar and the trench: Many times we build altars to protect ourselves. At the training we build altars, but then we come back and then come off the altar. So we need to build a trench to protect us from that. So someone comes and asks us to come watch a movie, but we can tell them that we can't because we have a trench, which is a protection from us and other people of the world. We are believers and we live with unbelievers, and this is a good thing, or else no one would get saved. So the land around the altar is the world. There were two measures of seed, and this seed is the growth. When we grow the seeds around the altar ... but the main point is that we need to build altars and we need a trench around it to protect us from this world. (Natalie)

Praise the Lord, what an enjoyable time. I really enjoyed seeing God's testimony rather than seeing God's need, and the difference between the two. I enjoyed specifically the portion about having the one cake and how God provides just what he needs for us. Everything he plans for us is not too much or too little, but just right for what need. Elijah was not a prophet in just one day; at the end of time he reached the full maturity.(Derek)

Elijah had to pass through a process even though he was such a great, powerful prophet. In chapter seventeen, he told Ahab, when I say rain, it will rain, yet afterward he ran away because of just one woman. Yet God still uses him. Our spiritual life is just up and down. This is so that God can train our humanity to be fine. Even though Elijah was selfish, stupid, a coward, God still used him. When he ran for his life, after he sent down fire and slaughtered the prophets of Baal, a lot of them, and after doing such a great thing, everyone believed that Jehovah is God, yet he ran for his life because one woman was after him. Then he hid in a cave. Then God came with a quiet voice and sent him to anoint even though he was weak. (Allen)

I enjoyed that God would use such a coward like Elijah. Even though he failed, was so afraid, it touched me, just like us we could do so many good things for the Lord yet be so cowardly. Sometimes I feel so weak, yet the Lord can still use me. It's so touching. Elijah's humanity really touches me, that he would be willing to let Elisha replace him. God told him to do three things, to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha to replace him. Yet he knew that the last point for his replacement was the most important. I don't think I would do this, but Elijah knew what was on God's heart. I need to really listen to God, to what is important and lay down myself.(Aaron)

I enjoyed how God tested Elijah's security. You have to learn to trust the Lord and let go. For Elijah it was his cave. Yet we need to learn to listen to God's voice. Elijah had the wind, earthquake coming, and he finally realized that he would die in the cave, so he finally came out to listen to God's voice. We need to realize that everything we hold on to can be destroyed, only what God gives is what will not be destroyed. (Natasha)

I was touched to see when Elijah identified himself with the boy. In my own life I have tried to identify myself, who am I? Until I realize that I am a child of God, I am a son. The evangelist should have a healing ministry, something like that. When I try to help someone who is dead, we have victory over death through our faint in JC. How great to identify ourselves. Without Christ I still don't know who I am, but with him, I am happy and am one with him. (Guy Bergeron)

In the beginning of Genesis, Let us make man in our image after our likeness. This means that God put the spirit into us so that we have the spirit inside us, and we have the body to present God himself. And God commanded man to have dominion to rule the land, that's why God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and told them to rule over the land. It's the same with us--we're men, and we have to take care of the land. God's intention is first the man, which is us, and then the land, which is the local church, the brothers and sisters. We need to be real men, meaning that we need to have a strong spirit. And we need a proper soul. Then we can have a body to present and express God. This is our Christian living: we need to be a real man, and we need to take care of the land, shepherd it, rule over it, which is all saints. But sometimes we know too much, God's economy, but we're not willing to pay the price to give ourselves to the Lord, thinking of how much the Lord can give us, but not of how much we can give to the Lord. Elijah and Elisha are a good example to us. Today we're here because the Lord gave himself to us. We can never think it is too much to love the Lord. That's because we're not willing to pay the price. Lord, I just want to give myself to you once more. Help me to grow more, to put your life into me, so I can develop and take care of your land. (Elaine)

I was touched by Elijah's example when Elisha was ploughing, allowing God to grow in him. When Elijah called him, Elisha didn't even finish the days' work, but only told his parent behind. Elisha had such a large field with so many oxen, a rich life, but he decided to choose the Lord. He just did it and followed the Lord. To say goodbye to your family, a good job, school, I don't know if I would be able to do that, giving up so much for the Lord. Even when Elisha was serving Elijah, he was so humble. Sometimes when you're asked to do something, you can't help letting your self get in the way. But Elisha was so humble, saying, teach me everything. As long as your soul lives, I will follow you. We have an example of how we need to minister, to drop ourselves and just pursue the Lord.(Stacy)

My favourite part was the practice time of how to touch the Lord. I grew up differently, and we never did this. To say O Lord Jesus was so hard for me, so weird. But now I see that it really works, to bring the Lord into me, make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. (Katy from Indiana University, Bloomington)

I enjoyed the resurrection life. Elijah laid his body on the dead boy, and put his eyes, palms, mouth, on the boy's. These are the sources of death, where death comes out and goes in of us. But Elijah put his life over the boy's death. So what came of the boy was a spiritual man. So this boy become all in resurrection. This is also an example of humanity. It's not a matter of exposing the sinner's death, but covering it with life.

About the barley loaves no matter how much the task, the church is able to meet the need in completion upon completion. On my campus we have so many new ones. But it's not a matter of our personal human capacity, but a matter of the body of Christ. The church can fill all these needs. His life is completion upon completion. For me to see the body here, in NYC, back home in Chicago, is so wonderful. (Sister from Chicago/NYC )

I feel there were so many things here, and it will take time for them to filter down. But at the end, when talking of Elisha's death, the king said, My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel--without Christ there is no hope. God gave us the image and the land to rule over it. So in the end it comes down to Christ and the Church. This is also what we see in the arrows. (Mary from Indiana University, Bloomington)

What I saw in Elijah, even if he got scared for a while because of his weakness, even then he was still growing. The Lord showed him, don't be scared. I have control over everything. Discouragement doesn't come from God. It comes from the enemy, Satan. The word shows us, fortify yourself, be courageous, let not the book of life go away from you, meditate on it and you will succeed. The Bible tells us that we can't accept discouragement and persecution, or we'll stop growing. Even when our body grows weak, the inner man growing in us gets stronger and stronger day by day. This is through our hardships, tribulation. This is how we enter the kingdom. So we must never get discouraged. Elijah was a great man of God, by the grace of our Lord. (Rino)

I really enjoyed the morning time. Ever year I just sleep during that morning time. But this year, they had it again. I've been in the church life all my life, but calling on the Lord has always been weird for me. The first session was on calling on the Lord, so I decided I would just pray. But my mind was just on the world. So I didn't know what to pray. Inadvertently, I just started calling, because I didn't know what to pray. This was my first time that I really touched the Lord by calling. Then all week I started singing a song I used to hate, O Jesus what a name. But then it was so real to me and so enjoyable.

Then my situation is still the same, but I've started including the Lord in my experiences. I just found myself spontaneously talking to the Lord through things. I even started talking to my friend on MSN about Jesus, and I wasn't even arguing. Jesus, O what a name! (Wendy)

One practical point is that we need to see for ourselves is that each of us has a jar of oil. Many times we feel we have nothing, the Lord has taken everything away. Our food, our loved ones, everything we have, are all gone. But no matter what we don't have, we always have a jar of oil, the Spirit within us. And this oil is always ready to be poured out. As we pour into the ones we love, the ones we care for, the Spirit will be so bountiful. Then Satan has no ground, and we have a rich church life. (Jeff from Toronto)

The Lord spoke to us this week that we need to be an absolute people. We saw many people around Elijah and Elisha who were not absolute. First we have Ahab, my father's brother. An uncle can love his nephew, but when times are hard, he's gone. A father is with the child the whole life.

Then we have Obadiah, a good Christian, saving a hundred prophets. But he didn't make a good stand. God wanted his testimony, but Obadiah in his goodness didn't do anything about it. If each day a prophet had spoken to Ahab and had been killed, at least there would be a hundred days of testimony, and something could have happened.

Titus has a heart for the testimony here, and wants the young people to be stirred up. We need to be those absolute for the Lord, willing to be developed. The king shot the arrow, then took the other and hit the ground just three times. Then Elisha got angry that he stopped there. Many times we're satisfied where we're at, with being a good Christian. But God's not satisfied; he wants us to go all out for Jesus. I need to be absolute, to apply myself to the church. (Justin from Toronto)

I enjoyed Titus' spirit pouring out unto us. His heart was so much for the saints that he would forget himself, even tough his voice was going. Elisha got mad because the king did not forget himself, but was just half-hearted.

How many times do we open our homes? This past week, we opened our homes until we had no more room. This is cherishing the saints, this is pouring ourselves out, hitting the ground. It means little to be in the meetings. The Lord comes in the little things. A brother wants to see a movie, and you bring him there, buys the ticket, waits for him, and is with him when he comes out. There's no way he's not gained, that something in him is not touched. This shows me how short I've been. (Martin)

Chapter seventeen, Elijah told Ahab that there wouldn't be any rain until he said so. He was very proud, certain of himself. Then the Lord had to bring him to Jordan, to Cherith, which means cutting, and Jordan is descending. So he's been cut while he's descending. We can't be so proud, or the Lord will do anything for us to be cut and to descend. This last year, I really gained something of the Lord, realizing that all our pride is really what is keeping the Lord from gaining us. We really need to be cut, we can't be afraid when the Lord puts us in such situations. (Esther)

No matter what our situation, the Lord always provides us one cake. It's like the jar of oil that never runs out. If we need a lot, he will give a lot. If we need a little, he will give a little. He always fills our supply. Even if we think he's not there, the cake is still there. (Monica)

Elijah, the raven and the bread, I read it four times, but never realized that each item has a meaning. Elijah is God is Jehovah, Tishbite is captivity, and Gilead is witness. Every time I call the Lord's name, I felt embarrassed, as if I was crazy. Brother Chew said, to be a Christian, you have to be nut. My name is Jesus is Lord, I am captured. We have to be so joyful, so captured to him. I was with Rebecca and Elaine this week, and it was such a blessing, as they taught me to call on the Lord, and praise his name. (Cindy)

There was so much to enjoy. I like the way the Word was opened up to me. You read the Bible and it might just be words on a page. But the way Titus opened the Word, there's so much in the Bible that we don't see, because we don't go to the Lord, saying, show me. Titus stands on other's shoulders, but he goes to the Word to get his own riches. This book, the Bible, everything we require is right there. Every sentence, the positioning, the conjunctions, everything--I was so blown away. I want to come to the Lord in that way. So it's good to attach ourselves to others. And I also enjoyed the pray-reading and the read-praying. (Peggy)

When Elisha made a trench, marked a limit, this an altar for God, reserved for God. The other altar is for others. God responded by fire, because he's a real God, and burnt everything, the ... ourselves, and everything. We each have a talent, but we need to use this one talent only for God. (Norma)

We need to praise the Lord that the training was here in Montreal. On the first day, I enjoyed how the brother gave us the picture of man and the land. Man must be related to the land, and the land in this case is the local church. Throughout the week he expanded on certain aspects of this. The local church is our salvation. This is the one that gives us the resurrection life. When we're down, it's the saints in the church that will resurrect us. God has given us a piece of land, the locality where we are. This land is for us to partake of, and to protect us. A good man can make the land good, and a good land can make the man good. Good in the sense that we can become part of the Lord's testimony. If the land is week, but we are good, we can recover the land. I moved from Akron to Montreal. Where is my consecration? I can pray for the land in Detroit, in Toronto. We saw how burdened he was for the young ones. But we older ones need to labour. We need to take the arrows and hit the ground again and again, no matter how old we are. The Lord won't tell us when to stop. Until he tells us, we hit and we hit and hit. That is our salvation. This land is our resurrection, this land will save us. (Chew)

I was struck by the difference between Elijah and Obadiah and how we need to give something for God and not just let God give something for us. I realized how much I don't give myself to the Lord. (Diane)