"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers..."
Malachi 4:5-6
Elijah House was founded with the mandate to restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers (Malachi 4:5-6). This is being accomplished by equipping the saints with biblical tools for discerning root issues founded upon universal laws in the Word of God to allow true healing.
These scriptural and universal laws...
• Honor your father and mother... that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you (Deuteronomy 5:16)
• Do not judge, lest you be judged (Matthew 7:1-2)
• Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap (Galatians 6:7-8)
• For in that you judge another, you condemn yourself (Romans 2:1)
...are as sure as the law of gravity, and we are all subject to them whether or not we believe them. When we break these laws, we set in motion forces that (without God's intervention) must be reaped by simple, impersonal law-law that is absolute and eternal. In our sinful responses to wounding, we begin early on to develop patterns of behavior that cause us to reap in adulthood the very thing we have worked so hard to avoid.
Add to these laws the principle of increase: what we sow will come back to us as multiplied (both good and evil). For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind Hosea 8:7a (NAS). The laws of God are both natural and spiritual: For example, in physics, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"; in the spiritual...whatever a man sows, this he will also reap Galatians 6:7b (NAS).
So why do we need to be healed? Although Christ has fully accomplished our death on the cross, our carnal nature refuses to stay dead-it springs back to life: See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled... Hebrews 12:15 (NAS).
Many Christians have rightly celebrated salvation as a free gift but have not understood that they are to grow up in it. They have celebrated with Paul that by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are [being] sanctified (Hebrews 10:14) without understanding sanctification as a process and without acknowledging with Paul, Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12).
As Christians, we tend to press on in terms of managing behavior rather than renewing our mind and receiving a new heart, which naturally changes behavior. Many have tried to forget "what lies behind" (Philippians 3:13) by ignoring the past rather than by letting the Holy Spirit search the innermost parts of the heart in order to allow Jesus to deal specifically with deeply ingrained attitudes. They have attempted to put aside the old self with its practices of anger, wrath, malice and slander, as if these were present, external expressions only, whereas Jesus called the Pharisees (and us) to "clean the INSIDE of the cup" (Matthew 23:36).
There are several ingredients in ministry conducted at Elijah House, and imparted through our training, to facilitate the process of sanctification. All ingredients are grounded in Scripture and led of the Holy Spirit. At their center are these three, which call us to wholeness:
• Repentance: exercising godly grief based on love for God and for those who have been wounded, resulting in real change.
• Confession: bringing what has been held in secret to the light.
• Forgiveness: releasing those who have hurt us to God, and asking Him to forgive us for our own sin.
It is by these three acts that we are reconciled to God and to one another. Christ's work is complete, but God is still at work in our lives. True freedom requires first recognizing that many of today's problems have their roots in our sinful responses to yesterday's wounds and cannot easily be erased by fleshly efforts at good behavior. For more in-depth information about sanctification and transformation, read John and Paula Sandford's classic book, Transformation of the Inner Man.
Writing Ministry: Declaring Transformation & Restoration
Books and tapes are the most far-reaching messengers available to this day. John and Paula Sandford have authored and co-authored over 16 books and booklets, many of them known all over the world. Their first book, The Elijah Task, published in 1977, still receives high acclaim as a pioneering work in the prophetic movement as we know it today. In fact, so interested were Christians to read more from John Sandford on the prophetic office and its function that he was commissioned by Baker Book House to write its sequel; Elijah Among Us has since been published with endorsements from Dutch Sheets and Jim Goll.
Other classic titles by John and Paula Sandford include The Transformation of the Inner Man, Restoring the Christian Family and Healing the Wounded Spirit which remain relevant works to all who seek serious, biblical answers for overcoming woundedness and sin.
Teaching Ministry: Equipping the Church
This is a broad area of ministry as it incorporates imparting the principles of transformation and restoration in many ways-through conferences, seminars, training events, schools and internships-locally and around the world. Elijah House offers a comprehensive course to equip the Church for effective ministry. Facilitated Video Schools are currently our most prolific form of ministry training, offering the greatest flexibility and value. Elijah House also offers an internship program for further training in Elijah House's model for prayer ministry.
Along with its speaking ministry, Elijah House offers Ministry to pastors, leaders, Christian counselors (professional and lay), and a variety of other professionals. Video Facilitated Schools are also available.
Prayer Ministry: Repentance & Restoration Applied
Elijah House prayer ministry was founded through the pioneering work of John and Paula Sandford in transforming lives through prayer. It is primarily pastoral in nature, based on scriptural principles and led by the Holy Spirit. A key principle of prayer ministry at Elijah House will always include looking for the root causes that lie beneath the surface of most problems. Bitter roots, as we call them, are root issues that continue to feed those things in us that lead to broken relationships, habitual sin, and many other kinds of "bad fruit." Once roots are discovered, the prayer minister leads the person in prayer to the foot of the Cross, to forgive those who wounded him/her, as well as to receive forgiveness for judging, condemning, criticizing, etc.
Each year, many individuals and families come from around the world to be ministered to and to receive healing through prayer ministry.
A Prayer When a Situation Seems Impossible - Your Daily Prayer - April 24
My wife has recently painted these words on a wall in our house as a reminder to us both: “Mightier than the waves of the sea, is His love for us!” (Inspired by Psalm 93:4). Please remember this. Mightier than the tempest you are facing is His love for you!