Lessons from Elijah

We're going to be in 1 Kings chapter 18 today, taking a little step away from Jonah this morning.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

I wasn't sure what this was going to look like as far as our setup.

I wasn't sure if we would have a screen or a live stream broadcast or any of that.

Thankfully, people got together and made that happen.

And I'm grateful for the team who showed up this morning.

We were up here. I did not look like this.

We were just getting everything ready and over at the church, bringing some things over.

And I'm grateful for that group as well.

So we're taking a step away from Jonah this morning and we'll finish our series on Jonah next Sunday.

So make sure you're in your place for that.

But Jonah chapter 4 will be next Sunday.

Jonah 4 · chapter mention

Today we're in 1 Kings chapter 18.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

I'm going to ask you, just so nobody falls asleep on this, if you can,

If it's not too difficult for you where you're sitting, if you're able to just join us in standing,

let's read 1 Kings chapter 18 together.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

You follow along as I read.

I'm reading from the New Living Translation.

Later on in the third year of the drought,

this is happening in God's people of the nation of Israel.

So the Lord said to Elijah, great prophet,

Go and present yourself to King Ahab.

Tell him that I will soon send rings.

So Elijah went to appear before Ahab.

Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria.

So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace.

Obadiah was actually a devoted follower of the Lord.

Once Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord's prophets.

And Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves.

So 50 prophets in each cave had supplied them with food and water.

So Ahab says to Obadiah,

We've got to check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass

to save at least some of my horses and mules.

Great King Ahab there really worried about his people.

Actually, he's worried about saving his own horses and mules.

So he says in verse 6, it says,

They divided the land between them.

Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him.

Elijah, Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him.

Is it really you, my lord, Elijah?

He asked.

Yes, it is, Elijah replied.

Now go and tell your master, Elijah is here.

Oh, sir, Obadiah protested.

What harm have I done to you that you're sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab?

For I swear by the Lord your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you.

And each time he was told, Elijah is here.

King Ahab would force the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim.

And now you tell me, go and tell your master, Elijah is here.

But as soon as I leave you, the spirit of the Lord will carry you away to who knows where.

When Ahab comes and finds you, he cannot find you.

He will kill me.

Yet I have been a true servant of the Lord all my life.

As no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord's prophet.

I hid a hundred of them in two days and supplied them with food and water.

And now you say, go and tell your master, Elijah is here, sir.

If I do that, Ahab will certainly kill you.

So he's stressing out, right?

Elijah, you're sending me to my death because I know you're not going to wait around for him to come kill you.

Please don't do this.

But Elijah says in verse 15, I swear on the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day.

So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come.

And Ahab went out to meet Elijah.

When Ahab saw him, he explained, so is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?

Elijah says in verse 18, I have made no trouble for Israel.

You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshipped the images of Baal, this false god, instead.

Verse 19, now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel along with the 450 prophets of Baal, 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.

Let's pray.

God, you're about to tell an incredible story of how you won today.

I pray that you would win today, today, and in our hearts, and in our church, we'll give you all the glory in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may receive it.

Thank you for standing so long.

Verse 20.

We had to set the stage here, and now we're going to preach through the rest of this passage.

This is one of my personal favorite Bible stories that we find in the Old Testament.

Elijah on Mount Carmel.

And we have some lessons that we can take away from this today that I believe will help all of us and help our church.

So we left off.

King Ahab, wicked King Ahab, had been seeking to find the prophet of God because he didn't worship the one true God.

He worshipped Baal, this false god, this idol that had been made by man, and they lifted him up as though he was their creator.

He was their God.

And so, of course, they resisted and rejected anyone who was worshipping and telling others to worship the one true actual God, Jehovah.

And so, Elijah was public enemy number one in Ahab's eyes.

He'd been searching high and low for him.

The word was out, bring the head of Elijah to King Ahab.

So then Elijah says, King Ahab, here I am.

Come find me.

And he came.

And Elijah stayed there and waited for him.

And then Elijah issues a challenge.

He says, go and bring all 450 prophets of Baal to meet me here.

So what happens?

Verse 20.

Ahab does more than that.

He obeys, actually, Elijah's request to summon all of Israel.

He says, Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and those 450 prophets to Mount Carmel.

Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, how much longer will you waver?

Wavering between or hobbling between these two opinions.

If the Lord is God, follow him.

But if Baal is God, follow him.

But the people were completely silent.

Do you see this?

These are God's people.

These are God's chosen people.

He's been walking with them, protecting them, leading and guiding them from their very beginning.

But they have allowed people to sway them.

They have allowed others to come in and get their attention off of the God who has always been there, never left, never failed.

But they have allowed themselves to be seduced or drawn away by other false gods.

King Ahab was a Baal worshiper.

And Israel followed right along with him.

So Elijah says, we're going to have a showdown.

We're going to get together and we're going to win this battle and this battle once and for all between Baal and the one true God.

So he issues a challenge.

Some of you, I know Israel, want to worship God.

Some of you know that God is real and Baal is not.

But you're on the fence.

You're sitting there and you won't make a decision because you don't want to be looked at in the wrong way.

You don't want to have the wrong label attached to you.

You don't want to be unpopular.

You don't want to be canceled.

Think we find ourselves in a similar situation in the world in which we live today?

It is certainly not popular to be a Jesus follower today.

And there's all kinds of reasons for that.

But one of the biggest reasons is the struggle between light and dark.

Between righteousness and unrighteousness.

Between truth and lies.

Between good and evil.

It's the same struggle that was happening back in Elijah's day.

As he was facing off against King Ahab and these prophets of Baal.

And I believe this challenge from Elijah is still good for us today.

How long, church, will we waver between two opinions?

If God is God, then follow him.

If man is God, if we are God, if the social culture of our world today is God, then follow it.

But if not, then follow God.

So what happens?

Let's read it.

The people would not make a decision.

They were silent.

They were sitting back and waiting to see what happened.

So, Elijah says in verse 22,

I'm the only prophet of the Lord who has left.

But there's 450 prophets of Baal.

So, bring two bowls.

Remember, this was the time of animal sacrifices.

We talked about this a couple weeks ago.

This was before the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ himself,

had come down to be the final sacrifice that would ever be needed.

So, we don't advocate animal sacrifices at all.

But back then, before Jesus came,

that's what they did to show repentance of their sins to their gods.

So, Elijah says, bring two bowls.

We're going to sacrifice them.

The prophets of Baal can choose whichever one they want.

And they cut it into pieces and they lay it on the wood of their altar.

So, we've got an altar of Baal over here.

They've got the big stones.

They've got the wood on top that they're going to burn.

They put the animal on top of that.

And then they're going to burn that up and offer it as a sacrifice

out of repentance for their sins to their god, Baal.

So, he says, you can do that, but don't set fire to it yet.

Hold off.

I will prepare the other bowl and I'll lay it over here on my altar, on my wood,

and I will not set fire to it yet.

Then, verse 24, call on the name of the Lord your God.

Your God.

Call on the name of your God.

And I will call on the name of the Lord God himself.

The God who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God.

Sound fair?

Well, the people would agree with you because all the people agree with you.

So, verse 25, this is one of the most dramatic stages that we get to see set in all of life.

Verse 25, Elijah says to the prophets of Baal, y'all go first.

There's many of you.

Choose one of your bowls, prepare it, call a name of the Lord your God, your God,

and do not set fire to the wood.

Baal's going to do that.

So, they prepared one of the bowls and they placed it on the altar.

Then, they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon time, shouting,

Oh, Baal!

Answer us, Baal!

But, there was no reply of any kind.

Anybody surprised?

No?

Me neither.

But, they hadn't wrapped their heads around that yet.

So, they keep shouting.

They dance all around the altar that they had made.

Oh, Baal!

Baal, we love you, Baal!

We worship you, Baal!

Baal, you're the most awesome Baal we ever did know.

We love you.

We give our hearts to you.

They probably had their own worship songs to Baal.

They were having a little worship concert out there, singing to Baal.

They were getting their worship on.

But, y'all, nothing was happening.

Baal, show yourself real.

Burn this fire.

Send fire down.

Burn this altar up.

Burn this bull up.

Show this doubter, doubting Elijah, that you are real.

You are God.

So, they did this until around lunchtime.

And then Elijah's had enough.

And he starts making fun.

And he says, about no time, Elijah began mocking them.

You'll have to shout louder.

Surely, he's a God.

Perhaps he's daydreaming.

Perhaps he's in the bathroom.

We don't know.

They all might be otherwise indisposed right now.

You'll have to shout a little louder and get his attention.

So, they redoubled their eyes.

I mean, they're screaming at the top of their lungs.

What does it say next?

They raved all afternoon.

Maybe, Elijah says, maybe he's away on a trip.

Maybe he's asleep and you'll have to wake him up.

Elijah says, have fun at this point.

And what happens?

They shouted louder.

And following their normal custom,

they cut themselves with knives and swords

until the blood gushed out.

Y'all, what kind of a religion was this?

Jesus does not ask us to cut ourselves.

Actually, he says, your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

You're supposed to take care of it.

He does not require you to do anything like that.

So, these guys are following this religion

that is literally causing them bodily harm.

So, they're trying to show their devotion to faith

by cutting themselves,

making themselves bleed and hurt.

So, they raved all afternoon

until the time of the evening sacrifice.

But there was no sound,

no reply,

no response.

Can we pause the story here just for a second?

Y'all will never do

what these prophets are doing.

I'll never do what these prophets are doing.

But you know what we do?

We try and try

to make something else our God

instead of Jesus.

And we devote ourselves to it

and we keep going back to it

time and time again

thinking it will give us hope,

thinking it will give us fulfillment,

thinking it will give us joy,

whether it's an unhealthy appetite

that we have

for alcohol,

for drugs,

for prescription drugs,

for pornography,

whatever it is that scratches the itch

that you just can't give it up

because you're devoted to it.

Just like these prophets

were devoted to their false God.

But I can promise you,

just like Baal was never going to answer them,

whatever that pursuit is,

other than God,

it will never fulfill you.

It will never give you

what you're looking for.

It will never provide

what God promises

to provide for you.

It might be family.

You might have an unhealthy obsession

with family.

It might be a toxic relationship

that you just can't give up.

It might be toxic traits

that you portray toward others.

And that's just how you've been

for so long,

you feel like you just can't change.

This is just who I am.

And you're all in on being that person.

It will always hurt you.

It will never help you.

It will never give you

what you're looking for.

So I don't think anybody in here

is going to go worship Baal.

But there's a whole lot of other things

besides God himself

that you and I do worship

on a daily basis.

Maybe it's sports.

Maybe it's living the dreams

that you never saw fulfilled

through your children.

Whatever it is,

don't let it become God

in your life.

because that God

will always let you down.

It'll never fulfill you.

So,

let's pick up the story.

Elijah finally

was done with it.

Verse 28.

I'm sorry,

verse 30.

Then Elijah called

to the people.

He said,

My turn.

Come on over here.

Y'all come over here now.

They all crowded around him

as he prepared

the altar of the Lord

that had been torn down.

Man,

this was significant.

God's altar

had been torn down

as the nation turned

toward Baal worship.

And Elijah takes this opportunity

to build it back up.

He said,

This is where we're going

to offer sacrifices

to the one true God

who actually hears us.

So,

he builds it back up.

He takes 12 stones.

One to represent

each of the tribes of Israel.

And then he uses those stones

to rebuild the altar

in the name of the Lord.

And then he dug a trench,

big hole in the ground,

all the way around the altar,

big enough to hold

about three gallons.

Then he piled the wood

on the altar,

cut the bowl into pieces,

and laid the pieces

on the wood.

Now,

he's not done yet.

This story's about

to get crazy.

Then he said,

Fill four large jars

with water

and pour the water

over the offering,

the bowl,

and the wood.

Now,

how many people in here

know how to build a fire?

How many of y'all

have watched that show

on Netflix

called Alone?

Yes,

I'm all about it, man.

It is great.

This thing about to go off

before.

Hey,

there we go.

We need those in the church.

That's pretty cool.

Yeah,

so I watched this show

called Alone.

Holly watched it with me some,

and it's these people

who get dropped off

in this remote location,

and they've got to survive.

They've heard the people

and spread out

into different areas,

and whoever survives

the longest wins

this massive amount.

So,

they're all out there

survivalists.

They know how to do it,

but it's amazing

to watch these people

start breaking down.

These people who are

so confident going in.

I've got all the skills.

I've got all the training.

I know what I'm doing out here,

and sometimes they can't

build a fire

for whatever reason.

Sometimes the wood

gets too wet,

right?

Sometimes their shelter

falls apart.

Something bad happens,

and they're just done.

They tap out.

They go on.

You can't build a fire

with wet wood,

right?

Everybody know that?

Like,

if you're trying

to build a fire,

find tri-wood.

The older,

the better,

right?

You can't build a fire

with wet wood.

What does it do?

It just smokes,

right?

It's not going to work.

So Elijah's trying

to burn this stuff up,

and he says,

let's pour water

all over it.

That'll make it better.

He's proven a point,

y'all.

So,

that's what happens.

They did it.

They poured water

all over the offering

in the wood,

and after they'd done it,

he said,

do it again.

So they'd go

fill up the jars again

and dump water

all over it again.

And when they were finished,

he said,

do it a third time.

So he went.

They went and did

as he said,

and the water ran

all over the altar

and filled up

that trench

that he had dug.

He knew what he was doing.

This altar,

this bowl,

this wood

is completely drenched,

soaked through.

And at the usual time

for offering

a leading sacrifice,

Elijah,

the prophet,

walked up to the altar

and prayed,

O Lord,

God of Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob,

prove today

that you are God

in Israel

and that I

am your servant.

Prove that I have done

all of this

at your command.

O Lord,

answer me.

Answer me

so these people know

that you,

O Lord,

are God

and that you

have brought them back

to yourself.

And what happens?

Immediately,

the fire of the Lord

flashed down

from heaven

and burned up

the bull,

burned up

the wood,

the soaking wet wood,

burned up

the stones,

and burned up

the dust.

It even

lit up

all the water

in the trench.

and when all

the people saw it,

they fell

face down

on the ground

and cried out,

The Lord,

He is God.

Yes,

the Lord

is God.

For the sake of time,

we'll stop there.

But listen,

my testimony

to you

is that

the Lord

is God.

The Lord

came through

for Elijah

that day

and the Lord

will come through

for you.

Now,

He may not always

come through

the way you ask Him.

He may not always

come through

just as He did

for Elijah

when Elijah

builds up

this altar,

lays out the plan

and says,

God,

now it's your turn

and God came through

just as Elijah

had hoped.

But I can promise you

the Lord

is God

and the Lord

will prove

that He is God

time and time again

all throughout

the pages of Scripture

time and time again

all throughout

the history of church

all around this world

and time and time again

in the history

of your lives

of my life

God has come through

God has made Himself

real

God has proved

that He is

the one true God

and there is nothing else

that makes God

want to prove Himself

more

than His people

calling out in faith

and saying,

God,

show that you are God.

Show to a lost world

without you

that you are God.

listen,

that gets God's attention

that makes God work

that makes God

come through

that makes Him intervene

last Sunday

we talked about

how God can do

anything

God can work

on hard hearts

God can turn

hard hearts

just like He did

with the men of them

just like He did

right here

for these

Baal worshipping

wandered far away

children of Israel

and He can do it

for you

maybe you've wandered far

maybe your heart

is far from God

maybe this is your

first time to church

in a long time

maybe you've been

coming to church

for a long time

but your heart

has still wandered

far away

God can bring it back

God can get your attention

call out to Him

today

just as Elijah did

call out

to God

today

and the fire

will fall

the fire

will come through

God will show

Himself real

in your heart

would you bow your heads

with me?

God, I don't know

what people need

from you today

Elijah needed

a big old

flashy miracle

maybe there's people

that just need

a reminder

that you are real

that you are present

that you are with them

God, whatever it is

show yourself

real today

turn our hearts

away from Baal

turn our hearts

away from whatever

Baal substitute

we have put into

our lives

turn our hearts

away from our

selfishness

our pride

our ego

our dishonesty

our fear

whatever it is

our addictions

God, turn us

from that

and turn us

back to you

you didn't give up

on your people

you didn't give up

on them just because

they turned their backs

on you

you used your prophet

to get their attention

and say

no

God is God

Baal is not God

God, use your scriptures

once again this morning

to get our attention

to remind us

that you are

God alone

you will always come

to

churches

Jared plays

would you keep your heads

bowed

would you remain in your

seats

and let's enter into

a time of prayer

before we leave this place

and we go back to our day

would you let the music

wash over you

let the preaching

of your word

convict you

where the Holy Spirit

wants to point

your attention

every man

woman

and child

in this room

man it's an entertaining

story

what does it mean

for me

it means there's

something in your life

it's probably

has a bigger place

than God

it's an idol

we've kind of given up

something in your life

that's distracted you

from your love

and your commitment

to the one

true

almighty God

and he wants to

remind you today

that he is real

he is powerful

he can do

anything

maybe you need

God to intervene

I know I need

there's things

in my life

I need God

to intervene

I need him to step in

and show that he is God

and maybe you have

the same thing

God at this moment

right now

convict hearts

draw people to yourself

we'll give you

all the glory

there's someone

here today

who doesn't know

that they're a child

of God

I'm going to ask you

to slip your hand up

right now

and say I'd like to

give my life to Jesus

today

before we leave this place

I'd like to give my life

to Jesus

would you slip your hand up

and I'll pray for you

thank you

church is there anybody

else who would say

I need prayer

God's working on me

about something

would you just pray

for me

God's working with me

right now

would you slip your hand up

and I'll pray for you

thank you

thank you

thank you

thank you

God you see those hands

you know what's going on

going on in our hearts

God

make yourself

so real to them

in this moment

show us how big you are

how kind you are

how gracious you are

and how powerful you are

so much more powerful

than anything else

for you

.

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