Win The World: Resolute Faith

Hello, and welcome to the Kalamazoo church of Christ podcast.

Thank you so much for listening.

We're startup church.

We just planted in September, 2020 and at the Kalamazoo church, we believe that Christianity is done best when it is done together.

And so if you live in the Kalamazoo area, we would love to connect, be it coming to a Sunday service, one of our small groups, or even just grabbing coffee with a member to learn more.

You can visit kalamazoo.church in order to do that.

We pray that you are inspired by what you hear today.

First Kings.

Okay.

I know you guys are tired.

We're going to read a little bit of a passage here, it won't be too heavy, but we're going to read about Elijah from out of Carmel.

First Kings, we're going to be in verse 16 to start, but so we're going to be talking about having resolute faith.

If you don't know what the word resolute means, it means being purposeful, determined, and unwavering.

Come on up.

Okay.

So we're going to read a passage about some idols.

I'm sure you guys have heard of a few, but the world worships many other gods and many other idols other than ours.

And we might be intimidated by these things in the world, but they're no bigger than our God.

It feels like these things have more influence on us, but we have nothing to fear.

And I love this story from Elijah.

We're going to start in verse 16 here.

First Kings, chapter 18, verse 16.

1 Kings 18:16

Sorry if I didn't say it.

All right.

It says, So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

When he saw Elijah, he said to him, is that you, you troubler of Israel?

I have not made trouble for Israel, Elijah replied, but you and your father's family have.

You have abandoned the Lord's commands and have followed the Baals.

Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel and bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table.

So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.

Elijah went before the people and said, how long will you waver between two opinions?

If the Lord is God, follow him.

But if Baal is God, follow him.

But the people said nothing.

Then Elijah said to them, I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left.

But Baal has 450 prophets.

Get two bowls for us.

Let Baal's prophets choose one for themselves and let them cut into pieces and put it on the wood, but not set fire to it.

I will prepare the other bowl and put it on the wood, but not set fire to it.

Then you call on the name of your God and I will call on the name of the Lord.

The God who answers by fire.

He is God.

Then all the people said, what you say is good.

We're going to stop there real quick.

Elijah is in a bit of a moment here.

He's going up against a total of 850 prophets right now.

And I love that he even says, like, I am the only prophet for God.

And it sounds like he almost takes pride in it, actually.

Like, bring him on.

Bring on 850.

Bring 850.

Bring 850 more if you really want to.

My God can handle it.

Elijah is confident in who God is.

Now let's continue.

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose one of the bowls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you.

Call on the name of your God, but do not light the fire.

So they took the bowl given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon.

Baal, answer us.

They shouted, but there was no response.

No one answered.

And they danced around the altar they had made.

At noon, Elijah began to taunt them.

Shout louder, he said.

Surely he is a god.

Perhaps he is deep in thought or busy or traveling.

Maybe he is sleeping.

It must be awakened.

We're going to stop there a little bit.

I don't know about you guys.

It seems to me like Elijah is almost, like, taunting them.

Like, where's your God?

He's traveling?

Oh, he's on vacation, in a sense?

That's a weird thing.

I was actually, as I was reading this, I was like, wow.

He almost sounds cocky, even.

A little bit about his faith in God.

I think there's one kind of pride in the Bible that is okay.

And that is our pride in God.

That doesn't mean we get to throw our faith in God in people's faces.

But I think what I want to get across to us today is that we do need to stand firm.

We need to be strong.

And we need to be proud, in a humble fashion, of who we serve.

Nobody likes to follow somebody that, you know, believes in something halfway or whatever.

Or only, you know, only knows a little bit, in a sense.

Like, they want to follow somebody who knows what they're convicted in.

They have strong convictions and believe strongly.

People like that.

People want to follow.

Now we're going to continue.

What was I here?

Verse 28.

He was ringing at the door.

Was I?

I don't think so.

Maybe not.

Can you check, please?

It was very quiet.

Okay.

Yeah, we don't want it.

It was you who was waiting outside the door for like a while yesterday, right?

Maybe, maybe.

I don't want that to happen again.

All right, verse 28.

So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears as was their custom, until their blood flowed.

Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.

But there was no response, and no one answered, and no one paid attention.

Then Elijah said to all the people, Come here to me.

They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.

Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, Your name shall be Israel.

With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two sias, or seed.

He arranged the wood, cut the pole into pieces, and laid it on the wood.

Then he said to them, Fill four large jars with water, and pour it on the offering and on the wood.

Do it again, he said.

And they did it again.

Do it a third time, he ordered.

And they did it a third time.

The water ran down around the altar, and he even filled the trench.

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed, Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and have done all these things at your command.

Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are churning their hearts back again.

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also lift up the water in the trench.

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, The Lord, he is God.

The Lord, he is God.

That's what we'll finish there.

Wow, this is an interesting story.

He drenches this whole altar.

It's like, oh my gosh, you guys didn't even have water on it?

Let me show you how strong my God is.

He will drench this thing three times, and he will still bring fire down.

He'll take the whole thing.

That's a lot of confidence that you got.

That's a confidence that I would say almost is rare nowadays.

Almost a confidence that's in some ways looked down upon.

But sometimes we come across people with strong faith, and can be a little off-putting even.

Like, whoa, this guy's a little difficult to be around.

People of high standards, high faith, high morals, a little higher, they call you higher in a sense.

So we are still given the courage to stand up for God amongst a difficult world.

For those of you who've never been to Estonia before, share a little stats about Estonia.

Only 14% of Estonians consider themselves religious, actually.

Around 50% believe there is some sort of spirit or life force, but not really sure what it could be.

And around 30% are sure that there is no God at all.

I don't know if you guys noticed, but this is one of the most atheistic countries in the world.

Obviously the Estonians know it, but for Americans.

This is a different kind of place, I'll tell you, than reaching out in the States.

So, it's interesting.

I think of this place a lot of times as like, there's 850 prophets here.

It looks a little intimidating, people are a little hard to talk to, it's hard to stand up to.

But, we have one strong God.

And he is strong enough, especially in this country.

Elijah was the only prophet for God.

And God was satisfied with just one.

And he's satisfied with just in each and every one of us.

I just thought of a quote, can't think of the guy who even said it, who said, I would rather have five devoted men than 300 men who just were soldiers, in a sense.

We've committed to our God and God can use us, that's for sure.

It doesn't take much for God to show his strength in each and every one of us.

But it's only a choice that you get to let yourself use the spirit that's within each of us.

We think we're up against a big and scary God in terms of this world.

Especially, such as sharing faith in a different country, it's a little intimidating at first.

But you guys have been doing it now for at least a week.

Hopefully it's gotten a little easier.

The thing I always like to think about whenever I go to a new country is, I have nothing to lose.

None of these people will remember me.

I had that mindset the first three months I was here, and then I started seeing people that I knew.

Oh, hey, you've already actually talked to me.

But you guys don't have to worry about that, in a sense.

Be bold.

You get one chance.

Maybe you come back to Estonia one day, which we hope.

But be bold.

So, one more scripture we're going to read in 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 7.

2 Timothy 1:7

Come on, bro.

We're going to actually read verse 6 through 8.

This is what I read every time before I reach out.

This helps me get in the mindset.

Chapter 1, 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 6 through 8.

2 Timothy 1:6–8

I need somebody to read in English and Estonian, actually.

Brandon, can you read the Estonian, please?

Okay, Gavin's going to read it in English.

Estonian go first.

Yes.

6 through 8.

For this reason I remind you to fan and to flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.

So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me, his prisoner.

Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of the God of suffering.

He's doing a reference.

Join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

Amen.

Thank you.

So, when I read this passage, I feel challenged in two ways.

One, don't be scared.

And the second, is that God is in control.

I needed the first reminder a lot when I was first sharing my faith as a younger person.

Like, oh my gosh, what are they thinking of me?

What are they going to do?

What are they going to say?

Could they say no?

More likely than not, usually.

Yes, no.

I don't know about you guys, what I usually now need encouraging of is the second part, though.

God is in control.

It is not me that is speaking.

It is your Holy Spirit, hopefully, that is working in these people.

Yeah, yeah.

And I want to remind you guys of that.

Of course, it is still a little bit, you know, just a little nervous to share your faith with somebody, no matter how many times you do it.

But do remember, either way, if you are confident or if you are nervous, God is the one who speaks through our spirit.

So, that is kind of what I just wanted to talk about for today.

Let's end with a prayer, and then we will kind of go through the rest of the day and figure out the rest of it, okay?

Cool.

Can somebody pray for us here?

In Estonian, and in English, actually.

Estonian?

And in English.

Okay, Jim.

So, Estonian first, yeah?

Dear God, Lord, Father, just give us, God, give us great faith, Lord.

Give us faith that is inexplicable, Lord, that we can't point to ourselves.

And we will just be able to lift you up, lift your name up, Father.

I pray that we won't leave anything on the table, Father.

You know, I know that there's so much.

There's, like, decisions, like, I think, every day, but certainly, you know, being here, if we're going to shrink back or if we're going to pull back, okay, amen.

But there's stuff on the table, then, Father.

I pray that we just leave this next week with no regrets, God, that there's no, I wish I would have, I should have said this, I could have pushed more.

I pray that we, and I pray that we invest entirely in sharing our faith, Lord, and, you know, sharing our faith, meeting with disciples.

God, meeting with people who are in the church but not disciples yet, so many teens, Father.

I really just want to pray that our time is, that you look back on it and that you are, you're honored by it, God.

Lord, we love you.

This is in Jesus' name that we pray, amen.

Amen.

Awesome.

Alrighty.

So, we are going to go eat lunch now?

Yes.

Where do we go?

I don't know where the schedule is separating lunch.

Right.

Thank you so much for listening to the Kalamazoo Church of Christ podcast.

If you're in the Kalamazoo area, we'd love to get connected.

Please go to kalamazoo.church and fill in your information to come to a Sunday service or any other event that we have going on.

In any case, you'll be hearing from us next week.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.