Standing In Fire

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Well, turn your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 18.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

And I am excited this morning to be speaking a message called Standing in the Fire.

1 Kings chapter 18.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

And we will see Elijah's ascent to Mount Carmel.

Let's jump right in.

The first point this morning is the troubler of the tribe.

And where does that come from?

It comes right from this passage.

As Elijah, after this drought has taken place, he has not seen eyes with Ahab.

And here we see this meeting.

In verse 17, it says, Then it happened when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is that you, O troubler of Israel?

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.

This is kind of funny, this line here.

Ahab is ready for the day he's gonna run into Elijah, and he comes with this real zinger.

There you are, troubler.

When I hear this, it like makes me think Ahab sounds like a grandma.

You know what I'm saying?

I don't even like Ahab as it is, but here comes trouble.

Here comes that troubler.

I already don't like it, but this line I like him less.

And so we see letter A this morning is this the compromise that causes corruption.

Compromise that causes corruption.

Here comes the trouble, and Elijah, listen, to the king of all of that land has no problem in this moment speaking his peace to him.

He says, I'm trouble.

You call me trouble.

He says, You, sir, are the trouble.

We're gonna look at that in just a moment.

Pray with me, Father.

We ask again that your spirit would fall.

Lord Elijah asks in this passage that your fire would fall.

And God, we ask for that today, Lord.

We want to join you at work.

So God, come amongst us and do your bidding.

Open our hearts.

Help us, God, not to leave here the same as we came.

We love you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

That word trouble that he uses, Elijah, is the the Greek word achar, and it means to roil like with water.

And I had to, I didn't know what that meant.

I said that they mean broil.

Roiling the water means to stir something up, to muddy it, to make it mix together.

Anyone know somebody who stirs the pot?

Look, don't say their name out loud.

And certainly don't point at them.

Well, he says, you're the troubler.

It isn't me.

And then he points out why it is that the trouble has fallen.

He says, it's simple, Ahab, is because you and your fathers have been forsaking the commands.

Ahab, even with God's hand striking the land for three and a half years of drought, no rain, not one droplet has fallen on the land, still is determined to have his way.

And Elijah makes snow bones about the truth here.

He's painfully honest.

Anyone know somebody like that?

Yeah.

Heather had a grandmother, Nanny, we called her Nanny.

And uh one of my encounters spending time with Nanny, uh, one of the first times we were staying over there at her Mimi and Papa's house, and Nanny lived there with him.

And uh Nanny, we were getting ready for church one morning, and back in them days, I wore my best suit, put on my tie, got ready for church, and Nanny said, I was walking by through the kitchen, she said, Woo! She said, You look good today.

She said, Yesterday you looked ugly.

Tell me what you really think, Nanny.

Elijah has no problem.

He says, Number one and number two of God's commands, these are the things that you're forsaking.

Number one and number two, it says, Thou shalt not have any other gods before me, thou shalt have no graven images.

You're forsaking God's commands by having idols.

Well, let's do a little background here.

Go back to 1 Kings chapter 9.

1 Kings 9 · chapter mention

Where and how did this get going?

Because if you do your research, the book of Kings, the starting of Kings, we see King David.

And David led the Israelites into prosperity.

But he had a son.

1 Kings chapter 9.

1 Kings 9 · chapter mention

I want you to see verse 4 and 5, and then I want to look at one more verse just to unpack a little context.

It says this.

Now, if you walk before me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness to do according to all that I've commanded.

What are they messing up with?

Forsaking God's commands.

You and if you keep my statutes and my judgments, verse 5, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.

So this is what God had set up, and he said, spoke into the heart of Solomon.

We'll look at 1 Kings chapter 11.

1 Kings 11 · chapter mention

But what happened to Solomon?

Start in verse 3.

You need to know this part of the context.

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart.

Look at verse 4.

For it was so when Solomon was old that his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father.

So just a little context of how the compromise began in the heart of King Solomon, and it said in 1 Kings chapter 16, I think it's verse 30 or 33, we saw that Ahab was now evil, had continued, evil and evil and evil, king after king, compromise after compromise until we hit to Ahab in 1 Kings 16.

1 Kings 16 · chapter mention

And it said, and now he has been the evilest in the land since.

But it started with just a little bit.

You see, compromise, church, is powerful.

It starts with one step.

Song of Solomon said, he said this.

It's the little foxes that spoil the vine.

You know, compromise isn't typically some big colossal change, some large step, but several minute steps, and it opens our mind, it unlatches our mind to the justification of other steps.

The lower standards.

That's compromise, that's what the word compromise means, to lower the standard of right doing.

From David to Solomon to Ahab, Israel goes from the blessing of God to now following a false God, following Baal.

And I need you to understand this to know how evil it was.

And when Elijah says, you're the troubler, to know how bad the trouble is.

Well, how evil was the worship of Baal?

Let me tell you.

The worship of Baal was a disgusting, hideous thing.

The prostitutes lined the temples that were meant for the worship of God.

That's what Baal worship looked like.

And in a place that was meant to come before your God and reverence him and meet with his presence.

Now, because Baal is a sex and fertility God, there's perversion of every type, there's immorality of every type, there's orgies going on in the house of God, homosexuality and lewdness filling the temples.

They turn God's house into a brothel and a strip club.

The Greek word, 2,000 years later, is pornea.

The immorality of Baal is still an epidemic today.

Statistics on pornography today are sobering.

One in three Americans are seeking it out.

58%.

There's 42 million websites.

42 million! Do we think there's a difference today in the worship of Baal?

It's still an issue.

We boast 15 plus terms for sexual orientation.

It grows continuously.

72 terms today for a person's gender.

God help us.

How bad is it?

The followers of Baal in those days participated in something called child sacrifice.

They'd bring babies and burn them before their bail.

As a sacrifice ascent to him.

Did you know in the first six months of 2023, 511,000 babies were aborted in the United States?

California with 90,000, New York with 65,000, an estimate of over a million would be aborted.

I want to give you some just, I know this is heavy, but some sense of the evil of this.

There's 340 million people in the United States representing 84 million households.

That's one in every 84 households experiences an abortion.

God help us.

Why are you bringing all this up like this, Pastor?

Well, it was all the result of a minute compromise.

It started with Solomon's heart and his heart changing to, I know that this was the real God, my dad's God, this is a real thing, to what I really want is to experience feelings.

And Solomon began to give himself over and turned himself to the foreign gods of his wives because of the feelings.

It started with one experience.

Church, I want to ask you a sobering question today.

What will you compromise for a feeling?

Many people will compromise their marriage for a feeling.

They'll compromise their kids, their home for a feeling, their work.

They'll compromise what they say.

Solomon said, This is my God.

Their beliefs.

You see, Solomon was godly until his heart was full of lust for feelings.

And 24, the same idolatry, just a different year.

Our hearts have been trampled by compromise for feelings.

What started as a small thing is now full-blown wickedness.

From king to king, compromise to compromise, pure evil, and Elijah calls it out for what it is.

He says, no, no, sir.

Let me tell you, Ahab, you, sir, are the troubler.

You are the reason for famine.

You are the reason for drought.

You are the reason for all these people looking unto false gods.

Well, we see letter B.

It doesn't stop with him calling it out.

Elijah has courage and a challenge.

Look at verse 19 through 24.

So you're the troubler.

But Elijah immediately, I believe, he was ready for this moment.

He says, Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table.

So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.

And Elijah came to all the people and said, Listen to this phrase, highlight it, underline it, it's very important.

How long will you falter between two opinions?

If the Lord is God, follow him, but if Baal, follow him.

But the people, hear this, answered not a word.

Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men.

Therefore, let them give us two bulls, and let them choose one bull for themselves.

Here's the challenge.

Cut it in pieces, lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it.

And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it.

Then you call on the name of your gods, I'll call on the name of the Lord, the God, who answers by fire.

He is God.

So all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

So here's the challenge that's laid down 450 prophets versus Elijah in a fire competition of whose God is God.

It's interesting that it's yet to illuminate Ahab that Elijah's God is the God.

Elijah came to his face and said, There's not going to be a drop of rain unless my prayer to my God happens.

You're not going to see that.

And that came to fruition.

So he said, he didn't believe through the rain, so he says, How about fire competition?

And he asked this penetrating question that I think we need to consider today.

How long will you falter?

Between two opinions.

The word falter there is the word hesitate.

It means to hobble.

Someone unsure.

How long will we be indecisive about who is God?

You say, Well, I know who God is.

Yes.

Intellectually.

Does your life speak to who God is, or does it speak to indecision by the actions that you take?

And the people here, deafening silence, the whole nation.

He says, How long will you falter?

If it's Baal, then follow him.

But if it's God, then follow God.

Nothing.

Silence, icy, bleak.

They say nothing.

Not one person.

Not one goes, I believe in God, Elijah.

And I want to tell you, church, people today, in the time that we live in are waiting for a Christian to stand up.

They're waiting for Christians to say and be something and believe in something.

Indifference implies that our God that we believe in is small.

And so when a Christian is indifferent to spiritual things, it's like, well, if that's their God, then I don't need that God.

Revelations 3 talked about it.

He said, if either be hot or cold, but to be lukewarm somewhere in the middle, I want to spew you out of my mouth.

He says, don't be that.

People are looking not for neutrality in the hour of decision.

And I want you to know that is the curse that leads to drought.

Lukewarmity.

Indecision.

I'm not going to stand.

And 24, we've been saying this.

It's not a time to coast.

The world needs to know that you're a Christian right now.

So we say, stand on the mountain.

Everything that we funnel through our life this year, glory, voice, touch.

Are you doing that at work?

Are you doing that at home?

Is that a part of your day today?

How long?

He says, Will you falter?

Will you vacillate?

Elijah had fascinating courage, but I want to tell you, a Christian ought to be marked by courage.

I will say, if an outsider were looking at this competition, they might look at it and go, what a spectacle.

450 of these prophets of Baal, the king of the region, against one prophet.

That's bad odds.

I don't care who you are.

You know what I'm saying?

And I believe Elijah, he was different because he operated in the invincibility of things.

He didn't look at that odds and go, man, this is going to be a tough day.

I believe he thought about the God of all creation.

These 450 men were minuscule in comparison to the legion of heavenly hosts that were just beyond Carmel's crest.

Because he believed.

Psalms 91, start in verse 1.

It says, He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High in the prayer room shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, my fortress, my God, and Him I will trust.

Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you shall take refuge.

His truth will be your shield and your buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by the day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand, hear me, a whole army, a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it should not come near you.

Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked, because you have made the Lord who is my refuge, even the most high, your dwelling place.

Hear this: no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling, for he shall give his angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways.

I want to tell you today, church, the person who knows and loves the Lord is protected under the shadow of the Almighty.

Another Psalm says he goes before them and he goes behind them.

Did you see those words?

He said, There's not going to be a pestilence that strikes.

Elijah was in the middle of a drought.

Guess what?

Elijah was fed and he drank water through a drought, not a snare of the enemy.

It said, No arrow, no terror, no destruction.

Ten thousand around you might fall.

But not you, because you're going to be kept with God's angels.

Christians can have courage today.

We could stand up for the right things today.

Look at verse 26 and 27.

They take him up on the challenge.

A challenge about fire from our God or your God.

So they took the bull which was given them.

They prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, Oh Baal, hear us.

But there was no voice.

No one answered.

Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.

And so it was at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a God.

Either he is meditating or he is busy.

Maybe he's on a journey, or perhaps he's sleeping and must be awakened.

It's a picture, Elijah over here, 450 prophets over there, and the prophets of Baal go off.

Alright, the contest is on, and they're just yelling to their God.

They're leaping to their God.

They're dancing before their God.

They're screaming, and it says, hours this went on.

For hours.

By the way, I want you to hear this church.

Activity and enthusiasm don't equal the spirit of God falling.

A lot of places doing a lot of active things.

It doesn't equal spirituality.

Activity with enthusiasm doesn't equal the Holy Spirit.

The priest of Baal, they had prayer, but they had no power.

They had an altar, but they didn't have an Almighty.

Let me tell you, they were jumping.

They had fervor, but they didn't have any fire.

There's a lot of churches today, a lot of places, flashy programs, gimmicks, trends.

Look, I don't bring the fire of God.

We cannot heap up or generate the Holy Spirit.

We don't do that.

God does that.

They're dancing, shouting, yelling.

Only God brings fire.

Well, I love verse 27.

Elijah's over there watching this go on.

He's just laughing.

Look at these.

This is where I figured out I really liked Elijah.

Right?

Because biblically and spiritually, mockery is of limited, it's a limited value in ministry.

A church that specializes in mockery, probably not going to be the best encouragers.

Having said that, I do believe there is little place for mockery.

There's moments in your dialogue when people are complaining or they're just ignorant and they need to hear something.

It's not working over the nice way.

They need to hear it with just a little bite.

Psalms 2 4 says it He who sits in the heaven comes at them with derision, right?

God derides those who rage against him.

Sometimes he just gives them a little bite.

Sometimes ignorance deserves a little.

Listen, don't leave here and say today, honey, Pastor Rick said I could be rude.

And it's okay.

Is that what I'm saying?

But Elijah's there and he's just laughing.

The ignorance tickles him, and Elijah's over there and he says, Cry louder.

He says, Maybe your God is uh, maybe he's on a vacation.

I don't know, guys.

Louder.

Dance a little larger.

Maybe your God.

He's taking a nap.

Maybe your God is taking a nap.

Maybe you should yell louder, dance louder, scream louder.

Psalms 115, 4 through 8.

Look it up later.

We don't have time to go there.

But it talks about the idols that are made that have eyes but can't see, that have ears but can't hear.

This is what it is.

Elijah is just over there laughing.

Verse 29, when I look at that, one of the most sobering lines in this incidence is this.

But there was no voice.

There was no answer.

There was no one listening.

Church, this is heavy because today, by and large, in our world, there are people dancing today for a voice.

There are people spending today for a voice.

There are people posting today for a voice.

There are people having sex today for a voice.

They're building their life for a voice.

They're drinking for a voice.

They're cutting for a voice.

They're buying all they can for a voice.

And they're not hearing any voice.

John 10, 27 said, My sheep hear my voice.

And I know them, and they know me, and they follow me.

In 24, we want to do everything for the glory, voice, and touch of Almighty God.

I want to tell you, all those other things, they're never going to hear a voice.

All of the things that we go after, there's only one voice that fills an empty soul, and people will go their whole life grinding away, trying to find it through all of these other successes or mountains or trophies or things, and there's only one voice.

It's not that vacation, I'm sorry.

It's not that next purchase, I'm sorry.

It is not that drink in that party, it is in this book.

There's only one voice.

There's only one that fills.

It reminded me of a song.

There's a praise song we sing.

And when I think about those people in search, I just want them to hear these words.

The praise song says, Are you hurting and broken within?

Are you overwhelmed by the weight of your sin?

Jesus is calling.

Have you come to the end of yourself?

Do you thirst for a drink from the well?

Jesus is calling.

He says, Oh, come to the altar.

The Father's arms are open wide.

I'm so glad when I think about this church that when my eye was on an idol, his voice drew me.

Let's look at the second thing this morning.

That song said, Oh, come to the altar.

Let's look at the arrangement.

Verse 25, it spoke of it.

Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose one bull for yourself and prepare it.

For you are many and call on the name of your God, but no fire was to be put under it.

So letter A is this there was preparing at the altar.

To prepare at the altar.

When Elijah goes back later, he brings twelve stones, they dig a trench, they have wood, a bull.

It's a place for preparation of a sacrifice.

I need you to note today that the word altar is the Greek word thyesteron, and it means sacrifice.

The word altar is used in the Bible over 400 times.

It's in 30 books of the Bible.

It starts in the book of Genesis with Noah as a place where he bring sacrifice.

It ends in the book of Revelation with the saints who gave themselves as martyrs as a sacrifice.

It is always a place of sacrifice and surrender.

And I want to tell you, because some people kind of get back and forth on some of this, I make this abundantly clear.

You can meet with God anyway.

You can meet with God in all types of ways.

You don't have to come to an altar to be able to meet with God.

Just like a person said to me, Pastor, I don't have to go to church to worship God.

And I say, Yeah, you're right.

You don't have to come to church.

But I think it's better that you do.

I do believe in the response of God's people.

And there's nothing magical about this stage or any other stage in a place, but it's a place throughout the history of this book that God called for for sacrifice and surrender.

Why do you think in 1 Kings 19:10, when Jezebel and Ahab got rolling into town and started their idols, the first thing they did was destroy all of the altars of the Lord.

1 Kings 19:10

There was something about God's altar that made people living in idolatry really uncomfortable.

I won't get near any of that.

People living in sin, living in evil, don't want to be around that altar.

So they got rid of them.

So, letter B, we see from prepare at the altar to repair at the altar.

Look at verse 30 and 32.

Or through 32.

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

So all the people came near to him, and he repaired the altars of the Lord that had been broken down.

And Elijah took the twelve stones according to the number of the tribes, the son of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord comes, saying, Israel shall be your name.

Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord.

And he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two sias of seed.

So we see Elijah steps forward during this challenge, and he begins to repair the Lord's altar.

I want you to see something there.

You might not see.

He stepped forward when a whole nation stood comfortably on the sidelines.

Elijah said, No, I'm gonna step forward.

Nobody else might not step forward.

No one stood with him to repair the altar, but Elijah went.

God told Elijah and Elijah went.

Others stood comfortably back here.

Elijah stepped out.

Why did he step out?

There's a couple of things.

Number one, he saw improper priorities.

Elijah knew this.

He told him about the Forsaken Commands, but Elijah had this understanding.

God was not good at two timing.

When I was in fourth grade, there might be a picture of me that you might see as pretty good.

Look at that hair.

Let me tell you something.

I got more hair than I got head.

But in the fourth grade, there were these two girls that were the best of friends, and I liked them, and they liked me.

And they I said, girls, listen, there's no reason to bicker and fight.

There's plenty of me to go around.

And I literally had two girlfriends that were best friends for most of fourth grade.

And I had a plan.

The one girl during the school day, I'd spend time with her.

The other girl rode the bus home with me, I'd spend time with her on the bus.

We went on a skating activity and they skated one on each side of me.

Fourth grade.

Well, unbeknownst to me and my poor little fourth grade heart, they began making plans over here on the side.

And before I knew it, the same day they both dumped me.

I was crushed.

I'm still upset about that.

I mean, could have done one day, one a week later.

No.

Done.

Two timing, I learned, does not work.

You see, at that altar, that repair of the altar, it is a place where the heart has an opportunity to turn back.

The pursuit of righteousness can come back.

It is a place for unity.

That's why they have a picture of the 12 stones.

It's a reminder of the time when the nation was not divided by two timing with another God.

Bible says that he exalts the righteousness of a nation.

God cleanses people that have lost their way during this repair.

Sometimes God takes us through pain because of our lost priority.

But he wants to get us to the point where we see our need of repair.

There was improper priorities.

And the next thing, God shows himself at that order through improbabilities.

I want you to look at verse 34 and 35.

So Elijah gives this challenge.

And then it's his time.

And he says, a little bit of extra.

He put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and he laid on the wood and said, One more thing.

Fill four water pots with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.

Anyone know how hard it is to burn wet wood?

Then do it a second time.

Four water pots.

And then they did it a second time.

He said, Do it a third time.

They did it a third time.

So the water ran all around the altar, all over the wood, and he filled the trench that was there full of water.

Elijah says, You see, I believe in a God that I think is so much greater than this false thing that you're going after.

I believe in a God that can do, the Bible says, exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

And so he said, put four buckets and then do it again and again, and there's gonna be 12 buckets of this water just completely doused.

He says, God can bring fire to a soul no matter how much cold water the whole world has brought to it.

Don't give up on somebody, people.

Don't give up on a neighbor, don't give up on a friend.

Don't give up on you.

There's a lot of cold water that is extinguished with look like a possibility of a spark, and I want to tell you, Elijah believed in a God that could bring fire through all of it.

So let us see.

We see one last thing that he does at this altar.

Look at verse 36 and 37.

Elijah prays, prayer at the altar.

And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.

Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Lord God, and that you have turned their hearts back to you once again.

This is like Elijah's Nike prayer.

Elijah's like, God, now God, just do it.

God, I believe.

Let it be known.

He says, it's not about me.

It's none of that.

Or what I can do.

I'm not trying to bring in experience about me.

He says, but God, I believe.

Elijah never has faltered.

He said, they've been faltering.

I've never faltered.

I know you're God.

Can you say that in your life?

I know.

I know he's God.

I know because of the prayers he's answered.

I know because of the way he's treated me in my life.

I know his experience.

I know because I've been saved.

And he pushes in prayer.

Against, I'm sure, fears, against insecurities, against weariness.

He says, You are God, and you can.

So God, just do it.

And we see from the arrangement at the altar, prepare, repair, and prayer.

Point three, we see the falling of fire.

Fire falls.

It reminded me one Thanksgiving that time, Heather was making some food for these dinner theaters, and she decided to, there are like 300, 350 people that would come to these dinner theaters, and she was gonna make turkeys.

And I'm like trying to somewhat be helpful.

I'm like, you know, we I've heard of people frying turkeys.

I think that's a faster process.

So we buy this fryer, we get this oil, and I'm in the backyard, y'all.

And and you know, it was early enough in marriage that she still trusted me with things like this.

And so I went out there and I get the thing going, and there's oil all in it, and you light the fire, and I drop this turkey in.

Well, there's a right way to do that.

Benji's shaking his head.

There is also a not right way.

And all of a sudden I drop this turkey in, and I turn around and I'm like, what is that?

And I look back and I'm like, wow, what a fire! And I looked down, and the fire and the oil was on the ground, and I had lit part of my backyard on fire, and it was climbing up my pant leg.

I was like, no! This is not the right way.

Fire had fallen on me of my own ignorance.

I want you to see verse 38 and 39.

Letter A is this fire consumes.

Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice.

Listen to all these words.

And the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

Now, when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces.

And they said, The Lord, he is God.

And they said it a second time, the Lord, he is God.

I want you to hear this morning that fire consumes.

God shows out in this in this moment.

Elijah poured out all of that extra water.

Elijah believing, I'm gonna show that my God is bigger than their bales.

And so he pours down this extra wet sacrifice.

And then God from heaven, exceeding abundantly, God from heaven says, You know what, Elijah?

You don't even know.

You don't even know.

Elijah, you believe, but you haven't even seen.

And so God throws down fire, and not only does it burn up all of the burnt sacrifice, it burns up all the rock, the stone, and the dust.

Everything around it is burnt.

God says, a shower of fire that splits the heaven like nothing they'd ever seen.

This is a picture of God being able to consume all earthly things, church.

The wood, the stones, the dust, the water.

I believe when you experience God, He'll take over the parts of your heart that are holding on to some extra things.

He'll push out the corners of idolatry in your heart.

And that fire that comes in, even the things that you didn't even think about, God starts to clear.

And I want to tell you, if you haven't experienced a God like that, you might not have experienced God.

And if I were you today, I'd be considering do I know him?

Because Hebrews defines God in this way.

It says, Our God is a consuming fire.

He consumes.

If you know him, listen to me, if you know him, he consumes.

It's not I can be in this in between.

I don't believe in radical Christians.

You're either a radical Christian or you're maybe not a Christian.

When he gets this heart, he gets all of this and begins to consume all of the things on the outside.

He you might have learned about him but didn't get him.

He begins to consume every place.

There are people who have been here, and this is heavy, but there are people who have been here for years, and there's a next step before you, and you've never taken a next step.

And this isn't judgment.

This is a heart saying, Why?

God has called, and he's called you to confess that thing, or he's called you to go deeper, or to serve him.

Why would we continue with an all-consuming God staying still?

That's just like the whole nation.

When Elijah stepped out, we were definitely in silence.

Why is there no growth?

I'd be asking myself, if I believed in this kind of God, why am I not hungry for his word?

Why am I not hungry for the next step?

Why do I not want to tell my neighbor?

Why do I not want to pray?

It consumes.

Romans 12, 1 said it this way.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Or another version said, which is your true worship.

This body is that same word as altar.

That word sacrifice, theastra.

Same word.

We, this is the altar that we present unto him.

This body is surrender.

Sacrifice.

He said, This is true worship when we do this.

This church is being consumed by a real God.

That real surrender.

There's an evangelist named Gypsy Smith.

Some of you have heard this, but Gypsy Smith was asking a meeting.

Man came to him and said, Sir, tell me what I must do, what we must do to see the fire of God's revival once again.

And Gypsy Smith said, Sir, come in close.

He said, This is what I gotta, this is what you gotta know.

He said, I want you to go down into your basement.

I want you to go down into your basement today, and I want you to draw a chalk line in a big circle.

He said, You want the fire of God to fall?

He said, Draw a chalk line in a big circle.

He said, And then I want you to get in that circle.

Get inside that circle.

He said, seek God in prayer.

He said, Seek God in prayer.

And then this is what I want you to pray.

He said, You ask God that every person within that circle would fear the fire of God fall upon them.

Revive that heart.

He said, if you will catch on fire, they'll come and watch you burn.

They'll come and see about the God that's in you.

We have to be consumed.

I think often we're consumed with a whole lot of things, church.

Let it be as this.

Fire consumes and then it converts.

Would you agree with me?

When fire touches something, it changes that something.

Look at verse 39.

Instantly.

Now, when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces.

And they said, The Lord, he is God.

The Lord, he is God.

In a moment, all of this false religion that they were vacillating between, in a moment, when the fire fell, it was condemned.

In a moment, faltering people fell to their faces and they worshiped God.

A nation that was in indecision.

No more.

It was clear.

This is God.

This is God Almighty.

I want to tell you, if you're here today and you've been touched by God, if you've had the fire of God fall, you should be changed.

If you've been touched by God, there should be a warm glowing ember that continues throughout your life.

Matthew 5, 16 said it this way Let your light so shine that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

If the fire of God has fallen, it should be seen.

Church, let me tell you, you should have a glow about you.

Because that fire is consuming.

Do you have that glow?

What you see here is a picture of Elijah that stands today.

This stands today atop the Mount Carmel.

He stood up.

Listen to the inscription.

You can see little words there.

It's written a couple of times the same phrase in different languages, and here's what the inscription said.

Elijah the prophet stood up as a fire, and his word burnt like a torch.

He stood up like a fire, and his word burnt like a torch.

I want to tell the Lord today, and I hope you'll tell him too.

God, I'll be your light.

God, give me that glow.

I want to take you back just a second.

We need to see this again before we're finished.

Elijah's prayer on that mountain is important to touch.

This is what he said.

This is all Elijah wanted.

Elijah wasn't mad at Ahab.

We're gonna find out next week.

Elijah has a crazy loving respect for an ungodly king.

Elijah just wanted to see God recognized as God.

And so in verse 36 and 37, he says, When it came to pass for the sacrifice, he said, Lord God, let it be known that you are God.

Number one, you are God, your glory.

Number one, it's all about your glory, Lord.

He said, number two, let it be known that I'm your servant.

I just want people to know I'm a Christian.

I want them to see that light.

And then he says, so that the nation will return to you.

He says, For the glory, bring fire for souls.

Hear me.

This is the whole point.

This is what God wants of you and me, that we would be a light for him, so that souls would come to him, that hearts would be changed for him, church.

Are you his to be a light for him?

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