Who Is God? 1 kings Ch18:16-39

Morning. It's quite a long section, but it's full of drama. It's a very exciting event that takes place on Mount Carmel.

So we're going to pick up the reading from 1 Kings chapter 18 and verse 16. 1 Kings chapter 18 and verse 16.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention 1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

So let's hear God's word to us. We're going to read down to verse 39.

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

When Ahab 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 bulls for us.

Let Baal's prophets choose one for themselves and let them cut it into pieces, put it on the wood,

but not set fire to it.

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

Then you will 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.

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose one of the bulls 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 bull that was given to 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.

Now jump down to verse 30.

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 12 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 seats of seed.

He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces, 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.

And the water ran down around the altar and 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 the things at your command.

Answer me, Lord.

Lord, answer me.

So these people will know that you, Lord, are God and that you are turning their hearts back again.

Then fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil

and also licked 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.

Well, what a drama on the mountain.

Well, we're going to pray and then we're going to look at God's word together.

Let's pray and ask for his help.

Father, we thank you for your word, the Bible.

We thank you for these events, these true historical events,

which happened so many years ago but written down and recorded for us

so we can learn about you and know what you are like.

And we ask that you would give us understanding of your word

and how it applies to us today.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Well, I want to start with a question.

God is.

How would you answer that question?

God is.

Well, the Irish Times conducted a survey asking people that very question

and here's what some of them responded with.

One said, God is a person to me.

Another one said,

If anything, God is disconnected at this point.

A student answered,

God is sovereign of the universe.

He has the right to tell us what to do because he is the creator.

Another person said,

God is asleep.

When things go too far,

maybe he'll wake up.

God is what humans want to be.

Another,

God is me.

Another student says,

God is,

there is no God.

God is everything around us.

So it seems there is a variety of opinions as to who God is.

But can we definitively know who God is?

Well, I think that's the big question being asked of the text,

the reading we just had from 1 Kings.

We're going to look at three things this morning.

Here's the first question we're going to ask.

Who is the true God?

Who is the true God?

Remember what's been going on in the account of 1 Kings.

You might just flick back a couple of pages to the very end of chapter 16.

And there we've been learning that Ahab is king over all of God's people.

And as king,

part of his leadership was to make sure that people worshipped only God.

The God who loved them.

The God who made them.

The God who had made promises to them.

The God who entered into a relationship with them and was committed and loyal to them.

But, and here's the problem.

Look at verse 31 of chapter 16.

He, that is Ahab,

not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,

but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Esbal, king of the Sidonians,

and began to serve Baal and worship him.

Now, we might be used to Baal.

But Baal at that time was the big God.

The God of the weather.

So if you wanted rain for your crops,

well then you simply called on Baal.

And it would rain.

So they hoped.

But God was not going to let his people wander away from him.

He was jealous for them.

He loved them.

God was like in a marriage relationship with them.

He didn't want to let them go.

So God confronted Ahab through his prophet Elijah.

Chapter 17, verse 1.

Now Elijah, the Tishbite from Tishbe in Gilead, a prophet of God, said to Ahab,

As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve,

there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except my word.

Chapter 18, verse 1.

After a long time, in the third year, so three years later,

the word of the Lord came to Elijah,

Go and present yourself to Ahab,

and I will send rain to the land.

You see, God was sending a very clear message to Ahab and his people.

There is only one true God.

There is only one God who controls the weather.

The God who made everything and the God who rules everything.

I am the God who provides all that you have.

So worship me.

Chapter 18, verse 2.

So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab,

and on his way, if we were to read on,

Elijah meets this character called Obadiah,

who is also a follower of God,

and Elijah sends Obadiah to arrange a meeting with Ahab.

Let's pick it up again in verse 16.

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him,

and Ahab then went to meet Elijah.

When he saw Elijah, he said to him,

Is that you, you troubler of Israel?

You see, we've got to remember,

the last time Elijah had met Ahab

was when he had told him,

God says no more rain for three years.

Now three years have passed,

and there's been a terrible famine,

and things are really difficult,

Ahab is really angry,

and so he's not best pleased to see Elijah.

But let's be clear whose fault it really is.

Verse 18.

Elijah says,

Remember God's command?

I am the Lord your God.

You shall have no other gods before me.

It's not that there are lots of other gods.

The Bible makes this exclusive claim,

there is only one true God.

Here's a verse from Deuteronomy.

Acknowledge and take to heart this day

that the Lord is God.

In heaven above and on earth below,

there is no other.

So God is making it abundantly clear

that he is the only God.

But it seems Ahab is of the opinion

there are other gods.

He worships the Baals.

You see, Ahab has not only rejected God,

he's replaced God with his own gods.

And isn't that exactly what we do?

We exchange the true God

for our own gods.

We mightn't have a little idol of Baal

in our garden that we go and talk to

and say,

Gosh, don't like those clouds.

Baal, could you remove those clouds

and send a bit of sunshine?

We mightn't do that.

But we have got our own little God substitutes.

Richard Keyes is an author

and in a book called

No God But God,

he explains it like this.

Here's a quote.

He says,

When we cease to worship God,

we do not worship nothing.

We worship anything.

We do not just eliminate God,

we erect God's substitutes

in his place.

So let me ask us all a question.

Who or what is your God?

What is your God?

Well, I think there's two ways

to help us to identify

who our God is.

First, ask ourselves this question.

What do I most fear losing

in my life?

What thing or person

that you have in your life,

if you lost it,

if it was taken away from you,

it would devastate you,

it would break you?

What if your husband

or your wife

was taken away?

Or what if tomorrow

you went in

and you discovered

you had no more job?

Or if you lost your health?

What is the one thing

that you most fear losing

in your life?

Another good question

to ask is this.

What do you most want

in your life?

What occupies your mind

when you wake up

in the morning?

Or as you lie in bed at night

and everything else is gone,

it's just you and your thoughts.

What is it that you think about

and you most desire

in your life?

Is it more money?

Is it deeper sexual pleasure?

What is it that you most want

in your life?

You see,

whatever we fear losing,

whatever we most want in our life,

whatever occupies our thinking

and our striving,

that's your God.

that's what you worship.

For Ahab,

it was Baal.

For us,

it may be the God of money,

the God of success,

the God of sex,

the God of body image.

Well,

Elijah has a plan.

He arranges for all the people

of Israel

and all the prophets of Baal

to come and meet them together

on Mount Carmel.

Verse 20.

So Ahab sent word

throughout all Israel

and they assembled

the prophets

on Mount Carmel.

Now,

Mount Carmel

wasn't just any

ordinary hill

in the area.

It was like

the cathedral

of Baal worship.

This was

Baal territory.

This is kind of

where

he was.

And this was

going to settle

things once

and for all.

On this mountain,

they were going

to discover

who the true God is.

Verse 21.

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.

They couldn't

make up their minds.

In other words,

he's saying,

Pick your God.

Choose whoever

and whatever you want.

And when you've

chosen your God,

follow him.

But remember,

the God of the Bible

is an exclusive God.

You can't

pick your own God

and then have

the true God

in case of

an emergency.

So like,

I'll forget about

the God of the Bible,

I'll have my own God,

but if I get into trouble,

I'll go and give him a call.

No,

choose

the God

you're going to follow.

And we can't

have this

different kind of God

that we have on

Monday to Saturday

and then come Sunday

we change to

kind of the

holy religious God.

It doesn't work

like that.

if the Lord

is God,

if the Creator

God

is God,

follow him.

But if

Baal or your

own God

is God,

well,

follow him.

Make your choice.

You see,

the God we choose

is the God

we're ultimately

going to follow.

The God that we

desire,

the things that we

long for,

the people that we

most want,

they're the ones

and the things

we're going to trust

and submit our

life to.

But be careful.

Whoever we follow,

whatever we follow,

will demand our

loyalty

and demand our

obedience

and will want

all of our time

and our

energies.

So who is it

going to be?

The point is,

we all have a

God that we

worship.

the question

is,

who is the

real,

true God?

Well,

second,

God is claiming

that he's the

true God.

Well,

how do we know

who the true

God is?

How can we

work that out?

Well,

let's go back

to Mount Carmel

because Elijah

has a test.

We can call it

the truth test,

verse 23.

Elijah says,

get two bulls

for us.

Let the

Baals,

let the

Baals

prophets choose

one for

themselves and

let them cut

it into pieces,

put it on the

wood,

but not set

fire to it.

And I will

prepare the

other bull and

I'll put it on

the wood,

but not set

fire to it.

Then you call

on the name

of your God

and I'll call

on the name

of the Lord

and the God

who answers

by fire,

well,

he's your

God.

And all

the people

said,

sounds good

to me,

pretty obvious.

But why

fire?

Why call

down fire?

I thought

this was all

about the

rain that had

stopped and

the rain that

was going to

come and

who controlled

the weather.

Well,

fire was

always a

sign of

power and

the sign

of presence

of the

God.

fire.

When fire

showed up,

certainly as we

read through

the Bible,

God is

present in

power.

Remember the

burning bush?

Remember the

fire on the

mountain as

Moses went up

to speak with

God?

Even for

Baal worshippers,

fire from

heaven was a

sign of

power.

fire.

So the

test was

really simple.

The God

who answers

by fire,

he's the

true God.

So the

prophets of

Baal go

first.

Verse 26,

they took

the bowl

that was

given to

them,

they prepared

it,

put it on

this altar,

and then

they called

on the name

of Baal.

From morning,

that's from

about six

in the

morning,

till noon.

Baal,

answer us!

They shouted,

but there

was no

response.

No one

answered.

They began

to dance

around the

altar they

had made.

After six

hours,

noon,

Elijah began

to taunt

them.

Shout

louder!

Surely

he is a

God.

Perhaps

he's deep

in thought.

Maybe

he's

planning out

his day

and you

need to

get his

attention.

Or perhaps

he's busy.

Literally,

maybe he's

sitting on

the toilet.

You need

to go and

get him.

Or he's

travelling,

he's away

on his

holidays,

maybe he'll

come back

later.

Or maybe

he's sleeping

and he's

got to be

wakened up.

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 of

the evening

sacrifice.

But there

was no

response.

No one

answered.

No one

paid

attention.

attention.

Four

hundred and

fifty prophets

dancing for

twelve hours

on the go.

All getting

worked up and

blood pouring

from their

bodies.

But at the

end of it

all, end

of verse

twenty-nine,

no response.

No one

answered.

No one

paid attention.

Baal

doesn't

answer

because he

doesn't have

power.

Baal

doesn't

answer

because

Baal

doesn't

exist.

Baal

is just

a name,

an imagination,

a made-up,

make-believe

God.

When I

was small,

I used to

wear a

little black

Zorro

mask.

I put it

on and

I changed.

I was

invincible.

It gave

me powers

like you

never knew

before.

It even

enabled me

to swim.

I couldn't

swim without

it but

put the

Zorro

mask on.

I could

swim.

I could

fend off

baddies,

fight sea

monsters.

I could

do

anything.

But it's

all made-believe.

And that's

what our

gods are

like.

It's like

a mask.

They're

just

imaginations.

We have

believed

what Satan

said to

Adam in

the garden

right at

the beginning

of the

story of

the Bible.

Satan

came to

Adam and

said,

you can

be like

God.

You can

be God.

Forget about

the true

God.

You be

God and

decide what's

right and

what's wrong.

And people

ever since,

we've all

done it,

we continue

to fall

into the

same trap.

The

apostle Paul

in the

New Testament

picks it

up and he

makes it

crystal clear.

He says,

the God

of this

age has

blinded the

minds of

unbelievers so

that we do

not worship

the true

God.

You see,

the gods

we make,

whether I

am God

and see

myself as

God,

or whether

we think of

nature as

being God,

or even if

we say there

is no

God,

it's all

a lie.

Now Elijah

steps up.

And to

demonstrate who

the true

God is,

look what he

does in

verse 33.

He arranged

the wood,

cut the

bull into

pieces,

laid it on

the wood,

then he

said,

fill four

jars of

water and

pour it on

the offering

and on

the wood.

Do it

again,

do it a

third time,

and they

pour water

on,

gallons of

water,

all onto

the altar,

and everything

is soaking

wet.

Have you

ever tried to

light a

fire when

everything is

wet?

I mean,

if this is

going to

burn,

it's going

to need

some fire.

There's no

tricks,

there's no

sleight of

hand here.

Verse 36,

at the time

of sacrifice,

the prophet

Elijah stepped

forward and

prayed,

Lord,

the God of

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Israel,

this is the

promise-making,

promise-keeping

God,

who says,

I will be

your God

and you

will be

my people.

Let it

be known

today that

you are

God in

Israel and

that I

am your

servant,

have done

all the

things you

have commanded.

Verse 38,

then the

fire of the

Lord fell

and burned

up the

sacrifice,

the wood,

the stones,

and the

soil,

and it

also licked

up the

water in

the trench.

And when

all the

people saw

this,

they fell

prostrate and

cried,

the Lord,

he is

God.

The

Lord,

he is

God.

I mean,

it's utterly

convincing.

It's

undeniable.

And in

case there

are any

doubts

lingering,

just jump

ahead to

verse 45,

because

remember,

God had

said no

rain,

and then

he said

he would

bring the

rain.

Verse 45,

meanwhile,

the sky

grew black

with clouds,

the wind

rose,

a heavy

rainstorm

came on,

and Ahab

rode off

to

Jezreel.

I mean,

what more

proof do

we need?

God

said no

rain,

and there

was no

rain.

God

said let

there be

rain,

and there

was rain.

God

said let

there be

fire,

and there

was fire.

You see,

the gods

of our

making are

powerless.

there is

only one

true

God.

Listen to

the writer

of Psalm

115.

I have it

on the

screen there.

Why do

the nation

say,

where is

their God?

Answer,

our God

is in

heaven.

He does

whatever

pleases

him,

but their

idols are

silver and

gold made

by human

hands.

They have

mouths,

but cannot

speak,

eyes,

but cannot

see,

they have

ears,

but cannot

hear,

noses,

but cannot

smell,

hands,

but cannot

feel,

feet,

but cannot

walk,

nor can

they utter

a sound

with their

throats.

Those who

make them

will be

like them,

and so

will all

who trust

in them.

There's

only one

true God,

the God

who made

the heaven

and the

earth,

who rules

all things

and all

people.

He is

the God

that we

should

worship.

So,

third

question,

what does

this true

God demand

of us?

If God,

the creator

God,

the God

of the

Bible,

who makes

promises

and keeps

them,

what does

this God

demand of

people like

us?

Well,

to answer

that,

let's

look just

briefly

at three

things.

First,

look at

the way

the prophets

of Baal

call on

their God.

Verse 26.

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 then

they danced

around the

altar they

had made.

They're simply

just trying to

get their

God's

attention,

and when

their God

doesn't

answer,

then they

just up

the performance,

don't they?

Verse 28.

They get

more excited.

They shouted

louder,

and then they

flashed

themselves with

swords and

spears,

and cut

themselves

until their

blood

flowed.

Now isn't

that what we

think God

sometimes demands

of us?

If I pray

enough,

if I'm

ecstatic

enough in my

worship,

then God

will hear me

and God

will answer

me.

If I

serve more,

if I

sacrifice

more,

if I

give more

money and

give more

of my

time,

if I

stop doing

bad things

and start

doing good

things,

then God

will see

my

performance

and he'll

respond to

me and

he'll

bless me.

Maybe we

don't believe

in this

religious God

at all,

and we've

got our

own kind

of God

and we're

striving

after money

and success

and work

and all

that does

is just

demand more

and more

of our

performance

and do

more and

work harder

and give

more of

your time

and leave

your family

behind and

just go and

do your

own thing.

And then

things will

be good.

But all

we're doing

is cutting

ourselves like

the prophets.

We end up

killing ourselves

by our

performances.

In some

cases,

literally

working

ourselves

to death.

and we

try and

do so

much.

If only

I could

pray more

and read

my Bible

more,

then God

will bless

me and

do good

things for

me.

You see,

the true God

does not

answer us

or respond

to us

on the

basis

of our

performance.

That's

not how

God

works.

We're not

singing our

songs here

today and

doing what

we're doing

in the hope

that God

is going

to listen

to me.

So how

does God

respond to

us?

Well,

it's not

performance.

Look at

how Elijah

comes.

Verse 30.

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.

Verse 32.

With the

stones he

built an

altar in

the name

of the

Lord.

The altar

of the

Lord was

the way

God had

prescribed

for people

to come

to him.

You see,

to turn

away from

God to

other

gods,

well,

it would

mean death

and separation

from God.

It would

mean punishment.

So through

the sacrifice

on the

altar,

reconciliation

took place.

The people

could be

reconciled

to God.

Look at

Elijah's

prayer,

verse 37.

Answer me,

Lord,

answer me,

so these

people will

know that

you,

Lord,

are God

and that

you are

turning

their hearts

back again.

Then the

fire of

the Lord

fell and

burned up

the sacrifice.

Do you

see what's

going on

here?

As the

fire came,

the fire

fell on

the sacrifice.

The fire

should have

fallen on

the people,

instead it

falls on

the sacrifice.

You see,

sacrifice is

what is

required to

know the

true God.

Something or

someone must

take our

place.

Either the

people are

going to

burn up

or the

sacrifice

burns up.

And isn't

that the

same for

us?

Sacrifice

must be

made if

we are to

know and

enjoy the

true God.

But here's

the point.

It's not

our sacrifice.

It's God's

sacrifice.

You see,

the true

God,

who's

spoken,

who did

all of

these things,

came to

us in the

person of

Jesus Christ.

As Jesus

walked his

life on

the earth,

people pointed

and said,

there's God.

He did

what only

God could

do.

But not

only was

he God,

he came to

be the

sacrifice for

us.

He climbed

the mountain

to the

mountain of

crucifixion.

He laid

down his

life on

the altar

of the

cross and

the fire

from heaven

fell on

him.

The

judgment of

God fell

on Christ.

Christ took

the punishment

that we

deserve for

rejecting him

as the one

and only

true God.

The

separation

that we

deserve for

ignoring God

and living

life on

our own

way.

Christ took

the blame

for that.

The fire

should fall

on us.

But God

takes the

fire for

us when

Christ died

on the

cross.

The wrath,

the judgment

of God

fell on

him.

You see,

the true

God does

not demand

our performance.

The true

God gives

himself for

us in

sacrifice.

sacrifice.

He gives

his life

for us.

So what

does this

God demand

of us?

It's not

performance.

It's not

sacrifice

because God

did the

sacrifice.

The only

way to

come to

God is in

repentance.

Verse 37,

which is

really the

key to this

whole section.

look at

his prayer.

Answer me,

Lord,

answer me,

so these

people will

know that

you,

Lord,

are God

and that

you are

turning their

hearts back

again.

When we

look at

the God

who sacrificed

himself for

me,

who gave

his life

for me,

then the

only right

response is

to turn

our hearts

back again.

That's what

repentance is.

Repentance

means turning

from going

one way

and turning

to going

the other

way.

Turning our

backs on

the things

that we

long for

and the

things we

fear losing.

And instead

we run to

the true

God who

gives us

what we've

always needed

and that

we can

never lose.

The God

who made

us and

who loves

us and

provides for

us.

The God

who listens

to us.

We don't

have to

shout and

make a lot

of noise

for God

to listen.

He delights

in listening

to his

children.

The only

way we

will ever

turn our

hearts back

to God

is to

gaze in

wonder,

not at the

altar on

Mount Carmel,

but to

look at the

Mount of

Crucifixion

where Jesus

Christ,

the God

man,

died for

us.

To gaze

in wonder

and look at

the sacrifice

of Jesus

who died

for me,

who gave

his life

for me,

so that

we might

know and

enjoy this

God.

Where fire

no longer

burns,

but grace

and mercy

and love

and generosity

and kindness

and compassion

and eternal

treasures to

come are

all ours

because of

what he did

for us.

Who is

your God?

We must

follow our

God,

but be very

careful.

The God,

the true

God,

is the one

who gave

his life

for you.

to ignore

that

is to put

our place

self

in the

place of

the fire.

Or will

we instead

receive that

forgiveness,

that welcome

and know

him and

enjoy him,

the God

who delights

in us.

Let's pray

together.

Let's pray

together.

Let's pray

together.

Let's pray

together.

Let's pray

together.

Let's pray