Elijah's Miracle At Carmel Series

1st Kings 18

Elijah’s Miracle at Carmel

1st Kings 18:25-39 NIV

Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, [f]hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.27 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, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 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 seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. 36 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. 37 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 again.”38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 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!”

Evil does not have the final word.

Baal was supposed to be a supplier and source of rain and the nation was in a drought.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is. - Albert Einstein

The bible is full of miracles – seas parting, manna from heaven, people thrown into fires but not dying, lions ignoring a free lunch, ax heads floating, people being healed, sun standing still in the sky, resurrection from the dead.

God’s direct intervention and involvement with humanity is undeniable. You can strip the supernatural or the miraculous from Islam and be left with rules.

You can strip the supernatural from Hinduism or Buddhism and their core beliefs remain unchanged.

If we take away the possibility of miracles from Christianity, we have ruined the fabric of our faith.

Christianity is built on the belief that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to invade our world (the miracle of the Virgin Birth and the Incarnation!), that we took our sin upon Himself and died upon the cross, and that on the third day He rose again (the miracle of the Resurrection!)

What’s a miracle?

A Divine invasion into human affairs.

The purpose of miracles is to produce faith.

John. 2:23 NIV

“Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.”

John. 6:14 NIV

“After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’

Do miracles still happen today?

John 14:11-14 NIV

“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”