“A Call to the Undecided”
1 Kings 18:17-39
It was Thursday, May 1st, five days after Aron Ralston had first entered Utah’s Bluejohn Canyon on what should have been an eight-hour, 13-mile hike. But on his way, while scrambling through a narrow section of the sandstone slot, Ralston dislodged a 1, 000 pound boulder that rolled on its pinch points and pinned his hand and forearm. His supplies—two burritos and three liters of water—were now gone, and there was virtually no chance of rescue. Unless Ralston did something drastic, he would not make it out alive.
Aron, a 27 year old experienced mountain climber, tried to rig something with his ropes and equipment to move the boulder, but it would not budge. He tried to chip at the rock with his knife, but after ten hours of chipping he had only a pile of rock dust to show for his effort. On Tuesday, day three of his ordeal, he had run out of food and water. On Wednesday, Ralston began sipping the urine he had started saving a day earlier. He pulled out his video camera and recorded a message to his parents. He next etched his name, birth date and what he was certain was his last day on earth into the canyon wall. He topped it off with RIP.
On Thursday, after he had a vision of a little boy running across the floor to hug a one armed man, he realized he had a hard decision to make. It was a decision that would mean the difference between life and death. Aron came to the conclusion that the only way he could survive was to amputate his own arm. After breaking the two bones in the arm, he cut through flesh and tendons and muscle with a pocketknife, amputating his right arm below the elbow. He used a first-aid kit in his backpack to bandage his arm and put it in a sling. He then rappelled 70 ft down a cliff and walked to get help. I can just imagine the turmoil and agony that Aron Ralston must have gone through as he tried to decide what to do in-order to live. It was a difficult and frightening decision, but one that resulted in life.
Some of you here this morning are undecided for Christ. You’re in turmoil over whether to turn your life to Christ or to remain in your sins and die an eternal death in Hell. The decision before you is no less a decision between life and death than it was for Aron Ralston the day he lay in that canyon with a 1,000 pound boulder on his arm. You have before you a difficult decision. A decision between Heaven and Hell. A decision to sever yourself from the false gods of this world and live or a decision to remain in your sins. In just a few moments, I’m going to be inviting you to make that decision that will result in life everlasting. I’m going to be inviting you to respond to God’s invitation to become a follower of Christ.
The Bible tells us of a group of Israelites who were spiritually undecided. They had a decision to make and it was a difficult one. In 1 Kings 18 the Bible tells us that for more than 3 years there had been a drought in Israel and the situation was desperate. People were starving and animals were dying. The Lord sent His servant Elijah to tell wicked King Ahab to gather all the people at Mt. Carmel along with the false prophets of Baal and Asherah. There was not only a shortage of water, but there was also a shortage of walking with the true God of Heaven. Let’s look together at 1 Kings 18:17-24. We read in 1 Kings 18 beginning with verse 17:
[Scripture Reading]
In this passage Elijah calls for a decision from the spiritually undecided. This morning God calls the spiritually undecided to a decision. Why does God extend that call to decision? This passage gives us three reasons God calls the undecided to decision today.
The first reason God calls the undecided to decision is because . . .
I. Time is running out!
For three years God was patient, yet His patience was coming to an end. After Ahab instituted Baal worship in 1 Kings 16, the Lord sent a drought on the land for three years and yet the people did not repent and turn to the Lord. They were starving and their animals were dying, yet they still did not turn back again to the Lord. After three years the Lord sent Elijah to confront Ahab and all of Israel. Elijah came to the King Ahab’s servant Obadiah and said, “Tell the King Elijah is here.” Elijah came face to face with the king and told him to gather all the people and the prophets of Baal together on Mount Carmel. As the people gather, Elijah pressed one question into their hearts. He said, “How long halt ye between two opinions?” “How long is this going to go on.” Elijah was saying, “how long are you going to sit on the fence? How long are you going to try to have it both ways? The time to decide is now. It’s time to stop wavering, it’s time to stop limping between opinions. If the Lord is God follow him, but if Baal then follow him.” We are told that the people did not answer a single word.
One day as I was surfing around on the internet I came to a site called deathclock.com. At deathclock.com you can type in your birth date, your Body Mass Index, which they help you determine and whether or not you smoke. After entering this information you click on submit and instantly a screen appears with your death date and the number of seconds you have left on earth begins to count down. It told me that my personal death date was July 11, 2064 and that I had more than 1, 902, 000, 000 seconds left on earth. My first reaction to that was “wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was such thing as a death clock.” Then it dawned on me that there is a death clock, but the only problem is God is the only one who can see it. Every moment that you delay your decision for Christ the seconds are counting down to the day when it will be too late. The Lord has been patient, but His patience will end. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” What a wonderful promise. However, people rarely continue by quoting verse 10 which begins, “but the day of the Lord will come. . . . “
We are reminded of how the death clock can run out unexpectedly from the parable Jesus told of the rich fool. He thought he had plenty of time to enjoy life, but his death clock had run down. That could be true of you this morning. You may be thinking, “oh, I’ve got plenty of time to decide for Christ. I’m young and there are a lot of things I want to do. Besides, I need some more time to consider this decision, I want to do some more study.” As the old country preacher, Vance Havner used to say, “You don’t have to understand everything about the Bible and about religion to come to Christ. I don’t understand how these lights work, but I’m not going to sit around in the dark ‘til I do.”
Isn’t it time for you to decide for Christ? How long are you going to go on in this state of indecision. There comes a time to decide and time is running out. Why have you not decided? Perhaps because of fear of others. Perhaps you are worried about what others will say or do because of your decision. Or, perhaps it is fear of failure that keeps you from Christ today. Perhaps you feel that you just can’t live the Christian life and you are sure to fail. Perhaps it is fear of not understanding enough about the Bible or being a Christian that keeps you from Christ today. In spite of your fears, God is calling you today before time runs out.
The Lord not only calls the spiritually undecided to decision because time is running out, but also because . . .
II. Sincerity alone is not enough!
Elijah laid down the challenge and the prophets of Baal took the bait. They all agreed that the God who answered by fire would be God. At Elijah’s command the prophets of Baal went first. They prepared the sacrifice, they laid it on the altar and then they began to call on their god to answer by fire. They cried and danced and leaped, but no answer came. The Bible says in verse 26 that there was no voice and no answer. From morning until noon they cried to their god and no answer came. At noon Elijah began to taunt the prophets of Baal and this made them even more frenzied in there calling on this false god. We are told they cut themselves with knifes and lancets and they gushed with blood. With their crying and dancing and cutting themselves they showed clearly how serious and sincere they were, but all to no avail. Sincerity alone is not enough.
A French artist allegedly traumatized by the bombings in Spain was convicted of trying to run over a pedestrian he mistook for Osama bin Laden and ordered to pay the man $615. The 35-year-old defendant, identified as Pierre, was sentenced Tuesday by a court in southern France to a three-month suspended prison term. The man he tried to run over was unharmed. Pierre’s lawyer, David Mendel, said his client was the "victim of an hallucination" while driving Monday through Montpellier’s historic center. The intended target, a man in his 30s, was able to run from the oncoming car, which crashed along the side of a street. "If it was (bin Laden), we would have won $5 million," Mendel said, referring to a reward.
I’m quite certain that this man was sincere in his effort to rid the world of such an evil man as Osama bin Laden. He was so sincere in fact, he was willing to sacrifice life and limp to kill bin Laden. However, no amount of sincerity could turn that pedestrian into Osama bin Laden. Sincerity alone is not enough.
You may be very sincere in your indecision this morning. Perhaps you are investigating the pros and cons of many religions and you are vigorous in your study. That is wonderful and I commend you for that. You may be very sincerely looking for the right answer and that is good, but sincerity alone is not enough. You may sincerely study until you are an expert in world religions, but that will not suffice. There will be many sincere people in Hell.
Time is running out and sincerity alone is not enough, but the Lord also calls the spiritually undecided to decision because . . .
III. There is only one God who answers!
It’s interesting to notice in this passage of Scripture who did not answer. In verse 21 we see that when Elijah put the question to the people, they did not answer a single word. They had an opportunity from the beginning to speak on behalf of the Lord and they were silent. In verses 25 to 29 we see that no amount of entreaty could get the false god Baal to answer. In fact, the Bible says in verse 29 that there was no voice, no answer and no one paid attention or regard.
However, there is one who did answer in this passage. The Lord responded to Elijah’s prayer instantly. He not only answered, He answered twice. Once by fire and a second time by rain. The God who answers expected an answer from the people. The people who had not answered before answer now. How did the people respond to the God who answers? Verse 39 says they fell on their faces and said “the Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.” The God who answers demands an answer from you. How will you respond this morning to the God who answers? Will you answer as these people or will you remain in your silence and sin.
What is God’s answer for our world? He has given an eternal answer for the problems of humanity through the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” We are told in 1 Corinthians 15 that Christ died, was buried and rose from the dead. Will you say yes to Jesus who said yes to the Cross? His answer is the only answer. The God who answers, expects an answer from you today.
This year Forbes magazine listed 587 people in the world who are billionaires. God’s answer is the same for all 587 of them. It is the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bill Gates was number one on the list with an estimated wealth of 46.6 billion dollars, but the answer is the same for Bill Gates. We are told that half the world’s population, three billion people, lives on less than two dollars per day. However, that does not change the fact that the answer is the same for them. It is the Cross of Christ. Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic was chosen as Miss Universe in 2003 and that is a great accomplishment, but I tell you that the answer does not change for Amelia Vega. Beauty, wealth, poverty, sickness, health, power or prestige cannot change the fact that there is only one God who answers and He is waiting for our answer this morning. His answer to you and to the ages is the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Last month an American Airlines pilot, who was flying passengers from Los Angeles to New York asked Christians on board to identify themselves. He had been making flight announcements before he asked for a show of hands of who on board knew Christ. He then encouraged the Christians to share their faith with the non-christians on board. Every person on that flight that day fell into one of two groups. Either they could raise their hand and identify themselves as saved or they could not. They were saved or lost. Heaven bound or hell bound. There was no sitting on the fence. If you are undecided for Christ this morning that means that you are at least considering the claims of Christ, but being undecided means being lost. If you are undecided, you are still lost, still in your sins and still hell bound without Christ.
Would you bow your heads? Today I invite you to take Christ as your Savior. That moment has arrived in this service when you are being invited to say yes to Christ. We are at a point of decision. As we remain in a spirit of prayer, I want to invite you to come forward and speak to one of these ministers about your eternal destiny. As the musicians begin to play, you come.
