1 Kings 17:1 (NKJV)
1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."
1 Kings 18:1, 17-19 (NKJV)
1 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year (drought), saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."
17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?"
18 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.
19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table."
20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and 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.
24 Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken."
King Ahab was an evil man.
1 Kings 16:33 (NKJV)
33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
He was a man who had no restraints, no morals, no fear of God and no sense of guilt. He was the kind of man who took no blame for his sorrows but blamed everyone else. Elijah is a mighty prophet of God, raised up to speak out against the sins of Israel and its leaders. The first mention of him is in chapter 17 as he pronounces judgement on Israel. Judgement has come because of the great sins that King Ahab has committed. From chapter 17 to chapter 18, three years have passed since Elijah said that there would be no rain. But in the first verse of chapter 18 God tells Elijah that He’s ready to send rain on the earth to stop the famine, but in order for that to happen, Elijah must face his enemy, King Ahab. As Elijah comes to meet Ahab, the first words out of Ahabs mouth are words of accusation as he blames Elijah for the famine and the drought. But Elijah looks at him boldly and says... I have not caused this but your sins have brought this on the nation of Israel. As I began to study this story, it wasn’t long before I began to see a modern day version of it playing out in our nation today. If you are keeping up with the news at all, you have had to of noticed that Christians are being blamed for a lot of the misery around the world. They are saying because we have a religion that is not all inclusive that we are creating an atmosphere of hatred and bigotry. They say that our stand against homosexuality and abortion in particular is a narrow minded stand and that our beliefs have, as King Ahab put it, troubled the world. There are certain ministers that have been crucified in the media because they have spoken out against an immoral society that has legalized pornography and exploited our children and they say to these ministers... you have troubled our nation. There’s a song from years ago entitled "Living Life Upside Down"...
"LIVING LIFE UPSIDE DOWN"
John has a new way of looking at life
He’s tired of his job, his kids and his wife
He says the secret to his success
Was in leaving and finding himself
Now he’s someone to somebody else.
And you say we’ve risen to a new age of truth
You’re calling it a spiritual Godly pursuit
But I say, I say,
We’ve got a program for saving the earth
While unborn children are denied their right to birth
One baby’s blessed, another cursed
Have we made this world better or worse
Now that the life of a tree comes first
And you say we’ve risen to a new age of light
You’re telling me what used to be wrong is now right
But I say, I say,
(repeat chorus)
(chorus)
What if we’ve fallen to the bottom of a well
Thinking we’ve risen to the top of a mountain
What if we’re knocking at the gates of hell
Thinking we’re heaven bound
What if we spend our lives thinking of ourselves
When we should have been thinking of each other
What if we reach up and touch the ground
To find we’re living life upside down.
King Ahab had caused the nation of Israel to begin to live a life contrary to what God had commanded them. They had forgotten that it was God that brought them out of Egypt’s bondage. They had forgotten that it was God who rained down ten plagues upon their enemies. They had forgotten that it was God who opened up the Red Sea for them and drowned Pharaoh’s army in it. They had forgotten that it was God who kept them in the wilderness and brought them from nothing to something. He took a rag tag group of tent dwellers and made them into a great nation. He gave them everything that they had and in return they chose to forget Him and to serve other so called gods. And now they were living wrong thinking that they were living right and God brought judgement on them to jar their memories. The judgement of God was not a popular message in those days and neither is it in our days. If you want to really stir up a crowd talk about God pouring out judgement on America. Even some of the church world is against the use of such language and teaching. But I can’t see it any other way. We have forgotten that it was God who caused this country to be great. We have forgotten that it was God who took a rag tag group of Pilgrims and transformed them into the greatest nation in the world. People came here who were in search of a land where they could worship God without fear of retaliation and now once again we are being forced back into a corner but I don’t believe it’s a corner at all I believe God has set this scenario up so that we can do as Elijah did and challenge the thinking of the people. This modern culture that we live in truly thinks that there’s nothing wrong with the path that they are traveling down. But I believe that God is calling His church to go and face Ahab so that He can release into the earth the last day outpouring of His Spirit. I beleive the days of the silent Christian are over. For three years God kept Elijah away from King Ahab. For three years, God fed him and blessed him and he was silent. But there came a point where God said... ok I’m ready to do something in the earth but in order for that to happen the culture is going to have be challenged. Before I can send the rain they’re going to have to know who I Am. I have a question for you today... are there any Elijahs in God’s House? Someone is going to have to stand up and speak out and let this world know that it’s headed down a path of destruction. Someone is going to have to stand up and speak out and tell this country that it’s living life upside down. They think that they’re headed for a utopia. They believe that they’re headed for a certain paradise, but instead they are headed for a nightmare that will never end. We must not be silent any longer. We’ve got to speak up when the conversation opens the door for rebuttel. When Ahab called Elijah the troubler of Israel he opened the door up for Elijah to speak the truth. Young people we can’t be silent in the lunch room any longer. We can’t be silent in the locker room any longer. If they’re not ashamed to speak of their idolatries then you must not be ashamed to speak of the true God. If they’re not timid about calling Christianity a farce and a crutch then you must be equally bold in proclaiming the truth and sharing the evidence. Your friends have been handed a lie. They think that they’re looking up but instead they’re looking down. They think they’re living right but instead they’re living wrong.
Now, I’m not talking about being beligerant and hateful, I’m talking about speaking with the love of God. Look at how Elijah handles the situation. He doesn’t single out the people he singles out those who are leading the people astray. He asks the people to watch and make their own decision and then he presents to them the evidence.
25 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, 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.
Elijah exposed them and the powerlessness of their gods. It’s not hard to expose them today either. The reason our country is no longer prospering the way that God intended for it to is because of leadership...
A NATIONAL PRAYER OF REPENTANCE Joe Wright is the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS. On January 23, 1996, He was asked to be the guest chaplain for the Kansas State House in Topeka. He prayed a prayer of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. According to an article in the Kansas City Star from January 24, 1996, his prayer stirred controversy, and one member of the legislative body walked out. Others criticized the prayer. The controversy didn’t end there. Later that year in the Colorado House, Republican representative Mark Paschall angered lawmakers by using Joe Wright’s prayer as the invocation. Some members there also walked out in protest. Paul Harvey got a hold of the prayer and read it on his program. He got more requests for copies of it than any other thing he had ever done. Here’s what he prayed: "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it a choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the airwaves with profanity and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will... Amen Contributed by: Troy Borst SOURCE:
What did Joe Wright do... He faced Ahab and challenged him to prove him wrong.
1 Kings 18:30-41 (NKJV)
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!"
40 And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!" So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain."
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don’t believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to see that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, why are there sick people? If God exists why are there abandoned children? If God exists, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things." The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond - because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer paid left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, greasy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again. He said to the barber: "You know what? I don’t believe barbers exist." "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don’t exist because following your logic if barbers existed, there would be no people with long greasy dirty hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! What the problem is - is that people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards don’t come to me." "Exactly" affirmed the customer. "That’s the point! God DOES exist! The reason why there is so much pain and suffering is not that He doesn’t exist. Rather it is because people don’t come to Him nor do they look for Him.”
