IS THAT YOU, GOD?
1 KINGS 19:1 12
One of my favorite movies of all time is an old movie called "My Darling Clementine." It starred Henry Fonda and it was about the shoot out at the O.K. corral between the Earps and the Clanton gang. It's a classic showdown between good and evil...right and wrong.
The Bible records a showdown that is even more exciting than that of the O.K. corral...and it takes place in 1 Kings 18. In this face off we have one man against two separate gangs with a total of 850 men. (Not even John Wayne or Rambo handled those kind of odds).
The man, of course, is Elijah...and he faced 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Ashera up on Mount Carmel. And they were fighting for the loyalty of the people of Israel. Elijah called on them to make a choice..."If the Lord is God, follow Him...but if Baal is God, then follow him. Quit wavering between the two."
The people wouldn't respond, so Elijah got some things together and began the confrontation. Each side had a bull which was to be cut into pieces and placed on an altar of wood. And Elijah said, "O.K., the god that answers by fire...he is God! And being the gentleman that he was, he let them go first.
They began in the morning, and they started calling on the name of their god...but no response! And they were dancing around the altar...and pleading with Baal to answer them. And this went on until about noon. By then Elijah began to tease them.
"Hey, shout louder...maybe he's in deep thought...maybe he's busy...or maybe he went on a trip." "Wait, I got it...maybe he's sleeping and needs woke up. So they really begin to shout louder. And they started to cut themselves with swords and spears until the blood was flowing freely, which is something they did a lot.
Well, lunch time came and went and still nothing happened. So they continued their frantic prophesying until it was time for the evening sacrifice...all to no avail. Finally Elijah had enough, and he called all the people together.
He took 12 stones and made an altar. Then he dug a trench around it. Then he arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and placed it on the wood. But then he told them to take 4 large jars of water and pour it on the offering and the wood.
When they finished he said, "Do it again." So they did. And then he told them to do it one more time. By now there was so much water that the wood was soaked and the trench around the altar was filled with water. Then it was Elijah's turn to pray. And when he did, the Lord answered by burning up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil, and even dried up the water in the trench.
And the people all fell down on their faces are recognized that the Lord He is God! Then Elijah had all these false prophets of Baal and Asherah who had led the Israelites into sin taken and slaughtered. It was quite a day of victory!
And that wasn't the end because for the previous 3 years it hadn't rained. But now Elijah told King Ahab to get ready because it was going to rain...heavy rain. But there wasn't a cloud in the sky........7 times the servant went and checked...finally little cloud...then rain!
But then the king rode off and left Elijah to walk...but it says the power of the Lord came on him and he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.......17 miles. (Don't under estimate the power of a preacher under the anointing!!)
But then we go to chapter 19...and it says that Ahab went and told Jezebel what all took place, and how Elijah had killed all the prophets. The problem was...these had been the prophets of the gods Jezebel served. And she was livid! So she sent a messenger to tell Elijah that in 24 hours he would be history...just like the prophets of Baal.
Here is a man who stopped rain in the whole nation for 3 years...who had kosher "take out" while he was in hiding, his meals delivered to him by ravens...performed the miracle of provision for the widow and her son whose supply of flour and oil lasted nearly 3 years...he raised a boy from the dead...and now the victory over the prophets of Baal and the rain from a cloudless sky...and where is our man of faith and courage? Running for his life!
And not only did he run and hide in the desert...but he even prayed that he would die! All because he got the first lady of Israel hopping mad! In fact, he whined around so much he wore himself out. So he crawled up under a Juniper tree and fell asleep.
But then an angel shook him and told him to get up and eat. And there beside him was a cake of bread warmed up just right over hot coals, and a jar of fresh water. So he ate and drank but then went right back to sleep.
The angel came back a second time and said, "Get up and eat 'cause you've got a long way to go. So he ate again and then he traveled for 40 days and nights until he reached Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God where he found a cave and went to sleep. This is said to be the very same place Moses went when he encountered God.
And this is interesting...he went to the place where he knew God met with Moses...in fact it was called the mountain of God...but he didn't go there to worship or to offer himself to God for service...he went there to hide. I believe he did the very same thing many of you do each and every week.
Now, he didn't deny God...he still had personal faith in God, and he knew the power God had...but he decided he didn't want to be a part of God's plan for his life anymore. He went he knew God had been...but he went there to hide.
"God, I still believe in you but don't ask me to do anything with these people any more. I'm taking a sabbatical...I'm retired. Let someone else do it from now on. I tried to get involved and everything seemed to fall apart. I'd really like to do what you want but I can't."
"This just isn't my area of giftedness. I'm tired and I just need to be ministered to for a while. God, I'll come back and get involved when I feel a little better...and when things settle down. In other words, God, Don't call me I'll call you!"
But the word of the Lord came to Elijah. God said to him, "What are you doing here?" This is not just a casual question like, "Oh, what are you doing here...you come here often?" This was the voice of rebuke!
"What are you doing so far from home? Are you running from Jezebel? Couldn't you depend on my Almighty power for your protection?" What are you doing here in a cave...is this any place for a prophet of the Lord to be hiding in? Is this a time to retreat...to hang back...to retire? Especially when the people need you so much! What good are you going to do in here?
And what about you...are you in a place where God can use you, or are you hiding? Are you afraid to take a risk...which is really no risk at all when the God of all Creation is calling you? And anyone the Lord calls...He also equips!
Well, Elijah starts right in with excuses. He complains about the people he has to work with and tries to shift all the blame for his disobedience on others. He has all the reasons for backing off...for running away and hiding. He figures its no use messing with these people who aren't going to listen to him anyway.
Besides...what can one person do? Fear of failure hinders the work of God more than anything else ever could! Elijah figured that he'd be better off spending his life doing nothing at all for God rather than make an effort to do a job that seems difficult if not impossible.
As I mentioned, most believe this was the same cave Moses was put in when God's glory passed in front of him...but now Elijah is called out of it to see the Lord. And it is quite a sight He saw.
First there was a strong wind...so strong it tore the rocks right out of the mountain. Then he felt the shock of an earthquake. This was followed by an eruption of fire. But the Lord was not in any of these.
I think there is great significance in this experience of Elijah. Because so often we face the winds and the storm...and the shaking...and we go through the fire. And it's not a pleasant thing when everything around us seems to be shaken. And so often we interpret this as God's displeasure...or else we simply wonder where God is through all of it.
It's when the storms or difficulties of life come in that we are so easily tempted to run and hide...to quit...to use it as an excuse to give up. And most of the time we give up just before we hear the voice of God giving us the direction we so desperately need.
Verse 12 says that after the fire there came a gentle whisper...and when Elijah heard the whisper he knew exactly what it was. So he pulled his cloak over his face and went out of that cave to face a Holy God.
He covered his face in shame...knowing he had been such a coward that he ran from his calling, even knowing that he had a God that could do the miraculous...which he had seen time and time again.
The wind and the earthquake and the fire didn't make him cover his face...but the gentle voice of the Lord did. And this should tell us once again that the Lord desires to speak to us with love and gentleness rather than through His wrath.
For the second time God asks Elijah, "What are you doing here?" And even though Elijah once again starts out by blaming the people...God speaks to him and gives him instructions on what to do and how to carry out His will.
And God also reminds him that there are 7,000 others who haven't given in to the false gods of the unsaved...but in spite of the fact that there are so many others, God still wanted to use Elijah.
Elijah was a man who had faith enough to believe that God could do the impossible, because God had done the impossible through him several times. But then he got the idea that he'd been given something to do that was more than he could handle...it was too tough for him. So he quit!
But what good is a faith that believes...and yet has no works to back up that faith? James tells us that faith without works is dead! It was dead in a man who had been used mightily by God...a man who knew and experienced the power that God gives to mere mortal human beings like us.
But in His great, unsurpassing love, God sought out this man hiding in a cave and spoke to him in that still small voice. He said, "I have work for you to do." And right up to the time he was taken up to glory Elijah was a testimony of the love and power of God.
But we're not here this morning just to hear a story of a man who lived thousands of years ago. God spoke to me very strongly this week about this incident with Elijah. And He's assured me that He is speaking to many of you.
God wants to know why you're hiding from him. He wants to know why you believe His power is gone...why you believe He could never work through you? What excuses are you going to give to a God who right this very moment is speaking to your heart in that gentle whisper?
God has a job for you. He's called you for a specific purpose...a plan for you that will exalt His name and also will bring you the greatest joy you'll ever experience. Are you going to be swayed by the wind and the earthquake and the fire...by all the distractions that would prevent you from hearing clearly that gentle voice of the Lord?
There is a tremendous spiritual battle taking place in the Church. God is getting ready to pour out His Spirit on the Church in a powerful way. But revival doesn't just happen. And Satan sees what's about to take place and he's lying to you to get you to retreat...to just sit back...to hide out here and squander the gifts, talents, and calling He's given you.
Some of you have seen, even experienced the awesome power of God...and yet you've allowed yourself to hide out here at church without getting involved in active ministry and help to bring about the revival and renewal desperately needed
God is speaking it's time to quit wavering between the two.
CHOOSE THIS DAY WHO YOU'LL SERVE...AND THEN SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART!
