“Light the Fire”
Text: Jeremiah 20:7-13
I. Welcome
II. Introduction
As we think about our theme for this year, the LORD wants us to be on fire for Him. Sometimes when a child, student or worker is not putting forth the effort they should, we make the statement that we need to light a fire under that person. And, I suppose if we’re honest with ourselves, we all need a little motivation from time to time. Even when things are going great, it is so easy to let others get us down. If we’re discouraged in our spiritual life, we may need only a spark to renew us. This morning I want to return to our series on Mountaintop Experiences. This will be our fifth lesson after looking at Noah on the mountains of Ararat, Abraham on Mount Moriah, Moses on Mount Sinai and Deborah on Mount Tabor. In our reading, the prophet and preacher Jeremiah was discouraged by his unreceptive audience and was ready to give up preaching. But God’s word was in his heart – like a burning fire shut up in his bones. He had to tell others! Oh, that we all had that kind of desire! While we could certainly learn several lessons from Jeremiah, I want us to look at one of my favorite mountaintop experiences dealing with fire – that of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel. Many of you have played the childhood game “King of the Mountain” where the object of the game is to stay on the mountain or hill and keep any and everyone else from taking your place. Two weeks ago, we talked about encouragement and discouragement and how life is a series of peaks and valleys. In that sermon, we pointed out that it is more enjoyable to be on the peaks. Today’s lesson will demonstrate the wonder of being on the mountaintop. So I hope you’ll open your Bibles to 1 Kings 18 as we pick up the account of Elijah the prophet meeting the wicked king Ahab. As always, we pray that you’ll be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and search the scriptures daily to make sure I’ve preached God’s truth.
III. Lesson
The great prophet Elijah’s ministry was in the northern kingdom of Israel. You’ll remember the kingdom divided after the death of Solomon in approximately 930 B.C. with his son Rehoboam king over Judah and Jeroboam king over Israel. Wicked King Ahab had learned well from his father Omri and learned even more evil from his wife Jezebel. Elijah the Tishbite came on the scene in the tenth year of Ahab’s reign and some 140 years before the Assyrians would capture the capital city of Samaria and destroy the northern kingdom in 722 B.C. Now, let’s allow scripture to set the stage for Elijah’s mountaintop experience. Turn with me to 1 Kings 16:30-33 and let’s read together: Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. (Your translation may have “Asherah” instead of wooden image or a footnote to that effect. Asherah was the Canaanite goddess of fertility as well as of fortune and happiness.) Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. Baal was one of the chief gods of the Canaanites – the ancient storm god – god of rain and fertility. It was in its capacity as the god of rain that brought the LORD God of Israel to deliver a message to Ahab through Elijah. Notice 1 Kings 17:1 – 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.” The LORD then sent Elijah away and sustained him east of the Jordan and then in the territory of Sidon. Let’s pick up our reading in 1 Kings 18:1-2 – And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. The Canaanite god of rain has been no match for the LORD God of Israel. Can you imagine how they’ve prayed to Baal for rain? Now I want us to jump ahead to this meeting between Ahab and Elijah beginning in 1 Kings 18:17-24 – Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
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. 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.”
So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 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. 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. 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. 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.” Elijah has thrown down the gauntlet – to determine who is the true God. This will take place on Mount Carmel – between the lone prophet of the LORD Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal. Mount Carmel is actually a range of mountains reaching to about 1800 feet above sea level at their highest point. If awards were given for stellar performances in the Bible as they are for movies. Elijah would have gotten an Oscar. First of all, he graciously let his opponents go first. They prepared their offering, placed wood on the altar and then their bull. From morning until noon, they cried out to Baal – but there was no answer. Then they leaped about the altar – with no reply. Elijah must have been really enjoying himself watching these 450 prophets put on a show with no results. Then Elijah started mocking them by suggesting they cry a little louder to Baal. Maybe their god can’t hear them. Perhaps Baal is meditating or busy or on a journey or sleeping. They began crying louder and began cutting themselves with knives and lances until blood gushed out. They continued prophesying until time for the evening sacrifice – about three in the afternoon. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. The prophets of Baal have taken most of the day with no results and now it is Elijah’s turn – to see if his God will respond. Let’s read the account beginning in verse 30: Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” Elijah is about to put on a show! So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. Evidently, there had been an altar to the LORD on Mount Carmel that was no longer in use but Elijah repaired it. 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.” 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 (or about 14 quarts) of seed. 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.” 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. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. Elijah wants them to understand this is not some trick or form of magic he is using to light the fire. Then Elijah prayed: “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. 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.” You probably know the rest of the story but Elijah was the only person not surprised that day. 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. 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!” God’s people now stood behind Elijah and seized the 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah then executed them by the Brook Kishon. If you tour Israel, you can visit a site in the Carmel Mountains believed to be the site of this great showdown between Baal and Jehovah God. Elijah then promised rain to Ahab, prayed for it and the next to the last verse of this chapter states there was a heavy rain!
IV. Conclusion/Invitation
For the last several minutes, we have been looking at Elijah’s mountaintop experience on Mount Carmel as the LORD defeated the prophets of Baal. God lit the fire that day! As we look at where our congregation is today, LORD, we pray you’ll light the fire. Like so many congregations of your people, we’re just holding our own – trying to maintain the status quo. Father, we all know we need to be on fire for the LORD. As we close, I’d like to suggest three things we need to do if we want to be on fire for the LORD. First of all, we need to be righteous. As we are introduced to Elijah in 1 Kings 17, we learn he speaks God’s message and then obeys Him. Because of his actions, Elijah is recognized as a man of God in the last verse of this chapter – a righteous man. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be? To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness – Matthew 6:33? Secondly, we need to clean up our worship. Remember Elijah repaired the altar of the LORD that had broken down. I don’t mean that we should alter our worship in the sense of doing things God has not commanded. Rather, we need to remember that worship is all about God and coming into His presence. I understand we must worship Him in spirit and in truth – with the right attitude of heart and according to what He has commanded in scripture (John 4:24). But, my friends, we need to be more reverent in our approach to God – we need a sense of awe when we come before our Creator, Judge and Savior in worship. I’m afraid we’ve become too casual in our approach to God. Let’s repair our worship and give Him our best! Finally, we need to pray for the LORD to light the fire. We talked about our need for righteousness first in our lives. Now let’s tie these two together. Turn to James 5 as we read the second half of verse 16 through verse 18: The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. Elijah was a man just like us and that is comforting. And, if we continued studying the aftermath of this great victory we would see his weaknesses – more like us. Would God light a fire under us if we prayed fervently for it? Is there any fire in our bones? Or, will He spew us out of His mouth? Church, we need to pray for revival. Most of us came up from our baptism with fire in our bones. Father, revive us again! Do you need to make Jesus your Lord and Savior this morning by putting Him on in baptism? Do you need to renew your commitment to His kingdom today? Do you need forgiveness for public sins? Revival always starts with one. Will that be you as we stand and sing?
