Fire On The Mountain
1 Kings 18:20-39
Introduction:
• I want to direct your attention to a fire today. We find it burning in the pages of 1 Kings 18, specifically verses 36-39. In this chapter we find the story of Elijah, the prophet of God confronting the wicked prophets of Baal. For those who may not be familiar with this story, allow me to give you a quick “thumb-nail sketch” of what is taking place.
• King Ahab:
1. Was the reigning king in Israel
2. Scripture informs us that Ahab “did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.” (1 Kings 16:33)
3. He had turned his people from the worship of God to the worship of Baal, a heathen god.
4. Because of the wickedness of Israel, God had caused the heavens to be closed for 3 1/2 years.
• Elijah:
1. Announced that “there would be no dew drop on any flower for years, no rain cloud to cross the sky for years, no rains to drench the land for years. All skies would be pitilessly brass.”
• Israel
1. In the midst of a devastating drought.
2. There was no fruit on the vines.
3. Terrible famine plagued the land.
4. The refreshing drops of rain no longer quench the thirst of a parched land.
5. The long-term drought resulted in kingdom-wide starvation .
That was the situation after three and a half years of drought and famine. There was no food to satisfy the hunger or water to quench the thirst. People were dying in record numbers because of the hard-heartedness of their king.
• We find in 1 Kings 18 the prophet Elijah emerging from 3 1/2 years of seclusion to challenge Ahab, king of Israel. In meeting with this evil king, the prophet assures him that the long drought and famine is a result of the sin of the children of Israel. Elijah states: "If God is God, serve Him! If Ba’al, then serve him!" But how is this to be determined? Simple!! There is to be a head-to-head confrontation between the 450 prophets of Baal and Elijah, the prophet of the most high God! The terms of the contest are set forth in vv 23,24:
“Now bring two young bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without putting any fire under the wood; and I will prepare the other young bull and lay it on the wood on the Lord’s altar, with no fire under it. 24 Then pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord; and the god who answers by sending fire to light the wood is the true God!”
I. How Long Will You Halt? (Waver)
A. Halt means “to dance”
1. Dancing with two partners
2. Must choose one
3. God is a jealous God, must be number 1 or will not be in our lives at all
B. People today, even in church, waver between God and the world
1. Can’t tell the Christian between the non Christian because they both have a drink in their hands
2. Both talk vulgar
3. Both go to the club on Saturday night
4. Both watch filth on television
5. Both listen to music that takes God’s name in vain and glorifies sinful lifestyle
6. God will never send His spirit on a people that is not consecrated fully to Him
a. Sanctification is what God does to you—He sanctifies you through the washing of His Word
b. Consecration is what you do for Him—Consecration means separation—
1) John 15:19 says we are not of this world, He has called us out
2) Romans 12:2 says "And do not be conformed to this world…”
3) 1 John 2:15 says “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
c. Matthew 21, Jesus was headed back to the city and became hungry. Sees fig tree, on closer observance, nothing but leaves
1) Curses the tree and it dies
2) On the outside it looked the same as every other tree
3) It was green
4) Stood tall
5) Blew with the wind
6) Even provided shade
7) But when Jesus observed the tree, He noticed there was no fruit
8) Potato Chip Christians—Full of Air
9) Folks, it’s not enough to just come to church
10) It’s not enough to go through the motions
11) It’s not enough to sing the right songs and say the right words
12) Not everyone that says Lord, Lord is saved
13) Not everyone that shouts is living right
14) Not everyone that speaks in tongues has the fruit of the Spirit
15) If you are truly in Christ, you will bear fruit
16) He is not concerned with whether or not I preach a good sermon
17) He’s not concerned with whether little Bobby hits a home run or scores a touchdown
i. As a youth pastor, I’ve seen parents come get their teenagers out of the altar service because their service was over and they were ready to come home
ii. I’ve never seen a parent come get their kid off second base, because it’s a school night
iii. Who would you rather your kid be, Derek Jeter or Smith Wigglesworth
18) We’ve got to bear fruit
19) He is not going to bless a barren dying church
d. Bodybuilder visits African Tribe
1) What can you do with all those muscles
2) “Easier to show you,” Flexes
3) Changes poses, shows biceps, triceps, quads, obliques
4) “That’s impressive, but what else can you do with all those muscles?”
5) “Well, that’s pretty much it. I work out to pose.”
6) “What a waste, what a waste.”
7) Many church folk work out only to pose.
i. Look at me
ii. I shouted all over that church
iii. You should have heard my solo
iv. You should have seen me, I got the service going, they were dry till I get it started
v. I did this and I did that
vi. I carry my Bible
vii. I stand for praise and worship,
viii. I raise my hands during the songs
ix. I was the loudest Amen in the church
8) So what, if you never take it outside these four walls, all you are doing is posing and you’re not going to make a bit of difference
9) Folks it’s time this world start seeing some fruit from those who carry the name of Christ.
C. John 16:8, Jesus was preparing His disciples for his departure, and speaks of the Holy Spirit
1. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
2. The purpose of the Holy Ghost is to convict us
a. Where there is no conviction there is no Holy Ghost
b. I go to that church because I don’t feel bad about myself
c. I like this preacher because he don’t get in my business
d. I want you to know the Holy Ghost will get in your business
1) He cares what you do
2) He cares who you date
3) He cares who you marry
4) He cares where you spend your money
5) I mean this with all love and sincerity, but if you don’t want God getting in your stuff, then this is probably not the place for you
6) But if you are hungry
i. I said if you are hungry
ii. If you are hungry
iii. And you see, God I want you in my life
iv. I don’t care what I have to give up
v. I don’t care what it cost me
vi. I don’t care who I have to leave behind
vii. I want you to know, you’ve found the right place!
3. I’ve made up my mind, I’m not going to waver
II. Baal is Silent
A. Prophets offered the bull, called on Baal, lept on the altar, Elijah began mocking
1. Keep on crying
2. Perhaps he’s talking to someone else
3. Perhaps he’s on vacation
4. Perhaps he’s asleep
a. Aren’t you glad that God you serve isn’t asleep
b. The God that you serve is never too busy
c. The God you serve is never preoccupied
d. The God you serve is never on a journey
e. The God you serve is accessible to you and I 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year
5. Began cutting themselves, till the blood gushed out
a. You know that’s popular today among our young people
b. They want to feel pain
c. “I want to hurt, because when I see the blood running down my arms or legs, it reminds me that I am still alive.”
6. Idols are silent
a. People are selling out to idols everyday
b. When they are depressed, they call on their idol
c. When they are discouraged, the call on their idol
d. When they feel alone, they call on their idol
e. When they don’t know what to do, they call on their idol
f. When the world has beat them down, they call on their idol
g. Folks, we are in a war with false Gods everyday, and we better realize that we are not in a battle with flesh and blood, but with the forces of evil and idols the enemy has put in people’s lives
B. Our Real Competition—The real enemy has been identified. The real enemy is Satan!
1. Our competitor is not the church who disagrees with our interpretation of Scripture
2. God did not raise us up to compete with other churches of our district or our state
3. God did not call us to empty out the Baptist church. He called us to empty out the bar.
4. God did not call us to empty out the Methodist church. He called us to empty the meth house.
5. Our crown is not to be the biggest, or in the top twenty, or to be the biggest church in town. If we are going to advance the Kingdom, we have to start looking at other churches as allies, not competitors.
6. Our competition is the bar that is ruining a man’s family and stealing his marriage.
7. Our competition is the violence that is taking over our schools
8. Our competition is the pornography industry that it enslaving millions
9. Our competition is the abortion clinics and prayerlessness in our schools.
10. Our competition is the sex-trafficking industry that is stealing young girls from their homes and robbing them of their innocence
11. We have to understand that our fight is not with one another, but the spiritual forces of evil in this world
C. Idols are Silent
1. Self
2. Materialism
3. Popularity
4. All leave you empty and void
5. Read of a Secret Service agent whose specialty was finding fraud/counterfeit
a. Interesting thing is he never looked at the counterfeit
b. He studied the real money
c. Observed every detail, making mental notes of every characteristic that made it the real thing
d. In doing so, he was able to distinguish the difference between the authentic and the phony
e. If you want to know what is not of God, then study the real deal, talk to Him every day, read His Word, when you know the authentic, you can spot the phony
III. God Answers By Fire
A. Fire is not unusual in how God communicates with His people
1. When Moses instructed the Hebrews not to forget their covenant with God, he said in Deut 4:24 “"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
2. God spoke to Moses in Exodus 3:2 out of a burning bush
3. God was with the Children of Israel as a cloud by day and fire by night
4. When God gave Moses the law, Mt Sinai was in smoke because God descended on as a fire
5. He tells Jeremiah in Jer 23 that His Word is like a fire
6. John the Baptist, speaking of Jesus in Matthew 3:11 says “One who is coming who is mightier than I, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
7. In Acts 2, when God sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, tongues of fire came to rest on each one of them
8. Today, in 2014, I want to tell you that I am convinced that God has not quit speaking by Fire!
B. The God who Answers by Fire, He is God!
1. Fire is how God chooses to communicate Himself through us to this world
2. We have this messed up idea, that the Holy Ghost, who is Lord of the Harvest, if He moves, then somehow He’s going to run the harvest off
3. That devil is a lie
4. Jesus had just risen from the dead, shown Himself to Mary Magdelene, showed up while His disciples were eating, rebuked them for not believing when they were told He had risen, and said
a. 15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
5. In Luke 7, Some of John the Baptist disciples showed up to talk to Jesus and they said, “John wants to know if you are the Messiah, or should we keep on looking.”
a. Jesus didn’t say go back and tell John:
1) The crowds have never been bigger
2) We’ve never had more money
3) I’ve never been more popular
4) People just won’t stop talking about what God is doing
5) We’re having the time of our lives
b. He said, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
6. John Wesley said it like this, “If you want to draw a crowd, set yourself on fire, if nothing else they’ll come to watch you burn.”
a. God is coming back for a church that is on fire
b. Can we be that church?
c. I wish somebody would make up their mind this morning, that I am going to let God’s fire burn deep in my soul
d. Let me tell you something, we can try to tone it down so we won’t offend Bro Big Bucks, or let can quit trying to do everything ourselves and just let God be God!
e. This fire is for everybody
1) It’s for the rich man
2) It’s for the poor man
3) It’s for the black man
4) It’s for the white man
5) It’s for your sons
6) It’s for your daughters
7) God give us a fire
f. You know what I’ve notices, when I see an Ice truck going down the road, I don’t really care where it’s going
1) But when I see a fire truck, with sirens blaring, lights flashing, I’m going to turn around and follow, because I want to know where there’s a fire burning
2) Let me tell you something, when you best friend gets sick
3) He’s not going to call Brother and Sister Ima Icecycle at the First Church of the Chosen Frozen
4) Because they don’t lay hands on nothing but their dinner
5) They are going to call those people that know where there’s a fire burning, that talk in them crazy languages, that sling that oil over them
6) God we need the fire!!!
Closing:
C. Fire fell and licked up the water in the trench v. 38
1. Normally water puts fire out, but this fire put the water out
2. When God sends His fire, things that normally would have put you under
3. Caused you to give up
4. Got the best of you
5. Things that would have normally given you a nervous breakdown
6. God’s fire will lick it up
7. God’s fire is not a fire that is put out by conventional methods
8. God’s fire is not dependent upon your happiness
9. God’s fire is not dependent on your success
10. God’s fire is not dependent upon your job
11. God’s fire burns when everything else is put out
12. God’s fire gets you through the sleepless nights
13. God’s fire burns brightly even when others are against you
14. God’s fire changed the people’s perspectives, they went from worshipping Baal to “Proclaiming, the Lord He is God, the Lord He is God”
