“GET UP AND LOOK AGAIN”
1 Kings 18:20-46
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: INCENTIVE TO LEARN MATH
1. A boy was having trouble in public school with MATH. His parents tried tutoring him. His grades stayed so low his parents decided to move him to a Catholic school where strict nuns taught and all the students wore uniforms.
2. After about 3 weeks, the report cards came out, and the boy had gotten an "A" in math! His parents were proud their son had made such a turnaround, but were also quite curious.
3. So they asked, "Billy, how did you do it? After a year of failing, what motivated you to so drastically advance to the place of making an A in Math? Was it the teachers, the textbooks, your friends?” He answered, “No!”
4. He continued, "When I came into that school the first day and I looked up at the front wall and saw this huge PLUS SIGN with a man nailed to it, I knew right then that this school was real serious about math!"
5. The Cross DOES tell us that GOD is serious – about our REDEMPTION!
B. TEXT: 1 KINGS 18:21-24, 38-46
21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. 22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good." 26 [The worshippers of Baal] took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!" 40 Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back." 44 The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' " 45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
C. CONDITION OF ISRAEL
1. The nation of Israel was in a shambles. A period as terrible as the Great Depression held the nation in its grip.
2. For 3½ years, there had been no rain. No crops for food. No grass for cattle. To an agricultural nation, this was destruction worse than war.
3. What they needed was rain! EVERYBODY SAY, “THEY NEEDED RAIN!” The rain they needed symbolized the HOLY SPIRIT and his blessings on the land.
4. We need rain too! We need someone to pray down Holy Ghost revival on us!
5. Title: “Get Up And Look Again!”
I. THE OVERTHROW OF BAAL
A. CONTRAST BETWEEN TRUE GOD & FALSE
1. Elijah’s job was to expose the sham religion of the Israelites. Baal was the false god of the Phoenicians which had been adopted by Israel. Baal was nothing but a piece of stone or wood carved by the hands of men; An Idol. An “Idol” is anything which usurps the place of God in our hearts.
2. Baal was a GOD OF MAN’S MAKING, the kind of god many people serve today. The kind of god that:
a. Doesn’t care if you worship money, pleasure, & pride – as long as he still has his place among them;
b. Baal doesn’t have any moral absolutes. You can lie, steal, have extramarital sex, talk dirty, watch filthy, God-dishonoring movies – and Baal will tell you it’s perfectly all right!
c. Baal says that everyone is going to heaven, that every religion leads to heaven, that good intentions are all that matter!
3. But Friends – BAAL IS A MYTH!!!!!! Isa. 44:20 sa say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?” If we think we can serve ourselves AND God – we’re fooling ourselves!
4. HUMOR. I’m glad to say that Elijah wasn’t a “Longhorn Preacher.” Do you know what a “Longhorn Preacher” is? It’s a preacher who only has a ‘couple of points’ and a ‘lot of bull’ in between! Elijah told it straight!
B. NATURE OF THE TRUE, LIVING GOD
1. John in the Book of Rev. says, “11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away….12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened…and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:11-13,15.
2. The Apostle Paul warns us “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Cor. 5:10.
3. Elijah had the assignment of confronting the Israelites with the fact they were SERVING A GOD OF THEIR OWN MAKING, NOT THE TRUE GOD! We are confronted with the same truth that we Americans also serve a god of our own making and not the True God!
4. It takes work to be godly. Weeds grow automatically. Good crops must be sown, cultivated, etc. It’s a struggle to grow them, but they’re valuable. It’s the same with a godly life. We must struggle against our lower natures and let God’s order gain control.
II. ELIJAH’S TEST: FIRE FROM HEAVEN
A. ELIJAH LED THEM BACK TO GOD
1. Test proposed: True God will show who He is by sending fire on His altar/answering prayer. They people agree. The Baalite priests went first, with no response.
2. Elijah called all the people to him to repair the altar of the Lord which was broken down. There were TWO ALTARS:
a. One altar is to a god who is what you want him to be.
b. The other is a God who makes you uncomfortable – one you must humble yourself before; surrender that which is most dear to you; has definite rights and wrongs and many things He won’t tolerate. But He offers you eternal life Now.
3. representing TWO TYPES OF HEARTS. Revival will come to one but not to the other! God’s fire will only come to the heart prepared by separation from the world and by responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit thru repenting. HOW DOES YOUR ALTAR LOOK? Does your heart need repair before God?
4. Elijah arranged the wood and sacrifice; dug a trench around it and had 12 large jars of SEAWATER dumped on it to remove any doubt of a prelit fire. They had to haul it – ocean to mountain top – 1,724 feet up!
5. THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAN-GENERATED FIRE AND GOD’S HEAVENLY FIRE! HEAVENLY FIRE FALLS ON THE HEART THAT’S SOLD OUT TO GOD! [But NEVER on Compromise!] Elijah prayed a short prayer and God answered.
6. Fire fell from heaven. A ball of fire descended and fell on the sacrifice, consuming the bull, wood, stones of the altar, water in the trench, and even the dirt under the altar. GOD HUNGRILY RESPONDS TO OUR SURRENDER!
7. The Fire was the proof of the True God. The Resurrection of Jesus is the proof He’s the True Savior of the world (Acts 17:30-31.) Only Jesus has an empty tomb!
B. RENEWED EXPECTATIONS
1. For Israel, a great change had occurred: When God’s people repented and turned to God, this fulfilled God’s conditions to end the drought. The hand of judgment could be removed.
2. The same is true of America. God said, “If My people, which are called My name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land,” 2 Chron. 7:14. If Christians will just get it right, God will send revival just because of them.
3. JESUS DIDN’T DIE ON THE CROSS AND RISE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD SO THAT WE COULD LIVE WORLDLY, COMPROMISED LIVES! Jesus expects you to Separate yourself from the world and live in obedience to Him!
III. ELIJAH’S 3RD STEP OF FAITH
A. ELIJAH’S FAITH & PERSISTANCE
1. Elijah immediately declared to Ahab that the drought was at an end; Ahab could eat the food and drink what he’d been hoarding because good times were right around the corner. And not so amazing, Ahab believed him!
2. So the man of God went up Mt. Carmel, beside the Mediterranean Sea, and put his head between his knees and began to pray. He sent his servant to look over the Sea to see if he saw any clouds. The servant returned, “There are none.”
3. So Elijah prayed again. “Go look and see if there are any clouds.” “Why? I just went and looked.” “Just go and look.” He did. “Nope, there’s none.”
4. Elijah prayed a third time. “Get up and go look again.” “What? Again?” “Yes!” “What could possibly different? I could see across the whole Sea and there was nothing”. “GO and look!” The servant went and looked, and, as he knew it would be, there was nothing. Three more times Elijah sent the servant, grumbling, to look for clouds, and there were always none.
5. Elijah wasn’t daunted. Why not? Because once the spiritual condition of the nation had changed, a change was possible for Israel’s outlook.
6. When one tiny cloud appeared, Elijah declared to Ahab that it represented a coming deluge. Elijah was so confident of the return of the supernatural, that the slightest sign was taken as fulfillment/confirmation.
a. Jonathan, son of King Saul said, “If they tell us to do [the normal thing], that will be our sign the Lord has given us victory over them.”
b. The Woman with issue of blood said, “If I can but touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed!”
c. The Centurion said, “You don’t need to come to my house, just speak the Word and my servant will be healed!”
7. ARE WE WILLING TO STEP OUT LIKE THAT?
B. RENEWED EXPECTATIONS IN OUR LIVES
1. Have you been praying for something to happen in your life, but it hasn’t happened? Maybe you haven’t met the conditions yet. Elijah had to pray for FIRE (of purify-cation) before he could pray for the RAIN of blessing.
2. Or it could be that you haven’t prayed persistently enough. Let’s pray, and then you “Get up & look again!” at your MISSION/ vision. It may be time now. Look again!
4. Let’s pray, then “Get up & look again” at your ABILITIES. They are greater than you think.
5. Let’s pray, then “Get up & look again” at God’s PROMISES. He’s watching over His Word to perform it. It cannot fail!
6. Let’s pray, then “Get up & look again” for MIRACULOUS INTERVENTION. Look for it. Expect it. Pray until you receive it.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Harvey MacKay tells the story of a professor who stood before his class of 30 senior molecular biology students. Before passing out the final exam he said;
2. "…Because I am confident that you know this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic B to anyone who opts to skip taking the final exam."
3. The relief was audible. A number of students jumped up from their desks, thanking the professor for the lifeline he had thrown them. "Any other takers?" he asked. "This is your last opportunity." One more student decided to go.
4. The instructor then handed out the final exam, which consisted of two sentences. It read: "Congratulations, you have just received an A in this class. Keep believing in yourself." [Word for Today 17-4-08].
5. In spiritual things, those who settle for “second best” get the safest outcome, but those who take the risk of going for God’s very best find the results far outweigh the cost involved!
B. THE CALL
1. YOU MAY HAVE PRAYED BEFORE, BUT THIS MORNING I WANT YOU TO LOOK FOR, TO EXPECT SOMETHING FAR SUPERIOR TO ANYTHING YOU’VE DREAMT POSSIBLE!
2. If your problems are looking big, and your God is looking small, then you're looking at God through the wrong end of the binoculars. When you use a magnifying glass, it doesn't change the size of what you look at. It changes your perception.
3. Have you tried and failed? God says, “Get up and try again!” Have you prayed and received no answer? God says, “Get up and pray again!” Have you believed for a miracle and nothing happened? God says, “Get up and believe a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th 6th, 7th time!”
4. It’s time to get rid of SIN, of LAZINESS, of PRAYERLESSNESS, and our idols!
5. Let’s let God send the heavenly fire on our lives, our families, and our church.
6. Let’s come to the Altar and reconsecrate our lives to Jesus!
