Dr. Bradford Reaves
CrossWay Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
Introduction
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. (1 Kings 16:29–33)
There is no greater honor than to stand behind a pulpit and deliver the Word of God to His people. In all my years of ministry, I’ve had opportunity to meet people, share in sacred moments, and be a part of God-ordained events. Nothing compares to the sacredness of standing behind the pulpit with the message of God coming from my lips. When I approach a story in the Bible or a passage of Scripture, I don’t look to what will get the crowd excited or lend to popular speech. I look at the heart of the message God intended for the time it was written and then build a bridge from that moment to us today in order for us understand the message of this Book.
Today is one of those messages that we must examine carefully because if we are not careful, we will miss the point. We will set our eyes on the miracle instead of the Giver of Miracles. Elijah is one of the most significant prophets in all of the Old Testament. Even John the Baptist, whom Jesus called the greatest of all prophets (Matthew 11:11), came in the ‘spirit and the power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). It is believed that Elijah will be one of the two witnesses that appear during the Great Tribulation as foretold in Revelation 11. Elijah was one of three people in the Bible who was taken up to heaven without dying (2 Kings 2:11). Enoch was another (Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5) and Jesus was the other after his resurrection.
Elijah is credited with 10 miracles happening during his ministry, some of which we will talk about here. Yet Elijah has no book in the Bible named after him. Elijah was human with emotions, disappointments, fears, and doubts. And there is so much the church today, including this church, we need to learn from him.
My main passage is from 1 Kings 18:21:
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. (1 Kings 18:21)
The message today surrounds Elijah’s confrontation and defeat of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. But before we can properly understand the point of that we have to understand the rest of the story because if we just get to the confrontation on Mount Carmel, we will miss the truth we need to learn. So there are a few truths I want you to understand that will help set the scene for the rest of the message.
God Will Not Share His Throne
Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” (1 Kings 17:1)
Elijah is living in a time when Israel has adulterated and polluted their faith in God. It is about 100 years since the reign of King David. The kingdom is divided with Israel to the North and Judah to the south. There is growing idolotry among god’s people. They have infected their worship and sacrifice to God to Molech, Baal, and Asherah. They are sacrificing their children. They are sexually perverse. Their conscious is seared.
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, (Exodus 20:5)
Whenever a nation turns away from God. He does several things. First, He will send ungodly leadership as judgment. King Ahab is a wicked King who has forsaken Yahweh as the God of Israel. Even more, he has the wicked and pagan wife named Jezabel.
Second God will bring famine and drought (we’ll get to that in a minute). Lastly, he will raise a small remnant of believers to confront evil and speak the truth.
God will not share his throne and when his people turn away from Him. When Adam and Eve sinned, the effect of sin reached throughout all of creation. Whenever false demonic gods are worshipped, that has a powerful affect on the land. The spiritual affliction upon the land as the result of the demonic activity is visibly seen.
As a result of Ahab’s evil and worship of the false gods Baal and Ashera, The Lord sends Elijah to to let a hab know there will be no rain or due in all the land for 3 1/2 years. Elijah is showing a truth about God. He is the living God. All other gods are false gods and lead to death. Unfortunately, too many people who say they follow the Living God, chose to live under the curse of death. God will not share his throne with dead things.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
God Provides
“Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. (1 Kings 17:3–6)
Now God tells Elijah to go to the brook Cherith. There is a lot we can cover here but the main truth I want you to know is column first, God provides for those who put their trust in him. Elijah was fed by the Ravens. He wasn't receiving gourmet meals, there was no quick steps to a better you. Nevertheless, God took care of Elijah. And justice like God took care of Elijah, he will take care of you. No matter what is happening in the world no matter how difficult the circumstances are around you. God will take care of you. When you put your trust in your hope and God the God of this world the living God will care for you and provide your every need
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
Also recognize here that this was not wasted time. God did not have Elijah sitting by the Bras a time of idleness. God was preparing Elijah for the next step that was ahead of him. Waiting on God is never a waste of time. However, waiting on God can be a time that pushes us to our limits.
It is God's intention that he bring us to a place where we learn to fully trust in him. Are you in preparation today? Are you filled with the spirit? Could it be that you are not ready for the job that God has in mind for you? Let your faith be encouraged that God is not punishing you but preparing you. How does he do this? He teaches us to abandon all hope and our own good works and our personal righteousness, and especially the world, so that we could only learn to reply on him.
God Produces Plenty Out of Poverty
Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. (1 Kings 17:8–16)
Make no mistake, God is not short on cash. Elijah goes to Zarephath, just as God tells him. The famine is continuing in the land. The widow there is down to her last bit of flour and oil, but she gives to Elijah just as he asks her.
You can be the greatest prophet in the world, but you still need food and water to survive. Was it humiliating for Elijah to rely on a widow to give him her last bit of bread. The famine had far-reaching affects. Maybe Elijah felt like he got it all wrong. Was this the price of being obedient to God or was God teaching Elijah something greater for what was ahead of him?
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. (Psalm 146:3)
Expect that we as believers will have difficulty in this world. Do not be unsettled by trials. Instead, grab them with both hands. Resolve yourself to trust in God no matter what the circumstances. Refuse to complain or distress, but instead hold on and watch because God has a plan. The widow gave him the bread and as a result the flour and the oil did not empty.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
That brings me to the main part of my message:
God Will Make it Rain Again
After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. (1 Kings 18:1–2)
I want you to imagine this scene. The skies have shut out for 3 1/2 years… the streams have dried up, wells have dried up, there’s not even any dew on the ground to quench the thirst. Yet Israel is still worshipping Baal. Ahab is still listening to Jezebel. There is not a hint of repentance in the land. The people’s hearts are hard. Friends, let me tell you a truth of God that you must receive today: If God stops the rain, then God will make it rain again.
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:13–14)
So Elijah shows up before Ahab and Ahab breathes a sigh of relief, right?
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. (1 Kings 18:17–18)
If God ordains the end, he ordains the means to get there. Everything that happened to Elijah during the famine was so that God would turn the hearts of Israel back to Him. And what a showdown is going to take place in order for this rain to show up.
The actual confrontation starts in 1 Kings 18:16–18. “Ahab went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ‘Is it you, you troubler of Israel?’ And he answered, ‘I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.’” When ungodly leaders find themselves in misfortune, they blame God’s people.
When everything is going well for the ungodly they celebrate and honor themselves and their false gods. But when misfortune, famine, difficulty, and problems arise they cast the blame on God and God’s people. Elijah told Ahab: “‘You are the reason!’ Church, it is time we stop worrying about who we are going to offend and call out the sin of the world.
Stop Sitting on the Fence
So Elijah calls out to Israel and this is the message to the Church: 1 Kings 18:20-21
So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. (1 Kings 18:20–21)
The point that Elijah was making to Israel and the point I am making to you today is stop being indecisive. You can’t live your life halfway between God and idols. You can’t serve God and the world at the same time. You cannot please God and wickedness. I sadly watch many people make their life a spiritual disaster because they sit on the fence and won’t become radically devoted to God. You are hopeless until you are all in for God.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. (1 Corinthians 10:21)
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
Why use the word “limp,” or “hobble around” in verse 21. “How long will you go limping or hobbling, like you’re lame?” If you try to fulfill your life from anything but the true God, you will be lame all your life. The world may call it success. God calls it a limp. You are like a bull who is hobbled and being led to the slaughter.
God Always Wins
Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. (1 Kings 18:22–26()
I want you to recognize another important truth. God does not need an advantage from us to win. No matter the odd, God always wins. in fact, God loves to be at a disadvantage just before he wins. Elijah says, I’m only 1 prophet of the Lord - you have 450 prophets of Baal. You choose the bull. You build the prepare you altar. You call on your Baal. You can even go first.
Elijah even mocked them. He insulted their god. “Perhaps he’s on the toilet relieving himself!” (1 Kings 18:27). All day, they danced, chanted, cut themselves, and performed all the ceremony. And at the end of the day, there was nothing - just self destruction. Here again we see the word, “they limped” around the altar (1 Kings 18:26). The world may be in the majority. They can be loud and passionate, but they are limping to their defeat. No matter the odds, when you are with God you are always in the majority.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And 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 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. 36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” (1 Kings 18:30–39)
I want you to understand something very important here. The purpose of all of this was not for the display of the fire from heaven. It wasn’t for the sacrifice. It was not to make Elijah look better than the prophets of Baal. God had two goals: 1. to win over the hearts of the people, 2. to get rid of the false prophets in the house of the Lord. Friends, the purpose of the Church is no less today. I’ll get back to that in a moment.
Notice that Elijah did a couple of things. First, he rebuilt the altar of the Lord. He didn’t reinvent it. He didn’t improve it. He rebuilt it. He restored the altar. Secondly, he removed all possibility of human achievement. He poured water over the altar until it filled the trenches. Elijah removed any trace of man’s glory. When the fire came down it consumed everything: the bull, the wood, the water, and even the stones. All that is left is God. Here is where I will close:
God is Dead Serious About Sin
And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there. (1 Kings 18:40()
Now, here is what we can learn. God pours out his judgment on the false prophets of Baal. With the coming of Jesus, we are no longer under the rule of executing false prophets, but we are not to take them any less serious
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:12–13)
Church it is time that we restore the sacred altar of God in our hearts and in our churches. It is time we cast out the false prophets and and false teachers and the doctrine of demons.
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Ephesians 5:11)
For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (Matthew 7:15)
The most explicit statement in all of this message is this: God wants you to turn your heart back to him. You are limping through life. You are putting yourself before God because you refuse to trust him. Turn your heart back to Him of you of little faith. This is a message for the backslider and the believer limping through life. Come back to him now.
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. (Romans 11:5)
That is this church right here today. But the fire comes before the rain. You want to see the floodgates of heaven open up here today, it begins with the consuming fire of God pouring out on your soul.
