SHOWDOWN
I Kings 18:17-40
S: Courage
Th: Profiles in Courage
Pr: WE MUST HAVE THE COURAGE TO DO BATTLE.
?: Inductive
KW: Sections
TS: We will find in our study of I Kings 18:17-40 how the battle against evil is ensued.
The _____ section of our story is the…
I. CONTEST (17-19)
II. CONDUCT (20-24)
III. COMMOTION (25-29)
IV. CONSTRUCTION (30-35)
V. COMMUNION (36-38)
VI. CONFESSION (39)
VII. CORRECTION (40)
Version: ESV
RMBC 03 August 03 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Trouble (two skunks)
“We have a skunk in the basement,” shrieked the caller to the police dispatcher. “How can we get it out?”
“Take some bread crumbs,” said the dispatcher, “and put down a trail from the basement out to the back yard. Then leave the cellar door open.”
Sometime later the resident called back. “Did you get rid of it?” asked the dispatcher.
“No,” replied the caller. “Now I have two skunks in there!”
1. Have you ever found yourself in more trouble than you started?
Well, that was certainly the case here, wasn’t it?
And this was certainly the case of the person that we are studying today.
We continue our series “Profiles in Courage” today, giving consideration to the prophet Elijah.
As we come to today’s story, it seems that Elijah faces a tremendous amount of trouble.
Let me give you some context…
2. Elijah had been the messenger of bad news.
God had sent Elijah to the northern kingdom of Israel.
At this point in time, Ahab is the king, and his wife is Jezebel.
They were not leaders that were following the ways of the Lord.
In fact, they were doing just the opposite.
They were leading the people of Israel to worship the other gods of Canaan, specifically Baal and Asherah.
So, Elijah comes to announce an impending doom.
Because of their disobedience, a drought was coming – no rain and no dew – until he said differently.
This made Elijah a marked man.
You might think that Ahab would straighten out his act.
No, this is not the case.
Instead…
3. Ahab had blamed and pursued Elijah.
Instead of trying to get on Elijah’s good side, he decides that this was Elijah’s fault.
And somewhere in his peculiar thinking, he believes that killing Elijah would end the problem.
So Elijah has been in trouble, because Ahab has had an APB (All Points Bulletin) out on him.
Elijah has become Israel’s most wanted fugitive.
We can see right away that Elijah shouldn’t be in trouble.
After all, Ahab had no one to blame but himself.
He had followed the poor example of his father.
He had married poorly.
And he had been a poor spiritual leader for the people, misleading them into an evil idolatry.
And…
4. It was now time to confront the evil.
Three years have gone by.
It is time for the showdown.
And this is going to be big.
It is going to be bigger than Pepsi versus Coca-Cola.
It is going to be bigger than “Thrilla of Manila.”
It is going to be bigger than North versus the South at Gettysburg.
The man Ahab has been pursuing is now eyeball to eyeball with him.
The man he has hunted is now standing before him
The man he has wanted to kill says its showdown time.
So…
5. We will find in our study of I Kings 18:17-40 how the battle against evil is ensued.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first section of our story is the CONTEST (17-21).
[17] 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. [19] Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table." [20] 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.
Ahab has a lot of nerve.
He approaches Elijah by calling him the troubler of Israel.
He blames him for bringing the drought and incurring the wrath of the Baals.
Interestingly, Elijah was not troubled by the indictment of Ahab.
He points out wisely that the troublemakers are those who do not follow the commandments.
The real problem was not the lack of rain.
The real problem was a lack of faithfulness to the Creator God.
So…
Elijah placed a challenge before the unbelieving.
There was going to be a major confrontation.
We are going to have a contest.
Elijah names the place – Mt. Carmel.
Mt. Carmel was always the premier place for rain in the land.
Clouds would pick up the moisture from the Mediterranean and as they came to the higher elevation, the rain would come there first.
People come and gather from all around the countryside and hear the challenge from Elijah.
Literally, he says, “How long are you going to limp between two opinions?”
We would say today that they were “sitting on the fence.”
The challenge from Elijah was that the middle ground has to disappear!
You cannot be both for God and Baal.
Today is a day to choose.
They had given in to a syncretistic type of worship.
They believed in a plurality of gods.
Yes, they would worship the God of their fathers.
They would also worship the Canaanite gods who were worshipped in the land before their arrival.
This way, everyone would be pleased…right?
Not exactly…
II. The second section of our story is the CONDUCT (22-24).
[22] 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."
Elijah shows how this contest is going to be conducted…
Elijah set up the procedure for the showdown.
The test is trial by fire – God-sent fire to be exact.
It was a most appropriate test.
The people that believed in Baal considered him the god of the sun.
Baal rode the thunderclouds and sent lightning.
He had the power to control the weather.
If he was the true God, than he certainly could do this.
What is interesting, of course, is why he had been so utterly helpless to end the drought in the first place.
Nevertheless, it was time for the rivalry to begin.
III. The third section of our story is the COMMOTION (25-29).
[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. [27] And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." [28] And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. [29] And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
Even though the prophets of Baal had a home field advantage, it doesn’t seem to work for them.
They go through a lot of motions while…
Elijah watched and mocked the futility of their actions.
They rose quite a commotion.
They are doing chants.
They are doing incantations
They are dancing and swaying, putting their bodies through all kinds of physical contortions.
And as they are doing all this, Elijah watches on the sidelines.
“What’s the matter?”
“Is he asleep?”
“Is he answering the call of nature?”
“Perhaps you should shout louder!”
“Has he gone on a trip?”
“Perhaps he has more important things on his mind?”
They could not help to be touched by Elijah’s sarcasm.
He has made a point.
So far, Baal has been a pathetic god!
As a result, pandemonium broke out.
They really went at it.
By the end of the afternoon, their feet were sore.
They shouted until they were hoarse.
They were even cutting themselves, hoping that the demonstration of blood would get Baal’s attention.
But they had a big time disappointment.
There was no answer.
The prophets of Baal teach us a simple lesson here.
Faith and sincerity mean nothing when you have faith in the wrong object.
They had faith.
They were sincere.
But the object of their faith, Baal, was nonexistent.
They were sincerely wrong.
IV. The fourth section of our story is the CONSTRUCTION (30-35).
[30] 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.
As we come to this point we see that…
Elijah prepared the way for the power of God.
It was a terrible sign that the altar was in disrepair.
It was evidence that the people of Israel were far from God.
You see the altar was the place of worship.
The altar was the place you remembered what God had done.
The altar was the place you humbly met God.
Elijah begins the construction of the altar using twelve stones.
These twelve stones represented the true Israel, the twelve tribes united together in true worship.
You see, Israel had a destiny to fulfill.
They possessed a high and holy calling.
Yet, they had been doing the very opposite.
As Elijah prepared the altar, he made sure that there was going to be no question about trickery.
There was going to be no fraud.
He gave it a thorough drenching, making it absolutely impossible for it to burn, unless God intervened.
V. The fifth section of our story is the COMMUNION (36-38).
[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.
Here we find that…
Elijah prayed for the glory of God.
He not only asks for a demonstration of the power of God, he asks that God would convert Israel.
You see, they needed it.
They needed to be for God.
Yahweh alone was God.
He alone was to be worshipped.
He was to bring glory to Himself.
And He did.
God responds.
We can only imagine what this must have been like.
A blinding flash…
Thunderous sound…
In just a moment, the fire came in a spectacular and stunning fashion.
And as it came, it was gone.
The sacrifice was consumed, and so was everything else.
Nothing was left.
No cleanup was needed.
God had answered the prayer of Elijah.
He had proved once and for all that they were in communion with one another and that Elijah was God’s true representative.
VI. The sixth section of our story is the CONFESSION (39).
[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."
It was time to confess.
It was time to get it right.
You see…
Elijah led the people to the truth about God.
They must have gasped.
But they understood.
They fell to their knees and knew they had just seen something too wonderful to describe.
With contrite hearts, they made the true declaration: “The Lord, he is God!”
VII. The seventh section of our story is the CORRECTION (40).
[40] 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.
It was not a long time for silence, because 450 prophets had been exposed.
They were false.
They had claimed to tell the truth.
Now the evidence was clear.
They were deceivers.
So…
Elijah called for retribution against those who had deceived the people.
A drastic correction had to be made.
The slaughter was necessary.
The nation had to be purged of its sin.
As a nation, they had played with evil long enough.
Drastic, but exact action was required.
The evil must be destroyed.
APPLICATION:
In a way, it is a frightening lesson for us today.
It is true nonetheless.
You see, though we are called to be peacemakers, there are times when battle cannot be avoided.
In fact, there are times when it is needed.
Therefore…
1. WE MUST HAVE THE COURAGE TO DO BATTLE.
When the Lord calls us to battle, we do not need to be afraid.
We can be strong.
We can be of good courage.
Because, when the Lord is on our side, it is all we need.
It is enough.
You may think you don’t have what it takes to be an Elijah.
Well, you are right.
Neither do I.
Neither did Elijah for that matter.
The apostle Paul explains this truth so well (II Corinthians 12:9-10)…
But he (Jesus) said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Battles will come our way.
But…
2. To do battle, we must be right with God.
When you watch this story, you see that the prophets were frantic.
They probably knew that they were in trouble.
All they could hope for was that Elijah was a fake too.
But Elijah is at peace.
He was methodical.
He knew he was doing what God called him to do.
For the three years, he had lived in all kinds of conditions, successfully, because he lived in daily reliance of God.
When we are in relationship with God, the storm can be all about us, the battle raging, but we are at peace.
Why?
Because we know God.
Because when we are on God’s side, it is enough.
Therefore, let us be encouraged this day to be right with God and then to do what is right.
For…
3. We must recognize that we often face the evil of our day by saying little and doing less.
We are not to be reticent when it comes to issues of obedience.
If God calls us we are to go.
We are not to be reticent about issues of life.
What God has created is to be respected, honored and protected.
We are not to be reticent about issues of marriage.
What God has created and designed is to be protected and lived with integrity.
We are not to be reticent about issues of purity.
There are right ways and wrong ways to live.
We are not to give in to the world’s definitions.
Instead, we are to live lives characterized by righteousness and not by compromise.
There are all kinds of issues that we face and we must have the courage to battle for what is right.
But it only comes when the God is truly our Master.
So..
4. What will it take for you to acknowledge God as God of your life?
COMMUNION:
If you know Jesus today, you are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of our church, but we do ask that you know Jesus and have a relationship with Him.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, or you are just unsure, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you are confident that you do have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Al Graffam will now come and lead us in prayer.
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
Gary Kuechle will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
