It’s Show Time
Introduction: Ever feel like God has left you fighting alone? Ever wonder why God allows so many battles and struggles into your life? Ever wonder if God really even cares about you? God does care - that’s the reason for your battles and struggles. God allows these things into our lives in order to bring us to a place of total dependence on His power and provision. Trials and testings are really times of teaching. When these times come, we must learn to turn our trust and dependence totally upon God. God prepares and equips us for these battles! We must learn to rely completely on Him.
I’m reminded of a character in the Bible by the name of Elijah. God brought Elijah on the scene from nowhere. God took this man and trained him. Training came in the form of trials and testings. He trained him to to quit relying on his own power and might and learn to trust completely upon God’s power. Understand, we as humans are hardheaded; we don’t pick up on new things real fast. It takes some of us even longer than others. But after a while we begin to see the light. I just can’t do this in my own power and might. Whatever you are facing in your life right now, you can’t defeat it under your own power. You need God’s power to become a complete overcomer!
God had a purpose and plan for this man Elijah. God has a purpose and plan for everyone of you. God spent a great deal of time bringing Elijah to where he needed to be. God eventually took this nobody and made a somebody out of him. God sent Elijah to a face-off with a corrupt king and used him to strike fear in the hearts of a godless people. This is where we pick up our story. It’s show time!!!
Text: I Kings 18:16-40
All the training, all the trial, and all the trusting now bring Elijah to the place where he can stand in the pure power of God and show this lost nation that God Almighty, not Baal or any other false god, was the Lord of all. I Kings 19:18 tells us that the entire nation of Israel, with the exception of 7000 faithful people had given themselves over to the worship of Baal. The royal family had given themselves over to worshipping these false gods. But God did not forget His investment in this people. He did not forget how He had selected them out of all the other peoples of the world and set them apart as His people. He didn’t forget how He brought them out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness. He didn’t forget the land He gave them. He didn’t forget the Law and the promises He gave them. He never forgot for an instant that they were His people and that He had a special plan for them.
God never forgets the investment He made in you. He gave His Son, Jesus, for you. It cost God everything to bring you back to Him. He will never give up on you. Don’t ever accuse God of walking off and leaving you behind. God never does such a thing. If anyone walked off, it was you and me!
God called Elijah, He trained Him, and groomed Him, all in preparation for this moment. This moment when God would call a nation back to Himself. A moment when God would prove beyond all question that He was the Lord God Almighty! For Elijah this was an event that required great faith and courage, but he had been adequately prepared by the Lord for this very task. In fact it was time for Elijah to prove that he was who he was rumored to be. It was time for him to put up or shut up. In other words, It’s Show Time!
This passage has a tremendous message for you and me today. We live in a day of half-hearted service - people serve the gods of self, materialism, recreation and pleasure more than they serve the God of Heaven! It’s time we all wake-up and get back to the great ask at hand. God wants us to know today that He is still God! He hasn’t forgotten the investment He has made in us, and like He called Israel back to Himself on Mt Carmel, He wants to call His people back to Himself today!
Let’s look deeper into this story.
I. The Challenge Extended (17-24)
A. Elijah challenges the royal family.
- The king accuses Elijah of being a trouble maker.
- Elijah looks Ahab in the eye and tells him the truth.
- Elijah challenges Ahab to send for all the people including the false prophets and allow them to decide for themselves once and for all who is really God.
B. Elijah challenges the people by simply asking "How long are you going to waiver between two ways of life?"
- You are living contradictory lives.
- You can’t serve two gods or two masters. If you walk the fence, chances are, you’ll eventually fall to the side of evil.
- The people say nothing. They have no backbone to stand! They want to be acceptable to everyone. They refuse to stand, but by their refusal, they are standing with Baal.
C. Elijah challenges the false prophets - one against 450. Talk about faith and courage!
D. Elijah lays out the game rules to the people and the prophets.
II. The Contest Executed (25-38)
A. The false prophets go first.
- They pray and seek out Baal all day, but no fire came down.
- They were wasting their time. False gods don’t hear!
B. Elijah begins mocking or making fun of their god.
- This sent the false prophets into a fit, they began cutting themselves as they called out to Baal, but nothing happened.
C. After their complete failure, Elijah steps forward.
- He calls for the people to come near. He has nothing to hide.
- He rebuilds the old altar of the Lord.
- He uses 12 stones to speak of the 12 tribes and he did his work in the name of the Lord.
- He presents an offering for sin – Elijah knew where the real problem was.
- He waters things down – no doubts about God’s awesome power!
D. Baal’s prophets prayed for six hours - no results. Elijah prays less than a minute and the power of God falls in triumph.
- What does he pray?
- That God be glorified
- That the Prophet be vindicated in the eyes of all
- That the people be revived
E. The Final Answer – The fire fell!
III. The Crisis Ended (39-40)
A. The people fell on their faces before God.
B. The people cry out "The LORD--he is God!"
C. The wicked prophets are completely removed.
Conclusion: God never forgets His people, His promises, His commitment to all of us. God loves you. He loves you more than you will ever know. But where are you tonight? Where do you stand this very night? Elijah’s question is my question to you right now: "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." You can’t continue to straddle the fence in your life. You can’t keep on walking down the road that seems most favorable for the moment. It is time for you to wake-up! It is time for you to Let Go & Let God have His complete way in your life.
God made an awesome investment in everyone of us. What kind of a return is He getting back? It’s Showtime! It’s time to crack down on evil and take back everything Satan has stolen from us.
Disclaimer: Portions of this message or some ideas contained herein may have been gleaned from other sources. Please feel free to use this message as the Lord leads for His glory.
