Introduction: We love heroes, and we especially love heroes who win despite overwhelming odds. As illustrated in the movie “Remember the Titans”. It seems the greater the odds the more we favor the underdog and cheer for him to overcome the obstacles.
While overcoming the odds and becoming victorious makes for great Hollywood ending it can be difficult in real life to take a stand when the odds are against you.
What do you do when…?
• You are asked to do something at work that goes against God’s principles or Honesty and Integrity?
• You are on the college campus and the professor mocks your faith and everyone chimes in and you are all alone.
• You are encouraged by other employees to cheat or look the other way so they can cheat – after all everyone is doing it!
In the real world, living against the odds can be both difficult and frustrating. Yet there are times when living out our convictions stacks the odds against us.
When the odds are against us; once again we find ourselves in a tight spot. In our series on TIGHT SPOTS we have looked at the lives of several OT heroes and discovered some fundamental truths from God’s word on how to handle life – when life is difficult. This morning we are going to look at the confrontation Elijah had on Mount Carmel and discover some principles of how to react when the odds are against us.
BACKGROUND
Like many of the OT stories we have to understand the background of the event before we can discover the principles God desires for us to know.
• Background begins in 1 Kings 16:29-33
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.
A new king comes to the throne in Israel – Ahab. And Ahab is nothing like the former Kings of Israel, while many of the kings had flaws – Ahab was simply evil.
The writer of Kings tells us Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He married a woman by the name of Jezebel, who introduced Baal worship into Israel, Ahab built a temple to Baal where he performed sacrifices and made other idols as well. Vs. 31 says, Ahab… did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.
To date this had to be a dark period in Israel’s history; the people were literally turning their back on God as a result of Ahab and Jezebel.
• Not everyone was tuning their back on God
1 Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."
Enter the prophet Elijah, He will play the part of our hero, and as we shall soon see the odds will be against him!
We know nothing of this man Elijah, the Bible does not record his call into God’s service, nor do know anything about his background except he is from the region of Gilead. One other fact – HIS NAME MEANS – YAWHEH IS MY GOD
Elijah is he a man of conviction. While all of Israel is turning toward Baal he enters the throne room of the evil king Ahab and announces there will be no dew or rain for an unspecified period of time. With that announcement Elijah leaves the throne room.
• 3 years later, God intervenes through the life of Elijah
1 Kings 18:1-2, After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land." So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria
Try to imagine the scene: 3 years without a drop of rain in all of Israel. Every stream has dried up. Every pond is gone. As Eljah entered the palace he must have walked past thousands of dead carcasses and skeletons of beat who had succumbed to the drought and the subsequent famine. The lack of water had brought about disease and death to all of Israel. Think of the courage it must have taken for Elijah to return to the scene of the crime – just 3 years before he had predicted no rain and now all around him is the signs of his prediction.
Soon he found himself face to face with King Ahab. Note verses 17 & 18, Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?" "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals.
Don’t blame me for what happened, Elijah tells Ahab, God brought this drought upon you as a judgment for your sins, you have worshipped idols and abandoned the ways of God – Ahab, you are getting what you deserve!
• Elijah then offers a solution for the drought
Elijah offers to hold a contest to see who the people will follow – God or Baal, verses 21-24, 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. Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 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. 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."
Can you imagine the headlines in the Israel Today Newspaper, “AGAINST ALL ODDS, ELIJAH FACES THE AHAB AND THE 450 PROPHETS OF BAAL!” The tabloids might have recorded it this way – THE ULTIMATE GRUDGE MATCH – GOD VERSUS BAAL WINNER TAKES ALL!
Regardless of the headline Elijah was facing unbelievable odds. The King, 450 prophets and according to verse 21, the people themselves had already given themselves over to idolatry
Note Elijah’s question, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."
Elijah confronts them with a truth…
• Listen, how long will you remain lukewarm
• How long will you hesitate and vacillate?
• How long will you waver between two opposing ideas?
Vs. 22 tells us the people did not say a word.
The easiest thing to do at the hour of decision is to remain uncommitted. . Just linger in the neutral zone. And that is just what they did. Unfortunately when we are in a tight spot we too may be tempted to stay in the neutral zone as well. Making very few waves and drawing very little attention. But Christ did not call us to live a life of neutrality Matthew 5:13-16, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Too many people today have a Christianity that is silent when it comes to taking a stand. As God’s people we must show the world there is a right and a wrong way to live, and though it may be politically incorrect we must preach the whole counsel of God
• There is one way to heaven – Jesus Christ
• People are separated from God because of sin
• Sexual sins such as adultery, homosexuality and sex before marriage are sins, they are not personal preferences, but damage us personally & fracture our relationship with God
• God’s people are called to be holy
Like the people of Elijah’s day they we have accepted a religion of preferences rather than a religion of convictions.
What is needed today is for the church to be a place of strong convictions. Elijah had to be disappointed when he saw the people of god had very little conviction about the things of God. YET HE REMAINED COMMITTED EVEN THOUGH HE WAS ALONE IN HIS CONVICTIONS!
1. The Contest Begins
Which God will bring fire from Heaven? God or Baal? (Interesting to note, Baal was the so-called god of the sun and as an all controlling god, he should have the ability to bring fire to the earth.
A. Elijah gives the prophets of Baal the first opportunity
Verse 25- 26, Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." So they 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. And they danced around the altar they had made.
• Call on your god
• They shouted from morning till noon
• They danced around the altar
• But there was no response; no one answered.
B. Elijah begins to taunt the false prophets
At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 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.
Beginning at noon the prophets began to take drastic measures.
• They shouted louder
• They cut themselves with spears and swords
• But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
• From morning to evening they and called out to their god. They even mutilated their own bodies – I honestly believe these false prophets were sincere in their efforts unfortunately they were sincerely wrong. after hours of praying, pleading, dancing, panting and bleeding note the conclusion - THERE WAS NO RESPONSE, NO ONE ANSWERED, NO ONE PAID ATTENTION.
2. Elijah now seizes his opportunity.
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. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs] of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood." "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
A. The first thing Elijah did was rebuild the altar
He avoided all contact with the altar that had been dedicated to Baal. Taking 12 stones, one stone for each tribe of Israel, he made a unique altar to remind the people of Israel who they were before they sunk into idolatry.
B. He then doses the sacrifice in water
3 times he commands servants to soak the sacrifice. Elijah was determined to prove his point.
C. Elijah prayed
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. 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."
Elijah’s prayer was a simple one – there was no pleading, no screaming, no mutilation, no endless repetition – just a simple request, let it be known today that you are God in Israel… so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
D. The response was immediate
vs. 38-39, 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. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD - he is God! The LORD -he is God!"
God answered Elijah’s prayer, He brought the fire, but there was more – the people were changed – from idolatry to worship.
What principles does this confrontation teach us today?
How do we respond when stand against a majority view or opinion that is contrary to the ways of God?
1. Confidence comes from being in God’s will.
Twice God speaks to Elijah in our story, once in Chapter 16 and once in Chapter 17, and twice Elijah obeys. He does not stammer, he does not complain, he simply obeys, because he knows he is in God’s will.
There is an incredible sense of confidence that comes from knowing we are in the will of God. Study scripture and you soon find out people who were in difficult situations had confidence because they were in the will of God.
• Paul in Prison
• Stephen before the Sanhedrin
• Jesus on the Cross
Elijah never wavered from the conflict because he knew he was in God’s will. He could take comfort from the words of David. Psalm 71:5, For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my trust from my youth and the source of my confidence.
2. Divided allegiance makes one ineffective
Elijah asked the question “How long will you waver between two opinions?” The message translation - "How long are you going to sit on the fence? The easiest thing to do when your outnumbered or overwhelmed is to remain in a state on non-commitment, that was where the people lived, but that was not the residence of Elijah. For each of there comes that point in our life where we must make a stand – where we must commit one way or the other.
Maybe you have known God for many years, but you have never been really committed to Him. Now is the time to “COWBOY UP!” I believe this is a great time for the church, probably not since the first century has the difference between the church and the world been so noticeable, I believe in this century we are going to see the church triumph, but only if we commit our time resources and efforts to the cause of Christ, this is no time to hold back the stakes are to great. Let us not divide our loyalties, but let us press on for the cause of Christ.
3. Standing against the odds requires prayer.
After Elijah prepared the sacrifice, I notice he did one thing and one only – HE PRAYED. The prophets of Baal were full of activity – Elijah prayed!
Isn’t amazing how often people are like the prophets of Baal and not like Elijah – we try everything – and then we pray! Too often prayer is seen as the last resort, but prayer was not the last resort for Elijah. Listen to How the NT writer James speaks of the prayer life of Elijah, James 5:17-18, Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
Question – Do you personally pray? Can you look back over the last 7 days and say that you took some time to personally pray. Prayer makes a difference. Philosopher Kierkegaard – Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.
Conclusion: When the odds are against you what do you do? Let me give you the ABC’s of Standing against the Odds
Accept the fact you will stand alone - if you follow the ways of Christ, you will at times be out of step with culture that does not share God’s views
Begin to develop a strong prayer life – nothing will help you overcome the odds better than a strong prayer life
Commitment to living for God regardless of opinion or pressure; We live in a world that desperately attacks our faith with an assault of media, and of ideas, but Paul warns us Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
