Let the Fire Fall
13
January 2008
Lord's Day evening
1 Kings 18:24-41
Introduction: Open your Bibles to the book of 1 Kings 18:24-41. The title of the message is “Let the Fire Fall”.
We come back again to this amazing day in the life of Elijah. These were dark days in Israel—they were days of apostasy and apathy. Open sin was tolerated and even promoted in society. The entire country had embraced false religion. Baal was the god of prosperity. And they worshipped him in obscene ways.
Now Ahab and Jezebel were king and queen. And Elijah comes on the scene. Four hundred and fifty priests of Baal were together at the foot of Mount Carmel—one prophet of God, Elijah, was there. All the people were gathered together.
And Elijah put a request in for a showdown. It was time to see which God is the true God. The God that answers by fire is God. And our God is a consuming fire. Elijah’s test was not fame. God would not answer with finances. He answers with fire.
When we speak of revival, we all agree outwardly. But inwardly I wonder if we believe it is possible. Is it possible for God to renew us as his children and as a church?
America is sick and dying. Our country is not what it once was. The family is about to be redefined. The institution of marriage is under attack. Illegitimate births rates are up. Divorce rates are soaring. We are in desperate trouble in our country. I’m not nearly as afraid of Al-Queda or terrorism as I am afraid to be without God in this country. I am afraid the judgment of God is at America’s doorstep if we don’t reverse course. America’s judgment in many ways has already begun. The only answer to this is a mighty, heaven sent revival.
Maybe its gotten too bad. Listen to me, there is not one shred of evidence in the Bible that says we cannot have revival even in the worst of conditions, and especially when we are in the worst of conditions. Jesus in the Great Commission said, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). Even at the very end of the world Jesus Christ is with us, and He is ready to visit us. God’s arm is not shortened that He cannot save! The reason why we don’t have revival does not lie with God. The problem is with God’s people. For 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by 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.”
Anytime you are willing to humble yourself, revival is possible. Today God will hear our prayers. He will answer from heaven if we call to Him. And I say let it come. Let the fire fall!
Transition: The one thing in our way is that we are content without revival. And I want to make us discontent. So that brings us to our first point…
I. First I want you to see the Folly of living without revival. Look at 1 Kings 18:26.
Jesus said “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). You see false gods cannot answer. Look at 1 Kings 18:26, “And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.” Hour after hour the prophets of Baal had called upon their god. They jumped up on the altar and stomped on it until it had been broken down. Hour after hour they called, but “there was no voice, nor any that answered.” What folly. We are going to see three responses to this folly.
· That of Elijah,
· that of the false prophets,
· and that of Baal.
A. Elijah shows these people their folly by mocking them. Verse 27, “And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them”. Are you surprised that Elijah would mock the enemies of God? God does the same. We read in Psalm 2:4, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision”. Derision means “contempt, laughing, or ridicule”. We are told in Proverbs 26:5, “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.” God Himself will answer all fools.
People mock God all the time, and they think they are getting away with it. There are movies in which people play the part of God. They blaspheme God and laugh at Him. But there is coming a day when all who mock God will be mocked. He says in Proverbs 1:24-28, “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.”
Elijah is merciful in mocking them. He is using sarcasm to awaken them out of their sleep, so we read in verse 27, “Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked”. Elijah teaches them through his mocking that they’ve made a god in their own image.
1. He suggests that maybe Baal, like man, is dull of hearing. So he says “Cry aloud: for he is a god” (verse 27). He ought be be able to hear if he is a god. Just call out a little louder!
2. Then Elijah determines, well maybe Baal is “talking”. He’s the kind of god that can only have one conversation at a time. Like man he cannot do two things at once.
3. Or, Elijah says, maybe he is busy—he’s pursuing a project. In other words, he’s occupied. You know how it is when life gets so busy! But you know the true and living God is never hurried or busy. He’s all powerful. But not Baal.
4. Elijah then says, I know—“he is in a journey”. You know, your god’s gone on vacation. He’ll be back in a little while. He’s just stepped out.
Illustration: This afternoon Will and the children were playing hide and seek. We all called for Will, but he didn’t answer. We got a little worried, but finally he did come out, and we had a discussion about obedience.
At any rate, maybe Baal is playing hide and seek! He’s not listening.
5. Finally Elijah mocks and says, I know what it is—he’s overslept! I hate it when that happens. He says “peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked”. You know the true and living God. Listen “he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4).
B. Now what was the prophets’ response to Elijah’s mocking? They thought he was giving them good advice! Verse 28 says they stepped up their insanity and barbarism even more, “And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them”. This is the superstition of man without God. They thought they would get Baal’s attention by cutting and afflicting themselves. And they frantically jumped around and sliced their flesh until blood gushed from them all. Hour after hour this continued.
The true and living God does not require us to cut our flesh. In fact the Bible expressly forbids it in Deuteronomy 14:1. When Jesus said in Mark 9:43, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off”, he was referring to putting sin to death. You see if you cut your flesh it does nothing to take away the corrupt desires of your heart. Punishing your body will not help you, but God does require us to mortify our flesh. We are to deny ourselves and to be “crucified with Christ”. We put to death DESIRES and VAIN IMAGINATIONS. We deal with the spiritual. It does not use to inflict pain on the physical! But the worshippers of Baal were spiritually blind and ignorant of heart.
The 450 prophets of Baal responded by going into a frenzy. They continued praying and prophesying and singing and dancing, cutting themselves and bleeding, until the time when the evening sacrifice was offered in the temple at Jerusalem, which was at 3 p.m. For six hours without a break they went on and on.
C. But now we see Baal’s response. Look at verse 29, “And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded”. That’s the best Baal can do. Idols cannot help you. Look at Psalm 115:3. I want you to see a contrast between the living God and idols, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.”
1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
Application: Better finances will not help you. More fame will not help you. Even looking to your family will not ultimately help you. If you want to have real answers you must call unto God. Psalm 75:6-7, “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”
A false god will not satisfy you. Is worldly entertainment your god? Can you spend those same six hours laughing at the filth on TV? Is money your god? Do you find it easy to invest all your time working and spending, working and spending?
Nothing can ultimately help you but the true and living God.
So we see the folly of living without revival. God’s people need to live in the fullness of who God is. What a shame that we don’t. What folly it is that God spared not his only Son and promises to freely give us all things, but we do not take Him up on it!! What folly.
II. But now we see the Foundational Principles of revival. Revival is not built on broken down altars, so the first foundational principle of revival is this:
A. We must first Repair the altar of the Lord that is broken. So we come to verse 30, “And he [Elijah] repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down”. There is more here than what we first see. Turn over to 1 Kings 19:10—“The children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars.” We call ourselves Christians, but in many of our homes there is a neglected altar of God!
Do the children of this church know that we love God? We are not called to seek prosperity. We are not called seek to amused. We are called to seek the Lord our God. It used to be that families read the Bible out loud every night. They even quizzed their children with asking the questions from the catechism. Children of a hundred years ago knew their Bibles better than adults today. The altar of God has fallen down,
How can you repair the altar?
1. Your heart must be clean. We need to confess sin. There can be no approaching God with a sinful heart and a dirty conscience. Sin must be confessed before God will respond with holy fire.
2. Your conscience must be clear. We need to repair relationships.
a. With people. God will
not answer you if your heart is bitter. Turn over to Matthew 5:23.
Jesus says you can’t come to God if the relationships are not right in your
life. Is there disharmony in your home? In the work place? In our church?
You are not worshipping God if you come to Him without dealing with that.
Jesus says, “if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go
thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
b. With God. Turn over to the book of Revelation 2. You must return to your first love. He writes to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:4-5 “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
He knocks on the door of your heart. God says to the church at Laodacea in Revelation 3:19-20, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
B. The second foundational principle is this: We need to Remember the power of prayer. Look at verse 31, “And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name”. I don’t have to tell you what Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not”. With the faith of a mustard seed you can remove mountains. Prayer changes things. Help me here: God answers prayer ALL THE TIME. All the time. GOD ANSWERS PRAYER. Amen! Remember that things happen through the prayer closet that could never happen through your own power. “Without me ye can do nothing”. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us; 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21). Remember that.
C. Thirdly, be Radical! They said to Paul “Much learning hath made thee mad!” You cannot be too radical and fanatical for Christ. You cannot be too devoted for Christ. We are commanded to love the Lord our God with “ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength.” And so we see Elijah was radical too. Verse 32-35, ““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 measures of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. 34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time 35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water”. Listen we ask too little from God. If God can create a world, do you think He can create a new spirit and heart in your loved one? Be radical for Christ! Seek for Christ to be the center of every conversation. Seek for Christ to be honored in EVERY word. Don’t just be a convenient Christian. Be a radical Christian. Let God flow and overflow in your life. Are you filled with the Spirit to overflowing?
D. Fourthly, Rest on the Lord. Listen to Elijah’s prayer. Verse 36-37, “And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again”. Do you believe God can do anything? Is God’s arm shortened that He cannot save?! Don’t rely on carnal gimmicks. Rest on the Lord who is able!
Do you want revival? Listen to the Foundational Principles:
Have you Repaired the altar of the Lord that is broken?
Do you Remember the power of prayer?
Are you Radical?
Are you Resting on the Lord?
III. Thirdly I want you to briefly see the Fall of Revival. The answer to the fall of Adam is another fall. A fall of fire from God out of heaven. Let’s look at this as we close.
A. First we see the Fire fell. Verse 38, “Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.” Something happened! Heaven Spoke! Why? One man got in line with the will of God. So the fire fell from heaven!
B. Then the People fell! Verse 39, “And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God”. When you fall before God, you are willing to take radical measures. Look at verse 40, “And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.” I don’t know how many hours it took for Elijah to slay 450 prophets of Baal. And it may be that he also slew the prophets of the grove—the prophets of Ashteroth. It took a while. When revival falls on you, you fall on Christ. You are willing to do anything to rid sin from your life. It took a while to slay those prophets. It’s radical. It’s messy. You are willing to go where He calls you to go and do His will whatever it is.
Have you fallen before God? Is Jesus Christ the absolute Lord and controller of your life? Are you willing to take radical measures to get sin out of your life?
After the fire fell, and the people fell…
C. Then something amazing came. The Rain fell! Verse 41, “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” For three and a half years there had been drought, but now Elijah could hear the rain coming. The rain had not fallen yet. They were going to have a meal before it fell. He speaks directly to his enemy. Yet the rain does eventually come.
Conclusion: Why do we wait for revival? Why do we not do all that is within us to be fully reconciled with God? Let the fire fall! Let all the people here tonight fall before the Lord of glory! Let the rain fall! Can you hear it? “Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.”