1 kings 18:17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?"
18 And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
19 "Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table."
20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 "Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it.
24 "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken."
Last week we talk about serving God and in uncertain times.
This week all I want to speak to you about,
“Serving God with certainty.”
Let’s pray
Have you ever found yourself in a place where you just could not make up your mind?
It can be frustrating
One of the things that I hate about going to Baskin Robbins is the fact that they don’t have just 31 flavors but they have…
• 31 flavors plus
• smoothies
• Sunday’s
• cappuccino blast
• Banana splits.
It is too difficult to make up your mind at a place like that.
I have a tough time I go to Denny’s to eat.
Denny’s has all kinds of good stuff plus pictures to go with that.
How can you possibly make up your mind when everything looks good?
There comes a point in time however, when the waitress asks you for your order and you have to make your mind and come to a decisive decision.
And the reason that you come to that decision is because you are certain that will be the best choice
This morning I want to talk to you about something a little bit more important than picking your favorite flavor of ice cream or choosing between Buffalo chicken strips or a grand slam.
In Webster’s dictionary to be certain means to be
• Fixed
• Settled
• Not to be doubted
• Not failing
If you have uncertainty in your life you will also develop indecisiveness.
God hates indecisiveness
Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth
I believe as God’s children, God calls us to be a people that are certain of him.
Certain that he’s going to send the rain & certain that before he sends the rain he’s going to send the fire!
Church how many here know that we need the fire?
• We need the fire of Pentecost in our church!
• We need the fire that sparks passion in us!
• We need the fire that will spread through every family
• Every school
• Every town
• Every ministry
• TO every person
The fire is sent to prepare us for the rain.
Elijah was certain of both
I want to be like that!
I want you to be like that.
We can!
Marks of a person who is serving God with certainty..
Last week we looked at the life of Elijah….
In Chapter 18 God spoke to Elijah and said to go present yourself to Ahab.
That takes us to our Text this morning.
When Elijah met Ahab, Ahab’s first words to Elijah was “are you the one that has been troubling Israel?”
I don’t know about you, but that would be a little bit hard for me take.
• I’ve been spending the last three years trusting God to feed me through these week little sources.
• I have been doing everything to trust God and do the right thing.
• And now I’m the one that’s been accused of being a troublemaker.
Don’t you hate being falsely accused?
But I like his response…, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
1. Willing to expose the works of darkness.
• Buck, a rancher in Montana, hated to wear a seat belt, but one day he spotted a state policeman behind him and decided to quickly put it on. "Here, take the wheel," he told his wife. She did, but it was too late, and the trooper pulled them over.
• "I noticed you weren’t wearing your seat belt," the officer said.
• "Yes, I was," the rancher said. "But don’t take my word for it. Ask my wife."
• "So how about it ma’am?" the state policeman asked.
• "Officer, I’ve been married to Buck for 20 years," she replied, "and one thing I’ve learned in all that time is: never argue with him when he’s drunk."
Elijah exposed what was the root of the problem.
It was sin.
Church one of my prayers is that we will develop such a hatred for sin, for the works of the enemy
For the way he ravages churches families & minds that we will finally get so sick of it that we will simply expose it for what it is.
You will never get rid of something until you despise it.
• Ahab attributed the drought to Elijah & Elijah exposed what was going on.
• It was what you & your family have allowed in your home.
• You have ignored Gods commands & have allowed other stuff to come in.
It is easy to start thinking like Ahab
• " if they would have been just a little nicer to me “
• “ if the pastor had done his job a little better”
• " if the worship leader would have been a little bit more spiritual "
• " if the church would have been a little bit more accepting of me "
Isaiah 59;1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth:
A person who’s certain of God will be willing to expose the works of darkness
Isaiah 59;1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2. A person certain of God will not be satisfied with exposing the works of darkness but is also willing to confront the works of darkness.
Elijah said.. 19 "Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table."
20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.
Elijah put it out there as plain as he could have.
25-29
Elijah told then to get two bulls one for the prophets of Baal and one for hand
The profits of Bell went first and for half of the day they leaped and screamed yet nothing happened.
In Elijah even made fun of them saying you need to scream louder so he can hear you maybe he’s on a trip or maybe he’s asleep.
So they began to cut themselves and they shed their own blood on their altar but look at verse 29 … But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
3. Willing to expose the works of God almighty
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him.
I’ll tell you, we’ve got a message that people need to hear and people need to see.
• I serve a god who can save
• I serve a god who can heal
• I serve a god who can deliver
• I serve a God who can do miracles
• I serve a god who ought not ashamed of
• I serve a God whose works can be seen
• People need to check out the God I serve.
My prayer is that we will catch that message.
My prayer is that we will become so certain of the power of God that will be our life mission to get people to experience God.
But I want you to see what Elijah did next
30…..And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name."
4. Willing to ask for a total miracle.
• He Elijah did not make it out of three rocks
• He did not make it out of an six rocks
• Nor did he make it out of eight rocks but he used 12 stones.
What was going to happen on that altar was going to be for all Israel.
There is a deep message in vs. 30 where it says that he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
• The altar was once a place where a priest would go and offer sacrifices for the sins of the people
• That was a place where God would meet who ever was that was sacrificing
• The altar was torn down which meant that the people no longer felt that sacrificing was needed.
• That altar represented the Covenant that Israel had with God
The altars that we have here in our sanctuary are by no means of the same function as those that were used in the Old Testament.
However I fell within my heart that the absence of these alters symbolized something that I felt was not good.
I desire a covenant relationship with God.
• I refuse for the altars to be torn down in my home
• Refuse for the altars to be torn down in my prayer closet
• Refuse for the altars to be torn down in my church.
• You see the altar is a place where we’d die daily to the LORD
• It is a place where we offer sweet praises unto God.
• It is a place where God can change a heart.
• It is a place where God is to be glorified.
• It is a place where God speaks to his people.
• And we as a church have to get together and build that altar back.
Why? Because I am certain it’s going to make a difference.
32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood."
34 Then 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 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
Elijah had a total of 12 waterpots of water poured on the alter.
2 things I get from that act.
1. He took himself out of the equation by only making possible for God to work.
He didn’t leave a door open for himself to intervene.
2. Water was the most precious recourse at that time.
The alter was set apart….by the trench.
Even though the ground all around was dry, parched & ravaged by drought….The symbolic covenant place with God was saturated.
5. Desires for God to receive all the praise.
36 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 Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.
37 "Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!"
