"HOW LONG WILL YOU WAIVER?"
TEXT: I KINGS 18:16-40
INTRODUCTION
Several weeks ago when we talked about Elijah we said that he was an outdoorsman who came riding into town to tell King Ahab that because of the sin in the land, because the people had turned their backs on the one true God and were serving Jezebel’s God baal, Elijah said that there would be no rain in the land until he said so....
Our text today picks up the scene nearly 3 years later. For 3 years the land had seen no rain... And Israel was nearly a dried up waste land, as they sat under God’s judgment.
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah once again and said, "GO AND PRESENT YOURSELF TO AHAB AND I WILL SEND RAIN ON THE LAND..." So Elijah got up and went.
Meanwhile Ahab was out searching with his servant Obadiah (who unknown to Ahab was a devout believer in God and had hidden 100 prophets of God in 2 caves, providing them with food and water -- saving them from the bloody sword of Jezebel that was dripping with the blood of many of God’s prophets).
Ahab and Obadiah were out looking for some grass so that they could fed the mules and horses or else they would have to kill them.... And as they were going Ahab said to Obadiah, "let’s split up you go this way and I’ll go that way...
Not long after they split up Obadiah was walking along and he ran into Elijah, recognizing him he immediately bowed to the ground and said "is that really you, Elijah?"
Elijah replied, "YES IT IS ME, NOW GO TELL YOUR MASTER, GO TELL AHAB THAT I AM HERE.."
And Obadiah said, "WHAT HAVE I DONE WRONG THAT YOU ARE HANDING YOUR SERVANT OVER TO DEATH? NOW ELIJAH DON’T TAKE THIS WRONG, I AM NOT A COWARD, I HAVE SERVED THE LORD FAITHFULLY FROM MY YOUTH, I HAVE HIDDEN HUNDREDS OF THE LORD’S PROPHETS FROM THE SWORD OF JEZEBEL. BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE HATRED MY MASTER HAS TOWARDS YOU... HE WANTS YOU DEAD. HE HAS SENT MEN TO EVERY NATION LOOKING FOR YOU. AND HE HAS MADE THOSE NATIONS SWEAR THAT THEY COULDN’T FIND YOU WHEN EVER THEY SAID YOU WERE NOT THERE. HE HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR 3 YEARS... ALL EVER THINKS ABOUT IS SEEING YOU DEAD. AND IF I GO AND SAY I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND HE COMES AND DOESN’T FIND YOU -- HE WILL KILL ME."
When Elijah then assured Obadiah that he would indeed be there when Obadiah returned with Ahab... "AS THE LORD ALMIGHTY LIVES WHOM I SERVE, I WILL SURELY PRESENT MYSELF TO AHAB TODAY."
So Obadiah got up and he told King Ahab... And Ahab burned with rage as he returned to the palace where Elijah was. And when he saw Elijah (the one who he blamed for all the trouble he had experienced during the last 3 years -- when he saw his most hated enemy) he shouted out, "IS THAT YOU, YOU TROUBLER OF ISRAEL?"
And Elijah said, "DON’T BLAME ME FOR YOUR TROUBLES, I AM JUST THE MESSENGER OF GOD.... BLAME YOURSELF, YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE TURNED THE PEOPLE AWAY FROM GOD, AND ENTICED THEM TO FOLLOW AFTER THE BAALS..."
It really wasn’t Elijah fault was it? I mean to blame him for bringing bad news would be like us blaming the mailman for delivering a notice from the IRS that we are being audited for cheating. Elijah was simply God’s messenger.
And then Elijah told the King "summon the people, from all over Israel and bring the 50 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah and meet me on Mount Carmel!"
And so the 450 false prophets and the people of Israel gathered on Mt Carmel to meet the prophet of God. The clock was ticking and the showdown had begun.
This account on Mt Carmel is one of the most dramatic events in The OT. The prophet Elijah battling 450 false prophets fire from the Lord coming down upon the mountain...
And sometimes we can get so caught up in the drama, in the action of an event like this, that we forget the reason behind the event. On Mt Carmel that day God was informing His people that they had a decision to make.... And as we study this text we will see that we (that you and I) have the same decision to make today....
I. WE LIKE THE ISRAELITES MUST MAKE A CHOICE
[18:20,21]
A. Israel
"HOW LONG WILL YOU WAVER BETWEEN 2 OPINIONS? IF THE LORD IS GOD, FOLLOW HIM; BUT IF BAAL IS GOD FOLLOW HIM..."
Elijah is placing before the people a clear choice. "YOU’VE BEEN TAUGHT TO WORSHIP THE LORD ONLY, TO WALK IN HIS WAYS, FOLLOW HIS PATHS -- TO HAVE NO OTHER GOD’S BEFORE YOU.. AND NOW JEZEBEL COMES ALONG AND SHE INTRODUCES YOU TO BAAL WORSHIP. AND IT IS SENSUAL AND EXCITING AND YOU HAVE STARTED THINKING THAT MAYBE WE’VE BEEN TOO RESTRICTIVE IN WORSHIPPING ONE GOD... AND YOU HAVE DECEIVED YOURSELF INTO THINKING THAT IT IS OKAY TO WORSHIP BOTH... YOU DON’T REALLY WANT TO GIVE UP GOD, THE TEMPLE AND THE FESTIVALS. BUT YOU ALSO DON’T WANT TO GIVE UP WORSHIPPING THE BAALS...AND YOUR SOLUTION TO THIS DILEMMA IS; `HEY WE’VE DECIDED THAT IT’S OKAY FOR US TO WORSHIP GOD AND TO WORSHIP BAAL ALSO...’ BUT YOU ARE DEAD WRONG.... YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS-- IF GOD IS GOD THEN FOLLOW HIM AND IF BAAL IS GOD THEN FOLLOW HIM....MAKE UP YOUR MIND MAKE A CHOICE..
And the Bible says that the people said nothing.. They didn’t respond to Elijah. Why didn’t they. Because they didn’t want to be forced into making a choice. Sometimes silence is golden, but sometimes silence is just plain yellow..
B. WHAT ABOUT US
Suppose Elijah was somehow brought to the 20th century.. Now remember he did appear with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, so really this is not that far fetched.
Yes suppose Elijah came to the Lord’s people of today. And saw all of the things we do and say... how we live.
I am convinced that he would say much the same thing that he said on Mt Carmel, that he would demand that we make the same choice. If the Lord is God then follow Him... BUT if you want to make materialism your god, or pleasure your god... then follow that, but quit playing both ends against the middle, How long will you waver between 2 opinions, stop riding the fence .. quit pretending!
The story is told of a circus that had an ape that died. The owner panicked. He had to have an ape. So he skinned the ape and found a man desperate for a job. He dressed him up in an ape costume. "I want you to play an ape. All you need to do is prowl around and grow at the people." The man gave it a try. He had a great time, scarring people, eating bananas, growling. It was a blast. But one day when he took a break in the awkward ape custom, he stumbled into the lions cage. The lion roared at him. And the ape began to call out, "HELP, HELP, HELP -- GET ME OUT OF HERE! " Then the lion said, "shut up you fool or you’re gonna get us both fired."
A lot of Christians are pretending just like that. They put on and take off their Christianity like an outfit, and they figure if they just keep quiet they can keep their job. They can be popular. They can do whatever they want. But Elijah is saying , "We have to make up our minds, we must make a choice.." If you want to play around with pleasure, drugs, alcohol, sex, materialism and good times -- if you want to make them your gods -- then follow them -- make up your minds... And quit making yourself miserable by toying with Christianity also.... Make your choice --
You see, there are still really only 2 choices -- If Follow God is the true God then follow HIM! And if Baal is god, if the idols you have in your life are god then, follow them...
We have the same choice to make as Israel, don’t we?... Follow God or follow our gods.... and even if we respond like the Israelites by saying nothing, by remaining silent, by refusing to make the choice, by continuing to pretend and play games...
TRYING TO SERVE BOTH BECAUSE WE REALLY DON’T WANT TO GIVE UP GOD AND OUR CHRISTIANITY (I MEAN SOMETIMES IT IS A CONVENIENT OUTFIT TO WEAR), BUT WE ARE ALSO NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP SIN EITHER (IT’S TOO MUCH FUN.. So we say nothing, BUT Our silence doesn’t change the fact the God has demanded we make a choice...
Jesus said, "NO ONE CAN SERVE 2 MASTERS (ARE YOU TRYING TO SERVE 2 MASTERS; YOURSELF AND GOD?) FOR EITHER HE WILL HATE THE ONE AND LOVE THE OTHER, OR BE DEVOTED TO ONE AND DESPISE THE OTHER..." -- MATTHEW 6:24 --
And let’s not ever forget how Jesus feels about the fence riders, the sunday only Christians, the game players, the chameleons who blend with their surroundings; here is how Jesus feels about those who think they can play in the world and still follow God.
Jesus says, "I KNOW YOUR DEEDS (I SEE WHAT YOUR DOING, I KNOW WHAT’S GOING IN YOUR LIFE AND IN HEART -- YOU CAN’T FOOL ME) I KNOW THAT YOU ARE NEITHER HOT OR COLD (YOUR TRYING TO RIDE THE FENCE). I WISH YOU WERE EITHER ONE OR THE OTHER! BUT BECAUSE YOU ARE LUKEWARM -- NEITHER HOT OR COLD -- I AM ABOUT TO SPIT YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH!"
Far too many Christians think it is acceptable to waver between 2 choices -- that it is okay to live 2 different lives -- to wear our Christianity like custom that we can take on and off depending on the situation and who we are with.... WE THINK WE CAN HAVE OUR CHRISTIANITY/OUR SALVATION, AND OUR SIN TOO! And We have deceived ourselves into believing that we can walk on the broad road and still enter the narrow gate.
But we are wrong -- Christianity isn’t board game -- it is a commitment of one’s life to Christ. AND we like the Israelites must make a choice...IF GOD IS TRULY GOD AND JESUS CHRIST IS TRULY HIS SON AND IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD THEN FOLLOW HIM!!!
AND IF THE gods YOU HAVE FASHIONED FOR YOURSELF ARE TRULY GOD -- THEN GO FOR IT FOLLOW THEM...
WE LIKE THE ISRAELITES MUST MAKE A CHOICE
II. AND WE LIKE THE ISRAELITES HAVE BEEN GIVEN A CHALLENGE
A. Israel
After Elijah told Israel to make a choice... He then offered a challenge, and gave visual demonstration of the superiority of the God of Israel. A test that would show who really is the true God.
And Elijah said "Here is my challenge go get 2 bulls. I will prepare one for sacrifice to my God and the 450 prophets of Baal will prepare one for their god. Do all of the necessary preparations but do not set the bull on fire. After both bulls are ready 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 is God."
And the people said "that sounds good to us Elijah, let’s do it." IT IS KIND OF SAD THAT THE PEOPLE DIDN’T SAY, "NO ELIJAH YOU DON’T NEED TO DO THAT, IT’S NOT NECESSARY -- WE KNOW THE LORD IS GOD..." BUT THEY DIDN’T. I GUESS THEY LIVED IN SIN SO LONG THAT THEY WEREN’T SURE ANYMORE WHAT THEY BELIEVED..
And Elijah said to the 450 prophets of Baal, "I’LL EVEN LET YOU GUYS GO FIRST.."
AND FROM MORNING UNTIL NOON THESE 450 PROPHETS CALLED ON THEIR GOD. "O BAAL ANSWER US, O BAAL ANSWER US, SOUND DOWN FIRE AND BURN UP THIS OFFERING" AND FROM MORNING UNTIL NOON THEY DANCED AROUND THE ALTAR CRYING OUT TO THEIR GOD, BUT THERE WAS NO RESPONSE.
Now Elijah was enjoying this -- and those prophets were beginning to look pretty silly. And finally Elijah couldn’t stand it any longer so he begin to taunt them... (verse 27)
"HEY GUYS MAYBE YOU NEED TO SHOUT LOUDER, MAYBE HE IS HARD OF HEARING. SURELY HE IS A god. HEY I KNOW WHAT’S WRONG HE MUST BE IN DEEP THOUGHT OR MAYBE HE IS GOING TO THE BATHROOM OR MAYBE HE IS ON A TRIP. OR THEN AGAIN HE MAY BE A LATE SLEEPER AND NEEDS TO BE AWAKENED..."
And the 450 prophets shouted louder and louder and they grab their swords and began cutting themselves until the blood flowed, hoping this act of mutilation would attract the attention of their god.
Boy these guys were sincere, and they were stubborn too, not wanting to give up on their god.
And verse 29 reads, "MIDDAY PASSED, AND THEY CONTINUED THEIR FRANTIC PROPHESYING UNTIL THE TIME FOR THE EVENING SACRIFICE. BUT THERE WAS NO RESPONSE, NO ONE ANSWERED AND NO PAID ATTENTION."
And then Elijah said to the people, "COME HERE TO ME", and they did. And Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord which was in ruins. At one time it had been a genuine place of worship but it had been so long since the Lord was worshipped there that it had become dilapidated. Elijah then took 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes of Israel, and piled them up for the altar. And he dug a trench around the altar, arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood.
And then Elijah told the people to take 4 large jars of water and pour them on the sacrifice and on the wood. And when they had done that Elijah said "do it again", and after they had poured the water on the alar a second time, Elijah said "do it again." And after pouring out the water the 3rd time the altar wood, and sacrifice were soaked and the water flowed down and even filled the trench around the altar. You see, Elijah left no room for false fire. There was no trickery here. You know, I’m glad Elijah commanded for water to be brought in and poured over the altar. No doubt if he hadn’t there would be liberals today who would write doctrinal thesis suggesting that the fire was a result of some latent spontaneous combustion from the sparks left by the swords that the prophets of Baal had used in their frenzy. Elijah was so confident that God would answer by fire that he made it as difficult as he could for God to respond.
And with the people and the 450 prophets of Baal looking on, Elijah stepped forward and prayed:
"O LORD, GOD OF ABRAHAM. ISAAC AND ISRAEL, LET IT BE KNOWN TODAY THAT YOU ARE GOD AND 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..."
And immediately after Elijah prayed this prayer on Mt Carmel... the Bible says, "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..."
What a contrast. 450 prophets in a frenzied state, begging their god -- pleading for a response... from morning till evening, with nothing happening. Compared to Elijah calmly asking God to respond and receiving an immediate answer.
What do you think the response of the people was to this powerful event?
"WHEN ALL THE PEOPLE SAW THIS, THEY FELL PROSTRATE AND CRIED, "THE LORD HE IS GOD! THE LORD HE IS GOD!"
Elijah offered them a challenge -- let’s see whose God is real... AND THEY SAW.
B. WHAT ABOUT US
Listen to the words of God in Jeremiah [2:27,28]
Now we in the 20th century are to sophisticated to fashion an idol of wood aren’t we?... You see our idols are much more subtle.... And much more deadly -- since we don’t build an altar for them and dance around them we find it easy to deny that we worship them at all....
But they are there nevertheless and are just as offensive and detestable to God....they get the first fruits of our time, talents and treasure.
The idols we build are: idols of pleasure (alcohol, drugs, sex, good times , do our own thing..etc) , idols of worldly riches (we just have to have more and more things), idols of power of fame and popularity... and we offer our lives to these idols hoping they will give us life, make us feel good...give us happiness and peace... but the happiness they give is only temporary, the happiness they offer is like trying to hold water in your hands... no matter how hard you try it slips through your fingers...
These gods don’t give -- they take....and they demand more and more from us. They leave us empty and we try to numb these emptiness with other false gods... because one false god, just won’t do.
And Elijah Challenges us today, Where have your gods really taken you? Are they delivering what they promised? Do you really feel better? Are you really happier? OR have they turned your life into a virtual dry and barren wasteland -- forcing to search for a plot of grass so you won’t die.
Have they really given you peace? Have they done you any real good? Can they deliver you from trouble? Can they save you from sin? Can they take you to heaven? And one thing you’ll find out if you haven’t found out already is that your follow worshippers are in it for themselves just like you are ... And if you hit bottom and fall down.... They won’t take the time to pick you up... they are to worried about themselves...
These gods can not compare to God? They are less than a cheap substitute... Listen to [Isaiah 40:18-31]
WE LIKE THE ISRAELITES MUST MAKE A CHOICE
HAVE BEEN GIVEN A CHALLENGE
III. AND WE LIKE THE ISRAELITES MUST UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES
A. Israel
In this chapter we see that there are severe consequences for following false gods.
Listen to verse 40, "THEN ELIJAH COMMANDED THEM, `SEIZE THE PROPHETS OF BAAL. DON’T LET ANY GET AWAY." THEY SEIZED THEM AND ELIJAH HAD THEM BROUGHT DOWN TO THE KISHON VALLEY AND SLAUGHTERED THERE."
He executed all the prophets. He killed them. He was working under orders of God. That sounds extremely severe to us because we’re not used to justice. We’re familiar with suspended sentences, plea bargaining, early paroles. But God is a jealous God. He deals severely with sin. All rivals to God are to be overthrown. There is severity in Love. A cancer surgeon who operates may remove an arm or a leg to save a person’s life. God was amputating a portion of the people in order to save the whole nation.
B. US
We must understand that the consequences are sever for not following God.
And we must understand that by avoiding the decision we are not avoiding the consequences.
We can’t say, "WELL I KNOW I AM FOLLOWING OTHER gods AND THAT I AM NOT FOLLOWING GOD ALL THE WAY -- BUT I AM STILL FOLLOWING HIM A LITTLE -- I HAVEN’T TOTALLY REJECTED HIM.. SO I AM STILL OKAY WITH GOD."
THAT IS WHAT THE PEOPLE IN JEREMIAH’S DAY THOUGHT... THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE OKAY TO HAVE IT BOTH WAYS... LISTEN TO WHAT GOD TOLD THEM. [JER 7:9-15] OUR ACTIONS DO NOT GO UNNOTICED BY GOD -- GOD IS WATCHING!!
God made it clear from the beginning, when he gave Moses the law... He burned these words into stone with his own finger,
"YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER gods BEFORE ME. YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF AN IDOL OF ANYTHING... YOU SHALL NOT BOW DOWN TO THEM OR WORSHIP THEM, FOR I THE LORD YOUR GOD AM A JEALOUS GOD..."
Let’s not deceive ourselves bros. OUR GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD -- AND HE WILL NOT SHARE OUR AFFECTION WITH ANYONE OR ANYTHING -- HE WILL ALLOW NO RIVALS. DIVIDED ALLEGIANCE IS THE SAME AS IDOLATRY. THE SAME AS OUTRIGHT REJECTION!
AND THERE ARE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT FOLLOWING GOD...
"MANY IN THAT DAY WILL SAY, LORD, LORD -- BUT HE WILL SAY DEPART FROM ME I NEVER KNEW YOU...." YES THE CONSEQUENCES ARE SEVERE.
ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD --HELL
WE LIKE THE ISRAELITES MUST MAKE A CHOICE
HAVE BEEN GIVEN A CHALLENGE
AND MUST UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES
YOU SEE WE ALL HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE: LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF JOSHUA IN JOSH 24:14FF.
ARE WE READY TO FOLLOW GOD
ARE WE READY TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT JESUS, CHURCH, ABOUT THIS CHURCH...
ARE WE READY TO STOP PRETENDING AND START LIVING.....
IF THE LORD IS GOD, AND HE IS.
WILL YOU DECIDE TO FOLLOW JESUS?
THEN LET’S REALLY FOLLOW HIM!!!!!!!!!!!
