MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCES IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

Message two

Part 5

MOUNT CARMEL- THE POWER OF GOD

1^st Kings 18:17-40

THE CONTEST EXECUTED 

Introduction: In the previous messages, we have seen the three-fold challenge of the prophet Elijah.  He challenged the potentate or king.  He challenged the people and he challenged the prophets of Baal. 

      We saw the teams of the challenge.  It seemed to the outsider that it was four hundred and fifty to one.  That is basically true but not that way.  It is one God against four hundred and fifty. 

      We saw the terms.  They agreed upon the terms because the false prophets thought that their god- Baal was the god of fire and surely he would answer by fire with no prophet.  You talk about someone being disillusioned.  These men actually believed it.  But they agreed upon the terms.

      The tragedy we spoke in the last message is that the people were willing to have the contest.  How they were willing for this contest to be brought to fruition!  But there must be a clear winner. So there must not be any tricks but simple trust in Jehovah.  The challenge extended and accepted. Now the contest gets underway. As this story unfolds, let's notice how things work out for those involved.

I.  THE PROBLEMS OF THE FALSE PROPHETS  

                                                Vs. 25-29

“And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 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. And it came to pass at noon, that 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. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. 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.”

      The prophets of Baal get to go first. It is the best.  If Elijah had gone first, there would those doubters that would have wondered if Baal would have answer.

A. Their Ministry  Vs. 25-26

“And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 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.”

      From early morning to noon these false priests prayed, screamed and called on Baal, but no fire came down and no answer was given to them at all. They appeared to be wasting their time.  This is not unlike some religion today.  They think that they will be heard by repeating the same phrase again and again.  This is includes the name of Jesus.  Jesus deals with some of this in His Sermon on the Mount.

                        Matthew 6:7

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

      They were in earnest.  They knew that their ministry was in danger the longer the day wore on.  These men remind me of the professional “ministers” that fill churches all over our land.  Baal worship may not be seen today but the messages of many of the “ministers” country make you wonder.  In many pulpits, tons of time is being used to preach messages of political nature or even racial hatred.  Many messages downplay or dismiss the miracles of the Bible.  One day the message of the pulpits will be getting that number stamped on your forehead or hand.  Whatever the message or the messenger, the truth of the matter is that “ministry” is in danger.  Jesus will come one day and they will see real power.

                  B. Their Mockery  Vs. 27

“And it came to pass at noon, that 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.”

      There are several items of interest here.  Elijah calls Baal exactly he is – a god.  There are churches that try to degrade Jesus to the same level- a god.  Let me illustrate with a verse of scripture from a false religion’s bible and what the Word of God says about Jesus.  It is the same passage but one subtle change.

                        John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.”

Do you see the difference that adjective “a” makes? 

      But Elijah is making reference properly to Baal.  Many people worship many gods.  Some today are bowed down to wash their cars.  It has to be clean and shine.  “But Sunday is my only real day off preacher.”  So you are worshipping that means the most to you.  It may be the god of sports.  It may be the god of shopping.  In themselves, these are not bad wicked activities.  I shop myself.  You don’t get as big as I am with buying groceries. 

      When Elijah saw their foolishness and the futility of what they were doing, he stepped forward and mocked them and their god. He said, "Surely he is a god. You better cry louder. Maybe he is doing something else and is too busy to help you. Maybe he left town or is out hunting. Maybe he is asleep and you need to wake him up."

      I like Elijah.  He is using sarcasm.  Elijah could not conceal his delight in their defeat. He knew it would be so. He was so sure that nothing could turn away their utter uneasiness that he could afford to mock them by suggesting a cause for the indifference of their god.  Sarcasm is an invaluable weapon when it is used to expose the ridiculous pretensions of error and convince men of the folly and unreasonableness of their ways. I call it asking the “dumb” questions.  When dealing with the religion of evolution, I like to ask the question- “when did we lost our tail if we evolved from a monkey?”  Of course, there is either no answer or some answer that defies common sense.  Think about it a tail would be a useful thing to have.  You bought groceries.  You get them out of the car and go to the front door.  Instead of having put a bag down to open the door, you pull out that tail and open the door. 

      When dealing with some of the false religions, you can ask the dumb questions too.  There are those whose churches try to tell them that if they will give out some many tracts, booklets and books, they have earned a place in heaven.  The question would be- how is enough? 

      Elijah is pretty rough on these old boys, but they deserved pity. So it is with this world around us. They are so foolish that they waste their entire lives living for things that will die with them. They spend their entire lives building a dream only to see everything vanish and be replaced by Hell when they die. God help us who know the Lord to love them, to reach out tot hem and to try to make a difference in their lives for the glory of God.  They need to know the truth. 

                        John 8:32

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

                  C. Their Misery  Vs. 28-29

“And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. 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.”

      Elijah's mockery sent these men into a fit. They screamed, jumped, even cut their bodies in an attempt to get a response from Baal. However, the Bible tells us that there was no voice, neither any to answer, nor any that regarded. That last phrase means that by this time, even the people watching this spectacle had lost interest in what these false prophets were doing.  Just try to imagine this scene. Four hundred and fifty crazed prophets of Baal, prophesying, yelling, dancing, jumping, and cutting themselves all in an effort to get the attention of a god that didn't even exist.

      A parallel to that are those people who live their lives in a frenzy to acquire and do more than their neighbor, only to die with nothing. They do it for their god: self. Some rich men or women die and people want to know how much they left.  The truth of the matter is all of it.  But, too late, they realize that their god cannot save nor can he give them happiness or peace. What a terrible way to live and die.

Conclusion: It is a shame that these false prophets have prevail in our land today.  We need men and women today and proclaim the truth instead of being secret agents for Jesus.  I have told this story many times but it fits here too.  Brother Lester Roloff was talking to this boy one time about his dog.  His dog was a mutt or mix breed.  He asked the boy what kind of dog it was.  The boy replied that the dog was a German police dog.  Brother Roloff told the boy that he could not be in that it did not look like any German police he had ever seen.  The little boy said that he was a German police dog and he was undercover.

      Do not be afraid to speak up for truth.  Truth in our Bibles is not politically correct most of the time.  But you better be Biblically correct or BC than politically correct or PC.  You will answer to the Lord one day. 

      Study this Bible so you can answer. 1^st Peter 3:15

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”

      What did the scripture to be ready to answer?  It says plainly “ be ready always”. 

      We have many examples of this being ready always.  The three Hebrew men at the idol erected by Nebuchadnezzar.  They faced a certain death.

                                                Daniel 3:16-18

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

      Some may ask- how do I know what to say?  That is good answer.  You study your Bible. You know what you believe and why.  If you don’t know, you may be surprised what answer you give that seems to come from the fountain of truth.

                                                John 16:13

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

      If it is a question that seems to stump you, be honest and tell that person that you don’t know but you will find the answer.  Most people respect honesty.

      All we have to do to allow false religion and false prophets to flourish is do nothing.  This is exactly why this contest is coming about at all.

      Pray for those who are trapped in false religion.  Ask the Lord to give you a tender heart for them.