Revisiting Elijah

Revisiting Elijah 1 Kings 18:16-39 Who was considered the most renowned prophet of the Old Testament? Why? Well, it was Elijah, so we are told. But the why may take a few more minutes. Elijah was a prophet between 800 and 900 B.C., yet much of what he did or was affects us today. Now, another question? Who was Elisha and what, if anything, did he have to do with Elijah? Elijah was the master/mentor of Elisha. Another name you may recall is Jezebel who was the wife of King Ahab. Elijah and her had a few run-ins, to say the least. Other than killing off God's other prophets, what they ran up against each other about was a contest between those who believed in God the Almighty, Elijah being one of the few, and those who believed in Baal, or another god, or who believed in anything else other than God, which is to say, in that day, one who worshipped the devil. They called him Baal, he is also known as Lucifer, Jesus called him Beelzebub, we call him Satan, which means “the adversary.” Elijah was known for a number of miracles and assertive practices, to say the least. For example, he announced the coming of a disastrous drought in I Kings 17. Now, this was no normal drought, this was a drought that was brought on by the prophet and would last for as long as he saw fit. You might remember that how, during the drought, Elijah was fed by ravens by the side of a creek. Finally, the creek dried up; and he moved on and came upon a widow and her son. Their food was little more than a handful of grain and cup of oil. The mother thought that they would eat it as their last supper and then resign to die of starvation. But Elijah said, “Don't worry, don't be afraid, go home and make me a cake and one for yourself, let's eat hearty, the grain won't run out.” So she did. Elijah had turned the handful of grain and cup of oil into a continuous meal for the duration of the drought. No wonder some people thought Jesus was the reincarnation of Elijah, as He turned a couple fishes and a loaf of bread into enough food to feed thousands. Elijah could say, "Done that, been there." Then the boy became ill and seemed to have died. His breathing stopped, the Bible says. Elijah cried unto the Lord and prayed to have the boy revived. He was, and you thought Lazarus was the only one to see daylight again. 2 On another occasion, Elijah and Elisha were walking along and came to the river Jordan. Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and it parted for them to walk through on dry land, and you thought Moses or Joshua were the only ones who had that trick up their sleeve. For another episode in this illustrious life we turn to the contest he set up with Ahab and Jezebel. Here is where it becomes contemporary and personal. There was a question in that passage that challenges us today. "How long will you waver between two opinions?" What happens when a person wavers or waffles, vacillates or is indecisive between two important matters in life? Ask any politician and you will hear that it is political suicide, well, it used to be. Today we half expect politicians to say one thing to get into office and do another when elected. But you may remember Presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton and Reagan and Bush and even Biden today who come readily to mind as leaders who wavered, who flip-flopped, and who had two or more opinions on matters of grave concern, such as foreign policy, taxes or national budgets. That indecision crippled them, and their leadership was sorely compromised. What does it do for us when we waver concerning God, and whether we believe and embrace Him? What are the consequences of our indecision? Are we compromised? Will God honor our prayers if we are so shallow in our convictions? What does Revelation say? In Revelation 3:14f to the Church at Laodicea it says that they were lukewarm, neither hot or cold, indifferent, neither turned on to God or rejecting God, but just kind of going through the motions, the appearance of religion, and it makes God barf. It says, “I am about to spit you out of My mouth.” The imagery here is of lukewarm water turning one’s stomach and provoking vomit. Jesus is saying that lukewarm people make Him sick. By spitting those people out of His mouth, Jesus is rejecting those who can’t decide whether to follow Him or reject Him. Now, we wouldn't want to give God indigestion, would we? The interesting thing about this Revelation passage is that God would rather us be cold than lukewarm. Jesus said let your yes be yes and your no be no. What's wrong with being lukewarm? Lukewarm, indecisive people are hypocrites, actors, and do more harm to the gospel of Christ than someone who is cold and ignorant of the gospel. Hypocrites are those that everyone outside the church always say the church is filled with. Maybe that is because too many churches have too many lukewarm, indecisive, compromising Christians. 3 Carol and I went to a fairly large Methodist church last week near Annville, PA. The church was attractive, very modern and well appointed with numerous services to accommodate traditional participants to those who favored praise and worship services. There were two male ushers, one who offered us a bulletin and a hand of welcome and the other who was there and to whom I had to offer my hand to gain his attention. We worshipped about 50 minutes and then were dismissed. It was a pretty good service overall. However, on our way out, though there were probably 50 people or more, not one, not one person bothered to recognize our existence, greet us or say they were glad to see us. I was looking for someone to engage, but they were all heading for the door and on with their days. The pastor exited stage right after the benediction, and we never saw him either. They were indifferent to the warmth of the gospel and to welcoming new faces. I don’t know if I would spit them out so much as we probably won’t return if we camp nearby again. Elijah reminds us today that we need to be decisive, to claim our faith, to hold it up boldly, to not be indifferent about it but to let it move us to share it, to not be shy but to take God at His word and to proclaim the faith. To be hot for God! There is a song that sings: “No way, we are not ashamed, of the gospel or His name. Holy hands are lifted high, to the name of Jesus Christ…” Now I don't want to seem like an isolationist, or one who thinks we’ve got the only corner to the truth of the Kingdom of God; but, our accommodation to many gods in our society is little different than in Elijah's day. We are warned about wavering, of having two opinions. Joshua (24:15) said, "Choose this day who you will serve, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." These promises are not taken lightly, by God anyway; neither should they be taken lightly by we who embrace them. For his faithfulness, Elijah was given the equivalent of a heavenly limousine ride, as chariots of fire descended from heaven to usher him away back into heaven. He never died, though he did reappear some years later on the Mount of Transfiguration with Moses and Jesus. Jesus said neither shall we die if we are faithful, but we shall all be changed and live from faith to faith, 4 from this life we shall pass to the next. The response the people gave to Elijah about how long they would waver was what: silence. The people said nothing (v. 21c). Only when 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” (v. 38) did the people fall, prostrate and cried, “The Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God” (v. 39). We have had the fire of the Lord fall upon us, at Pentecost, and in our own lives, when we first believed. Remember? If not, let that fire burn within you, or burn again, to consume and extinguish the sin in our lives and make us alive in Christ where we also say, “Yes” to God alone, and shout to the world, “The Lord – He is God.” Amen.