Sermon Tone Analysis
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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.
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