Fire on the Mountain

1 Kings 18:22–40 NASB95

Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. “Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “That is a good idea.” So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. 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.” So 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 measures of seed. Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And 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. The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water. At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

INTRO: Is genuine revival really possible?

I’ve read about the revivals in the 1700s called the Great Awakening. In the face of an increasingly secular society, God used the faithful proclamation of His word to bring about a movement that transformed the English colonies. More recently, there was the Jesus Movement in the 1960s… some of you here might be a product of that revival that broke out among so many young people… people turned from the intoxicating drugs to being filled with the Holy Spirit!

How do we recognize a revival? Is it a continual, multi-day or multi-week worship service? Is it filled with emotion? Perhaps. But these are not the measures of revival.

Revival happens when something dead is brought back to life. It’s when, biblically speaking, people acknowledge their sinfulness and turn from that to embrace the lordship of God. This happens to individuals regularly- people get saved, rededicate their lives to Christ, etc. A revival, however, references this phenom taking place in a group of people at the same time. Thus, Revival is measured by its fruitfulness.

As we pray and ponder this possibility, it’s helpful to note that there are accounts of revival throughout the Scripture. In fact, Israel’s pattern in the OT seemed to ebb and flow between revival and rejection.

Even so, as we follow the life of Elijah, we come to a point where we see the onset of a revival in Israel. Now, this isn’t a revival like the ones I mentioned earlier - we cannot quantify whether the folks decided to meet for weeks on end or if other preachers joined in... But we do see a large group of people turning to God. Presumably, this would have impacted their families and communities in major ways.

The fact of the matter is: Revival does come. And it does not come from the king, nor does it originate from the prophet or preacher. Revival comes from God.

So, while we cannot manufacture revival (nor should we try), we can understand what revival is, how we might be poised for revival, and celebrate when God acts to bring about a revival.

Today, in our time together, I want to walk through this climactic event. In so doing, we are going to look at 3 components of revival - my prayer this morning is that your heart has been readied to receive God’s Word and that He will apply it in such a way that we are transformed!

I’ve entitled the message, “Fire on the Mountain”. If you picked up a bulletin, I invite you to follow along as we learn together.

The first component of revival is the

Climate: A Clear Divide (22-29)

Let me first point to our context here. If you remember, none of the Israelites joined Elijah in proclaiming Yahweh as God. (21) Perhaps they were scared of the possible repercussions or maybe just simply ignorant about the absolute greatness of God. Either way, there on Mt. Carmel, there was a clear divide. You are either for Yahweh or you are against Him.

Jesus made it clear that there is no middle or gray area. Let me remind you of Jesus words:

Matthew 10:34 NASB95

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

IOW- we must pick a side. Either Jesus is Lord of your life or He is not.

In this case, the odds were 450 prophets of Baal (+400 prophets of Asherah) to 1 prophet of Yahweh. These might seem like insurmountable odds, but let me just remind you: God is not threatened by this seeming majority. If there were 1000x this it would not have made a difference.

This divide demands a contest. After all, it would be intellectually dishonest (and maybe a tad insane) to propose that both parties are right. A contest is exactly what Elijah proposes. BTW, this was not a random contest- Baal was supposedly the sky god, so fire from the sky to light a wood under a sacrifice would be very-much in the wheelhouse of this god… that is, if he were real.

*I do not believe that this means that you and I challenge our culture with this same contest. But there is a clear divide that needs to be brought to light.

What we see in this is that as the prophets of Baal are calling upon their god, the overall scene would be very intriguing for any onlooker… and make no mistake, people were watching. Would they now see TRUTH? Think about it:

Hundreds of people calling out to Baal for hours - but no answer.

Then, these folks begin to get louder. The noise would have been enough to make one think that this was a spectacular event… but no fire.

They began dancing around- flailing their arms in the air and crying out. Surely the Israelites would have had an emotional response to the energy that was exuded by this crowd. Yet, the wood on their altar remained cold.

Finally, according to their custom, they began to cut themselves, trying to appease this god or convince this god to act. I believe these prophets genuinely believed that Baal was real… but just because someone genuinely believes something does not make it true.

And the Israelites were watching… Until now, they had just taken for granted that this Baal might be legitimate on some level. After all, the king had chosen to elevate this god and a great number of folks bought into it. It was the culturally acceptable thing to do.

But Baal never responded. There was no voice that spoke nor was there fire that fell. The prophets of Baal were abandoned. Of course, you and I understand that they really never had any security in Baal, for Baal was a false god.

That’s how idols work. They are but an empty promise. They cannot save or deliver you. In this contest, Baal was proven to be a fraud. But that was only a half of the contest.

The climate for revival is one in which a line is drawn and idols are exposed. People must deal with the reality that what was accepted as truth is in fact a lie.

2 Corinthians 11:14 NASB95

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Discuss: What lines must be drawn in order to expose idols in the church today?

The next component of revival is its:

Cause: The Glory of God (30-37)

It’s now time to see what the prophet of Yahweh will do. So, Elijah calls the people to come close.

They had just witnessed quite the spectacle - a lot of noise, perhaps some smoke and lights… but there was no such drama with Elijah.

Instead, he took 12 stones and repaired the altar that once stood in Israel to worship and honor Yahweh. He recited the promise of God who set the nation apart for His purposes (31b). In the very name, Israel, the people would have been reminded of how God contended for His people in the days of their ancestors.

As he rebuilt the altar, he was demonstrating how repentance was necessary in order to be restored to Yahweh… it was a reminder that it was Israel that strayed, and that the sacrifices offered were a picture of our need for mercy.

Even with this convicting demonstration, Elijah wanted the people to have no doubts. He ensured that the altar was prepared in such a way that no fire of man would suffice. (READ 34) IOW- the moment of truth would be just that. If God was really who Elijah proclaimed Him to be, lighting a fire of soaked wood would be no problem.

Here, we see Elijah’s appeal to God. Let’s read that prayer again. (READ 36-37)

Elijah didn’t pray that there would be an emotional response. He didn’t pray that God would answer because Elijah has scheduled baptisms and needed to show results so he didn’t look like a fool...

Look at what he prayed:

Let it be known that You are God.

May your glory shine! May the truth be revealed on this day!

Let it be known that I am Your servant and this is at your word.

IOW- That this isn’t an event that I’ve orchestrated for my own names sake; not about the preacher or the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church- rather-

That this is GOD’S PLAN to make Himself known to these people in this time.

That God’s truth has been proclaimed faithfully. Anything less would not honor Him.

SO THAT - these people will repent and turn back to you

The prayer is for God’s people to return to Him.

That their hearts would no longer be deceived by the trappings of the world

That His action here would bring the fruit of devotion and thus lives would be truly transformed!

Idols rob God of His glory. A revival has a climate which exposes these idols as false and a cause or purpose of returning glory to God.

2 Corinthians 4:6 NASB95

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Discuss: What is the point of revival?

Finally, we see the final component of revival,

Consummation: What God Alone Can do (38-40)

God responded to Elijah’s prayer. This response was absolute. Look with me at v. 38 (READ)

This fire was not like what you’d have in your grill if you were cooking a steak. No! This fire consumed completely the offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and the water!

Now, let me just tell you- I’ve seen meat burn (ok, I’ve burnt meat…). I’ve seen wood burn. I’ve seen water dry up near fire. But, I’ve never seen rocks burn. Do you know how hot the fire would have to be to consume a rock?

Scientists say a rock cannot be burnt to ashes, so the best they can do is melt (like lava). BUT, we’re told here that these rocks were consumed… vaporized!

There is a popular expression that I’ve heard preachers use- ‘if that don’t light your fire, your wood’s wet...” Here’s the thing- If God’s bringing the fire, wet wood isn’t the problem! Even hearts of stone will be consumed! (38) ONLY GOD can do that- and it has little to do with the man preaching.

This overwhelming response from God was something that man had never before witnessed… only a true God could do this. So it is with revival- only God can reveal Himself in such a way that men become convinced of His identity.

And this is what we see from the Israelites here on Mt. Carmel. (READ v. 39)

The prophet Elijah, demonstrating his trust in Yahweh, put himself in a position where God alone could resolve it.

Listen- if you or I were trying to judge what is and isn’t a revival, we’d probably lean towards what we saw with the false prophets - they were charismatic, emotional, loud… but folks, revival is NOT emotionalism. No, Paul reminds us in:

Ephesians 4:20–24 NASB95

But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

TRUE repentance and devotion are the markers of revival.

God’s response not only drew the people to repent and turn to Him, but it also led to the purging of the influence of these false prophets from the nation.

So, let me return to my initial question. Is genuine revival really possible?

Yes. And God will bring revival when and where He sees fit. But we do have a role:

Perhaps we, like Elijah, need to stand in confidence of Yahweh even if the majority culture is against us. Our idolatrous society says that Christians are on the wrong side of history. Folks, we best be more concerned with whether we are on the right side of God. We may not be in the majority, but God’s Word is clear that in Christ, we are victorious!

I’m reminded of the revival we see in Acts 2. God’s Holy Spirit fell upon Christ’s followers and they went out and proclaimed the Gospel clearly, boldly, and faithfully.

Folks, I believe it is in our constant and consistent faithfulness that God will send revival. When we are clear about who God is, when we speak truth, and when we pray for God to change hearts...

Some of you sitting here this morning need to experience personal revival. And maybe you’re not spiritually dead, but if you’re honest you are spiritually dormant. If you look back at your life, knowing John 15, (I am the vine.... you will produce fruit) something isn’t right. - Perhaps the Holy Spirit is spurring you to repent from your idolatry, from your apathy- and place your trust in Christ so you can be reconciled to God today.

Won’t you respond to God’s Word this morning?

[Pray]

Discuss: Why can’t we generate revival?