Let the Fire Fall

Let the Fire Fall 1 Kings 18:1-39 1 Kings 18:22 “Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.” There were days of apostasy, days of apathy, and days of horrible sin in Israel. The people had forgotten God. They were worshipping a false and vulgar Canaanite god, who was not a god at all but an idol. He was a god of fertility. They worshipped him with obscenities and immorality. His name was Baal. At this time, Ahab and Jezebel were king and queen of Israel. Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to see which was the true God. The people were to gather on Mount Carmel. They would build an altar and put a sacrifice upon it. They would pray. The God who answered by fire would be the true God. Today in America, there is a rampage of violent crimes, illegitimate births, teenage suicides, soaring divorce rates, and pornography. America is in desperate trouble. We need an old-fashioned fire from Heaven.

We need a sin-convicting, life-transforming, Christ-honoring, and soul-saving revival. There are people who do not believe that revival is possible. Many think we are living in the last days, so they have stopped and are waiting for Jesus to come. Scripture does not say that we cannot have revival in these days. Matthew 28:20 God is not an absent God. He is not sick. He is not deaf. Isaiah 59:1 The problem is not with God; the problem is with God’s people. 2 Chronicles 7:14 In today’s message, we will think about revival as we look at the following: The enemies of revival. The elements of revival. The evidences of revival. the enemies of revival ( 1 kings 18:3-6, 17-22 ) The compromisers The compromisers are represented by Obadiah. Obadiah was a true believer in the Lord, but he was a compromiser. Obadiah lined up with King Ahab. 1 Kings 21:25 There was none as wicked as King Ahab. Obadiah found himself a servant of King Ahab rather than a confidante with Elijah, the prophet of God. 1 Kings 18:3-6 Ahab and Obadiah were looking for grass to feed their herds. It had not rained for three-and-a-half years. This was the judgment of Almighty God. Obadiah was looking for grass when he should have been praying for rain. He was trying to prop things up. He was trying to get by without repentance and without repentance on the part of God’s people. The judgment that is upon us will never be taken away until the rain comes from God. The rain in this passage is a symbol of revival. We think that we can bring revival with pageants, personality, and programs. But as long as we are compromisers, we cannot bring revival with those things. We can search for all the grass that we want. Are you a compromiser? Was there a time when you loved Jesus more than you love Him now? Is the joy gone that once filled your heart when you were first saved? Do you remember when you had power in prayer and could point to specific times when your prayers were answered? But now your prayer life is pitiful and weak? Do you remember when your testimony had a ring of truth about it, and others were changed by your life? Do you remember when the Bible was rich to you, and you loved to feed upon it; but now, you yawn in the face of God? The corrupt The corrupt are represented by Ahab and Jezebel. 1 Kings 18:17-18 Ahab was unspeakably immoral and wicked. 1 Kings 16:30 At this point, he was the most wicked king that Israel had ever had. He was a politician; he was a civil authority. But he could not hold back revival. No matter how much wickedness is entrenched in our land, all of the power of Hell cannot stop revival. 1 John 4:4 All of the Ahabs of this world cannot hold back revival. We should not expect to be loved by this world. The confused 1 Kings 18:19-21 Elijah was saying the following: If God is God, then serve Him. If Baal is god, then serve him. They needed to get off the fence and make up their minds. We live in a day of moral ambivalence. People have some vague religiosity, but they do not know what to do. They do not have enough courage to follow the devil. They do not have enough grace to serve God. They are confused because they have not seen enough in God’s people to make a difference. Our children and neighbors need to see a difference in us. What is there about you that is so different that it would bring conviction to the fence straddlers? Acts 2:1-8, 37 When the Holy Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost, there was such a demonstration of the power of God that the crowd asked, “What does this mean?” They could not explain it. Very soon they were asking, “What must we do?” The problem today is that we want people to ask, “What must we do?” before they ask, “What does this mean?” What is it about you that would cause your neighbor to ask, “What does this mean?  What is the secret to your home?” And before long, they will be wanting it, also. The competition The competition is represented by the priests of Baal. 1 Kings 18:22 Baal was a false, filthy, pagan god. There were 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah was a prophet of God. Elijah was outnumbered. We are outnumbered. But if a third of the angels fell, then two-thirds did not fall. We have two angels for every demon. No matter what the devil does, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 There are the competing forces of humanism, atheism, and pornography. The world abounds with false gods, but they are no competition for the Lord God Almighty. Do not insult God by saying we cannot have revival in these days. the elements of revival (1 kings 18:30-37) The solidarity of God’s people 1 Kings 18:30-31 The altar was scattered apart. There was no altar. Elijah got twelve stones and built one altar that represented the unity of the people of God. The unity of Israel had fallen apart. The enemy divides us; the altar unites us. We are united when we get back to praying together as a group and loving God as a group. God wants His people to be together. Psalm 133:1 On the day of Pentecost, they were all in one accord in one place. Acts 2:1 God wants His people to come together for an altar fellowship. The separation of God’s people from the world 1 Kings 18:32 Elijah made a trench around the altar. The trench was a line of separation and demarcation. It represented separation. There is a difference between altar fellowship and the idol worshippers. Is there a trench that divides you from the world? Have you come out from among them and been separate? James 4:4 From outward appearances, many people in the church are no different than those in the world. They watch the same things. They drink the same things. They smoke the same things. They go to the same places.

God wants a separate people. God wants a holy people. Someone who fellowships with the world is guilty of high treason against God. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ 1 Kings 18:33 Every sacrifice in the Old Testament was a prophecy and a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, who would die upon the cross. This sacrifice represented the blood of the Lord Jesus. There is power in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the blood that is the basis of our warfare. We are not to go against the enemy in our own strength and in our own wisdom. It is in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ that we conquer. Revelation 12:11 John 12:31 When Jesus Christ died upon the cross, Satan’s back was broken. The supernatural power of God 1 Kings 18:33-35 The sacrifice had not yet been burned. Elijah called it burnt because in his mind, it was. With the twelve barrels of water, Elijah was saying that what was going to happen would not be by spontaneous combustion or some happenstance. It would be a demonstration of the mighty power of Almighty God. Many of us think that evil is so deeply entrenched and sin is so widespread that we cannot have revival. A god who cannot burn wet wood is no good. The answer was a demonstration of the supernatural power of God. Water in the Bible is an emblem and a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God. Isaiah 44:3 The strength of believing prayer 1 Kings 18:36-37 Elijah’s prayer was not that there might be revival in Israel. His prayer was not that he might be recognized as a prophet. His prayer was not for the denomination’s sake, the church’s sake, or for America’s sake. Elijah’s prayer was for the glory of God. That was the prayer of Jesus. John 12:28 How much of your prayer life is consumed for the glory of God? Most of our prayers are “give me” prayers that have no concern whatsoever for the glory of God. the evidences of revival (1 kings 18:38-39) 1 Kings 18:38-39 The fire fell. The test is fire; Holy Ghost fire. When the fire falls in our lives, we will know it. What does fire do? Fire consumes. 1 Kings 18:38 The fire consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the water, and the dust. Do you want to be consumed by Almighty God? Would you like for God to come down upon the sacrifice (which pictures the Lord Jesus Christ) and let that sacrifice be a sweet-smelling savor in His nostrils and in yours? If the fire had fallen that day and there had been no bloody sacrifice upon the altar, the fire would have consumed them. We need to pray for the fires of revival, or we will know the fires of judgment. For the fire will fall. Fire convicts. 1 Kings 18:38 This could not have been done apart from the supernatural. When the fire falls, the lost will be convicted. Fire converts. 1 Kings 18:39 Those who were ambivalent fell upon their faces to worship God. CONCLUSION We need to pray for revival in America.

If we cannot have revival in America, then let us have revival in our state. If we cannot have revival in our state, then let us have revival in our city. If we cannot have revival in our city, then let us have revival in our church. If we cannot have revival in our church, then let us have revival in our family. If we cannot have revival in our family, then let us have revival in us. Do you know Jesus personally? If not, you can pray to Him today by asking Him to come into your life. Call upon Jesus today. Repent (turn) from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life. Romans 3:23 Romans 10:9-10 Romans 10:13 Acts 16:31 John 3:16