Faithful to His People 1 Kings 18:20-46

To be a Man of God is to live with courageous faith in God.

Athanasius, early bishop of Alexandria, stoutly opposed the teachings of Arius, who declared that Christ was not the eternal Son of God, but a subordinate being. Hounded through five exiles, he was finally summoned before emperor Theodosius, who demanded he cease his opposition to Arius. The emperor reproved him and asked, "Do you not realize that all the world is against you?" Athanasius quickly answered, "Then I am against all the world."

-The Lord reveals His strength because He remembers His people

I. The Lord Challenges Our Unbelief vv. 20-21

In our passage this morning, Elijah has been faithful to the Lord through an awful lot of difficult days

He has trusted the Lord to provide for him through a drought

He has trusted the Lord’s protection from a wicked ruler

Now, the time has come to confront the underlying problem that led to the drought in the first place: the people are participants in idolatry!

Elijah uses a really powerful picture here; they are limping between two opinions

The problem is not that the children of Israel have no belief in God, but that they are living with a kind of practical unbelief.

The Lord has become one of their gods and they are living with divided loyalties

This notion of idolatry may seem foreign to us, but we face the same challenge every day

An idol draws away our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection from God

An idol promises power, pleasure, prosperity, and popularity at the expense of the devotion that rightly belongs to the Lord

It just cannot work that way; the Lord rightly expects a whole-hearted devotion from His people!

I think that this picture accurately describes where so many of us live

We are spiritually limping between two opinions rather than with a confident faith in the Lord

The Lord issues this challenge so that we will examine our lives and make a decision about the God that we will serve!

Matthew 6:24

[24] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (ESV)

Matthew 12:25

[25] Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. (ESV)

II. The Lord Exposes Our Idols vv. 22-29

We get a pretty dramatic picture here:

Elijah is alone among the servants of God on the mountain top, facing 450 prophets of Baal

He has been faithful to the Lord when very few have joined him

However, just because and idol is popular doesn’t mean that it is powerful; it turns out that the only power the idol has is the power that you give it

The Lord, through Elijah, issues a challenge that is intended to expose the reality of the situation; both the Lord and Baal will have opportunities to answer the prayers of their people by fire from heaven

The task is simple, but the prophets of Baal will not see the fulfillment of it

Their god can be served, but he does not have the power to answer

I don’t want you to miss the power of what is taking place here:

The prophets of Baal pour themselves out, dancing, singing, shouting, and even mutilating themselves for the sake of their god

Meanwhile, Elijah ridicules the whole situation; what is more pitiful than a god who cannot answer?

We don’t exactly have a theology of ridicule, and it seems at odds with the humility of Jesus, but I believe that there is space for this

When we choose not to bow ourselves down to the idols of our culture, we expose them to ridicule and so much of their power over others gets broken

I believe that our culture is dying for some faithful people who will not to submit themselves to the power of idols!

But notice how the paragraph closes: there is a profound sense of futility

The prophets of Baal have done all that they know to do and it has left them empty

They are bloody and broken from serving their god, but no one paid attention; there was no answer

What would happen if our idols were exposed?

In The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen retells a tale from ancient India: Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability. Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned.

"I have mastered a science," said the first, "by which I can take but a bone of some creature and create the flesh that goes with it."

"I," said the second, "know how to grow that creature's skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones."

The third said, "I am able to create its limbs if I have flesh, the skin, and the hair."

"And I," concluded the fourth, "know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete."

Thereupon the brothers went into the jungle to find a bone so they could demonstrate their specialities. As fate would have it, the bone they found was a lion's. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs, and the fourth gave the lion life. Shaking its mane, the ferocious beast arose and jumped on his creators. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle.

We too have the capacity to create what can devour us. Goals and dreams can consume us. Possessions and property can turn and destroy us--unless we first seek God's kingdom and righteousness, and allow Him to breathe into what we make of life.

III. The Lord Reveals His Glory vv. 30-40

After all of the effort from the prophets of Baal, Elijah has an opportunity to respond:

He calls all of the people to come near to him

There won’t be any tricks from Elijah; he wants the people to witness what is going to take place and see the Lord at work

Elijah does have a responsibility here:

He rebuilds the altar of the Lord, a renewal of a faith that had been forsaken

He sets up 12 stones, one for each tribe of Israel, a reminder of God’s faithful love for His people

He pours out water over the wood:

This is a statement of great faith; God can even ignite wet wood

This is a step of commitment. In the middle of a great drought, Elijah trusts the Lord to provide the water and can freely give it away

Elijah prays to the Lord in this moment

It is at the time of the evening sacrifice and Elijah’s actions here are consistent with the Lord’s desires

The entire test is so that the people will know that the Lord is God, that Elijah is His servant, and all of this has been according to His command

Elijah has been pushed to the extremes of faith:

He is standing alone

He is without resource

He is under observation

It is at this moment that God answers and when He answers there can be no doubt

God sends a fire that consumes everything!

He does not just burn the offering; He even consumes the stones and the water

The people see the work of God through Elijah and they are ready to turn to Him!

So often, the story of faith in one life begins with a work of God in the life of another

You never know how God may use His work in your life to impact someone else!

Late in his career, when the Yankees were comfortably ahead in the pennant race, Joe DiMaggio was asked why he continued to play so hard. He said, “Because there might be somebody out there who’s never seen me play.”

The Christian should live every day as if someone will see him who has never seen a Christian before.

IV. The Lord Remembers His People vv. 41-46

As the story comes to a close, there’s just one problem. There’s still no rain

Elijah anticipates the rain and even warns Ahab about its coming, but he hasn’t seen it yet

Why do they need the rain?

Practically, it is God’s provision of blessing on His people

Symbolically, it is God’s way of washing away the sins of the people on the land

Elijah prays and waits and after 7 times, he finally receives the report of one tiny little cloud, rising from the sea

It is enough! The cloud grows and God fulfills His promise to His people

You may be far from Him but you are not forgotten

If you find yourself in Ahab’s shoes, don’t be caught away from home, because God is going to care for His people

If you find yourself in Elijah’s shoes, trust the Lord to use your life for His glory and your own good

If you find yourself like the Israelites, make your decision to turn back to the Lord!

Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote: Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning… He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all… Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.