Fire and Water

Do You Believe...In Magic?

For centuries, there have been groups of entertainers who claim to be self-stylized “magicians” who go around the world entertaining crowds with their various feats of sleight of hand and illusion. Of course, I believe that most people can grasp at the concept that what these talented men and women are doing is not truly “magic” per se, but instead, using their mind and understanding of others’ minds to create the illusion that the miraculous has occured.

Let me show you a few examples, and please note, that I am not “cavorting with evil forces” but merely trying to prove a point, as I will explain each of these illusions at their completion:

Crayon Trick

Banana Trick

See? Those are interesting enough to get your attention, maybe, but what if I did something a bit more extreme? What if I could, let’s say…light my breath on fire? Would that be more impressive? And I can tell you know, if someone in my leadership or in Adventist Risk Management is watching this, they have GOT to be having a minor panick attack.... Kids, don’t try this at home....

~Balloon trick

Many of you adults have an idea of how I did this, and if you don’t, send me an email or ask me in private later, but rest assured, it was nothing but an illusion mixed in with a bit of slight of hand.

Lighter trick

Looking throughout Scripture, we can see that God has done a lot of things that can be described as simply ....cool, or awesome, or magnificent, or with the simple exclamation of “WOW!”

Skipping the obvious, like the creation of the earth, and all living things, including man, we see that God has: caused an elderly woman to be able to have a child, gave visions and the ability to interpret dreams to a young man who became second in command over all Egypt, saving his people from famine, changed a priest’s rod into a snake, caused a bush to be on fire but not actually burn, made on of the largest rivers into blood, produced en masse,a plague of frogs, lice, flies, boils, locusts, darkness, and even the death of the first-born of just one ethnicity of people, parted the Red Sea, provided manna, caused a rock to split and water to come forth to water animals and people for a population of over 2 million people, caused a jar of flour and a jar of oil to be ever full, destroyed the wall around a major city with a n “indestructible wall” caused the Sun and Moon to stand still, shut the mouth of lions, saved three boys from a fire hot enough that it killed the men who threw the boys in! And that’s just a small list!

His Son came and cured the blind, cured lepers, cured paralytics, issues of blood, deaf/mutes, performed exorcisms of demons, turned water to wine, feeding thousands with the lunch of a young boy, calming of a storm, walking on water and causing, at least for a time, the walking on water for another, cursed a fug tree to wither within the space of a few hours, and brought back people from the dead, to include Himself.

We see all of these miracles in Scripture and we find ourselves wondering in amazement, how often God is able to come through for us. Worse than this is when we, as we always will, fall short of what God has called us to do and to be, trying to reconcile or make excuses for our sinful ways and lives. When we take a moment to realize how far we have actually fallen away from Him and His grace, ignored His Mercy, refused His forgiveness, we are ashamed of ourselves. After all, does the God who can perform and do such wonders as we have seen deserve anything less than our complete devotion? Well, church family, if any of this sounds familiar, then you aren’t alone, and this experience isn’t what I would call...”unique.”

Today, we are going to talk about one such instance…Turn with me to our Scripture reading for today, :

English Standard Version Chapter 18

20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 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. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 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. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.”

So why did I bring up simple magic tricks and compare them to the miracles of God? Well, because when I want to tell you about the overwhelming significance of God’s power, I want you to know that there is no illusion or sleight of hand involved.

Why do we doubt?

And thinking on the sheer magnitude of God’s miracles and how he delivers on His promises, forced me to ask a question: why do we always doubt God and push Him to the back burner, as it were?

Seeing this story made me realize that we are more like Ahab than we’d like to admit, and led me to discover three things:

Anything we put “equal” to God in our lives is just as bad as putting things before God

God has shown His power, majesty, and holiness in our lives so many times before, so we don’t really “need” one more sign

This miracle with the altar is one of God’s “lesser” miracles

Elijah vs Jezebel

Let me set the stage for what is going on in today’s scripture reading. The king of Israel (remember, that Israel and Judah had been split at this point, and for many years) had married this terrible woman, by the name of Jezebel. Now, today, when we call a woman a “Jezebel” I think we can all agree that we aren’t giving her a complement are we? Jezebel was a terrible queen, who led her husband astray, worshiping a pagan God called Baal. Their marriage was the product of an alliance with Phoenicia and Israel and when she moved in, she demanded on establishing the worship of her god Baal and the absolute rights of the monarchy. In fact, as we read in Scripture, 1 Kings attributes the apostasy of Ahab directly to Jezebel. And in Israel, Jezebel had all of God’s altars torn down and replaced with temples, shrines, and altars to Baal. You see, it wasn’t enough to be able to worship her OWN god, but she had to keep others from worshiping THEIR God.

Baal Pictures

Not a happy or loving kind of “god” is he? Baal was the chief god of their pantheon, whose domain was storms, fertility, and agriculture, and other such things. In any case, after moving into the palace, she begun to have the prophets of God killed. And Obadiah, one of the heads of Ahab’s household who still held true in worshipping the ONE TRUE GOD, found a hundred prophets and hid them in caves, splitting the group into two, so as to keep all of God’s prophets from being found out and murdered. While he was trying to find water for some of Israel’s herds, for you see, Elijah the prophet had, by God’s power, caused a famine in Samaria, as well as a drought, and there had not been any rain for some time. In any case, God tells Elijah that this has to end, so Elijah shows himself to Obadiah, who is terrified. He’s already put his life on the line to feed and water all of the prophets, knows how much God works through Elijah specifically, and is scared that if he calls the king to show him Elijah, that God will spirit Elijah away and the king will be furious with Obadiah. This is a valid fear. Elijah knows what’s up, and tells him that he’s not going anywhere. So Ahab is brought and what is the first thought? What are the first words out of Ahab’s mouth?

“Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”

You can almost hear how Elijah is rolling his eyes at this, laying the blame where it belongs, on Ahab and his inability to stand up to Jezebel. So Elijah calls for a contest, and tells Ahab to bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah (a lesser god in Phoenicia, who associates with Baal), and have them come to Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel is a very interesting place, and one with more than a little significance for Israel. It was located at the area where Israel and Phoenicia had a major land dispute. This was not just a contest between Elijah and Jezebel, but between the God of the world and a false god of stone.

Anything we put “equal” to God in our lives is just as bad as putting things before God

We have lots of things going on in our lives, don’t we? I mean, we have work, family, church, bills, social activities, hobbies, and more. But let me ask you something: if you were to put everything in your life in order of priority, would the evidence of your life actually back up your list? What I mean is this: in your heart, if you put God first in your life, is there evidence to back it up? At one point in the past, I saw a movie where someone who professed faith in Christ asked the question: if you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Is there a difference in you, beyond what you show to the world, between your life before Jesus and your life after?

You see, at this point, Elijah calls out the people of Israel for their non-committal attitude. He actually asks them how long will they “go limping” between their opinions. He asks them to choose, between the LORD God, and Baal, but just choose. Sensing the odds are in his favor, Ahab actually goes along with this, and gathers the people and the prophets. This challenge is also, indirectly, to Ahab. The people don’t want to upset the balance, knowing full well what Jezebel has had done to the prophets of God. Interestingly and ironically, only Elijah and the prophets of Baal have any conviction, as both sees their own deity as the solution of Israel’s woes. I would also like to point out that Elijah is not acknowledging the existence of other Gods, but that God’s mere existence excludes all other objects of worship, making anything else an idol. Elijah’s faith was that God was not bound by the limitations of the territory of Israel, but in Phoenicia as well, showing that God is a universal deity. Elijah wanted to, for once and for all, eliminate anything but the God of the Covenant, the God of their ancestors, from consideration. But Elijah has absolutely no plans on letting the decision be based on words alone.

God has shown His power, majesty, and holiness in our lives many times before, so...

Every week, before we go to our knees in prayer, myself or whomever is conducting this worship service asks for prayer requests and praise reports. I have heard so many praise reports, that when I think back, I can only be amazed. I have heard of you tell of God’s healing in your lives, in both body and spirit. I have heard God come through in the areas of finance, relationships, travelling mercies, and a whole lot more. We have seen God deliver us from so many ailments and from being assailed. Yet when it comes down to it, we always wonder, in the back of our mind, “God, do you have my back on this?” or worse, we question how God works in our lives! I can’t tell you how many times I have been in a position where someone comes to me for counsel, and I ask “have you prayed on it?” Either they answer yes or no. If no, then I tell them they should talk to God about it. If they answered yes, then I ask what God had said about it, and it is my experience that either: a) they are wanting verification of what they feel God leading them to, or b) they didn’t like what the answer God gave them. We talk about trusting God so much, but when it comes down to it, we always ask for another sign, more evidence. Sheesh! Look at our songs: Trust and Obey, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, and that’s just a couple from the hymnal! So why doubt?

Up to this point, it seems that the people of Israel have forgotten everything about the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan. They have forgotten the plagues of Egypt, the pillar of fire and smoke, the parting of the Red Sea. They want the “fun” and “novelty” of Baal worship, as well as the protection of the Lord God of Hosts, which…you know…forbids this. Elijah knows this very well. SO, to prove once and for all, he says to the prophets of Baal, “Let’s have a contest, we each offer up a sacrifice, and whoever’s God answers by bringing fire on the sacrifice wins. I am one prophet. You are 450 (he only counted the prophets of Baal). Fair?”

Of course this wasn’t fair! On the prophets of Baal, that is…so the prophets of Baal put wood and a bull on the altar to be consumed by fire. They called on Baal “from morning until noon” shouting “O Baal, answer us!” Nothing. Nada. Zilch. And they began this weird dancing around the altar, and this is when Elijah loses it, laughing. Elijah then begins to make fun of them! He tells them that maybe if they shout a bit louder, Baal may here, because maybe he’s “musing” that is, contemplating existence, or maybe, he’s in the bathroom, or maybe he’s away on a journey, or better yet, maybe he’s asleep! This puts the prophets of Baal in an agonizing frenzy, as they are now desperate. And at this point, not even Elijah could fault them for their devotion, as they began crying all the louder, and began hacking and cutting on themselves to get Baal to answer. Again, nothing. Verse 29 actually ends with the fact that “No one answered; no one paid attention.” Frankly, I don’t think this was just talking about false gods. I think even the people watching got bored.

Then, Elijah says it’s his turn. He has the people draw near, so they don’t miss anything. He repairs the altar of God that Jezebel had destroyed. He dug a trench around the altar, and that was big enough to hold around 14 quarts of seed. He laid the wood on the altar, and put the bull for sacrifice on top. Then he had them fill four jars of water. Three were poured on top of the wood and sacrifice and the fourth over the seeds in the trench around the altar. Then Elijah prayed what I consider one of the best prayers in Scripture: O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” His prayer incorporated concern for God’s reputation, the validity of his own work, and for the people’s well-being, both physical and spiritual.

Without delay, God answers. Fire consumes the sacrifice, the altar, the seed, the water, everything! Immediately, the people fall in worship, knowing their own folly, and cried out to God that HE IS LORD!!

God’s lesser miracles...

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

When we look at these stories, we realize that the Bible, as a whole, is the story of God, and what He’s done for us. And let’s be clear, he’s done a lot. All of this culminated in His final act on our behalf: sending us His Son.

Have you ever thought of the absurdity of this concept? That God, came to earth in human form, hung out with us, taught us about himself, and in His perfection, was hung on two pieces of wood, all in order that He be reconciled with us, that is, so we can spend eternity with Him? How absurd it is that we believe that our faithfulness to Him and His faithfulness to us will result in one day, all of our troubles and trials, and difficulties being vindicated, and we will live forever in paradise with God? Frankly, that this is the case, and that I know in the depth of my being, that this is true beyond any shadow of doubt, is crazy. If God can see us, not as we are, but through the lens of the one who died for us is probably the biggest miracle, because I know who I was before I knew Jesus.

As we close, this begs me to ask you the question: do you know Jesus? IF you don’t, then email me, call me, write me a letter, and I’ll tell you about Him and what He can do for you. As real as God became to Elijah, is Jesus real enough to do for you. Jesus said that if we just put our faith in Him, we will be saved. From what? The bondage of sin, from ourselves, and our own selfishness. Jesus is the answer to everything in your life you have been searching for.

If you do claim to know Jesus, how is your faith? Do you try to be of the world and follow Jesus? He tells us that the world hates Him, so we cannot love the world and love Him. What is holding you back? Why to you continue limping between two different opinions? Make a choice, once and for all: for that which cannot save or hear you, or for God, who can, will, and does do both!

Let us pray...

AMEN