Part 1.2: What The Bible Says About The Invitation
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Last Sunday evening, we began a series called, “What Does The Bible Say?” - I began answering the question, “What Does The Bible Say About The Invitation?” - I was only able to get one point into the message so tonight, we are going to continue studying that subject…What Does The Bible Say About The Invitation.
We found out last Sunday that the Bible says that OUR TIME AT THE ALTAR IS TO BE PERSONAL - We found that in the first five verses of our text.
In thinking about the personal nature of the altar, we looked at Preparation, Separation, and Saturation.
Let’s keep going forward and look at:
OUR TIME AT THE ALTAR IS TO BE PRAYERFUL (vv. 36-37)
OUR TIME AT THE ALTAR IS TO BE PRAYERFUL (vv. 36-37)
Let’s look at what Elijah did after repairing the altar...
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
Notice with me:
Elijah’s Recognition of God in Prayer
Elijah’s Recognition of God in Prayer
Elijah prays, “…LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel...”
Let’s look back prior to our text...
25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
After hours of fooling around the prophets of Baal could not get through to their god because he is a dead god!
Elijah called the people to himself and at the time of the evening sacrifice, which would have been 3PM, and prayed to God.
When we come to the altar it ought to be a time of meaningful prayer. Elijah, whose name means “The Lord He is God,” called on the Lord in prayer.
This whole showdown was all about “Who is God?”
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
The prophets of Baal thought Baal was god, but Elijah knew that the Lord He was God!
This verse tells us that the people of Israel were possessed of a divided allegiance. On the one hand, they enjoyed their name as God’s people, but on the other hand, they loved the sensual, fleshly appeal of Baal worship. Elijah described their condition as “one limping along a fence.” They were torn between two ideas and as a result, they were accomplishing nothing!
These people had fallen a long way from the nation that had entered and conquered Canaan hundreds of years before. Now they are a politically divided and apostate nation.
Can we be honest and say that the same is true for the church at the end of the 20th century? Whether we like to admit it or not, the visible church is in the midst of apostasy and waywardness. However, the Lord said that things would be this way,
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
That’s just one of many verses in the New Testament that tells us that we shouldn’t be surprised at what’s going on today.
When we see denominations and churches wrestle with issues like abortion and homosexuality - it’s plain and simple in the Bible - a Christian should not be wrestling with these issues!
When we see them turn from the proclamation of the truth and see them begin to produce error.
When we see these kinds of things beginning to take place, isn’t it plain to see that we are living in an age of apostasy? I think it is.
Some, sadly, refuse to see the truth though it stares them right in the eye.
“How long halt ye between two opinions?” - Elijah recognized God in his prayer - We need to get back to recognizing that we must be loyal to God - Nothing or nobody else, but God Almighty!
In praying before the people Elijah gave recognition to the Lord God. He called Him by name. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. He is the one and true God.
These people didn’t have to guess who Elijah was praying to and depending on.
When we pray we ought to pray in Jesus name! Mention His name in prayer! Glorify Him in prayer. Elijah recognized God in prayer!
This past Thursday was the national day of prayer - President Biden was the first President to omit God from his proclamation…
This shouldn’t really surprise us…When you’re run by a political party that looks only to the government for it’s answers, it doesn’t surprise me that they can’t admit a higher authority than themselves.
Ya’ll remember, during the Democratic National Convention, they omitted “Under God” from the pledge of allegiance!
The Bible says “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD...” - As a nation, we are going down a path we don’t want to go down...
People deny the name of Jesus, refuse to pray in the name of Jesus, and think they are pleasing to God!
Elijah glorified the God of heaven and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Elijah prayed to the Lord His God! We learn of his recognition of God in prayer, we also note:
Elijah’s Request of God in Prayer
Elijah’s Request of God in Prayer
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
The prophets of Baal had prayed at least 6 hours and nothing had happened. Elijah stepped up to the altar and prayed a 63 word prayer.
Elijah could have prayed for rain, but he did not. Why? He knew that as badly as rain was needed, the people needed revival more! We may think we know what we need in our lives, but, in truth, the greatest need we have is to get exactly where God wants us and serve Him. That was the heart of Elijah and it should be our heart as well!
Elijah had two requests right here that I see:
He expected God to reveal Himself
He expected God to reveal Himself
The Holy Bible: King James Version Chapter 18
let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God
Elijah was praying and expecting God to do something “this day.” Elijah wanted the people to know that he was the servant of the Lord who served the Lord and did His will.
Elijah called out to God to hear him and he says it twice for emphasis.
He prayed with power and persistence.
The purpose of his praying was not for self-gratification or self-promotion, but for the Lord’s glory. He prayed that the people would once again recognize that the Lord He is God! He prayed that the Lord would reveal Himself to His people.
When we pray we need to pray that the Lord will reveal Himself to people as the all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present King of kings and Lord of lords.
We need to pray that people will see the Lord Jesus high and lifted up! Elijah’s request to God in prayer was that God would reveal Himself to the people.
The second request he had was:
He expected God to reconcile the people
He expected God to reconcile the people
The last part of verse 37 says, “…and that thou hast turned their heart back again.”
Elijah was praying for revival!
It is the Lord that turns our hearts back to Him. If you have a cold and calloused heart I’m praying that the Lord Jesus will turn your heart back to Jesus. If you have left your first love I pray that you will repent and turn to King Jesus.
The Lord can reconcile His people. He can redeem the lost and He can reconcile the saved.
Our time at the altar is to be prayerful. We ought to pray for the church of Jesus Christ to be revived and the lost to be saved and this nation would once again return to the Lord God.
Have we gotten use to the altars being empty and the altars being dry? Do we really expect Jesus to change people and put them back on the narrow way?
May our hearts be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and obedient to His call on our lives! The invitation time is not an invitation to leave, but an invitation to come and get right with God, come and intercede for those who are in need, and to celebrate our Reigning King.
God confronts us with His word and He changes us by His Spirit. Elijah expected God to reconcile the people to Himself. The Lord’s house is to be a house of prayer and the altar is to be a place of prayer.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
God’s people need to just come before Him and confess our sins, render our thanks, offer our praise and love Him…We need a revival folks! It’s going to start on this altar!
You may be like the prophets of Baal. You might not even be saved today. If the Lord is drawing you to come to Him, please come and receive Him into your life.
Whatever the need, the altar is open and God is waiting to do business with all those who will come on His terms. Will you?