Faith in the Fire- Elijah

Intro

sometimes we want things that we know we can’t mix to go together without changing anything

God does not ever change even though sometimes we may want him to

collectibles, pokemon cards, action figures, hat stickers, once you change it even just a little, its no longer the same thing

The Drought

King Ahab and Evil in the sight of the Lord

Jezebel the daughter of a murderer and leading priest of the Ashtaroth

spent her time as ruler seeking to destroy any other form of worship, through the murder and ostracizing of the Hebrew prophets and priests

Jericho is rebuilt and the curse of Joshua fulfilled in that act, showing the peoples’ lack of knowledge or reverence for the word of God

the anger of the Lord is great against Ahab and so he sends Elijah

Elijah- YHWH is God

confronts Ahab directly and tells him of the complete drought that will come for the next few years

he then turns eastward and goes to serve a widow and her son who are of the enemy during the drought

The Challenge

Elijah returns and meets one of Ahab’s officials who fears God as he comes to meet Ahab by order of God

Obadiah agrees to meet Ahab, risking his life due to Ahab’s decree

gather all Israel on Mount Carmel- not a single mountain but a range of many sloping hills leading up, perfect for a whole nation to view a spectacle at the peak

how long will you limp, how long will you deny God his rightful place, how long will you choose incompleteness and imperfection when you could be whole with God

you call upon your “little g god” I will call upon YHWH.

after a disgusting display and many jokes from Elijah, no one shows

in the face of an entire nation that either despises him or is to afraid to support him with even a word, Elijah smiles and confidently speaks to his God and not for his sake but for the sake of his people

The Fire

once again God appears in the form of fire and this time showing all that his character is all at once

frighteningly powerful, a source of warmth and light, a contrast from all around it, something unmistakable and impossible to miss, that which refines and makes pure, unable to be grasped and yet entirely real and present and moving and changing the world around it

he is the only one who could ever be any and all of these and yet the people who once followed him were torn

they fell into other things or tried to make YHWH lesser by joining him to some false image

they missed who he truly is and it was costing them their relationship with God and subsequently their lives

Application

how often in our lives do we also try to make God something other than what he is?

whether it be out of fear, or compliance, or whatever the case may be, how often do we try to make God less than what he is by compromising our relationship with him to make our life easier

we say well this lie is innocent and so God will surely not care

that person was wrong and they deserved to be treated poorly or ignored and God will understand

I am not qualified or the right person or good enough to do whatever it is that needs to be done and God will understand that

This is not YHWH. This is not the God we find in the fire.

Why do we keep compromising? Why would you want him any other way? Why take any less, even if its more difficult?

YHWH is God, the one on that mountain. The one who desires to live within you despite yourself. Don’t forget who he is.