I am your servant
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Introduction:
Ushers please come down
Newsletters out this week for the Month of June
Check out any upcoming dates for this month. If you would like to get involved with a ministry please please do so.
The connection Is what Matters.
We do have a contest today that is kicking off. Starts June 1st till August so make sure you are up todate on any news you need with our work our Contest. If you have any question please reach out to Cyndi Carpenter.
As im mentioning her name i was to give a shout out to cyndi because the first sunday we met in this building she said oh hey now we need a greating ministry.
ANd it was said as a joke but not as a joke. Because when she is able to be here. She is at that front door, Leading the conversations in the lobby area greeting each of you and helping out in whatever ways she possibly can.
So thank you publically Cyndi and Kevin for stepping into a roll that is officially non official. and then stepping up with another idea for our summer! Super excited for How God is utitilizing you two in ministry weather we see it big or small.
So if you could help me appreciate Kevin and Cyndi Carpenter this morning with a clap!
Paint the picture of this Story. Background, Historical and Geographical, Any info that may become a distraction entered in later on.
Something we can imagine as we read this passage.
Moses who he was King and Priest
Seperated
Elijah seeks as the priest the heart of the people
the king controls the flesh of the people
The king controls the systems, the money, the desires we like
You know we spend more money on our desires
We spend more money on the pleasures of our life than we do the less fortunate.
21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.
24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.
29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.
31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”
32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time.
35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
So if we flip right on back to 1 kings 18 we will stay there for a few minutes.
A few things i want us to look at but before we do that let me tell you where we are heading .
I want us to understand that the next step isnt going to happen without you choosing for it to happen.
So here we have a situation. Were gonna break it down really fast. Get some good truths that i believe we can reflect our lives on today. Pray that HS comes and falls upon this place this morning. Lets get into this.
So here the King of the Israelites has led his people to serve multiple Gods.
He says yes serve God but also check out this other god the pagans know of.
So King Ahab married a woman the name of jezebel, whom isnt a jew she is a pagan woman who serves two other gods. And for just a minute i want us today to build our knowledge. Listen
Uncle Ben said it with great power comes great responsibility.
And Emanuel says with Great messages comes with random knowledge.
But really we must be informed about this so we can see the full picture in this passage here okay.
So Ahab gave into worshipping Baal whom is known as the Sun God, which was known as the god of rain, dew and fertility.
Which hints into Gods response with Elijah to the people in Chapter 17.
But Baal had a counter partner known as Asherah. Whom was known as the moon goddess. Known as a god of love and war she was worshipped more so for the sensuality and Sexualization of life rather than anything else.
Now listen i bring that up for a reason. But its no where near our main point.
So what are we doing with this passage today.
So here in this passage we are going to look at three different groups of people in this passage.
1). Elijah
2). The 450 Prophets
3). The Indecisive crowd
Today we will see which of these categories we each fall under and I want us to have an invitation at the end of service to reach anyone here who may not be in the category that would like to be in.
Today we will count them back down to one.
So first up
The indecisive Crowd
They are the multitude who are trying to serve both, Baal and God.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Very iconic message filled with lots of secrets many christians wouldnt get until the advocate came and helped.
Jesus preached a long message based on choice. So many different choices we have under us to allow ourselves to grow under the umbrella of Jesus.
But one specifically today is in
Matthew 6 24
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
We must choose, two treasures or two masters. To follow Jesus one must decide to follow Jesus nothing nor anyone on the contrary is allowed.
Now Two masters isn’t like what we may think. Its not two jobs. its like a slave, no slave could serve two masters. Most the time someone was a slave to another for a debt they couldn’t pay.
Are we allowing the enemy to show us good tasteful things and because of this we become a slave to what his agenda may be. which is destruction and lifeless.
Serving a master. We know that serving a master is as a servant we are serving to submit to thier goals.
As christians we know serving is to build the kingdom
and we serve by going out with out with our church into the community to raise money for the homless, or by stopping and sit with the elderly.
Children VBS weeks. Reaching people to touch the hearts of individuals.
Where do we serve if we serve self?
What are good tasteful things the devil shows us…or uses
The people are living halfless lifes that are causing pain.
33 So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.
We can so easily get to a place that we come into a real relationship with God but we bring our past with us.
Im telling you now if are tired of your past than it is time that we stop and say Lord i have made this decision to rid my old life. And the way this is done is not just…hear me....not just a prayer it is the physical submergence of your body in the water proclaiming baptism in the Name of The Father the son and the Holy spirit. And you decide my old life is dead im dont its over its gone.
It can then no longer haunt you it can no longer bring you down. it is now and forever is the past and you can be born again of a new life! New life In Jesus Christ.
because the Plans of Our father whom states plans for us to prosper
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
These are the promises of our God.
Group 2 we have
The Prophets
Notice this group isnt called the world.
What we have to do my fellow brothers and sister in Christ is we have to stop demonizing this world and we have to come to an understanding that the people around us. The day to day run in with people we ahve are simply not demoic. They are lost.
Just because someone mentions something once you dont believe in. Just because they are simply on a different side of the street from you on some ideas doesnt mean they are demons. or filled with demons.
People are just lost. ANd you know what they need....to hear the truth. Explained to them taught to them. ANd then they just like you can make a choice on weather or not to believe and if they choose not to still not demons. still just lost..
But these Prophets arent those people.
These are the individuals that have choosen.
They live and serve in complete opposition to God who seek to turn people from faith in God and Lure them to worship the flesh.
They live to satisfy false Gods on whatever accounts may be necessary.
Group 3 is
Elijah - The Faithful Servant
Elijah knows whats up.
He knows th one true God and whom he is and how he must live.
Elijah has been battle tested and had a full faith in God
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
We have a choice to make, To follow an example like Elijah and to befriend God or to befriend the prophets.
Its funny how a friend just allows us a place of belonging. someone to live life with. And we would rather
a boat.....rather then the creater of the sea
a fast car.....rather then the creater of the land that surrounds it
a girlfriend boyfriend that gave us happiness and meaning in a desperate time.....rather than the Lord of all who presents eternal Joy.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
Question i want us to answer today. Is how could Elijah call fire from heaven..not just a normal fire at that one that could burn rocks.
The reason i want us to answer this question is because for a moment image your life.
Imagine you are asked to prove God’s existence.
Imagine you are asked to touch and pray for healing on a dying young child
if those seem to big then
Imagine you are asked to explain why you trust in Jesus
Because of Elijahs faithfulness and his Passion to God. He knew God would show up.
Not because his faith had been built up from a pastor in his local town. COme one its not on me to build your faith
Its not because the worship set was when you just needed it to be today. Come on it not on our worship team to build our faith.
Its not on the wife, the husband. Its because he had full assurance that God was the provider the Jehovah Jireh.
Its beacuse He was in communion with God! He walked and talked to God for 3 years in the midst of a drougt. He had no money, no food, no home, no water yet God the ultimate provider gave.
Elijah was prepared for this moment standing before the alter about to call upon the name of The Lord upon the Throne.
because he Served the one true God and continued to grow his relationship with God.
GROWTH CAN BE UNCOMFORTABLE. Elijah was building his relationship when he went down to that brook. But God said GO he was OBEDIENt come on....it must have been uncomfortable for every meal he had to come in through a raven in the sky. But he knew GOd was going to provide.
To be Bodly proclaiming God before 450 other prophets that failed. To boldy challenge before anything took place. Elijah wasnt living in faith for himself. but for all of israel.
Do you understand your faith isnt just about you. But that God wants to use you! God wants to take you to a place. Sometimes you will be alone and you will have to proclaim on the tallest mountain or at the depths of the sea!
That God is ABLE and HE WILL!
One thing church i want us to see today as we get ready to close this down is Elijah has one less than me and you have the ability to get.
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
enabled them
God must be the passion of your life.
16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Elijah walks so boldly in the word of God that God moves and acts on behalf of elijah.
HE calls upon fire for the salavation of all of israel.
Just as YOU will call upon the HOLY SPIRIT to fill up your life and to do a work in you that will forever transform the lives around you!