Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of 1 Kings, 1 Kings chapter 18. 1 Kings chapter 18, God willing we'll return to John's gospel and our study in Ephesians toward the end of September. This morning we're going to consider the contest at Carmel, and basically the prophet Elijah challenges the false prophets of Baal and Asherah to a God contest. I want to read beginning in chapter 18 at verse 1. And it came to pass, after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab, and there was a severe famine in Samaria. And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, for so it was while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord that Obadiah had taken 100 prophets and hidden them, 50 to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water. And Ahab had said to Obadiah, go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks.
Perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to kill any livestock. So they divided the land between them to explore it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him.
And he recognized him and fell on his face and said, Is that you, my lord, Elijah? And he answered him, it is I, go tell your master Elijah is here. So he said, how have I sinned that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you.
And when they said he is not here, he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. And now you say, go tell your master Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know. So when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me.
But I, your servant, have feared the Lord from my youth. Was it not reported to my Lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord? How I hid 100 men of the Lord's prophets, 50 to a cave, and fed them with bread and water. And now you say, go tell your master Elijah is here.
He will kill me. Then Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. Then it happened when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab said to him, Is that you, O troubler of Israel?
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people and said, How long will you falter between two opinions?
If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him. But the people answered him not a word. Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. Therefore, let them give us two bulls and let them choose one bull for themselves.
Cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods and I will call on the name of the Lord. And the God who answers by fire, he is God.
So all the people answered and said, it is well spoken. Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose one bowl for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many, and call on the name of your God, but put no fire under it. So they took the bowl which was given them, and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, no one answered.
Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, cry aloud, for he is a god, either he is meditating or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened. So they cried aloud and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was passed, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice.
But there was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. So all the people came near to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, Israel shall be your name.
Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two sails of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, Fill four water pots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. Then 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. So the water ran all around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water. 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 Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Lord God, and that you have turned their hearts back to you again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said, the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God. And Elijah said to them, seize the prophets of Baal, do not let one of them escape.
So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for the Lord's Day. We thank you for the fact that this creation does declare the majesty and the righteousness of God Almighty. We thank you for the fact that the Bible, special revelation, reveals to us that mercy and that grace, the riches of grace, which are to be found in our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask now that you would be glorified as we gather in this glad hour, We pray that the Holy Spirit would guide us as we consider this passage of Scripture, that we would learn the lessons well that we see in 1 Kings 18, and that You would affect us for good, and further conform us unto the image of Your beloved Son.
And may it not be the case that there's a divided allegiance in our heart with reference to the living and true God. Please forgive us now for all sin and all transgression, and cleanse us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, And for any and all who've come here this morning dead in their trespasses and sins, we pray that today would be the day of salvation, that you would open hearts to receive the truth as it is in Jesus. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Introduction
Well, as we come to this particular passage of scripture, we find ourselves in the ministry of the prophet Elijah. And I think it's very important for us to set it in its immediate context. If you go back to 1 Kings 16, you'll notice that the man Ahab becomes Cain. Went back a little bit further, I don't want to bore us or spend too much time, rather, with the entirety of the book, but 1 Kings 12 reports the division of the kingdom.
So basically you had a united monarchy, and then there was this division. The northern tribes rebel against the southern tribes, and then there is this split. So you've got the ten northern tribes of Israel, and then the two southern tribes of Judah. So that happens in 1 Kings 12.
And then there's a historical report on the kings of the North and the kings of the South. And that's what we find here, specifically in chapter 16. And there was a 22-year period of a man by the name of Ahab. If you drop down to 1629, I'll read.
It says, in the 38th year of Asa, king of Judah, Ahab, the son of Omri, became king over Israel. And Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria 22 years. Now, Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord. And then notice what our author tells us, more than all who were before him.
So Ahab is not the king of the year. If he has that coffee cup, he bought it himself. He was a wretch. He was rebellious.
He was a godless man. And that's what the author is telling us. Notice in verse 31. And it came to pass as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who up to this point in time was the benchmark of evil in terms of the monarchy in Israel.
So it was a small thing. With reference to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Ahab wants to out-Jeroboam him. He wants to out-sin him. So it says, that he took as wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and he went and served Baal and worshipped him.
Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. So he initially first goes up to her territory to worship Baal. And then he builds an actual temple for Baal in Samaria, which is in the confines of Israel. Again, this man is wicked.
And then we notice according to chapter 17 at verse one, and Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel stands before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my word. So there's a famine, there's a drought, there is a problem in the land. In other words, the godlessness of Ahab is repaid by Yahweh in terms of drought. But before we go on, look at what it says in 17.1.
Out of nowhere, we don't get any biographical sketch. Elijah was from, you know, he's a Tishbite. He was married to Mrs. Elijah.
He had several children and they enjoyed farming. He enjoyed the occasional game of tennis. No, he's just dropped right into our laps. He parachutes right in to the narrative.
Notice in verse one, Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand. So I think we should learn from this before we engage in chapter 18 that God has answers to the evil that exists. As I said, Ahab is a wretch. He follows on the heels of his father Omri and these other kings in the north that were vile.
In fact, Ahab increases that wretchedness in terms of co-opting Baalism from outside of Israel and brings it right in there to the northern kingdom. But in the midst of that, we might be inclined to get a little bit discouraged. We might get a little depressed. We might read this litany of kings in 1 Kings 16 and say, man, does anybody have it together?
Does anybody have any wherewithal? Does anybody have any righteousness whatsoever? Well, here comes Elijah the Tishbite. He is dropped by God, not literally into this particular situation, but it reads that way.
In fact, one man, Wallace, makes this observation, for to see him, Elijah, appear thus, in other words, so suddenly, reminds us that we need not despair when we see great movements of evil achieving spectacular success on this earth. For we may be sure that God, in unexpected places, has already secretly prepared his counter-movement. God has always his ways of working underground to undermine the stability of evil. God can raise men for His servants, service from nowhere.
Therefore, the situation is never hopeless where God is concerned. Wherever evil flourishes, it is always a superficial flourish. For at the height of the triumph of evil, God will be there, ready with His man and His movement and His plans to ensure that His own cause will never fail. reminiscent of our Savior's words in Matthew chapter 16, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. So as we look at 1 Kings chapter 18, it's set in a context of gross idolatry, godlessness, and wretchedness, but we see the divine response through the ministry of the prophet Elijah.
Sermon Overview and Context
So I want to look at two things this morning. First, the meeting with Ahab in verses 1 to 19, and then secondly, the contest at Carmel in verses 20 to 40. But notice, with reference to the meeting with Ahab, chapter 18 tells us that God, verse 1 tells us that God is going to end the drought. So verse 1, "...and it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth." So it's been a three-year dry period.
It's been a three-year period of scourge based on the sins of Ahab. And now God the Lord is going to rectify that, and again, He does so through the ministry of this prophet Elijah. Now I don't want to spend too much in this meeting with Ahab in verses 1 to 19, but there are a few tidbits we ought to appreciate as we see how Elijah interacts with first Obadiah and then Ahab. Notice Ahab and Obadiah first, verses 3 to 6.
So verse 2, Elijah went to present himself to Ahab, and there was a severe famine in Samaria. And then notice in verse 3, we have Ahab and then this prophet called Obadiah. And
Obadiah and Elijah: Different Servants
I want you to observe something, that God's men operate in different ways. I'm always a bit off-put by those who think that there's one standard in terms of a prophet, one standard in terms of a pastor, one standard in terms of a particular church. God is about the division of labor. He's got Obadiah behind the scenes, and then he's got Elijah challenging the false prophets on Mount Carmel.
Just because Obadiah doesn't have the ability that Elijah does, doesn't mean that Obadiah is defective. It doesn't mean that he's inferior. He is effecting change from his position of ability. He is effecting change in the manner in which God ordained him to do so.
And you need to appreciate that in the passage. He's not set forth as a lesser prophet because he doesn't stand up on Carmel and challenge the false prophets. No, he is a prophet of God, he is committed to the glory of God, he just works a bit differently behind the scenes. So notice in verse 3, Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house.
Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, for so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken 100 prophets and hidden them, 50 to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water. And Ahab said to Obadiah, go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks. Perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to kill any livestock. So they divided the land between them to explore it.
Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself. It's the author showing us. The author is showing us the severity of this drought. Typically, when bad things befall a particular nation, the kings and the governing authorities, they still get theirs.
They still have running water. They still have electricity. You have to go through brownouts and blackouts, but they're going to be just fine. Well, in this instance, it's so severe and it's so harsh that even Ahab has been affected such that they have to go out and search for a place where they may find some liquid, where they may find some water.
And now we have Obadiah and Elijah meet together in verses seven to 15. And essentially Obadiah says, I don't wanna go to Ahab and tell him that you're present. Because that doesn't usually work out well for the persons who go tell Ahab that you are present or not. So basically Obadiah is expressing his fear of the king.
Now he does fear God, but he doesn't then not fear man. He's trying to operate, he's trying to work in such a way as to prolong his life so that he can be a benefit to these other prophets. And with reference to the works in each of these particular men, I like what Davis says. He says, sometimes Yahweh attacks evil with the in-your-face style of an Elijah, right?
He does that, but not everybody's an Elijah. Sometimes he does it with a John the Baptist outside the city confines preaching about the brood of vipers that are coming to him. Other times he does it through the faithful witness of somebody behind the scenes. We cannot expect for the men of God to all be cut out of the same swath.
Men of God are different. Men of God are gifted by God for particular things. And you see that here with Obadiah. So David says sometimes Yahweh attacks evil with an in-your-face style than Elijah, and sometimes he frustrates it by the simple subversion of an unobtrusive agent.
So after they discuss, he then does go tell Ahab that Elijah is present. I want to look at this, and then we move to the contest.
Ahab Confronts Elijah
Notice Ahab and Elijah in verses 16 to 19. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. Then it happened when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab said to him, is that you, O troubler of Israel? Have you ever heard things out of people's mouths that are so outlandish and just so horrific and so not anywhere near truth that you wonder, how do they not just burst in flames?
How do they not just explode? I mean, how could you say something that wrong? How could you be that contrary? How could you have the wherewithal to look at an Elijah and call him the troubler of Israel?
Notice how Elijah responds to that. It ain't me that co-opted Baalism. It ain't me that brought Baalism to bear upon the Northern Kingdom. It isn't me that brought in this corruption and this evil and this idolatry.
That's precisely how he responds to this charge. Is that you, O troubler of Israel? Verse 18, he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table." You see what he says here.
Let's settle this. Let's see who it is that is in fact the troubler of Israel. Is it the one who calls for fidelity to Yahweh, to the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Or is it the one who has co-opted Baalism and brought it into the Northern Kingdom?
And don't miss this reference to the 400 prophets of Asherah who sit at Jezebel's table. If I were to ask you the simple question, say Justin Trudeau phoned you up and said, I want you to come over to my house and I want you to eat dinner. And he puts on this wonderful bounty and this glorious fare. Who paid for that meal?
Well, indirectly, you did. He didn't work at Walmart. He didn't earn a paycheck. It wasn't something that he brought to the table, pun intended.
This is state-sanctioned false prophecy. This is state-sanctioned idolatry. This is state-sanctioned godlessness and irreligion. The fact that these 400 prophets of Asherah sit at Jezebel's table indicates that Jezebel, along with her husband, Ahab, are financing these false prophets.
And they're financing these false profits off of the backs of the covenant people. Again, they don't have other jobs where they go make money and then they buy sumptuous fare. They are subsidized by the coffers, by the taxes, by those things excised at the threat of coercive government. So that's the stage.
It has been set.
The Contest at Carmel
Let's move now to the contest at Carmel. Three things. First, the challenge by Elijah in verses 20 to 25. Second, the response of the false prophets in verses 26 to 29.
And then finally, the display of God's power in verses 30 to 40. But
Elijah's Challenge to Israel
notice with reference to the challenge. Look at the setting. Verse 20, so Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. This is home turf advantage for the false prophets.
Mount Carmel is not, you know, the Mount Horeb where God met with the children of Israel. Mount Carmel is in Paganville. Mount Carmel was close to Phoenicia, which was Baal country, and it had an altar to Yahweh in disrepair. If you look at verse 31, it says, or verse 30, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
So at one time, Yahweh was worshipped there, but that had fallen into disrepair. Now it's the place where Baal is worshipped. Davis says in Egyptian records from the second millennium BC, Mount Carmel is called Holy Head, suggesting it was a sanctuary. In the annals of Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, Mount Carmel appears as the mountain of Baal of the promontory.
So in other words, this is a symbolic place, it's a significant place, and I suspect it's the place where Ahab wants Elijah to die, where Ahab wants Elijah to meet his own maker, so that he can show the supremacy of Baal over Yahweh. That's the situation that Elijah faces when he comes to this particular situation. Notice the challenge that Elijah lays down in verse 21. Elijah came to all the people and said, how long will you falter between two opinions?
If the Lord is God, follow him, but if Baal, follow him. Now, probably it wasn't only Baal or only Yahweh. One of the things that's condemned a lot in the Old Testament is what's called syncretism. I don't want to, you know, scare you with any big words, but syncretism means a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
We want to worship Yahweh because he calls us to fidelity, but we've heard this Baal is the storm god, and this Baal is able to rain, and this Baal is able to fertilize our crops. So we're going to add Baal to Yahweh just to sort of cover our bases. So see what Elijah is saying. You need to repudiate Baal wholesale and serve Yahweh.
But if you're so committed to Baal, then repudiate Yahweh. It's one or the other. He lays down this particular gauntlet. He lays down this particular challenge.
And I think this is an appropriate time to get practical. Brethren, it's not that we're just adding Jesus to our already completed life. It's not just that he's presented as the last benefit that will help you in your full life. It'll just make your life a little bit better the way a good Coca-Cola on a hot sunny day does.
No, it's Jesus. What does Jesus say? He was not with me, is against me. Jesus says in the passage that our brother read in the area, you can't serve God and mammon.
You can't add one God to another God and think that everything's going to be okay. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then these things will be added unto you. In other words, it's a question of allegiance. It's a question of priority.
It's a question of primacy. And that's what Elijah issues with reference to the false prophets of Baal and to the children of Israel. Now notice in terms of the challenge, the Lord had purpose to end the drought. But without this public event, who do you think they're going to give the wind to?
The storm God, right? This is there so that when the rain falls, nobody can scratch their wicked heads and say, wow, isn't Baal wonderful? Praise Baal from whom all blessings flow. This God contest is going to shut that down.
This God contest is going to shut their mouths. This God contest is going to demonstrate that Yahweh is the true and the living God. So the drought is going to end, the God of heaven and earth has already purposed that, but he wants to make sure that the children of Israel learn the lesson as to why it ended. Now notice, the fact is, is that Elijah is greatly outnumbered here.
He is greatly outnumbered here. It's 450 prophets of Baal and then 400 prophets of Asherah. We have no sort of conviction or thought that the prophets of Asherah are necessarily there. But for sure, there are these prophets of Baal.
Now, when Elijah offers up this challenge in verse 21, "'Choose you this day whom you're going to serve,' as does Joshua in Joshua chapter 24, why does he do that? Why wouldn't they just follow Yahweh? Why wouldn't they just say, of course we serve the living and true God. Of course we serve the God who made, the God who governs, and the God who redeems, and the God who brought us into covenant sort of unity with Him.
Why this challenge? Again, I'm gonna lean on Davis here. Davis reasons why they might want to follow Baal. First of all, Baal has royal sanction.
Ahab and Jezebel are in the basket for Baal. You're going to follow your king on this. You're going to follow his wretched wife on this. If Ahab wants to change directions religiously in the nation, then you better follow your king.
As well, they had the appeal of tradition. This wasn't the first time that Baal had been worshipped by Israelites, Judges 2 tells us. As well, the relevance to felt needs. I think this is a reality, and I think this is why people go a-whoring after false gods.
They think that the god can meet their need. They think in a situation like this, well, if Baal is the storm god and we stand in need of rain, then it makes perfect sense to express our needs to Baal and to hope that he will rain on our crops. So the relevance of felt needs. This is a sinful and a horrible thing that even good people, Christian people, can fall prey to.
We hear about this thing or that thing that is not God, and we go after it thinking that it can satisfy our felt needs, the relevance of felt needs. As well, it might have been the appeal to sensuality. We have a mixed audience, we have young people here, but suffice to say that one of the reasons or one of the ways that Baal was worshipped was through fornication. The idea being is that when the worshippers fornicated, the idea was is that Baal would then take Asherah as his consort and they would fornicate and thus there would be rain and it would fertilize the land.
So Elijah lays down the gauntlet with reference to this. Notice that the people don't respond according to verse 21b, but the people answered him not a word. Why is that? Probably because they feared Ahab and they feared Elijah too at this point.
Who does he think he is? He's upsetting the apple cart. There might have been a class of people there in Israel that said, you know what? Why are you messing with the status quo?
Why are you disrupting the situation? Why are you calling for religious fidelity? We have a bigger problem. Namely, we need water.
We need this drought condition to end. See, they thought outside of God. They thought outside or apart from God. And they thought that they lived in some mechanized universe.
If you found the right God, then the right God could fix your needs. So they answer him not a word, probably out of fear of Ahab and a fear of Elijah. And then notice the specifics of the contest. Verse 22, Elijah's not being dramatic.
He's speaking hyperbolically. He knows that Obadiah is a faithful man. He knows that Obadiah has hidden prophets so that Jezebel couldn't get her fangs into them. But in verse 22, he says, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord.
But Baal's prophets are 450 men. And then the contest is quite simple. Take two bulls for sacrifice. Then there is this prohibition against fire.
That's the contest. The Baalists put their sacrifice on the altar, and then the Yahwist, which is Elijah, will put his sacrifice on the altar, but don't put any fire under it. Now, brethren, if Baal is the storm god, this ought to be easy, right? What does the storm god send?
He sends rain, but lightning too. This seems specifically particular to the skills, the abilities, and the gifts that Baal as a subclass deity might possess. In other words, what's his job description? Well, I'm over the storm.
Well, they're not to be easy peasy for you to send down lightning and consume that offering, consume that sacrifice. So the details are quite simple in terms of the actual contest. And then
The False Prophets' Response
that brings us now to the response of the false prophets in verses 26 to 29. So the false prophets agreed. Yeah, this sounds right. Verse 25, now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first for your many and call on the name of your God, but put no fire under it.
So then they call on Baal, as you would be want to do, right? It's time for sacrifice. It's time to see. It's time to show yourself, Baal.
This is, after all, a God contest, and we're going to call upon you to put in an appearance so that we know that you're true, so that we can confirm that you're true, so that all these Israelites will, in fact, choose this day, that they will no longer halt between two opinions, that they will rather follow Baal wholeheartedly and serve him as he is fit and ready for. Notice in terms of their response, so verse 26, they took the bull which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon saying, O Baal, hear us. It's easy to read stuff like that and not pay much attention to it, but when was the last time you got up early and prayed till noon? I'm not here to guilt you.
I'm not here to lecture you. I'm actually convinced that God wants you at work and serving and earning your way in this world. But in terms of religious devotion, we can't fault the bailiffs for not having an attention to religious devotion. From morning until noon, they're engaged in this.
From morning until noon, they are trying to try and prove they're God, that he is in fact God, and they show this kind of fervor. Again, not here to browbeat you, and you should be in church every time it's open, but you should be in church every time it's open. If the bailiffs can come before something fake, If the Baalists can give their fervor and attention to something that isn't real, and we serve the triune God of absolute glory, majesty, and power, we serve the God who made, the God who governs, and the God who redeems, we serve the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, doesn't that require demand? And isn't it our privilege to engage with whole soul fervor and commitment?
He who is not with me is against me, our blessed Savior says. And if he has saved us by his grace, through faith in his blood, then what does that mean in terms of practicality? Choose this day. How long will you halt between two opinions?
So notice, they call upon Baal. Verse 26. They say, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, no one answered.
Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. They leaped about the altar, or limped about the altar. In other words, they increased their fervor. They increased their devotion.
They increased their approach to this God so that He will act in their favor and send fire down upon their sacrifice. Now notice, in terms of the mocking by Elijah, it's just here that in the New Covenant Church we say, well, you know, that's not Christian ethics. We can't ever point out the folly of idolatry. We have to be very careful that we always approach as nice, always super kind.
Why is kind and nice contrary to truth? Why is kind and nice contrary to being like our Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ turned over the money changers tables. Jesus Christ drove out the beasts.
Jesus Christ had that zeal for God that consumed him. And here is prophet Elijah comes to mock these false prophets. Again, you may not be used to this. Well, we're just not supposed to mock people because that's not nice.
Well, brethren, dare I say it? Some of your Bibles may present to you is not nice. especially when we get to the end at the Brook Kishon. You're gonna lose your mind then, but right now, notice what Elijah does in the face of these false prophets who are revealing their religious fervor. So notice at verse 27, and so it was at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, cry aloud, for he is a God, either he is meditating or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.
Or he is busy. Commentators tell us that this probably means he is defecating. He's mocking. A brother this morning in the confession study read from Isaiah 46.
It talks about Bel and Nebo stooping down. It doesn't mean to hear the prayers of faithful Babylonians. It means that the cart that they were on was sort of rock and they fell. See, these gods are fake, they're false, and when people worship fake or false gods, it's not inconsistent to mock them as a result of that.
In fact, listen to the commentator Matthew Henry. He says, the worship of idols is a most ridiculous thing, and it is but justice to represent it so and expose it to scorn. Now brethren, I'm not suggesting order, you know, go home today, Amazon.ca and order a bullhorn and walk up and down your street and tell everybody what a fool they are for worshiping their false gods. But I am suggesting that when an Elijah the prophet stands up and mocks a false god, we need to be very careful about impugning him as not being nice.
It's not representing our Lord well. It's not representing Jesus the way that Jesus would want. Jesus speaks glowingly of Elijah in the New Testament. John the Baptist is that covenantal sort of revelation of Elijah the Tishbite.
So it's not that Jesus doesn't approve of Elijah's conduct here. Elijah's fighting the battle of Yahweh Most High. Now notice, they intensify their efforts in verses 28 to 29. Again, it's something interesting about the human psyche.
They can be shown they're wrong, and instead of admitting that, and instead of owning it, and instead of confessing it and forsaking it, what do they do? They double down. They get more vociferous, they get more committed, they get more engaged. Again, brethren, I think at times the proponents of false religion show us up.
We have a negative example and we're put off religion like really much, you know, things aren't going the way we think it should. And so therefore we're not going to serve the Savior the way that He calls us to serve Him. Do you see what's happening here? So they've already called upon him from morning until noon.
They've been mocked by the prophet Elijah. And instead of repenting and owning their sin and their wickedness, they double down. Look at verses 28 and 29. So they cried aloud.
Now they cut themselves as was their custom with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them. Now it moves from the ridiculous and folly to a frenzy that's actually sad. Pathetic, isn't it? That someone would serve a false god with that kind of rigor?
That someone would be that committed to falsehood and lies? That somebody would actually cut themselves and rain blood upon themselves from themselves to try to invoke their god? What was fun or a funny thing in terms of Elijah mocking them, they now double down into this outright frenzy. And then notice in verse 29, and when midday was passed, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice.
So you get that again, they spent a day in the presence of Baal, invoking him to send his fire and to consume their sacrifice. This wasn't a 10-minute shot in the dark here. You know, Baal, if you're there, send down fire, and we'll know that you're true, and then we can all go home and praise Baal from whom all blessings flow. They're committed to this all day long.
Then notice how the narrator ends this subsection. He says, "...but there was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention." Again, our brother in the confession study read from Psalms 115 and 135. the gods of the nations, the gods of the heathen. They have eyes, but they don't see. They have ears, but they don't hear.
They have mouths, but they don't speak. They have noses, but they don't smell. Why is that? Because they're fake.
They're not really there. It's a conception. It's a figment of man's imagination. We are religious beings.
This evidences that. It's not the case that we're atheists, that we're just these blank slates. No, man has a religiosity about him because God made him in his image. But what he does with that religiosity shows and describes his depravity, his sin.
He doesn't seek the true and living God. He seeks that which is not God. And he does so with great earnestness and with great attention and here with a frenzy. But there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.
Listen to A.W. Pink. He said, the altar stood cold and smokeless, the bullock unconsumed. The powerlessness of Baal and the folly of his worshipers were made fully apparent.
The vanity and absurdity of idolatry stood completely exposed. No false religion is able to send down fire upon a vicarious sacrifice. No false religion can put away sin, bestow the Holy Spirit, or grant supernatural answers to prayer. Tested at these three vital points, they one and all fail. as Baal's worship did that memorable day on Carmel.
Now, when I endorse Elijah mocking the false prophets, I'm not suggesting that we do so in order just to show that we're smarter or that we're wiser or that we're better than them. If they see their futility and they see their folly, then hopefully we can point them to the one who meets their need for blood atonement. The idol doesn't bring this. Baal doesn't bring this.
Asherah doesn't bring this. It is a fool's errand to invoke Baal for redemptive benefit. That's what A.W. Pink underscores in this particular place.
And
The Display of God's Power
that brings us finally to the display of God's power. Verses 30 to 40. Notice the preparation by Elijah. First we read in verse 30, then Elijah said to all the people, come near to me.
I like that. Come near. Let's get intimate. Let's get acquainted.
Let's do this. Elijah is there, again, not just to parade the fact that he is the true prophet of living God. He wants the benefit of Israel. He wants them to stop with Baal.
He wants them to stop with Asherah. He wants them to stop with the futility of ideology. He wants them to come near to witness what it is that he's going to do so that, again, it will demonstrate the glory of the living and the true God. So notice he repairs that altar in verse 30, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
And then verse 31, Elijah took 12 stones. One commentator points out that was probably a dig at these rebels. Again, it was the northern tribes that rebelled against the southern tribes. What had God intentioned?
It was intentional for a united monarchy, all 12 tribes serving Yahweh as they were supposed to do. So that Elijah does this, it is symbolic and it underscores or highlights that there's been defection in all of Israel and that it's embodied primarily at this point in the northern kingdom. So he builds the altar, takes the 12 stones, and then he douses the sacrifice and the wood. Now, for those of you who say, well, why would he waste all that water in a time of drought?
They were pretty close to the Mediterranean Sea, so that's where the water comes from. It wasn't that everybody was licking their lips while he's pouring all of this precious liquid all over the altar and the sacrifice. They were near the sea, they got seawater, they put that on the altar. Do you see what he's doing?
He's stacking the deck. Now, I realize sometimes people might not know what that means, especially the kids. What does that mean, stacking the deck? Well, imagine, kids, if you were going to play a game of cards, whatever your favorite card game is.
And you took that deck of cards, and you move things around so that you deal your opponent a bad card, and then you get a good card. And then you deal your opponent a bad card, and then you get a good card. That's called stacking the deck. It's making things go in your favor.
It's making things sort of happen that will benefit you. Elijah stacking the deck against the living and true God. He's not stacking the deck for the living and true God, he's stacking the deck against the living and true God. Why?
Because when the fire comes down and consumes that sacrifice, no one will be able to say, this was a fake, this was a fraud, it was all set up, Elijah's a huckster, he's just a showman, he's just a magician. No, he is stacking the deck so that when the fire comes, everyone will know that it was Yahweh. So Elijah could have been understood to be working against Yahweh for these reasons. The God in question, Baal, has power over lightning.
He's already said, let it be fire that consumes the sacrifice. As well, the false prophets have the home field advantage. They're not at Horeb. They're not on Sinai.
They're not in the Mount of God. As well, they got to go first. That's always beneficial, right? They got to go first.
I mean, it seems obvious and easy. If Baal's up there, and he's real, and he's the storm god, he should be able to, you know, get us home by breakfast. And then the dousing of the sacrifice. What does that do?
Well, I don't need to convince you that that's not normally what happens, that wet stuff burns, right? Listen to Davis again. He says, the Israelites were not witless. They knew wet stuff doesn't burn.
Elijah had stacked the deck against Yahweh so that when his fire came, there should be no other explanation except that it was an act of God. You wouldn't be able to sort of evade this. You wouldn't be able to argue against this. You wouldn't be able to say, well, you know, that wasn't really what happened on that fair day.
So he stacks the deck, tells them, gives them the instruction. It is thoroughly doused. And then that brings us to the prayer offered by Elijah. And
Elijah's Prayer and Its Lesson
I want you to note the brevity of his prayer. I'm not saying all prayers should be brief. No pastor in their right mind would say that. But not every prayer that's effective is an hour long, or in this case, all day long.
Is there something in us that thinks it's our zeal that activates God's power? Well, if I fast and pray for 40 days and 40 nights, God will know that I mean business. I'm all for fasting and praying. I'm not for manipulating God, though.
Baal is manipulatable. Baal, you can put his arm behind his back and give it a crank and then he must perform. Well, in the minds of the Baalists. Yahweh's not that way.
He's not a vending machine. We put in the proper amount, we push the appropriate button and we get out the blessing that we think is ours. Brethren, be careful of this mindset that turns prayer and fasting and other acts of piety into a mechanism by which we bind God's hands. But I prayed over this for so many years.
Have we ever thought, what does that What do we expect? Oh, well, they're good, you pray. Well, then let me give it to you, right here, right now. As if the ticket to getting things from God is our zeal, please don't leave this morning and say, Butler's happy with us not having zeal.
Have zeal. Pray fast. Do the things that God commands you to do. But be very careful of approaching it the way that a bailist approaches bail.
Be very careful for thinking that, you know, I've got to pray for six hours or God's not going to hear me. I've got to pray for, you know, a month or God's not going to hear me. I've got to pray for this amount of time or I've got to go to this amount of Bible studies or else God's not going to hear me. God is far better to us than we deserve.
God is not beholden to us in terms of our technique or approach. God is gracious. God calls us to engage in prayer, to engage in fasting, to use those means to be sure. But we're not to do it to try to bind Him to perform for us.
And I think that's the contrast that I want to bring out in terms of the brevity of Elijah's prayer. He doesn't pray all day. He doesn't pray from morning till noon. He certainly doesn't dance around the altar.
He certainly doesn't gash himself with a knife and lance and then pour out the blood on him. He doesn't engage in that kind of folly and frenzy. Why? Because the power in the story is not Elijah.
The power in the story is the living and true God. And it's Elijah that is his instrument, it is his means, it is his prophet, which is to demonstrate that. So in contrast to this time of frenzy on the part of the prophets of Baal, Elijah offers up a very simple prayer. Notice what he says, verse 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 Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and I am your servant and that I've done all these things at your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Lord God and that you have turned their hearts back to you again. So it's an effective prayer. In fact, he's the benchmark of effectual prayer, according to James in James chapter 5.
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Who's in James' sights there? It's Elijah the prophet. Again, I'm not suggesting that Elijah didn't have longer seasons of prayer.
I'm not suggesting that there weren't times where he fasted and prayed all day long. I'm not suggesting that he didn't engage in that kind of rigor relative to acts of piety. But here, it's just not so. It's a very simple prayer to highlight the true and living God.
See, the Baalists could say, well, when it came to us lancing ourselves and bleeding on us, that was the decisive moment. When we did that, Baal stepped in. When we showed that we were serious, then Baal came to deliver us. See, that's not Elijah's purpose.
Elijah does three simple things in this particular prayer. He first highlights the glory of the covenant God. You are the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. That's his purpose, that's his desire.
I want the Israelites, I want the Baalists, I want the Asherites, I want all of them to know that you are the living and true God. As well, he wants the confirmation of his prophetic status. Look at what he says, that you are God in Israel and I am your servant and that I have done all these things at your word. He's not doing this for his ego, he's not doing this so that, you know, I can be vindicated by all my fellows that look down on me and and thought ill of me, and they sort of just relegated me off to the margin.
He's not doing it for that, but he wants the people of Israel to hear the word of the living and true God. He is the prophet for the living and true God, therefore his veracity, his confirmation as a prophet is absolutely crucial and necessary for their well-being going forward. And then notice he ends on the note of their good, their benefit. He wants them to learn proper theology that he alone is the true and living God, but he wants them to be blessed as a result of that.
See, what we know about God or what we believe about God affects what happens in terms of our lives before God. He says in verse 37, hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Lord God and that you have turned their hearts back to you again. In other words, it's a God contest Elijah wants to win, not for his glory, not for his adulation, but for the glory of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He wants this to confirm his prophetic status so that the children of Israel will know that God alone is Lord and that knowing that they will have blessing.
They will be turned back from their useless idolatry to serve the one in whom there is blessing and joy and happiness and delight. And then, of course, the power displayed by God.
Fire Falls: God's Decisive Answer
Notice in verse 38, then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice. If you were here on the Wednesday night studies, we saw in the book of Leviticus, after the detailed legislation concerning sacrifice in chapters 1 to 6, and then the priesthood being set aside in chapters 7 to 8, The children of Israel then present up a burnt offering unto Yahweh, and that's what happens at the end of Leviticus 9. Fire comes down from the presence of Lord to consume that sacrifice. Here it demonstrates the power and glory of God.
Here it demonstrates that He alone is God, that Baal is a fake, that Baal is a fraud, that Asherah is worthless. But it also is an act of grace. When God sends fire down on that day here in 1 Kings 18, what is He telling Israel? He is telling them, I am here.
You can come to me. You don't need to go after Baal. You don't need to go after Asherah. I am the living God.
This was an endorsement of what you see in the Levitical system when that fire comes down and approves or consumes their sacrifice. In other words, there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. The fact that the fire does come, the fact that the fire does consume, underscores the fact that this God of glory and power and might and singularity is the God of grace and love and mercy and kindness and accessibility. We can come to Him through a smoking altar, through a bloody knife.
We can come to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. We can come to Him through the means by which He is ordained, namely the redemption that is bought in the blood of our Savior King. So this was a demonstration of His Godhood, but it was a demonstration of His Saviorhood and the fact that He receives sinners unto Himself. And then that ends, or we end then, on the punishment of the false prophets.
Verse 40, and Elijah said, well, let's back up just a minute. Look at how the people respond in verse 39. Now, when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God. So if you were just, you know, looking at it, you know, utilitarian way, he won, right?
It was obvious. You couldn't evade that. You couldn't escape that. You couldn't leave there and say, well, I'm not sure who won.
The decisive victory was Yahweh's. The decisive victory was the living and the true God. Even the hard-headed, stubborn-hearted, bail-in-their-hearts Israelites couldn't evade that. They had to conclude with the only conclusion that was available, namely that the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God.
And Elijah said to them, seize the prophets of Baal, do not let one of them escape. So they seized them and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. Now, the biblical warrant for that is Deuteronomy chapter 13. I'm not advocating that pastors today find all the dirty, rotten bailiffs and cut them up down by the Brook Kishon.
I'm not suggesting that at all. But in terms of Old Covenant law, this was the punishment. This was the judgment for false prophecy. Again, we hear that and we say, that's pretty harsh.
And we hear about Calvin and his episode in Servetus. And I think we've probably got a lot of that wrong. But if you notice anything about church history, there was a man by the name of Servetus that was executed for denying the Trinity at the time that Calvin was sort of a main man in Switzerland. And what happens?
Everybody blames Calvin. Again, you can blame Calvin all you want. But one thing I want to underscore is that, at least in that day and age, they understood the perniciousness of denying the Trinity. They understood the danger in Elijah's day of false prophecy.
See, what happens today, if you go get your arms set, you fall out of a tree, and you break your elbow, and you go into the doctor, and he missets it, or he misrepresents it, or he does something wrong, what do you do? You sue him. Why? Because there's consequences for being a quack.
There's no consequences today. And again, I'm not advocating this. Please don't go home and Facebook, Butler wants false pastors to be executed. That's not what I'm suggesting.
But there's no consequences for being wrong at the place where you need to be most right. And when it was false prophets, they solicited the people to idolatrate. And again, Deuteronomy 13, you can read it for yourself, old covenant law, had a stipulation in place so that false prophets would be executed. Elijah is operating within the confines and in the boundaries of God's law.
And as the prophet of God, he has that authority, he has that ability, he has that right under God to engage in this activity that makes the church blush today.
Application
Well, in conclusion, we ought to appreciate, first and foremost, the futility of idolatry. The futility of idolatry. I've already mentioned Psalm 115, verses 5 and 6. They have mouths, but they do not speak.
Eyes they have, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear. So here's the problem, as the psalmist continues with reference to idolatry. If you give yourself to an idol, guess what happens?
You become very well adjusted, life is great, your kids love you, your wife loves you, and everybody's happy. No, no, not at all. You know what happens when you take on idolatry? You become like them.
You become as dumb and as deaf and as mute to the Baal that you worship. So after highlighting, they have mouths but they do not speak, eyes they have but they do not see, they have ears but they do not hear, the effect of idolatry upon the worshiper is given in verse eight. Those who make them are like them, so is everyone who trusts in them. Do you want to be like Baal?
Do you want to be like Asherah? Don't we talk about godliness, being godly? What's the point? Well, the point is, is that when we believe by grace the gospel of our salvation, when we come into that sphere of saving relationship with our God, we become like Him.
Not divine. We don't ever participate in the divine essence. We don't become divinity. We don't become creator.
We don't become infinite. But we participate in godliness. The idolater participates in ungodliness. You can read Paul's commentary on this in Romans chapter one.
What happens with reference to man who knows God exists, but does not honor God as God, nor is he thankful to God? Does it work out well in the rest of Romans for that wretch? No, not at all. God gives them up.
God gives them up. God gives them up. In other words, when you pursue idols, good doesn't come as a result. There's no benefit.
There's no help. There's no Baal coming to our rescue. It is an exercise in futility. So listen to the prophet's question.
If you are sitting here this morning and have not come to the Lord Jesus, how long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him. In other words, stop following those things that are going to take your soul into everlasting destruction.
It seems like good, solid counsel that arises from the passage. The way of escape is through Christ the Lord, the one who came, the one who lived, the one who died, the one who was raised again, so that all who look to him in faith will have everlasting life. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, Paul says in Romans 10, will not be disappointed. You're always going to be disappointed with Baal.
You're always going to be disappointed with Mammon. Have you looked around the world recently and said, how many more billions of dollars do people need? I don't know a lot about money. I don't know a lot about, you know, a million dollars.
Well, I think now it's not as good as it was. When I was a kid, a million dollars was everything, right? A million dollars. That's probably chump change nowadays.
But I would imagine when you get up to like 10 million or 20 million or a billion, it's probably a chore to actually spend that money. You just don't know that many people to confer good gifts on. You don't know that many causes to be charitable to. So it becomes a task and a chore.
And then you think, they want more? You want 10 billion, 20 billion? You can never get satisfaction from the idol. It never delivers.
There's never a payoff. There's never a peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There's never the reality that my sin or the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord.
Don't keep after the idols. Don't keep pursuing stuff. Don't keep pursuing lust. Don't keep pursuing anything or everything that gets between you and the living and the true God.
Come to Jesus. Faith in Him is everlasting life, justification by faith alone. Repentance is there with that faith. You turn from your sin, you come to the Savior, and you are forgiven, and you receive a righteousness that avails with God Almighty.
It's glorious, it's wondrous, it's beautiful, it's blessed, it's satisfying. You can say with Paul, we have peace with God. through our Lord Jesus Christ. You can't say that with Baal. You can't say that with Asherah.
You can't say that with Mammon. As well, notice in the passage the demand for total allegiance to God. That text in verse 21, I think that's what most of us sort of associate this God contest with, is Elijah's challenge. How long will you falter between two opinions if the Lord is God?
Follow him. But if Baal, follow him. This is a condemnation of idolatry and syncretism, but it's a commendation of fidelity to the Lord God Most High. Davis again says, this is no mere academic question.
Elijah's formulation assumes that theology leads to discipleship. Commitments have consequences, right? If you're gods, if you look to the Lord Jesus, if you are true disciples of our blessed Savior, you're going to follow Him. And again, it's not going to be perfect.
It's going to be sinless. It's not going to be without any blemish or error. We stand in need of grace each and every day and moment, but it will nevertheless be an allegiance to God Almighty. If Matthew 6.33 means anything, it certainly means we're supposed to seek Him first and His kingdom and His righteousness and know then that all these other things, bread or food, clothing, a worry-free life, not worry-free to the point where you don't get up in the morning, but if we want those things, where are our priorities to be?
It ought to be with God most high. Listen to Matthew, Henry. The service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ and the dominion of our lusts, these are the two thoughts which is dangerous halting between. Those halt between them that are unresolved under their convictions, unstable and unsteady in their purposes, promise fair but do not perform.
They begin well, but they do not hold on, that are inconsistent with themselves or indifferent and lukewarm to that which is good. The heart is divided, whereas God will have all or none. And I want to end here, brethren. I always think about this, and it may seem sick and twisted, but I think there's a biblical warrant for it.
Traveling. I may die. I may never come back. And if I said to one buddy the other day, if so, I'll see you on the other side.
I said it to our brother Adrian. They're going to be traveling as well. What would I leave the church if I was going to leave and I never were to see you again? This is one of those passages.
This is one of those texts, this is one of those commendations that God Most High is worth everything. Christ is altogether lovely. He is chief among 10,000. Don't tarry if you're an unbeliever.
Come to Him and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, He says, and there is no other. God is about saving sinners. That's what he does.
You cannot read the Bible and then conclude, well, I don't really think his heart's in it. That's exactly where his heart is expressed. Listen to Jesus with reference to Zacchaeus, the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. How could you ever think that's not what he's about?
If you are an unbeliever here today, please look to Jesus in faith. That's my final admonition. Now, God willing, I will be back to visit you again with that admonition. But for the church, be faithful, be tenacious, hold fast, steadfast, and do not depart.
I'm convinced it's not an either-or, Baal or Yahweh. It's a Baal and Yahweh or Yahweh. They wanted to marry their religion with the religion of the land, and they thought in that they were covering their bases. God Most High can take good care of every need you have.
In fact, the apostle rehearses that in Ephesians 1, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has, this is a past tense verb, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. In other words, he's done the best, the most decisive. He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him freely give us all things?
Brethren, remain faithful, hold fast to the word of God and be unswerving and unwavering with reference to your commitment to the God of absolute glory and power and majesty.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for Your grace, we thank You for what we learn here concerning the fact that You are indeed the true and living God, the God of power, the God over creation, to be sure, the God that can consume a sacrifice with fire, God who reveals through that fire grace and approach to God. Through that means He has ordained, namely, the blood of His own dear Son. I pray that You would bless this local church, that You would encourage all the brothers and the sisters here I pray that you would save sinners and add to your church such as should be saved, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. You can turn in your hymn books to 568 and we'll praise God, the triune God, with the doxology. is ♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
God, may this be true for each of us, and may we glorify and honor you. And may you help us to be faithful in this present evil age, and may we as a church shine the light of the gospel in this community. Go with us now, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated for a brief time of meditation.