← Back to sermon library

well good evening welcome to free grace Baptist Church our call to worship this evening comes from Psalm 115 so if you'll turn with me in your Bibles to psalm 115 for our call to worship psalm 115 begin reading at verse 1 not on to us O Lord not on to us but to your name give glory because of your mercy because of your truth why should the Gentiles say so where is their God but our God is in heaven he does whatever he pleases their idols are silver and gold the work of men's hands they have mouths but do not speak eyes they have but they do not see they have ears but they do not hear noses they have but they do not smell they have hands but they do not handle feet they have but they do not walk nor do they mutter through their throat those who make them are like them so is everyone who trusts in them Oh Israel trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield a house of Aaron trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield you who feared the Lord trust in the Lord he is their help in their shield the Lord has been mindful of us he will bless us he will bless the house of Israel he will bless the house of Aaron he will bless those who fear the Lord both small and great may the Lord give you increase more and more you and your children may be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth the heaven even the heavens are the Lord's but the earth he has given to the children of men the dead do not praise the Lord nor any Hill go down into silence but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore praise the Lord well our first hymn comes from the Trinity hymnal will sing hymn number 12 if you're able we'll stand and sing together hymn number 12 [Music] you [Music] you [Music] have you seated let's go to our garden prayer God Almighty not unto us O Lord not unto us butts your name be the glory for you are the lord of heaven and earth and you deserve our praise and honor you have saved us you have called us out of darkness into marvellous light and that's one of the many reasons we should praise you but we should praise you simply for who you are you are God three and one you are the Lord of creation you're omnipotent omniscient over all things father God there are many great things we must study of you great mysteries but we thank you that you have revealed yourself to us in your word and you've revealed yourself to us in the person work of Jesus Christ and you reveal to us the great mystery of the Trinity even in the sending of your spirit as well oh God may these things cause us to ponder you to think of you to worship you and praise you O God and we pray now this evening that you would you would come and dwell with your people sick one God one God in three persons dwell with you or your frail people sinners who you've called out of darkness those whom you have adopted would you be with us by your Holy Spirit that we might know more and more of you through your word edify your saints O God save sinners through the preaching of your word through the work of the Holy Spirit as well with the word we thank you for your word that you have you have revealed yourself you have given us your Holy Scriptures O God and that we can know something of you because you have revealed yourself to us so we pray that you would continue to help us no more of you as we hear your word preach till God for we are frail and we need strength and aid and we pray that your spirit would not only be with the preacher but we with the listeners as well help us to be awake and attentive and remember that we are in your house seeking to hear your word we must help us O God to sing your praises by faith help us to receive your word by faith for we need your strength and we pray all these things in the name of Christ our Lord amen well our second hand will come from the Trinity hymnal as well and will stand in singing hymn number 42 that's him number 42 we'll stand and sing together if you're able [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] we Oh [Music] Oh Oh [Music] [Music] you may be seated well if you'll turn with me in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 4 as we continue our consecutive scripture reading turn with me in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 4 that's Daniel chapter four I will strive to read all 36 verses this is the word of a living and true God Daniel chapter 4 beginning at verse 1 Nebuchadnezzar the King to all the peat to all peoples nations and languages that dwell in all the earth peace be multiplied to you I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me how great are his signs and how mighty his wonders his kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and his Dominion is from generation to generation I never can desert was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace and I saw a dream which made me afraid and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream then the magician's the astrologers the Chaldeans and the soothsayers came in and I told them the dream but they did not make known to me its interpretation but at last Daniel came before me his name is Belshazzar according to the name of my god in him is the spirit of the holy God and I told the dream before him saying Belshazzar chief of the magician's because I know that the Spirit of the holy God is in you and no secret troubles you explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen and its interpretation and these were the visions of my head while on my bed I was looking and behold a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great the tree grew and became strong its height reached to the heavens and at K it could be seen to the ends of the all the earth its leaves were lovely its fruit abundant and in it was food for all the beasts of the field found shade under it the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches and all flesh was fed from it I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed and there was a watcher a holy one coming down from heaven he cried aloud and said thus chop down the tree and cut off its branches strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit let the beasts get out from under it and the birds from its branches nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze and in the tender grass of the field let it be wet with the dew of heaven and let him graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth let his heart be change from that of men of a man let him be given the heart of a beast and let seven times pass over him this decision is by the decree of the Watchers and the whole and the sentence by the word of the Holy Ones in order that the living may know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men gives it to whomever he will and sets over at the lowest of men this dream I King Nebuchadnezzar have seen now you Belshazzar declare its interpretation since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation but you are able for the spirit of the holy God is in you in you then Daniel whose name was Belshazzar was astonished for a time and his thoughts troubled him so the King spoke and said Belshazzar do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you and Belshazzar answered and said my lord made the dream concern those who hate you and its interpretation concerning concern your enemies the tree that you saw which grew and became strong whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant in which was food for all under which the beasts of the field dwelt and who and whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home had their home it is you O king who have grown and become strong for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens and your Dominion to the end of the earth and in as much as the Kings as the king saw a watcher a holy one coming down from heaven saying chop down the tree and destroy it believe it stump and roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field let it be wet with the dew of heaven and let him graze with beasts of the field till seven times pass over him this is the interpretation Oh King and this is the decree of the Most High which has come upon my lord the king they shall drive you from men your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field and they shall make you eat grass like oxen they shall light you with the dew of heaven and seven times shall pass over you till you know that the most high rules in the kingdom men and gives it to him ever he chooses and it is in as much as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree your kingdom shall be assured to you after you come to know that heaven rules therefore O king that my advice be acceptable to you break off your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity all this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar at the end of the 12 months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon the King spoke saying is not this great Babylon that that I have built for a royal dwelling for my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty well the word was still in the king's mouth a voice fell from heaven King Nebuchadnezzar to you it is spoken the Kingdom has departed from you and they shall drive you for men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field they shall make you eat grass like oxen and seven times you shall pass seven times shall pass over you until you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to him ever to Mara he chooses and that very hour the word was fulfilled concerning about Nebuchadnezzar he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like Eagles feathers and his nails like birds claws and at the end of the time I never can deser lifted my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me and I blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever for his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing he does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth no one can restrain his hand or say to him what have you done at the same time my reason returned to me and for the glory of my kingdom my honor and splendor return to me my counselors and Nobles resorted to me I were a resort to me and I was restored to my kingdom and excellent Majesty was added to me now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the king of heaven and all all of whose works are truth and his ways justice and those who walk in pride he is able to put down amen let us go to our God in prayer God Almighty you truly are the king of heaven and earth and you ruled over the kingdoms of men you're the one who you sets up these kings sets up these leaders in their place and you are sovereign Oh God we know that you you you you you you give grace to the humble but you hate the prot the proud Oh God may our hearts and dispositions be that of humility humility before you knowing our feebleness knowing our character knowing our sinfulness but also knowing Christ our King as we've read and learned this morning in your word and your preaching how we heard of Christ who is true man but he's also true God as well and then even when we ponder who you are Oh God may this humble us as well may this kill the pride that Wells up in us so quickly and so often may we say that you are that your ways are truth O God and your ways truly are justice and we can confess these things we confess that you are lord over all and you you are the king of your people and you're the father of your people and we know that you bring forth your people through preaching through your we know in desire and we hope that your kingdom would come Oh God through the proclamation of your word we do thank you and pray for the South Surrey plant we thank you for the things going on there Oh God we pray that you would work in the hearts of the people that perhaps they're looking for truth looking for the word that they might come and hear the word preached and proclaimed be with the people who are part of the church plant Oh God be with be with the brothers who have graciously given up their time to to think of ways that the word can get out concerning this and be with the one who you have chosen to proclaim your word bless him and strengthen him that he might know a sense of your spirit I know a sense of the proper I know a sense of your spirit in the proclamation of your word that he might fear neither flesh nor flattery Oh God we pray that this would be the same for all that come in and not Church Oh God and we do thank you for our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who hear the gossip or who hear the gospel proclaimed to them we thank you for our associations we pray that you continue to be with our association especially as we go forward with this seminary we do thank you for this O God as you continue to raise up men for your gospel and for your church and O God we also desire that your will would be done for many of us we have many spiritual trials many spiritual temptations that come our way o God we pray that you would strengthen us you would help us you would help the word to be applied to us more and more by your spirit that we would be conformed more and more unto the image of Christ our King and we do pray that through this you would edify us O God that we would die more and more into sin and grow more and more on to the image of Christ our King and we also pray O God for our daily blessings our daily needs there are many that struggle physically and perhaps emotionally as well those that struggle emotionally lift them up O God by your spirit lift them up help them to ponder your goodness to them help them to ponder the riches that await them when when they either die or when you come and be with those who struggle physically O God may this be the same as the outward man decays the inner man is renewed day by day may we take hope in and so God and we also confess our sins to you we confess that we have transgressed your law whether it's we've not done the things we should do God or done things we should not have done we confess that we have sinned against you we ask for forgiveness this day for our sins wash us cleanse us in Christ our King and it's truly against heaven and earth that we have sinned and O God we pray that you would not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil for yours truly is the kingdom and the power of the power and the glory for ever and ever amen and forever and ever O God may we sing your praises for your God Most High when we pray these things in the name of Christ amen well our final him before the preaching is hymn number 219 in the Trinity hymnal so if you'll turn with me to him number 219 if you're able we'll stand and sing to [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to first Kings chapter 18 last week we looked at the early ministry of elisha the prophet in chapter 17 we will return god willing to our studies in james and just one other thing before i actually read the scripture it occurred to me late this afternoon not only the Wednesday night Bible study people have heard first Kings 18 but I alluded to it heavily in a sermon on prayer from Matthew 6 so I don't want you to think you're crazy tonight if some of these things do sound familiar there's a reason why but I want to read beginning in chapter 18 at verse 1 here now the word of the living and true God and it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the 3rd 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 a hab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself now as Obadiah was on his way suddenly elisha 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 elisha 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 it off from the kingdom or nation that they could not find 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 52 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 but aya went to me they haven't 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 bails now therefore send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel the 450 prophets of bale and the four hundred 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 Bale follow him but the people answered him not a word then Elijah said to the people I alone and left a prophet of the Lord but bales profits are 450 men therefore let them give us two bowls and let them choose one Bowl for themselves cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood but put no fire under it and I will prepare the other Bowl 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 all I just said to the prophets of bale choose one Bowl for yourselves and prepare it first for you or 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 bail from warning even till noon saying Oh bail hear us but there was no voice no one answered then they leapt about the altar which they had made and so it was at noon that Elijah mocked him and said cry aloud free is a God either his meditating or his busy or he's on a journey or perhaps he is sleeping a 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 seals of sea and he put the wood in order cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood and said fill for 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 he also filled the trench with water and it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elisha the prophet came here 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 looked 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 profits of bail do not let one of them escape so they seize them and Elijah brought them down to the brook Keshawn and executed them there amen well let us pray father in heaven we thank you for the scriptures of the old and the New Testaments we thank you for your God God breathed word may you indeed fill us now with your Holy Spirit may you teach us the lessons learned at karma help us god to see that you are the true and the Living God that idolatry is indeed futility idolatry is a wretched disposition in the hearts of men and may you keep us and help us to guard our hearts as John the Apostle tells us little children keep yourselves from idols we know there is a prone miss to wander there is a prone is to leave the God that we love so we would ask Most High that you would keep us by the power of your spirit by your word and even now we pray that you would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions wash us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in this glad hour and cause us God to reflect upon your goodness on these Sabbath days that you give us this foretaste of heaven that you give us the Society of Saints to sing praises to the God of heaven and earth that you give us your presence as you have promised in the New Covenant setting you dwell in the midst of your saints in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and in this we greatly rejoice Lord God Most High grant us help now we pray and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well as I said this may be familiar ground to many of you but if there is something to be reminded again it is this section in first kings very specifically the ministry of Elijah is something wonderful to behold he's a larger-than-life figure as we saw last time he comes out of nowhere to reprove a hab the wicked king of Israel remember that a hab had married Jezebel and he not only went after bail himself but he actually constructed a temple and an altar to Bale in the samaria which was the capital city of the northern tribes we see the the animal paucity increase in chapter 18 as Jezebel begins to murder the true prophets of Yahweh you see that religion or religious commitments have consequences who we worship affect how we will live and that's why Elijah's question for instance in verse 21 is so important theology matters if Yahweh is God serve him and if that is the case then your life ought to manifest that your life ought to evidence that your life ought to demonstrate fidelity to the living and the true God well as we look at this particular chapter we'll notice in the first place this meeting with Ahab in verses 1 to 19 and then secondly the specific contest at Carmel in verses 20 to 40 in the first place note the situation we saw how chapter 17 is preparatory for this in fact the entirety of the section beginning in chapter 17 verse 1 till the life rather till the death of Elijah shows us Elijah's opposition to idolatry and oppression well chapter 17 set the stage with the drought Elijah had predicted he prophesied he stated that there shall not be dune or rain these years except at my words we see the continuity here in 18:1 it came to pass after many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year saying go present yourself to a hub and I will send rain on the earth so the Word of God directs Elijah we have grown accustomed to this in our studies on Wednesday night note as well the specific message that God would end the drought remember the specific issue in view is that bale is the alleged storm God and God the Living God the truth says that he will end the drought bales not going to do it because bale can't do it this contest at Carmel is to underscore the primacy of the God of Israel the solitariness of the God of Israel these people were so hardened and so committed to bale ISM that when it did finally rain they would probably ascribe glory to Bale well this whole contest caramel is designed to shut their mouths to make it such that they were not able to ascribe this to bail but they must describe it to Yahweh and then we notice how this affected Samaria the very capital of the Northern Kingdom verse two Elijah went to present himself to Ahab and there was a severe famine in Samaria which obviously would happen as a result of drought and then we see the particular situation what we have with reference to Jezebel Obadiah verse 3 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 and with bread and water there's this one faithful man he's over the house of a app but he is a man that does fear God and thankfully the Lord has this man in place to provide protection for these hundred prophets of Yahweh and now notice specifically a obadiah's meeting with elijah in verses 7 to 15 I'll just give the gist of it essentially the issue is this Obadiah says to Elisha why are you here if I tell a hab that you are here and then the spirit spirits you away and I am can't find you then Ahab is going to kill me now I think at times we were very hard on biblical characters and we think some things like oh come on Obadiah stand up to a hat well brethren he doesn't want to die any more than you and I want to die we wouldn't want to just stand up to ahab and put our necks on the chopping block obadiah's interests here are legitimate and we ought not to castigate the man his interests are also legitimate in the sense that a have has been scurrying the countryside looking for Elijah so Elijah appears to Obadiah and says tell al I want to talk to us again I don't think it's misguided interest on the part of Obadiah Elijah assures Obadiah that he will meet with Ahab and he calls Obadiah and gives him the ability to stand fast now before we move on I want us to appreciate the differences in the servants of God not every servant of God is a larger-than-life elijah character not every servant of god is like the Tishbite who appears out of nowhere and puts his finger in the face of a abbe and tells him that god is going to bring judgment obadiah work behind the scenes Obadiah worked by stealth Obadiah worked in a covert manner when Jezebel starts her campaign of liquidating Yahweh's prophets Obadiah hides them he takes them to caves fifty by fifty and he provides food for them and he provides water for them brethren we need to understand that the kingdom of God is not just made up of Elijah type prophets the kingdom of God also operates in accordance with or as a result of the secret quiet behind-the-scenes workings of men like Obadiah if God hasn't gifted you to go preach the gospel into some place like China for instance don't ever fear that you cannot be used it may be the case that you'll be behind the scenes it may be the case that you'll give safe haven to the prophets of God it may be the case that you'll exercise hospitality this is the emphasis in third John the idea being is that whether we are analyzer or in Obadiah the Lord God sanctifies and and uses people for his glory people with differing gifts we ought to appreciate that as New Covenant Christians we know that not everybody has the same function in the life and Ministry of the church not everybody's and I not everybody's in here not everybody's a foot this is Paul's point in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 the whole body functions as an organic unity to promote the health and good of all and we ought to see this in the life and ministry of Elijah and what we find here with reference to Obadiah now in verses 16 to 19 they have and Elisha meet and this is an interesting meeting let's look at verse 16 Obadiah went to me they have told him and ahab went to meet elisha then it happened when ahab saw elijah that have said to him is that you Oh troubler of Israel now I wonder at times in the biblical narrative if men would have seen as we now see the irony of such a statement I mean a hub didn't obviously he's a fool he's a bail worship arias taking the northern kingdom and he has plunged it into the futility of idolatry but he actually has the gall and wherewithal to call Elisha the troubler of Israel no on a particular surface level that makes a bit of sense because it was Elijah who came and told a hab but there would be no water in Israel so when it has mine he's the one that's trouble Israel but notice Elijah's response to him verse 18 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 bales you see the problem in AB is not with me the problem is with you and your father's the problem is with those less than sterling characters that have been running the northern kingdom these sorts of men that co-op Bale worship from the Phoenicians and bring it right smack dab in the middle and heart of Israel the problem of the trouble in Israel is a hab and his wickedness and I think behind the scenes is Joshua 7 remember Aiken was a trouble er of Israel Aiken was the one who hid the stuff that was under the band and as a result Israel lost a battle at AI and so God most high calls him out and they deal with the trouble or of Israel so in Ahab's mind Elijah is the trembler if we can liquidate him then everything gets back to normal in Israel but as far as Elijah is concerned the problem in Israel and he is correct is a hab because he is an idolatry now notice in verse 19 this gives us a further bit of evidence as to how widespread and how bad worship false worship or idolatry is in Israel verse 19 now therefore send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel the 450 prophets of Bale and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table this probably indicates that they were tax subsidized they ate at Jezebel's table in other words they were on the government payroll there was a welfare structure in Israel and these false prophets were the ones who benefited from it this ought to show you how bad things were in ahab's Israel the false prophets of bail and Astra are being fed with Israelite money they are being fed with taxation raised from Israelite people the situation is bleak the situation is grim the situation is indeed one of state-sponsored idolatry and it is to this that elijah responds now notice the contest at carmel first there is a challenge issued by elijah in verses 20 to 25 now we're not going to develop every jot and tiddle along the way but suffice it to say that elijah really is stacking the deck against yahweh in this particular section he is stacking the deck against yahweh in other words once god sends fire to consume his ball it will be without controversy the work of the true and living God he gives these men the home-field advantage note the location he says in verse 20 it says in verse 20 a hab sent for all the children of Israel gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel now this was very close to Phoenicia this is bales homeland it had an altar there to Yahweh in disrepair one commentator 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 Salman easer the third Mount Carmel appears as the mountain of bale of the promontory so it was in fact a Bailes homeland and probably Ahab's desire is to humiliate Elijah and then execute him as a means by which the trouble would be removed from Israel now know very specifically Elijah's challenge 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 they'll follow him this is absolutely crucial for us to consider here because this is this is the Haab isn't it this is the challenge this is the issue how long are you going to literally limp between these two options of these two opinions theology matters theology produces consequences if you choose Bale then follow him plunge yourself headlong into the futility of idolatry but if you're going to choose your way you need to stand for him you need to not support state-sponsored idolatry you need to make sure you stand with godly man like Obadiah godly man like Elijah godly men like these hundred prophets that Obadiah hit this is no academic question rather it gets to the hub of the situation now if we ask the question why would these people of Israel be attracted to bail I mean if we ever considered that if we ever thought through that I don't think I broached this on the Wednesday night study I don't know that I alluded to this and the Matthew six study so perhaps this is some new ground for some of us but why in the world would Israel follow bail well it's simple really pragmatism you'll know what pragmatism is right it works bail works and if bail works then we will follow him that's pragmatism you see the Bible presents to us the absolute importance of the truth the Bible presents to us not that we shouldn't ask the question doesn't work but rather is it true consider in this particular situation the attractiveness of bail to the common folk of Israel first of all Bale had royal sanction Bale had royal sanction at this particular point af had indeed built an altar and a temple to bail in the northern kingdom so Ahab was certainly on board with bail Jezebel was certainly on board with bail in fact arguably Jezebel's the power behind the throne she's on board so much so that she's actually killing the true prophets of Yahweh she got to understand brethren that royal sanction doesn't legitimize idolatry if the government says okay we announce by decree that today everybody's going to bow to bail we must obey God rather than men that instance in Daniel chapter 3 that we read last week what do you think that image was that nebuchadnezzar set up on the plains of durham i would submit it was most likely an image of himself it was an image of himself I mean NAB you could nazzer thought he was the you know the of the walk I mean he thought he was everything so he wrecks this statue and he tells people that they must bow to it that they must worship it thankfully Shadrach Meshach Abednego and Daniel said there's no way we're going to bow we don't care about royal sanction we care about what is true you see we need to adopt that mentality I realize this isn't North Korea I realize this isn't Saudi Arabia I realize this isn't Communist China I realize we do enjoy a great deal of Liberty and benefit and blessing but brethren increasing secularization is affecting the Church of the Living God the fact is that it's becoming illegal to speak out about genders it's becoming illegal to speak out against sodomy well it it already is we cannot kowtow to a government and we cannot kowtow to their gods we must stand fast so in a traction with reference to bail in Ahab's Israel is that it had indeed royal sanction but as well there was an appeal to tradition what happened with the children of Israel as soon as they crossed into the land of Canaan they maintained for the in worship Yahweh is that the message of the book of Judges no that's not the message of the book of Judges as soon as they get into the land they start bowing to bail so you could perhaps hear people that at carnal that day saying well you know there is a long tradition among our people of worshiping bail you see that's another thing that's tough to break from time to time well my father this and my mother this now insofar as your father and your mother all right then by all means till the line but if they're wrong if they have compromised biblical truth again we must obey God rather than man another reason why persons would be subject or rather would indeed bow to bail was relevance to felt needs relevance to felt needs what was bales job to send rain I mean that's a felt need every one of us have we don't feel it as much in Chilliwack but perhaps on a day like this we're longing for that lush rain to fall again I hope it's not that quickly lost here but there is that relevance to felt needs bail gets the job done again pragmatism we don't subscribe to a God because he does what we want him to do we subscribe to the true and living God because he has revealed himself in his word and by him through the Lord Jesus Christ he is affectionately called us unto himself and he has given us life and light eternal in the Lord of glory so this whole idea of relevance and I think that this to some degree affects the church today we are appealing to persons based on relevance to felt needs rather than the proclamation of the truth and then there is just the base element as well and appeal to sensuality why worship bail well because at a bail worship center copulation was the order of the day basically the worshipers would engage in copulation that means sexual fornication in an attempt to get bail to have relations with one of his girlfriend gods so that he would reign on the earth it was a means by which the worshiper sought to got a bail in order to get him to deliver so that that basic appeal to sensuality I mean the religion of Yahweh is heady stuff isn't it Yahweh forbid the making of images Yahweh forbid anything that would typify a rather picture him because it's a religion based on the truth it's a religion based on the word you saw no form but rather you heard the voice of the Living God well if you are dealing with carnal people you are dealing with base people you are dealing with unregenerate people and one crowd is hearing the Word of God proclaim and the other crowd is copulating in order to get bail to perform you can see where the goats might tend to wander to you see there was an appeal with reference to bail it's wrong its base its wretched and it works with the unregenerate but it does answer the question why the contest at Carmel because there were persons in Israel following after bail now notice Elijah proposes a particular contest a God contest if you will look at verse 22 he says I alone him left a prophet of the Lord some see Elijah as this self-centered self-pitying man a bit of a narcissist they really do number a number on him in first Kings chapter 19 he is not self pitying he is not self-centered he is not disregarding the hundred prophets that Obadiah had but he's the only one that's standing toe-to-toe in the public square the others are head the others are in caves the others are safe but Elijah alone is the one that is standing before them on this particular day that's the idea it's not that he's got this elijah complex and that he's the only guy now that's not it at all I alone him left a prophet of the Lord but bails profits are 450 men therefore let them give us two bowls let them choose one Bowl for themselves cut it in pieces lay it on the wood that but put no fire under it I will prepare the other bull lay it on the wood but put no fire under it then you call on the name of your gods I will call in the name of the Lord and the one who answers by fire the God who answers by fire he is God so all the people said it is well spoken this makes sense if you're a bail worshiper you see the god of bail who sends rain also sends lightning so this ought to be an easy job for bail if bail is real if bail is God if bail is the one from whom all at least natural blessings flow then this ought to be an easy job for bail so they say sure sign us up this sounds like a good gig it will evidence it will demonstrate it will prove with reference to this god contest who indeed was the true and living God now note the response of the false prophets in verses 26 to 29 it's a pathetic scene here I know I developed this on the Wednesday night and in the Matthew 6 it's a pathetic scene when you see false religion engaged in I mean there ought to be a sense where our hearts are drawn out and compassion because if apart from the grace of God there we go that's the sort of thing man does when he's left to himself and these false prophets of bail are men of great zeal these false prophets of bail do mean business I mean they continue from morning until evening trying to get bail to bless notice how they proceed verse 26 they took the bull which was given them they prepared it called on the name of bail from morning even till noon saying Oh bail he rots I love this refrain but there was no voice no one answered then they leaped about the altar which they had made you see we go from this sort of frenzy or rather this foolishness to frenzy that's the progression in idolatry you see we become what we worship this is GK Beals whole thesis in his book a basic it's by that title what we become what we worship it's a biblical theology of idolatry and he says what we revere we resemble either for ruin or redemption brethren that is a biblical biblical concept psalm 115 8 what happens to those who worship idols they become like them that is precisely the situation whatever you Revere you resemble either for ruin or redemption in other words what you worship affects the way that you function what you worship affects the way that you live and these men though they have zeal it is certainly misguided they leaped about the altar which they had made and now notice Elijah mocks them in verse 27 do not miss the significance here Elijah mocks them it is absolutely appropriate matthew henry said the worship of idols is a most ridiculous thing and it is but justice to represent it so and expose it to scorn notice at noon Elijah mocked him and said cry aloud for he is a God either he is meditating or he is busy that he is busy probably reflects he is defecating he's in the God bathroom he is tending to his business Elijah is indeed mocking these men this is how we ought to respond to false religion this is how we ought to respond to idolatry now I'm not suggesting you go stand on mountains and do this sort of thing but brethren it's not pluralism the Bible doesn't say ok you know respect all religions we respect image-bearers gun people down in the streets and you know we don't trample on their rights in a civilized society but we don't respect idolatry we have no truck with the sorts of things that are played out before us in terms of rebellion against the living and the true God we cannot sanction that we cannot come alongside of that again we are friendly we're kind we bear you know we we engage kindly with image bearers and all that sort of thing but it's not the case that we are to entertain the validity of false religion Elijah doesn't do that he is a God either he is meditating or his busier is on a journey or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened I give you I submit the faithful in Israel that day if there were any we're laughing at this particular point laughing I think we should laugh when we see this happened verse 27 is funny I mean it's not funny in the sense of you know three guys went into you know the DMV and this happened that's not funny that way but it is too ma Candace corn false religion and idolatry and that is precisely what elijah does notice they move from foolishness to frenzy again they cried aloud they cut themselves verse 28 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 oh yeah it's no one paid attention aw ping made this observation the altar stood cold and smokeless the Bullock unconsumed the powerlessness of bail in the folly of his worship worshippers 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 of grant supernatural answers to prayer tested at these three vital points they wanted all fall as bales worship did that memorable day on Carmel beautiful observation and demonstrates very clearly the situation here at Bar Mel now unfortunately as we move in the narrative on the first Kings chapter 19 what was at least apparently successful here really wasn't what what appeared to be Reformation and revival in Israel was indeed short-lived but let's look at that notice God's power in verses 30 and 40 a 30 to 40 Elijah essentially prepares the sacrifice and as I said he stacks the deck there in bales home turf he lets the false prophets go first and now he drenches his offering with water you say well where did they get water and drought they were near a little body called the Mediterranean Sea so don't let that throw you off why would they throw all that water if there was a drought that would be foolishness well they probably fetched it out of the Mediterranean Sea but notice how he does stock the deck and you get what I mean by that right he doesn't want anybody to leave Carmel saying well I'm not sure who won that day I'm not sure who got the victory I'm not sure who brought the noise or brought the heat rather I'm not sure no he wants to make it absolutely sure ly just said all the people come near to me so all the people came near to him he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down isn't that interesting there was an altar Yahweh on Carmel but it had broken down and Elijah took 12 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 he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seals of seed he put the wood in order cut the bull in pieces laid it on the wood and said fill for water pots with water pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood then he said do it a second time they did it a second time 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 you see he stacks the deck when God consumes by fire the particular Bullock that he has presented there will be no question as to who the true God is you see that's the point and when Elijah says - how long will you falter between these two opinions choose God he's he's making a Therese he's convincing that that this has to be your choice because bail is a fake bail is an imposter bail has ears but he can't hear bill has eyes but he can't see bail has a mouth but he can't talk bill has a nose but he can't smell bail is nothing so Elijah designs this whole thing in order to call the people of Israel to repentance now note specifically what we find in terms of God's answer verse 36 it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice Elijah the Prophet came near and said Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel let it be known this day that your 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 that you have turned their hearts back to you again his prayer is very specific the glory of God is first and foremost to Elijah you see that in public prayers you see that when men of God pray in both the old and the New Testaments the glory of God is paramount it is uppermost that is the chief concern and that is how it is with Elijah but as well confirmation that he is indeed God's prophet let it be known this day that your God in Israel and I am your servant and as well the well-being of the people of Israel and that you have turned their hearts back to you again it's a simple prayer isn't it I think that if you continue in the passage you'll see that God answers prayers differently not differently in the sense that you know there's either yes or no but here he answers right away doesn't he in the next section when God tells Elijah that the drought is going to end Elijah has to tell his servant 7 times to go and look for the cloud you see brethren there's no one pathway that God answers prayer I prayed he didn't answer what was seven times when it came to ending the drought you see we need to learn patience at the throne of grace God isn't going to just do everything we say right when we say it we need to be a faithful people that are earnest in prayer that I like that importunate Widow that Jesus spoke up in Luke chapter 18 she gives no rest to the judge the Lord Christ wants us to be importunate at the throne of grace and I think this section with reference to Elijah indicates it such ought to be the case sometimes you pray a verse and a half and God answers other times you pray seven times and it takes a while but God answers and just by way of that observation he prays a verse and a half and God answers I mean long prayers aren't necessarily the best perhaps I only prayed for eight minutes today what was a good prayer did you call upon God did you you know desire his glory and its honor there's no sort of eight minutes or ten minutes or 20 minutes or an hour you know in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus says couldn't you watch with me for an hour now is he literal does that mean every time we go to pray we must pray for an hour I don't think he's talking literally I'm not saying don't pray for an hour there's certainly you know worse things you could do in a day then pray for an hour that's a good thing but here is a prayer for a verse and a half and it's about the glory of God the confirmation the Prophet the good of Israel and God answers notice verse 38 then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the bird sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dots 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 now the fire that consumed the burnt sacrifice I think there's a couple of things going on here the first place when we see say in the Pentateuch in the first five books of Moses when we see God's fire consumed a sacrifice that typically means that God is pleased that instance in Leviticus chapters 1 to 9 Leviticus chapters 1 to 8 are the laws of sacrifice it was very clearly spelled out how the children of Israel were to approach their holy God so they offer up the sacrifice according to chapter 9 and the fire of the Lord comes down and consumes their offering and the people of God shout and I think it was a shout for joy there are other places in the Old Testament God consumes by fire in a favorable sense this could be a demonstration of God's grace to these people God's mercy God's kindness he wasn't obliged to answer here he wasn't obliged to demonstrate or confirm that he was indeed the true in the Living God he is indeed the true in the Living God whether he gives us evidences of that or not you see Jesus says a crooked and perverse generation seeks after a sign brethren we shouldn't need a sign we have the written word that testifies to us so God didn't have to there was nothing constraining him there was nothing putting an arm by his holy back making him send fire but he does so and I think it is a sign of representation of His grace his mercy his kindness it's almost a communication to the people to forsake bail once and for all and bow before your God now thankfully they make that admission or they make that confession they say the Lord is God the Lord he is God but I think as well we ought to appreciate from this particular passage that God really shouldn't need to do this have you ever been parents with your children and they're asking you questions and you're answering their questions and they keep asking the same question and you keep answering their question and you keep asking the question and you raise your voice at them now maybe none of you ever did this happens you know happen to at least some guy that I know or it wasn't even that sort of a scenario where the question was asked and you answered and it's what ask a lady raised your voice it might have been something wherein you were telling that something and they just weren't getting the point so you raised your voice and said now do it one at least is nodding really you guys are great parents you've never raised your voices at your kids and said now go do it praise God you know there's two of us in this room the rest of you are holy models of good parenting we shouldn't have to do that should we the fifth commandment demands our children's obedience and honor we shouldn't have to raise our voices we shouldn't have to ever get beyond a conversational tone we shouldn't ever have to do that because you owe us fidelity Wow you're going to violate their freedom and their love and then no God says obey your parents in the Lord for this is right we shouldn't have to raise our voices God shouldn't have to consume with fire this further evidence is how wretched and wicked and deplorable the conditions were in Israel under Ahab this man took the reins of the Northern Kingdom he married a godless wretched woman that would be paradigmatic for all times of all things wicked in a woman and he rides that Kingdom right into the ground such that the living and the true God has to send fire from heaven to consume Elijah's bull before these people will say Yahweh he is God Yahweh he is God he shouldn't have to do that to get our attention he shouldn't have to wow us he shouldn't have to woo us he shouldn't have to entice us he shouldn't have to try and please us he has spoken and our job is to listen brethren that's what we need to gather from this display of God it at Carmel now the last section bothers people it really ought not because it is the execution of biblical law verse 40 Elijah said to them seize the prophets of bale do not let one of them escape so they seized them and Elijah brought them down to the brook Keshawn and executed them there it's the execution of God's holy justice Deuteronomy 13 capital punishment for those who solicited Israelites to commit apostasy it was a false prophet you kill it if it's the wife of your own bosom if it's someone in your family they entice you to commit apostasy you kill them if it's revolution within a particular city or a particular community where they have revolted against the living and true God then you kill that now I realize that I'm saying not a very blunt and sort of way but that was what the law demanded he said God didn't say well it's okay to have all your religions here Oh point of the the specific command was for them to go into the land of Canaan die a Canaan and utterly exterminate the Canaanites utterly dispossessed the land of the Canaanites again you might want to argue the ethics of that you may want to say well you know that's genocide and whatnot it was God's judgment upon a wicked people that's what it was and that's what Elijah carries out and thus concludes the contest at Carmel well in conclusion we see the futility of idolatry that section concerning the prophets of bale ought to be a go-to place for all of us when we are enticed by some Idol now our idols may not be Bale they may not be Astra they may not be Moloch but we have idols or else the Apostle John what I've said little children keep yourselves from idols false religion is an idol the sort of attraction that was presented earlier in terms of baile ism and as royal sanction long pedigree or tradition and are in our history as well it it appeals to those felt needs that we have and it just feels right little children keep yourselves from idols false religion is an idol the idol of self I suspect that this is the one that continues to perplex or to persist in MO that most of our lives the Idol of ourselves I don't we don't bow down to ourselves and and worship ourselves say in front of a mirror but our lives of it in such a thing our lives demonstrate such a thing another New Testament Idol may not be bail may not be Astra may not be Molech but it's certainly money Jesus cautions us against a love of man men in Matthew chapter six can't love God and Mammon doesn't mean you can't have Mammon doesn't mean you can't have money and you can't love it can't worship it your life can't be sort of dictated by money you see there are present and persistent idols that present themselves to God's people today if you are ever tempted or if you are ever feeling sort of that that desire to have your felt needs met go look at these poor wretches on Carmel dancing around calling upon bail to answer as well the effect of idolatry upon the worshiper I cited psalm 115 a those who make them are like them so is everyone who trusts in that you see what happens is bail wants blood these people who cut themselves bail likes blood so they'll gash themselves with knives and Lance's and they'll bleed all over themselves they'll dance around this altar because that's what bail wants and they have become like bail and the persistence of idolatry in the hearts of men one would think after this display of God's power on Carmel that would be it no more bail worship that would be it it would be eradicated you know what happens subsequent to this Elijah prays the drought ends a hab goes back tells Jezebel you should have seen what happened Sailaja the Tishbite he came out of nowhere the guy's a real charismatic figure I'm kind of paraphrasing here how would they have report this to Jezebel he set up this contest we met at Carmel the 450 prophets of Bale were there they did their thing they danced they bled they wet they moaned they'd this they that there was no voice no one answered no one paid attention and then Elijah puts down the bowl takes water and pours it on the bowl takes water pours it on the bowl takes water he's painting this scenario - Jezebel you know Jezebel's response so what I could care less she goes to Elijah and says you're going to be dead by this time tomorrow it's hard to penetrate the hearts of men is it a display like that and these people continue in their rebellion now you say well that was just Jezebel wait till you get to name BOTS vineyard in chapter 21 it's very easy for Jezebel to to work the Israelite crowd and get them to testify against a moth so that a hab can expand his his property holdings you see it is difficult to eradicate the love of bale in the hearts of man and this throws us back upon sovereign grace we can't do it we need God we need the Holy Spirit when idolaters come in among us and they hear the gospel preached it's not going to be our appeal it's not going to be our ability it's not going to be our winsome Ness it's going to be the power of God unto salvation 4 blessed are You Simon bar Jonah for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father who is in heaven as well this passage sets before us the demand for total allegiance to God it is indeed a condemnation of idolatry but probably it's a condemnation of what's called syncretism and syncretism simply means a little bit of bail and a little bit of Yahweh a little bit of this and a little bit of that and that will be our way of approach to God I suspect that this might live on in the hearts of people today as well syncretism we marry little bit of this with the true religion of the Living God that's wrong he demands total Allegiance Davis says this is no mere academic question the question of verse 21 Elijah's formulation assumes that theology leads to discipleship commitments have consequences matthew henry said 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 it is dangerous halting between those halt between them that are unresolved under their convictions unstable and unsteady in their purposes promised fair but do not perform begin well but do not hold on that are inconsistent with themselves or indifferent and lukewarm and that which is good their heart is divided whereas God will have all or none I don't want to make some emotional appeal or some psychological appeal to any or all of you here this evening but I do want us to consider really verse 21 if your commitment is not fully to Yahweh than repent the bulk of you professed saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the bulk of your members in a Reformed Baptist Church the bulk of you have stood before others and said I follow God I want Christ the bulk of you have gone into the waters of baptism you have identified publicly with the triune God is it the case that your allegiance to him has been waning is it the case that you've entertained sin is it the case that you have dealt with a little bit of this and a little bit of that in your approach to religious worship well the good news is there is forgiveness with God that he may be feared the good news is that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us I don't think any of us could look at verse 21 and Concern consider the demands of total allegiance to God and say well you know my allegiance is indeed total I follow him all the way all the time brethren we all stumble we all sin we all need to renew our repentance and we all need to forsake that wickedness and engage by the grace of God in the power of the Holy Spirit with total allegiance to him no more halting between two opinions God self God God work God this know God seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness then all these things will be added unto you if you have stopped reading your Bible start reading it again if you have stopped praying start praying again if you have been lazy and apathetic on the Sabbath day and have stopped attending public worship start attending again if you have missed the Lord's Supper if you have been to the point where you don't even consider that you've missed the supper as something that should be grieving to your soul then start coming to the supper we have the supper next Sunday night this is what allegiance to God looks like it doesn't look like going out with Elijah and putting a bowl on the altar pouring water on it having fire consuming a lot allegiance to God in our context and in our situation means getting up in the morning seeking God it means going out the door and living for God it means doing whatever job we have been given to do in a manner that is consistent with the glory of God it means coming home at night loving our wives loving our husbands loving our children seeking to cultivate the goodness of God in their hearts and souls seeking to permeate our homes with the very aroma of Christ this is what total allegiance to God looks like and if you have faltered or halted or limped along these two opinions then stop repent forsake it pursue the living and the true God he is altogether lovely he is chief among 10,000 there is no thing better than the service of the Living God will let us pray father we thank you for your word and we thank you for this contest at Carmel we thank you for what it displays concerning your glory and your majesty and your excellence in power we would ask God that you would cause us to walk in total Allegiance and not halting between two opinions the grant us grace to pursue those things that are pleasing in your sight if we have been lazy forgive us if we have been lafarge apathetic forgive us if we have just been rebellious forgive us and cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and help us to prize our Savior help us to delight in him and help us to pursue those things that are pleasing in your sight but with us now we pray and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed