← Back to sermon library

thank you happiness out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have ordained strength because of your enemies that you may silence the enemy and the Avenger when I consider your Heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have ordained what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him for you have made him a little lower than the angels and you have crowned him with Glory and Honor you have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands you have put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen even the beasts of the field the birds of the air and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the Seas O Lord our Lord how excellent is your name in all the Earth amen please turn with me in your Trinity psalter Hymnal to Psalm 99 a 99 a as in Alpha and stand with me as we sing together [Music] foreign [Music] ever remember [Music] foreign [Music] there is no place foreign [Music] God In Prayer Heavenly Father we come before you this morning with thankfulness in our hearts for all that you have afforded us thank you for gospel mercies for the Forgiveness of sins for the Redemption from the curse of the law for our peace in our hearts and restored fellowship with the father thank you Father for the the hope of glory the day when we will arrive in your presence on high where there will be no more suffering no more pain no more no more tears and no more Struggle No More struggle with sin with self with the flesh with the Devil thank you that we can look forward to that day of drawing gladness but we thank you that here on Earth we have this taste of heaven when we come together in your house with your people to Worship the Great God Of Heaven that we will worship throughout all eternity we thank you for this opportunity and we pray that you would bless this day we pray that you would bless our worship and that it would be pleasing and acceptable in your sight we know that within our hearts there is still remaining corruption we pray o God that you would cleanse us even this day from all filthiness from all unrighteousness and cause our our prayers and our praise to be acceptable in your sight because of what Christ has done for us thank you again for this glorious day and we pray your blessing would rest upon it we pray o God for the upcoming weeks when Pastor Butler will be away we pray that you'd bless Jim and Rebecca as they as they travel and as they take this much needed and much deserved break I pray oh God that you would bless them with with peace with rest with restoration give them opportunity to meet and see friends once again and visit your people down there in California I pray oh God that it would be a time of great encouragement to them and that they would come back refreshed and in the meantime we pray for those who will be filling the pulpit here we pray for Pastor Rick that you would bless him and his wife as they come up this week pray God that their stay here would be an encouragement to them and to us Lord we pray that it would be good for them and for our church blessed brother cam as he preaches as well we pray oh God that you would encourage your people here over this next month's Time Lord we pray that you would work across this country there are many churches this day where the doors are open the gospel is being preached and we pray that the spirit of God would attend the preaching of the word of God and apply it to the hearts of the hearers to your people encourage them chastise them do whatever is necessary Lord and for those who are not your people those who have not clothed with Christ we pray o God that this would be the day of salvation thank you for the churches within this community that are open this day and that are preaching the gospel bless those pastors those ministers as they fill the pulpits and as they bring your word to the people Lord we know there are many many buildings with the deemed Church on the door that are not your churches that do not preach the gospel we pray oh God that you would have mercy upon our nation we know that there are many churches elsewhere in the world that have already met today and some that will meet yet later on in other time zones we pray that you would bless the preaching of the word all across the face of the Earth and Lord where there are churches that are being persecuted because of false religions surrounding them or because of evil magistrates we pray that you would bless your people and protect them and watch over them and encourage them and give them perseverance and patience to continue we pray oh God that you would arrest the magistrates of the earth that are opposing your church and we pray that you would even save a great many of those who currently are persecutors of the church the way you did with soul of Tarsus and Lord we pray for the magistrates in our own country Lord there are Christians in high places we pray that you would bless them and cause them to be Salt and Light there are others who oppose the church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ we pray that you would restrain them we pray o God that you would have mercy upon our nation and the the sins that this nation and that we are all part of guilty of we pray oh God that you would be merciful to us and that you would bring about a Revival in your church an Awakening on the street and we pray that you would continue to build the church here in Canada and cause a great multitude to be saved thank you for what you are doing thank you that Christ has promised to build his church and we know that none of his promises will fail we pray o God that you would bless us again this day as we worship you pray that you would continue with us throughout the day and cause your word to dwell richly in our hearts we pray in Jesus name amen for our next hymn let's turn to 154. hymn 154 in your Hymnal and stand again as we sing thank you [Music] [Music] this is [Music] foreign [Music] oh sweet dreams [Music] glorious [Music] delivery always [Music] you may turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6 for our morning scripture reading we will pick up where we left off last week so from verse 16 to the end of the chapter Matthew chapter 6 beginning in verse 16. moreover when you fast do not be like the Hypocrites with the sad countenance for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting assuredly I say to you they have the reward but you when you fast anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to men to be fasting but to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly do not lay up for yourselves Treasures on Earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves Treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there your heart will be also the lamp of the body is the eye if Therefore your eye is good your whole body will be full of light but if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of Darkness if therefore the light that is in you is Darkness how great is that Darkness no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and Mammon therefore I say to you do not worry about your life what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body what you will put on is not life more than food in the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly father feeds them are you not of more value than they which of You by worrying can add one cubit to his stature so why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the field how they grow the neither toil nor Spin and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these now if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you or you of little faith therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for after all these things the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble amen let us pray Father in heaven we are all prone to try and take our future into our own hands when we know that we can do nothing to direct the future and we know that you are in control of all things help us oh Lord to rest in your Sovereign power and to know that you have our good in your heart and that you care for us and look after us continue with us us in worship this morning I pray in Jesus name amen for our last team we'll turn to Psalm 84. see as in Charlie 84c and here we will sing the last three stanzas four to six of Psalm 84. [Music] oh my God [Music] come on [Music] here [Music] Jesus Christ [Music] foreign [Music] with me in your Bibles to the book of First Kings First Kings chapter 18. First Kings chapter 18 God willing will 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 may 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 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 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 Bales now therefore send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of ashra who eat at Jezebel's table so Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the 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 the prophet of the Lord but Bales prophets 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 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 oh 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 free is a God either 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 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 than 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 sat 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 Keyshawn and executed them there amen well let us pray a 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 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 that we see in First Kings chapter 18 and that you would affect us for good further conform us under the image of your beloved Son and may it not be the case if there's a divided Allegiance in our heart with reference to the 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 Jesus name amen 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 and it's in its immediate context if you go back to First Kings chapter 16 you'll notice that the man Ahab becomes king if he got 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 first 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 10 Northern tribes of Israel and then the two Southern tribes of Judah so that happens in First Kings chapter 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 Jared bohem jeroboam him he wants to out sin him so it says that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter daughter of eth Bale King of the sidonians and he went and served Baal and worshiped 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 bail in Samaria which is in the confines of Israel again this man is wicked and then we notice according to chapter 17 at verse 1 and Elijah the tishvite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab as the Lord God of Israel stands before whom I stand there shall not be do nor Reign 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 170 1 out of nowhere we don't get any biographical sketch Elijah was from you know he's a Tish fight he was married to Mrs Elijah he had several children and they 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 stand 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 rat she follows on the heels of his father amre and these other kings in the north that were vile in fact Ahab increases that wretchedness in terms of co-opting bailism 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 First Kings chapter 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 is 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 in the gates of Hades shall not Prevail against it so as we look at First 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 so I want to look at two things this morning first the meeting with Ahab in verses 1-19 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 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 three we have Ahab and then there us Prophet called Obadiah and 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's behind the scenes and then he's got Elijah's uh challenging the false prophets on Mount Carmel just because Obadiah doesn't have the the ability that an Elijah does doesn't mean that Obadiah is defective it doesn't mean that he's inferior he is affecting change from his position of ability he is affecting 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 three 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 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 water and now we have Obadiah and Elijah meet together in verses 7 to 15. and essentially Obadiah says I don't want to go to Ahab and tell him that you're present because that doesn't usually work out well for the persons who go tell about 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 in Elijah sometimes he does it with a John the Baptist outside the 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 man 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 of an 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's present I want to look at this and then we move to the contest 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 all that Ahab said to him is that you o troubler of Israel if you ever heard things out of people's mouths that are so outlandish and just so horrific and so so 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 trouble of Israel notice how Elijah responds to that it ain't me that co-opted bailism it ain't me that brought bailism 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 owe trouble of Israel verse 18 he answered I have not troubled Israel but you in your father's house have and that you have forsaken the Commandments of the Lord and have followed the Bales now therefore send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel the 400 and 150 profits of bail and the 400 prophets of ashra 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 trouble 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 bailism and brought it into the northern kingdom and don't miss this reference to the 400 prophets of ashra 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 in this glorious Fair 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 ashra sit at Jezebel's table indicates that Jezebel along with her husband Ahab are financing these false prophets and they are financing these false prophets 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 at the threat of coercive government so that's the stage it has been set 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 30 30 to 40. but no this 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 the the Mount Horeb where God met with the children of Israel Mount Carmel is in paganville Mount Carmel was close to phenicia which was bail 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 worshiped there but that had fallen to disrepair now it's the place where Baal is worship Davis says in Egyptian records from the second millennium BC Mount Carmel is called holyhead suggesting it was a sanctuary in the annals of Assyrian King shamanese are the third 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 Bale is able to Reign and this Bale is able to fertilize our crops so we're going to add bail 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 to scale 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 the last benefit that will help you in your 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 a brother read in the air and you can't serve God and man you can't add one God to another God and think that everything is going to be okay seek first the kingdom of God in 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 a 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 win 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 bail 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 purpose 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 ashra we have no sort of conviction or thought that the prophets of ashra 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 he 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 we serve the the living and true God of course we serve the God who made The God Who the God who governs and The God Who redeems and the God who brought us into Covenant sort of unity with him why why this challenge again I'm going to lean on Davis here Davis reasons why they might want to follow bail first of all Bale has Royal sanction Ahab and Jezebel are in the basket for bail you're going to follow your King on this you're going to follow his wretched wife on this if if Ahab wants to change directions religiously in the nation then then you better follow your cane as well they had the appeal of tradition this wasn't the first time that Baal had been worshiped 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 oring after false gods they they think that the God can meet their need they think in a situation like this well well if Baal is the storm God and we we stand in need of rain then it makes perfect sense to express our needs to Baal and to hope that he will reign 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 our felt needs the 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 that suffice to say that one of the reasons or one of the ways that Baal was worshiped was through fornication the idea being is that when the worshipers fornicated the idea was is that Baal would then take ashra as her 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 21 B 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 he's upsetting the Apple car there might have been a class of people there in Israel that said you know what why why are you messing with the status quo why are you disrupting the situation why why are you calling for religious Fidelity we we have a bigger problem namely we need 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 could fix your needs so they answered 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 and left a prophet of the Lord but Bale'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 bailists put their sacrifice on the Altar and then the uh the the yah West which is Elijah will put his sacrifice on the altar but don't put any fire under it now Brethren if uh 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 bail as a subclass deity might possess in other words what's his job description well I'm over the storm well then ought to be easy peasy for you to send down lightning and consume that offering consume that sacrifice so the the the the details are quite simple in terms of the actual contest and then 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 bail as you would be want to do right it's time for sacrifice it's time to see it's time to show yourself bail 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 we can confirm that you're true so that all these Israel's Israelites will in fact choose this day that they will no longer halt between two opinions that they will rather follow bail 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 Bill from morning even till noon saying oh bail hear us yeah 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 you know serving and learning your your or earning your way in this world but but in terms of religious devotion we can't fault the bailis for for not having an attention to religious devotion from from morning until noon they're engaged in this from morning until noon they are trying to try and prove their God that he is in fact God and they show this kind of fervor again not here to brow beat 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 bailist can come before something fake if the bailers can give their fervent 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 bail verse 26 they say Oh They'll 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 increase their devotion they increased their 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 well we have to be very careful that we always approach AS nights it was always super kind why is kind and nice contrary to truth why is kind a 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 as not nice especially when we get to the end at the brook Keyshawn you're going to lose your mind then but 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 bit as busy commentators tells us tell us that this probably means he is defecated he's mocking a brother this morning in in the confession study read from Isaiah 46 it talks about Belle 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 was sort of rocked 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 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 it impuning him as not being nice it's not representing our lord well he'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 John the Baptist of Elijah the Tish boy 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 to 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 we we just 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 at 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 costume 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 it's pathetic isn't it that someone would serve a false god with that kind of rigor that someone would be that committed to to false certain lies that somebody would actually cut themselves and Reign blood upon themselves from themselves to try to invoke their God what was fun or a 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 they spent a day in the presence of Baal invoking him for to to send his fire and to consume their sacrifice this wasn't a you know a 10-minute shot in the in the dark here you know bail if you're there send down fire and and we'll know that you're true and and then we can all go home and and praise praise Baal from whom all blessings fall 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 1 15 and 135. the gods of the the Nations the gods of the Heathen they have eyes but they don't see their 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 evidence is that it's not the case that we're you know atheists that we're just these blank slaves no man has a religiosity about him because God made him in his image but what he does with that religiosity shows and 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 aw 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 won and all fail as Bales worship did that a 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 ashra doesn't bring this it is a Fool's errant to invoke Baal for Redemptive benefit that's what A.W pink underscores in this particular place and 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 calm the air let's 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 the the true prophet of the Living God he wants the benefit of Israel he wants them to stop with Baal he wants them to stop with ashra he wants them to stop at the futility of idolatry he wants them to to come there 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 The Altar and the sacrifice they were near the sea they got sea water they put that on the altar 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 not you know whatever your favorite card game is and you took that's that's deck of cards and you 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 car 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 is a 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 horror they're not on Sinai they're not in the 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 Bale'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 dowsing 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 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 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 I want you to note the brevity of his prayer now 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 his back and you know give it a crank and and then he must perform well in the minds of the Bayless Yahweh is 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 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 what is what do we expect oh well well they're good you pray well then let me give it to you right 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 Baal 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 for 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 even pray from morning till noon he certainly doesn't dance around the altar he certainly doesn't gash himself with a knife and lands and then pour out the blood on him he doesn't engage in that kind of folly and frenzy why because the power and the story is not Elijah the power and 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 have done all these things at your word Hear Me O Lord hear me that this people may knows 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 a factual prayer according to James in James chapter 5. the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much who's in James's 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 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 bailists could say Well when it came to us Lancing ourselves and bleeding on us that was the decisive moment when we did that Bale stepped in when we showed that we were serious then Bale 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 Bayless I want the asterites 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 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 living true God he is the prophet for the living and true God therefore his veracity his 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 so 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 them or wants us 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 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 we saw in the Book of Leviticus after the detailed legislation concerning sacrifice in chapters Wanda one to six and then the priesthood being set aside chapters seven to eight 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 the 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 ashra is worthless but it also is an act of Grace when God sends fire down on that day here in First Kings chapter 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 ashra I am the Living God this was an endorsement of what you see in the levitical system when that fire comes down and and approves or 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 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 he is he is ordained namely the Redemption that is bought in the blood of our savior saying so this was a demonstration of his godhood but it was a demonstration of his savior Hood and the fact that he received Sinners unto himself and then that ends or we end then on the punishment of the false prophets verse 40. and Elijah said well I'll 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 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 sees the prophets of Baal do not let one of them Escape so they seize them and Elijah brought them down to the brook Keyshawn and executed them there the biblical warrant for that is Deuteronomy chapter 13 I'm not advocating that pastors today find all the dirty rotten Bayless and cut them up down by the Brook Keyshawn 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 we said that's pretty harsh and we hear about Calvin and his episode in servitus and I think we've probably got a lot of that wrong but if you notice know anything about uh church history there was a man by the name of Sir Vitus that was executed for denying the Trinity at the time that Calvin was sort of a main man in 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 in Elijah's day a false prophecy see what happens today if you go get your arms set you you fall out of a tree and you break your elbow and you go into the doctor and he missed sets it and he misrepresents her 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 idolatry 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 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 hear uh 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 upon Idol the effect of idolatry upon the worshiper is given in verse 8. those who make them are like them so is everyone who trusts in that do you want to be like Baal do you want to be like ashra do 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 bail coming to our Rescue It is an exercise in futility so listen to The Prophet's question if you were 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 Mamet have you looked around the world recently and said how many more billions of dollars do people need I I don't know a lot about money I don't know a lot about you know a million dollar 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 chop change nowadays but 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 too so so it becomes a task and a chore and then you think they want more oh 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 ashra 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 they'll 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 your 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 sin less 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 we're on our priorities to be it ought to be with God most high listen to Matthew Henry the service of God in 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 in 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 a Biblical warrant for it traveling I may die I may never come back and if I 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 I is worth everything Christ is all together lovely he is Chief among ten thousand don't Terry 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 bail 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 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 but 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 sinner there's an ad 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 [Music] praise God [Music] creatures [Music] 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 well please be seated for a brief time of meditation