The Life of Elijah #4: Carmel
CCEA
School of Discipleship
September
28, 2025
Quick note: We will NOT be
meeting next week. The entire School of
Discipleship has the week off for the Men’s Retreat.
Homework
How many of you read chapter (5) for today?
Can two people share with us one thing you were encouraged by?
We are not going to spend a lot of time on the homework today,
I’ve got a lot to cover…
How are you doing with your Bible memory verses?
(James 5:16–17
NKJV) —16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man avails much. 17 Elijah was a
man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain;
and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
If we’re not careful, we can start thinking that Elijah was a
superman. Or maybe at least like Chuck
Norris.
Video: United HealthCare Lunch vs. Chuck Norris
But Elijah wasn’t “Chuck Norris”, he was an ordinary fellow, just like you
and me.
Introduction
God has been preparing Elijah
After warning King Ahab there would be no rain…
Elijah went through seasons of training and refining at Cherith and
Zarephath.
Last week we saw him raise the widow’s son from the dead.
We talked about how it might even be a picture of a dead nation, drifting
far from God, being brought back to life.
Now we see the biggest event of all.
18:1-19 Finding Ahab
: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.”
:1 in the third year
In our timeline, we’ve seen that Elijah was praying for a drought for six
months before he confronted Ahab in 1Kings 17.
It’s now been three years after that
confrontation.
The drought has lasted for 3 ½ years.
Elijah is a person of whom we expect to see show
up in the last days during the Tribulation period.
(Malachi 4:5 NKJV) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
We think he will be one of the “two witnesses” of Revelation 11.
(Revelation 11:3–6
NKJV) —3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will
prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are
the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the
earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth
and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed
in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so
that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over
waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as
often as they desire.
Notice what the “witnesses” do – including calling down fire from heaven
and stopping the rain.
Also notice the length of their ministry – 1260 days, or, 3 ½ years.
:2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine
in Samaria.
:2 severe famine in Samaria
During this drought, Elijah, who is from Tishbi, spends time at Cherith,
then at Zarephath.
He now shows up in the vicinity of Samaria, the capital of the northern
kingdom.
:3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of
his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly.
:4 For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that
Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and
had fed them with bread and water.)
:4 Jezebel massacred the prophets
We don’t have the actual account of this event recorded, just the mention
of it.
But this does give us a little better idea about who Jezebel was. She was not very “friendly” to the prophets
of Yahweh.
:3 Obadiah feared the Lord
Obadiah – “servant of Yahweh”
This is NOT the fellow who wrote the book of Obadiah.
Lesson
In the world
Side Note: You are going to see some “Lessons” in red on the screen
today. These are NOT quiz alerts. Today those all come at the end. Pay attention.
We are to be in the world, but not of it.
Obadiah is a good guy. He feared Yahweh greatly.
The tip off isn’t just in his name, but in what he does.
He’s a good guy working in a bad world.
Kind of like Daniel working in the Babylonian government
of Nebuchadnezzar.
I don’t think Obadiah got his position for any reason other than he was
good at his job.
He held his position for wicked Ahab despite being a servant of Yahweh.
Paul wrote,
(Colossians
3:22–24 NKJV) —22 Bondservants, obey in all things
your masters according to the flesh, not with
eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the
inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
Let me share some good advice from Tom Hanks…
Play Video: Tom Hanks Advice
That’s really good advice. And it goes to a whole other level when you
are serving God in the world, whatever your job is.
You represent and serve Jesus.
:5 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.”
:6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way
by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
Ahab and Obadiah are out to look for places that have any kind of
vegetation to keep the king’s livestock alive.
:7 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?”
:7 my lord Elijah
The Hebrew word is adoni, as in adonai.
I find it interesting that Elijah was able to bump into Obadiah. What a
coincidence.
Obadiah knows very well who Elijah was.
:8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ ”
:9 So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant
into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
:10 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.
Elijah is at the top of Ahab’s “Most Wanted” list.
Ahab is blaming everything on Elijah.
You see this in politics today. It’s
nothing new.
Everything bad is the other party’s fault.
:11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here” ’!
:12 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.
For some reason, Obadiah thinks that God is going to play some kind of
cosmic joke on him.
He’s afraid that if he goes and tells Ahab to come and meet Elijah, that
something will happen to Elijah and Obadiah will be in trouble.
:13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the
prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets, fifty
to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
:13 I hid one hundred men
Keep this in mind whenever you hear Elijah making statements like, “I’m the
only one left…”
Obadiah had rescued at least 100 prophets of Yahweh.
We are going to find in chapter 19 there are way more than that.
:14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.” ’ He will kill me!”
:14 He will kill me!
Lesson
The Pessimist
When times are hard, we can fall into the trap of thinking that all of life
is bad and God is out to get me.
Illustration
The Optimist
Solomon wrote,
(Proverbs 15:15 NKJV) All
the days of the afflicted are evil, But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.
Be careful of falling into
the trap of thinking that everyone is out to get you and everything will turn
bad in the end. Just ain’t
so.
Sometimes we become like Obadiah, always afraid of what God is going to “do
to us”.
Paul said that to understand God’s will for our lives, we needed to give
ourselves totally to God:
(Romans
12:1–2 NKJV) —1 I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God.
When we let God have complete control of our lives, we
will prove to ourselves and others around us that God’s will is good,
acceptable, and perfect.
:15 Then Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I
will surely present myself to him today.”
:15 As the LORD of hosts lives
This is an interesting phrase, one which God Himself uses quite often.
You’ll see it show up in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and quite often in Ezekiel.
God is not dead.
Sometimes we need to be reminded of that.
Obadiah doesn’t need to worry because the Living God has sent Elijah to
meet Ahab.
:16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him;
and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
:17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that
you, O troubler of Israel?”
:18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s
house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have
followed the Baals.
:17 O troubler of Israel
We’ve talked about this issue of “whose fault” it is when we encounter
difficulty.
In Elijah’s day, the reason for the drought was because of God’s judgment
on the sin of Israel, the sin that Ahab led them into. But
rather than admit his own part in it, Ahab wants to point the finger at Elijah.
The Bible says:
(Proverbs
28:13 NKJV) He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever
confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Are you involved in having done something that was wrong? Are you admitting what you’ve done wrong, or
are you making excuses and blaming others?
:19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to
me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four
hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
:19 prophets of Baal … Asherah
Note there are two groups of “prophets”
It seems that language suggests that it is the prophets of Asherah that are
particularly close to Jezebel, the ones who eat at her table.
You’ll see why that’s important in a minute.
:19 gather all Israel
There is going to be a showdown, just like the classic westerns.
This showdown is going to be between Elijah, the prophet of Yahweh, and the
false prophets.
I found some interesting “AI” generated videos about what we’re about to
see, they’ll be in my notes.
Two Fun Videos:
AI Elijah vs. Baal (8minutes)
https://youtu.be/Z-yBf0vKeu4?si=j1eqERcEKwveATUo
Elijah as an influencer (:47)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EIS-oopYKfM
But I thought I’d stay with something tried and true to help set the tone…
Play Video: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Main Theme
So are you in the mood for an exciting
confrontation?
18:20-40 Carmel
:20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and
gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
F.B. Meyer writes,
From all sides the crowds are making their way toward this spot, which,
from the remotest times, has been associated with worship. No work is being
done anywhere; the fires are dying out in the smithy and the forge; the
instruments of labor hang useless on the walls; and the whole thought of young
and old is concentrated on that mighty convocation to which Ahab has summoned
them. See how the many thousands of Israel are slowly gathering,
and taking up every spot of vantage ground from which a view can be obtained
of the proceedings; and prepared for any extreme—from the
impure rites of Baal and Astarte, to the re-establishment of their
fathers’ religion on the dead bodies of the false priests![1]
:20 Mount Carmel
Play “Elijah and Carmel map” clip.
Elijah has gone from Samaria to Cherith, to Zarephath up north, and now is
heading to Carmel.
Mount Carmel is located on the coast near modern Haifa. There is a monastery
on top of the mountain.
On the west you can see the Mediterranean Sea. To the east, you can look
down the Jezreel Valley, the most fertile, productive valley in Israel. The
Jezreel Valley is also known as the Valley of Megiddo.
The Kishon river flows alongside the base of the mountain.
Carmel – “vineyard of God”, “fruitful field”
Alfred Edersheim wrote in the mid 19th
century that there was a place on the mountain that bears the name El-Mahrakah, “place of burning” (or in the picture “The
Sacrifice”), and it’s there that Elijah would have his confrontation.
There’s a Carmelite monastery
there, and they have records that several medieval pilgrims testified that
there was a circular stone altar next to a cistern. The place was venerated by both Jews and
Muslims.
They’ve also got a cool statue of
Elijah killing one of the prophets of Baal.
The spot is 1700 feet in altitude
above the Mediterranean Sea.
In Israel, that
qualifies as a “mountain”
There’s a viewing platform on the roof
of the monastery where you can see the Jezreel Valley on one side, and the
Mediterranean Sea on the other side.
:21 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.
:21 falter between two opinions
Elijah issues a challenge to the nation.
Lesson
“Undecided” is not an option
The button at the elevator gives you two options either “up” or
“down”. There is no “undecided”.
You are either “for” God or “against” God.
There is no place for not being sure. To be “undecided” is to be decided
against the Lord.
David wrote,
(Psalm 86:11 NKJV) Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk
in Your truth; Unite my
heart to fear Your name.
I don’t want two opinions in my heart. I need to choose.
Joshua said,
(Joshua 24:15 NKJV)
…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me
and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
:22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD;
but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
:22 I alone am left
This is not actually true.
Obadiah already said that he had protected 100 other prophets.
We’ll find out in chapter 19 there are even more, lots more.
:22 Baal’s prophets are …
I’ve never noticed this before.
Apparently the 400 prophets of Asherah did not show up.
Other than the initial invitation for them to come (vs. 19), you do not
hear them mentioned again.
Some have suggested since they were the ones who “eat at Jezebel’s table”, that
Jezebel overrode her husband’s order and asked her prophets of Asherah to stay
home.
Elijah goes on to say…
:23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for
themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood,
but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the
wood, but put no fire under it.
:24 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.”
:24 the name of your gods
Baal was the supreme deity among the Canaanites and the Phoenicians.
He was the storm god and bringer of rain. He was also the god of fertility,
and there were sexual aspects to the worship of Baal.
If any “god” should be able to send lightning (fire), Baal ought to be able
to.
Asherah was a word that was used as the name of a Canaanite fertility
goddess, as well as the wooden poles that were carved to symbolize her.
The Hebrew word Asherah is found forty times in the Old Testament, and most
of those times it’s translated “wooden image”.
Since the 1920s, more than 850 terracotta female figurines have been found
throughout Israel and Judah, all dating back to the time of Elijah.
:24 the God who answers by fire
We think of this as the first challenge between Yahweh and Baal.
Yet the actual “challenge” has been going on for 3 ½ years.
Yahweh has shut off the water supply from heaven, the very thing that Baal
was known for.
:25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for
yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your
god, but put no fire under it.”
:26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and
called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear
us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar
which they had made.
:26 from morning even till noon
Alfred Edersheim gives us this description:
Ancient writers have left us accounts of the great Baal-festivals, and they
closely agree with the narrative of the Bible, only furnishing further details.
First rose a comparatively moderate, though already wild, cry to Baal; followed
by a dance around the altar, beginning with a swinging motion to and fro. The howl then became louder and louder, and the dance
more frantic. They whirled round and round, ran wildly
through each other’s ranks, always keeping up a circular motion, the head low
bent, so that their long dishevelled
hair swept the ground. Ordinarily the madness now became infectious, and the
onlookers joined in the frenzied dance.[2]
: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.”
:27 Elijah mocked them
These prophets have been going through their religious hoo-haw for several hours now. Elijah decides to have some fun
with these prophets. The language here gives us a little bit more flavor:
Cry aloud – or, “yell a little louder”
he is meditating – siyach –
meditation, musing. (NLT) Perhaps he is deep in
thought
he is busy – siyg – a moving away, dross; “He’s in the
restroom”
he is in a journey – derek – way, road;
“maybe he’s caught in traffic!”
he is sleeping – if they just yell a little louder, perhaps they
will wake Baal up.
:28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with
knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.
It was part of the Baal rituals for the priests to cut themselves and
bleed.
:29 And when midday was past, they prophesied
until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no
voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
:29 the offering of the evening sacrifice
The time of the Jewish evening sacrifice took place every day between 2:00
p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
This is not a special revival “church” service.
It’s a regular church service, what should take place every day.
If you think that God only works in “special” times, you’d
be wrong.
God also shows up at regular times.
:30 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.
:30 Come near to me
Elijah is going to issue a series of commands to the people, all of which
are designed to restore the true worship of Yahweh.
:30 he repaired the altar of the LORD
Apparently there had been an altar on this
mountain to Yahweh.
This one probably dated before the Temple in Jerusalem.
Being a “mountain”, Carmel was a “high place”. Not all “high places” were used to worship
other gods.
God’s desire when Israel conquered the land was for the nation to set up a
single place of worship, which was eventually done in Jerusalem (Deut. 12).
I believe the intent was for there to be a single place where the truth of
God was guarded and shared.
But that doesn’t mean that Yahweh wasn’t truly worshipped anywhere except
Jerusalem.
Solomon worshipped Yahweh at the high place at Gibeon.
:31 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.”
:31 Elijah took twelve stones
Lesson
Bigger than you think
Years before Elijah, when Jeroboam split the original kingdom of Israel, he
was followed by ten of the twelve tribes.
This would be the northern kingdom of Israel. Their capital would
eventually be in Samaria.
The southern kingdom was known as Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem.
Yet Elijah reminds the people that God’s thoughts toward Israel have never
changed. God’s Israel was made up of
twelve tribes, whether the people realized it or not.
When Elijah rebuilds the altar, he uses twelve stones, not ten (like the
kingdom he was in).
The church too is a little bigger than some people realize. Sometimes we can get so closed-minded that we
think only our own little group is correct.
Illustration
The story goes that a person died and went to heaven. While Peter was showing the man around
heaven, they came to an area that was surrounded by a wall. Peter told the fellow to be quiet as they got
close to the wall. The man wanted to
know why. Peter said, “Well, behind that
wall are the Calvary Chapel people, and they think they’re the only ones up
here.”
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not
saying that all roads lead to
heaven. The Bible does not teach that
you can get to heaven through Buddha or Mohammed.
The Bible makes it clear that we can only get to heaven through Jesus
Christ. We can only have eternal life if
someone pays for our sins, and Jesus did that by dying on a cross in our place.
But if a person will truly trust in Jesus Christ to forgive their sins,
they will go to heaven, whether they go to the Methodist, Catholic, Baptist,
Evangelical Free, or Calvary Chapel churches.
:32 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 seahs
of seed.
:32 enough to hold two seahs
Two seahs is about three gallons.
The trench would be used to hold the blood that ran off the sacrificed
animal.
:33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on
the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt
sacrifice and on the wood.”
:33 Fill four waterpots with water
If these waterpots were similar
to the ones that Jesus used at the wedding in Cana (John 2 – and they
don’t have to be), then they were typically 20 gallons each. Four waterpots
would be about 80 gallons of water.
Where did they get all this water in a time of severe drought?
They weren’t that far from the Mediterranean Sea, or …
The medieval sources said there was a cistern on top of the mountain near
the altar.
:34 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.
:34 Do it a third time
Let’s do some more math…
Four water pots each time, done three times. That’s twelve water pots full of water.
That too was reminiscent of the twelve tribes of Israel.
About 240 gallons of water has just been dumped on the sacrifice.
Elijah is perhaps being a little over- dramatic. But it makes the point.
If the wood on this altar burns, it will only be because of God.
Alfred Edersheim was a Jew from Austria trained in the Talmud and the Torah.
He later converted to Christianity around 1845. He is renowned for helping the
church to understand the Bible in the light of its Jewish roots.
He suggests that perhaps the pouring out of the water on the sacrifice was
a picture of Israel’s cry for mercy, a little like a Jew washing in a mikvah
before coming into the Temple in Jerusalem.
:35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench
with water.
: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.
: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.”
:36 at the time of the offering
It’s almost like Elijah is taking the people back to church, back to the
Temple, back to the usual time of worship.
:36 Lord God of …
Notice how long Elijah’s prayer is.
It’s Elijah’s longest prayer yet, 30 words in Hebrew.
We talked last week about how long Elijah’s prayers were.
Short prayers are okay with God.
(This last week I’ve had what I’m hoping is a little bit of a breakthrough
on one of my most difficult prayer requests – something I’ve been agonizing
over for the last seven months.
Somehow I’ve got this notion that I no longer need
to be crying and agonizing over the situation, but to simply hand it to God,
and stand behind Him to watch Him work.
My prayers have been a bit shorter on this thing. We’ll see..)
:38 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.
:38 the fire of the Lord
fell
Most likely in the form or lightning.
Keep in mind that this is not a “stormy” day. This is in the middle of a
drought. Next week we will see that there wasn’t a cloud in sight.
Unlike last week’s miracle of raising the dead, this is not the first time fire
has come from heaven.
When Moses consecrated the Tabernacle, fire came “from the Lord” and
consumed the offering. (Lev. 9:24)
(Leviticus 9:24
NKJV) and fire came out from before the Lord
and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people
saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
When David purchased the threshing floor of Ornan, and made sacrifice on
the land that would one day hold the Temple… (1Chr. 21:26)
(1
Chronicles 21:26 NKJV) And David built there an altar to
the Lord, and offered burnt
offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of
burnt offering.
When Solomon dedicated the Temple (2Chr. 7:1)
(2
Chronicles 7:1 NKJV) When Solomon had finished praying,
fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices;
and the glory of the Lord filled
the temple.
: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!”
:39 The Lord, He is
God
The people turn back to the worship of Yahweh.
Part of me looks at what Elijah does, and I want to make excuses as to why
we shouldn’t be doing what Elijah does. Yet I think in a sense this is exactly
what ought to be happening in our lives.
I wonder if Ahab was admitting that Yahweh was God as well. It does say “all the people”
Remember what Elijah’s name means (“My God is Yahweh”)
And now the people are saying something very close to Elijah’s name.
:40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of
them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought
them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.
:40 the Brook Kishon
Play Kishon map clip
The Brook Kishon runs along the base of Mount Carmel and empties into the
Mediterranean.
:40 executed them there
This is what God commanded the nation of Israel to do (Deut. 13:5)
(Deuteronomy
13:5 NKJV) But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall
be put to death, because he has spoken in order to
turn you away from the Lord
your God…
Keep in mind, the people are all with Elijah on this. They have been deceived for years and now
that their eyes are opened, they realize the danger of
following Baal.
Does this sound harsh?
It may, but let me come back to this idea in a moment…
Jesus said,
(Mark 9:42 NKJV) “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to
stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck,
and he were thrown into the sea.
God cares about what people believe.
God is very serious about people who lead others away from Him.
But as Christians, we don’t go killing them.
Quiz Alert
If you’ve been writing other things down thinking they were quiz alerts,
forget them. This is where the real quiz starts. There are eight points here, all under the
title of …
Lesson
Revival
“Revival” means to bring something back to life.
I hope we will see Carmel as “revival”
Jesus said this to the church in Ephesus:
(Revelation 2:4–5
NKJV) —4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left
your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you
have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I
will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you
repent.
When I look at what happens on Mount Carmel, I don’t just see a nation
coming back to life, but I see a picture when a person who has gone astray
comes back to God.
I’ve come up with eight things from our study. This is not an exhaustive list. There’s lots more in this chapter we could
apply.
The order is based on our chapter, but I find that sometimes revival
doesn’t always follow the same order.
1. Make a choice
You can’t follow both “gods”.
There can only be one master.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 6:24 NKJV) “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.
Note: the “Quiz Alert” is gone from the screen, but these next seven points
are all on the quiz…
2. Repair the altar
It involved the whole nation, twelve stones.
For us, it involves my whole person.
The altar is that place of worship.
That involves your personal time with God, but it also involves
being with God’s people.
(Hebrews 10:25 NKJV) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but
exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day
approaching.
In other words, get back to church.
3. Make the sacrifice
Our sacrifice has already been made.
Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins.
He died in my place.
I need to get back to the cross, and remember that Jesus
died for me, for my sins.
It’s kind of like baptism – we go under the water to
identify with the death of Jesus on the cross.
4. Wash
For years I’ve been stuck on the idea that the 12 waterpots were just to
prove there was no funny business going on.
But there’s a deeper picture going on.
There should be a sense of washing involved, like the Jewish mikvah.
I think about how Jesus the Groom washes us in the water
of His Word. (Eph. 5:25)
(Ephesians 5:26 NKJV) that He might sanctify and cleanse
her with the washing of water by the word,
I also think about the cleansing that comes when we
confess our sins –
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
It’s one thing to acknowledge that Jesus died for me, but
it’s another to receive that forgiveness and be cleansed.
5. Prayer
Elijah’s prayer was short, but to the point.
If you want to be restored to God, you need to ask Him.
Say to Him, “God I need you”
6. Fire falls
I’m not sure we should expect lightning.
But perhaps the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist said,
(Matthew 3:11 NKJV) I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I
am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell on the church and there were
“tongues, as of fire” on them (Acts 2:2-4)
(Acts
2:2–4 NKJV) —2 And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they
were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided
tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Have you asked God to fill you with His Spirit? He will.
We need to be filled over and over again. I pray this daily.
Spurgeon said to student preachers that if they wanted people to come to
their church, then the preacher ought to get on fire for God, then the people
will come and watch him burn.
7. God is enthroned
We say to Him, “You are my God”
Elijah = “My God is Yahweh”
It’s making Jesus your “Lord”, making sure He’s on the throne of your life.
8. Kill the old life
Those old prophets of Baal must go.
And no, I’m not talking about getting a gun.
Paul wrote,
(Colossians 3:5 NKJV) Therefore put to death your members
which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and
covetousness, which is idolatry.
As Bob was sharing at the baptism Wednesday night that this
is a daily discipline. Each day we wake
up and ought to say something like, “It’s a good day to die … to die to our sin
nature”
What does that mean?
Illustration
Wild Chickens
George was having trouble getting his neighbor to keep his
chickens fenced in. The neighbor kept talking about chickens being great
creatures, and as such they had the right to go where they wanted.
George was having no luck keeping the chickens out of his
flower beds, and he had tried everything.
Two weeks later, a friend noticed George’s flower beds
were doing great. The flowers were beginning to bloom. So
the friend asked George how he managed to keep the birds away. “How did you
make your neighbor keep his hens in his own yard?”
George replied, “One night I hid half a dozen eggs under a
bush by my flower bed, and the next day I let my neighbor see me gather them. I
wasn’t bothered after that.”
Sometimes we believe that lie that our sinful nature, like those chickens,
just can’t be controlled. We feel like our
flesh is just going to go where it wants to go.
But the truth is, we have quite a bit of say in what our
sin nature does.
As Christians, Jesus has set us free from the bondage of
always having to do what our flesh cries out to do.
(Romans 6:6 NKJV) knowing this, that our old man was
crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that
we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Sound too harsh? Not really.
Some of it is as simple as learning to “just say no” to myself.
Sometimes it involves me learning to practice James 5:16 –
“confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another…”
I pray that God may give us revival.
All of it.
Quiz
From the lecture (10pts):
Seeing Carmel as Revival
1. Make a choice
2. Repair the altar
3. Make the sacrifice
4. Wash
5. Prayer
6. Fire falls
7. God is enthroned
8. Kill the old life
Homework
Read Swindoll: Chapter 6: A Man of God … A Promise of God
Memorize/review James 5:16-17
Next week we take a break – This is due to the Men’s Retreat
Blessing