And we'll likely revisit this
a time or two before we consider the rest of the chapter. But
the first thing I wanna talk about in this passage is faith. In 1 Kings 18, 21 through 41,
the Lord teaches us something about faith. Elijah proposes this scene knowing
that if it doesn't go like he thinks it's going to, if it doesn't
go the way he wants it to go, he's a dead man. And remember how that recently
we talked concerning faith. We talked about having skin in
the game, and I don't know another way to say that. That may be
a crude a crude phrase, but true God-given
faith, saving faith, has skin in the game. In other words,
there's a commitment, regardless of cost. And you see that here in Elijah.
The Apostle Paul said, I'm going to Jerusalem. And the only thing
I know about what's gonna happen there is that there's gonna be
bonds and afflictions. There's gonna be trouble. And
he said, I don't count my life dear unto myself that I might
testify the gospel of the grace of God, Acts chapter 20. I believe
we read that this morning. That's what I mean. Saving faith, believes in spite, believes at
whatever cost, believes without regarding the cost. It has nothing
to do with it. You can't not believe. When everything
is on the line, like it was for Elijah here, you believe and
you do according to the word of the Lord. If you believe that
God is God, you're committed to it. It's the nature of God
himself. If you're not committed to him,
you just don't believe. You don't believe him. It's that
simple. You're committed to his word
as Elijah was here. You're committed to his glory
as Elijah was here. Your life is Christ, to live
is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 121, we reckon that
if he died for us, we ought to henceforth not live unto ourselves,
but unto him which died for us and rose again. Second Corinthians
5.15. would gladly bear the offense
of the cross. Would you have the courage to
do what Elijah did here, you reckon? I can answer that question. I can answer it for you. If God gave you the courage,
then you'd have it. If he didn't, where are you gonna
get it from? Your heart, your character, your
nature, If he doesn't give it, then we'll
be like Simon who denied the Lord in order to save himself. But Simon was bold in the book
of Acts when the Lord gave him the courage to speak for God. But what was the basis of Elijah's
courage? It wasn't strength of character.
We see Elijah soon after this running from Jezebel Wishing
he was dead, he begged God to kill him before Jezebel could. He was running like a scared
rabbit. What is faith, though? It's simply believing God. Faith is not thinking that everything's
gonna be okay, like religion talks about. It's not the power
of positive thinking. It's knowing that for those in
Christ, everything's gonna be okay because he's our ark. The
floodwaters of God's judgment fell on him and we're safe. It's believing God. It's believing
the word of God. It's believing what God said.
It's that simple. Look at verse 36 again. 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 of Israel,
let it be known this day that you're God in Israel and that
I am your servant and that I have done all these things at your
word. Elijah didn't just make this
stuff up. He didn't just decide to set this thing up and do it
the way he thought the Lord might honor. The Lord told him what
to do. And at his word, at the word
of God, he did it. Remember Luke chapter five, when
the Lord entered into one of the ships, he entered into Simon
Peter's ship. And it says, he prayed him that
he would thrust out a little from the land. And the Lord sat
down and taught the people out of the ship. Now, when he had
left speaking, he said to Simon, launch out into the deep and
let down your nets for a drought. The disciples, Simon and whoever
he had on his boat with him had been fishing all night long.
And that morning, the Lord came to the boat and sat down, and
as always, there was a multitude waiting for the Lord to say something,
and he taught them from that ship, and he said, let's go out
into the deep water, when he was done speaking, and put your
net down. And Simon answering, said unto
him, Master, we've toiled all the night, and taken nothing. Not only were they empty-handed,
they were wore out. Nevertheless, at thy word, I'll
let down the net. And when they had this done,
they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net break. That's not just a good day on
the water like we might have or might not have. That was their
livelihood. Elijah didn't make this thing
up. God told him exactly what to do, and he believed God with
skin in the game. If y'all think of another way
of saying that. And acted accordingly. Faith works. And I'm not saying
some silly religious saying that faith is successful or whatever,
faith work. I'm saying faith works. Faith trusts Christ. Faith hears
him speak and believes him and acts accordingly. Remember what
Mary said at the wedding in John chapter two? Whatever he says
to you, do it. That's faith. Whatever it is,
it's him. Now what was the object of faith
in this scene? What did Elijah believe God about? If you believe that God made
the heavens and the earth, you're right, and it's good to believe
that. It's right to believe that, but
that's not the gospel. Elijah believed God regarding
the sacrifice, regarding the burnt offering.
That's faith. Faith has one object, the Lord
Jesus Christ. It doesn't, faith is not everything.
You know, the Lord's just gonna work out and work everything
out. You know, it's all, you know, my loved one is not gonna
die because I believe. That's not faith. Faith's not
believing that God's gonna do what you want him to do. Faith
is believing God. It's believing he's gonna do
what he said he would do. That which concerns the Lord
Jesus Christ being offered for the sins of his people, that
is what Elijah believed God regarding. And you must too. You must. And I must. And when I say that
the Lord Jesus Christ was offered for the sins of God's people,
his sheep, his elect, that's exactly what I mean. The success
of that sacrifice. The fact that God answered by
fire and showed everybody who God is and what that sacrifice
represents. His honoring of that offering
because it was offered by faith in the Son of God. The success of that. Think about
this now. Offered by faith in the Lord
Jesus, understanding that the blood of that bullock was not
the true sacrifice that day. It was a type or picture of the
true sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. All of the Old Testament law
set forth Christ. We're gonna read about that.
If you would turn with me in Hebrews chapter 10. The Old Testament saints were
saved the same way we are, by Christ and what he accomplished
on Calvary. His perfect sin offering, they
were saved the same way. They weren't saved by the law
either. The law was a schoolmaster, Paul
said, to bring us to Christ, and that's what it does. If we're
his, Hebrews 10.3, These sacrifices were offered
by faith in Christ and what He would accomplish centuries later. Hebrews 10.3, but in those sacrifices,
there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. In other
words, they didn't just offer a sacrifice and then that was
it. Never again, it was done every
year. The sin was there and the sacrifice that was ordained to
be offered on a yearly basis. So that remembrance, they were
reminded. That's what it was. Their sins
weren't put away by the blood of an animal. They were reminded
of something every year. For it is not possible, could
this be clearer? Verse four, it is not possible
that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Wherefore, that being the case, seeing that that's clearly so,
when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice an offering
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. You see,
it's not that God didn't want him to offer those animals, he
was the one that ordained the offering of them. But it was
not those animals that put away their sin. "'A body hast thou
prepared me.'" Verse six, "'In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, "'thou hast had no pleasure.'" Not in that sense. "'Then,' said
I, "'when God is unsatisfied with regard to your sin, "'that's
a problem for you.' "'But then,' Christ said, "'I come.'" In the
volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will O God. Above when he said sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest
not neither hadst pleasure therein which are offered by the law
then said Christ Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh
away the first, the first covenant. How did he take it away? Not
because it was wrong, but nobody could be saved that way. That he may establish the second. That he may establish the new
covenant. And by that will, by God's will
being satisfied by Christ, we're sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, once. You notice for
all is in italics, it's not there in the original language. But
for all those for whom he died, true. So that bullock in our
text represented Christ. And those Old Testament sacrifices
were offered by faith in Christ, in the promised Messiah who would
come. And as John the Baptist testified of the Lord Jesus,
this is the significance of what he said. He said, behold, there's
the lamb of God that does take away sin. You've never seen a
lamb take away sin yet, but that one does, that one will. That's
what he was saying. But notice in our text that the
successful sacrifice of that offering, the fact that God accepted
it and responded to what Christ did, pictured by that bullock,
was not good news for everybody that day. It wasn't good news
for everybody. Verse 40. Take the prophets of
Baal, don't let one of them escape. Nobody gets away. And slay them. Those who despised the Lord Jesus
Christ were as those who despise him now. When they find out who
God is, isn't that the matter that was settled that day? Who's
God? And when they find out who God is and that Christ is the
only acceptable sacrifice for sins, it's not gonna be good
news for them. But for some, in verse 39, when
God gives you eyes of faith, think with me about this. Let's
rejoice in this. When God gives you eyes, that's
what we're talking about tonight, faith. There were two opinions, but
there was just one God. And when you see, Christ and what He accomplished
on Calvary when you see God's wrath poured out upon the offering. When you see how that God poured out His wrath against
His people upon His only begotten Son and that as a result, their
sins are put away and they're forever saved, your reaction
will be their reaction. He is the God. He is the God. He's my God. The centurion, when
he saw the Lord Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, and he
heard the words that came out of the Lord's mouth as he hung
there, you remember what that centurion that was there said?
Truly, this man was the Son of God. When the thief was given the
faith that we're talking about tonight. He said, Lord, remember me when
you come into your kingdom, you're the God. Thomas, when was it
that Thomas fell on his face and confessed to Christ, you're
my Lord and you're my God. When he saw the print of the
nails in his hands, when the Lord Jesus, and we'll
read that, I believe, in a minute. But it was when he saw the crucified
and risen Son of God, that's what that bullock represented. And God, answering by fire, is
God Almighty, the Father, accepting and being satisfied with that
sacrifice. by faith in the Lord Jesus. And
as in our text, the preaching of the cross was the saver of
life to some and the saver of death unto others. So shall it be today. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
2, and let's read that. 2 Corinthians 2.14. Please Now thanks be unto God which
always causes us to triumph in Christ And maketh manifest the savor
of his knowledge the knowledge of Christ by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet saver
of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. To the
one we are the saver of death unto death, and to the other
the saver of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things? For we are not as many which corrupt the word of God,
But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak
we in Christ. It was Christ being who he said
he is that sealed the everlasting doom of those who rejected him. But it was Christ being who he
said that he is that was the salvation of those who by the
grace of God believed on him. But as Paul said there in 2 Corinthians
2, whenever Christ is preached, it's a sweet savor unto God.
It's victory, it's a triumph, he said. Faith again now has
one object, the person of the crucified and risen Son of God. Remember what the master said
to Thomas? when he held out his hands and
showed Thomas his hands and his feet and his side. Look with
me at that in John 20, 27, please. And you think about our text
as we're reading this, what happened there. John 20, 27, then said, the Lord to Thomas, reach hither
thy finger and behold my hands and reach hither thy hand and
thrust it into my side and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, my Lord and my God, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed, blessed are they
that have not seen and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did
Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written
in this book. But these are. You could probably tell by how
often I quote this. This is one of my favorite. These are written that, so that
you might believe. What's the object of faith? What's
the point of everything? that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might
have life through his name. Is this not what happened in
our text? The people saw God pour out his wrath on the sacrifice,
the substitute for sinners, and they said, the Lord, he is the
God. He's the holy God, because when
sin was found even on his well-beloved son, he would not spare him. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? He's the mighty God because even
the wrath of God could not consume this sacrifice, but the sacrifice,
the invincible captain of our salvation consumed the wrath
of God. He's the God of all grace because
that precious blood that was shed, those nail-pierced hands
have taken our sins away. and we're saved by the free and
sovereign grace of God in Christ. He is the God. May this scripture
that we just read, John 20, 31, be fulfilled in our ears tonight
in that we, looking at what God wrote, these
are written, May we believe on the Son of God and have life
through his name. Amen. As I said, we'll look at
this passage, I believe probably for another two or three lessons. There's so much in it, but you
see the faith that God gives. The faith that God gives. At
least a glimpse, maybe. Rejoice that we know the same
Savior.