Well, we come in our looking
at the account of Elijah in First Kings 17, 18, 19. We come to
the well-known account of Elijah on Mount Carmel with the prophets
of Baal. And some of you may know that
even Felix Mendelssohn wrote an oratorio. And you know, I've
told you before, Christine and I love singing choral music.
We happen to be singing it very, very soon. It's full of the scriptures. And whilst those that we sing
with may just be religious, nevertheless, I just love singing it. It's
beautiful music, but it's the words of scripture. It's a very
well-known account. But what is it to us? Is it just
a stirring historical account? You know, there's Elijah. How
many of them? Just him. One on his own. I,
even I only am left, he said. And the prophets of Baal? 450.
The prophets of the groves that eat at Jezebel's table? Another
400. Nearly a thousand of them and one of him. Is it just a
stirring historical account that he and his God triumphed? He
and the truth triumphed in the end. Oh, let's do that. Let's
be faithful and then God will triumph in the end. You see,
that's what so many people preach. It's just an account to stir
us up, to be faithful. And if we're faithful, God will
send his fire from heaven and, you know, we'll be applauded
as the people who win in the end of the day. Is that what
it's for? No. The Scriptures, what are they
written for? Paul tells us, they are written for our learning,
upon whom the ends of the earth are come. What learning is there
for us today? In this account, of Elijah and
the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel best part of 3,000 years
ago. What learning is there for us?
There was a conflict between the religion of Baal brought
by that wicked queen Jezebel into the household of Ahab who
did evil in the sight of the Lord and its purpose was to destroy
the religion of God. What's true religion about? What's
it about fundamentally? It's about eternal life. It's
a matter of eternal life and eternal death. That is what it's
about. That's why we bother. If it was
just about being good people, there's plenty of ways to be
good people. This that we're talking about is about eternal
life and eternal death, eternal condemnation. This is written
for our learning. This was a conflict then between
Baal religion with all of its strength, the king, the palace,
the queen, the prophets, all of them. The wealth of the land
was on the side of Baal worship, Baal religion. And on the other
side was biblical truth. Biblical, gospel truth with just
Elijah. I mean, it wasn't just Elijah,
but to him, he thought that he was the only one that was left.
It's very relevant today. Look at the forces of religion
amassed all around us. It calls itself by every name
you can imagine. I'm not going to waste time naming
them. But even that which calls itself evangelical Christianity,
and even that which calls itself reformed evangelical Christianity,
I tell you, I'll tell you, on the strength and authority of
this book, it is in the camp of Baal worship as it appears
today. In these days, there are people
going to reformed Baptist evangelical churches, claiming to worship
the true God. They're in the same camp as these
Baal worshipers were in these days. That's exactly where they
are. And I'll prove to you why from this passage of God's word
and what God does as a result of sending Elijah. It's very,
very relevant today. It's relevant to the gospel you
believe, and the church you attend, and the God you seek to serve,
and the outcome of your religion. As I've said, it's about eternal
glory, or about eternal condemnation. That's what it's about. What
do you believe? What's the gospel you believe?
What's the church that you attend and associate with? Who's the
God that you seek to serve? Where is your religion leading
you. Where is it going to lead you?
Come that day that it is appointed for man to die once and then
the judgment, where is it going to lead you? I've got four points
this morning. The issue. What was the issue
that was at stake? Secondly, the challenge. The
challenge. Thirdly, the failure of falsehood,
and fourthly, the success of the truth. Those four things.
First of all, the issue. Look with me at verses 17 and
18. This is 1 Kings chapter 18, verses 17 and 18. And you know,
God had told Elijah, now is the time. Three and a half years
of drought have finished. Now is the time. Go and meet
King Ahab. Surely he'll kill you. No, God
said go and meet him because the showdown is coming. Go and
meet him. It came to pass and we saw this man Obadiah who was
a true believer. in the household of Ahab, and
he'd hidden prophets, and he met Elijah, and he arranged for
Elijah to meet Ahab. And here they are, they meet.
Ahab meets Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab says
to Elijah, are you he that troubled Israel? Are you he that's been
troubling Israel? How had he troubled Israel? It
had stopped raining for three and a half years. There was a
severe drought, a severe famine in Samaria. Sore famine, it says,
dreadful famine. The animals were dying for want
of food. There'd be no rain. There was
only groundwater that was left where you could find it. There
was no rain falling out of the sky. The rivers had dried up.
The brooks had dried up. He caused that to come as far
as Ahab was concerned. Here he is, this man Elijah,
who called down the drought. He'd said, as God the Lord lives
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years,
but according to my word. Are you he that troubles Israel?
Is there not an acknowledgment in that? An unconscious acknowledgment
on the part of Elijah that he was on the side of the God who
controls the weather? Was there not an acknowledgment
on the part of Ahab that Elijah was on the side of the God who
can stop the heavens from raining? Are you he that troubles Israel?
He's saying, are you on the side of the one who alone has the
power to stop the heavens? Why hadn't the prophets of Baal
called on Baal to make it rain. They tried but they'd failed.
Elijah's on the side of the God who has his own way because he's
sovereign over all things. Well this is, how does this apply
to today? We who hold to the true gospel have troubled those
whose gospel is compromised with human reason. You see, gospel
means good news. But their good news is compromised
with all sorts of human reason. It's compromised with it. And
what have we done? We've pointed out its error.
We've pointed out its weakness. We've pointed out the fact that
it doesn't work. You know, people don't like it
when you tell them that things don't work. People don't like
it when you tell them, ah, you know, they're quite taken with
a certain device and you say, I'm sorry, it doesn't work. This
thing that you're in favour of, it doesn't work. It fails. It
doesn't work. Elijah had pointed out that the
religion of Baal didn't work. It wouldn't accomplish its purposes.
No. Truth hasn't disturbed the true
Israel of God. Truth hasn't. The true Israel
of God is the true people of God. The truth of God's gospel
hasn't disturbed the true Israel of God. But modern idolatry has. Modern idolatry has. The commandments
of the Lord, he says, you have forsaken the commandments of
the Lord. What are the commandments of the Lord? Oh, do you know
people preaching on this today, they would say, oh, you've stopped
obeying the Ten Commandments and all that sort of thing. Do
you know I don't think that's what it means? I don't think
that's... When he talks of the law of the
Lord and the commandments of the Lord in scripture, it's talking
about the whole revelation of God. It's talking about gospel
law. It's talking about gospel precepts. You know when the psalmist says,
Oh, how love I thy law, it is my meditation night and day.
He's not saying, Oh, how I love the Ten Commandments. He's saying,
Oh, how I love everything that God has revealed in his word
about how he saves sinners. Oh, how I love your gospel law!
Oh, how I love your gospel precepts! What have they forsaken? What
is it that they've forsaken today? These have forsaken the commandments
of the Lord. What is it that modern religion
Christianity, so-called, has forsaken. It's forsaken this.
It's forsaken sovereign grace. That it is of God who shows mercy. Not of the will of man, not of
the will of flesh, but of God who shows mercy. Read the back
of the bulletin. Two excellent articles, one from
a long time ago, one from Todd Neibert very recently. Sovereign
grace, what is it? It means God is absolutely sovereign. And what else? What else? Particular
redemption. What does that mean? It means
that Christ came to make atonement to save a particular people. Not everybody. Not to give everybody
a chance, but to absolutely, certainly save those the Father
gave him before the foundation of the world. Gospel law is the
message of Scripture. Do you know how we often summarize
it? You know what you remember? Tulip. You know that word? Tea. Total depravity. This book tells
us we, human beings, are totally depraved. All compromised religion
falls short of saying how utterly depraved is the human heart.
I said the Apostle Paul, in my flesh there dwells no good thing. Oh, he's a pretty decent chap.
We're always pumping people up, aren't we, and putting them on
a pedestal. No. The more the true people of God
know of their own heart, they know they're not getting progressively
more holy, they know what they are more and more by the revelation
of God, as sinners before the law of God. Unconditional election. How does anybody come to know
Him? By no other means than this. Show us your glory. Show me your
glory, said Moses to God, Exodus 33. What did God say in return?
Earthquake, wind and fire? No, no, no. He said this, I will
be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and compassionate on
whom I will be compassionate. Unconditional. Oh, God chose
his people because he saw that they would accept him. No, God
chose his people because he's a God of grace, of sovereign
grace. Limited atonement. He accomplished
the salvation of the people that he came to die for, alone. Irresistible grace, the Holy
Spirit alone, the Holy Spirit alone calls people out of darkness
into his marvelous light. And as Christ said to his people,
his people are kept. No one can snatch them out of
the father's hand. All of his people are kept. They
persevere to the end. His true people go on believing
him. That sounds like a lot of doctrine,
doesn't it? That sounds like a lot of complicated doctrine.
Do you know what it comes down to? Remember Happy Jack? Remember
the statement of Happy Jack? This is the testimony that sums
up everything doctrinally that's behind Tulip. I'm a poor sinner
and nothing at all. What's your testimony, Jack?
I'm a poor sinner and nothing, oh well haven't you done this
good Jack? No, I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all. But Jesus
Christ, he is my all in all. We sang it, the end of that last
verse of that hymn we just sang. Christ's satisfaction of divine
justice was only for his people. What was his name called? Jesus.
Why? For he shall save his people
from their sins. That's who he came to save. Who?
Isaiah 53. For the transgressions of everybody
that ever lived was he stricken. Doesn't say that, does it? for
the transgressions of my people was he stricken. That's what
it says. It never ever, this is what so many say today, and
this is a touchstone. Evaluate what you hear by this.
They say the death of Jesus Christ had the capacity to save the
whole world should they choose to believe it. That's not true. The scriptures don't say that.
He died for his people. He paid the penalty for his people. Oh, you're hyper-Calvinists then.
No, no, no. We declare this gospel to all
and to any who will listen, irrespective of age, race, language, whatever. We call them out by that message
and the Holy Spirit convicts and causes people, gives them
faith to believe it. No, the gospel is not a free
offer to the whole world. How can you say such a thing?
Oh, what a dreadful hyper-Calvinistic thing to say. No, it's not. It's
what the scripture says. It's a declaration. The true
gospel is a declaration of salvation accomplished to any and to all
who will listen without any distinction. Now, that is not hyper-Calvinism. And where that isn't clear, where
it isn't clear, the practice you will find in those churches
where that is not clear is focused on free will thinking, on ecumenical
associations. You look at you look at what
they do, they're always trying to get on with every man and
his dog if they call themselves Christian, whether it's any good
or not. Ecumenical associations, Arminian evangelism, their methods,
they become Arminian in the way they go about trying to reach
people, they do all sorts of gimmicks and have all sorts of
fancy things, it's all because of the gospel that they believe.
And this is where they have forsaken the commandments of the Lord.
Why is it important? Why is it important? I'll tell
you why. Anything less than the Gospel
of Scripture will not save your eternal soul. That's the truth. That's why it's so important.
That is the issue for which God raised up Elijah. Remember, Messiah
must come from this people. He must come from this line of
people. He must come from that. And the
idolatry of Ahab and his household was threatening that. And God
raised up Elijah to bring the people back from that idolatry. To establish, to re-establish,
to go along again with the true worship of God, centered on the
sacrifices in Jerusalem, which were a picture of how God would
save his people from their sins. And he raised up Elijah to challenge
this idolatry. This is the issue. This is why
it's so important. Well, let's have a look at the
challenge then. Verses 19 to 24. So Elijah says this. He says it's not me that's troubled
Israel, it's you in forsaking the truth, in forsaking the true
gospel law of God. Now therefore send to all, send
out a message, gather to me all Israel, representatives of all
Israel to Mount Carmel. This was a promontory of land
that stuck out into the Mediterranean Sea. send and gather to me unto
Mount Carmel all the prophets of Baal 450 of them and the prophets
of the groves 400 of them which eat at Jezebel's table in their
false religion and their false worship so Ahab sent unto all
the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount
Carmel so they came very quickly and they're all gathered there
in verse 21 You see, the word of God is very economical, isn't
it? You know, if you were reading this in a novel, it would take
about ten chapters to cover those two verses. But he just says,
he called for them, they came, and Elijah speaks to them. Elijah
came to them and said, how long will you halt between two opinions?
This is Elijah now, addressing the representatives of Israel
that are gathered there at Mount Carmel. He says, how long are
you going to sit on the fence? How long are you going to remain
undecided? If the Lord be God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him.
And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto
the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's
prophets are 450 men. Let them therefore give us two
bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and
cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire
under. And I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood,
and put no fire under. And call ye on the name of your
gods. and I will call on the name of
the Lord. And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God.' And
all the people answered and said, it is well spoken." Here's the
challenge. Let's have an open test of which
is the truth. Let's have an open test. All
that called themselves Israel were gathered together. God's
people. Israel, the people of God. The
Israel of God. Galatians 6.16. Israel, the Israel
of God. Those that God has chosen for
himself. Those that name the name. Yes, I'm a Christian. Yes.
Many, many people in these compromised situations would say, yes, I'm
a member of the Israel of God. Yes. And he says this, you're
halting between two opinions, where you are, listening to what
you're listening, supporting what you're supporting, you're
halting between two opinions. You think you believe the truth,
but passively, you're going along with falsehood. Now, make up
your mind. Make up your mind. How long are
you going to sit on the fence? How long are you going to halt
between two, if The Lord be God, follow him. But if Baal, follow
him. And when he says follow him,
he means be utterly committed to him. Be 100% committed to
him. Don't sit on the fence. If the
Lord be God, follow him. What does that mean today? It's
the Lord. Do you notice it's in small capitals
in your Bible? If the Lord be God. You know,
that word Lord. Sometimes it's in lowercase,
capital L, lowercase O-R-D, and then other times it's in these
small capitals. I remain a prophet of the Lord,
L-O-R-D, verse 22. It's in small capitals. Jehovah
Jesus. If I was to summarize it as simply
as I can, it's God who is manifested in our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. If Jehovah Jesus, and what does
Jehovah Jesus do? He saves his people from their
sins. He saves his people. Those people
the Father gave, why are they his? The Father gave them to
him. When did he give them? Before the world was made. chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world. If Jehovah Jesus,
who saves his people from their sins, be God, be wholly committed
to Him. Whatever the cost to you be,
whatever it costs you, you pay for other things, we all make
financial choice, whatever it costs you be 100% committed to
Him. Oh, but I've got my life to live
and I've got this to do and that to, if Jehovah Jesus is the true
God who saves His people from their sins, be wholly committed
to Him. But if the Jesus of religion
If the easy-believing Jesus of religion, who offers salvation
to everyone, if they'll only accept him, if he's God, then
be wholly committed to him. Let's abandon this isolation
and let's go and join the crowds. And don't look at the numbers,
says Elijah, verse 22. Oh, I like to be where there's
a good crowd. I like to be where there's enough
people there to sing the hymns with gusto. Don't look at the
numbers. What does Elijah say? He stood
for the truth. He wasn't as alone as he thought,
as we'll see in coming weeks. I even, I only remain a prophet
of the Lord. But look at Baal. Look at the
worship that Jezebel's introduced and that Ahab supported. Nearly
a thousand prophets of Baal and of the groves. No, don't look
at the numbers. Oh, says some, I can't leave
my church, even though they're legalists, even though they preach
a false gospel, because where else would I go? Don't go anywhere,
I'll tell you that later on. Let's put both gospels to the
test, shall we? Let's put both, just like this
was a challenge, you know, you get a bullock, I'll get a bullock,
you build an altar, I'll build an altar, you put wood on, don't
put any fire, and the God that answers by fire, let him be God. Well, let's put the gospels to
the test today. What does gospel mean? The word
gospel means good news of eternal life. What does that mean? It
answers this question. How should a man be just with
God? When it really comes down to
it, Job was in severe affliction. God had allowed Satan to afflict
him with cruelty. He'd lost all his family, all
his wealth, and he's sitting in dust and ashes. You imagine,
you know, life's good and then everything is taken away. It's
happened to people in our lifetimes, in different parts of the world
today. They're stripped of everything. Stripped of absolutely everything.
You know, Marguerite will remember Germany in 1945 and how that
great strong country was basically absolutely stripped, flattened
of everything and people lost everything they had ever had
at that time. As happens in all sorts of wars.
That's the way it is. But when it comes down to it,
what really matters is how should a man be just with God? Doesn't
matter what you've got. Doesn't matter what you possess.
It's, do you know that you've got eternal life? Do you know
that it is well with my soul? When I go, when I leave this
life to go to meet God, is it well with my soul? If a man die,
shall he yet live? Which gospel secures your eternal
life? This is how critical it is. The
Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, who were believers,
who were compromising the true gospel, he said this, if anyone
comes to you, don't mind if it's an angel from heaven, rank makes
no difference whatsoever. If they come to you and preach
any other gospel than that which I've delivered to you, let him
be accursed." Oh, we should love everybody, shouldn't we? Oh,
shouldn't we be kind to everyone? That's what Paul said when it
comes to the truth of the gospel. Let him be accursed. Because
do you know something? There's an awful lot of hypocritical
delusion around. Matthew 7, 22 and 23, people
will say, said Jesus, in that last day, many, many religious
folks, many, many who thought they were believing evangelical
Christians will say, Lord, Lord, haven't we done this in your
name? And haven't we done that in your
name? Look what we have done in your name. And he will say
to them, depart from me. I never knew you. I never knew
you. Isn't that going to be a shocking
day for some? It's going to be a day of blissful happiness and
glory for the redeemed of the Lord. But for those who think
they're righteous in what they have done and what they have
stood for, they're going to get a dreadful shock on that day.
Only one can be the true God. They can't both be the true God.
It's the one then that answers by fire, that manifests his power
clearly before the people. Well said, they said. Let's do
likewise. Let's put the gospel of most
evangelical religion, even reformed evangelical religion, to the
test, alongside the gospel of scripture. He noticed how sacrifice
was central to both the false and the true. The prophets of
Baal, they had their altars. They had their animal sacrifices.
They had their fire to burn the animal sacrifices, just like
the true religion did. Don't think that false religion
will be obvious. It won't. Jesus said, Satan is
so subtle he'll deceive even the elect if that were possible,
but it isn't. No. Sacrifice was central to both.
They both had the idea of something dying in the place of another.
They both had the idea that you needed blood for atonement to
be made. So many gospels sound similar
to the one true gospel, but beware. Let's look then, thirdly, at
the failure of falsehood. Verses 25 to 29. Elijah said
to the prophets of Baal, choose you one bullet for yourselves
and dress it first. Cut it in pieces, butcher it
first. For ye are many, and call on the name of your gods. You
go first. There are so many of you. You go first. I'll give
you the best chance. You go first. There are many
of you. Call on the name of your god, and put no fire under it. And they took the bullock which
was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of
Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any
that answered. And they leapt upon the altar
which was made. They danced around on it, they jumped up and down
on it. And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them
and said, cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is talking,
or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or perhaps he's sleeping
and must be awakened. And they cried aloud and cut
themselves after their manner, because they thought that cutting
themselves and letting their own blood out would have some
effect. till the blood gushed out upon them, and it came to
pass when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time
of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither
voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. The failure
of falsehood fleshly attempts to invoke a divine response. No fire fell. No, the God that
answered by fire let him be God, but no fire fell. What does that
mean? I'll tell you what it means for
us today. There was no accomplished salvation. That's what it means.
no successful salvation. That's what it means. That's
what it is for us. Anything other than sovereign
grace and particular redemption leaves the salvation of a sinner,
and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, it
leaves it dependent on the sinner's decision. What's the sinner going
to decide? What's the sinner going to do?
Jehovah Jesus, we read of Him, Jehovah Jesus, the true God,
manifested in Christ, Isaiah 42 verse 4, He shall not fail. What Christ came to do, He accomplished. What God sent Him to accomplish,
was accomplished, completely, to the uttermost. So, it says,
He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by Him. All
that the Father gives will come. None of them will ever be lost.
But the false gospel secures nothing, nothing at all. It all depends on the will of
the flesh. That's what it depends upon. Ultimately, those who preach
this gospel that pleads with people to accept Jesus, it all
depends on the will of the flesh. But flesh is utterly depraved,
total depravity. No, all that the father gives
to the son will come, and those that come he will in no wise
cast out. No one can come unless the father draws him. But the
false gospel secures nothing, because it depends on the will
of the flesh. And Elijah mocks its impotence. He contrasts it
with the true God. Verse 27, it came to pass at
noon that Elijah mocked them. and said, cry aloud for he is
a god, either he is talking or he is pursuing. He mocked the
impotence of their religion. He mocked what they were doing
and how hopeless it was. He even He said, look, perhaps
if this God of yours is truly a God, surely he'll come and
do something. Perhaps he's asleep. Do you know
what it says about the true God of Israel? Psalm 121, verse 4.
He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Isn't
that comforting? The God that keeps his people,
Israel, doesn't go to sleep. He doesn't go to sleep. It's
not like when they called upon Baal. He doesn't go to sleep.
Every religious scheme, whatever its name, if it's not the gospel
of God, will fail to bring down the heavenly fire. Those that
are standing up preaching a gospel today that is not the gospel
of sovereign grace, in particular redemption, the fire of God will
not fall upon it. What's that fire of God? It's
the fire of salvation, accomplished, effectually. He gets the job
done. Their salvation is what Isaiah
calls a covenant with death. Just let me read these two verses
in Isaiah 28 to you, verses 14 and 15. Wherefore, hear the word
of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is
in Jerusalem. You think you're the people of God. You rule this
people which is in Jerusalem, because you have said, we have
made a covenant with death. We're not going to be touched
by death. Our salvation is okay, and with hell we're in agreement.
when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall
not come unto us. We'll escape the judgment of
God, for we have made lies our refuge. Their gospel is a gospel
of lies. It's not the truth. And under
falsehood have we hid ourselves. That's what it is. All those
that do not preach that gospel of sovereign grace and particular
redemption, it's a false gospel. It's a covenant with death. It's a refuge of lies. Let's
look at the success of the truth. Verses 30 to 38. Verse 30, Elijah
said, to all the people come near unto
me and 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 and to whom
the word of the Lord came saying Israel shall be thy name and
with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord and he
made a trench and I'll abbreviate it but he filled it with he got
them to fill it with 12 barrels of water it's a drought where
did they get 12 barrels of water from Where did I tell you Mount
Carmel was? It was sticking out into the
sea. They went and got 12 barrels of seawater and poured it all
over it. Could anybody, could the best
magician ever cause a fire to arise in such a thing that was
so soaked with water? Of course not. It's completely
beyond any human capacity to make it happen. And Elijah comes
and prays in the name of the God of Abraham and Isaac and
Israel. that he might make it known that
he is God that these people might see that he is the Lord God and
the fire of the Lord falls and doesn't just set fire to it it
vaporizes it it utterly consumes it he repaired the altar he repaired
the altar you know in the true gospel of God's grace read Hebrews
Hebrews chapter 13 we have an altar says Paul. Do you know what our
altar is? You go into churches and they've
got an altar rail and they've got the holy of holies and only
the priest is allowed to go behind that place. It's mimicking Old
Testament worship which was all fulfilled in Christ. Here in
this room, we have an altar. You know what our altar is? It's
Christ and Him crucified. He is our altar. And the 12 stones? Why 12 stones? According to the
sons of Jacob. What's that telling us? God saves
according to electing grace. Why Jacob? Jacob have I loved. Esau have I hated. Have I left
to himself? Have I left alone? Jacob have
I loved, electing grace. God saves according to his sovereign
electing grace. The sinner-turning sacrifice,
the justice-satisfying sin-debt payment on an altar representing
those for whom God designed it in electing grace. That's what
we have here. Verse 32, it was in the name
of the Lord that he built that altar. In the name of Jehovah
Jesus, God who is manifested in Christ, in the name of the
God of salvation which is accomplished, and make it utterly beyond any
possibility of human trickery. No, they couldn't produce trick
fire. And then verse 36. Look at verse 36. And it came
to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. That
was the time. At the time of the offering,
at the right time, what was the right time? Galatians 4 verse
4, When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem those who
are under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Isn't the scripture glorious? Isn't the Holy Spirit's revelation
wonderful? No piece of human literature
could come close to designing what God has revealed by his
spirit in the gospel of his grace at the right time. And he prayed.
To whom did he pray? People pray, but to whom do you
pray? Pray to the God that answers prayer, the God who alone can
answer prayer, the God of his word. Pray to the God who is
the sovereign, gracious God of salvation for sinners. For what?
for the honor and the glory of God, for the vindication of Elijah
as his servant, that everything he'd done was according to God's
word, which cannot fail, because God had said it's going to happen
this way, so Elijah was raised up because it wasn't happening
that way. Confirmation of his holy word,
and to what end? That this people, Israel, may
know that you alone are Jehovah Jesus, the God who saves his
people from their sins. and with no further screaming
or leaping or dancing or cutting, the fire of the Lord fell and
vaporized the sacrifice. What a dramatic difference between
the impotent, useless outcome of the false and the effectual
outcome of the true. I hope somehow God's Spirit has
caused you to see in stark contrast the difference between the impotent
outcome of a false compromised gospel and the powerfully effectual
outcome of that which is true. And when the people saw it, verse
39, they knew, they saw what they saw, and they fell on their
faces in worship, and submission, and repentance. the Lord, Jehovah
Jesus, He is the only true God, He alone. This is indeed true
God. What's the New Testament equivalent
of that? We say with the Apostle John, 1 John chapter 5 verses
20 and 21, we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus
Christ. This is true God and eternal
life. Little children, keep yourselves
from idolatry, from idols. False prophets, what did they
do with them? They killed them. Verse 40, they killed them. Are
we to go out killing false prophets? I don't think so. Jesus said,
my kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would
take up swords, but they don't because it isn't. No, we don't
kill them literally. Then it was against the law of
Israel. They were guilty of death. They needed to be killed then.
What do we do now? Kill the pernicious doctrine
that leads only to eternal death. Don't support it. Have no truck
with it. Don't compromise with it. I speak
to those listening to this on the internet. Are you in a church
situation? You know to be compromised with
modern Baal worship. You know, false religion in scripture
is Babylon. is Babylon. Revelation 18 verse
4, I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her. Come out of where? Come out of
Babylon. Come out of false religion, my people, that you be not partakers
of her sins, of compromise. It's the same thing as Baal worship,
and that you receive not of her plagues. I tell you, again, to
anyone listening, it's better to listen to the truth on your
own, via the internet, than to continue to associate with the
peddlers of a false, impotent, so-called gospel that saves no
one from their sins. Oh, that would be hard. Yes,
I know it will be hard. But pray that God will guide
you to others of like mind. Make contact with them by whatever
means you can. If you're close enough together,
gather together to meet and to listen to God's servants preach
his word to you. And if you can, move to somewhere
where there's a gospel preaching church. I know they're few and
far between, but that is what this is saying to us. The God
that answers by fire is the God that truly saves his people from
their sins through the gospel of his grace.