May it please the Lord to bless
us together this evening as we turn to his word. Let us turn
to the first book of the Kings, chapter 18, and reading verses
36 and 37. The first book of the Kings,
chapter 18, and reading verses 36 and 37. 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 thou art God in Israel
and that I am thy servant and that I have done all these things
at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me. that this people may know that
thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart
back again. One thing is clear in the word
of God, and that is His people need confirmation from time to
time that they are worshipping the true God, the real God, and
not a false God. And therefore God brings his
people into various situations which demand a prayer like this. This prayer is not a long lengthy
prayer. It is a very short prayer but
it's a very precise prayer and it directs us to the clarity
that we need sometimes in our prayers to just speak very simply
and to come with that fervency that God would hear and God would
answer. Now we can perhaps imagine the
scene on Mount Carmel, all Israel gathered together 450 prophets of Baal, the 400 other
prophets and there is Elijah by himself. Now of course he
was wrong in thinking that he was the only one and not about
the needs of Baal but nonetheless it appeared that he was the only
one and he was therefore by himself, he was alone and very often in the life of
the people of God, they come into those conditions when they
are, as it were, alone. They're solitary. They have a
condition that needs to be dealt with, and it is between their
soul and God. And so it was here, on this occasion,
a very clear position that Elijah needed God. He needed God to
appear. He needed God to hear. And to answer his prayer, it
was a real time of testing, a real trial of his faith. It wasn't an armchair religion.
He was here with that great need. And as we read this prayer, we
can almost sense, can we not, the urgency of it when he says,
hear me, oh Lord, hear me. Yes, he needed God. to hear him
and God's to appear for him and to God to send answers of peace
and answers that would indeed convince the people that he was
worshipping the true God and not a false God. And you remember
the people were brought here to Mount Carmel and there was
that question, Elijah put to them, and it's a very fundamental
question really, he tells them, he asks them, how long halt ye
between two opinions? And we can recognize that what
he was pointing to was whether they were worshipping or considering
worshipping the true God or worshipping Baal. We may not have Baal to worship
today, but there may be many other gods in our lives which
we may be tempted to fall down before and worship. And so, Elijah
asks this pertinent question to them. How long, Horthy, between
two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. That was very clear, wasn't it?
And it's good when we have a clear word from God. to speak to our
hearts just like this. Now those people were there.
You would think they would all perhaps put their hands up and
say, well, we're going to follow the Lord, but they answered not
a word. They were silent. They were silent. And then it was, you see, that
Elijah came and said, I even, I only remain a prophet of the
Lord. And then he brings before them
this suggestion that there might be brought these two bullocks
placed upon the wood, no fire put under, and that there should
be that calling upon the name of Baal's gods, and he would
call on the name of the Lord. It's interesting to note, we
know of course the Lord was his God, but he says here, the name
of the Lord, and the God that answereth by fire, let him be
God. Now the people did respond now,
and they responded and said, it is well spoken. So there must have been a tremendous
amount of tension with all these people then at Mount Carmel to
see who was going to be the Lord. It appeared the people weren't
sure. That's why they said it is well spoken. And then as we
read in this account together, we know that Baal, all the worshippers
of Baal, were those that first of all tried to bring their dead
god to life that would bring down fire from heaven. Well,
of course, we know the answer. And we know how Elijah mocked
them when they failed to bring down any fire from heaven. And
they did everything they could. And it was not possible. Baal
was not a god. Baal was just a statue, just
an idol, dead, no life. And so, in the end, they And
when it came to pass, when midday was passed, and they prophesied
until the time of the offering and the evening sacrifice, it
appeared they'd been doing it for most of the day without any
success at all. And then we read, Elijah said
unto the people, come near unto me. And this was carried out
then at the time of the evening sacrifice. It's important for
us to think of that really. There was, every day, offered
up that evening sacrifice unto the Lord. And so here now, upon
this Mount Carmel, was the situation where Elijah was to offer up
this ox to be burnt and he was dependent upon fire coming down
from heaven. And in order to prove, without
any doubt, it was from heaven, he ordered that the sacrifice
should be covered with water. And not once, not twice, but
three times. It may not have been pure water,
it may have been seawater, because they were quite near to the sea
and we know there was, of course, a drought, there hadn't been
any rain for three years. But nonetheless, there it was, covered
in the water. And now it was that Elijah committed
the whole situation into the hands of his God. What a wonderful
thing it is to realise that we today still have the same God
to come to in our time of need. Elijah had a great need, didn't
he? He had a great need and the honour of his God was at stake.
And perhaps that is a very relevant consideration in our lives when
we may think that the honour of our God is at stake. The Lord
will hear and answer our prayers. The Lord will not fail us, but
the Lord will give us that true prayer as he gave Elijah. True
providing prayer. There was no doubt that God gave
this prayer and God gave faith to pray, faith to believe, the
Lord God would hear. And yet we can almost sense that
there was Elijah so concerned the Lord would hear his prayer,
the Lord would answer his prayer. And so he comes and he says, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and
of Israel, now then, he got the evidence that there was a God
who greatly blessed Abraham who greatly blessed Isaac and Jacob
who was of course called Israel and of course Israel the people
there were many evidences of God's wonderful appearing to
those three people and therefore he's able to come in some confidence
in this way Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel. Well, we
can pray, can we not? Today, in a similar way, we can
pray to that same God because the Lord is the same yesterday
and today and forever. I am the Lord, I change not.
Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. No, we come before,
bless God, the same God today that Elijah came before and Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob came before. We come before that same great
almighty God. What a privilege and what a favor.
And may we have that faith to believe the truth of this, to
believe that as the Lord appeared wonderfully for those people,
so the Lord can. appear for us in the day and
age in which we live. Now the great point really is
that when the Lord hears and answers prayer one thing is paramount
and that's this, God receives the honour and glory due unto
his great and holy name and whenever therefore God hears our prayers
and answers our prayers what a good thing it is that we are
able to speak about it and tell about it to bring honour and
glory to God for what he's done in graciously remembering us.
What a sad thing, isn't it, if we forget, if we pass on and
just accept a prayer that's been answered and then carry on in
our own lives. Well, here was Elijah then on
this occasion praying to this Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and
of Israel. And he said, his desire was,
you see, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel. He wanted the people to very
clearly understand that there was a God in Israel and that
God in Israel was the God of Abraham, Isaac and of Jacob and
that God in Israel was the God that he worshipped and that he
was praying to at this time when it was wonderful occasion, wasn't
it, to think there amongst all those people that Elijah was
praying to God with that effectual fervent prayer that the Lord
deigned to answer. And so he comes in this way with
this desire and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel. And then he also once it is confirmed
that I am thy servant. Now, how necessary that is in
our lives, that we are, each one of us, the servants of God.
In the Gospel Standard this month, there's an article by Mr Ransbottom,
and in it he points out there is sometimes those people that
think the servants of God only refer to the ministers. Well,
it doesn't. It refers to everyone who is
born again in the Spirit of God. his servants. We're all serving
him. And it's a good thing when we
realise the importance of that, the depth of it, how relevant
it is in our lives, that we can't run away and hide and think,
well, of course, I'm not a preacher, so I'm not a servant. Every one
of us who is called by grace is called to be a servant of
God. And Elijah required to know and
to have it confirmed that he was indeed, that it be known
this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant."
And what that really means is to know that he was God's servant,
and that God had called him, that God had blessed him, and
that God was his God. He wanted that confirmed again.
I wonder sometimes whether we are really concerned in our lives
to have the evidence of life in the soul confirmed by our
God. Now, one of the clearest evidences
of that is when the Lord hears and answers our prayers. The
Lord hears and answers our prayers and surely that is an evidence
that we are then one of his children and also therefore that we are
one of his servants. And I believe as the Lord may
bless us then with that confirmation Surely our desire should be to
serve the Lord. You see, a servant is one that
serves. To serve the Lord. We're not
to just disappear into our cubbyhole and just retire as it were. We
should seek earnestly to God as to what his will and purpose
is for us in our lives. So that we might be found serving
the Lord. We're all called, you see, to
a different area of service. We're not called to the same
one. But it's good that if we have that concern to be really
found serving the Lord. Now, of course, serving the Lord
brings with it difficulties, brings with it trials, brings
with it situations like this, where you see our faith is tested
and we come into situations where everything seems at stake. You
know, here with Elijah, if God hadn't answered him, what would
have happened? What would have happened? It
was a real time of need. Have you and I got those times
of need in our lives? When we really need God to answer
our prayers. Not something which is immaterial.
It's a real situation with us. And we cry to God, perhaps like
this, hear me oh Lord, hear me. There's an urgency. It's a great
blessing when the Church of God is urgent in their prayers, when
they join together and really pray. When there's not just a
form of words, but when there's reality in our prayers, yes,
and those prayers are to God. That's great, isn't it, my friends?
You might say that's obvious. Well, it's not always. You see,
sometimes people pray about other things and make insinuations
in their prayers, my friends. where? Before God. Are we praying
to God? Are we praying for His blessing
and that He may reveal Himself, that He is God and that we are
His servants? It's a very close line, isn't
it? It's a very important line to
observe here in a statement like this. And so here was this man
of God concerned then that it might be known this day Yes,
it wouldn't be any good tomorrow, because they're all the people
gathered together. He needed God to appear this day. Well,
wonderful, isn't it? If you and I are brought into
situations where we have a great need and we need the Lord to
appear this day, we need him to speak to us this day, and
our prayer is, oh, hear me, hear me, oh Lord. That was his great
concern. He didn't want to pray as it
were and not be heard. He desired that God might hear
and answer his prayer. And so he says, and that I am
thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy
word. What was he doing? He was following
the will of his God. Following the will of his God.
And that's an important consideration, isn't it? to come here and to
really desire to do those things which are in accordance with
the will of God. Because if we are doing that,
then I believe we can expect, humbly expect, God to answer
our prayers. But if we are not doing those
things which are in accordance with God's will, then how can
we expect God to answer such a petition? I have done all these
things at thy word." And you may say, well, what does that
mean? What it means is we have the
word of God, the Bible, which tells us, doesn't it? Those things
that we are to do, I've done all these things at thy word,
those things which God sets before us in his word, and what a blessing
it is if you and I have the answer of a good conscience the answer
of a good conscience to come in a place like this and be able
to say, you see here was an honest man and he was able to say to
all those people as he prayed to his God and it was quite clearly
he was praying out loud, it's recorded here and he said I have
done all these things at thy word. Yes he was able to tell
them that he followed the Word of God. He followed the commands
of God. He followed the precepts of God.
He followed the instruction of God. He'd done the will of his
God. Well, what a favour it will be
for us, my friends, tonight to be found like that. Humbly doing
the will of our God. You see, Elijah pondered his
life. You think he had a very comfortable
life? Well, he didn't really, did he?
He didn't have an easy life, did he? He didn't have a big
house to live in, he didn't have a great deal of variety in food,
and we can know what he had when he was by the brook Cherith.
And how the Lord provided for him, did he complain? No, he
was satisfied. When the brook dried up, the
Lord sent him somewhere else. Did he complain? No, he went
at the bidding of the Lord. He went at the bidding of the
Lord. The Lord, he had his confidence in God. There was a supply. for
his needs, he dried up. The Lord was with him still.
The Lord didn't forsake him. The Lord was with him. And so
we see here, the Lord was with Elijah on this occasion. And
he said, and I have done all these things at thy word. Well, it would be a comfort,
you know, if you and I have a clear conscience before God. we have
obeyed the word of the Lord. And I suppose we should not expect
answers to prayer if we have not obeyed the voice of our Lord. What a favour it is if the Lord
gives us power to do his will, power to walk in his way. Remember what the The Prophet
had said to Israel, when he'd asked them the question, why
were they haunting? And he said, if the Lord be God,
follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. It was a very stark choice, wasn't
it? One or the other. And you see, we really have the
same position today. We are either a follower of the
Lord, or we are a follower of the devil. And that's a very
difficult thing to perhaps assimilate, but it is true. You and I are
either following the Lord or we're following the devil. Well,
here was Elijah then speaking to his God, praying to his God,
crying to his God. I have done all these things
at thy word and then having Spoken like that, he says, hear me,
O Lord, hear me. Yes, perhaps we think of those
words, be not silent unto me, lest it shall be silent unto
me. I become like those that go down into the pit. When we
pray, are we concerned to get answers? Or if the Lord is silent to us,
does it not worry us? Are we just content to come to
a God who is silent? King Saul came to the God who
was silent to him. It's a very solemn position if
God is silent to us. And so here, was Elijah so concerned
that God would hear him. God would hear him that this
people may know that thou art the Lord God and that thou has
turned their heart back again is our concern tonight. Like
Elijah's was to hear that the Lord would hear us and that he
would Let us know indeed that he is the Lord God and that thou
art the Lord God. There's only one true God and
that's the Almighty God. And that's the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. My friends, you and I today are now walking
on the earth many, many days after this occurrence. Many,
many days after those patriots walked upon the earth. we have
the same God, the same God to come before. And what a blessing
it is then, if we come before that God, in the same way that
Elijah did, he came in faith, seeking that the Lord would look
upon him, the Lord would speak, or at least the Lord would appear
for him, and that this fire might come down. Now he didn't actually
ask for fire to come down. He didn't ask for fire to come
down. His great concern was that the people might be convinced
that the Lord was the God. That was his great concern. And
there was his sacrifice. And it would seem that the sacrifice
was there, but nonetheless, his great prayer was that it be known
this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant,
and that I have done all these things at thy word." His great
concern was that people might know that the God that he was
worshipping was the true God. Well, as we know, he finished
his prayer and what happened? Fire came down. The fire of the
Lord. It wasn't just any fire, as you
might say, it was the fire of the Lord. The Lord had heard. The Lord had given Elijah that
prayer of faith and the Lord was now bringing about the wonderful
answer to that prayer. The fire came down. It fell and
not only consumed the sacrifice, God worked so wonderfully and
proved without any doubt that this was the fire from almighty
God. It wasn't just the sacrifice. It was the sacrifice, but it
was also the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the
water that was in the trench. It was a complete burning. Everything was consumed. There
was nothing that was left. And what was the effect? What
was the blessed and glorious effect? And when all the people
saw it, they fell on their faces. They fell on their faces. And
they said, the Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the God. What an occasion it was. There
was then submission to Almighty God. They bowed down. There was the evidence that God
had heard and answered prayer. And as they had said before,
that it was well spoken, that these sacrifices should be put
up, built, and the one who consumed it by fire, that was the God. And so here it was, so clearly
evidenced, and they were moved. to come and say, yes, the Lord,
he is the God. Now, that was of course very
particular and very peculiar, but my friends, no less in our
lives today. In our lives today, we're just
like Elijah was a man of like passions as we are. He's just
the same human person. He needed God to appear for him. My friends today, you and I,
need the Lord to appear for us. He needed God to come and to
confirm to him that he was the Lord's servant and that he'd
done all these things at thy word and in like manner we desire
to know that we are God's servants and insofar the confirmation
is surely when we realize that the Lord has come and called
us. The Lord has come and spoken
to us. The Lord has come and encouraged
us. The Lord has made us spiritually
alive so that we know what Paul said when he said to the Ephesians,
and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and in
sins. Now surely we need to know and
may we have prayed perhaps almost in desperation. Hear me, O Lord,
hear me. that I may know that I am born
again in the Spirit of God, that I have been made spiritually
alive, and that I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour, that
One who has loved me with an everlasting love, that One who
has died upon Calvary to take away all my sins. It's the real
scent of our religion to know these things, and I believe the
Spirit of God moves us Like he moved Elijah to pray from our
heart, and with that great need, hear me, O Lord, hear me, that
we might know that the Lord is ours, and that the Lord is with
us, and the Lord is directing us, and the Lord is not leaving
us, nor forsaking us. And here you see was the great
need of Elijah. He needed an answer. My friends,
The people of God need an answer. See, when the Spirit works in
our heart, there is a real cry. A real cry to God. That God will
hear us. And that God will reveal himself
unto us, as he does not unto the world. The Lord revealed
to the people of Israel, here on Mount Carmel, that he is the
God. The Lord, he is the God. And so how important for us today
to know the truth of this in our hearts. Elijah desired it. He prayed for it and that the
Lord would hear him and that the people may know that thou
art the Lord God and that thou has turned their heart back again. Yes, their heart back again. Their heart had been taken, absorbed
by the fantasies of worshipping Baal. You see, Baal didn't answer
back. They could just do what they
wanted with regard to Baal. It was a very suitable religion
and their hearts had been moved by such an evil religion. They'd
really turned away from the true God, the living God. And so Here
was this real desire, and that thou hast turned their heart
back again. Well, perhaps that's needful
in our life. Perhaps we needed our heart to
be turned again to the Lord. Turned again to the Lord as we
may be brought to consider his great mercy toward us, his love
toward us, and we may have wandered away. We may have been tempted
by the devil. My friends, the devil is very
subtle. He doesn't lose any of his skill. He's very subtle to
bring temptations into our life. And that's why we have that wonderful
word, that wonderful prayer of the Lord Jesus gave to his disciples,
lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. these Israelites,
they'd been tempted to worship Baal. What was Baal? It was an
idol. There may be idols in your life
and my life. They may not be a physical Baal,
but there may be an idol in our lives which has turned our heart
away from God. And we followed, and what we
found is Yes, we're worshipping really the unknown God. And so
here was this desire that thou has turned their heart back again. Now, it's God that does that. It's God that turns our heart
back. We read, turn me, O God, and I shall be turned. Oh, my
friends, if we wandered off, if we become barren perhaps,
if we become hard-hearted, if we haven't got a tender conscience,
you know the Bible speaks of a seared conscience. A seared
conscience, that means as it were, hot iron has gone over
the surface, it has hardened it, toughened it. It's not soft,
it's not feeling. We may have got into that way.
And we live in a very difficult age, a material age, and there
are many things to turn us aside. And you see, the devil will say,
well, there's no harm in that, and you and I will get involved
in it. And then we'll find, very quickly, we become not tender-hearted,
but hard-hearted. And the things of God aren't
as attractive as they were. And the name of Jesus isn't as
precious as it was. And we find we've wandered away.
And we need the Lord to bring us back So here was his prayer,
and that thou has turned their heart back again. Well, if the
Lord comes with his power and turns our heart back again, to
see once again our true state as a needy sinner, and to look
to the Lord Jesus Christ as our only hope of salvation, and we
bow down as these people did, and they fell on their faces
and they said, The Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the
God. What a blessed time that was. What a time of strengthening
and bringing back. My friends, we have a record
here of this account to encourage us in the day and age in which
we live to realize that we, by nature, are no better than the
Israelites. We easily wander away. But oh, what a favor it
is to know the mercy of God. the favour of God, the blessing
of God, that He may direct us once again to reveal to us the
sins which do so easily beset us. You won't feel comfortable
with that. And as the Lord reveals that
to us, to give us that grace to come and to cast all our care
upon Him, believing that He cares for us, seeking that He will
hear us and revive us again. Bless our souls, that we may
be lively in the things of God, and be amongst those, as the
prophet said, to follow the Lord, not to follow Baal, not to follow
the poor idols of this earth, which will perish indeed, will
become just dust. The Lord God omnipotent reigns. The Lord God lives and reigns
forever and ever and oh may we and I be like Elijah. What was Elijah? I'll tell you
what he was. He was a true worshipper of the
living God. Now what a blessing if we are
favoured to be numbered amongst those who are the true worshippers
of the living God and come down to this position to be able to
confess as we fall down before our God and say, yes, the Lord,
he is the God, the Lord, he is the God, and to have known what
it is to have been blessed with this prayer and this prayer coming
from our heart, so desperate, so needful, hear me, oh Lord,
hear me, amen.