If you would, turn with me to
1 Kings this morning. 1 Kings chapter 18. First Kings 18, we'll begin reading
in verse 17. And it came to pass when Ahab
saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, art thou he that troubleth
Israel? And Elijah answered, I have not
troubled Israel. but thou and thy father's house,
in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and
thou hast followed Balaam. Now therefore send and gather
to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal 450,
and the prophets of the groves 400, which eat at Jezebel's table."
So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets
together unto Mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the
people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? 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 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. And Elijah
said unto the prophets of Baal, choose you one bullock for yourselves,
and dress it first, for ye are many. and call on the name of
your gods, but put no fire under. 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 leaped upon the altar
which was made. 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 poor adventure, he sleepeth
and must be awaked. And they cried aloud and cut
themselves after their manor with knives and lancets till
the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday
was past, that 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. And Elijah said unto all the
people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near
unto him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken
down. And Elijah took twelve stones
according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob,
unto 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 about the
altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he
put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid
him on the wood. and said, fill four barrels with
water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. And he said, do it the second
time. And they did it the second time.
And he said, do it the third time. And they did it the third
time. And the water ran round about
the altar, and he filled the trench also with water. And it
came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice,
that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham,
Isaac, and 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. O Lord, hear me, that this people
may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned
their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell,
and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones,
and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and
they said, The Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the God."
This is one of those historical events that we have recorded
that really captures our imagination. You can just picture the prophets
of Baal, those 450 prophets, acting so foolishly. They are
cutting themselves, they're running around, they're jumping on the
altar, just foolish acting men. And they do this for many hours.
And then one man stands alone. He takes 12 stones and he builds
an altar. He sets the wood in order. He
slays and prepares the sacrifice. Then he calls for a total of
12 barrels of water to be poured out upon it. That man stands
alone. He says a few words, after which
the fire of the Lord consumes the sacrifice, the wood, The
stones, the dust, and not even a drop of water remains. What a sight that must have been
to behold. This morning, Lord Willen will
spend just a few moments looking at the prayer and God's answer
to this prayer from three ways. First, as it's recorded here,
as Elijah's prayer. then we'll look at it as our
Lord's prayer, and finally, as every sinner's prayer, as my
prayer. Let's look at it as it's recorded
here in verse 36, the prayer of Elijah. 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." What a sweet prayer. Consider for a moment where Elijah
stood. There are 450 prophets of Baal,
the popular religion of the day. and they all stand against him. The king of Israel blamed him
for the drought that Israel had been enduring for three years.
He said, it's all your fault. The government stood against
this man. The people of Israel, the everyday
people, stood in ignorance. I say they stood in ignorance
because when Elijah asked them in verse 21, how long halt ye? How long do you jump back and
forth? How long do you halt between
these two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him. If Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not
a word. The people didn't know God. They
couldn't make a strong stand for one side or the other. They
didn't know which one was God. They were ignorant. And the people's
opinion of Elijah, at best they thought little of him. But they
had been taught by their leaders that he was the cause of all
their problems. They probably didn't think much
at all about him, probably didn't like him. Nevertheless, with all of this
against him, for Israel's sake, Elijah came near after having
prepared a sacrifice. Elijah dared not go before God
empty-handed. He knew that in and of himself,
he could not and would not be accepted of God. But with another
to bear the penalty of his sin, he comes near and offers this
prayer on behalf of Israel. He begins his prayer with, Lord,
capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. He addresses his
prayer to God as he is revealed in scriptures. He comes first
to the Lord Jehovah, the God who saves. Elijah did not, so
to speak, come casually before God's throne and say, God. as
addressing the holy, just, righteous Lord God of heaven and earth,
but he pleads to the Lord Jehovah. In his prayer, Elijah cries out
to his Mediator, who is God. He continues, Lord God of Abraham,
who is Abraham? So often we think of Abraham
at the end, after his story is fully told. But, this is such
a blessing to me, Abraham had a beginning just like we do. Turn with me to Genesis chapter
11. Hold your place here in First Kings, we'll be right back. Genesis chapter 11, verse 31. Genesis 11, 31. Antira took Abram his son, and
Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law,
his son Abram's wife, And they went forth with them from Ur
of the Chaldees to go down, to go into the land of Canaan. And they came unto Haran and
dwelt there. Abram went out with his father
from a land which was not of Canaan, willingly to dwell in
a land of Canaan. Why is that significant? Turn
back a couple pages to Genesis 9, verse 25. Genesis 9, 25. And Noah said,
cursed be Canaan. A servant of servants shall he
be unto his brethren. Canaan was cursed. His land was
cursed. Terah decided to leave a land
that was not cursed and go dwell in a land that was cursed. And he took with him all of his
children. Terah sounds just like his father
and just like my father. Adam chose to rebel against God. He left the blessings of communion
with God to dwell in a land that God cursed. And he took all of
us with him. Back in 1 Kings 18, Elijah's prayer. Lord God of
Abraham, that man who with his father went to dwell in a cursed
land. That's a man I can identify with. Lord God of Abraham, Isaac. Although Abraham dwelt in a cursed
land, God called him out and he made him a promise. He made
him a covenant that he would have a son. And God fulfilled
that promise. When Abraham and Sarah were old
and it was not possible for Sarah to bear children any longer,
God did the impossible and Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Lord God
of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, I found it interesting that Elijah
invoked the name of Israel rather than the name of Jacob. Most
often when you read this title, God of Abraham, Isaac, and of,
generally, Jacob, this is one of three times that the name
Israel is used rather than Jacob. Lord, God of Israel. the God
who has chosen a lost, rebellious people, and of your grace given
them a new name, a new character, and a new walk. This is the God
Elijah comes to in his prayer, the God who saves, the God who
calls a man out of a cursed land, the God who is faithful to fulfill
all His covenant promise, and the God who is able to take a
vile sinner and make him a prince with God. Now let's hear Elijah's
plea. 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. This is Elijah's prayer
for these people standing about him, halting between two opinions. Lord, reveal yourself to them. Have mercy upon them. Make yourself
known to them. Save them and turn their heart. And if you cause them to repent,
then they will seek your face. and the Lord answered his prayer.
Verse 38, Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt
sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and
licked up the water that was in the trench. In answering Elijah's prayer,
God reveals Himself as the just God and the Savior. Sin must
be dealt with. God will by no means clear the
guilty. Although it was this people who
had sinned against God, who deserved the justice and wrath of God
to fall upon them, there was a sin offering made. which bore the condemnation and
protected those surrounding the altar from being consumed. God
also answered in a way to remove all doubt that any man had anything
to do with this work. The fire of the Lord failed,
and it consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood. Any man could make
a fire that would do that. and the stones, and the dust,
and licked up the water that was in the trench. Our Lord made
it clear this is His salvation, not a man's. Elijah stood, for
all anyone could tell, alone against unsurmountable odds.
The government The religion and even the everyday people stood
against him, but he stood as the prophet of God and prayed
for a people who were against him that the Lord would be pleased
to reveal himself to them. Now let's look at this prayer
as the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ, back in verse 36. and it came to pass at the time
of the evening sacrifice. Hebrews 9.26 says, now once in
the end of the world hath he, our Lord Jesus Christ, appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And it came to pass at the time
of the evening sacrifice that Jesus Christ, the prophet, came
near. What condensating love and grace. God, the eternal, immutable,
holy, glorious God came near to us vile sinners. He was made in the likeness of
our sinful flesh. He came near where we are. As we heard Wednesday night,
he vitally joined himself in union to us. And he said, as
our representative and as our great mediator, Lord God of Abraham,
Isaac, and 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. As the great prophet
of his elect people, our Lord prays for the remembrance of
the covenant that God made for Himself, with Himself, and by
Himself for those that the Father chose to save. And our Lord seeks
to have His elect know the true and living God through the revelation
of his person. Just as Elijah did not come empty
before God with his prayer, so our Lord did not come empty before
God with his prayer. Elijah prepared an altar. The
Lord Jesus Christ is our altar. Hebrews 10.5 says, a body hast
thou prepared me. Elijah placed the wood in order. God the Father hath made God
the Son sin for us who knew no sin. Sin, the fuel of God's wrath,
was laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary. The wood was
placed in order. And God answered the prayer of
His faithful servant Upon the cross of Calvary, our Lord Jesus
Christ, God manifest in the flesh, met with God's love. There, God
reveals Himself as the just God and Savior. With our sin found
upon Him, the fire of the Lord, the wrath and judgment of God
fell again. But this time, Rather than consuming
the sacrifice, the altar, the wood, the stones, our great Savior
consumed God's wrath. And as He did so, the sin of
every elect sinner was purged. Jesus Christ stood alone. In the beginning, God the Father
elected a people to be saved from wrath and condemnation,
but justice had to be satisfied. When no other way could be found,
the Lord Jesus Christ went forth and declared, I will be surety
for them. I will pay the price they cannot
pay. I will redeem them." When our
Lord came in the flesh, the government stood against Him. The religious
leaders stood against Him. The people cried out for Him
to be crucified. His friends fled from Him. He walked the winepress alone. And all the time he prayed for
us. And he has purged our sins by
himself. He finished the work. Thirdly, this prayer is our prayer. This prayer is the sinner's prayer.
At some point, Every person in here has had this prayer made
on their behalf. Many of us in here have prayed
this prayer ourselves and have prayed it for others. Every time
we pray, the words are different, but
the meaning is the same. Every time we pray, Lord, be
merciful to me. Do we not mean the same thing?
Lord, reveal yourself to me. Reveal to me your salvation. Reveal to me that you have accomplished
it all. Reveal to me that I can rest
on you. Every time we pray, Lord, save
my children. Save my loved ones. Save this
town. Do we not say the same thing
with different words? Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac,
and of Israel, let it be known this day, this moment, in this
meeting, 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." When
the Lord is pleased to answer this prayer, When the sinner
sees the fire of the Lord fall upon the Lord Jesus Christ, sees
his blood that was shed for our sin, sees the absolute holiness
of God, what is the sinner's reaction? Verse 39. And when all the people saw it,
They fell on their faces, and they said, The Lord, He is the
God! The Lord, He is the God! Earlier the people answered Him
not a word. But now they bow before the holy,
sovereign God, and they have something worthy to be confessed. He alone is worthy to be praised. May the Lord bless that to our
hearts. Dismissed.