Well, good morning, everyone.
If you would open your Bibles with me to Mark chapter 9, that's
where our lesson will be from this morning. Mark chapter 9. Before we begin, let's bow before
our Lord together in prayer. Our Father, how thankful we are So thankful
human language cannot express our thanksgiving that your God alone, holy, sovereign,
potentate over all. Yet in your mercy and your grace,
you allow sinful men and women such as we are to come into your
presence accepted in our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, how we
thank you. Father, how we thank you for
the gospel of your dear son that you've given to us to preach,
to hear, to believe, the gospel that comforts our hearts, that
gives faith, that edifies and strengthens us through our journey
here below. Father, we're so thankful, and
I pray that you would never allow us to take this blessed privilege
of worshiping you publicly for granted. You blessed us for so
many, many, many, many years. Father, cause us to still have
a hunger and thirst for the gospel. Cause us to still have a joy
in hearing the gospel preached. We beg your forgiveness that
we would have ever become lukewarm or careless with this matter
of the gospel of your dear son. And Father, I pray that one more
time this morning, you might be pleased to bless us with your
presence and enable us to worship you in spirit and in truth. Father,
enable the name of your son to be lifted up and glorified and
magnified. And enable your people to hear
with the ear of faith. Enable each of us here this morning
to leave here believing in resting in Christ our Savior and Him
and Him alone. And while we pray for ourselves,
Father, we pray for your people, wherever they're meeting together
today, scattered over all this world. Father, bless your word
as it's preached for your glory, for the good, the edification,
the comfort of your people. Father, we pray that you'd be
with those who are away from us, who are traveling. We pray
you'd give them traveling mercies that you bring them back home
safe to us. For those who are sick and going through the many
different trials and difficulties of this life, Father, we pray
you'd meet their need richly, according to your purpose, according
to your grace. Deliver them as soon as it could
be thy will. Bring them back to us. All these
things we ask and we give thanks to that name which is above every
name, the name of Christ our Savior. I've titled our lesson this morning,
Elijah Has Come. Our lesson ended last week in
verse nine, Mark chapter nine. After the disciples had been
with the Lord, he's transfigured on the mountain. And as they
came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should
tell no man what things they had seen till the son of man
were risen from the dead. Now, like I told you last week,
I'm just positive about this, that at least one of the reasons
that the Lord told his disciples, don't tell anyone, what they
saw is they didn't know what they saw yet. They didn't know
the meaning of what they'd seen yet and they wouldn't until Christ
had suffered and died and was risen again from the grave. They
didn't know about the redemptive glory of Christ yet. They didn't
know what was coming yet. You can't tell what you don't
know. So if you don't know something, just keep your mouth shut. And
you could tell that they did not know the true meaning of
what they'd seen yet by what they said in verse 10. And they
kept that saying with themselves, questioning with one another
what the rising from the dead should mean. Here they're debating
about something they don't know about it yet. They still did
not think that the Lord would die and go away. They still thought
that the Lord was gonna set up an earthly kingdom. They still
thought that since they were his disciples and they'd come
and been with him and suffered with him, that he's gonna reward
them with cushy cabinet positions in his new kingdom. And I know
that's what they were talking about because of what they asked
the Lord in verse 11. And they ask him saying, why
say the scribes that Elias must first come? Now if you'll turn
back to Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi
chapter four, The disciples knew this prophecy, and this is what
the scribes and Pharisees were referring to this prophecy, from
Malachi four, verse five. Behold, I will send you Elijah
the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the Lord, and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the
children and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest
I come and smite the earth with a curse. Now, the Jews generally
understood this prophecy to mean that the Messiah, that before
the Messiah would come and establish a great earthly kingdom, like
the kingdom of David, that Elijah would appear first. Well, that's
what the disciples taught too. I'm sure this is what they'd
always been taught, that Elijah's gonna come and appear back from
the dead or whatever, and then the Messiah's gonna come, and
he'll set up this great earthly kingdom, And the disciples were
hoping that that would happen now. They'd just seen Elijah
on the Mount, and they hoped now the Lord's gonna set up this
earthly kingdom. Now, we have to be very careful
when we interpret scripture. The prophecies of the scripture
do not tell us about historical events. They do not tell us about
events that are gonna happen in the past. I'll just give you
one example. People who think that way, every
single time a conflict starts in the Middle East, which is
about every other week, they think, oh, this is the beginning
of the war between Gog and Magog and the end of the world is at
hand. And that's simply not true. The reason for the prophecies
in scripture are always spiritual. They're not telling us about
certain events that are coming, they're always spiritual. And
these prophecies, they always concern Christ and his redemptive
glory. There are prophecies, I can think
of a prophecy that is about an event that's gonna happen in
the future, the resurrection of the dead, the Lord's second
coming. Now that's an event that's gonna
happen at some point in the future. But that prophecy is not about
the event. The prophecy is about the one who's coming. See what
I'm talking about? It's not when it's gonna happen,
it's who's coming. Who's coming, that's who we're
looking for. That's what I'm talking about here. You have
to be very careful interpreting scripture that way. And that's
what the Lord teaches his disciples in verse 12. And he answered
and told them, Elias verily cometh first. He says, you know, that
prophecy's right. Elias is gonna come before the
Messiah comes and restores all things. And how it is written
of the Son of Man that he must suffer many things and be set
at naught. But I say unto you that Elias
is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they
listed, as it's written of him. Now, what the Lord's telling
his disciples here is this prophecy doesn't mean that Elijah physically
is going to come. It means someone's coming with
the same message that Elijah preached. And that someone is
John the Baptist. If you look back in Matthew 17,
I'll show you that. This Elias who has come is John
the Baptist. In Matthew 17, verse 11. And Jesus answered and said unto
them, Elias truly shall come first and restore all things.
But I say unto you that Elias has come already. And they knew
him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise
shall also the Son of Man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood
that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. The prophecy in
Malachi chapter four is the prophecy of John the Baptist, who would
come with the same spirit that Elijah had with the same message
that Elijah had. And that message is Christ in
him crucified. To tell what it is that Christ
accomplished when he suffered and died. That's the message.
That's the message that God uses to give repentance and faith
in the hearts of all of his people. That's the message that the Lord
uses to turn the hearts of his people to him. So in that way,
all of God's preachers are Elijah, aren't they? Come to God's people.
Because we come with the same message that Elijah had. We're
sent as forerunners to prepare your heart to hear of Christ,
to prepare your heart for Christ to come in power and take up
residence in your heart and give you faith in Him. Elijah and
John the Baptist had the same message. Elijah said the sacrifice
is coming. All this false religion, you
turn away from that. There's no value in any of it.
The sacrifice is coming, now you look to him, and you believe
him. Well, how many every years later,
John the Baptist came with the same message. He said, the sacrifice
is here. Behold, the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. Get out of this false religion,
this junk that the self-righteousness and legalism of the Pharisees,
and you look to Christ. You believe on him. Now I thought about Elijah's
ministry. What a powerful ministry that
he had, all the events that took place during the course of his
ministry. And I thought about his ministry, and I'm sure that
this is true. There are two hallmarks of Elijah's
ministry. Number one is the sovereignty
of God, and the election and salvation of his people. And
number two is the necessity of the sacrifice of Christ. And
John the Baptist, and all of God's servants is John the Baptist,
up to today, preached the same message. Let me show you that. Look back in Luke chapter, or
over in Luke chapter four. Here's the sovereignty of God
in election, and the salvation of his people. Luke four, verse 25. But I tell you of a truth, many
widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven
was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was
throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elijah
sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was
a widow. Many lepers were in Israel in
the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed,
saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue,
when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. And they
rose up and thrust him out of the city and led him under the
brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might
cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst
of them, went his way. Now this is part of our Lord's
very first public message that he preached. And in it, he sets
forth clearly. Here's where he begins his preaching
with God's electing love. God chooses and saves whom he
will. And it's always the worst of
sinners. And he used the example of Elijah and Elisha. You know,
God chooses to save the people that the flesh think are the
most undeserving. They're the least likely ones
to be saved. That's who God chooses to save.
He chooses the worst of sinners. And the Jews there that day,
they understood exactly what the Lord was saying. that the
Lord didn't send help to any of those Jewish widows, not one
of them. But he sent help, he sent his
prophet to a Gentile widow. All those lepers that were in
Israel in the time of Elisha, the Lord didn't send his prophets
to heal one of them. And not only did he send his
prophet to heal a Gentile, it was the leader of the army who
was the who was opposing Israel, who held Israel in bondage at
that time. That's who the Lord healed. I
don't know why they get mad at the Lord about that. That is
two historical facts. And those facts set forth God's
electing love. God chooses to save the worst
of sinners. That's his sovereignty in election
and salvation. Now look back at 1 Kings chapter
17. Let's look and see what the Lord
was talking about here in this matter of Elijah being sent to
this poor widow woman. First Kings 17, verse eight. Now Elijah had been
down by the brook and he'd had water and the ravens were bringing
him bread and meat every day. while the rest of the world was
starving to death. And while he was there by that
brook, the brook dried up. And the word of the Lord came
unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth
to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow
woman there to sustain thee. Now, Elijah had been there by
this brook. Man, he, I mean, he had it great,
didn't he? Ahaz and Jezebel, nobody was
bothering him. He's all alone, he had the brook,
he had water to drink, he had food to eat from the ravens,
and the Lord dried up the brook. The Lord dried up the brook so
that Elijah would leave his comfy spot. It'd be good for us to
remember that for our own sails when the Lord dries up our brook.
Could be the Lord's drying up that brook to send us somewhere
to do something just like he was Elijah. Well, God dried up
the brook so Elijah would know it's time to go to Sarepta. And
the Lord told him why he was going there. I've got one of
my elect there. I've got an elect lady there,
and she's a rock bottom. But God's not gonna let her starve
to death. God's gonna send her a prophet. And that's just like
today. There is a famine of the word
of God in our day. Just, it's horrible. But don't
get so discouraged about that. I mean, it's true, we see it. But listen, God's still sending
his prophets to his people. God's not gonna let his people
starve to death. God's elect are not gonna starve to death
spiritually. God's gonna send somebody to feed them. God'll
see to it, I promise you he will. Well, here's the third thing.
God sovereignly gives faith to his elect and he does it through
the preaching of his word, through the prophets. Verse 10, so he
rose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the
city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks,
and he called to her and said, fetch me, I pray thee, a little
water in a vessel that I may drink. And as she was going to
fetch it, he called to her and said, bring me, I pray thee,
a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, as the Lord thy
God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal and a barrel
and a little oil and a cruz. And behold, I'm gathering two
sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that
we may eat it and die. This is all we got to eat after
we eat this, we're all starved to death. And Elijah said unto
her, fear not, go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof
a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for
thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of
Israel, the bearer of meal shall not waste, neither shall the
crews of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain
upon the earth. And she went and did according
to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did
eat many days, and the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did
the cruise of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord. Just
like the Lord said, which he spake by Elijah. Now the Lord
sent this famine. He said so there was no rain,
there were no crops growing, it was three and a half years,
a great famine. But he didn't send Elijah to
this widow woman right away, did he? No, when the famine first
started, this woman, she sounds like she's a pretty smart cookie. She had some food saved up. She
had some meals, some oil, some different things saved up, you
know? And there was probably still some available that she
could get. But now, that famine has lasted
so long, she's got no more food left and no way to get any. She
is completely helpless. She's out of hope. She's a widow. She's got nobody to help her,
nobody to protect her, nobody to provide for her. She's exhausted
all of her hoarded resources. She's just got enough left. It's
such a little amount of oil and meal. It's just going to take
two sticks to heat it up and make a cake out of it. And then
she and her son are going to starve to death. You parents think about that
for a minute. What it would be like to have no food and watch
your only child starve to death. I mean, this woman's in a fix,
isn't she? But do you know God brings all of his elect to this
same place spiritually. Before time began, God chose
the people and he's gonna save them. He sent his son to redeem
them and he's gonna come and reveal Christ to them and in
them. God's gonna save them from their sin. He's gonna see them
safe through this world and he's gonna glorify them together with
Christ someday. That's God's purpose and that's
gonna happen. But before he does it, he's gonna
show you and me that we're helpless, that spiritually we cannot provide
anything that we need, anything. We can't protect ourselves from
God's wrath against our sin. We can't do anything to make
our sin less. Adam has put us in the middle
of the spiritual famine and there's not one thing we can do to get
out of it. We've got no resources left and no way to get any. And
when the Lord finally brings us to this place that we see
ourselves, I am helpless. I'm helpless. I'm hopeless. I am ready to die. I feel like
I'm on the very brink of hell. and God would be just to shove
me in. Now, once the Lord brings us
to that point, now our hearts have been prepared to hear the
gospel of Christ and believe it. Now our hearts are prepared
to look to Christ and see that he's everything I need. Now our
hearts are prepared to not depend on ourselves anymore, but to
look to Christ and depend on him, wholly, completely, for
everything. I mean, you think about this
widow woman's situation. How do you reckon you'd react
if you were in her shoes? You just got enough left to make
a little cake for you and your son, and you're going to starve
to death. You know it. I mean, there's
not any other option. I mean, you'd be so sad, wouldn't
you? I mean, you'd just feel such pressure. You'd be under
so much depression. And this is the situation that
she's in. Now the Lord had told Elijah, I've commanded a widow
woman there to sustain me. Now how in this world is Elijah
gonna know which woman? How's he gonna know which widow
woman it is that God's commanded to sustain? When he tells her, make me a
cake first, and she does, then he's gonna know that's the woman
that God has commanded. God's given me the glorious,
blessed privilege to preach the gospel to you. God's given me
this message to preach. It's a commandment from God.
Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved. I know I'm commanding you to
do something you cannot do. But I so fully, firmly believe
God's got a people and elect people, he's gonna save them,
he's gonna sustain them, he's gonna bring them through this
world, he's gonna bring them to Christ, he's gonna ultimately
bring them into the very presence of Christ. How do I know who
they are? Those who obey the commandment to believe on the
name of the Lord Jesus. That's how I know. Same way Elijah
knew that this woman, I mean, can you imagine the gall of a
man to tell a widow woman who just said I'm gonna starve to
death, Give me that cake first. I mean, the audacity. Who do
you think you are? I mean, I'm gonna take care of
me and mine first. Now, this is it. This is where
the rubber meets the road. I'm taking care of me and mine
first. Isn't that the way the flesh
talks? But it's not the way faith talks. This woman acted in faith. and she knew exactly what she
was doing. You see, saving faith is not
blind. Faith believes someone and something
in particular. I know whom I have believed. That's why I'm persuaded that
he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. Faith believes Christ. Faith
believes the word of God. This is not just a story. If
God's given you faith to see Christ, Faith believes the word
of God. Faith sees Christ in the word
and it acts accordingly. This woman didn't just give Elijah
the last food that she had. She didn't take food from her
son's mouth and give it to the prophet without a reason. She gave Elijah the very last
food that she had because she believed what God said. Now,
why was she willing to do that? Because God said I commanded
her. I've commanded her heart and she obeyed. And that's how
it is for all of God's elect. Whenever they hear the word of
God, sooner or later, they're going to believe. They're going
to believe and they're going to act accordingly. They're going
to believe Christ. They're going to commit all to
Christ because that's what faith does. See, God makes them willing
in the day of his power. He makes them willing to come
to Christ and rest. He makes them willing to come
to Christ for forgiveness of sin. I tell every one of us here
this morning, you come to Christ. You come to him because you believe
him. He is who he says he is. He'll do what he said that he
will do. And I'll tell you what you're
going to find out. You're going to find out just like this widow
woman. It's all going to happen just exactly the way God promised.
You'd think it's a promise that it cannot be true. that Almighty
God is gonna forgive my sin, I mean the infinite mountain
of my sin, and put it away and accept me fully and completely
in his son. You'd think a full, free redemption
from my sin is impossible, but you'll find out it all happened
just exactly the way God told you it would. That's his eternal
will and purpose. Now quickly, turn to 1 Kings
chapter 18. We'll see how Elijah deals with
these false prophets of Baal. There are too many things for
us to look at in this passage. For time's sake, we'll just stick
to the subject here. First we saw, this is Elijah's
message, God's sovereignty in electing and saving a people.
Here's the second thing, the hallmark of his message. It's
the necessity of the sacrifice of Christ. And we'll stick just
to the sacrifice here that Elijah's showing us. Now verse 17 in 1
Kings 18, And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab
said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered,
I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house,
you've troubled Israel, and that you've forsaken the commandments
of the Lord, and thou hast followed after Balaam. Now therefore,
send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets
of Baal, 450, and the prophets of the grove, 400, which eat
at Jezebel's table. So Ahab gathered all the children
of Israel and gathered the prophets together under Mount Carmel.
And Elijah came unto all the people and said, how long halt
ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, you follow
him. But if Baal, if Baal's God, then
you follow him. And all the people answered him
not a word. Now salvation is in one of two
ways, isn't it? It's either God's way or our
way. It's either God's way are in
this idol, one or the other, one or the other. So Elijah went
on, verse 22, he said unto the people, I, even I only, remain
a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's prophets are 450 men,
not to mention these other 400. 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'll dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no
fire under. And call ye on the name of your
gods, call them on Baal. And I'll call on the name of
the Lord, Jehovah. And the God that answereth by
fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and
said, that's well spoken, that's a good idea. And Elijah said
unto the prophets of Baal, choose ye one bullet for yourselves
and dress it first, for you 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, for 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, cry louder, for he's
a god. Either he's talking, or he is
pursuing, or he's in a journey, or perventure, he sleepeth, and
must be awake 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 passed, 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. Now all that's a picture. The gods of our works can't answer
us, and they can't help us. Our sincerity and energy, these
men were sincere. They put a lot of energy into
this thing. But our sincerity and our energy
that we put into our works religion, that can't help us. Our religious
fervor, our willingness to sacrifice, cutting my own self, letting
my own blood come out. My own blood can't help me. My
own blood cannot produce a sacrifice that will put away my sin that
God will accept. You know what's obvious? I need
somebody else to offer a sacrifice for me. That's what's made obvious
here. So verse 30, 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 12 stones according to the number of the
tribes of the sons of Jacob, 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 offering, 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 around 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. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that
thou art the Lord God and that thou has turned their heart back
again. And 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 God. The Lord, he is God. The fire
of the Lord fell on that sacrifice, and it did it as a picture, a
picture of the sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ is the
sacrifice that pleases God. When Christ was made sin for
his people, the father took the sin of his people and placed
it on his son. When that happened, the fire
of God's justice fell straight on the Lord Jesus Christ. And
the fire burned. The fire of God's justice burned
upon the Lord Jesus Christ until the sin of all of his people
was gone. The fire burned until the sin
that fueled it was gone. And nothing on earth could stop
that fire. Just like all that water that Elijah had poured
couldn't stop God's fire from burning it all up. The sacrifice
of Christ put away the sin of his people so that it is no more. And I'll show you quickly how
the real thing how Christ's sacrifice is always better than the picture.
The Old Testament is just full of pictures of the sacrifice
of Christ. But Christ's sacrifice is always better. The fire from
the Lord consumed Elijah's sacrifice, didn't it? It consumed the sacrifice
so that when the fire quit, the sacrifice wasn't there anymore.
It also consumed the rocks. It consumed the water. It consumed
everything around it. It was all gone. But the sacrifice
of Christ is so much better than that. Christ, our sacrifice,
consumed the fire of God. He consumed it till the Father
could say, there's no more wrath left in me. Christ suffered until
the fire went out, and the fire went out because sin's gone. All of the sin that was laid
on him is gone. If Christ died for you, your
sin is gone. It's gone. The Father will accept
you. You can never die. And the only
way the Father could accept you and me like that is the sacrifice
of Christ. That's why it's an absolute necessity. Now that's the message of Elijah.
That's the message of John the Baptist, and that's the message
of God's servants still today. If Lord ever gives us ears to
hear that message, you know what we'll do? We'll do just what
those people did there on Mount Carmel. We're gonna fall on our
faces before God and say to Lord Jehovah, he's God. He's God,
I'm gonna worship Him. All right, hope the Lord will
bless that too, yeah.