Again, turn with me, if you would,
to Mark chapter 5. For opening scripture, we're
going to read the first 18 verses of Mark chapter 5. And they came over unto the other
side of the sea into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he
was come out of the ship, immediately there met him, out of the tombs,
a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the
tombs, and no man could bind him, no, not with chains. Because
that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and
the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken
in pieces, neither could any man tame him. And always, day
and night, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying and
cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off,
He ran, and worshipped him, and cried with a loud voice, and
said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the
Most High God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torments me
not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean
spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered
him, saying, My name is Legion, for we are many. And he besought
him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains, a great herd of
swine feeding. And all the devils besought him saying, send us
into the swine that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus
gave them leave. The unclean spirits went out
and entered into the swine and the herd ran violently down a
steep place into the sea. They were about 2000 and were
choked in the sea. They fed the swine, fled and
told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to
see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus. and see
him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion sitting,
and clothed, and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And
they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed
with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to
pray him to depart out of their coasts. And when he was coming
to the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed
him that he might be with him. Let's pray together. Our heavenly father, we pray
that your name be worshiped in this place this morning. Don't
leave us to the form of religion. Please don't leave us to ourselves,
but glorify your name, fulfill your word, that your word will
not go forth, return unto you void, but will accomplish your
purpose. Father, give us comfort and give
us strength to rest in your good purpose. Give us a heart to worship,
give us ears to hear, give us eyes to see Christ today, that
Christ be lifted up in this place among us, that we may worship,
come to the throne of mercy. Father, we thank you that Christ's
work is accepted His sacrifice is accepted for sinners, that
sin is paid and put away, that children are redeemed by Christ's
blood. We're thankful. We have much
to be thankful for. Father, don't leave us to ourselves,
but rather be with us. Be with us as we worship. May
your name be glorified. We pray for those that are undergoing
trial at this time, for Andrea, for Ed, Deb, for others, for
our pastor, for Janet, as they continue to heal, for others
that are undergoing trial, whatever that trial may be, be it physical,
be it sickness, be it heartache, our cold hearts, Father, don't
leave us. Continue to draw us to you. We
pray this thankfully in Christ's name for his sake. Turn with me this morning. Our
text is in 1 Kings chapter 18. Turn back with me to 1 Kings
chapter 18. We're going to go through verses 17
through 40, just a couple of verses at a time. And as we go
through, I want to focus on these four things and what they teach
us. You know, I'm always a little uncomfortable saying that, like
there's four separate points. There's not four separate, any
separate points to a gospel message. There's one point, there's Christ,
there's Christ. I'm thinking back on the way
here, I was remembering, you know, when I bought that diamond
engagement ring for my bride. And I shopped and shopped, looking
at different diamonds. I didn't know anything about
diamonds. And, you know, looked at dozens of them. And every
time they pulled out a diamond, and the jeweler pulled out a
little glass, right? Pulled out the little glass to
see the diamond better. And every time, the jeweler took
a clean rag out of his pocket and wiped that glass off. And
then we looked at the diamond. And we looked at this facet.
And we looked at that facet. And we looked at this angle.
And we looked at this angle. And that's these different points.
They're all points of one diamond. That diamond is Christ. And we
just turn that diamond to see his beauty. And sometimes we
point out things um, to warn us that this isn't grace. And you hear that a lot. And
that's just the jewel of wiping off the lens. That's all we're
doing is cleaning that lens to see Christ just a little bit
more clearly. So I say four points. There's one point. There's one
point. We're just looking at these different facets. And that
is one. What is our trouble? What is
our trouble? Two, there are only two hopes.
There are only two hopes. in all of eternity, in all the
world, in all of time. There's only two hopes. What
is our hope? Number three, what matters? And number four, what is the
response? So let's read through these verses in first Kings chapter
18, starting in verse 17. We're going to look for answers
to those four points as we go through. And it came to pass
when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab said unto him, art thou he that
trouble of Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled
Israel, but thou and thy father's house, and 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? 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. Let them choose one bullet for themselves and
cut it in pieces and lay it on wood and put no fire under. And
I will dress the other bullet and lay it on the wood and put
no fire under and call you on the name of your gods. And I
will call on the name of the Lord, Jehovah and the God that
answers by fire. Let him be God. And all the people
answered and said, it is well-spoken. Elijah said under the prophets
of bail, choose you one bullet for yourselves and dress it first
for you or 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. They leaped upon
the altar which they had made. 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. Peradventure
he sleepeth, and must be awakened. 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, they prophesied until the time of the offering at 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. 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 all the wood.
And he said to it the second 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 trenches also with water. 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, that I am thy
servant, that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear
me, O Lord, hear me, that these 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 God.
The Lord, Jehovah, he is God. And Elijah said unto them, take
the prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape. And they
took them, and Elijah brought them down to the book Kishon
and slew them. What is our trouble? What is
our trouble? As we enter our text, the prophet
Elijah is talking with the King of Israel, King, King Ahab, King
of Israel. Here's what we need to know about
King Ahab. Turn back one page to first Kings
chapter 13, excuse me, chapter 16, chapter 16 in verse 30. Here's what we need to know about
King Ahab. Verse 30 of chapter 16 and Ahab, the son of Omri,
did evil on the side of the Lord above all that were before him.
He is the most evil king in all the world of all time. What evil,
what evil did Ahab do? Well, he, he permitted, he endorsed,
he promoted the worship of Baal. He promoted the worship of Baal
alongside, alongside the worship of Jehovah, alongside the worship
of the Lord of Israel. When Ahab's father, Omri, was
king, he brought Israel into a spectacular time of prosperity. Omri brought peace with his neighbors
and wealth, and Israel was living so comfortably under Omri. But the way he did that, the
way Ahab's father did that, was by compromising, was by intermarrying
with the other tribes, by compromising and bringing the outside in allowing
these statues to be built. He allowed, Omristar, he allowed
the worship of Baal. If you would, he just kind of
looked the other way. But his son Ahab, he saw that. And this
is a warning to us. This is a warning to us. Ahab saw his father and what
he did to keep the peace. And he compromised in order to
keep the peace. He put peace and prosperity before the Lord. King Ahab saw
that and Ahab did the same thing. Ahab watched his father do that
for 12 years. Again, this is a good warning to us. During
that time, his father clearly taught him that defending peace
was more important than defending truth. Ahab learned that lesson
real well. Now he's allowed the, not only
has he allowed the building of temples to Baal, he's promoted
the temple of buildings to Baal and the people of Israel are
worshiping both. They're worshiping Jehovah and
they're worshipping Baal. Because of Israel's sin, worshipping
Baal, the Lord has plagued Israel with a severe, devastating drought
for the past three and a half years. And the drought was so
severe, dew doesn't even form on the ground in the morning.
Not only is there not any rain, there's not even any dew on the
ground. There's no moisture in the land. The Lord is striking
Israel because of this sin, their worship. Dew doesn't even form
on the ground at night. And Ahab has been traveling,
seeing the devastation for himself, and desperately looking for water
to feed the animals. He says they don't lose all the
animals. They know they're going to lose some. He's just doing
whatever they can to find a little bit of water to not lose all
the animals. For these past three and a half years, King Ahab has
also been desperately seeking Elijah, because Elijah had first
announced the drought to Ahab. Look in 1 Kings chapter 17. the
first verse of First Kings chapter 17. And Elijah the Tishbite,
who is of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the
Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand, there shall be
no dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. So
now, back to our text in chapter 18, beginning in verse 17, the
Lord has brought Elijah to present himself to Ahab. Ahab's glad
to see him because he believes that Elijah has come to bring
the rain. So Ahab's glad to see him and he asks him, again, beginning
in verse 17, art thou he that troubled Israel? For three and
a half years Israel suffered under this drought. That's a
long time. Three and a half years he's suffered
under this drought. Yet there's no remorse. Ahab
shows no remorse. Ahab shows no repentance. It
puts me in mind of the scripture that we read to open the service.
The Lord cleanses that man, right? In the tombs, in chains, the
Lord cleanses him of his demons. And what did the city do? The
city asked Christ to leave. No remorse, no repentance. They
asked him to leave. Why? Well, it inconvenienced
their livelihood because 2,000 pigs were killed. That's better.
It inconvenienced their livelihood. They asked Christ to leave. In
Acts 16, we have an account of a woman possessed with the spirit.
And Paul cast the spirit out. And listen to, rather than us
turning there, listen to verse 19. After Paul and Silas sent
the spirit out of this woman, when her master saw that their
hope of gains was gone, they couldn't make any money off of
her anymore, because she was soothsaying. She was telling
the future. And they were making money off of her. Paul cast that
demon out. moneymakers were mad at him.
When her masters saw that their hope of gains was gone, they
caught Paul and Silas, drew them into the marketplace under the
rulers and brought them to the magistrates saying, these men
being Jews do exceedingly trouble our city. What's our trouble? For King Ahab, he believed that
the trouble was the drought. What did Elijah tell him in verse
18? So King Ahab said, art thou he
that troubled Israel? 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 hast followed Balaam. Our trouble isn't the drought.
Our trouble is that our father Adam forsook the commandments
of the Lord, and we died in Adam, spiritually. Of course, that's
our trouble. are therefore born dead, and
we're not even uncomfortable about it. Left to ourselves,
we're indifferent to it. We're born dead, and we're not
even uncomfortable about it. That's our trouble. We're dead.
Our trouble is that we will not seek the Lord for forgiveness
of sins. We will not, whether it's in
prosperity, such as Ahab's kingdom began in great prosperity, or
in trial during this three and a half years of drought and famine.
Neither prosperity nor trial will bring us to seek the Lord
any more than a dead Ahab on our own. Not on our own, left
to ourselves. We don't go toward God, we go
further. We go further from God. That's our trouble. Our trouble
is we are dead. Ephesians 2.1 says, And you hath
he quickened, made alive in Christ. You hath he quickened who are
dead in trespasses and sins. Is our trouble the law? Is that
our trouble? Keeping the law? Our trouble
is not the law. Romans 7, 7 said, what shall
we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but
by the law. The law reveals sin. The law
just reveals sin. The sin that's within it, within
us. Keeping that law isn't even an
option. And even if it were, the law
has already revealed the presence of sin. The law is not our trouble.
Keeping the law is not our trouble. Our trouble is that we're dead.
Our trouble is we're spiritually dead. Dead in trespasses and
sin. I would that the Lord give us
life. Give us life to our souls that
we could see our sin and seek Christ. I saw an article, I believe
this is in Zebulon's bulletin, that I'd like to read. As I was
studying this, Pastor David Edmondson wrote this. Sin and sins, Job
13 says, how many are mine iniquities and sins? Make me to know my
transgression and my sin. David writes, in this verse,
Job mentioned sin in both the singular and in the plural. He
speaks of iniquities in the plural and transgression in the singular.
Aren't they all the same? No, they're not. Sin in the singular
is what we are. That's our trouble. We're dead
in trespasses and sin. Sin in the singular is what we
are. Sin in the plural are what we do. Sin in the singular is
a state of being. Sin in the plural is an action.
Sin in the singular is why we commit sins in the plural. That
makes sense, right? From the heart. It's why we commit
sins in the plural. Is a man a thief because he steals?
Yes, he is. But he was a thief before he
stole, or else he wouldn't have stolen. Thief on the inside, in the heart,
will eventually manifest his heart outwardly in steel. We
are sinners because we sin. But more accurately, we sin because
we are sinners. May God have mercy on our sin
and our sins. What's our trouble? What's our trouble? It's that
we're dead sinners. Isn't that what Elijah said?
I've not troubled Israel, the drought's not your trouble, I'm
not your trouble, but thou, thou and thy father's house, and that
you've forsaken the commandments of the Lord, thou hast followed
Balaam. Our house, my house, and my father
Adam's house, that's my trouble, my sin nature, that's my trouble.
Well, number two, then what's our hope? We start in verse 19
of the next few verses, what's our hope? There are only two
hopes, only two hopes, good hope and a false hope. There are only
two hopes, a good hope and a false hope. What's our hope? Read with
me in verse 19. 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. How long halt ye
between two opinions? Between two thoughts? Between
two hopes? How long halt ye between two
opinions? The people of Israel have been
worshipping both the Lord, Jehovah, and also Baal. Elijah's making
it clear that that's not possible. They weren't worshipping the
Lord and Baal. You can't worship Jehovah and Baal. If you're worshiping
Jehovah and Baal, you're worshiping Baal. You're not worshiping Jehovah. Elijah's making it clear you
can't serve two gods. When I was young, I had another
young man. We were out camping with a group
of people. And later I learned it wasn't
just a normal camping trip. Apparently this group of people
from a local religious college were trying to convert me. That
was their project. I didn't realize that until we were 10 miles out
in the woods. And they said, I had no interest in Christ.
And they said, they said something to this effect to me. They said,
well, well, if, if we're right, I'm sorry. They said, if we're
wrong, if we're wrong and we pass no harm done, but you're
wrong and you pass now. So basically they were saying,
well, if there is a Christ, let's believe on him to be sure. just
in case there is one, and then when we pass, good for us. But
if you don't, if there isn't, you follow what I'm saying, right?
That's never set well with me. This if we're right, if we're
wrong, that's just never really set well with me. So my kids
have recently gotten into playing Monopoly. It sounds like the
Monopoly get out of jail free card. What a joke. I mean, it's
horrible. But that's what they're doing.
Left to ourselves, that's exactly what we would do. Hedging our
bets, worshiping Baal and Christ. Hedging our bets, covering all
the bases. That's exactly what Israel are
doing. They're hedging their bets. And by doing that, they're
not actually worshiping the Lord at all. Having two hopes is having
a false hope. Jeremiah 23, 16 says, Thus saith
the Lord of hosts, Hark a nod unto the words of
the prophets that prophesy unto you, They make you vain. What
is vanity? Vanity is something that has
no substance. It's false hope, right? False
hope. Harken not unto the prophets,
they give you false hope. These prophets, the ones that
speak a vision of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the
Lord. Harken not unto anyone's words that don't speak the Lord's
words. That's vanity. Vanity. Just pride. Huffed up, no substance, false
hope. How long halt ye between two
opinions? There's two hopes. Hope is either Lord Jehovah or
it's Baal. Hope is either Christ or it's
Adam. Hope is grace or it's works. There are only two hopes. Only
two hopes. How long halt ye between two opinions? Elijah asked Israel,
what is your hope? Better stated, who is your hope? Who is your hope? What does it
say there at the end of verse 21? And the people answered him,
not a word. He asked him, who's your hope?
And the people answered him, not a word. Not a word. They
had no idea. God help us. What matters? What matters? What's our trouble? What's our hope? What matters?
This sounds like a strange point in a sermon. What matters? I
have a friend of mine who's an engineer. He's a brilliant, brilliant
man. He sees every discussion, everything
you ever talk about with him, he sees it almost as a math equation
in his head. You know, there's facts over
here and there's facts over here and this is how we make a decision.
You know, we weigh all the relevant facts and we make a decision.
And things like how his wife might feel about the decision
doesn't enter into the equation. Things like other people's feelings
on the, he just, he's very, very analytical, very, very brilliant.
We're talking, you know, about making a decision, say where
to go for dinner or whatnot. Say, oh, well, the kids like
chicken nuggets. He doesn't care about that. This
is what he says. That's not a factor. He says
that word only because it's a math equation. That's not a factor.
Whether or not the kid's like, I'm deciding where to go eat.
I want steak, so I want steak. But the kids want chicken nuggets.
That's not a factor. That's not a factor in the equation of the
decision. And when we consider salvation,
what matters? What matters? And if it starts
with a what? Anything that starts with a what in salvation, my
friend would say, that's not a factor. We just disregard that
and that's gone. We never even discuss it or think
about it again. That's not a factor, not a factor. All that matters
in salvation for a sinner's soul, for a sinner's soul is who? Christ
matters. What did God say on the Mount
of Transfiguration? Turn with me for this and over
into Matthew. Matthew chapter 17. All that matters, all that warrants
our discussion and our time is He who is worthy. Only, only
our Lord Jesus Christ is worthy. Only Christ is worthy. Chapter
17, first eight verses of Matthew. And after six days, Jesus taketh
Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up into a high
mountain apart, and was transfigured before them and his face did
shine as the sun and his raiment was white as light. And behold,
there appeared unto them Moses and Elias. That's Elijah talking
with him. Then he answered Peter and said
unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou wilt,
let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and
one for Elias. He didn't even finish speaking
while he yet spoke. Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed
them and behold a voice. out of the cloud, which said,
this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. Hear ye him. The disciples heard
it. They fell on their face and were
sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them and said, arise,
be not afraid. When they lifted up their eyes,
they saw no man save Jesus only. That's our prayer, right? That's
our prayer. Every worship service every day. See no man, see no
thing, see no what, see only who. We see Jesus, Jesus only,
Jesus only. Who matters? Who matters? Jesus only. Look back here at
our text and see how Elijah just strips the people of their false
hope. This is, we open the service, talk about that jeweler cleaning
the lens, right? This, this is Elijah clean, clean
in the lens. Verses 22 to 24, then Elijah
said to 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. Call ye on the name of your gods,
I'll 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, and said it is well. At the end of verse 21, and also
at the end of verse 24, reveal clearly man's free will, clearly
man's free will, left with two, quote, I hesitate to even use
the word, left with two choices, if you will, left with two choices,
our sinful soul will not choose Christ. That's very clear in
the scripture. Will is not free. That's why we hate that word.
Our will is bound. Our will is bound. One of the
clearest examples of that I ever saw as a young man, I was at
Bible school, and Bob Coffey took one of the kids, you remember
that? He wrapped a rope all the way
around him. He sat him in a chair, tied him up with a rope from
shoulder to knee. He got the kid's permission,
of course. He's a good sport. He sat there on that chair and just
tied him from shoulder to knee, bound him. with that rope to
the chair. And about that time it was snack
time. He said, go ahead. Go get your ice cream. Go get
your pop. Go get your snack. That kid's will was to go do
that, but his will was bound. His will was bound. He couldn't.
His will was bound. Our will was bound. There's no
such thing as free will. Our will is bound. We're not
free to choose Christ. It's bound by our soul. because
our soul is dead in trespasses and sins. Our will is bound.
And that's exactly what the people said, right? The people answered
and him, not a word. That's what they said in verse
21. In verse 24, they said, it's well-spoken. They're just divided.
Nobody, they all said, all the people answered and said, it
is well-spoken. Not one stood up and said, I'm
going with Elijah. This is the sacrifice. All the
people said, it's well-spoken. Let's choose between the two.
We're dead in trespasses and sin. Not one chose Christ. Not one of Israel, not one of
us, would choose Christ unless he first chooses us. Not one.
John 5, 40 says, you will not. There's our will. Our will is
a will not. You will not come to me that you might have life.
That's our will. It's a will not. You will not
come to Christ unless he first comes to us. And that's what's
shown here. Faced with two choices, the people
either uttered not a word, or they hedged their bets. They
said, it's well-spoken, but they would not, they would not choose
Christ alone. What's it say again at the end
of verse 24? All the people answered, all the people answered and said,
it's well-spoken. None of the people said, it is
the law. Not one. There's none that doeth good,
is there? No, not one. What matters? Our free will? Not a factor. Not a factor. How
about our sincerity? our passion, our confession. Among men, right? Among us, I
admire when I see somebody who's passionate about something. Outside of the Lord, not a factor,
not a factor. Look at verse 25. This speaks
to our sincerity, our passion, our confession. Verse 25, and
Elias 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 they
called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying,
O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any
that answered. And they were leaping on the
altar that was made. It came to pass at noon that
Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is talking, or he is
pursuing, or he is in a journey. Peradventure he sleepeth, and
must be awakened. What matters? Our sincerity? This is probably 12 hours. These 450 people built the sacrifice,
offered the sacrifice, sang and called on the name of the Lord,
jumped up and down on the altar. They're desperate. Absolutely
desperate. What matters? Our confession?
Our sincerity? Turn back with me to Exodus chapter
nine. These 450 prophets were very
sincere, very sincere, jumping up and down on the altar. Exodus
chapter nine. What matters, our sincerity,
even our confession. Exodus chapter nine in verse
27. And Pharaoh sent and called for
Moses and Aaron and said unto them, Listen to Pharaoh's confession. I have sinned this time. The
Lord is righteous. I and my people are wicked. Entreat the Lord for it is enough
that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail. And I'll
let you go and he shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto
him, as soon as I'm gone out of the city, I'll spread abroad
my hands under the Lord and the thunder shall cease. Neither
shall there be any more hail that thou mayest know. how that
the earth is the Lord's. But as for thee and thy servants,
I know that ye will not fear the Lord God." Or sacrifice. As a man, I would read Pharaoh's
confession there until his number one request was stop the rain,
stop the hail, right? That's what he, all through those
trials, take away the frogs. That's what his prayers amounted
to. But on the surface, it looked good, didn't it? Oh, I've sinned
a great sin. I and my people are sinners and the Lord is righteous.
What matters? Is that our sincerity? Is that
our confession? Not a factor. How about blood? Look in verse
28. In they, that's these, these
prophets were back in a first Kings in our texts in chapter
18, verse 28, they cried aloud and they cut themselves after
their manner with knives and lancets to their blood gushed
out upon them. The blood. The priests had a blood sacrifice.
They sacrificed a bullock, right? They sacrificed a bullock. They
even cut themselves. Their own blood was on the altar. They cut themselves. Their own
blood was on the altar. What about that blood? What about
if I sacrificed myself? Which again, just shows our absolute
dead depravity of our nature, to even mention that. Depravity
of our human nature to think that there's anything of value
within our souls. that would be acceptable before the Lord,
that there's anything of value there. Leviticus 22, 21 says,
and whosoever offereth the sacrifice of peace offering unto the Lord
to accomplish his vow or freewill offering in heaves or sheep,
it shall be perfect. That sacrifice shall be perfect
to be accepted. There should be no blemish there.
Shall we bring our own blood like these prophets did? Bring
our own blood that just reveals our heart that we think there's
something worthy in ourselves. In fact, it's worse than that.
It's that we think there's something perfect within ourselves. We
understand the law, it shall be perfect. It really shows that we're already
worthy inside. If we think that our own blood
would be acceptable before the Lord, just vanity, false hope.
Does our free will matter? Does our sincerity, does our
confession, our own blood, outside of Christ's blood, not a factor,
not a factor. We're just cleaning the lens.
What matters? Christ is who matters. Christ is all that matters. Look
at verses 23, excuse me, intertext 29 to 38. And it came to pass
when, when, when midday was passed, they prophesied until the time
of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither
voice nor any to answer nor, 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. 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 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 trenches also with water.
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 Israel, let it be known this day that thou art
God in Israel and that I am thy servant, 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. 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."
Christ is all that matters. Here's the two sacrifices. There's
Baal, which represents absolutely everything outside of Christ.
In there at the end of verse 29, There was neither voice nor any
to answer, nor any that regarded the two sacrifices. There was
the sacrifice to Baal and the sacrifice unto the Lord. Clearly
pointing, the sacrifice clearly pointing to Christ's perfect
redemption. Everything pointing only to Christ
and to his work. Everything provided. Everything
provided and everything accomplished by Christ. The stones, the wood,
the lamb, the fire. It's all of God. Not one part
of it. Not one part of it is by man.
This could not be more clear. Do you remember what Isaac said
to his father Abraham? In Genesis 22, he said, they're heading
up the mountain for the sacrifice, and Isaac says to Abraham, behold
the wood, behold the fire. Where's the lamb for a burnt
offering? Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb
for a burnt offering. Here in our text, we have the
altar, we have the wood, we have the lamb, Where's the fire? God
himself provides the fire, too. He provides the whole sacrifice. It's all of God in Christ. All of God in Christ. God himself
provides the fire. This is God's sacrifice. It's
God's justice that must be sacrificed. It must be perfect. God provides
it all. All of the sacrifice is provided
by the Lord. This is so clearly a picture
of Christ, the accepted sacrifice. Number four. What's the response
then? What shall we say to these things?
Look in verse 39. 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. True worship and true repentance
is found here. The Lord Jehovah, he is the God, he is the God,
regardless of whether he sees fit to show mercy to me or not.
They're not praying for rain anymore, are they? They're seeing
the Lord, the Lord, he is God. whether he sees fit to show mercy
to this center or not. I'm going to praise him because
he is worthy because the Lord, he is the guy he's done. I'm going to worship him regardless
because he alone is worthy. That's the center's response.
But do you know a response I'm really interested in? I'm really
interested in God's response. Listen to the diverse verse 38
again. Then the fire of 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. I'm interested
in God's response, because the sacrifice was accepted. We know
what Christ said from the cross. He said, it is finished. That's
the fire looking up the water and the wood and the sacrifice
and the altar. It is finished. I'm interested
in God's response. The sacrifice is accepted. The
sin debt is paid. Israel's response is good and
right. The Lord is God. But Israel's
response is not a fact That's stating what's obvious for all
of creation. The devil himself knows that the Lord is God. I'm
interested in God's response. That's where our comfort is.
Christ's sacrifice is accepted, has been accepted, and is accepted. Right now, is accepted, is accepted.
It is finished. Was finished, is finished. It
is finished now. I'm interested in God's response.
It is finished. Christ accepted sacrifice. Salvation
is of the Lord. The Lord, he is God. That's what
the people said. One final word about this response.
One final word about this response. Look in verse 41. Verse 41, Elijah
said unto Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink. For there's the
sound of abundance of rain. Lord did send rain. The Lord
did send the blessing. The Lord did send rain. Did he
bring the rain as a result of the people's repentance? That
seems to be the order we read it in, right? The people repented?
The Lord sent rain. Did rain come because Israel
repented? Look back in verse 1 of this same chapter, chapter
18. Before Elijah came to meet with Ahab, this is what our Lord
said to Elijah. And it came to pass after many
days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year,
saying, Go show thyself unto Ahab, I will send rain upon the
earth." The Lord purposed it. The Lord purposed the rain. The
Lord purposed the rain. He brought the people to repentance
and then brought the rain that he had fore-purposed. Correct?
It's clear chronologically in the text there. So it is with
salvation. He who calls upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved. We have that in writing from
our God. He who calls upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved. Well, he who calls on the name
of the Lord for salvation is calling because the Lord purposed
it. The Lord purposed it, and the Lord calls his people to
repentance. Call! The scripture commands
sinners to call upon the name of the Lord and promises, he
who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Call on
the name of the Lord. The Lord purposed it to rain,
and then he caused them to repent, and then he brought the rain.
The Lord purposed it. It's all of him. The sacrifice, the work,
the call, it's all of Christ. It's all of Christ. That's our
comfort for the week. We see through the glass, and
we see the diamond, and we see Christ, not me. That's our comfort is to rest
in Christ. The sacrifice, the call, the
work, remission, all of Christ. Everything else falls under that
category that my friend likes to say, not a factor. Everything
that is not Christ, not a factor. not a factor. Come to Him. Christ
alone is worthy. Christ alone is accepted. Accepted
by God. Sinners are accepted in Him.
Christ is merciful. Christ is worthy. Christ is all. We come to Christ. That's what
the scripture says, right? Amen. Let's close in prayer together. Heavenly Father, bless us for
your great namesake. Bless the word that goes forth.
Pray that you bless the hearts of your children as you see fit. Make your word serve your purpose. Your purpose. Give us comfort
in your purpose. Be with us as we go. Be with
us through the week. Keep us safe. Don't leave us
alone, Father. We pray that you keep us close.
We pray this thankfully in Christ's name and for his sake. Amen.