In Elijah’s day the one true God was being completely ignored and forced out of public life. Much like today. To confront this culture, Elijah believes in a “put up or shut-up” theology, so he proposes a test.

1 Kings 18:20–24 (NKJV) — 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”

You absolutely have to love Elijah…he is facing down 450 of Baal’s prophets, not to mention all of the people had forsaken God, and he isn’t the least bit intimidated. He was willing to step out in faith and to step up his faith and to show he really believed what he said he believed.

There is no doubt at all in my mind that if we actually lived like we believed what we said we believed as Christians, more people would believe what we believe!

A contest is set up between Elijah, the true prophet and the prophets of Baal, and more specifically between Baal and God.

Elijah, being the nice guy that he was said, “You go first. You pray to your God and then I’ll pray to my God and the god who answers by fire, he is God.”

Don’t pass over this: Elijah is in no way, shape or form afraid of their false gods or the prophet’s prayers to this false god.

One of the arguments that people use against having prayer in the public schools is that if you are going to have prayer, then you have to let everybody pray. You would have to let the Buddhists pray, the Muslims pray, and the Hindus pray.

Can I be candid with you and share my response? Let them.

Why should we ever be afraid of a false prayer to a false god?

The Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 45:20 said this about pagan people:

Isaiah 45:20 (NKJV) — 20 …And pray to a god that cannot save.

You can’t really miss what happens in verses 25 through 29, because I really think it is quite funny:

1 Kings 18:25–29 (NKJV) — 25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

Can you just see these prophets praying, crying, jumping, dancing, mutilating themselves, trying to get their god to answer?

Of course, there was no answer.

I have to admit; I love to see this little mean streak in Elijah. He doesn’t show any mercy. He begins to make fun of them and make fun of their nonexistent god, “Maybe your god needs to put a hearing aid in. Maybe he left on a trip and forgot his phone. Maybe he is napping and you need to wake him up.”

After they give up, he takes his turn.

1 Kings 18:30–35 (NKJV) — 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

Now Elijah makes sure that all the people understand that whatever is about to happen is because of God, not because of him.

• That is why he rebuilt the altar,
• that is why he offered a sacrifice,
• and that is why he poured water on the wood.

Because he wanted all the people to know that this was not about him and it wasn’t about them. It was all about God.

This must have brought a smile to the face of God, because Elijah was really saying, in effect,” I believe in my God so much I am not going to gasoline on this to help it burn…I am going to pour water on it to make it more difficult. My God is a God of fire.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV) — 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…

I believe with all of my heart God wants to do so much more in us, through us, with us, by us and for us, but the reason He doesn’t is because we just don’t trust Him and act like we trust Him.

Remember: When you truly step out for God, He steps up for you. God responds to our faith.

How are we to stay true in this day and age where God seems to be mocked by so many…and almost anything can be “tolerated” rather than Christianity?

1 Kings tells us about a wicked king named Ahab:

1 Kings 16:33  …Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

Wow.  How would you like to be remembered like that?

This verse tells us that out of all of the wicked leaders that Israel suffered through up until that point, Ahab was the most corrupt and wicked of them all.  Like many “leaders” even today, Ahab talked a lot about religion and spirituality. However, the god that he served certainly was not the one found in the Bible.

Israel at this point was drowning in sin, the leaders were self-serving and wicked and integrity was nowhere to be found.  Sound familiar?

And in that time when right was wrong and wrong was right, Elijah, a man who stood for righteousness and the one true God was considered not only politically incorrect but also an enemy of the state!

1 Kings 18:17  Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

The trouble maker for Israel was its sin and wicked leadership.  And you have to love the way Elijah speaks up:

1 Kings 18:18  And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.

Elijah was “telling it like it was.”  Something that most likely wasn’t happening very often.  He then continues:

1 Kings 18:19–21 19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.

Elijah tells the people something that all believers in the true God are obligated to tell everyone: Nobody can serve two gods, but everyone will serve one!  Elijah is demanding a response to the question, “Which god are you going to serve?”

That was a shocking question then and it still is now.  If you want to cause people to go into feigned shock at your “intolerance,” tell them that they must choose which god to serve…and then tell them that there is really only one choice and one God!

But regardless of how people react we must stand for the one true God and stand against the false gods of this age.  Do not be deceived-you cannot stand for Jesus and not stand against anything else.  So many believe that lie.  When you are following Christ, you will be swimming upstream against the currents of today’s secular humanism, materialism and idolatry.  Like the old preachers used to say, “If you don’t run into the devil, it’s because you are running with him!”

When Elijah confronted the people, they were shocked.  They had spent so much time listening to false prophets that told them what they wanted to hear which made them feel better about worshiping false gods that they did not recognize the truth or a true prophet when they met either.

 

Please understand that I am not saying that we should ever be unkind or ugly, but if we are going to stand with Christ on the Word of God, we have no choice but to speak out against false gods.

Just because you are a witness for Christ and His unique ability to save, you are taking a stand against the idolatry of today.

 

Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court to strike down laws passed in the state of Texas that would affect abortions in that state and the health of the women involved is yet another reminder of the cultural collapse that has happened in America.

Dartmouth Professor, Jeffrey Hart, said in a speech reported by the Wall Street Journal several years ago:

“A great many things happened all of a sudden in this country in the very recent past.  Without going through the right or wrong of every case I list them objectively.

Within living memory, abortion was a felony in virtually every state in the nation. Today, abortion is commonplace in America.  Demands that it be federally funded are alleged to be rooted in the Constitution.

Within living memory, hardcore pornography was largely kept out of sight, usually by rough agreement between sellers and authorities.  Now the hardcore stuff is available on your computer screen and even your smart phone.

Within living memory, school children recited the Pledge of Allegiance every morning and in many schools simple prayers.  At Christmas time, they sang Christmas carols.  Suddenly, all of this is taboo.

Within living memory, homosexualality was for the most part discrete.  Now, we find demands of public legitimization of their lifestyle, staged parades and demands of representation on governing bodies as a legitimate minority.

Is there any question that a revolution has in fact been imposed upon an unsuspecting nation?”

That above quote is from the 90’s…I cannot help but wonder if the “revolution” that he mentions has in fact been mostly completed.

We all know that today if you stand for Biblical values and you do not tow the politically correct line, that you will be seen as a racist, homophobic or (gasp!) the worst of all: intolerant.

Over the next few blog posts we will be looking at 1 Kings 18 and the story of Elijah who confronted a corrupt culture that truly wasn’t that much different than today’s.  We are going to learn how we are to respond to a corrupt culture and how God responds to us when we do!

 

 

The parable of the steward continues in Luke 16:4.

Luke 16:4-6 (NKJV)- 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?” 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

The steward is basically saying, “Ah, I know how to make sure I have plenty of friends to take care of me when I’m fired!”

Let me explain what’s going on. The going interest rate on borrowed oil was 100%. The interest rate on wheat was 25%. The steward is essentially transforming these debts into interest-free loans. By doing so, he immediately makes friends he can count on in a pinch. He now has IOU’s he can call in, because these people owe him one. He lost one thing, his salary, but he gains something more important: friends. Talk about clever!

Now that you understand what the steward has done, you can understand his master’s reaction.

Luke 16:8a (NKJV)- So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.

The owner admired the steward’s shrewdness. But why was he commending him? Because, by using what his master had given him today, he ensured he would be taken care of tomorrow. He was getting ready for the time when his job would end. He knew he would need somebody to fall back on for help. In other words, he did what he did today in order to be prepared tomorrow.

Think about what this steward has done. He has made a future for himself with someone else’s money. He didn’t even have to put up any of his own resources. You would have to agree that it is a wise man who uses what he has today to make a future for tomorrow- especially if he uses someone else’s money to do it.

Are you getting the picture? Everything you have right now belongs to God. You are an owner of nothing and a manager of everything. At the end of the day or at the end of your life, it is all going back to the owner.

Many of us have money deducted from our paychecks to go to a pension plan or retirement account, and there is nothing wrong with that. I believe we ought to save for retirement. But what I don’t understand is why we don’t take the same care to set money aside to invest in God’s Kingdom and God’s work. I don’t understand why we have savings plans and retirement plans, yet don’t think we need to have giving plans.

You have a chance, right now, to use what God has given you today to make sure that it works for you tomorrow, in eternity. We are responsible for using God’s money wisely.