The God that answers by fire (1)

Sunday, 30 October 2022 05:41

The God that answers by fire (1) - Taiwo Akinola

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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 ~ 1 Kings 18:24.

Introduction

The whole world is in a spiritual crisis moment right now. Its entire system is continuously challenging the God of the Bible, and rigorously testing the reality of our experiences as God’s children one way or the other. Indeed, these are days when the God of Elijah must prevail again so that our generation can seek His power, holiness, truth, justice and passion once more.

Our God is the Almighty. There should be no doubt about that, but just being religious and knowing that there is God is not enough. Even the devil knows that (James 2:19). In fact, he can quote Scriptures better than many Christians (Luke 4:9-11).

We need to truly know who God really is, like Jesus did (John 10.14-15). That way, we won’t rank ourselves among those who worship the unknown God (Acts 17:23-25). The God of the Bible is the true God. He detests counterfeit worship, but He responds only to genuine worship offered in spirit and truth (Matthew 15:8).

The pertinent question to ask at this point is: “what is the difference between genuine and counterfeit worship”? Fire! It is the Holy Spirit’s presence in our worship that makes the big difference in every worship offered to God. He ignites and sets ablaze the hearts that approach God in genuine worship.

Elijah Called And God Answered By Fire

From our text above, we found that Israel had disobeyed God and strayed so far away from His clear commandments. It soon became very obvious to them that God’s commandments were not idle words (Deuteronomy 28:15, 23-24). However, they learnt this the hard way: for three years and a half, there were no drops of rain or dew in Israel (1 Kings 17:1).

This sting of God's judgment in the form of physical and spiritual drought in the land of Israel was not lost, even upon the King, Ahab, who had brought the dire problem upon the entire nation through his idolatrous practices. But, rather than admit this, Ahab wrongly chose Elijah as a scapegoat: "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” (1Kings 18:17).

Happily, Elijah served him rightly: "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 Baalim” (v18). Thereafter, Elijah gave the historic call to worship, and all Israel and the prophets of Baal gathered to hear what the “strange man” who could stop the heavens from raining had to say.

Elijah quipped: “How long halt ye between two opinions? (v21). See, people today are not really different from people thousands of years ago, especially when it comes to doubting God and being disloyal to Him. They still blame God and His people for every societal problem, which they have brought upon themselves through their breaches of divine commandments.

The proposition of Elijah in this spiritual contest was very simple but, no doubt, a very bold and audacious challenge as well. Recall that there were 450 prophets of Baal, and 400 prophets of the groves, while Elijah felt he was the sole representative of the Lord (v19-24).

His boldness was clearly borne out of his implicit faith in the Omnipotent God and his peculiar insight that there was no real life in the dumb idols that the Israelites were so foolishly worshiping at that time. Albeit, Israel was indeed fortunate that God still cared enough for them to send Elijah to turn their hearts once again to Him.

The prophets of Baal spent the whole day shouting, in rabid self-lacerations and in frenzies of emotion, trying to get their idols to perform a miracle for them. In fact, Elijah mocked them and gave them all the time to make a plea to their gods. But, no answer came (v25-29).

When the prophets of Baal had exhausted themselves, Elijah built an altar to the Lord according to the Word of the Lord (v31-33). And, while preparing to make his sacrifice, Elijah asked all the people to come near. He wanted them to watch him closely and know for themselves that there was no sleight of hand involved at all (v30).

Before he prayed on this occasion, Elijah also made the answer absolutely impossible for any man to simulate by putting water where he needed fire! He had the people drench the entire altar and the sacrifice (v33-35). See, whenever God answers, He does so by a miracle, and this is the most fundamental evidence of His unfailing reality.

At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah made his simple prayer to God. He prayed in faith that God would prove Himself, and turn the hearts of the people back to Himself. Water which was the most valuable thing in the dry land was offered with the sacrifice to the God of Israel.

Then, the fire of God fell, and consumed the sacrifice, the entire altar, and the water in the trench (v36-39)! The people fell upon their faces and acknowledged,"The LORD, he is the God”. And, the prophets of Baal were taken by the people, and slain at the hands of Elijah (v40).

We Serve a Prayer Answering God

On Mount Carmel, God answered by fire and destroyed the false prophets harassing Elijah. He silenced the spiritual enslavers of Israel, and also showcased His unique and incredible power by terminating the drought and opening the heavens for a deluge of rain in answer to Elijah’s prayer.

God can be prevailed upon to glorify His name if His people will pray fervently and earnestly as did Elijah. Elijah didn’t possess any superior virtue that Christians cannot access today (James 5:17). The lack of fervency in prayer is a great limitation to many Christian enterprises. Whenever we call in faith, believing in His promises, God does the impossible.

Our God is the true God of fire and power! He rules the heavens and the earth, and nothing is impossible or hard for Him to do. The winds and the storm clouds roll back at His command. Sicknesses flee at the mention of His name. Indeed, all demonic powers tremble at His presence, and hell itself runs out of business each time we call on Him.

How do you set fire to wet wood? You cannot, but God can (Jeremiah 33:3)! He can also show forth in His gracious power to transform lives of those who believe in Him by the fire of the Holy Spirit. He gives strength for victory and rids destinies of unwanted burdens.

Today, Jesus Christ is the key to answered prayers. He is the real answer to the problems of the world, and He is all we need to attract the attention of the God that answers by fire. You won’t miss it, in Jesus Name. Amen. Happy Sunday!