“Preparing to See God at Work”

Scripture: 1 Kings 18:16-39

I think everyone knows that the church in America is in a decline, and while program after program has been developed to reverse that trend, I think they have all been overlooking one of the primary reasons for the decay. In my opinion, the church has forgotten that we are called to expect that God is not only present in this world, but that he is also actively working in it for our good! And because people have forgotten that the Lord works for us, we have also stopped preparing to see him at work.

Yes – we have to prepare to see God at work! When we take a close look at scripture, it becomes obvious that we have to be ready to see God in action. Otherwise, we may see the event but never see the Lord in it. Why do you think so many think that events are “coincidental”? They know that something has happened, but are unable to place any importance on it. We have to expect God to work, we have to be prepared to see him work, we have to know that he works, and that he works in wonderful ways!

Read 1 Kings 18:16-21

“and the people said nothing!” Makes you wonder why, doesn’t it? Elijah had the answer, and even Ahab and Jezebel would have had an answer! But not the people!
I think that their silence was primarily due to the fact that the real question wasn’t a question at all – it was a statement. “Pick one and stick with him.” is what Elijah was actually saying, and the people didn’t understand and they couldn’t choose.

From the book “God’s Partners” by Wendland & Menking:
“Biblical faith says you are God's partner. To God, you aren't a slave whose only duty is to do what you are told. You aren't even an employee who agrees to do work in exchange for pay. You are a real partner whom God invites to share the responsibility for carrying out God's plan for the world ....
God coming to you in Jesus gives you the freedom to be who you are: God's partner .... God's coming to you in Jesus, however, is not a demand. It is an invitation. God doesn't tell you, “This is what you must be!” God says instead, “This is what you can be!” So when you encounter Jesus, you can say not only, “There God is”, but also,” There I am.”
--Barbara Wendland and Stanley Menking, God's Partners: Lay Christians at Work (Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 1993), 2, 54.

Israel had never seen faith as a partnership – for them, it was a dictatorship! And that is the same problem that exists today. People don’t see God’s call as much as an invitation as they do a command. “My way or the highway!” is the public perception of what Christianity is all about – both from within the faith and from without! The authors of “God’s Partners” got it right! The world sees faith as slavery, as being bound to a duty to do as God directs, and if you deviate from that direction, then you are condemned to hell! Fortunately, the Lord sees it in an entirely different light!

When Elijah confronted Israel with the question ‘’How long will you waiver between two opinions?”, they simply weren’t ready to make the choice! They needed a prompting, and so do the people of today.

Read 1 Kings 18:22-29

“A contest! What a great way to help us make a choice!” God is going to oblige them, and he will even let the false god go first! Why would the Lord be so generous and accommodating to a people who won’t choose him? And how could Elijah be so confident that his God will win? The truth is that he was prepared, he had the faith to see his Lord in action! Solid and unbridled faith is our preparation!

God has always worked best when his people believe in him. Remember when Jesus was in Nazareth, and because of the lack of faith in the people, he could only perform a few, minor healings? (Mark 6:1-5) God will always be at the top of his game when his people are for him, and with him, and confident that the Lord can and will win! “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:19-20) That’s how God works! He could so easily do it all by himself, but he always chooses to do it in partnership with you and me! Why? I don’t know – I just know that he wants to work in and through the faith of his own!

And so, the contest begins. Baal starts out a little slow, and Elijah decides to ‘encourage” the priests. But no matter how loudly they call, and no matter how sacrificial they become, Baal remains silent. So, who do you think is going to win?
It isn’t the priests of Baal & Asherah, that’s for certain!
The winner doesn’t have to be God, either – he has been the victor since before time began and will be even at the end. One minor event means little to the eternal Champion!
The real winners are to be the people, but only if they learn from this incident.

Read 1 Kings 18: 30–39

Some of the significance that surrounds the event:

Elijah chooses 12 stones from an altar that had been damaged. First, we need to see this as representative of the rebuilding of Israel’s faith. It had been severely damaged, torn down, had become useless, but it was being raised up once again for a Godly purpose.
Second, Elijah chooses 12 stones, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. But remember that we were in the time of the divided kingdom, and this takes place in the north – in Israel. There were 10 tribes as far as they were concerned, not 12, but I think that at least a few got the point. The Lord is telling the people that he is calling them all back to his side, back to his glory, to his plan, and that the proof will be in the miracle that is about to happen.
The miracle itself is certainly significant, not so much in that the fire rained down on the sacrifice, but rather how and what it consumed. It not only consumed the entire sacrifice, but it also destroyed every last bit of the wood, the 12 altar stones, the soil, and every drop of water that had been poured on them.
The things that weren’t burned, though, are just as significant – it didn’t burn the pagan sacrifice, and it never touched the people!! Evil in this world will not be destroyed until the Lord says it is time, and his people will escape the destruction even then.

And the people learned just how powerful their God was, and they loudly proclaim it. Of course, they had proclaimed God before, and would do so again, but their faith never seems to remain constant or firm. But on this day, Elijah had prayed a prayer that would be answered in an incredibly dramatic way - “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac & Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

What a prayer! The Lord would hear it, and he would respond in a miraculous way, and if only for a short time, Israel’s heart would, indeed, be turned back to their Almighty Partner. And all because Elijah not only believed, but because he was prepared and expectant for the Lord’s miracle.

My friends, this isn’t just a great story of faith – it is an example and a call for the church of today.
Even as Israel had fallen away from their God, so has our nation, and the world of 2012.
Even as Israel had been taking in the foreign God’s of other nations, so have we.
Even as God’s greatest desire was that Israel would once again accept his glorious “partnership of faith’, he is calling our world to that same relationship.
Even as Israel desperately needed a faith revival in their life, so does the Church of today.

And what is needed for this revival? God needs one or two, and maybe even three of his faithful to be ready and anxious to see his glory at work, and who are prepared to pray Elijah’s prayer – “O Lord God, let it be known today that you are God in and of this world, and that all good things are of you. Answer my prayer, O Lord, so that others will know that you, and you alone, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again. Amen.”

Will you pray this prayer every day from now until Easter morning? Will you pray it confidently? Will you pray it expectantly? Will you pray it faithfully? Will you pray it as one of the Lord’s partners?