June 28, 2017
1 Kings 18:20-40
Matins - Higher Things Conference "Here I Stand"
Here I stand. And there Elijah stood:
It's time to fish or cut bait, people. You've been going back and
forth, to and fro. Either serve the true God Yahweh, or go after
your false god, Baal. Let's have a contest. You build an altar,
I'll build mine. We'll make a sacrifice. Whoever gets their god to
send down fire on it, well that God is the real deal. You go first.
What? Your god isn't listening? Maybe
you need to pray harder. Cry louder. Maybe Baal's in the bathroom.
(And who says the Bible doesn't have any bathroom humor?) Today he
might say Baal's internet is down, or his phone is on “do not
disturb”. Oh, now you're cutting yourselves? Ew. Gross. But
even all this blood won't get his attention? But after half a day of
this nonsense, there was no fire. There was no voice. No one
answered. No one paid attention.
Elijah says, “Let's make this
interesting. Dump a bunch of water on my altar. No wait, dig some
trenches so we can even surround with with water. Douse it good.
Not once, not twice, three times.” And then Elijah prayed. And
the fire fell. And it was no mediocre fire, it was Texas hot fire.
To burn the bull, the wood, the water and the very stone... you need
fire about 2800 degrees Farenheit. Yahweh means business.
And so you could say Elijah proved his
point, or rather Yahweh did. And Elijah took those 450 false
prophets and had them executed. Which made wicked queen Jezebel put
a price on his head, but that's another story. So what do we make of
this dramatic contest, the smackdown on Mt. Carmel? What does it
have to do with you, and with Jesus for you?
So where do you stand? You can see
yourself, perhaps, in the audience. One of those curious onlookers
waiting to see how this would all go down. You're not watching Baal
vs. Yahweh, but the contest today is between Yahweh and, well, lots
of other things. You probably even have your own personal little
Baals. Worldviews, ideas, lifestyles opposed to God, vying for your
attention and loyalty and even participation. Will this contest end
with you in the camp of the true faith? Or will the false prophets
of the world convince you with their gesticulations and persuasions?
Or maybe they already have. Don't be a human ping-pong ball, back
and forth between the truth and lies. Repent. Turn away from all
that. Look to Christ, to Yahweh, and live.
God does what he says he will do. He
keeps his promises. Now, he has not promised to send down fire from
heaven whenever you want. That would probably cause us some trouble,
anyway. But he has promised to send down his forgiveness on you just
as gratuitously, or even more. His grace in Jesus Christ melts away
all your sins. His baptismal waters power-wash away every spot and
stain. There's nothing left. This is no half-way, strings-attached,
mealy-mouthed, mamby-pamby, all for show, sissy-pants forgiveness.
This is a full-throttle, take-no-prisoners, super-sized, punch in the
gut, for all-the-marbles, complete annihilation of sins kind of
forgiveness. God does not mess around.
And where's Jesus in all of this? He's
the Elijah that prays on our behalf. Where's Jesus? He's the
sacrifice on the altar who is himself consumed, so that the fires of
hell can't touch us. Where's Jesus? He's the one who shed his own
blood – and unlike with those loser prophets, with Jesus' blood -
Someone listened, Someone answered, Someone paid attention. God the
Father answered and accepted the sacrifice on the cross, and showed
it by raising Jesus from the dead. And so, Jesus wins.
You know the score: Sin, death and
Devil – zip. Baal nothing. Yahweh everything, forever. Jesus
wins it all - and he wins you, not just now, but forever. That you
may be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in
everlasting righteousness innocence and blessedness. This is most
certainly true. This is where it stands. In Jesus Name. Amen.
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