Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
4/13/97 am
A Decision For Spiritual Renewal
Reading 1 Kings 18.17-39
Go with me now to the slopes of Mount Carmel For:
A shoot-out,
A showdown,
A confrontation,
Between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Ahab and wicked queen Jezebel had put out a decree to kill all the prophets. And they would have too, had it not been for Obadiah, the superintendent in charge of their house, who hid a hundred of the prophets in near by caves.
As the narrative opens, there was a great famine in the land, brought about by Ahab and Jezebel setting up idols and leading the people to worship these idol gods of Baal. Elijah the prophet said, because of your idolatry, there will be no rain or even a dew in the land until I ask God for moisture.
Our text opens with Elijah and King Ahab meeting in confrontation. Ahab, calls Elijah the Troubler of Israel. Elijah responds, Its not me that troubles Israel, but you for promoting idolatry. Elijah proposes a way to decide once and for all who is the real God of Israel in the eyes of the people. The plan went like this, the prophets of Baal and the prophets of God were each to prepare:
An altar of stone,
Complete with wood
And an ox for the sacrifice.
However, there would be no fire. Each was to call upon their god to provide the fire.
The god that lit the fire, would be the god that Israel should worship and follow. Verse 24 tells us that the people agreed that this was a good plan. The prophets of Baal went first. They built their altar, killed the ox, and called on Baal to light the fire. But there was no answer. They pleaded to Baal until about noon... And still no answer.. Elijah began to make fun of them, saying:
Pray a little louder, maybe your god is hard of hearing,
Maybe he is busy this morning,
Perhaps he's asleep,
Or away on vacation.
So they cried louder. They even cut themselves with knives and spears in an attempt to get Baal's attention, but still nothing happened. This frenzy lasted until almost six in the evening, but with no answer.
So Elijah invites the people to come watch him.
He prepares the altar and digs a trench around it.
The wood and ox are laid on the altar,
Then water is poured on the sacrifice until it is soaking wet.
The trench is also filled with water.
In verse 36, Elijah prays for God to let the people know that He is Jehovah God. At that moment fire flashed from heaven, and consumed: the offering, the wood, the stones, the dirt around the altar, and the flames lapped up the water that was in the trench.
At this demonstration, the people fell on their face proclaiming that Jehovah was God. What an interesting event in the history of Israel Audience, the central question in this narrative is found in verse 21. Look at it with me. It is a question that confronts each one of us here tonight. Do you see it? How long will you:
Halt,
Hesitate,
Wavier, Falter, between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is god follow him. They needed to decide! You see, when we come to the fork in the road, we must make a choice... We must decide.
We cannot take both paths.
We cannot ride the fence.
We cannot serve two masters.
We must make a choice... We must decide.
There are those here tonight, who are:
THIS close to acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Savior.
THIS close to obeying the gospel and becoming a child of God by Faith, Repentance and New Testament Baptism, immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins.
Others are THIS close to committing to genuine spiritual renewal in their lives.
You see, Israel's challenge, becomes our challenge. How long will we hesitate between two opinions? We must know tonight that double minded indecision is not only challenged by God, it is outright condemned. Listen to these admonitions from Scripture:
Joshua challenged Israel, Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.
Jesus says, No individual can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
John writes, Love not the world, nor the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Scripture tells us that there are only two options for us to choose from:
The straight and narrow that leads to eternal life.
Or the broad road that leads to destruction.
You see, it was decision time on Mount Carmel. And it is decision time for each of us here tonight. Why do we waiver?... Why do we not decide? I don't know for sure, but I have some suggestions... Six of them:
FIRST, WE FAIL TO MAKE A DECISION BECAUSE OF THE FALSE COMFORT OF GOOD INTENTIONS.
I have in mind an individual whom I love dearly. I have known him for forty years.
We raised our children together...
Laughed and cried together
Buried loved ones together.
He is a good man. I remember watching the sun come up over their kitchen table, after discussing Bible and his obedience all night long. As the sun rose that Saturday morning, over coffee, his words were, Randall I intend to. So far he never has. That was almost twenty years ago. Does his good intentions count for something?... Anything?... NO!
A few years ago, a member of the church here, came into my study. Because of his own inappropriate behavior, with another woman, his family was falling apart... His wife had filed for divorce. Finally, in anger and hurt, he shouted at me:
I meant to do better,
I meant to be a better husband,
I meant to be faithful,
I meant to be a better father.
Doesn't that count for something ? I said, no.... Not really. It's like going to the bank and asking the teller to make a withdrawal from our account and the teller saying, you don't have an account here... Well, I meant to open one... I intended too. All of us intend to eat better and exercise more... RIGHT? Does our good intentions mean anything to our health?... NO.
You see, meaning to do something, intending to do something, is far different than actually doing it. The old adage is true, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
We mean to do better.
We mean to become a better spouse and parent.
We mean to become more committed Christians.
We mean to read our Bibles more... Pray more.
We mean to give up that ugly sin in our lives.
We mean to obey the gospel.
We mean to visit the sick and shut-ins... To serve the widows and orphans.
We mean to attend worship services more regularly.... To give more... Do more... Be more.
Mere good intentions are not enough. James says, He that knows to do right... He that knows to do good and does it not.... Sins.
You see, MERELY HAVING good intentions is a sin. James says:
We must act,
We must do what we know to be right and good.
Let us not give in to the false comfort of good intentions.
SOMETIMES WE FAIL TO MAKE A DECISION BECAUSE OF OUR LOVE OF PROCRASTINATION.
We put things off saying: There will be another day, A better time, Not here, Not now, Not tonight, Not me, Not us, Lets wait! Unless it feels just right... Unless everything is absolutely perfect, we'll not do it. Folk, Satan is into this kind of thinking... Satan is in our putting off obedience to God.
You see, we'll never be what we could be or should be, if we convince ourselves that there's plenty of time.
James describes life as a mist, a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compared life to a flower... Here today gone tomorrow.
Job likens life to a weaver's shuttle... Moving so fast it can hardly be seen.
Peter says, We are like grass, the grass withers and the flower falls away.
I'm not trying to frighten anyone, but the truth is, we're not going to live forever. We ought to live every day... Every hour... Each moment, as if it were our last, for it could be. Augustine said, God has promised: Forgiveness to our repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to our procrastination.
The story is told about Satan meeting with four of his most trusted angels and asking each of them to come up with a plan that would damn the souls of men and women effectively.
The first one said, my plan is to tell the world that there is no God... That the universe come into existence by an evolutionary process. Satan said, that's good.
The second angel said, I will tell the world that there is a God, that he created the universe, but that the Bible is not His will, it is just another man-made book. Satan also liked this plan and said, we'll use it effectively.
The third angel said, I'll tell the world that there is a creator, God, the Bible is His word, but that one religion is as good as another, in spite of the fact that the Bible tells us that there is salvation in none other name other than Jesus. Satan said, we can use that.
The fourth angel had the most ingenious plan... He said, I will tell the world God is the creator and sustainer of the universe. That the Bible is indeed an inspired book. That salvation is found only in Jesus. But I'll tell them that they have plenty of time to obey.
Satan knew that this was the most effective plan of all... Indeed it is... Indeed it is. In fact, some of us will use it when the invitation song is sung tonight... RIGHT?
Most of us here tonight know what we should do..... What we should become. We don't need more long pleading sermons to persuade us... What we need is to decide. Then why not tonight? Paul said, now is the acceptable time, today is the day of salvation.
OTHER TIMES, WE FAIL TO MAKE A DECISION BECAUSE OF OUR REFUSAL TO FACE REALITY.
We deny our situation... We deny OUR NEED TO ACT. We preachers see this a lot in those caught-up in some form of addiction. These people deny their situation by rationalizing like this:
I don't drink or do drugs much...
Just a nip now and then...
Just a recreational joint...
Just a sniff of coke.
Besides, I can quit anytime I want to.
Then before you know it life tumbles in, and one of us are called to do their funeral.
We all do it don't we? We eat too much and say:
We can quit,
We can go on a diet,
We can start exercising anytime we get ready... Like tomorrow. But, we don't... But we don't. A refusal to face reality.
I have some questions for you:
Are you lost?
Are you outside of Christ tonight?
Is there something between you and God or you and others that needs to be cleared up?
Are you denying your need to act?
WE FAIL TO MAKE A DECISION BECAUSE WE THINK REMAINING NEUTRAL IS AN OPTION.
Our English word neutral comes from two root words meaning not either. So, a decision not to choose is a wrong choice. There's no place that this is more evident than in the life of Pilate. His choice not to choose put Jesus on a cross.
Listen to these admonitions from Scripture regarding attempted neutrality:
Jesus tells us that we are either for Him or against Him... We are either gathering people to Him or running them off. There is no such thing as neutrality.
The Hebrews' writer tells us, every time we fail to choose, we crucify Jesus a fresh, put Him to open shame... And trample under foot the blood of the covenant by which we have been purchased. We become just like Pilate!
James says in 4.17, He that knows to do right... To do good and doesn't do it sins. When we know to do right and don't do it, we compound our sins... We just add sin to sin.
Then in James 4.4 he says plainly, Don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
FIFTHLY, THERE ARE THOSE WHO FAIL TO DO WHAT THEY KNOW TO BE RIGHT BECAUSE THEY FEEL THEY ARE CONDEMNING OTHERS BY THEIR OBEDIENCE TO TRUTH.
I have had good men and women tell me, well if I submit to New Testament baptism and become a member of the church of Christ, I am saying that mother, daddy or a favorite grandparent, a spouse or a child was wrong in their religious beliefs.
Folk, God does not judge us on what some family members believed and practiced, but upon what we believe and practice. If our loved ones are saved and safe in heaven tonight, they want nothing more than for us to obey what we know to be Biblically correct. If they are lost, they certainly want nothing more tonight than for us to obey what we know to be right.
The rich man in the narrative of the Rich Man & Lazarus wanted two things in his torment:
First, he wanted his own comfort... Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool me, for I am tormented in these flames.
Secondly, he was concerned for his brothers still living. Send Lazarus back to speak to my brothers, so they will not come to this place.
We cannot use another individual's religious faith and practice as an excuse for our acknowledging Jesus as our Savior and becoming a child of God.
THEN FINALLY, WE DON'T MAKE A DECISION BECAUSE WE FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE CRITICAL TRANSACTION OF GENUINE CHRISTIANITY.
In the business world, the term Critical Transaction is used to speak of that which is most important... That which the business cannot do without.
For instance, in the airline business, the critical transaction is not when the plane takes off... Not when a mechanic fixes the plane. The critical transaction is when someone buys a ticket. If people do not buy plane tickets, nothing else can happen.
In a radio station the critical issue is not what kind of music you play or when it is played... The critical transaction.... Selling advertising. If advertising is not sold, the station cannot stay on the air.
It is so easy for us in the church to become caught up in those things that are not the critical issue. This is not to say that they are not important issues, but they are not THE critical transaction.
Question!...
What was the critical transaction for Israel at Mt. Carmel?
What is the critical issue in Christianity?
More to the point, what is the critical issue in my life and yours tonight?
That we be converted.
Become changed people.
That we experience spiritual renewal.
When does that change occur?
For the alien sinner at the point of New Testament Baptism. Paul tells us in Galatians, 3.26 & 27, You are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, have been clothed with Christ. Romans six tells us that in baptism, the old man of sin is crucified and we are raised to walk in newness of life. Acts 2.38 tells us that forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit comes with repentance and baptism. For us as baptized believers, the critical transaction occurs when we:
Acknowledge our sins,
Confess our faults,
Asking for God's forgiveness,
And begin again to walk with Him.
Listen to 1 John 1. & 9, If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin... If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Make the critical transaction tonight.... Choose Jesus. As a baptized believer, choose spiritual renewal. Make this your day of decision. Decide to follow Jesus.
