Put up or Shut up
Welcome back. If you missed part one, follow this link.
After a brief scene setting up the action . . . the conclusion.
King Ahab summons all his heathen clergy members. 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah head for Mt Carmel. Hundreds of citizens of Israel join tag along to see what’s up.
On the top of the Mountain, they meet Elijah.
21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by [sending] fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” 1 Kings 18:21-24
The conclusion starts here!
The prophets of Baal and Asherah cry and pray all morning.
There’s no answer.
At noon Elijah begins to make fun of them. Perhaps their god is "daydreaming, or on a trip, or in the restroom, or even sleeping. He suggests they cry louder to awaken him.
The false prophets do just that. They even cut themselves with knives and rocks to show their sincerity through mid-afternoon.
Still no answer.
Finally, the prophets collapse from exhaustion.
Elijah rebuilds the Altar of God, digs a trench around it, puts the wood on the altar, cuts the sacrificial bull into pieces and lays them on the wood. Then he calls for four large jars, maybe 10 gallons each, of water. Don't forget we are in the third year of a drought, so even finding water is a chore.
Not satisfied by the dampness created by 40 gallons of water, Elijah calls for four more, then four more! The water soaked the bull, the wood, the rocks of the altar, and filled up the trench around the altar.
Remember, the God who answers by FIRE is to be declared the true God. Elijah has Heavy-duty faith.
Elijah prays:
“LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” (I Kings 18: J6-J7)
THE FIRE COMES DOWN and consumes EVERYTHING.
During the baccalaureate address, I used flash paper at this point. It looked something like this. It’s an impressive display that leaves the audience looking for more.
The spectators proclaim God as their God.
The false prophets are all killed.
It even begins to rain, ending the drought.
When God puts up, He PUTS UP!
Back at the palace of Ahab and Jezebel, Ahab describes the carnage to Jezebel. She swears to kill Elijah.
Elijah has just had the awesome power of the Living God demonstrated at his request on Mt Carmel. Yet,
Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Kings 19:3-4)
Why do you suppose that he would do that?
Because he’s just like of us. If it’s not happening now, we panic.
There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (I Kings 19: 9-10)
At this
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12)
God has effectively said, "OK. I have put up, now it is time for you to shut up and LISTEN."
He spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice. Elijah had to listen to hear God speak to him.
Today if you hear a still, small voice, someone might make an appointment with a psychiatrist for you. Not only that, not all small voices are God speaking.
How can you know God is speaking to you?
- Through the Bible. Read it. It's good stuff.
- Through Christian acquaintances. Listen to the experiences of others.
- Through those who preach the Word of God, the Good News.
- And maybe even through Biology teachers who give baccalaureate addresses like this one.
You may be saying, “So now I know that God can speak to me and how He can speak. What do I do when I hear from Him?”
Each of us has a mind, emotions and a will—three separate and distinct parts of what makes you you.
This next section is the “real magic trick” I did that day. Watch the video to see how it looks when you get to the link.
The RED scarf represents your mind, the YELLOW scarf, your emotions, and the BLUE scarf, your will. They’re all housed in your body, this clear tube.
Pressures push against us from all sides. Sometimes we feel like we should PUT UP so everyone else would SHUT UP. <PUSH THE UNCONNECTED SCARVES OUT OF THE TUBE WITH A STICK.> We end up disjointed, as disjointed as we were when we started.
But, if we allow God to control our lives, we can allow Him to control, in turn, our mind (stuff RED in the tube), our emotions (stuff YELLOW in the tube), and our will (stuff BLUE in the tube).
When we listen to the still small voice, even though we still have the pressures pushing against us, we find that those three parts of our lives form ONE SPIRIT (WATCH THE TRICK!).
This unified spirit can join with God's Spirit, and you can know that we are God's children.
As God's children, we have both rewards and responsibilities. We become heirs with Christ in the fabulous riches of God. This is our inheritance. We must also accept the responsibility to become "doers of the word and not hearers only."
So, should you put up or shut up?
To rephrase the title of this address:
Shut up and LISTEN to God . . . today, tomorrow, and each tomorrow that follows.
Then . . .
Put up and DO what God has for you to do.
Thank you, and God bless you!
Next Timeless Truth: Keep Your Distance.
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I'd appreciate your feedback as a comment on Blogger!
Wish I'd been there. Great challenge to them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cody
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