July 25 - 6:00 PM Worship

so [Music] so [Music] my [Music] [Applause] is [Music] me [Music] is [Music] [Laughter] love and praise [Music] [Applause] kindness [Music] right [Music] [Music] do is last few measures one more time [Music] okay [Music] bless [Music] my heart will thy sing [Music] [Music] [Music] so so so foreign us [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] well good evening and welcome to the service of worship at the second presbyterian church of greenville we are so glad to have you with us this evening uh whether you're in person or joining us via live stream uh just by way of reminder we do want to make sure everyone knows that immediately after the service tonight there will be an ice cream social in the gym and all are welcome with no other announcements let's now turn our attention and prepare our hearts to worship the living and true god people of god be called to worship from his word in psalm 66 shout for joy to god all the earth sing the glory of his name give to him glorious praise say to god how awesome are your deeds so great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you all the earth worships you and sings praises to you and sings praises to your name let us take our trinity salter hymnal in hand turning to him 183 let's rise and sing oh that i had a thousand voices [Music] oh [Applause] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] uh [Applause] our gracious heavenly father as we gather in this place to hear your word strengthen your people from the very word of life gather this communion of saints around your truth give us a taste of heaven and help us to enjoy the last parts of this day and lord prepare us and use us for kingdom work we ask this in jesus name amen please be seated our psalm selection tonight is psalm 119 setting m 119 m this portion of the psalm gives thanks and blessing to god for the wisdom and understanding that his law provides the psalmist writes i have more wisdom than my teachers and more insight than aged ones and we know that the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge proverbs 1 7 and perhaps we also know that in christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge but do you think of the law of god as this very same thing as the source of those very same things the law of god is more than a list of do's and don'ts it is a revelation of the nature and character of our god jesus said if he loved me keep my commandments jeremiah would admonish us this way let him who boasts boasts in this that he understands and knows me that i am the lord who practices steadfast love justice and righteousness to boast of knowing god is to know and love his law which is justice which is righteousness and derek kidner summarizes this portion of psalm 119 this way he says attraction to the true and revulsion against the false are for us acquired tastes and i think that's true so as we sing this psalm tonight let us do so with hearts of faith that ask that god by his spirit would grow us in our affection for our savior and the knowledge of his law please stand with me and we'll sing psalm 119 [Music] am [Music] one [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] um [Music] [Applause] you may be seated if the ushers will come forward we'll receive unto the lord our evening tithes and offerings please pray with me father in heaven we are so grateful to close out yet another lord's day in your house we come now lord asking that you would be received pleased to receive our gifts our tithes and offerings as a means of building up your church that you might continue to wash us in your word and sanctify us thereby and that you might send out your gospel message from this church and from all faithful denominate all faithful congregations that you might sprinkle the nations with clean water and give them new hearts in place of their heart of stone we ask it in christ's name and for his glory amen [Music] so [Music] me [Music] me [Music] is [Music] salvation [Music] kindness [Music] foreign [Music] is [Applause] my heart will see [Music] oh [Music] we read in the letter of james count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing let us go before the god who provides and sustains and gives us all that we need in the riches of christ jesus alone let us pray our gracious heavenly father as this congregation gathers at the end of this your day we rejoice in the strength that you give to us from your word we rejoice lord in your ordinary means of grace and we look to your power through them in our lives we thank you lord for the gift of life and the gift of every breath that we take and receive we pray lord that we would live in a gratitude and and gratefulness to you our creator but we rejoice not only in you as our creator but you as our sovereign provider and king we thank you lord that you have taken us out of the muck and the mire that you have taken us from the the world and the flesh and the devil we thank you lord that you have saved us from our own selfishness and our own wicked desires and you have breathed within us new life and new life through and in christ jesus lord we ask that with that renewed spirit that you give to us with our renewed mind that you would makers you would make us creatures useful for thy service we pray lord that we would be kingdom minded that we would be joyful that we would count even our trials a joy as you use those to build us up and sometimes even when we don't know to build up others we pray lord that this congregation would continue to be mindful not only of the needs and the concerns and the cares of those within this place but would have a worldwide heart for gospel endeavor and we want to remember the many churches around our country and around this world that today have honored the name of christ above all other names we pray lord for your church and its growth and expansion we pray for that particular part of the church called second presbyterian church and we asked lord that you would use us and that you would bless our endeavors and that through our missionary zeal that you would be pleased to build your church and to bring many to saving knowledge of jesus christ lord we want to lift up to you our denomination and our presbytery and the endeavors that we have taken to be faithful and we want to thank you for our recent national meeting in saint louis and our local meeting here yesterday even in this sanctuary we pray lord that you would continue to be pleased to use the pca to be a faithful christian denomination and we asked lord that you would bless those ministers whom you especially have chosen to serve and we thank you for the way in which this congregation in a small part can network and equip and resource your church lord we want to lift up to you our missionary endeavor and we want to think of some of the church plants in recent years that we've been able to be a part of we think of our brother john payne down in charleston and the flourishing work of christ church presbyterian down there in the holy city and we asked lord that you would bless john and michael and the elders of that church that they might continue to grow in their new building and be of use to you in the low country we think of our brother andy young in oxford and asked that you would hear our prayer to grant them the use of the north gate hall for a permanent place of sanctuary that they might worship and reach out to the to that wonderful university and that wonderful old town there in england lord we remember a church plants that we have been a part of through the work in peru and we thank you for the remarkable alonzo ramirez and our over 20-year partnership with him and and along with many other churches that have been able to resource him there uh in the high andes of latin america we pray lord that you would bless his brother edward and that you would go before him and allow him to be able to come to the states even this fall so that he might begin his studies at the seminary and lord that our church along with others could be a part of equipping him so that he might go back and serve the wonderful people of cajamarca in northern peru lord we remember other church plants we're involved in in berlin and in the north of england we pray for increasing opportunities for this congregation to be a part of spreading the gospel through faithful church plans lord we want to lift up to you those in our in our congregation that have particular requests and needs tonight we asked lord that you would uh help us to be a good ministry one to another and we want to pray particularly lord tonight for our shut-ins and we thank you for these dear ones who have given to so many of us a life friendship and love and we want to remember doris youngblood and and brand georgie campbell and we asked lord that you would sustain them and help them at this time we want to remember lord our expectant mothers uh sarah smoker and amy plourde ashley reese sarah madison roy prairie thompson hope stravel irene seaman we pray lord that you would bless these moms and the covenant children they care carry we ask lord you would remember our upcoming weddings and we pray for michaela and john and amy and jonathan that soon you might help these young couples build their home on common christian commitment lord we praise you for the birth this past week of little ezra james branigan and we thank you for this healthy boy and we pray that you would go with this family and be with them and we rejoice in this new bird lord we remember there are some in our congregation who are mourning the loss of loved ones and so we want to extend our christian sympathy and ask that you would remind these dear ones of the loss in the loss of their life of the union that we have in christ and we pray lord that you would comfort these families in their time of loss lord there are many in the congregation who are suffering who have illness some are recovering from covid some are recovering from other diseases or surgeries and so we want to lift up all of them to you and lord we ask that you would be with our doctors and our health care professionals some even within this congregation that are working to help in the healing of others we also know lord there are many uh particular needs within our families and within our friendship some within the workplace that uh just need your sovereign attention and we ask lord that you would be with these people who are suffering from the loss of jobs those who whose businesses are in arrears some have struggling marriages or children in rebellion against thee others lord are struggling with depression or other spiritual challenges uh for many lord there is the the chronic uh issue of pain and for some there is just sadness and uh we pray lord that uh you would you would turn back the work of the evil one especially against christian leaders and we asked lord that you would be pleased to use even this church to be a a mighty witness for christ and we pray lord that through that mutual endeavor that mutual strengthening that you would help this church to grow and lord as we continue our worship tonight we would ask that you would be with the minister appointed for the hour we thank you for mr branigan and we ask that you would bless his preparation and that we might receive it and by your holy spirit apply it to our lives and lord we ask now that you would hear this prayer in the name of our gracious king even the lord jesus amen well let's take our hymnal back in hand turning to him 342 stricken smitten and afflicted let's rise and sing so [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] please open your copy of the scriptures to first kings chapter 18 verses 20 through 40. first kings chapter 18 verse 20 through 40. this is on page 380 of your pew bible first kings chapter 18 taking up our reading at verse 20. this is god's word so ahab sent to all the people of israel and gathered the prophets together at mount carmel and elijah came near to all the people and said how long will you go on limping between two different opinions if the lord is god follow him but if baal then follow him and the people did not answer him a word then elijah said to the people i even i only am left a prophet of the lord but but all's prophets are 450 men let two bulls be given to us and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood but put no fire to it and i will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it and you call upon the name of your god and i will call upon the name of the lord and the god who answers by fire he is god and all the people answered it is well spoken then elijah said to the prophets of baal choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first for you are many and call upon the name of your god but put no fire to it and they took the bull that was given them and they prepared it and called upon the name of ba'al from morning until noon saying oh bal answer us but there was no voice and no one answered and they limped around the altar that they had made and at noon elijah mocked them saying cry aloud for he is a god either he is musing or he is relieving himself or he is on a journey or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened and they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out upon them and as midday passed they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation but there was no voice no one answered no one paid attention then elijah said to all the people come near to me and all the people came near to him and he repaired the altar of the lord that had been thrown down elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of jacob to whom the word of the lord came saying israel shall be your name and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the lord and he made a trench about the altar as great as would contain two seers of seed and he put the wood in order and cut the bowl in pieces and laid it on the wood and he said fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood and he said do it a second time and they did it a second time and he said do it a third time and they did it a third time and the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water and at the time of the offering of the oblation elijah the prophet came near and said o lord god of abraham isaac and israel let it be known this day that you are god in israel and that i am your servant and that i have done all these things at your word answer me o lord answer me that this people may know that you o lord are god and that you have turned their hearts back then the fire of the lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench and when all the people saw it they fell on their faces and said the lord he is god the lord he is god and elijah said to them seize the prophets of ba'al let not one of them escape and they seized them and elijah brought them down to the brook of kishon and slaughtered them there thus ends the reading of god's word let us pray our lord in heaven at your word we are gathered here this evening send your spirit that we might hear and believe what you have written to us we prayed in christ's name amen life is full of choices you make hundreds of decisions every single day and many of those decisions are minor and trivial and insignificant questions like what will i wear what will i eat and concerning these things christ says essentially don't be anxious about these things don't worry about it but there are other decisions to be made more significant more important decisions and these decisions require very careful consideration questions like who will i marry what will i study where will i work when will i retire different life situations require different decisions but there is one thing that every single person here must decide and that is this who will you follow who will you follow if the lord be god follow him but if ba'al then follow him that is elijah's proposition to the people of israel and that is my proposition to you here tonight and you need to understand that this is a command it is a command to follow god but underlying this command there is also a question and it is a question which demands an answer that question is this who is god who is god elijah's proposition itself offers us two possible answers but all or the lord and there are other names we might add in our own day some follow brahma some follow vishnu shiva rama some follow krishna others follow allah as he is revealed in the quran and yet still others follow gods of their own making gods of pride gods of pleasure gods of comfort power and money who is god but elijah's proposition allows you only one answer his whole point is that if if baal is god then the lord is not else if the lord is god then baal is not and the lord cannot both be god there can be only one true god and the question then is which of these gods is truly god which of these gods will you follow will you follow the lord or will you follow your ba'al will you follow the lord or will you follow some idol we read in verse 20 that ahab sent to all the people of israel and gathered the prophets together at mount carmel and he does so according to the command of the prophet elijah and now with all the people gathered and all the prophets gathered at the peak of mount carmel elijah draws near to the people why are we here why are we at mount carmel well quite simply it's time to call the question it's time to end the debate elijah asked the people how long will you go on limping between two different opinions how long how long will you go on in your idolatrous indecision elijah is saying enough is enough how long will you go on limping stop limping stop straying stop stumbling stop wandering stop swaying like a branch in the wind between one opinion and the other do you not know that the lord does not share he does not share his worship he does not share his glory he does not share his people if he will have you he will have all of you all of your heart all of your soul all of your mind all of your strength he will not settle for half of you he will not settle for a part of you he will have all of your love all of your faith all of your praise all of your worship or he will have absolutely none of you it's all or nothing god does not share and herein lies the problem israel's loyalties are divided they believed that they could follow the lord while still serving their idols they thought they could walk with the lord on sunday but serve by all on saturday or on monday but they were wrong and they should have known better they should have known better you see the lord had spoken on another mountain i am the lord your god who brought you out of the land of egypt out of the house of slavery you shall have no other gods before me and then moses had spoken moses had spoken you will if you will not obey the voice of the lord your god the lord will strike you with drought and dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed and yet the people of israel did not listen and now the people were being destroyed drought was decimating their crops and ruining their harvest year after year after year and they needed desperately to be delivered from their idolatrous indecision that is why elijah is sent by the lord to gather the people on mount carmel to call the question if the lord is god then follow him but if baal then follow him now elijah's proposition to the people is very simple it's not complicated it's very clear but it does demand an answer and yet we read that the people did not answer him a word all elijah hears is the deafening sound of silence who is your god crickets they either did not know or they would not say publicly today if they were politicians they might have said no comment whether their silence was due to their doubt or to their fear we don't really know but what we do know is that in elijah's day true religion had nearly perished from the land almost everyone in israel had turned away from the lord they had forsaken his covenant they had thrown down his altars they had killed his prophets and while true religion was perishing in the land baalism prospered by the end of elijah's ministry the lord when all is said and done the lord will say to elijah that there there remains only seven thousand who have not bowed the knee about to the bowed the need of all of the entire nation seven thousand is all that is left and so on the lord's side you have the elijah you have elijah the tishbite from tishbe that so-called troubler of israel but in baal's corner you have 400 450 prophets you have this great multitude you have this huge crowd in addition to the prophets you have king ahab himself now bile ism had always been popular with the people it was the prosperity gospel of its day baal purported to be the storm god and so if you if you needed rain for your crops you call ball if you wanted a better harvest you better call ball but ballism especially prospered during ahab's reign that's because ahab married jezebel the daughter of ethba al king of tyre you can guess who their gods were and with this marriage bile ism gained royal sanction it had the full support of the royal court the approval of israel's monarchy ahab and marrying jezebel had had sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the lord and so he committed his time his energy his talents his resources to advancing the cult and the glory of if idolatry was a betting matter ahab was decidedly all in he was fully committed to his cause and so baalism became the preferred religion of the political and the cultural elite what do you want to do if you want to be in the good graces of the king what do you want to do if you want to curry favor in the royal court well you better do as ahab does you better be calling on bal bend the knee lest the king be angry apparently elijah didn't get that memo elijah stands on the lord's side and he stands there alone he he stands alone because ahab and the people have blamed him for the drought even though it was ahab's fault he is alone because nearly every other prophet of the lord has been murdered he's alone because the people were indecisive and unwilling to take a public stand for the lord and so elijah by faith boldly standing alone proposes a challenge you have to admire a man like elijah he he's not perfect he's a sinner like the rest of us but he is a man of faith and of bold faith he's zealous for the lord he's prepared for action he's ready for battle he's come to mount carmel to confront the people in their indecision and to challenge them about their false notions about who god is and so elijah proposes a challenge to the people in verses 23 and 24 elijah said to the people let two bulls be given to us and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood but put no fire to it and i will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it and you call upon the name of your god and i will call upon the name of the lord and the god who answers by fire he is god who is god you offer your sacrifice i'll offer mine and we will find out once and for all how will we know how will we know the god who answers by fire he is god two sacrifices offered to two different gods but no human fire the true god must make himself known he must send fire from his heaven and all the people answered it is well spoken we agree we agree elijah has proposed a challenge with some very specific rules the people understand these rules the people consent to these rules so as long as everybody follows these rules the results will be uncontestable the god who answered by fire he is god let the battle begin elijah gives the prophets of baal the benefit the privilege of first move the advantage of first move look at verse 25. then elijah said to the prophets of baal choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first for you are many and call upon the name of your god but put no fire to it and so they did they took the bull that was given them and they prepared it and called upon the name of baal from morning and until noon saying oh bal answer us obama answer us but they've got a problem don't they what is their problem their problem is that nobody answers there was no voice and no one answered even though they limp even though they call from morning until noon bow does not answer them well this is to say the least embarrassing after several hours the situation is starting to get downright awkward bows profits have been bouncing around the altar arena all morning long and they haven't even made a single point there's no fire there's no smoke there's not even the the tiniest of little embers there's nothing well elijah decides that it's about time to offer some some friendly advice you know profit to profit at noon he says cry aloud for he is a god in other words have you have you tried shouting have you tried shouting bowel prophets have you tried shouting well if you've ever tried to call someone and they don't pick up and you call them over and over and over again you might appreciate a little bit how how frustrating the situation might be if i call my wife and she doesn't answer it's very frustrating to me but you know the thing is my wife's busy she she is a mother after all she's probably in the bedroom putting the children to sleep maybe she's outside watching them play well she's busy perhaps it is the same with ba'al why why might baal be busy what what what might be keeping him so from answering the prayers of his prophets look at verse 27 elijah suggests a few possibilities he says either he is amusing or he is relieving himself or he's on a journey or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened now each of these kind of refer to some typical story of the the ball myths things that people would have been familiar if they worshiped ball there were stories about him and these would have been common uh retorts about those stories but in in basic words baal is essentially being preoccupied in thought or he is possibly using the toilet or maybe he's on a trip in the underworld or maybe he's just maybe he's just tired we all get tired right maybe maybe bow the god is just tired now while elijah directs his his mocking towards the prophets of he does so really for the benefit of the people of israel he's not making fun just to make fun he's making a point what is his point it's a very obvious point i think but needs to be said nonetheless baal is no god baal is no god certainly he is not the infinite eternal unchangeable god perfect in power and holiness injustice goodness and truth he is not that sort of god baal may get busy but does god does god get busy i think not well what is a prophet to do when his god is too busy to answer him cry aloud says elijah perhaps if you call out louder then he will answer you and so the prophets go on louder and louder they cried they even started cutting themselves with swords and with spears mingling their own human blood with the bull sacrifice that's worth noting here pagan worship often involves self-harm and human sacrifice and while this kind of worship was explicitly forbidden by the lord it was common to baal it was as we read according to their custom and if it wasn't their own blood they were mingling with the sacrifice it was often the blood of their slaughtered children burning their sons in the fire as offerings to ba'a'all one thing is certain here these prophets are seriously committed they are incredibly zealous they are wholeheartedly sincere who can claim otherwise i mean they have they've got skin in the game they're literally gushing blood for their god and for their cause well this goes on for a few more hours and as midday passed they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation that is essentially a time marker it means it's 3 p.m but still there was no voice no one answered no one paid attention despite all their best efforts despite all their enthusiasm despite all their emotion no one answered no one paid attention not one no one at all one thing we ought to learn from a passage like this is that truth matters doctrine matters despite all their feelings these false prophets were worshiping a fraud they were very earnest fools they were very passionate fools but they were fools nonetheless because their god was a fraud by at the end of the day my friends feelings are not facts feelings are not facts zeal is not truth you need to know you need to know who god is who the true god is let me say this there there are millions upon millions of men women and children zealously following make-believe gods and that ought to concern you in your own neighborhoods there are muslims there are mormons and there are many others following make-believe gods and that ought to concern you some of you have friends or family who once served the lord but now they are following make believe gods gods of self-pleasure gods of self-love gods of self-comfort made up make believe gods that ought to concern you don't be indifferent to them you need to know who the true god is and so do they tell them the truth tell them the truth who is the true god tell them before it's too late who knows when the next apartment complex will collapse killing everyone inside who knows when the next car will crash on wade hampton or whatever highway is around here you think you have all the time in the world but you do not who knows when they will die tell them the truth before it's too late tell them about the true god the one who answers so who is this true god surely we know by now it's not he did not answer there was no fire there was no smoke there was no ember there wasn't anything baal is no god but what about the lord is the lord god it's possible that they're both frauds it's possible that they neither of them answer by fire is the lord a fraud too look at verse 30 then elijah said to all the people come near to me and all the people came near to him elijah commands the people to come in close he wants them to see he wants them to smell he wants them to feel he wants them to remember what it is he is about to do and as we'll see he even wants them to participate the first thing elijah does is he repairs the altar of the lord elijah needed to repair the altar because the people themselves had torn it down and so in coming near the people would be faced they would see the destructive effects of their own sin having destroyed the altar but they'd also see a beautiful act of covenant mediation look at verse 31 elijah took 12 stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of jacob to whom the word of the lord came saying israel shall be your name what what did the altar stand for what did it represent it stood for a united covenant people called and gathered together by the word of the lord when god called them israel israel shall be your name but the problem was that false worship had divided the covenant community it had divided the kingdom even it had divided them as surely as the stones were divided in that altar and so when elijah repairs the altar he's reminding the people who they are and whose they are in relation to the lord you are the lord's people you belong together to the lord you don't belong to your bowels you don't belong to your idols you belong to the lord you belong to me says the lord so elijah rebuilt the altar in the name of the lord and then we read that he made a trench about it as great as would contain to say as of seed now pause here the first the first altar didn't have a trench it didn't have a moat it didn't have anything like that but elijah adds a trench here and we're going to see in just a moment why but but first elijah puts the wood in order and he cuts the bowl in pieces and he lays the bowl on the wood all in the manner prescribed by the lord and then he says to the people fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood and so we have here the people dousing dousing everything in water they are soaking the whole altar with these four jars not once not twice but three times 12 jars of water one per tribe and by the time they're finished the altar is flooded so much that this trench is filled why why does elijah do this what's the point well remember that the whole challenge is about proving to the people who the true god is the god who answers by fire he is gone well if there was ever any small chance that this altar during a drought would have spontaneously naturally combusted those chances are gone this thing is soaking wet and that's entirely the point and the people would know this for a fact because they are the ones who poured the water on the altar themselves humanly speaking elijah has completely stacked the get the deck against himself he's intentionally fighting with both hands tied behind his back he's put himself at a complete disadvantage and so if the fire comes the results will be all the more indisputable nobody will be able to say this was a fluke nobody will be able to say this was an accident they will only be able to say it was the lord elijah has rebuilt the altar of the lord he has prepared the sacrifice and now in verse 36 it is time for elijah to pray and at the time of the offering of the oblation elijah the prophet came near and said o lord god of abraham isaac and israel let it be known this day that you are god in israel and that i am your servant and that i have done all these things at your word what a beautiful prayer it's a very simple prayer it's like 20 or 30 words it wouldn't take 15 or 20 seconds to pray elijah begins by addressing the lord he confesses that the lord is god and that he is their god the god of abraham isaac and israel and then the first thing he actually prays for his first request his first petition it's not for fire it's not for rain which they desperately needed it's for the lord's glory it's for the lord's glory that is what he prays for first he prays that god will make himself known as god in israel and that he would do so now this very day that the people would know that elijah was the true prophet to the true god and that everything elijah had done and said had been at the word of the lord you see elijah's not just making this all up he's not just kind of making it up as he goes all that he did was an obedience to the word of the lord it's a good answer to what does it mean to follow god what does it mean to follow god it means you take him at your at his word it means you take him at his word you you hear what the lord says and you do what the lord requires without reservation without hesitation you hold back for nothing you follow him no matter the cost that is what it means to follow god and that is what it means to do all these things at his word elijah is just obeying god by faith that's what we need to be doing we need to be taking god at his word we need to be following him according to his commandments according to what he has spoken believing what he has revealed about himself and doing what he has commanded of us but you know what the the problem for us is the same problem israel is has is that we we can't do it we can't do it and the people of israel couldn't do it you can't follow the lord not unless your heart is first turned back to him if your heart is turned towards your idols you cannot follow the lord jesus would say you cannot serve two masters you will either hate the one and love the other otherwise you will be despised the one and devoted to the other you cannot serve god in bowel you cannot serve god and money you cannot serve bile and you cannot serve god and self you you can't have idols in god that's the point you can't do it and that is why the second thing elijah prays for is grace that is why the second thing elijah prays for is grace answer me o lord answer me that this people may know that you o lord are god and that you have turned their hearts back that is elijah's second petition elijah prays for the glory of god and then he prays for the grace of god he knows who his god is he knows what his god is about he knows that his god is a glorious god and that his god is a gracious god and he knows that god this god the lord is the only god that can turn the hearts of men he knows and so he prays answer me o lord val's prophets cried out for six long hours but elijah in just a few brief words has done his work he's prayed for the lord's glory and for his grace and then the fire fell the fire fell who is god who is god we have our answer the fire of the lord has fallen therefore he is god the lord is god because the lord's fire has fallen his glory has been made known his fire has consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust his fire has licked up even the water that was in the trench and with this fire we know the lord answered the prophet's prayers for glory and for grace look at verse 39. the people saw it and they fell on their faces and they said the lord he is god the lord he is god before they were silent they had not a word but now they by the grace of god speak they confess the lord he is god but how can we possibly know that this profession of faith is credible how can we possibly know talk is cheap lots of people talk lots of people say things but as they say actions speak louder than words look at verse 40. elijah said to them seize the prophets of ba'al let not one of them escape and they seized them and elijah brought them down to the brook of kishon and slaughtered them there that's how we know that's how we know elijah commands the false prophets to be seized and slaughtered and the people obey as james might say they showed their faith by their works and perhaps some of you are sitting in the pews at this point you're a little uncomfortable and you're thinking this is a this is this doesn't sound right fire from heaven is all good and fine but killing all those people isn't that just a little extreme isn't that just a little much if you're thinking like that you don't understand the holiness of god you don't understand israel was a theocracy their law was the law of the lord enticing others to follow false gods was a capital offense its punishment was death all elijah's doing is exactly what god would have him do god be glorified in his grace god be glorified in his justice and that brings us to the end of tonight's text and this is but one example of the grace and the glory of the lord coming down from heaven the lord's grace and glory came down on mount carmel before that it had come down on mount sinai and after that it would come down on mount calvary and there stood a prophet greater than elijah there stood a sacrifice whose blood was better than any bull there stood the radiance of the glory of god there stood grace and truth there stood the son of god on a cross and as we sang earlier he was stricken and he was smitten and he was afflicted here was the lamb of god pierced for you let me conclude by asking just once more who will you follow who will you follow will you follow the gods made by your own hands or will you follow the lord if you would follow the lord you must follow his lamb you must follow christ you must leave your idols you must leave your sin you must look to jesus you must follow him and you must keep on following him don't be like a branch blown back and forth between two different opinions be steadfast be fixed be firm run your race follow the lord jesus christ until you finally find him on the throne in heaven amen let us pray a great god you are god you are the lord you answer by fire you send grace you reveal your glory you make yourself known to us oh lord help us to take you at your word to follow you to take up our crosses to leave our sin oh that we'd be disciples by your spirit pray in christ's name amen please stand and sing together with me him 274. [Music] now [Music] oh yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] now peace be to the brethren and love with faith from god the father and the lord jesus christ grace be with all who love our lord jesus christ with love incorruptable now and forever amen [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: spcgreenville

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Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: EL00SPFFUyk

Length: 84min 52sec (5092 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 26 2021