"IF THEIR GOD HAD FAILED, OUR GOD WILL NOT"

Post date: May 21, 2018 3:44:32 AM

The prophets of Baal will not defeat you; the wickedness of evil will not destroy you; the delays in your life will not be forever; this challenge will end, our God will answer you. Your time of rejoicing will come. Elijah was not the only prophet of God left in Israel but he was the only one who stood up publicly for God and His people; he was the only one ready to confront Ahab and his prophets publicly; he was the one who spoke out to the hearing of the people while others where praying to God; he was the only one ready to show the faithfulness of God in the time of fear, uncertainty, and despair, and he was the one who actually convinces the people to show their faith publicly, trust and follow God publicly. Irrespective of your fears, experience, challenges, and uncertainties, God is faithful and committed to answer your prayers and grant you the things He had promised, He said, I will be with you, I will never forsake you, I will never forget you. If their gods are unfaithful, our God is not, and if their God had failed, our God will not. The failure of the gods of Baal did not stop Elijah. This was the challenge of Elijah and the result.

“Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, how much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him, but if Baal is God, then follow him, but the people were completely silent. Then Elijah said to them, I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God. And all the people agreed. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, you go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood. So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, O Baal, answer us, but there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. About noontime Elijah began mocking them. You’ll have to shout louder, he scoffed, for surely he is a god, perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened. So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response. Then Elijah called to the people, come over here. They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood, then he said, fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood. After they had done this, he said, do the same thing again, and when they were finished, he said, now do it a third time, so they did as he said, and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench. At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me, answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself. Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, the Lord he is God. Yes, the Lord is God.” 1 Kings 18:21-39. For prayers, Click here