Altar: Elijah’s Altar

Have you ever met someone who likes to keep their options open? Someone who has a hard time committing to things. For some it maybe not committing to hanging out because a better invitation could come along. For others it could be not declaring a major in college because they have too many interests. In dating relationships we may like to keep our options open just in case we meet someone better. All of us have areas in our life where we like to keep our options open. In today’s world having options is a good thing. The more options the better. However, sometimes options can cause confusion. Rather than bringing a sense of happiness, too many options can replace our security with feelings of anxiety and fear. Options can sometimes keep us from making decisions. In the story of Elijah, God speaks to this type of indecision as it pertains to our faith. The Altar of Elijah represents the place where we sacrifice our other options and make God our only option.There is only one option when it comes to our relationship with God and that is giving Him our whole heart.

The point Elijah’s altar was to bring God’s people back to putting their faith in God alone. The very first commandment God gave them was, “You shall have no other gods before me.” When Jesus was asked what is the most important commandment, He said, “Above all else, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.” God wants our whole hearts, not just parts or pieces. The challenge that Elijah issues to the people came in the form of a question? How long will you go limping between two dierent opinions? That is to say, how long will continue keeping your options open?

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False Promise

Elijah was called by God to confront a very evil king named King Ahab. Scripture says that he did more evil in the eyes of God than anyone before him. One of his many evil acts was he constantly caused the people heart’s to turn away from God toward false gods.

One of the false gods they began to worship was Baal. Baal was a whether god. He was believed to be responsible for the sun, dew, rain and all things necessary for futile soil in Canaan. The people began to worship him, instead of God so that they would gain favor and blessings over their land.

Baal promised, “If you worship me, I’ll make your crops grow. If you worship me, then you’ll have a better life.” False gods, like Baal, promise what only God himself can provide. To prove this God raises up Elijah. He confronted King Ahab and basically said, “Because of your idolatry, God sent me to tell you it’s not going to rain until God tells me to pray and asks it to rain.” This created a major drought and famine in the land. This was the scene for one of the great showdowns in history.

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Performance vs Relationship

The prophets of Baal believed that they would get their gods response by putting on a performance. They dance and sang in hopes that it would be enough to receive approval from Baal. When that didn’t work they took it further and started cutting themselves. Their attempt to move their God despite their painful destructive habits, yielded nothing.

Elijah’s approach to God was not based on performance but relationship.
He wasn’t trying to impress God in order to gain his approval because he already had it. At the altar Elijah prays to God just as he had done countless times before. On the mountain in the midst of a showdown He asks God to show that He was the real God and in an instant God answered him with fire. On that day God proved that He was and is the only true God. He is the only option.

Although this showdown took place on Mount Carmel it is a showdown that also takes place in our hearts and minds. We are always faced with options of where to place our hope, trust and faith. God is the only true God and therefore the only true option.

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Elijah and Jesus

The challenge between Elijah on Mt Carmel points to the greatest story of all time. On another mountain Jesus stretched out His arms out on the cross and proved that nothing is impossible for God. He died so that we could be friends with God. It wasn’t the blood of an animal, but the blood of the perfect man Jesus Christ, that us free from our sins. His sacrifice has canceled all other options. His death on the top of that hill, and his defeat of the grave, proved once and for all that God’s love is real, God’s grace is real and that God is real. Christ’s death issues the same challenge to us as Elijah’s alter did. If the Lord is God then our only option is to follow him with our whole heart.

Have you found yourself keeping your options open when it comes to where you place your trust, hope and faith? Have other things taken the place of God in your life? Have you been looking to something that promise everything but provides nothing? Has your relationship with God become more about performance and less about relationship? Let the altar of Elijah remind you that there is only one true God who is worthy of our worship and devotion. We don’t need to keep our options open or preform to gain God’s approval. We can give our whole heart to God and enjoy our relationships with Him.

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Scripture

1 Kings 18:20-39 - So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limp- ing between two dierent opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then fol- low him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 24 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.” 25 Then Elijah said to the proph- ets 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.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 30 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. 31 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,” 32 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 seahs of seed. 36 And at the time of the oering 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 Is- rael, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 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.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and con- sumed the burnt oering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

Exodus 20:3 - You shall have no other gods before Me.

7.30.17 Message Notes
©2017 The City Church
Pastor Tom Eyre