May The Fire In Us Attract People To God
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.
. . . Get two bulls for us. Let Baal's prophets choose one for themselves . . . I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire -- He is God."
. . . Then they called on the name of Baal . . . But there was no response; no one answered . . .
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." . . . and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down.
. . . At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed . . . "Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice . . . When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -- He is God! The LORD -- He is God! 1 Kings 18:21-39.
. . . Get two bulls for us. Let Baal's prophets choose one for themselves . . . I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire -- He is God."
. . . Then they called on the name of Baal . . . But there was no response; no one answered . . .
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." . . . and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down.
. . . At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed . . . "Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice . . . When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -- He is God! The LORD -- He is God! 1 Kings 18:21-39.
The people of God had lost their way. They had turned their backs on the God who brought them out of Egypt. They were worshipping Baal and other false gods. Something dramatic needed to happen in order to turn the hearts of the people back to God.
Elijah did three significant things: First, he challenged the false prophets to call on their god to manifest his power. They called, but nothing happened. Second, Elijah called the people of God together and they repaired the altar of God. Third, he called on the LORD to answer by fire, "so these people will know that you, LORD, are God and that you are turning their hearts back again." God answered by fire and it consumed even the stones and the soil.
We live in very wicked times. There is a relentless fight to make the truth of God relative to our personal subjective views. Many Christians and pastors are afraid to either speak the truth of God's word or stand up in defense of it. God's people are worshipping the false gods of money, personalities, power, and politics. We are afraid to declare the Lordship of Jesus either in word or action. In the prophetic words of Paul, "there is a form of godliness without the power."
Just like the days of Elijah, we must challenge the false gods of our time, repair the altar of Yahweh and boldly call on the LORD to answer our cry for the renewal of hearts with His Fire.
The fire of God (signified by the power of God's Holy Spirit) is what will cause people to turn back to God and exclaim, "The LORD -- He is God! The LORD -- He is God!"
The fire of God always attracts. It attracted Moses to the burning bush. It attracted the Israelites at Elijah's sacrifice. It attracted the people at Pentecost. It will still attract skeptics today.
May you and I be so filled with the Fire of God and may God's church be so full of His fire that many hearts will be turned to God with cries of, "Jesus is Lord!" Jesus is Lord!"
Elijah did three significant things: First, he challenged the false prophets to call on their god to manifest his power. They called, but nothing happened. Second, Elijah called the people of God together and they repaired the altar of God. Third, he called on the LORD to answer by fire, "so these people will know that you, LORD, are God and that you are turning their hearts back again." God answered by fire and it consumed even the stones and the soil.
We live in very wicked times. There is a relentless fight to make the truth of God relative to our personal subjective views. Many Christians and pastors are afraid to either speak the truth of God's word or stand up in defense of it. God's people are worshipping the false gods of money, personalities, power, and politics. We are afraid to declare the Lordship of Jesus either in word or action. In the prophetic words of Paul, "there is a form of godliness without the power."
Just like the days of Elijah, we must challenge the false gods of our time, repair the altar of Yahweh and boldly call on the LORD to answer our cry for the renewal of hearts with His Fire.
The fire of God (signified by the power of God's Holy Spirit) is what will cause people to turn back to God and exclaim, "The LORD -- He is God! The LORD -- He is God!"
The fire of God always attracts. It attracted Moses to the burning bush. It attracted the Israelites at Elijah's sacrifice. It attracted the people at Pentecost. It will still attract skeptics today.
May you and I be so filled with the Fire of God and may God's church be so full of His fire that many hearts will be turned to God with cries of, "Jesus is Lord!" Jesus is Lord!"
PRAYER:
Lord, let me be so filled with your Fire that I will attract people into your family. Amen.
Lord, let me be so filled with your Fire that I will attract people into your family. Amen.