Sermon - 2013-05-19 - God's Messenger

1 Kings 17: 1-7

Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As theLord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2The word of theLord came to him, saying, 3“Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi. 7But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

1 Kings 18: 17-40

17When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” 18He answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father’s house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. 19Now therefore have all Israel assemble for me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.

21Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word.22Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred fifty. 23Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. 24Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.” All the people answered, “Well spoken!” 25Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. 27At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. 29As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response. 30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come closer to me”; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down; 31Elijah 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”;32with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. 33Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34Then he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time, 35so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water. 36At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. 37Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. 39When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.” 40Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.”

Elijah is known as THE PROPHET in the old testament. Even his name announces what he shall do. If you break down Elijah’s name, it translates to “My God is Yahweh.”  Elijah showed so much humility and willing to serve God, that it was astounding.  Yet that love and devotion to God was rewarded. Well let’s take a look. Look at the readings, Elijah became a messenger and what is his first message?  There will be no rain in the land for three years.  Now if you want to get the attention of people, take away their food and water. For at this time, the people relied on the crops every year, yet they could handle a drought for a year; in the second year, people would be getting thin and those who were sick often died as well as the very young and the very old.  By the third year, funerals would have been a regular occurrence throughout the land.

While this drought was raging the land, Elijah goes to a river bed, sleeps under the stars, and God provides him with food that is delivered by the ravens. Truly, Elijah is living a life filled with faith in God. Not knowing if this meal would be the last from the ravens, not knowing if the Israelites or other enemies would find him, not knowing when will death come. But trusting in God and God’s promise sees him through.  When the water ends in the river bed, Elijah goes and stays with an old widow who has a son.  Though they have a small amount of food, it sustains all three of them.  Even when the son dies of illness, Elijah brings him back to life.  No, Jesus wasn’t the first one to raise someone from the dead.

At long last God came to Elijah and said it was time.  Can you imagine?  People crying out by hundreds, by the thousands, praying for rain, praying for food, praying for relief from this suffering.  Though they wanted something to happen, it did not mean that it was the time for something to happen.  For the people were not worshiping God, but were worshiping both God and Baal. The king and his wife were worshipping Baal and it was the largest religion.  It was for this reason that God was causing the suffering to happen. The people could not understand that they were worshipping a false god that they had created.  Elijah points it out to them, clearly and directly by giving them a challenge.

This challenge is often seen by people for two important things. 1. You have to choose God, you have to make him a priority within your life, and continually ensure that God is at the center of your life and decisions.  2. If you call upon the name of God, you can perform miracles.  These two statements are not clear at all. For you do not choose God, but God chooses you.  Before doing these miracles, God chose Elijah.  God chose Elijah to deliver the message and perform the works. Even after these miracles and delivering this message, Elijah struggled.  It felt like He had to choose to obey God.  Yet so often within our human understanding, we think that we have a choice.  The priests had a choice, and they chose wrong.  God chose Elijah, and Elijah could never escape God.  When we choose, we often choose wrong; but when God chooses, there is no way it is wrong.   The second is harder to explain.  We should not call upon the name of God for random things. We should call upon the name of God when God calls us to do things.  This is often done without us even realizing it until after the event.

One day Elijah met Elisha.  Elisha was so eager to follow God, that he took the oxen and plow that he was working with, and slaughtered the oxen and burned the plow.  Elisha gave away everything to the community in order to follow God. Farmers, this would be like having your son come and say, “I sold the tractor, the combine and all the equipment and gave the money away so that I could go follow this prophet.” Elisha reminds us that when God calls us into service, we give up everything.  We give up everything our parents have given to us.  There comes a time that we have to get rid of the things that are holding us back, and others have placed upon us as burdens.  You should set those things aside so that you can face the future that God is calling you to.   

When we were young, we were taught to make distinctions.  As we are older, we need to be reminded of why those were put in place, and that they should not define us. Elijah is able to make the distinction because God showed him clearly. God was showing Elijah and the future people the harm that this false god was actually doing to them. Yet Christ came and said that there are no more separations.  The separations that we are taught as a child should not keep us from experiencing the things that God has given to us.  Even love the people that we are suppose to care for around us. Within the book of Acts, Peter is told of this lesson for each and every one of us.  The Spirit told him to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. To care for the people and love them where they are, is what we are called to do.

Confirmands, today you are being honored within a celebration because you are being brought into the flock as adults. You will be voting members who are going to help the church be just that; the church. You will be taking responsibility for your own faith journey, ensuring that you are coming to worship, you are coming to the Lord’s Table, and also are continuing your life in prayer so that you may continue in your relationship with God so that you will fear and love God.  Your voice matters within this congregation and this church.  If you see something that you would like to do, or change, speak up and help us to understand why, so that we may help.  

Graduates, you are being honored with a celebration because you are going through a milestone within your life. We want to be there and celebrate with you. You have been part of this congregation for a long time, and we have seen you grow.  We want to help you succeed as you go through the various parts of life.

Today, we gather together to be reminded of the exact promise that Jesus gives to each and every one of us.  That Jesus Christ will break down those barriers, unite us all in love, and welcome each and everyone of us together as a community to love, support, and celebrate with one another.  As you go forth, you shall encounter much within the world.  Do not judge things and separate things in such a way that is harmful to you and others, but view things as God would view them.