Then the Fire of the LORD Fell – 1 Kings 18:21-39

This account teaches us many lessons concerning the character of true Revival. Vital lessons in a day when we need the reviving fire of God more than ever.

Elijah was a prophet of fire, fire being associated with his ministry on more than one occasion.

In this passage, fire falls from heaven in response to Elijah’s prayer and God’s people turned back to Him. This was revival. This was the direct intervention of God in the midst of a people who had largely turned to heathen idolatry.

Fire in this context symbolises the power and presence of God. The fire of God had been experienced previously by the people of God in their history:

• God had lead his people with a pillar of fire in their wilderness wanderings – Exodus 13:21 “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:”
• God had confirmed his acceptance of the dedicatory offering at the tabernacle – Lev. 9:24 “And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.”
• God answered the offerings of both David (1 Chr. 21:26) and Solomon (2 Chr. 7:1) with fire from heaven.

In the N.T., fire is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. When God’s power was outpoured, cloven tongues of fire appeared upon the people of God.

How desperately we need the fire of God’s reviving presence.

Let’s look at the steps that were taken by Elijah that lead to the fire of God falling…

His Confrontation of Error (Vs. 21<28)

His Contending with the People (Vs. 21<24)

1. He challenged their duplicity (Vs. 21)
   1. ‘halt’ = means to hop or limp. Same word used to describe Jacob’s limp after God touched the hollow of his thigh – “…and he halted upon his thigh.” (Gen. 32:31)
   2. It means “to waver between two opinions (positions, attitudes, convictions, thoughts)” (Wilson). “That is, a person never makes up his mind as to what position, action or attitude he is going to take. In the case of the Jehovan+Baal issue, the people were trying to play both sides of the street.” (Butler)
   3. “They wished to unite the worship of Jehovah with that of Baal – to avoid breaking with the past and completely rejecting the old national worship, yet at the same time to have the enjoyment of the new rites, which were certainly sensuous.” (F.C. Cook)
   4. Elijah calls the people of God to stop sitting on the fence, to stop talking out both sides of their mouth and to make a definite decision as to where they stood. “God demands decision. You must be fore Him or against Him. He will permit no compromise. A half way attitude before Him is impossible.” (I.M. Halderman)
   5. Illustration: Our Lord’s severe rebuke of the Laodicean church for their lukewarmness (Rev. 3:16).
   6. James 1:5+8 – A double minded man is unstable in all his ways
   7. Christ’s challenge still rings true today that no man can serve two masters (Matt. 6:24)
2. He challenged their idolatry (Vs. 22+24)
   1. Note that this test was ultimately a test of prayer. The outcome would be determined by whose God would answer. Reveals something of the confidence Elijah had in the place of prayer.
   2. The test was agreeable to the people of God as Baal was supposedly the god of storms. Elijah’s challenge stuck right and the heart and centre of the false claims of Baal worship.

His Contending with the Prophets (Vs. 25<29)

1. He gave them priority (Vs. 25)
   1. They had first choice of the bullock
   2. They had first chance to pray to their god
2. He ensured their integrity (Vs. 23, 25)
   1. “put no fire under” = occurs twice. This was due to the fact trickery was a regular practice in Baal worship and paganism. Some of the altars of paganism had little dugouts under the altar where a priest could hid and covertly set the sacrifice on fire to make it look like Baal was answering the with supernatural fire.
   2. Note: Error relies on falsehood and deception for its advancement
3. He mocked their inability (Vs. 26+28) Note the features of heathen praying (contrast with Elijah’s later)
   1. It’s length – “morning even until noon” Approx. 6 hours
   2. It’s repetitiveness – “O Baal, hear us” Vain repetitions a feature of heathen prayer (Matt. 6:7)
   3. It’s powerlessness – “But there was no voice, nor any that answered.” (26) “there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded” (Vs. 29)
   4. It’s loudness – “and they cried aloud”
   5. It’s degradation – “cut themselves after their manner”

His Restoration of the Altar (Vs. 30<35)

Like Elijah of old, we need to rebuild certain altars in our lives if we desire to see the reviving fire of God descend:

The Altar of Fellowship (Vs. 30<31)

1. Fellowship with God (Vs. 30)
   1. The altar of true worship was “broken down”. This was due to more than neglect. It had been wilfully dismantled by a compromised people – “…for the children of Israel have forsaken the covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword…” (1 Kings 19:10). “thrown down” means “to pull down, break, destroy & overthrow” (Strongs) Compromise is never a passive or neutral thing. Certain standards of truth and holiness have to be torn down to make room for the compromise.
   2. The altar speaks of fellowship and communion with God. Example: The life of Abraham – “…there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.” (Gen. 12:8g 13:4)
   3. Do we have a personal altar of prayer?
   4. Do we have a family altar of prayer?
   5. Do we have a church altar of prayer?
2. Fellowship with God’s people (Vs. 31)
   1. The number of stones selected by Elijah was significant. It symbolised the unity of the 12 tribes under the one name ‘Israel’.
   2. This was a visual rebuke to the Northern kingdom of 10 tribes who claimed to be ‘Israel’ and yet were divided from Judah and Benjamin due to their sinful idolatry.
   3. We cannot expect the fire of God to fall when there is division and disunity amongst God’s people.
   4. The example of the Jerusalem church
      • Acts 1:14 “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
      • Acts 2:1+2 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”
   5. Illustration: Young pastor converted under Finney who lead the church he pastored to pray for 6 months for revival and nothing happened until disunity resolved.

The Altar of Faith (Vs. 32<35)

1. The sacrifice was saturated with 12 barrels of water, eliminating any possibility of deception or human engineering of the miracle.
2. The situation on a human level was impossible but what an insight into the strength of Elijah’s faith! He had complete confidence as he knew he was working under Divine instructions (Vs. 36)

His Supplication to Jehovah (Vs. 36<39)

The Focus of His Prayer (Vs. 36<37)

1. The exaltation of God’s Name
   1. The prayer that moves the hand of Omnipotence on our behalf, the prayer that unlocks the Divine storehouse of God’s Almighty power, is the prayer that comes from a heart consumed with a desire for glory of God alone.
   2. Scripture clearly reveals that God is concerned that men know that he is the LORD! “…and ye shall know that I am the LORD” is an oft repeated phrase in Scripture.
   3. So often our pleadings for God’s power are not answered because our motive is wrong. We want the power of God for the exultation of self! Our requests are often generated from the self+life, rather than the spirit (James 4:3)
2. The vindication of God’s servant
   1. “That I am thy servant” – the fire from heaven would demonstrate God’s hand of blessing upon Elijah’s ministry
   2. “that I have done all these things at thy word” = Elijah wanted the people of God to know that he had acted in obedience to God’s Word
3. The revival of God’s people
   1. “turned their heart back again” = this is the language of revival!
   2. Hab. 3:2 “O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.”

The Fervency of His Prayer (James 5:16<18)

1. Elijah is held up as an example of a man whose praying was effectual and fervent.
2. “prayed earnestly” = lit. “in prayer, he prayed” To pray with fervency is to pray in your prayers!

The Force/Potency of His Prayer (Vs. 38<39)

1. The fire of God came! (Vs. 38)
2. The people of God turned! (Vs. 39)

Conclusion

Any broken altars that need repair in our lives? What is the quality of our prayer life?

Sermon Audio Id: 72118181509