Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 03 – January 1990

 

The Lord Is Alive!

 

Sermon by Rev. W. Van Schie on 1Kings 17:1

Readings: Rom. 13:8-10, 5:6-8; 1John 4:7-21

Songs: 120, 329, 437, S.54, S.46, 407, H.904.

 

Introduction

The period of history in which we find our text is one of the darkest and bleakest periods in the history of Israel.  The Lord and Satan are involved in a tense struggle for the allegiance of the Lord’s people.

It was a time when things economically and agriculturally were really going well for Israel.  Things couldn’t be better.  The rains were on time, the crops came in abundance, there was plenty of food and wealth for everyone.  It was a time of peace and prosperity.

1.  Confidence in the Lord needed

Ahab’s Palace

But, as we read in chapter 16, it was also a time of great corruption.  Corruption was the norm.  High officials from King Ahab’s court didn’t think twice about exploiting the weak and the poor.  They didn’t think twice about stealing or even committing murder.

What is more, the Queen of Israel, Jezebel, had promoted Baal worship to such an extent that Ahab had for the first time in Israel’s history, officially promoted Baal worship as a state religion.  It was taught everywhere that Baal the sun god of nature provided Israel with its prosperity.

Along with Baal worship Jezebel promoted the cult prostitution activities of the moon goddess, the queen of Baal, Astarte.  The people were taught that Astarte was the one who guaranteed fertility for their crops, livestock and within their own marriages.

The situation was so evil and corrupt that we are told that Ahab and his officials did more to provoke the Lord to anger than all the other evil kings of Israel.

Nation

This corrupt and idolatrous leadership had a great effect on the Lord’s people.  I can imagine that many people at first encouraged others to be open-minded and to be tolerant of Baal and Asherah worshippers.

Then gradually because Baal and Asherah worship was sensual and physical and appealed to people’s most basic instincts it became more and more popular.

Then those who wanted to continue to worship the Lord and insisted on worshipping Him alone, were seen as narrow minded.

Then as the official line from the palace was to worship Baal and Asherah more and more people did so, and opposition to the worship of the Lord increased.  The people of the Lord in the end were being persecuted most severely for wanting to continue in their exclusive worship.

It was not a good time to believe that the Lord was God, Creator of the heavens and the earth; that the Lord alone was Israel’s Covenant God.  You could lose your job for making such a claim.  You could be driven out of town for insisting that the Lord alone was Lord.  You could be visited by the town officials and arrested for subversion if you trusted in the Lord alone.  No, it was not a comfortable time to be a follower of the Lord.

2.  Confidence in the Lord Expressed

Palace Scene

Well, I can imagine the scene in the palace of King Ahab.  In the centre is that great and splendid throne of the King.  There sits the king with all his beautiful robes and splendid jewellery.

On his immediate right are the high officials of the land: The prime minister who runs the government, the minister for trade and commerce, the treasurer and the minister for the army.  They are proud and arrogant men who have reached the top, probably climbing over others in the process.

I can well imagine that they are planning how to stamp out the last bit of resistance to Baal worship.  How they could find and wipe out the last few believers of the Lord left in the land.

Elijah Confronts

But what is this?  Who is this fellow dressed in shabby, cheap peasant clothes from the north country?  What is he doing here?  How did he get past the guards?  Do you know who he is?  Does anyone know who he is?  Nobody has ever seen him before!  Who is he?

“Shhh!  – Listen to what he is saying”.  He says, “There will be no rain or dew in the land”.  He is absolutely certain about it!  There will be a drought in Israel.  It will be a very bad drought too!  There will be a drought that will break the back of the prosperity of Israel.  Boy, what authority!  He doesn’t mince his words.  He comes straight to the point.  There will be an economy-breaking drought in Israel!

Elijah Confident

As we read this passage we must be careful to read one text at a time.  Because in a superficial reading we can miss out on what the Lord is telling us here.  Something quite incredible is happening here.

Elijah, whom nobody knows, just appears on the scene and walks into the palace and delivers this ultimatum to the king and the leaders.

There was an incredible risk involved in walking into the palace and making that announcement.  Elijah could have been arrested, tortured and killed slowly for insulting the king and his religion in such a way.

Anyone of the officials could have ordered the guards to take hold of Elijah and take him to the prison.  There was great danger for Elijah as he walked into enemy headquarters.

Didn’t Elijah realise that?  Didn’t he realise that he was in danger?  Was he such a fool that he thought that he could walk into enemy headquarters, deliver such an ultimatum which must have seemed like an insult to all of them there, and then to be able to get away with it?

No, Elijah was no fool!  He fully realised the danger.  Yet, he was brimming with so much confidence that he believed he could do it.  Elijah had tremendous courage to be able to walk into enemy headquarters in spite of all the dangers.

The question for us is: Where did Elijah get such confidence?  Well, the answer is written in our text.  In verse one it says,
            “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, whom I serve,
             there will be neither dew or rain in the next few
             years, except at my word.”

3.  Elijah Confidence Basis

Not Message

Now it is interesting to note that Elijah does not say that the drought will come because, “Thus says the Lord!”.  Elijah does not claim that the Lord has given him a message and that he is carrying that message to the palace.

There is no record anywhere that Elijah received a message from the Lord.  There is no record anywhere that the Lord commissioned Elijah prior to this announcement as a prophet.  The distinct impression we receive from James 5 is that Elijah did not receive any direct verbal message from the Lord.

Therefore such a message is not the basis for Elijah’s confidence to walk into danger, to walk into enemy headquarters the way he did.

Lord Lives

We note from our text that Elijah says, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives”.  Elijah was convinced that the “Lord”, the covenant God, who made a covenant with his people and who has given his people promises and who is the unchanging faithful one, that this Lord is still alive.  That this Lord is not just alive, that He is also God!

In Hebrew the word ‘Lord’ emphasises the aspect of God’s faithfulness as a covenant God who does not change.  The word “God” emphasises His might and power as Creator and Provider.  What Elijah is saying here is that the Lord, our faithful covenant God, is also almighty and powerful and rules over all of nature!

This is a direct slap in the face to the king and all the officials present in the palace.  They have been stating that it is Baal who has brought Israel’s prosperity, that Baal is alive and in control of the forces of nature.  But now Elijah claims with absolute conviction that it is the Lord who is alive and rules nature.

Convinced

Now this kind of conviction of Elijah is not just based on agreeing what one has learnt by studying theology.  It is not a conviction that is reached automatically from studying books or confessions.

Although learning and study are important, because convictions must always be based on the truth, Elijah’s conviction that the Lord is alive goes far deeper than just the intellect.

Representative

Elijah also says in the text, “Whom I serve”.  Elijah sees himself as God’s personal representative.  Back home on the farm where he came from, he was the Lord’s personal representative.  In the town where he lived he was God’s personal representative.  And now, here in the palace he sees himself as the Lord’s personal representative.

Elijah not only knew the Lord from the pages of his Bible, he also knew the Lord from experience in his life!  In his daily walk with the Lord he experienced the Lord’s companionship.  When he got up in the morning he got up and greeted his Lord.  Throughout the day he experienced his Lord guiding and directing.  In the evening he communed with his Lord thanking Him for the day they had together.  As Elijah served the Lord he experienced the Lord’s aliveness.

Elijah was so overwhelmed with the fact that the faithful Lord from the pages of his Bible was also faithful in his life.  Elijah was so overwhelmed by the fact that the powerful God of the Bible was doing mighty things in his life, that from his understanding of the Word and also from experience Elijah could stand confidently and courageously as God’s representative in the midst of danger in enemy headquarters, the palace of king Ahab.

4.  Application

a.  Church Problem

Saved Unbelievers

You know what is one of the most difficult problems that the church faces today?  A problem that Satan uses to handicap the church today?  There are too many unbelievers in church!  Now notice I did not say, “Too many unsaved”.  There are too many “saved unbelievers” in church today!  Saved unbelievers?  Is it possible to have saved unbelievers?  Yes, unfortunately it is possible.

There are those who believe that God exists, that Jesus is their Saviour and Lord, that the Lord is in control and provides for all his people’s needs.  They know it up here in the head, they know it from books and confessions and can give you a good answer about what it means, but, they don’t know it in their lives!  They haven’t seen God’s faithfulness in their lives.  They haven’t seen God provoking them, redirecting them and guiding them in everyday things.

God Is Dead?

What do you think the Session should do with a preacher who comes into the pulpit and says that God is dead!  That He no longer is faithful, that He no longer guides and directs, that He no longer blesses.

That we are on our own and we have to look after ourselves.  What should the Session do with such a preacher in our pulpit or such a teacher in the catechism class?

Well you would say, “He should be disciplined for teaching such heresy.  He should be barred from teaching or preaching, and if he does not change his view then his membership in the church could also be brought into question.  It is a serious thing to say that God is dead!”  And brothers and sisters, if you thought that, then you would be right!

But please be careful!  The question that the Lord has placed before us today is: How many people in the pew say that God is dead?  Not so much say it in words, but say it by the way that we live!  Actions speak louder than words!

How many times do we say that God is dead by not trusting his faithfulness when we are in a different position?  How many times do we say God is dead when we rush off into the day too busy to commit the day’s activities to the Lord in prayer?  How many times do we say that the Lord is dead when we, because of our independence and being in control of things, don’t see the Lord’s guiding and prompting in our everyday affairs?  How many times do we say that the Lord is dead when we don’t trust His might and power or when we need to step out in faith?

The last thing that the church needs today is practical heretics.  That is, people who say they believe that the Lord God is alive but He is not a part of their lives.

b.  Church Needs

You know what the church needs today?  People who are convinced from the confession and also convinced from the experience of their own lives that God is alive.  That God has done great things for them in their lives!

What the church needs today is, people who are so overwhelmed by the fact that God is alive today in their lives that they are excited at the start of each day because it is another day walking with the Lord.  People who are so convinced of God’s aliveness today that they are tremendously enthusiastic to serve the Lord.

People who are so overwhelmed by God’s aliveness in their lives that they are confident and courageous to step out in faith and even walk into enemy headquarters and give the ultimatum to the enemy.

That is what the church needs today.  People who are overwhelmed by the aliveness of the Lord and live it out in their lives in everyday situations.

5.  Challenge

Example: Lord Alive

Dr. Howard Hendricks, a professor at a Theological College in America tells a story of the time that he was flying back from a conference one day and the seat next to him was the last vacant seat on the plane.

While Dr. Hendricks was settling down a lawyer got on the plane, sat down, opened his brief case and discovered that half of his papers were missing.  With swear words he got up and demanded to be let off the plane.  As he was let off the plane a young soldier who was waiting in the standby lounge was allowed on and he sat next to Dr. Hendricks.

They started to talk and Dr. Hendricks discovered that this young soldier had been knocked back from nine flights and now he had made it on board.  The soldier asked the doctor what he did for a living and the doctor told him he was a preacher who taught preachers how to preach.  Now normally in conversation when ministers say they are preachers that is the end of the conversation.

But not so this time.  The soldier said, “Sir, I am on the way to Vietnam and I am scared, do you have anything for me?”  Dr. Hendricks explained the gospel to him and during that flight that young man made a commitment to Jesus Christ.

Later when he arrived in Vietnam at his base, the first thing he was told was that he and the rest of his platoon had to report for chapel for a worship service.  As he sat in chapel he heard the chaplain preaching the same message that Dr. Hendricks explained on the plane.  This was unusual because not all chaplains in the army preached the gospel.

After the service this young man went to the chaplain and explained what happened on the plane and how the two messages were the same.  The chaplain asked, “What was the name of the man who shared the Lord with you on the plane?”  He pulled out a dirty scrap of paper that had Dr. Hendricks address on it so that he could get more follow up material, and said “It was Dr. H. Hendricks.”  The chaplain said, “Son, Dr. Hendricks showed me the Lord Jesus Christ and taught me how to preach!”

Was it coincidence?  That the only vacant seat was next to Dr. Hendricks, that the lawyer couldn’t stay on the plane, that the soldier after nine rejections was placed on that flight, in that seat?  That he had a great need and Dr. Hendricks had the only message that can meet that need?  That he arrived in Vietnam and had his following needs also taken care of?  Coincidence?

No!  It is easier to believe that there is a faithful Lord who is alive and who is in control and who directs the lives of his people for their good.

Challenge

Allow me to ask you a very important and basic question.  What is there in your life that can only be explained by the Lord guiding and directing you?  Can you see God at work in your life like that?

Do you experience the Lord’s faithfulness and might in your daily life or do you know it only from the Bible?  What is there in your life that can only be explained by the Lord’s involvement?

This is a vital question for all of us!  What is it that the Lord uses to convince our children that He is alive and real?  Is it all the Sunday School lessons that they have heard?  Is it all the catechism classes that they have attended or all the sermons they have been exposed to?  All these things are helps.  But you know what the Lord uses the most in convincing our children?

It is you!  The reality of the Lord in your daily life!  If you see the Lord as active in your daily life, and you are convinced by His aliveness and you are overwhelmed by His aliveness, then your children will see Him too.

Conclusion

Look at Elijah, bold as brass, marching into danger, marching into the enemy headquarters, giving them that dramatic ultimatum.

What made Elijah so confident?

Elijah’s Lord was alive and in control of the universe.  Elijah knew from the Word; Elijah knew it from experience!

Brothers and sisters, Elijah’s Lord is our Lord!

The Lord is faithful, unchanging, almighty and very much alive today!

Go into this week, starting each day with that Lord.

Go into this week full of confidence, for the mighty living Lord goes with you!

AMEN