Christians without Passion in a Culture without God,
Or Renewal Begins with You

a sermon on 1 Kings 18.17-39
by David C. Mauldin
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Mobile, Alabama


I intended to preach a patriotic sermon this morning, or at least one about being a Christian citizen or something like that. It didn’t work. I poured over the most likely texts in scripture. I prayed. I tried. Nothing. I dug a well but there was no water. I mined my vast library with no results. Finding good thoughts on patriotism from theologians is harder than catching a squirrel with your bare hands. Most never get around to saying anything about it. Of those who do, half think America is the kingdom of God, and the other half think patriotism is a disease. Is it really so hard to say, “Love your country but love God more”?

As I wrangled fruitlessly, however, a passage came to my mind and wouldn’t go away: Elijah’s showdown on Mt. Carmel with the priests of Baal. I think I know why. As Christians living in America at the beginning of the 21st century, we find ourselves in unfamiliar, uncomfortable territory. Our culture, which once upon a time had a Christian—especially a Protestant—identity, has changed. The church has been knocked off its perch. Ours is an increasingly secular society, its values the values of radical individualism and the bottom line. Not that America was ever a paragon of Christian faithfulness. As a people we have often been great hypocrites, paying lip service to Christian principles while doing whatever we wanted. But at least we were capable of hypocrisy because we had lofty principles. We solved the problem of hypocrisy, not by living up to those ideals, but by doing away with them. Set the bar low enough and you’ll find it easier to reach. Our culture needs renewal.

Meanwhile, the church, especially mainline Protestant denominations like ours, has been torn in half. What the culture did left us schizophrenic. Now that the culture has parted ways with the gospel, some in the church think we ought to do whatever it takes to stay on the cutting edge of culture. Others say we must be faithful to the gospel, no matter what. Most are simply confused. I am one who says we must stay true to the gospel. It is clear to me, the church needs renewal. This is true, I believe, at every level, even our own congregation. Not that we are confused about what we believe, rather, we need energy and passion to be God’s faithful people.

Some Christians, reading this handwriting on the wall, despair. “Why has God abandoned us?” they ask. To which I answer: Nonsense. God never abandons the church. God has not let us down. I think he is doing a new thing. We are in the middle of a tremendous process of change. In the end, the church (meaning the Christian church in America) that emerges on the other side will be more devoted to the gospel, more focused on mission, and a better witness for the kingdom of God. Why? That’s the only kind of church that will survive. Right now, though, the church needs renewal.
If the present state of our culture distresses you, consider the condition in Israel during Elijah’s day. Ahab was king. Here is what the Bible says about him: “Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him” [1 Kings 16.30]. For those of you unfamiliar with the Old Testament, that was quite an accomplishment. Some of those kings had been wicked indeed. The Bible has nothing positive to say about this guy. Archeologists will tell you that the Omride dynasty was a time of prosperity in Israel. Omri and Ahab built palaces, fortifications, and public works. It was a relatively peaceful time. People were content, but their hearts were far from God. The Bible goes on about Ahab: as if all his other sins were not enough, he married a Sidonian princess named Jezebel and began to worship her god, Baal. Ahab built a temple to Baal and put its priests on the payroll. Now, throughout Israel, alongside the one true God, people were worshipping Baal. Before long, the prophets of the Lord who protested this idolatry were persecuted. Many went into hiding. Had God abandoned his people? Not at all. Although they had abandoned him, he remained faithful. He put them through some hard times—there was a long drought—but he was always at work with a plan and a purpose. His main prophet at the time was Elijah.

Elijah’s showdown on Mt. Carmel with the priests of Baal has always been one of my favorite Bible stories. One reason I like it so much is that God made himself known. Elijah said one thing. The prophets of Baal said another. How could an Israelite know who was right? It is the same with preachers and theologians in every age. In matters of religion, how do you know? How do you convince someone? How do you make up your own mind? If only God would make everything plain. Wouldn’t that be great?

According to the Bible, one of God’s chief characteristics is that he makes himself known. He did it in creation. He did it in the Exodus and giving the law. He did it through his people Israel and through the prophets. He did it most clearly in Jesus, but also through the Spirit-empowered church. What happens, though, when God’s people get confused? Elijah summoned “all the people” to Mt. Carmel. That’s an exaggeration, but you see what it aims for. He said, “Bring the people. Let’s settle this.” Israel was confused, worshipping strange idols alongside the one true God. If God’s people are so confused, what hope do the other nations have? In our own day, God wants to make himself known through his people, the church. Yet we are often confused. Worse, we are indifferent. So often we treat our faith as a hobby or as one small part of our rich and complex lives. We do not see the importance or the urgency of making a serious commitment to Jesus Christ and living for him. We need now what Israel needed back then. We need God to make himself known. We need him to empower us and fill us with a renewed sense of purpose.

This narrative is one of the funniest in the Bible. The rules of the contest are simple. Each side builds an altar and lays out a sacrifice. But, nobody is to light a fire. Each side must call upon its god to provide the fire. The priests of Baal spend all day dancing and shouting and begging for fire. By afternoon they get desperate and begin to cut themselves. Nothing happens.

At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah takes his turn. First he has a trench dug around the altar. Then he has four large jars of water poured over the sacrifice. This is repeated three times until water fills the trench. Then he offers a simple prayer: “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. Answer 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.” When he finished, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the offering, the wood, the stone, the dust, and even the water. When the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord indeed is God!”

One of the key points for interpreting a passage from scripture is this: With whom in the story do you identify? Do you see yourself as King Ahab? Jezebel? The prophets of Baal? The people of Israel? Or Elijah? I’d like to say Elijah, but I don’t think that is right. I think you and I are the people of Israel. That’s who we should identify with in this story.

I’d like to say we are Elijah, but I don’t think we are. Elijah doesn’t seem surprised when fire falls from heaven. I suspect you and I would go into shock. We would not be a bit surprised when Baal failed to make a peep, much less light a fire. But would we expect God to rain fire from heaven and reveal himself in so dramatic a fashion?

Keep in mind that the whole setup was God’s idea. Elijah didn’t put God on the spot. Jesus said we are not to put the Lord our God to the test. You cannot run around setting up trials and expecting God to perform. Nevertheless … God makes himself known. He does it in a variety of ways, some public, some private, some dramatic, some extremely quiet. But he makes himself known. And that is what we need. We need God to have mercy on his people today as he had mercy on them so long ago. We need him to send fire from heaven and make himself known. Think Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came like tongues of fire. We need a fresh, powerful movement of God’s Spirit to point us in the right direction, empower us, and give us passion.

Elijah’s prayer is perfect for us: “Let it be known that you are God. Turn our hearts back.” As I reflect on the needs of our nation and the church—and also each of our lives; you and I need renewal too; we need not only faith but also passion for the gospel and God’s kingdom—as I reflect on all these needs, one thing is certain: The answer is in God’s hands. Only God can send the fire. In Elijah’s day it took an act of God to get his people back on track. Nothing less will do today.

Sometimes only an act of God will do. Then again, maybe it always takes an act of God … to change a life, or a church, or a nation. God is never known unless he makes himself known. You might point to the Bible or preaching, but I think of what Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” [1 Cor 2.4-5]. I also think about what the church in the Book of Acts did. When Peter and John were arrested and warned not to preach about Jesus anymore, the church prayed. They began: “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them …” That is so important. We must always keep in mind who God is. God is God, and he is in control. Ahab and the people of Israel had to learn that. Even Elijah had to learn it. Whatever changes and challenges confront us, God is in heaven—which does not mean that he is far away and unavailable or uninterested. It means he has his hand on things. If you are a prophet of the Lord, you may not like King Ahab, the idolatry of God’s people, the persecution you endure, or the drought God sends; but you can be certain that God is God … and, he will make himself known. Sooner or later. Somehow. And because you know that, you can be faithful.

Faithfulness is the other part. We look to God and while we wait and trust, we are faithful. The church in Acts went on to pray: “Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Scripture says, “When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness” [Acts 4.29-31].

That is what we need to pray—the prayer of the apostolic church and the prayer of Elijah. “Lord, make yourself known. Make yourself known to us. Fill us with your Spirit and with power. Fill our minds with truth and our hearts with passion. Make yourself known in the church—in our congregation, in our denomination, in all the churches. Make yourself known through the church. Change our culture. Change our church. Change our hearts.”

God makes himself known. And when he does, nothing is ever the same. Just a little of God’s glory goes a long way.

So … if you are concerned about America, about the church in general or Westminster in particular, or about your family or a loved one or yourself … pray for God to do what God loves to do: make himself known and change lives. First of all, remember that God is God. Trust him. Second, offer yourself to him to do whatever he might call you to do. Third, try to be as faithful as you can be. Then know, no matter what happens, God will triumph and his cause will go forward. You may not like how things go in the short run. God never promised his people an easy ride. Elijah found this out. In response to his showdown on Mt. Carmel, the Israelites killed the priests of Baal. Jezebel retaliated by promising to kill Elijah. He fled. He ended up in a cave, thinking he was the only prophet the Lord had left, asking God to just let him die. Have you ever sunk that low? Many of God’s servants have. God had another message for Elijah, however. God was not done with him, and God certainly was not finished with his people or his world.

Like Elijah, we are called to persist and persevere. Even when you get discouraged, remember that God is God, and he is not finished with us, with his church, or his world. Not yet. Not until that glorious day when through Christ he makes all things new. Pray for renewal. Persevere. And never lose hope. Amen.

rev_mauldin@yahoo.com
July 1, 2007