Only 7000: From Carmel to Horeb to Calvary

Pagan tolerance goes only one way; opposition is silenced. Ahab and Jezebel coveted, killed, and stole to get their way.

Scripture:  1 Kings 18:30-39; 19:1-8

Sermon Notes:

1. In our culture we are at the point of rejecting the fundamental law of God for a new pagan view of the world.
2. God’s work in history offers us hope; though we feel like a small remnant, God works mysteriously and miraculously.
3. Ahab was a spineless king, who married the wicked Jezebel, a priestess of Baal, prince of demons.
4. Pagan tolerance only goes one way; opposition is silenced.  Ahab and Jezebel coveted, killed, and stole to get their way.
5. Elijah was courageous, living his name: “Yahweh is God.”
6. Fearless, uncompromising, selfless, Elijah did not shrink back.  He spoke the truth to Ahab: “I have not troubled Israel, but you have by abandoning the laws of God.”
7. Oneism teaches that all of nature is one and divine.
8. Twoism teaches that God is distinct and that all His creation exists under His law-word.
9. Elijah didn’t conform his message to the culture of his day.
10. Elijah was not there to deliver a spectacular show, but he was there to restore Israel to right worship.
    1. Elijah restores the very notion of God as transcendent, sovereign, and holy. 
    2. Elijah builds God’s altar, restoring the approach to God, and recovering the nation’s true identity as God’s people.
    3. Elijah restores the people’s consciousness of sin.
11. We need a revival today of the fire of the gospel to ignite the hearts of men and women to faithful living.
12. Jezebel wanted to kill Elijah; we too will always face evil. Only God will put an end to evil. 
13. Elijah was afraid, running away from Jezebel’s threat.
14. A broken man and suicidal, Elijah receives wonderful sustenance and healing from the Lord.
15. Assuming that he was the only faithful Israelite was part of Elijah’s downfall.  God has His people, and He is doing things that we are not aware of.
16. Elijah arrived at Sinai, and was given a new vision of God, like that which Moses experienced in Exodus 34:4.
17. We need to catch a renewed vision of God’s grace; God is in control, so we must continue on with our callings.
18. Calvary is the final mountain.  Jesus is the final bullock.
19. We need to go back to the cross where the real power of God is revealed, to bring forgiveness and restoration. 
20. May the example of Elijah draw us to the cross.

Application Questions:

1. Contrast the religion of Ahab and Jezebel with Elijah’s faith in the true God of Israel.
2. In what ways has the church compromised with the error and wickedness of the paganism in our culture?
3. Are we tempted to feel we are the last faithful believers?  What is the reality and what is God’s purpose in it?
4. What can we learn to emulate from Elijah’s response to wickedness and error?
5. Will we run like Elijah when our lives are in danger, or should we stay?
6. What can we do this week to restore right worship?
7. How does the grace of God at the cross give us confidence to live courageously in a hostile pagan culture?