November 26, 2023 - Conviction As A Means
Notes
Transcript
We continue today making our way through 1 Kings...
If you remember last week - we began a mini-series - looking at - ELIJAH…the prophet.
Last week - we dove into PRAYER - as a means that God uses to...
Connect us to:
God’s Posture in the World
God’s Providence
God’s Preparation
God’s Power
We often (too often) fall into the mindset that Prayer is simply a One-Way street between us and God.
It’s certainly more than that!
And we saw how Paul himself viewed prayer - and SOUGHT the prayers of those who followed Christ.
For Elijah - Prayer kept him connected to all of these things...
God’s Posture - going to King Ahab
God’s Providence - God using ravens to feed him
God’s Preparation - God sending Elijah to a widow in Zeraphath
God’s Power - in God restoring LIFE to the widow’s son who had died.
And so Elijah - connected to God in prayer - READY for the next thing!
And it comes this week.
BUT FIRST -
I wanted to make a connection - from last week’s sermon - last week’s text = to the ministry of Christ.
Remember that widow that Elijah went to? She ended up feeding him? And Elijah in turn ended up FEEDING her by her food supplies not running out?
Ok, fast forward to Christ’s ministry.... He’s in the synagogue - teaching…and this happens.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ”
24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,
26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
Following this - the people TRIED to KILL Jesus!
What was Jesus saying?
He references the very account that we read about last week...
Jesus was saying - The people of Israel - in their history - KILLED the prophets that came to them...
And Jesus made it known to the Jews - that back in Elijah’s day - Elijah was sent to help - NOT any of the Jewish widows...
But instead went to a gentile widow - and SHE ACCEPTED him.
She embraced the help that God had brought.
UNLIKE the Jewish people...
AND SO - just wanted to make that connection for you - in case you weren’t aware of it.
NOW - onto the NEXT thing - for Elijah...
We’ll treat our text today - the same way we treated it last week.
We’ll pull from the text as we go.
1 After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”
2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
3 And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly,
4 and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)
5 And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.”
6 So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
So just to stop here and understand what’s happening...
God calls Elijah to go and show himself to King Ahab...
He hasn’t DONE THAT YET - but he’s on his way.
Ahab calls Obadiah to help him look for grass and water to help him save their animals...
So they split up and head in different directions.
7 And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’ ”
9 And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.
11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.” ’
12 And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.
So Elijah finds Obadiah...
And tells him to go tell Ahab that Elijah is here and looking for him.
Obadiah gets nervous - because he wants to make sure that if he TELLS Ahab that Elijah wants to meet with him - that ELIJAH ACTUALLY MEETS WITH HIM!!
OTHERWISE - Ahab will kill him!
And so Obadiah - explains to Elijah that he has HELPED the Lord from his youth...
HOW SO?
13 Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water?
14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here” ’; and he will kill me.”
Obadiah had actually HELPED some men of God and kept them alive...
Protected them from Ahab’s wife - Jezebel
15 And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
And if you REMEMBER from last week - we saw how PRAYER is a means - to CONNECT to the POSTURE of God in the world!
And we’re SEEING that HERE - right?
Elijah isn’t HIDING in the caves...
He’s not running away!
And something i want you to notice is this...
SLIDE: Conviction Under God: Is Contagious
Conviction Under God
Conviction Under God
What do I mean?
Here’s what we see in our text today…!
SLIDE:
Elijah’s conviction to obey the Lord convinced Obadiah to partake in the Lord’s command for Elijah to meet with Ahab.
In a nutshell - Elijah’s conviction - became Obadiah’s conviction
You see it?
The Bible tells us that Obadiah - loved the Lord...
YET - He was hesitant… BECAUSE...
Satan was in that valley - and started WHISPERING to him...
Psst.... hey, if you go to Ahab - You’ll DIE!!
Psst...
But Elijah was - - RESOLUTE in the fact that HE WAS GOING TO MEET with Ahab!!
His CONVICTION - emboldened Obadiah!
We need to KNOW that our FAITH.... our conviction - can HELP OTHERS to obey Jesus as well!!
Remember when Paul was in prison and said this?
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
WOW - Paul says here - that SOMETHING has emboldened the other believers!
What was it?
His - very own imprisonment!
AND SO - What actually played out here - is that Paul’s CONVICTION.... was so STRONG - strong enough to land him in prison...
That his CONVICTION became contagious!
And the brothers IN CHRIST - saw that conviction.... and it EMBOLDENED them!!
Remember that famous verse that we read in 2 Samuel…?
12 Be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what seems good to him.”
DO you remember the title of THAT sermon?
The Risk of Christianity
The call to US - as Christians - IS NOT - stay safe....DO the safe thing!
We’re not CALLED to self-preservation!
WE ARE CALLED to - POUR OURSELVES out…for the sake of Christ!
Joab says to Abishai - surrounded by the ENEMY on ALL SIDES...
Be courageous - and let us PLAY THE MAN - for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to Him!”
Christianity is NOT for the faint of HEART!
AND YET - how awesome it is that our CONVICTION - can become ANOTHER’s conviction…!
Our conviction - can be contagious!!
And we need to KNOW THAT - on BOTH SIDES of the EQUATION!!
I need to know that OTHER’S conviction - can EMBOLDEN ME and become MY conviction!
I need to KNOW THAT!
Which means - I need to BE AWARE....
I need to - LISTEN! and not be so quick to SPEAK… I just might learn something!!
But i ALSO need to know that MY CONVICTION - can EMBOLDEN OTHERS....
And THEREFORE - I MAY NEED to speak UP....for a change! - take off the mask
I may need to SPEAK INTO that conversation - for a change! - take off the mask
I need to know - that Conviction Under God is Contagious!!
But that’s not all....
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.
Here we see the CONVICTION of Elijah play itself out...
And it does something that - Conviction Under God does...
SLIDE: Conviction Under God: Corrects the Culture
Conviction Under God
Conviction Under God
v17
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”
Is it YOU, YOU troubler of Israel?
Do you see what Ahab did here?
Do you see what the CULTURE will do with Righteousness? [sin]
What does Righteousness do?
Righteousness WARS AGAINST - the rebellion of God.... right?
SO - what we see is that the Culture (Sin) labels anything that comes against the rebellion of God - as “trouble”.
Sin will defend the Rebellion of God...
And it will LOOK at Righteousness - and declare it to be - - Trouble, Evil...
And it goes back to that verse which tells us...
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
This is exactly what Ahab did the Elijah!
Ahab viewed the TRUTH of God - THRU Elijah - as - TROUBLE!
And so - if we’re professing believers in Christ - then our CONVICTION should ALIGN with Elijah’s.
Elijah responded to the Worldview which believes GOD IS THE PROBLEM!
Elijah HEARD the proclamation of the Unbelieving Worldview - and HE CLAPPED BACK!
NO - God ISN’T the problem!
WE are the problem!!
We PREFER darkness over light!
WE prefer SIN over righteousness!
We PREFER our own preferences over the interests of others!
We Prefer OUR WAY over THE WAY - Jesus Christ!
Elijah - Clapped back!
CONVICTION Under God - clapped back!
It corrected the CULTURE!
And we see this same exact thing from the apostle Paul in the NT...
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
Paul sees that they worship idols - He sees all the idols throughout the city...
And on one of these idols he sees an inscription that reads...
SLIDE:
“To the unknown god”
And Paul USES this to say - What YOU WORSHIP as UNKNOWN.... let me tell the God He is.
These people KNEW all of these idols!!
What they DID NOT KNOW - was the TRUE and LIVING GOD!
And Paul’s CONVICTION - corrected the culture.
He heard the proclamation of the culture - in the display of these idols…and he SPOKE into it!
If we’re not doing the SAME thing....why not?
There’s an answer to that...
It’s because we don’t have enough - CONVICTION!
NOT knowledge.... CONVICTION!
And this “Speaking into the Culture” - - Correcting the culture...
It really entails understanding and BELIEVING - truly - that what YOU POSSESS - is the remedy to the lost world.
AND...
It entails TRUSTING in Jesus - to provide for you in your speaking!
To provide for you in your PREPARATION .... and in your speaking… into the culture.
If you don’t really BELIEVE enough.... if you don’t really TRUST Jesus enough...
THEN YOU WON”T be convicted enough - to Correct the Culture.... to speak into the Culture!
But that’s not all we see.
Back to our text...
18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.
19 Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
What do we see here?
What is Elijah CALLING the people to do?
And therefore - What is GOD - calling the people to do?
He’s telling them to - PICK A SIDE!!
SLIDE: Conviction Under God: It Is Without Compromise
Conviction Under God
Conviction Under God
What did v21 say?
21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
I think we’ll all be - ashamed - in the end - when we realize how often we limped after other gods in this world...
THINKING that those gods could satisfy...
Elijah - sees the people of Israel...
TURNING to other gods…which are no gods at all...
AND his conviction is to tell these people to - PICK A SIDE!!
COMMIT to SOMETHING!
But he tells us - IN THE WAY HE SAYS this - that he wouldn’t be HAPPY with whatever they decided!
He actually wasn’t saying - AS LONG AS YOU PICK A SIDE _ I’ll BE HAPPY...
NO - and we know that by how he says this...
He says -
If the LORD is God - FOLLOW HIM!
But if Baal - then FOLLOW him…!
NOW - According to Elijah - what does he KNOW - about the God of Israel??
He knows that the God of Israel - IS THE TRUE GOD!
And what he says is - IF THE LORD - is God (which HE IS) - then - - FOLLOW HIM!!
He’s actually calling for the people of ISRAEL - to FOLLOW the ONE TRUE and LIVING God!!
it seemed that the people loved having a Security blanket in their back pocket...
They were Israelites - and so had “Abraham” as their father…in their minds...
YET - they worshipped other gods… idols
Living a distinctly separate lifestyle.
And so they probably felt good having their “JEWISHNESS” in their back pocket…as a security blanket - YET living a separate - IDOL WORSHIPPING Lifestyle!
And Elijah comes along - and says - PICK A SIDE!!
PICK - TRUTH!
FOLLOW WHAT IS - TRUE!!
**Planet Fitness guy (Nate Campbell) - Explain story
Nate had seen me for at least a year...
THINKING I was that guy from CSU - not positive
So he went a long time - Content with being on the fence - of what was true.
Not really sure - but not CONVICTED enough to ask…to speak up.
Elijah - says - PICK A SIDE!!
Get off the fence!
KNOW what side YOU’RE ON!!
*Apostle Paul (was fully convicted PRE-conversion - to destroy the way) and was FULLY CONVICTED post-conversion - to PROMOTE the way).
HAVE YOU PICKED a SIDE?
Where does your CONVICTION lie?
And let’s close today with looking at HOW CONVICTED Elijah was in this...
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.
23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it.
24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.”
26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down.
31 Elijah 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,”
32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time.
35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
Your Christian walk - is MEANT - to impact people around you.
It’s meant to IMPACT the LOST -
That the lost may see your life - and go from saying - Your God - to MY GOD...
It’s meant to IMPACT a brother or sister in Christ...
Encouraging them to SEE Christ -
To REMIND them that yes - Christ is FOR them!
Elijah’s conviction - became - the People’s conviction!
v39 said -
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
May we too ENOUGH conviction - to cause others to say - - “The Lord - he is God; the Lord, He is God”
SUMMARY:
Conviction Under God:
It Is Contagious
It Corrects the Culture
It Is Without Compromise
Conviction consists of - belief - and trust
If I truly believe - and i truly TRUST - I will be convicted.
My impact in the world - for Jesus - is a direct reflection of my level of Conviction...
my level of belief in Him
my level of trust in Him
May OUR conviction...
be contagious
correct the culture
be without compromise