Public Opinions or Private Obedience

Welcome to leading the way with pastor and author of more than 50 books including the newly released, never give up. Dr. Michael you Seth did a a closer look at one of the most incredible scenes and all the Bible, the prophet Elijah takes on bail orchestrating a public showdown with the one true God. This event is so intense. Dr. Yousef feels it's prime for the big screen and yet it's practical and it's relevant for life in 2022.

So journey with us to the top of Mount caramel has Dr. Michael Yousef takes you to first Kings chapter 18 look at the verse centerpiece of the life of a larger you're going to find him standing up in hand to hand combat. And while the masses of people, God's people. The people of Israel were different skeptical standing there atop of Mount caramel turned your Bibles. Please the first Kings chapter 18 is you turning in your Bibles I want to tell you this, that the recipe for disaster information at church community or home.

Is this compromising leadership and confused people. That is a recipe for disaster and that's precisely what you gonna find here at first in chapter 18 and this is perhaps one of the most dramatic moments in biblical history.

If I were a movie producer.

This would be literally the epic of my production. This is the height of drama that I could present to you but since I'm not I wanted to use your imagination. I will transform you to the voice of Mount caramel where this event has taken place there. Elijah begins by confronting this week. This will public hearing King I have who was politically correct. It was confronting this wimp of a king who was the champion of pluralism. This wimp of a king who compromised his faith and allowed his wicked goblets queen to desecrate the nation by entertaining 850 prophets of bail and Asherah right there being subsidized by the state this thing did all of this and yet when he got into trouble. He turned around and began to blame the man of God Elijah for the trouble of a nation. This man when he saw all that was going on in society when he saw the hand of judgment upon society. What he do he turned and lashed on God-fearing man in larger I want you to remember that it had not been trained at this point of history for three solid years and everything is turning into ashes and dust.

No crops, no food in the country is in a disaster. But during the time of drought. God was hiding his man larger first and Sheriff Brooks and vitamins artifacts. He was hiding him. He was providing for him. He was taking care of them and this is a picture of God's provision of God's hand of protection for those who love him.

Those who are faithful to him. Those who put their trust in him in the midst of trouble, but look at the irony here. I have been his Phoenician wife Jezebel worshiping bail while paying lip service to Yahweh worshiping bail after you why because bail was known as the God of fertility is the God of the crops was the God whose worship required indulgence in sensuality and yet when the drought came as soon as I have even having some doubts about bail. What does he do it.

Turns around and blame Elijah the prophet of God, and he said you're the trouble of Israel. I wanted to listen carefully, because I know this can be misunderstood, but I see it with my own eyes, and you have to have your eyes open to be able to see this that this is happening all around us today. We have many of the elite and the secular media today we have so many in the entertainment industry, the political elite, many of them and affect our worshiping mother Earth, Gaia. Some of them probably my go to church on Sunday and for the television camera may carry a big black Bible with them, but at the same time there worshiping at the shrine of the flesh, they are bowing to mother Earth and there are confusing secular humanism with Christianity.

Just as Ahab and his wife Jezebel were confusing bail with Yahweh. We are experiencing today, and when the leadership leads into compromise. The public becomes confused and that is precisely what is happening at this point in Israel's history. These confused people gathered at the Mount caramel the business of the were confused because the Bible said they were hoping between two opinions. They did not worship bail alone. They did not worship Yahweh alone there worshiping bail in the guise of Yahweh Mount caramel in Israel is an absolutely awesome site 1600 feet high King I have someone to come on top of that mountain, the confused people of Israel. There were some of the come up this mountain. The 450 prophets of bail was someone to come up to the mountain. The 400 prophets of Ashtoreth were invited to come up to this mountain and there. I imagine the man of God as the masses and masses of people coming climbing up the mountain from these from the West from the north and the south all coming up in and rose as a going. I can imagine in my mind's eye the man of God. Probably hiding behind a rock and there he was in prayer. There he was on his knees behind some rocks somewhere crying to God pleading with God receiving assurance from God, but I can assure you Elijah would not have. He would not have done this without a mandate from the living God. This is a timeless picture tried to put yourself in place yourself in the picture. See yourself standing on top of that 1500 mountain. Imagine yourself standing on the 6 mile train of a mountain standing there in the pop facing directly west you see the Mediterranean feel right.

The ancient fortress of the city of any court, where the crusaders what their enemies to your left. There is a Caesarea, where Paul confronted Felix and Festus and Agrippina right behind you. The plains of Ashkelon. What did you defeated the Midianites.

It is an awesome site but of all these historic events that one event of one of man facing 850 false prophets probably is the most important event in the mountain. What is a part of this confrontation, you will find that in verse 21 of first Kings 18. The point of the confrontation is this, that Elijah cries to the confused people of God saying to them, in effect, how long your waiver. How long you wobble, how long would you walk with a limp. That's a little word in Hebrew, God is God worship God worship Elijah said he was going to make a decision between two extremes.

I want to tell you on the front of the word of God that God wants people to be either one of the extreme sides. Jesus told the church in Lagos here in the book of Revelation.

He said you make me sick you make me nauseous. You might not want to vomit. Why because he said you cannot be on both sides of the issue. You cannot have 1 foot in each camp because you cannot stay in the middle-of-the-road because they sought to please other people sought to please men, but not God because they wanted to play footsie with sin. During the week and then go to church on Sunday because they wanted to identify were societies a morality and then call themselves religious, Jesus is allowed to see and make up your minds, make up your minds choose either to be cold or hot.

Listen to me being Margaret maybe wonderful for the secular media and that will praise you for but is not going to excite God about you. God wants you to believe. Aside are you for Jesus and slapping him and rejecting it only to have a PhD to know the people pleasers in the pleasing no one compromising produces restlessness and decision produces turmoil. Don't worry about what people think of you only what God thinks of you. Verse 22 Elijah said I'm outnumbered.

Most of us if we get outnumbered wanted to is really bad. We feel terrible if you get outnumbered. 1 to 20 minutes a disaster of epic proportion.

But to get outnumbered 850 to 1 unit 850 people looking at you saying you're wrong what you believe is wrong is where Electrolux is wasted alone in front of 850+ establishment plus the leadership the country what our problem is today. Our problem is that we constantly look for public opinion polls and formulate all things problem is that the we are forever looking at what others are doing and determine a course of action that is not please the Lord. Look back at the picture, all the odds were on the side of bail. Yahweh had all the handicap. The central term of the contest here of this confrontation is the God who answers his God. If about the God who answers his God, our God is the God who acts most often he acts in response to his people's faith. Most often he acts in response to his people's obedience. Most often he acts in response to his people's intense prayer can imagine this confused Israelites coming up on top of the mountain standing there watching what's going on in front of their eyes bail worship is trying to call upon bail them the way I try to imagine what the religious people of our day to go to the apostate church who believe that there is a God, but he's a million miles away.

They believe that Jesus died on the cross is totally irrelevant to their daily living. Those who go to church once a month to get a fix on religion. Also read the horoscope just in case the missile imagine them standing there wide eyes for nine hours watching nine hours have passed hundred and 50 prophets of bail calling upon bail response it on. I honestly believe that these profits of bail that they sincerely believe that there was an incident.

You know that is why I think there is nothing worse than being sincerely wrong he was around.

See sincere. Nothing worse than being sincerely wrong. Nothing worse than being deceived deceiver. Nothing worse than being diluted the router they could not get bail to hear the so they start dancing around the altar started gyrating and starting doing the thing you know menuing and doing the Lombardo and all the stuff you know this how to get there kicking him in the all trying to get bail's attention. Imagine Elijah very, there would be just absolutely wonderful for nine hours, standing there quietly but he didn't really, the whole nine hours with at least part of it standing there quietly, patiently, when what he was doing.

She will probably whispering but by noon time. He just couldn't take it anymore. I'm in this language is gone for too long. So by verse 27 look at a noontime to begin to plunk them saying hey shot was getting hard of hearing of light. After all, he's a busy guy is probably on an element somewhere and he's getting old and is tiring very easily is probably taking an limited or something and I say very quickly and I'm gonna move all there is. The word Hebrew word in verse 27, which means that probably he had to take care of life necessity is what it means is like in the airplane and only on the television occupied this way was he was occupied as one reads literally on the move very quickly and finally when they got desperate.

They began to cut themselves with knives, hoping to provoke bail's compassionate response to no avail.

You will wonder what can you help us thinking standing with the promises real life. Give me a break.

Jezebel told me, let me ask you this.

Does your God honor you trust in him and answered your prayer when you praise him in accordance with his will is your God answer this we all put our trust in something or someone will. If you put your trust in your material things and your children are empty you material things will still owe.

I submit to you that you material things was standing there as a McRae because they contents if your God is the God of rationalism that says I think therefore I am. When you confront tragedies in life. Does your God answer you with the peace that passes understanding is the answer you with the hope that is beyond description know I submit to you that you and your rationalism will stand in McRae because it answer you if your God is sensuality when you have come to the end of the road you feel your own mortality. You can cry out the sensuality, but when passion flame have become dust and ashes. It will not answer you, your God answer you when you cry to him my God does his name is Jesus call upon him today call upon him today call upon him today.

Verse 30 later in the day. Elijah said okay boys I been patient long enough rough translation you get the meaning we show you what my God can do.

I love it.

He should draw near him close up hocus-pocus in the Christian life. There are no smoke and mirrors. There are no make-believe in the Christian life. Come calls come and see. There is no sleight-of-hand in the Christian life.

Our lives are open book order powerful testimony come close and see how good my God is see how he works. And as the sun began to sink into the Mediterranean.

Elijah took 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel.

And he repaired the Coulter you know why he repaired the altar. Because God's altar has been torn down out of neglect God's altar has been torn down out of disinterest God's altar has been torn down out of negligence and running off the other things in life that his wife was torn down in disrepair me ask you this. How was your family altar. What shape of repaired sin is in disrepair is your prayer altar. What kind of shape it's in disrepair out of negligence out of being busy doing things. Thinking that the last in contrast to the dry with the larger allow the prophets of bail to use the saturated. The word over which a sacrifice was placed. I feel sorry for these guys who had to carry water all the way up to the mountain in November was a drought and there was no water.

So what they were doing or going all the way down to the Mediterranean coming up all in the 1500 feet up cutting the waters of the second unless none of the black front time really barrels of oil per the methods why was he doing that.

Why was he saturating the world and even having a trench of water around the old because he wants to give all the odds to bail in all of the handicap to you, you would do yourself a disfavor if you miss the blessing of verse 36 I had a personal revival just over that verse all by myself.

Elijah did all of this in perfect obedience to the voice of God. So we prayed publicly. He only prayed for a few moments. He only prayed for words began to focus on this. I realize that Elijah has been praying privately for three years to stand up and four hours dance around no.

Most often, we miss this in our lives. It is not the length of your public prayer, but destroying of your private is not the economy of your public words in public prayer with the intensity of your private prayer and that is why James chapter 5 said that Elijah was a great man of prayer, probably by now some of you are saying – you know, why doesn't God do that now. What is Michael Yusuf go down so we don't know the Marion will bring all your bull out here now call fire from heaven help you to understand that this was a moment of time in salvation history where everything was at stake. Everything I mean Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David kingdom, everything, everything was in the balance. God doesn't work like that every day doesn't work like this. Most of the time unless it is a mode of absolute decisive critical world changing time for when people saw the fire come down from heaven, burning everything in sight, they fell on their faces and called out and say the Lord is the Lord is God mother sponsors who wouldn't we see a site like that. Listen carefully. Great is this event had been in biblical history. We do not look back to month, for our salvation why because we have something better. We look back to Calvary. We look back to the empty tomb. We look back to the resurrected and glorified. Soon coming back Lord Jesus Christ. When fire came at the men and women would change forever occurred and they became filled with how out of the we don't look back to the fire that consumes more than even water the flyer that cleanses and purifies online we don't look to the fire that consumed the revised fire that consumes us with the world. Jesus is Lord you are listening to Dr. Michael Yusuf and the program known all around the world as leading the way place to listen or watch@ltw.org. We sometimes spend time right here letting you know about the resources available at leading the way to help you grow closer to our Lord and we do have blocks and CDs and DVDs have print materials but today allow me to tell you about some free resources that I know will encourage you in your faith to grab your mobile device or computer and go to hell.

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