We serve a powerful God, a loving God, a God that can do whatever He wants, and a God who chose to love us, to send His only Son into this world. What a God we serve. Would you turn to 1 Kings, chapter 18, and we're going to be looking at verses 19 through 26. Now, hopefully you've received an outline of the message tonight. If you haven't received an outline and you'd like one, would you just raise your hand and we'll have one of the ushers give you an outline. Anyone? Okay, everyone has one? Great. Good. Well, we come back to an amazing time in the life of Elijah. We come back to a day, an amazing day in the history of the world where so much happened and Elijah demonstrated the power of God. Tonight, we're going to be looking at the test of truth. We're going to see the failure of those who are false gods and those false things that people trust in. They fail. And we're going to see that every false thing fails at the test. Well, let's look at verse 19. Elijah's command in verses 19 and 20 was to send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel and the prophets of Baal 450 and the prophets of the grove, that's Ashtorah, 400, so a total of 850, which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel. I want you to notice the group missing from Mount Carmel. We don't know where they are. They're at least not front and center. These 400 prophets of Ashtorea. It says the prophets of the groves, 400 which eat at Jezebel's table. We continue reading in verse 21. And Elijah came unto all the people and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I, only remain a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's prophets are 450 men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under. And I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under. And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call the name of the Lord. And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first, for ye are many. And call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice. nor any that answered, and they leaped upon the altar which was made." Let's pray. Lord God of Elijah, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Moses, Lord God of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray to you, the one true living God, we ask God that you would manifest to us tonight the failure of all false allegiances. and make us more committed as people of God to the one true and living God. And I pray specifically, if there be anyone here tonight that has a divided allegiance, that is lost, God, that you'd save that person or persons, Lord. We don't know the heart, but you do, Lord. And so, God, we ask that you'd make your word clear tonight. In Jesus' name, amen. We come and we see the people gathered at Mount Carmel And on Mount Carmel, there are three groups of people that have three different postures or relationships to the truth. You have the enemies of God, the priests of Baal. You have the actual children of God, or child of God, Elijah. And then you have the actors. You have the hypocrites. The people of Israel that Elijah was addressing when he said, why halt ye between two opinions? So, let's look at the actual person who's standing out for God. And his posture is like this. He's saying, God, I believe you. I want to see your power. And I hope that's your posture today. outstretched to heaven, believing in a God that answers prayer, that is ready to work through you and do His will in this world, that's Elijah. There's only one. Now, there were a hundred men of the Lord's prophets, as verse 13 says, hidden away in caves. You see, God's people are either preaching or they're being persecuted. And so, the one that you have out there, he's preaching, and all the rest are being persecuted. And Elijah is given a stay of this persecution by the Lord and is able to have a voice with these people. But then you have the outright enemy of God who loves the world. And his posture is not like this. His posture is like this. And he has no relationship with God. He's an outright enemy of God. And we see these in our culture. We see these all around. They are brazen and very outright in their disregard for the true and living God, the one who gave them life. And so you have those who are clearly on the side of the world and with the wicked one. But finally, you have the actors. And their posture is like this. They're not sure. And you meet these people all the time at your work, in your neighborhood, if you've gone door-to-door witnessing. These people that they seem to have some minimal commitment to the things of God. but you never see them worshiping with God's people, and you never see them paying a price for the truth. And some of these people are very, very knowledgeable, but they're the actors. They have a form of religion, but they deny the power thereof. And so, they had a profession of God. Now, we have the same group of people here today. We have believers and unbelievers, And a subgroup of the unbelievers are the undecideds. They're unbelievers. Don't be fooled by the actors. They're all unbelievers and they will have their part away from God in the lake of fire. Now, which group are you in tonight? Truly, truly tonight, hear my plea. Which group are you in? Because if you are a child of God, there is fruit in your life. There is real change in your life. What group are you in? If you're in the undecided, you have all kinds of words for God, but you don't have fruit in your life. We have to ask, how long halt you between two opinions? Because there will be no Christianized pagans in heaven. Amen? No Christianized pagans in heaven. Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is an enemy of God. So we see these three groups, these three postures towards God. Then we see two patterns of truth in this text. First of all, in verse 21, we see that truth is polarizing. Elijah asks the question, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him. But if Baal, then follow him. The truth is black and white. Amen? There is truth and then there is error. And what decides between truth and error, brethren? The never-changing Word of God. And so, the truth is polarizing, and Elijah is drawing this polarization. Now, as Christians, we can't be wishy-washy. We cannot be afraid to say the truth as it is. Now, I'm talking about the fundamentals of the faith. I'm not talking about things that are of disputation among brethren. There are things that are disputed among brethren. Some things in eschatology. My wife's uncle said, I said, what position do you hold on the millennium? He said, I'm a pan-millennialist. I believe it's all going to pan out in the end. You know, we don't know the future, but we know that Jesus is coming again. Amen. And we're all going to stand before him. And we better be ready for that. Well, Elijah makes it very plain. He says, how long halt you between two opinions? Why do you waver between God and evil? Why do you want to be on the edge of evil? There are no halfway Christians, are there? If you're saved, then you're not a half-saved person. You're an all-the-way-saved person, saved to the uttermost. Amen? I mean, Jesus saves us to the uttermost. Just like there is no purgatory. There's a heaven and there's a hell. If there's halfway Christians, maybe they go to purgatory. I want to preach a message on purgatory. Turn to the white space in the back of your Bible. Right there. That's what the Bible has to say about purgatory. Right there. That's all. It's not there. And that's what the Bible has to say about halfway Christians. You're either saved or you're lost. There's no halfway. The truth is polarizing. You can't say, well, I'm kind of saved. That's like saying I'm kind of dead. You're either dead or you're alive. You're either saved or you're lost. And the truth is polarizing. You're either a member of the kingdom of Satan or you're a child of the light. The vast majority of pagans are not hardcore pagans. They love to look like their father, the devil, who is an angel of light, who has 99% truth and 1% error. And that error will condemn them to hell. So, I hope you're not a part of those who are undecided. I hope you're on the side of Jesus Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit of God, changed into His image. But the truth is not only polarizing. If you've been saved, you know that the truth is unpopular. When you got saved, Miss Linda, and you came home and you let your family know, you thought they were all going to get saved, right? And they were going to have a party because you had come into the Kingdom of God. But that's not what happens, is it? You say, Mom, Dad, I'm saved. And they look at you with one eye closed. Well, I'm going to get baptized. And then they kind of really raise their eyebrow. You were baptized when you were an infant. Why do you need to get baptized again? Right? It's unpopular to be a Christian. And that's why Elijah says to these people in verse 22, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's prophets are 450 men. How about the Lord? You know, He had tons of people following Him when He was doing miracles. But when He gave them the truth in John chapter 6, they all went away. Will you go away also? And those who know the Lord know that only He has the words of eternal life. You know that in your heart of hearts, whether it's popular or not, you know that Jesus Christ is Lord. Well, the truth is polarizing. It's unpopular. Have you ever felt like you're the only parent interested in building your home on biblical principles? You're over at Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas, And your children are not interested in the Rated R movie on your relative's screen, right? Because you train them in the truth and you don't have to rebuke them. Your children don't want to watch the Rated R movie because they love God. Maybe you feel like you're the only person at your job that cares about your own integrity. You're not interested in sliding the lines and trying to make your job a little bit easier through defeat. Maybe you feel like you're the only one. Maybe you feel, young person, that you're the only young person who is committed to remaining pure until marriage. Listen, if you're the only one, you do it. You stand alone for Jesus Christ. Well, that's a sad state that this world is in. But if you're saved by the grace of God, you're not in a bad place, you're in the best place. So don't expect to be applauded for doing right in this world. Expect persecution and tribulation and expect this world to be standing against you. One brother said this, the devil has ever had the vast majority on his side. So listen, popularity does not decide what is true. The Word of God decides what is true, whether it's popular or not. You know, the quickest way to empty a church is to preach the truth and expect obedience to Christ. Now, you can preach the truth and not expect obedience, and you can have a full church. You can preach orthodox, true, real, godly doctrine, but the moment you start applying it, people get disinterested. They're fine if Jesus is Lord in theory. But when Jesus becomes Lord in daily practice, when Jesus starts meddling in your job, and in your private time, and in your finances, people become disinterested. Amen? But the only Jesus of the Bible is the one that wants every single part of your life. There is no other Jesus. He is Lord of all, or He's not Lord at all. You give him everything if you're a believer. It doesn't mean you're perfect, but you want to be perfect. It doesn't mean you've arrived, but you can't wait to arrive when you've got rid of this sinful body. Well, the truth is polarizing. It's unpopular. You see, most people are not willing to go through the hassle of following Christ. And I want you to notice that Elijah's sermon is not directed to the priests of Baal. But it's directed to the majority of people who had gone to worshiping both God and idols, and they're just not sure which way to go. And the majority of the people today are part of the undecideds. Yes, even in our churches. Thankfully, we have some large ministries that are doing a work for God, but the majority of large ministries have big buildings and empty souls. I want Souls that are filled with a love for Jesus Christ. And if God makes a multitude of people saved, glory to God, but we do not compromise to fill a building. Amen? We want the quality of spiritual integrity in each one of our lives. Well, the truth, thirdly, is productive. Elijah says, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord. Now, I want you to get this. You might miss this if you just have a cursory reading of the scripture. But Elijah had fruit. Say where? In his own life. He had massive fruit. That's the kind of fruit I want. He loved the Lord. He persevered. He stood the test. He loved God when God was hated. And he did it in a multitude of mockers. That's fruit. And truth is always productive in your life. Listen, a Christian may struggle with prayer, but every Christian has a prayer life. A Christian may struggle with reading the Word, but every Christian has not just a curiosity about the Word, to fill their head with knowledge, but has a deep hunger for God that can only be filled by the voice of God. And the Word of God rings with such strong conviction in the heart of a Christian, it's debilitating not to obey it. All you feel is the chastening of the Lord when you disobey the Scriptures. Jesus essentially said the same thing in Matthew 5.13. He said, you are the salt of the earth. He said, you are the light of the world. And like light, we must display a visible difference between ourselves and the world. Our character must be different from the world. And it attracts the attention of those who are in moral darkness. And as salt, we make others desire and thirst for God. They see this authentic, genuine, undeniable difference in you. And they may be hostile towards God, but they know you have something that is awesome and amazing. Salt and light is what we're called to be. So, we've seen the postures of these people. We've seen the patterns of truth. And thirdly, let's look at the proof of that which is true. And it all depends on what posture you have towards God. Are you an enemy? Are you an actor? Or are you an actual child of God? Well, the proof of the truth comes forth only in the actual child of God. Verse 23, Elijah gives the details. of how this challenge is going to proceed. He says to the prophets of Baal, Let them, therefore, give us two bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under. And I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under, and call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord. And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. This was a challenge for all to see. This is on Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel rises a thousand feet from the surrounding plain, leveling off to form a plateau visible from 20 miles away. And it just so happened that in God's providential sovereignty, Zidon is within that radius, the Gentile land where the Baal worship came from. So this is a display for all to see. If fire from heaven strikes the altar, it would be visible for miles and miles in every direction. So the battle is set. And the prophets of Baal would have been dedicated to the challenge. I mean, it says in verse 24, all the people answered and said, it is well spoken. I mean, they thought they had a done deal. Because the people thought it would be no problem for the prophets of Baal since Baal was the sun or the fire god. Baal was very much like the god of Moloch. Turn over to Jeremiah 19 and verse 5. What we're going to find there is that Baal took on many of the characteristics of Moloch. People passed their children through the fire, but Baal was also the god of storms, of thunder, of rain, of land, of hills, But he was also the God of fire and lightning. Now, Baal had already failed to bring rain. I mean, if he was the God of storms, for three and a half years, they were pleading. Jezebel was instructing them, have Baal. Bring us rain. Bring us rain. Couldn't do it. And now, Elijah is standing on Mount Carmel. Now, let us have Baal bring fire. He failed at rain. Let's see him bring some fire down from heaven. Now, look at what Jeremiah 19.5 says. God could bring fire to earth, it would be Baal. It says, they have built also the high places of Baal to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind. So the worship of fire is associated with Baal. Surely, surely they would be able to deliver. It should be easy. But, we're going to find out, finally, that there's dismal results when you trust a falsehood. Look at verse 25. Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, dress it. Verse 26, They took the bullock which was given them, they dressed it, they called on the name of Baal from morning and even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. The idea, it says in the last part of the verse, on the altar which was made. So for three hours straight, they're running around, they're jumping on the altar, they're calling, O Baal! O Baal! Hear us! Hear us! What does the Word of God say? What was the answer? There was no voice, nor any, that answered. Now I want you to see that the easiest way to convince a person of his need for the Lord. This is the means. The Spirit of God convinces, but God uses a means of the Word of God. The easiest way to convince a person of his need for God is to let him experience the failure of his own way. You see, look at the failure of misguided prayer. A person of prayer is not necessarily a person who is a follower of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, many of the unbelievers in this world, probably most, are people of prayer. When they get in trouble, they pray to a God they do not know. Most of the religions of the world, in fact, I would venture to say all of the religions of the world, have prayer as a key component. And they are faithful. They are dedicated. Muslims pray five times a day. There's no lack of dedication. They will even give their life. But it's misplaced prayer. Just as the prophets of Baal called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon. Misplaced prayer will not get answered by the true and living God. Dedication. does not mean that you're serving the true and living God. You can be dedicated, but dedicated to the wrong thing. Not only is there a failure of misplaced prayer, there's a failure of misdirected passion. Can you imagine as they were jumping around the altar, on the altar, off the altar, they had great passion. One writer said this, round and round that altar they went in their wild and mystic dances. breaking rank now and again to leap up and down on the altar, all the while repeating their monotone chant, O Baal, hear us. O Baal, hear us. Send down fire on the sacrifice. They wearied themselves with going through the various exercises of their idolatrous worship, keeping it up for three hours straight. But look at the failure of misguided expectations. These false prophets, it says, called on the name of Baal from morning until evening, saying, O Baal, hear us. And their expectation was that fire would come from heaven. But what does it say? There was no voice nor any that answered. If you depend on anyone other than God, you will always be disappointed. What is this made out of? Wood. Is it going to answer me if I pray to it? Now, people don't pray to wood or stubble. Most people. It's changing in America. Isn't it? We've gone from a monotheistic society to a pluralistic society. Hindu temples and mosques are being built everywhere. And we ought to conquer the hearts of men for King Jesus. Amen? But most people, most of our co-workers, are not praying to false gods of wood, but they are trusting in other false gods. There's the altar of human philosophy. There are those that trust in science, so-called. They trust in philosophies that seem to have an air of intelligence. And it is nothing but blind faith. And it is the deceitfulness of the heart that interprets facts wrongly. And people trust, with all their might and all their heart, in human philosophies. And what is needed is not human philosophy. Other people worship at the altar of false piety. Piety isn't a word. Piety is a word, and many people have religion just for show. I mean, you wait till Christmas time comes, and you're going to find that people get a lot more religious. Tragedies occur in our nation, and people get a lot more religious. On a smaller level, tragedies happen in families. And there will be even a time in families, because of a tragedy, that people get more religious. They may even start attending church. They may even start saying things that seem to be true. But, works righteousness doesn't answer the problems that we have. All the good we do will never take away any of our sin. There are other people that are worshiping at the altar of pragmatism. People worship whatever gets them what they want. They worship their job, their relationships. People worship all kinds of things. It's a utilitarian religion. Whatever gets them what they want, they love it. They love it. But none of that deals with the real problem that we have. There's only one thing that never fails. We need to let people see that the eternal, unchanging truth of God's Word works when everything else fails. Have you seen answered prayer? Is the Bible true? Has it helped you to raise your children? Has it helped you to have integrity at work? Has it given you the answer, even how to eat and how to drink? Or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God, Aren't you glad for the Bible? Aren't you glad for a God who didn't just give us a message, He came down to earth. He gave us this book, but He also gave us the interpreter in our hearts. He sent us Himself. And if you truly know the Lord, you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you have the truth of the Word of God saturated in it, and you don't have to go to anyone or anything else. By the way, if you did, Everything else fails. God never fails. Amen? Amen. Let's stand together tonight. And let me just say as we close, with heads bowed and eyes closed, let me just appeal to anyone who might be an undecided tonight. You can fool me. You can fool everyone in this church. You can fool any human on the face of the earth. but you cannot fool God. God knows your heart. What altar are you worshipping at? Do you love prayer? Do you love the Word of God? If you don't have prayer, if you don't have the Word of God, if that's not the absolute most exciting thing that you do in your life. I'm not saying you're always like that, but if it's a regular thing, and you see the chastening of the Lord when you do wrong, And you hate to be away from the presence of God. Sometimes you are, and you hate it. If that's not your life, you need to decide tonight. Don't put it off. If you're lost here tonight, please listen to me. You might think this ice is unsafe, but you can die on a sunny day. You can die at any time. And it is only God's mercy that preserves you from an eternal hell tonight if you're lost. Please come to Jesus if you haven't been saved, please. How long haunt ye between two opinions? Number 400, if you need to talk with someone, talk to me. If there's anybody here that doesn't know Christ, talk to me. I'd be glad to talk to you, please.