Will you open your Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians 1. We've been preaching through the book of Colossians here, and last Sunday, the Lord gave us a message on the necessity of preaching and how it's a It's a spiritual work of grace that the speaker and the hearer do together. So this thing of preaching is not just something that the man behind this pulpit does. It's what we do together. And 1 Corinthians 1, we'll begin reading at verse 18. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. I looked up that word prudent, it's the word intelligent. No amount of intelligence, no amount of human wisdom can discern the truth that's being preached about Christ. It is a work of grace. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath God not made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews, and that represents all the religious, require a sign. And the Greeks, that's the irreligious, seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jew, a stumbling block. And unto the Greeks, foolishness. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. And then if you look over to chapter two at verse two, Paul, who was an incredibly gifted and intelligent man, very well educated, said this, for I determined, and that word determined means judged. I considered the needs of men and I considered the truth of the gospel and I made this judgment. The judgment that I made was not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father, we come before Thy throne of grace in the name of Thy dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, thanking You that we have all salvation, all acceptance, all grace, all hope in him. Thank you for his perfect work of redemption. Thank you for his righteousness presented unto thee on our behalf. Lord, we thank you for these men that you've called to declare the gospel and we pray, Lord, that you would enable them to speak even as you enable us to hear. Lord, that you would do a work of grace among us, and that you would rend the heavens, and that you would come down, that you would cause us to come unto thee, Lord, that you would turn us that we might be turned. We pray for faith, Lord, that you would give faith to those who are strangers to your grace, and Lord, that you would increase the faith of those who you've already called, that we might see Jesus. who himself is the author and the finisher of all faith. For it's in his name we pray, amen. Tom, I think you're gonna sing a special, no? Okay, I'm sorry, I misunderstood. Chris, Chris and Vicki Cunningham, dear, dear friends of this church and of ours, and Chris, reminded me last year, he came through the door after the service had started. So I checked with him early this morning to see if he was in town and he said, yeah, I'm here. So Chris, you come and share with us what the Lord's put on your heart, brother. For the record, we were at least three minutes early. We did kind of, we kind of came in on two wheels last year and then right after service it seemed like we left again because of the weather that was coming up in Tennessee. And this year though we've decided that we're just going to stay for good. So we're going to make up for it. It's good to be with y'all. It's a blessing to be part of this, to be in on this. I thank the Lord for bringing us together. How many more times will we enjoy this occasion, this worship that the Lord is always so gracious to give us? Enjoy this fellowship with one another before it just gets better in the presence of our Savior. If you would turn with me to 1 Kings 17 this evening. 1 Kings chapter 17. And verse one. And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. Now, if you're familiar with the context of this time in the nation of Israel, Let's look at some of it in chapter 16, verse 29, just before our text here. This is a very dark time in Israel's history when an evil, godless man was on the throne and was married to Jezebel, an evil, godless woman. But at this dark time, God raised up Elijah. Elijah's name means my God is Jehovah. But look at verse 29 of chapter 16. And in the 30 and eighth year of Asa, king of Judah began Ahab, the son of Omri to reign over Israel. And Ahab, the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria 20 and two years. And Ahab, the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And as you know, that's saying a lot above all that were before him. And it came to pass as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove. And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." So everything having to do with the true God of heaven and earth was done away with in the nation of Israel. You know, from the context of this, that Elijah was convinced that there were no believers left in the whole country. And we know that he was wrong about that, but it tells you something about the condition of things, the state of things in that country. And here comes Elijah to face Ahab. Elijah, whose name means my God is Jehovah. My God is Jehovah. And so because of the context of Elijah's life, the time in which God raised him up, every time somebody mentioned the name of Elijah, God's prophet, it was a denouncement of the false God of Ahab and Jezebel called Baal, his very name. When everyone was worshiping Baal, as far as Elijah knew, Elijah stood in defiance of that by his very identity. And that's the first thing I want us to think about. May that be true of us. What a blessing it would be that when people mentioned our names, when people thought of us, When, and I suspect there are a few people around here that when the name Greg Elmquist is mentioned, they think that's that guy that preaches that God is sovereign. That he does what he will, when he will, with whom he will. You know, there's old Bert Dunbar. That's that guy that says that God's hand is not shortened, that it can't say. There's brother Donny Bell. He speaks of a Christ who says, I lay down my life for my sheep and they shall never perish. I give unto them eternal life and no man can pluck them out of my hand. My God is God. He's not who you think he is. He's not the God that you believe in. He's not the God that you say you worship. My God is Jehovah. I pray that would be true of us and I don't know If it, if it, when I say that, I realize there's no boldness in me, but may God make me faithful. I used to say things like that in anger. My God is sovereign. He does as he pleases with whom he pleases. And I get mad at people for not believing that. Well, as I get older, I pray that God would keep me from ever, ever tolerating any lie about God, any compromise of that truth, that beautiful, glorious truth that God is on the throne and he does as he pleases in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of this earth. And none can stay his hand or say unto him, what are you doing? I don't ever want to ever compromise that. I don't ever want to tolerate anybody that does. But at the same time, I pray, that God would help me to love people. Love people that don't know him. I guess we'll just have to see. I pray that he will. But this is that God that doesn't love everybody. His love is something more than that. His love is salvation. When my name is mentioned, would to God that people would think that that's a fella that says man's free will is a myth. He says God's sovereign. He's the one that preaches that God doesn't love everybody, but that the love of God is in Christ Jesus alone. He says that Christ didn't die to save everyone, but everybody he did die to save are saved. Christ was successful in his death for his elect and that all for whom he died are washed by that precious blood. Would to God that our very names were directly associated with the glory of the God of this Bible. And then look what Elijah says, in this idolatrous age, by the authority of my God, as my God liveth, Jehovah on his authority, it's not gonna rain anymore until I say so. He pictures our savior here, doesn't he? Without whom was not anything made that was made. He owns everything. He made everything. He runs everything. It's a, In effect, he said, you wanna worship Baal? Let's see if Baal can make some water for you. He can't do that. What are you gonna do? God made water. He made it one time and he gives it to whom he pleases. You see the spiritual lesson here? Remember how that the Lord compared the rain to his word, which comes down from heaven? Elijah is imposing the authority of God on godless people and making them understand. You think, how can God make everybody all at once know that he's God? No more rain. The one thing you need the most I'm gonna hold it from you. I'm gonna hold it from you. Nobody can give water, nobody can make water. He's showing everybody that on their basic, most elemental level, they need the God of heaven and earth. What is Baal gonna do for you when he dries up the heavens? Either from a drop of water or from his grace. If He doesn't bestow grace on anybody, what are we going to do? What's your false God going to do for you then? There's not going to be any dew. There's not going to be any rain until I say so. That's the Son of God. That's the one who runs things. That's the God who's God. He's showing everybody that. Only Him. You have one need. And it's not water. It's the one who gives it. In the spiritual lesson, may God teach us this, that without His grace, without being born from above, without being blessed from above, without God bestowing His love upon us from above, without us finding grace in the eyes of the Lord from above. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. It wasn't a complicated thing the Lord did, was it? He just dried up. that which was needful. May He not dry up His grace from us. Oh. May we never look to anybody or anything else but Him for all that we need. It doesn't happen by your will. There's not going to be a drop for three and a half years as much as you want it to happen. It's not according to your will, it's according to His will. Lord, if you will, you can make it rain. Pray to Baal or pray to the free will, man-centered, false god of this religious world, and it's the same thing. They don't have any mercy for you. They don't have any righteousness in which you can stand before the God of heaven and earth. There's no sacrifice that actually redeems your soul. Ahab and Jezebel took all that away. They took away every hope a sinner has, the mercy seat. Did this display of God's authority and power cause anybody to abandon Baal and cry out to Jehovah? I don't know. Can those bones live? Just know this, the only one that can answer that question is the one who has the power to give life to dead bones. Elijah said this to Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel liveth. Ahab ruled over Israel. And Elijah said, Israel's God is the Lord God, Jehovah. Israel just has one God and Baal ain't him. Again, think about what this says. Ahab and Jezebel had chosen to worship Baal and Baal worship was very popular in Israel. Hence Elijah thinking, there's nobody left. I'm the only one jealous for your glory, Lord. Everybody's worshiping Baal. It was very popular because it involved that which excites and impresses the flesh. Does that sound familiar? It was easy, it was convenient religion, it was popular religion, it was fleshly religion. Is there another kind? Apart from Christ. But Elijah said, your choice doesn't make God the God of Israel. What you've done, You've abandoned the true worship of God. You've told people you can worship over here where it's more convenient. There's no mercy seat. There's no true priest. The sons of Levi are out. You know, we've got our own priests. But that doesn't make Baal God. You don't get to decide that. Sinners don't get to choose God or not choose God. God gets to choose sinners because he's God. The Lord God is God of Israel and you're at his mercy. Is that what he's saying? The Lord God is the God of Israel. And Elijah didn't come there to argue the point. He came there to show him who's God. Is that what we do, Donnie? We don't, there's nothing to debate. Before God, there's nothing to debate. And it's, it's, it's a, it's a travesty. It's, it's, it's a, it's dishonoring to God himself and it's damning to the souls of sinners to debate anything like that. There's not going to be a question and answer session after the gospel's preached. Elijah didn't come for that. He said, the Lord God is the God of Israel and here you're fixing to find out. And I love Elijah's name. And he said, before whom I stand, before whom I stand. That means to take a stand, to present oneself, to become servant of. I stand as servant to the God of heaven and earth. And my name is Elijah. My God is Jehovah. And it wasn't just a name. It wasn't just what people called him. He said, I stand before this God. I present myself before this God, and I'm jealous for the glory of this God. My God is God. He's the Lord God of Israel, whether you like it or not. So it wasn't just a name. My God is Jehovah was his name, but it was who he was. He actually stood for that, not just took the name. That's how it is with all those who truly know the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just a label. When we say Christ is all, it's so easy for that to sound like just a saying of some kind. When we say we preach Christ and Him crucified, that's because we preach Christ and what He did for sinners. All of that, that's what was taken away when Baal began to be worshiped. To take a stand before whom I stand, it was who he was. And surely that is true of all believers. It's who we are and we are what we are, how? By the grace of God. a new creation in Christ, born from above, born from the Spirit, who blows where he pleases. Look with me, if you would, at James 5.16, or if you'd like to, I'm gonna read it to you, but if you'd look at James 5.16. It's easy, you know, to think of Elijah when he does this. I mean, imagine, he'd come before Ahab. How many thousands of people had they killed for just not liking him? And he says, my God's Jehovah. The Lord God is the God of Israel. And it's not gonna rain until I say so. On the authority of my God, it's not gonna rain. And you know, they didn't even bother killing him. That's how much they thought about it at that time. They didn't think, what's he talking about? Get him out of here. They didn't even bother killing him. It's easy, though, to think of Elijah as some kind of superhero coming before Ahab and talking like that. And then also, though, it's easy to think of him as a coward and make fun of him later when he runs for his life and he's scared of Jezebel and says, God, just kill me. Neither one of those is right. You know what he was like? He was like us. Confess your false one to another, James 5, 16, and pray one for another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And Elijah is given as an example of that. And think about that. What was it Elijah prayed for? When you pray, when you pray for one another, how is it that you pray? Well, look, Elijah, was a man subject to like passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit. He prayed and there was death. He prayed and there was life. But why did he pray? When you pray for one another, pray for the same reason he did. You know why he prayed? For the glory of God. Whichever way it turns out. Religion talks about, you know, faith praying and, you know, believe it, claim it, name it, and claim it, or whatever they call it now. It's probably some other slogan now. But faith is believing that whatever God does is right. Lord, you be glorified in this. If those that we love with all of our heart, if they have to go, may your name be exalted in that. May we worship you when you do it. That's why Elijah prayed. He had enough of the bail, of the fleshly, man-centered, freewill religion of the world. And he prayed, God, please show us who you are. Reveal to us who God is and how bad we need you. Elijah was jealous for the glory of God. And God is glorified in his son. You remember what all Jeroboam has mentioned here. The sin of Ahab and of all of the evil kings of Israel was compared with the evil of Jeroboam. And all of Jeroboam's evil had to do with denying the Lord Jesus Christ, every bit of it. There's one place that God will meet with sinners and commune with them, at the mercy seat. the Lord Jesus, where the law of God is honored and preserved, and where God shows that He's the one that gives life, and where that manna, the bread of life, there's life for sinners in Him, where Christ is honored in His glory and in His saving mercy. That's where God will meet with a sinner like you. And they treated that like it was nothing. The mercy seat. Jeroboam made people worship in a different place, a more convenient place. It was false worship simply because it was Christless worship. Jeroboam made priests of the lowest of the people, it says, which were not of the sons of Levi. Again, denying God's ordained priesthood. We have a high priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. We have such an high priest that represents us before God in things pertaining to God. Jeroboam offered sacrifice himself, again, profaning Christ. How many people do in that? in religion, offering something to God that they think he will accept apart from Christ. Jeroboam made an altar that God sent his prophet at the time to personally condemn that altar. And yet Jeroboam continued in his idolatry, not caring that God's altar is established for the glory of his son. and the salvation of his elect. We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own precious blood suffered without the gate. That's the, we have an altar. Jeroboam established a feast day, which was not ordained of God. It was like the Passover, it says. It was like that feast day that God had ordained, but it was not God's Passover, which is Christ. And Ahab, as though all of this sin was a light thing, married Jezebel and openly worshiped Baal in outright hatred of the God of the Bible and his son, the true sacrifice. This is why Elijah stood up and said, enough. He prayed to God. We read there a while ago how he prayed to God for this. And God told him everything that would happen, didn't he? You remember in the passage of scripture where the priests of Baal showed up and Elijah showed up. And Elijah said, the God that answers by fire, let him be God. And it says there, that God, he said, by the Lord, by the word of the Lord, I do this. So Elijah said, by God's grace, he was jealous. He prayed that the Lord would show everyone who God is. May all of our prayer and our worship be born of a desire for God's glory alone and a jealous desire to see that all that dishonors him be done away with. May it infuriate us when infidels proclaim that God's trying, but with compassion. Or God wants to, but everything is up to man. Everything, imagine that. A church where people get together and they claim to worship God, and they say, everything's up to you. Our God is Jehovah. He's in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. May God light a fire under us when false preachers declare that God loves everybody in direct contradiction to His Word. God's love is in His Son. Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God loved Jacob and hated Esau, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand. What a glorious truth that is. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of that gospel, though everybody hate it. Though like Elijah, I'm the only one left. And yet, by your grace, Lord, I'm jealous for your glory and saving sinners. by the grace and power of the Savior's precious blood. In the very context of Elijah's life and his story in the scriptures, when Elijah believed that he was the only one left that served God, God told Elijah, Yet I have left me 7,000 in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. I have reserved them unto me." What mercy. That's our God. May that be what people think of when our very names are mentioned. not anything about us, but who our God is. And the apostle Paul, quoting that scripture, said in Romans 11 to God, hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew. What unite that the scriptures, what the scripture sayeth of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed your prophets and dig down that altars and I am left alone and they seek my life. But what sayeth the answer of God unto him? I have. Elijah thought I failed. Nobody heard me. Nobody listened to me. They didn't even bother killing me. They didn't, they thought so little of what I had to say. What's God's answer? I have reserved. I have done this. 7,000 men who have not bowed. If your knee has not bowed to a false god of this religious age, it's something God has done. Even so, at this present time also, there is a remnant. God told Elijah that how many thousands of years ago. Paul told the Roman church that How many less thousand years ago? And still tonight, even so thin at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. That's what's going on. God is shutting off his mercy to some and pouring it out on others. Are you interested? Do you need mercy from the King of Kings? We can't tolerate the lie that Christ died for everybody. Why? Because it makes us mad and we want to prove everybody wrong? No, because the only hope for sinners is a sovereign Christ who saves whom he will. And it's the very glory of God at stake in this. Is there not a cause? If Christ died to save people that were already in hell when he died, then what does his precious blood have to do with salvation? Perish the blasphemous thought. Our God is Jehovah. And if he will, he can save everybody here tonight. His son's name is Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. The salvation that he wrought for us on Calvary is accomplished and ready to be revealed at the last time. And we're kept by His power until that glad day. God, may God give us deep in our hearts a jealous desire that He be glorified in the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. And may He, by His grace, shine in our hearts that blessed light that He gives. that we might see His glory in the face of His Son. And may His glory shine forth, even in this dark age, to the praise of our Lord Jesus. Amen. We're going to sing a congregational hymn. If you need to use the bathroom or anything, now's a good time to do it. We'll have special music and then the next hour of preaching. Let's open this hour. Let's all stand together. Number 38 from your Spiral Gospel Hymns hymn book, number 38, The Debt of Love.