Mountaintop Moments: When Heaven Touched Earth
“Mt. Carmel: Make up your Mind!”
1 Kings 18:21 “Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How long will you halt between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.”
The words “How long will you halt (limp)” illustrate the back and forth of indecisive travelers wringing their hands at a fork in the road, unable to decide which way to go, torn between two alternatives.
Torn between two opinions, they limp along through life rather than moving forward at full pace!
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Now, in our text Elijah has called King Ahab to gather all 450 of the false prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the false goddess Asherah on the top of Mt. Carmel for a showdown between gods–the God of the Bible, or the false god of Baal.
The name Carmel means “vineyard,” “orchard,” or “garden” and it describes the fertile beauty of Mount Carmel’s lush slopes.
At its highest point, Mount Carmel reaches over 1,700 feet above sea level, or over 3 miles high.
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Now, the Bible says that to please his godless wife, Jezebel, Ahab had built an altar to the false god Baal at the top of Mount Carmel.
Jezebel was totally devoted to Baal, who was believed to be the god of rain, vegetation, thunder, and lightning.
The name ‘Baal’ simply means “lord” or “master.”
As the storm god, he was usually depicted holding a raised lightning bolt.
Then the false female god believed to be Baal’s mother was Asherah–the goddess of fertility and motherhood.
–There are around 89 references to Baal in the Old Testament, and 40 mentions of Asherah.
Baal was the chief deity in a wicked religion that required child sacrifice, brazen immorality, and the forsaking of the true God of Israel.
The problem with Baal influencing Israel began early on.
We see in Scripture that after the death of Joshua, the worship of Baal and Asherah became a plaguing and chronic problem for God’s people.
Judges 3:7 records, “In the very next generation after Joshua, ‘the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs” (Judges 3:7).
We note that before delivering Israel from the invading Midianites, God told Gideon to first clean up his own house.
God said, “Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it” (Judges 6:25).
Like a spreading spiritual cancer, Israel’s kings also succumbed to Baal worship, forsaking the Lord and bringing the worship of Baal and Asherah into Israel.
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Then under the wicked duo of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, Baal worship reached its zenith.
Under their leadership Israel, God’s chosen people and nation, became an official state sponsor of Baal worship.
Not only was Israel led completely astray, the true prophets of God were placed on the top of Jezebel’s MOST WANTED LIST.
They were persecuted, hunted down, and murdered.
We know that one of King Ahab’s overseers named Obadiah hid 100 of them in caves to save their lives.
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Now, with all the various sins that Baal worship embraced, the number one, top shelf destructive result was that–it stole the hearts of Israel away from the true and living God!
“Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers…”–Judges 2:11-12
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So the first message from Mt. Carmel is:
I. Anything that carries you away from the true God is an idol
It can be something clearly wicked,
or something that in the eyes of man is not all that bad,
or it can even be a good thing in and of itself.
–But if it takes you away from God and His purpose for you, if it divides your loyalty to Him, it’s an idol that will rob you!
The story is told of a soldier in the American civil war who did not want to fight with anyone.
In an attempt to remain NEUTRAL, he dressed in Union pants and a Confederate jacket.
Unfortunately BOTH SIDES shot him.
Like the foolish soldier, Israel was wearing Baal’s pants and God’s jacket at the same time!
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By the time Elijah shows up to confront them over their idolatry, Baalism has thoroughly infiltrated and corrupted their faith.
They were:
–torn between two gods.
–one foot in and one foot out.
–They had become professionals at dancing around the edges of their faith, doing just enough to appease their conscience.
Hence Elijah’s challenge,
“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him!”
The message of Mt. Carmel’s ‘contest of the gods’ is loud and clear–Make up your mind!
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The fancy theological word for what Israel was doing is called syncretism, which is the combining of different religions or beliefs.
ILLUS: It’s like taking a cup of buddhism, a pinch of New Age, a teaspoon of Hinduism, a sprinkle of Islam, and salt and pepper it with a dash of secularism to create a religious stew!
Only problem is it’s a poisonous stew!
In fact, the Bible says it is impossible to do!
You can’t serve two gods at once; it will tear you apart, as it was tearing Israel apart.
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The God of the Bible requires total devotion and loyalty to Him alone.
And God wired us human beings to worship and serve only one God.
The very FIRST of the 10 commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Jesus told us straight up, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”–Matt 6:24
–When you allow competing idols a place in your soul, it soon dulls the keen edge of your spiritual life.
Ecc. 10:10 “Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade.”
One way to ‘sharpen the blade’ is to avoid syncretism!
It will ROB your life of God’s power and WEAKEN your witness until you’re completely ineffective.
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When we fully make up our minds to put Him first, it:
II. Creates stability
James 1:6-8 NLT “…be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
Indecision is like driving a car with your foot on the brakes–it hinders progress and creates instability in every area of your life.
When you see a dead squirrel in the middle of the road you’re looking at a squirrel that couldn’t make up his mind!
So get out of the middle of the road before you get hit by traffic from both directions!
When it comes to walking with the Lord there’s a big difference between just ‘getting involved’ and being committed.
In ham and eggs, the chicken was involved but the pig was committed!
Someone said, “Don’t be like a wheelbarrow–going no further than you are pushed by others!”
Make up your OWN mind to fully serve the Lord!
I guarantee you that one person with commitment will accomplish more than 100 people with just an interest!
D.L. Moody quote, “The world has yet to see what God can do through one man fully yielded to Him.”
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Second, when you live a life of total commitment it:
III. Unleashes your heavenly destiny
Peter and John were simple Middle Eastern fishermen, just eking out a living when Jesus appeared on the seashore and spoke two words, “Follow Me.”
The Bible says, “Immediately…they left their father in the boat…and went after Him.”–Mk 1:20
They could never have dreamed that by totally committing to Jesus they had just stepped into the history books.
Today those formally obscure fishermen are known worldwide as the Apostles of Jesus Christ.
Their writings became part of the inspired Word of God.
Their destiny was unleashed with the decision to fully follow Jesus!
—You’re either in or you’re out. There’s no such thing as life in between.
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So Mt. Carmel speaks to us all today to fully follow the Lord Jesus and let no idols rob His place in our hearts!