Pericope: 1 Kings 18:20-29 - 20 So Ahab sent word
throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah
went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions?
If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him. “But the people
said nothing. 22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s
prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls
for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves and let them cut it into
pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other
bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the
name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers
by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said,
“What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets
of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many
of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they
took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name
of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was
no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to
taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in
thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28
So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was
their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued
their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there
was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Sermon Text: 1
Kings 18:21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver
between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God,
follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
Sermon Title: Stuck
in the Middle Pt 2 Destiny Decisions
Point 1:
Delayed destiny decisions delay your destiny
Verse 21 - Elijah went before
the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions [ESV limp,
NLT hobble, MSG sit on the fence, CEV try to have things both ways, LB waiver]?
If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
…How long will you go limping
between two opinions…
Point 2: Make
a Decision Vs 25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of
the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the
name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
(a)
The future without pain…Jesus was looking at
the cross…
(b)
The fear of getting it wrong…faith is risk
taking and without movement faith is dead
(c)
The fear of reaction of family and friends…they
neither live with you in the middle nor your future even though they are
controlling it…
Transition: You
cannot get stuck in the middle, you have to make a decision in order to get to
your destiny, and you have to be DETERMINED!
Point 3: Determined
Decision verse 34 and 35 - 34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it
again. When we look at the story we see
“Do it a third time,”
he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the
altar and even filled the trench.
Point 4:
Decisions that Deliver Destiny
(a)
Timing (look at the confluence
of events e.g., the Mississippi River is a confluence of rivers)
(b) Trusting
(Romans 8:28 God will work things together for the good according to his
purpose))
(c)
Temperature (everybody is not
going to like what you do…the thermostat never pleases everyone)
(d) Treasure
(there should be some reward, personal growth, personal gain, etc.)
(e)
eTernity (what impact will it have
on the kingdom and eternity)
