Miracle on the Mountain
From the Series: Miracles
Speaker: Mark Batterson
Date: May 9, 2010
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Transcript
Happy Mother’s Day! What a joy to be able to celebrate our moms and our families here at NCC. We want to honor our moms. If it weren’t for our moms, we wouldn’t be here! We love you moms and we’ve got a little something for you on your way out today. Happy Mother’s Day!
If you have a Bible, turn over to I Kings, Chapter 18, and we continue our ‘Miracles’ series. I am loving this series. I don’t want it to end. We’ve got a few more weeks to talk about the miracles as we read through the Bible together. I’m excited about sharing this story. As you are turning there, let me say thank you to those of you who are visiting with us at our five locations as well as those watching via webcast or podcast, thanks for being part of NCC.
I Kings 18: 20, lets dive in.
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 limp between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.
Let me pause right there. That’s an interesting statement. Elijah says how long will you limp between two opinions. What I love about Elijah is that he throws down the gauntlet here. Here’s the deal, this saying ‘you are limping between two opinions’ is kind of an ancient version of ‘sitting on the fence’ or wavering, and I think this is a series where we’ve been throwing down the gauntlet haven’t we? Either Jesus Christ is who He said He was or He isn’t. If He isn’t, we are wasting our time and if He is, then that’s a different story. Jesus never claimed to be a prophet. He didn’t say He was a healer, but certainly He was prophetic and He healed people, but Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God. The real question is - was He or wasn’t He. I believe that Jesus is who He said He was. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes unto the Father but by Me. There is no other name under heaven given unto men by which you must be saved.” And right here at this point is where we often have a sticking point because some people object to that, to the exclusivity of Christianity, if you will. What about Buddha or Mohammed or Confucius or other religions or religious thinkers and teachers? Listen, I believe that some of those folks did some good things and said some good things, but none of them claimed to be God and none of them was crucified on a cross for me; none of them were raised on the third day. And the day is going to come where I stand before someone who is seated on a throne and on judgment day, it won’t be any of them, it will be Jesus Christ. So, some people object. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had where I’m the bad guy because how can I treat other religions that way, and I understand that. If I’m wrong, wow, I’m really wrong. But can we flip the coin for a moment? If we are worshipping someone or something that is not truly God and we are not worshipping the One who really is, then who is being insulted? Isn’t it really insulting to give credence to someone and dismiss the crucifixion as unnecessary? I think it all depends on your perspective and I’m afraid that sometimes we limp between our different opinions and what I love about Elijah is that he confronts it. He throws down the gauntlet.
If we believe, and if it is true, then the only logical response to the claims of Jesus Christ are a complete submission of our lives to his lordship. We need to live like it and pray like it and love like it and serve like it. This is the ultimate true/false test. Is it true or is it false? If it’s true, that changes everything. Romans 10:9-10 says: If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved. I believe that is true and I want to challenge some of you who are limping between two opinions. Maybe today is the day to profess your faith in Jesus Christ.
So Elijah throws down the gauntlet. Quit limping between two opinions.
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 them 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."
Here’s what I love about this challenge, Elijah challenges them on their turf and on their terms. This is an away game. Mt. Carmel was dedicated to Baal so this is their stadium. He goes to them and he could have devised any test, I don’t know how he came up with this one, but in a sense, he plays into their hands because Baal was the Canaanite storm god. According to their epic, they believed that Baal rode on thunderclouds and sent lightening. So what Elijah is doing here is, ‘ok, let’s play the game at your stadium and play to your strength because you god is the god who sends lightening, so let’s set up a sacrifice and whoever’s god answers by fire.’ I love the fact that Elijah is not intimidated but plays the game on their turf and on their terms. I think there is something significant happening here. I’m afraid that a lot of us, if we aren’t careful, we get into defensive mode. We are holding the fort, if you will. We are maintaining our territory and that is not what we are called to. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Gates are defensive measures, so by definition, the church is called to play offense. I think what you have in this story is someone who is obviously playing offense. You have someone who is invading the forces of darkness, fighting for what is right and not afraid to invade enemy territory. So I think this is something that needs to challenge us.
I have a friend named Mike Foster who is an entrepreneur. He started a number of ministries and businesses. One of my favorite is the Junky Car Club. You may have heard me reference that, I’m a proud member of the Junky Car Club. In fact, a couple years ago, I actually posed for the Junky Car Club calendar. You may not know this about your pastor, but I am a model. No, that’s the only gig I’ve ever done. I was Mr. August. No, you cannot see the picture, we bought all the calendars and had them destroyed. So Mike started Junky Car Club and has started a number of different ministries and businesses. Some of you may be familiar with XXX Church. Years ago, Mike had a deep concern about the effect pornography was having on our culture and he felt like God was calling him to do something about it, so he decides to infiltrate the adult film industry! With the love of Christ, by printing Jesus Loves Porn Stars Bibles and handing them out at porn conventions. By the way, the nature in which they do it is not bringing a Bible to thump people on the head. It is so loving, you wouldn’t believe it. They’ve actually been embraced by a lot of people in that industry because of the grace in which they’ve invaded that territory. They are making a difference. So Mike and I were having a conversation about it a couple years ago, and he was talking about the first porn convention where they set up their booth and they are handing out Bibles, and would your heart not be beating a little bit! Is this not like enemy territory? Is this not Mt. Carmel? I love it! Mike went in with grace and with a holy confidence proclaimed the truth and not afraid to stand up for the sanctity of sex as something that God has given to us. It was his idea. He gave it to us a gift to marriage for a husband and wife to enjoy that in the context of marriage. So Mike was talking about that first show, and I apologize but I feel like I need to quote Mike and say it exactly the way he said it. He said, “I remember we were getting our stuff and going into that first show and we were setting up the XXX Church booth and this is the thought that went through my mind: What the hell am I doing here?” The reason why I choose that to quote him and use his language is because, my friends, we are not called to just enjoy the comforts of a Christian ghetto somewhere where it is already light. Are we not called to go into some hellholes that need the light and the love of Jesus Christ? That’s what we are called to. What I love about Mike is that, with a boldness, he went in there.
So I thought about Mike when I was reading about Elijah and I want us to be that collectively and to do it with love and to do it with grace but to be a church playing offense. Not just holding the fort but going into some hellholes. Praise God! Do you realize we’ve got three trips happening at the same time right now? We finally have the opportunity to go to Haiti. We want to go places where we can make a difference. I see that modeled in this passage.
One of my favorite missionaries, C.T. Stud, what a name, says, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bells, I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” The church needs more Studs! You can quote me on that. Elijah is a Stud. Elijah goes onto their turf and on their terms and says we are going to tear down some of these altars to these false gods and confront the idolatry that’s happening and I’m going to take a stand for the God of Israel and today He is going to show up in a way that is going to reveal that He is the true God.
So the prophets of Baal start praying and they are even limping around the altar. It is the same word ‘limping’ between two opinions, it says that they are limping around the altar. It’s kind of an ancient ritual prayer dance, if you will. They are getting into it. They pray for hours on end and they are so desperate, they start cutting themselves. Then, I love this that we actually have recorded in Scripture ancient smack talk. This is as good as it gets. I’m loving this whole thing because the athletic side of my persona like two fighters weighing in and getting in each other’s face. When you are on the court, you talk smack a little bit. So they are talking prophet smack, I guess. At noon, verse 27,
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."
I love this. He is not going to go less or step down from the lunacy of what is happening here.
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.
Here’s where I want to talk about something. I am convicted by this. I was reading this and I was thinking to myself, have I ever prayed for six hours for something? I’m certainly not prescribing, you don’t need to do some limp dance around an altar. God certainly doesn’t want you to cut yourself. They are doing self-mutilation and that is not glorifying to God, yet I see in them a certain intensity to their prayers that I don’t always see in us. I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe they are praying with greater intensity to a false god than most of us have ever prayed to the true God. That convicts me. I know we have different personalities and I know that there are different times for different prayers. You ever have a meal with someone and they are saying grace, but I have this thing that prayers before meals should be short! But every once in a while, I’ve known a few people that prayers before meal are their intercession time. Seriously? The food is getting cold. Let’s thank Him for the food and eat it and we can pray afterwards! There is a time to pray those simple prayers, those polite prayers, almost perfunctory in a sense. I don’t have issue with that. I think there is a time and a place for that, but here’s what I would suggest, some of us have prayed but some of us have never cried out to the Lord and that’s the language that is used when it speaks of Elijah. So you have the prophets of Baal and I’m convicted by that, but Elijah is the one who prays. In James 5:17, he prays so fervently with such intensity that it’s one of those rare instances that we have a New Testament flashback to someone in the Old Testament setting them up as the role model, in this case, for prayer, because it literally says that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. He was just like us and he prayed fervently that it might not rain for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again and heaven gave rain and the earth bore its fruit.
I think there is a difference between praying for something and praying through something. There are moments when I’m going to pray for my kids, parents you know what I’m talking about, when you pray through, you know you need to pray through. There are situations where you can just pray for them, but there are moments where you need to learn to pray through. It is so hard for me to describe this but I know that in my own life, for me it is usually on the rooftop of Ebenezers when I really need to pray through something, I need to be walking back and forth.
This week, someone who works at the Federal Judiciary Building I had never met before came over and I was sitting outside and they said, ‘Hey, we saw you on the roof the other day,’ and I said, ‘Do I look crazy?’ Then he said, ‘At first we thought you were crazy but then we asked someone, what is that guy doing on the rooftop?’ and they said, ‘it’s just the pastor, he is praying.’ So we’re cool, it’s all good. There are moments when we need to pray through.
So here’s what I want to do. Let’s not talk about it. Why don’t we act on it? That’s what this series is about. We are a couple weeks away from Pentecost. This miracle series started on Easter and ends on Pentecost, two moments, days, bookends in the history of the church because you have at the Resurrection the conquering of death and then 50 days later on the day of Pentecost, you have God pouring out his Spirit, and the church is birthed in that moment. In one day, 3,000 people are baptized. Only 120 people were praying! The church was 120 people. Can you imagine? In one day, they grow by 3,000 people! For what it’s worth, Elijah was praying for fire and the imagery in Acts 2 is that God, tongues of fire, his Spirit came down and rested on them and empowered them and they began speaking in other languages and it’s the languages of the pilgrims from all over the ancient world because Pentecost was one of the three Jewish pilgrimage feasts so they are from all over the world in Jerusalem and they can’t even speak their native language, so God gives them this ability to speak their language and they hear the gospel truth in their own language and 3,000 are baptized and the first 3,000 missionaries the church ever had are sent back to their natives lands to proclaim the gospel in their native tongue and it is awesome! That’s what we are going to celebrate in two weeks.
Here’s the deal. We tend to read Acts 2 and oh man, we want to experience something like Pentecost once in my life. I want to experience the supernatural, the power of God, the revelation of God, but here’s the key – what were they doing for the 10 days before Pentecost? They were in an upper room praying together! Do you think they were like, ‘now I lay me down to sleep,’ do you think they were praying polite prayers? No! They were still scared that they were going to be tracked down and killed and, listen, they are living on a prayer. They pray for 10 days. Here’s what I want you to see, I’ll ruin the surprise, we are going to do a Pentecost fast. We are going to fast and pray for 10 days. Here’s why – because you can’t plan Pentecost. It’s not like Peter got up on the day of Pentecost and said, ‘Here’s the plan, we’ll go into the temple and be praying and tongues of fire will come down, and this would be cool, we’re all going to speak in different languages.’ Seriously? He doesn’t even have a category for what’s about to happen. He can’t even pray for what is about to happen because he doesn’t even have a category. It is unprecedented. There is no way that he can be prepared for what’s going to happen.
So what I want to say is that you can’t plan Pentecost, but if you pray for 10 days, Pentecost might happen. If you seek the Lord with that kind of intensity, you never know. God might show up in a big way. So maybe here’s how I want to say it. Thursday night, Josiah and I got tickets to the Nationals game, and they won a game! See, miracles do happen! They won in the 9th inning and I was thinking about it and I think a lot of us pray like it’s the first batter in the first inning and there’s not a lot at stake, but wouldn’t it be very different if it was a 3-2 count with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning? I think that’s how we need to pray. We need to bring that level of intensity.
I’m not going to tell you what to fast. You can fast food, you can fast fast food; you can fast a certain meal; you can fast television. You know, the final of American Idol is coming so that might be tough for some of you, but you can fast whatever. I haven’t completely determined what it is that I’m going to fast, but I’m going to do a tend-day fast, May 13 to May 23 and what I want you to do is to commit to it before you know what you are going to do. All I’m asking is that for 10 days, we collectively say we are going to spend some time in an upper room somewhere, that with more intentionality and more intensity, we are going to seek the Lord. Why are we going to do this? Can you think of a better way to end this ‘Miracle’ series than to be in a place where we say, ‘Alright, God, surprise us, do whatever you want to do. We are putting ourselves in a place where You can move miraculously in our lives.’
I read this and it’s my competitive streak that gets riled up a little bit, but if people are praying with more intensity to a false god named Baal, bring it on. Lets’ step up our game and with intensity seek the almighty God and I believe that God is going to do some amazing things. So, would you commit to this Pentecost fast? This is your homework. Starting on Thursday, May 13 until that Sunday, May 23, ten days, Pentecost fast. It doesn’t matter what it is that you give up. You could fast completely from food if you want to get intense, but whatever it is, I believe as we take that step that God is going to do some amazing things. Ok, verse 30
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "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.
What I love about this is that the odds are already 450-1, right? There are 450 prophets of Baal but it’s like Elijah is saying the odds aren’t great enough at this point. They are in a three and a half year drought and water is precious, but hey, let’s take four large jars, probably the equivalent of a two-liter bottle of soda, about 8 liters, that’s 24 liters of this precious commodity called water in the midst of a three and a half year drought. This is like Babe Ruth pointing to the fence before he steps into the batter’s box. It’s like Elijah is stepping it up. What I love about this is that we want it to get easier. We want easy miracles, because we tend to think of God’s ability as an extrapolation of our ability, like He is a little bit better than us on our best day. But the truth is, He is anything but. He is omnipotent. He is omniscient. He is omnipresent. That means that there is nothing that He doesn’t know, past, present or future. There is nothing that He cannot do. There is nowhere that He is not. So you have there a triple combo. You have a God who is almighty and I want us to understand that He is bigger and better than our boldest prayers. In fact, our boldness is meekness in light of his omnipotence. So we have this human perspective because we think of God in four-dimensional terms, but to the infinite, there are no finites. There is no big or small. It’s not like God says, ‘Well, that’s a tough one.’ No, there is no easy or difficult. There is no big or small. There is just God and He is almighty and there is nothing He can’t do.
Here’s what I find in my life, I want those miracles that are barely miracles, that are barely beyond my abilities. You know what I’m learning? Those aren’t nearly as exciting as pouring 24 liters of water on the altar, getting it all wet so that it is much more difficult for the sacrifice to be consumed by fire. That’s a lot more exciting. I think we are at a good place spiritually, I’m not always this way, but I know I’m at a good place spiritually when I pray those impossible situations. ‘Oh God, I pray it will get more difficult. I pray it will get more challenging.’ So here’s the deal, a couple of weeks ago, I asked you to pray for a piece of property that we are pursuing. Guess what? It hasn’t gotten easier, it has gotten more difficult. In fact, some would say that it is dead. It is not dead. I think God is pouring some water on the sacrifice. I just sense in my spirit, that was too easy. Let’s make it really difficult to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is the One who is going to do it. I pray that we would find ourselves in those situations where God is the only One who can receive the credit. All of us want a miracle, we just don’t want to be in a situation that necessitates one. It’s easy to read a story like this and say good for Elijah. It was a big win for the kingdom! This was not win or lose, this was life or death. You know what happened to the 450 prophets of Baal? It would have happened to Elijah. If he lost, he was done. His life is on the line. It’s this moment where Elijah says let’s put all the chips in. Then Elijah prays.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
A few weeks ago, we had a staff meeting. We usually share wins and then have a devotional and pray together. So we were praying together and I felt like we needed to get on our knees, so we got on our knees together and prayed as a staff and then God just starts getting a hold of me and I had one of those moments and I ended up no my face, literally heaving. There are a variety of reasons for that. I think part of it is just that I feel this intense prayer burden right now. So the team got around me and was praying for me and I appreciate that. I love our team. Then afterwards, someone on our team said, ‘I feel like God gave me a word for you.’ I said, ‘I need a word.’ He said, ‘You don’t have to prove yourself to God, God will prove Himself to you.’ I’ve been living in that promise. I’ve been living in that word. I’ve been living in that reality the last couple of weeks. You don’t have to prove yourself to God, He will prove Himself to you.
I want to ask you a question. Whose reputation do you care more about, your reputation or God’s reputation? Elijah isn’t concerned about his reputation. He is concerned about God’s reputation. Let it be known today that You are God in Israel. Not that I’m a great prophet. Not that I can call down fire from heaven. Not that You will save my life. It is none of those prayers. He says let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am your servant. If you read through the Bible, I promise you this, the people that God really uses in amazing ways are the people that don’t care about their reputation. They care about God’s reputation. You see it in Moses. Don’t destroy these people because other nations are going to hear about it, but bring them into the Promised Land, that you would be famous. Moses is all concerned about God’s reputation.
I want to challenge us. If you care more about your reputation than your relationship with God, it is self-serving and the miracle you believe for is probably selfish in nature. I’m concerned that in a lot of instances, that is my prayer. A promotion, a bigger paycheck, let’s check our motives. Could it be that a better motive would be that we would have more godly influence in the lives of other people and maybe we would be able to give more away? It’s the motive behind the asking and if we care about our reputation more than God’s reputation, God is not going to bless that and honor that. Listen, even physical healing, I believe God can do it. I’ve experienced it in my life. I will close with telling you a story about it. But the truth is, it is about more than alleviating our pain or prolonging our life. That’s not what it is about. It is about God glorifying Himself.
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"
Listen, the greatest moment in your life, I promise you, will be the moment you realize that you are not God, because it takes all the pressure off of you, and in the same breath you recognize that God is God.
This week I was talking with Parker and asking him about the ‘Miracle’ series and what he is believing God for. He is in junior high and it brought back the memory of one of the first miracles I ever experienced. I’m going to close with this. I was in junior high and we had started going to this church. I had grown up in more conservation churches but then we visited this Pentecostal church and they got pretty excited about worshipping God. When they prayed, it seemed like they actually believed it. There was an intensity to the worship and the prayer and it just so happened, I think we’d been there one time, but they sent a prayer team to come and visit people who had visited the church. They asked if there was anything they could pray for. I was hospitalized half a dozen times when I was in junior high because of asthma. My lungs just weren’t strong enough and when I would get a chest cold, it would shut down my respiratory system. I had a code blue and there were moments where I felt like I was taking my last breath. So we prayed and asked them to pray that God would heal me. I would love for God to glorify Himself in that way. So they prayed and we prayed and believed God for the miracle. The next morning, I got up and I still had asthma. But every single wart on my feet was gone. It was very confusing to me. It was almost like that game where one person says one thing then it turns into something else and into something else and by the time it gets back, it’s nothing like it started. So I’m wondering if there was some miscommunication. I was thankful for the wart thing, but seriously, the asthma is a bigger deal. I was mystified. It was so definitive. Here’s the deal, I’m in junior high and it’s almost Samuel when he was a young kid in the temple and the Lord was speaking to him but he didn’t know it was the Lord because he hadn’t really learned to discern his voice yet. I think I didn’t really know how to hear the voice of the Lord, but I think it may be the first moment that I ever would really feel like I heard that still small voice of the Spirit and this is what the Spirit of God said to my spirit, ‘Mark, I just wanted you to know that I’m able.’ It changed my life. I don’t pray the same way. I pray with a little bit more intensity. I pray with a little bit more faith because here’s the deal. I have no idea if God is going to answer my prayers the way I want them answered. And I don’t really care because I’m not omniscient. We are going to praise God some days as much for the prayers He didn’t answer the way we wanted them answered because He had a better way of answering them. So I’m going to pray with faith because the Lord is God and He is able. Let’s pray together.
Father, we thank You for your power, we thank You Lord for the fact that You are able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine according to your power that is at work within us. Lord I know a lot of people find themselves in difficult circumstances, and God, human nature wishes it was easier, but Lord I praise You right now for that situation because I believe that You can reveal your glory in a unique and powerful way. That’s what we pray You would do. We pray that You would glorify yourself in this church, God that You would glorify yourself in our lives, in humility, not because we deserve it, God we humble ourselves before You today and we proclaim that the Lord is God. We believe that You are who You said You were and by virtue of that, all things are possible. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We thank You today that we can live with the holy confidence and the holy anticipation that You are going to move miraculously on our behalf. We say thank You for the miracles that You have done in people’s lives during this series. God we give You praise for the way You are moving and I know a lot of us are still believing. I pray that You would continue your plans and purposes. That He who began a good work would carry it to completion in our lives. We pray it and ask it in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Ministry Transcription
Margaret Salyers
606-706-5006
margaretsalyers@gmail.com
