God

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Gods Messengers 1 Kings The Story -- Chapter 15
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Inscribed Stele of Baal of the lightning,
from the dig Râs Shamrah in Northern Syria
The small human figure may be a deity or a person
in the gods care
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Lighting bolt in Baals hand
By Worshipping Baal you believed you could
control the weather.
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Gods message through Elijah to King Ahab Baal
does not control the weather, I do.
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1 Kings 171 (NIV) 1 Now Elijah the Tishbite,
from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, As the
Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve,
there will be neither dew nor rain in the next
few years except at my word. page 202 in The
Story
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Elijah was saying King Ahab, you can do
anything you want in the next few years, but if
you want rain to fall, you must return to the
worship of the one true God The God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob.
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1 Kings 1812 (NIV) 1 After a long time, in the
third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah
Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send
rain on the land. 2 So Elijah went to present
himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in
Samaria,
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How long does God have to apply pressure to you
before YOU change?
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Every pressure God applies is for one purpose To
turn your heart back to Him.
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1 Kings 1817 (NIV) 17 When he saw Elijah, he
said to him, Is that you, you troubler of
Israel?
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When God applies pressure to you to return to
Him, do you find that you Blame the messenger
rather than respond to the message?
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1 Kings 1818 (NIV) 18 I have not made trouble
for Israel, Elijah replied. But you and your
fathers family have. You have abandoned the
Lords commands and have followed the
Baals. Page 204 in The Story
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God is the one in control of the weather, and God
is applying pressure to Israel in order to turn
them away from the false god Baal
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The reason it is so dry and dusty around here,
the reason there has not been any rain, is
because you thought you found a way to control
the weather through the worship of a false God
Baal.
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1 Kings 1819 (NIV) 19 Now summon the people
from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel.
And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of
Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah,
who eat at Jezebels table.
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Mt Carmel Northern Israel
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Mt Carmel
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View from the western summit or Mt Carmel
looking toward the Sea
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Let the Battle Begin between God and Baal
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1 Kings 1820 (NIV) So Ahab sent word throughout
all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount
Carmel.
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1 Kings 1821 (NIV) 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.
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Have you ever noticed that? The longer you stay
away from God the harder it seems to return to
God?
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1 Kings 1822 (NIV) 22 Then Elijah said to them,
I am the only one of the Lords prophets left,
but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
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1 Kings 1823 (NIV) 23 Get two bulls for us. Let
Baals 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.
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1 Kings 1824 (NIV) 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 firehe is God.
Then all the people said, What you say is good.
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1 Kings 1821 (NIV) 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.
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The Priests of Baal on Mt Carmel
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1 Kings 1824 (NIV) Then all the people said,
What you say is good.
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1 Kings 1821 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 1826 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 1827 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 182829 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 1830 (NIV) 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 had
been torn down.
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1 Kings 1831 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 1832 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 1833 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 183435 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 1836 (NIV) 36 At the time of sacrifice,
the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed
Lord, the 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.
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1 Kings 1837 (NIV) 37 Answer me, Lord, answer
me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are
God, and that you are turning their hearts back
again.
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We may not understand Gods methods, but his
purpose is always clear. Since loosing you to
sin, God has had one mission get you back.
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John 31617 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but to save the world
through him.
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Lightning over Mt Carmel
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1 Kings 1838 (NIV) 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.
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1 Kings 1839 (NIV) 39 When all the people saw
this, they fell prostrate and cried, The Lordhe
is God! The Lordhe is God!
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As I read this story, is my heart fully, and
completely, and only for Jesus Christ?
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The simple response is to repent, turn to him,
and declare, as these did on the Mountain The
Lord he is God. The Lord he is my God.