Character Studies - ElectronicGospel

4. Elijah now has his turn, once the baalists fail to get their god’s attention (First Kings 18:30-35)a. besides fighting on the baalists’ turf, he adds a further challenge to Jehovah to prove thathis God is the only true and living one (he covers the altar and trench with water so that fire would bemore difficult to inciteb. without all the magic and presentation of the idolaters, he simply calls on God to revealhimself (First Kings 18:36-39)c. the fickle Israelites were convinced and confessed Jehovah as God at last and the rain cameon the land at Elijah’s wordII. Practical ApplicationA. The Danger of Keeping Idols and Temptations About1. all of this idolatry could have been avoided if the Israelites had possessed the strength ofcharacter to obey God and remove every idol from the land when they took it2. there is great inherent danger in keeping idols and enticements around after a decision is madeto go in the right directiona. the danger is in returning to them once the going gets rough or the urge becomes strongb. anything that we fight hard to sacrifice or overcome is going to present itself again overtime and make a case for apostasy1. the drinker who comes to the Lord must give up his bottle (not just put it down, but getrid of it2. the addict must flush his opium, marijuana and nicotine away3. the lustful must dispose of his pornographic materialc. if the alcohol, drugs or pornography are simply put in a closet, they practically shout frombehind the door in their attempt to return; these idols must be purged!3. the day of conversion is the time to do this, to make the commitment and utilize the zeal of themoment to make a clean break and a fresh start (Matthew 18:8-9)4. when Paul worked miracles in Ephesus that the magicians only feigned, many people and evensome of the illusionists turned to the Lord (Acts 19:18-19)a. the tools of sin have no place in the home of a Christian, not even in the closetb. when a saint merely puts away his idols rather than gives them up, he is declaring defeatfor the future, because he surely intends to return to his idol when weakness overtakes himB. The Insult of Faltering Between Two Opinions1. Joshua had recognized the peril of the false deities in the land and called the people to choosewhether they would serve Jehovah or not that day long agoa. now Elijah speaks to their children and recognizes the same disease of shared fidelityb. depending on how the wind blew that day, they decided whom to serve as God2. the gods of men’s imaginations do not mind sharing your devotion, for they are false and donot deserve any dedication anywaya. the devil does not mind if you set aside Sunday for God as long as he gets Saturday night;he knows that just a little service to him is enough to insult God and bring his rejectionb. truly, there is a throne in your heart, whose occupant rules your emotions and thoughts anddeeds and directs you to eternityc. it is your choice who sits there to a certain extent1. the devil is glad to take his place there, even if he has to appear in his disguises2. he likes to appear in benign garb, because if he showed up with a pitchfork, he wouldnever do quite as well (Second Corinthians 11:14-15)a. to one, he appears as “irresistible” indulgence (too much fame, fortune or fun toresist (Ephesians 5:5-7)b. to another, he looks like Joseph Smith, Martin Luther or the Pope (men whosenames we magnify instead of God’s (Second Corinthians 11:1-4)c. to still another, he looks like the person himself, who is looking out for number onein a dog-eat-dog world (James 3:14-16 )3. the devil doesn’t mind disguising himself as harmless if that is what it takes; God, however,speaks in the still small voice of a king with no true rival, for he never shares his throne with the devil(James 4:4-10)a. the shared throne we imagine actually belongs totally to the devil; God won’t share42! Jeff S. Smith