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Elijah: Confronting Idolatry in a Dark Time 1 Kings 16:29-17:6

Elijah: Confronting Idolatry in a Dark Time 1 Kings 16:29-17:6. Have you broken any of the 10 commandments? lying; coveting not honoring father and mother hatred Violating these commandments can stem from idolatry in our hearts

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Elijah: Confronting Idolatry in a Dark Time 1 Kings 16:29-17:6

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  1. Elijah: Confronting Idolatry in a Dark Time1 Kings 16:29-17:6 • Have you broken any of the 10 commandments? • lying; coveting • not honoring father and mother • hatred • Violating these commandments can stem from idolatry in our hearts • “As long as you want anything very much, especially more than you want God, it is an idol.”A.B. Simpson

  2. Elijah stands out as one of the most influential servants of God in the Old Testament • No other prophet, either before or after, strove and worked in the idolatrous kingdom for the honor of the Lord with anything like the same mighty power of God as the mighty prophet Elijah. Carl Friedrich Keil • God took this unknown man, from an unknown town to become one of his greatest prophetic servants. • God takes ordinary people like you and me to do great things for his kingdom.

  3. 1. Elijah’s Ministry • Solomon was a godly king who initially obeyed the Lord • He disobeyed God and married many foreign wives to establish trade and peace treaties with the surrounding pagan nations. • Solomon began to worship false gods. • Result: God tore the kingdom from him.

  4. There was no king worse than Israel’s King Ahab • 1 Kings 16:30,31 (NIV) - 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.

  5. Ahab introduced idol worship to God’s chosen people. • 1 Kings 16:33 (NIV) 33 Ahab…did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him. • God called Elijah to bring a message of judgment.

  6. 2. Elijah’s Message • 1 Kings 17:1 (NIV) “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.” • Elijah was a man of God and was most likely a diligent student of God’s Word. • Deuteronomy 11:16–17 (NIV) - 16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you…

  7. …and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. • The power of God’s Word: • We serve a God who keeps his word. • James 5:17 (NIV) - 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain. • Elijah knew he was praying in the will of God. • Do you have that kind of confidence in God’s Word?

  8. 3. Elijah’s Motivation • 1 Kings 17:1 (NIV) “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.” • Elijah’s Faith: • James 5:17 (NIV) - 17 Elijah…prayed earnestly that it would not rain • …it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

  9. b. Elijah’s Commitment: • 1 Kings 17:1 (NIV) “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve • Elijah was committed to serving his God in spite of the risks involved. • His commitment helped him overcome his fears. • Elijah stood out as a man of faith and commitment in a wicked, disobedient nation who worshipped pagan idols and false gods instead of the true living God.

  10. There are gods at war within each of us. They battle for the throne of our hearts, and much is at stake. This is why idolatry is the most discussed problem in the entire Bible. Behind every sin struggle that you and I have is a false god that is winning the war in our lives. Don't give in to the myth that gods are only statues that people of other cultures or long ago worshiped. Pleasure, romance, sex, money, and power are just a few of the gods that vie for our allegiance in today's society. Kyle Idleman, www.godsatwar.com

  11. Video: Gods at War

  12. Every time we sin we are putting something else ahead of God. • God hates idolatry • Exodus 20:3 (NIV) - “You shall have no other gods before me. • What idols are drawing you away from loving the living God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? • Let’s confess the idolatry we struggle with and ask God to help us destroy these idols and put him back on the throne.

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