1 Kings 18 : 38 : “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.”
1 Kings 18 is a story about Elijah who was used by God to make the Israelites repent. The Israelites repented because they saw the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice. What did Elijah do before the fire of the Lord fell?
Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to call for the fire of the Lord to fall. The prophets of Baal started shouting and calling their gods, but the fire did not come down. They even cut themselves until they bled, but the fire still did not come. They eventually became frustrated. But when Elijah prayed for the fire of the Lord to fall, it came! Did Elijah know of this? It is because God had spoken and Elijah believed so he was bold to challenge prophet Baal. Harvest of souls does not just happen, there has to be someone who is bold to speak and challenge it!
Before challenging the prophets of Baal, Elijah fixed the Lord’s altar that had been destructed. The altar talks about our worship to the Lord. We have to fix this! Many people do not realize that in worship, they have diverted far from God’s standard. This kind has to repent!
Elijah built an altar using 12 stones according to the 12 tribes of Israel. This talks about unity. When you read from John 17, in His prayer to the Father, Jesus said, “I have given them the glory which You gave Me so that they may be one! As we are one, I in them and You in Me. That they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” When the world knows, a great harvest of souls will take place. The key of the harvest of souls is that we become one. Unity starts within us – within the family, husband, wife and children, within the church, and between churches. This is what the Lord wants and asks of us as His church.
After he built an altar, Elijah cut the bull as sacrifice and laid it on the wood. This means God wants us to give a sacrifice of worship. Sacrifice hurts – sacrifice of worship is worshipping in unpleasant, oppressed and painful situations. There is great power in those circumstances.
After giving a sacrifice, Elijah poured a lot of water on the altar. At that time there was a drought and water was very valuable, more valuable than gold. But, Elijah offered this to the Lord.
Lastly, Elijah closed in prayer. This was his prayer: “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word..” (1 Kings 18:36-37). After Elijah prayed, THE FIRE OF THE LORD FELL! And when everyone saw this, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord He is God! The Lord He is God!” The Israelites repented!
If you want your prayers to be answered by the Lord, then what the Lord wants from us is to do all the things mentioned above. You will see the glory of God fall upon you and you will be blessed and used by the Lord greatly. Amen!
Source : A sermon from Pst. Niko Njotorahardjo (part 2), August 2017, GBI Gatot Subroto