Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder, and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets, and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
what depression discouragement despair
often brings is distorted information
Elijah is by himself depression gets
worse if there’s nobody in your life to
change your thinking
see if you feeling sorry for yourself
and you’re talking to yourself that’s a
bad conversation for yourself you
already feeling sorry and there’s nobody
to talk to but you about you regarding
you to tell you what you ought to do and
you aren’t in a place to even hear you
correctly then your discussion with
yourself is helping yourself to become
worse off about you
so God then it does the picture and
tells him Elijah
tell me how you feel stop talking self
did you talk to yourself you were
getting depressed or suicidal start
talking to me okay now I’m gonna show
you the wind in the rain ball that stops
now y’all talk to me cuz you talking to
you it’s giving you to kill you stop
talking you to you and y’all talk to me
God has an angel for you he’s got a
person for you he has himself for you he
gave realize you all three of those to
give him a supernatural experience to
lift him out of his depression and one
of the reasons that the church exists is
to have people available in your life
when you are down who can embrace you
minister to you lift you up and he can
use you to do the same thing for
somebody else because when we are
depressed
we need another perspective that doesn’t
deny the reality of how we feel but what
it does is definitely let you live
[Music]
Israel is dealing with a problem that
brought the prophet Elijah on the scene
in the first place and that is their
attraction to idols they were attracted
to bale and Asherah bales girlfriend the
idols that had now consumed the culture
even those who name the name of God
we’ve defined an idol already but just
so that we review an idol is an
unauthorized now person place or thing
that you look to to get a need met it’s
an unauthorized person place or thing
and unauthorized now that you look to
for that thing to be the source of a
need being met something God has not
approved but you’re looking to it to be
the source of your provision that’s an
idol granted we over here don’t worship
trees by and large or the moon or the
Stars well I can’t really say that
because folks are still checking their
horoscopes as an unauthorized source
because the Bible says when you when you
check astrology to find your source in
your direction
based on the movement of the stars or
the month you were born or any of the
like you have appealed to an
unauthorized source to be the definition
of your needs being met and the
definition of your identity so that is
idolatry so you may not do any of the
things people may do with you justice
you just have an American Idol just look
at what’s happening in the culture and
you gravitate to that whether it’s
people or power or possessions or
whether it’s prestige whatever it is
are looking to that thing as the source
of your provision now when you
understand that is the biblical
definition of idolatry then you
understand that you can be right here
right now today and be an idol worshiper
because while you’re sitting in church
God is not your source he’s a point of
reference but he’s not your source and
so we have seen some of the supernatural
activity of elijah and we’ve tried to
say this transfer is over to you today
the principle of God’s supernatural work
that we’re discovering in his life
relates to your life we come in chapter
18 and we come to a place where now the
prophet Elijah confronts King Ahab he
confronts King Ahab and he confronts him
in chapter 18 verse 17 and when Ahab saw
Elijah he had said to him is this you
you troubler of Israel in other words
you getting on my nerves
mayhap says is this you Elijah you bring
it all this trouble to Israel Elijah
responds in verse 18 I have not troubled
Israel but you and your father’s house
have because you have forsaken the
commandment of the Lord and you have
followed the bails you followed the
idols Elisha is not concerned about
being politically correct so he refuses
to be politically correct he says they
have you have brought this about because
of your pursuit of idolatry
you’ve caused the heavens to shut up
it’s no longer raining the cultures in
trouble because you have pursued another
God one of the reasons you’re seeing all
of this chaos around us even in our
culture and in our country is because we
have forsaken the Lord our God and what
you and I are experiencing the day is
God saying you know
want me let me get out of the way and
let me show you life without me and so
you have the consequence of the removal
of God God is being removed from
government God is being removed from
schools God is being removed from the
biblical definition of marriage God is
being removed from the Civic’s God can’t
even open up a prio football game when
God is being removed from the culture
that means idolatry has automatically
set in which means there are
consequences that accrue in the
environment where God has been removed
and that is what was happening in Israel
they’re experiencing life without the
one true God so Elijah says now send and
gather to me all of Israel at Mount
Carmel verse 19 together with 450
prophets of Bale and 400 prophets of
Asherah that’s 850 who eat at Jezebel’s
table he says uh okay let’s have let’s
have a fight at the okay Corral okay
you bring your people and your God and
I’ll be there at high noon okay okay
let’s settle this once and for all let’s
go let’s go confuse people let’s let’s
put this thing out on the table so hey
AB says okay you got a deal let’s go
forth so absent verse 20 a message among
all the sons of Israel and brought the
prophets together at Mount Carmel now
watch this because this is where we
start verse 21 Elijah came near to all
the people and said how long will you
hesitate between two opinions if the
Lord is God follow him but if BHEL
follow him but the people did not answer
him a word
Elijah says I folk how long you gonna
keep dancing how long will you hesitate
between two opinions the word hesitate
means Vassily how long you gonna dance
this God owns Sunday and another God on
Monday how long you will go back and
forth follow how long you go you gonna
dance around this thing how long you
gonna move back and forth how long and
we gonna have to keep doing this how
long are you gonna have to keep hearing
the same sermon every week calling you
the full commitment before you make one
see a lot of folk what a worship God on
Sunday and then hugging Idol on Monday
[Applause]
he says how long how many more years how
many more months how many more services
how long were you gonna dance before you
decide that’s his question it says the
people were silent why would they silent
simple they weren’t ready to commit they
weren’t ready to commit they weren’t
ready that well you know you know you
too serious yo you you been too serious
about this Christian thing just let me
get little Church give me a little music
preach me a little sermon then leave me
alone says the people were silent they
were not ready to commit borussia they
were always ready for a miracle they
were always looking for a blessing they
were always looking for God to do
something while they were silent so let
me state my position as coming from this
passage if you are not ready to commit
and to stop dancing stop looking for a
miracle and searching for a blessing
they said nothing because they weren’t
ready to make a full commitment and yet
he’s calling on them just
do that so now Elijah says I alone verse
22 and left the prophet of the Lord but
bales profits of 450 men Elijah says I’m
outnumbered 450 to one since this is not
to see what the heart of numbers fare in
my favor I’m ready to take my stand God
is looking for some folk who even though
outnumbered are willing to take that
stand who even though the other side has
more than you even though it looks like
you’re outnumbered and you’re among your
friends among your co-workers or what
have you
he said this is how the numbers shape up
but in spite of that we’re gonna put the
true God to the test he says why don’t
you bring verse 23 to auxin and let the
450 choose one oxen and I’ll take
whichever one they don’t choose put it
on the wood put it on the altar but
don’t put a fire under it and then you
for 50 you call on the name of your God
and tell your God light the fire okay
tell your God be the Ohio players fire
hey tell your God to light it up and
then i’ma call oh my god and let’s see
whose God is the god of fire now unless
you understand bad lism you can’t
appreciate this but Bale was the god of
fire the god of the Sun so you figure if
Bale is in charge of the Sun he can lay
something up so he’s challenging him at
the very core of the greatness of their
God so let’s see what your God can do so
they agree he is so confident in his
commitment to God that he will challenge
the mahjongg
Oh do we need some committee Christians
today who are so committed and so
confident in their God they don’t mind
being outnumbered because they
understand that once God the true God is
in the equation the number shift so he
says come on let’s so talk let’s do this
thing
let’s do this thing and so here’s what
they do the 450 agree and so they chose
the Ox and verse 26 they took the arts
and prepared it in the name of bail and
from warning the two evening they were
saying all bail answer us but there was
no voice no one answered and they leaped
about the altar which they made so
they’re in there with their God Oh bail
Oh bail let’s have some fire like them
light the altar Oh bail hold great bail
they jumping around the altar they
getting their praise alone around the
idol and and it says and nothing
happened and there was no voice now this
is where we get to a little humorous
part in the Bible gets a little humorous
here in verse 27 cuz it says at about
noon that Elijah mocked them okay now
it’s 450 them
and it’s one of you this ain’t the time
to be making fun of hope but he lied you
just standing there and he mocks them
and look at how much he says why don’t
you why don’t you call out louder call
ours 27 what allowable y’all ain’t
screaming loud enough he can’t hear you
he says but he is the god
maybe he’s occupied he’s got another
meeting going on and he can’t get the
y’all right now so maybe that’s why
nothing happened or maybe he’s going
aside now gone aside means maybe in the
bathroom guard aside me and he doing
number 2 that’s what gonna side means or
maybe he hadn’t gone aside maybe he’s on
a journey he’s on a trip you know he’s
taking a vacation or perhaps he’s
snoring he says maybe he’s asleep and
you need to wake him up so why don’t you
sing a little louder prays a little
louder pray a little louder and wake up
your God well all he did was ticked him
off cuz at verse 28 he says they crowd
out with a loud voice and they cut
themselves according to the custom with
swords and Lance’s until the blood
gushed out of them when midday was
passed verse 29 they raved and tell the
evening sacrifice there was no voice no
one answered no one paid attention
did he Liza said that all the people
come close come close so all the people
came near to him and he repaired the
altar of the Lord which had been torn
down okay let me stop there let me stop
there it says he repaired the altar
which had been torn down that means they
had religion without commitment because
the altar hadn’t been used
now what would they do on the altar
sacrifices why would they make
sacrifices to deal with sin so what they
were doing was having religion without
dealing with sin they did not want to
deal with the spiritual realities in
their lives because they’ll let them go
where they wanted to go do what they
wanted to do act what they wanted to
pack bail did not put any boundaries or
restrictions on them and that’s not the
God they wanted all week that’s a good
enough for Sunday now give me my six
days but they wanted that God to be the
god of the supernatural
so the altar was left unattended the
spiritual issues would not address but
yet they had enough religion to clean
God you ought to be tired of religion by
now religion can’t change you religion
can’t help you and religion certainly
won’t bring heaven down to earth what
you need and I need and we need is a
relationship but you can only have a
relationship on God’s terms and you
can’t have a relationship on God’s terms
if you got another God waiting for you
tomorrow that is another source of your
identity and your reality and so Elijah
took 12 stones according to the number
of the tribes of the sons of Jacob to
whom the word of the Lord had come
saying Israel shall be your name so the
Prophet comes along and here’s what
happens he took the twelve stones verse
32 so with the stones he built an altar
in the name of the Lord he got the
spiritual priority back in water and
unless we do that as a church unless
that’s the main thing every other thing
is a waste of time he got the altar back
the spiritual part back the confession
of sin and the pursuit of righteousness
back the altar represented all that and
then he made a trench around the altar
large enough to hold two measures of
seed so he digs this hole around the
altar now
that’s what he does him he arranges the
would verse 33 cuts the axe in the
pieces lays it on the wood and he said
fill four pitches with water and pour it
on the burnt offering no wait a minute
if you trying to light up something you
don’t pour water on it you’re not trying
to put water on it you want to keep it
dry so the it lights quickly but he
pulls water on it oh but that’s the
holidays cut the cord verse 24 it says
he says do it a second time
so they put water on it they wet the
wood wet the axe with everything he says
pour four more pitches on it so whoa
okay he does it again oh but if he
finished no do it a third time and they
did it a third time so he prays and he
prays at the evening sacrifice O Lord
verse 36 the God of Abraham Isaac and
Jacob the covenant-keeping god today let
it be known that you are God in Israel I
am your servant and notices I have done
all the things that your word let it be
known what you will do when people are
committed to you and your word in other
words I’m not like y’all I ain’t dancing
I’m not like y’all I’m not going back
and forth
I am totally committed to his word
that’s how you know if you dancing
tonight he says let it be known that I’m
for real because I obey your word in
other words God your word has the final
say-so over my decisions until you get
to that place you’re not fully committed
if you’re not fully committed you have
limited or lost access to the miraculous
so he says I have kept your word answer
me O Lord verse 37 that this people may
know that you O Lord our God and that
you have turned their hearts back again
and the fire of the Lord fell and
consumed the burnt offering the wood the
stones the dust and lick up the water in
the trench
now this is one of the scenes I want to
see on instant replay when I get to
heaven because it not only said the fire
fell but it says it consumed the stones
the wood and the stone but here’s the
part I like it said it looked up the
water around the trench oh and when you
see God show off and show out for you
when you see him do exceedingly
abundantly above all you can ask for
faith when you see because you’ve
rebuilt the altar a full commitment
he says saw it and then the people saw
it they fell on their faces and said the
Lord he is God the Lord he is God does
anybody here know what am hillbilly road
bump is a hillbilly road bump is an
armadillo dead in the middle of a roof
that’s what’s called a hillbilly I mean
country people call it a hillbilly road
bump okay now let me explain one half a
million armadillos every year are killed
in the middle of the road every time
I’ve seen an armadillo is on his back
and his legs is sticking up in the air
every time I see an armadillo
it’s dead in the middle of the road
because here’s what they do they start
crossing the road they stop in the
middle of the road they stop in the
middle of the road with cars coming they
stop him in the middle of the road with
cars coming and they get run over they
get run over because they get
comfortable in the middle of the road
does God have any
hillbilly Road bump Christians in this
place does God have been a hillbilly
Roebuck you come to church and you stay
in the middle you like malcolm in the
middle’ you stay in the middle you want
to be able to step over here to the God
of the Bible but you want to stay over
here to the world you stay in the middle
only to be run over by his glory when he
moves down the center but if he can ever
get you to go all the way heaven will
open up you will see heaven open jesus
said you will see the angels of God
going up and down the Son of Man and you
will see what God can do because you’ve
given him all you have God is looking
for some folk who gonna leave the middle
and go all the way
the dominant sin spoken of in the Bible
is idolatry all through Scripture you
see God’s hatred of idolatry idolatry is
any unauthorized now person place thing
or thought that you look to as your
source because that means you’re
committed to a false god there’s only
one true God the God of the Holy
Scriptures who’s revealed himself both
in creation and in his word and he does
not want any competing loyalties in our
lives
he wants us totally committed to the one
true God the moment you bring another
God another now person place thing or
thought that you look to as your
ultimate source you created divine
competition you’ve created a deity
competitor and nothing will drive God
from you in terms of you experiencing
his presence in your life like you
inviting another God into the vicinity
whether that God is money whether that
God is even religion whether that God is
education whether that God is Korea but
you can name it but once that thing or
person becomes your source size God is
angry with that and will display the
weakness of your God because he’ll he’ll
interrupt your God they’ll let you know
that God wasn’t as big powerful as
authoritative as you thought it was when
you put your whole life into that God’s
hands so there must be a decision that
we must all make even as Christians that
there will be no other God before us you
know that goes back to the Ten
Commandments thou shall have no other
God before me in fact God wants to be so
alone is God he won’t even let you take
a picture of himself creating it
because he does not want us to dumb down
how awesome a god he is stay committed
to the one true God because there’s only
one true God who deserves that
commitment
[Music]
[Music]
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