Small Group Questions:

1. Who is the most courageous person you know? What makes them courageous?
2. What do you think it means to choose God when staying neutral feels easy?
3. Why do you think God chose fire to show who He really is on Mount Carmel?
4. When life feels stressful or uncertain, where do people naturally turn first for help or comfort? What do you think should be our first reaction when we face stress or uncertainty?
5. What is something in your life that feels hard to walk away from, even when you know it might not be good for you?
6. What situations make it hardest to live out your faith honestly around other people?
7. What is one area of your life where trusting God more would require real courage?

THE MAIN POINT

God’s presence reveals power and demands allegiance.

THE BIBLE

1 Kings 18:1-40

THE CONTEXT

Elijah prophesied during quite a tumultuous period in Israel’s history. Omri, Ahab’s father, had made an alliance with Ethbaal, the ruler of the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, and the father of Jezebel, Ahab’s wife. Ahab rises to power in Israel after the death of his father and is heavily influenced by his wife, Jezebel.

Jezebel, a Phoenician princess, brought with her many prophets of Baal and Asherah, a god and goddess worshipped in her homeland. Her first act as queen of Israel was to seek and kill all of Yahweh’s prophets in an attempt to eradicate worship of Yahweh and establish the sole worship of Baal and Asherah in the land of Israel. King Ahab, under the influence of his wife, supported her in this political and religious endeavour and established the worship of Baal and Asherah in Israel. Under the political leadership of Ahab and Jezebel, the Israelites began to worship Baal alongside Yahweh.

Elijah first appears in 1 Kings 17 when he confronts Ahab for his idolatry and pronounces a period of drought over the land as a consequence of Israel’s idolatry. He then appears in the next chapter to Obadiah, an officer in Ahab’s court who hid 100 of Yahweh’s prophets in caves during Jezebel’s murderous spree, and tells him to bring Ahab to him.

Upon meeting Elijah, Ahab calls him the “troubler of Israel” – an ironic statement where he pronounces his own judgment, for it is he who is truly bringing trouble upon the land through his idolatry and support of Baal worship. Elijah then asks the king to bring all of Israel, along with the prophets of Baal and Asherah, to Mount Carmel for a showdown between Yahweh and Baal to find out who the true God is. In this showdown, Elijah asks the people to choose between Yahweh and Baal (1 Kings 18:21).

Worshippers of Baal understood Mount Carmel to be a divine place for Baal due to its frequent storms. Baal was known as the god of storms and would have been depended upon for fertility since he was in charge of sending rain. In the minds of many Israelites – and for sure in the minds of the prophets of Baal – he had the advantage here due to the location of the showdown; however, Elijah does something shocking.

In the Ancient Near East, even if a person did not worship a god or an idol, they still respected their status as a deity. They were tolerant and inclusive. Yet, in this story, Elijah mocks Baal, suggesting that he is not a god. As the prophets of Baal passionately seek to gain his attention, Elijah suggests that their god might be relieving himself. It was also believed that Baal accompanied the Phoenician sailors on their journeys, so Elijah suggests that he might be on a journey. Regardless, these possibilities and Elijah’s mockeries showcase Baal’s limited power.

After a while, Elijah calls the people over to him, rebuilds the altar of the Lord with 12 uncut stones, digs a trench, and douses his sacrifice and the wood in approximately 15 litres of water. He then calls on the name of the Lord, who comes down and devours everything through fire, including the 15 litres of water sitting in the trench around the sacrifice. Upon such a great demonstration of power, the people fall to their faces and declare Yahweh as the Lord.

THE CORE

As you prepare the core of the message using personal story and questions, keep in mind these points:

• God’s presence comes down in fire and devours the sacrifice offered to him by Elijah, even licking up the water. God’s presence is powerful. It is not bound by the laws of nature, rather the laws of nature bend in the presence of God, and he is in control of them.
• God is the only present God; there is no other god present. No other god can hear our prayers, never mind answer them. In our world, there are so many gods competing for our faith and worship, whether that be social media, dating, sex, money, power, work, or whatever else. All these gods are like Baal; they cannot answer our prayers, and they will disappoint us and lead us astray.
• God’s powerful presence demands worship. Notice the reaction of the people who saw God devour the sacrifice and lick up the water: they fall face down and declare Yahweh as Lord. When we truly encounter the powerful presence of God, the only proper response is worship and praise. When we truly encounter his powerful presence, we cannot help but respond in worship.

THE APPLICATION

• Just like Elijah forced a decision out of the people – either to trust in the sole source of all life or continue to trust in a false god and their own solutions – we too have a decision to make. The question is not “will I have faith?” but rather “what/who am I placing my faith in?” Maybe you have already placed your faith in God. Great, this decision is a daily one. Continue to place your faith in God daily, for he is the only one who can sustain you. If you have not placed your faith in God, you also have a daily decision to make. Will you decide to continue living life your own way, which will lead to disappointment, or will you choose to put your faith in God?
• Elijah found himself as the only prophet of God against 450 prophets of Baal. In this moment, he must have felt pretty alone and dependant upon a supernatural act of God. But in reality, God’s presence was with Elijah. Although he was vastly outnumbered, his loneliness was not a factor, for he had the presence of the living God with him. in this world we might feel like Elijah. We might feel lonely or like we are the only person at our school, work, or in our environment serving God. We might even feel like people view us as an enemy or hate us because of our faith. Yet, even when we go through these feelings, the presence of God goes before us. Even when this happens, God’s presence is enough.