Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” – 1 Kings 18:31-33
In The Pursuit of God
A.W. Tozer wrote: Current evangelicalism has … laid the altar and divided the sacrifice
into parts, but now seems satisfied to count the stones and rearrange the
pieces with never a care that there is not a sign of fire upon the top of lofty
Carmel.
Any religion can build an altar and arrange things properly
upon it. Sects and denominations will
argue about the correct number of stones and if they should be arranged in
a square or oblong or round. Really,
whether we are talking about evangelicals or Orthodox, Roman or Reformed,
conservative or liberal, Puritan or Pentecostal, it’s all just so much dirt and
dead bull unless the fire falls.
Elijah did not call the prophets of Baal for a showdown on
altar-building. I am no longer terribly
interested in who has the most traditional or deepest interpretation of
Scripture or which school of theology is most respected. Until
the lightning strikes, all shouters and dancers, expositors, expounders, and
pulpit-pounders are indistinguishable from the followers of the lord of the
flies, lured, as they are, by raw, dead meat.
As someone who has spent a considerable amount of time
around Pentecostals and charismatics, I have seen more than my share of flakes
and false prophets. Crowds are drawn to
a show, and, for those who draw their living from the offering bucket, the
bigger the crowd, they better they eat.
There’s a good chance they have lighter fluid and a Zippo stashed in the
plastic plants – just in case. With the
right lighting, it’s not that hard to pull it off. Revival is not an entertainment extravaganza any
more than it is ritual and ceremony. It
is not based on magic tricks, jokes, jazzy orchestras or screaming guitars,
suggestion or seduction, falling over backward or acting a fool.
Good, sound theology and biblical teaching give us guidelines,
boundaries, direction, and structure.
There really is nothing wrong with being able to build an appropriately
solid altar. Trying to meet God out on
our own, with no structure is, at best, risky.
We are too easily deceived and too apt to talk ourselves into believing that
a four-lane on the downhill side is really the narrow road after all. But what we are looking for is not “Seven
Steps to Good Behavior” or “How to Be a Baptist Deacon”. Our hearts long for God, and our God is a
consuming fire.
In John 10, Jesus warns us to beware of those who come
around looking to deceive us. A deceiver
is deceived, and to be deceived is to become a deceiver. We don’t have to follow Baal. We can know the Truth. All who
came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them
(John 10:8). Sheep are not smart, but
they are sensible, most some of the time. They know their shepherd. If we are of Christ’s flock, if we desire to follow
the Good Shepherd, we will know His voice, and we will not be led too far
astray.
God is real. He is
present with us right now. All we need
to do is open the Door -- I am the door.
If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find
pasture. Yes, I know there is fire
on the other side. But Jesus is in the
midst of it, just as He was in the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, and just as with
those Hebrews, the only thing that the fire is going to burn are the shackles
that bind us. We won’t look at the fire. We will close our eyes if we have to and
listen only to the voice of the Shepherd.
We know He is no thief or destroyer.
He says, I came that they [you
and I] may have life and have it
abundantly.
I hear a lot of people talking about God. I’m not so sure very many of us are talking
to Him. Elijah prayed first for the
fire, because the Holy Spirit as fire is needed to transform our dead flesh,
consume what needs to be consumed and change the very structure of our lives
into something palatable and pleasing to God.
After the fire fell, Elijah prayed again, for rain. We need the fire to burn up the chaff and
make us holy, but we must have the rain to bring new life -- to sustain and
nourish.
Pray like Elijah, a man like us, with a nature like ours, as James says. Call down the fire of judgment, of sanctification, of liberation upon the dead thing you have placed on the altar -- the only thing you have to put there. Then, pray for rain. It's time.
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.
Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long. – George A. Young from “God Leads Us Along”
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