Elijah, the soul winner!

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”1 Kings 18 : 21

Good morning, friends. Elijah warned the King Ahab for He was not faithful to God and asked him to call out all the people at Mount Carmel. They all gathered.


Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

Then Elijah said, “I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

The prophet of Baal took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” He built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” He asked them to do it again and again till the water started ran down the altar and filled the trench.

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!”

We learn a lot from this passage.

One: The purpose of Elijah was, the people should know the true God. What’s your purpose today?

Two: He feared no one, including King or Baal. I know many people who believe in God, but still they fear for other idols. They’re afraid to walk on the pumpkins, camphor which was sacrificed to the idols on the road. They’re afraid to completely come closer to Jesus, as they think that the idols will cause troubles in their lives. They are afraid of their bosses, their enemies, etc,… Come on people, if God is with you, who/what can shake you?

Three: Elijah asked the people, “How long will you waver between the two; God and the Baal?” He was so bold to ask this as He didn’t waver between the two. Today I don’t talk only about the statues that are made by the men by their hands. But also about the things to which we give more priorities than to God. It may be the job, your family, your partner, your studies, anything and everything other than God. And the other thing to be noted here is, “How long?” He was very clear on this. I think if today he is alive, he would have asked the same to us too. “How many sermons, meetings, miracles, proofs, etc,… do you still need?” Think about it.

Four: Elijah knew that the Lord would answer his prayer and asked the right thing. He gave more importance to the souls rather to his own life.

Five: He never doubted whether the Lord would accept his sacrifice or not. He boldly proclaimed that the God would send fire to burn up his offering. The Lord honored his faith. What’s your level of faith? Most of the times, we’re afraid to take steps for God, thinking what to do, it that doesn’t happen. Be strong and take courage. Take steps boldly for God. Definitely He’ll honor your faith.

Six: Through this servant of God, the people glorified the name of the Lord. They turned back to God. Are you bringing people to Christ? Are others seeing the power of God in you? If no, just ask for that. The Lord of Elijah is still here amidst of us. His power is still the same. He can still use you to be a blessing to many.