Arizona sun., 1947-05-09

Cod meets the challenge OF un-
belief and sin through the ages In
ts different forms. In the days Of
Elijah it was the awful power OF
the false religion of Baal which
threw its pail Of heathenlsh I'M
morality over the people.
The prophet was Gods man OF
courage in a day Of unbelief ana
sin. To be courageous means to
steadily meet perils of which one is
deeply conscious, doing so because
of the call of duty Courage holds
a deeper and nobler meaning than
bravery, carrying with it the idea
of moral strength and, in the case
of the Christian, faith in God as one
devoted to his cause.
The account of the conflict Win
the prophets Of Baal on mount
Carmel is a dramatic and instruc-
tive story. It shows that when Goa $
man meets Gods enemy there is an
open. above-board, honest victory.
I. Nothing Hidden (vv. 2O-21, 3W.
The appeal to Israel cut no cor
ners and made no compromises.
They must choose between the true
God and the false Baal. They could
not hold to both or halt between two
opinions. The same is true today OF
our relationship to Jesus Christ.
The direct challenge at Mount
Carmel follows the same pattern
Of o,1t-in-the-open dealing with the
problem.
Men whose deeds are evil love
darkness rather than light. God
does not have to work in the dark.
All of his workings are in the open
sunlight. Everyone is welcome TO
"corne near and see what is done.
Elijah knew God and he acted
like Gods man. What tragedy II
Is that not all of Gods servants
have followed his example. If we
had the open and above-board deal
ings of Elijah in the affairs OF our
churches, we might see more OF the
fire and power of his ministry.
Certain it is that the adminlstra-
tion of church affairs which has to
be carried out in hidden corners by
whispered conversations and oy
secret manipulations behind the
scenes is not Gods work at all, IL Is
the work Of man.
III. No FavOrs Asked (vv. S3-35).
Elijah rebuilt the altar himself.
He asked no help Of the mbellevlng
prophets of Baal or of apostate
Israel. How old-fashioned he seems
In this day when so much stress Is
laid on a false unity Of the faiths.
and there is so much solicitation
and acceptance by the church OF
the help of unbelievers in financing
the supposed work Of God.
Note also that Elijah invited his
enemies to make the answer to his
PRAYER more difficult by pouring
water on the sacrifice. This was not
an act of bravado: it was for the
purpose of demonstrating that there
was no fraud. He was willing that
the enemies of the truth should make
the demonstration more difficult II
that would be to Gods glory.
There is delightful old-fa shioned
flavor about that act, too. in these
davs when men are frequently will
ing to compromise with unbelief
and even with sin, in order that the
work of the church may be carried
ON without too much difficulty. Here
again we have an, explanation OF
the lack of spiritual power in our
times.
The victory which came was a
glorious testimony to the living
reality and the infinite power OF
God. It left
III. No Glory to Man (vv. SOb-32.
$500.
A man of bravery usually wants
recognition for himself, while the
courageous man asks only that the
cause for which he fights shall be
successful.
Elijah had long since demon
strated that he was absolutely fear
less, and sought no favor or glory
(read the entire story. Now in the
tenseness of this moment, he care
f,,llv rebuilds the altar of the true
God ". 3O), makes it testimony of
unitv to a divided Israel ". 81,
and he does it all in the name OF
the Lord ". 3O.
His prayer wv. SO, 3O is pro-
foundly simple expression of COM
plete faith in the true God and his
power. on the part of a man who
recognized himself as being only
the divine servant. He made no
plea that God would vindicate him
or his ministry. but he did plead
that the name Of the Lord should
he honored in the midst Of an un-
believing people.
'"The fire of the Lord fell" The
living prophets of heathendom were
routed. Many recognized Jehovah
as the true God. While Israel did
not long remember the lesson
learned here, the story has con-
tinued as a testimony that will