Fire From Heaven

King Ahab And Jezebel

I often hear people say how far we have fallen. They say the world has gotten darker over the last few decades. Yes, we seem to be heading in the wrong direction, but we cannot forget the stories of the Bible. Sodom and Gomorrah were not great places before God destroyed them. There are countless stories that will shock you with how evil the people were.

One of the moments in history we can find such evil is the time of King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. They were some of the most evil people mentioned in the Bible. In fact, there is only one demonic spirit named in the Bible and that is the spirit of Jezebel.

Elijah

King Ahab and Jezebel pointed people away from God to worship Baal. Elijah was the only prophet of God left, while Scripture says there were 450 prophets of Baal. Any time you feel outnumbered, think about Elijah in this situation. You can read this entire story in 1 Kings 18:20-40.

Elijah confronted 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 NIV). He is telling them what Jesus said to the church in Laodicea: you are lukewarm (Revelation 3:16). They needed to choose a side and to stop wavering between the two sides.

Elijah continues by saying, “Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets 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” (1 Kings 18:23-24).

All the people said this was a good idea, so they got the bulls. Now, this is what I wish I could have witnessed. The prophets of Baal shouted out to Baal and got no answer. They danced around the alter to Baal and got no answer. Elijah taunts them, “Maybe you should shout louder.” He even said, “Maybe your god is busy or sleeping. Shout even louder.” They shouted louder, they danced longer, and they even cut themselves and shed blood, and yet, nothing happened.

Fire From Heaven

Now it was Elijah’s turn. Here is what the scriptures say: “At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the 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, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, 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” (1 Kings 18:36-38 NIV).

Seriously, don’t you wish you could have seen this all unfold? But we find the most important part of the story in verse 39: “When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!’”

Repentance

They repented. What does every revival begin with? Repentance! They saw the power of God and they fell to their knees and repented and claimed that He is God.

God revealed His power then, and He still does it today. Many of us have stories where we have witnessed God’s power, but do we share it? Often, I am asked about how I was healed from Lyme Disease. I had a fantastic doctor, but I attribute the full healing to God. I had a miraculous moment where I know God healed me and you can read that here.

I find that story easy to tell when I am with other believers. Not all receive it, but most do. When I am asked about my healing to non-believers, I find myself hesitating to tell them about the miracle because of how they will react. God recently convicted me that I need to tell the story to everyone that asks. Why? Because it reveals His power.

Your Testimony

Revelation 12:11 says, “They triumphed over him (the enemy) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” I added the parenthesis. It is by our testimonies that we overcome. So why would I not want to share?

I encourage you today to begin sharing your stories with others. Do not be afraid of how they may react. Trust me, I have seen some strange faces when I share my story. But, every time you share, you are planting a seed and you never know how that seed will get watered and the life that is changed because of it.

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