Inspire, Fall/Winter 2009

24 FALL/WINTER 2009 The Greatness of God Tim Dowdy spoke in Cedarville’s chapel services on September 23 and 24. The following comes from his message on the second day, which focused on 1 Kings 18. The full message can be heard at www.ThePath.fm/chapel . Get a Head Start on College and Save Money! June 12–25, 2010 APPLY TODAY. 1-800-CEDARVILLE (233-2784) www.cedarville.edu/summerstudies High school juniors, plan now to spend two weeks at Cedarville next summer: • Study with top profs • Earn college credit • Make new friends • Experience college life! We’re all familiar with the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. At this point in Israel’s history, the people have compromised their faithfulness to God, so He raises up the prophet Elijah. But of course King Ahab hates Elijah, and the two of them get to a point of challenge when they agree to have a standoff to see whether Baal or Yahweh is the true God. Although we may have heard this story many times before, it stands as a good reminder for us to make sure we’re not distracted from the central message God is trying to communicate through it. When we read this story, two things get our attention. First, we’re struck by Elijah’s uncompromising faithfulness. Against 450 prophets, he’s willing to obey and honor God. He listens to God and stands up for Him despite what was happening around him. And he was a man of prayer, seeking God’s heart. The second thing we notice are the miracles. The prophets of Baal build their altar, lay their bull on it, and start calling on Baal, doing anything they can to manipulate their god into action. And absolutely nothing happens. Then Elijah drenches the altar with water and calls on the God of heaven, who sends fire to devour the offering, the altar, and everything around it to demonstrate that this was a supernatural event. As we study this story, it’s possible to become so fascinated with Elijah and the miracle that we miss what the text is really telling us. The point of this story is the greatness of God — how wonderful it is to know Him, how mighty He is in power, how great He is in strength. He is the Lord Almighty, the One who reigns, the Lord of life. He has no rivals in power. He devoured the offering and demonstrated Himself to be all-powerful. Not only that, He has no rivals in knowledge. He knew exactly what needed to happen to turn the hearts of Israel back to Him. He also has no rivals in compassion. Elijah’s prayer reveals the motive of God’s heart in verse 37: “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.” And that’s the whole point! Our God is unrivaled in compassion for us. It’s easy to read this story and say, “Elijah’s a cool guy. Those miracles are awesome.” But it’s not about the story: It’s all about God. My question for you today is simple: How great is your God? When you wake up in the morning, do you have a sense of wonder about the God who made everything, who holds everything together, who ordained the place and time that you should live? I would encourage you today, no matter what the environment looks like around you, never to lose the wonder of who God is and how He works. There’s nothing better than knowing that your life is secure in the hands of Almighty God. Tim Dowdy serves as senior pastor of Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia. You may contact him at tim@eagleslanding.org . “When you wake up in the morning, do you have a sense of wonder about the God who made everything?”