Where is Your God?

1. Where is Your God? Robert C. Bliss, Jr. Sunday, May 07, 2006 1 Kings 19:11-14

2. Elijah challenges Baal on Mt. Carmel • 1Kings 18:21 • Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.

3. The challenge is fire • 1Kings 18:24 • “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “That is a good idea.”

4. Elijah taunts the prophets of Baal • 1Kings 18:27 • It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” • Where is your god?

5. The skeptics question • “If God is good, how could God let this happen?” (of 9/11) • “Would an all-powerful God stand by helplessly as Katrina sliced into America’s belly like a Florida-sized circular saw?” • So how many good and all-powerful gods do you know?

6. Where is your God in prayer? • New study shows that prayers don’t work • Nonetheless, the next time I get sick and someone says, "I'll pray for you," I'll respond: "Do me a favor and please don't. I'd like my chances for recovery to be as high as possible."

7. Elijah calls and God answers • 1Kings 18:37-38 • “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

8. Now God challenges Elijah • 1Kings 19:11-12 • So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.

9. Some claim to knowwhat God is doing • God is punishing America for her sins in 9/11 • God is punishing New Orleans for her sins • God kept the levies from breaking too soon • Did a prophet speak to them about this?

10. Religious celebrity's daughter • “I say God is also angry when he sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, ‘God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business, we want you out of our marketplace.”

11. Continued • “And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life. Removing his hand of blessing and protection.”

12. Now God challenges you • 1 Kings 19:12 • and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. • God comes in unexpected ways

13. Where we meet God

14. The cross finishes the story of God • The story begins at creation • The story takes a twist with sin and death • God promises Eve to fix sin • The story continues through Noah, Abraham, David, and finally Jesus • Everything that happened along the way is explained at the cross

15. People will ask of you: • Where is your God? • You will not be able to explain God’s purpose in natural disasters • They will not see God in those • Take them to the cross

16. You can enter the story of God • Romans 6:4-5 • Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,