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Let the fire fall

For twenty-eight years I have been speaking before retreat and seminar groups. Over the years, my motivation for this ministry has changed. At times I admit I have approached the world and the church with a desire to count people, fix them, and inform them. In the process, I sorted people and tried to harness them to projects of my own vision. I managed them, sometimes manipulated them, tried to contain some of them, and even judged them. But God wanted me to love them. So, he led me to repentance.

I have learned that it’s not important what I need to say to people. Even what they need to hear takes a back seat. Besides, other than the Lord, who is qualified to determine that? The priority is what God wants to communicate. In years past, I was concerned about how polished my speech was. I cared about my wisdom—or lack of it—and my ability to convince. I know now that a display of the Spirit’s power is what is prized. The apostle Paul would agree. “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God,” he confessed. “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor. 2:1,4-5).

My heart’s desire concluding any speaking venue is not that the people would leave saying, “She’s a great speaker.” Rather, I long for them to return home proclaiming, “What a great God!”

God’s fire has been burning in my soul. He is transforming me. The longing of my heart at present is that by his grace I would bring people right in front of Jesus; so close that he would reach out and touch them. Of course, I need to get out of the way for that to happen. I need to come alongside the longings of God’s heart for each of the people that he gives me the privilege of leading.

Many reading this magazine are church leaders. You are sincere in your love for Jesus and his people. You preach sermons, prepare Sunday school lessons, arrange discipling materials, and engage in Stephen ministries. Would you allow me to encourage you not to count, sort, inform, or try to fix the people you encounter under the steeple or out in the world? Would you consider bringing the charges God has given you right in front of Jesus? Would you let him show himself to them?

If you agree, then follow with me in some insights offered from a familiar Bible account. They are found in 1 Kings 18 and record the contest Elijah perpetrated with the prophets of Baal. It seems Elijah had an early whack at the folks under his care. He was sincere, he was right, and he was bold. In 1 Kings 18:22, “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.’” The peoples’ response was most telling. The record states: “The people said nothing.”

Nothing. Zip. Zilch.

Have you ever found yourself in such a scene? You pour out your heart. Your message is sincere. It’s right. It’s bold. But the people leave unmoved.

Contrast that response with what is written in 1 Kings 18:39. “When the people saw the fire fall, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!’”

We would do well to find out why the responses were so different. In the first instance Elijah came before the crowd with words alone. He told them what he needed to say and what they needed to hear. But the second instance came after he asked God to show himself. 1 Kings 18:36-37 says: “At the time of the 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 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.’” Verse 38 says: “Then the fire of the Lord fell.”

There are plenty of false prophets—like Baal worshippers—in the world today. Some of them are in the church and they are very religious. They call on their gods. They shout. They dance. They shout louder. They slash themselves until their blood flows. They prophesy frantically, but their god does not answer. And, perhaps saddest of all, the people continue wavering between two opinions.

Elijah called to the True God; the God whose blood flowed for us. It’s time we heed Elijah’s example. The altar of the Lord has been in ruins (1 Kings 18:30). It needs repair. We must call on the God of our fathers. “Let it be known that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning hearts back again.”

Let the fire fall!



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