(Week #24) Kingdom Power: Standing in the Gap (1 Kings 17:1-7; 18:17-40)

I. Israel’s Crisis (1 Kings 17:1-7)
A. King Ahab engaged in idolatry and wickedness more than the other northern kings. (16:32–33)
B. God sent Elijah to confront Ahab (17:1)
C. God hides Elijah from Ahab’s wrath (17:2-7)

II. Israel’s Challenge (1 Kings 18:17-29)
A. Elijah challenges Ahab and his prophets (v.17-20)
B. Elijah challenges Israel’s worldview (v. 21-22)
C. Elijah challenges Ahab’s god. (v. 23-29)
a. A contest between Baal and Yahweh. (23-24)
b. Baal’s prophets go first (25-29)
III. Israel’s Confession (1 Kings 18:30-40)
A. Elijah prepares his altar (v.30-35)
B. Elijah prays before the altar (v.36-37)
C. God’s fire consumes the altar and Israel Confess the One True God (v.38-40)

IV. Principles for the Christian
A. Be aware of areas in your worldview that are susceptible to false beliefs about God and the Christian life. Not all that is reported as truth is God’s truth.
B. The Word of God is sufficient and authoritative to address all of man’s goals, needs, and ills (spiritual, social, individual, and collective).

Thomas L. Constable, “1 Kings,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 526.
Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975), 17–18.
John MacArthur, “What is Truth?,” Online. Accessed June 13, 2019. https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/grace-to-you/read/articles/what-is-truth-11521.html
Charles Spurgeon, “Infallibility—Where To Find It and How To Use It,” Online. Accessed June 14, 2019. https://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons20.lix.html