Are You Ready To Not Conform But Be Transformed?
Good Morning Friends,
Indecision is a problem for Israel during the time of Elijah.
People are having a hard time deciding whose side to be on. We face similar problems in our world today that challenges us to face up to today’s question. Are You Ready To Not Conform But Be Transformed?
Scripture: So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred fifty. Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no 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 is indeed God.” All the people answered, “Well spoken!” Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come closer to me”; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down; Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time, so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water. At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.”
1 Kings 18:20-39 (NRSV)
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-19 (NRSV)
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Matthew 6:24 (NRSV)
Message: When Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters,” he was talking about being doubleminded and the very nature of love and hate in relationship to God’s laws. And that is where our culture exists today. Our society beckons for our attention and worship of unholy masters. It is the way of death. Our culture trains us to serve multiple leaders…to go to church as a respectable Christian and then also serve the gods of culture and economics. Elijah speaks to this very same issue as Christ, sharing a strong message that we are not to conform. We are to be transformed. Friends, here we learn that Christian morality is more than keeping a set of rules and regulations. The Christian character is shaped by our relationship with Jesus who embodied both the law and the prophets and shares with us a way to righteousness. Only when we are empowered by the righteousness of Christ can we show forth His virtue in ours. We are to give ourselves to God, renew our mind and let God shape our thinking, attitudes and values. Then and only then can we test and prove God’s good and perfect will for our lives.
Pray we like Elijah not compromise our faith. Pray we not offer senseless sacrifices to the gods of our culture. Pray we give ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. Pray we not imitate society’s bondage but be transformed by the strong instruction of Jesus that mere outward conformity will never suffice. Pray we are in a continual relationship with Jesus in the word and sacrament, and devotions we offer. Pray we realize that the law is fulfilled in Jesus. Pray our mind is renewed and the law be written on our hearts. Pray we are obedient not as a means of salvation but as an expression of our love and service in the miracle of Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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