Who do you trust with Life and Death?

June 5, 2016 1 Kings 18:20-46 Luke 7:1-10 Who has the power of life and death in your life? Year C In the lectionary for the summer, the Hebrew bible lesson will be about the life of the prophets. So I am planning on concentrating on the important life lessons these great men (and they only tell us the stories of the men). But they teach us some great lessons. Last week we started the story of Elijah. Elijah just shows up one the scene one day, walking down the road on a journey one day. When his journey is done, he disappears from the scene in much the same way. But today I want to start by pointing out that Elijah’s ministry started out in a drought. Elijah’s first job as a prophet was to tell the people that there would be neither rain nor dew for a few years until God said so. Elijah realized that there were some things that needed to be corrected in their attitude. I feel like I am going through a little of a drought in life myself, where things are just not falling into place. But I am realizing also, that this is not a time to despair, to give up. It is a time to reach within my spirit, and to realize what is there. Who am I, what does God expect me to overcome, where does my help amd my strength come from. But this is not just about me, when I listen to the headlines I think they we are in a time of drought also. It is supposed to rain today – but I think that we are in a spiritual drought. A time when we have a whole lot of problems, but not a whole lot of solutions. A time when people are questioning everything. It seems like all of the coverage on the problem of violence is making it worse. Instead of people putting the guns down, they are even more encouraged to used them. This year we seem to be losing our heros and role models at an alarming rate. But the most telling part for me they we are in a societal drought is the way we make collective decisions, and work together. Or in reality, we don’t work together.Even at general conference, I felt that this was the second time in 8 years where we were so afraid of making a definitive decision about anything, so afraid of alienating people with what we think, we didn’t think about anything. Even at the local annual conference level it was announced that there would be no new legislation. We are going to meet for three days, but there will be no debates, no discussion, no real decisions. We are so afraid of different opinions, we don’t talk. This is a national election year, and our nation is at the same point. People are questioning wether to vote for either candidate. Some say that they are satisfied with neither. Paul Ryan said that the Republican party must united before the fall. Someone said that it took them a minute to realize that he was talking about uniting before autumn, and not before the total decline of the republican party, and ultimately our whole political system. Elijah asks his people a question, but he asks us the same question – How long will you hobble between two opinions. If the Lord is God then follow God, If Baal is God then follow Baal- the people gave no answer. I think that every generation is faced with that same choice. Who do your trust with your life? Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. We know that answer- but we still have a problem with making a choice. No matter how one sided the race really is- we still want to feel that we have a choice. But as long as I have a choice, I don’t have to make a choice. Or I can make a stupid choice in order to spite others. Now I know that you are going to say – Pastor making a choice for God, and making a choice between Hillary and Donald are not quite the same. And you are right, but the point that Elijah was making, was that in a time of drought, we have a problem making a solid decision at all about anything. In the 1 Kings story Elijah challenges the Gods of Baal to a test to see which God is the strongest. The King of Israel, Ahab who should believe in God, has married Jezebel who worships another God. She has introduced her religion into Israel, and the people don’t know what to believe. So Elijah challenges to the priest of Baal. Let us see whose God is the strongest. They create an altar to see which God will consume the sacrifice. God comes in a fire - and the people are able to chose God as their God. What will it take for the people of today to chose God as their God. What will it take to see the power of God in our lives? What will it take for people to learn how to make decisions – healthy decisions about their own best interest? What will it take for people to see their their health, wellbeing, and strength all come from God? What will it take to see that aside from God’s choices, it is next to impossible for us to make a choice. Bear in mind, God had called the drought, and it was the conditions of the drought that made it hard for the people to choose right from wrong. And yet God said that until you choose me, the drought will continue. God is still asking us to choose God. God is still asking us to put God first as we make our decisions. No matter how much Hillary, or Bernie, or even Donald talk about themselves – they can do nothing outside of the power of God. Meanwhile, we still have to make a decision. In order to get the people to see clearly enough to make a decision, Elijah did three things. First he rebuilt the altar of the Lord. I think that it is so hard for our kids to see God at work in the world, because so many of our sacred places in life have been destroyed. The family is not sacred anymore, the church is not sacred, respect is not sacred. If you don’t know anything about the church, there is no place in our society for people to come and to encounter God. We have to rebuild our altars, so people can encounter God. Second of all Elijah prayed- he called upon the Lord in the midst of the situation. He said Lord I am your servant, and if your are really God then answer me. We have to pray for rain I the midst of a drought. We have to pray for change, We have to pray for common sense, It is too late to choose new presidential candidate, we can pray that God will prevail. Last of all, Elijah knew for sure when God had finally arrived. It rained, and Elijah praised God for the rain. Text Illustration: God’s Grace Is Like Lightning and Transforms Whoever it Strikes Martin Luther found that out. Walking through the forest one day, praying and working through spiritual torment, literally, the lightning did strike close by. And he felt that as the summons of God. Luther came closer, and when God sent the lightning strike, it was grace. It was what he needed to turn his life around. John Wesley found it out. Serving as a missionary in the Georgia penal colony, he was a miserable failure. He sailed home in distress, not sure what he would do with the rest of his life. But in a little chapel in Aldersgate Street in London, listening to someone comment on the Scripture, Wesley says that he "felt his heart strangely warmed, and did know that Christ was his savior." Wesley came closer, and when the lightning struck and God got his attention, he found that it was grace, all grace, and hope. Jim Vaus found it out. As a professional criminal, working for the Cohen gang in New York City, Vaus chose to steal, swindle, maim, or even kill to get what he wanted. But there was a nagging feeling inside that it meant nothing. The things that do not satisfy. The FBI arrested Jim Vaus and he was sent to prison. But in prison he heard the gospel, and knew that it was for him. The last I knew, Jim Vaus, ex-criminal, ex-con, was running a youth ministry in a place aptly called Hell’s Kitchen. The lightning struck, and it was grace. From a sermon by Joseph Smith, Standing Close to the Lightning Strike, 11/19/2009 Sometimes God sends a drought in our lives, to help us to open our hearts and souls to the needs for God in our lives. Sometimes God sends us situations where we may have to actually think about our choices and come out of our automatic decisions, and we have to put serving God first as our priority. But if we are faithful, if we wait on the Lord and we trust that the Lord is coming- God will be God- the real God in our lives and in the lives of the world. Let us pray… Children’s Sermon: Have the children make a choice and tell why they made a choice.