Gifts and Talents

      Elijah Challenged the prophets of Baal to prove who was God. If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. The prophets of Baal cried out from morning to evening, and cut themselves to bring fire to the sacrifice, but to no avail. Then it was Elijah’s turn. He rebuilt the altar with 12 stones and dug a trench around the altar and poured 12 water pots over the alter and the bull and asked God to burn the sacrifice. The fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust and the water. Then Elijah took all of the prophets of Baal and executed them. It was a great victory.

      When King Ahab told Queen Jezebel all that Elijah had done, she sent messengers to Elijah saying, she would kill him by this time tomorrow. What did the great man of God do? He ran away and sat under a tree and asked God to take his life.

      Whenever we do anything for the Lord we will come under attack. Whatever we do either small or great the enemy does not like our doing anything that advances the Kingdom of God. It does not matter if we are builders of church buildings or teachers in the church, the enemy will come against us. But he cannot overcome us. We have no fear of our enemies. Our God fights for us and He has given us the authority over our enemies. We will overcome all opposition that comes our way.

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      New King James Version
1 Kings 18:31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name."
32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood."
34 Then he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time; and he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time.
35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.
37 "Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

      New King James Version
1 Kings 19:1 ¶ And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time."
3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"