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Wednesday, October 16, 2024
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"The Danger Of Wavering"
Message
summary:
It
is absolutely
essential that
once we make a
resolute
commitment to
serve and
follow the
Lord we don't
hesitate or
waver.
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions?" (1 Kings 18:21).About 50 miles due north of us in the anthracite coal region is a small town named Mount Carmel. Sawmill operator, Albert Bradford, chose Mount Carmel because of its elevation and beautiful setting in the mountains. He decided that it deserved a special name and chose to name it after the holy mountain in Israel.
Mount Carmel, in the Bible, is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea toward the southeast. It is referenced most famously in today’s text (1 Kings 18:15-45), where a great contest took place between Elijah, a prophet of God, and all the prophets of Baal. In the daily text Elijah went before the people with a probing question.
The question is so fitting for any age and certainly our own. Elijah confronted the apostate, idolatrous northern Kingdom with this probing query, "How long will you waver between two opinions?" Another version words it, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions?"
Hesitation is not necessarily a bad thing. When making a large purchase we shouldn't rush right out and buy something. It might be good to hesitate and deliberate. When making a decision regarding our career choice or lifelong mate we certainly want to be very careful and deliberate in our consideration!
However it is absolutely essential that once we make a resolute commitment to serve and follow the Lord we don't hesitate or waver. The simple chorus often sung at baptism services says it all,
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
Sadly, the people of Israel wavered in their allegiance to God. Waver means to "vacillate irresolutely between choices". They were essentially double-minded. Many years later the Apostle James wrote, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8).
Consider these consequences of wavering:
* The wavering person is unproductive and ineffective in his service for Christ.
* The wavering person lacks peace and assurance.
* The wavering person lacks a steadfast testimony.
“How long will you waver between two opinions?" Elijah challenged the people to take a public and private stand - to give single-minded, fervent allegiance to the one true God. The challenge is for us today as well. If we drift along with whatever is popular, pleasant, or easy we will eventually discover that we too are worshiping a false god - the god of this age.
Let us be careful to examine our own hearts today, to be sure that we do not waver or hesitate in what we believe nor in our allegiance to the one true God.
Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, help
me to thirst
and hunger for
Your Living
Word where I
find
convincing
truths to
assure me,
"This is the
way. Walk in
it." I want to
keep my heart
fixed upon You
and my mind
certain of
Your truths in
this age where
false
religions
abound and the
broad way just
gets broader.
Jesus is the
Way, the Truth
and the Life
and I gain
entry to You,
my Father,
only through
Jesus the Son.
I've got a
made up mind
and I'm going
to follow You
during the
good and the
bad times, the
lean and
plentiful
periods.
Whether I
stand with
many or
whether I
stand alone, I
choose to
wholeheartedly
follow You.
Erase any
doubts, fears,
or wavering
opinions that
I might
entertain so
that I am
wholeheartedly
devoted to
You, the one
true God.
Amen.
Tomorrow we
will look at
the specific
prophetic
challenge
Elijah issued
to the people,
"If the
LORD is God,
follow Him;
but if Baal is
God, follow
him" (1
Kings 18:21).
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental
Resources
"I
Have Decided
To Follow
Jesus"
Listen
on YouTube
Selah
with an
African beat.
The powerful
story behind "I
Have Decided
To Follow
Jesus"
Video
I suppose when
I first heard
this song as a
young
Christian I
probably
assumed it was
written
sometime
shortly before
we sang it in
the early
seventies.
However the
lyrics go back
to the 1800's.
It was
popularized
with music
during the
early Billy
Graham
crusades.
"Days of
Elijah"
Listen
on YouTube
Brooklyn
Tabernacle
Choir
(Probably the
most
well-known
song
referencing
Elijah.)
The
last several
messages we
have shared
photos from a
gathering on a
dairy farm.
Brooksyne also
arranged for
my 60th
birthday a
gathering on
the farm of
our longtime
friends Galen
and Nancy
Martin.
Our gathering place was in a bank barn built in 1832 with three grade level entrances. Galen fired up the old FarmAll and I jumped on for a photo op. Lots of children in the wagon didn't show up due to the darkness in the barn.
Yesterday I had some business in town and came up behind this truck and trailer hauling from farm to market, It looked like pumpkins, squash and gourds, just what Chris, our Amish neighbor up the road grows.
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Encouragement
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ministry).
Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version and a variety of other versions.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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