From Clocker Valley in County Tyrone we present Let the Bible Speak. It's good to have you join us as Gospel Minister the Reverend Peter McIntyre is here to let the Bible speak and preach Christ in all his fullness. Good afternoon. Today we're going to be thinking upon the subject, Hesitating at the Crossroads of Eternity, from 1 Kings chapter 18. First, please listen to this lovely hymn. We praise thee, O God, for the Son of thy love, for Jesus, who died and is now gone above. Hallelujah! Find the glory! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Find the glory! Revive us again! We praise thee, O God, for the Spirit of life, Who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night. Hallelujah, thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen! Hallelujah, thine the glory! Revive us again! All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain, Who has borne all our sins, and hath cleansed every stain. Alleluia, Thine the glory! Alleluia on Him! Alleluia, Thine the glory! Revive us again! Revive us again! Revive us again! Fill each heart with Thy love. May each soul be rekindled with fire from above. Hallelujah! Find the glory! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Find the glory! Revive us again! Revive us again! There is one verse of scripture I would like to read to you this afternoon. It is found in 1 Kings chapter 18. It is the verse 21. This afternoon I would like to talk to you about the subject hesitating at the crossroads of eternity. The ancient world reveled in contests between the gladiators who fought each other to the death. Thousands watched as iron clashed with iron and muscle strained against muscle until one of the protagonists lay mortally wounded with his blood. spilt out upon the soil. Then with a brutality that would horrify our 21st century sensitivities, a great cheer went up for the victorious champion. Our 21st century version of popular contests are sporting occasions, fast moving encounters in the soccer field, physically bruising tussles on the rugby pitch, the suspense and concentration as the golf player holds his nerve or the power and determination of an athlete stretching for the line. All of this captures the imaginations of millions. Life and death are no longer the issues at stake, but money and pride are the prizes on offer which draw the players and their supporters. Here in 1 Kings chapter 18 we have a contest that was played out in the 8th century BC. To our modern minds it was certainly very peculiar in that it was a religious battle between two very different sets of ideas. This was no mere philosophical or theological debate however, because the issues at stake were quite literally, life, death and the destiny of an entire nation. The venue for the competition was Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean in the land that we would call Israel today. The spectators came from all over the nation, In their thousands they arrived, selecting a suitable vantage point to watch what would transpire on the summit of the hill, even they had never seen or heard of the lake before. Enter the protagonists, 450 prophets of Baal, 400 prophets of the groves. These were the men who had deeply influenced the religious life of Israel. Their business was idolatry, the sun god, the earth god, the river god. As these columns file up the hill, one solitary figure stands aloof in the summit. His name was Elijah, the one prophet of Jehovah, the only true and living God of Israel. I do not believe in gambling, but if there were bookmakers in those days, Elijah would not have been the favorite. The odds were stacked against him, 850 to 1. The contest was very strange. The worshippers of Baal would strap a bullet to an altar there on the hilltop, and they would cry unto their God to bring fire from heaven and consume their offering. Elijah would do the same, and the God who answered by fire would be the true God. Is it any wonder the people arrived in their thousands? This was the moment of a lifetime. No one wanted to miss out. Before the tournament began Elijah addressed the people. He was revealing his heart, his reason for coming to this mount, to face what ordinary men would have ran from. He was competing for a nation whom he loved. He wanted his people to get back to the true God. There were basically three groups of people on Carmel that day. There was Elijah. He had decided for God long ago. There were the false prophets who had chosen their path. Then there were the vast mass of people who were undecided. Elijah was concerned with those who stood between two opinions. Among those who are listening to this broadcast this afternoon, there are in all probability these three classes of people. You may have decided for Christ. I'm glad for you. You remember that time when you knelt at the foot of the old rugged cross, you cried unto Christ for mercy. You've decided for Jesus. You may be listening to this broadcast and you may be like the prophets of Baal. You are intent on choosing the devil and choosing this world. You do not want to become a Christian. You have made your mind up. I feel sorry for you. And then there may be others who are undecided. You halt between two opinions. You stand at the crossroads, not knowing which way to go. It is you I address. It is your heart I want to win. Therefore, with this in mind, I want you to think about this subject as we consider it from the life of Elijah, hesitating at the crossroads of eternity. Firstly, this position of hesitating at the crossroads of eternity Eternity is an untenable position. The man who sits on the fence wishes to have the best of every world. He thinks that he can ride two horses at once. He thinks that he can hold two political opinions at the same time. He supposes that he can be both gamekeeper and poacher. He is a man suffering from the greatest of delusions as he attempts to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. It would seem that the people of Israel in the days of Elijah were doing this very thing. They supposed that they could pay lip service to the traditional God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses. They could follow the ancient God of Israel and at the same time they could tolerate Baal worship. Indeed they thought that they could go and worship the gods of the heathen and still have Jehovah. This was an untenable position. You cannot have idolatry and you cannot have the true God at one and the same time. There is one God and he cannot tolerate any other gods. To believe there are many gods is to deny the true and living God of Israel, the God who fashioned the heavens and the earth out of nothing. Elijah was telling them, you cannot remain in this position. It is absolutely impossible. It is untenable. Could it be that this afternoon you find yourself at this crossroads? suffering from a spiritual delusion. There are pleasures you enjoy in this world. There are friends you want to keep in this world. There are people whom you don't want to offend in any way. There's a lifestyle you desire to live. And at the same time, you would like to be a Christian. You would like to know that you're going to heaven. You cannot have both. You cannot remain in that fence. You cannot stay on that crossroads. You either follow Christ or you either follow the world. You either have the devil or you have the saviour, but you cannot have both. This position is untenable. And then also notice that this position of hesitating at the crossroads of eternity was a prolonged position. Elijah said, how long halt ye between two opinions? How long have you been here in this place that is untenable? How long have you been standing, swinging in one direction and then in the other? How long have you been at the gospel crossroads? admitting that you need to be saved but you have not taken this step of faith. Perhaps you heard the gospel since you were a child. You learned precious memory verses. You were taught a catechism. The gospel was planted in your heart by praying godly parents and yet after all those years you're still at the crossroads. You have sat in gospel meetings. You have been moved. In your heart and soul you've been encouraged to seek God, but still you're at the crossroads. Many times you felt the preaching was for you. You've lifted gospel tracts, you've read them, you've met people at markets and at other public venues and they've talked to you about the Saviour. There have been friends and family who have invited you out to hear the gospel being preached. There have been people praying for you, you have been witness to, but still you hulk between two opinions. How many years, how many months, how many days have slipped past into eternity? It's been too long, hasn't it? All of this time is representative of the day of grace in which you're in. God has given you opportunities. He has given to you His Spirit. He has given you life. And how much longer will this continue? No man can guarantee you another moment of time, another sermon. And much more time are you going to waste before the sand finally runs through. And then it will be eternity and it will all be too late and all these opportunities will have served nothing. to provide damnation for you and to call you a guilty person before the judgment bar of God. Oh dear friend, this has been a prolonged position and yet the fact that you have turned away from Christ so many times is proof that God has been gracious. But even that day of grace runs out sometime. Today you have an opportunity. You have time. Don't waste this moment. This is your moment. This is your time for moving to Christ. for getting off this crossroads of eternity. Thirdly and finally, there is a challenging position here. You're challenged as you stand at the crossroads of eternity. Elijah said to the people, if Jehovah be God, follow him. But if Baal be God, then follow him. Make your decision, he said. Make a move. Make it now. Make this decision. Now we come to your moment. of decision. It may be your final time to make a choice, but I'm going to ask you as you listen to this radio program this afternoon, what will you do with Christ? What will you do with Jesus now at this time, at this moment? This may be the greatest defining moment in your life. This may be your hour of destiny. As Elijah spoke to the people, we are told there was silence. They were not convinced. They did not make a move. They said nothing. They could not argue against a servant of God, but yet they said nothing. Perhaps you have been like this. You have been saying nothing, been saying nothing for too long, even now. In your heart you are silent. And then the people became convinced. The prophets of Baal, they failed. They cried for their God to consume their offering. They cried to the sun when it was at its height. When the sun was at its hottest at midday, they cried, but still their offering lay cold upon that altar. There was no fire. The world will fail you. All that you're trusting in for life will fail you. Your pleasures, your wealth, whatever it is, is keeping you out of heaven. It's going to fail you. Your friends will fail you. Listen, I tell you something. Your friends may laugh you into hell, but they'll never laugh you out of it. Let the world go to hell, friend, but don't you go to hell with it." Elijah cried unto the Lord and fire fell. And as the fire fell, the people were convinced. They realized that Jehovah was the God and the only God. They were convinced by the fire that fell. They realized that there was reality in what Elijah preached. There was something real. Oh how can I show you that God is real? How can I show you that the Bible is true? Oh come with me to Calvary. Look upon the very form of Jesus Christ the Son of God who died for you. Yes he came as a child and he was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. We remember that at Christmas but why did the child come? He came that he might die. A young man 33 years of age. A spotless young man. A young man in whom was no fault. But yet he was more than a young man, he was the God of glory. And there he was lifted up to die, dying for me and dying for you. And the fire of God's wrath consumed his soul on that cross. Because of our sin, he took your hell and he took mine. And all you have to do is put your faith in Christ alone and you can be saved. So get off this crossroads of eternity. Go the way of the cross, for the way of the cross leads to glory. The way of the cross will only give you hope, and there you shall experience peace with God, the joy of sins forgiven. This afternoon, you bow your head, and you say, Lord, save me. I'm going Christ's way. I'm taking His path. I'm getting off the crossroads of eternity. Hesitating no longer. I pray that you will do this, and I thank you for listening. Goodbye. you've been listening to Let the Bible Speak. If we can be of any further spiritual help, or if you would like to receive some free gospel literature, we invite you to write to us. Our mailing address is Let the Bible Speak, Rev. Peter McIntyre, 13 Willand Crescent, 5 Mile Town, County Tyrone, BT75OQL. That's Let the Bible Speak, Rev. Peter McIntyre, Thirteen, Willand, Crescent, Five Mile Town, County Tyrone, BT75, OQL. You may hear Mr. McIntyre preach each Lord's Day here in Clocker Valley Free Presbyterian Church at 11.30am and 7pm. For further information you may phone us at 028 8952 1611. 028 8952 1611. We assure you of a very warm welcome at all the services and look forward to having you visit with us. Thank you for listening today. May the Lord richly bless you, and don't forget to tune in on this same station at the same time next week, when once again we turn to the scriptures and let the Bible speak.