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2 Kings 2 (Part 2) Bible Study (Elisha Succeeds Elijah) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  I couldn't help but personally rejoice in the Lord in light of
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  this news because of what we're studying today.
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  Because as we come to the remainder of Second Kings
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  chapter 2, what we're going to discover is a minister who has
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  been taken and how God has a plan still a minister who is
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  removed, though not for the same reason why many ministers are
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  removed from ministry today, who ended faithfully, was taken into
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  heaven in a miraculous way. And what we're going to discover
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  is how the one of the greatest men of God is taken from the
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  people of God, God's message, God's word, God's plan has not
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  been shaken. It goes according to his plan,
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  actually. And so I just can I tell you
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  something about these Bible studies in the past few years,
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  and it's really since the time we began, though we're
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  systematically going through books in the Bible chapter by
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  chapter, verse by verse. It has never failed where God
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  has come through with a message, with a study that is needed for
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  a situation, whether it's locally, regionally, nationally,
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  internationally. I can't tell you the amount of
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  times how on a specific Friday night, God spoke to a situation
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  that was occurring that week or even that very day.
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  It is incredible how this book is supernatural when we honor
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  it, God really speaks through it.
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  And so I encourage you to carry in your heart of faith and a
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  posture of reverence as we come to the Word of God because He's
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  going to speak to us. He's going to meet with us, and
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  he meets with those who hunger to experience that.
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  And so I want you to pray with me now as we are ready to turn
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  and ask God to help us in this text.
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  Lord, we do thank you for the study this evening.
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  We thank You that You have ordained this night to speak to
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  our hearts as we've come to meet with Your Word, to meet with the
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  God of the Word. And so, Lord, we do pray and we
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  do beseech that You would help us by the power of the Holy
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  Spirit to experience all that You have designed to determine
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  for Your people to know through this portion of Scripture.
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  So, Lord, open our eyes, open our minds, open our hearts to
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  receive everything that You desire for us to have.
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  We give You glory in advance, and we pray for the help of the
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  Holy Spirit and the delivery and the reception of this study.
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  We pray these things in the precious name of the Lord Jesus
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  Christ, Amen. Meet with me in Second Kings
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  chapter 2. Let's begin together in verse
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  13. And I want us to read the
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  entirety of the rest of this chapter to get an understanding
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  of the picture that we are going to delve into together.
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  Second Kings chapter 2, beginning in verse 13.
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  And let's read all the way down to verse 25, it says here.
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  And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him
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  and went back and stood on the Bank of the Jordan.
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  Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and
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  struck the water, saying, Where is the Lord the God of Elijah?
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  And when he had struck the water, the water had parted, was
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  parted to the one side and to the other, and Elijah went over.
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  Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw
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  him opposite them, they said, The spirit of Elijah rest on
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  Elijah, and they came to meet him and bow to the ground before
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  him. And they said to him, Behold,
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  now there are with your servants 50 strong men, please let them
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  go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the
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  Lord has caught him up, and cast him upon some mount, or into
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  some valley. And he said, You shall not send.
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  But when they urged them till he was ashamed, he said, send.
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  They sent there for 50 men, and for three days they sought him,
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  but did not find him. And they came back to him while
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  he was staying at Jericho. And he said to them, Did I not
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  say to you, Do not go now The men of the city said to Elijah,
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  Behold, the situation of the city is pleasant, as my Lord
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  sees, but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.
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  He said, Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.
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  So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of
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  water and threw salt in it, and said, Thus says the Lord, I have
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  healed this water. From now on neither death nor
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  miscarriage shall come from it. So the water has been healed to
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  this day. According to the word that
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  Elijah spoke, he went up from there to Bethel.
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  And while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of
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  the city and jeered at him, saying, Go up you bald head, Go
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  up you bald head. And he turned around, and when
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  he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord.
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  And two she bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of the
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  boys. From there he went on to Mount
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  Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
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  From this moment on, you and I are going to continue to unravel
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  the history of Israel and Judas kings without the prophet Elijah
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  being in the picture. In God's perfect wisdom, he
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  deemed it right to miraculously and permanently remove this man
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  of God from the scene. But in God's rich mercy, he did
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  not abandon His people in doing so, but he raised up a
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  successor, namely Elisha, to be the new leading prophet for this
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  generation. And as we start to examine
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  Elijah's initial steps as a prophet, navigating this new
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  role without the guidance of Elijah, we're going to notice
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  some remarkable things. But what we have to understand
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  is that this pivotal point in Israel's history, he will emerge
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  as the prominent prophetic figure, and he will be the focus
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  of numerous studies ahead. So brace yourselves.
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  It's going to be an exciting time as we look at this man of
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  God and what he does for the glory of God.
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  And right away there seems to be no, no, no delay in action,
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  particularly no delay in miraculous power being
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  manifested through this man's ministry.
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  In fact, if you caught on to it, we see from verse 13 to verse 25
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  several miracles that take place and such quick timing and such a
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  brief amount of transition. We see him doing particularly
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  three things. There are three miracles that
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  Elisha performs by the power of God.
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  That will be the way we frame this study.
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  I want us to look at each of these miracles.
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  And by looking at each of these miracles, we can trust that they
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  have much to offer us in terms of lessons and practical truths
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  and understandings, in terms of the character of God, the nature
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  of God, the nature of man. And so I want you, if you can
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  with me, divide your thoughts in this passage with these
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  miracles. And the first one that we're
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  going to consider is in verse 13 down to verse 17.
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  Miracle number one in our study is the crossing of the Jordan,
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  The crossing of the Jordan. Now, if this miracle looks
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  familiar, we read it together. It's because it is.
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  Where did we see this before? Any idea where we saw them?
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  This miracle performed in the very same chapter?
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  Not not Joshua necessarily. That's what we concluded when
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  Elijah and Elijah crossed through the Jordan originally.
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  But in the very same chapter back in verse 8, we learned that
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  Elijah, accompanied by Elijah, crossed the same water with the
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  same instrument and were brought through to the final departure
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  destination before Rather Elijah's departure into heaven.
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  And now we have Elijah who is returning back to his home and
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  is now faced with the same barrier and he's going to
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  confront it in the same way. He's going to take the cloak
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  that Elijah left behind. Remember when he ascended into
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  heaven, he left behind his mantle.
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  And now Elijah is going to take that very same article of
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  clothing, and he's going to hope that God is going to come
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  through in the same way he did for his predecessor.
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  And what we learn is that it does happen.
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  But the fact that Elijah does this should not confuse us
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  because it would be a great mistake to think that it's the
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  cloak that contain power. It was not Elijah's mantle that
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  provided any kind of supernatural assistance.
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  Notice again here back in verse 14.
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  Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and
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  struck the water, saying, where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?
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  So Elijah's confidence was not in his mentor, was not even in
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  what his mentor left behind for him.
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  Elijah's confidence was in the God of Elijah, and I believe
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  what Elijah is doing here is he's praying.
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  It's a brief prayer. It's a sigh of a prayer, but
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  it's a prayer nonetheless. And it reveals the ultimate
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  source of his trust. It's not in the cloak, it's not
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  in Elijah again, but it is in the God of Elijah.
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  And one of the key lessons from this miracle is that you and I
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  have to learn, if we're going to see any spiritual success, to
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  rely on the Lord. And that reliance is ultimately
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  expressed through prayer. And the fact that Elisha does
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  this at the beginning of his ministry, really with this first
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  miracle that he's going to perform, reveals that this was
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  foundational for him and it is foundational for us.
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  It has to be foundational for us to build everything that we do,
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  any effort, any plan, any endeavor, with the realization
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  that we cannot know true effectiveness unless God
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  intervenes on our behalf. You have to learn how to depend
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  on God and to seek His help in prayer.
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  That's what we see right away. And it's not that methods are
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  wrong. It's not that resources are not
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  helpful. It's not that people in our
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  lives don't play a role. But we have to understand that
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  apart from God extending His hand, dispensing His grace, no
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  matter what we have at our disposal, it is futile.
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  So Elijah uses an instrument, right?
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  He's going to use a cloak to, to create a dry path for him to
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  cross that border. But that cloak is powerless.
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  It has no value if God is not behind, behind it, animating it
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  and energizing it by his Spirit. And you have to believe the same
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  about your efforts. You have to believe that no
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  matter what you do with your hands, no matter what position
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  you have been granted, if the Lord is not with you in his
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  empowering mercies, then you will not know true fruit.
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  You will not know true fruit. And you access that grace when
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  you pause and pray before you pursue or participate.
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  That's what this man does right at the outset of everything,
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  right at the moment where Elijah is taken and Elijah takes his
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  place. We find him at the brink at the
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  start and he, he prays. Where is the Lord the God of
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  Elijah? And we can move on, but I can't
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  help but look at what he prays or how he prays.
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  How does he pray? You know what he could have
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  said? Where is the Lord the God of
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  Israel? He doesn't pray that.
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  And it's not that he doesn't believe that God is not the God
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  of Israel. So why does he say, where is the
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  Lord, the God of Elijah? Well, the obvious answer is that
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  he needed the same God who helped Elijah perform his duty
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  to help him perform his duty. But I believe there's something
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  even deeper than this because Elijah could have addressed the
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  Lord in many ways. He could have referred to the
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  Lord in other amazing ways, but he chooses to speak about the
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  Lord in connection to Elijah. And here's what I believe.
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  It's because Elijah's personal relationship with the Lord made
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  a monumental impact on Elijah. All that he had seen, all that
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  he had heard in Elijah, his mentor, his teachers walk with
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  the Lord made such an impact on him that he desired the same
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  walk that his master had. And I think this is something so
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  important to understand. If you doubt that Elijah was
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  impacted by Elijah, look back at how he refers to Elijah in verse
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  12. This is when Elijah was raptured
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  into heaven. And as Elijah is beholding this
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  site, notice how he calls out them in Second Kings 212.
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  And Elijah saw it and he cried. My father, my father, pause.
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  That's how you and I understood that Elijah had this personal
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  relation, this intimate relationship with his master.
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  It wasn't, it wasn't professional merely, it wasn't
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  formal, it wasn't educational merely.
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  There was a real heart to heart connection.
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  He calls him my father, my father, but he doesn't stop
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  there. Notice what else he says?
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  The Chariots of Israel and it's horsemen.
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  And he saw him no more now that's that's him still
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  addressing Elijah. He's not addressing the Chariots
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  that came the the miraculous Chariots there that separated
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  the two. He is he is addressing Elijah as
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  the Chariots of Israel and its horsemen.
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  What does that mean? Well, let me ask you something.
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  What do Chariots and horsemen represent for a nation at this
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  time? What did that signify?
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  Your army, your strength, your protection, your confidence in
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  some way. So do you know what Elijah is
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  saying about Elijah? That Israel's true strength,
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  Israel's true protection was actually found in this man of
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  God, in this man's presence, his message, his intercession.
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  In essence, what's happening here is that when Elijah has
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  been taken up, Elijah understands as a great loss for
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  the people of Israel. You think that this is an
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  exaggeration? Do you remember how Elijah is
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  addressed when he is about to die?
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  Turn to 2nd Kings 13. Look at look at it with me in
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  verse 14. This is when Elijah would be
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  removed from the earth, but in a far different way.
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  It's amazing how with Elijah, he was taken up in such splendor
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  and miraculous fashion and Elijah is going to be taken.
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  Well, look at it with me in verse 14 of Second Kings 13.
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  Now when Elijah had fallen sick, now look at that.
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  So guy who performed many miracles, including healing the
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  sick, fell sick and that's how he would die.
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  That's a very important insight for those who believe that
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  Christians should never be sick. And there are thousands, in fact
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  millions of people who believe that.
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  Now when Elijah had fallen sick with the illness of which he was
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  to die, Joash, king of Israel, went down to him and wept before
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  him, crying, My father, my father, the Chariots of Israel
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  and its horsemen. So in the same way that Elisha
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  address Elijah, now we see here the king of Israel addresses
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  Elisha by saying what you are, the Chariots of Israel and its
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  horsemen. In a metaphorical way, you are
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  the strength of this people. You, you are the true deliverer
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  as you represent God as this nation's prophet.
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  So I, I say all that to say that Elijah really was influenced and
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  impressed by Elijah and his walk with the Lord.
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  And so when he says, where is the Lord God of Elijah, he's
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  really saying, I, I want, I want God to walk with me like he did
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  with Elijah. I need him.
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  And if he's truly called me, then he, he has to come.
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  He has to come through for me. There are many people in this
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  life, in this generation who want to influence others towards
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  something. In fact, there's a whole genre,
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  there's a whole breed of people even in Gen.
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  Z who are called influencers. I have most of them are not
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  influencing anybody for anything significant.
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  But if you're going to desire to influence anyone towards
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  anything, may it be this. So let me speak, let me speak
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  briefly to fathers and mothers and siblings, especially older
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  siblings, aunts and uncles, teachers, pastors.
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  Be encouraged by this that it is indeed possible to live for the
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  Lord Jesus Christ in such a manner that it would encourage
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  others to yearn for their own devotion with the Lord.
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  In fact, that is what God designed leadership in the
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  church to be. So when I was meditating on this
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  last night, my mind went to Hebrews 13, seven and you know
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  this passage very well where the Lord says, remember your
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  leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God, consider the
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  outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
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  So listen, leaders are not just called to speak the word of God,
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  but showcase through their practical day-to-day living of
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  the blessing of serving God. So in other words, leaders have
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  been have been positioned to cause others to say, I want that
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  Christ focused passion. I want that Christ energized
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  purity. I want that Christ inspired joy.
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  So this is this is a high call for those who are summoned to
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  serve the Lord and the local church.
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  Their lives are to radiate that kind of inspiration.
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  It's more than just speaking the word.
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  It's allowing people to see what the word lived out produces and
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  for it to be contagious. At the same time, as much as
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  there is a responsibility for leaders to motivate, that's not
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  the intention of this verse. That's not the primary command
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  of this verse. There is a mandate for those who
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  are under such leaders to imitate.
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  So leaders motivate and people who are under such leadership
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  have to imitate. Not replicate, but imitate.
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  In other words, when the Lord visibly works in overseers in
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  your life, it is meant for you to realize that I have something
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  to aspire to in my own faith. Do you understand that God
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  presents models to you, namely through the leadership in your
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  local church. And if they're a godly
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  leadership, all the better not for you to admire them from a
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  distance, but for you to look at their lives and say, that's
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  possible for me. Then I can know that blessing in
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  my marriage. I can know that blessing with my
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  children. I can know that joy in prayer
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  and in holiness. And how we see that translating
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  between Elijah and Elijah is is clear right here in verse 14.
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  What was Elijah known for according to James?
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  Yes, he was a man with a nature like ours.
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  But why did James draw from Elijah to present him as an
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  example to the Christians that he was writing to?
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  What was it for? Prayer?
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  He was a man of prayer. What's Elisha doing in verse 14?
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  He's praying. And I think to myself, don't
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  underestimate your faithfulness and what it can do to others.
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  That's not your primary goal. It's a byproduct as you love the
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  Lord with everything that's in you.
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  And my, my meditation went further.
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  I thought to myself, what if Elijah had succumbed to the
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  temptation of discouragement because he lived amid national
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  apostasy? What if he allowed his zeal to
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  cool down because he felt as though there was no true
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  response to his ministry? And that is another lesson in
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  itself. If you want one Sure way of your
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  faith blessing others, live jealously for the glory of God,
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  even if nobody else does. Just live for the Lord.
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  Who cares who doesn't live for the Lord?
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  Who cares? Whose content in their
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  lukewarmness? Who cares?
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  Who treats the local church like who cares?
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  Who doesn't Study and relish in the Word of God?
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  Who cares of those who don't pray?
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  Who cares? Who cares?
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  You live devoted to the Lord and watch how God will use that to
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  make an impact on someone. And in this case it was Elijah.
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  And so he asked for the Lord, the God of Elijah, and God comes
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  through. He'd struck the water.
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  The water was parted to the one side and to the other, and
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  Elijah went over. Now look at what happens in
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  verse 15. We're still under our lessons
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  from the first miracle. Now when the sons of the
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  prophets who were at Jericho, Psalm opposite them, they said,
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  the spirit of Elijah rest on Elijah, and they came to meet
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  him and bowed to the ground before him.
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  What do we have here? We have your very important
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  illustration that is applicable to anybody who aspires to serve
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  God in any capacity. God not only had Elijah part the
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  the sea there, the waters of the Jordan, so that he would know
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  that the Lord was with him, He did the same so that others
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  would know that the Lord was with him.
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  If God has truly called you to some kind of a ministry, He will
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  work on your behalf to identify that to others.
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  You do not have to advertise yourself.
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  You do not have to pressure others.
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  You don't have to try to convince them of your gifting or
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  of your calling. When God truly has His hand on
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  your life, others will recognize that, at least those who need to
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  recognize it. And there's so many
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  illustrations that throughout the Word of God.
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  That is not where I want to focus because there's something
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  about the sons of the prophets that I want to look at.
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  It's not just how they came and approached Elijah with an
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  initial respect, but they also came with an itching skepticism.
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  So they bowed down before him. But notice what happens in verse
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  16. And they said to him, behold,
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  now there are with your servants 50 strong men.
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  Please let them go and seek your master.
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  And maybe that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast
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  him upon some mountain or to some valley.
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  So what are they saying essentially?
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  Well, we recognize that you are are the new director of our
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  seminary, but we want to, we want to make sure that Elijah
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  actually was taken up into heaven.
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  This is not innocent. This is not a group of people
• 23:46
  who knew a leader for some time and are trying to adjust with
• 23:49
  transition. All transitions in life can be
• 23:52
  difficult, especially when there's a change in spiritual
• 23:55
  leadership. But that's not what's happening
• 23:57
  here. This should disturb us to a
• 24:00
  degree because these sons of the prophets understood that Elijah
• 24:05
  was to be taken up into heaven. Do you remember when Elijah and
• 24:08
  Elijah were going from one place to the next and in two of those
• 24:11
  places the sons of the prophets approached and they went to
• 24:13
  Elijah and I said, do you know? Do you know that today the Lord
• 24:16
  is going to take away your master from over You guys
• 24:18
  remember that study? They knew it.
• 24:20
  It was made known to them that Elijah was to be removed and
• 24:24
  replaced. So what is it that they're doing
• 24:29
  here By begging Elijah to create a search committee to try to
• 24:34
  find Elijah? I believe that the most fitting
• 24:39
  explanation is that while they acknowledge Elijah as their new
• 24:42
  leader, they wanted to confirm Elijah's departure before fully
• 24:45
  accepting it. This is unbelief.
• 24:52
  This is unbelief. And what's even more
• 24:56
  discouraging is that when they asked this, look at how Elijah
• 25:00
  responds at the end of verse 16 and he said you shall not send.
• 25:03
  In other words, you're wasting your time.
• 25:07
  The Lord did take him. No matter where you look, how
• 25:10
  many people you send, it's not going to amount to anything.
• 25:15
  But his instructions made no difference.
• 25:17
  They persisted. They asked.
• 25:18
  We want to know to the point where it says he was ashamed.
• 25:22
  And it's not that he gave in to the pressure.
• 25:24
  He says, you know what, I'm going to teach him a lesson the
• 25:26
  hard way. Let him learn by going, OK,
• 25:28
  fine, go. And so they go.
• 25:33
  And as we conclude the thoughts from Elijah's first miracle,
• 25:36
  there are two things to learn, one from the sons of the
• 25:39
  prophets and one from their new leader.
• 25:42
  OK, the first thing is that the sons of the prophets were
• 25:46
  disobedient. They were unbelieving and they
• 25:49
  were disobedient. And whenever you are unbelieving
• 25:52
  and whenever you're disobedient, it always cost you something.
• 25:55
  Always. And in this case it cost them
• 25:58
  their energy and it cost them their time.
• 26:01
  Notice what happens here verse 17.
• 26:04
  And when they urged them till he was ashamed, he said send.
• 26:08
  They sent there for 50 men, and for three days they sought him,
• 26:11
  but did not find him. You could have used those three
• 26:13
  days for better things. So imagine looking up the hills,
• 26:18
  looking to every cave valleys for three long days with no
• 26:23
  results. Unbelief leaves you stranded.
• 26:29
  Listen. It leaves you unsatisfied.
• 26:31
  Always God says one thing and you listen to your flesh.
• 26:36
  Instead, you're convinced and persuaded by your own wisdom or
• 26:39
  the wisdom of others. And for these guys, it took him
• 26:43
  three days to realize that God was right all along.
• 26:45
  You know what happens with some people I've seen?
• 26:47
  I've seen them take much more time than three days, three
• 26:51
  years before they get get it. People, they understand.
• 26:54
  You know what I grew up hearing about in the Word of God?
• 26:56
  Well, my parents taught me what the pastor was saying when I was
• 26:59
  barely awake. They're actually right.
• 27:02
  For some people it's three years.
• 27:03
  You know, for other people it's actually 3 decades before it
• 27:07
  finally clicks. Jesus Christ is the truth.
• 27:11
  He is truly Lord. I've wandered and I've searched
• 27:15
  for all these years only to realize that I was a fool.
• 27:21
  I hope it takes you 3 seconds to get it.
• 27:24
  Not even 3 days. I hope that if you're in this
• 27:26
  place and you've not fully strengthened to the Lord Jesus
• 27:28
  Christ, you would not have to learn the hard way.
• 27:31
  You would learn by just trusting what God has to say.
• 27:35
  Unfortunately, that was not the case.
• 27:36
  These men were disappointed. I promise you, you'll be
• 27:38
  disappointed too, if you choose to be the Lord of your own life,
• 27:42
  or if you choose to not trust God in a certain area.
• 27:46
  No matter how passionate or convinced you are, no matter how
• 27:48
  difficult it is to embrace what God has to say about it, if you
• 27:52
  don't obey it, you will come out losing, I assure you.
• 27:56
  But Speaking of timing, there's a lesson to learn from Elijah's
• 28:02
  perspective. Consider it from his angle.
• 28:07
  Here's this man who has been left behind, who is now going to
• 28:10
  operate as a prophet without any really human help.
• 28:13
  He comes to the waters of Jordan, of the Jordan.
• 28:16
  He strikes it, and the Lord proves himself, I'm with you,
• 28:19
  I'm walking with you. What would, what would flood
• 28:21
  your soul in that moment? Courage, joy, peace,
• 28:27
  exhilaration. And when was it that the sons of
• 28:31
  the prophets came with their doubts?
• 28:35
  Right after, right after Elisha tasted something of the
• 28:40
  faithfulness of God, it was confronted with some level of
• 28:45
  discouragement. I've lived the Christian life
• 28:51
  long enough, especially in the context of ministry, to know
• 28:56
  that this is a very predictable pattern, that discouragement
• 29:04
  tends to be right around the corner when God does something
• 29:10
  wonderful in your life. And if you think that again, is
• 29:15
  an exaggeration, I think we see it repeated in the very same
• 29:17
  text. So look back at verse 19.
• 29:21
  Elisha is going to do a miracle for the city of Jericho and it's
• 29:26
  going to bring healing to the land.
• 29:28
  And then look at verse 23. He went up there from there to
• 29:31
  Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys
• 29:33
  came out of the city and jeered up saying go up you bald head.
• 29:36
  Go up you bald head. It's frequent, it's common.
• 29:42
  I've seen it in my own life. I've seen it in the lives of
• 29:44
  other servants of God. Right after Elijah sent his
• 29:48
  confirmation into ministry, you had a group of men who doubted
• 29:53
  it. You have to understand here that
• 29:55
  in their desire to look for Elijah, they're saying something
• 29:59
  about Elijah. You understand that, right?
• 30:02
  We want to make sure that Elijah is really gone before we crown
• 30:06
  you as the father of us, the sons of the prophets.
• 30:11
  More than that, when they kept insisting and Elijah, as their
• 30:15
  new leader, was saying, don't send them, don't send them, do
• 30:18
  they obey? No, they didn't listen So much
• 30:23
  for a good start. As the new Dean of the school,
• 30:26
  they're not even taking your words seriously.
• 30:32
  So I want you to understand here that discouragement is
• 30:36
  strategic. That shouldn't make you cynical.
• 30:40
  It should make you cautious, though.
• 30:44
  Cautious and aware that unexpected behavior and bad news
• 30:47
  tends to make an appearance around the time when the Lord is
• 30:52
  doing a work, creating a testimony.
• 30:59
  So that's some lessons we can learn from miracle number one.
• 31:01
  But we still have two more miracles.
• 31:03
  So let's go to miracle #2 the miracle we studied was the
• 31:07
  crossing of the Jordan. And the miracle we're about to
• 31:10
  now explore is the healing of the waters.
• 31:13
  Let's look at verse 18. And they came back to him while
• 31:16
  he was staying at Jericho. And he said to them, Did I not
• 31:19
  say to you, Do not go Now The men of the city said to Elijah,
• 31:23
  Behold, the situation of the city is pleasant, as my Lord
• 31:27
  sees, but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.
• 31:31
  He said, Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.
• 31:34
  So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of
• 31:36
  water and threw salt in it and said, Thus says the Lord, I have
• 31:39
  healed this water. From now on neither death nor
• 31:42
  miscarriage shall come from it. Read your Bible slowly.
• 31:47
  Look at verse 19 again. Where is this setting?
• 31:50
  Where is this taking place now? The men of the city?
• 31:52
  Which city? Anybody have an idea?
• 31:58
  Jericho. We just read it verse 18, right?
• 32:01
  They were in Jericho. They were probably the elders,
• 32:04
  the leaders of the city. This is where Elijah was waiting
• 32:07
  for the return of those guys who were sent out to try to find
• 32:10
  Elijah. So he's waiting there in
• 32:11
  Jericho. And while he is there in
• 32:13
  Jericho, the leaders wanted to take advantage of the
• 32:16
  opportunity and presented to them A cause, a need.
• 32:19
  And they said, look, everything is pretty well here except for
• 32:24
  our water source. It's it's, it's not allowing us
• 32:27
  here to to see life, to see vegetation, to see our livestock
• 32:31
  thrive. And it should not surprise us
• 32:34
  that this situation is taking place in Jericho.
• 32:37
  Why? Because we studied something in
• 32:39
  the book of Joshua concerning Jericho.
• 32:41
  What was it? Jericho was cursed.
• 32:47
  Joshua pronounced a curse over Jericho.
• 32:49
  And I'm persuaded that this is one of the fruit of the curse.
• 32:53
  This is one of the results of the curse and I believe here
• 32:57
  what we also have is that it's a it's a stark illustration of the
• 33:01
  world that we live in as well. Look back here verse 19.
• 33:04
  Now the men of the city said to Elijah, behold, the situation of
• 33:07
  the city is pleasant, as my Lord sees, but the water is bad and
• 33:13
  the land is unfruitful. So on on the surface, the
• 33:17
  activity of the city of Jericho seemed promising.
• 33:21
  It seemed profitable, but upon investigation, what you realize
• 33:26
  is that it lacks substance, that it was a lifeless.
• 33:31
  So it seemed pleasant on the surface level, but in reality it
• 33:36
  was dreadful. It was dry, had nothing really
• 33:41
  to offer. And that is the same illusion
• 33:45
  that you and I are surrounded by in this world.
• 33:49
  You understand that, right? That on the surface it seems,
• 33:54
  and I know it seems to be harder to believe now with the growing
• 33:57
  carnage and chaos around us today, but generally that is the
• 34:02
  case. We perceive with our senses as
• 34:05
  we look around, that there's a general happiness, that there's
• 34:08
  security, that there seems to be a purpose that satisfies people
• 34:14
  as they ignore God, as they serve their own passions.
• 34:19
  But listen, when you really dig deep, and you don't have to dig
• 34:22
  too deep, actually, it will reveal that there is
• 34:26
  unfruitfulness in it all. But this is really a miracle of
• 34:34
  hope and grace because this place that is cursed is now
• 34:37
  going to be reversed. One of the symptoms of God's
• 34:41
  judgement against this place is now going to be reversed in some
• 34:45
  way. So how does Elijah go about it?
• 34:48
  He asked for a new bowl. So a bowl that's free from
• 34:51
  contamination to put salt in it, which is an obvious illustration
• 34:55
  of of a purifying agent. And then he throws it into the
• 34:59
  water. Now, here's what's significant,
• 35:01
  that the the unfruitfulness of the land is a symptom.
• 35:06
  It's a symptom of a deeper issue.
• 35:08
  Why was the land unfruitful? Because something else was bad.
• 35:12
  What was it? You can answer.
• 35:16
  I'm not going to bite. It's OK.
• 35:18
  The water, the water was bad. That's why the land was
• 35:22
  unfruitful. Now, what I find so significant
• 35:24
  is that the way Elijah approaches this problem is the
• 35:28
  way the Lord God approaches the barrenness of man.
• 35:31
  In what way? Elijah wasn't running around to
• 35:34
  every tree, every shrub, every farm and trying to fix it.
• 35:40
  He went to the source, and the source was a contaminated,
• 35:45
  polluted spring, and in dealing with the spring, everything that
• 35:50
  those waters touched would also be affected.
• 35:56
  When the Lord saves a Sinner, he doesn't deal with the external
• 36:03
  elements. He goes to the source, He goes
• 36:06
  to the heart, and he purifies that heart, knowing that the
• 36:11
  life of the Spirit will pump into every aspect of that
• 36:16
  individual's life and they will receive that grace, that power
• 36:24
  that begins in the spring of the man's soul.
• 36:28
  It's a beautiful picture here of how the Lord works on us, and
• 36:31
  I'm reminded of one verse among many that illustrates that
• 36:34
  point. You remember what we are told in
• 36:36
  in Titus 214 about the Lord and what He does through His Son the
• 36:41
  Lord Jesus. It says here in Titus 214, who
• 36:44
  gave Himself for us to redeem us from all unlawlessness or
• 36:48
  lawlessness, and to purify for Himself a people for his own
• 36:53
  possession, who are zealous for good works.
• 36:57
  What comes before the zeal for good works?
• 37:01
  A purification. You know what that word purify
• 37:04
  is in the Greek? Literally to clean, literally
• 37:08
  like a dirty dish, a clothing that has stains on it, That's
• 37:12
  the same word. So the Lord purifies for himself
• 37:16
  a people and what follows that is what a zeal for good works, a
• 37:22
  zeal for good works. Can I say something though?
• 37:28
  It's possible for you to to lose your zeal for good works, right?
• 37:32
  Many Christians are lacking that passion.
• 37:37
  That's a symptom. That's a symptom of a deeper
• 37:42
  issue. If you find yourself pulling
• 37:45
  away from the word of God, the presence of God, the people of
• 37:49
  God, there's something deeper going on.
• 37:52
  Your heart needs to be worked on.
• 37:56
  It's not. It's not you mustering up the
• 37:59
  strength for you to wake up and go to church that Sunday because
• 38:03
  last Sunday one of the elders came up to him and said we
• 38:05
  haven't seen you in a few months.
• 38:07
  You're just treating the symptoms.
• 38:10
  There needs to be a deeper cleansing and you need to come
• 38:14
  before the Lord honestly, and ask them to surgically make out
• 38:17
  exactly what it is that needs to be altered so that where your
• 38:22
  heart is and what it touches would truly make a lasting
• 38:27
  impact. And that's exactly what happens
• 38:29
  here. Look at the lasting impact in
• 38:31
  verse 22. So the water has been healed to
• 38:33
  this day according to the word that Elijah spoke.
• 38:40
  I want the same for you. If you are dry and callous in
• 38:43
  this place, it's not about setting an alarm clock earlier
• 38:48
  or trying to whip up some kind of emotion for you to be more
• 38:52
  zealous for the Lord. You need the Lord to do a
• 38:54
  healing work again, and He is capable of doing it if you
• 38:57
  humble yourself. You know what I love about these
• 38:59
  men, They were at a point where they realized that Elijah was
• 39:03
  most likely passing through, but when he was in their
• 39:05
  neighborhood, they seized the opportunity, said please hear us
• 39:09
  how to do something about this. I know a lot of people who are
• 39:14
  who are spiritually dead, unfruitful, and they're content
• 39:19
  in that place. And if you're going to be
• 39:21
  content in that place, then you'll stay in that place.
• 39:24
  I love what Elijah does here. He doesn't just wave his hand
• 39:27
  like a wand and deal with the issue.
• 39:29
  He actually calls the people to participate in the process.
• 39:32
  He says what verse 20, He said, bring me a new bowl and put salt
• 39:36
  in it. So they brought it to him.
• 39:40
  So what are you willing to do in order for God to bring healing?
• 39:44
  Because what this miracle teaches us is that God is
• 39:47
  willing to heal. Unfruitfulness, physical
• 39:52
  unfruitfulness, spiritual unfruitfulness.
• 39:57
  So if you've lost the fragrance, if you, if you've lost that
• 40:01
  sense of passion, that pursuit, God can heal that He can.
• 40:09
  That's a brief segment for this study.
• 40:11
  We're going to spend more time in the last and final miracle.
• 40:15
  There's a clear contrast between the second and third miracle.
• 40:20
  Look at verse 23. He went up from there to Bethel,
• 40:25
  and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of
• 40:28
  the city and jeered at him saying go up you bald head, go
• 40:32
  up you bald head, and we know the rest, right?
• 40:36
  He turns around, pronounces a curse, two she bears come out
• 40:39
  and mall 42 of them, and then he just goes on to Mount Carmel.
• 40:45
  I assure you, you did not hear this in Sunday school.
• 40:49
  Even those who are beyond Sunday school still can't seem to
• 40:51
  reconcile this with the character of God, with the New
• 40:54
  Testament, with how we're supposed to respond to those who
• 40:58
  mock us and scorn us. But let me just present this
• 41:02
  clear contrast here. In Jericho, the people humbly
• 41:05
  beseeched Elijah, but in Bethel they viciously rejected him.
• 41:12
  In Jericho, the power of God through Elijah overcame death
• 41:17
  and brought life. But in Bethel, what do you have?
• 41:20
  Death claimed the lives of many young men in Jericho.
• 41:26
  Elisha was used to reverse a symptom of the curse, but in
• 41:30
  Bethel he pronounces a curse. That might be a clever contrast,
• 41:36
  but we still got to make sense of this.
• 41:38
  How? How is this in our Bibles, and
• 41:42
  what do we do with it? What do we take from it?
• 41:47
  I think the relief will come when you consider three things.
• 41:50
  OK, so if you're a note taker, put these sub points down.
• 41:54
  The first thing is the place. The second thing is the people.
• 41:58
  The third thing is the prophecy. So under the third miracle,
• 42:01
  which is the miracle of the death of 42 boys, you have to
• 42:04
  consider the place. You have to consider the people.
• 42:06
  You have to consider the prophecy.
• 42:09
  So look at the place. Where did this all take place?
• 42:11
  He went up from there to where? Bethel.
• 42:16
  Bethel rich spiritual heritage or no very rich spiritual
• 42:21
  heritage. This is where Jacob encountered
• 42:24
  encountered God in a very significant way and he named it
• 42:26
  Bethel, which means what House of God.
• 42:30
  So in its DNA, in its origination, it carried weighty
• 42:35
  meaning. But that didn't last very long,
• 42:38
  right? Because in the days of kings,
• 42:39
  first Kings Chapter 11, going into chapter 12 specifically,
• 42:43
  there was a division in the Kingdom.
• 42:45
  Who was the king of the northern Kingdom at first?
• 42:47
  What was his name? This is review.
• 42:50
  Jeroboam. Yes.
• 42:51
  And who was the king of the southern Kingdom?
• 42:53
  At least the first king Rehoboam.
• 42:55
  Easy to remember, they rhyme. Jeroboam was the king of the
• 42:58
  northern tribes of Israel. Very nervous that at some point
• 43:03
  his people were going to unite again with the southern Kingdom
• 43:06
  because they were instructed to go to Jerusalem to worship the
• 43:09
  Pilgrim feast. And so he comes up with this
• 43:11
  evil scheme and that is to create 2 new locations of
• 43:14
  worship. One was located where Good Dan,
• 43:18
  the other place, Bethel. So the House of God now became a
• 43:25
  den of idolatry and it carried and strengthened in that
• 43:28
  reputation throughout the years. And So what we have here is
• 43:33
  Bethel. It hasn't healed from its
• 43:35
  idolatry and apostasy yet. In fact, some of the most
• 43:38
  notorious evil people resided in Bethel.
• 43:41
  Can I prove that to you? Do you remember that once A had
• 43:45
  became king, what happened with Jericho?
• 43:49
  It was rebuilt, right? The city of Jericho was rebuilt
• 43:53
  at a cost. If any man were to rebuild the
• 43:56
  cities of Jericho, the lives of that man's children was was to
• 43:59
  be taken. But do you know who that man
• 44:02
  was? Do you remember at least
• 44:07
  there'll be good Bible quiz question.
• 44:10
  Go to 1st Kings 16. I can't just tell it to you.
• 44:13
  I want you to see it with your own eyes.
• 44:15
  Look at first Kings 16 verse 34. In his days being King Ahab, in
• 44:29
  his days Hyel of where Bethel built Jericho, he laid its
• 44:38
  foundations at the cost of a Byram, his first born and set up
• 44:40
  its gates at the cost of his youngest son, Sega, according to
• 44:44
  the word of the Lord, which they which he spoke by Joshua, the
• 44:46
  son of Nun. So the guy that rebuilt the city
• 44:50
  was from Bethel. Gives you an idea of what kind
• 44:52
  of crowd we're dealing with. So this is the kind of people
• 44:57
  that Bethel produces, and these are where these children came
• 45:02
  from to harass the prophet of God, very hostile, very anti
• 45:06
  Yahweh, one of the capitals of apostasy.
• 45:12
  That's the place. But let's look more specifically
• 45:14
  at the people it says here. And he went up from there to
• 45:17
  Bethel in verse 23. While he was going up on the
• 45:19
  way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him
• 45:23
  saying go up your bullhead, go up your bald head.
• 45:24
  This is probably the most disturbing aspect of this brief
• 45:29
  story. Some small children.
• 45:32
  So the image that most people have is you have kids who are
• 45:35
  outside and the outskirts of Bethel are probably playing
• 45:37
  soccer. And then the prophet Elijah
• 45:40
  walks by and they notice that he doesn't have hair.
• 45:43
  And they said, hey, look, Baldy's over there.
• 45:44
  Get out of here, baldy, get out of your baldy.
• 45:46
  Then Elijah was in a he was tired, he was in a bad mood,
• 45:49
  turned around, looked at the kid, says curse, curse.
• 45:52
  Are you in the name of the Lord? And the two bears come and just
• 45:55
  maul them and have a buffet with these kids.
• 45:58
  Is that, is that what's going on here?
• 46:02
  The Hebrew word for the, the the word small children here is much
• 46:06
  broader. It's used to identify a wide
• 46:11
  range of demographics. Let me give an example.
• 46:14
  So in Genesis 37, two, we're told there that Joshua was how
• 46:18
  old? Anybody remember how old, excuse
• 46:21
  me, Joseph was, Huh. He was 17 years old.
• 46:27
  And in that same verse, we're told that he was a boy.
• 46:29
  And it's the same word used here when it comes to some small
• 46:33
  boys. And there are other instances
• 46:35
  where that Hebrew word is used to even describe much older
• 46:40
  young men. And so it's very possible that
• 46:42
  we're not dealing with kids from the nursery here.
• 46:46
  We're dealing with maybe teenagers and how we can even
• 46:50
  confirm that is their behaviour. They were aware of who Elijah
• 46:53
  was. They were aware about events
• 46:55
  surrounding him and his ministry and who he was in relation to
• 47:01
  them as the people who come from Bethel.
• 47:05
  So we're not given the exact age of these boys, but they were old
• 47:09
  enough to confront this man. And I want you to show, I want
• 47:14
  you to show you exactly how they confronted him.
• 47:16
  They were not just outside hanging out of the city gates.
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  Look here again in verse 23, the second part, some small boys
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  came out of the city and jeered at him, saying go up you bald
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  head, go up you bald head. So they saw him walking.
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  They were inside, saw him and chose to go out and pursue him.
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  And we can even believe that they were following him because
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  look at verse 24. And he turned around and when he
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  saw them. So it's very likely that they
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  were, they were starting to annoy him, yes, mock him, sure,
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  but who knows what else they had in mind.
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  This is not a group of five kids.
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  We're told that 42 of the boys were mauled, meaning that there
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  were more of them. We're talking about a gang, a
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  big crowd. They're they're here looking for
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  trouble. The prophet is in danger here.
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  So they recognize who Elijah was from a distance.
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  And more than that, look at the nature of their insult.
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  Go up, you bald head one. I'm encouraged to know that God
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  doesn't. Elijah was known as what he was
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  a man. That was he was he hairless?
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  No, he's actually very hairy. So Elijah was hairy and Elijah
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  barely had any hair, at least on his head.
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  I'm so glad that the Lord doesn't choose is based on our
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  appearance. He uses hairy people and people
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  who don't have hair, but they say go up you bald head.
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  Was that just merely an insult on his appearance?
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  Is there anything in the near context that would suggest what
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  they're getting at by saying go up?
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  What happened? Who went up recently?
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  Elijah, He was taken up. We have every right to believe
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  that that news of Elijah being taken in such a miraculous way
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  into heaven spread and it even reached Bethel.
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  And so when these kids from Bethel are saying go up, you
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  ball that what are they essentially saying?
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  Get out of here. In the same way that Elijah was
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  removed, Why don't you join him? Go up to heaven and leave us
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  alone. This is what they're saying.
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  That's just making fun of their his appearance.
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  They are vocalizing their disdain and their rejection of
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  God because this man represented God.
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  And it's a very dangerous thing for messengers of God,
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  especially in the old covenant, to be mocked in this way
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  persistently. Here's a verse to confirm that
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  in Second Chronicles 36 verse 16.
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  This is when Judah was about to be judged by their exile.
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  It says here. But they kept mocking the
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  messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his
• 50:10
  prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people,
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  until there was no remedy. Notice the close connection
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  between the messengers of God being mocked and people
• 50:20
  despising his words. So when a man of God is rebuked,
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  when a man of God is persecuted, rejected, denied, ultimately
• 50:32
  they're doing that to the God that they represent.
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  So when they said go up, you bald head, yes, mocking the
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  messenger, but ultimately despising the word of the Lord,
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  that brings us to our final subpoint.
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  Not just the place, not just the people, but the prophecy.
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  Again, Elijah didn't turn around and come up with a creative way
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  to judge these kids. And so thought to himself, let
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  me summon 2 she bears to to give them a day that they'll never
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  forget. Elijah knew the word of God and
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  Elijah understood that God warned that if his people were
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  to remain in a state of apostasy, then one of the acts
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  of judgement that would come. Does anybody remember we've
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  touched on this more than once in our previous Bible studies
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  where this particular act of judgement is defined.
• 51:27
  Yes, we are creatures of repetition.
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  We need to remind ourselves there's a clear warning that
• 51:31
  gives explanation to why it was 2 She bears came out and mauled
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  these children. Leviticus 26.
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  Look here with me in verse 21, This is God giving a series of
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  warnings to His people if they remain and continue in their
• 51:49
  rebellion. And here's one of them in
• 51:52
  Leviticus 26, verse 21. Then if you walk contrary to Me
• 51:57
  and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you
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  sevenfold for your sins, and I will let loose the wild beast
• 52:06
  against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy
• 52:12
  your livestock and make you few and number so that your roads
• 52:16
  shall be deserted. Wow.
• 52:22
  So this is not random. This is not Elisha's idea.
• 52:27
  This is Elisha as a conduit, fulfilling and executing God's
• 52:33
  judgement that was warned and given to his people hundreds of
• 52:37
  years before this took place. And one of the things that would
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  take place is that if this people were to remain in
• 52:43
  unbelief, he would let loose the wild beast.
• 52:47
  And who's going to pay for it? The children.
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  This is where I want to say when a nation rejects the true God,
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  overtime the children will pay a price.
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  It was true for Israel and it's true for the United States of
• 53:04
  America today. But I also believe that the law
• 53:08
  permitted this specific act of judgement at this point in time
• 53:12
  because of a very important transition.
• 53:15
  Elijah was taken. Elijah replaces him.
• 53:19
  And right, right at the beginning of Elijah's ministry,
• 53:23
  he's facing hostility. And this happens the fulfillment
• 53:30
  of Leviticus 2621 to 22. Do you know why?
• 53:33
  Because God wants to communicate something early on with this
• 53:37
  shift that although a change in leadership occurred, God's word
• 53:43
  did not change. This is the sober warning that
• 53:48
  He is granting not just to those in Bethel, but to the whole
• 53:51
  nation. Yes, Elisha now is my new man,
• 53:55
  but my word remains the same. I haven't changed my protocol.
• 53:59
  I haven't altered my warnings. I haven't deleted any of my
• 54:02
  promises. They are still the same.
• 54:06
  And I'd love to think about that as men of God come and go,
• 54:11
  preachers who have made a wonderful impact, preachers who
• 54:13
  have disgraced the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 54:16
  It doesn't alter God's word. And as time goes on, men of God
• 54:21
  will come. Men of God will go.
• 54:23
  The word of the Lord remains forever.
• 54:25
  It remains forever. Here's what we'll conclude.
• 54:30
  What happens next. Verse 25.
• 54:33
  From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he
• 54:37
  returned to Samaria. 3 miracles in succession, rapid fire
• 54:46
  succession. And the way that this segment of
• 54:50
  Elisha's ministry concludes is that he goes to Mount Carmel.
• 54:54
  It would make sense for him to go to Samaria.
• 54:55
  That's the hub of his ministry, that that's the capital of
• 54:59
  Israel. That's where he's going to
• 55:00
  minister. But before he goes to Samaria,
• 55:03
  he stops in Mount Carmel. What's in Mount Carmel, we're
• 55:07
  not told, but we know Mount Carmel's recent history.
• 55:12
  This is where Elijah experienced one of his greatest
• 55:15
  accomplishments. This is where Elijah saw God
• 55:18
  come through an incredible way. I'm not told if Elijah was there
• 55:23
  that fateful day, but he definitely heard about it.
• 55:28
  And I like to think that when Elijah experienced these three
• 55:31
  miracles, especially the disheartening final one, he made
• 55:36
  his way to Mount Carmel, perhaps sat before the very arena where
• 55:45
  God came through and just reflected, maybe even rested,
• 55:54
  and he drew strength and courage from what just had taken place.
• 56:00
  And now what will lie ahead. It's a reminder to us that as we
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  serve God, it's important to get alone and rest.
• 56:15
  Rest in Him, remind ourselves of what he has done, what he's
• 56:20
  capable of doing, so that we can be energized for what else lies
• 56:25
  ahead. And I like to think that Elijah
• 56:29
  here has perhaps learned from his master's mistakes.
• 56:35
  Remember, Elijah got in a lot of trouble when he kept going and
• 56:38
  going and going and going. He paid a dear price for that.
• 56:44
  But here's his successor, who, after a brief spurt of events,
• 56:49
  secludes himself, and he meets alone.
• 56:53
  We're not told for what purpose, but he was before an act of
• 56:58
  God's faithfulness, and that replenished him, strengthened
• 57:02
  him and equipped him for what we're going to study in the
• 57:05
  weeks ahead. Let's pray.
• 57:20
  In fact, the praise team can come up.
• 57:21
  I encourage you just even tonight, before we close this
• 57:24
  Bible study that you would just reflect on some of these things.
• 57:28
  Many truths have been explained. I pray that something touched
• 57:31
  your heart. Maybe you resonated more with
• 57:36
  miracle #1 miracle #3 miracle #2 just speak to the Lord, would
• 57:46
  you? Well, we do ask that it's very
• 58:13
  easy for us to become dry and stop bearing fruit.
• 58:22
  So heal us if we're there, and Lord, if we're bearing fruit
• 58:29
  like Elisha, that it's very, very possible that some might be
• 58:33
  facing discouragement in one way or another.
• 58:38
  May we be comforted to know that the greatest man, the greatest
• 58:41
  woman of God faced the same temptation.
• 58:45
  And may we be like Elijah in this story, who did not allow
• 58:48
  the doubt and the unbelief of those he was called to serve to
• 58:54
  derail him. He stood firm.
• 58:58
  Help us stay firm and Lord, help us remember that even in recent
• 59:06
  news, as ministers come and go, Your Word can be relied on.
• 59:14
  Your Word does not change, it endures forever.
• 59:18
  Help us be faithful until the end with it.
• 59:21
  Help us be faithful with the goal of ultimately pleasing you.
• 59:25
  And Lord, if it makes an impact on others, then we give you
• 59:28
  glory for that. So we rejoice.
• 59:31
  Your Word has indeed filled us and we pray, Lord, that as we
• 59:35
  sing to you, you'd be blessed by our voices tonight.
• 59:38
  In Jesus name, Amen. Amen.
• 59:41
  Let's stand. Let's worship the Lord.