We have to Model for Others

Scripture: 2 Kings 2:7-8

Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.  Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

Insights:  In today’s verses we see the second thing we have to do if we are to leave a legacy.  Notice the fifty men stood opposite them at a distance.  The indication is they are beyond speaking distance, but not visual distance.  They are watching Elijah and Elisha walking up to the Jordon River.  They are watching Elijah model faith for them.  Think back just a little bit in the Old Testament.  When was the last time the Lord had parted waters and let people walk through on dry ground?  It was with Joshua and the children of Israel entering into the Promised Land.  Now, hundreds of years later, we see two men walk up to the water and display faith by dropping the prayer mantle into the water.  Though the text does not explicitly state it, we know the Lord is the One who has prompted Elijah to perform this act of faith.  He had a choice at this moment.  He could have ignored God and walked down to the closest ford in the river and crossed there.  He could, as he did, touch the water with his mantle and watch the rivers separate.  Beloved, there are fifty people watching this event transpire.  How foolish would have Elijah looked if the waters had not parted?  God always calls us outside of our comfort zone when He calls us to faithfully obey Him.  Often times the request of the Father seems silly or even unwise in the eyes of the world, and if we are honest, even with our very selves.  Let me encourage you to model faith before people.  Let me specifically ask you to intentionally model faith for younger believers and inspire them to walk in obedience with the Lord.  If we live life this way, we will honor the Lord and bring His great name praise and glory!  All to Him, let us model faith.

Questions:

1.  Who model for you the way a Christ-follower ought to live life?

2.  To whom are you intentionally showing the way to demonstrate and live out faith?

Prayer: Father, thank You for the godly individuals with whom You have put in my path that have helped guide and direct me.  I am a stronger follower of Jesus because of their example.  May I model such faithfulness to others by Your grace.  Amen.

We have to be Faithful to the End

Scripture: 2 Kings 2:1-6

And it came about when the Lord was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.  Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.  Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be still.”  Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.  The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be still.”  Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

Insights:  This weeks sermon was titled Adventures Leave a Legacy and we looked at four elements required of us in order to leave a legacy.  The first point found in today’s verses is in order for us to leave a legacy we have to be faithful to the end.  Notice Elijah goes from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the Jordan.  Also notice at each of these locations there are prophets present speaking with Elisha and though the text does not specifically mention it, they were talking with Elijah as well.  Each of these conversations show us the prophets knew Elijah was about to be taken to heaven and later we learn Elijah himself also knew he was being taken by the Lord.  Even though the passage does not say it explicitly, it is my opinion Elijah is going to these prophetic schools giving them his final words of encouragement and counsel.  He is demonstrating before these prophets and Elisha the proper way to serve the Lord faithfully to the end.  Beloved, we have too many people that check out of serving the Lord as time progresses.  Let me encourage you to follow the example of Elijah of the Old Testament and Paul of the New Testament.  Using Paul’s language, he finished the race and he ran the course faithfully to the end.  Let us live our lives with this same kind of tenacity and faithfulness.

Questions:

1.  Have you stopped serving the Lord?

2.  Are you running faithfully to the end?

Prayer: Father, may my life exhibit the qualities of Elijah and Paul who both ran their race to the very end and received Your reward to them.  Amen.

God Dictates the Future

Scripture: 2 Kings 1:16-18

Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”  So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.  Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Insights:  We conclude this week with an understanding that God is the One who dictates and holds the future.  In today’s passage, Elijah gives a future prediction regarding Ahaziah and then in a few verses we are told this prophetic word came to pass exactly as Elijah had stated it.  God holds the future and in the paraphrase of the psalmist, I believe God has good for us in the land of the living (27:13).  The issue at stake is who is going to be in charge of my life.  In other words, am I going to live life like Ahaziah and believe I am the dictator of my future or am I going to live life like Elijah and understand God is the dictator of my future.  We as a people need to seek the Lord out and ask Him what the future holds and when He answers, we need to set our course deliberately after Him and His commission in our lives.  So, for example, I shared with FBCBG we have a Vision Workshop coming up on November 15.  I encouraged them all to attend and come and see the vision the Strategic Planning Team senses the Lord is telling us.  It gives us a picture of where we sense God is telling us to go.  We need to walk in obedience with Him now and watch Him do amazing things as He clears the path for which we are to walk.  This path is a faith journey.  There are going to be times in which it is scary, but we know the One who is clearing the path already knows and hold the future in His hand.  We can trust Him for His goodness.  Let us walk with Him and see Him bring good to us in the land of the living.

Questions:

1.  Do you understand your future is in the hand of the Lord God?

2.  Who is the boss of your journey, God or you?

Prayer: Father, it is my belief You have great days in front of me.  Help me to walk humbly with You and experience Your goodness in the land of the living in which I presently dwell.  Amen.

God is Merciful

Scripture: 2 Kings 1:13-15

So he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.  “Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”  The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king.

Insights:  Yesterday we observed God’s display of power as He consumed two commanders and their groups of fifty.  In today’s verses we see a third commander over fifty more people show up and his response is different than that of the first two commanders.  Instead of being arrogant and full of self-pride, this third commander humbles himself before God and bows to Elijah and asks for mercy to be extended to him and his men.  This third guy understands Elijah is not the one with the power, but God.  He is only using Elijah’s name because he is the mouth piece on the hill that he can see.  Has this third commanders job changed from that of the first two?  No, he is still supposed to get Elijah and bring him back to be put to death.  In that sense of the command, is he deserving of any more mercy than the first two commanders?  The answer is an obvious no, yet, mercy has been granted to this man.  Why?  The answer is because God is a merciful God full of grace and compassion.  This commander humbled himself before God and this stirs the heart of our God.  He is quick to show loving kindness to the humble of spirit.  Beloved, I fear that all too often we are like the first two soldiers.  We are full of our personal power and might.  We think we can really do something because we are hot stuff, but before an almighty God we are truly insignificant and we need Him.  It is not the other way around, He does not need us.  Let me encourage you to face life and our Lord with this proper attitude of humility and then experience God’s mercy on your life.

Questions:

1.  When was the last time you recognized God displaying mercy to you?

2.  In what way did He show Himself merciful by extending to you His grace?

Prayer: Father, I am so unworthy of your mercy and grace.  Yet, I am so thankful You dispense it to me.  Help me to be aware and sensitive to Your gift of love in my life and let me walk in the warmth of Your embrace.  Amen.

God is Powerful

Scripture: 2 Kings 1:9-12

Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’”  Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.  So he again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.’”  Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

Insights:  I want you to keep the whole picture of this history in your mind.  Ahaziah has had an accident and has sent messengers to Ekron.  While they are on the way, Elijah stops them and tells them to go back to the king and tell him he is going to die.  Now, keep in mind this is the son of Ahab and Jezebel.  He is hot tempered and not afraid to have people executed.  Would you like to go back and deliver this message?  I doubt you would volunteer.  After Ahaziah discovers who gave the message, however, his attentions of revenge fall on him.  He sends a commander with fifty men to bring Elijah back with the intent, in my opinion, to kill him.  These men arrive and Elijah calls fire down from heaven and they are consumed.  Ahaziah sends a second commander with fifty men and they are also consumed by fire from heaven.  I believe what you see happening here is God preaching in a very literal sense to Ahaziah that He, God, is truly powerful.  He is telling Ahaziah, I am the supreme sovereign of the universe and I could have healed you if you had turned to me, but because you did not, you will die.  I think God is shouting through Elijah to Ahaziah, I AM GOD, NOT BAAL-ZEBUB.  Beloved, God desires to work powerfully in your life as well.  Our questions below are designed today to have you reflect on your understanding and relationship with the Lord God.  I pray you will take a few moments to truly contemplate the questions.  If after thinking about number one, you discover that it has been a while, then let me encourage you to run to Him and spend time with Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a powerful way.  He will and you will have this truth of His power rekindled in your soul.

Questions:

1.  When was the last time God displayed His power in your life?

2.  In what way did He show Himself to be the supreme sovereign over the universe to you?

Prayer: Father, thank You that You are indeed the most powerful.  Please display Your favor and might in my life and let me point people to Your glory.  Amen.

God Ought to be Our Refuge

Scripture: 2 Kings 1:3-8

But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’  “Now therefore thus says the Lord, ‘^aYou shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” Then Elijah departed.  When the messengers returned to him he said to them, “Why have you returned?”  They said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”’”  He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?”  They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

Insights:  Elijah shows up on the scene and stops the messengers who are on their way to Ekron to inquire from the false god for Ahaziah.  Elijah’s singular question is the same question God is asking of us today.  He asks, “Is it because there is no God in Israel…?”  Is there no God in the United States?  When we are desperate due to our crisis, we ought to turn immediately to the Lord God.  All too often, however, we chase after everything in this world.  God ought to be our refuge.  We ought to be in an abiding relationship with Him everyday, but especially in times of crisis.  In essence that fact is exactly what Elijah is asking of the king.  He is asking do you not find your refuge in the Lord and the unfortunate answer for king Ahaziah is, “no.”  Beloved, let me encourage you, in your crisis, to turn to the Lord.  Trust Him in your pain and difficulty.  He is your best choice and He cares about you immensely.  

Questions:

1.  Is God your refuge?

2.  If not, why not?

Prayer: Father, You have proven Yourself time and time again in my life.  Why do I so often faulted in my faith.  Let me find new courage in Your refuge and restore the peace to my heart. Amen.

Crisis Drive People to Desperation

Scripture: 2 Kings 1:1-2

Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.  And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.”

Insights:  Ahaziah faced a situation due to an accident.  As a result of this accident he is brought to a point of crisis in his life and he is desperate for an answer.  In our modern world we also face crisis which lead us to a point of desperation and we are faced with the same options as Ahaziah.  He chose to inquire from the things of this world.  He chose to ask the gods of this world for help.  In modern day times most of us don’t turn to false deities, but we do turn to human methods or efforts.  For example, we know the average household in the U.S. has $10,000 in credit card debt alone.  Why do you suppose this figure is the way it is?  I would tell you because when a “crisis” came up in a persons life, they charged the solution just “this one time” and before they knew it they were $10,000 in debt.  Beloved, tomorrow, I am going to speak as to whom Ahaziah ought to have turned, but until then, let me encourage you not to follow after the path of Ahaziah.  Do not let Satan trick you into believing the worlds plans are best because this allure is only a lie.  Satan does not have your best interest at heart.  He did not with Ahaziah and he certainly does not with you either.  Come back tomorrow and learn what we ought to do.

Questions:

1.  Are you facing a crisis in your life?

2.  To whom are you turning, the world or the Lord?

Prayer: Father, all too often I try and fix my crisis situations on my own.  Forgive me for my arrogance and prompt me to seek You and follow Your council. Amen.