1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,320 Let's come together now to Second Kings chapter 13. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,800 I wonder if you notice that we have not seen or heard from the 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,640 prophet Elisha in quite some time. 4 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,960 The most recent mention of him occurs in Second Kings Chapter 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:24,120 9, verse one, when this prophet sent a son of the prophet, one 6 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,560 of his students, to Ramoth Gilead to anoint the next king 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,080 of Israel. And his name was Jehu. 8 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:36,560 We haven't seen or heard from him since, but tonight it's 9 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,160 going to be different. The man of God will reappear in 10 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,160 this grand narrative of the kings. 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:48,480 But I will tell you from now, this will be Elisha's final 12 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:52,240 appearance in our study of Second Kings. 13 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,400 You see, we're not going to encounter Elisha ministering in 14 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:01,960 cities, serving the sons of the prophets, or confronting any 15 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:09,840 kings or armies in this chapter. What you will find is Elisha in 16 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:15,040 a room, in a bed, dying of an illness. 17 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,640 That's right. This text in the Old Testament 18 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,560 will define for us Elisha's earthly departure. 19 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:31,880 We have now come to the end of this man's incredible life, and 20 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,720 instead of swiftly informing us of his exit, the Spirit of God 21 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:40,240 provides rich detail about the final moments of his life. 22 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,120 And I'm eager to explore these truths with you. 23 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:49,000 But we have to touch on the verses that set the stage for 24 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,360 this incredible scene. We can't rush to it. 25 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,280 And so we're going to begin in verse one, read down to verse 26 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:56,800 three. We're going to take our time, 27 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,000 but I will tell you that we're going to spend the most time by 28 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,760 Elijah's bedside and seeing what happens there and who's in that 29 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,400 room and what he has to say, and what even happens a little bit 30 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,680 after he dies. And so I know our sister just 31 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,200 prayed, but if we can pray one more time before we even begin 32 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:20,440 to read and ask the Lord to help us as we sang over and over. 33 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,600 O Lord, we pray that you take our hearts and that you seal 34 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:29,440 them in your courts for your courts above. 35 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,200 And Lord, we ask that through this Bible study you would equip 36 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,200 us with everything that is good, that we may do your will that 37 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:43,440 which is pleasing in your sight through Jesus Christ, for whom 38 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,400 belong glory forever and ever. Amen. 39 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:56,320 Second Kings 13 verse one In the 23rd year of Joash, the son of 40 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:01,560 Isaiah, king of Judah, Jeho Ahaz, the son of Jehu began to 41 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:06,280 reign over Israel and Samaria, and he reigned 17 years. 42 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,200 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed 43 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:13,160 the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, which he made Israel to 44 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:17,120 sin. He did not depart from them, and 45 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,760 the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he 46 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,800 gave them continually into the hand of Hazel, king of Syria, 47 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,280 and into the hand of Ben Haddad, the son of Hazel. 48 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,080 This seems like a very common introduction to a new biography 49 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,760 in the Book of Second Kings, but what you have here actually are 50 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,960 the beginnings of. God's promise being fulfilled, 51 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,720 the promises that he made, particularly to King Jehu. 52 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:48,600 Remember, we studied Jehu for a few weeks and because Jehu was 53 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,960 faithful to the Lord in exterminating the House of Ahab 54 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:57,920 and Baal ISM from the land of Israel, his main reward was 55 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,520 this, that his descendants would occupy the throne of Israel 56 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:08,640 until the 4th generation. And the start of that oath, that 57 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,960 pledge being realized, is found here in the opening verses of 58 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:19,600 chapter 13, because Jehu's son Joaz succeeds him and he now 59 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,920 secures the throne. But instead of acknowledging the 60 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:29,080 Lord's faithfulness, instead of walking in humility, we find the 61 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,960 son of Jehu committing himself to idolatry. 62 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,840 He doesn't recognize that it was the favor of God that positioned 63 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:40,960 them here. He doesn't think about God's 64 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,440 faithfulness to his father. He is completely self absorbed. 65 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,560 And he's completely consumed with idolatry and rebellion. 66 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:56,960 And this man's devotion to the worship of golden calves was met 67 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:02,160 with the Syrians harassing him as an expression of God's 68 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,120 discipline. We've seen this pattern before, 69 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:10,440 haven't we? And what happens next is what is 70 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,640 unusual for one who is a king in the Northern Kingdom. 71 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:19,120 Look at verse 4. Then Joe has sought the favor of 72 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,960 the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the 73 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:27,560 oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 74 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:30,680 He doesn't. Seek the favor of the golden 75 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:34,200 calves. Maybe He did, but as we would 76 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,240 expect, they failed him. Whatever the background is, he 77 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,160 makes this decision to seriously seek the favor of the Lord. 78 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:47,880 This is uncommon, this is strange, this is unexpected. 79 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,320 But can I tell you what's more shocking to me? 80 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:55,920 Not that this wicked king seeks God's favor, but that the rest 81 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,040 of us tells us that God hears and listens to him. 82 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:00,920 That's what moves me more than anything. 83 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,440 Because you see, Joaz is not a struggling Sinner. 84 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:08,760 No, he was a bonafide idol worship. 85 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,760 He was somebody who was consumed with this. 86 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,280 It was his identity, it was his drive, it was his purpose. 87 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:17,920 Look at the language. He did not depart from 88 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:20,360 worshipping the idols that Jeroboam set up. 89 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,360 He clung to them. He was serious about this. 90 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,320 And yet the moment that he stopped and turned his face to 91 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,320 the true and living God, God responds to him. 92 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,600 And now there are a few things to learn about prayer in these 93 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,840 verses and about how God's response to prayer should 94 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:44,440 encourage us as well. So pay attention to this. 95 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,960 Number one, what we learned from this is that regardless of one's 96 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:56,040 vile history with sin, if a person truly, humbly implores 97 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:00,040 God, he will be heard. He will be received. 98 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:03,440 And that's something for you and I to consider for ourselves, 99 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,960 because many people are entrenched in sin the same way 100 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,080 Joe has was. But no matter how deep the 101 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,600 entrenchment of the ingrained patterns of sin you may be in, 102 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,400 you can escape it. You can escape it with sincere 103 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,880 repentance and even with a single call to God. 104 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:30,480 So God does not hang your sin over your head and put you in 105 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,360 some kind of penalty box before he's willing to hear you when 106 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,960 you cry out to Him. Which brings us to a second 107 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:42,560 thought, that such possibility in prayer only exists because of 108 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:46,840 this. God is abundantly kind. 109 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,080 He is abundantly kind. Look back at verse 4. 110 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,800 Notice that it says here that the Lord listened to him for he 111 00:07:54,800 --> 00:08:00,840 saw For he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria 112 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:06,640 oppressed him. We're given another reason later 113 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,720 in this chapter why God was so favorite, favorably treating the 114 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,520 Israelites and I want you to see it because it's going to provide 115 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,120 a full picture. Look at verse 22 of this 116 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,600 chapter. We're fast forwarding a bit, but 117 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,960 we need to in order to consider a dimension to this incident. 118 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,560 Second Kings 1322. Now Hazael, king of Syria, 119 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,040 oppressed Israel all the days of. 120 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,280 Joaz But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on 121 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:35,960 them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with 122 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:40,480 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has 123 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:42,520 He cast them from His presence until now. 124 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,440 From this perspective, you and I are forced to acknowledge that 125 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,560 the reason why God was so compassionate towards this 126 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:53,120 generation was because of a covenant, because of a promise 127 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,960 that God made to the patriarchs to preserve this nation. 128 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:02,320 It was an unconditional promise. But when you come back to verse 129 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:06,920 four, we have another dimension to this, that God not only was 130 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,960 willing to respond to this king and this Kingdom, though they 131 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,240 were rebellious because of a covenant, but also because of 132 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,560 his kindness. Because what does it say in 133 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:21,200 verse four that he saw the oppression of Israel? 134 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:26,440 He saw the pain, He saw the frustration, He saw their 135 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,520 destitution. So it's more than just him doing 136 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:32,960 this out of obligation. It's more than just him being 137 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:34,960 committed to his name and his faithfulness. 138 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:38,560 It's because he actually has a heart for those who are in sin. 139 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,440 He actually is broken hearted for those who are caught in the 140 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:48,840 web of immorality, debauchery, abuse, transgression. 141 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:53,640 Call it what you want actually. Moves his heart to see somebody 142 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:59,080 as a slave to unrighteousness. And so when a Sinner cries out, 143 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,360 God is willing to because he actually loves the Sinner. 144 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,920 See, if you just had 22 and 23, you would see and you would 145 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,240 probably say to yourself, Oh yeah, because God wants to show 146 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,360 that he is a promise keeping God. 147 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:12,480 And that is still wonderful. There's nothing, nothing not 148 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,880 amazing about that. But to see this personal element 149 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:19,920 only provides a greater picture of his character. 150 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,840 So he's. Moved by this and he's willing 151 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,960 to intervene even though that this pain was caused by their 152 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,720 own rebellion, he wants to rescue them. 153 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:35,720 Lastly, prayer in crisis. If we're going to learn a few 154 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,280 things from verse 4, here's a final thought. 155 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:42,160 Prayer in crisis does not promise permanent change. 156 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,520 Does Geo has call out to the Lord? 157 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,520 Yes. Does the Lord respond to His 158 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:50,920 humility? Absolutely. 159 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,200 Does it change this man for the rest of his life? 160 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:59,480 Look at verse 5. Therefore, the Lord gave Israel 161 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,480 a Savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, 162 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,520 and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly. 163 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:10,600 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the 164 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:15,080 House of Jeroboam, which He made Israel to sin, but walked in 165 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,280 them, and the Ashra also remained in Samaria. 166 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:23,600 We're not granted the identity of the deliverer that God raised 167 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:29,240 up, but that seems to be less of a concern when we read the fact 168 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:33,840 that even though God brought salvation, the people returned 169 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:39,200 to their vomit. This is language. 170 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,400 Of a savior, deliverer, the people being restored. 171 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:44,760 Really. The whole. 172 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:46,720 Scene up to this point, does it remind? 173 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,520 You of any book that we have studied in the past that has a 174 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:54,760 very similar rhythm concerning the people's spirituality. 175 00:11:55,600 --> 00:12:02,880 Any any idea the book of what such with the letter J judges. 176 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,960 I believe that the Holy Spirit is being precise here and 177 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:12,160 depicting something that we've seen over and over in the days 178 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:18,360 when Israel was ruled by judges. It's this circuit that we have 179 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:23,960 studied before. Live in sin, worship false gods 180 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:29,480 oppressed by a foreign neighbor, cry out to God. 181 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:36,840 Repeat. And it's a reminder, this verse 182 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,360 that the unsteady spiritual pattern that was common in the 183 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,200 days of judges that we find here in the days of second kings is 184 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,960 nothing new for many profession Christians today. 185 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,240 Listen, you have many churchgoers, many pseudo 186 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,440 spiritual Christians who are content living in that kind of 187 00:12:56,440 --> 00:13:02,120 cycle of anemic spirituality. I've seen it. 188 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:05,480 What does it look like? Live in sin. 189 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,120 Get in trouble, come to church. Set up a couple counseling 190 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,280 sessions with the pastor. Feel emboldened because you have 191 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:16,160 tasted some kind of relief, so now this person's posting more 192 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:21,920 verses on their Instagram. Go back to your sin. 193 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:30,880 Repeat. Many people live like that, and 194 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:33,560 I believe that the physical description of what we read in 195 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:36,840 verse 7 here mirrors the condition of the souls of those 196 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,680 who are content to live in that circuit of compromise. 197 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:42,960 Look at verse 7. For there was not left to Jo as 198 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:47,840 an army of more than 50 horsemen and 10 Chariots and 10,000 199 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,360 footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them 200 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,760 like the dust at. Threshing What is sad 201 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,160 description for a nation's army? Can you imagine? 202 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:58,920 For an entire country, you have what? 203 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,800 10,000 foot men, no more than 50 horsemen. 204 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:09,680 So this analysis is meant to depict this vulnerable state, 205 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:17,200 this embarrassing condition. And I make the case here that 206 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:23,080 the vulnerability of the nation, the weakness, the leanness of 207 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,560 what you find here is a reflection of what happens to 208 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,120 the spirituality in the condition of the inner man for 209 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,480 those who choose to live and relate to God in the same way 210 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,920 this king does. Let me put it this way. 211 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:38,520 Please hear me. I say this in great love, you 212 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:43,000 will never ever, ever tap into true power, true purpose, true 213 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:48,880 pleasure in your soul if you relate to God like a 911 call. 214 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,640 If the only kind of interaction you have with God is in 215 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:58,040 emergencies void of any personal relationship, don't expect to 216 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:03,360 know true life, true joy, true strength. 217 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:10,040 You'll never know it. Only when you know how to abide 218 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,280 will the life source of heaven flow into your being. 219 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:20,440 But to choose only to call upon Him to save you from something, 220 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:26,320 and you premeditatively know that you're not going to commit 221 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:28,800 to the cause of Christ and the gospel of Christ. 222 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:36,680 Don't expect a robust true life. You'll be limping spiritually. 223 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,680 You'll remain a spiritual skeleton. 224 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,200 And I don't want that for you. God doesn't want that for you. 225 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:49,200 I was reading this morning, I was sitting before the Lord with 226 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:53,080 First John before me, and I was reminded of a promise, an 227 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,000 indirect promise that is available to all of us. 228 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:59,120 Turn to the New Testament. Look at First John chapter 2. 229 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:04,480 There's this interesting series of statements that John makes to 230 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,880 young children, fathers, and young men. 231 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,520 He's speaking about spiritual children's, spiritual fathers, 232 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,080 spiritual young men. I want you to see what he says 233 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,600 about the spiritual young men in verse 14 of First John 2. 234 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,840 John says in first John 214 I write to you, fathers, because 235 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:24,320 you know him who is from the beginning. 236 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:29,240 I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the 237 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:34,520 word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil. 1 238 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:41,360 What sandwiching this truth of the word of God abides in you 239 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:46,960 the strength of these young men and the ability for them to 240 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:52,000 overcome the evil one. Now this is not limited to young 241 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,640 men. This is available to all of us. 242 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:58,600 But notice here he describes him as strong, and he praises their 243 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,200 ability to wage good warfare against Satan himself. 244 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:07,920 On what basis? The word of God abiding in them. 245 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,599 You want to be strong you. Need to know how to abide? 246 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,000 You will never be able to know true victory over sin. 247 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,440 You'll never be able to overcome the lies and the arrows and the 248 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,560 threats of the evil one. Never, unless you know how to 249 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:29,080 abide. If you just dial God once in a 250 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,840 while and think that's what it means to walk with Him, you're 251 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:35,920 fooling yourself. You're deceiving yourself. 252 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,320 How many examples can we go to look at this abiding meaning? 253 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:43,320 It lives in you, the Word of God, because it lives in you. 254 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,080 It surges strength in your being and you're able to face Satan 255 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:52,000 himself and overcome. That's only available for those 256 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:58,040 who know how to abide. So we come back to our text and 257 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,720 we learned that Joaz dies unfaithful, verse 8. 258 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,880 Now the rest of the acts of Joaz and all that he did and his 259 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,040 might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of 260 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,320 the Kings of Israel? So Jehoias slept with his 261 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,440 father's, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash, his son, 262 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,040 reigned in his place. This man dies unfaithful. 263 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,600 But the Lord's faithfulness to Jehu continues. 264 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,680 How do we know that? Because he told Jehu. 265 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,080 Your sons will rule and reign until the 4th generation. 266 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:33,400 And so now we have Joash, who represents the next one in line. 267 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:37,800 And when you just. Glance at verse 10 down to verse 268 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:39,760 13. That's all we're given 269 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:45,920 concerning Joash's biography. It's a very brief obituary, so 270 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,440 let's read it. And tell me if it sounds 271 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:52,320 familiar. In the 37th year of Joash, king 272 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:58,200 of Judah, Joash, the son of Joaz, began to reign over Israel 273 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,560 and Samaria, and he reigned 16 years. 274 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:03,240 He also did what was evil in the side of the Lord. 275 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,560 He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of the 276 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:09,160 bat, which made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 277 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,920 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and 278 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,440 the might with which he fought against Amaziah, king of Judah, 279 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:17,960 are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings 280 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:20,040 of Israel? So Joash slept with his 281 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:23,880 father's, and Jeroboam sat on his throne, and Joash was buried 282 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:25,680 in Samaria with the kings of Israel. 283 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,160 Typical. Typical. 284 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,560 Snapshot of a king. Who clung to the sins of 285 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,680 Jeroboam? Maybe accomplish a military feat 286 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,320 or two. And it seems like the historian 287 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:41,080 is not very interested in elaborating on Joash's reign, 288 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:45,280 except for one thing. Yes, we're told that he died. 289 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,160 But for the rest of this chapter, he wants to bring us by 290 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,640 the spirit to a particular incident, something monumental 291 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:54,600 that took place under Joash's reign. 292 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,680 And it is this, the death of Elijah the prophet. 293 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:03,920 Elisha died under this administration, and more than 294 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:10,280 that, this very king is actually going to interact with Elisha in 295 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:14,120 his dying moment. And that's where the Holy Spirit 296 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:16,360 wants to emphasize. That's where we're going to 297 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:20,600 spend our time exploring the rich truths for our own walk 298 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:22,960 with Christ. So let's look at verse 14. 299 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:24,720 This is where we're going to be spending most of our time. 300 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:29,840 Now the stage has been set. Let's read verse 14. 301 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:34,840 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was 302 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:40,040 to die, Joash, king of Israel, went down to him and wept before 303 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:44,800 him, crying, My father, my father, the Chariots of Israel 304 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:48,200 and its horsemen. There are a handful of 305 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:50,480 observations we can make from this one verse and I'm actually 306 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,520 curious to know, and you're free to answer this, just don't make 307 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:56,040 your answer too long, but just bullet point answers. 308 00:20:56,040 --> 00:21:02,080 What about this verse offer something interesting in terms 309 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,920 of just maybe details or something that you've seen 310 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,880 before? What stands out to you from 311 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:09,240 verse 14? Let's make this a little bit 312 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:10,320 more interactive. Any idea? 313 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:11,520 Just raise your hand. Yes, it was. 314 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:19,320 This was also said for Elijah. Isn't that interesting that what 315 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:25,280 the king says about Elijah, Elijah said about Elijah, his 316 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:26,520 mentor. Remember this? 317 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,880 Yes, I was going to say that Elijah was called from the 318 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,600 chariot to heaven, but Elijah died even though Elijah asked 319 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:38,920 for a double. Portion very, very good 320 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:44,160 observation my brother. There's a stark contrast between 321 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:49,160 Elijah's exit and Elijah's exit. So our brother mentioned here 322 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,560 how Elijah was taken up into heaven without dying. 323 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,000 You know, we find. Elijah, who had a double portion 324 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,960 of what Elijah had. And he died a very ordinary, 325 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,360 predictable death. Very good. 326 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,000 Anything else worth mentioning before we unravel this together? 327 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:11,080 Those are the two major ones, so let's touch on them. 328 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:15,480 The immediate thing that stands out is how Elijah, the miracle 329 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,440 worker, the vessel that God used to heal polluted water and 330 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,480 disease men, is now himself dying of a sickness. 331 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:28,000 That's remarkable to me. Because I think that it is a 332 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,280 severe blow to one of the lies of the prosperity gospel, the 333 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:36,120 prosperity gospel that tells you that you can do what if you have 334 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:40,400 the faith. Claim perpetual perfect health. 335 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,160 OK, so here's my question. Here's my question. 336 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:47,200 Is Elijah outside of the will of God at this point? 337 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:50,480 Is Elijah operating in unbelief? No, no, no, no. 338 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,280 In fact, what you have Elijah doing here? 339 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:57,560 Serving God in his dying moments, operating as a 340 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,640 messenger of God even here and now. 341 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:06,160 So the claim that this man is sick because he did not have the 342 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:13,240 faith is way off, dangerously off now. 343 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,480 If anything, this is a reminder to us that we're all destined to 344 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,680 die. And the way that God will 345 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:23,440 transition his children from this world into the next varies. 346 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:31,960 Was Elijah any less loved by God than how God treated Elijah? 347 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,800 Absolutely not. Was he less faithful than 348 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,000 Elijah? If anything, you can say that 349 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,600 Elijah was more consistent with his trust in God than Elijah 350 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:44,200 was. We didn't study any crisis of 351 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,160 faith with Elijah, did we? Elijah doesn't veer off into the 352 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,280 wilderness and asked to die. No, he was pretty stable from 353 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:58,640 the beginning. And yet Elijah was taken up in 354 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:05,600 glorious fashion, and yet this man falls to sickness, and he's 355 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,800 going to give his final breath in this way. 356 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:13,720 So this is something that we have to consider for ourselves. 357 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,880 God doesn't give us an answer for why this is the case, but in 358 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,640 His infinite wisdom He determines the timing and the 359 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:25,120 manner by which you and I graduate into glory. 360 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,320 Here's the second thing that stands out to me is the response 361 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:33,560 of Josh, the king of Israel. Here you have the ruler of a 362 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,960 nation who is willing to leave his palace and visit this man. 363 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:42,080 And not just pay respect, but to weep over him. 364 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:46,120 Now here's what's so startling. We just read between verse 10 365 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:51,080 and 13 that this Josh was evil. He falls in the ways of 366 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,520 Jeroboam. So how do you make sense of 367 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,720 this? How do you have a man who 368 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:02,400 betrayed the true God show such reverence and admiration for a 369 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,640 man of God? Some accused of insincerity, 370 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,320 some claim that this is just a concern that's rooted in 371 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,240 political fear. What's going to happen with our 372 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,000 Kingdom now that this man of God who has done so much for this 373 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,200 nation is leaving us? But I think that would be 374 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,400 unfair. I believe that these tears are 375 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,720 actually an indication of some commendable comprehension on 376 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:31,120 Josh's part. You see he. 377 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:34,920 Was an idolater, but I also believe that he recognized the 378 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:40,320 impact that Elisha had on the Kingdom and the influence that 379 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:45,160 he had for the nation, and he admired it. 380 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,160 And it's hard to debate that when you consider what he says 381 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:49,240 about Elisha. What does he say? 382 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:55,720 My father, My father meaning what I I truly recognize you as 383 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,240 the spiritual guide of this nation. 384 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,040 Even though he didn't personally abide by the word of the Lord, 385 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:10,040 he could not deny that Elisha had an incredible role to play 386 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,880 in the stability of this people. Whatever was left of this 387 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:15,200 ability, of this people. Then he goes on to say, what? 388 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,320 The Chariots of Israel and its horsemen? 389 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,160 We've studied this before. What is he saying? 390 00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:23,640 By declaring this, you're the true source of this nation's 391 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,360 security and strength. Not our javelins, not our 392 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:30,600 horses, not our not our Chariots, nothing. 393 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:35,880 Not our arrows, not our swords. Your walk with God is the real 394 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:41,240 reason why we know the security that we have enjoyed, the true 395 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:45,000 power, the true reason why we were able to accomplish what we 396 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,600 were able to accomplish. This is something so 397 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:50,960 fascinating. As our sister said, this is what 398 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:55,760 Elijah said about Elijah. And here's the most mind blowing 399 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,600 part. The same man who expressed these 400 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,360 things is called evil in verse 11. 401 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:07,440 He's called evil. When I put those truths 402 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:09,960 together, this is what it taught me and I hope it teaches you the 403 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:13,600 same, that it's possible for someone to say the right things. 404 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:15,800 It's possible for someone to even. 405 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,840 Honor the right people. It's possible for someone to 406 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:21,560 acknowledge the benefits that God's truth can bring to 407 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:27,160 society, to a family, to a culture, to the law of the land, 408 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:33,640 and even praise the efforts of servants of God and still not be 409 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,400 saved. You've probably seen some 410 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:42,160 funerals of great ministers in our own nation where their 411 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:46,640 funeral is broadcasted and you have politicians attend who 412 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:49,720 showed their respect and even maybe paid tribute with 413 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:53,040 beautiful eulogies. Do you think those politicians 414 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:57,120 are safe because of that? There's no indication whatsoever 415 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:00,920 that somebody's right with God, and that's something that you 416 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:05,640 and I have to consider for our own lives because maybe this is 417 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:07,760 hard to grasp. So let's confirm it in another 418 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:12,640 way. Do you remember who Balak, king 419 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,040 of Moab, hired to curse the nation of Israel when they came 420 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:16,440 out of Egypt into the promised Land? 421 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,640 Balaam. And so Balaam, this false 422 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:26,480 prophet, attempts to curse Israel without their knowledge. 423 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:30,280 And as he attempts to do this with one Oracle after the next, 424 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,320 the Lord intervenes and turns those curses into blessings. 425 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:38,360 And I want you to see what Balaam confesses with his first 426 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,400 Oracle, with whatever revelation that God had given him. 427 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,880 He made this incredible. Expression and confession about 428 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:49,040 the righteous go to Numbers 23, verse 10. 429 00:28:54,930 --> 00:28:58,290 Balaam says something in verse 10 of Numbers 23. 430 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,840 Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the 4th part of 431 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:06,680 Israel? Let me die the death of the 432 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,840 upright, and let my end be like his. 433 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:17,000 Here you have a wicked man who is under some kind of a trance. 434 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,800 He's experiencing some kind of a vision, and in this experience 435 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:23,440 he learns about the end of the righteous. 436 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,600 He learns how the righteous die and what happens after they die. 437 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:29,800 So what does he say? Personally? 438 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:33,080 He goes, oh, let me die that kind of a death. 439 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,120 Let me end this way. Let me transition from this life 440 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:42,240 to the next. In that manner Balaam desired to 441 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,000 die the death of the righteous. But he did not want to live the 442 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:50,920 life of the righteous. How did Balaam die under God's 443 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,120 judgement? Because he loved money more than 444 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,280 anything else. Money was his God. 445 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:02,520 And yet still you see that this wicked man, this false prophet, 446 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:05,000 this example that the New Testament uses more than once to 447 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,880 say this is an evil, an attitude, this is an evil 448 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:10,440 outlook in life. This is an evil set of 449 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:12,480 convictions. There are people like Balaam in 450 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:16,040 the church today that harass the church and deceive the church. 451 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,720 That kind of a person can still have a smidgen of holy ambition 452 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:22,840 and affection and still not be regenerate. 453 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,160 Let me die the death of the righteous. 454 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,200 He didn't die the death of the righteous because he didn't want 455 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:31,640 to live the life of the righteous. 456 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:35,760 And so just because you have somebody who expresses or in a 457 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:40,040 moment or maybe in spontaneity says something right, expresses 458 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,520 something right, maybe even for a moment, conforms to something 459 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:46,120 right, does not necessarily indicate that they are 460 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,080 transformed. And that's what we see here with 461 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,080 this king. So he weeps over him. 462 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,080 And there is obviously a mixture of grief here. 463 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,000 I think part of the concern that he has was he really believed 464 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,600 that Elisha kept the nation together. 465 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,800 Now he's about to slip away into eternity. 466 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,480 And so as king, he goes, what's going to become of my Kingdom? 467 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:12,720 Elisha knows this. More importantly, God knows 468 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,440 this. So he actually extends comfort 469 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,680 to this troubled ruler. This is fascinating. 470 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,600 Come back to the main text, if you will, and look here at verse 471 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:29,880 15. And Elisha said to him, take a 472 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:33,560 bow and arrows. So he took a bow and arrows. 473 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,160 Then he said to the king of Israel, draw the bow, and he 474 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,440 drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the 475 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:42,040 King's hands. Pause. 476 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:46,520 Elisha has provided these instructions to the king because 477 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:51,840 he's preparing him to receive a prophetic word by symbolic 478 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:58,640 gesture to comfort him and to teach him and to remind him that 479 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:03,280 even though he's going to die, God is still available. 480 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,560 God can still be sought. God is still willing to come 481 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,360 through. And before we get into the 482 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,160 precise details of the prophecy, you know what I find here? 483 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:18,000 I see a man who is being eaten up with disease, giving whatever 484 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,200 strength he has left. To fulfill his duty as a 485 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,240 messenger of God. Look at the language here again. 486 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,440 It says here that he laid his hands on the King's hand. 487 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:29,680 So he just mustered up the strength. 488 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:31,600 And I wonder if he was laying down. 489 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:33,640 I don't know how he was positioned, but at some point he 490 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:37,360 gets up, he speaks with authority and he even places his 491 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,440 shaky hands on the hands of the king. 492 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:41,280 While he's holding that bow and arrow. 493 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:49,600 And I am moved because from the beginning, when Elijah 494 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:54,040 surprisingly threw that mantle on him, to the final days of his 495 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:58,120 life, you have a man who gave everything to serve the Lord. 496 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,840 Isn't this a moving thing? It should be moving to you 497 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:10,560 because it's possible for you and I to have that same 498 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,880 trajectory. I told you I was reading First 499 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,960 John today, but earlier this week I was looking over the the 500 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:20,200 words of First Peter and I want to show you something that 501 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:24,040 blessed me. It turned into a prayer and I 502 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,240 hope it becomes your prayer. Leaving this place in First 503 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:29,480 Peter Chapter 4, a very practical passage. 504 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:34,360 But notice this detail that confirms and adds to what we're 505 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:40,520 saying here about Elijah. First, Peter 410 Peter says as 506 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:44,120 each has received the gift, use it to serve one another as good 507 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:47,320 stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks 508 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:50,960 oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the 509 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:55,880 strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may 510 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:57,520 be glorified through Jesus Christ. 511 00:33:57,520 --> 00:33:59,760 To him belong glory and dominion, forever and ever. 512 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:01,680 Amen. Two thoughts come to me from 513 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,840 this passage. The first one is this, that the 514 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:09,639 strength that you know. The capacity that you have with 515 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:16,360 your mobility, with your agility that has been supplied by God 516 00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:19,440 every single day, whether you're aware of it or not, for the 517 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:24,960 purpose of you serving him. The breath in your lungs, the 518 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:32,960 ability to move, to type, to walk, to carry, to be here after 519 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:38,040 a long week of work. Every ounce of that energy is 520 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,600 aimed to serve God. That's glorious. 521 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:47,400 That's why you live. But beyond that, if this 522 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:52,199 strength does come from God, then it invites me to seek Him 523 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:56,239 for more of it so that I can live for His glory. 524 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,560 And so I read this the other day, and these verses became the 525 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:04,520 prayer of that day. Lord, give me more strength. 526 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:09,640 I don't want there to be any physical, emotional, mental, any 527 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:12,840 kind of obstacle that would limit me from doing what you've 528 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:16,160 gifted me to do. I want to do it forever. 529 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:18,400 I want to do it for the rest of my life. 530 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:21,120 This is what are you speaking about here. 531 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:27,640 There is a strength that God supplies and never take any, any 532 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,240 strength that you know for granted. 533 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:32,080 I've said this before, allow me to say it again. 534 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:35,840 The very fact that you were able to tie your shoes this morning 535 00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:38,480 or this evening was permitted by God. 536 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:41,960 You couldn't do that without God saying you can do. 537 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:44,080 That oh, I don't know about that. 538 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:46,440 You have a limited view of God's sovereignty. 539 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:50,920 You do praise team your ability to sing. 540 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:56,040 You don't take that for granted because that can be taken from 541 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,680 you overnight. Any preacher in this place, you 542 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:04,920 can become mute in a moment. So with all the strength that 543 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,880 God has given you for any kind of ministry in between the 544 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,560 examples I gave all don't take it for granted. 545 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:14,600 And don't you ever, ever, ever feel intimidated to come before 546 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,640 him, Say, Lord, give me more of the strength, secure the 547 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:22,520 strength, multiply the strength. I find this man who is riddled 548 00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:25,040 with disease, yet with a little strength he had, he says I'm 549 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:28,280 going to serve him. The final sight that we have of 550 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:30,280 this man is he's prophesying. That's what he is. 551 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:34,040 He's a prophet. I want to end that way. 552 00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:40,280 And maybe you're thinking someone inspired by Elijah's 553 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,600 example, but also disappointed because if you're honest with 554 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:48,560 your track record and the devotion to the Lord of the past 555 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:52,440 and maybe even today, it's not consistent, far from consistent. 556 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,720 You hear about Elijah from beginning to end, and he was. 557 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,200 He was a straight arrow, no pun intended. 558 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:02,840 But here you are, and you can barely keep yourself together 559 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:07,280 for a week. Maybe there's even wasted long 560 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:13,560 stretches of time where you gave the peak of your existence for 561 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:19,600 selfish ambition and purpose. If that's you, if you're feeling 562 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,000 this way, if any of us are feeling that way, there is hope 563 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:24,920 for us. I think of Jacob. 564 00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:30,560 Jacob was a scoundrel. Jacob was a trickster. 565 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:33,600 Jacob was a deceiver. And much of a story in Genesis. 566 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:37,880 He's just messing up with people and he receives the fruit of 567 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:40,680 what he sold. He reaped the consequences of 568 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,320 his deceiving ways, but is that how he ended? 569 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:51,480 Manipulating and twisting arms and playing these games? 570 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:57,000 That's not how Jacob ended. If you go to Hebrews, we're told 571 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,920 in one verse what this man looked like on his dying day. 572 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:03,640 I want you to see it. Go to Hebrews 11. 573 00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:13,690 Meet me in verse 21. Hebrews 11/21. 574 00:38:14,090 --> 00:38:16,610 I'll wait for you. I want to read it together. 575 00:38:20,810 --> 00:38:26,840 By faith, Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of 576 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,520 Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 577 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:37,280 That's how Jacob ended. Jacob ended by doing two things. 578 00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:43,440 Not deceiving people, blessing people, not running from God, 579 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:48,040 worshipping God. Why do I bring this to your 580 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:50,320 attention? Because the script of your life 581 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,800 can change if you're willing to believe it. 582 00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:56,400 Make the decision today that with whatever strength you do 583 00:38:56,400 --> 00:39:00,080 have left, whatever time you have left, that this will be 584 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:06,360 your goal, that you will leave this place being a blessing to 585 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:08,400 others and being a worshipper of God. 586 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:18,320 Let's come back to 2nd Kings 13. So he positions the King's 587 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:23,960 hands, but now he prophecies in verse 17 and he said open the 588 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:25,720 window eastward and he opened it. 589 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:30,680 Then Elijah said shoot and he shot and he said the Lord's 590 00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:33,880 arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria. 591 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:38,000 For you shall fight the Syrians and AFAC until you have made an 592 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:42,920 end of them. Here's the essence of the 593 00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:47,960 message. You, King Joash, will overcome 594 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:51,600 your enemies. Why would this be important for 595 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:53,480 him to hear? Because he's worried that when 596 00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:58,640 Elijah dies, so will there hope. And he says no, your hope 597 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:03,200 doesn't die with me. I'm going to die. 598 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:06,960 God doesn't die. God doesn't sleep for that 599 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,680 matter. And so he identifies as arrow 600 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:11,880 symbolically as the Lord's arrow of victory. 601 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:15,520 That is where your source of strength comes from, King Joash, 602 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:18,720 not in me. And so he's essentially 603 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:21,360 redirecting. He's pointing him to the right 604 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:26,000 source, look to God. He's going to remain, he's going 605 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,160 to supervise, He's still available, he's still 606 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:30,920 accessible. So keep your eyes on him. 607 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:35,200 And so he promises this empowerment to defeat the 608 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:41,280 enemies of the people of God. But the degree of this victory 609 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:44,440 will be determined by the level of faith that King Josh will 610 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:47,960 have. The promise of power has been 611 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:51,560 made clear. God is here, and the fact that 612 00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:55,080 he puts his hands on his hands is a symbolic way of saying the 613 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:59,280 Lord's hands are available. That is where you're going to 614 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:02,040 really find your ability to do this. 615 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:06,680 However, his faith is going to be tested right away. 616 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:10,800 Here's the promise for power. Now let's see what kind of faith 617 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:14,080 you have to access it. So what does he do? 618 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:18,120 Look at verse 18. And he said, take the arrows and 619 00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:20,280 he took them. And he said to the king of 620 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:23,600 Israel, strike the ground with them. 621 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:27,520 And he struck three times and stopped. 622 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,560 Then the man of God was angry with him and said you should 623 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:34,720 have struck 5 or 6 times. Then you would have struck down 624 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:36,840 Syria until you have made an end of it. 625 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:40,920 But now you will strike down Syria only three times. 626 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,360 Some feel uncomfortable with Elisha's response, his rebuke 627 00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:50,400 really, Because it seems that the king is doing the best he 628 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:52,160 can with the limited understanding he had. 629 00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:58,280 But if you really take into account how the king was 630 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:01,520 prepared before he actually was asked to do this, then you 631 00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:03,800 realize that this is actually a demonstration of weak faith on 632 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:06,280 his part. How do we know that? 633 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,960 Because back in verse 17, he was already told that this arrow 634 00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:12,920 signifies the arrow of the Lord's victory. 635 00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:18,160 And then he goes on to say take the arrows. 636 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:20,480 He didn't give him a number he's applying. 637 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:27,240 Take all of them and strike the ground with the arrows, but 638 00:42:27,240 --> 00:42:32,400 instead of emptying the quiver. He just stops at 3 and this is 639 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:36,920 what makes the Prophet upset, and rightfully so. 640 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:42,600 The king should have gone all the way and understanding the 641 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:44,520 interpretation, it's been made plain to him. 642 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:47,240 He should have made the connection and he should have 643 00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:52,000 continued with the picture and fulfilled a greater prophecy for 644 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:53,280 his life. But he doesn't. 645 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:57,840 Here's the case that I want to make, that the anger Elijah 646 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:03,680 feels can be Amen by the righteous in a nation that many 647 00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:07,840 spiritual leaders feel when they make known to the people of God 648 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:12,440 the very promises of God, but the people do not fully take 649 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:18,800 advantage of them. There's maybe apathy on the 650 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:22,960 King's part, maybe a level of unbelief, maybe both. 651 00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:29,720 But this kind of reluctancy and hesitation in seeing the Syrians 652 00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:33,920 defeated, you can say, mirrors how many Christians. 653 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:39,160 Approach and confront sin in their lives because the Syrians 654 00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:43,280 here are a picture of the powerful consequences of sin, 655 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:47,080 and now God is providing a way for him to be able to overcome 656 00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:49,640 it. But what does he do? 657 00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:57,520 He's content with partial victory, and I say that many 658 00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:00,480 Christians are the same way with the flesh. 659 00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:04,440 You and I have better promises than Joash. 660 00:44:05,400 --> 00:44:08,280 We have the promise of the gospel. 661 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,320 We have the inheritance of the power of the Holy Spirit. 662 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:15,960 We have God's hand, so to speak, willing to extend and reach into 663 00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:20,600 the deepest part of you, who you are, and to liberate you from 664 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:25,760 any shackle or bondage. That's a promise that we can be 665 00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:29,280 free because we are no longer under the law, but under grace. 666 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:35,080 Romans 6 says And yet how many people strive for complete 667 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:37,680 victory in their sanctification? I'm not talking about being 668 00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:41,440 sinlessly perfect, but I am talking about being able to say 669 00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:44,640 and be able to experience and testify that I am free and that 670 00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:47,600 when temptations visit to me, I can say with the strength of 671 00:44:47,600 --> 00:44:55,280 God. No, like Josh, people settle for 672 00:44:56,040 --> 00:45:01,920 partial victory and they lack the zeal in the faith to claim 673 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:06,520 total freedom. Many are like this, many are 674 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:09,920 living like this. And I can see where Elijah's 675 00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:11,200 coming from. Maybe you've known that and 676 00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:15,520 counseling a friend or looking at a sibling and you know what 677 00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:20,040 the promise of God can do for for your struggle against sin. 678 00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:22,520 And people seem to not take it seriously. 679 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:27,120 So they shoot 3 arrows. They take bits and pieces of 680 00:45:27,120 --> 00:45:32,000 God's promises and not the whole thing, and it burns your heart 681 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:34,480 because you don't want to see them continue in that suffering, 682 00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:37,240 but God doesn't. Force himself. 683 00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:40,600 If you want to settle with three, you can take 3. 684 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:44,680 With the measure of faith that you use, you'll receive. 685 00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:50,560 Do not doubt the promises of God. 686 00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:53,800 Do not cut them in half. Do not dilute them. 687 00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:56,440 Don't even dilute them with what you see around you. 688 00:45:56,680 --> 00:46:00,360 Believe Him and take Him at His word completely. 689 00:46:01,240 --> 00:46:04,320 Don't just shoot 3 arrows. Don't just take some here and 690 00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:06,160 leave others. Don't say this applies to you 691 00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:08,040 and this lead seems realistic and this doesn't. 692 00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:15,280 God's promises are meant to be experienced by his children 693 00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:19,320 completely. Don't settle for anything less. 694 00:46:19,320 --> 00:46:23,000 Unfortunately this king does. Verse 20. 695 00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:30,720 So Elisha died and they buried him. 696 00:46:32,240 --> 00:46:42,040 No open heaven, no horses from the sky, no fire, no whirlwind. 697 00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:48,000 Just the man in the ICU and the machine flat lines. 698 00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:55,000 Elisha died and they buried him. Now you would expect that this 699 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:56,840 is it. This is the cessation of his 700 00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:59,480 ministry. There's no more message, no more 701 00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:04,120 miracles. Prepared to witness probably one 702 00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:07,880 of the most fascinating supernatural occurrences in all 703 00:47:08,120 --> 00:47:10,920 of the Bible. Aren't you glad you came to 704 00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:14,160 tonight? You're about to see something 705 00:47:14,160 --> 00:47:18,160 that you've never seen before and you won't see after. 706 00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:21,880 Let's finish the verse. So Elisha died and they buried 707 00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:25,320 him. Now bands of Moabites used to 708 00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:30,200 invade the land in the spring of the year, and as a man was 709 00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:30,920 being. Buried. 710 00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:34,960 Behold, marauding band was seen, and the man was thrown into the 711 00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:37,160 grave of Elisha. And as soon as the man touched 712 00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:40,120 the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet. 713 00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:47,520 We're familiar with accounts in the Bible of living men. 714 00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:52,040 Raising the dead. I have never read of any miracle 715 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:56,160 where a dead man raises another dead man, But it's here. 716 00:47:58,040 --> 00:48:00,680 And our immediate question should be why? 717 00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:04,320 Why is the Lord allowing this? Obviously this is the Lord's 718 00:48:04,320 --> 00:48:05,680 doing, but why here? Why now? 719 00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,880 Why in this particular moment? And I think there is a 720 00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:11,920 historical answer. And then once we establish that, 721 00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:16,840 we can draw at least 2-3 strong spiritual lessons. 722 00:48:17,360 --> 00:48:21,800 So here's the historical answer. Notice again in verse 20, after 723 00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:27,360 Elijah dies, we're told about bands of Moabites who used to 724 00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:29,920 invade the land at a certain time of the year. 725 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:34,840 So we open this up by reflecting on the last time we heard from 726 00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:36,320 Elijah. But here's another question. 727 00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:40,080 When is the last time that we heard about the Moabites? 728 00:48:40,280 --> 00:48:42,360 You can answer a few if you feel like you know the answer. 729 00:48:43,760 --> 00:48:45,880 In our study of Second Kings, when was the last time the 730 00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:49,320 Moabites made an appearance in this narrative? 731 00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:54,720 Here's the answer. Second Kings Chapter 3. 732 00:48:54,800 --> 00:48:56,920 You don't have to turn there, but it's when. 733 00:48:57,320 --> 00:49:01,360 Moab, who is under the the subjugation of the Israelites, 734 00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:06,040 freed themselves, became independent, and so Israel, 735 00:49:06,040 --> 00:49:09,640 Judah and Edom partnered together to fight against the 736 00:49:09,640 --> 00:49:12,760 Moabites. And it was Elijah's prophetic 737 00:49:12,760 --> 00:49:18,120 instruction that rescued that team and LED them to the 738 00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:20,200 Moabites to be able to engage in battle. 739 00:49:23,320 --> 00:49:25,840 They disappear from the scene, and now we find them again in 740 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:28,080 this chapter. And I think there's a reason 741 00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:32,760 why. Remember, Israel is at a very 742 00:49:32,760 --> 00:49:36,160 weak point with our national security. 743 00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:41,800 Moreover, their true source of security is gone. 744 00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:45,840 Who is he, Elijah? I'm sure the Moabites had Intel. 745 00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:49,880 I'm sure they knew that Elisha played a significant role back 746 00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:53,400 in Second Kings 3IN guiding the nations to come up against Moab. 747 00:49:53,640 --> 00:49:56,760 So now you not only have the Moabites who have rebelled 748 00:49:56,760 --> 00:49:59,960 against Israel, but now they are emboldened to actually attack 749 00:50:00,200 --> 00:50:02,680 Israel. And I had on top of that the 750 00:50:02,680 --> 00:50:05,800 Syrians who are oppressing them. This is perfect. 751 00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:09,600 So you have the Moabites now invading the land of Israel, 752 00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:14,200 robbing them and pillaging and doing all these things. 753 00:50:16,040 --> 00:50:20,800 So I believe what you have here. 1 The fact that this man was 754 00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:24,640 able to resurrect just in come in contact with Elisha's bones 755 00:50:25,240 --> 00:50:31,600 was a reminder to Israel that Elisha was a true man of God. 756 00:50:31,640 --> 00:50:34,880 It's it's a really validation of the authenticity of his 757 00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:37,720 ministry. Elisha's message, his miracles 758 00:50:38,040 --> 00:50:42,080 can be traced to the true God. And even after he dies, that 759 00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:44,680 people are being reminded he was right. 760 00:50:45,320 --> 00:50:48,280 He was right all along. And hopefully this would have 761 00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:51,840 served as a way of drawing the people to the true God. 762 00:50:52,240 --> 00:50:55,480 Even after Elijah dies, God wants to communicate. 763 00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:57,800 Did you remember what the prophet said? 764 00:50:57,960 --> 00:51:00,600 You're in this mess because of your sin. 765 00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:03,880 How many times has Elijah called you unto myself? 766 00:51:04,080 --> 00:51:07,400 And so this demonstration of power was meant to get the 767 00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:11,800 attention of the nation, not just to draw them back in, 768 00:51:12,240 --> 00:51:16,360 secondly, but to encourage them. What was the fear of the king 769 00:51:16,360 --> 00:51:20,280 and the people that once Elisha was taken from them, that God's 770 00:51:20,280 --> 00:51:23,760 favor would be removed as well? And so the fact that you have 771 00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:28,400 this deceased man resurrecting after Elisha dies was a 772 00:51:28,400 --> 00:51:32,000 confirmation of the prophecy. Elisha might be gone, but God 773 00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:34,560 isn't. Elisha might not be available. 774 00:51:34,680 --> 00:51:37,840 God is still available. And they would have learned that 775 00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:40,480 there's no doubt that this would have spread and reached the 776 00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:42,440 Kingdom. The fact that this man left to 777 00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:44,160 his feet after he was thrown into. 778 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:48,520 Elisha's tomb. So this would have been a source 779 00:51:48,520 --> 00:51:52,360 of comfort. Elisha is gone, but God did not 780 00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:55,760 abandon us. God's work goes on. 781 00:51:56,120 --> 00:52:01,160 His purposes go on, even though his servants might go on. 782 00:52:02,720 --> 00:52:05,800 But I believe there are very beautiful spiritual lessons from 783 00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:10,360 this. The obvious 1 is that even 784 00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:13,800 though Elisha's life was over, his ministry wasn't. 785 00:52:15,520 --> 00:52:19,720 Like Abel, though he is dead, he's still what speaks. 786 00:52:19,720 --> 00:52:22,240 That's what you find in Hebrews Chapter 11. 787 00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:28,040 And you might actually be a person who can testify that 788 00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:30,720 you've come into contact with the material. 789 00:52:31,120 --> 00:52:35,640 Maybe books, tapes, online sermons of those? 790 00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:39,400 Who are no longer with us. But their message has been 791 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:41,480 preserved. Their example has been their 792 00:52:41,480 --> 00:52:43,120 biographies have been kept with us. 793 00:52:43,480 --> 00:52:47,680 And that brought you to life. That brought you to your feet. 794 00:52:47,680 --> 00:52:50,320 I can tell you, and I've said this jokingly before, that some 795 00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:52,040 of my favorite ministers are dead. 796 00:52:53,360 --> 00:52:56,600 He's got us preserve their work. And though they are dead, they 797 00:52:56,600 --> 00:53:01,320 still speak. And it's a wonderful 798 00:53:01,320 --> 00:53:05,480 encouragement to us that our fruitfulness can outlive us. 799 00:53:07,360 --> 00:53:10,440 And that sometimes, in God's wisdom, the greatest expansion, 800 00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:13,760 the greatest breath to your ministry can occur when you go 801 00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:16,040 into heaven, when you go into glory. 802 00:53:18,160 --> 00:53:21,520 There are many authors who they have written great pieces of 803 00:53:21,520 --> 00:53:25,680 literature, Christian literature that at the time did not really 804 00:53:25,680 --> 00:53:29,960 reach anybody, but after they died touch the world they're. 805 00:53:29,960 --> 00:53:33,920 Example after example of that, and we see something here by way 806 00:53:33,920 --> 00:53:37,280 of symbolism that you have Elijah who's in the tomb, but 807 00:53:37,280 --> 00:53:40,360 he's still touching people's lives. 808 00:53:42,920 --> 00:53:47,840 But it's also a humbling reminder to us of the power of 809 00:53:47,840 --> 00:53:51,200 God. It shows that the power of 810 00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:54,080 Elijah in his ministry did not come from Elijah. 811 00:53:55,560 --> 00:53:59,640 It was the. Lord, the same Lord who raised a 812 00:53:59,640 --> 00:54:02,840 person from the dead. By coming into contact with a 813 00:54:02,840 --> 00:54:06,280 dead man was the same Lord who touched many dead people while 814 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:09,200 that same man was alive. So whether Elijah was alive or 815 00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:12,640 dead, it did not matter. God was the source of his 816 00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:16,360 strength. So next time you feel pride 817 00:54:16,360 --> 00:54:21,000 tempting you, God doesn't need you to be alive for him to use 818 00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:25,800 you. He can use a corpse to perform 819 00:54:25,960 --> 00:54:29,160 resurrection miracles. He doesn't need you and me. 820 00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:32,320 He can use a lifeless, cold body. 821 00:54:32,520 --> 00:54:35,680 In fact, by this description, it could be that his flesh actually 822 00:54:35,680 --> 00:54:37,720 disintegrated. You just have his bones left. 823 00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:44,200 So who are you and I to think the good that he's doing in me 824 00:54:44,200 --> 00:54:46,080 or has done through me in the past? 825 00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:49,000 It's a little bit because of, you know, my personality and my 826 00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:51,920 looks and and my resources and my smarts. 827 00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:55,160 God can. Kill you and still use you. 828 00:54:56,000 --> 00:55:00,360 Remember that he doesn't need you standing behind anything. 829 00:55:00,360 --> 00:55:03,920 He doesn't need anything, and I think this is a wonderful 830 00:55:03,920 --> 00:55:08,680 reminder of that. How you're supposed to respond 831 00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:11,480 to God using you while you still have life is that He's just. 832 00:55:11,480 --> 00:55:14,480 Allowing you to enjoy it and to witness it. 833 00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:17,120 To give you an opportunity to glorify Him through it. 834 00:55:20,120 --> 00:55:24,800 Lastly, do you see a foreshadowing of Christ in this? 835 00:55:26,840 --> 00:55:30,360 I hope you do. Though you and I wholeheartedly 836 00:55:30,360 --> 00:55:34,680 believe that the body of Jesus after he died did not remain in 837 00:55:34,680 --> 00:55:40,280 that tomb, you cannot deny the theme of how someone's death 838 00:55:40,400 --> 00:55:45,080 brought life to others. Christ is here. 839 00:55:45,760 --> 00:55:50,120 Jesus Christ of Nazareth is being foreshadowed here in that 840 00:55:50,120 --> 00:55:54,760 in His death He raised sons of Adam unto life. 841 00:55:56,640 --> 00:55:58,600 And if you need confirmation from the New Testament, let me 842 00:55:58,600 --> 00:56:00,560 remind you of Romans chapter 5, verse 10. 843 00:56:00,600 --> 00:56:04,960 For while we were still enemies of God, we were reconciled to 844 00:56:04,960 --> 00:56:13,720 God by the death of His Son. It was the death of Christ that 845 00:56:13,720 --> 00:56:16,960 made you alive. Yes, His resurrection is an 846 00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:19,400 integral part of that, but you needed His death. 847 00:56:19,840 --> 00:56:22,920 I needed his death. So what do we have here? 848 00:56:22,920 --> 00:56:27,000 Little vignette of a man who died, a man of God, yes, but one 849 00:56:27,000 --> 00:56:30,360 greater than Elisha, who would not just bring one person back 850 00:56:30,360 --> 00:56:35,520 to life, and not just physical life, but eternal life, and 851 00:56:35,520 --> 00:56:39,720 many, not some, but many sons to glory. 852 00:56:40,560 --> 00:56:44,400 So even in this you have the perfume of the gospel. 853 00:56:45,000 --> 00:56:48,560 It's being sprayed right here and only the gospel centered 854 00:56:48,560 --> 00:56:51,760 mind can see it. I see something here, that one 855 00:56:51,760 --> 00:56:54,640 man, a man of God's death, actually was able to provide 856 00:56:54,640 --> 00:56:57,320 life to another. Surely Christ's death would 857 00:56:57,320 --> 00:57:02,040 perform greater resurrections. And it will and it will. 858 00:57:02,520 --> 00:57:05,080 And that's available to those who have faith in Christ. 859 00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:07,800 That though you die according to Jesus words in John 11. 860 00:57:08,160 --> 00:57:11,360 Yet you shall live, You shall live. 861 00:57:12,080 --> 00:57:14,200 Let's close this Bible study in prayer, shall we? 862 00:57:17,600 --> 00:57:21,520 As you prepare your heart, I'll read the final verses of this 863 00:57:21,520 --> 00:57:24,600 chapter. Now Hazael, king of Syria, 864 00:57:24,600 --> 00:57:27,040 oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoaz. 865 00:57:27,760 --> 00:57:30,320 But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, 866 00:57:30,320 --> 00:57:32,600 and he turned toward them because of His covenant with 867 00:57:32,600 --> 00:57:36,520 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has 868 00:57:36,520 --> 00:57:38,600 he cast them from his presence till now. 869 00:57:39,040 --> 00:57:42,200 When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben had died. 870 00:57:42,200 --> 00:57:44,160 His son became king in his place. 871 00:57:44,680 --> 00:57:48,800 Then Joash the son of Jyaz, took again from Benedad the son of 872 00:57:48,800 --> 00:57:52,320 Hazael, the cities that he had taken from Joaz, his father in 873 00:57:52,320 --> 00:57:56,080 war. Three times Joash defeated him 874 00:57:56,360 --> 00:57:59,320 and recovered the cities of Israel. 875 00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:05,120 God kept his promise. Lord, we thank you from the 876 00:58:05,120 --> 00:58:10,520 bottom of our hearts that in the Scriptures, in every part of it, 877 00:58:11,080 --> 00:58:15,360 are woven gospel truths. We thank You that Christ is the 878 00:58:15,360 --> 00:58:20,320 golden thread of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. 879 00:58:20,320 --> 00:58:24,320 We can see him there. Lord, we ask with all the things 880 00:58:24,320 --> 00:58:26,920 that we've heard that we would by your grace be able to retain 881 00:58:26,920 --> 00:58:29,520 them. Help us like Elisha as we now 882 00:58:29,520 --> 00:58:31,640 come to the conclusion of his ministry. 883 00:58:31,920 --> 00:58:35,600 Serve you with every part of who we are until our final day, 884 00:58:35,600 --> 00:58:40,480 Lord, and help us, O God, if we veer off. 885 00:58:40,640 --> 00:58:43,360 If anybody even in this place knows that they are not in the 886 00:58:43,360 --> 00:58:47,640 center of your will to remember Jacob even who changed the 887 00:58:47,640 --> 00:58:51,520 direction because of faith and trusted in your goodness and 888 00:58:51,520 --> 00:58:54,680 willing to rewrite his story. May that be so for some. 889 00:58:54,680 --> 00:59:01,120 Here more we think about the legacy that we would have. 890 00:59:01,920 --> 00:59:06,560 We do not ask for fame. We do not ask for influence. 891 00:59:07,000 --> 00:59:13,640 We simply ask that by your wisdom, you would allow us to 892 00:59:13,640 --> 00:59:17,360 reflect your character and to touch who you've appointed us to 893 00:59:17,360 --> 00:59:23,200 come into contact with, and that they would see you in us. 894 00:59:24,800 --> 00:59:27,800 Well, we pray for Maranatha Bible Church and every ministry 895 00:59:27,800 --> 00:59:31,320 represented here. That You would allow us to be so 896 00:59:32,080 --> 00:59:41,920 fragrant, so luminous, so filled with salt, that our absence 897 00:59:42,920 --> 00:59:48,240 would be felt in the community, Lord, that our absence at our 898 00:59:48,240 --> 00:59:52,320 workplace and our family gatherings would be felt. 899 00:59:53,520 --> 00:59:56,960 That like Joash, who recognized the blessing of a man of God, 900 00:59:56,960 --> 01:00:01,440 though he did not align himself to the same convictions, may our 901 01:00:01,440 --> 01:00:05,720 testimony be similar. That when we are where we are, 902 01:00:06,280 --> 01:00:10,640 people know it. And they can't deny the fruit 903 01:00:10,640 --> 01:00:13,200 and the blessing that we offer because of Christ in us, the 904 01:00:13,200 --> 01:00:16,000 hope of glory. So Lord, only you can make that 905 01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:17,960 possible. Only you can animate us to such 906 01:00:17,960 --> 01:00:19,760 a degree. And we submit ourselves to you 907 01:00:19,760 --> 01:00:23,680 asking for it to be more true than it was when we walked in. 908 01:00:24,280 --> 01:00:28,560 In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Let's stand worship the Lord. 909 01:00:53,680 --> 01:00:56,800 If you ever want to do a Bible study in the chapter we covered, 910 01:00:58,040 --> 01:01:00,480 I encourage you to revisit it with a different lens. 911 01:01:01,160 --> 01:01:04,360 Trace the grace of God from verse one down to the final 912 01:01:04,360 --> 01:01:07,040 verse of that chapter. Maybe you saw it throughout. 913 01:01:08,560 --> 01:01:12,360 He kept His promise to Jehu and his descendants even though they 914 01:01:12,360 --> 01:01:15,200 were wicked. He could have revoked it. 915 01:01:15,200 --> 01:01:17,680 He could have stopped it. He could have said this is only 916 01:01:17,680 --> 01:01:19,560 plunging you guys in the deeper darkness. 917 01:01:19,560 --> 01:01:24,800 But He kept His word when Josh came to Elijah and was weeping 918 01:01:24,800 --> 01:01:27,400 over him. He was an evil man. 919 01:01:28,200 --> 01:01:32,880 And yet the Lord still you'd use Elijah to comfort him and to 920 01:01:32,880 --> 01:01:35,040 remind him that I'm still available to you. 921 01:01:35,080 --> 01:01:39,280 I mean, it bothers me when people criticize the Old 922 01:01:39,280 --> 01:01:41,960 Testament, namely the character of God in the Old Testament. 923 01:01:41,960 --> 01:01:47,240 It I have a low tolerance for it because when you study it, it 924 01:01:47,240 --> 01:01:51,240 just, it's baffling. And lastly, even after Elisha 925 01:01:51,240 --> 01:01:56,480 died, God went beyond that prophecy and raised a man from 926 01:01:56,480 --> 01:02:00,400 the dead to tell that nation, I'm still here. 927 01:02:01,040 --> 01:02:04,400 You can still cry out to me. Elisha might be gone, but I'm 928 01:02:04,400 --> 01:02:08,800 still here. It's just, it blows my mind. 929 01:02:09,120 --> 01:02:12,120 It really does. Maybe one of these days you can 930 01:02:12,120 --> 01:02:15,000 do a whole, somebody can write a whole book just on the grace of 931 01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:18,680 God in the Old Testament, story after story after story. 932 01:02:19,000 --> 01:02:21,720 And if that's something that you endeavored to do, include Second 933 01:02:21,760 --> 01:02:28,600 Kings chapter 13 in it. Let's pray indeed, Lord, you are 934 01:02:28,600 --> 01:02:33,360 a gracious God. Oh, I pray, we pray together 935 01:02:33,360 --> 01:02:36,440 that we would feel fresh motivation to use our strength 936 01:02:36,440 --> 01:02:38,120 to serve you. Thank you for this wonderful 937 01:02:38,120 --> 01:02:41,200 example. And Elijah, we want to serve 938 01:02:41,200 --> 01:02:43,320 you, Lord, and in our service to you. 939 01:02:43,320 --> 01:02:47,400 If we are ever, ever tempted to feel like we are somebody, 940 01:02:48,280 --> 01:02:51,280 although you can't do this without us, Lord, help us 941 01:02:51,280 --> 01:02:57,840 remember that a corpse performed a miracle that none of us can 942 01:02:57,840 --> 01:03:02,440 imagine ever performing, That you can use dry bones. 943 01:03:03,600 --> 01:03:06,400 Never mind our strength, never mind our life, our breath. 944 01:03:07,280 --> 01:03:10,960 But Lord, with whatever we do have left, we consecrated unto 945 01:03:10,960 --> 01:03:13,480 you, we pray for your empowerment. 946 01:03:14,440 --> 01:03:17,440 And Lord, lastly, for anybody who is only shooting a few 947 01:03:17,440 --> 01:03:22,760 arrows, not claiming all of your promises, may that change today. 948 01:03:23,240 --> 01:03:26,560 May we take your word as it is. Come before you say, Lord, I 949 01:03:26,560 --> 01:03:29,480 want all of it. Whatever is available to me, I 950 01:03:29,480 --> 01:03:31,800 want it. If you're saying that I could be 951 01:03:31,800 --> 01:03:35,080 in victory over sin, I wanted. If you're saying that I can walk 952 01:03:35,080 --> 01:03:37,720 in the Spirit, I want it. If I can bear the fruit of the 953 01:03:37,720 --> 01:03:40,800 Spirit, yes, I want it. If it's possible to pray without 954 01:03:40,800 --> 01:03:44,240 ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances to rejoice always, 955 01:03:44,240 --> 01:03:47,040 Lord, I want it. We want all of it, Lord. 956 01:03:47,400 --> 01:03:49,840 So may our attitude towards your promises change. 957 01:03:49,840 --> 01:03:52,160 Leaving this Bible study. We love you and we thank you 958 01:03:52,160 --> 01:03:54,280 that you remind us of these things every week. 959 01:03:54,640 --> 01:03:58,960 In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen and Amen and Amen. 960 01:03:59,360 --> 01:04:01,640 Ministers come and go. Bible studies come and go. 961 01:04:02,000 --> 01:04:05,200 Churches come and go. Jesus remains forever. 962 01:04:05,600 --> 01:04:08,200 Walk with him. Would you, God bless you, Say hi 963 01:04:08,200 --> 01:04:10,120 to somebody before you leave. We'll see you next week. 964 01:04:10,120 --> 01:04:13,120 By the way, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, we started last week our 965 01:04:13,120 --> 01:04:14,600 series in the Book of Revelation. 966 01:04:15,000 --> 01:04:18,360 So this Sunday we are opening up Revelation chapter one, verse 967 01:04:18,360 --> 01:04:20,000 one. We're not going to stay just in 968 01:04:20,000 --> 01:04:22,240 verse. One, but read chapter 1 before 969 01:04:22,240 --> 01:04:23,480 Sunday. I'm sure I'll change your 970 01:04:23,480 --> 01:04:25,320 experience of our service. God bless you.