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I couldn't help but personally 
rejoice in the Lord in light of 

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this news because of what we're 
studying today. 

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Because as we come to the 
remainder of Second Kings 

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chapter 2, what we're going to 
discover is a minister who has 

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been taken and how God has a 
plan still a minister who is 

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removed, though not for the same
reason why many ministers are 

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removed from ministry today, who
ended faithfully, was taken into

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heaven in a miraculous way. 
And what we're going to discover

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is how the one of the greatest 
men of God is taken from the 

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people of God, God's message, 
God's word, God's plan has not 

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been shaken. 
It goes according to his plan, 

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actually. 
And so I just can I tell you 

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something about these Bible 
studies in the past few years, 

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and it's really since the time 
we began, though we're 

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systematically going through 
books in the Bible chapter by 

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chapter, verse by verse. 
It has never failed where God 

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has come through with a message,
with a study that is needed for 

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a situation, whether it's 
locally, regionally, nationally,

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internationally. 
I can't tell you the amount of 

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times how on a specific Friday 
night, God spoke to a situation 

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that was occurring that week or 
even that very day. 

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It is incredible how this book 
is supernatural when we honor 

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it, God really speaks through 
it. 

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And so I encourage you to carry 
in your heart of faith and a 

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posture of reverence as we come 
to the Word of God because He's 

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going to speak to us. 
He's going to meet with us, and 

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he meets with those who hunger 
to experience that. 

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And so I want you to pray with 
me now as we are ready to turn 

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and ask God to help us in this 
text. 

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Lord, we do thank you for the 
study this evening. 

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We thank You that You have 
ordained this night to speak to 

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our hearts as we've come to meet
with Your Word, to meet with the

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God of the Word. 
And so, Lord, we do pray and we 

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do beseech that You would help 
us by the power of the Holy 

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Spirit to experience all that 
You have designed to determine 

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for Your people to know through 
this portion of Scripture. 

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So, Lord, open our eyes, open 
our minds, open our hearts to 

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receive everything that You 
desire for us to have. 

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We give You glory in advance, 
and we pray for the help of the 

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Holy Spirit and the delivery and
the reception of this study. 

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We pray these things in the 
precious name of the Lord Jesus 

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Christ, Amen. 
Meet with me in Second Kings 

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chapter 2. 
Let's begin together in verse 

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13. 
And I want us to read the 

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entirety of the rest of this 
chapter to get an understanding 

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of the picture that we are going
to delve into together. 

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Second Kings chapter 2, 
beginning in verse 13. 

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And let's read all the way down 
to verse 25, it says here. 

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And he took up the cloak of 
Elijah that had fallen from him 

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and went back and stood on the 
Bank of the Jordan. 

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Then he took the cloak of Elijah
that had fallen from him and 

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struck the water, saying, Where 
is the Lord the God of Elijah? 

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And when he had struck the 
water, the water had parted, was

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parted to the one side and to 
the other, and Elijah went over.

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Now when the sons of the 
prophets who were at Jericho saw

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him opposite them, they said, 
The spirit of Elijah rest on 

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Elijah, and they came to meet 
him and bow to the ground before

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him. 
And they said to him, Behold, 

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now there are with your servants
50 strong men, please let them 

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go and seek your master. 
It may be that the Spirit of the

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Lord has caught him up, and cast
him upon some mount, or into 

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some valley. 
And he said, You shall not send.

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But when they urged them till he
was ashamed, he said, send. 

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They sent there for 50 men, and 
for three days they sought him, 

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but did not find him. 
And they came back to him while 

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he was staying at Jericho. 
And he said to them, Did I not 

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say to you, Do not go now The 
men of the city said to Elijah, 

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Behold, the situation of the 
city is pleasant, as my Lord 

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sees, but the water is bad and 
the land is unfruitful. 

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He said, Bring me a new bowl and
put salt in it. 

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So they brought it to him. 
Then he went to the spring of 

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water and threw salt in it, and 
said, Thus says the Lord, I have

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healed this water. 
From now on neither death nor 

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miscarriage shall come from it. 
So the water has been healed to 

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this day. 
According to the word that 

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Elijah spoke, he went up from 
there to Bethel. 

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And while he was going up on the
way, some small boys came out of

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the city and jeered at him, 
saying, Go up you bald head, Go 

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up you bald head. 
And he turned around, and when 

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he saw them, he cursed them in 
the name of the Lord. 

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And two she bears came out of 
the woods and tore 42 of the 

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boys. 
From there he went on to Mount 

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Carmel, and from there he 
returned to Samaria. 

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From this moment on, you and I 
are going to continue to unravel

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the history of Israel and Judas 
kings without the prophet Elijah

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being in the picture. 
In God's perfect wisdom, he 

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deemed it right to miraculously 
and permanently remove this man 

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of God from the scene. 
But in God's rich mercy, he did 

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not abandon His people in doing 
so, but he raised up a 

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successor, namely Elisha, to be 
the new leading prophet for this

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generation. 
And as we start to examine 

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Elijah's initial steps as a 
prophet, navigating this new 

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role without the guidance of 
Elijah, we're going to notice 

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some remarkable things. 
But what we have to understand 

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is that this pivotal point in 
Israel's history, he will emerge

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as the prominent prophetic 
figure, and he will be the focus

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of numerous studies ahead. 
So brace yourselves. 

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It's going to be an exciting 
time as we look at this man of 

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God and what he does for the 
glory of God. 

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And right away there seems to be
no, no, no delay in action, 

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particularly no delay in 
miraculous power being 

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manifested through this man's 
ministry. 

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In fact, if you caught on to it,
we see from verse 13 to verse 25

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several miracles that take place
and such quick timing and such a

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brief amount of transition. 
We see him doing particularly 

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three things. 
There are three miracles that 

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Elisha performs by the power of 
God. 

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That will be the way we frame 
this study. 

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I want us to look at each of 
these miracles. 

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And by looking at each of these 
miracles, we can trust that they

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have much to offer us in terms 
of lessons and practical truths 

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and understandings, in terms of 
the character of God, the nature

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of God, the nature of man. 
And so I want you, if you can 

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with me, divide your thoughts in
this passage with these 

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miracles. 
And the first one that we're 

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going to consider is in verse 13
down to verse 17. 

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Miracle number one in our study 
is the crossing of the Jordan, 

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The crossing of the Jordan. 
Now, if this miracle looks 

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familiar, we read it together. 
It's because it is. 

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Where did we see this before? 
Any idea where we saw them? 

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This miracle performed in the 
very same chapter? 

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Not not Joshua necessarily. 
That's what we concluded when 

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Elijah and Elijah crossed 
through the Jordan originally. 

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But in the very same chapter 
back in verse 8, we learned that

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Elijah, accompanied by Elijah, 
crossed the same water with the 

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same instrument and were brought
through to the final departure 

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destination before Rather 
Elijah's departure into heaven. 

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And now we have Elijah who is 
returning back to his home and 

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is now faced with the same 
barrier and he's going to 

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confront it in the same way. 
He's going to take the cloak 

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that Elijah left behind. 
Remember when he ascended into 

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heaven, he left behind his 
mantle. 

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And now Elijah is going to take 
that very same article of 

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clothing, and he's going to hope
that God is going to come 

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through in the same way he did 
for his predecessor. 

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And what we learn is that it 
does happen. 

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But the fact that Elijah does 
this should not confuse us 

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because it would be a great 
mistake to think that it's the 

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cloak that contain power. 
It was not Elijah's mantle that 

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provided any kind of 
supernatural assistance. 

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Notice again here back in verse 
14. 

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Then he took the cloak of Elijah
that had fallen from him and 

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struck the water, saying, where 
is the Lord, the God of Elijah? 

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So Elijah's confidence was not 
in his mentor, was not even in 

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what his mentor left behind for 
him. 

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Elijah's confidence was in the 
God of Elijah, and I believe 

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what Elijah is doing here is 
he's praying. 

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It's a brief prayer. 
It's a sigh of a prayer, but 

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it's a prayer nonetheless. 
And it reveals the ultimate 

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source of his trust. 
It's not in the cloak, it's not 

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in Elijah again, but it is in 
the God of Elijah. 

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And one of the key lessons from 
this miracle is that you and I 

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have to learn, if we're going to
see any spiritual success, to 

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rely on the Lord. 
And that reliance is ultimately 

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expressed through prayer. 
And the fact that Elisha does 

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this at the beginning of his 
ministry, really with this first

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miracle that he's going to 
perform, reveals that this was 

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foundational for him and it is 
foundational for us. 

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It has to be foundational for us
to build everything that we do, 

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any effort, any plan, any 
endeavor, with the realization 

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that we cannot know true 
effectiveness unless God 

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intervenes on our behalf. 
You have to learn how to depend 

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on God and to seek His help in 
prayer. 

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That's what we see right away. 
And it's not that methods are 

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wrong. 
It's not that resources are not 

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helpful. 
It's not that people in our 

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lives don't play a role. 
But we have to understand that 

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apart from God extending His 
hand, dispensing His grace, no 

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matter what we have at our 
disposal, it is futile. 

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So Elijah uses an instrument, 
right? 

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He's going to use a cloak to, to
create a dry path for him to 

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cross that border. 
But that cloak is powerless. 

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It has no value if God is not 
behind, behind it, animating it 

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and energizing it by his Spirit.
And you have to believe the same

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about your efforts. 
You have to believe that no 

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matter what you do with your 
hands, no matter what position 

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you have been granted, if the 
Lord is not with you in his 

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empowering mercies, then you 
will not know true fruit. 

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You will not know true fruit. 
And you access that grace when 

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you pause and pray before you 
pursue or participate. 

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That's what this man does right 
at the outset of everything, 

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right at the moment where Elijah
is taken and Elijah takes his 

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place. 
We find him at the brink at the 

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start and he, he prays. 
Where is the Lord the God of 

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Elijah? 
And we can move on, but I can't 

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help but look at what he prays 
or how he prays. 

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How does he pray? 
You know what he could have 

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said? 
Where is the Lord the God of 

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Israel? 
He doesn't pray that. 

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And it's not that he doesn't 
believe that God is not the God 

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of Israel. 
So why does he say, where is the

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Lord, the God of Elijah? 
Well, the obvious answer is that

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he needed the same God who 
helped Elijah perform his duty 

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to help him perform his duty. 
But I believe there's something 

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00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,800
even deeper than this because 
Elijah could have addressed the 

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Lord in many ways. 
He could have referred to the 

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Lord in other amazing ways, but 
he chooses to speak about the 

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Lord in connection to Elijah. 
And here's what I believe. 

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It's because Elijah's personal 
relationship with the Lord made 

200
00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:26,200
a monumental impact on Elijah. 
All that he had seen, all that 

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00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:30,800
he had heard in Elijah, his 
mentor, his teachers walk with 

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the Lord made such an impact on 
him that he desired the same 

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walk that his master had. 
And I think this is something so

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00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,920
important to understand. 
If you doubt that Elijah was 

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impacted by Elijah, look back at
how he refers to Elijah in verse

206
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12. 
This is when Elijah was raptured

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into heaven. 
And as Elijah is beholding this 

208
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site, notice how he calls out 
them in Second Kings 212. 

209
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And Elijah saw it and he cried. 
My father, my father, pause. 

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That's how you and I understood 
that Elijah had this personal 

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relation, this intimate 
relationship with his master. 

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It wasn't, it wasn't 
professional merely, it wasn't 

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00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:20,560
formal, it wasn't educational 
merely. 

214
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There was a real heart to heart 
connection. 

215
00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:25,400
He calls him my father, my 
father, but he doesn't stop 

216
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there. 
Notice what else he says? 

217
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The Chariots of Israel and it's 
horsemen. 

218
00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:38,960
And he saw him no more now 
that's that's him still 

219
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addressing Elijah. 
He's not addressing the Chariots

220
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that came the the miraculous 
Chariots there that separated 

221
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the two. 
He is he is addressing Elijah as

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00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:52,960
the Chariots of Israel and its 
horsemen. 

223
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What does that mean? 
Well, let me ask you something. 

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What do Chariots and horsemen 
represent for a nation at this 

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time? 
What did that signify? 

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Your army, your strength, your 
protection, your confidence in 

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some way. 
So do you know what Elijah is 

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saying about Elijah? 
That Israel's true strength, 

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Israel's true protection was 
actually found in this man of 

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God, in this man's presence, his
message, his intercession. 

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00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,120
In essence, what's happening 
here is that when Elijah has 

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been taken up, Elijah 
understands as a great loss for 

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the people of Israel. 
You think that this is an 

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00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,120
exaggeration? 
Do you remember how Elijah is 

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addressed when he is about to 
die? 

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00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,600
Turn to 2nd Kings 13. 
Look at look at it with me in 

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verse 14. 
This is when Elijah would be 

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removed from the earth, but in a
far different way. 

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00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:59,840
It's amazing how with Elijah, he
was taken up in such splendor 

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and miraculous fashion and 
Elijah is going to be taken. 

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00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,640
Well, look at it with me in 
verse 14 of Second Kings 13. 

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00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,920
Now when Elijah had fallen sick,
now look at that. 

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00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,040
So guy who performed many 
miracles, including healing the 

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sick, fell sick and that's how 
he would die. 

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00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:19,560
That's a very important insight 
for those who believe that 

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00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,720
Christians should never be sick.
And there are thousands, in fact

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millions of people who believe 
that. 

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00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,360
Now when Elijah had fallen sick 
with the illness of which he was

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00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:33,280
to die, Joash, king of Israel, 
went down to him and wept before

250
00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,640
him, crying, My father, my 
father, the Chariots of Israel 

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and its horsemen. 
So in the same way that Elisha 

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address Elijah, now we see here 
the king of Israel addresses 

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00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:50,360
Elisha by saying what you are, 
the Chariots of Israel and its 

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00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,280
horsemen. 
In a metaphorical way, you are 

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00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:57,320
the strength of this people. 
You, you are the true deliverer 

256
00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,280
as you represent God as this 
nation's prophet. 

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00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:06,840
So I, I say all that to say that
Elijah really was influenced and

258
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,400
impressed by Elijah and his walk
with the Lord. 

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00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:15,640
And so when he says, where is 
the Lord God of Elijah, he's 

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00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:20,760
really saying, I, I want, I want
God to walk with me like he did 

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with Elijah. 
I need him. 

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00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,080
And if he's truly called me, 
then he, he has to come. 

263
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,960
He has to come through for me. 
There are many people in this 

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00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,840
life, in this generation who 
want to influence others towards

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00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:36,960
something. 
In fact, there's a whole genre, 

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00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,240
there's a whole breed of people 
even in Gen. 

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00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:42,800
Z who are called influencers. 
I have most of them are not 

268
00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:44,840
influencing anybody for anything
significant. 

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00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,560
But if you're going to desire to
influence anyone towards 

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00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,680
anything, may it be this. 
So let me speak, let me speak 

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00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:58,480
briefly to fathers and mothers 
and siblings, especially older 

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00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:03,400
siblings, aunts and uncles, 
teachers, pastors. 

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00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:08,560
Be encouraged by this that it is
indeed possible to live for the 

274
00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:13,240
Lord Jesus Christ in such a 
manner that it would encourage 

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00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:18,119
others to yearn for their own 
devotion with the Lord. 

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00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,839
In fact, that is what God 
designed leadership in the 

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00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,800
church to be. 
So when I was meditating on this

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00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,280
last night, my mind went to 
Hebrews 13, seven and you know 

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00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:35,360
this passage very well where the
Lord says, remember your 

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00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:40,320
leaders, those who spoke to you 
the word of God, consider the 

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00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:46,640
outcome of their way of life and
imitate their faith. 

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00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:52,560
So listen, leaders are not just 
called to speak the word of God,

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00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:57,800
but showcase through their 
practical day-to-day living of 

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00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:03,000
the blessing of serving God. 
So in other words, leaders have 

285
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:08,680
been have been positioned to 
cause others to say, I want that

286
00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:14,600
Christ focused passion. 
I want that Christ energized 

287
00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:20,120
purity. 
I want that Christ inspired joy.

288
00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:25,760
So this is this is a high call 
for those who are summoned to 

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00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:27,400
serve the Lord and the local 
church. 

290
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:31,480
Their lives are to radiate that 
kind of inspiration. 

291
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:34,280
It's more than just speaking the
word. 

292
00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,800
It's allowing people to see what
the word lived out produces and 

293
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:44,280
for it to be contagious. 
At the same time, as much as 

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00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:49,280
there is a responsibility for 
leaders to motivate, that's not 

295
00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,440
the intention of this verse. 
That's not the primary command 

296
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,200
of this verse. 
There is a mandate for those who

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00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:57,000
are under such leaders to 
imitate. 

298
00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,560
So leaders motivate and people 
who are under such leadership 

299
00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:07,720
have to imitate. 
Not replicate, but imitate. 

300
00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,640
In other words, when the Lord 
visibly works in overseers in 

301
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:18,400
your life, it is meant for you 
to realize that I have something

302
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:23,560
to aspire to in my own faith. 
Do you understand that God 

303
00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,240
presents models to you, namely 
through the leadership in your 

304
00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:28,840
local church. 
And if they're a godly 

305
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,920
leadership, all the better not 
for you to admire them from a 

306
00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:37,240
distance, but for you to look at
their lives and say, that's 

307
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:41,920
possible for me. 
Then I can know that blessing in

308
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:43,640
my marriage. 
I can know that blessing with my

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00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,800
children. 
I can know that joy in prayer 

310
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:52,800
and in holiness. 
And how we see that translating 

311
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:57,000
between Elijah and Elijah is is 
clear right here in verse 14. 

312
00:19:57,360 --> 00:19:59,720
What was Elijah known for 
according to James? 

313
00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:01,320
Yes, he was a man with a nature 
like ours. 

314
00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:04,440
But why did James draw from 
Elijah to present him as an 

315
00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:06,440
example to the Christians that 
he was writing to? 

316
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:08,880
What was it for? 
Prayer? 

317
00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:14,560
He was a man of prayer. 
What's Elisha doing in verse 14?

318
00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:24,320
He's praying. 
And I think to myself, don't 

319
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,560
underestimate your faithfulness 
and what it can do to others. 

320
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,280
That's not your primary goal. 
It's a byproduct as you love the

321
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:33,880
Lord with everything that's in 
you. 

322
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,520
And my, my meditation went 
further. 

323
00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,760
I thought to myself, what if 
Elijah had succumbed to the 

324
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,280
temptation of discouragement 
because he lived amid national 

325
00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,160
apostasy? 
What if he allowed his zeal to 

326
00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,920
cool down because he felt as 
though there was no true 

327
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:58,160
response to his ministry? 
And that is another lesson in 

328
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,640
itself. 
If you want one Sure way of your

329
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:05,320
faith blessing others, live 
jealously for the glory of God, 

330
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:09,440
even if nobody else does. 
Just live for the Lord. 

331
00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:10,960
Who cares who doesn't live for 
the Lord? 

332
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:12,920
Who cares? 
Whose content in their 

333
00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,000
lukewarmness? 
Who cares? 

334
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,000
Who treats the local church like
who cares? 

335
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,040
Who doesn't Study and relish in 
the Word of God? 

336
00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:20,440
Who cares of those who don't 
pray? 

337
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,720
Who cares? 
Who cares? 

338
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,920
You live devoted to the Lord and
watch how God will use that to 

339
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:33,320
make an impact on someone. 
And in this case it was Elijah. 

340
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,240
And so he asked for the Lord, 
the God of Elijah, and God comes

341
00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:40,280
through. 
He'd struck the water. 

342
00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,600
The water was parted to the one 
side and to the other, and 

343
00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:44,120
Elijah went over. 
Now look at what happens in 

344
00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:46,640
verse 15. 
We're still under our lessons 

345
00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:48,360
from the first miracle. 
Now when the sons of the 

346
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:51,440
prophets who were at Jericho, 
Psalm opposite them, they said, 

347
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,280
the spirit of Elijah rest on 
Elijah, and they came to meet 

348
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,720
him and bowed to the ground 
before him. 

349
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,800
What do we have here? 
We have your very important 

350
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:06,800
illustration that is applicable 
to anybody who aspires to serve 

351
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:12,920
God in any capacity. 
God not only had Elijah part the

352
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,520
the sea there, the waters of the
Jordan, so that he would know 

353
00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,880
that the Lord was with him, He 
did the same so that others 

354
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,000
would know that the Lord was 
with him. 

355
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:29,160
If God has truly called you to 
some kind of a ministry, He will

356
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,600
work on your behalf to identify 
that to others. 

357
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,480
You do not have to advertise 
yourself. 

358
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,680
You do not have to pressure 
others. 

359
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,760
You don't have to try to 
convince them of your gifting or

360
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,800
of your calling. 
When God truly has His hand on 

361
00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:48,600
your life, others will recognize
that, at least those who need to

362
00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,160
recognize it. 
And there's so many 

363
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:52,840
illustrations that throughout 
the Word of God. 

364
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,240
That is not where I want to 
focus because there's something 

365
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,240
about the sons of the prophets 
that I want to look at. 

366
00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:02,480
It's not just how they came and 
approached Elijah with an 

367
00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,640
initial respect, but they also 
came with an itching skepticism.

368
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,440
So they bowed down before him. 
But notice what happens in verse

369
00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:13,840
16. 
And they said to him, behold, 

370
00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,160
now there are with your servants
50 strong men. 

371
00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:19,680
Please let them go and seek your
master. 

372
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,200
And maybe that the spirit of the
Lord has caught him up and cast 

373
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,200
him upon some mountain or to 
some valley. 

374
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:27,880
So what are they saying 
essentially? 

375
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,920
Well, we recognize that you are 
are the new director of our 

376
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:37,160
seminary, but we want to, we 
want to make sure that Elijah 

377
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:38,680
actually was taken up into 
heaven. 

378
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,280
This is not innocent. 
This is not a group of people 

379
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,920
who knew a leader for some time 
and are trying to adjust with 

380
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,640
transition. 
All transitions in life can be 

381
00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,640
difficult, especially when 
there's a change in spiritual 

382
00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:57,800
leadership. 
But that's not what's happening 

383
00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:00,840
here. 
This should disturb us to a 

384
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:05,480
degree because these sons of the
prophets understood that Elijah 

385
00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,640
was to be taken up into heaven. 
Do you remember when Elijah and 

386
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,720
Elijah were going from one place
to the next and in two of those 

387
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:13,880
places the sons of the prophets 
approached and they went to 

388
00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:16,680
Elijah and I said, do you know? 
Do you know that today the Lord 

389
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:18,640
is going to take away your 
master from over You guys 

390
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:20,560
remember that study? 
They knew it. 

391
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:24,920
It was made known to them that 
Elijah was to be removed and 

392
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:29,760
replaced. 
So what is it that they're doing

393
00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:34,760
here By begging Elijah to create
a search committee to try to 

394
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:39,680
find Elijah? 
I believe that the most fitting 

395
00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,000
explanation is that while they 
acknowledge Elijah as their new 

396
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,080
leader, they wanted to confirm 
Elijah's departure before fully 

397
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:50,360
accepting it. 
This is unbelief. 

398
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,880
This is unbelief. 
And what's even more 

399
00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:00,280
discouraging is that when they 
asked this, look at how Elijah 

400
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,600
responds at the end of verse 16 
and he said you shall not send. 

401
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,720
In other words, you're wasting 
your time. 

402
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,320
The Lord did take him. 
No matter where you look, how 

403
00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:14,000
many people you send, it's not 
going to amount to anything. 

404
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,200
But his instructions made no 
difference. 

405
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:18,800
They persisted. 
They asked. 

406
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,120
We want to know to the point 
where it says he was ashamed. 

407
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,560
And it's not that he gave in to 
the pressure. 

408
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:26,240
He says, you know what, I'm 
going to teach him a lesson the 

409
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,360
hard way. 
Let him learn by going, OK, 

410
00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:32,240
fine, go. 
And so they go. 

411
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,560
And as we conclude the thoughts 
from Elijah's first miracle, 

412
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,520
there are two things to learn, 
one from the sons of the 

413
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:41,480
prophets and one from their new 
leader. 

414
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:46,320
OK, the first thing is that the 
sons of the prophets were 

415
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,720
disobedient. 
They were unbelieving and they 

416
00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,320
were disobedient. 
And whenever you are unbelieving

417
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,080
and whenever you're disobedient,
it always cost you something. 

418
00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,080
Always. 
And in this case it cost them 

419
00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,720
their energy and it cost them 
their time. 

420
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,360
Notice what happens here verse 
17. 

421
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:07,760
And when they urged them till he
was ashamed, he said send. 

422
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,480
They sent there for 50 men, and 
for three days they sought him, 

423
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,880
but did not find him. 
You could have used those three 

424
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:18,360
days for better things. 
So imagine looking up the hills,

425
00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:23,760
looking to every cave valleys 
for three long days with no 

426
00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:29,360
results. 
Unbelief leaves you stranded. 

427
00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:31,320
Listen. 
It leaves you unsatisfied. 

428
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:36,560
Always God says one thing and 
you listen to your flesh. 

429
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,480
Instead, you're convinced and 
persuaded by your own wisdom or 

430
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:43,000
the wisdom of others. 
And for these guys, it took him 

431
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,280
three days to realize that God 
was right all along. 

432
00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:46,840
You know what happens with some 
people I've seen? 

433
00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:51,240
I've seen them take much more 
time than three days, three 

434
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,600
years before they get get it. 
People, they understand. 

435
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:56,880
You know what I grew up hearing 
about in the Word of God? 

436
00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,680
Well, my parents taught me what 
the pastor was saying when I was

437
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,040
barely awake. 
They're actually right. 

438
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:03,360
For some people it's three 
years. 

439
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:07,640
You know, for other people it's 
actually 3 decades before it 

440
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,280
finally clicks. 
Jesus Christ is the truth. 

441
00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:15,040
He is truly Lord. 
I've wandered and I've searched 

442
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:18,760
for all these years only to 
realize that I was a fool. 

443
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:23,600
I hope it takes you 3 seconds to
get it. 

444
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,520
Not even 3 days. 
I hope that if you're in this 

445
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:28,560
place and you've not fully 
strengthened to the Lord Jesus 

446
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:30,960
Christ, you would not have to 
learn the hard way. 

447
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:33,800
You would learn by just trusting
what God has to say. 

448
00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:36,720
Unfortunately, that was not the 
case. 

449
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:38,920
These men were disappointed. 
I promise you, you'll be 

450
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,520
disappointed too, if you choose 
to be the Lord of your own life,

451
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,440
or if you choose to not trust 
God in a certain area. 

452
00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,760
No matter how passionate or 
convinced you are, no matter how

453
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:52,360
difficult it is to embrace what 
God has to say about it, if you 

454
00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:56,640
don't obey it, you will come out
losing, I assure you. 

455
00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:02,520
But Speaking of timing, there's 
a lesson to learn from Elijah's 

456
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,920
perspective. 
Consider it from his angle. 

457
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,840
Here's this man who has been 
left behind, who is now going to

458
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:13,640
operate as a prophet without any
really human help. 

459
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:16,280
He comes to the waters of 
Jordan, of the Jordan. 

460
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:19,480
He strikes it, and the Lord 
proves himself, I'm with you, 

461
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:21,800
I'm walking with you. 
What would, what would flood 

462
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:27,000
your soul in that moment? 
Courage, joy, peace, 

463
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,400
exhilaration. 
And when was it that the sons of

464
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,040
the prophets came with their 
doubts? 

465
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:40,640
Right after, right after Elisha 
tasted something of the 

466
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:45,240
faithfulness of God, it was 
confronted with some level of 

467
00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:51,040
discouragement. 
I've lived the Christian life 

468
00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:56,160
long enough, especially in the 
context of ministry, to know 

469
00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:04,640
that this is a very predictable 
pattern, that discouragement 

470
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:10,240
tends to be right around the 
corner when God does something 

471
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:15,120
wonderful in your life. 
And if you think that again, is 

472
00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,920
an exaggeration, I think we see 
it repeated in the very same 

473
00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:21,000
text. 
So look back at verse 19. 

474
00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:26,840
Elisha is going to do a miracle 
for the city of Jericho and it's

475
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:28,000
going to bring healing to the 
land. 

476
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,000
And then look at verse 23. 
He went up there from there to 

477
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,840
Bethel, and while he was going 
up on the way, some small boys 

478
00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:36,200
came out of the city and jeered 
up saying go up you bald head. 

479
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:42,280
Go up you bald head. 
It's frequent, it's common. 

480
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:44,320
I've seen it in my own life. 
I've seen it in the lives of 

481
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:48,600
other servants of God. 
Right after Elijah sent his 

482
00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:53,920
confirmation into ministry, you 
had a group of men who doubted 

483
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:55,680
it. 
You have to understand here that

484
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,120
in their desire to look for 
Elijah, they're saying something

485
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:02,200
about Elijah. 
You understand that, right? 

486
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,480
We want to make sure that Elijah
is really gone before we crown 

487
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,400
you as the father of us, the 
sons of the prophets. 

488
00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,640
More than that, when they kept 
insisting and Elijah, as their 

489
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,440
new leader, was saying, don't 
send them, don't send them, do 

490
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:23,080
they obey? 
No, they didn't listen So much 

491
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:25,680
for a good start. 
As the new Dean of the school, 

492
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:28,680
they're not even taking your 
words seriously. 

493
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:36,280
So I want you to understand here
that discouragement is 

494
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:40,760
strategic. 
That shouldn't make you cynical.

495
00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:42,160
It should make you cautious, 
though. 

496
00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:47,960
Cautious and aware that 
unexpected behavior and bad news

497
00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:51,720
tends to make an appearance 
around the time when the Lord is

498
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:56,120
doing a work, creating a 
testimony. 

499
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:01,440
So that's some lessons we can 
learn from miracle number one. 

500
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,000
But we still have two more 
miracles. 

501
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:07,200
So let's go to miracle #2 the 
miracle we studied was the 

502
00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,080
crossing of the Jordan. 
And the miracle we're about to 

503
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,280
now explore is the healing of 
the waters. 

504
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,200
Let's look at verse 18. 
And they came back to him while 

505
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,400
he was staying at Jericho. 
And he said to them, Did I not 

506
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:23,760
say to you, Do not go Now The 
men of the city said to Elijah, 

507
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:27,600
Behold, the situation of the 
city is pleasant, as my Lord 

508
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:31,400
sees, but the water is bad and 
the land is unfruitful. 

509
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,040
He said, Bring me a new bowl and
put salt in it. 

510
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,800
So they brought it to him. 
Then he went to the spring of 

511
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:39,480
water and threw salt in it and 
said, Thus says the Lord, I have

512
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,400
healed this water. 
From now on neither death nor 

513
00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:47,240
miscarriage shall come from it. 
Read your Bible slowly. 

514
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,040
Look at verse 19 again. 
Where is this setting? 

515
00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:52,160
Where is this taking place now? 
The men of the city? 

516
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:57,040
Which city? 
Anybody have an idea? 

517
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:00,920
Jericho. 
We just read it verse 18, right?

518
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,200
They were in Jericho. 
They were probably the elders, 

519
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,240
the leaders of the city. 
This is where Elijah was waiting

520
00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:09,800
for the return of those guys who
were sent out to try to find 

521
00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:11,920
Elijah. 
So he's waiting there in 

522
00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:13,600
Jericho. 
And while he is there in 

523
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,120
Jericho, the leaders wanted to 
take advantage of the 

524
00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,400
opportunity and presented to 
them A cause, a need. 

525
00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:24,040
And they said, look, everything 
is pretty well here except for 

526
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,600
our water source. 
It's it's, it's not allowing us 

527
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:31,320
here to to see life, to see 
vegetation, to see our livestock

528
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,600
thrive. 
And it should not surprise us 

529
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,800
that this situation is taking 
place in Jericho. 

530
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:39,640
Why? 
Because we studied something in 

531
00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:41,120
the book of Joshua concerning 
Jericho. 

532
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:45,200
What was it? 
Jericho was cursed. 

533
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,560
Joshua pronounced a curse over 
Jericho. 

534
00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,160
And I'm persuaded that this is 
one of the fruit of the curse. 

535
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:57,720
This is one of the results of 
the curse and I believe here 

536
00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:01,480
what we also have is that it's a
it's a stark illustration of the

537
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:04,480
world that we live in as well. 
Look back here verse 19. 

538
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,400
Now the men of the city said to 
Elijah, behold, the situation of

539
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:13,480
the city is pleasant, as my Lord
sees, but the water is bad and 

540
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:17,600
the land is unfruitful. 
So on on the surface, the 

541
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:21,720
activity of the city of Jericho 
seemed promising. 

542
00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:26,480
It seemed profitable, but upon 
investigation, what you realize 

543
00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:30,680
is that it lacks substance, that
it was a lifeless. 

544
00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:36,760
So it seemed pleasant on the 
surface level, but in reality it

545
00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:41,080
was dreadful. 
It was dry, had nothing really 

546
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:45,680
to offer. 
And that is the same illusion 

547
00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:47,840
that you and I are surrounded by
in this world. 

548
00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:53,760
You understand that, right? 
That on the surface it seems, 

549
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:57,080
and I know it seems to be harder
to believe now with the growing 

550
00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:02,600
carnage and chaos around us 
today, but generally that is the

551
00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:05,400
case. 
We perceive with our senses as 

552
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,760
we look around, that there's a 
general happiness, that there's 

553
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,360
security, that there seems to be
a purpose that satisfies people 

554
00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:19,040
as they ignore God, as they 
serve their own passions. 

555
00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:22,800
But listen, when you really dig 
deep, and you don't have to dig 

556
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:26,760
too deep, actually, it will 
reveal that there is 

557
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:34,199
unfruitfulness in it all. 
But this is really a miracle of 

558
00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:37,400
hope and grace because this 
place that is cursed is now 

559
00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:41,120
going to be reversed. 
One of the symptoms of God's 

560
00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:45,600
judgement against this place is 
now going to be reversed in some

561
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,360
way. 
So how does Elijah go about it? 

562
00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:51,600
He asked for a new bowl. 
So a bowl that's free from 

563
00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:55,560
contamination to put salt in it,
which is an obvious illustration

564
00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:59,400
of of a purifying agent. 
And then he throws it into the 

565
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:01,200
water. 
Now, here's what's significant, 

566
00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,600
that the the unfruitfulness of 
the land is a symptom. 

567
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:08,480
It's a symptom of a deeper 
issue. 

568
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:12,960
Why was the land unfruitful? 
Because something else was bad. 

569
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,280
What was it? 
You can answer. 

570
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:17,560
I'm not going to bite. 
It's OK. 

571
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:22,000
The water, the water was bad. 
That's why the land was 

572
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,520
unfruitful. 
Now, what I find so significant 

573
00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:28,120
is that the way Elijah 
approaches this problem is the 

574
00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:31,280
way the Lord God approaches the 
barrenness of man. 

575
00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:34,840
In what way? 
Elijah wasn't running around to 

576
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:39,560
every tree, every shrub, every 
farm and trying to fix it. 

577
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:45,160
He went to the source, and the 
source was a contaminated, 

578
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:50,200
polluted spring, and in dealing 
with the spring, everything that

579
00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:54,240
those waters touched would also 
be affected. 

580
00:35:56,240 --> 00:36:03,200
When the Lord saves a Sinner, he
doesn't deal with the external 

581
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:06,520
elements. 
He goes to the source, He goes 

582
00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:11,840
to the heart, and he purifies 
that heart, knowing that the 

583
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:16,600
life of the Spirit will pump 
into every aspect of that 

584
00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:23,360
individual's life and they will 
receive that grace, that power 

585
00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:27,520
that begins in the spring of the
man's soul. 

586
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,320
It's a beautiful picture here of
how the Lord works on us, and 

587
00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:34,240
I'm reminded of one verse among 
many that illustrates that 

588
00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:36,560
point. 
You remember what we are told in

589
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:41,640
in Titus 214 about the Lord and 
what He does through His Son the

590
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:44,560
Lord Jesus. 
It says here in Titus 214, who 

591
00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:48,960
gave Himself for us to redeem us
from all unlawlessness or 

592
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:53,480
lawlessness, and to purify for 
Himself a people for his own 

593
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:55,680
possession, who are zealous for 
good works. 

594
00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:00,400
What comes before the zeal for 
good works? 

595
00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:04,800
A purification. 
You know what that word purify 

596
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,520
is in the Greek? 
Literally to clean, literally 

597
00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:12,840
like a dirty dish, a clothing 
that has stains on it, That's 

598
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:16,640
the same word. 
So the Lord purifies for himself

599
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:22,160
a people and what follows that 
is what a zeal for good works, a

600
00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:26,440
zeal for good works. 
Can I say something though? 

601
00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:32,360
It's possible for you to to lose
your zeal for good works, right?

602
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,840
Many Christians are lacking that
passion. 

603
00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:42,880
That's a symptom. 
That's a symptom of a deeper 

604
00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:45,800
issue. 
If you find yourself pulling 

605
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:49,800
away from the word of God, the 
presence of God, the people of 

606
00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,120
God, there's something deeper 
going on. 

607
00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:54,360
Your heart needs to be worked 
on. 

608
00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:59,480
It's not. 
It's not you mustering up the 

609
00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,520
strength for you to wake up and 
go to church that Sunday because

610
00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:05,520
last Sunday one of the elders 
came up to him and said we 

611
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:06,760
haven't seen you in a few 
months. 

612
00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:08,960
You're just treating the 
symptoms. 

613
00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:14,200
There needs to be a deeper 
cleansing and you need to come 

614
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,680
before the Lord honestly, and 
ask them to surgically make out 

615
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:22,240
exactly what it is that needs to
be altered so that where your 

616
00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:27,840
heart is and what it touches 
would truly make a lasting 

617
00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:29,440
impact. 
And that's exactly what happens 

618
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:31,320
here. 
Look at the lasting impact in 

619
00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:33,800
verse 22. 
So the water has been healed to 

620
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,240
this day according to the word 
that Elijah spoke. 

621
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:43,160
I want the same for you. 
If you are dry and callous in 

622
00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:48,200
this place, it's not about 
setting an alarm clock earlier 

623
00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:52,000
or trying to whip up some kind 
of emotion for you to be more 

624
00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:54,600
zealous for the Lord. 
You need the Lord to do a 

625
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,880
healing work again, and He is 
capable of doing it if you 

626
00:38:57,880 --> 00:38:59,800
humble yourself. 
You know what I love about these

627
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:03,360
men, They were at a point where 
they realized that Elijah was 

628
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,840
most likely passing through, but
when he was in their 

629
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:09,640
neighborhood, they seized the 
opportunity, said please hear us

630
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:14,360
how to do something about this. 
I know a lot of people who are 

631
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:19,040
who are spiritually dead, 
unfruitful, and they're content 

632
00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:21,240
in that place. 
And if you're going to be 

633
00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:24,240
content in that place, then 
you'll stay in that place. 

634
00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:27,200
I love what Elijah does here. 
He doesn't just wave his hand 

635
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:29,360
like a wand and deal with the 
issue. 

636
00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:32,280
He actually calls the people to 
participate in the process. 

637
00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:36,240
He says what verse 20, He said, 
bring me a new bowl and put salt

638
00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,040
in it. 
So they brought it to him. 

639
00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:44,560
So what are you willing to do in
order for God to bring healing? 

640
00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,200
Because what this miracle 
teaches us is that God is 

641
00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:52,240
willing to heal. 
Unfruitfulness, physical 

642
00:39:52,240 --> 00:39:55,280
unfruitfulness, spiritual 
unfruitfulness. 

643
00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:01,040
So if you've lost the fragrance,
if you, if you've lost that 

644
00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:06,400
sense of passion, that pursuit, 
God can heal that He can. 

645
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:11,600
That's a brief segment for this 
study. 

646
00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:14,600
We're going to spend more time 
in the last and final miracle. 

647
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:18,560
There's a clear contrast between
the second and third miracle. 

648
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:25,040
Look at verse 23. 
He went up from there to Bethel,

649
00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:28,720
and while he was going up on the
way, some small boys came out of

650
00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:32,440
the city and jeered at him 
saying go up you bald head, go 

651
00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:36,320
up you bald head, and we know 
the rest, right? 

652
00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:39,120
He turns around, pronounces a 
curse, two she bears come out 

653
00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,600
and mall 42 of them, and then he
just goes on to Mount Carmel. 

654
00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:47,440
I assure you, you did not hear 
this in Sunday school. 

655
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:51,920
Even those who are beyond Sunday
school still can't seem to 

656
00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:54,960
reconcile this with the 
character of God, with the New 

657
00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:58,080
Testament, with how we're 
supposed to respond to those who

658
00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:02,480
mock us and scorn us. 
But let me just present this 

659
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:05,920
clear contrast here. 
In Jericho, the people humbly 

660
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:11,800
beseeched Elijah, but in Bethel 
they viciously rejected him. 

661
00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:16,840
In Jericho, the power of God 
through Elijah overcame death 

662
00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:20,360
and brought life. 
But in Bethel, what do you have?

663
00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:26,000
Death claimed the lives of many 
young men in Jericho. 

664
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:30,480
Elisha was used to reverse a 
symptom of the curse, but in 

665
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:36,000
Bethel he pronounces a curse. 
That might be a clever contrast,

666
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:37,520
but we still got to make sense 
of this. 

667
00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:42,720
How? 
How is this in our Bibles, and 

668
00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:45,800
what do we do with it? 
What do we take from it? 

669
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:50,320
I think the relief will come 
when you consider three things. 

670
00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:54,360
OK, so if you're a note taker, 
put these sub points down. 

671
00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:57,880
The first thing is the place. 
The second thing is the people. 

672
00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:01,120
The third thing is the prophecy.
So under the third miracle, 

673
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:04,680
which is the miracle of the 
death of 42 boys, you have to 

674
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:06,640
consider the place. 
You have to consider the people.

675
00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:09,160
You have to consider the 
prophecy. 

676
00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:11,880
So look at the place. 
Where did this all take place? 

677
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:14,120
He went up from there to where? 
Bethel. 

678
00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:21,720
Bethel rich spiritual heritage 
or no very rich spiritual 

679
00:42:21,720 --> 00:42:23,680
heritage. 
This is where Jacob encountered 

680
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,840
encountered God in a very 
significant way and he named it 

681
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:29,800
Bethel, which means what House 
of God. 

682
00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:35,040
So in its DNA, in its 
origination, it carried weighty 

683
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,080
meaning. 
But that didn't last very long, 

684
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:39,720
right? 
Because in the days of kings, 

685
00:42:39,720 --> 00:42:43,720
first Kings Chapter 11, going 
into chapter 12 specifically, 

686
00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:45,280
there was a division in the 
Kingdom. 

687
00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:47,680
Who was the king of the northern
Kingdom at first? 

688
00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:49,080
What was his name? 
This is review. 

689
00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:51,440
Jeroboam. 
Yes. 

690
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:53,000
And who was the king of the 
southern Kingdom? 

691
00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:55,120
At least the first king 
Rehoboam. 

692
00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:58,960
Easy to remember, they rhyme. 
Jeroboam was the king of the 

693
00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:03,320
northern tribes of Israel. 
Very nervous that at some point 

694
00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:05,840
his people were going to unite 
again with the southern Kingdom 

695
00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:09,280
because they were instructed to 
go to Jerusalem to worship the 

696
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:11,440
Pilgrim feast. 
And so he comes up with this 

697
00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:14,760
evil scheme and that is to 
create 2 new locations of 

698
00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:18,680
worship. 
One was located where Good Dan, 

699
00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:25,400
the other place, Bethel. 
So the House of God now became a

700
00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:28,840
den of idolatry and it carried 
and strengthened in that 

701
00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:33,480
reputation throughout the years.
And So what we have here is 

702
00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:35,320
Bethel. 
It hasn't healed from its 

703
00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:38,440
idolatry and apostasy yet. 
In fact, some of the most 

704
00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:41,800
notorious evil people resided in
Bethel. 

705
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:45,320
Can I prove that to you? 
Do you remember that once A had 

706
00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:48,440
became king, what happened with 
Jericho? 

707
00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:53,200
It was rebuilt, right? 
The city of Jericho was rebuilt 

708
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,400
at a cost. 
If any man were to rebuild the 

709
00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:59,720
cities of Jericho, the lives of 
that man's children was was to 

710
00:43:59,720 --> 00:44:02,720
be taken. 
But do you know who that man 

711
00:44:02,720 --> 00:44:04,120
was? 
Do you remember at least 

712
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:09,880
there'll be good Bible quiz 
question. 

713
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:13,080
Go to 1st Kings 16. 
I can't just tell it to you. 

714
00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:14,560
I want you to see it with your 
own eyes. 

715
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:29,270
Look at first Kings 16 verse 34.
In his days being King Ahab, in 

716
00:44:29,270 --> 00:44:38,160
his days Hyel of where Bethel 
built Jericho, he laid its 

717
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:40,800
foundations at the cost of a 
Byram, his first born and set up

718
00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:44,080
its gates at the cost of his 
youngest son, Sega, according to

719
00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:46,800
the word of the Lord, which they
which he spoke by Joshua, the 

720
00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:49,920
son of Nun. 
So the guy that rebuilt the city

721
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,400
was from Bethel. 
Gives you an idea of what kind 

722
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:57,960
of crowd we're dealing with. 
So this is the kind of people 

723
00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:02,440
that Bethel produces, and these 
are where these children came 

724
00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:06,400
from to harass the prophet of 
God, very hostile, very anti 

725
00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:10,640
Yahweh, one of the capitals of 
apostasy. 

726
00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:14,240
That's the place. 
But let's look more specifically

727
00:45:14,240 --> 00:45:17,320
at the people it says here. 
And he went up from there to 

728
00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:19,560
Bethel in verse 23. 
While he was going up on the 

729
00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:23,120
way, some small boys came out of
the city and jeered at him 

730
00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:24,880
saying go up your bullhead, go 
up your bald head. 

731
00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:29,720
This is probably the most 
disturbing aspect of this brief 

732
00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:32,400
story. 
Some small children. 

733
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:35,080
So the image that most people 
have is you have kids who are 

734
00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:37,320
outside and the outskirts of 
Bethel are probably playing 

735
00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:40,080
soccer. 
And then the prophet Elijah 

736
00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:43,080
walks by and they notice that he
doesn't have hair. 

737
00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:44,680
And they said, hey, look, 
Baldy's over there. 

738
00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:46,480
Get out of here, baldy, get out 
of your baldy. 

739
00:45:46,720 --> 00:45:49,600
Then Elijah was in a he was 
tired, he was in a bad mood, 

740
00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:52,400
turned around, looked at the 
kid, says curse, curse. 

741
00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:54,360
Are you in the name of the Lord?
And the two bears come and just 

742
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:57,120
maul them and have a buffet with
these kids. 

743
00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:00,360
Is that, is that what's going on
here? 

744
00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:06,240
The Hebrew word for the, the the
word small children here is much

745
00:46:06,240 --> 00:46:11,320
broader. 
It's used to identify a wide 

746
00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:14,880
range of demographics. 
Let me give an example. 

747
00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:18,760
So in Genesis 37, two, we're 
told there that Joshua was how 

748
00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:21,440
old? 
Anybody remember how old, excuse

749
00:46:21,440 --> 00:46:27,200
me, Joseph was, Huh. 
He was 17 years old. 

750
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:29,520
And in that same verse, we're 
told that he was a boy. 

751
00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:33,280
And it's the same word used here
when it comes to some small 

752
00:46:33,280 --> 00:46:35,720
boys. 
And there are other instances 

753
00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:39,720
where that Hebrew word is used 
to even describe much older 

754
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:42,120
young men. 
And so it's very possible that 

755
00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:44,720
we're not dealing with kids from
the nursery here. 

756
00:46:46,040 --> 00:46:50,320
We're dealing with maybe 
teenagers and how we can even 

757
00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:53,240
confirm that is their behaviour.
They were aware of who Elijah 

758
00:46:53,240 --> 00:46:55,320
was. 
They were aware about events 

759
00:46:55,320 --> 00:47:01,560
surrounding him and his ministry
and who he was in relation to 

760
00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:04,160
them as the people who come from
Bethel. 

761
00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:09,600
So we're not given the exact age
of these boys, but they were old

762
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:14,600
enough to confront this man. 
And I want you to show, I want 

763
00:47:14,600 --> 00:47:16,320
you to show you exactly how they
confronted him. 

764
00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:19,360
They were not just outside 
hanging out of the city gates. 

765
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:24,640
Look here again in verse 23, the
second part, some small boys 

766
00:47:24,640 --> 00:47:28,960
came out of the city and jeered 
at him, saying go up you bald 

767
00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:31,320
head, go up you bald head. 
So they saw him walking. 

768
00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:37,600
They were inside, saw him and 
chose to go out and pursue him. 

769
00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:41,400
And we can even believe that 
they were following him because 

770
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:46,080
look at verse 24. 
And he turned around and when he

771
00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:47,920
saw them. 
So it's very likely that they 

772
00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:53,040
were, they were starting to 
annoy him, yes, mock him, sure, 

773
00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:54,720
but who knows what else they had
in mind. 

774
00:47:55,920 --> 00:47:57,920
This is not a group of five 
kids. 

775
00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:02,880
We're told that 42 of the boys 
were mauled, meaning that there 

776
00:48:02,880 --> 00:48:05,360
were more of them. 
We're talking about a gang, a 

777
00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:08,760
big crowd. 
They're they're here looking for

778
00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:11,920
trouble. 
The prophet is in danger here. 

779
00:48:14,240 --> 00:48:16,720
So they recognize who Elijah was
from a distance. 

780
00:48:16,720 --> 00:48:19,200
And more than that, look at the 
nature of their insult. 

781
00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:22,840
Go up, you bald head one. 
I'm encouraged to know that God 

782
00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:26,400
doesn't. 
Elijah was known as what he was 

783
00:48:26,400 --> 00:48:28,360
a man. 
That was he was he hairless? 

784
00:48:29,160 --> 00:48:33,960
No, he's actually very hairy. 
So Elijah was hairy and Elijah 

785
00:48:34,280 --> 00:48:36,080
barely had any hair, at least on
his head. 

786
00:48:36,320 --> 00:48:38,320
I'm so glad that the Lord 
doesn't choose is based on our 

787
00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:40,000
appearance. 
He uses hairy people and people 

788
00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:43,840
who don't have hair, but they 
say go up you bald head. 

789
00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:46,240
Was that just merely an insult 
on his appearance? 

790
00:48:49,160 --> 00:48:52,560
Is there anything in the near 
context that would suggest what 

791
00:48:52,560 --> 00:48:54,640
they're getting at by saying go 
up? 

792
00:48:56,360 --> 00:48:58,640
What happened? 
Who went up recently? 

793
00:49:00,200 --> 00:49:06,200
Elijah, He was taken up. 
We have every right to believe 

794
00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:09,600
that that news of Elijah being 
taken in such a miraculous way 

795
00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:13,480
into heaven spread and it even 
reached Bethel. 

796
00:49:15,200 --> 00:49:18,000
And so when these kids from 
Bethel are saying go up, you 

797
00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:19,680
ball that what are they 
essentially saying? 

798
00:49:20,680 --> 00:49:24,920
Get out of here. 
In the same way that Elijah was 

799
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:27,600
removed, Why don't you join him?
Go up to heaven and leave us 

800
00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:30,680
alone. 
This is what they're saying. 

801
00:49:31,240 --> 00:49:33,000
That's just making fun of their 
his appearance. 

802
00:49:33,320 --> 00:49:37,960
They are vocalizing their 
disdain and their rejection of 

803
00:49:37,960 --> 00:49:41,840
God because this man represented
God. 

804
00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:47,640
And it's a very dangerous thing 
for messengers of God, 

805
00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:50,560
especially in the old covenant, 
to be mocked in this way 

806
00:49:50,560 --> 00:49:54,000
persistently. 
Here's a verse to confirm that 

807
00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:57,640
in Second Chronicles 36 verse 
16. 

808
00:49:57,960 --> 00:50:01,280
This is when Judah was about to 
be judged by their exile. 

809
00:50:02,120 --> 00:50:04,520
It says here. 
But they kept mocking the 

810
00:50:04,520 --> 00:50:10,040
messengers of God, despising his
words and scoffing at his 

811
00:50:10,040 --> 00:50:13,600
prophets, until the wrath of the
Lord rose against his people, 

812
00:50:13,600 --> 00:50:16,560
until there was no remedy. 
Notice the close connection 

813
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:20,760
between the messengers of God 
being mocked and people 

814
00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:26,640
despising his words. 
So when a man of God is rebuked,

815
00:50:26,640 --> 00:50:32,560
when a man of God is persecuted,
rejected, denied, ultimately 

816
00:50:32,560 --> 00:50:34,440
they're doing that to the God 
that they represent. 

817
00:50:35,720 --> 00:50:38,560
So when they said go up, you 
bald head, yes, mocking the 

818
00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:41,360
messenger, but ultimately 
despising the word of the Lord, 

819
00:50:44,760 --> 00:50:46,960
that brings us to our final 
subpoint. 

820
00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:50,120
Not just the place, not just the
people, but the prophecy. 

821
00:50:51,240 --> 00:50:54,440
Again, Elijah didn't turn around
and come up with a creative way 

822
00:50:54,440 --> 00:50:57,400
to judge these kids. 
And so thought to himself, let 

823
00:50:57,400 --> 00:51:01,080
me summon 2 she bears to to give
them a day that they'll never 

824
00:51:01,080 --> 00:51:05,720
forget. 
Elijah knew the word of God and 

825
00:51:05,720 --> 00:51:09,600
Elijah understood that God 
warned that if his people were 

826
00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:13,440
to remain in a state of 
apostasy, then one of the acts 

827
00:51:13,440 --> 00:51:17,360
of judgement that would come. 
Does anybody remember we've 

828
00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:19,560
touched on this more than once 
in our previous Bible studies 

829
00:51:19,720 --> 00:51:24,680
where this particular act of 
judgement is defined. 

830
00:51:27,080 --> 00:51:28,800
Yes, we are creatures of 
repetition. 

831
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:31,960
We need to remind ourselves 
there's a clear warning that 

832
00:51:31,960 --> 00:51:35,320
gives explanation to why it was 
2 She bears came out and mauled 

833
00:51:35,320 --> 00:51:38,480
these children. 
Leviticus 26. 

834
00:51:39,240 --> 00:51:45,120
Look here with me in verse 21, 
This is God giving a series of 

835
00:51:45,120 --> 00:51:49,080
warnings to His people if they 
remain and continue in their 

836
00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:52,840
rebellion. 
And here's one of them in 

837
00:51:52,840 --> 00:51:57,640
Leviticus 26, verse 21. 
Then if you walk contrary to Me 

838
00:51:57,640 --> 00:52:01,120
and will not listen to me, I 
will continue striking you 

839
00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:06,760
sevenfold for your sins, and I 
will let loose the wild beast 

840
00:52:06,760 --> 00:52:12,000
against you, which shall bereave
you of your children and destroy

841
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:16,600
your livestock and make you few 
and number so that your roads 

842
00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:19,440
shall be deserted. 
Wow. 

843
00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:26,840
So this is not random. 
This is not Elisha's idea. 

844
00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:32,800
This is Elisha as a conduit, 
fulfilling and executing God's 

845
00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:37,840
judgement that was warned and 
given to his people hundreds of 

846
00:52:37,840 --> 00:52:40,800
years before this took place. 
And one of the things that would

847
00:52:40,800 --> 00:52:43,720
take place is that if this 
people were to remain in 

848
00:52:43,720 --> 00:52:47,320
unbelief, he would let loose the
wild beast. 

849
00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:49,680
And who's going to pay for it? 
The children. 

850
00:52:53,120 --> 00:52:57,880
This is where I want to say when
a nation rejects the true God, 

851
00:52:58,160 --> 00:53:00,440
overtime the children will pay a
price. 

852
00:53:01,600 --> 00:53:04,080
It was true for Israel and it's 
true for the United States of 

853
00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:08,080
America today. 
But I also believe that the law 

854
00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:11,600
permitted this specific act of 
judgement at this point in time 

855
00:53:12,320 --> 00:53:15,000
because of a very important 
transition. 

856
00:53:15,720 --> 00:53:19,040
Elijah was taken. 
Elijah replaces him. 

857
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:23,320
And right, right at the 
beginning of Elijah's ministry, 

858
00:53:23,600 --> 00:53:30,440
he's facing hostility. 
And this happens the fulfillment

859
00:53:30,440 --> 00:53:33,440
of Leviticus 2621 to 22. 
Do you know why? 

860
00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:37,680
Because God wants to communicate
something early on with this 

861
00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:43,360
shift that although a change in 
leadership occurred, God's word 

862
00:53:43,360 --> 00:53:48,760
did not change. 
This is the sober warning that 

863
00:53:48,760 --> 00:53:51,920
He is granting not just to those
in Bethel, but to the whole 

864
00:53:51,920 --> 00:53:55,040
nation. 
Yes, Elisha now is my new man, 

865
00:53:55,040 --> 00:53:59,240
but my word remains the same. 
I haven't changed my protocol. 

866
00:53:59,240 --> 00:54:02,240
I haven't altered my warnings. 
I haven't deleted any of my 

867
00:54:02,240 --> 00:54:05,160
promises. 
They are still the same. 

868
00:54:06,560 --> 00:54:10,320
And I'd love to think about that
as men of God come and go, 

869
00:54:11,600 --> 00:54:13,800
preachers who have made a 
wonderful impact, preachers who 

870
00:54:13,800 --> 00:54:16,680
have disgraced the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

871
00:54:16,680 --> 00:54:21,120
It doesn't alter God's word. 
And as time goes on, men of God 

872
00:54:21,120 --> 00:54:22,880
will come. 
Men of God will go. 

873
00:54:23,040 --> 00:54:24,680
The word of the Lord remains 
forever. 

874
00:54:25,160 --> 00:54:29,200
It remains forever. 
Here's what we'll conclude. 

875
00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:32,960
What happens next. 
Verse 25. 

876
00:54:33,640 --> 00:54:37,680
From there he went on to Mount 
Carmel, and from there he 

877
00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:46,160
returned to Samaria. 3 miracles 
in succession, rapid fire 

878
00:54:46,160 --> 00:54:49,160
succession. 
And the way that this segment of

879
00:54:50,040 --> 00:54:53,760
Elisha's ministry concludes is 
that he goes to Mount Carmel. 

880
00:54:54,040 --> 00:54:55,560
It would make sense for him to 
go to Samaria. 

881
00:54:55,560 --> 00:54:59,160
That's the hub of his ministry, 
that that's the capital of 

882
00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:00,080
Israel. 
That's where he's going to 

883
00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:03,120
minister. 
But before he goes to Samaria, 

884
00:55:03,120 --> 00:55:07,680
he stops in Mount Carmel. 
What's in Mount Carmel, we're 

885
00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:11,080
not told, but we know Mount 
Carmel's recent history. 

886
00:55:12,480 --> 00:55:15,120
This is where Elijah experienced
one of his greatest 

887
00:55:15,120 --> 00:55:18,440
accomplishments. 
This is where Elijah saw God 

888
00:55:18,440 --> 00:55:23,040
come through an incredible way. 
I'm not told if Elijah was there

889
00:55:23,040 --> 00:55:27,520
that fateful day, but he 
definitely heard about it. 

890
00:55:28,440 --> 00:55:31,760
And I like to think that when 
Elijah experienced these three 

891
00:55:31,760 --> 00:55:36,600
miracles, especially the 
disheartening final one, he made

892
00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:45,440
his way to Mount Carmel, perhaps
sat before the very arena where 

893
00:55:45,440 --> 00:55:53,160
God came through and just 
reflected, maybe even rested, 

894
00:55:54,560 --> 00:56:00,880
and he drew strength and courage
from what just had taken place. 

895
00:56:00,880 --> 00:56:06,640
And now what will lie ahead. 
It's a reminder to us that as we

896
00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:13,240
serve God, it's important to get
alone and rest. 

897
00:56:15,840 --> 00:56:20,800
Rest in Him, remind ourselves of
what he has done, what he's 

898
00:56:20,800 --> 00:56:25,800
capable of doing, so that we can
be energized for what else lies 

899
00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:29,520
ahead. 
And I like to think that Elijah 

900
00:56:29,520 --> 00:56:34,840
here has perhaps learned from 
his master's mistakes. 

901
00:56:35,720 --> 00:56:38,480
Remember, Elijah got in a lot of
trouble when he kept going and 

902
00:56:38,480 --> 00:56:42,680
going and going and going. 
He paid a dear price for that. 

903
00:56:44,200 --> 00:56:48,440
But here's his successor, who, 
after a brief spurt of events, 

904
00:56:49,240 --> 00:56:53,520
secludes himself, and he meets 
alone. 

905
00:56:53,680 --> 00:56:58,160
We're not told for what purpose,
but he was before an act of 

906
00:56:58,160 --> 00:57:02,200
God's faithfulness, and that 
replenished him, strengthened 

907
00:57:02,200 --> 00:57:05,000
him and equipped him for what 
we're going to study in the 

908
00:57:05,000 --> 00:57:06,520
weeks ahead. 
Let's pray. 

909
00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:21,560
In fact, the praise team can 
come up. 

910
00:57:21,800 --> 00:57:24,080
I encourage you just even 
tonight, before we close this 

911
00:57:24,080 --> 00:57:27,400
Bible study that you would just 
reflect on some of these things.

912
00:57:28,280 --> 00:57:31,520
Many truths have been explained.
I pray that something touched 

913
00:57:31,520 --> 00:57:36,160
your heart. 
Maybe you resonated more with 

914
00:57:36,160 --> 00:57:46,830
miracle #1 miracle #3 miracle #2
just speak to the Lord, would 

915
00:57:46,830 --> 00:58:13,320
you? 
Well, we do ask that it's very 

916
00:58:13,320 --> 00:58:20,600
easy for us to become dry and 
stop bearing fruit. 

917
00:58:22,000 --> 00:58:29,200
So heal us if we're there, and 
Lord, if we're bearing fruit 

918
00:58:29,200 --> 00:58:33,680
like Elisha, that it's very, 
very possible that some might be

919
00:58:33,680 --> 00:58:37,080
facing discouragement in one way
or another. 

920
00:58:38,720 --> 00:58:41,240
May we be comforted to know that
the greatest man, the greatest 

921
00:58:41,240 --> 00:58:43,400
woman of God faced the same 
temptation. 

922
00:58:45,040 --> 00:58:48,200
And may we be like Elijah in 
this story, who did not allow 

923
00:58:48,880 --> 00:58:54,480
the doubt and the unbelief of 
those he was called to serve to 

924
00:58:54,480 --> 00:58:57,760
derail him. 
He stood firm. 

925
00:58:58,720 --> 00:59:06,240
Help us stay firm and Lord, help
us remember that even in recent 

926
00:59:06,240 --> 00:59:12,960
news, as ministers come and go, 
Your Word can be relied on. 

927
00:59:14,040 --> 00:59:17,480
Your Word does not change, it 
endures forever. 

928
00:59:18,320 --> 00:59:20,440
Help us be faithful until the 
end with it. 

929
00:59:21,600 --> 00:59:24,160
Help us be faithful with the 
goal of ultimately pleasing you.

930
00:59:25,480 --> 00:59:28,240
And Lord, if it makes an impact 
on others, then we give you 

931
00:59:28,240 --> 00:59:31,120
glory for that. 
So we rejoice. 

932
00:59:31,120 --> 00:59:35,680
Your Word has indeed filled us 
and we pray, Lord, that as we 

933
00:59:35,680 --> 00:59:38,160
sing to you, you'd be blessed by
our voices tonight. 

934
00:59:38,560 --> 00:59:40,920
In Jesus name, Amen. 
Amen. 

935
00:59:41,400 --> 00:59:43,200
Let's stand. 
Let's worship the Lord.