Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of 2 Kings chapter 2. 2 Kings chapter 2. First service. Today I was in
1 Kings chapter 19 and I preached on the subject of the calling
of Elisha. Now this service I want to deal
with actually the faithfulness, I've entitled it, Where is the
God of Elijah? What I'm actually dealing with
is the faithfulness of Elisha to follow after God's leadership,
following after Elijah, the prophet that God used to call Elisha. The scripture declares that Elisha
was effectually called through the means of a man named Elijah. God had told Elijah, you go and
you anoint Elisha to be the prophet in your room. And the scripture
declares that from that passage of scripture in 1 Kings 19 until
this passage here in 2 Kings, Elisha, the one called by the
grace of God, was not mentioned. God didn't say anything about
Elisha. All it said in chapter 19 was that Elisha, after God
called him through his prophet Elijah, that Elisha, He killed
a yoke of oxen that he was plowing with, he burnt the implements,
made a feast, fed the people, and he followed after. God's
prophet, ministered to him. Now, in this passage of scripture,
2 Kings chapter 2, in verse 1, actually it says it came to pass
when the Lord would take up Elijah, into heaven by a whirlwind, that
Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Now, I don't doubt, it's not said
one way or the other where Elijah and Elisha went. When God called him out of darkness,
it doesn't say that they left. where they were, so I'm going
to just say this. It's very probable that they
stayed in that place where they were, and God was pleased to
teach. He ministered unto Elisha, one
called by the grace of God, ministered unto Elijah and This is the way
that God often does when He's going to call a man to preach. He'll put that man under a faithful
pastor, one that's been taught of God. And the greatest blessing
that any man called to preach would be able to sit and listen
and watch and learn from one called, established, taught of
God. I'll tell you this, the greatest
blessing to me concerning my ministry here was to have been
allowed by the Spirit of God to be able to sit under Brother
Scott seven years. That's how long I had with him,
seven years. And those blessed, sweet, precious
years. The Lord was pleased to teach
me much concerning the ministry. And that's what God obviously
did with Elisha. Allowed him to stay under Elijah
and learn and watch. Now, the Spirit of God now is
pleased to obviously move. Elijah toward the place where
God's going to call him to heaven. And the scripture declares where
they were. It said in that latter part of
the first verse, it says, when the Lord was pleased, take Elijah
into heaven by whirlwind that Elijah went with Elisha from
Gilgal. Now, I want us to notice they're
going to go to a few places and what is actually taking place
is they're going to go and visit some schools. is what they're
doing. The sons of the prophets. Every time it's, you're going
to notice in this passage, we're going to look, and every time
they mention the sons of the prophets, well what that means
is there was a preacher school there. God had raised up a preacher
school. And there were some, there were
some men that God was teaching. And Elijah, before he's taken
into heaven, is going to visit these different preacher schools
and he's going to give them a word of encouragement. And so keep
that in mind. What is actually going on? Where
are they going? You know, they're going somewhere.
Where are they going? They're going eventually to the
place where God's going to take them to heaven. But, before they
get there, they're going to go. Well, they left a place called
Gilgal. Now, because the Spirit of God
was pleased to mention exactly where they went, that to me was
very significant. And so, I don't want us to pass
up Why did the Spirit of God tell us exactly where they were
going? Each time they went somewhere,
why? What was the purpose of that? Well, I want us to look
at that. Find out. I want to look at these
names. They left first from a place
called Gilgal. Now, this Gilgal, according to
the scriptures, it was a place of great significance. It was a city that was marked
as a memorial to the calling out and the glorious deliverance
of God's people. Gilgal. Now hold your place right
here and turn back, back toward the front of the Bible to Joshua.
Joshua chapter 4. Joshua chapter 4. I'll just tell
you a little something about Joshua 4 and then we're going
to pick up a scripture or two out of it. In Joshua 4, for the
sake of time, the history of the Jews being led by Joshua
into the land of promise was they were going to have to go
across the Jordan River and God instructed Joshua, the man that
took Moses' place, God instructed Joshua on how they were going
to get across the Jordan River. They're going to have to cross
the Jordan River to get into the land of promise. And so they
came to this Jordan River, and Joshua was told by the Lord to
tell the priests that were bearing the ark, you go ahead, you priests
that are bearing the ark, you walk on into the water. And as
soon as your foot touches the water, I'm going to back it up. And they did. They walked. As soon as the priest stepped
in the water, the water stopped and it just heaped up. Just a
big heap and it rose up, stood up. And the scripture said that
the people crossed over. This is all in Joshua 4 if you'd
like to read it. They went across on dry ground.
And after the priest, I mean after all the people walked across
the Jordan River, the priest was still standing where the
water was, standing on dry ground, and they were, after everybody
was out, then the priests were going to walk out and the water
was going to come back, but before All of this happened. Joshua
told twelve men, one out of each of the tribes, he said, I want
you to take a stone out of the midst of the river, you go, every
one of you, twelve of you guys, you go get a stone and I want
you to bring that stone and you carry it into the place where
we're going to spend the night tonight. And you put those stones,
you lay them out of where the river was, you bring them into
the city, you lay them down, and those stones are going to
be for a memorial. And then Joshua himself set up
12 stones in the midst of the Jordan, right in the place where
the priest stood as the water was stayed. So there was two
memorials. One where the priests were standing,
right there in the water. And then one in the place. Now
in Joshua chapter 4, I'm just going to start reading in verse
19. And the scripture says, Joshua 4, 19, it said, and the people
came up out of Jordan on the 10th day of the first month and
encamped in Gilgal in the east border of Jericho. And those
12 stones which they took out of Jordan did Joshua pitch in
Gilgal. And he spake unto the children
of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers
in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then you shall
let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan
on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up
the waters of Jordan from before you until you were passed over,
as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from
before us until we were gone over, that all the people of
the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty,
that ye might fear the Lord your God forever. So here was a place
called Gilgal, and when God brought him across that Jordan River,
that crossing was a memorial, two
memorials were put up. And it was a place where it was
going to be remembered. And he said, when your kids ask
you, why are these stones here? What's the reason? You tell them
that this is where God delivered you out of the wilderness, come
across the Jordan River, and he caused you to remember this
was his mighty hand that did this. So back in 2 Kings 2.2,
it says that they, I mean, verse one, they went out from Gilgal.
That was a place of great remembrance. That was a place where Elijah,
The type of Christ was going to tell Elisha something. And he said, we're going to leave
from Gilgal. And everybody knew Gilgal. When
you heard Gilgal, they knew. They knew that had significance
to it. It's about like somebody talking about Pearl Harbor. Who
could hear Pearl Harbor? Now what's the first thing you're
going to think about Pearl Harbor? There's places that are marked. And so
here was Elijah and Elisha, and he said, we're going to leave
out of this place. But I want you to look. Not only
did that gilgal carry such significance for a memorial of God's mighty
hand of deliverance, mercy, grace, compassion. There was something
else that was proven to us concerning Elisha's faithfulness, the trying
of his faith. God's calling to Elisha was going
to be proved right here. Look at verse 2. And Elijah said,
now here they are, they're in Gilgal. And Elijah said unto
Elisha, while they're in Gilgal now, tarry here, I pray thee,
for the Lord has sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, as
the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. Now, here's Elijah, the prophet
that will be taken. And he tells Elisha, a type of
every believer who shall surely have his faith tried and proven,
he said, now I want you to stay here. I'm leaving. Almighty God
had called Elisha to follow after this prophet. He called him to
be a prophet. He called him to take the place
of this prophet. And this prophet now, Elijah,
tells him, said, now I'm going to Bethel. Now you stay here. And Elisha says to him, I ain't
leaving you. As the Lord liveth, my soul liveth,
your soul liveth, I am not going. to leave you. Elisha was convinced
of God's calling. He was constrained by his love
not only for Elijah, but also for Elijah's God, the one that
Elijah pictured, the Lord Jesus Christ, the shepherd of the sheep. It's like the shepherd that would
try to make his sheep stay somewhere and the shepherd is going to
walk off. Sheep ain't gonna have it. Wherever the shepherd goes,
that's where they're going. Y'all stay right here in graze.
I'm gonna go on over there. When they see that shepherd leaving,
what does the Lord say? My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow. They follow me. And so here's
the Lord moving the heart of Elisha. He's like Jacob. Whenever the Lord wrestled with
Jacob that night, the Lord said, let me go. Jacob said, I'm not
going to let you go, let you bless me. Like Peter, when all
that mass left and Peter said, you going to go away too? I mean,
the Lord asked Peter, you going to go away too? You going to
leave? Lord, where am I going to go? As if the Lord were to
say, try the faith of some, said, you know, why don't you all go
somewhere else? Lord, where are we going to go?
This is the only place, Lord, where you're honored. This is
the only place where your gospel is preached. Where are we going
to go? No, I ain't going. Wherever you're going, I'm going. So he said, I'm going to Bethel.
And Elisha said, I'm going with you to Bethel. But then, going
to Bethel. Now there was a, you know, not
only was Elisha's calling assured, by his determination to stay
with God's prophet, where they were going had great significance
too. They're going from Gilgal. He knew what that signified.
That's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and his mighty hand
of deliverance. Crossing us, guiding us, directing
us, not leaving us to himself. But Elijah said, I'm going to
Bethel. Going to Bethel. Elisha said,
I'm going with you. So verse 2, they went down to
Bethel. Now, Bethel means house of God. That's what the word, the title,
the name of that city, that's what it is. And to consider the
words, they went down to Bethel. They went down to the house of
God. Consider what Bethel signifies. The house of God. It sets forth
the condescension and the humility of the Lord Jesus Christ, who,
the name means house of God. In Him was the fullness of the
Godhead bodily. There is God in all of His fullness. He who was made flesh, He who
came from glory, from the realms of heaven itself, to tabernacle
among His people for His glory and for the eternal good of His
people. It says in Hebrews 2.17, it behooved
Him. to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of this people."
Here was Elijah, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, he who
humbled himself and made himself of no reputation, and he came
into this world to seek and to save them that were lost. Here's
going to Bethel, set forth the glory, going down to Bethel,
set forth the glory of Christ being made flesh. And Elijah
said to Elisha, I'm going to Bethel, you stay here. And he
said, I'm going where the one who was made flesh, who came
into this world, seeking to save this sinner right here. I am
not leaving him. I'm not going. And the scripture
says in the third verse, it says in the sons of the prophets,
now there was a preacher school there, in Bethel. The sons of the prophets that
were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, knowest
thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head
today? And he said, yeah, I know it. Hold your peace. What Elijah was saying was this,
this matter is too sacred for these words. You keep your silence. I'm doing what I know God has
led me to do. Yes, I know that the Lord is
going to take my master from me and wherever the Lord directs
him, that's where I'm going. And so here's these sons of the
prophets, this preacher's school, and here was Elijah going to
minister to them. And he did, and while he's there,
obviously, they question Elisha. Do you know so and so? Yeah,
I know it. You hold your peace. Then the scripture says in verses
4 and 5, and Elijah said unto him, unto Elisha, Terry here,
I pray thee for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he said,
As the Lord liveth, as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.
So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets
that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest
thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head
today? And he answered, Yea, I know it. Hold your peace. Now, the city of Jericho. Now
we've seen the significance of Gilgal. We've seen the significance
of Bethel. Now they've come to a place called
Jericho. Now Jericho, there was two things
that I saw in Jericho that seemed to have great significance to
me. First, the word Jericho, the
name Jericho, it means fragrant. Fragrant. That's what the word
means. Fragrant. Save for smell. Fragrant. But fragrant of what? Well, it's the fragrance, and I'll
show you what I mean by this. The fragrance of the deliverance
of God's elect from the power of sin. It speaks of the finished
work of Christ, the fruit of the finished work of Christ.
You remember, whenever there was a sacrifice And it was called
the burnt offering. The burnt offering. The burnt
offering was an offering, it was called a sweet savor offering
unto the Lord. And what it was, it was a picture
of the submission, the obedience, the giving of the Lord Jesus
Christ unto His Father to finish the work that God had sent Him
to do. To finish that work. and that
sweet savor offering, the burnt offering. Well, the name Jericho,
what was that? What was that city? Well, it
was a city that the Israelites, when they crossed over the Jordan
River, first city they came to. They're going to have to cross
over and they're going to have to deal with a place called Jericho. You remember what happened when
the spies went in to spy out the land? They came to Jericho
and there was a woman, one woman there. Her name was Rahab. She
was a harlot. And that one woman, what she
did was, she told them, she said, we've heard how God delivered
you from the kings, you know. And everybody in this city has
heard of you. We're fearful for you, but I'm
going to ask you something. When you come into this city,
would you show mercy to me and to my family? I believe you.
I believe who you are. And they did. They told me they
would. Jericho was a city that was wholly or completely given
over. to rebellion. It was a city shut
up, the scripture said. And there was one woman in her
family. And for the sake of that one woman, God was pleased to
spare her family too. But here was Jericho, and it
was a walled city, a mighty city. But here is the picture of man
by nature, but all of God's elect. Here's Jericho is a picture. of the vessels of God's mercy
who, like Jericho, was a walled city, shut up, adamant against
God. But God was going to have mercy.
He's going to have mercy for one woman's sake. God was going
to show mercy to that one woman. Here, Jericho represented all
that stood in the way of God's people, themselves. Who's the biggest problem I got?
Me. What is in opposition to the
reception of God's blessings unless God does something for
me? What is it that stands in rebellion against God? It's me. I'm the one. Here's Jericho.
A picture of every vessel of God's mercy. that would stand
in adamant rebellion against God. And what did God do? He sent those people and they
marched around and preached, you know, all, many, many, many
days and days and days. And when God was pleased, what
happened? All those walls fell down. Why? What was the merit of all that? What was the merit? That picture
of Jericho being a picture of the vessel of God's mercy before
conversion that stands in absolute rebellion against God. What was
it? It was that Almighty God was
pleased to send His Son into the world and bear the sins of
all God's elect. and as a sweet saver offering,
offered himself unto God as a sacrifice. And God in absolute mercy and
justice was pleased to save out of every nation, kindred, tribe,
and tongue of people. And they were all just like Jericho.
Oh, but that sweet saver of God's satisfaction in the Lord Jesus
Christ, God was pleased. So I'm going to Jericho where
the Lord has been pleased honor himself and call out of rebellion
a people that stood in resistance but God was going to show mercy.
He told Joshua in Joshua 6 to see I've given into thine hand
Jericho. Joshua was a picture of Christ.
God says to him see I've given into thy hand Jericho. Every
Jericho in here that God was pleased to call. I gave into
your hand. All power in heaven and earth
given unto him that he should give life eternal to as many
as the Father had given Him. So when you see Jericho, you
say, oh, that's a city of rebellion. Oh, those people. All of us. Jericho's. Jericho's. Hey, I'm going to Jericho. You
stay here in Bethel. I'm going to Jericho. I'm going
to go over there and you stay here. I'm not going. I'm going.
to be with you to the place that represents and sets forth the
glory of my Lord and His fragrant sacrifice unto the Father that
put away my guilt and has saved me by grace and bore my guilt
and cast him as far as the east is from the west and conquered
this old rebel right here and tore down the walls of rebellion.
I ain't leaving you. I ain't leaving you. I'm going
to Jericho with you. I'm going to that place that
honored Our Lord. So he said, I'm going to go. But there was one other thing
about Jericho that was an amazing thing to me. Whenever Elisha
told him, I'm going to Jericho. I want to be associated with
God's man that preaches the message that honors the Lord Jesus Christ. Where are you going? I'm going
to a place called Jericho. Jericho. You know, whenever Turn
back to Joshua chapter 6. After God destroyed that city,
the Lord said something about that city that had great significance. God said, cursed be the man that
builds this city back. That city that stood in rebellion
against God's people going to the land of promise. That was,
without a doubt, that was a picture of God conquering the rebellion
in every one of the vessels of His mercy. That was a beautiful
picture of that. But God said whoever builds this
city back, look here, Joshua chapter 6 verse 17. And the city shall be accursed,
even it and all that are therein to the Lord. Only Rahab the harlot
shall live and she all that are with her in the house, because
she hid the messengers that were sent. Now look at verses 26 and
27. And Joshua adjured them at that
time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up
and buildeth this city Jericho. He shall lay the foundation thereof
in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up
the gates of it. So the Lord was with Joshua and
his fame was noise throughout all the country. Now, a man came
back. It was built back. God said whoever
does this, they're going to pay for it in their children. And
this man I read, he did. When he started building the
foundations, he started building them back up. He had two of his
kids that died. God had cursed that city. He
cursed it was going to be the man. I want you to look at 1
Kings 1634. 1 Kings 1634. 1 Kings 1634. In his days did
Hiel, the Bethelite, build Jericho. He laid the foundation thereof
in Abiram, his firstborn, and he set up the gates thereof in
his second son, Segub, according to the word of the Lord which
he spake by Joshua the son of Nun. What happened was, two of
his kids, when he laid the foundation and when he set the gates, two
of his kids, God took two of them, two of his children. God
had cursed that city. And he said, cursed is going
to be the man that lays the foundation and builds this city back. And
he did. He built that city back. And God took two of his kids,
just like God said he was going to do. He said, I'm going to
curse the one that does that. And this man, it had gone a long
time. A long time, people remembered
what God said. Cursed. So he didn't build it
back. But after a while, people began to forget a little bit.
And he said, I'm going to build this place back. Not much here
right now. There's a bunch of old ruined
places, and there's some people around here, but there's not
much here. These walls, these used to be great walls. I'm going
to build them back. And he did. And it cost him. But oh, what
was pictured in that building back of that place. There's a
place there now. A place that was cursed of God.
It is cursed of God. And God did sent this prophet,
Elijah. He said, you're going to leave
Gilgal, then you're going to go to Bethel, and then you're
going to go to Bethel, and then you're going to go to Jericho.
Now here's Jericho, that place now that has been built back.
That place that was cursed of God. And so here's Elijah coming
with Elisha to that place that was cursed. And there's a preacher
school there. God had raised up a preacher
school. And they come to that place and
it just amazed me. There was a place that was cursed
of God. And God was pleased to raise
up, in the midst of that place, a light in a city of total darkness. Is that not what God does everywhere?
You look at this whole world. This whole world, outside of
the grace of God, is under the judgment of God. But in every
nation and kindred and tribe and tongue, there's a people. A witness. God's got a sheep.
And that was the way it was. I'm leaving Bethel and I'm going
to Jericho. You stay here in Bethel. No.
I'm going where you, who is a picture of God that sovereignly elects
and calls out of darkness, a people out of the midst of this cursed
place that has mercy and compassion on whomsoever He will. I ain't
leaving you. By the grace of God, I'm not
going anywhere but where you go. So here's Elijah going to
Jericho, and he said, I'm going to go with you. Look at verses
6 to 8. And Elijah said unto him, Terry,
I pray thee here, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. Now, they're
in Jericho now. He said, as the Lord liveth and
as our soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they too went
on. And 50 men of the sons of the prophet, now they're still
in Jericho. 50 sons of the prophets went and
stood to view afar off. And they too stood by Jordan. Now remember, the Jordan River,
when they crossed over the Jordan River, the first place they came
to was Jericho. Now there they are. the sons
of the prophet in Jericho, a place where God raised up a gospel
hearing in that cursed city. And they can see the Jordan River.
And they look and they watch and here's Elisha and Elijah. And now this is where he comes.
He comes to the Jordan River. And that Jordan River, what is
that? Here's the descender. the river
of death. This is where Elijah, this is
where God's going to take him, right here. He's going to have
to cross over that river of death. But is that not a beautiful picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who by death, He who was made sin
for us, who knew no sin, He who bore all the guilt of His people,
and under the justice and judgment of Almighty God, for us to walk
safely over, He's going to have to cross over Himself. He's going
to have to die. And this is where God's going
to take Elijah, that Jordan River, and here's Elijah, a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ in the final declaration. of God's finished
work in His people for the deliverance of His people. And here's Elijah,
he's getting ready to die that his people might live, that he's
going to have to suffer so that the judgment of God for his people,
that there might be no condemnation for them. And right here, the
scripture says he takes his mantle. Elijah took his mantle, verse
8, and wrapped it together. And he smoked the rivers. Now again, Elijah is a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. A picture, a picture. He's a
picture of him who is the prophet himself. And that mantle, that
robe, that cloak, whatever it was that wrapped him up, that
was a picture of his authority. And there he takes that mantle
that pictured the authority, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
And he smoked the waters, and they were divided hither and
thither, so that the two went over on dry ground. Here that
mantle set forth the authority, the glory, the power of the Lord
Jesus Christ over life and death. He is. He said, I have power
to lay down my life. I have power to take it again.
And when he struck that, it was the showing of the conquering
of death itself. There's the river Jordan, the
river of death. He smote it. And they walked across. Oh death,
where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is your terror?
Where's the terror? In Christ, Elisha said, I ain't
leaving you. I have no other hope in anybody
else but you. I'm not leaving. I'm staying
right with you. In verse 9, it came to pass when
they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha, ask what I
shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha
said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon
me. Oh, the significance of Elisha
asking for a double portion of Elijah's spirit to be upon him. The double portion turned to
Deuteronomy 21. I'm going to try to wrap this
up, but I've got to show you this. Deuteronomy 21. When it
spoke of the double portion, what that was actually speaking
of was the portion given to the firstborn. Deuteronomy 21 verse
15 to 17. Deuteronomy 21 verse 15, If a
man have two wives, one beloved and another hated, and they have
borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and if
the firstborn son be hers that it was hated, Then it shall be,
when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may
not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the
hated, which is indeed the firstborn. But he shall acknowledge the
son of the hated for the firstborn by giving him a double portion
of all that he hath. For he is the beginning of his
strength, the right of the firstborn is his." Now, who is? the firstborn of God, the only begotten of the Father. He who is full of truth, grace,
the Lord Jesus Christ, he is God's firstborn among many brethren. And whenever Elisha asked Elijah,
Elijah said, what do you want me to do for you? He said, I'm
praying that I might have a double portion. He was not asking that
he be twice the prophet that Elijah was. That's not what he
was asking. I want to be a more powerful
prophet than you are. I want to be this. That would
have been nothing more than presumption, pride, and arrogance. That's
all that was. What he desired, what he was
asking, he said, the blessing of the firstborn. that's on you,
the double portion, God's double portion of blessing that's given
to the firstborn, that God obviously has given you. I desire that
God do that for me. Not more than what Elijah had,
but I want to have what you got. I want to have the blessing of
God, the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ on my ministry. I desire that God bless His Word
through the preaching that God's called me to. That's what he's
asking. Not to be more than, I want. It's what Paul said.
Philippians 3, 8-10, that I may win Christ. This is what Elisha
was saying. What do you want? What do you
want? I want a double portion. I want
the portion that God has given you. I desire that. I want to
be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith, that I may know Him and the power
of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings being made
conformable unto death. That's what I want. That's what
I desire right there. So back in 2 Kings 2 verse 9,
when they came across, and Elijah asked him, what shall I do for
thee? And Elisha said, I pray thee,
give me a double portion of thy spirit. And he said in verse
10, thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me
when I'm taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee, but if
not, it shall not be so. That's what he was telling him.
Now, everything that a believer desires. I can tell you this
is a hard thing. But is there anything too hard
for God? With God, all things are possible. What do you want? What do you want? Believe it.
What do you want? I want God to have mercy on me. I want God to have mercy on me.
I'm a sinner. I'm a rebel against God. I don't
deserve the least of His mercies. I want God to have mercy on me.
That's a hard thing. Not too hard for God. God in
Christ. He said, I'm going to have mercy
and compassion on whomever I will. What's it going to cost? It's
going to cost the life of His Son. Sins are going to have to
be dealt with. I need my sins to be borne by
God's Lamb. I need my sins to be cast as
far as the east is from the west. I need to be robed in the righteousness
of God. I need to be kept through faith
by the power of God. I need for God Almighty to save
this sinner from himself. That's a hard thing. That's a
hard thing. With me it's impossible, but
not for Him. And Elijah told Him, he said,
you've asked a hard thing, but if you see me when I'm taken,
then you'll have what you ask. If you don't see me, it won't
have it. How did God see Christ? They
see Him by faith. looking to Him. Here Elijah was
a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you see me received into glory
as Christ was received into the heavens, taken up, finishing
the work, answering every demand for righteousness and judgment,
you see me. You see me. If we see Him, see
Him by faith, we have those things. If we see Him as our only hope,
we have those things. And the scripture says, 11 to
14, this will be where I'll end. And it came to pass, as they
still went on, they're talking, and talked, that behold there
appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and part of them
both asunder. And Elijah went up, by a whirlwind
into heaven, and Elisha saw it. And he cried, my father, my father,
the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw
him no more. Then he took hold of his own
clothes, and ripped them in two pieces, and took up the mantle
of Elijah that fell from him, that went back, and stood by
the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah
that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is
the God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten
the waters, they parted hither and thither. And Elisha went
over. Just as Elisha saw Elijah taken
into heaven, we see him. High and lifted up, seated at
the right hand of the majesty on high. And we have a clear
view of our own filthy rags of self-righteousness. And Elisha
took it. He saw Elisha go up and he said
he rent his own. He took his own. He said, this
is junk. This is junk. This is refuge. And he took it, he grasped hold
of that mantle, cherishing the robe of Christ's righteousness,
and he took that mantle, a garment, a sign of God's calling and grace,
that mantle that signified Elijah's good fight was over. God took
him. But that mantle that represented
God's blessing, signified, this is the picture of God's calling
and God's blessing and He took that mantle and He did just exactly
what Elijah had done. Now what do we do? We preach
just exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ has done. We don't try
to improve on it, we just say, this is what He said, this is
what He does. And He took that emblem of God's blessing. What
emblem do we have here, if I can say it that way, of God's blessing?
I got the gospel. Christ was called, He was a preacher.
I've come to preach deliverance to the captives. Set the captives
free. Heal the sick. You know, give
sight to the blind. We're doing exactly what He did.
And He took that mantle, He took it and He struck that Jordan
River. And this is what He said, Where is the God of Elijah? Where is He? Now I can tell you
this, this is what David said. When the heathen asked him, Where
is their God? And here's what David said, Where
is the God of Elijah? I'll tell you where He is. Our
God's in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He has
pleased. Where is the God of Elijah? He's ruling and reigning, sovereign. Sovereign in creation, providence,
and salvation. Where is the God of Elijah? I'll
tell you where the God of Elijah is, 2 Corinthians 5.19, to wit
that God was in Christ. Reconciling the world unto His
people, not imputing their trespasses unto them. He hath committed
unto us the world of reconciliation. Where is the God of Elijah? Psalm
110 verse 1. The Lord said to my Lord, sit
there at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Where is the God of Elijah? I'll tell you where He is. He's
right here. He's with us. Right now. Two or three are gathered
together. I'm in the midst of you. Two
or three are gathered together in my name. I'm in the midst
of you. The Lord told His disciples,
He said, you go into all the world and you preach the gospel
to every creature. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world. Where's the God of Elijah? The
God of Elijah is in the hearts of His people, teaching them,
ruling them, guiding them. Every time Elijah said to Elisha,
I'm going on this way, you stay here. Elisha, by the grace of
God, said, no, I'm going with you. I'm not going to leave you. I can't leave you. And that's
what God's people say. Where is the God of Elijah in
my heart? Teach me. I pray God bless this
to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen.