Bibles today to second Kings
chapter 2 Appreciate the music as always
that him they were just playing No one ever cared for me like
Jesus Seems like we should have someone in this church that could
sing that as a special I Surely there's someone. 2nd Kings chapter 2, And it came to pass, when the
Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah
went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha,
Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath 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.
And 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, Yes,
yea, I know it. Hold ye your peace. And Elijah
said unto him, Elisha, tarry here. I pray thee, for the Lord
has sent me to Jericho. And he said, as the Lord liveth
and 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 ye your peace. And Elijah
said unto him, Terry, I pray thee for the Lord has sent me
to Jordan. And he said, as the Lord liveth
and as I so liveth, I will not leave thee. And they too went
on. And 50 men of the sons of the
prophets went and stood to view afar off. And they too stood
by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, wrapped
it together, and smote the waters. And they were divided hither
and thither, so that they too went over on dry ground. And
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. And he said, thou
hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me
when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee, but if
not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they
still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot
of fire and horses of fire, and poured them both asunder, and
Elijah went up by whirlwind into heaven." God has given us the
Scriptures, the Bible, the Word of God, which the Apostle Peter
calls a more sure word of prophecy. Life in this world without the
scriptures would be uncertain, that's for sure. We live in a
world which testifies that there is a God, but it is only in the scriptures
that he is made known to us through the manifestation of himself
in the person of Jesus Christ. It is only in the scriptures
that we have the knowledge of the God of providence, assuring
us that the very hairs of our head are all numbered. It is only in the scriptures
that we have the knowledge of the divine surety who obeyed,
was judged, suffered in our stead, and made a perfect and sufficient
sacrifice for our sins. It is only in the scriptures
that we learn that when we leave this world, there's a place prepared
for us. It is only in the scriptures
that we learn that there will be a reunion of the soul and
body in God's appointed day. It is only in the scriptures
that we learn that we all need a real change of heart by the
power of the Holy Spirit called the new birth in order to know
God and see God and enjoy God forever. Now there are many lessons
for us from these 11 verses that we've just finished reading.
Very interesting, of course. But I have four lessons I want
to bring to us today. Four lessons as we consider Elijah,
Elijah going up by whirlwind into heaven. It's amazing, isn't
it? When we read this last verse
that we read, verse 11, it came to pass as they still went on
and talked, that is, Elisha and Elijah, as they were on their
way, journeying, walking, talking, it came to pass that behold,
there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and parted
them both asunder and Elijah Elijah was taken up by whirlwind
into heaven. Four lessons. The first lesson
is this. It's clear as we read through
these verses that Elijah knew, he knew that this was his last
day upon this earth. It's clear to us. Because first
of all, when they went to Bethel and then they went to Jericho,
that the sons of the prophets, these were schools evidently
where Elijah had taught and had instructed men in the work of
the ministry. And as they came to first Bethel
and then to Jericho, sons of the prophets came out and they
spoke to Elisha and they said, don't you know, don't you realize
that today God is going to take your head, your master, that
is Elijah, away. And Elisha said, yes I know that.
The sons of the prophets knew it. Elisha certainly knew it
because he said so several times. In each place when Elijah said,
Terry here, Terry here, Terri here, three times he told Elisha,
Terri here, Terri here, Terri here at Gilgal, Terri here at
Bethel, Terri here in Jericho. And Elisha said each time, as
the Lord lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And when the sons of the prophets
came out and told Elisha, today, today God's going to take your
master away to heaven. And Elisha said, I know it. And
even Elijah, we see he said this in verse 9, I believe it is.
He said, asked, when he told Elisha, ask what I shall do for
thee before I be taken away from thee. He knew that he was going
to be taken away. Now here's my lesson, the first
lesson. For all of us here today, we
see Clearly, from the Word of God, that Elijah knew this was
the last day he would live on this earth. He knew that. Here's
the lesson. The fact that Elijah knew this
was his last day, what was he doing? What was his conduct? Was his conduct that of a person
who was not ready? Was his conduct one of a man
who would be looking for a priest to administer the last rites? Of course not. No such thing. Was he looking for a prophet
who would tell him the message, prepare to meet thy God? No. He had heard that message
years before. And not only had he heard that
message, he had heeded that message and he had prepared to meet God. He is walking this day and we
say there's no concern as knowing that this is the last day that
he would live upon this earth. He is ready. That's the point. He's ready. And the lesson for
you and I, each one of us, we don't know, and we're not going
to know, most likely, the last day of our life here upon this
earth. It could be today. We're not
promised tomorrow. None of us are. The Scripture said, Boast not
thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring
forth. And the apostle James warns us
about making plans going into a city and saying, I'm going
to set up a business here, and I'm going to live here, and I'm
going to do this and that. And James said, No, no. No, no. What is your life? Your life
is but a vapor. We got up this morning, and some
of us probably ran through some fog or drove through some fog.
You won't drive through that on the way home, will you? The
sun, the sun has made that all go away, evaporated. That's our
life here in this world. We're here for just a little
while. In fact, the scripture, God speaks of our life like the
grass, like the grass and the flower of the grass. And it grows
up in a day The scripture says, and then it's cut and cast into
the oven. That's our life. It's like a
post. Our life is like a shadow. Elijah,
the point I'm making is this. He knew, he knew this is the
last day I'm going to live in this world. And he was ready. He was ready. The Apostle Peter
in the New Testament admonishes you and me and all men, give
all diligence. Some people are so haphazard
about their relationship to God, aren't they? Haphazard, take
it or leave it. It's not important. Everything's
going to be all right. Clearly that's not the case with
many people who die and go to hell. Everything was not alright. The Apostle Peter said, give
all diligence. Listen, what is more, what is
the most important thing for you and for me? It's our relationship
to God. There's nothing You say, well,
I'm concerned about my job. That's important. I'm concerned
about my education. That's important. I'm concerned
about my family. That's important. But listen,
what is the most, the most, the very most important thing for
you and I? It is our relationship to God. Peter said, give all diligence
to make your calling and election sure. Elijah was ready. And I ask each
and every one of us here today, if this were the last day of
our life, are we ready? Do we know Christ? Do we have
a living relationship with God? Or is he a stranger to us? Are
we a stranger to him? Do we know God? Do we fellowship
with God? Do we walk with the Lord? Do
we talk with the Lord? Do we enjoy His presence? Is He real? Is Christ real to
us? Or is He just a figure of history
that we've heard of all of our lives? Is Christ real? Well, that's the first lesson.
Here's the second lesson. It is clear that the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ, now that's what he did when he died on the cross,
he gave himself as an offering unto God, a sweet smelling sacrifice,
the Apostle Paul says. It's clear that his sacrifice,
the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ when he died upon the
cross, that he put away all the sins of his people. Now that's
just clear. As clear as a bell, as we used
to say. It's clear. You say, how is that so clear,
preacher? It's clear because I would remind us that the Apostle
James tells us this about Elijah. He was a man subject to like
passions as we are. Well, what does that mean? That
means that he was born just like you and I. He was born with a
sinful nature. He was born estranged from God. He was born at enmity with God. The blood of Jesus Christ puts
away all sin. It's clear because Elijah, the
scripture says, he was taken up into heaven. The Bible says there's none good,
no not one. None good in ourselves. We have no goodness. And yet
here's a man who was born just like you and I, with a sinful
nature and sinful practices, and yet he's taken up into heaven. He's caught up into the very
presence of God Almighty, but whom even the angels he charges
with folly. Even the heavens, the Scripture
says, are not pure in his sight. And here's a man who was born
of sinful parents, just like you and I, and he is taken up
into heaven. How's that possible? There's
only one way. He's taken up into that place.
The Scripture says he went up by whirlwind into heaven. He
was taken into that place that the scripture says, there shall
in no wise enter into it anything that defileth. Now, if God were
to take you or myself, any of us, without having been washed
in the blood of Jesus Christ into heaven, like He took Elijah
into heaven, we would defile heaven. Just our very presence,
because of our sinfulness, our very presence, we would defile
heaven. But the scripture says nothing's
going to enter into that place anything that defileth. But yet
Elijah went there. That tells us, doesn't it, that
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ put away all the sins of his
people. The obedience and sacrifice of
Jesus Christ put away not most of our sins. Those of us who
know Him today as our Lord and Savior, not part of our sins,
but He put away all of our sins. There's no other way. Now you
can study this as long as you want to, but there's no other
way that a man like Elijah, who was just like you and just like
me, could be taken into heaven unless God had done something
about his sin. And Christ did that. He did that
when he died on the tree. You see, Elijah, excuse me, Elijah
was like all of us. He had broken God's law. And
you know the law says, to all who break it, cursed, cursed. Deuteronomy, the scripture said,
cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law
to do them. You know, it's not just knowing
the law. You may know the law, you may have the law, you do
if you have a Bible, and you may memorize it. But it's not
just knowing, reading, Studying the law. No, unless you keep
the law in every point, every tittle, the law curses you. Elijah was under that curse.
Well, how did he go to heaven? Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, be made a curse for us. For it is written,
cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. When they took the
Lord Jesus Christ, those soldiers and the religious crowd and all
of them out to Mount Calvary, they laid that cross down. The
cross was made out of wood. This was pictured to us in the
Old Testament, type after type after type. And they stretched
his arms out on that cross and put his feet together and took
those spikes, nails, and fixed him to the cross. In fixing him to the cross, he
became a curse for us. Because it is written, cursed
is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. You know when Elijah,
or Abraham rather, when he was commanded by God to take his
son Isaac up on Mount Moriah, and offer him as a sacrifice.
You remember the scripture says that he bound his son. The Lord
Jesus Christ, he was bound, wasn't he? Isaac, a wonderful type of
Christ. He was bound. He was nailed to
the tree. But in the case of Isaac, God
stayed Abraham's hand and he said, don't touch him. Don't
strike him with that knife. There's a ram caught in the bushes
as a substitute. But when Christ became the surety
for his people, for Elijah and for you and for me, when he was
laid upon the cross, there wasn't a voice from heaven which said,
don't do that. No, this was God's plan. from before the foundation of
the world, that his son would be given as a sacrifice, made
a curse to redeem us from the curse. And not only was Elijah,
like all men, cursed by the law, but Elijah was polluted. You
know the scripture speaks of sin as being filthy, polluted. He was polluted, just like you
and I. Polluted, filthy because of our
sin. And to enter into heaven, and
He did, He had to be cleansed. He had to be washed. What is
it, my friend? What is it that you trust in
to wash away your sins? There's only one agent that is
powerful to wash away sin. That is the blood of Jesus Christ. His death in the place of His
people. I believe it was John Bunyan
who made that statement, and I can't remember exactly, but
it was something like this. Upon another's life that I did
not live, upon another's death I did not die. Another's life,
another's death, I stake my whole eternity. That's Christ, isn't
it? Upon His life, His life of obedience. His death, His death that satisfied
the justice of God. I stake my whole eternity. This
is it. This is all I have. It's all
I need. It's all I want. What about you? Oh, the second lesson to me is
it's clear that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ put away all
the sins of His people. The Scripture proclaimed from
Hebrews chapter 10, For by one offering he hath perfected forever
them that are sanctified. Here's the third lesson. It's
clear that God has the power to glorify the bodies of His
people. Let me say that again. It's clear
that God has the power to glorify the bodies of His people. In
1 Corinthians 15, Paul wrote, under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, he said, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and
blood, that's what Elijah was. He was flesh and blood. He was
walking along with Elijah. They were conversing. Flesh and
blood cannot, cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. Elijah was a man who had a body
and soul as he walked along this day with Elisha, but yet we are
told he was caught up, taken up, and a whirlwind into heaven. Into heaven. You know, in the
days of the New Testament, there's a group we run into several times
in the gospel. And they're called Sadducees.
And one of the things about the Sadducees was they denied that
there shall be a resurrection of the body. When I began this
message, I pointed out where we would be without the Scriptures.
I was reading this past week the thoughts of some of the Greek
philosophers. Some of those who were famous
and their philosophies are still being studied and taught today,
but not any of them ever understood or believed that there would
be a resurrection of the body. Some of them did think that maybe
this life wasn't all there is, that there's something after
this life. But not any of them ever imagined
or thought or taught that there's going to be a resurrection of
the body. These Sadducees, they were for
or after, or during the time of the philosophers, those Greek
philosophers. But the Sadducees, they didn't
believe there would be a resurrection. And you know, when they came
to our Lord one time trying to catch Him and show that the resurrection
is impossible, He told them this. He answered them with these two
parts. Number one, you do err. You're in error. That's what
he said. You are in error. Number one,
not knowing the scriptures. Well, this would be one of those
scriptures, right? This would be one of those scriptures
here that they did not know, that they did not believe. Because the scripture here says
that Elijah was taken up and a whirlwind into heaven. And not only that, that's just
one scripture. When God appeared to Moses in
that burning bush, the angel of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ,
when he appeared to Moses, he confessed to be the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. God is not the God of the dead. He's the God of the living. Oh,
they've been dead physically for years, but they were living. You do err not knowing the scriptures,
and number two, you err not knowing the power of God. When you follow the narrative
here in this passage in 2 Kings chapter two, Elijah, remember
these 50 men were told, they went out and they could see afar
off. And they stood and they watched.
But they were a good distance. And there appeared a chariot
of fire and chariot of horses, angels no doubt. And Elijah was
parted and taken up into heaven. Now when Elisha comes back, let's
read this, look on down in verse 15. These sons of the prophets,
they asked Elisha if it'd be all right If they sent some men,
some strong men out in search, and let's just see if we can
find his body. Maybe God doesn't have that power.
Maybe He doesn't have that power. And He just took him up and dropped
him off somewhere. Look in verse 15. And when the
sons of the prophets, which were to view at Jericho, saw him,
they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they
came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And
they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty
strong men. Let them go, we pray thee, and
seek thy master. Well, his master was in heaven. His master had been caught up,
taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire, drawn by horses of fire. Let's go send these 50 men out
and see if we can find him. Let them go, we pray thee, and
seek thy master, lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken
him up and cast him upon some mountain. What are they saying? Aren't
they saying maybe God doesn't have the power? Maybe God doesn't
have the power. Maybe He just took him up and
got him as far up as He could and just dropped him, let him
fall. And Elisha said, You shall not
sin. Elisha knew. He believed. But they urged him. They wouldn't give up these sons
of the prophets. They wouldn't give up. And so
Elisha gave in. When they urged him till he was
ashamed, he said, Sin, they sent there four fifty men, and they
sought three days, but found him not. That doesn't surprise
us, does it? It doesn't surprise us that they
didn't find him. Why? Because he was taken up
into heaven. They question God's power to
glorify Elijah and take him into heaven. God is all-powerful. And to answer Job's question,
if a man dies, shall he live again? Yes, just as Elijah was
changed in a moment. It didn't take long, just in
a moment. So at the last trump, all of
God's children who are alive at that time will be changed.
were to come right now, the trump, the last trump should sound right
now, then all of God's children, all would be changed in a moment. That is, this body would be changed.
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. This body
is a vile body. That's what the apostle Paul
calls it, because of sin. But when Christ comes again,
Believers who are alive, our bodies will be changed in a moment,
just like Elijah's body was changed and he was taken up into heaven.
What about the bodies of those who have died, who've gone on?
Well, the bodies of believers will be raised incorruptible. When we carry a child of God's
body to the grave, and sometimes we must do that, It's never a
happy time. We're happy for the person who
knows the Lord, who's gone on to be with the Lord, but for
us who are left, it's a sad time, isn't it? We sorrow not as those
who have no hope, but we do sorrow. But we do so. We take their bodies
out to the grave. And there's a part in, I've maybe
said this before, but in the funeral service of the Church
of England, there's one part where that preacher says, we
commit this body to the grave in the sure hope, the sure and
certain hope of the resurrection. I like that, don't you? the sure
and certain hope of the resurrection. Amen. The body's sown in corruption,
it's raised in incorruption, it's sown in dishonor, it's raised
in glory. And we cannot even begin to imagine
the glory of the bodies of God's people. Paul said this, he said,
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us. The scriptures are clear that
there shall be a resurrection of the just. Now here's the last
lesson. It's clear that God has determined
the number of our days, and when our work here is finished. God has determined that. It's
clear. If you look back to 1st Kings
chapter 19 and verse 4, before this, sometime before
this, here we find Elijah It says, he himself went a day's
journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper
tree and he requested for himself. In other words, he prayed. He
asked God, let me die. He requested for himself that
he might die. And he said, it is enough now,
O Lord. I've lived long enough. It's
enough now, O Lord. Take away my life, for I'm not
better than my father's." The lesson for us is that God has
determined the number of our days and when our work here is
finished. Elijah, when he prayed there
in that verse of scripture and asked to die, his work was not
finished. We know this. I don't know what
all work he had left to do, but I do know this. He had to anoint
two men to be kings. He had to anoint one man, Elijah,
to be a prophet. He had to confront King Ahab
in Naboth's vineyard. We looked at that the other day.
And he had a letter to write to a future king of Judah. We know that. But God knows when
our work here is ended. And when the days of our months,
as the scripture says, we cannot pass those bounds. That's what we read in Job chapter
14. Elijah desired to die under a
tree. Not much glory in that, is there?
That's what he wanted. That's the best he could think
of. Just let me die here. Die under this tree and the vultures
come and eat the flesh off my bones. God had something much
greater planned for him. No, you're not going to die under
this tree. You're going to be taken into
heaven in a chariot of fire. God knows, doesn't He? He knows
what is best for you and I, and He knows when our work is ended
here. And when it's ended, our months
are ended, that's when He will call us as well, or take us. The Scripture said, Blessed are
the dead which dine the Lord from henceforth, that they may
rest from their labors. and their works do follow them. May the Lord bless this word
to all of us here this morning.