"WHERE IS THE LORD GOD OF ELIJAH? Part 11

The Final Trek.   2 Kings 2:14

Sermon by Pastor Dennis Gleason  --  October 29, 2006

"Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, ’Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ And when he had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over." II Kings 2:14

There is a story involving Yogi Berra, the well-known catcher for the New York Yankees, and Hank Aaron, who at that time was the chief power hitter for the Milwaukee Braves. The teams were playing in the World Series, and as usual Yogi was keeping up his ceaseless chatter, intended to pep up his teammates on the one hand, and distract the Milwaukee batters on the other. As Aaron came to the plate, Yogi tried to distract him by saying, "Henry, you're holding the bat wrong. You're supposed to hold it so you can read the trademark." Aaron didn't say anything, but when the next pitch came he hit it into the left-field bleachers. After rounding the bases and tagging up at home plate, Aaron looked at Yogi Berra and said, "I didn't come up here to read." 

The time had come for Elijah to take his final trek. He has completed the work that God has given him to do and the time is approaching when he will be gone. In his spirit he knew that the time had come.

He has spent the past 10 years or so as a mentor to the younger Elisha. They had been inseparable companions during this time. Elisha had faithfully followed Elijah as he matured into a committed man of God. And now that time together was coming to a close.

Time and again Elijah encouraged the younger Elisha to stay behind somewhere. First of all  when they were on their way to Gilgal, Elijah told Elisha that the Lord was sending him to Bethel. Elijah told him to remain there. But he would not. “I will not leave you.”he said.  They went there together.

Elijah told him to stay at Bethel as the Lord was sending him to Jericho. Again, Elisha tells him, “I will not leave you.”  And off they go to Jericho. And again he implores Elisha to stay there in Jericho. He will not leave Elijah wherever God leads him.

When they got to the Jordan River, they were in the place where Joshua and the children of Israel had crossed the Jordan. On that day as the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant touched the waters, they stopped flowing and Israel crossed over to the other side. That was 555 years before this day. What God did for Israel then, Elijah believed that he would act on his behalf as he followed his LORD.

And now as he and Elisha were preparing to cross, Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water with it. His mantle is the symbol of his power and authority under God. Unafraid, Elijah and Elisha stepped out and crossed the river bed. They were back in the land of his birth and boyhood, headed for Mt. Gilead.

At this point, he turns to his protégé Elisha and asks: “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

Note what Elisha asks for. “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

He yearns to possess the same power, the same faith, the same fortitude, the same shining spirit that he had seen in Elijah’s l\walk with God. As he has seen this man of God, he realized that in a very special sense Elijah walked in:

God’s Presence…He was a man who knew and trusted God.

God’s Purpose…he was a man who understood God’s purpose for his life.

God’s power…he was a man intimately acquainted with the power of God.

He was not interested in mediocrity. He is not interested in prestige or prominence or personal gain. He is not He was not interested in simply being an ordinary child of God. No, he wanted twice as much faith, twice as much power, twice as much of the Spirit of God in his life. And he was not too shy to ask for it. A double portion is what he wanted. He wanted to have an impact on the life of Israel for God.

He knows that Elijah’s power is nothing less than the power of the living God present within him. And that is what he wants. And he wants it for God’s sake.

Elijah’s response is this: “You have asked a difficult thing…yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours-otherwise not.”

Suddenly, as they were walking along and talking with each other, there appears what the Scripture says is “a chariot of fire and horses of fire…” They rushed by separating the two men and Elijah was swept up into the vortex of a powerful whirlwind that followed in its wake. In an instant he was borne away, lost to sight, and carried into the celestial realm of a divine dimension. He was carried away into the presence of God.

One other man was taken from the earth without dying. His name was Enoch. He was the father of Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived. The Bible tells us that “Enoch walked with God: then he was no more, because God took him away.” The implication is that he did not pass away by dying as all other men do.

How fitting for Elijah, to be the second man ever to have been taken away by God without dying. He was a man of faith in God, who walked with God and by doing so he embodied the power and presence of God. Within him an inner flame had burned fiercely. It was the Spirit of God within him.

That same Spirit had now in a visible manifestation swept Elijah up in the whirlwind. And the conscience of Israel was gone. Elijah had been the picture of faith in God to the whole nation. He showed the nation that one man who stood with God could be a majority. And he showed Israel and Elisha that his faith in God was good to the very end.

And there fell on the young Elisha the same Spirit, the same power, the same presence of the Living God that had been Elijah’s portion. Elijah had unquestionably been the prophet of power, God’s power.

And now Elisha took the stained and dusty mantle that had fallen from the shoulders of Elijah and carried it to the Jordan River. He stood there for a moment, a solitary figure to the 50 prophets watching from the far bank of the river. Yet he was not alone. Present with him was the presence of the Living Spirit of the Living God. In the power of that Spirit and it’s authority represented by the mantle, he struck the water of the river. As he did he asked, “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” The water parted and he walked across to the other side of the Jordan.

People were much the same in Elisha’s day as in ours. Many doubted the existence of a living God who was concerned about the problems of man. Elisha knew his ministry would be very difficult. He felt that he could not face the challenges before him without a personal manifestation of God’s blessing upon his ministry. He understood that he needed the power of God in his life and ministry if he was going to accomplish what God had planned for his life.

If we think of our own lives, the question remains the same: ““Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?”  The power is the same today as it was back then. It is the power of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. God has not changed. The need for that power has not changed. The only change we will ever encounter is the fact that many will not believe that the power is available to them. Jesus told those early disciples, “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” Acts 1:8a.

The coming of that power was at the point in time when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit spoken of in Acts 1:5. It was the point at which those men and women’s lives were totally under the control of the Spirit of Christ. It is true of us as well. We will see the power of God in our own lives when the Holy Spirit has control of all of us and when we believe it is for us today. If we know Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling or living within us. We have the Holy Spirit. But when it comes to the power of the Spirit of Christ being manifest in our lives, it is a matter of how much of us the Holy Spirit has control of. He can dwell within us, but we can live in such a way that we control our lives and live the way we want. When we do that we will not see the power of God function, as we would if the Holy Spirit were in complete control of our lives. It is that simple.

Let’s think back to the illustration we started with. Hank Aaron and Yogi Berra. Aaron had it right, he was not there to read the trademark on the bat. He was there to hit the ball with power out of the ball park. We are not here on earth to “read the trademark” on the bat. We are here to manifest the power of God in our life as we walk with God and trust him. Faith in the reality of that power is required today just as it was in the days of Elijah.

God always honors those who honor him with their faith. He still does today. Trust him. Believe Him and His Word. Let the Holy Spirit have control of your life and see you will see the power of God in your life and ministry. It does not matter what that ministry is.

The question for us as we close this series, then is this: ““Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?”

And the answer is the same as it has been throughout our series on the life of Elijah. God is right where he has always been. He is just a breath or a heart beat or a prayer away. Just believe it. Just act on it.

Having said that, what does the Scripture tell us about where He is...

He is…

- IN HEAVEN TO HEAR OUR PRAYERS AND GRANT FORGIVENESS.

"If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14.

- IN OUR HEARTS TO SEAL US UNTIL "THE DAY OF REDEMPTION".

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30

"...in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13b14

- IN OUR MIDST TO PROTECT, GUIDE AND STRENGTHEN US.

"...For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

"And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. Do not fear, or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8


- ON HIS THRONE OF GRACE TO RECEIVE OUR PRAISE AND GRANT HIS BLESSINGS.

"Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16.

- LIVING WITHIN US TO EMPOWER US TO DO THE WORK THAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR US TO DO.                                                                                                                                                           

“…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” Acts 1:8a.

Let me close with this thought from the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.”

Where is the God of Elijah? Right there where he has always been and he is ready to encourage you, to empower you, to use you to accomplish what Jesus said were “Greater things than these shall you do.” All you have to do is believe God. Have faith in Him and choose to walk with him as Elijah did and you will see the power of God in your life as Elijah and Elisha did. Guaranteed!