This morning, we’re going to begin a journey through the lives of veterans of the faith. These were righteous people who were led by Holy Spirit and did amazing, miraculous things. They were also exactly that; real people with weaknesses and temptations and struggles.
Although I wish it were not true, it is a reality that even when living rightly for God, even when seeking the Lord and living by His guidance, even when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will still face difficulties in life. The difference between the faithful and faithless isn’t what we go through in life, but rather, how we respond to those difficulties. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:43-45
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
By God’s own choice and by His own sovereign will, He chose for both good and evil, righteous and unrighteous to encounter the same circumstances. What reveals that we are children of God and different is how we choose to respond on both sunny days as well as stormy and rainy ones.
It’s not faith in our own abilities, but faith in God’s abilities that makes us different. That is what reveals that our lives are fully placed in the hands of God. That is what reveals our faith and trust in Him and not in ourselves. Paul wrote:
Philippians 3:4-14
4 If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Just as Paul let go of the past and kept his focus on what was ahead, so we can press on when things get tough. We know that our best days are yet ahead of us! We know that in Christ, we’re going from glory to an even greater glory! We know that life brings troubles, but we also know that greater is the Spirit of the Living God within us than any difficulties that we could ever face here on the earth!
We press on!
We don’t give up on our faith when things get tough, our faith is revealed and strengthened when things get tough!
We don’t stop pressing on until a ref sounds of the whistle; that is until Jesus blows the trumpet. We keep pressing on toward the Lord even if that means that we have to drag the opposition right along with us.
Like a running back, we’ll take every inch of ground back from the enemy that we can and won’t stop until we’ve crossed into the end zone. Even if every defender from the other team is hanging onto us, we keep pressing on dragging them along with us.
We’re entering God’s Presence and His rest no matter the cost!
We set our faces like flint just like a quarterback that makes that perfect throw to their receiver even while they are being tackled and dragged to the ground. Our focus is on the goal that God is calling us to and we’re ignoring all of the noise all around us.
Now that’s a really easy thing to preach and proclaim, but it’s not so easy to live out…
Thankfully, God made sure that what is recorded in His word is not only the breakthroughs and miracles that He performed for His people, but also the real, raw, authentic challenges and frustrations and difficulties that they went through beforehand. God recorded people’s struggles and emotions and even their venting prayers lamenting about what they were going through and questioning when God was going to step in and do something about it.
I believe that this morning, God wants to shift our mindset and change the way that we think about difficulty. Challenging circumstances that we endure are not always God punishing us and not always the devil attacking us. In fact, even when either one of those are the case, the solution is still always the same. Turn to God!
God’s desire is always to make things right. God’s will is always ultimately to heal, to deliver, to restore. God’s desire is always to bring about good so that it is here on the earth even as it is in Heaven. Even when facing God’s punishment for sin, when God’s people turned to Him and repented, He relented and healed and delivered them.
Just because things aren’t going well for us, that doesn’t mean that God is against us! God is always for us and His plans are always to give us hope and a future; for things to always end in His goodness and for His glory.
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; none! Jesus enduring the cross proved beyond a shadow of a doubt how great and unstoppable His love is and just how for us He truly is! Jesus chose to take all of our sins and every curse upon Himself! He is for us and not against us!
The devil is the one who wants us to think otherwise so that instead of pressing on and turning to God, we just accept our circumstances and give up!
We’re going to start today with the life of Elisha.
Elisha left everything behind and followed the Lord under the mentorship of Elijah. God instructed Elijah that Elisha was going to succeed him as prophet. Elijah walked so closely to the Lord that he didn’t even die; the Lord just took him to Heaven in a whirlwind. He and Enoch are the only two people recorded who were just taken to Heaven and never experienced death.
In fact, Elijah’s ministry was so powerful that when Jesus began His earthly ministry, many believed that He actually was Elijah. Many of Elijah and Elisha’s miracles were repeated by Jesus.
However, Elisha’s miraculous encounters were not without difficulties. In fact, I would be so bold as to say that there can be no miracle without an impossible difficulty. A miracle requires a situation that no one but God can do much of anything about.
Finally, the day had come. Elisha knew that the Lord was about to take Elijah to Heaven. They travelled around to Bethel, then to Jericho, then to the Jordan. At each location, the company of prophets there asked Elisha if he knew that the Lord was going to take Elijah that day. He replied each time, “Yes, I know. So be quiet.”
A difficult reality that we all have to face at some point in our lives is losing a loved one. Even when we know with certainty that it is their graduation to Heaven, even when we know that it is going to be far better for them, even if God chooses to reveal to us the very day that it is going to happen, we are still never ready.
Elisha stayed by Elijah’s side that entire day refusing to miss out on even a moment that day with him. The pain that he was feeling was real and the other prophets reminding of it wasn’t appreciated. He told them to shut up about it. Finally, the time had come.
2 Kings 2:7-18
7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours – otherwise, it will not.”
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
Even though they both knew that the time was coming, it still happened so suddenly in a literal whirlwind. The moment that Elisha was dreading had come and the next six words of scripture are a heavy reality for many of us here today. Many of us know exactly what Elisha felt with these simple, yet life-changing words.
And Elisha saw him no more.
How does the new lead prophet of God’s people who just had given to him a double portion of the spirit of Elijah respond in front of 50 of his prophets?
Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.
His grief and mourning began with denial and quickly moved to anger. What else could he do at this point than to pick up the pieces and move on?
13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked.
Again, how does the new lead prophet of God’s people who just had given to him a double portion of the spirit of Elijah respond in front of 50 of his prophets? Ask, “Where are you now, Lord?”
No longer was Elisha under the mantle and covering of Elijah. Now, that mantle and the weight of the responsibility of being the lead prophet was placed upon him. It wasn’t just Elisha questioning God with the loss of Elijah, it was also Elisha crying out in desperation for his need for the Lord.
Elisha had been an eyewitness of not only the miracles that God performed through Elijah, but also to the troubles that people brought his way. He saw the trust and responsibility that people placed in Elijah. He saw him called upon by kings for wisdom. The fate of nations rested in his hands.
He saw him speaking on behalf of the Lord things that people didn’t want to hear. He saw Elijah hated all because he was just obedient to the Lord and said or did what he was told to. He saw people planning and trying to take the life of Elijah. His isolation, his fears, his stress, his depression, his joy, his strength, his faith.
Elisha now knew that he was about to encounter these same realities in his own life. Moreso, he had to question whether a double portion of the spirit would also bring about a double portion of the difficulties as well.
What happens when we cry out in desperation to the Lord? He comes to our rescue! Of course, He’s never far from us even though it may feel like it. He has promised to never leave nor forsake us and He never will!
Elisha walked right back to the Jordan river where he and Elijah had their last miraculous encounter together with the Lord.
When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
Sometimes, when we’re feeling distant from the Lord and a bit lost, it helps to return to our last undeniable encounter with Him. Maybe it’s that song or that spot out by the lake or that scripture verse or that sermon.
15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
Elisha’s grief may have muddied up his emotions, but it couldn’t change God’s unchanging truth and nature. God was there with him and for him. What the prophet Elijah prophesied and promised came to pass. Elisha may have felt nothing, but truth wasn’t changed by his emotions.
So it is with us. We may not feel like it, but that doesn’t change God’s character and the truth of His word. We may feel like victims, but we’re victors! We may feel alone and unloved, but God’s Presence is with us and for us and there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love. We may feel ashamed and condemned, but in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation for us. As we turn to Jesus, there is only forgiveness and mercy and His empowering grace!
Elisha had just been promoted to the highest position among God’s people, though he may not have realized it or felt like it. The 50 fellow prophets who just witnessed everything that happened bowed down before him. He had not only received Elijah’s mantle, he had received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
How else would they respond to this historical transition of leadership?
16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
Well, for prophets, they didn’t seem to fully foresee what had just happened. They acknowledged that Elisha received the spirit of Elijah. They knew that Elijah was going to get taken away from Elisha that day. However, they seemed to think that God was just playing an epic game of hide-and-seek. They didn’t seem to get that Elijah was gone and Elisha had succeeded him.
“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”
17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse.
Typical of leadership transitions, the company of prophets went from bowing down before Elisha to challenging and questioning his ability and knowledge. It only took moments for them to disrespect him in a way that they never would have done to Elijah.
What did Elisha do? Well, he gave in and let them find out for themselves what just happened.
So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Instead of taking an absolute stand and denying the prophets, he permitted them to do things their way. In the end, the results proved Elisha to be correct and satisfied the prophets as well. A new era had begun. The Lord had undoubtedly taken Elijah and Elisha had now succeeded him completely.
What would Elisha’s first task in office be?
19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”
A city’s water supply was bad. This is obviously more of a municipal problem than a spiritual problem. This is something that Elisha didn’t have any training for and not a difficulty that Elijah ever was faced with that we’re aware of.
The really awesome thing about being a friend of God is that He knows everything. As we learned the last few weeks, it’s His joy to share revelation with us. The most important training that we can receive is how to discern and follow the guidance of the Helper, the Holy Spirit within us. This is the same Holy Spirit that was upon Elijah that Elisha received a double portion of. We now have the privilege of being baptized and filled with this same Holy Spirit.
Elisha didn’t need municipal training on how to properly treat a city’s water supply. Elisha needed a relationship with the Lord and the ability to discern what the Holy Spirit reveals to him. This ability applies to anything and everything in life!
To God, there is no distinction between the secular and religious. There isn’t. Everything is His.
Elijah and Elisha were living under the Old Covenant where some things were set apart for God’s purposes; made holy. As Christians living under the New Covenant, temples of the Holy Spirit, children of God, living sacrifices, everything for us is holy; set apart for God’s purposes. Everything is ministry. Everything is service to Jesus.
Colossians 3:23-24
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Elisha took the same approach to his own life and his role as prophet. He didn’t turn people away who sought after his service; He turned to the Lord and allowed his own life to be an instrument of God. Success in anything that we do in life can be found as we humble ourselves and depend completely on the Lord.
This is what Elisha did. He was faced with an unfamiliar issue that was affecting the lives of many people and the economy of an entire city that was perfect aside from this one issue. Instead of shrinking back or passing along the issue to someone else, Elisha pressed on and sought the Lord.
20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
He relied on the resources of others, then he personally applied the solution.
21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” 22 And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
All that Elisha did was what the Lord instructed him to do and to say what the Lord said to him. That was enough.
We won’t find any city water treatment plants that operate this way! However, it worked. God said it and so it was.
Is God’s word enough for us?
Are we willing to stand before an entire city and do something simple and silly from a human perspective in faith in what the Lord says?
What if someone makes fun of us?
Well, it happened to Elisha. I’m assuming that not everyone revered and honored this prophet of God based on the next few verses.
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
Well, that escalated pretty quickly…
We may read this account from a perspective of how cool it might be if we possessed that kind of authority and had a relationship that close to God that He would do such a thing to a group of kids making fun of us. However, I now read it was a sense of weightiness and fear.
Imagine Elisha observing this taking place. Forty two boys getting mauled by two bears. That’s not fair. This punishment did not fit the crime.
How often do we speak idle words against people? How often do we make empty threats?
However, we also simultaneously want to experience more of God’s power encounters and miracles.
What if God really entrusted us with that kind of authority? Elisha had it and look what happened. That’s a huge responsibility to have on your shoulders! What if God literally honored our words? If we’re honest, it wouldn’t be good for us nor those around us. Elisha quickly understood the reality of the spirit-empowered words that he spoke and the responsibility that came with it.
Maybe if we were more intentional and careful with our words, maybe if we trained ourselves to speak less from our emotions and moods and more from God’s word, He might entrust to us more of His power and authority.
Luke 9:51-55
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them.
Now Elijah did exactly this in 2 Kings 1. His disciples knew this. In fact, some translations say that they asked Jesus “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them just as Elijah did?”
They knew that Jesus performed miracles by the same Holy Spirit-fueled power and authority that Elijah and Elisha did. They had full faith that if they called down fire, it would fall and burn up that Samaritan village. Jesus rebuked them for it!
In order to press on through life, we first need God’s heart, then His power. If not, we might end up with a community void of people, but with a couple of very fat bears… If not, we might end up with a community scorched by fire instead of people baptized by fire. That’s not at all God’s will for us!
We’ll continue through Elisha’s journey next week.
Today, God wants to encourage us. Being Spirit-filled does not mean that we will life a trouble-free life. We will face difficulties, even impossibilities in life. However, we don’t ever face them alone. God knows, God cares, God is waiting on us to turn to Him and to follow His lead.