Leaving in a Blaze of Glory

Introduction

Recap the Series

Spoke boldly to King Ahab that there was going to be no rain

He spent time in training at the creek, allowing God to take care of him through a raven feeding him twice a day

He went to live with the widow after the creek dried up and lived on the flour and oil that never ran out

He raised the widow’s young son from the dead

He had the battle on Mt Carmel on who the one true God was

He prayed and rain came after there had been the drought for 3 1/2 years

He ran from Ahab and Jezebel in a state of depressions; but the Lord took care of him in that

He pronounced judgment on Ahab and his house

He pronounced judgment on Ahaziah

Now it is time for him to ride off into the sunset.

Today - Leaving in a Blaze of Glory

Elijah’s leaving was just like his living, pointing others to the Lord.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

The time had come for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal, 2 and Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD is sending me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

3 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; the LORD is sending me to Jericho.”

But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

5 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD is sending me to the Jordan.”

But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

7 Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood observing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”

So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”

10 Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you, you will have it. If not, you won’t.”

11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind. 12 As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

My struggle in writing this message

it is the end of a life, Elijah did not die, but he was taken up

he was no longer on this earth

most likely, we will not have the same fate

unless we are here when the Lord comes and we will all be called up to the sky to meet those who have gone first

Everyday that we live is one day closer to our death

we do not know when that will be

but in this story of Elijah, what we see is that we are to finish well

and Elijah’s leaving was just like his living, pointing others to the Lord

Teaching Disciples

What has stood out to me in this passage, is the way our thinking in opposite of how Elijah handles things

we would say that the dying person gets to go out how they wish

I mean Elijah is about to go, they can come to him

But over and over we see in scripture where the one who is about to go, constantly is concerned about the next generation or those who are left behind

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

The time had come for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal, 2 and Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD is sending me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

3 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; the LORD is sending me to Jericho.”

But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

5 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD is sending me to the Jordan.”

But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

He was raising up disciples in two ways in the passage

Speaking at the students or seminaries

Sons of the Prophets

this was not actually children of prophets

but people being trained in schools or seminaries

there were schools in Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho

Elijah was going and giving a departing message to the students

we do not know what that message was,

maybe a warning that ministry is not always easy,

that there are times you are alone

times when you are hunted

times when the Lord takes care of you in miraculous ways

but really, isn’t that life

Training Elisha

This training was a little different, because the position the Elijah was going to inherit was different

We do not know why Elijah continually told Elisha to stay back, something Elijah continually answered no

different theories

some believe that Elijah simply wanted him to stay back and he didn’t think he had anything to offer Elisha anymore, he was going to be with the Lord

I do not believe this, as we stated, he went to the three seminaries to speak to them

Some believe that it was a test, would Elijah really follow him to the end of his journey

possible, this would go along with the making and growing disciples point that I am making

I believe that it is more than that

I think if Elisha would have stayed behind they would have had the same conversation about his leaving

But Elijah, being a humble man did not want anyone to see how he was about to go out

A lesson that Elisha learned

after he saw Elijah taken up, after he received the mantle of Elijah he went to the Jordan and did as Elijah had done

he did not say, “Am I not the next Elijah,” but “Where is the God of Elijah?” Knowing that it was God who had done all of those things

it was not Elijah and would not be him

I am not sure we would leave like this… because I am not sure that we live like this

are we making disciples… are we sharing the word of God

Serving Others

Serving others is at the core of the Christian life

we are told to love others and we would love ourselves

that when we come to church on Sunday, we are to come expecting to serve others, encourage others and help others grow closer to God

unfortunately, we have seen Christianity turn into a religion about ourselves more than others

we do things that make ourselves feel closer to God

we look to experience certain feelings rather than the service of others

Even at the end of his life, we do not see this from Elijah

and this is a common theme throughout scripture

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

8 Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”

So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”

10 Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you, you will have it. If not, you won’t.”

Was better for the seminarians that he visit

why would he do this… did he need to earn a few more points before he faced the Lord

No! I believe that he went as an encouragement, reminding them of all the ways that God had been with him and done through him

so that in their own ministry they would remember Elijah’s life and ministry and the faithfulness of God

this is the same thing that Peter was doing in 2 Peter 1:15

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

and what was Peter reminding them of… 2 Peter 1:3

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Walking along, he is concerned for Elisha and what he can do for him before he goes

And this was good for Elisha… giving him a confidence in his calling after Elijah was gone

Satan loves to give doubt, especially in the calling of the Lord

Did God really say...

don’t get me wrong, sometimes our spiritual battle is with God, because we are trying to do “good things” that he is not calling us to do.

I had a friend a while back who applied to be our Youth Pastor years ago

he called and said that he did not feel God calling him to take this position and that he was going to decline

he was taken back when I said, “good, we do not want you.”

I stated that if God was calling him to do something else, we did not want him to be with us in disobedience

Yet, when you are where God has called you, there is a need every so often for a reminder that you are in fact doing and located where God has called you

Elisha would have that now with the mantle of Elijah

it all started because Elijah was willing to serve Elisha in his final moments on this earth

Glorifying God

What a way to go

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

10 Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you, you will have it. If not, you won’t.”

11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind. 12 As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

Elijah is not saying that this will be difficult for God

but that Elisha is asking for something that will not be easily lived, a harder life

but also something that Elijah cannot give, only God can

This type of exit may cause you to say I want to be like Elijah

to be one of two people in all of scripture that did not have to die

Enoch being the other, said that he was walking with God one day and was just taken up

as if he and God were walking and talking and God told him it was closer to his house, just come home with him

there are people in the Bible that had to die twice

think of all the people who had been raised from the dead, only to have to leave the blessing and promises of God and have to come back here

then die all over again! Poor Lazarus

But Elijah did not have to die once…

we can have a desire to be like that if we get caught up in the show

We should be looking for the God that had done all this through Elijah and took him up in this way

The life of Elijah should not give us a desire to be like him, but to serve the God that he served

we see this in Elisha when he leaves to go back and strikes the water of the Jordan as Elijah had done

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

When he could see him no longer, he took hold of his own clothes, tore them in two, 13 picked up the mantle that had fallen off Elijah, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle Elijah had dropped, and he struck the water. “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” he asked. He struck the water himself, and it parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.

His desire was not be like Elijah, but to have the same God be with him

May it be with us

may we be bold enough to stand in the spirit that God has given us to do the tasks that he has called us to do

humble enough to know that it is not because of anything that we have done

anything of God that comes to us is because of how great and merciful He is,

Where is the God of Elijah today?

the same place he has been all along, with his people