Scripture Reading: II Kings 2:1-25 Page 260

1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." 4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. 5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on. 7 Fifty men of 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 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!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. 13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 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. 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." "No," Elisha replied, "do not send them." 17 But they persisted until he was too ashamed to refuse. 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?" 19 The men 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." 20 "Bring me a new bowl," he said, "and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. 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 wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken. 23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" 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 youths. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. (NIV)

With the start of a new school year, many are also making a new start with God. Your presence here today is meaningful and will produce certain results. For some, this is the start of something new. I would like to reflect on the story of the blessing passing from Elijah to Elisha using it as a metaphor for our pursuit of the blessings of God.

Gilgal was the starting point, the place where they apparently lived. When it was time for the older generation to disappear, Elijah suggested that Elisha should just stay and Gilgal and Elijah would go on his way into the sunset. It was clear that Elisha was not content to let the past disappear. He knew that he needed to follow his mentor and carry forward the vision. He determines to follow Elijah to Bethel. 1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

Of all the places you might go, Bethel is about as good as it gets. Abraham started the great connection by making it his encampment and built an altar to the Lord in that very place. When Jacob laid his head upon a stone to sleep, a ladder came down from heaven and he saw angels ascending and descending upon it. Genesis 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." If there was ever a place to stay, Bethel was the place. Surely the future with God is found in repeating the past.

We need places where God meets with us and where we can worship God. You never forget those places. Encounters with God are important markers on our spiritual journey. It is very important to all ages. A few months ago our children had Army Camp. Many of them had wonderful encounters with God. In addition to our services, we look to our Youth Camps and Retreats to provide those moments. As important as those experiences are, they are not the culmination of the spiritual life.

3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." 4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.

Once we have those experiences with God, we are tempted to want to stay in Bethel. We want to stay in that place and repeat the experience continually. That is the way it once was. It should always be that way.

Rather than staying in the place where God had visited them so powerfully, Elisha was determined to stay up and to keep up. So they went to Jericho.

Jericho is a spectacular place. It was there that God brought the walls of that city tumbling down and gave to Israel its first victory in the promised land. It was such an extraordinary miracle. After marching around the city for seven days, they blew the shofars and shouted and God brought down those imposing walls. If there was ever a place to stop, Jericho was that place. It was the place of a miraculous victory.

In the spiritual life we come up against great obstacles that God overcomes with a great miracle. When that happens we tell everyone about it and we get very excited. We are very tempted to want to stay in that place.

5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.

7 Fifty men of 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 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!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. 13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha."

There were several places along the way where Elisha could have been detained. He could have stopped at legitimate places but it would have prevented God’s real purpose for Elisha’s life.

Not stopping is the metaphor that I am using today to urge you as an individual and us as a congregation to continue what you have begun.

For a family or an individual person, an Elisha-like pursuit of God will do several things.

The pursuit of God is the means of salvation. Jesus is the way to heaven and there are no shortcuts or other alternatives. We need him to be saved. It makes sense to make the effort to know the Lord and to walk with him.

It will help you regulate your life. It is important to be in church as a way of reminding ourselves that we are accountable. For example, a teenager might be inclined to go along with others and get involved in drinking, partying, or living the immoral lifestyle. But when you come to church you get a chance to view those alternatives through God’s eyes. Don’t be satisfied that you asked Jesus into your heart some time ago. Keep going with your daily Bible reading. Keep church a high priority.

It will develop a healthy self-esteem. When you know that God has a plan for your life, as he does for every life, it helps you to know that your life matters. It is easy to think that your life doesn’t matter and that nobody cares. Such thinking destroys self-esteem. But when you know that Jesus loves you and has a purpose for your life, it gives significance and meaning. We are his workmanship. Every week when you show up here you are saying that your life belongs to God and he is working out his purposes in your life.

It will develop deep assurance about the future in your life. As you walk with God and learn to pray you learn that you are not alone and that success does not come exclusively through your own efforts. Miracles happen when we pray. God helps us.

It will develop confidence in your life through doing the right thing. When you do what is right, you naturally expect that to be rewarded. As you choose the right and reject the wrong an inherent confidence comes your way.

As you begin this September, you will experience the temptation to get stopped along the way. Maybe you have been here before but got stopped. You grew afraid. Maybe something happened that disappointed you. Maybe you don’t know what happened. Maybe it was just a bunch of little distractions, competing events and activities. You never intended to get stopped. It just turned out that way.

God has in mind to give us a double portion of his Spirit, to go beyond anything that you have yet experienced.