A (0:01)

Amen. How we doing, terrorists? Doing good. If you got your Bibles, you better get them. I'll make fun of you. Apparently, first kings chapter 19 is about where we'll start. We're gonna go first kings 19 all the way to second kings chapter 2. So this is ought to be fun. And we're gonna wrap up on this series on Elijah. And I love that video so much for so many reasons. First of all, would you join me in welcoming our 19 or 20 sites at Elder care and nursing homes that are worshiping with us, Right? Praise God. Praise God. And it's so appropriate for what we're gonna study because it's not how you start but how you end that matters, right? Also, would you join me in welcoming our newest outposts? In case you're new to 1122, we have outposts of 1122 all over the place. And our newest one starts tonight in Clifton Forge, Virginia at Lone Star Christian Church. Can you welcome them now? Let me tell you why that's really, really awesome. That's the church that Gretchen grew up in. That's the church that my in laws go to, that my mother in law leads worship in and that Gretchen's grandfather was the pastor of for most of his life. And that church is so kingdom minded that on Thursday nights now they are opening up to be an 1122 outpost. So way to go. That's really, really, really cool. Praise God. All right. Happy September. You pondered by September you should be. It's the best time of the year. I love September. We get all kind of good things in September, like football. Praise God, right? We're all happy. All of us are happy. Our teams won, Bama lost. We all love that. Praise God for that. All right, roll that. The Jags are undefeated so far. How about okay, but the best part of all Saturated begins on Wednesday night. I hope you're ready. Let's go get ready if you're not. All right, here we go. We got a lot to cover. This isn't really even a sermon. This is like the kind of the finale of the life of Elijah, sort of. And the reason I say sort of is because we're going to get to the end of the part. We're going to study here and Elijah's going to leave. But in the scriptures he shows back up several more times because God's not done with Elijah, that he's going to leave the earth here in a couple of chapters. But if you go all the way to the New Testament, he shows back up again. If you Go all the way to the book of Revelation. He shows up again as a witness. So he plays a key role in what God is doing. And one of my favorite things about this, Pastor Matt Carter talked to us last week about when Elijah goes into the cave. Remember, like, the week before that? We talked about he's depressed, he's having these suicidal thoughts. And then God speaks to him. An angel shows up, taps him on the shoulder, gives him a cake and a nap. You need cake and a nap sometimes. And then he says, hey, I'm not done with you. I want to talk to you. Takes him to the cave. And there's fire and there's an earthquake and there's wind. But God wasn't in those things. He was in the still, small voice. Well, here's what's really, really cool about this. Elijah's going to show up again in the New Testament. And he shows up in the New Testament in Matthew, chapter 17. Jesus goes to his disciples. He'll say, hey, boys, you stand out here. I'm about to go up on this place called the Mountain of Transfiguration. And he takes Peter, James, and John with him. And again, people, you know, especially the younger you are, the more you're gonna complain about this. Like, that's not fair. Why does he always take those three? Are they his favorites? Not really. I think they can't be trusted alone. Okay, that's what I think it is. I did student ministry for 15 years. Some kids you just can't leave alone. All right? He's like, peter Jameson, get in the truck. Come with me. They go to the Mountain of Transfiguration, and on the Mountain of Transfiguration, two people show up. Moses and Elijah show up as Jesus transfigures himself. And the Bible says that they have a conversation together. And I wondered, okay, so, like, what are they talking about? Well, actually, the Gospel of Luke, Luke, chapter nine, says that they are discussing Jesus's return back to heaven, his departure. So Elijah, the prophet that we're studying, Moses, the one that writes the law, shows up, and they're like, hey, boss, when you coming back? That's what they're talking about. On the top of the mountain. And for you, like the gifted class Bible people, okay, Lisa Turkehurst, write this down. Ready? Put this in one of your next books. Ready? I think what's happening on the Mountain of Transfiguration is the personification of what Paul writes In Romans, chapter 3, verses 20 to 22. Here's what Paul says. Paul says, for by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight. In other words, nobody can be good enough to go to heaven on their own, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. That's Paul's complicated lawyer way of saying, and Jesus showed up. The only way we can be made right with God is that God had to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. And so God sends an alien righteousness, someone that can live perfectly on our behalf. That's who he's talking about, Jesus. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. Guess what's happening on the mountain of transfiguration? Who wrote the law? Moses. Who was the greatest of all the prophets? Elijah. And what's happening on the mountain of transfiguration is the law. And the prophets are bearing witness to this righteousness that God has sent on our behalf. And boom. Your head ought to explode. Now what are they talking about? Don't you listen? If you grew up watching veggietales or learned your Bible via flannel graph, you can't pass by this stuff too quickly, okay? You gotta pray and ask God to give you a spirit inspired imagination a little bit, because this is not a story. This is an actual event where they were talking. Again, Luke chapter nine says they're discussing the departure of Jesus. And I imagine Elijah. I guess this is a little bit of conjecture. I imagine Elijah and Moses are standing there with Jesus and they're like, well, this is neat. Last time I was on a mountain, some really cool things happened. And Moses is like, fire? Did you get fire? Elijah's like, oh, I got fire. And Moses is like, I had a lot of fire. I talked to a bush on fire one time. That was cool. Turned out to be God, changed my whole life. And then I went up onto Mount Sinai. You can read it in Exodus, chapter 19. And God appeared on the top of the mountain and fire was there when he gave me the ten Commandments. And Elijah was like, that's cool. I was freaking out. Thought I was done in ministry. God took me to a cave and then he spoke to me. And then a big old fire came blazing through the outside of the cave. That's crazy. And then I bet they go, well, what about wind? Did you get wind? And Moses is like, oh, I got wind. I mean, again, up In Exodus chapter 19, I'm standing on Mount Sinai and there was like a Whole hurricane blowing around because the power of God, the presence of God, like a tempest sat on top of that mountain. It was windy. And Elijah's like, oh, I had some wind too. I mean, I'm standing there in that cave freaking out a little bit. God's talking to me. And a hurricane blew by the side of the mountain and, and ripped some of the rocks off. It was crazy. What about an earthquake? Elijah's like, I got an earthquake in that same cave. And Moses like, I had an earthquake up on that same mountain. And then maybe Jesus pokes in and be like, hey, guess what? That wasn't even the point. The point of the fire, the point of the wind and the point of the earthquake was to point to what I'm about to do here. In just a few more chapters in this book, Matthew's writing you, he said, because you want an earthquake. Maybe Jesus leans in and says, let me tell you about the earthquake of all earthquakes. In just a little while, I am gonna go to the cross just like Paul says in Romans, chapter three. And I'm gonna push up on my nail pierced feet and I'm going to say, it is finished. And the moment I give my life for the payment of sin, an earthquake is gonna crack right through the middle of Jerusalem and it's gonna go all the way through the temple and, and there's this little room. You know about it, Moses, you wrote about it. It separates the holy of holies from the people of God. And there's that curtain of separation. And when that earthquake hits, that curtain of separation is going to be torn from the top to the very bottom as an invitation to come into the very presence of God. And you want some wind, boys? Let me tell you about some wind, okay? Here's what's gonna happen. One day when I ascend to the right hand of God the Father, when I come back to hang out with you guys up in heaven, then God is gonna breathe the wind like a hurricane. And it's the wind of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. And you want some fire? I got some fire coming. Because fire is going to descend from heaven like tongues of fire and it's going to land on every single believer. And then Elijah and Moses may be like, that sounds like a lot. Because when that happened to us, God was so good to us that he hid us in the cleft of the rock so we didn't get taken out by the wind and by the fire and by the earthquake. And Jesus maybe looks at him and is like, Well, I got good news, boys, because now I am here. You see, before, when you were experiencing God, you could not come face to face with the Almighty, sovereign, perfect God because the redemption had not been made for you. You'd get burned up like a marshmallow in a campfire. But now that the Son of Man is here and dies in your place, and guess what? You get to come face to face with me. And because you are face to face with me, you. You get to come face to face with Him. Maybe that's the conversation they're having on the mountain of transfiguration. You see, last week, again, Elijah, he thinks he's done. He's just sitting by the brook under a broom tree, thinking that he's done. God taps him on the shoulder, says, you're not done. I'm not done with you. Takes him into the cave, and he speaks to him. Here's what I. Please don't miss. This about the life of Elijah, okay, is that it's not how you start that matters. It's how you finish. And some of you think God's done with you. And I'm here to tell you, God's not done with you, you see, because we still got chapters and chapters and chapters of the life of Elijah being used by God. The voice of God comes to Elijah, speaks in a still, small voice. Which, by the way, if you hadn't heard from the Lord lately, do you think it's because he's not speaking or because your life's too loud to hear it? My favorite seminary professor, my favorite. The only one that liked me at all, the only one I liked back, he told me this when I graduated. He said, if the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy. In John, chapter 10, Jesus said, He's the good shepherd. And he said, my sheep, hear my voice, the voice of a stranger. They will not follow. Is your life so loud that you can't hear the still, small voice of God? Well, if that's the case, then God might quiet some things down so you can hear his voice. And he comes to Elijah. He says, but I'm not done with you. He speaks in a still, small voice. It's a whisper. That word there is a quiet ruah. That's what it is. And then he begins to give Elijah some more instructions. He's like, all right, buddy, I'm not done with you, okay? Your worst days don't define you. I get to tell you who you are. And so you're about to do some more Stuff. You're gonna anoint new kings, and you're gonna anoint a new prophet, because what you're doing's not new. It's just your turn. And in the kingdom of God, Elijah, success may not be what you do. It may be who you raise up. You ever thought about that? I think about this all the time. God is moving in a miraculous way in 1122 right now. There's no doubt about it. Okay? No doubt about it. But what if the really big thing God wants to do isn't even in us? It's in all those youngins sitting over there right now? You know what I'm saying? What if we are only the platform by which God raises up the next Great Awakening from here to go into the entire world? So you're gonna anoint your successor. That's what you're gonna do. And by the way, Elijah, you're not alone. I've heard you whining many, many times. I keep hearing you say, I'm the only one left in Israel. Well, guess what? You can't see everything. You don't know everything. You ever tell God some information and you turn out you're not right? You ever do that, God? I'm the only one like, no, you dummy. I got 7,000 more Israelites over here that have yet to bow their knee to BAAL or worship him. You see, part of the reason we pray like idiots is because we have the perspective of idiots. You know why? One of the reasons a sheep needs a shepherd. Cause a sheep is only this tall and can't even see over the hedge. But a shepherd is taller and has a different perspective and can see things that the sheep can't see. And so he's like. So hang in there, okay? I've got 7,000 faithful brothers and sisters of yours who have not bowed their knee to baal. And so, listen, I need you to trust God's word more than you trust your own eyes. I need you to trust the promises of God even more than you trust your own feelings. Because one of the things that began to happen in the life of Elijah is that he was gripped with fear. And fear will cause you to assume things that may or may not even happen. This is why fear is so dangerous. Fear will cause you to be paralyzed by things that might not even happen. Fear is looking into the future and thinking the worst things that could happen are in control. Faith is looking into the future and knowing that God's still got the whole world in his hands. And how many of you. Okay, Gifted Class, when do new mercies come? In the morning? So the reason I think Jesus says, don't worry about tomorrow is because he hasn't given you the mercies that you need for tomorrow. He's given you everything you need to accomplish, everything he has called you to accomplish today. And if you need that kind of mercy for what you're scared of tomorrow, he will give it to you. But to begin to presume that the worst thing might happen will paralyze you. And so Elijah leaves the cave. We're just cruising through a bunch of chapters here real quick. Elijah leaves the cave, he finds Elisha. It's very confusing. The Bible didn't check with me on what to name people. But Elijah is like, the senior guy, and Elisha is gonna follow him, all right? And God says, all right, that's your guy. That's the guy I want you to anoint and to appoint. And he's going to follow in your footsteps. And so Elisha is out there plowing the field. He's got, I think it's 12 oxes out there, right? And then Elijah just rolls up on him, takes his coat and throws it on him, says, you're my guy. I want you to follow me. And Elisha's like, let me go kiss my mom and daddy goodbye. He's like, all right, no problem. So he kisses him goodbye, and then he comes back and he just burns the ships, man. I mean, he was in the oxen business. You know what he did? He used the yoke to build a bonfire, and he slaughtered the 12 oxens, and then they had a big cookout. That's how you know, as a godly man, had barbecue for everybody. This is like, I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. If you burn all of your product, you ain't into ox business anymore. Make sense? And so meanwhile, our guy Ahab, that we've been talking about for weeks after weeks after weeks, and Jezebel, they're still doing their thing. There's chapters upon chapters about how they're fighting people and how they're into battles and they're doing their thing. And by the time you get to 1 Kings, chapter 21, Ahab, remember, he's a wuss. He's got a backbone like a jellyfish. Remember, Jezebel's controlling and Ahab's greedy. I mean, he's the king of the whole place. And he looks at his neighbor's place, his neighbor has got a little piece of land out there, and he begins to think, I wish I had that land. His name's Naboth. And so Ahab goes to Naboth. He's like, hey, can I buy you property? Maybe I'll give you a good price or I'll give you another property. And Naboth is like, I can't do it. It's not mine to give. I inherited it from my people. And I'm going to give it to people, my people, just like God has commanded me to. And so then Ahab, the wuss, he goes home and he does what wusses do. He complains, he whines, he gripes, he cries. He sends the Pastor Gripey emails. That's what he does. He goes, eh, that's what he does. And so then Jezebel comes in. It's like, what's wrong, baby? You know, because remember, she's controlling. I don't know if you've ever met the married couple. And it looks a lot more like son and daughter and husband and wife, but I mean, you know, whatever. And she's like, what's wrong? And he's like, well, I wanted that land. I didn't get that land. And she's like, oh, I got this. And so she goes out and she makes an accusation. She says, here's what I want to do. She does all kinds of falsifies, documents and seals them and sends them out, and she gets some people to make some accusations against Naboth, who owns the land. And then sure enough, I don't know if you realize this, every accusation hitting true. Did you know that sometimes people put out misinformation? Can you believe that? And sure enough, they have him killed. They have him stoned. And so then Jezebel comes in, is like, hey, got good news. The guy, Naboth, he doesn't own that land anymore because he gone. And so here it is. And now God's going to show back up to Elijah, and he's going to enact justice, enact justice. And Elijah gets his courage back. And God shows up to Elijah and he's like, hey, there's some shady stuff. It's our friends. By friends, I mean enemies. Ahab and Jezebel. And they're back at it again. And so he taps Elijah on the shoulder, and Elijah stands up and he's filled with courage again. And the Lord says to him, we're in chapter 21, verse 19 at this point, and he says, you shall go and say to Ahab. Thus says the Lord, have you killed and also taken possession? And he's talking about Naboth's land. And you shall say to him, thus says the Lord, in the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick your own blood? Bet y' all didn't learn that in Sunday school, did you? Yeah, man. You see, Elijah's got his groove back. He's talking smack again, that good, glorious smack talk. And then Ahab says to Elijah, have you found me, O enemy? And he answered, I have found you because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. And behold, I. I will bring disaster upon you. And I will utterly burn you up. All right, pun intended. Last time they were there, what did he do? He called down fire from heaven. I love that so much. And I will cut you off from Ahab. Every male bond or free in Israel. That's a promise of God. And he says, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. These are evil kings. And it didn't end well for them. For the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel, I hadn't forgot about her. The Lord also said that dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel. It's another promise of God. It's amazing what happens when you listen to the voice of God instead of your detractors, is it not? And he says, anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city, the dog shall eat. And anyone of his who dies in the open country, the birds of heaven shall eat. And the reason he's talking about dogs eating the body is that when you were a king or you were a queen and you died, it was. You would honor them by having this, like, elaborate celebration, this elaborate funeral. But to let the dogs eat the body meant you were disgraced. And so Ahab, it kind of looks like he repents. He says he's sorry. He tears his clothes. He's like, that's on me. My bad. And for a while, he does great. For, like, three years, he stays in line and he stays quiet. But the difference between repentance and just being remorseful will show itself over time. So he goes good for, like, three years. Cause he's sorry. But he's not surrendered. You see, repentance isn't being sorry for your sin. Repentance is being surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ. And Yahweh is not his Lord. Because by the Time you get to chapter 22, he starts listening to some false prophets again. He starts reading his own mail again too much. And so he wants to go to war. He wants to take over. And he's afraid to go on his own, so he's gonna get another king to come help him. And so he assembles his own prophets. He's got some own prophets. I don't know if you know this, but back in the day, politicians used to surround themselves with people that would say what they wanted to hear. Can you believe that? So he gets all these prophets together, and he's like, hey, I think I should go take over another country. What do y' all think? And they say exactly what he wants to hear. And so the. He goes down. At this point, the nation of Israel has been divided into two. It's very complicated. I don't have time to get all into it. But Jehoshaphat is the king of Judah. And so he goes to him and says, hey, bro, how about help me out. Let's go take over in another country. Will you help me? So chapter 22, verse 7. Jehoshaphat says, well, he hears from all the false prophets. He's not convinced. And he says this. Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire? And the king of Israel, that's Ahab, says to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord. Micaiah, the son of Imlah. But I hate him. Why you think that politician hates him? For he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil. Let me ask you, do you surround yourself with people that only tell you what you want to hear? Or are you wise enough to surround yourself with some people that are going to tell you some things that you don't want to hear? I hope and pray you've got some people in your life that love you more than they love what you think about them. I hope and pray you have those kind of people. And even more importantly than that, what is your relationship with the word of God? Because here's the thing, man, it's just going to tell the truth every single time. And I've talked to us about this before, but I just want to warn you, because we're living in a day when there's a lot of people that come to the scriptures with this kind of relationship. They stand, they think, in authority over the word of God. Like Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers. You know, you can go see the Thomas Jefferson Bible in the Bible museum. And guess what? It's real thin. You know why? Because he cut out all the parts that he did not like. Do you know what that means? That he thought he had authority over the Word of God. And we live in this kind of world today where people think they can stand in authority over the word of God. Let me tell you, if that's going to be you, you're not going to like it here. Because here at the church of 1122 we stand upon the trustworthiness of the Word of God. Because God is faithful and true and we stand under its authority. And of course there's parts of the Bible you're not going to like. You know why? Because you're a wretched, crooked and brave black hearted sinner. That's why. And if you're offended, it's because you were a wretched, crooked and depraved black hearted sinner that God is the author of life. Of course he knows how to live life better than you and me. Some of us needed two tries at the eighth grade and we think we can tell God how to live this life. And so here at 11:22, what we're gonna do is just. I don't write it, I just deliver it. I'm the mailman, okay? And so we're just gonna tell you about life and sex and marriage and sexuality and justice and love for people and money. And if you're like I am so offended again, you can email me at jimmycrackscorndon'tcare.com cause this is not a popularity contest. And I know. And listen, if you ever find yourself at a church and they are not teaching the word of God and they put current culture or their own opinion above the word of God, then jot this down, get your stuff, get your kids and leave. Cause you're not at a church, you're at a culture. Because churches are under the authority of the Word of God. We hear news all the time. X amount of churches shut their doors every day. Praise God. There's a bunch of churches that left the Bible a long time ago. And to walk away from the Word of God is to walk away from Jesus. And Jesus writes some letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. And he says he is the one that walks around among his churches, but he does not mind removing his lampstand from a church. And that moves away from the Word of God. And we live in a day. Paul talked about it. Paul said in the last days people will surround themselves with people or preachers that Tickle their ears. They feel really good about themselves on their way to destruction. But we are just going to do what the word says. So Jehoshaphat says, so maybe we can get one out here that will tell us the truth. And so Micaiah, he's a true prophet. He stands up and after a little interchange, he's like, alright, here's how it's gonna go down. As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak. By the way, that's my job, okay? And so again, if I say things that are offensive to you, I don't know, buckle up. I don't know what to tell you. One day I, according to the book of Hebrews, will stand before the Lord and have to give an account for every word that comes out of my mouth, okay? And so the decision I refuse to have is one day to stand before the Lord and be like, oh, well, God, I didn't want to do that part because it was hard or people didn't like me, okay? And so Micaiah just tells the truth. That's what he does. And he says this, he says, as the Lord live what the Lord says to me, that I will speak. He goes on to say, here's the thing. You may win the war. If you go to battle, you may win the war, but if you do so, you're going to lose your life. That's the prophecy he gives them. And so what Ahab does, he does what he's always been doing. He disobeys the word of the Lord. So he comes up with this little trick. He goes, here's what I'll do. Instead of dressing like a king, I'll dress like all the other soldiers and I'll just go to war and nobody will know. Guess who always knows. You know what it reminds me of? The amount of times Christians want God to see and bless this area of your life, but think you can hide in this area of your life. Come, God is not surprised. And so sure enough, he dresses up like one of the other soldiers and he goes riding out into battle. He's just going to hide in the back. And then verse 34 of this chapter, I love this verse. It says, but a certain man drew his bow at random, wink, wink, and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and his breastplate. You know what that means? There is nothing random under God's sovereign hand. And guess what happens to Ahab? Exactly what the word of the Lord said. He dies and the dogs lick up his blood. Amen. Second Kings, chapter one. By the time you get here, Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, becomes the king. Jezebel still has a hand in what's going on. It's getting worse and worse and worse. By the way, the progressives are wrong. You know what they think they tell us all the time, no, things are getting better and better and better. Do you have the news? It's not getting better. Now, technologically, things are getting better, but do you think people's hearts are getting purer and purer and pure? No, no, no. It gets worse and worse and worse. And so Ahaziah is a king, and he's on some lattice the Bible doesn't tell us. He falls, he gets hurt. That's why old people shouldn't climb up on stuff. And so he's laying, hey, man, you can say ouch or amen, but it's just true, all right? That's why God gave his kids. Get up here and get me that thing, boy. That's what it is. So he's hurt. He's laying in his bed. And instead of asking the prophet of God to pray for him, instead of asking God to pray for him, what does he do? He does exactly what his parents did. He asked for BAAL Zebub. That ain't good. That's the devil. You know what it literally means in Hebrew? The Lord of the Flies. By the way, all throughout this whole series, we've talked about there's the same demons. We're just in different days, right? Well, if you remember, in Matthew chapter 12, Jesus is doing miracles. And the Pharisees come up and they're like, he's casting these things out in the name of Beelzebub. Same demons, a thousand years later. So he asked for this demon to come and help him. And so Elijah shows back up on the scene, and he goes to these messengers. He's like, hey, I got a word for your boss. Go tell him he's gonna die. And they don't like that. So word gets back to the king. They're like, hey, we talked to this crazy guy out in the mountains. And they're like, who was he? I don't know. He had, like, a camel jacket and a leather belt just spitting fire. Ooh, that's Elijah. And so the king's like, I got him. He gets 50 armed men. Think about this. Like the SWAT team say, hey, SWAT team, you go get him. So they'll go out to found him. He's hanging out on this mountain. And they look at him and go, you Come down here. Cause they can't climb up there. And guess what Elijah does? Elijah's like, you know who I'm talking to? And he says, if I am a man of God, fire will come down from heaven and burn you up. And guess what happened? Fire comes down to heaven and cooks 50 men. And then the king's like, Send 50 more. 50 more men come up and they go, something smells like burnt hair around here. Come down here. Fire again. Burns those men up too. Somebody should jot that down and tell the next group, right? Then the third string finally gets there. And by that time, the Bible says that the angel of the Lord comes to Elijah and says, why don't you go to the king face to face? And he goes to the king face to face. And he's like, hey, dude, you gonna die. And guess what happens? Exactly what the word of the Lord said. And he. And now by the time you get to two Kings, chapter two, this is one of the most famous things about the life of Elijah. God is finished with Elijah's assignment. I hope you know this, that only God can number your days right. And the empty tomb and your alarm clock are empirical evidence that he's not done with you yet. And so he's going to take Elijah home in a supernatural way. Two Kings, chapter two says this. Now, when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. So from the moment Elijah anointed Elisha, Elisha has been following Elijah. Say that five times, real fast. You know what this is called in the Bible? Discipleship. Discipleship in the Bible wasn't a bunch of classes. It wasn't simply Bible knowledge. It was, you're going to follow me and I'm going to show you how to do life. Paul says it this way in First Corinthians 11. One, follow me as I follow Christ. This is the example of Elijah. Elijah didn't make it about himself. Elijah spent serious time raising up somebody that was going to take his place. Verse 2. And Elijah said to Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel. But Elisha said, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel. Bethel is a very significant place. This is where Jacob meets God for the very first time. And then he kind of goes a little crazy. And then he comes back to that place and repents and begins to walk with God. It's a place of worship in Israel. Verse 3. And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elijah. And they said to him, do you know that today the Lord will take away your Master from over you? And he said, yes, I know it. Keep quiet. So the word is out that Elijah's days are over. Verse 4. And Elijah said to him, elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. Jericho is a big deal. Jericho is where Joshua and the people of God march around the city. It's the first city to fall when he takes over the promised land. And he said, as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you. See, it's hard to let go of what you know, right? And so they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha. And they said to him, do you not know today the Lord will take away your Master from over you? And he answered, yes, I know it. Keep quiet. I don't know if you know. This church has never been good at secrets. Do you know that, by the way? That's why here at 1122, we don't have secrets. I just tell you what I know as I know it. I'm not smart enough to know what I'm supposed to know, depending on the group I'm standing in front of. So I just leak true rumors all the time. And so sometimes those things change. And okay, that's what I thought was going to happen. Now it's not going to happen. Make sense? That's how we do it. Verse 6. Then Elijah said to him, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan. This is a really good big deal. The Jordan is the place where they cross on dry ground. And essentially what you'll see here is Elijah is taking Elisha on a reverse tour of the faithfulness of God. That's what he's doing. Why? Because in just a few verses, Elisha's going to be in charge. And guess what Elisha has been in charge of so far? Nothing. And so what Elijah is showing him over and over and over is this. All my life you have been faithful. I love when we sing that song. Sounds like George Strait write it right? All my life you have been faithful. That's how we ought to sing. And sometimes when you can't distinguish where God might be going, what the Bible will teach us is to look over your shoulder at the faithfulness of God over and over and over. And if he has been trustworthy every day of my life, then I can trust him. For today and tomorrow. That's what he's showing him. And he says, as the Lord lives, as you yourself live, I will not leave you. And so the two of them went on. 50 men of the sons of the prophets also went. And they stood at some distance. They probably heard about the other 50 that got burned up, but these are good guys. And as they both were standing by the Jordan, then Elijah took his cloak and he rolled it up, and he struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other till the two of them could go over on dry ground, just like Joshua did, just like Moses. Did you see a part of what Elijah is showing, Elisha is showing is. Look, dude, this isn't new. It's just your turn. Looking back can help you trust what God will do in the future. And when they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, all right, this is it. This is kind of the final conversation. Ask what I shall do for you, for I am taken from you. And Elisha said, please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me. And what do you think he means, I want to be twice as powerful as you? No, no, no, no. That's not it at all. In antiquity, in Jewish culture, guess who got the double portion? The firstborn son got the double portion. This is what he's saying. He's saying, elijah, you have not just been like a mentor to me. You hadn't just been like a prophet to me, but you were like a dad to me. And I want to be like a son to you, a spiritual son. I want you to treat me as a firstborn son with a daughter. Double portion. Listen, what the church needs more is fathers. Paul's gonna tell the church in Corinthians, you got plenty of teachers. And he said this before to YouTube and podcasts. Think about that. But what you need is more fathers. And so what is happening here is Elijah didn't just teach a discipleship class. Elijah raised up a spiritual son in order to pass on his ministry, too. That's what he's doing. And he says, you have asked a hard thing yet. If you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you. But if you do not see me, it shall not be so. And as they still went on and talked. Behold, Chariots of Fire. That's where you get the movie title from. Chariots of Fire and Horses of Fire separated the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Guess what? If you're in Christ, by the way, this is how we go up to that the fire of the judgment of God will separate those that don't know him from those who do, and that we will be caught up in the air with him. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, look what he says. Not boss, boss, not rabbi, Rabbi, not even prophet. Prophet. He says, my father, My father. The chariots of Israel and its horsemen. And he saw him no more. And then he took hold of his own clothes and he tore them to pieces. He's very sad. It's very appropriate, even though it's God's plan. And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him, and he went back and he stood on the bank of the Jordan. And here's what he's going to do. He's going to basically go, well, let's see if this works. Let's see if this works. And he begins his ministry in both word and power. You see, some people are just word people, and the word is very, very important. And some people are just power people. And they try to attribute things to God that the word does not. But we need to be word and power people. This is spirit and truth people. Same thing. It's like a sail and a rudder. You got it. If you don't have a sail, you're just stuck to the dock. You ain't going nowhere. But if you don't have a rudder, you're just gonna be lost at sea, just blowing around wherever you go. And so he going to begin his ministry, and he is going to walk in the footsteps that Elijah paved for him, and he's gonna do even bigger and greater things. Listen, as I read this and was praying about this, I thought about it two weeks ago. I thanked Gretchen for being that angel that spoke some truth into me when I was about ready to tap out. But somebody else I gotta thank, too. If there was not a Pastor Jerry Sweatt at Beach Church, there would be no 1122, okay? Because not only did he raise me up, I got to serve under him for 10 years, but he gave me a double portion of the blessing. I mean, what pastor in his right mind says, you know what you should do? You should plant a church three miles where I have a church. You know who thinks about that? People that think about their little kingdom. You know, who says, you go and plant the people that are more about God's kingdom? And so that's exactly what Pastor Jerry has done for us. And this is why we're here today. And so now what Elisha is going to do is he's gonna give it a shot. He's gonna do what God's called him to do. Verse 14, he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and he struck the water, saying, where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other. And Elisha went over. And from then on, Elisha walks in the same power that Elijah walked in. He does miracles. He, like, feeds this widow with a little bit of oil. Sound familiar? He brings a dead boy back to life. Sound familiar? He goes to confront kings, he anoints new kings, and he just does whatever the Lord calls him to do. Let me ask you this. What is God calling you to do? We only been talking about it for seven weeks. And here's what I know. Some of you, like on week two, you know, the Lord tapped you on the shoulder and is like, hey, you need to start that group. You need to go on that trip. You need to quit that job. You need to throw that phone away. You need to start that ministry. What is the thing that God is calling you to do? And then my next question is, and why are you not doing it? And so what Elisha is going to do for the next several chapters in Second Kings is he's just going to be about the Father's business. Whatever God tells him to do, that's what he does. And one of the things that he never forgets is he never forgets God's promises. God's already used Elijah to take out Ahab. But remember, there was one other promise. You remember that one? He also promised he was going to take out Jezebel. And so this is what he does. In Second Kings, chapter 9, he anoints a new king. This king is named Jehu. Pick it up. In verse 30, it says, and when Jehu again, who was appointed by Elisha, came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. She is back to her old seductive ways. Ahab is dead. And she thinks, maybe I can seduce another king and I can do what I want to do. Doesn't go so good for her this time. Ready? Verse 31. And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, is it peace, you, Zimri, murderer of your master? And he lifted up his face to the window and said, who is on my side? Who? And look who was surrounding Jezebel. Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. You see, she loved to surround herself with castrated men. That's what Jezebel does. And so Jehu says, throw her down. So they threw her down, and some of her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. And then he went in and ate and drank. I love this so much. They throw her out, she splats on the ground, the horses step on her. And he's like, I think it's happy hour. Go get something to drink. He went in and he ate and he drank. And he said, see? Now to this cursed woman and bury her, for he is a king, for she is a king's daughter. But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than her skull and her feet and the palms of her hands. Remember that, Veggietales. I don't either. And when they came back and they told him, look what he said. This is the word of the Lord which he spoke by his servant, Elijah the Tishbite. In the territory of Jezreel, the dog shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field and the territory of Jezreel. So that no one can say, this is Jezebel. He is saying her life ended up exactly where the path she was on led to. And this is the events of the life of Elijah. So here, what do we learn from Elijah? I could do 25 to these, but, you know, they don't want me to turn this into a lock in. Okay, here's six thoughts I have that we've studied over the last seven weeks. In no particular order. I'd love for you to write them down. Some things that I've taken away from the life of Elijah. Number one, doesn't matter how you start, but how you finish. Please, please, please, don't let your worst days define you. There's a time in Elijah's ministry where he's sitting under a tree asking God to kill him. There's another time where he's gripped by fear and he's running away from God instead of to God. And yet I'm here to tell you over and over and over what we see in the scripture is that God's not done with you. That in the kingdom of God there are no second chances. You know, people, sometimes you'll hear this, right? God's the God of second chances. They mean well. They just don't know what they're talking about. Okay? Because if you had a Second chance at life. How do you think you would do a lot like the first chance, Right? Right. Because the problem is not that we don't have enough chances. The problem is us. And so in the kingdom of God, there aren't our second chances. But there is the blood of Jesus. And from now on. And guess what? The blood of Jesus tells a totally different story. The blood of Jesus tells us that we are valuable because God placed his love upon us and proved it at the cross. That this world does not get to tell us who we are. That only Jesus gets to tell us who we are. And the Bible does not try to define you by your scars. Guess who does? The devil tries to define you by your scars. The devil tries to tell you that you are your worst day. The devil in this world tries to tell you that you're addiction. And that you're your sin and you're your abortion and divorce and bankruptcy and whatever that darkest day is. Every time God tries to move in your life, the enemy comes along and points at your scars. But I got really good news. Jesus does not define you by your scars. He wants to define you by his scars. That's right. That's right. You see, sometimes the brook dries up. And when the brook dries up, here's what you do. You just do the next thing God has called you to do. Cause the brook drying up does not define you. That's the first one. Doesn't matter how you start. Second one. This. God makes a living out of using. Nobody's willing to tell anybody about the somebody that wants to save everybody. Amen. Where's Elijah from? Tishbe. You know where that is? Nobody knows where that is. Tishbe made Dylan look like a metropolis. He's a nobody from nowhere. And out of the woods he comes walking. And God makes a living out of using nobodies. You know what that means? He can use you. Trust me, man. Every exhibit A is right here. The Bible says that God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. That's the only reason I can figure that God would use me in this world. Let me tell you what this means. On next Sunday or a week from Sunday, Sunday saturated. I'm gonna preach the gospel. And we're gonna have this place, every campus, we're gonna have lined with baptism tubs. You should ask God to use you the way he used Elijah. And you're like, I can't call down fire from heaven. That was neat. You know what's eternal? You get your one More here. And let's pray. And let's pray. And let's pray that God uses nobodies like me and you to take people that are far from God. That and through the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ, God does the only eternal miracle and he saves a whole bunch of people. And we get to see miracle after miracle after miracle of people rejecting the sins of their past, the ways of this world, and anything dark or demonic and proclaiming Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. What if God uses you this week to get them here next week? Let's do that. So God's made a living out of using nobodies. The third one is this is God's word is true and trustworthy. I told you at the very beginning, the key to understanding the life of Elijah is even though he had a hiccup here or there because he's an actual human being, is that he did what the word of the Lord told him to do. He wasn't ruled by his feelings, he wasn't ruled by his emotions. He didn't let his worst day define his next day. He did what the word of the Lord told him to do. And, and then he just trusted God with the consequences. Was it dangerous to stand in front of 850 prophets of Baal and talk smack to their God and say maybe he's relieving himself? It was very dangerous unless the God of the universe was in charge. And that's who he believed was in charge. So let me ask you, what's God calling you to do? Because the thing that you need to do, I'm telling you, the thing that you need to do is do whatever he has told you to do and trust him with the consequences. My fourth takeaway is this. We need men of God to stand up. We need strong men walking in the spirit of God to stand up against the Ahabs, the people that tolerate evil, against the Jezebels, that are evil, against the Obadiahs, just to go along, to get along people. And we've got to stand on grace and truth. Because when men lead and love, well, everyone flourishes. You see, when a man of God, a strong man of God walks into the room, people don't feel scared or scarce. They feel safe and secure. And we live in a culture, especially the last five years, that has tried to beat men down. Why? Because there's an enemy that wants to steal, kill and destroy. And men, you were God's idea. And he has called us to provide and protect. And if he could take you off the wall, then by definition, those people that you love and you cherish are defenseless and the enemy wants to take them out. And so we make no apologies about it, okay? Around here, I've told you before, we're saved, not soft, that you don't have to be a wimp to follow Jesus. In fact, I don't think you can be a wimp and follow Jesus. That we need some meek men. Meek means a bit bridled horse, strong men, driven men, but men that understand I can't really trust me with my own strength. So God, I'm going to turn the reins of my life over to you. And I want to be used in a way that would bring you glory. And when I do that, when I lead and love well, I know that everybody around me will flourish. We need some men like Elijah that will stand up and be a troubler to this evil world. So where do you need to trouble this world? My fifth takeaway is this, is that success in God's kingdom isn't just what you do, but it's who you raise. So let me ask you, so who are you raising up? Okay. Who are you raising up? Let me say a word to the mamas real quick, okay? Particularly the stay at home moms that live in a world that might try to come at you and say somehow you're less than. There is no greater calling in this life than the disciple them little babies at your house, okay? And we are for you 100%. And I am convinced of this man, that whenever God wants to do something great, the enemy comes along and tries to take out a generation. And I'm telling you, success according to the Lord may not even be what we do in our lifetime. But I want us to be the kind of church that stands on that wall to defend and protect and raise up a generation of boys and girls that turn into men and women that are filled with the spirit of God, that are ready to push back darkness. And when the enemy comes at our children on our watch, we're not going to talk down to them, we're not going to beat them up, we're going to lift them up and we're going to speak life into this generation. Because God, I believe, has a special calling and a special purpose for these kids under our watch. In the kingdom of God, it may not be what you do, but who you raise. And the sixth thing is this prayer changes everything. Prayer changes everything. And woe to the political leader out there that says we need. What are prayers gonna do? We Gotta pray like our lives depend on it, because they do. We gotta pray like we believe. If the tomb is empty, anything is possible. This is what Elijah does. He prays for rain, and it rains. He prays for it to stop, and it stops. He prays for fire, and fire falls down. He prays in times of need, when he feels like he wants to die, he goes to God about it. He prays in disobedience. He goes through the cave. And guess what? Prayer isn't just you talking all the time. Oftentimes, your best prayers are gonna be, lord, what do you have to say to me? And it was in that still, small voice that he heard the voice of God. Prayer changes everything. If you're like, yeah, I've been praying for a while. Do not give up on a God who has never, ever given up on you. I mean, it's amazing, man. I don't know if you read a lot of the book of Revelation, but I'm a professional. I can tell you parts of what it means. In Revelation, Chapter eight, there's a lot going on. It's loud. One thing you can take away from Revelation, it's loud. There's horses, there's war, there's trumpets, there's seals being broken. There's a lot going on. And the Bible says in Revelation 8 that God looks at all of heaven. I mean, there's Michael the Archangel just blowing a trumpet, and they're wiping out people, and there's wars and earthquakes. I mean, there's a lot going on. And the God of the universe goes, and the Bible says that for 30 minutes at the consummation of all things, Heaven is completely quiet. You say, why? It's because the priests have lit the incense in the temple, and the prayers of God's people are making their way to the Father. Now we know that God is outside of time, and that for him, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. And so what that means is no matter where you are, we. What your situation is, or how loud and crazy your life is around you, and no matter how busy you think God might be on his throne, ruling and reigning over all things, that when his children gather together or even in their secret place, get on their face before the Lord and say, father, I need you. Then the King of the Universe says, everybody be quiet. One of my kids is talking right now. That's what I take away from Elijah, is that prayer changes everything. And do you realize when we close our services, this is what we do? Like I preach to this point. And the reason we do this, listen, the reason we sing, is that all of our campuses and all of the folks worshiping online and all of the outposts, that all of us together are going to pray through song, the same prayer as God's people. And we're gonna say, we need you. And then we invite you to come and kneel before the King of the universe. And the Book of Hebrews says we get to walk in to the throne room of God not with timidity, but with boldness. Because when Jesus says, it is finished, the curtain was ripped and we get invited in and we say, God, I need you. I mean, I know there's wars all over the place, right? And there's political upheaval and there's all kinds of needs all over the world. And the God of the universe, when his people humble themselves and pray, he shuts it all down. And he hears you. The book of James, chapter five talks about our guy Elijah. And James says this. The prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And you know who he points to? He points to Elijah. And then he says this. He goes, but Elijah, he prayed for it to stop raining. And then he prayed for God to turn the rain back on. And then he has the audacity to say, and Elijah was a person just like me and you. You know what? Elijah believed prayer changed everything, and I hope you do, too. And so, as we close, that's what we're going to do. We're going to sing, we're going to join our voices together, and we're going to make much of the One who sent his Son for us. And we're going to bring our tithes and our offerings because we're going to say, this world doesn't get to tell me who I am. I'm not going to chase after stuff. I'm going to trust you with first and best. Maybe there's something going on in your life. Maybe you're in the highest high, like when Elijah was calling down fire from heaven, and you just need to come and do nothing but pray a prayer of gratitude and say, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, God. That's a great way to pray. Or maybe you're in that dark night of the soul and you need to come and get on your knees because the King of the universe hears us when we pray. And even a bigger deal, it moves the sovereign heart of God to act on our behalf. So would you stand? Let me pray for you, our good and gracious heavenly Father, God we thank you for your word. God, we stand upon the truth of your word. God, we stand under the authority of your word God. May we never ever be a people like those wicked and worthless kings that just surrounded themselves with people that would just tell them what they wanted to hear. But may we be like Elijah, that we hear your word and we just do what you tell us to do. God, I thank you that when you show up in big ways, God, we can sing you praise. And God, when we're afraid because of our circumstances, we can run to you. We don't have to run from you. God, we thank you for the wind of the Holy Spirit. God, we thank you for the earthquake that tore that curtain of separation in two. God, we thank you for the fire of the Spirit that dwells inside each and every one of us. Us. And God, we thank you that you're a father. You're a good, good father. And you're the same God that heard the prayers of Elijah and you moved. And so, God, we know that you are the same God that hear our prayers today. And you move and we can boldly come into your presence because of the life, death and the resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. So, church, we're going to close this entire series. We're going to sing to the same God that we've been studying the last seven weeks that moved on Mount Carmel and in the cave. And we're going to bring our tithes and our offerings to say, God, you are first in my life. And we're going to pray. And so if there's something that you need to pray about, I would invite you to hustle down here, get on your face before the the living God and you cast your cares upon him because he cares for you. Let's sing, let's bring, let's pray. Let's respond.