1 2 Kings 2 Elisha Sermon for 20th Nov 2016, SMCF Introductory - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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1 2 Kings 2 Elisha Sermon for 20th Nov 2016, SMCF Introductory - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Jul 20, 2023 6 likes •393 views

1 2 Kings 2 Elisha Sermon for 20th Nov 2016, SMCF Introductory Anyone know where this is? Coventry. Sent to Coventry - Parliamentarians used prisoner isolation as a form of torture. But were all familiar with getting the

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2 Kings 2 – Elisha Sermon for 20th Nov 2016, SMCF Introductory
  • Anyone know where this is?
  • Coventry. “Sent to Coventry” - Parliamentarians used prisoner
isolation as a form of torture.
  • But we’re all familiar with getting the silent treatment.
  • Incredibly painful – cut ofg from communication by one you love.
  • Hazel & I – dating – long-distance. Various reasons heard
  • nothing. V painful.
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To you, Lord, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I shall be like those who go down to the pit.

(Psalm 28.1)

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  • Here’s David – PSALM 28.
  • To you, Lord, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if
you remain silent, I shall be like those who go down to the pit.
  • Lots of us have known what it’s like to feel God is silent.
  • Desperate for him to speak / guide / reassure us of his love.
  • Some of us, in recent months – real stirring & longing for God’s
voice.
  • Not to be idling along in our walk with him
  • But hearing his voice daily, feeding on what he says deeply,
growing ….
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Thirst

for the voice

  • f the Lord.
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  • All sorts of difg
fgerent ways in which we might have a thirst for the voice of the Lord. BIBLE READING. 2 Kings 2.1-15 Elijah taken up to heaven 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, ‘so be quiet.’ 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, ‘so be quiet.’ 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 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.
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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 diffjcult 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 fjre and horses of fjre 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 garment and tore it in two. 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. 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.
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Look at Elisha

it’s good to have a desire for God’s voice.

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Elisha’s Desire
  • Elisha is pretty persistent. He wants to hold fast to what God is
doing through Elijah, and carry it on.
  • “I will not leave you” THREE TIMES! vv. 2, 4, 6.
  • “Let me inherit a double-portion of your spirit!”
  • 7 years of being Elijah’s servant (pour water on his hands)!
  • Elisha has a serious desire for God’s voice
  • to hear it, and to help others hear it.
  • It’s commendable. When we look at Elisha, we see it’s good to
have a desire for God’s voice.
  • This applies to us – both as a church and as individuals.
  • If you have it, let’s encourage you. It’s a good thing you desire.
  • Let your hunger for God’s voice grow. Feed it. Encourage it in
  • thers.
  • If you know what it is to hear the Lord speak, talk to others about
  • it. We need, I think, to be a church that talks to each other more
about our experience of walking with God – when we’re close to the Lord, and when we’re thirsty, when we’re hearing his voice regularly and learning and growing like crazy, and when we’re stuck and heaven seems silent.
  • It’s a good thing to be hungry for God’s voice. Like Elisha. Let’s
encourage that in one another.
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God is a speaking God.

For he spoke, and it came to be. (Ps. 33.9) [The Lord is] sustaining all things by his powerful word. (Heb 1.3)

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Second point: God Answers Elisha’s Request.
  • God answers Elisha’s request SPECTACULARLY!
  • Immediate miracle – shows E is a prophet just like Elijah
  • and like Joshua and like Moses.
  • In fact, E. does more miracles than any of them.
  • God is making it crystal clear, by signs and wonders, that he was
speaking through Elisha.
  • And it’s because God is a speaking God.
  • God is not reluctant to speak. Speaking is in his nature. He talks.
  • When God wanted to make something – the universe – from
nothing
  • he did it by talking
  • and he still upholds the world … by talking.
  • And God speaks today. In all kinds of ways, just as he did then, in
creation, in the wisdom of others, in words of knowledge, directly speaking sometimes to individuals.
  • But if you were in Israel at that time, how did you get to know for
sure what the Lord was saying?
  • More than anything else, you listened to Elisha and checked with
  • him. God had made crystal clear through signs and wonders that
his chosen mouthpiece / spokesman was Elisha.
  • OK. Elisha’s not around today. How do we know for sure what the
Lord is saying and what the Lord wants?
  • The bible actually tells us ...
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In the past God spoke to our ancestors, through the prophets at many tjmes and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.

(Hebrews. 1.1-2)

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  • Heb 1.1-2 (cf. also 2.1-4);
  • In the past God spoke to our ancestors, through the prophets at many
times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.
  • Been reading Mark’s gospel recently. Biography.
  • You know what strikes me about J? Jesus is very impressive.
  • Heals people, left right and centre, deaf, blind, disabled …
  • Heals diseases that even today can’t be cured (leprosy, epilepsy)
  • He raised the dead – story of the widow’s son. (Luke 7)
  • He is in command of the elements – storms, waves.
  • He’s really very, very impressive.
  • If we want to hear God’s voice, and know his heart, we don’t go to
Elisha any more. He was good in his day. But now he’s totally eclipsed.
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Listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know...

(Acts 2.22)

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  • On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter said this: SLIDE
  • Listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by
miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. (Acts 2.22)
  • Just as God had once used miracles to show that he was speaking
through Elisha, now he was using miracles, signs and wonders to make it crystal clear – here’s my Son! I’m speaking through him!
  • If you share that thirst for God’s voice, if we really want to hear
him, and know him and walk with him, we need above all to be paying attention to Jesus.
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God speaks today.

Just as he did through Elisha. Above all, we hear his voice through Jesus. We need to listen up!

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  • How can we pay attention to Jesus? …. Find a way!
  • Do you have a bible? If you don’t, get one.
  • Do you need it in audio form, or in a difgerent language? Find out
how to get it.
  • Are you in a homegroup learning to understand the Bible more
and more, where you can not only attend to the voice of the Lord yourself, but you can encourage others too. So important.
  • Do you need help in understanding more about Jesus? You do!
We all do! Ask for help.
  • We’re trying to make our teaching on a Sunday morning as good
as it can possibly be, because we know how important this is.
  • God speaks today, just as he did through Elisha. Above all, we
hear his voice through Jesus. We need to listen up!
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How does Elisha’s ministry fjt into the overall story of the Bible and into God’s plan for the world?

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Elisha’s part in God’s Plan Final point – is about the story as a whole. How does it fjt into the overall story of 1 and 2 Kings, and into the Bible as a whole? What does it show us about God’s plans? SLIDE
  • God shows here, and in the following chapters, through many
miracles, that he was defj fjnitely speaking through Elisha. God goes to great lengths to show that this is his dedicated spokesman. It was Elijah. Now it’s Elisha. So, what did he say ….?!!!
  • Part of the answer …. next week.
  • Part of the answer lies in looking at the whole of 1 and 2 Kings.
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  • Remember THIS PLAN from the fjrst talk in the series?
  • It’s a plan of the whole of 1 and 2 Kings.
  • But let’s remember how these books fjt into God’s overall plan.
  • All of God’s plan is about trying to put right the broken relationship
between God and humans.
  • He calls Abraham’s family, the Jewish people, as a light to the
  • nations. As an example of how brilliant it is to live God’s way.
  • Seems as though the way that’s supposed to work is
  • God tells them how to live to please him.
  • Their part is to do it.
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2 Kings shows us the

full depth human sin.

God’s people are incapable of heeding his voice, however clearly they hear it.

  • f
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But what 1 and 2 Kings show us is this:
  • The clearer God speaks, the clearer it becomes is that this won’t be
enough.
  • And 2Kings makes this clear.
  • Elisha’s double portion.
  • God speaks clearly in Elijah, and even more clearly in Elisha.
  • God’s people know what the Lord wants. But they just can’t do it.
Maybe they can for a bit. It’s not impossible. But in the end, they just don’t want to. By the time we get to Elisha, God’s will is crystal clear. And God’s people understand it, but just can’t do it.
  • 2 Kings shows us how deep the problem of human sinfulness
  • is. God’s people are incapable of heeding his voice, however
clearly they hear it.
  • 2 Kings shows us that God’s people are incapable of pleasing God.
We can do it for a while, but we just can’t keep it up.
  • The point is: it’s not enough for God to tell us how to please him.
He also needs to come and help us from the inside – to enable us actually to do it.
  • We can’t do it on our own. We need him to change our hearts,
and to be himself active within us, to help us to want to walk his way.
  • 2 Kings shows us the full depth of human sin. God’s people r
incapable of heeding his voice, however clearly we hear it.
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I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart

  • f stone and give you a heart of fmesh.

And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

(Ezekiel 36.26-7)

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  • The later prophets especially understood this. They yearned for a
day when the Lord would ▪ Jer 24.7 – give them a heart to know him (cf. 32.39) ▪ Jer 31.33 – write his laws on their hearts ▪ Ezek 36.26-7 – take away their stone heart and give them a soft fmeshy heart to love him and obey him (cf. 11.19)
  • They realised that the sinfulness that led them to be exiled ran
  • deep. And only God could help.
  • That’s depressing in 1 and 2 King’s. It’s going to end in judgement
and exile.
  • But it’s not so depressing for us.
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God ... works in you to will and to act in order to fulfjll his good purpose.

(Philippians 2.13)

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  • In Jesus death, the Lord has provided a way to wash us on the
  • inside. And he’s put his Holy Spirit in the life and heart of every
believer in Jesus – to change us gradually every day, to love him, and walk with him, his way. (SLIDE: Paul – Phil. 2.13)
  • Elisha’s ministry points to the deep sinfulness of humans, including
God’s people. Even when we know as clear as crystal what God
  • wants. We just don’t want to obey him.
  • That’s the sinfulness that God judges in the exile.
  • But it’s also the sinfulness in us that he has forgiven in Jesus, and
that he’s changing by his Holy Spirit.
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Exercise – Heart Stjckies

  • You know what God wants, but your heart is stony.
  • You need the his Holy Spirit to melt and change your

heart.

  • Write an initjal / picture / something to bring gently

to mind an area where you know the Lord wants you to change.

– Pray for the Lord to change your heart to love

him more, and help you want to walk his way.

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  • I want to think practically about this too.
  • SEND ROUND HEART POST-IT NOTES – TAKE ONE!
  • It is thrilling to see how God’s plans fjt together in the Bible, and
how the pieces fall into place when we see how someone like Elisha fjts in. But this is practical and important for us as well.
  • Many of us will have had the experience of knowing exactly what
God wants, and yet our heart is stony – we just can’t seem to want to do what we know will please him. We fjnd our hearts love our
  • wn way, even when we know what the Lord’s way is.
  • There are post-it notes in the shape of a heart coming round.
  • Take one. Maybe write an initial, or a picture, or something
gently to bring to mind an area where you know the Lord wants you to change – to live to please him, and your heart is stony. You need the Lord’s Holy Spirit to melt and change your heart.
  • The post-it is only for you. Write or draw something as a focus
for praying for the Lord to change your heart to love him more, so as to want to walk his way.
  • PRAY.
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2 Kings 2.1-15

  • Look at Elisha – it’s good to have a desire for God’s voice.

– Let’s cultjvate a desire for God’s voice.

  • God speaks today, just as he did through Elisha. Above all, we

hear his voice through Jesus. We need to listen up!

– How? Bible study, home groups, podcasts, whatever.

  • 2 Kings shows the depth of human sin. God’s people are

incapable of heeding his voice, however clearly they hear it.

– We can thank God for cleansing our hearts through Jesus

and changing them by his Spirit.

– Pray – where we know the Lord has challenged us – to help

us to be obedient and walk his way.

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To summarise what I think this passage teaches us:
  • Look at Elisha – it’s good to have a desire for God’s voice.
  • We should cultivate a desire for God’s voice. And encourage
  • thers in this too.
  • God speaks today, just as he did through Elisha. Above all, we hear
his voice through Jesus. We need to listen up!
  • Find ways of paying attention to Jesus. Bible study, home groups,
podcasts, whatever.
  • 2 Kings shows us how deep the problem of human sinfulness is.
God’s people are incapable of heeding his voice, however clearly they hear it.
  • We can thank God for cleansing our hearts through Jesus and
changing them by his Spirit.
  • And we can pray specifjcally – where we know the Lord has
challenged us – to help us to be obedient and walk his way.
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Response Time

  • What is your experience of hearing the

Lord’s voice?

  • Or do you have experience to share of

struggling to know what the Lord is saying? Or of silence?

  • What is the Lord saying to you, or to us

as a church, today?

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  • RESPOND – IN ONE OTHER WAY
  • Time when we hear from each other.
  • What experience do you have of hearing the Lord’s voice?
  • Are there any that have some sense of what God is saying either
to them or to us as a church now, today?