Elijah: The Prophet Of Courage And Confrontation
Sermon #12
2 Kings 2:1-14
WAITING ON THE WHIRLWIND
Intro: The life of Elijah has been a whirlwind of activity!
From the time he stepped out of nowhere to confront
the king of Israel, to his adventures of faith at the dry
brook and the widow's house, to his great victory on
Mount Carmel and to his fall into and restoration from
defeat and disuse. Elijah's life has been tempestuous
to say the least! Now, that life is about to end! Verse
one of our text makes it clear that God is about to
remove the prophet from this earth. He will leave here
like he lived here; in a whirlwind!
As Elijah lives out the last days and hours of his life,
it is interesting to see how he conducted himself. He
did not live like a man who knows his time is short. He
actually lives like a man who thinks he has plenty of
time. It is this time just before Elijah is taken into
heaven that I want to focus in on this morning.
I believe that Elijah sets a great example for those of
us who are waiting on that time when we too will leave
this world. If we were to be honest this morning, every
saved person here would readily admit that they are
anxiously awaiting that time when they will be home
with the Lord in glory. But, what are we to be doing
here, in the meantime, while we wait? Elijah shows us
in this passage! As we read this account, we find there
are three ways that Elijah spent his time as he waited
on the whirlwind. One of these days all of our journeys
will be over. Those who are saved will leave this world
either by way of the cemetery or be way of the rapture.
Either way, we will leave here in a whirlwind. Swept
away into the presence of God. Until that day comes,
we must live our lives in a way that is pleasing to the
Lord and in a way that honors His will. Elijah shows us
how to do just that. Let's look in on Elijah and see the
ways he spent his time as we think on the subject,
Waiting On The Whirlwind.
I. V. 1 IT WAS A TIME OF WATCHING
A. For A Precious Event - According to this verse,
Elijah knew the precious truth that he was going
to get to go to Heaven without having to pass
through death. This was a privilege that had
only been enjoyed by one other person in
history. Genesis 5:21-24 tells that story of a
man named Enoch. He was a man who lived for
and walked with the Lord. When his time here
was over, God simply took Enoch to Heaven,
without him having to pass through death! This
is the precious event that Elijah was anticipating.
(Ill. By the way, this is something that could
happen to you and me! The Bible teaches us
that there will be a future event know as the
rapture. At that time, the Lord Jesus Christ will
return in the clouds above this earth and He will
call His people home to Heaven, 1 Thes. 4:13-18. This is a precious event that could happen
to us at any moment, 1 Cor. 15:51-52, and when
it does, we will go to Heaven without having to
die to get there. That excites me! I think I'll just
repeat the prayer John prayed on Patmos:
"Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.", Rev.
22:20.)
(Ill. That is the precious event that Elijah was
anticipating. If you are saved, you too should be
anticipating that event! Jesus is coming and I
am certain that His coming is sooner than any of
us realizes!)
B. For A Promised Event - As one reads these
verses, it quickly becomes apparent that
everyone knew what was coming. The sons of
the prophets knew, verses 3, 5, & 7. Elisha
knew, verses 2-6. As I have already said, Elijah
knew about it. So, this wasn't a secret event! It
was something people had heard about and
could prepare themselves for.
(Ill. So it is with the return of the Lord Jesus
Crist. This is not a thing that has been hidden
from men. Jesus predicted it during His life,
John 14:3. The New Testament authors
predicted it repeatedly. Paul, John and Peter all
wrote about it. It is something that is well
documented on the pages of the Bible.
Therefore, there is no excuse for it taking
anyone by surprise. There is no excuse for not
being ready for the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ! If you are saved and your life isn't the
kind that you would want Jesus to find were He
to return today, then do something about it! If
you are lost and don't want to be left here for the
hell of the Tribulation and the hell of Hell, then
do something about it! The door for you to be
saved is wide open this morning! If you will
come to Jesus, by faith, He will save your soul
and prepare you for the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ!
C. For A Private Event - Even though all these
people knew it was coming, no one knew when
it would happen! Elijah knew that God was
coming for him, but he did not know just when.
Therefore, he lived his last days and hours in
anticipation of that coming event.
(Ill. The same is true concerning the return of
Jesus for His people. The Bible is clear when it
tells us that it will happen, but it is also clear
when it tells us that we do not know when it will
happen, "But of that day and hour knoweth no
man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my
Father only.", Matt. 24:36. Therefore, we must
be certain that we are ready for His coming at all
times! If you aren't ready, the time to do so is
now! Remember these sobering words from the
mouth of the Lord Jesus, "Therefore be ye also
ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the
Son of man cometh.", Matt. 24:44.)
(Ill. So, the question remains: Are you ready for
the coming of the Lord. Just like the whirlwind
came for Elijah, Jesus is coming for you and
me.)
I. It Was A Time For Watching
II. V. 2-11 IT WAS A TIME OF WALKING
A. V. 1-6 Walking With Purpose - As Elijah
anticipated his departure from this world, he
continued to live as he always had. He
continued to walk in humble obedience before
the Lord God! Notice his statement, "The LORD
hath sent me...", v. 2, 4, 6. If Elijah had been
like many in our day, he would have spent his
last days on the earth in retirement from service.
He would have spent his time doing all the things
he hadn't had time to do while he was active
serving the Lord. However, Elijah knew a truth
that many people never learn: There is no higher
call than that of following the Lord and doing
what He bids you to do!
(Ill. The lesson for us is this: there will never
come a day when we can quit serving the Lord.
Even though we know we are leaving, and that
our leaving could be today, we should still seek
to live lives that are filled with surrender to the
call of the Lord. Several years ago, there was a
group of people in Texas who became
convinced that Jesus was going to return on a
given date. As a result, they sold all their
possessions, quit their jobs and went to the top
of a mountain, sat down and waited fro the
rapture. That is not what God wants you and me
to be doing! He wants us to be busy in His work
until He returns to take us home to glory! This
was the problem in Thessalonika, 2 Thes. 3:11-13. These people were looking for Jesus to
return at any moment, so they just quit doing
anything. That is not God's plan! If we want to
take a biblical example, let us look to the book of
Nehemiah. As he and his workers were being
threatened by their enemies, they worked with
one hand and held a weapon in the other, Neh.
4:17. In other words, they watched and they
worked all at the same time! I will say it again,
there will never come a day when we can quit
serving the Lord! If you have been guilty of
quitting on the Lord, let me encourage you to
pick up your tools again! There is work to be
done! Let us work until Jesus comes for us,
whether it be in the clouds or by the clods. Let
us work until we see His face, then we shall
enter into our time of perfect rest, Heb. 4:9.)
B. V. 1-7 Walking With Progress - As the Lord led
Elijah from place to place, God was bringing the
prophet to that place from which he intended to
remove him from this world. For Elijah, these
places he visited allowed him the opportunity to
visit the schools of the prophets. He was
permitted to speak to the young men who were
training to serve the Lord. He was allowed to be
an encouragement to them. These places also
gave Elijah the opportunity to reminisce about
his life and how the Lord had worked in it so
powerfully and so wonderfully. Let's take a
moment to look at each of these places Elijah
visited and note the significance each held for
the prophet.
1. Gilgal - v. 1 - Gilgal was the first place Israel
camped when they crossed the Jordan and
entered the promised land. Gilgal was the
place of new beginnings. Here, they were
near the battles, but not fighting them yet.
They were in a place of safety, of
preparation, and of communion with the Lord.
Here, they renewed their covenants and grew
strong in their relationship with the Lord. For
Elijah it was time for him to remember how it
all began for him. How the Lord called him
and filled him to use him for the glory of God.
2. Bethel - v. 2-3 - Bethel was a holy place for
the people of Israel. It was at Bethel that the
patriarch Jacob had met the Lord God, Gen.
28:11-22. Bethel signified the place of the
altar and of total dependence upon the Lord.
Bethel was the place of revelation. Bethel
was the place where God became known
and where He became big in the eyes of
those who worship Him. For Elijah, Bethel
was a place to reflect upon all the altars he
had experienced in his life. He remembered
how his life had been one lived in total
dependence upon the Lord God!
3. Jericho - v. 4-5 - For the people of Israel,
Jericho represented the power of God to give
victory in the day of battle. This was the
place of their first major conquest in the
promised land. Jericho was the place of
victory and power. For Elijah, Jericho was
a place for him to remember all the great
victories he had enjoyed in his life. He could
reflect back on all the great things God had
done form him and through him. Times like
the ravens, the barrel of meal, the
resuscitated child, the victory at Carmel, all
flooded the prophet's mind. He remembered
a life of powerful victories!
4. Jordan - v. 6-8 - For Israel, the river Jordan
marked the end of their wilderness
wanderings. It was a picture of death. That
is, it was the place where the pilgrims died.
When they crossed Jordan, they were no
longer pilgrims, but they were a people who
had arrived home. Jordan was the place of
death. For Elijah, it was the perfect place to
reflect on all the ways he had died to self
during his years as a man of God. There, he
could reflect on the fact that he had lived a
selfless life, and that he had lived a life to the
glory of God!
(Ill. What does all this mean for us? Well,
Elijah's travels show us something of the
progression of the normal Christian life. First, we
all must have that Gilgal experience. That is,
there must be that time of beginnings, when we
meet the Lord Jesus in a personal manner.
Jesus Himself said it this way, "Ye must be
born again", John 3:7. There, we are safe, we
are brought into communion with the Lord. It is
a time of spiritual preparation for the battles that
surely lie ahead. Then, as we grow in the Lord
and learn to pray, we come to that Bethel time of
our walk with Jesus. At Bethel, we learn to walk
in dependence upon the Lord. It is the place of
maturity. Eventually, if we grow as we should,
we will come to our BI experience. This is where
we see the Lord give us victories in the battles of
life. Here, we will see the flesh, the world and
the devil defeated as we live victoriously for the
Lord our God. Eventually, we will face our own
Jordan. We will come to the end of our journey
just as Elijah did. Of course, Jordan isn't a bad
place. It is merely a doorway into the presence
and blessings of the Lord. That leads us to our
final step: Glory! One day, we will arrive in that
place that Elijah went to: Heaven, to live in the
very presence of the Lord God!)
(Ill. Do you see what I am trying to say? The
Christian life is not meant to be a life of
stagnation. It is meant to be a life of
progression. The Lord wants to grow us and
fashion us into His image. As He leads us from
place to place along the road of life, may we, like
Elijah, simply follow in humble obedience to His
will for us! After all, the greatest gift we can give
the Lord is ourselves, totally surrendered and
dedicated to His will, Rom. 12:1-2.)
C. V. 2-11 Walking With People - As Elijah
traveled his last miles here on the earth, he did
not attempt to travel them along. Verses 2, 4,
and 6 might lead one to believe that Elijah
wanted Elisha to stay behind. However, these
statements were merely tests for Elisha. Verses
6, 8-9, and 11 tell the real story. These verses
speak of friendship and fellowship. As Elijah
completed his tasks upon the earth, he did not
withdraw himself from those who could
encourage him. He continued to walk in
fellowship with other believers! This is seen in
the fact that he visited the schools of the
prophets and in the fact that he walked with his
friend and associate Elisha. Apparently, Elijah
knew that he needed others in his life!
(Ill. There are too many Lone Ranger Christians
in our day! Far too many believers act as though
they no one else in their life. However, the truth
of the matter is, we need one another! We need
good, godly fellowship and friendship. We need
the presence and the ministry of the other saints
of God! Even the Lord Jesus longed for that
kind of ministry in His own life. Notice Him as He
goes to the garden to pray. He takes three
special men with Him and asks them to watch
and pray with Him. When He returns from
prayer, He finds them asleep and is disappointed
that they could not stand with Him during that
lonely hour, Matt. 26:36-40. This is the very
reason we are commanded to make attendance
upon the services of the Lord a priority in our
lives, Heb. 10:24-25. Whether we will admit it or
not, we need one another! May we examine our
relationship to other believers this morning. If it
isn't what it ought to be, then something needs
to be done about it.)
I. It Was A Time Of Watching
II. It Was A Time Of Walking
III. V. 2-11 IT WAS A TIME OF WORKING
(Ill. I have already touched on this thought, but this
man did not spend his last days sitting on the bench
of do nothing. He was busy in the work of the Lord
until the instant God called him away. In that, he
sets and example that we would all do well to follow!
Notice what he is doing as he waits for the
whirlwind.)
A. V. 8 Trusting His Redeemer - Even at the end
of his life, Elijah is still walking by faith. When he
and Elisha come to the river Jordan, they need
to get across, so Elisha does what he always
did, he expected the impossible from God and
received it by faith! It appears that Elijah never
reached a place in his life where he said, "Well,
I've seen God do all that He is able to do!"
No, he just kept on walking in faith and
dependence until the very end of the road.
(Ill. Friend, no matter how long you may walk
with the Lord, no matter what you have seen Him
do, no matter what He has done through your
life, there will never come a day when you
should stop trusting Him. Just because the
years have brought you closer to your crossing,
you should not stop walking by faith. Just
because the Lord might come at any moment,
does not allow to stop trusting Him to lead us
and take care of us. Until we stand in His image
in His presence in His heaven, we are to walk by
faith. Nothing less will please Him, Heb. 11:6.
Anything less is sin, Rom. 14:23.)
B. V. 9-10 Training His Replacement - As they
walk together, Elijah spends his last moments
with Elisha teaching him about obedience and
faithfulness. Ill. Elisha's request and the
stipulations attached to its fulfillment. Elijah
doesn't clap Elisha on the shoulder and walk off
into the sunset. He knows this man is to take his
place some day. He knows that Elisha needs
and deserves the best training he can be given.
The future depends on Elijah doing his duty
today. Before he leaves, he must hand down his
ministry to the same keeping of the next
generation.
(Ill. Friends as we near the end of our own road,
there is another generation coming along behind
us. What are we teaching them about faith,
obedience to God, faithfulness to the Lord's
house and work, love for the Bible, etc? What
kind of legacy are we leaving behind as we travel
toward our crossing? We are here this morning
because some people were faithful to hand
down their faith to us, 2 Tim. 2:2. Our duty to
those who follow is to give them what they need
to get the job done for Jesus.
Men, it is our job to teach these young men
and boys how men of God are supposed to
conduct themselves! They must be taught what
a real man is! They need to know how to love
their wives, how to treat their children, how to
provide for their families and how to live for God
in a wicked world. They need to be taught that
a man's word is his bond. That one's marriage
vows mean something. They need a good,
godly example, and you are called to be just
that! "That the aged men be sober, grave,
temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in
patience.", Titus 2:2. Your influence extends
beyond the walls of your own house! You have
a responsibility to all the young people of this
church to set the right example in faithfulness
and holiness!
Ladies, it is your responsibility to teach the
young women and girls how to live as godly
women before the Lord. The Bible is clear when
it says, "The aged women likewise, that they
be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not
false accusers, not given to much wine,
teachers of good things; That they may teach
the young women to be sober, to love their
husbands, to love their children, To be
discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good,
obedient to their own husbands, that the
word of God be not blasphemed.", Titus 2:3-5.
They need to be taught how to act, how to dress
at church, how to treat their husbands and
children. They need to be shown how to live for
God. It is your duty! Many of your are the godly
ladies you are today because someone in your
past set the right example for you and showed
you how a woman of God is to live!
That is quite a challenge! How are you
shaping up?)
C. V. 11 Traveling His Road - In this verses, there
is the phrase, "as they still went on." Even
though he was nearing the end of the life, Elijah
found no stopping place. He found no place to
unhook and drop out of the journey. Even
though the end was near, he still went on. In
fact, it was as he was going on that the Lord sent
that chariot of fire to get him and bring him to
glory! What an exit this man had! Can you
imagine what it would have been like to see
that? Can you imagine what it would have been
like to experience that? But, as impressive as all
that is, what impresses me more is that while
Elijah waited on the whirlwind, he just remained
faithful and kept on serving the Lord like he was
going to live another hundred years!
(Ill. What a lesson for us! The Lord might come
for you and me today. The rapture could take
place, or today could be the day when we leave
this world through death. Just this week a 27
year old professional football player, in the prime
of life and at the peak of physical health, died of
a heat stroke. You never know when your
number will come up. You know, it doesn't really
matter! Why? Because we are called to serve
the Lord today. May we never come to the place
where we sit down on Him and say, "I've done
enough! Someone else can take over for me."
No! Let us resolve, like Elijah, that we will "still
go on" until He calls us to leave this world.)
Conc: I know that I am speaking to some who have sat
down on God. Friend, it's time to get up and get back
in the battle, Rom. 13:11-14. Some aren't even walking
with the Lord at all today. You've never even had that
Gilgal experience. You aren't looking for the Lord to
return, and if He did, you would be in sad shape. It's
time for you to come to Jesus and be saved. Others of
you are in the thick of the fight today. You are tempted
to quit and stop walking with the Lord. Friend, it's time
to renew you commitment to the Lord. Today is a day
when great victories can be won by those willing to walk
with the Lord. If there is a need in your life, will you
come to Jesus today so that need can be met?
