Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20071125.htm

BIOGRAPHIES OF BIBLE SAINTS
II. Elijah: Trusting God In A Faithless Generation
E. Trusting God To Impact Others Via Our Faithful Service To Him
(2 Kings 2:1-14 et al.)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In the last several months, I have been moved by hearing of the concerns of various believers who are tempted to feel that their efforts to disciple other people in their care are futile:

(1) Many Christian parents we know both here in Connecticut as well as in other states are suffering misgivings about their efforts as parents. Waywardness in a maturing child or adult offspring has filled them with questions to the point where they wonder if they have failed as parents! Yes, every parent experiences feelings of inadequacy with every child at some point in the child rearing process, but some are very troubled over what they see as a hopeless case.

(2) This happens at the Church ministry level, too! More than one Sunday School teacher has wondered in his or her effort to "get through" to a noisy, restless class if he or she was any way productive!

(3) Pastors face it, too! I learned from an official at a well-known evangelical theological seminary about an 18-inch pile of letters on his desk from the school's graduates who were in various pastorates nationwide begging him to send them to candidate in some Church anywhere else but where they were!



So, we may ask, "In view of a turn toward deep spiritual waywardness in a party we seek to disciple, HOW does GOD want us to RESPOND to OUR feeling INEFFECTIVE?"



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "I feel very useless to God due to an apparent lack of spiritual progress I see in a party I am trying to disciple. Any suggestions?!"
  1. When Elijah fled from Jezebel, he was dismayed at what seemed to him to be the failure of his prophetic ministry, 1 Kings 19:10, 14:
    1. Fleeing from Jezebel, Elijah told God that though he had been fervent for Him, Israel had forsaken God's covenant, thrown down His altars and slain His prophets, leaving him alone, 1 Kings 19:1-4, 9-10, 14.
    2. Actually, there were other prophets, but they were often unreliable:
      1. The "sons of the prophets" in 1 Kings 20:35 et al. were younger men in training for God's work, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 531.
      2. However, these students were often spiritually unreliable men:
        1. When a godly prophet once told such a student to injure him for a prophetic illustration, the student faithlessly refused, and so he was judged by God to be slain by a lion, 1 Kings 20:35-36.
        2. After Elijah had been taken to heaven by God in a whirlwind, onlooking, faithless students of the prophets nagged Elisha for permission to search the landscape to see if God had dropped Elijah's body, 2 Kings 2:15-17. They failed to find it, and Elisha corrected them for not trusting God's work in it all, 2:18!
    3. So, regardless of his ministry at Mount Carmel to call Israel back to the Lord, in view of Israel's apostasy and the unreliability of even the "sons of the prophets," Elijah felt alone and fruitless in his ministry!
  2. In response to Elijah, GOD explained HE had reserved for Himself 7,000 people in Israel who had not kneeled to Baal, 1 Kings 19:18!
  3. Made thus aware of GOD'S work in OTHERS, Elijah LEFT the RESULTS of his efforts with GOD, and CONTINUED to SERVE God as SHOWN in Elijah's appointment of Elisha (as follows):
    1. To appoint Elisha as prophet in his place, Elijah hastily threw his mantle over Elisha as he passed by him in the field, 1 Kings 19:19.
    2. Surprised at Elijah's brevity over such an important event, Elisha asked if he could kiss his parents farewell, and Elijah replied in effect, "Do as you please!" (1 Kings 19:20; Ibid., p. 529)
    3. Elijah thus denied any control of Elisha, one of God's 7,000 people mentioned in 1 Kings 19:18! Elijah was focused on continuing with his work, leaving its effects upon others like Elisha for God to handle.
  4. God then REWARDED Elijah's SERVICE with RICH IMPACT:
    1. Elijah's rest in God's control was richly rewarded by God in his era:
      1. Elijah's trust in God's control of Elisha is seen in Elisha's repeat refusals to Elijah's requests to leave him until God took Elijah, for Elisha hoped for a final blessing from Elijah, 2 Kings 2:1-9a.
      2. When Elijah then asked Elisha what blessing he desired, Elisha asked to inherit Elijah's ministry, to get a double (the eldest son's) portion of the Spirit Elijah had known, 2 Kings 2:9b; Ibid., p. 540.
      3. Elijah replied this was a difficult request, but, if Elisha followed him closely as God had ordained so that he saw Elijah taken from him to heaven, his request would be granted, 2 Kings 2:10.
      4. Elisha saw God part Elijah from him with a heavenly war chariot of fire (cf. 2 Kings 6:15-17), and take him to heaven in a whirlwind to reveal that, in God's view, Elijah had been Israel's guardian chariot force: God thus honored Elijah, revealing he had been used of the Lord to protect Israel from invading Assyria in God's judgment since he had temporarily turned the nation back to God at Mount Carmel. Thus, Elisha reacted to Elijah's departure, crying, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen," and tearing his clothes in distress over losing Elijah, 2:11-12 ESV!
    2. Elijah's rest in God's control was later richly rewarded by God in Israel's history: after the Babylonian Captivity, God promised the arrival of a type of Elijah in John the Baptizer to guard Israel from a curse as He had once used Elijah, Malachi 4:4-5; Matthew 17:10-13.
    3. Elijah's rest in God's control was ultimately richly rewarded by God in His own Son's transfiguration: God sent Elijah with Moses to predict Christ's ascension as the true Messiah to edify the original "pillars" of the Church, Peter, James and John like He once used Elijah to edify Elisha, Luke 9:30-31; Matthew 17:1-3; Acts 1:9-11. [This all counters the errant view that Elijah was reincarnated as John: John was killed in Matthew 14:1-12 before Christ's Matthew 17:1-3 transfiguration where Elijah appeared as Elijah, NOT as a recently deceased John !]
Application: (1) May we trust in Christ to receive eternal life, John 3:16. (2) As we then SERVE God, may we not focus on what may seem to us to be ineffectiveness in our efforts, but (3) KEEP SERVING GOD (4) and let HIM REWARD by MAKING our efforts EFFECTIVE in His sovereign control over other people!

Lesson: Though feeling alone and unproductive in his apostate era, when God revealed He HIMSELF was SOVEREIGNLY discipling His OWN, Elijah KEPT SERVING God, leaving the RESULTS with HIM, and GOD BLESSED Elijah with REMARKABLE INFLUENCE over His people!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

As has often occurred in recent months, this closing illustration was given from the Lord before I could write up its first draft!

It happened last Monday! I had called Carlson's Heating to fix the Fellowship Hall furnace, and the technician needed me to come to the Church to open it for him. The work took over four hours, and the technician left not fully satisfied that he had solved the problem, and noting he had yet to replace the single-stage motor he had installed as he did not have a double-stage motor needed to last a long time.

Near the end of his effort, I had ceased watching him work, but was walking about the Fellowship Hall. I eventually stopped to read an article Louis Leigh posted on our web site bulletin board two years ago! It was the June 17, 2005 article, "Dad, we need you" by Rebecca Hagelin and first posted on WorldNetDaily.com! It was on "The sad reality" of living "in a society where the message to fathers is, 'You're irrelevant. You're useless. You are a loser.' Just flip on the television: Commercials and sitcoms portray fathers as wimpy and ignorant. Men are depicted as lazy, uninvolved, unwanted, and/or impotent."

The author had then referred to her book, "Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That's Gone Stark Raving Mad," where she told of the impact of her own father's faith on her life.

I knew how right she was from another article in my file by Ellen Makki written February 16, 2002 and posted on the same web site. She had referred to stats from the U. S. Department of Health and Human services on the huge impact fathers have on their children!

I then realized I was scheduled in this sermon to view Elisha's call to the departing Elijah as he was being taken to heaven, a call where Elisha had cried in remorse, "My father, my father". I knew that call showed the effectiveness of Elijah's influence on Elisha opposite Elijah's former complaint to God that he felt useless! In view of the fact that God had unusually arranged for me to use my day off to become aware of these articles, and that it had taken an unusually long time for me even to notice the first article, He thus signaled His strong desire that I allude to them in this illustration to encourage us ALL!

So, AS GOD has STRONGLY DIRECTED this illustration be used here, if we think our discipling efforts are futile, recall that GOD is the One Who MAKES us EFFECTIVE. May we then CONTINUE to serve Him, and let HIM reward us in the process!