2 Kings 2

Go ahead, Sister Nell.

2 Kings 2.11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder.

And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Who was Elijah?

If you have your Bible with you, I'd love you to open it now to 2 Kings 2.

This chapter tells the story of the transition from Elijah to Elisha.

In that sense, it's very similar to Joshua 1, which tells the story of the transition from Moses to Joshua.

The anointing.

2 Kings 2.

I feel like I've made the point.

Now I just need scripture backing, and that's all.

If you wanted to be in the center of what the Lord was doing, you had to be with Elijah.

If we look in 2 Kings 2, we can see that Elisha recognized that the Lord's move was with Elijah.

So in 2 Kings chapter 2, he tells Elijah, he says, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.

He recognized the center of the Lord's move was with Elijah.

You're listening to the Chapter a Day Bible Study.

I'm John Stonge and today we're in 2 Kings 2.

Elijah is taken to heaven and Elisha begins his ministry.

2 Kings 2 records a major transition in Israel's prophetic ministry.

Elijah's earthly ministry comes to an end as God takes him to heaven, and Elisha succeeds him as the Lord's prophet.

The chapter demonstrates God's power over life, death, nature, and human limitations.

He reigns forever.

He intercedes for his people, and he works through his church by the Holy Spirit.

What God does is weave through history patterns, paradigms that foreshadow what His ultimate Savior Judge will be like so that we can now walk in confidence in Him to any points.

As Charles Wesley says in one of his hymns about Jesus, "In ancient shadows, I first looked when we come to Jesus." Now in 2 Kings 2, we have these exciting shadows, a pattern being laid out for us.

And the first way we can explore it is in the larger control through Elijah, who's just been taken away, and the ministry of John the Baptist that we had in our first reading.

Both of them have a message calling people to turn back to God, to repent.

And those blessings and curses were tied to their prosperity or famine in the land.

So let's take the journey to Bethel first, uh, because it actually is more the kind of work that they honestly expected Elisha would do when he was in Bethel.

We're in 2 Kings 2 in the God's huge ministry.

And from verse twenty-three, just have a look.

God, we pray that you would cause the gospel to spread to all the peoples, including the Salar of China, that they might know your grace and your mercy and your love, and they might be looking forward to and ready for that day to meet you.

Oh God, we pray, help us to live with urgency and anticipation in light of this picture in 2 Kings 2, verse 11, in our lives today.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

But long before technology, the kind we are familiar with, there was the same problem.

Listen to this, 2 Kings 2, verses 23 and 24.

And he went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going on the way, some boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, Go up, you bald head, go up, you bald head.

And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord.

And by the way, at the same time, that Elisha passes through and these youth come out and do what they do.

The prophets of that Elijah and Elisha, Elisha now is involved with them, are very prominent and they're already there.

So listen to this from 2 Kings 2, first three verses.

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up from heaven by the whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

Let somebody say a louder amen.

Now, tonight we are going to be praying from the book of 2 Kings 2.

Uh, this was the prayer the Lord put in my heart last night.

Actually, as a matter of fact, I s- uh, I, I started praying this prayer with some of my family members last night, and the Spirit of God, uh, impress it on my heart that that should be the prayer we should pray for the month of September, and that's in 2 Kings.

I want you to open your Bible.

This is very prophetic, because God want to terminate two things in our lives as we are preparing to enter into the month of September.

2 Kings 2 from verse, uh, 19 to 25.

Maybe in the month of September, as God will help us, we might do a series on this during the morning prayer, and then by then we'll be able to go deeper.