Greg Laurie - The Legacy of a Life (02/27/2018)
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In "The Legacy of a Life" from The Greatest Stories Ever Told series, Pastor Greg Laurie examines Elijah passing his prophetic mantle to Elisha in 1 Kings 19–2 Kings 2, urging believers to think about the legacy they leave through faithfulness, mentoring, and discipleship. Time flies, life is short, and our purpose is to know God, glorify Him, disciple others, and be ready for Christ's return or our homegoing.
Time Flies—What Time Is It in Your Life?
Well, let's turn to 1 Kings chapter 19. 1 Kings chapter 19, we're in our series called "The Greatest Stories Ever Told", a flyover of the epic Bible events and stories that every believer needs to know about. The title of my message is "The Legacy of a Life."
I don't know about you, but it seems to me that as I get older, time passes more quickly. Right? You know, when I was a kid, it seemed like the clock moved so slow. Especially when I was sitting in class, waiting for lunch break, or waiting for the school day to be over. Or just trying to get through a grade. You know, I felt like I was in like, I don't know, the fourth grade forever. For years it seemed like.
And then things just started going by more quickly. And then years whiz by. It's like, didn't we just celebrate Christmas and it's starting again? And then decades start whizzing by. That's when it really gets scary.
Somebody actually figured out what time it is in your life. For instance, if you're 15 years old, it's 10:25 in the morning of life. That's pretty early. That's if you're 15. If you're 20, it's a little later than you might think. 11:34 in the morning still. If you're 25, it's 12:42 P.M. 30, it's 1:51. You're almost 2 o'clock. 35, it's 3 o'clock in your life, P.M. 40, 4:08 P.M. If you're 45, it's 5:15 P.M. If you're 50, it's 6:25 P.M. If you're 55, it's 7:34 in the evening. If you're 60, it's 8:42 P.M.
If you're 60... Why did you laugh? Are you 60? Because I am. And this hits home. And I'm not liking it. If you're 70, it's 11 o'clock in the evening. So as I already pointed out, for me, I'm around 8:42 in the evening. Now that's not so bad. But the problem is, I go to bed at 9:30 now, man. Come on. Well maybe 10:30. But not much past that, I have to be honest with you.
Signs You're Getting Older
But, you know, as I've gotten older, and now I'm a grandfather, I think more about passing things on. You start thinking about the legacy that you'll leave. And these are important things that we ought to be thinking about.
And there are, of course, those telltale signs you're getting old. You know you're getting old when that gray-haired little old lady you're helping across the street is your wife. You know you're getting old when you dim the lights for economic reasons, not romantic ones. Or when your back goes out more than you do, you're definitely getting old. You know you're getting old when your children start to look middle-aged. You know you are getting old when you are slowed down, told to slow down by a doctor instead of a cop. You know you are getting old when you sink your teeth into a juicy steak and they stay there.
Baby Boomers and the Denial of Aging
Well my generation is sort of in perpetual denial. You know we were the great youth culture. We had bands like The Who singing, talking about my generation. And now those guys, man they are getting so old. I mean you look at the Rolling Stones. They are touring again. Can you believe that? And they are still singing, Time is still on my side. Really? Have you seen Keith Richards lately?
I read an article about baby boomers. That is my generation. The original architects of the youth culture. The article said, quote, they launched sit-ins and love-ins as well as the careers of the Rolling Stones and other symbols of rebellion. But now instead of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, it is nip, tuck, and Botox. I am happy to say I have done none of those, by the way. Obviously.
We have gone from acid rock to acid reflux. That is my generation. And I will tell you, nothing is more pathetic than someone who is getting older trying to look like they are younger. Right? You know what? When you are in your sixties, please don't shop at Forever 21. Just stop. Grow up.
The True Measure of a Life
There is not a lot of advantages of getting old. But one of them is, hopefully you have acquired a little wisdom that you can pass on to someone else. Corrie ten Boom said, the measure of a life is not determined by its duration, but by its donation.
So the goal is not merely to live a long life. That is a wonderful thing if God gives that to you. But it is about living a full life, a meaningful life, and offering something as a result of your life. Again, not the duration, but the donation.
Elijah's Dramatic Entrance and Exit
Well before us in our series called The Greatest Stories ever told, we have the story of one man passing on his legacy to another. We are looking at the final days in the life of Elijah the prophet. Now his departure is as dramatic as his entrance was.
You remember in our last message we looked at this man that God raised up. He just sort of burst on the scene. A rough hewn character. You know, hair all grown out. Long ratty beard. Covered in animal skins. And with as much drama he leaves literally in a chariot of fire. I mean this guy knew how to make an exit.
We remember Elijah standing up there facing off with the prophets of Baal and others and saying to the people, how long do you jump back and forth between two opinions? If the Lord is God then follow Him. And we remember how the fire fell from heaven on the altar and consumed it. And Elijah won that contest in the battle of the gods.
And despite this amazing miracle, I mean fire from heaven, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel did not believe. In fact Jezebel after witnessing that amazing miracle in others became firmer in her unbelief. She dug in deeper. And like Pharaoh, her heart became harder every day until she paid the ultimate price. She was thrown out of a window and fell to her death and was eaten by dogs.
And there was her puppet king husband Ahab. He was a lot like those fickle crowds up on Mount Carmel kind of hopping back and forth between two opinions. You know, in some ways King Ahab respected Elijah. Because he was the man. He wasn't intimidated by anyone. Rarely did someone come into King Ahab's court and tell him the truth. But Elijah was fearless. And so there was a certain amount of respect.
But he was also sort of the ultimate henpecked husband. And his wife dominated him. And he didn't want to get Jezebel mad. So he kind of went along with their game plan. But ultimately they were both brought to nothing. Here were the two most powerful people in the kingdom brought to nothing.
The Secrets Behind Elijah's Boldness
Now where did Elijah get that courage and that boldness to do what he did? You remember in our last message we pointed out some of his secrets. And if you are taking notes you might want to jot these down.
1. Elijah Knew God Intimately
Number one, Elijah knew God. He knew God. And he knew he was always in the presence of God. Remember when he walked into Ahab's court he said, As the Lord God lives before whom I stand there will not be rain but according to my word. So he was aware of the fact that wherever he was he was in God's presence. And you know what? If you bow before God you will be able to stand before any man.
2. Elijah Was a Man of Earnest Prayer
Number two, Elijah was a man of prayer. James 5:17 says, Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly it would not rain. And it did not rain for three and a half years. Again he prayed and the heavens gave rain. And the earth produced its crops. So it was Elijah's prayer in private that was the source of his power in public.
You know it is interesting because the scripture says he prayed earnestly. And what does that mean? When we go to the account in 1 Kings 18:42 we read, He cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. I mean he really prayed. This is after the fire fell. And now they are praying for rain. And there is not a cloud in the sky. And so he prays. And he sends his servant and he says, go see if any clouds are coming. The servant runs like, yeah kind of. It is like the smallest cloud I have ever seen. It is like the size of a man's hand.
So what did Elijah do? He kept praying and that little cloud got bigger and bigger and bigger. And soon a storm broke out and it rained just as the Lord told him it would. But he kept praying.
3. Elijah Faithfully Delivered God's Message
Number three, he faithfully delivered the message. This was not an easy message to deliver. He was directed by God to go into the court of the king and tell him there is going to be a great drought. People are going to suffer and die. Who wants to deliver a message like that?
But you know in a similar way we have a message to deliver. Oh it is great to tell people God loves them. Because he does. It is great to tell people their sin can be forgiven. Because God will forgive them if they will turn to him by faith. It is great to tell them that Christ can fill the void in their life. That is all true.
But if we only share that it is not the whole truth. Because then there are the repercussions for not believing. And if we only talk about heaven but never warn about hell. And we only offer forgiveness. And we never speak of repentance. Then we are not giving the authentic gospel message.
Be like a doctor saying, hey I don't want to ever give anyone bad news. So if someone comes in and I run tests on them and they have cancer, I am not telling them. I will just tell them everything is fine. Well that doctor is criminal. You need to tell people the truth so they can do the proper things and hopefully become cancer free. But how irresponsible to only want to give good news if there is bad news that needs to be delivered.
So we have to give the whole gospel message. Elijah did that. And we must do it as well.
4. Elijah Lived by Faith and Obedience
Number four. He was a man of faith and obedience. One of the interesting things is, after he goes into Ahab's court, says it is not going to rain, but according to my word, the Lord says, okay now I want you to just go into obscurity for a while. Hang around by a little brook of water called Cherith. And the birds will come and bring you food. Okay? I mean a lot of people would have said, what are you talking about man? I am like a rock star prophet now. I want my attention. I want my, you know, to be in the public eye.
God says, no. I need you to go away for a while because I am going to have to work on you a little bit more for what is yet to come. And we were reminded that everything we go through in life is preparation for something else. And you might be in a time in your life that you don't understand right now. Kind of a dry spot. A time where you are sort of laboring away in obscurity. But understand this. God is working on you and in you so he can ultimately work through you.
And so Elijah to his eternal credit did exactly what the Lord told him to do.
5. Elijah Had Low Moments Like Us
Here is a point I didn't bring up last time. Number five. Elijah was a man who had his low moments too. He had his low moments too. Again remember the scripture says he was a man of like passions as we are. Or another way to say that. He was just like us.
After the great victory up on Mount Carmel, where the prophets of Baal, where the fire fell on the altar, Elijah allowed his fears to get the best of him. And he fled for his life and wanted to die. You see Jezebel was so ticked off at what Elijah did up on Mount Carmel. She had put a contract out on him. Said you are going down. You are a dead man. And he ran in terror.
And we read in 1 Kings 19 he got alone in the desert after traveling all day. He sat under a tree and prayed he might die. He said I have had enough Lord. Take my life. I am no better than those that came before me.
Have you ever felt that way? I will tell you what I have. And I will tell you when I felt that way. I felt that way the day I heard that my son died. I felt like I could die. I am not suggesting I was suicidal. I wasn't. But I am saying that I felt like I could die. In a way I almost wish I could have died because the pain was so great at that moment.
So I know what it is like to be in deep, deep depression. Where you don't even know if you are going to make it through the day because of what you have experienced. And that is how Elijah felt. He just was devastated.
And so it is interesting how the Lord sends an angel to him. And what is the message of the angel to Elijah? I love that. The angel does not say you need to pray more. The angel does not say you need to fast. Or you need to repent.
An angel of the Lord appears to him. 1 Kings 19 verse 5. And he came to him sleeping under the broom tree. And while he was sleeping the angel touched him and said, get up and eat.
I love that. It is like wake up and eat something. You know sometimes a sandwich will do wonders. You see our mothers were right all along. They are always trying to feed us. Just have something to eat.
You know there is a place for the spiritual and there is a place for the practical. Isn't there? See we live in a human body that God has given us. And my wife says when I get kind of short, you know tempered a little bit, a little irritable, she says sometimes I realize I just need to feed them something. And when she gets something in my stomach I come happy again. After I have taken my nap of course.
But my point is there is just a place for the practical. You know I have something to eat. Get a little rest. And then God came to him in this still small voice and said, Elijah what are you doing here? In other words why are you hiding out in a cave man? Haven't I been with you up to this point?
I wonder if the Lord has ever come to you and said what are you doing here? Have you ever been in a place you don't feel you should have been in as a Christian? You kind of felt uncomfortable. And almost heard the Lord say to you, what are you doing here? Why are you like in this party right now? Why are you here? What is your role here? What is this a good place for you? Why are you in this situation with this guy or this girl? Is this a good place for you to be? Do you think you might get yourself in a little bit of trouble? What are you doing over here? It is a good question.
Well Elijah I will tell you what he was doing. He was hiding. And so he just felt like everyone was against him. But the Lord told him to get out of that place. And he did.
Elijah Passes the Mantle to Elisha
But now the ministry of the the great prophet is coming to an end. And the Lord is directing Elijah to sort of pass his mantle on so to speak. And when we say mantle we mean really the calling that God put upon Elijah's life was not going to be put on another person's life. And that was going to be symbolized by him pulling off his scarf or his coat, his mantle, and giving it to someone else in a symbolic way. Passing on the Baton.
And interestingly the man that Elijah passes his calling on to has a similar name. It is Elisha. Their names are so similar people often confuse them. But they are two separate people.
And now we pick the story up in 1 Kings 19. Was that not a long intro or what? 1 Kings 19:19.
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him. And he was with the twelve. And Elijah passed by and threw his mantle on him.
And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Please let me kiss my father and my mother and then I will follow you. Elijah said, Go back again. What have I done to you?
So Elisha turned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh using the oxen's equipment and gave it to the people. And they ate. And he arose and followed Elijah. And he became his servant.
Ok. So Elijah throws his mantle or his coat on Elisha. Elisha has a choice in the matter. He doesn't have to take up this calling to be the prophet to the nation Israel. He could have said, That's ok. I am out. This is too much for me.
But he responds. So what is Elijah doing? Listen to this. Elijah is doing what every mature Christian should do. I don't care if you are a preacher or a missionary or just a believer living your life out there in the very harsh world. You are called to help others.
See after you have known the Lord for a while you need to mentor other people. Older women should mentor younger girls. Older men should mentor younger guys. You should help them. You should be an example to them.
This is really, quite frankly, a part of the Great Commission. What is the Great Commission? It is when Jesus said we are to go into all the world, Matthew 28, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Listen. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.
Now who is the Great Commission given to? The so called professionals? No. To every Christian. To every Christian man, to every Christian woman. To every Christian boy, to every Christian girl. It is a calling that God has given to a preacher and to a carpenter. To a missionary and to a mom. It is a calling to every follower of Jesus Christ.
That is why we do what we do. That is why we go out and do these evangelistic crusades like our Southern California Crusade at Angel Stadium or Harvest America. That's why we have this church here. Harvest Orange County. I'm just a man under orders. Doing what God has called me to do. But we are all under orders.
But listen. The Great Commission is not merely to preach the Gospel. Listen. The Great Commission is to go and make disciples of all nations. Teaching them to observe all things that He has commanded us.
So the goal is not merely to tell someone about Jesus and try to lead them to the Lord. The goal is to tell someone about Jesus. Try to lead them to the Lord. And prayerfully and hopefully if they respond, taking them under your wing and helping them get on their feet spiritually.
What If the Whole Church Was Like You?
Now let me ask you a question. What if all of the church was just like you? You say, well if they were all like you, Greg, we would have no hair. I know. But what if everyone in this church was just like you? Would we be a praying church? What if everyone in this church was just like you? Would we be a Bible studying church? What if every believer in this church was just like you? Would we be a giving church? What if everyone in this church was just like you? Would we be an evangelizing church? A church that is discipling others?
We all have a part to play. And I think somewhere along the line, evangelism has been isolated from discipleship. And this is a mistake because you need younger Christians and younger Christians need you.
New Believers Need Older Mentors
Now let me speak for a moment to someone that is new in the faith. You need to find an older, more mature believer to develop a relationship with and you need them to help you.
Older Believers Need Younger Ones Too
Now let me speak for a moment to you that are older in the faith. You need a younger believer that you can help. You say, well why do I need them? You need them as much as they need you.
You say, why? Well look, a younger believer needs an older believer to stabilize them. And to help them know what is right and wrong. I mean think about how clueless you were when you first came to Christ. So you need someone to help you. To take you by the hand so to speak.
But older believers need younger believers. You say, why? Because the problem with older believers is they can start to stagnate. And sometimes the best thing for you is they have a new believer in your life asking you those hard questions.
It is not unlike having kids around. You ever go to Disneyland with adults only. It is kind of a drag. Because first of all they are going to complain about how much it costs. And legitimately so quite frankly. And then you will walk in and you are going to ride and they will say, that line was too long and this is so fake. Or then they will say, where can we eat? Where do you eat here? You know. And then they want, where do we nap? Is there a place to sleep?
You go with a kid, depending on their age. They want to go on the fastest ride. Or they want to go somewhere else. And you sort of see it through their eyes. You know. And when you see it through a child's eyes it makes it more meaningful to you.
And in the same way when you take a new believer into your life and you see them discover the truths of God for the first time, you rediscover them for yourself. And they are getting all excited about the fact that God has forgiven them of their sin. And you have sort of taken that for granted. You are going, wow that is great isn't it? And they are getting all excited about the fact that Christ could come at any moment. And you have sort of forgotten about the urgency of the Lord's return.
That is why older believers need younger believers. Listen. You show me a church that doesn't have a constant flow of new believers coming in, and I will show you a church that is stagnating. The church has a choice. We evangelize or we fossilize.
And you look at the church of the first century and we read the Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved.
Elisha's Total Commitment
Well anyway, Elijah is going to now mentor, if you will, Elisha. He is going to help him mature. So he throws his coat on him and says, come on. You are the one.
And Elisha says, well let me go and kiss my mom and dad goodbye and I will follow you. I love Elijah's response. Go back and stay there if you want to. What have I done? Let's paraphrase. Hey you don't have to come. You don't want to. It is up to you.
See Elisha understands the gesture that Elijah is making. He doesn't feel he is ready yet. But in reality he is. I think the very fact that he didn't feel he was ready showed he was probably ready.
You know when God is looking for a man or a woman to use, he often will go out of his way to find the person that will say, I am the last person he would want to pick. The Lord might say, actually you are the first person I wanted to pick. Because you think you are the last person I would want to pick.
See that person over there that thinks they are qualified? I skipped them. I picked you. Because you realize you can't do it in your own strength and you are going to rely on me and I am going to be glorified through your life.
That person over there, they think they can do it all. They think they know it all. And they disqualify themselves. Because God resists the proud. Sorry to keep pointing to you. It is not that you look all that proud, but, well you do. No you don't. You don't.
God resists the proud. God resists the proud. But gives grace to the humble. I got you back.
And I think in the same way people are looking for ministry opportunities. I want to be in the ministry, people will say to me. How do I get in the ministry?
Listen, ministry is everywhere, friend. Here is what Jesus said in John 4. Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends? Four months from now, look around, says Jesus. Those fields are ripening all around us and are now ready for the harvest.
You want to know where I started out in ministry? On the streets. No one authorized me. And no one said, it is okay for you to do this. I was just a Christian who heard the gospel. I believed it and I went out on the streets of Newport, round the pier, walked around, went up to people I had never met, talked to them about my faith, looked for any opportunity I could find.
Ministry is all around you. If you will just open up your eyes. And you will find that the people God called were usually busy doing something else. When God called Gideon to lead Israel he was grinding wheat. When He called Peter and John they were mending nets. When He called Matthew he was working at his tax table. And when He called Elisha he is plowing a field.
So the bottom line is work where you are. Do what you can where you are. And if you are faithful in the little things God will open up great opportunities for you.
Burning Your Bridges Like Elisha
Let me kiss my mother and father goodbye. Now that sounds so much like that man in the New Testament called by Jesus who said, I will follow you but first let me go and say goodbye to my family. Jesus says, No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.
Why did Jesus say that? Because the guy was playing for time. If you go back and say goodbye to your family, you will never return.
Have you ever tried to say goodbye at a family reunion? You know you get your family in town and you haven't had one for maybe a long time and so there is all these uncles and aunts and cousins and so forth. And so you know you have been there for a few hours. You have done a lot of reminiscing. You have to go. And well I have to go now. And so you have to give everyone a hug or a kiss or whatever. And by the time you are saying goodbye, two more hours have passed. And you sit down and have another piece of pie, right?
So that is the idea here. Let me go home and say goodbye. Hey, you don't have to follow me. Go home to mommy if you want to. Stay there. If you are not up for this, don't do me any favors.
I like this because it was a challenge. Are you sure you want to do this? And I love the way that Elisha responds. He says, alright. I am coming. And what does he do? He slaughters his oxen and burns up his plow.
What does that mean? That is called burning your bridges. Because that plow is how he made his living. He tore it apart and started a bonfire. Then he killed his oxen and had filet mignon to celebrate. So he was going for it big time. There was no turning back for him now.
Elijah's Final Ministry and Departure
Now that his successor was chosen, Elijah could have gone into early retirement. You know, a little golfing. He came back on the front porch in his rocking chair. But there were a few things the prophet still had to do before Elisha took over.
Now Ahab and Jezebel, the king and queen, are out of the picture at this point. They both died. And their son, Ahaziah, is reigning as king. He was a wicked boy. And he had a horrible accident one day. He fell through the latticework of an upper room in his palace and was seriously injured.
Instead of turning to the Lord and learning from the mistakes of his mom and dad, he sent out someone to inquire of Baal. Baal. Of all gods, Baal. Talk about a loser God. That was the God they called on at Mount Carmel who did absolutely nothing because Baal did not and does not exist.
So you think he would have called on the Lord God who answered by fire. But no. He sends a messenger out and says, find out what Baal is thinking. Ask Baal if I am going to get better.
And while his servant is out trying to find out what Baal thinks, who does he run into but Elijah the prophet. Elijah says, hey I know what you are doing. And I want you to go back and give a message to the king. I want you to tell him, hey is there not a God in Israel? Haven't you learned anything? And I want you to tell the king something else. You go tell the king he is going to die in his bed.
The servant is like, I would rather not deliver that message if you don't mind. No you go tell him that. That is what the Lord has to say.
So the servant returned and the king said, why are you back so soon? Well, yeah I ran into this guy. And he said to me, what is there no God in Israel? Why do you go to Baal?
The king says, what did this guy look like? Well he is kind of hairy and dressed in animal skins. Oh no. It is Elijah the prophet. And the king was really angry. And he wanted Elijah arrested.
So he sent out a captain of 50 soldiers. Now at this point Elijah is sitting up on this little mountain. And this captain comes up, sees Elijah up there and says, Oh man of God! The king wants you to come down here right now.
Elijah is sitting up there and he says, If I am a man of God, let fire come down and consume you and your 50 soldiers. Guess what? Elijah was a man of God. Toasted. Done.
News gets back to the king. He sent another captain of 50. Again, Oh man of God! The king says, You can come down from there right now.
Elijah says, If I am a man of God, let fire come down and consume you and your 50. Again they are wiped out.
Third guy is sent. He is like, Oh man of God! I did not volunteer for this assignment. I have got kids man. Here are their pictures. Please come. The Lord should go with him.
So Elijah went down from his mountain and returned with this man. And he went into the king and he gave him the word. The king should have listened to the prophet. He had been warned. And it happened just as he said.
Testing Elisha's Commitment
So now, Elijah's departure has come. His job is done. But there is going to be a few tests for his successor, Elisha.
It is interesting how he seems to be dissuading Elisha from coming with him. The two prophets are walking along and Elijah turns to Elisha and says, Why don't you stay here? The Lord has told me to go to Bethel. You know, just stay here. I am moving on.
Elisha says, Hey, listen. Wherever you go, I am going. As the Lord lives, I will not leave you.
So they get to Bethel. And Elijah turns to Elisha and says, You know, why don't you stay here? The Lord has told me to go over to Jericho.
Again Elisha says, No, wherever you go, I am going. I am sticking with you.
Why was Elijah doing this? He was testing the commitment of Elisha.
A lot of us will say, Oh God, I will go wherever you want me to go. Really? I will do whatever you want me to do. I will say whatever you want me to say.
He sets up. Okay, go do this. I am not doing that. I won't do that. Well then you are not really following him.
Jesus said, You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. He didn't say, You are my friends if you do whatsoever you find convenient. Or whatsoever you find appealing. Or even whatsoever you completely agree with.
No. You are his friend. You are his follower. You are his disciple. If you do what God tells you to do.
1 John 5:3. This is love for God. To obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.
So how will Elisha fare with this test from Elijah? He is given the opportunity to turn back. Change his mind. There is a rough road ahead. But he will not turn away.
Elijah's Ascension and Elisha's Inheritance
And so now we come to 2 Kings chapter 2. 2 Kings chapter 2. Let us see what happens. If you do not know where that is it is right after 1 Kings.
2 Kings 2 verse 9. Are you guys bored? Is this ok? Alright. Wake up.
Verse 9. And so it was they crossed over. That is the Jordan. Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I may do for you before I am taken away from you.
Elisha says, I want a double portion of your spirit upon me. Man this guy went big. Didn't he? I don't just want your gift. I want twice as much.
Alright. Elijah said. That is a hard thing. Nevertheless if you see me when I am taken from you it will be so. But if not it will not be so.
And then it happened as they continued on and talked. Suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire and separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
And Elisha saw it and cried out, My father! My father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw them no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two places.
What an amazing event. I love the way Elijah says alright alright. You passed the test. You have done well son. Proud of you. What do you want? Twice as much. Alright. Alright. If you see me when I am taken into glory you will get it.
You know what are we told to be doing as we are living on this earth? We are told to be looking for the Lord's return. The Bible tells us as many of us are looking for him will he return. So looking for him. Looking for the Lord's coming. Looking to the Lord each and every day.
And that is exactly what Elijah or Elisha did. And he kept his eyes on the prophet. And now this great gift comes upon him. And the Lord uses him in a powerful way.
What Legacy Are You Building Today?
So let me ask you now in closing. What kind of legacy are you leaving today? Or another way to state it. What time is it in your life today?
Now as I started with the times. Some of you may have been a little earlier. Some of you may be somewhere in the middle. And some of you are later. But here is my question. What are you doing with your time?
You can't really control when that moment is. When God calls you home. That is not up to you. You don't determine the date of your birth or the date of your death. But you have everything to do with that little dash in between those two numbers.
So are you living your life well? Are you discipling someone? If you are a Christian are you seeking to win people to Christ? Take them under your wing. Help them get up on their own feet spiritually. And grow and continue on to serve the Lord.
You know a guy did this. And his name was Mark. For me. I accepted Christ at Harbor High School. No one invited me to that meeting. I just came upon it. I believe the Lord was leading me. But I came upon this little Bible study of Christians. Heard the gospel. Prayed to receive Christ.
No one gave me a Bible afterwards. Like we give out to people that make commitments to the Lord here. No one said come with me to church the next day. I was just sort of left all alone. And I was trying to figure out. Okay. How does this work now as a Christian? I don't really know what I am supposed to do.
I actually went off to the mountains that weekend to do drugs as planned. I didn't know. But God brought a man into my life I had never met before. And his name was Mark.
He came up to me on Monday. He goes, Hey, isn't your name Greg? I said, Yeah. He says, I was at the Bible study. And I saw you walk forward. My reaction was like, Yeah, so? Like, Who are you? I don't know you. Why are you talking to me?
He says, You know what, Greg? I want to take you to church. I don't want to go to church. He goes, No, no. You have to go to church if you want to grow spiritually. I want to pick you up and take you to church.
I really don't want to go. No, I am going to pick you up. So where do you live? He was like persistent in a good way. He wouldn't take no for an answer. All right, fine. Whatever. Here is my address.
He shows up. I end up at church. I hear Bible teaching. I am kind of liking it. You know? So he takes me again. Takes me again.
But another thing that he did that was so helpful is he came from a Christian home. He was still living with his mom and dad. I was only 17. He was around my age.
So I went over to his house. And I wasn't raised in a stable family, of course. And here is mom and dad. And they are sitting around the table having Bible studies and prayer. I have never seen anything like this in my life. You know?
And we are going through things. And they are explaining things to me from the Bible. And it is changing my life.
That guy came at a critical moment in my life. And if he had not come, I trembled to think of where I would have ended up. I could have been another statistic.
He is just some regular guy who took time out and had a concern for me. And you can be that regular guy or regular girl for someone else.
You know, a new Christian doesn't need to know a Bible scholar. They just need to know a real Christian. You may not have the answer to every question. Who does? I sure don't. And if you need answers, you can come and get help from one of our pastors here.
But the point is, you need to just be a friend and show them, this is how a Christian lives. This is how a Christian drives. Yeah. That is what I am afraid of. I do not want them in my car. Exactly.
This is what Christians do after church. This is how Christians relate to one another. This is how Christians do all these things. No, you give them an example, a model to follow. That is what people need to acclimate.
And not only do you help them, but they help you. Because you are revitalized as you rediscover those truths again.
Are you doing that for anyone else? And if you are not, will you do that for someone else? Well I don't know if I have time. Make time.
And I will tell you why. It is the Great Commission. And in the original language, when Jesus told us to go, it wasn't a suggestion. That is why we do not call it the Great Suggestion. It is a commission.
Think of yourself as being in the military. The general says, go. And you just obey orders. We are under His command now. And we are to go where the Lord tells us to go.
Are you doing that for anyone? If not, I urge you to do it.
Elijah and Enoch: Never Tasting Death
You know, Elijah was one of the two people in the Bible who never died. You know who the other one was? Enoch. He took a walk with God. It says, Enoch walked with God and was not. So they were walking around for a while. And I guess after a while the Lord said, you know we are closer to my house than yours. Why don't you just come home with me? And he is sort of like an individual rapture in a way. Caught up to heaven.
Effectively the same happened to Elijah. He was caught up to meet the Lord.
And you know there is a generation that will not see death. They will be caught up in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. I am speaking of course of the rapture. It comes from the Greek word harpazo. Which means to be taken by force.
We could be that generation. There are signs of the times around us that remind us the Lord's coming is near. Where we would just be going about our business. Doing whatever we are doing. And suddenly in a moment that can't even be measured in human time. We would be catapulted into God's presence. Reunited with our loved ones that have gone before us.
That can happen. So we want to be looking for him. Like Elijah was. Like Elisha was.
Heeding God's Warnings Today
Maybe God has given you a warning like he did to the king of Israel. God warned them. You are calling on the wrong gods. This is what is going to happen. Ah I don't care about what you are saying.
God gives us warnings doesn't he? It might have been a little wake up call for somebody listening to me right now. Something just happened in your life that was kind of like this is getting scary now. That close brush with death. A close friend. Something happened to them. It was like you cannot continue in this pattern of sin. You need to repent.
You blow it off like it is a joke. Okay. But in that final day you will have no one to blame but yourself.
God doesn't warn you to make you miserable. He warns you so you will change your direction and get right.
As I already read that verse it says his burdens, his commands are not burdensome. You know it is such a drag to be a Christian you can't have any fun. Nonsense. I have more fun as a Christian than I ever had before. I don't need alcohol or drugs or anything else. You have God's Spirit living inside of you. And it is even much more than fun. It is purpose and joy and his peace no matter what your circumstances are.
And God offers all of that to you. But there is a wall that separates you from God called sin. And no matter what you do you cannot scale that wall. You can't crawl under it. You can't go around it. That wall is there. It is sin.
But God loved you so much he sent his son Jesus Christ two thousand years ago to die on a cross for your sin and mine. And if I will turn from my sin and put my faith in Jesus I can be forgiven. And that wall comes down. And I have access to God now.
And like Elijah I can say as the Lord God lives before whom I stand. I know that I will never be alone in life. I know that wherever I go God is with me. And I am with God. And that is a great joy.
Because we don't know when life is going to end. But when it does we know as Christians we will go right into the presence of God.
But if you are living apart from God and that wall is still there. Let me tell you this. When you die you are not going to go into God's presence. You are going to be separated from his presence. And you are going to end up in a place called hell.
And the last thing God wants is for any man or woman created in his image to end up in that place. That is why he took such drastic measures to save you by putting his judgment and wrath on Jesus who died in our place.
So there might be some of you that want Jesus in your life. You want to be forgiven. You want to go to heaven when you die. I am going to give you an opportunity to do that as we close in prayer.
You want to be ready for the Lord's return. I will lead you in a simple prayer. There might be some of you that have fallen away from the Lord. And you have received a warning from God lately. I hope you will listen and pay attention. This is your wake up call. Don't miss it.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for your word to us now. And I pray you will speak to everyone listening. Everyone who needs to get right with you. And help them to see their need for Jesus Christ. And help them to come to you now, we would ask.
Invitation to Receive Christ
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. And we are praying together. How many of you would say tonight, Greg, I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. I want to be ready for the Lord's return. Pray for me. I am ready to say yes to Jesus.
If that is your desire. If you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you want Him to forgive you of your sin. If you want to go to heaven when you die. Would you raise your hand up right now wherever you are. And I would like to pray for you.
God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Just lift it up higher where I can see it please. Wherever you are. God bless you there in the back. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. God bless you. God bless you. Anybody else? You want Christ to come into your life. In the very back there. God bless you. You want His forgiveness. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you. Yes. God bless. God bless you too. Raise your hand if I can see it, please. I'll pray for you. You want Jesus in your life.
Maybe some of you have received that warning from God, that wake-up call, so to speak, and you've been away from the Lord. You were raised as a believer or walked with him at one time, but you've fallen away. You need to return to Christ. If you need to come back to the Lord, would you raise your hand up? Let me pray for you, please. You want to return to the Lord, raise your hand up. I'll pray for you tonight. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand now. God bless.
Now I'm going to ask all of you that have raised your hand, if you would, please. I want you to stand to your feet, and I'm going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Jesus. Just stand up. All of you that have raised your hand, stand up. That's right. Others are standing. You won't be the only one. Just stand up right there where you are.
And I am going to lead you in this prayer. Even if you did not raise your hand, but you want to make this commitment to Christ, stand to your feet. You want to go to heaven when you die? Or you have fallen away from the Lord? You want to come back to Him? Stand to your feet right now. God bless you. Just stand up. There is a few more of you that may want to stand. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand now. Stand now. One final moment. If you are going to stand, stand now. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand now. God bless you.
All right, all of you that are standing, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. You listening to this message, you pray this same prayer wherever you are. Maybe you are watching on the Internet, hearing this on the radio. You pray this prayer too. Pray this prayer out loud after me, right where you stand if you would. Pray this now.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I have broken your commandments. I have fallen short of your standards. But you died on the cross for my sin. And you Rose again from the dead. Now come into my life, Jesus. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my friend. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me and accepting me and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.