1) Which of the following miracles did Elijah perform a) Turning water into wine b) Turning a little flour into an unending supply of flour c) Stopping the rain for 3 years in Israel d) Making bitter water drinkable e) Praying down fire from heaven to burn up a sacrifice

2) Elijah defeated, then had killed, the false prophets of:

a) Bail b) Bale c) Bael d) Baal

3) After defeating the prophets of Baal Elijah:

a) Marched in a parade in his honor b) Took a vacation at a friend’s cabin on the Mediterranean c) Ran away and hid from a threatening Queen Jezebel

4) While hiding at Mt. Sinai, God came to Elijah and told him to:

a) Take a vacation at a friend’s cabin on the Mediterranean b) Never go back to Israel; retire; and write books about his ministry c) Go back home and finish accomplishing the purposes God had for his life

I ended last week by telling you that, in response to God’s command, Elijah went back home and anointed the man who would bring down wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. (Who was that?....Jehu)

Elijah, also, found and anointed the man who would become his successor. (Who?..Elisha)

I was going to end this series after last week, but I read the conclusion of Elijah life and was strongly impressed by God to bring you one more sermon.

Do you know how Elijah’s life ended? One more quiz question…

5) Elijah’s life ended: a) In a tragic chariot accident on his way to anoint Ben Hur b) Alone…on top of Mt. Caramel…. after a long a fruitful life c) Elijah’s life did not ever end

2 Kings 2 starts out with the sentence:

2 Kings 2: 1 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind…

That doesn't tell us exactly what is going to happen but alerts us to watch out for something unusual to happen. If you are not familiar with this story you are wondering what that could possibly mean… Does he get caught up in a tornado like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz?

Before God explains that statement… he wants us to hear the conversation that is going on in the minutes before Elijah's strange departure…

2 Kings 2: 1 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal…

Elijah now has his successor Elisha in tow… I want you to get a good picture of these guys. We tend to think of priest or prophets, in the Bible, as the thin shouldered, little, men who never did an honest days work. That's never the case, in the Bible…Jesus himself was a muscular man…a construction worker/carpenter. Elijah is described in Scripture as a hairy man who wore a leather girdle… (that would turn your head at Walmart.) When Elijah anoints Elisha as his successor…he finds him plowing a field with twelve yoke (24) of oxen. Elisha stops midfield…slaughters the oxen…offers them as a sacrifice… and follows Elijah. These are not girly men.

Whatever these two tough guy prophets are saying the last few hours of Elisha's existence it's not going to be "Bless you, precious brother, bless you"

In fact, twice, as the two E-Prophets are walking along other junior prophets come out and tell Elisha… you know Elijah leaving today…and Elisha's response to all of them is (in Bible talk) Shut your faces, leave us alone

Here is part of the E-Prophets conversation as they walked:

2 Kings 2: 1 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!” So they went down together to Bethel.

Listen Mr. Sr. E-Prophet…you called me to follow you and be your successor. As long as God is alive…and as long as your heart is still pumping… I'm going to be hanging on to your hairy arm. Elijah, really has no intention of leaving Elisha behind… but he is testing the resolve of the younger man. Every time they reached a new destination Elijah would offer Elisha the opportunity to back out.

Understand, being a prophet in those days had it's glory moments…but much of the time was spend hiding out from those who wanted you dead…wanted your prophesying mouth shut up.

Elisha wasn't signing up to write an E-prophet blog. He was signing on for, perhaps, a brutal death at the hands of wicked people. So Elijah tested his resolve..

4 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.” But Elisha replied again, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.” So they went on together to Jericho.

6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.” But again Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.” So they went on together.

The first thing that struck me, this week, was that Elijah, under the direction of God, spent his later years making sure that he invested what God had taught him into the next generation. He was not going to leave it up to chance…. whether or not, the next generation saw the power of God displayed…and their lives and societies transformed.

It is the responsibility of every mature believer to reproduce their spiritual wisdom into the generations following them.

I have heard older people say that they had given so much energy when they were younger and that now they had earned the right to sit on the sidelines and rest… Elijah sure didn't buy into that philosophy… God wouldn't let him!

The pace of the story picks up as the two E-Prophets approach the Jordan River..

7 Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River.

You can hear them whispering… Now what's gonna happen? Don't look away… you're going to miss something great if you do. They're standing at the edge of the Jordan…they are, clearly, trying to get across… they've got no boat….

8 Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground!

You're going to see in a little bit that not only are the 50 prophets watching… but "next generation" Elisha is watching very, very closely.

This is what has my attention… If the generation behind me looks at the spiritual life of my generation and all they see is people playing church…going through the motions of Christianity…but they don't see any spiritual power… They don't see anything happen that anyone of us could have accomplished… whether or not God was part of our lives… there is going to be little there to draw them from the pull of the world and make them become radically committed to following Christ.

Ask yourself this question:

What is there about my life that clearly shows God's power in me…so that those in the generations behind me will be irresistibly drawn toward God.

If I'm a Christian… but I'm living my life as close to the border between sinfulness and righteousness as I possibly can…how can I possibly expect any one coming behind me to look at my life and want to know my God?

Elisha wasn't just attracted to Elijah ability to split the Jordan. Elijah was able to spit the Jordan because of the intensely close personal relationship he enjoyed with God. Elisha wasn't looking to become the next great miracle working sensation…he was looking to know God in the way his mentor knew God!

And as is often the case…once the next generations attention is caught they are not afraid to ask for, and expect, the moon.

9 When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”

Notice; Elisha didn't say…let me split the Jordan River like you did…let me call down fire from heaven like you… he's asking for more than that…

I want the same spirit… the same connection with God that you have…and in the boldness of youth he said, "Give me twice as much as you've had"

Elijah does not scold him for asking for so much… I think he is secretly pleased as punch! Elijah uses the request as another testing/teaching moment…

10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.”

Passing on God to the next generation isn't just about making them hungry fir Him… you must invest the time, one on one, that it takes to teach them all that God has taught you.

If you are over thirty and you are a mature Christian… you need to be looking for some setting in which you can be passing on your faith to the next generations. Showing them the power of God working in and through your life is the first step. Spending the time to teach them…step by step, what God has taught you is the obvious and necessary follow- up. … They are waiting on you to show them the way… nobody will take your place!

This is one of the strangest and most unexplainable stories in the Bible… God does something that he has never done before or reproduced since:

11 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. (NLT)

I don't think the NLT got verse 12 right about the torn clothes…the NIV simply says: "Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart". (NIV)

Tearing one's clothes was and is, in the Middle East, a sign of inner distress. It's also what you might do in the adrenaline rush of watching your mentor ride away to heaven in a fire-y chariot and the only tangible thing left from him is his outer robe which is floating down to the earth. (Apparently he kept the leather girdle which is probably just as well.)

13 Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up. Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River.

Now watch this… this is a very important part of the story and the focal point of what made me decide to preach this message

14 He struck the water with Elijah’s cloak and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”

1) Elijah had pursued Elisha, called, him, anointed him

2) Elisha had heard the stories about the Miracles God had brought through Elijah

3) Elisha had witnessed the parting of the Jordan River

But now his mentor was gone and it remained to be seen if the same God who empowered Elijah would empower Elisha .

“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”

This is what is haunting me…when the next generation hits the Jordan with our mantle..

First of all…are they even going to want to?? Will there have been enough of God's power in our lives that they will want to follow the same path?

If they do follow our path... will we have so thoroughly introduced them to God that our God will manifest Himself in their life in at least as much power… perhaps even in a double portion to our own lives?

When the next generation stands by their Jordan and strikes the water and says; Where is the Lord God of Sam Chess…what will be the response?

When the next generation stands by their Jordan and strikes the water and says; Where is the Lord God of _____________…what will be the response?

14 He struck the water with Elijah’s cloak and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” Then the river divided, and Elisha went across. 15 When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!” …