Where Is The Lord God Of Elijah?

(PART I)

2 Kings 2:14 (Read)

Introduction:

Where is the Lord God of Elijah?

-He is not just with the great men who have gone on before us. Oh, how we miss those great men of God!!! How we loved them, and looked up to them, and admired them in the Lord! Yes, Elisha was feeling a little down hearted; a little depressed and a little discouraged. His mentor, and best friend in the Lord had just been taken away from him. His sorrow can be heard in his voice (Notice vs. 3 and 5). His sorrow and grief can be seen by His actions (Notice vs. 11-12). But the Lord God didn’t not depart with the departure of Elijah! God didn’t leave! His Holy Spirit didn’t leave the people of God.

-God is everywhere present-

Psalm 139: 7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Where is the Lord God of Elijah? He’s everywhere!

-God is with His people, as He was with Israel. He is with each individual believer, no matter what his church affiliation, or lack of church affiliation might be.

-God is with His churches in a special way, as He was with these communities of Prophets in Bethel and in Jericho. The Lord is with His local New Testament Church like He is with no other group of people on the face of the earth. When the special manifestation of His Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, it was poured out upon His Church as an institution; and that same institution still has the special manifestation of the Holy Spirit today.

-God is with His true preachers in a special way, just as He was with Elijah. No, the special gifts of miracles have not been since the time of the Apostles, but His special unction is still upon the men He calls into the ministry. And I will offer this thought, that I believe that there is another circle inside this circle, as with the 3 special Apostles; Peter, James, and John.

1. The God of Elijah in the healing of the waters of Jericho (vs. 19-22).

1. The bad water

-The bad water caused barrenness of the land, of the animals, and the people.

-Outwardly the land was pleasant (vs. 19). It was plush and fragrant…

-But the land cast forth its untimely fruit; the fruit trees the cattle and even the women miscarried, as is implied by the language of this verse.

-Just when everything seemed as though it was going to prosper, all the increase was aborted.

-The bad water and subsequent barren land was likely a curse for having rebuilt the city of Jericho in which God commanded not to be rebuild.

-This bad water could typify bad doctrine that gets mixed with the pure water of the Word of God.

-The bad water could represent sin and its effects on the land, upon the lost, upon God’s people, and upon the Lord’s Churches.

-The bad water could, as already mentioned, could be a curse that God placed upon some act of disobedience. Does God put curses upon men’s lives or upon His churches. He certainly did in Bible times…I don’t know that He doesn’t do so today.

2. The Cure (vs. 20-21).

-A New cruse and salt.

-This prescribed cure naturally would only make the water brackish, and even if it were a true chemical treatment, it could effect only a very small amount of water at best, and certainly not springs of water; and that permanently.

-This healing was obvious miracle of God’s grace. There could be no other natural explanation.

-This miracle shows that God can and will purify the earth prior to the millennial reign of Christ. All of man’s abuse of the earth will not be a problem for the Lord in that day.

-The clean, new cruse may be likened to the Christian’s life. To be fit to administer the Lord’s cure, our vessels must be made clean and new by regeneration and by daily cleansing and personal holiness thereafter (2 Tim. 2:20-21).

-The salt may be likened to the grace of God (Col. 3:16-17; 4:5-6). Our vessels need to be clean and pure that God may use them to administer grace, whereby healing will result.

3. Healing was perfect and permanent.

-The waters weren’t just diluted or made less toxic, and were made absolutely pure.

-The waters were no longer harmful and deadly, but now they were health and life giving.

-When the Lord heals the waters of sin, He heals completely and eternally.

-When the Lord heals the lost sinner, He heals them perfectly and eternally.

-When the Lord heals a curse brought about by disobediance, whether it be an individual Christian or an entire church, He heals completely and eternally.

4. It was God Who healed the waters.

The Lord used Elisha, who was a God fearing man, to accomplish the healing. He blessed the people’s desire, and their request, and their faith that the Lord was able to heal the waters. The Lord also blessed the people’s obedience in providing the required elements that were used in the healing of the water’s. The Lord blessed the human efforts, but God did the healing. It was Elijah that healed the waters, but it was God (vs. 21).

Conclusion:

Where was the Lord God of Elijah? He was certainly with Elisha in a very special way. He was certainly with His people the prophets to bless them and to heal their land.

Where is the Lord God of Elijah today. He is with His preachers and pastors in a special way; and He is with His true local New Testament Churches in a special way.

The Lord still performs miracles of Healing through His Pastors and churches today. Do you believe that?

Yes, He still heals the bad water caused by curses upon our disobedience to Him.

Yes, He still heals the wayward doctrine of an individual of church that has gone astray.

And Yes, He still heals lost sinners by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. The Lord uses His pastors and churches to heal the sin sick soul with the healing power of the precious gospel of the grace of God. And that gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the pardon and remission of your sins.

The question is, do you want healing? Do you want the bad water of sin that flows through your very soul, to be healed by the gospel cure?

Do we want healing in our churches. Oh beloved, it is a pleasant land for situation, but perhaps there is some bad springs of water that are hindering our spiritual prosperity; that are causing the fruit of our efforts to be aborted before they bring the issues of growth and spiritual prosperity. May the Lord help us to acknowledge our need for His healing.

(Preached by Pastor Burke at the Calvary Baptist Church)