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Let the sky shine in my soul today, O glorious and bright! Let it rose within the earth to shine, O Jesus is my God! Let the sunshine pass the sunshine, Let the peace flow down the open floor, Letting Jesus show his mighty face, There is sunshine in my soul! There is place to keep my soul, So let it shine to the right, For it will always be with me. Let the sunshine pass the sunshine in my soul, Let the sunshine pass the sunshine, Let the peace flow back the open floor, Let Jesus show his mighty face, There is sunshine in my soul! There is great joy in my soul today, For when the world is near, The love of love is in my heart, The flowers of grace are near, For the sunshine passes the sunshine, Let the grace flow back the open floor, Let Jesus show his mighty face, There is sunshine in my soul! There is gladness in my soul today, My hope and praise and hope, For blessings which he gives me now, For joys laid above all, O let sunshine pass the sunshine, Let the peace flow back the open floor, Let Jesus show his mighty face, There is sunshine in my soul! Song number 232. Song number 232, Tell Me the Story of Jesus. Song number 232. Tell Me the Story of Jesus. Write on your every word. Tell Me the Story most precious. Speak as loud as you can. Tell the angels and chorus. Sing as loud as you can. Glory to God in the highest. Please send the tidings to earth. Tell Me the Story of Jesus. Write on your every word. Tell Me the Story most precious. Speak as loud as you can. That's when you'll be in the desert. Tell of the days that have passed. Loud for our sins he was tempted. Yet was dry off in that past. Tell of the tears of his labor. Tell of the sorrow he bore. He was despised and afflicted. Homeless, rejected and poor. Tell Me the Story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word. Tell Me the Story most precious. Speak as loud as you can. Tell of the cross where they kneeled in. Writing in anguish and pain. Tell of the grave where they live in. Tell how we live in the care. Loving that story so tender. Clearer than ever I see. Stay, let me be the new wisdom. Loving the ransom for me. Tell Me the Story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word. Tell Me the Story most precious. Speak as loud as you can. All right, if you need a bulletin, go ahead and slip up your hand, and Brother Fabian will bring you one. And as always, we have our service times listed there on the upper left-hand side, and we're going to be in 1 Kings, excuse me, 2 Kings. I'm so used to saying 1 Kings. I'll probably keep saying it here for a while, but we're going to be in 2 Kings, and we'll be in Chapter 2 tonight. We've got the salvation, the baptisms, the offering totals listed below that, as well as the attendance totals and averages for both the month and year. Over on the right-hand side, the anniversary announcement coming up on 4 years, so that's exciting. And we're going to be having a little bit of a to-do here at the church on that day, so come on out, invite some friends, invite some family if you'd like, and come hear some great preaching with Brother, or excuse me, Deacon Oliver Gonzalez from Verde Baptist Church. He's going to be preaching both services. Once again, we're going to be moving that evening service up to 3.30, and there will be that potluck in between. We've got the church providing smoked beef brisket, as well as burgers and hot dogs, and the sign-up sheet, if you want to bring a dish, it's filling up back there, but there's still room. If you could bring one, it would be appreciated. Probably going to have about 50 people coming from Tempe alone, so it's going to be a packed house in here, but I'm excited to see that. Go ahead and pack it out and help celebrate four years of the church. Below that, we've got some song lists there for the upcoming week this Sunday, and the weekly Bible memory verse, Deuteronomy chapter 11. On the back, the announcement regarding the baby shower in honor of Commie Ellingson. That's coming up here in a few weeks, so ladies, you're invited. If you'd like to help decorate and get with Mrs. Gardere, we'll nail down an exact date, probably when the decorating needs to take place exactly, but she's got that information, and then we've got the Amazon gift registry, which is certainly not required, but always appreciated if you'd like to bring something. Also, on the bottom there, the announcement regarding the graduation ceremony for Abby and Robert Martinez on Saturday, September 10th at 1. It's been determined that we'll be serving, what did we land on? Juanitos. Amen. There's nothing wrong with some good Juanitos. Hey, this church was built on Juanitos, friend. Back in the day, right? We would drive down from Tempe, and we would preach Sunday morning, and then before soul winning, we'd go over to Juanitos, we'd throw out a table, all the soul winners would get around, and we'd eat a bunch of tacos and rice and head out, so we're going to pay our respects to Juanitos on that day. Maybe we should have done that on the anniversary. That would have made more sense, but that's going to make the grads happy, and then we'll have a nice sheet cake as well. I have put up a sign-up sheet back there. If you'd like to bring a side or a dessert or even another main, any dish really, you can sign up back there on that sheet as well. I know it's the graduation service, and it's also the anniversary service, and it's food, food, food, but it does say Baptist on the door, so you should have known that walking in here. Come on out and celebrate if you can. Also, that sign-up sheet, I would ask that you sign up, even if you're not planning on bringing anything. Just sign up and tell me how many people you're bringing. That way we know how much food we need to get. We'd appreciate that. That's going to do it for announcements. We'll go ahead and sing one more song. I've got to count up the soul winning real quick. Just the soul winning numbers real quick. We're going back to Monday. Monday and then Tuesday, Wednesday, and then what about today, Thursday for the group? That will do it for announcements. We'll go ahead and sing one more song before we get into the preaching tonight. Song number 173, Love Lifted Me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Love lifted me. Second Kings, Chapter 2. Second Kings, Chapter 2. As always, we leave the entire chapter. Please follow along on Saturday. It's going to go over the weeks as well. Second Kings, Chapter 2. Second Kings, Chapter 2. By the reason it came to pass, the Lord will take up Elijah to heaven by a whirlwind. Elijah went with Elijah to Gilgal. Elijah said unto Elijah, Terry, you are crazy, for the Lord has sent him to Bethel. Elijah said unto him, as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee, so they went down to Bethel. The sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elijah and said unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will take away take away thy master from thy head today? He said, Yea, I know it, hold to your peace. Elijah said unto him, Elijah, Terry, you are crazy, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. He said, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. The sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came forth to Elijah and said unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? They answered, Yea, I know it, hold to your peace. Elijah said unto him, Elijah said unto Terry, I am crazy, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. He said, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they too went on. The fifty men of the sons of the prophets wrapped together in smoke and water, so they were divided hither and thither, so that they went over on dry ground. It came to pass, when they were gone over, Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon thee. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing, nevertheless, that thou seest me, when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee, but if not, it shall not be so. It came to pass, as they still went on to talk, that behold there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and part of them both asunder. Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha cried, and it reached unto thee. Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof, and saw him no more, and took hold of his own clothes, and rent them into two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah, and fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah, and fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God, Elijah? When he had smitten the waters, they parted the earth, and Elisha went over. And the sons of the prophets, which took view of Jericho, saw him. They said, The Spirit of Elijah, the rest of Elisha, came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. They said unto him, Behold, now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men. Let them go with greatly, and seek thy master, lest for adventure the Spirit of the Lord have taken them up, and cast them upon some mountain, or into some valley. He said, He shall not say. When they urged him, so he was ashamed, they said, He said, Send. They sent, therefore, fifty men, and they sought three names, but found them not. When they came again to him, for he carried Jericho, he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not? And then the city said unto Elijah, Behold, that radiant situation of the city is pleasant, as my Lord seeth. He gave a new cruse, and put salt there, and brought it to him. And he went forth into the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters. There shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elijah, which he spake. And he went up from thence into Bethel, and as he was going up by the way, they came forth to little children of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, They turned, and looked on him, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came out two sheejirs out of the wood, and a tare of forty, and two children of them. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel, and from thence he turned to Samaria. Let's go ahead and do a little more prayer. Lord, again, thank you for the opportunity to be in your house. Lord, I pray that you would meet with us tonight in the Holy Spirit, that it would be upon me in order to help me to preach this passage, and as I outward, that there would be something that is said tonight that would benefit those that have come, and Lord, that you would edify your body, we ask in Christ's name, amen. So in 2 Kings chapter number 2, what we see here in the beginning of the chapter is this passing on of the ministry from Elijah going on to Elisha. Of course, Elijah has been serving Elijah for some time now, and he's been under his tutelage, he's been his apprentice, he's been his protege, and finally the day has come when that mantle is going to be passed on to Elisha, and there's a couple things we can learn from this, and one is that apprenticeships are something that are naturally outgrown. We should always desire to get to that next level, we should always desire to make sure that we're always growing and not becoming stagnant, and not being somebody who's just kind of plateauing in life, and that's something that is natural, and we see that here, that Elisha was somebody who was under that tutelage, who fulfilled that role, but there came a day when it was, okay, now we're going on to the next thing, and he's taking on more responsibility, he's picking up that mantle, and now he's going to be the prophet of God, he's no longer going to be known simply as the servant of Elijah, but he's going to be known as Elisha, the man of God. So apprenticeships are something that are naturally outgrown, but the first thing I'd like to point out is that the apprentice does not decide when he's outgrown that apprenticeship. Elisha didn't come to Elijah and say, I think it's about time you gave me that mantle. I think you've been at this thing long enough, I think I've learned all there is to learn from you, I don't think you have anything else to teach me, why don't you go ahead and step down, or step up I guess in his case, and let me take over. That wasn't decided by Elisha. Elisha's job was to just be there, to be humble, to serve, and Lord willing, if that day came, he would be given that mantle and he would be given the opportunity to step into that role. If you would, go over to 1 Timothy chapter 4, of course keep something there in 2 Kings chapter 2 all night, but go over to 1 Timothy chapter 4. The Bible says in Galatians 5, I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all, but is under tutors and governors until the time he chooses. Now it says that the child is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. The apprentice does not get to decide when he's no longer an apprentice. The one who is under tutorship does not get to decide when they're done learning. They are not the ones that decide that. They have to fulfill that course. They are the ones that have to meet those requirements until the time appointed of the father. This is important to understand because sometimes people get this itchy feet, so to speak. They start to think, well, you know, I just want to be the one in charge. I want to be the one that's calling the shots. I could do a better job. I just want to be in that position. But it's not for you to decide when that time comes. And what those people need to understand is that there's nothing wrong with being an apprentice. Elisha certainly didn't seem to mind. Elisha certainly didn't seem to mind being known as the one who poured waters on the hand of Elisha. He got to see a lot of cool things, I'm sure. He got to hear a lot of great preaching. He got to hang out with a very one of the most compelling characters in Scripture. There's nothing wrong with being an apprentice. There's nothing wrong with being under tutorship. There's nothing wrong with having somebody teaching and instructing you. The Bible says that that's exactly why God gave us some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. God has given us these people for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Until we all come in the unity of the faith. Even Jesus was subject unto his parents. It says there in Luke chapter 2, it says that Jesus was subject unto them and increased in wisdom and stature. We're talking about God himself. He decided to subject himself and be under their authority and submit himself and subject himself and in that process he used that time to increase in wisdom and stature. That's what an apprentice ought to concern themselves with. Not, when do I get the mantle? Not, when do I get the position? When do I get to be my own man? What they ought to concern themselves with is growing as Jesus did and increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. They ought to concern themselves well what kind of person am I going to be when I get that mantle? When that position comes? When I get to fulfill that role? They should be growing in the wisdom and stature that's needed before that so that they can do a good job when it finally comes. The next thing I want us to notice is that growth and maturity is something that should be desired. And this is an important message today. I don't know, it was my generation that grew up with this slogan ringing in our ears every Saturday morning and after every, you know, after every weekday when school let out, when you go home and turn the TV on. I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid. I don't remember the rest of it. I remember that part. And you know, I think some people in my generation took that a little bit too much to heart. And it's like, hey, it's just a jingle to get you to bug your parents to make you go buy, make them go buy you toys, that's all that was. It's not something to live your life by. And yet today we see so many adults that are like this. That they don't want to grow up. But you know, growth and maturity and responsibility, these are things that we ought to desire. These are things that are going to make us feel like we're worth something. You wonder why so many even grown adults just feel like they have no purpose, like they have no, uh, they're not, they don't count for anything. It's because you're shirking all the things that will make you feel that way. It's called responsibility. You know, raising a family and paying bills and holding down a job and serving the Lord and doing these things, you know, you walk away with a sense of accomplishment. You walk away feeling like you've done something that you matter. But so many people today, they don't want to grow up, they don't want to mature. I'm telling you, it's something that ought to be desired. But you know, desire is not enough. It's not enough to just want the mantle. It's not enough to just want the position. It says there in 1 Timothy where you are in chapter 4, verse 6, he says, A couple things here we can notice. We all know that Timothy was Paul's protege. He was kind of, you know, Paul's Elisha, if you will. And it says that, you know, if he was a, if he put the brethren in remembrance of these things, he should be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and a good doctrine. You know, nourishment being, this idea of being nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine, that's not something that just happens overnight. You know, there's a whole, there's a whole history there between Paul and Timothy and where Timothy is learning and gleaning and being nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine. You know, nourishment isn't something that you just get one time. It's not something that you just take, you know, you just take this one pill and you're never going to need to eat again. You know, if you're deficient in some area, you know, you know, nutritionally, you're going to have to supplement and keep taking that and finding a source to help, you know, get that nourishment that you need. That's something that is ongoing. But also notice that he says there that he was nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine where unto thou hast attained. Meaning he wasn't he's gotten to the place where now he's nourished up, he's got the faith, he's got the good doctrine, he knows what to do and now he has attained that position. And he's gone on and we know that Timothy went on to become a pastor. These are the pastoral epistles. Apprenticeships are things that are supposed to be outgrown. The apprentice does not decide when that happens. They are to patiently wait and to become wiser so that when that time comes that they're prepared for it. And the other thing I want us to notice is that growth and maturity is something that ought to be desired and that it's something that is attained through effort. It doesn't just happen. People just sit there and think, well, I'll just start growing and eventually I'll turn a certain age, I'll get old enough and boom all this wisdom has just hit me one day. That's not how it works. You have to go through life, you have to experience things, you have to gain knowledge, you have to listen to those that are tutoring you, you have to listen to the Elijahs in your life, you have to listen to the Pauls in your life, you have to be nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine before you attain that. It doesn't just happen, it's attained through effort. And that's why it's, that's why I should say rather, persistence is required. You're going to have to be persistent in this. You know, Elijah showed a lot of promise. If we remember, I won't take the time to turn us there, but if you remember in 1 Kings chapter 19, Elijah it says, the son of Shaphat who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him and he with the twelve. This is when Elijah first came on upon Elijah when he was told by the Lord to go and cast his mantle upon him that he would be prophet in his room. He goes and he finds him and what's he find Elijah doing? He's plowing with a yoke of twelve oxen and he with the twelve. I mean he's just a hard working guy, he's just in there doing what needs to be done. You know that's a real great demonstration of, of you know the fact that he had some promise. He had some potential. You know, having potential is not enough. You know people start, I've seen people that have, well they've got a lot of potential, you know you can blow all the potential that you have. I've heard people say that of other people over the years. Oh so and so can be a great preacher, turns into a heretic you know a few years later. Quits the church. You know potential's great if it's there, but it means nothing. You have to be persistent even when you show promise. And you know that's something that Elijah had. He was someone that you know was working hard and he had that promise, he had that potential but also notice that he was very consistent in his walk with God. If you look there in 2 Kings chapter 2 I'll probably stop saying 1 Kings by the time we're done with 2 Kings. 2 Kings chapter 2 it says in verse 2, Elijah said Elijah said unto Elisha, Terry here I pray thee for the Lord has sent me to Beth-el and Elisha said unto him, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. Notice in verse 4, Elijah said unto him, Elisha, Terry here I pray thee for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he said, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee. Verse 6, Elijah said unto Terry, I pray thee here for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. And he said as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee. He's consistent. When, you know, Elijah's telling him Terry here, Terry says I'm not going to Terry, I'm going to stick with you, I'm going to keep walking this path I'm going to stay where I belong I'm going to stay under your guidance until I see you go, until that mantle is finally mine. You know, some people might have heard, hey Terry here, I said oh great, thank you, it's been a long walk, it's been a long day, I've been wanting to get off my feet. It's been kind of hot out here. I'd like to just take a break for a little while. You have to be consistent. No matter how much potential you have in life, you have to remain consistent in your walk. And what I want people to also get tonight is to understand something is that, you know, if you're somebody who's an apprentice, if you're somebody who's like an Elijah, who has somebody who's been guiding you, if you're somebody who's like a Timothy who has someone in your life that's been teaching you and nourishing you and leading you along, you have to understand that those people like any good teacher are going to test you. They're going to test you. Teachers test their pupils, don't they? I mean, we homeschool, so I know my kids are, you know, we're still on that old way where they're still, you know, they can still get things wrong. You know, I know a lot about public schools, but do they still test kids in public schools? I hope so. Everyone passes, you know, just waiting for that to come. We wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feeling and tell them that they failed. But teachers, they test their pupils. You know, this is something, and I don't really have the time to turn there and develop all this, but if you would, go to John 6. Go to John chapter 6. This is something that, you know, Jesus did in a way. We see, you know, Elisha doing it here. And I'll get to that in a minute. But if you remember in John 6, he's preaching and he's talking about how you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood. And the Jews are confused at this. They don't understand. He's speaking to them in dark parables. And he said in verse 58, this is the bread that came down from heaven, not as your father did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread shall live forever. And these things he said in the synagogue as he taught them in Capernaum. Many, therefore, of his disciples, disciples, people that were walking with him, that were under his tutelage, people that were tutors, people that were there to learn from Jesus, his disciples. It says, many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, this is an hard saying. Who can hear it? You know, the people that teach you and instruct you, sometimes there are going to be things that come out of their mouth that are going to be hard sayings. And they're going to test you. Jesus said in verse 61, when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, does this offend you? And if you shall see the Son of Man has sunned up to where he was before. It is the Spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, they are life. But there are some of you here that believe not, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him. And he said, therefore I said I unto you that no man can come unto me except we're given him of the Father. From that time, verse 66, it's very interesting, this happens in chapter 6, verse 66. 666, right? Probably just a coincidence, you know, don't read too much into it. But from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more. He's being forsaken. He says this hard saying, oh that's hard, I don't know about this. And then he doubles down and he says, oh does this offend you? And then from that time went back and walked no more with him, many of his disciples, they said well that's enough. Why? Because they were tested. Because if you're going to be somebody who's going to get to that next level as an apprentice who's one day going to be not the one who was taught but the teacher you have to be persistent. And you have to understand that those that are teaching you one day are going to test you. I mean that's what we saw in 1 Kings 2, keep something during John 6, but in 1 Kings 2, I'll read it again that, well I'll just briefly go over it and it says that Elijah said to Elijah, Terry here, I pray thee. Verse 4, and Elijah said to him, Elijah, Terry here, I pray thee. And he said to him, Terry here, I pray thee. So three times he's trying to test him and I believe he is testing him. He's saying, Terry here, well let's see if I can get you to stop here. Let's say if I can get you, I'll go a little further, make you work a little harder, walk a little longer, be out in the seat a little bit more and see if I can get you to stop here. What I want to point out something is that when somebody tests you that's not malicious. When there's a hard saying when there's somebody that's trying to see what you're made of or to see if you get it yet. That's not malicious. It's not malicious for a teacher to pass out a test and say, let's see if you understand the material. Oh, how mean. Are you insinuating that I don't know it? That I'm dumb? No, we're just, I'm actually doing it because this is how things are done. This is how we know whether or not you're dumb. And if you're dumb, you're dumb. Testing is not malicious. It's not done out of oh, let's belittle this person. I mean if you notice there the way he tests is so subtle it almost doesn't seem like a test. It's almost like he's trying to relieve him. And I believe that's because Elisha at this point in his life was endeared to Elisha. Which shows you that something about Elisha's character that he's kind of come around. Because if you remember in 1 Kings when he finds Elisha he kind of just cast his mantle onto him and Elisha says let me go bid my parents farewell. Let me go say goodbye to my father and my mother. And he just says what have I done to thee? And he seems kind of bitter and he's got that whole thing that he just went through in Mount Horeb with the Lord and running from Jezebel and he's coming out of this great depression in his own life. And that point in the story in 1 Kings Elisha is kind of or excuse me, Elisha is kind of a cynical, jaded individual at that point. And now he's got this young man who he's supposed to bring with him and instruct him and teach him and tutor him and take him under his wing and make him his apprentice. He didn't seem all that thrilled about it at the beginning, did he? But here at the end when it's time for the mantle to be passed off you can see that Elisha I believe has become endeared to Elisha. Because notice he says Terry here, I pray thee. You know he had that first servant in 1 Kings when he went to Mount Horeb 40 days and it says that he just left his servant. He just ditched him. And now here it seems like Elisha doesn't even really want to be separated but he knows he has to test him and he's saying I pray thee Terry here. Three times. Every time. And it's interesting in verse 4 that he says Elisha you know he's calling him by his first name. Saying Elisha, Terry here I pray thee. And I know when I read it that's just the sense that I get that Elisha excuse me that Elisha has become endeared to Elisha. The Bible says in Proverbs 29 he that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length. You know teachers love their pupils. Well if they love me why do they test me? Because that's why they test you. Because they love you. Because they want to nourish you up in the words of faith and good doctrine. So that you can attain. Because you don't just attain simply because you have potential. You do not attain simply because you want it. You have to be persistent yes. But you also have to be tested. To see if you are up to stuff. It's interesting too that in 2 Kings chapter 2 verse 12 when that chariot finally comes and takes Elisha away you can see that Elisha himself has also at this point become very endeared to Elisha. And it says when that fiery chariot came in verse 12 and Elisha saw it and he cried good riddance. It's about time you cranky my brother whatever he might have called him. Right? It's about time someone recognized who the real man of God is around here. That wasn't his attitude. He's endeared to him. And he cries out my father my father the chariot of Israel. He's calling him his father. You know as I was preparing this I just wondered if maybe as Elisha who previously had been jaded by the ministry somebody who had been turned on. Somebody who had seen how fickle man is. What human nature is really like. How fickle people are. How wishy washy they are. When he's calling down fire from heaven and slaying the 800 prophets of Baal and people are just paying lip service to God and he ends up getting persecuted because of it and he ends up going and he's pouting in the mountain and he seems just a little jaded he seems a little cynical. I just wonder if maybe while he's being carried away in that fiery chariot if he hears Elisha's words my father my father. And I wonder if it might have surprised him a little bit. Probably not. But you know it might surprise people that are jaded maybe people that are cynics that there are those that love them and will not abandon them. You know we can do that in our own lives. We can start to think well you know everyone's the same. Everyone's just a dirty rotten double crossing backstabbing no good whatever. And forget that there are people that we can endear ourselves to and that in turn can be endeared to us. And that's something I try to keep in mind in the ministry. Because yeah we're going to have people that come along that are no good. That are just here to use and to discard and aren't really interested in getting involved and can take it or leave it. And there's going to be a lot of that. And it'd be real easy as a preacher as someone who's leading a congregation to become jaded and to become cynical and just think well they're all the same. It'd be easy to do that. But that wouldn't be fair to the people to the Elishas that are there. That are endeared. That do love the man of God. I mean John 6 if you're still there. You kind of see this again with Jesus. It says in verse 67, then said Jesus under the 12th will ye also go away? So all these other disciples they leave when what? When they're tested. When that hard saying comes. And they say well I can't go any further than that. I can't take that saying. They get tested and they failed. And all that's left is the 12th. Jesus said under the 12th will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal life. He's saying look we don't have anywhere else to go. We love you. You have the words. Why would we leave? They're endeared to the Lord at this point. You know pupils they become endeared to their teachers if their hearts right. If they understand that those that are instructing them and guiding them are not there to just be mean. You know teenagers, young people, children your parents aren't there to just be mean. I know but they test me. They put up boundaries. I know they ought to because they love you. Teachers love their pupils. I'm not talking about their eyeballs. The people that they're teaching. I got some laughs there. You guys are still with me. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 1 we looked at it earlier I'll just read to you. Paul writing to Timothy he said unto Timothy my own son in the faith. Now Paul was an unmarried man. This was not his son. We know that Timothy's father was a Greek and his mother was a Jewess. Here he is calling him my own son in the faith. He said the same thing to Titus my own son after the common faith. That's really what I want to point out here mainly tonight is that this idea of being an apprentice of being someone under somebody's tutorship, under somebody's guidance in leading there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with desiring to outgrow that relationship to no longer being an apprentice. That's natural. To no longer being under mom and dad's watch and care. That's natural. That's the way life is supposed to go. But you're not the one who determines when that day comes. You're not the one who's going to determine when you're ready for the promotion. Try that out. And let me know how it goes. Go kick in your boss's door and say I think it's time that I took over your job. I've been here long enough. I know how this place works. And I've seen how you operate. And honestly I think I'm the man for the job. Why don't you do us all a favor and step down. That's not going to go very well. Why? Because the apprentice does not determine when they get promoted. That's up to those that they are apprenticing under. It's good to want it. It's good to want to grow and to mature and to become an adult and to grow up. More people need to do that. But that's something that's attained through effort, through persistence, through patience. And when you get tested along the way it's not because people are being mean. They're testing you to say is he ready? Is she ready? Are they really there yet? And really if your heart's right what will happen in that relationship is that those two people will become endeared. There will be a bond there. And it's important that you have that because there's going to be other people in your life that are going to try and discourage you. They're going to test you in another way. If you look there back in 2 Kings chapter 2 there's these distinct group of people called the sons of the prophets. And you see them in a couple different locations throughout the story. It says in verse 3 the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel. So Elisha and Elisha come to Bethel there's the sons of the prophets. They come forth to Elisha and say to them, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away their master from thy head today? He said, Yeah, I know it. Hold your peace. And then notice there in verse 4 Elijah said unto him, Elijah said unto him, Elisha, terry here, I pray thee for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. So they're coming to another location. From Bethel to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho. So you've got these sons of the prophets that are at Bethel. They leave there. Then you're going to go to this other location and the sons of the prophets that are at Jericho. They also come out and they've got the exact same attitude. The exact same message. Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And they're testing him. I mean, isn't that, you really think that's what he wants to hear? Oh, by the way, that person that you've been, that you are endeared to, that person that's been watching out for you, that person that's been leading you and guiding you, God's going to take him away from you today. They're really, what they're trying to do is discourage him. And we'll see here in a minute why. And that's why we have to understand the value of those that are teaching and leaning and guiding us. Because, yes, they might test us, but they're not there to discourage us. There are other people out there who are going to test you for the sole purpose of trying to discourage you. And it's odd that it's the same group of people, really, in this story that you would think would have been more supportive. Hey, Elijah, we heard of what the Lord's going to do, that Elijah's going to leave. You know, we believe in you. Because it's evident that he's going to become the next man of God. He's going to be over these sons of the prophets. They should have come out and said, hey, you're going to be your boss next. Congratulations. But what's their attitude? Oh, did you know? Well, guess what's going to happen? Let's see how you do now. You're not going to have Elijah around to hold your hand. But what they didn't realize is that Elijah was ready for it. Elijah's ready to stand on his own two feet. He's gotten that place. He's attained unto that. He's been nourished up. And it's ironic because these sons of the prophet are the exact same people that should have been supporting him. You say, well, why would anyone do that? Because some people can't be Elijah. Some people are never going to attain to that level. And rather than working hard and bettering themselves and getting there, they would rather just tear other people down. Since they can't be like Elijah, they want Elijah to be like them. And what were they like? Stationary. Idol. Standing afar off as just observers. A peanut gallery is all they are. I mean, there's the sons of the prophets in Bethel, then there's the sons of the prophet in Jericho. It's like they're set up there. And I'm sure they had a purpose for being there, but they're not the ones that are traveling through the land with Elijah. They're just kind of sedentary, just kind of stationary, just kind of idle, not really going anywhere. Certainly not going to be the ones that are going to cross the River Jordan on dry ground and see a fiery chariot and be given a mantle to come back and be that man of God. With a double portion of Elijah's spirit that's not going to be for them. But rather than just being happy for Elijah and getting under him and supporting him, what do they do? Well, let's just tear him down. And even when they realize that Elijah, or Elijah rather, is done. Elijah's gone. He's the man of God. They couldn't discourage him. They couldn't stop him. What did they do afterwards? They started to doubt him. It says in verse 13, And he took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him. So this is after the fiery chariot comes, right? And he went back and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and smote the waters and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he had also smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither. So he performs his first miracle with that exact mantle. One that Elijah, his first miracle is the last miracle that Elijah performed. Elijah smotes the waters. The mantle is handed off. He comes back and smites the waters. And Elijah, you know, Elijah isn't sitting there smiting the waters and saying, It's my show now, buddy. I'm the one who's calling the shots. No, he says, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? You know, he's not in this position for himself. He's not puffed up. He's still the same humble guy that he always was, same hard worker that he always was. And he's going in the power of the Lord. But notice it says, And he went over. And when the sons of the prophets were at view, were to view at Jericho, what were they there to do? To view. To just watch it all happen. At Jericho saw him. They said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. So they recognized what's happened. Like, Oh, I guess he is going to be our boss. I guess that is how it's going to be. And they came to meet him. And they bowed down themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto him, And this always makes me scratch my head. The same guys that had just said a few minutes before, Don't you know that God's going to take him away from you? Don't you know that the Lord is going to take thy head? That he's going to take Elijah away from you this day? But when it finally happens, they come to Elisha and they say, There be fifty servants here with thy servants, fifty strong men. Let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master. It's like, Weren't you the same guys that were just telling me that God's going to take them away? Didn't you just see a fiery chariot come take them away? They're there from Jericho viewing all this. And they're the ones that were just telling him a few minutes ago, Hey, Elijah's going to be gone by the end of the day. But now that he's actually gone. Now that Elisha's actually the one in charge. What are they doing? They're doubting him. This is what I'm getting at, You know, people They have to go through this season of being an apprentice. They have to go through this season of growing and maturing. Because when you are finally in charge, there's going to be people that want to discourage you. There's going to be people that doubt you. See, we often don't think about that. When we think about, Oh, I want to be the one in charge. Boy, it'd be so nice to be the adult. It'd be so nice to be the parent. It'd be so nice to be the boss. It'd be so nice to be the pastor. It'd be so nice to be the one who's calling the shots and telling it like it is. We don't often think about the fact that that person puts up with a lot of discouragement of people fighting them, resisting them, doubting them. That's what's going on in this story. He said, Hey, let us go seek your master. Let us, peradventure the Spirit of the Lord, take him up and cast him up onto some mountain or into some valley. Well, maybe we were wrong. He wasn't taking them away. He was just putting them up on a mountain. Why are they so eager to go seek Elijah, the same people that just got done saying, Oh, God's going to take them from you. And he said, He shall not send. He says, No, you're not going. Don't do it. And when they urged him until he was ashamed. He wasn't like, it doesn't mean like he had something to be ashamed of, but like he's ashamed, like he's embarrassed for them. He finally just says, Send. You know what? Go. Just go. They sent there for fifty men and they sought three days. But surprise, surprise, they found him not. And what I love, and I'll close in verse 18 tonight, but it says there that Elijah at the very end here, after they've come and they've tried to discourage him and they've doubted him and they're doing all that, that Elijah finally kind of has his told you so moment. It says in verse 18, So they go and they climb these mountains and they're looking for Elijah and I think they actually went. And they came again to him for he tarried to Jericho. He says, I'll be here when you get back. And he said to them, Did I not say unto you, Go not. They went looking for him and they came back, Yeah, we didn't find him. Duh. Yeah, you should have believed yourself. You know, it's real satisfying to prove the haters wrong, isn't it? It sure is. But you know, that's a satisfaction that's earned. That's something that Elijah had to earn. First he had to be hated on. You know, first he had to go through that tutelage. First he had to be that apprentice. And look, if we want to have a moment like that where we're the ones in charge, where we're the ones that are calling the shots now, we have to be ready to be the apprentice. You have to go through that season. You know, you want to be like the Timothy who becomes the preacher one day, well, you're the one that's going to have to be nourished up in the words of Faith and Good Doctrine. You want to be the one that's running the household, you better figure out, you know, how a household is supposed to be run. You want to be the boss at work one day, you better figure out from the ground up how that business operates. Not just assume that it's something that's just owed to you, that you're just going to walk into that. You know, it's something that's earned. You can have all the potential in the world, but it has to be followed up with persistence. It has to be followed up with persistence. Why? Because there's going to be people out there that don't want you to succeed, that are going to try to discourage you, and are going to doubt you. And ironically, sometimes, it's the very people that should be, you know, that should have your back. So, you know, hopefully something tonight stuck with you. Hopefully there's something in the sermon that, you know, made sense to you, and it was a blessing to you. But, you know, I think there's a lot here, there's probably a lot of different ways you could preach this passage. You know, the main point being this is that, you know, Elisha was somebody who didn't just walk into this role. And he prayed and asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit, and he got it. You know, but he just didn't get it because, you know, as we saw at the end, because he had a lovely head of hair, because they called him a bald head, if you remember. He got it because why? Because he was a humble person, he was a hard working person. He had a lot of potential, but what really made the difference was the fact that he was persistent, that he was consistent, and that he was willing to go through that season as an apprentice. Let's go ahead and pray. Dear Lord, again, thank you for this great book, and Lord, thank you for a great man like Elijah, and Elisha and the great example that they are to us of being taught and teaching, and Lord, also of the warning that we get that there's going to be others in our life who are going to try to shake us and try to keep us from doing the things that we ought. Lord, I pray to help us not to fall in that area, and Lord, I pray just to bless the singing tonight as we close. We ask in Christ's name, Amen. Alright, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we go. Song 207, only the 7th. Song 207. Only the 7th. Only the 7th. Only the 7th. Only the 7th. Only the 7th. Save thy grace, only the 7th. Save thy grace, save thy grace. This is the story of God's glory, my only speaker. Save thy grace, save thy grace. Amen.