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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the Bibleignmenistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

We are going to talk about an interesting subject today, about a man named Elisha. So go ahead and turn in your Bible to the book of 2nd Kings, 2nd Kings, 2nd Kings and chapter 2, inter-reshing Scripture here. Now we know that Elisha wanted to go with Elijah. Remember Elijah just had a great victory. 450 of the prophets of Baal were slaughtered. And he says there’s gonna be an abundance of rain. He was called a great man of prayer. And he says he saw the cloud the size of a man’s hand and says prepare yourself because it’s gonna be a flood.

Now buddy, that’s a lot of confidence. when you can go on out on the limb and state it, but because you believe what God says, takes a lot of faith, ship out on the limb. A lot of people want to get out on a limb, but they’re afraid somebody’s gonna cut it off. And they don’t want to be a failure. And you’d be surprised how much is held back because we’re afraid of failing. So if you don’t try, you did fail.

A man by the name of Dr. Robertson up there, Tennessee Temple. He said, I’d rather aim at something and miss than aim at nothing and hit it. So there’s a lot of people who never aim at anything because they don’t try to do anything. So you only want to live one time. So the Bible tells us that we sometimes learn from what others have done. Now Elijah heard a woman and this woman, what did she say? Her name was Jezebel and Jezebel says, I’m going to kill that man.

So because of this loud mouth woman, he went into hiding, ran over a hundred miles away, pouted, wished that he was dead. And so the Lord drew it, I’m the only one left. Boy, are you lucky to get me. I’m the only one there is left. And the Lord had to let him know you’re not the only one. So he heard the Lord’s voice, a still quiet voice, and it brought him some peace, and God told him what to do.

And because he was so lonely, God gave him a sidekick. So he went about his business and known in a few people that God told him to and then lo and behold he went by a guy named Elisha. He was out there plowing with some oxen and he says to him to follow him. So he did. Now the time has come for Elijah to depart. But see, Elijah had done seven wonderful miracles God had used him to do. So whenever he got ready to leave this whole world, he asked Elisha, what do you want me to do for you?

He says, I want double portion of what you had. In other words, you did seven miracles. I want to do fourteen miracles. It’s nice to have a vision, isn’t it? But you realized Elisha told him, says, if you see me when I go up in a chariot of fire, you will have your request. But if you don’t see me, you won’t get it. You only get seven miracles. And I thought about those miracles that he did. Seven of those would have never been done.

If he had not kept his eyes on Elijah and see him when he left this earth. Now, wouldn’t that been an exciting moment? You know, we’re always talking about the rapture that takes place anytime, right? And the Lord says, you know, there’s those who are looking for him that love his appearing and they’re expecting the Lord to come at any time. Well, I kind of live expecting him to come at any moment. I’m almost afraid to do something I shouldn’t do.

Not almost afraid I am scared of death. Because I don’t want to be doing something that I shouldn’t be doing when he comes. And I don’t want to be saying something I shouldn’t be saying when he comes. And I don’t want to be thinking something I shouldn’t be thinking when he comes. You see, that’s a purifying hope because we believe that He’s coming. So we live our lives hoping it could be at any moment. Well this is an interesting portion of scripture.

So you notice in chapter 2 of the book of Second King and he came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Elijah said in Elisha, wait here I pray thee, for the Lord had sent me to Bethel and Elisha said in him as the Lord liveth, I will not. That’s in Yankee phrase. He says, I am going with you. I will not leave thee. So they both went down to Bethlehem.

And the sons of the prophets, he had a Bible school. They were at Bethlehem, came forth to Elisha. And said to him, Noah’s style that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today. So here’s these 50 prophets. And they said, T’ilasha, do you know that the Lord’s going to take him away today? Now how they knew all this, I don’t know. They must have a different set of scriptures or somebody reveals something, somebody. He’s going to leave today.

So all of them were talking to him about this. He says, and he says, yay, I know it. Hold you your peace. And Elijah said it to him, Elisha, Terry here. I pray for the Lord have sent me to Jericho and he says, as the Lord liveth and as I so liveth, I will not leave thee, I’m good with you. So they came to Jericho. See, he wanted to stick with the man of God because something was gonna happen and he didn’t wanna miss it.

You know, I’m afraid of something happening and then I’m gonna miss it. That’s why I love getting up early every morning. I’m afraid something’s gonna happen and I don’t wanna miss it. I just expect something’s going to happen today. I don’t know what’s going to happen today, but I live every day expecting something wonderful is going to happen today. And I don’t want to miss it. I want to know what’s going on. But it says here in verse five, and the sons of the prophets that were Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, Noah’s now that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today, today, today.

It’s going to be today. And he answered, yes, I know it. Hold your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Terry, I pray thee here, for the Lord have sent me to Jordan. And he says, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” And so they too went on. 50 men of the sons of the prophets went, stood to view a far off and they too stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, wrapped it together, smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither.

So they both went across on dry ground. And he came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elijah, What shall I do for thee before I be taken away from thee? And Elijah said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he says thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto them. And if not, it shall not be so.

In other words, you’re not going to be able to do as much as you’d like. You’re not going to have some of those miracles that you did will never be done. We don’t sometimes realize that sometimes the little decisions that we make are causing us to forfeit something down the road. You know what scares me a little bit is when I get to having to find out God says, you realize what you could have done? I said, Lord, but I’m You don’t see what you could have done if you deserve me holy with all your heart.

And I think little decisions that I made that I made that doesn’t matter. That doesn’t matter. And yet with God everything matters. Everything matters. And one day when we get to heaven and we get rewarded for some of those things we did and we don’t get rewarded for some of those things we thought we were going to get rewarded for. You know we’re going to be it for a big surprise. down. And then to find out what you could have done.

Does God know your potential? He knows what you could have done if you just studied or if you’d have done this or if you’d have done that. God knows all the possibilities of every option that there is. That’s enough to blow your mind. I remember one time when David had come back from the Battle of Z. Leggen, they’d taken care of a few malachites, but they had captured some of David’s people and their children and took off with them.

David said, his mighty men that gathered around David, that loved David, well now things have gone sour and their people had been captured. And so now they’re ready to stone David, ready to stone him, not to love him. And David encouraged himself and the Lord. Says, Lord, should I go after them? And the Lord says, yeah. If I go after them while I get my stuff back, the Lord And I said, yeah, that’s pretty good advice. Before you ever start to find out, well, how’s this gonna end up?

Well, this is what’s gonna happen. God told them. And it happened just like God said, and they lost nothing. They got everything back. Now everybody loved David. You know, living by faith is a difficult thing because there’s times when you look like a total fool if nobody else can see what you see. And then if it doesn’t work, I told you so. I told you so. knew and were. And then if something does happen, well, what a man of faith.

There’s a thin line between faith and foolishness, very thin. And sometimes you’ve been a little foolish and sometimes it’s a little faith. But there’s always this element of fear. You see, courage is fear that says its prayers and then goes ahead. But anyway, here we are down here and says there in verse 11 came to pass as they still went on and talked that behold there appeared a chariot of fire. Horses of fire and parted in both the sunder and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Wouldn’t you like to see that? Had it on video and then you could sell it. Copyrighted. And Elijah saw it and he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen there robbed and he saw him no more and he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and he went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan. What do you think he wants to try?

I mean he just crossed that Jordan when he saw Elijah take that thing and it parted and he walked across from the dry ground. Wait a minute I got his I’m gonna see you. when you want to see. In verse 14 he took the mantle of Elijah that fell and he says, smote the waters and says, where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters they parted hither and did their end Elijah, Elijah went over.

Now the story is not over. You see all those 50 prophets that they were watching to try to see what happened to Elijah. I mean, he went up so they figured he must have got dumped on the other side of a mountain. So in verse 15, and when the sons of the prophets, which were to view at Jericho, saw him, they said, the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha, and they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him, and they said unto him, be with thy servant, fifty strong men.

Let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master. Provencer the spirit of the Lord have taken him up and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he says, you shall not send. And when they urged him, till he was ashamed, he said, send, and they sent, therefore, fifty men. And they sought three days, but found him not. him not. So in verse 18 he says, I told you so. Don’t you like it when you can say I told you so.

He said, I told you Elijah is gone. God took him in a chariot of fire. And he saw it happen. And because that he knew that the mantle of Elijah was now upon him. He had to demonstrate it to find out it was true. Now look over there in chapter 6. Chapter 6, It’s an interesting little story. Now there’s a lot of stories about what God did with Elisha. But remember, Elijah wanted to leave earlier, but God had a training session for him.

And he comforted Elijah because he was all alone. He gave him a sidekick. And then just like with Moses and Joshua. When Moses died, there was Joshua who had been trained and take over. Now it was Elisha’s term. So God always has somebody been prepared in the wings. But in chapter six, something interesting happened. And the sons of the prophets, verse one, Said unto Elijah, Behold, Now, the place where we dwell with thee is too straight for us, too small.

We need a bigger college. We need bigger facilities. It’s too small what we got. Let us go. We pray thee unto Jordan and take dance every man of beam and let us make us a place there where we may dwell and he answered, Go ye. And one said, Be content I pray thee and go with thy servants and he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they did, came to Jordan, they cut down wood. And as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water.

And he cried and says, a last master, for it was borrowed. Now he’s in trouble. The axe head come off. And usually an axe head is made out of what? Iron. Is iron heavier than water? Iron floats, don’t it? Have you ever seen a big old ship in the ocean? Don’t it float? You know, I have never figured out how that big old metal ship floats. It puts out the water and it, I don’t do what I just don’t sink right down to the bottom.

Don’t I make any sense to me? I don’t understand it. Now it floats. I’ve been on some of these big old boats at ships, I guess you call them. And you know, I’ve been on a couple of these cruises and can you imagine how big they are and how much they weigh and they can maneuver right up next to another one right beside of it and another one right beside of it. And the water right there it doesn’t get any higher.

How’s that water holding up all those? I don’t get it. That doesn’t make any sense to me. I understand more about how a plane can fly than a boat can float. But anyway, so he says there in verse 6, and the man of God said, where fell it and he showed him the place and he cut down a stick, cast it in there and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, take it up to thee and put out his hand and he took it.

And it’s a story. Isn’t that wonderful to be able to do little things like that along the way? How many of you have done along the way? Did you know something there’s greater miracles that are done by us than these miracles that you read about in the Testament. One of the greatest miracles that you’ll ever see is when somebody trusts the Lord. You can’t see it happening, but there is a miracle because every person that trusts Christ’s Savior is born by faith into God’s family.

His destiny is changed, He’s given a new birth, has He turned to life, He’s going to heaven. So many things, over 30-some things happen to Him at that very moment, that’s a miracle. And you know what? Given somebody’s spiritual site is better than giving them physical sight. And when they trust Christ, their Savior is like being raised from the dead. That’s greater than raising the body from the dead. This privilege that God has given to us is greater than making the blindness see and the depth they hear and done to speak and the dead to rise.

Because when you win a person to Christ, that’s why Christ made the statement to his disciples. He says, and greater works than these shall ye do. This is the greatest thing in the world, and God’s given us this little power to go on and perform miracles all over the world. And we won’t use the power that God’s given us. Without the gospel, it cannot be done, but with the gospel, it can be accomplished. It’s what’s so neat about Now look at chapter 5, chapter 5.

There’s a quick little story here about, well, Elijah, a little girl, and a man named Naaman. See there in verse 1, now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and honorable because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man and valorant, but he ought to underline that last line, but he was a what? He was a leper. He was a leper. Uncurable disease.

There’s no way he can never be delivered from it. He needs a miracle. But they had taken captive a little Jewish girl and notice in verse 2, and the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captives out of the land of Israel a little made and she waited on Naaman’s wife. So here’s a little Jewish girl that was taken captive and now she’s a little slave in somebody’s house. You see, God let all this stuff happen.

Didn’t God allow some guy named Joseph to be sold by his brothers and then he wound up in a prison. And next thing you know, he’s in Pharaoh’s house. And God raised him up, but God led all that happen. See, God allows us to go through some very bad things sometimes in life. But He’s teaching us and preparing us, and there’s timing. The timing has to be right. And so that’s why I was always talking about be patient with the Lord.

Wait on God’s timing. You just be faithful to do what you’re supposed to do and you trust the Lord to open up the doors. And next thing you know, you’d be surprised how God works things, but let God do it. And so the Bible says here in verse two, there’s this little girl in verse three, and she said unto her mistress, would God my Lord, were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy.

Now this little girl didn’t know everything, but this little girl knew there’s a man of God. There’s a man of God in Israel. And if he wouldn’t see him, he could be cured and recovered of his leprosy. Did the little girl believe in God? Believing miracles? She did. And she knew about this. So you think it’s possible for the sake of a good story? God may allow all these things to happen and for him to get leprosy and for the little girl to be taken captive, and God knows what she knows and what she’s going to say and all the time and of it.

Do you believe in the providence of God that God moves in the affairs of man? I do. And anyway in verse 4, and one went in, told his Lord, said, thus and thus said this, made that is of the land of Israel. Now remember Israel is divided, you know, and there’s Israel’s capital Samaria. Then you had Judah and Benjamin, seven or two tribes. But he says here in verse five, and the king of Syria said, go to, I will send a letter unto the king of Israel.

Now she didn’t say the king of Israel. She says, the man of God that said Israel. See up there in that verse. He says, I know there’s a man of God. But anyway, here in verse 5, and he departed and took with him 10 talents of silver and 6,000 pieces of gold, 10 changes of Raymond. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto the whole I have there with sent name and my servant to thee that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter. He towards closing and says, Am I God to kill and to make alive? That this man does send unto me to recovery men of his leprosy? Wherefore consider I pray you and see how he seeketh the quarrel against me. He just wants to start a war. Who do you think I am? Well, things do get interesting. Verse 8, And it was so when Elisha, the man of God, had heard that the king of Israel had run his clothes, that he sent to the king saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes?

Let him come now to mean, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots and stood at the door of the house of Elijah. Now he expects Elijah, and do you know that’s the king of Syria out there? And Yor-Seed does entourage, he’s got out there. And so he expects, you know, he likes you going to come out the door and says, whoa, well it didn’t happen quite like that.

It doesn’t seem like Elijah was too impressed. So in verse 10, And Elijah sent a messenger unto him. What? Saying, go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shall be clean. And name them was wrath. That means you’re very mad upset and went away and says, Behold, I thought, now you see anything wrong with this? See, he has expectations of what he thought. Well, that’s not the way it’s going to happen.

He said, I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord is God. Strike his hand over the place and recover the leper. That’s what I thought. Well, it didn’t happen that way. And verse 12, are not Havana and Parpa. He says, rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel. May I not wash in them and be clean so he turned and went away in a rage. Now, this is also a store that’s been used many times and I’ve used it.

When I used to a fantasy work explaining to, you know, people that are your sinners. And what God asked you to do sometime is so simple, but you can’t I believe it’ll work. You’re going to add something to it. Do something else. And now God says, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Well, that’s not good enough. That’s too easy. Surely there’s something else. No, that’s just all you got to do. And so we use this to show you this is how you become a child of God.

As his flesh was going to be chained, he became a skin of a, wouldn’t you like to be said back in time in your skin? Was just like that a little baby? small though. I wonder what he says. In verse 3, his servants came near and spake unto him and he says, My Father, if the prophet had bid thee, do some great thing. Wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather than when he saver thee wash in be clean?

Then when he down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan. Now just think each time you went to that, it’s number one, number two, I’ve been in the River Jordan. It’s not a very clean river. I mean it’s just not a sparkling clean river. And I baptized in the river Jordan. And it’s not a big river. It’s not a wide river. It’s a narrow little little river. And you would not think, how can this little old river have so many things that that happened at this river.

You know, where John the Baptist baptized, Jesus was baptized in Jordan. And when a children of Israel came up before they could go into Jericho, they had to cross the Jordan River and flood stage. And so, you know, God just worked out so many things. And yet, this is just a little bitty river. So he says here, if you had asked you to do something, so he went down into the water. According to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh came again, like unto the flesh of a little child.

and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, and he and all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, behold, now I know that there’s no God in all the earth, but in Israel. You see, that’s what God was after. God works in a strange way, because if you read through Jeremiah and Ezekiel, you’ll find out, I saw my God. You know, know the Lord, know the Lord, to know the Lord that they may know that I am God over and over and over again.

The purpose of why God does what He does is so that you’ll know I’m God. And He’ll work in your life and some things you try to make happen and He won’t let it happen because God wants you to know, hey, where you? I’m God. You’re not God. There’s a lot of things you may want to do, try to do it, and you can’t do it because there’s the will of God. And yet if you’ll do what God says, do God can do this, God can do that, God can open up doors, closed doors.

God wants everybody to know, hey, do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? Hello, this is Peter Amato with Bibleline, and we hope that you’ve enjoyed today’s program. We’re so thankful your support of Bibleline, and we would like to offer you a free gift. During this month, for a gift in any amount, we’re going to send you Dr. Arnold’s teaching series on the book of Colossians. Paul writes to a concerned pastor about false teachings that are entering his church.

Some were teaching that one could find additional and greater knowledge outside of Jesus Christ, which is not true. All teachers that Christ is the head and we are complete in Him. This teaching series is certain to help you in your spiritual growth. So email, call or write to us today to receive your CD series on the book of Colossians.)]. Our mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And don’t forget to include your mailing address as well. God bless you and thank you again for supporting Bibleline.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now, a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. And we will be changed. Hot up can meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon just keep looking up