324 The King Said, I Hate Him 325 Here is Elisha

Sermon adapted from, Discovering Christ Day by Day, David Fortner

1. “I hate him.” Sermon adapted from, Discovering Christ Day by Day, David Fortner April 21 Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 22 -2 Kings 1

2. 1 Kings 22:7 NIV But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no longer a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?" 8 The king of Israel (Ahab) answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah ." "The king should not say such a thing," Jehoshaphat replied.

3. What a good and faithful prophet Micaiah must have been! Ahab, the wicked, reprobate king of Israel, acknowledged that he spoke for God and he neither courted the favor of the king nor feared his disfavor.

4. Here is a standard by which we may identify faithful prophets in any age or place. Faithful servants of God speak the Word of God. For that, they are commonly hated by wicked men, about whom they can never speak anything good.

5. As I close the reading of 1st Kings , I am struck with the fact Solomon was a great man with many failures. The importance of our influence upon those around us is set before us dramatically in the life and reign of Solomon, as it is described in 1 Kings . Chapters 1-11 give us a picture of Solomon’s greatness and glory as the king over all Israel for forty years. Greatness and Failure

6. Then, chapters 12-22 display the horrible consequences of Solomon’s disobedience upon the kingdom. These chapters set before us the first eighty years of the divided kingdom, a kingdom divided because of the evil influence of Solomon’s life. The key to understanding the last half of 1 Kings is found in God’s Word to Solomon in 1 Kings 11:11 .

7. 1 Kings 11:11 NIV So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.

8. Still, the message of 1 Kings is Christ, of whom Solomon was in many ways a type. If you read Psalms 72 , which was “A Psalm for Solomon,” you will immediately see the things there spoken of Solomon could only find their fulfillment in Christ, the Prince of Peace.

9. In the lives of the few faithful servants and prophets of the Lord, raised up to minister in holy things in the midst of general corruption, it is a great blessing to remember the Lord has not and will not cast away His people whom He foreknew. The promised mercy shall come. The Seed of the woman shall crush the serpent’s head. God will maintain His witnesses in every generation and sustain the light of the gospel in the darkest of times. God’s Faithfulness

10. Blessed Savior, “ thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever .” Fix our hearts and minds on You as we in our day behold that which Elijah and Your elect remnant beheld in their day, idolatry practiced in Your name, the profaning of Your holy ordinances, and the despising of Your Word by the very people who are responsible to declare it and defend it.

11. 2 Kings 1:9 NIV Then he (Ahaziah, King of Israel) sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!'" 10 Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

12. 11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king says, 'Come down at once!'" 12 "If I am a man of God," Elijah replied, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

13. 13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!" 15 The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

14. 16 He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal- Zebub , the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" 17a So he died, according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken.

15. In the sad example of Ahaziah and his captains of fifty, I am reminded of the fact that sin hardens the heart and makes sinners ripe for punishment. How we have earned our wages! But for grace, how justly the fires of hell would forever torment my wretched soul! Intervening Mercy

16. Had not the mercy of my God intervened, had not the God of all grace interposed himself and stopped me in my mad rush for hell, the endless torments of the damned would be mine today!

17. Blessed Savior, how I thank You and adore You for Your great mercy, love, and grace, for Your precious blood, and perfect righteousness so richly and freely bestowed upon me, by which You have redeemed me and saved me from myself! O my God, my great Savior, make me faithful to You!

18. “Elisha is Here.” Sermon adapted from, Discovering Christ Day by Day, David Fortner April 22 Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 2-4

19. 2 Kings 3:9 NIV So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them. 10 "What!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "Has the LORD called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?" 11 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here, through whom we may inquire of the LORD?" An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”

20. 2 Kings 2 tells us of Elijah’s marvelous translation to heaven. Surely, we cannot fail to see in that a type of Elijah’s God, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. After suffering and dying as our Substitute at Calvary, He arose from the dead. Then, in the presence of His disciples, He was taken up to heaven.

21. So it shall be with all God’s elect. Yes, many will lay down the tabernacle of clay, before the Lord Jesus appears the second time without sin unto salvation. But God’s elect shall never die! That is the promise of our Savior.

22. John 11:25 NIV Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” We shall all, that is all who trust Christ, like Elijah, be translated into heaven, some when the body dies and all when the Lord Jesus comes again.

23. The 4 th chapter is full of good instruction; but for the present, let us remember it gives us a vivid picture of the tender care God’s servants have for His people, and the tender care God’s people have for His servants. For our souls’ meditation today, I call your attention particularly to 2 Kings 3 .

24. God’s prophet Elisha was found in a very strange place. Elisha was in the camp with the army. That would be strange indeed, but for one thing. That was where he was needed. That is precisely where we should expect to see God’s preachers. Wherever the Lord God is about to work wonders of grace, there He sends His preachers. Where Needed

25. The fact that Elisha was in the camp with the army tells us the Lord was about to bestow some great mercy upon His people. The Lord God graciously sends His holy Word, by the mouths of His servants, so people can be blessed with His saving operations of grace.

26. Romans 10:17 NIV Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Blessed are those people in this world who listen to & hear His servant with His Word in the power of His Spirit!

27. Though God’s prophet was in their midst, the king did not know it. None of the mighty or influential were aware of his presence. But there was a poor, despised, insignificant servant who knew God and His prophet. How commonly that is the case! While Christ and His gospel are hid from the wise and prudent, they are revealed to babes. Poor Servant

28. Elisha was sent of God into the camp of the army specifically for the salvation of Jehoshaphat, His army, and the people; and He chose to make Himself and His prophet known to the king by an unnamed servant. So it is in every age and in every place.

29. 2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

30. The time when all that is written here of Elisha’s prophecy transpired was; The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water. 2 Kings 3:20 NIV Surely, we are informed of this specific time by these specific words ( morning sacrifice offering ) because God the Holy Spirit would point our hearts to our great sin-atoning sin-offering, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Time

31. The daily offering of the two lambs, one in the morning and the other in the evening, with this meat-offering, points us to our Redeemer’s precious sacrifice of Himself for us, which He offered to God for a sweet smelling savor.

32. The morning and evening lamb offered daily was a perpetual type of the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world, who in time laid down His life for us at Calvary. The continual presentation of this sacrifice sets forth the perpetual and unfailing efficacy of Christ’s precious blood shed for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

33. HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?

34. Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

35. He was buried and rose on the third day.

36. When He did this He solved 2 problems we all have. He solved our sin problem because He nailed our sins to the cross; & He solved our grave problem when He rose from the dead because it proved we could also rise from the dead.

37. Jesus said, if we want to get in on of all this we must . . . BE BORN AGAIN. FOLLOW HIM; &

38. ISN’T THAT GREAT NEWS? WHO ARE YOU GOING TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS WITH TODAY?

39. Mark 16:15 NIV  He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Numbers 6:24 NIV '"The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.“’