Going Out In A Blaze of Glory

2 ki 2:1-14

When my grandfather on my mom’s side died, it had an incredible impact on me. It was the first person really close to me in my family who died. I had a couple of friends die in high school and college, but this was different. This was someone I had known and loved my whole life.

Two things about grandpa’s death I will never forget. The first was when he was close to dying he called out, “not yet”. When he came back to consciousness, he told the family that he saw two men in white asking him if he was ready to go and he said not yet because he wanted to say goodbye. Not long after that he peacefully went to see his father. The other thing that happened was the last time all of us grandchildren were with him. I was really struggling with saying goodbye to grandpa for the last time. I didn’t know what to say, how to say it, so I avoided him for a little bit that last Christmas, as we were getting ready to leave I ran back to him and hugged him and just wept. He said something I’ll never forget. “I’m not afraid of dying, you are all Christians and we’ll see each other soon in Heaven. I love you.”

We will all face death unless we are alive when Jesus returns. It’s the way of human life. God had a different plan for Elijah however. He became one of 2 people who never died in all of the history of mankind. He and his friend and protégé Elisha crossed over the Jordan and he was taken up in the whirlwind as the chariot of fire stood nearby.

As we close out this series on the life of Elijah, we’ll look at some important lessons we need to learn as we come to the end of our own lives.

PRAYER

I. Elijah’s last day

A. Waiting for the whirlwind

1. Elijah knew he was going to be taken

2. Elijah’s life had been filled with events that most people could only dream of.

a) dealing with kings

b) talking to God

c) Miracles

d) defeating the enemies of God

3. Now he was going to top all of that by NOT dying.

4. As I said earlier only one other person has ever lived that did not die.

5. What makes this even more interesting was the fact that Elijah Knew this was going to happen.

a) So did many others

b) READ vs. 3

B. Places of meaning

1. Gilgal

a) this was the place where the Israelites began their conquest of the Promised Land.

b) This was the beginning place for Elijah to make his own trip to the real promised land.

2. Bethel

a) Bethel was the place of prayer

b) What better way to end your time here on earth than to be in a sacred place of prayer.

3. Jericho

a) Place of war

b) It was as important to the Israelites as Normandy was to Americans of WWII.

c) Maybe this reminded him of his own Jericho on Mt. Carmel.

d) Now, there were no more battles he had to fight.

e) It was time for his peace.

f) I imagined he dearly longed for that peace.

4. the Jordan

a) a place of total commitment

b) When the Israelites crossed the Jordan they were committed to the promised land.

c) When they stepped into the Jordan with the arc of the Covenant it was a step that immediately went into deep water of the river. Yet, if God was right they would stop on dry land. Total commitment.

d) Elijah’s life had been one of total commitment

II. Application

A. Times of searching

1. We all have a Gilgal. A place of beginning

a) It’s that place that we started our journey towards God

b) For some of us it was long long ago.

c) For some, it could be that right here is your Gilgal.

2. Then we come to a place of prayer

a) As we begin to get connected with God, there is a time when we understand the importance of prayer in our lives.

b) We understand the need to surrender our lives and desires to God.

c) Maybe something traumatic happens to you and you turn to God for help and answers.

d) Maybe it’s a time of struggle and you need a greater strength than what you possess.

3. Our journey like Elijah continues on to the place of battle

a) Some of us have serious battle in our lives.

b) Maybe even a battle that will cost us our souls if we don’t win.

c) Other battles are smaller, maybe only a skirmish. Yet those battles add up to a lost war if we don’t stay on top of them.

4. Then there is the Jordan, the place of total commitment

a) As our journey in life continues to the time where we meet the Lord, there is a time where we have to decide if we are all the way in or all the way out.

b) You can’t sit on the fence for your whole life.

c) You can’t be “sorta” committed.

d) You are all the way with God or not.

e) Dr. Leman in our video discussion series talked about committing 96% of ourselves to God. At first glance that seems really great, but it’s always that 4% that gets us in trouble.

f) Before you meet the Lord, I hope you have crossed the Jordan.

B. Words of Departure

1. As Elijah and Elisha prepare to part ways Elijah they say goodbye to each other.

2. Elijah is prepared to meet God and even though Elisha will be devastated by the loss, he knows Elijah will be with God.

3. Even as I prepared this sermon and remember the last day I spent with grandpa, tears of sorrow and loss rolled down my cheeks.

4. Yet, his words of departure gave me strength and even though I still miss him, I know he is with God and I will someday see him again.

5. Could you give your loved ones words of peace, comfort and hope if you were to die today?

6. If not, this is the perfect time to change all of that and clothe yourself in the mantle of Jesus and his salvation just as Elisha clothed himself with the mantle of Elijah.