Persistence

I. The request for Elisha to stay at Bethel

• Bethel – the “House of God”

• The place where the initial foundation of truth is poured.

• The school of Prophets

o The place of Training

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

• The place where initial learning of spiritual matters take place

• The place where one acquires liturgy of traditions and actions

• The place where we get comfortable

Ecc 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

• The place where we grow cold and callous towards non believers

2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.(7) Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

•People begin to give you advice

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

II. The request for Elisha to stay at Jericho

• The place of the first victory

o God performs miracles

1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• This is the place where God empowers and equips

Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

• This is the place where we begin to relish in “our” victories

• We begin to think we have arrived

• Carnality and flesh begin to creep in

1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom

•We get over confident and begin to leave God out

Isa 29:13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote (14) Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."

A man and his dog were walking the beach when they came upon another visitor to the beach. The owner of the dog was proud of his dog's newly mastered feat, so he said to the visitor, "Watch this!" whereupon he tossed a piece of driftwood far out into the sea and the dog immediately ran on top of the ocean, fetched the wood, and ran back. The visitor just shook his head in disbelief. Whereupon the owner repeated the procedure twice.

Finally he asked the visitor, "Did you notice anything unusual?"

The visitor responded, "Your dog can't swim, can he?"

III. The request for Elisha to stay at Jordan

• The crossing over place to the Promise Land

2Co 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Rom 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:

• There are good promises and not so good promises

• People want to focus on the promises

• The prosperity gospel

• The health gospel

• The success gospel

• The promises were given for one reason only:

2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

• The Lord warned the children of Israel what would happen after obtaining the promises

Deu 31:19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. (20) For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. (21) And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.