IT AIN’T OVER TIL GOD SAYS IT’S OVER
2 Kings 13:14-21
Do you ever feel like you’re on the downhill side of Life?
Too old to really do much of anything?
A few late bloomers..
1. Doris Self- 60yo Qbert VG Championship, scoring over 1 million points. She kept competing in yearly into her 80s.
* I have trouble beating 8 yr olds on XBOX
2. Yaichiro Miura- 80 yo climbed Mt Everest. 3rd time after age 70.
* Lana had to help me climb 900 ft up a New Mexico mountain.
3. Gladys Burrill- 92 yo. She’s the oldest to complete a marathon.
* I’m ready to throw up just running to the mailbox.
Today, we finish the series on Elisha. In chapter 13, Elisha is between 75-80 yrs old. He was about 25-30 when God called him into ministry. He was Elijah’s servant for 5+ years. He went on to serve as God’s anointed prophet to Issrael for another 45 years. He is a very sick man now. You’d think he would have retired, but he has kept right on serving God.
1. SERVING GOD TO THE END.
2 Kings 13:14-20 14 When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he [h]took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 He said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. 19 So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have [l]destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”
20 Elisha died, and they buried him.
He’s barely getting around, but still serving. He has 1 last thing to do before he dies. He must prophesy to the king. This is an unusual prophecy because the king’s response will determine the future.
* Elisha tells him to shoot an arrow out the window and then Elisha prophesied victory over Aram, their nemesis.
* Next, he tells the king to take the arrows and shoot them. The verb tense means “to keep on shooting them”. But the king stops after shooting only 3 arrows. This broke Elisha’s heart.
* If the king had continued shooting until Elisha said to stop, Israel would have defeated Aram completely. Since he didn’t, Israel would have only 3 victories over them. It pays to follow God’s commands.
What can we glean from this?
(1) God’s commandments are constant until He tells us to stop.
(2) Too many Christians have retired from serving God.
(3) Too many quit serving because they think they have little to offer.
(4) Many quit serving because they just don’t want to anymore.
* Missionary visiting a hospital in South America. Christian Man there was ravaged by leprosy. Lost many fingers, parts of face and his tongue. Man kept smiling and pointing up. He asked the nurse what he was doing. Nurse said he has been the greatest witness in the area for many years. He loves the Lord. He can’t talk anymore, so he points up to God in Heaven and smiles.
– I wonder how it will feel to meet him in heaven and remember the times I was too busy or self-absorbed to witness to lost people.
2. LEAVING A LEGACY.
2 Kings 13:20-21 20 Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.
Amazing! Elisha had lived in the anointing of God for many years.
He performed many great miracles.
He served God with all his heart and strength.
But, died and was buried.
You would think his ministry would be over.
You would think his days of performing miracles would be over.
MAN “would” say that!
“But it ain’t over until God says it’s over!”
His healing power was still with him even in the grave. Even after the flesh had decayed from his bones, his ministry wasn’t over. He still had one miracle left to perform. One miracle to his legacy.
How Might you leave a legacy?
(1) Through your family.
Live your life before your children that you would want them to emulate. Teach them what it means to really live for Christ. Train them to work hard to be successful in life. Show them how to love their spouse and remain 100% faithful. Have you messed up? Then also teach them what not to do!
(2) Through Your Ministry.
I was listening to Adrian Rodgers preach his heart out the other day, which is amazing because his heart stopped beating a few years ago. He left a preaching legacy. You can leave a similar legacy working in VBS as you invest in the children, by serving the Kingdom by going on a mission trip, by helping the sick/lost of this community.
(3) Through Your Prayers.
Your prayers remain alive after you’re long dead. Legacy of prayer.
* By teaching your family to pray and trust God.
* By praying for their futures.
3. RESURRECTION IN CHRIST.
The night of the Last Supper, Satan had laid a trap for Jesus. He was arrested, illegally tried, and sentenced to death.
John 19:17-18 17 They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. 18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.
They led Him up to Golgotha and laid Him on the cross and drove nails in His hands and feet. They stood Him up on the cross to shame Him before all the world. Satan must have danced with joy as Jesus died there that day.
Matthew 27:59-60 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
The battle seems to be over. His body is placed in the dark tomb.
All hope seems to be lost. Has Satan won his victory over God?
The answer comes on Sunday morning. Is there hope in the dark?
Matthew 28:1-7 Now, after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead;
Jesus has risen from the dead. Our hope in Christ is restored. The Lord has risen from the dead.
Colossians 2:13-15 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
Satan’s glorious victory was quickly changed into a humiliating defeat. Christ has risen and defeated him. Satan’s authority over us has been crushed as the power of sin over us has been destroyed.
And Jesus shares with us a promise to all those who would believe in Him. He has left a legacy of resurrection and salvation for us.
John 11:25-26 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.
