Today I’d like to introduce you to one of my favourite items of clothing, I picked up this T-shirt at a concert back in 2011, yes the Moody Blues were playing in Wellington and we going there for another special event and Rochelle had heard me mention that this concert was going to be on the same weekend and she surprised me with tickets, she didn’t even know who the Moody Blues were but I had been a fan since my teenage years and to see and hear them in person was an awesome opportunity. Now there’s nothing really that special about the shirt, but the memories of that weekend that I have when I wear the shirt are really good, so it’s not about the cut of the shirt or the comfort of the shirt but what it represents.
Today we join in celebrating with the messengers of grace. In the second chapter of the second book of Kings we hear about an item of clothing that evokes a lot of thoughts, about miracles and about the power of God.
It interests me that this book entitled Kings starts out looking at and a good part of the book is really about prophets and the influence they have on Kings and the nation of Israel. As followers of Jesus here we have all been called to be Messengers of his Grace and while we celebrate or new Lieutenants we can all live in the assurance of God’s love for us, and that if we aren’t we can be saved through faith in Christ.
So we have these two prophets, Elijah and Elisha. The book starts in chapter one with Elijah telling King Ahaziah that he would die because he had sent his messengers to consult Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron, aka the devil, about his likelihood of recovering from an injury. Not only that but Elijah had twice called down fire from heaven to destroy 50 soldiers and their officers who had been sent to arrest him and bring him before the King. The third officer sent to arrest him was a lot wiser in the way that he addressed the prophet, the tip here for us all first tip here is; be wise in your interactions with all people, officers be wise, soldiers be wise, every one be wise. The scriptures tell us that “ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5). I am sure that there are some here today that can testify along with me that any wisdom they have is not theirs but given by God.
We get this picture quickly that Elijah was a man very close to God and on whom God had given authority. However, in chapter two we hear that Elijah is not long for the world, that God is going to take him, he is with his trainee prophet Elisha. Twice on their journey, Elisha is told by the company of prophets that Elijah was to be taken by the Lord and three times Elisha tells Elijah that he will not leave him. Our new Lieutenants have received some intense training over the past two years and their training college time is complete and in a few short weeks they will be in their appointments, but their learning will continue until they receive their final promotion. They leave soon to fulfil their roles as officers. They leave the relative safety of training college where the wisdom of Major Racheal-Lee, Major Marika, Captain Dale and others has been passed onto them. There is in this instance no opportunity for them to say “no” to The Salvation Army’s appointment or to stay behind, they will be leaving. However, The Salvation Army has asked that they consider ongoing training so that they can be as useful as they possibly can be as officers of this Army and within your community’s, Jesus came so that our lives can be lived in all their abundance, what opportunities we all have for abundant living we have as we take the message of God’s grace to the world.
In The Salvation Army, there are others in the team like the company of prophets who will support and offer advice when asked, officers and soldiers of The Salvation Army are an Army and as such we work as an Army we are a team. The training and commissioning as officers may be a gradual process and our commissioning process is somewhat like Elisha, receiving Elijah’s cloak. The mantle of responsibility is handed on, but like Elisha being supported by the company of prophets our ministry and witness is a team effort, adherents, soldiers, officers, we are a community of believers within Fiji that is called by God to support one another but also to witness to the wider community and draw others into relationship with God, and also the community that is The Salvation Army.
Elisha is asked by Elijah to remain behind, not once but three times, but he says no and that he will go on with Elijah, why would this be? Many commentators say he remained with Elijah as he wanted to ask for the blessing of the first born, a double portion of the blessing of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah was indeed a man who had been blessed by God, a powerful prophet, but as those of us who know God and men know, this power was not the man’s, but it was given by God.
Prior to his departure Elijah is seen to perform another miracle, he takes off his cloak, rolls it up and strikes the waters of the Jordan river with it, these waters parted, and the two men were able to cross over on dry land. This act was reminiscent of Moses and the Red Sea, and Joshua and the Israelites crossing the Jordan also. Elijah then asks Elisha, ‘what is it you want before I am taken?’ The answer from Elisha at this time was “a double share of your spirit.”
Interestingly Elijah promises nothing, but leaves this in the hands of God with his reply, “you have asked for a hard thing, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if you don’t see me, it shall not be.” Now there’s a good reason for Elisha to remain focused during the events that were about to happen.
From this point they carried on walking and talking, nothing out of the ordinary there, but then…and this is riveting stuff: …… a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them and Elijah the book tells us was taken up in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha’s reaction was what you would expect, “My Father, My Father! The Chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He was distressed as you would be at this sort of thing, in these days of live streaming, video games and action movies, you should remember that this is mind-boggling action, Elisha shredded his own clothes at the shock of it all. He picked up Elijah’s cloak, referred to as his ‘mantle’ in some translations. You now know where the saying, ‘the passing on of the mantle’ comes from if you didn’t before. Taking Elijah’s cloak, Elisha walks over to the Jordan River again and stands there, he just stands there. I wonder was he in shock, was he trying to get his head around what had just occurred or was it something deeper. There’s a tip here for all of us when the unusual happens, stop and take stock. In life when something happens that is frightening or stuns us, stop and take stock before reacting.
This whole amazing passage about the chariot of fire and the flaming horsemen, puts Elijah in a very small group of people who never died, what a thing to witness, but this event is also an indication of the power of God.
Imagine at that time what the most powerful land vehicle was, that’s right, the most powerful vehicle was the chariot and horse, a vehicle of trade and travel but also a war machine, and here we have horses and chariots lifting the prophet Elijah, yes flying, not just an ordinary Chariot and horses, but a flying flaming chariot along with flaming horses, and here it is lifting Elijah into heaven. Do not die, don’t stop, don’t pass GO but straight to heaven!
We should never, not ever be surprised at what God can do and will do through our lives, our ministries and through the lives of the people of our Corps and wider communities. I believe the days of signs and wonders are still with us and that God will do great things through the Salvation Army. For this to occur we are to respond and walk in and with his direction, as directed walking “acting justly and loving mercy and to walking humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8b, paraphrase). Today and all days let’s remember this; the Spirit that was with Elijah is the same Spirit that is with us. Remember that when you are having a day or days or months of struggle when people are putting down your ministry when people who follow lesser god’s made by the hands of men take a stand against you, the Spirit that is in you is greater than the spirit that is in them, let us all be bold in our belief and just as the lieutenants have received the mantle of their ministry as officers, let’s all of us engage fully in our own ministries and as a team, as an Army. There are so many opportunities for us as individuals, as a denomination to be part of life change occurring, for all of us not just our new Lieutenants, but all of us to be Messengers of Grace. Here’s an instance on Wednesday I attended the launch of a Government initiative to combat violence against women and girls in Fiji, Fiji has shocks stats in this regard, twice that of the world average and the rest of the world is not doing well either, the amount of violence against women and girls by men is disgraceful. Combating this violence is something we can all engage in and make a difference by engaging in, in the paper in the last week I have read about violence, child labour, prostitution among other things In Fiji that God calls us as a Salvation Army to fight… to be the Messengers of his Grace. Are we responding to the call, not only are people living lives of hell their eternities are not secure in Christ-like ours are. What are we doing? Are we available for the fight?
Whatever we do we are called to continue to be humble in our individual walks with God knowing his Spirit is with us as we listen for his still small voice, engaging in his word and his call on our lives. Like Elisha though let’s ensure we remaining close to God and are relying on him.
So Elisha is standing beside the River Jordan, he tales Elijah’s cloak and strikes the water and says a strange thing, “Where is the LORD the God of Elijah?” When he struck the water, the water parted and he crossed over from one side to another. Elisha knew that it wasn’t the cloak, he knew it wasn’t Elijah’s having worn the cloak. Elisha knew that it wasn’t any other thing, that it was the LORD, the God of Elijah who made this miracle possible. Like Moses, like Joshua, like Elijah, it was God and God alone who empowered his servants, who parted the waters. A key point to take from this is to remain close to God and rely on him. To all present here you are a receiver of God’s grace and all believers are messengers of grace. The grace that is your message is a gift from God and God alone, available to all through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Grace that is given by God that is his undeserved favour.
The power that was given or we could say exhibited in the miracles of God through Elisha from that time are numerous, ten more recorded miracles in total. Note; I didn’t mention them but these are the miracles: (Jericho’s spring water purified, the widow’s oil multiplied, a son raised back to life, a poisonous stew made fit to eat, food multiplied, Naaman healed of leprosy, Gehazi because of his evil actions contracts leprosy, the floating axehead, horses and chariots surrounding the city of Dothan and Aramean soldiers blinded.)
As Messengers of Grace, all of us, not just our new Lieutenants, God can and will do great things as we respond to his call and direction in our lives, like Elisha. What you know, where your message your individual testimonies come from is not from man but from God himself and grace like signs and wonders of God, is given by God, the simple definition being unwarranted favour, or an undeserved gift. Remain close to God and rely on him as you tell of his grace and those around you. You have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus!
I want to wrap this message up but first some words from one of our founders General William Booth, this includes his desire to see people encounter God’s grace at the mercy seat. In whatever circumstance, situation or role you find yourself in “Make soul-saving the business of your life. I began here. I have continued here. I am here today. I propose dying here. I remember it being said of some popular preacher in my early days,’ He ought never to leave the pulpit: he should live and die there.’ Fain [Pleased and willing] would I live and die toiling at the Mercy Seat. If anything material should be put in my coffin as an emblem of my heart's delight, I would say, ‘let it be the penitent-form [the mercy seat].”
Messengers of Grace you have been ordained and commissioned, go to your appointments knowing that the Spirit that was with Elijah and Elisha is with you, for the rest of us as people of God, with our new Lieutenants Fiji needs you, the lost souls of Fiji need you to share the grace shown to you through Jesus Christ. May your testimonies bring many to God. For those of you still struggling in your lives caught in sin, there is a space here we call the mercy seat…now there is an opportunity for you to come and know the grace of God.
