WEBVTT 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:08.199 Have you ever met a doppelganger? Maybe I'll 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:10.919 do that other question. Have you ever heard of 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:13.980 what a doppelganger is? What is a doppelganger? 00:00:14.099 --> 00:00:17.539 Somebody help me out here. Your twin, someone 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:21.079 that looks like you. Or maybe sometimes you might 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:23.920 meet someone and you'll be like, you really look 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:28.160 like maybe someone you know or a famous person 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.449 or something like that. Have you ever... Come 00:00:31.449 --> 00:00:34.549 in contact. Have you ever met this so -called 00:00:34.549 --> 00:00:38.009 doppelganger? I used to really enjoy road biking, 00:00:38.210 --> 00:00:42.329 cycling, and when I used to live down in Calhoun, 00:00:42.390 --> 00:00:45.009 Albert Handel, the youth pastor over at the Calhoun 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:47.929 Church, we would ride together often, and he 00:00:47.929 --> 00:00:53.729 would say, you look like Bjarne Rees. Who? Well, 00:00:53.770 --> 00:00:58.630 he was a cyclist from Denmark. who won the Tour 00:00:58.630 --> 00:01:04.790 de France in 1996. They later found out he was 00:01:04.790 --> 00:01:07.810 doping, but he's still listed as the winner, 00:01:07.930 --> 00:01:12.530 so I guess bald. You know, we bald people look 00:01:12.530 --> 00:01:15.069 alike sometimes, so I don't know. Is there any 00:01:15.069 --> 00:01:19.969 similarities there with this Danish cyclist? 00:01:20.250 --> 00:01:23.450 I don't know. But that's what I was told. I just 00:01:23.450 --> 00:01:26.530 came across the website just earlier this week, 00:01:26.650 --> 00:01:29.069 or excuse me, it was last week, and it was called 00:01:29.069 --> 00:01:33.450 Civil War Twins. Civil War Twins. And you could 00:01:33.450 --> 00:01:35.950 upload your picture. I'm sure they're doing something 00:01:35.950 --> 00:01:38.530 negative with it. I don't know. And then it would 00:01:38.530 --> 00:01:42.230 go through the archives of Civil War pictures, 00:01:42.290 --> 00:01:46.150 and it would find someone who they said looked 00:01:46.150 --> 00:01:51.489 like you. So here was 41 % match. of a Civil 00:01:51.489 --> 00:01:54.510 War twin. And if you can't read that, this is 00:01:54.510 --> 00:01:58.310 Pascal Fullington from the 9th New York Cavalry. 00:01:59.030 --> 00:02:02.390 Maybe some facial hair. There was one more 41%. 00:02:02.390 --> 00:02:06.230 Another bald guy. We look alike there. Sergeant 00:02:06.230 --> 00:02:10.009 John Wood from the 15th New York Engineers. 41 00:02:10.009 --> 00:02:14.310 % match. I don't know. But that's what this computer 00:02:14.310 --> 00:02:17.460 program... I see some... Heads shaking there, 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.740 so maybe not much of a match there, but that 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:24.620 was the Civil War twin. Sometimes we meet people 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:29.419 that look similar to someone else we know. Sometimes 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:33.120 somebody tells us, oh, you look just like whoever, 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:39.139 and we ponder what characteristics would match 00:02:39.139 --> 00:02:43.199 us with somebody else. We're going to... finish 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:47.159 out our series on Elijah today, the prophet Elijah. 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:49.500 This is our fourth sermon. We've been talking 00:02:49.500 --> 00:02:52.460 about Elijah, and this will be the last one, 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:54.620 although there's many more stories that we could 00:02:54.620 --> 00:02:57.319 tell. But as we go through this, we're going 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:00.099 to see that there was another character, another 00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:04.319 prophet in the Bible who could match up a little 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:09.319 bit with clothes, with ministry, with actions. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:12.879 And so we're going to look through this. as we 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:15.860 finish this story of Elijah. Now, we've seen 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:18.960 Elijah have some incredible high spiritual points 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:21.680 in his life, as he called fire down from heaven, 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:25.479 and the people said, the Lord, he is God. We've 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:29.379 seen Elijah have some spiritual low points in 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:31.979 his life. As two weeks ago, we looked at how 00:03:31.979 --> 00:03:35.979 Elijah ran away when he faced adversity and threats 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:39.860 from Queen Jezebel. And we're going to move past 00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:43.680 a couple stories and come down. to the end. And 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:48.639 so Elijah has anointed Elisha to be his successor, 00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:54.319 to be the next prophet in line. And then Elijah 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:58.840 found out from God that his time of ministry 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.759 had come to an end. So we're going to be in 2 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:04.719 Kings. We've been in 1 Kings, but we're going 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:06.780 to be in 2 Kings, and we're going to start in 00:04:06.780 --> 00:04:12.479 chapter 2 today. 2 Kings chapter 2. So turn with 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:14.319 me if you have your Bibles, we'll have the verses 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:17.279 on the screens as well. It says, and it came 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:21.220 to pass when the Lord was about to take up Elijah 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:25.199 into heaven by a whirlwind that Elijah went with 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:30.339 Elisha from Gilgal. So somehow Elijah knew that 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:33.360 his time of ministry was coming to an end and 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:36.279 God was going to take him up in a whirlwind, 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:40.019 it says. And so he went on with Elisha and notice 00:04:40.019 --> 00:04:45.339 verse two. Then Elijah said to Elisha, stay here. 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:48.660 You stay here, please. For the Lord has sent 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:53.040 me on to Bethel. But Elisha said, as the Lord 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:57.139 lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave 00:04:57.139 --> 00:05:00.939 you. And so they went down to Bethel. And this 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:03.160 happened several times over the next couple of 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:06.660 verses. Elijah tried to get Elisha, you stay 00:05:06.660 --> 00:05:09.540 here. I'm going to go a little bit further. And 00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:13.009 Elisha said, oh no. I'm not leaving you as the 00:05:13.009 --> 00:05:16.790 Lord lives, as your soul lives. I'm not leaving 00:05:16.790 --> 00:05:20.170 until eventually they get down and they're down 00:05:20.170 --> 00:05:23.230 by the Jordan River. And we see some other people 00:05:23.230 --> 00:05:26.149 have joined them. Some of those who studied from 00:05:26.149 --> 00:05:29.790 the prophets. And in verse 7 it says, 50 men 00:05:29.790 --> 00:05:34.910 of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing 00:05:34.910 --> 00:05:38.949 them at a distance while the two of them stood 00:05:38.949 --> 00:05:42.439 by. the Jordan River. So they're on the edge 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:46.300 of the Jordan River. He's tried to get Elisha 00:05:46.300 --> 00:05:49.920 to stay, but Elisha is not doing that. He is 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:52.740 not staying. And then in verse 8, it goes on 00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:56.240 and says, now Elijah took his mantle, his cloak, 00:05:56.500 --> 00:06:00.300 his cover up. He took his mantle, he rolled it 00:06:00.300 --> 00:06:04.120 up, and he struck the water, and it was divided 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:07.060 this way and that, and the two of them crossed 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:11.060 over on dry ground. What an incredible experience 00:06:11.060 --> 00:06:14.240 that is. As they're making their way, there's 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.620 this river. It's not a huge river. It's bigger 00:06:17.620 --> 00:06:20.560 than Chickamauga Creek, not as big as the Tennessee 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:23.800 River. And so they're at this river, and he hits 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:27.360 it with the mantle, and it divides. It splits. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:31.959 And they pass through on dry ground. Just the 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:34.500 two of them, just the two of them. And it says, 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:38.100 as it goes on in verse 9, and so it was when 00:06:38.100 --> 00:06:41.699 they had crossed over that Elijah said to Elisha, 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:46.139 ask, what may I do for you before I am taken 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:50.399 away from you? And Elisha said, please let a 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:55.160 double portion of your spirit be upon me. Let 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.860 a double portion, the power that you had, the 00:06:58.860 --> 00:07:01.839 connection that you had with God, may I have 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:05.240 that? And may I have even more. May I have a 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:09.819 double portion of that spirit. And so Elijah 00:07:09.819 --> 00:07:12.899 says, well, that's something challenging. I don't 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:15.240 know if that can be answered. But he said, if 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:19.560 you see me when I leave, then that means your 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:22.920 prayer, your request will be given. And in verse 00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:25.420 11, the story goes on. It says, then it happened 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:30.279 as they continued on and talked that suddenly. 00:07:30.829 --> 00:07:33.790 And I want you to try to picture this. Picture 00:07:33.790 --> 00:07:38.410 this in your mind. Use your imagination to see 00:07:38.410 --> 00:07:41.810 these events as I read these words. Suddenly, 00:07:41.810 --> 00:07:47.550 a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire 00:07:47.550 --> 00:07:51.730 and separated the two of them, and Elijah went 00:07:51.730 --> 00:07:55.370 up by a whirlwind into heaven. Notice the first 00:07:55.370 --> 00:08:00.579 part of the next verse. Elisha, he saw it. Elijah 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:03.160 had said, if you see it, that means your request 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:07.379 will be answered. So picture this though. They're 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:11.180 walking along and there's a chariot of fire and 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:15.800 horses of fire and whirlwind and he's taken up 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:20.500 into the sky. Now this is a famous event in scripture. 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:23.860 And through the years, many people have attempted 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:27.620 to... to draw this. Some famous artists, this 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:30.259 is a picture from the National Gallery of Art, 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.840 and so they're picturing this scene, painting 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.419 this scene. Or modern versions, maybe some AI 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:41.779 work has been done of this scene of a fiery chariot 00:08:41.779 --> 00:08:45.279 and fiery horses and a whirlwind. I should have 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:48.659 got Bethany to draw this one for me, but I didn't 00:08:48.659 --> 00:08:51.639 ask her to do that. So this is an incredible 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:54.379 scene. And I don't think that the greatest painters 00:08:54.379 --> 00:08:59.100 of the world, I don't think that the CGI or AI 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:02.039 or Hollywood special effects, I don't think it 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:05.440 can quite do this justice. Because what this 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:10.399 is, it's really a mini preview, you could say, 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:16.039 a mini preview of the second coming. A mini preview 00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:20.700 of when Jesus comes again. Because Elijah was 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:24.919 caught up into heaven. And it said, Elisha saw 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:29.100 him. Turn over with me to Revelation 1 -7. We're 00:09:29.100 --> 00:09:30.659 going to look at just a couple of verses here. 00:09:31.019 --> 00:09:38.059 Revelation 1 -7. Talking about the second coming. 00:09:38.139 --> 00:09:42.159 It says, Behold, he is coming with clouds. And 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:45.879 it says, Every eye will see him, even they who 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:48.600 pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth. 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:53.080 will mourn because of him. Even so, amen. So 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:54.639 when Jesus comes, it's going to be something 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:57.500 that is noted, something that is seen. Every 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:02.000 eye will see him just as Elijah saw him. I don't 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:03.700 have this verse on the screen, but turn over 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:09.960 to Acts chapter 1. When Jesus left this planet, 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:16.639 the angels said something incredible. Acts chapter 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:20.840 1. Jesus was with his disciples, and it said 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:26.080 in verse 9, Acts 1, starting in verse 9, it said, 00:10:26.139 --> 00:10:28.960 Now when he had spoken these things, while they 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:31.500 watched, while the disciples watched, he was 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:35.440 taken up, and a cloud received him out of their 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:40.820 sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:44.240 heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:47.379 them in white apparel. Those are angels there. 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:51.720 Who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:56.919 gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:00.340 taken up from you into heaven will so come in 00:11:00.340 --> 00:11:04.860 like manner as you saw him go into heaven. They're 00:11:04.860 --> 00:11:07.100 standing there in amazement as Jesus ascends. 00:11:07.179 --> 00:11:10.820 And two angels are held back from this incredible 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:14.580 reunion for just a few moments to instruct these 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:17.299 disciples. And if you were to read through that 00:11:17.299 --> 00:11:20.639 and circle or underline, there's at least five 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:24.659 different times that visual words are used. They 00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:29.200 looked. They gazed. You saw him go into heaven. 00:11:29.259 --> 00:11:32.840 They watched. Five times these visual words. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:35.259 And it says you don't have to be frightened. 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:39.580 You don't have to be worried. Because this same 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:42.919 Jesus, not a different Jesus, but this same Jesus 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:46.309 who ministered before you, This same Jesus who 00:11:46.309 --> 00:11:49.629 laid down his life on the cross, this same Jesus 00:11:49.629 --> 00:11:52.269 who came forth from the tomb, that's the same 00:11:52.269 --> 00:11:56.309 Jesus that's going to come. You saw him go, and 00:11:56.309 --> 00:11:58.570 it says you're going to see him come in the same 00:11:58.570 --> 00:12:02.210 way that you saw him leave. The same Jesus is 00:12:02.210 --> 00:12:04.570 coming in the same way. It's going to be something 00:12:04.570 --> 00:12:07.529 that we can see. Let's look at one more over 00:12:07.529 --> 00:12:12.909 in 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 4. We do 00:12:12.909 --> 00:12:15.669 have this one on the screen. 1 Thessalonians 00:12:15.669 --> 00:12:20.610 chapter 4. And it says, for the Lord himself, 00:12:21.269 --> 00:12:24.809 this same Jesus, the Lord himself, will descend 00:12:24.809 --> 00:12:30.970 from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 00:12:30.970 --> 00:12:35.950 archangel and with the trumpet of God. Not only 00:12:35.950 --> 00:12:37.769 is it going to be something that is seen, but 00:12:37.769 --> 00:12:39.950 it's going to be something that's audible as 00:12:39.950 --> 00:12:42.950 well. And notice what happens, that voice of 00:12:42.950 --> 00:12:46.529 God. That trumpet of God is going to burst open 00:12:46.529 --> 00:12:49.570 the tombs because it says the dead in Christ 00:12:49.570 --> 00:12:53.870 will rise first. And then just like Elijah, we 00:12:53.870 --> 00:12:57.750 who are alive and remain shall be caught up, 00:12:57.769 --> 00:13:02.389 and I love this word, together with them in the 00:13:02.389 --> 00:13:06.590 clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus 00:13:06.590 --> 00:13:10.480 shall we always be with the Lord. When Jesus 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:12.279 comes again, it's going to be something that 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:14.460 we're not going to miss because it's going to 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:17.139 be something that every eye will see, every ear 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:20.980 will hear, and even the graves will burst forth. 00:13:21.179 --> 00:13:26.299 I think probably all of us have someone who has 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:31.259 passed away, who we are waiting for this reunion, 00:13:31.460 --> 00:13:34.340 this resurrection to take place, that we shall 00:13:34.340 --> 00:13:38.720 be caught up together to meet the Lord in the 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:41.100 air. and thus we shall always be. In the very 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:45.159 next verse, verse 18, it says, comfort one another 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:48.519 with these words. We can be comforted in knowing 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:52.320 that Jesus is coming again. I just said artwork, 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:56.360 can't picture it, but here is one attempt at 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:59.200 that. This is a picture by an artist named Nathan 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:02.720 Green. It's a picture of the second coming. I 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:04.639 really love this picture. You may not be able 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:07.320 to see it, but these folks that are... are waiting 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:10.220 with hands raised. They're from every nation 00:14:10.220 --> 00:14:13.799 and tribe, and they're dressed in the clothes 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:17.580 of different cultures. And you can see graves 00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:22.100 that have burst open. Incredible pictures of 00:14:22.100 --> 00:14:24.659 what it is going to be like when Jesus comes 00:14:24.659 --> 00:14:28.700 with the angels in the clouds of glory. And there's 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:30.700 one little picture down here in the left -hand 00:14:30.700 --> 00:14:32.399 corner. I don't know if you can see that or not, 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:35.759 but there's an angel with a small little girl. 00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:41.000 and he's bringing it to a mommy and daddy there. 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:44.259 And when I was taking some classes up at Andrews, 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:47.080 we had the privilege, we were able to go to Nathan 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:50.700 Green's studio and see the work he was painting 00:14:50.700 --> 00:14:53.740 at the time, and he shared that time, and I've 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:56.620 heard him at other times, that this was a young 00:14:56.620 --> 00:15:00.679 girl that passed away, that died at a very young 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:04.639 age. And her parents gave him permission. to 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:08.860 use her likeness in a painting like this. And 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:11.799 what a beautiful painting it is that it's picturing 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:16.860 this reunion that takes place. And that's a reunion 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:20.240 that we can all look forward to as we recognize 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:24.700 that Jesus is coming again. And this picture 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:28.840 of Elijah ascending to heaven is just a small 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:36.059 preview, a mini preview, might be like. And so 00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:40.360 as Elijah ascended to heaven, that mantle drifted 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:44.139 down and Elisha took that mantle. He went back 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:46.700 to the Jordan River. And do you remember what 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:50.340 he did? He did the same thing. He hit the water 00:15:50.340 --> 00:15:54.139 again and boom, the waters parted. And Elisha, 00:15:54.139 --> 00:15:57.220 with that double portion of the spirit, you could 00:15:57.220 --> 00:16:00.740 say, was able to walk through. on dry land. And 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:03.539 Elisha, if you read through his ministry, incredible 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:07.100 stories. And he even did more miracles than Elijah 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:10.720 did, but that's a sermon series for another time. 00:16:11.220 --> 00:16:14.700 But Elijah goes to heaven in the fiery chariot, 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:18.320 and that's the end of his story in Scripture. 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:25.919 Or is it? Because believe it or not, Elijah continues 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:29.929 to show up. In fact, let's go to the book of 00:16:29.929 --> 00:16:32.669 Malachi. That's the very last book in the Old 00:16:32.669 --> 00:16:36.149 Testament. So if you were to go to Matthew, go 00:16:36.149 --> 00:16:39.750 back one page from Matthew 1, maybe two pages, 00:16:39.990 --> 00:16:42.409 and you will be in Malachi. And we're going to 00:16:42.409 --> 00:16:45.590 go actually to the very last verses of the Old 00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:48.850 Testament. Now there's about 400 years that take 00:16:48.850 --> 00:16:53.909 place between Malachi and between the Gospels 00:16:53.909 --> 00:16:56.629 when Jesus is born. There's about 400 years there. 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:01.080 where the people of God felt that God was silent. 00:17:01.259 --> 00:17:05.039 They weren't getting any words from him, any 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:09.460 prophets giving them new inspiration and so forth. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:13.339 And so this was the last messages they had from 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:18.920 God until Jesus showed up. So in Malachi 4, in 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:24.240 verse 4, it says, Remember the law of Moses, 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:28.900 my servant. So as he's closing out what we know 00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:32.200 as the Old Testament, God's closing out this 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:35.359 message to his people. He says, Remember the 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:38.019 law of Moses my servant, whom I commanded him 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:42.039 in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:45.940 judgments. Remember that law that I put forth 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:48.160 to you. And then the next verse is the last two 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:52.480 verses here of the Old Testament. God says, Behold, 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:58.119 I will send you Elijah. The prophet before the 00:17:58.119 --> 00:18:01.380 coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 00:18:01.900 --> 00:18:05.319 So God says before this great day, before this 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:09.759 dreadful day of the Lord, Elijah, the prophet, 00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:11.680 is going to show up again. And what's he going 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.460 to do? Verse 6, he will turn the hearts of the 00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:17.500 fathers to the children and the hearts of the 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:21.640 children to their fathers, lest I come and strike 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:25.789 the earth with a curse. So this... message this 00:18:25.789 --> 00:18:28.450 ministry of Elijah it's going to have something 00:18:28.450 --> 00:18:31.549 to do with families bringing families together 00:18:31.549 --> 00:18:33.329 and it seems like it's going to have something 00:18:33.329 --> 00:18:36.490 to do with remembering this this law of God and 00:18:36.490 --> 00:18:39.410 perhaps that's what brings these families together 00:18:39.410 --> 00:18:42.849 before the coming of the great and dreadful day 00:18:42.849 --> 00:18:46.609 of the Lord and so that's the last message that 00:18:46.609 --> 00:18:51.750 these people of God have for a long time until 00:18:52.809 --> 00:18:55.690 Well, let's go over to Luke. Luke chapter 1. 00:18:57.009 --> 00:19:01.509 Luke chapter 1. Because there was an elderly 00:19:01.509 --> 00:19:05.089 man who was working as a priest and he went into 00:19:05.089 --> 00:19:08.230 the temple to minister in the temple as his job 00:19:08.230 --> 00:19:12.650 was. And while he was there, an angel appeared 00:19:12.650 --> 00:19:18.130 to him. And he told this priest, Zacharias, that 00:19:18.130 --> 00:19:21.700 your elderly wife is going to have a son. They 00:19:21.700 --> 00:19:23.819 hadn't had a son. They hadn't had a child. But 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:26.960 your elderly wife is now going to have a son. 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:29.619 And this would be the son that would be known 00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:34.200 as John the Baptist. And as this angel is describing 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:38.019 what this son is going to do, notice Luke chapter 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:43.059 1 and verse 16. Verse 15 says, he shall be great 00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:47.059 in the sight of the Lord. Verse 16, he will turn 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:52.140 many of the children of Israel He will turn them 00:19:52.140 --> 00:19:55.920 to the Lord their God. Verse 17, he will also 00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:00.400 go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.160 to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children. 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:07.119 That's just what we read in Malachi. And the 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:11.619 disobedient to the wisdom of the just. The disobedient, 00:20:11.619 --> 00:20:15.200 those that aren't following God's law, to make 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:19.799 ready a people prepared for the Lord. So this 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:23.000 angel, says, you guys are going to have a son. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.619 It's going to be John the Baptist, and he's going 00:20:25.619 --> 00:20:29.180 to come in the spirit and the power of Elijah. 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:35.640 And that's exactly what happened as John the 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:39.119 Baptist begun his ministry. But the people of 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:41.940 Israel, the people of God, they had this mindset. 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:45.839 You may remember when John the Baptist was beginning 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:48.900 his ministry, he was baptizing people, and they 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:52.339 came to him and said, what are you doing? Who 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:56.440 are you? And they ask him, are you Elijah, or 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.640 one of the prophets? Because we're expecting, 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:03.700 we're anticipating Elijah. And then later in 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:07.819 Matthew 16, as Jesus is with his disciples, he 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:10.900 asked his disciples, he said, what do people 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:14.519 say about me? Who do people say that I am? And 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:17.240 the disciples said, well, some people say you're 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:22.119 one of the prophets. or Elijah. And then as Jesus 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:26.319 often does, Jesus makes it personal. And he says, 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:30.920 well, what about you? Who do you say that I am? 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:33.940 And it's Peter that says, you are the Christ, 00:21:33.980 --> 00:21:37.720 the son of the living God. I think that's a question 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:40.259 we need to ask ourselves. What about me? What 00:21:40.259 --> 00:21:44.779 about us? What do we say about Jesus? And I hope 00:21:44.779 --> 00:21:47.680 we'll be able to say he is the Christ, the son. 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:53.579 of the living God. Turn over to Matthew 17. Matthew 00:21:53.579 --> 00:22:00.839 17. And in verse 10, it says, the disciples ask 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:05.359 him, why do the scribes say that Elijah must 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:08.759 come first? Well, that's because of what Malachi 00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:12.099 said. But notice how Jesus answered in verse 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:16.480 11. Jesus answered and said to them, Indeed, 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:21.019 Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:25.859 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:29.039 and they did not know him, but did to him whatever 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:31.980 they wished. Likewise, the Son of Man is also 00:22:31.980 --> 00:22:34.920 about to suffer at their hands. And the disciples 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:38.779 understood that he spoke to them about John the 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:43.839 Baptist. He said, Elijah is coming, and in fact, 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:49.130 he's already come. And it's almost as if he's 00:22:49.130 --> 00:22:51.470 saying two different time periods there because 00:22:51.470 --> 00:22:54.730 this idea, these hints throughout the Bible, 00:22:54.789 --> 00:22:59.390 there's Elijah, there's John the Baptist, and 00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:03.190 then there's some hints that, well, perhaps there's 00:23:03.190 --> 00:23:07.650 some other type of spirit and power of Elijah, 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:11.950 some other type of ministry. that does the same 00:23:11.950 --> 00:23:14.250 thing because Malachi said before the coming 00:23:14.250 --> 00:23:17.410 of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Well, 00:23:17.430 --> 00:23:21.230 that hasn't happened yet. Jesus said Elijah is 00:23:21.230 --> 00:23:26.329 coming and has already come. The disciples understood 00:23:26.329 --> 00:23:29.990 he's talking about John the Baptist. Could it 00:23:29.990 --> 00:23:35.470 be that we as the church have a part to continue 00:23:35.470 --> 00:23:39.940 to play to serve the world? Similar to that ministry 00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:43.359 of Elijah, similar to that ministry of John the 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:48.119 Baptist. This idea, this understanding as a church, 00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:51.059 as individuals to minister in the spirit and 00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:55.880 power of Elijah and bring people to God. We're 00:23:55.880 --> 00:23:57.539 going to look real quick at about five different 00:23:57.539 --> 00:24:01.619 characteristics that we see in the ministry of 00:24:01.619 --> 00:24:06.099 Elijah and we see in the ministry of John the 00:24:06.099 --> 00:24:09.599 Baptist. So we see that both of those gentlemen 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:15.940 were ready to stand up for truth. Elijah stood 00:24:15.940 --> 00:24:18.920 before the king and said, you're a sinner. He 00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:21.059 stood before the people and said, pray to the 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:26.039 true God. John the Baptist went before King Herod 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:29.700 and said, you're living a sinful world, a sinful 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:32.819 life. I don't care if you are the king. He was 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:37.890 willing to call King Herod out. And so, what 00:24:37.890 --> 00:24:42.890 about us? Is there some element of truth that 00:24:42.890 --> 00:24:46.809 we need to stand for in our life, in our family, 00:24:46.869 --> 00:24:50.150 in our job? Is there some other thing that we 00:24:50.150 --> 00:24:53.170 need to stand up for truth, stand up for Jesus 00:24:53.170 --> 00:24:57.509 as we go through our week? Both John the Baptist 00:24:57.509 --> 00:25:01.049 and Elijah, both of them in their ministry were 00:25:01.049 --> 00:25:05.069 bold and fearless. I'm going to add something 00:25:05.069 --> 00:25:11.730 to that. Most of the time. Could God be calling 00:25:11.730 --> 00:25:15.529 us to be bold and fearless? And we may look at 00:25:15.529 --> 00:25:17.970 ourself and say, well, that's not all the time 00:25:17.970 --> 00:25:22.890 for me. Elijah stood on Mount Carmel, fire fell 00:25:22.890 --> 00:25:24.930 from heaven, and the very next day, as we talked 00:25:24.930 --> 00:25:27.650 about in our last sermon, when he got threats, 00:25:27.950 --> 00:25:30.910 he ran away. He didn't trust God. He ran away. 00:25:31.509 --> 00:25:34.589 What about John the Baptist? He stood before 00:25:34.589 --> 00:25:39.420 the king. and called him out. He baptized Jesus, 00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:43.220 but there was a point in time later in his ministry 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:45.960 where John the Baptist was imprisoned. He was 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:49.720 arrested at a place called Makarios. I'm probably 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:52.099 not pronouncing that right. That's on the eastern 00:25:52.099 --> 00:25:55.299 side of the Jordan River down by the Dead Sea, 00:25:55.460 --> 00:25:57.700 kind of straight across from Masada. That's a 00:25:57.700 --> 00:26:00.420 little more famous palace that's there. This 00:26:00.420 --> 00:26:03.490 was the palace of King Herod. It was a long ways 00:26:03.490 --> 00:26:05.289 from Jerusalem. I'll be honest, I always thought 00:26:05.289 --> 00:26:07.450 John the Baptist was imprisoned in Jerusalem 00:26:07.450 --> 00:26:10.089 or somewhere over that direction. But it was 00:26:10.089 --> 00:26:12.829 actually a long ways from there. And here he 00:26:12.829 --> 00:26:18.390 is imprisoned. And was my ministry a waste of 00:26:18.390 --> 00:26:22.609 time? And so he sends his messengers. And notice 00:26:22.609 --> 00:26:25.569 in Matthew 11, turn back just a couple pages 00:26:25.569 --> 00:26:29.690 to Matthew 11, as John the Baptist is imprisoned. 00:26:31.049 --> 00:26:35.009 He says, when John heard in prison about the 00:26:35.009 --> 00:26:38.589 works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples. 00:26:39.089 --> 00:26:40.950 So they were helping him. They were supporting 00:26:40.950 --> 00:26:46.549 him in prison. And he said to him, are you the 00:26:46.549 --> 00:26:51.289 coming one, or do we look for another? I told 00:26:51.289 --> 00:26:55.009 everybody it was you, but was my whole ministry 00:26:55.009 --> 00:26:57.730 wrong? Was my ministry false? Are you the one, 00:26:57.910 --> 00:27:01.940 or do we look for somebody else? Jesus' response. 00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:05.319 As these two individuals spent the day with Jesus, 00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:09.079 Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell 00:27:09.079 --> 00:27:14.220 John the things you hear and see. This is what 00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:16.920 they had seen that afternoon. The blind see and 00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:20.180 the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed and the 00:27:20.180 --> 00:27:23.299 deaf hear. The dead are raised up and the poor 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:26.240 have the gospel preached to them. You just go 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:29.569 tell John what you saw happen here today. And 00:27:29.569 --> 00:27:32.609 with that, that was enough for John, even in 00:27:32.609 --> 00:27:35.930 prison, to recognize that his ministry had not 00:27:35.930 --> 00:27:38.930 been a waste, that he had been serving the true 00:27:38.930 --> 00:27:42.809 God. And so then a little while later, when King 00:27:42.809 --> 00:27:48.029 Herod's stepdaughter Salome danced before the 00:27:48.029 --> 00:27:50.930 king, you remember that story, and he said, I'll 00:27:50.930 --> 00:27:53.849 give you anything. What do you want? She said, 00:27:53.869 --> 00:27:57.029 give me the head of John the Baptist. Have mercy. 00:27:57.660 --> 00:28:02.200 And so as he died in his ministry, he died because 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:05.200 of his ministry, he could die in faith knowing 00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:09.720 that yes, Jesus was who he thought that he was. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:14.720 On page 75 of the book Education, it says the 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:19.299 greatest want of the world is the want of men. 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:23.579 This is used in the humanity sense. It's the 00:28:23.579 --> 00:28:26.720 want of men and women. People who will not be 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:30.359 bought or sold, who in their inmost souls are 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:34.220 true and honest. People who do not fear to call 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:37.319 sin by its right name. Men and women whose conscience 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:40.440 is as true to duty as the needle to the pole. 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:43.980 People who will stand for the right, though the 00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:47.599 heavens fall. Picture your compass that you may 00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:49.940 have from Pathfinders or Boy Scouts or whatever, 00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:53.400 and you turn, wherever you turn, that needle's 00:28:53.400 --> 00:28:56.980 going to point. to the north. And this is saying 00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:59.339 that we need to be people like that, that no 00:28:59.339 --> 00:29:03.140 matter what is happening around us, like John 00:29:03.140 --> 00:29:06.000 the Baptist, like Elijah, that we are going to 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:09.319 stand for truth. We are going to stand and be 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:13.259 bold and fearless. And even though sometimes 00:29:13.259 --> 00:29:17.539 we're not, God can still use us. So another thing 00:29:17.539 --> 00:29:20.539 that those two guys have in common, they prepare 00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:25.269 the way for the king. After the fire fell on 00:29:25.269 --> 00:29:29.069 Mount Carmel, after the rains fell, Elijah ran 00:29:29.069 --> 00:29:32.329 before the way of King Ahab. When the rain was 00:29:32.329 --> 00:29:35.289 coming down, he ran about 20 miles in front of 00:29:35.289 --> 00:29:38.630 this chariot to guide the king back to the town 00:29:38.630 --> 00:29:43.569 he was going on. And John the Baptist, his ministry, 00:29:43.670 --> 00:29:47.890 the purpose of his ministry was to make ready 00:29:47.890 --> 00:29:52.369 the way for the coming king, for Jesus to show 00:29:52.369 --> 00:29:55.369 up. That's what his ministry and his message 00:29:55.369 --> 00:29:59.670 was all about. Believe it or not, I believe that 00:29:59.670 --> 00:30:05.230 Jesus is coming soon. That Jesus is coming very 00:30:05.230 --> 00:30:08.829 soon. And believe it or not, there's people in 00:30:08.829 --> 00:30:12.170 this world that don't know that, that don't know 00:30:12.170 --> 00:30:15.609 Jesus. I would imagine there's people that you 00:30:15.609 --> 00:30:17.650 know, there's people that you love and care about 00:30:17.650 --> 00:30:21.430 who don't. Think about Jesus who don't know about 00:30:21.430 --> 00:30:25.809 Jesus. Somebody has to share. Maybe that someone 00:30:25.809 --> 00:30:30.190 is you. Let me rephrase that. Definitely that 00:30:30.190 --> 00:30:34.309 someone is you. When they came and asked John 00:30:34.309 --> 00:30:38.650 the Baptist, are you the Christ? He said, no, 00:30:38.690 --> 00:30:41.630 there's one coming after me. I'm not even worthy 00:30:41.630 --> 00:30:44.509 to hook up his sandals. I'm not worthy to tie 00:30:44.509 --> 00:30:48.230 his shoes. And when his own disciples were worried 00:30:48.230 --> 00:30:51.130 because, oh no, John, our people are going to 00:30:51.130 --> 00:30:55.950 follow Jesus. In John 3, John said, he, Jesus, 00:30:56.049 --> 00:31:00.890 must increase and I must decrease. Let us do 00:31:00.890 --> 00:31:05.250 what we can to prepare the way for Jesus to come 00:31:05.250 --> 00:31:09.650 again. What else did Elijah and John the Baptist 00:31:09.650 --> 00:31:12.569 have in common? Both of them did what they could 00:31:12.569 --> 00:31:16.740 to fix the broken. Think of Elijah. We talked 00:31:16.740 --> 00:31:19.579 about him rebuilding that altar that had broken 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:22.480 down. Maybe we need to rebuild that altar of 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:25.740 worship in our own life. And one of the primary 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:29.259 messages that John the Baptist preached, he said, 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:32.920 repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:31:33.180 --> 00:31:36.759 Repent. In your life, you have broken your connection 00:31:36.759 --> 00:31:41.279 with God. Repent of that and come back to God. 00:31:41.339 --> 00:31:44.339 Could it be that we can do... The same thing. 00:31:44.660 --> 00:31:50.359 In Isaiah 58, verse 12, we're reminded of how 00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:54.660 we can repair things. Isaiah 58, 12, it says, 00:31:54.740 --> 00:31:57.099 Those from among you shall build the old waste 00:31:57.099 --> 00:31:59.960 places. You shall build it, the old things. You 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:02.819 shall raise up the foundations of many generations. 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:06.140 You shall be called the repairer of the breach, 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:10.599 the restorer of streets to dwell in. When people 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:13.720 have broken their walk, their relationship, With 00:32:13.720 --> 00:32:16.880 Jesus, we have the opportunity to point them 00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:20.339 back to Bible truth that is so often forgotten. 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:24.380 The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:27.539 short of the glory of God. We've all broken that 00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:30.700 connection with Jesus, and we all need to repent. 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:35.079 And both Elijah and John the Baptist, this is 00:32:35.079 --> 00:32:37.900 our final one, both of them had a ministry of 00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:41.700 pointing people to Jesus. And you could say, 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:45.779 wait a second. Elijah was before Jesus. But we 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:48.779 talked about it when he prayed at that altar. 00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:52.900 There was a time of the evening sacrifice, that 00:32:52.900 --> 00:32:56.420 lamb in the temple that would be sacrificed that 00:32:56.420 --> 00:32:59.819 pointed its way to Jesus. And Elijah said, let 00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:02.539 it be known that you are God and let it be known 00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:05.940 that I am your servant. And then, of course, 00:33:06.019 --> 00:33:11.269 John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus coming. Toward 00:33:11.269 --> 00:33:15.269 him, he said, look, behold, the Lamb of God who 00:33:15.269 --> 00:33:18.710 takes away the sins of the world. That was his 00:33:18.710 --> 00:33:23.670 ministry. That was his message. And that's why 00:33:23.670 --> 00:33:28.140 we are all needed, old and young. This generation 00:33:28.140 --> 00:33:31.940 is needed. We need to do more than just put on 00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:34.799 our clothes and come to church once a week and 00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:38.420 fill up the pews. We need to do more than just 00:33:38.420 --> 00:33:43.980 showing up. We need to live our life 24 -7. We 00:33:43.980 --> 00:33:46.599 need to take on the challenge of reaching the 00:33:46.599 --> 00:33:52.519 world. And most of us are never going to go across 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:56.599 the ocean to teach somebody about Jesus. And 00:33:56.599 --> 00:34:00.160 so which portion of reaching the world do we 00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:04.880 get to select? Maybe it's not China or Indonesia 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:10.219 or Kenya or wherever, but could it be the person 00:34:10.219 --> 00:34:13.539 across the street? Could it be the person that 00:34:13.539 --> 00:34:16.619 sits at the desk next to us? Could it be the 00:34:16.619 --> 00:34:19.820 checkout lady that we interact with on a regular 00:34:19.820 --> 00:34:24.400 basis? Maybe that's the person that we can reach. 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:28.019 no matter what we're doing. In a few weeks, two 00:34:28.019 --> 00:34:29.659 weeks I guess it is, there's going to be a group 00:34:29.659 --> 00:34:31.980 going to Atlanta to pass out some literature. 00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:36.400 Do that, but don't just do that. Take some with 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:38.920 you. Take some home. Take some to your office. 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:43.099 Give some to your neighbor. It was a few years 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:47.679 ago now, I was pastoring down at GCA, and one 00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:53.590 day I got a text message from someone. It was 00:34:53.590 --> 00:34:55.730 someone I knew. It was a lady that I knew. It 00:34:55.730 --> 00:34:58.210 was actually the wife of another pastor a district 00:34:58.210 --> 00:35:00.949 or two over. And this is what the text says. 00:35:01.070 --> 00:35:03.989 She said, Hey there, I had to tell you I was 00:35:03.989 --> 00:35:07.929 just in Walmart and got into a conversation with 00:35:07.929 --> 00:35:11.630 an older gentleman in the pet aisle. We parted 00:35:11.630 --> 00:35:16.389 ways, but then he came back and found me to invite 00:35:16.389 --> 00:35:20.989 me to his church. She mentioned the name. It 00:35:20.989 --> 00:35:24.420 was Leroy. inviting me to visit the GCA church. 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:27.480 Just had to let you, your neighbors, your members 00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:33.400 are doing a great job. An old guy who goes to 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:37.119 a church that's at the academy and he was at 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:40.219 Walmart and he was talking to somebody and he 00:35:40.219 --> 00:35:43.480 went back and said, hey, why don't you come to 00:35:43.480 --> 00:35:45.920 my church? She's a pastor's wife. She was at 00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:50.360 the church in Rome, so she didn't make that visit. 00:35:50.889 --> 00:35:54.969 on that particular week. But just a simple conversation 00:35:54.969 --> 00:35:58.929 can turn to something different. Because could 00:35:58.929 --> 00:36:03.429 it be that we have a part to play in living out 00:36:03.429 --> 00:36:07.610 the spirit and the power of Elijah? If I could 00:36:07.610 --> 00:36:10.550 tell one more story, it was many years ago, my 00:36:10.550 --> 00:36:15.489 son, who's now 25, 26, he was probably two or 00:36:15.489 --> 00:36:19.110 three. And it was a summer day because we were 00:36:19.110 --> 00:36:21.960 at the pool. And he was floating in the tube, 00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:25.619 and he was looking up at the sky, and he was 00:36:25.619 --> 00:36:28.320 calling for his cousin. He was saying, Evan, 00:36:28.579 --> 00:36:32.320 Evan, come on, hurry up, Evan. We had just spent 00:36:32.320 --> 00:36:35.960 a week or two before that, a vacation with his 00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:39.559 cousin Evan and Travis and Chip, and he was calling 00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:42.260 for Evan. And I said, Brandon, why are you calling 00:36:42.260 --> 00:36:45.539 Evan? Do you miss playing with him? And he looked 00:36:45.539 --> 00:36:48.679 at me. confused and was like, I wasn't calling 00:36:48.679 --> 00:36:51.960 for Evan. I said, well, what were you saying? 00:36:52.940 --> 00:36:57.519 He got a little shy. He said, heaven. I'm looking 00:36:57.519 --> 00:37:00.980 up at the sky and I'm saying, heaven, come on, 00:37:01.019 --> 00:37:05.340 hurry up. Come on, heaven. I'm waiting for you. 00:37:06.179 --> 00:37:09.960 Could that be a cry? Could that be a call that 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:12.960 we could have on our heart? Heaven, we're waiting 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:16.739 for you. Heaven, we can't wait. And what can 00:37:16.739 --> 00:37:20.340 you do this week to let someone else know about 00:37:20.340 --> 00:37:24.500 what Jesus has done for you? There's a pink card 00:37:24.500 --> 00:37:26.519 in front of you. I don't know what your next 00:37:26.519 --> 00:37:30.380 step is. For some, maybe that next step is to 00:37:30.380 --> 00:37:32.739 say, God, I'm broken. I need something to be 00:37:32.739 --> 00:37:36.099 rebuilt. God, I need to take a first step with 00:37:36.099 --> 00:37:40.360 you. On this card, one of those little boxes 00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:43.199 says, I want to prepare for baptism. Maybe that's 00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:45.710 something you've never done. If you would like 00:37:45.710 --> 00:37:48.329 to talk about getting baptized, fill that out 00:37:48.329 --> 00:37:51.610 and hand that to me when we're done. Maybe your 00:37:51.610 --> 00:37:55.610 next step is to say, God, I need to find somebody 00:37:55.610 --> 00:37:58.150 that I can share with, somebody that I can witness 00:37:58.150 --> 00:38:01.750 with. Send somebody across my path this week. 00:38:03.130 --> 00:38:07.349 Maybe your next step is to say, God, I need to 00:38:07.349 --> 00:38:10.070 fix what is broken in my life. Maybe it's my 00:38:10.070 --> 00:38:14.530 devotional habit or a broken relationship. Whatever 00:38:14.530 --> 00:38:17.650 it is, just offer that up to God right now. Let's 00:38:17.650 --> 00:38:21.590 bow our heads for prayer. Dear God, we can't 00:38:21.590 --> 00:38:26.989 wait for heaven. We can't wait to see you. We 00:38:26.989 --> 00:38:30.130 can't wait to spend eternity with you. But Lord, 00:38:30.170 --> 00:38:32.730 we recognize that right now we are still in this 00:38:32.730 --> 00:38:36.710 sinful place and we need you each day in our 00:38:36.710 --> 00:38:42.170 life. So Lord, guide us, protect us, keep a strong 00:38:42.170 --> 00:38:46.260 hold on us. and direct our path each and every 00:38:46.260 --> 00:38:48.900 day. May we live our life in the spirit and the 00:38:48.900 --> 00:38:52.400 power of Elijah. In your name we pray. Amen.