The Word of God is Quick – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Monday, July 01, 2019
Chapters: II Kings 1-4
Message: The Word Of God Is Quick

Hello My Friend,

I had a hard time starting this message because every verse I read led me to look up something outside of the Bible, I went to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, and read how each disciple except for John was killed for preaching the Gospel. Then I found myself in the Concordance looking up meanings of words, and even read a few lines from the Apocrypha books, which were some uninspired books first included in the King James Bible as a reference, then in 1885 were taken out because people kept referring to them as being inspired. So, why did God have me looking all this up, which has taken me five hours to put this together? To show me that if you stand on the true Word of God you will be hated, just like Jesus is. Why? It does not matter what era we came from, there is nothing more powerful than the Word of God, and those who stand by it will expel that great power because it cuts right through the heart. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12.

“and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Do you know why so many people reject God? He sees their heart, and knows exactly what they have been up to. Conviction is the biggest prick of the heart, it will either draw one to Christ or keep them far away from Him. After Ahab died in the battle his son Ahaziah began to reign, things were not much better for him as they were now under attack by Moab. During the battle he fell and got severely injured, and did the most unthinkable thing of all the kings before him, he straight out sought help from Baalzebub, the devil himself. It was then that God sent Elijah to warn Ahaziah that he was going to die. Instead of turning to God, he sends an army of men to capture Elijah. These men charged at Elijah, but God instantly brought fire down from heaven, consuming them all. Ahaziah refused to back down, sending more troops, and again, fire consuming them. Third time, the Captain fearing for his and his troops, fell on his knees.

“And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.” – II Kings 1:13-17.

“therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.” All the other men came at Elijah with a force, and lost their lives, but this man humbled himself, saving himself and his army. The only man to ever ascend into heaven alive apart from Enoch (Genesis 5:4) in the Old Testament era is Elijah. There was a young man name Elisha, learning to be a prophet, and of great faith in God, he followed him on his way to the spot where God would take him up. You see, all the young men of these seminaries knew that God was going to take Elijah up to heaven alive, but only Elisha really believed it would happen. When Elijah was about to ascend up into heaven he asks Elisha what it is that he wanted, and responded by telling him that if he saw his ascent then it will be granted. And he did, Elisha watched as Elijah got carried up by a chariot, in a tornado of all things, his mantle falling to the ground. Elisha immediately picked it up, pointed the mantle at the water where he and Elijah passed on dry land, and it separated just the same. Some of the students saw this, but refused to believe Elijah was taken up.

“And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not? And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.” – II Kings 2:14-18,23-24.

“and cast him upon some mountain,” You see, these young men, would not believe Elisha, and because of their disbelief they did not see the ascension even though it happened right there. They insisted he was somewhere, talking Elisha into letting them search for him. You know, they tried with Jesus after He resurrected, and even went as far as saying that the disciples took His body after the Roman soldiers fell asleep (Matthew 28:12-13). The religious are worse that those who do not believe at all because they pick and choose what they want to believe. And by the way, these were not kids, these were young men, the word little refers to as one being young, and children as being young men or women under the age of forty. It does not matter your age, if you are of an accountable age, meaning your conscious tells you that you have sinned then you will be accountable for your actions. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.” – II Corinthians 5:10-12.

“and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.” It is the Holy Spirit in us that directs us to do good. Elisha asked for a double portion of spirit and he got it, God did not waste any time using him to show Israel and two other kings that He is merciful to His faithful. After Ahaziah his brother Jehoram reigned because Ahaziah had no sons, he sought help from two other kings to help defeat Moab once and for all, and enlists Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom, of all people. Now, here they are, all three kings in the middle of nowhere, no water, no food, cornered by Moab. Jehoram immediately thought that all this was an act of God to get them all killed.

“And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.” – II Kings 3:10-16.

“I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.” If it were not for Jehoshaphat being there Elisha would not have even spoken to them. “Ditches? Is this how God shows His mercies? We’re digging our own graves?” I am sure thoughts like these raced through the minds of these kings as they were digging holes in the ground. Nevertheless, they did, and the next morning they were filled with water to sustain them and their cattle. Interestingly enough, when Moab looked down into the valley that water looked like blood, they thought that the kings killed each other, and when they went down to take the army, Israel defeated them. Let me tell you, if it were for us faithful, who stand on the Word of God, this nation would be destroyed by now. Elisha traveled up and down the Northern Kingdom helping anyone that passed him by, he met a woman, we do not know her name, but do know that she was a godly woman who desperately wanted a child. Elisha told her from God that she would have a son, and a year later she and her husband were blessed. Then something tragic happened, the son complained of a headache was brought to his mother and died in her arms.

“So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.” – II Kings 4:25,28-29,32-36.

“and put his mouth upon his mouth,” Again, this is not a little child, he is an adult. Every time I read this I tear up because Elisha wanted him to live just as much as his mother did. It does not matter their age, no parent expects their child to die before they do. While God does not heal all believers the same way, He heals them in a way that benefits both the child and the ones who are impacted by this. Jesus said when people questioned the morals of the parents of a man born blind, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” – John 9:3-5.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.” – II Kings 1:15.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for loving me so much that You were willing to come here Yourself in the flesh of man to become the sinless sacrifice I needed to be able to reach You. Not by our righteousness do we know You, but by our faith and acceptance in what Your Son did. Lord, lead me and guide me, help me to be a witness and a testimony to those who do not know You, open my ears to hear when You tell me to speak to someone about Jesus, and give me Your power and the boldness to speak the truth and not be offended or intimated by those who refuse to listen. Let me live every day of my life seeking Your will so that Your Light shines through me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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