15. Take My Life and Let It Be

Posted on Posted in Sermon Notes, Prayer Meeting, Audio Sermons 2016 Tagged with , , , ,

Hymns: 542 Saved By Grace 543 Face to Face 544 When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder

Life of Elisha

(Serving Our Faithful God)

– Take My Life and Let It Be

2 Kings 13:14-21

14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. 15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. 16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. 17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. 18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. 19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. 20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. 21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

OUTLINE

  • A Lifetime of Consecrated Service (v14-19)
  • A Legacy of Exemplary Service (v20-21)

INTRODUCTION

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Give to God your wholehearted devotion is the call issued by the Apostel Paul. All that we are comes from Him. God made us with a mind, with a heart and with a will that we might think, love and obey Him freely.

Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-79) of England began writing verse at age seven. Her insatiable thirst for the Bible led her to memorize the entire New Testament, Psalms, Isaiah, and the Minot Prophets. She was a concert contralto soloist and a brilliant classical pianist. She gave her life to Christ at age fifteen.

At age twenty-one she stood in the art gallery at Dusseldorf, Germany, looking at the painting of the crucifixion with the engraving beneath it: “This I have done for thee; what hast thou done for Me?” In the previous century, the wealthy young Count Zinzendorf of Moravian missionary fame read these same words and was led to consecrate his life to Christ. As she stood there, her very soul was stirred. Tears cascaded down her cheeks. From that moment, she dedicated her talents to the service of the Lord.

Through her life, she was frail and delicate in health and died at the early age of forty-two. When she wrote “Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee,” it was for her a prayer. And when she penned the words, “Take my silver and my gold,” she did exactly that! She gave fifty pieces of jewelry (heirlooms) to the Church Missionary Society, including a jewel cabinet that she said was “fit for a countess.” She retained only a brooch for daily wear that was a memorial of her parents, and a locket with a portrait of her niece who had gone to heaven. Of that experience, she wrote, “I don’t think I need tell you I never packed a box with such pleasure.” Despite the dark nights of frequent sickness and suffering, the dedicated life of this poetess can best be summed up in her prayer lyrics.

Despite the dark nights of frequent sickness and suffering, the dedicated life of this poetess can best be summed up in her prayer lyrics.

 

Take My life, and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to thee;

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow with ceaseless praise.

 

Take my hands, and let them move,

At the impulse of thy love;

Take my feet, and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

 

Take my voice, and let me sing

Always, only for my King;

Take my lips, and let them be

Filled with messages for Thee

 

Take my silver and my gold,

Not a mite would I withhold;

Take my intellect, and use

Every power as Thou shalt choose

 

Take my will, and make it Thine,

It shall be no longer mine;

Take my heart; it is Thine own,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

 

Take my love, my Lord, I pour

At Thy feet its treasure-store;

Take myself, and I will be

Ever, only, all for thee.

 

The words of this beautiful hymn echo the prayer of a consecrated life. Amen.

[Extracted and edited from Songs in the Night by Henry Gariepy]

Elisha exemplifies such a consecrated life. Today, we come to the end of Elisha’s life. He has served with distinction for more than fifty-five to compared with his predecessor Elijah of less than a decade. Right up to his last day of life, he devoted it to the service of God.

This scene before us we see the aged prophet upon his deathbed (1 Kings 13:14). The year was 795 B.C. and the king of Israel, Joash, came to visit him.

Two thoughts:

  • A Lifetime of Consecrated Service (v14-19)
  • A Legacy of Exemplary Service (v20-21)

 

(1) A Lifetime of Consecrated Service (v14-19)

14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

Elisha served God till the end of his earthly life. Like the Apostle Paul, he could say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7-8). Indeed, his is a blessed testimony of fervent service throughout his life.

Romans 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

At his deathbed, he was still concerned for the welfare of Israel. The Syrians were still troubling Israel. His heart goes out for God’s people. He loved them and served them all his life.

The king Joash came to meet Elisha at his deathbed. He addressed Elisha as my father, the chariot of Israel and horsemen.

The chariots and horsemen of a nation were its strength. But it was often recognized that having a prophet who heard from God was more valuable to a country than having a huge army. In fact, Elisha had cried out these very words when the prophet Elijah was taken up into heaven (2Kings 2:12).[1]

We recall how Elisha has helped Israel to thwart the battle plan of the Syrian for many years. One man with God was a mighty army!

For forty years, Hazael had attacked Israel with great cruelty and persistence and now his son Ben-hadad II was on the throne to continue this dreadful ambition to take Israel.

15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. 16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. 17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. 

Elisha asked Joash to wage a symbolic military campaign against Syria with bow and arrows. Joash understood fully well what the symbolism of the acts Elisha commanded him to do meant! Five or six strikes upon the ground with a handful of arrows meant total victory over Syria. Four or less would mean partial victory. Joash deliberately rejected God’s way and chose his own. God thus gave him only limited victory against the enemy.[2]

18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. 19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

He did so with half-hearted manner. Obviously, he had other plans in his mind. Like Ahab, he was thinking by his own wisdom that Syria may provide a buffer state against the even more frightful threat of Assyria.

2 Kings 13:25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

Joash did not obey God’s instruction that came through Elisha fully but half-hearted.

Colossians 3:22-25 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. 

2 Corinthians 11:23-29 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

The Apostle Paul felt a deep sympathy for all others who bore the Christian name, and this sympathy for others greatly increased the cares and toils of the apostolic office which he sustained [Barnes]. The same for Elisha who like his predecessor Elijah bore the wrath of the enemy taking a stand for the Lord. Elisha did so without murmuring throughout his lifetime. He served God with distinction. As our late Principal of the Far Eastern Bible College said, “Call no man great before he is dead.” One who is to be our model and example must have a successful career to the very end.[3]

(2) A Legacy of Exemplary Service (v20-21)

20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. 21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

Here we see Elisha’s death and his burial at a ripe old age. Stood up on his feet – Coffins were not used by the Jews. The body was simply wrapped or swathed in grave-clothes (compare Luke 7:15; John 11:44).

After Elisha died and was buried, the body of an Israelite soldier, who was killed, while defending the land from Moabite invaders, was hastily dropped into Elisha’s sepulchre. As his body touched the bones of Elisha, his life was restored to him and he stood on his feet! It is said of Abel in Heb. 11:4 as one though dead, yet speaketh. For Elisha, he, being dead still ministered! For the son of the Shunammite who must be nearly 60 years of age have met this soldier, they would have greed that even a whirlwind ascension, Elisha was surely one of the greatest servants God ever had.

This miracle of Elisha‘s after his death is more surprising than any of those which he performed during his lifetime. The Jews regarded it as his highest glory (compare Ecclesiaticus 48:13,14). It may be said to belong to a class of Scriptural miracles, cases, i. e. where the miracle was not performed through the agency of a living miracle-worker, but by a material object in which, by God‘s will, “virtue” for the time resided (compare Acts 19:12). The primary effect of the miracle was, no doubt, greatly to increase the reverence of the Israelites for the memory of Elisha, to lend force to his teaching, and especially to add weight to his unfulfilled prophecies, as to that concerning the coming triumphs of Israel over Syria. In the extreme state of depression to which the Israelites were now reduced, a very signal miracle may have been needed to encourage and reassure them. [Barnes]

 

CONCLUSION

  • A Lifetime of Consecrated Service (v14-19)
  • A Legacy of Exemplary Service (v20-21)

The faithful ministry of Elisha is attributed to our faithful God who still calls men and women into service today. May this study of God’s faithfulness inspire men and women to give their lives for God’s service. Amen.

[1] http://rondaniel.com/library/12-2Kings/2Kings1301.php

[2] John C. Whitcomb, Christian Workmen Schools of Theology, VII-7-8.

[3] Timothy Tow, Prophets of Fire and Water, Christian Life Publishers, 1989, 115.