Where is the God of Elijah — E.A. Johnston

Elijah's Departure and Elisha's Double Portion

Our message today, friends, can be found in the second book of Kings. You may turn in your Bibles there now. We will be in chapter two, beginning in verse one. For here we find it is the time of the prophet Elijah's departure, the prophet Elisha's entry into an even fuller capacity in ministry, for Elisha performed more miracles than any other prophet save Moses, and whereby the prophet Elijah was a solitary figure.

Kind of like John the Baptist, the prophet Elisha mingles well with society as a spiritual leader who has a double portion of his mentor's mantle. Allow me to read this striking passage of scripture to us at this time, as seen in second Kings chapter two, beginning with verse one.

Elijah's Translation and Elisha's Calling

Here now is the word of God, and may the spirit of the Lord be pleased to attend the reading of his holy word. And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal, and Elisha said to Elisha, Terry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel.

And Elisha said unto him, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel, but and the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today?

And he said, yea, I know it, hold ye your peace. And Elisha said unto him, Elisha, Terry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.

So they came to Jericho, and the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, yea, I know it, hold ye your peace.

And Elisha said unto him, Terry, I pray thee here, for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they too went on. And 50 men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view afar off.

And they stood by the Jordan. And Elisha took his mantle and wrapped it together and smoked the waters. And they were divided hither and thither so that they went to over on dry ground. And it came to pass when they were gone over that Elisha said to Elisha, ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee.

And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when I'm taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee.

But if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass as they still went on and talked that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and parted them both asunder. And Elisha went up by whirlwind into heaven and Elisha saw it.

And he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elisha that fell from him and went back and stood by the bank of Jordan.

And he took the mantle of Elisha that fell from him and smote the waters and said, oh, where is the Lord God of Elisha? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither and Elisha went over.

Spiritual Decline and the Absence of God's Power

I will stop there, friends. I think it's fair to ask this question, ask it in our day, where is the Lord God of Elisha? As I look around this country, the very moral fabric of society is torn and tattered and violence and perversion flood the land like an open sewer spilling out of control.

And I observed the sad spiritual declension in the church where all is ruined and decay. Yes, the church busily occupies herself with new building programs, but she lacks any influence or has any authority over a God-hate society.

Oh, where is the Lord God of Elisha, I ask? Oh, where is the power of God in a meeting? Oh, where is the manifest presence of God in our sanctuaries? Oh, where is the Lord God of Elisha? I think that's a fair question today, which bears an answer.

Oh, why isn't God sending a mighty spiritual awakening in the land today? Oh, why won't he revive his church that's fallen into decay? Oh, why the continual wasting away? Oh, well, I believe, friends, the answer must lie with us.

Sin, Judgment, and the Removal of God from Public Life

We have offended a thrice holy God. We have grieved away the Lord God of Elisha with our multiplied sins, our arrogance, and our pride. We as a nation have removed God from every sector of our society.

He has simply removed his presence from among us, and he's also removed the protective hedge around us as a nation. That's why there's so many school shootings and senseless murders in this land today.

That's why perversion rules the day in high places. That's why good is called evil and evil good. It is the result of a people who have turned away from the God of the Bible. The nation has legislated God out of our government, legislated him out of our educational system, and kicked him out of our judicial system.

The church has replaced the weekly prayer meeting with yoga classes and Zumba dancing. I drove by a church just yesterday in my community, and they had a large banner out in their front yard advertising it was movie night with a show on a Star Wars.

Oh, why in the world would a pastor try to reach the lost in his community with a Hollywood movie, especially one that speaks of a world without a God? Many of our churches have welcomed the world into the church and escorted God out the back door.

The Church's Need for Repentance and Regeneration

So we beg the question, where is the Lord God of Elijah and our day friends? And the answer is, he has withdrawn his presence from among us. Oh, what can we do to see God earnestly in our day? How can this nation return back to the God of the Bible?

Well, I believe it's up to the church to lead the way. It's the responsibility of the church to be a moral compass for the nation. Somewhere, however, the church has lost her way. God's got tried to get our attention through the years.

I believe 9 -11 was a wake up call, but I fear we all went back to sleep. The church has just continued her spiritual downgrade since that time. She's watered down the gospel message to make it more palatable to sinful man.

She's removed man's duty of repentance and the necessity for regeneration. Sin is seldom talked about in our pulpits today. It's a taboo subject that few pastors want to tackle and hell is seldom mentioned, much less a final judgment.

All we mainly hear today in our pulpits is an easy-to-believe message and a man-centered gospel. No wonder God has removed himself from us in a remedial judgment upon us. But we must ask this question, friends.

Faith and the God of Elijah

Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Notice in our passage from 2 Kings that when the prophet Elisha asked the question, where is the Lord God of Elijah? His faith is exercised and he strikes the waters of the Jordan River and at part so he can pass over.

God is with him. God's with him in power and authority. And we must exercise our faith today and go to God in an earnest seeking of him for revival in our day. I believe 2 Chronicles is our roadmap for seeking God, friends.

Second Chronicles and the Remedy for National Judgment

I know it's a familiar passage, but if you will, I'd turn in 2 Chronicles to chapter seven. I think it's of great importance before we go to our time of prayer that we reread these verses 13 and 14 and we read about the judgment of God upon the land for sin and the remedy to remove that judgment.

Here now is the word of God and our pattern to turn back to God in our day. Oh, if only we will do it. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain or if I command the locusts to devour the land or if I send pestilence among my people, if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Revival, Prayer, and the Salvation of Sinners

Let me ask you a question, friends. Does our land need healing? Do we need God back among us in revival? A revival would breathe new life into the church. It would give a new impetus for spreading the gospel.

Prayer meetings would once again be attended by brokenhearted people crying out over the sins of the land or teenagers would be saved. You couldn't keep the teenagers away from church, friend, if there was a God consciousness there.

But more importantly, souls in the community would be saved as well. Some of the most wicked sinners in the community would be gloriously saved as trophies of grace. This is what occurs during a heaven-sent revival.

Oh, how we need the Lord God of Elijah and our day, friends. Let us go now to a time of prayer where we earnestly seek the face of the God of Elijah for our times and for our land. Let us pray.