When Its Time to Say Goodbye

21 years ago today, I was sitting in my office at Johnston Chapel Baptist Church in Princeton, working on our Wednesday night Bible Institute, lay Bible Institute that we had there at the chapel. And someone knocked on my door, one of our staff members knocked on our door and said, John, I think there's something you need to know, something's going on in New York City. A plane has just hit one of the twin towers. And I remember saying that's awful. And I think they went across the hall, we had an apartment, a missionary apartment in the church at that time where we would house guest speakers and missionaries that we're passing through and turned on the television in that apartment and began to watch. It wasn't long our whole staff was over there watching what was happening. This is one of those days where probably most of you in this room remember where you were 21 years ago today. Remember what you were doing, it's just burned into your mind exactly what you saw and experienced on that day. It was a day that I think is important for our country in many ways. It brought to our attention for one thing the great sacrifice that our first responders make every day. And we have since that time, I think done a better job of recognizing the sacrifices and the bravery of our first responders. It caused us to recognize the awful pain, the loss of so many people, the families who no doubt still bear that pain today. It made us more aware of, especially in this world and the kind of attacks that we can potentially face, made us more aware of our servicemen and women and the great costs they often pay. As we've seen so many of them return from warfare, damaged both physically and mentally. And so much has happened, but I think it should also remind us, I think as as Brent was singing, I was thinking of this image, you may recall that after the twin towers had fallen, somehow in that debris two of the beams made a perfect cross. And that was highlighted in programs on television and so forth. It is as though God were telling us the only way to recover from this kind of attack and threat to our nation is not through politics, it is through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The only way to be healed, the only way to know for sure that the future is certain is through the cross. It is as though God were from that very rubble telling us, please turn to the cross, please turn to me, please turn to the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. And I think we do well to remember that today also on this 9-11 day. Well, that's not my sermon for today, that's the sermon at. Now we get to the real sermon. We had quite a journey traveling with Elijah through his life as recorded in the scriptures. We were stunned as he just burst onto the scene like a comet streaking across the black inky darkness of Israel's spiritual sky. And declaring to Ahab there would not be any rain in the land for three and a half years. And then we saw how God took him to a very lonely place and provided for him there in a miraculous way and continued to provide miraculously at the house of a widow who had nothing but one day's supply of food left and God miraculously replenished that day after day. We saw how God used him in an amazing way to raise that widow's son from the dead. And then we saw also how God worked in a tremendous way to show through him that he was still alive and very much in power, that he was truly God. We saw God work in amazing ways. We saw God answer his prayer as he prayed for rain to come back. And he was such an example to us of prayer. We saw then him sink to the depths of despair and depression as he recognized his burnout and cried for God to take his life that he had been a failure at least in his way of thinking. And so we've seen God do amazing things. But we saw him come back from that and we saw him then once again declare God's judgment upon King Ahab and Jezebel. It's been an amazing run with Elijah. But today we come to the last event in his life recorded for us in 2nd Kings chapter 2. And that event in 2nd Kings chapter 2 is the passing of Elijah from this life. It is just as amazing and unique as the rest of his life. Maybe the most unique event in all of his life because as we'll see in the story, God just took him up in a whirlwind in a chariot of fire. You talk about a departure from this world that is unique. That is it. There are only two men recorded in the Bible that left this world without dying, the other of course being Enac. And probably Elijah's is the most stunning and unique of the two. We don't know exactly how God took Enac. The Bible just says he walked with God and was not for God took him. We don't know how it happened. We know how it happened with Elijah. And it is quite an amazing story for sure. We're going to look at that story today. In fact, we're going to read it first and then we'll draw some very practical application I trust from the story. If you have your place in 2nd Kings chapter 2 verse 1 and it came to pass when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Then Elijah said to Elisha stay here please for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel. But Elisha said as the Lord lives and as your soul lives I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today and he said yes I know keep silent. Then Elijah said to him Elisha stay here please for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho. But he said as the Lord lives and as your soul lives I will not leave you. So they came to Jericho. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today. So he answered yes I know keep silent. Then Elijah said to him stay here please for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan. But he said as the Lord lives and as your soul lives I will not leave you. So the two of them went on and 50 men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water and it was divided this way in that so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. And so it was when they had crossed over that Elijah said to Elisha ask what may I do for you before I am taken away from you. Elisha said please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. So he said you have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless if you see me when I am taken from you it shall be so for you but if not it shall not be so. Then it happened as they continued on and talked that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire and separated the two of them and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven and Elijah saw it and cried out my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. So he saw him no more and he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water and said where is the Lord God of Elijah and when he had also struck the water it was divided this way in that and Elijah crossed over. What an amazing departure from this world, what an amazing story and so many things about the story that are kind of difficult for us to understand and grasp, we're going to try to get into some of those things this morning but there is in this very unique departure from this planet something very common, the passing of a loved one. Elijah was like family to Elijah. Elijah had left everything to become his disciple, to become his assistant, to learn from him and they experienced life and ministry together. They were like family. The sons of the prophets that are mentioned were no doubt very close to Elijah as he went to visit them one last time before he would leave this earth. So there is something here very common to us and that's what I want to draw from this morning. That commonness of having someone that we love leave us. How do we respond to that? Elijah's departure shows us three responses to the death of a saved loved one. What are those three responses? Well I want to be clear first of all that there will be sorrow, there will be sorrow. This is a very tender scene. It shows a tender side of Elijah, it shows a very tender side of his interaction with Elisha and the sons of the prophets. In fact there's a lot of interesting interaction going on here. It seems as though God has revealed to each player in this story that Elijah is going to be taken from the earth. Elijah seems to know it, Elisha seems to know it, the sons of the prophets seem to know it but it also appears that none of them know the others know it. It seems as though God has revealed it to each one and none of the others are aware that the others know about it and so there's this very interesting interplay and language of dealing with this situation. It seems as though Elijah wants to be alone, maybe God hasn't revealed to him how he's going to be taken from this earth and so maybe he just wants to be alone with God and say okay God I'm ready for whatever do what you're going to do. We don't know for sure how all of that happened but we know that there's an interesting dialogue and interaction between these people that leads me to believe at least that they didn't know the others knew what was going to happen. Look first of all at the sons of the prophets we saw it three times they mentioned to Elisha don't you know that your master Elijah is going to be taken from you today. In verse three, in verse five and again in verse seven. Now the sons of the prophets were not literal sons of Elijah or Elisha they were a special group of students in a school started by Elijah and it will be continued on by Elisha in fact there'll be more that will happen in the Bible regarding the sons of the prophets, the school of the prophets under Elisha's ministry than did under Elijah's. So these are not literal sons but the Bible uses that term a lot. There's another interesting term in the Bible called the sons of Belial, the sons of Satan if you will, the sons of darkness and the idea is that these are people who follow a certain teacher, these are people who become like their master and so they're called the sons of the prophets were students but students who had come to love Elijah and it is as though in these two schools one in Bethel which is in Israel the other in Jericho which is in Judah these two schools of the sons of the prophets it is like Elijah is making his last visit. Before he goes before the Lord takes him from this earth he wants to visit his students one more time and in a sense say goodbye although I don't think he knew that they knew that something was going to happen but he wants to say goodbye the last visit to this school each place there is sorrow that is evident on the part of the sons of the prophets and then think of the sorrow of Elisha it's very clear that Elisha is sorrowful to see Elijah go he had left home to learn from Elijah he had left everything his vocation his family everything he had left to learn from Elijah he is close to Elijah like a son to Elijah and although Elijah tells him now you stay here I've got to go on first of all to one school the prophets then to the other school and then finally to the Jordan River where God had evidently told him to go for his exit strategy but all three times he said to Elijah you stay here I've got to go on and Elijah would say I will not leave you I will not leave you now what's going on there we don't really know a lot of ideas have been suggested possibly Elijah just wanted to be alone I mean this is a very special time between him and God and he doesn't want anybody else to crash the party maybe that's it maybe he just doesn't want anyone else there maybe he not knowing that Elisha knows what's going to happen maybe he wants to spare Elisha the trauma of seeing him leave I don't know maybe he's testing Elisha I tend to think that's the case that really he's testing Elisha to see do you have the perseverance that it takes to to continue on as a prophet or do you give up easily I think he may have been testing him but whatever the reason Elisha does not want to leave Elijah alone I will not leave you he says and then when the students say to him on three occasions don't you know that your master is going to be taken from you today Elisha says I know keep silent in other words I don't want to talk about that I don't want to talk about that I think it was painful to Elisha to think about Elijah leaving and then what he says when Elijah is actually taken looking in at verse 12 if you would Elisha saw it saw the translation of Elijah to heaven and he cried out my father my father now there's there's an expression of closeness there's an expression of one who sees Elijah as a father and who hates the same go but notice what he says next the chariot of Israel and its horsemen I believe it or not I don't think Elisha was talking about the actual chariot that came down and got Elijah this is an expression that is used in the Old Testament the chariots and the horsemen of Israel in literal terms form the strength of the nation because they form the strength of the army well sometimes that expression is used of people in fact interestingly enough in chapter 13 and verse 14 when Elisha dies King Joe Ash of Israel as Elisha is dying says the very same thing he says my father my father the chariots and horsemen of Israel I think it's an expression that is designed to say from Elisha we are losing our nation's spiritual mentor we are losing our nation's spiritual guide we are losing the spiritual strength of our nation the chariots and horsemen of Israel are not military in might but they are spiritual in might and Elijah represented that and so he's saying we are losing the core of our spiritual strength in this nation he hated to see him go so there was sorrow on the part of both the sons of the prophets and of Elisha then Elisha tore his own clothes into two pieces probably the outer garment that was a sign in the Old Testament of mourning of grieving when you would tear your outer garment it was a sign of grieving so no question Elisha is expressing in terms of his own culture his grief that seeing Elijah leave that leads me to talk for just a few moments about the sorrow of believers today because I think there's some confusion about this issue when a loved one is taken from us when a close friend leaves when someone who is close to us dies there's some debate in Christian circles about whether or not there should be any sorrow after all isn't there reverse in the Bible that says something about we should sorrow not as those that have no hope there is first Thessalonians 4 13 it'll be on the screen for you I do not want you to be ignorant brethren concerning those who have fallen asleep last you sorrow as others that have no hope I think the King James the original King James actually says that you sorrow not as those who have no hope and there have been some who have taken from that verse that a believer shouldn't sorrow shouldn't we shouldn't have grief because if your loved one is saved they're better off they're in heaven now wait a second we know that and that does provide comfort but there are two ways to look at that verse some people evidently read it don't sorrow like those pagans that don't have any hope but there's another way to see that verse and I think it's more biblical sorrow but not as those who have no hope it is normal to grieve it is normal to weep Jesus wept at the grave side of one of his close friends even though he knew that in a few moments he would raise him from the dead but because he saw the ravages of sin and what it had done to this this man that sin coming into the world and bringing death with it had taken the life of a close friend and he saw Mary and Martha weeping and the Bible says he was troubled in spirit and he wept the shortest verse in all the Bible you know is John 1135 right Jesus wept two words but it's one of the most powerful verses in the Bible because it shows that even though Jesus knew Lazarus would come back to life and even though he had reminded Martha that he was the resurrection and the life and if you believe in him you'll never really die you just go to be with the Lord even though he he still wept he still was moved by their sorrow I actually remember in my first pastor hearing a pastor tell someone don't cry you know where they are I think that is so damaging Jesus cried Jesus wept even though he was gonna raise Lazarus from the dead John Tomlin is remembered as the first victim of the Columbine massacre to be buried the death of this bright and ambitious young man left an immeasurable hurt in the heart of his parents John and Doreen Mrs. Tomlin a deeply committed believer shared her story for today's Christian woman magazine and in it that interview she told of a two week period after John's death where she just sat in her son's room she left everything exactly as it had been that morning of April 20th 1999 and during those two weeks she simply sat in there and held and rocked his clothes and she said she found herself asking herself am I going crazy what's happening to me she went on to say this my journey through grief has not been easy but I have experienced God's comfort in a deeper deeper way than ever before he hasn't taken away the pain of grieving but he has become my partner in it and she went on to say I know I face a long road ahead but I know that God will give me what I need in abundant measure I think that is a more balanced and biblical view of grieving the death of a loved one I know that's what I experienced when my dad died 13 years ago 14 years ago when my mother died some seven years ago I experienced that even though I was doing their service I still experienced great loss and grief and still to this day miss them terribly I think it is possible to grieve to sorrow but not like those that have no hope it is not a hopeless sorrow it is not a sorrow that says this is the end it is a sorrow that says I miss you life is not the same without you I feel like my own heart has been torn out but I know the Lord is with me and I know I will see you again so it's sorrow deep sorrow but a sorrow that still is covered with hope the sorrow there will be sorrow expect that understand that cry out your deepest hurts to the Lord he will weep with you just like he did with Mary and Martha there will be sorrow but what's the second response that we see in this story there can be solace there will be sorrow no question about that but there can be solace there can be comfort and there are three things I think in this story that provide the kind of comfort that only believer can experience as you work through the grieving process the first thing that should comfort us is that we are confident in God's timing confident in God's timing in verse one notice how it stated and it came to pass when the Lord was about to take Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind you see God already has the day picked out God already has the time settled just like the Bible says all the days ordained for us were written in his book before one of the came to be Psalm 139 16 the Bible says in Hebrews 9 27 it is appointed unto man once today each of us has an appointment God knows exactly when that appointment is he knows when the days are and he knows that it was not back in first kings 19 remember Elijah when he got to the depths of his depression and burnout he said God just take my life I failed I'm no better than my fathers take my life that's when Elijah wanted to die but God said no no no not your time yet now more time has passed there is a successor in place there is a school of the prophets training young men to deliver the word of God to their culture so that has been done and now evidently it is time and so the Bible says when the Lord was about to take him in other words when that time had come in God's knowledge and God only knows when our time is I'm a firm believer in this I believe that we will not die until God is through with us here and we can trust his timing now having said that God never makes a mistake but having said that I understand I was a pastor for 45 years I understand that the examples we have of that in scripture are of men who have spent their lives in their call and vocation and serving the Lord I realized that the death of the young the death of children really stretches our ability to understand that God never makes a mistake we know he never does but I know those stretch our understanding and our ability to grapple with that I know that they stretch our understanding of we never leave until our time is done what about people who've never had the chance to enter their life's work or vocation or even to really understand anything about the Lord what about that believe me I've stood by many a grave side being the one that was supposed to use God's word to comfort families and I did not understand why that person died it's easy when a person has lived their whole life for the Lord to say their work was done God knows it's a little more difficult when it's a five-year-old child who wrote his bicycle out in front of a car but I have never been shaken in my belief that God is sovereign he knows all things and he never makes a mistake what I am shaken in is my ability to explain all of those situations I cannot explain them all and I have learned that I will not I will not glibly say to someone their time was up God was done with them how do you say that to a grieving parent of a five-year-old I believe in confidence in God's timing but I believe we must be careful how we express that so that we don't run roughshod over the grieving hearts of parents of young children the second solace that we can draw however I believe in the death of a believer a loved one who knows the Lord is that we can be confident in God's work continuing we can be confident in God's work continuing a replacement Elisha had been found and trained you wonder how can a man like Elijah ever be replaced well you don't replace an Elijah you don't you know he's got big shoes to fill I remember when I first arrived on the scene at Johnston Chapel in 1990 and the the founding pastor had been there 37 years and he was so well known in that whole area he was my pastor and people looked at me and said you got big shoes to fill and I had thought about that long and hard before ever came and I gave a standard response to everybody who said that he's gonna need his shoes and I brought my own with me I'm not trying to fill anybody's shoes I can't do that and Elijah can't fill Elijah's shoes you talk about big shoes to fill all the miracles took place well Elijah is gonna do his share of miracles in fact double the amount of recorded miracles that Elijah would do but the point is not I'm gonna be just like Elijah Elijah was different Elijah did things differently you read their two stories Elijah was not one to just burst out of the wilderness and suddenly show up on the scene and declare God's message and then you don't seem again for five years Elijah was not that way his ministry was a little more normal which which reminds me in God's work when he moves someone out of that work like a pastor when he moves a pastor on he has someone else in mind I appreciate so much the report this morning and the challenge to continue to pray and especially the observation that the worst thing is not having a or not having a pastor that's not the worst thing the worst things happen the wrong pastor that is so true but when you get your next pastor don't expect him to be like your previous one or any of the men you may have held in high esteem through the past don't do that if God had wanted a person exactly like pastor Dallas and I've heard so many good things about him wouldn't have God just left him here I mean if if God wanted someone to be exactly like him then why wouldn't God just leave him here whoever comes will be different than Dallas it will he will be different minister in a different way he'll have a different vision possibly he'll have different ideas and thoughts and passions and infacies in his ministry he'll do some of the pastoral duties in a different way than pastor Dallas would have done that's okay that's wonderful God's not into making cookie cutter Christians and he's not into making cookie cutter pastors either we all have unique strengths and weaknesses idiosyncrasies and quirks we've all got them and your next pastor will too so accept that but if he is God's ordained person he has something to bring to this church that Elijah couldn't Elisha will be his own man but he will continue the work and we can always take comfort in the fact that we have confidence in God's work continuing one thing never changes when a loved one is taken from us or a Christian worker is taken off the scene one thing never changes God never changes God never changes and he will continue his work through whoever comes on the scene the third thing we can be confident in that gives a soul is we can be confident in the certainty of heaven I love verse one says it came to pass when the Lord was about to take Elijah into heaven and verse 11 says that Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven that's where God took him into his very presence there was not some kind of probationary stop along the way he went straight to heaven and the Bible teaches that when a believer dies they go straight to heaven immediately to heaven to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord Paul said I'm in a straight between two I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better but to remain in the flesh is more needful for you so I said I'm torn between those two but I know that if I were to depart I would be with Christ immediately one of the greatest comforts that eventually I believe grows as we work through the process of grief one of the greatest comforts is to realize heaven is real and heaven becomes more real and more personal and more precious when a one so close to us goes on to heaven because it really becomes in our own experience that's my home now that's where I want to be and Lord I know that it will only be a short time before my life is over and I'll be there with with you and with my loved ones heaven is a place a real place a far better place than this one and knowing that that's where our loved one is can be a great comfort there will be sorrow there can be solace but thirdly there should be a stirring there should be a stirring now what do you mean by that John well I want us to look more closely at verses nine and ten fascinating verses verse nine so it was when they had crossed over that Elijah the cross over the Jordan River Elijah said to Elijah ask what may I do for you before I'm taken away from you what an interesting question then that show that Elijah realizes I've got the easy part I get to go to heaven you got the hard part you got to stay here with all the responsibility with all the toil with all the difficulty the heartache the struggle with sin and your own depravity and everybody else's as well you've got the hard part so I'm not asking for anything for myself I don't need anything I get to be with the Lord you're the one Elijah that needs the help that's an interesting perspective on the passing of a loved one it's not the passing of the loved ones not the loved one who goes to heaven that has the greatest need it isn't one left behind that has the greatest need well what was Elisha's request this is just as fascinating Elisha said in the verse nine please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me now some have taken that to mean and partly because Elisha did exactly 14 miracles as seven for Elijah so double the amount of miracles some people have taken that to mean he's twice the prophet he gets twice the prophet spirit I don't think that's what it means at all I don't think he was praying I want to be twice as good as you Elijah I don't think he was saying that the double portion harkens back especially in a context of death to the inheritance of Israel you can read about them in Deuteronomy 21 we know what time to study them now but in Deuteronomy 21 verses 15 to 17 it makes clear that the oldest son received a double portion of the inheritance it was something you inherit that it was property it was livestock and that kind of thing in that day but Elisha is asking for a double portion of your spirit in other words I want to be a worthy successor to you I want to be given by God the privilege to follow you to inherit as it were your prophetic ministry that's what he's asking for the inheritance spiritually of being endured with power from God to be able to be a prophet like Elijah that's what he's asking for the inheritance Elijah gives a very interesting answer verse 11 over 10 so he said you have asked a hard thing in other words that's something I can't grant that's not for me to give that's up to God to give and then he says this he says nevertheless if you see me when I am taken from you it shall be so for you but if not it shall not be so that's a very interesting statement maybe God revealed this to Elijah but I think what he is saying is this if you see me when I'm taken up to heaven that will be God's sign that you are my replacement if he does not allow you to see it then evidently God has not chosen you to be my replacement you will not have that inheritance of the prophetic ministry say where Elisha was already a prophet right he's an assistant he's a servant to Elijah but to move into that slot and take over as the resident prophet in Israel God may have chosen someone else this is a test of Elisha Elijah saying it's God's to give but I believe and maybe God showed him this if you see what happens to me that's God's way of saying you're the next prophet you know I think there was still some question in the mind of Elisha did you notice in verse 14 he took up the mantle the outer garment the robe type garment that was left behind when Elijah went on he took that up and struck the water of the Jordan I remember coming across the Jordan Elijah had struck it with his mantle and it parted and so Elisha takes up the mantle wow what symbolism there do I have the double portion that I asked for has God indeed chosen me to be the next prophet am I going to inherit that prophetic ministry he asks it this way where is the Lord God of Elijah and I think he's saying have you granted my request God he struck the water and it was divided this way in that God's answer was yes you are you are the next prophet to take the place of Elijah now what am I saying with all of that simply this everyone who leaves us leaves a gap to be filled Elijah leaves God wants Elijah to take over and fill that gap when a loved one dies there is a gap to be filled you say what does that mean I'm supposed to get remarried that's not what I'm talking about that's not what I'm talking about what I am talking about is this my grandmother on my mother's side was nine months shy of her hundred birthday when she died I remember when I preached her funeral back in 1994 I remember using this illustration my grandmother when she got to where she could not get out of bed had my family place a map of the world on her wall that she could see from her bed and she had to mark with a bright colored pen every place in this world where any of her children and grandchildren were living and serving God or if they weren't involved in ministry where they were living and raising a family as believers and every day unable to move from her bed she prayed across the world for every one of us and I remember saying at her funeral who will take her place I've had someone who for years has been praying for me every day who in our family will take her place when when when when God moves a loved one onto glory there is a gap to be filled when God takes someone from this congregation there is a gap to be filled filled so many funeral services that I've preached I've challenged the congregation this person was so vital to this church and it's easy for us to sit around and think what are we going to do now we'll never recover from this person leaving us they did so much now the challenge is who's going to step in to fill the gap who's going to be the Elisha who will step in to where Elijah has left a gap that's the question we ought to be asking not how are we going to do all this how we're going to make it know the question is who's going to step up to the plate and be the Elisha who's going to do that in this church who's going to do that in your family who's going to do that there should be a stirring in the hearts of those of us who know and love God to say we cannot let that ministry that work what that person did we cannot let that die with them I will step in and take their place I'll be that Elisha believers can have a uniquely Christian view of death we really can there will be sorrow just because we know Jesus and we love Him and we believe our loved ones are in heaven doesn't mean we won't sorrow there will be sorrow there can be solace as we trust in the providence sovereign hand of God in believing that his timing is best his work will continue and heaven is much more precious than anything here there can be solace and there should be a stirring a stirring in our hearts to fill in the gap and do the work that those whom God has taken have left behind may God help us to work through the sorrow yes to to take hold with both hands of faith the solace but to feel and respond to that stirring to do what God wants us to do would you join me in prayer father thank you for Elijah's life and today we thank you for his passing even though he did not die he shows us much of what it's like to be taken into your presence and what it means for those left behind help us father to come alongside those who sorrow to always keep in our own hearts and share with others the confidence in you that will bring us solace and may we respond to the stirring of your spirit in our own hearts as to how we will continue your work in Jesus name we pray amen