Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Great visual soundbite today:  Jesus SETS HIS FACE towards Jerusalem (and the cross). The concept is current, mentioned twice already even in Luke 9 where he predicts his trip, the suffering, the death and the resurrection.  It is also ancient, where the Suffering Servant prophesy tell us He'll Set his face like a flint way back in Isaiah 50:7

The disciples are pretty quick to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans.  We do a quick history lesson to explain why it actually makes a whole lot of sense.  The nasty assyrians send mesopotamian COLONISTS to live and marry with a Jewish remnant in the region of Samaria.  The Samaritans are a current reminder of a very bad time, are the wrong nationality, serve a bunch of bad gods, and even practiced CHILD SACRIFICE.  It has only been 752 years.  The wound is still FRESH.

Listen and appreciate how Jesus does not get distracted or detoured.  He's got some wonderful work to do on the cross for you and me and the Samaritans and the Assyrians.  Jesus SETS HIS FACE towards Jerusalem

The disciples are BUSTED again by a question of Jesus.  They are silent because they know they have erred in their criteria of greatness.  They probably used the usual criteria of power, or muscles, or beauty, or possessions, or who had a nice boat, or something worldly.

Jesus has a little sit-down lesson with a little person as the key element.  He brings in a little child and then takes him into his arms.  Beautiful picture there!

How do I get to God?  How do I get more of God?  What are His goalposts? Be Last of all.  Be servant of all.  Receive a child.

Listen and see how Jesus turns VALUE on its' head.

A concerned father is appropriately undone by the illness of his son.

But then he makes a classic mistake.  He makes the secondary thing the primary thing.  He makes the ABILITIES of Jesus more important than the IDENTITY of Jesus.  He says I want ACCESS before I give ACKNOWLEDGMENT.  I want miracles before I believe.  I want to have my son healed but I don't want to believe in a sovereign, powerful, wise, wrathful, loving, and faithful God.  I just want the stuff I want rather than I want You Lord.

Jesus calls him on it and immediately he turns and says, I believe.  Help my unbelief.  May we all do so.

Listen and assess if perhaps you too have made the secondary thing the primary thing.  If so, give it a flip today. ;-)

A sick child reveals what a man believes about God.
(So will a death of a loved one; a major surgery; a sexual temptation; a job loss; a big viral pandemic; a money situation or a marriage conflict.)

At first, he sells Jesus short:  IF you can...
Jesus calls him on it immediately: IF I CAN????????( seriously? I can I can I can I can I can! )
And then: All things are POSSIBLE (not probable) for one who believes. Like so much of this kingdom work, it is about BELIEF.  So the real question at the moment was not about the kid, it was about his BELIEF.
So then, the father immediately assesses: I BELIEVE!
And then assesses honestly: help my UNBELIEF.

So for us, our belief is being exposed by situations.  May we believe, and believe humbly enough to cry with the father:  I believe.  Help my unbelief.
Listen and admire him with me.

The word "mentorship" is not in 2 Kings 2, but the reality of if is everywhere.
Older and younger
more spiritually experienced with less experienced
Watching me all the way to the end
continue after I am gone
"Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you"
Pick up my cloak and continue
Center the relationship on the Lord
Intentionality, generosity.
Discernment of a good candidate for this

If you have a "spiritual gray hair" you should be mentoring someone Ps 71:18.  There is a generation behind you that will be needing and seeking your encouragement.  It is not complicated.

Mentoring = "we have lunch"

Listen and then text somebody.

Elijah gets a fasttrack to heaven on a chariot of fire and leaves Elisha his mentee to ask, "Where is the Lord the God of Elijah?"  Does the Spirit's activity stop with his death or does it live on?  Do we have a portion of that same spirit or dare I say Spirit?

Jesus tells the disciples in Luke 17 that they missed "Elijah" coming back in the "spirit and the power" of John the Baptist.  They missed the Prophecy given to his father Zechariah in Luke 1:15 that connected the dots.

Does the Spirit have activity with each generation or does the Lord die with me?  Does the Next Generation get an opportunity to get God too?  

Where is the Lord the God of Elijah?  Listen and find out if He is right here!

What is the big deal with Elijah?
Why are the disciples questioning Jesus on the way down the Transfiguration Mountain about this guy?
Why are the Jews so confused about him?
Why is John the Baptist more in the "Spirit and Power of Elijah" than the actual transfigured Elijah that they just saw?

We'll go to 2 Kings 2 today to jump to the last moments of Elijah's life. He literally "crosses the River Jordan" (and invents the term) and then gets taken up into heaven while he is with his Mentee Elisha.  The last thing that the older asks the younger:  WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?  Elijah asks this as his last question.  Fantastic.

Practical points today:  Who is your Elisha?  Who are you walking with and talking with and mentoring? What are the names of the people that you are serving in a "What can I do for you" type of way?  If you have been a Christian for more than 5 years, you'd better have a list. 

Listen as we see a fabulous example of FINISHING WELL.  Tomorrow we will see what happens to his spirit and how it just might end up in John, 880 years later.

Stop being afraid.

Elijah has come.  No, it was not when he was here 5 minutes ago.  He was here in the same spirit and power of John the Baptist.  When Elijah actually came was not the time when the prophesy was fulfilled From Malachi 4:4-6.  It was in John the Baptist as predicted in John 1:21.

And again, uncomfortably, another prediction of Jesus's suffering.  This is going to get louder and more frequent.  I suppose we'd better get used to it.

Listen and enjoy the OT NT tennis match.

Today, we get invited to a TRINITY party of love, approval, history, awesomeness, family, priority and more stuff than I understand.

God here GIVES VOICE to some primary elements of the Godhead.  This doesn't happen very often.  We probably should pay special attention.  

God thinks He is terrific.  He'd better.  It is accurate.

There is a charge:  Listen to Him.  I am appreciating all listeners of this podcast because that is exactly what you are doing today if you listen to Him by listening today.

The people of God have been LONGING for God's presence for thousands of years.  They pray about it, sing about it and yearn about it all the time.  They grieve that they are separated; that the kingdom is far or out of reach.

But then, in Matt 17, the Lord shows up "on accident" as far as Peter James, and John were concerned.  Poof.  The Father is here.  Peter is still yapping and inattentive. Suddenly, they have the TIGER'S Tail.  They caught it.  They actually HAVE obtained what generations of humans have longed for.

Bam:  Terror and fall on face.  Why?
Because of the Lord's power. and secondly:
Because of my sin, and if that hits too close to home, because of humanity's sin.  Woe is me.  The PRESENCE OF GOD ILLUMINATES my sin and our sin.  What am I going to do about my sin problem?  That is what the disciples were wondering as their faces were in the dirt.  Listen and wonder: