ELISHA SERIES
The Steady Prophet
9 Outlines
1 Kings
STEADY IN PREPARATION
LIFE OF ELISHA, THE STEADY PROPHET - #1 of 9
SERIES INTRODUCTION:
There was a changing of the guard. The job of prophet was being based from
Elijah to Elisha.
There was a change in personalities. Elisha had a
fiery personality. Elisha, as a friend of mine once said (Bob Smith of
There was no changing on God's part. Times change, leaders change and situations change. God does
not change. Malachi 3:6
INTRODUCTION TO THIS LESSON
When God has a job for someone to do, He does everything
necessary to prepare that person.
ELISHA'S DESTINY - 1 Kings 19:16, 19 -
To be the next prophet in
ELISHA'S DECISION - 1 Kings 19:20-21 -
To accept the call of God.
ELISHA'S DISCIPLESHIP - 1 Kings
ELISHA'S DETERMINATION - 2 Kings 2:1-7 - To stay with Elijah to the end.
ELISHA'S DESIRE - 2 Kings 2:8-9 - To
have a double portion of Elijah's spirit
ELISHA'S DEMONSTRATION - 2 Kings
(This outline has been previously shared under the
title "The Torch Is Passed")
You may find that there is so much material here that
you will want to present it in two sermons.
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2 Kings 2:15-25
THE STEADY MODEL
Life of Elisha #2 of 9
Elisha, "The Steady Prophet" was a steady
model to those around Him. There is no substitute for a good example
HE MODELED WISDOM - Vss. 15-18
Elisha was accepted as the new leader of the prophets.
Vss. 13-15 Some wanted to send a search party. He did
not think it wise. His wisdom was proved out when a search was made and nothing
was found. Notice how mild a rebuke he gave. These men were grieving the loss
of their leader, Elijah. He widely went easy on them. Proverbs
HE MODELED CREATIVITY - Vss. 19-22 I think it is say
to say that Elijah had spent some time
HE MODELED AUTHORITY - Vss. 23-25 People have wondered
how Elisha could be so mean to small children. These were not small children
but youths, teens, and/or young adults. They made fun of God's servant, Elisha,
and the home going of Elijah. ("Get up thou bald head.") They were
being disrespectful and rebellious. Elisha had every right to rebuke them. He
used his authority as a man of God. See 1 Corinthians 5, Galatians 6:1, Ezekiel 3:16-21
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2 KINGS 4:1-7
THE STEADY FLOW
Life of Elisha, The Steady Prophet #3 of 9
Introduce this sermon by
talking about some successful people you know personally.
I think that most of us
would like to be successful. As
Christians, we should desire to be successful in the eyes of God. To be a
success in God's eyes, you must be a born again Christian. (John 3:1-16). Also,
to be a success, you need to be successful, you must be faithful (1 Corinthians
4:2). Thirdly, to be a success, you must be filled with the Holy Spirit
(Ephesians
An illustration of
success in God's eyes is found in our text. We often relegate such stories to
children's church or Sunday School, but don't consider
the value of the story for us adults.
This story tells of a
steady flow of oil that continued to flow until all was full. In order for us
to be successful Christians, we must have the steady, continuous flow of God's
Holy Spirit in our lives. As Christians, we will go through three stages if we
experience the filling or controlling of the Holy Spirit. In this story I see pictures of the:
THE BANKRUPT CHRISTIAN -
Vs. 1
Elisha was apparently
the chief prophet in
One of the widows of one
of the sons of the prophets came to Elijah. Her husband was dead. She was
bankrupt, and creditors were coming to take her sons as slaves to pay the debt.
There are many
Christians like this women in our story. They are
bankrupt.
They have tired in their
own strength to do something for God. They have tried in their own effort to be
successful. They have made their own plans to serve God and have met with
nothing but disappointment. They have done battle with habitual sin in their
lives and have ended up losing (Romans
Please note that this
woman was honest. She came to Elisha. She did not try to fool him. She simply
told the truth. As Christians, we need
to be equally honest. When we sense bankruptcy in our Spiritual lives, we must
come and honestly humble ourselves before God (James 4:6-10)
THE RESOURCEFUL
CHRISTIAN - Vs. 2
Elisha wants to know,
"What do you have on hand?" He wants to know, "What are your
resources?" What was available for God to multiply? You might recall that the Scripture tells how
God multiplied a little meal and a little oil belonging to another widow (1
Kings 17:8-16). We also know that God the Son multiplied a little boy's lunch
so that it fed a multitude (John 6:1-14).
This lady only had a
little oil. It was a valuable commodity, but not enough to get her out of debt.
What do Christians have
to help them when they sense that they are bankrupt?
They do not have merit.
They do not have
strength within themselves.
They do not have
ability.
BUT THEY DO HAVE OIL!
Oil is often symbolic
for God's Holy Spirit.
We do have the Holy
Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13, Romans 8:9, Zechariah 4:6, Acts 1:8,
Like the woman in the story
we need to be resourceful. We must realize that we have all we need for success
through the Holy Spirit.
THE VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN
- Vss. 3-7
Vs. 3-4 - Elisha's advice was simple. It was for her to use her
resources. She was to borrow empty pots, go home, shut the door, and start
pouring.
The victorious Christian
will do something similar. We do not need more of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit needs more of us. As we provide ourselves as an empty vessel, He will
fill us.
An empty vessel is one
that has confessed all known sin.
An empty vessel is one
that contains nothing of self (Romans 12:1).
An empty vessel is one
that has an open lid, ready, willing, and asking to be filled (1 John
Vss. 5-6 - The woman did
as she was told. When there was no longer an empty vessel, the oil stopped
flowing. We must continually present to God an empty vessel, so he can fill it.
The results of Spirit
filling are seen in Acts 1:8, Ephesians
Remember that the steady
flow of the Holy Spirit, which gives power, victory, joy and fruitfulness, will
stop flowing when we fail to provide an empty vessel. However, the flow of the
Spirit will resume when there is again an empty vessel available to be filled.
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2 Kings 4:10
STEADY MAINTENANCE
Life of Elisha, The Steady
Prophet #4 of 9
2 Kings 4:10 - Let
us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him
there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when
he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
Introduce the message by asking the following
questions:
·
What are some of the things that you use regularly
that require periodic maintenance?
·
Why is maintenance so important
·
Why is maintenance of your spiritual life so
important?
·
What are some of the things that you do to maintain
your spiritual life?
In 2 Kings
BACKGROUND
Elisha evidently passed through the
A woman, evidently the wife of a wealthy land owner,
fed Elisha whenever he traveled past her home. Vs. 8
The woman could tell that Elisha was a "holy man
of God". Can people tell that we are holy men or women of God? Vs. 9
The lady suggested the building of a "prophet's
chamber" for the entertaining of Elisha, complete with basic necessary
furnishings.
THE BED SPEAKS OF REST IN CHRIST - Matthew 11:28-30,
Psalm 37:7, Mark
THE TABLE SPEAKS OF FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST. Psalm
23:5, John 15:1-7
THE STOOL SPEAKS OF INSTRUCTION FROM CHRIST.
Deuteronomy 33:3, Psalm 32:8, Luke 10:38-42
THE CANDLESTICK SPEAKS OF TESTIMONY FOR CHRIST.
Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 1:8, Revelation 2:4-5
The basic outline is from 1,000 Bible Outlines
by F. E. Marsh, (Formerly published as 1,000 New Bible
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2 Kings 4:8-37
STEADY UNDER PRESSURE
Life of Elisha, The Steady
Prophet #5 of 9
There will be times in our lives that we will face
pressure.
·
The pressure of persecution - 2 Timothy 3:12
·
The pressure of trials - James 1:2-4
·
The pressure of sickness
·
The pressure of some dying
·
The pressure of family problems
·
The pressure of church disputes
·
The pressure of financial struggles
·
And many more pressures
The prophet Elisha faced pressure as well.
Through his reliance on God, he remained steady under
pressure.
CATASTROPHE - Vss. 8-23
A lady had taken care of
Elisha's physical needs and Elisha promised the
reward of a child. Vss. 8-16
The child was born. Vs.
17
The child died. The lady
went to find Elisha. Vss. 18-23
Talk about pressure!
CHARACTER - Vs. 9
It was obvious that
Elisha was a "holy man of God."
If we expect to bring to
remain steady under pressure, we need to have a similar character.
CONCERN - Vss. 24-30
Elisha was genuinely concerned
about the well being of this woman and her family. Vss. 25-26
He understood that the
woman was hurting. Vss. 27-28
He sent Gehazi, his servant to help. Vs. 29
He went himself. He was
willing to get involved. Vs. 30
Many people want to
withdraw when there is pressure. We need to follow Elisha's
example and get involved.
CRY - Vss. 31-33
Gehazi was unsuccessful. Evidently there was no prayer on his
part.
Elisha got alone with
God and the problem and cried out in prayer.
Crying out to God is of
ultimate importance when we are under pressure. Jeremiah 33:3, Mark
CLOSENESS - Vs. 34
After prayer, Elisha got
involved with a dirty problem. He was dealing with a corpse. He got close
anyway. Often God will require us to get close to unpleasant problems in order
for them to be solved.
CONTINUATION - Vs. 35
Elisha stuck with the
problem until it was totally solved.
There will be times we
will have to bear long with a problem until the pressure is relieved
completely!
CONCLUSION - Vss. 36-37
The pressure was
relieved!
The boy came back to
life!
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2 Kings 5
STEADY REASONING
Life of Elisha, The Steady
Prophet #6 of 9
We as Christians are expected to demonstrate steady reasoning.
That is we should have the ability, with God's help, to think things out
clearly and logically.
2 Kings 5 presents us with a good example of the
importance of steady reasoning. The way people reacted to the leprosy of Naaman and his appeal for healing give us some examples of
good thinking and examples of bad thinking. Our outline shows us types of
thinking that lead to steady or not so steady reasoning.
BACKGROUND - One of the enemies of
FAITHFUL THINKING - Naaman's
Maid - Vss. 2-3
The Syrians had sent raiding parties into
Instead of being bitter, she was faithful to God and
to those in need in her thinking.
She spoke of Elisha, the prophet, who she felt could
heal Naaman.
FEARFUL THINKING - The King of
Naaman himself reported the words of the maid
to the King of
He sent expensive gifts and a letter to the King of
When the King of
FEARLESS THINKING - Elisha - Vss. 8
Elisha the Prophet was not afraid. His confidence was
in God. He simply sent to the King of
Israel asking him why he was so upset, and assured him that he, God's prophet
would handle the matter. I'm sure the king gladly sent Naaman
to Elisha. Isaiah 41:10
FAULTY THINKING - Naaman -
Vss. 9-12
Elisha didn't even come out to meet Naaman when he arrived.
He simply sent a messenger to Naaman
and told him to go wash in the river
Naaman got upset. He thought Elisha would heal in a more
dramatic way. Vs. 11.
He was upset that he had to wash in the
He was in a rage because things weren't going the way
he planned. Sound familiar?
FACTUAL THINKING - Naaman's
Servants - Vss. 13-14
Naaman's servants reasoned with him, and
convinced him that the prophet was not asking for much. It was simple request. Naaman
should do it.
Naaman did as he was told and was healed.
FINANCIAL THINKING - Gehazi
- Vss. 15-26
A grateful Naaman offered
gifts to Elisha. Elisha refused.
Gehazi, Elisha's
servant, chose to deceive Naaman and take some of the
gifts.
Gehazi was judged for his sin of greed. 1 Timothy 6:10
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2 Kings 6
STEADY AGAINST THE FOE
Life of Elisha, The Steady
Prophet #7 of 9
As Christians, we will
have enemies for the sake of Christ. 2
Timothy 3:12, John 15:19
How we deal with our
enemies will be an indication of how closely we are walking with God.
Enemies tend to scare
us, but God wants us to be fearless before them. Proverbs 3:5-6, 29:25
The prophet Elijah was
fearless before his enemies. We can
learn from his example.
HIS PROBLEM WAS CAUSED
BY RIGHTEOUSNESS - Vss. 8-14
Elisha was sharing
When the King of
He sent soldiers to
apprehend him.
Elisha got in trouble
for doing what was right. We need to
realize that when we do what is right, we will also make enemies. We must make sure however that we are doing
what is right. 1 Peter 2:19-20,
HIS PROTECTION CAME FROM
GOD - Vss. 15-17
Elisha was not upset
because he knew God was protecting him.
He asked God to show his servant the great heavenly host that had them
protected.
We must remember that
God has promised to protect us and He is able to take care of us even through
"impossible" circumstances. Isaiah 41:10, 1 John 4:4, Hebrews
2:13-14, Jeremiah 32:27
HIS PRAYERS CLIMAXED IN
VICTORY - Vs. 18
Elisha's prayer that his enemies would become blind was
answered. This prayer did not result in
permanent difficulty for his enemies, but enabled him to be delivered from
their power.
We must trust that God
will answer our prayers. Luke 18:1, James 5:16-18
HIS PLAN CALLED FOR LOVE
- Vss. 19-23
Elijah
"blessed" his enemies feeding them and sending them home in peace.
Our Lord Jesus expects
us to act in like fashion. Matthew 5:43-48, Romans 12:18-21
The end result of the
kindness Elisha showed was a cessation of raids made on
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2 Kings 6:24-7:20
THE STEADY WITNESS
Life of Elisha, The Steady
Prophet #8 of 9
In this story I
see the lepers as a picture of the born again Christians.
Eventually the
lepers spread the good news that the famine was over and there was food,
clothes, and money available.
As Christians we
are to spread the word of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. We are to
be steady, consistent witnesses for Christ. After giving the background of the
story in 2 Kings
THE PAST (The way we were.) Vss.3-5
Hurting Vs. 3 - We were hurting because of
our sin.
Hungry Vs. 4 - We were Spiritually
hungry for something better.
Honest Vss. 4-5 - No one gets saved until
they honestly admit they are
sinners and turn to
Christ in faith.
THE PRESENT (The
way we are.) Vs. 8
(Vs. 5-7 tell of the fate of the Syrian
army.)
Rich - We have great riches in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3
Satisfied - We have great satisfaction in
what Christ has done for us.
Selfish - All too often we keep our joy in
Christ to ourselves.
THE PROMOTION (The way we
should be.) Vss. 9-20
These lepers were:
Convicted - Vs. 9 - We need to be convicted
that we shouldn't keep
silent about our
salvation. (Psalm 107:2)
Convincing - Vss. 10-11 - We need to be
convincing others of the
joys of salvation. (1 Peter 3:15
Converting - Vss. 13-16 - As a result of the
lepers' testimony, many were fed. As a result
of our testimony,
many will come to Christ.
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2 Kings 13:14-20
STEADY TO THE END
Life of Elisha, The Steady Prophet #9 of 9
Elisha was an old man
who was on his deathbed. However, Elisha
was still steady, challenging Joash to a deeper
faith.
POWER NEEDED - Vs. 14
Joash was probably lamenting the eminent death of Elisha, and
realized that his power as a prophet in
POWER COMMUNICATED -
Vss. 15-16
Elisha placed his hands
on the king's hands, indicating that the power was coming from God. We must
remember that power has been communicated to us through the Holy Spirit. Acts
1:8
POWER PROMISED - Vs. 17
The king was to shoot an
arrow in the direction of the enemy.
The arrow was symbolic
of the victory that God would give over the enemy.
POWER NEGLECTED - Vs. 18
Elisha told the king to smite
the ground with the arrows. Perhaps he was to shoot them into the ground.
Instead of using up all his arrows, he showed his limited faith by only hitting
the ground 3 times.
POWER LIMITED - Vs. 19
Elisha was unhappy with Joash's lack of faith.
The king should have hit the ground more often and he would have had
total victory! Each time the King hit
the ground was symbolic of
a battle won over the enemy.
We are limited in our victories over Satan by our lack of faith. The
more we use our faith, the more we will have the victory!