HOW THE CHILD OF GOD DEPARTS THIS LIFE
Rev. Bernt P. Tweit
Epistle Lesson; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Gospel Lesson; Mark 9:2-9
Sermon Text; 2 Kings 2:1-12
Today is Transfiguration Sunday. Transfiguration Sunday closes out the Season of Epiphany in our church year, and leads us, or bridges us, to the Season of Lent. The Epiphany Season is the season that reveals to us that Jesus is true God. The Epiphany Season prepares us for the season of Lent, with its consideration of Jesus’ Passion.
Our Old Testament Lesson for today talks about Elijah, one of the two men who stood with Jesus, on the Mountain of Transfiguration. The text is a record of the last day of the prophet Elijah’s life, on earth.
Elijah was granted the privilege of knowing the precise day of his passing. If you knew that today was your last day on earth, how would you spend it? What would be your main mission and what would be your priority?
Think about what Elijah did, on the last day of his life. He went to what we might call little seminaries, to build up the company of the prophets in their faith. He did that so they could be strengthened in their faith, and also so they could defend themselves against the attacks of the devil.
I am sure, if I went around the church this morning and asked each of you how you would spend your last day, we would get a wide range of answers. Perhaps it may seem like a dismal topic, but I think it is important for each of us, from time to time, to remind ourselves that we are not going to live forever. The end will come for each of us, some sooner, and some later.
With this thought in mind, we now go to the account of Elijah, found in II Kings 2:1-12
When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel."
But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."
Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho."
And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.
The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."
Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan."
And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.
Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
"You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours – otherwise not."
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more.
Imagine the thoughts that are running through Elijah’s mind, as he makes his farewell tour. Imagine his thoughts, as he goes to each of these important cities, first to Gilgal, then to Bethel, and finally to Jericho. In each of those cities, he met with the school of prophets. And each time he asks Elisha to stay behind. But Elisha continues, knowing that his master’s time is almost up. Can you imagine what was racing through Elijah’s mind? Elijah, as a Child of God, was about to depart from this life. Today we consider, "How a Child of God departs this life."
Prepared
Fighting against the devil,
the world, and
our own sinful flesh.
The first thing we should do, as a Child of God, is to be prepared to depart this life.
Sometime before the events of our text, Elijah was thoroughly discouraged. He thought that he was the only one left, serving the LORD and wanted to die. At that time, however, God was not ready to grant Elijah’s request. God still had work for His prophet to accomplish.
Now Elijah’s work was finished. The time came, when the LORD was ready to take Elijah up to Heaven.
From time to time we, too, may become discouraged like Elijah and ask, "Why doesn’t the LORD take me Home?" The answer to that question is, "God will surely take us Home, when God determines that our earthly work is finished."
In the meantime, we need to be prepared in our faith and look to God’s Word for strength, so that we can fight the good fight of faith. This fighting that we do, as a Child of God, is known as The Church Militant. It is called the Church Militant because, as a Child of God, we fight a spiritual war, or battle, against the Unholy Trinity. When we hear the word militant, we should think about a word similar to it, military. And, what does the military do for us? It fights for us. The Militant Church, therefore, is a fighting church. The Unholy Trinity we fight against is the devil, the world, and our own, sinful flesh.
The Bible tells us to arm ourselves so we can defend ourselves against the devil.
"Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God
so that you can take your stand
against the devil’s schemes."
Ephesians 6:10-11
The Bible tells us that those who are children of God have, through God, overcome the world.
"for everyone
born of God
overcomes the world.
This is the victory that has overcome the world,
even our faith."
I John 5:4
And although it is sad to know that we have to fight against ourselves, the Bible tells us that our sinful nature is contrary to the Spirit.
"For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
They are in conflict with each other,
so that you do not do what you want."
Galatians 5:17
In our fighting, it is important to recognize where our strength comes from. Quickly, we realize that because of our sin, our strength to fight can’t come from ourselves. It can only come from the means of grace – God’s Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.
Back in the Sacristy, there is a prayer, known as Martin Luther’s Sacristy Prayer. It ends with the words, "Use me as your instrument in your service. Only do not forsake me, for if I am left to myself, I will certainly bring it all to destruction." Not only is that a good prayer for a pastor, but it is also a good prayer for all people.
If we were to fight against the devil, the world and our sinful flesh by ourselves, we would bring the church to destruction. That is why we go to God’s Word, and recognize that our strength cannot come from within ourselves.
Our strength comes from God,
who speaks to us in
His Word.
Our strength comes from God,
who comes to us in the waters of Holy Baptism and
who comes to us in His Body and Blood in
The Lord’s Supper.
That is why we go to God’s Word, not only to be built up in our faith (as Elijah did, when he went around to the company of prophets and built them up), but also to defend our faith, against the attacks of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.
But a day will come, when those who fought the good fight of faith in this life, by faith in Christ, will receive the triumphal victory, of eternal life in Heaven.
There once was a little girl who was born blind. At the time, the doctors said there was nothing they could do for her. During the years of this girl’s blindness, the little girl’s mom planted a flower garden, each summer. Every year, as those flowers would come up, the little girl’s mom would try to describe the beautiful colors of those flowers to her daughter. Her daughter just loved to smell the flowers, touch the flowers, and image what those flowers must look like. She said she could almost imagine their beauty. When she turned 14, their family doctor called and told them about a new procedure, a type of surgery that may help her to see. They went to the hospital, the little girl had the surgery, and finally bandages were placed over her eyes. They had to wait six weeks to remove the bandages, but the big day finally arrived. The little girl told them to remove the bandages outside, in her mom’s flower garden, as she wanted that to be the first thing she would see. So they pulled off the bandages, right in front of her mom’s flower garden. The little girl opened her eyes and twisted her head left and then right, looking at the beauty of those flowers. She started crying and said to her mom, "You never said it was this beautiful, Mom."
And, that is how it will be for a Child of God. So too, a Child of God, in this life, is "blind" because of sin. But as a Child of God, we walk with the LORD, as Elijah did and we will say upon entering Heaven, "Wow, you never said it was this beautiful!"
A day will come for each of us, some sooner and some later, when God will call us from this world. May we be prepared. A Child of God departs this life prepared, leaving the fighting church behind and entering the victorious or the church triumphant, through a victorious death.
Victorious – celebrating victory
A triumph was the greatest honor that any military general could ever receive. In Roman times a triumph was a magnificent procession, in honor of a victorious general. It was the highest military honor he could obtain. He entered the city in a chariot, preceded by the senate and magistrates, musicians, the spoils of his victory, and the captives in chains. It is undoubtedly such a triumphal procession that Paul had in mind, when he wrote, "Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ." II Corinthians 2:24
For Elijah, that triumphal procession came when a chariot of fire and horses of fire came, and Elijah went up to Heaven in a whirlwind.
How has our triumph been won? It was through the unthinkable. When your clothes are dirty, how do you clean them? You clean them with detergent. The detergent is the ingredient that cleans the clothes and washes the dirt away. What cleans our sin? Not detergent, but blood. It was as if God took your sins, threw them into a washing machine, and poured in the blood of His Son. To the world that may sound ridiculous, but to those who believe in Jesus it is not. It is through the blood of Jesus that He shed on the cross, that we have been cleaned, and given the victory of Heaven.
If you knew that today was your last day on earth, how would you spend it? What would be your priority and what would be your mission? We could follow Elijah as a good example. He did not wait with idle hands for the end of his life. The very knowledge of what would soon happen, kept him active. He went around building up the company of the prophets. He went around building up people, in their faith. And, why? He built up their faith, so that they could be prepared to fight the Unholy Trinity here in this life - the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. And, he built up their faith so they would look to God’s Word for strength and know that their sins were forgiven. And, he built up their faith so that when God called them Home, as a Child of God, they would be ready to receive that triumphal victory, the glorious procession of eternal life in Heaven!
How will you, a Child of God, depart this life? God grant that you stay prepared in your faith, fight against the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh, and stand ready to be received into victory, through Christ.
Amen.
Top of Page
|| Church Sermons || Return to Home Page