I certainly am honored to be here again this year and appreciate the mercies of God that's permitted us to be here, appreciate the singing and the touch of God in the service tonight. Take your Bible and turn with us to the book of 2 Kings, 2 Kings chapter number 2, 2 Kings chapter number 2. I don't know how long I'm going to get to preach because it says on this little microphone that the battery is low. So I'll preach till the battery runs out. How do you like that? It might not ever run out. Second Kings chapter 2 and I have a thought that I'm going to preach from tonight, not a full exposition of all this passage, a wonderful passage of Scripture. But I am going to read 15 verses. So stand with us please and rest yourself and reverence the Word of God. We'll begin reading in 2 Kings chapter 2 and verse number 1. Whoever's controlling the microphone, you might ought to back it down just a hair, because I'm just talking right now, all right? Okay, you got that? All right. 2 Kings chapter 2 and verse 1. 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 Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry 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. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou not that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it. Hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, as the Lord liveth, and as I so 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 Elijah said unto him, the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, as the Lord, let me read that again. And Elijah said unto him, tarry I pray thee here, for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, as the Lord liveth, and as I so liveth, I will not leave thee. And they too went on. And 50 men of the sons of the prophet went and stood to view afar off. And they too stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and smoked the waters. And they were divided hither and thither so that they too went over on dry ground. And it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto 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 Elijah went up by a 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 Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither, and Elijah went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elijah. and they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. Thank you. You may be seated. Let's bow now for just a moment of prayer and ask the Lord to help us. Our Heavenly Father, as I bow in your presence tonight, I want to thank you, Lord, for the privilege of being here, the wonderful songs of Zion, and the blessings of the day. I praise you, God, for the moving of your spirit in this service tonight. Our hearts have been blessed. I pray, God, that you'd help us now. Lord, I admit to thee, without you, I could do absolutely nothing. I am less than nothing. God, I pray you'd breathe on us tonight and touch us by your power. Give us that unction and anointing that every man of God needs to preach the Word of God. And I pray you'd help this congregation, Lord, to focus their attention on the Word of God, and open their ears and hearts to receive a message from the Lord that would help them and encourage them. Lord, minister grace to the hearer, and may everything that's said and done here tonight redound to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we pray in Jesus' bloodstained name, Amen and amen and amen. Well, as I look at this wonderful passage of scripture that is before us tonight, I'm interested in the question that Elisha asked As he's standing there by the Jordan alone, Elijah has been taken up by a whirlwind into the glory world. He's standing there alone across the river. There is an audience of prophets and Elijah is there alone. And he takes that mantle up. I could just see him in my mind, that mantle floating down from the whirlwind above, landing on the ground, reaching that... Boy, I'm telling you, that mantle had an impact on old Elisha. There was a day when he was out plowing oxen, And all of a sudden, he felt something strange, and there was the mantle of Elijah that was cast upon him. And he immediately said, I'll go, and they could offer it, I'll kill the oxen, I'll burn up all my implements, and I'll follow it. Elijah said, what did I do to you? Hey, he didn't do nothing. It was that mantle of power that fell upon him. He became Elijah's cohort and servant for all of the years, my friend, until this time that I've read unto you tonight. But here Elijah stands and he takes Here we read in verse number 13, he took up the mantle that fell from him and went back and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and smoked the waters and said, and here's what I want to preach on tonight. Where is... The Lord God of Elijah. Where is he? Amen. Well, I want to say this. He's not vacated the throne. He's not going out of business. He's not dead. He's very much alive. I'm glad he's here. I'm glad I felt him. I'm glad I brought him with me. I'm glad he's on the inside, the outside, the upside, the downside, the backside, the front side, the right side, the left side. I'm glad God's here. I bless his name. But anyway, these words were cried out by Elijah at the brink of Jordan on this momentous day of the translation of Elijah, the man of God. Of this day and these truths come forth here in this chapter. Let me touch them briefly by introduction. I want you to notice here the divine purpose in verse one. God's purpose was that he was gonna take Elijah, my friend, out of this world without going through death. Oh yes, he'd be translated and caught up into the glory world. Hallelujah for that. Oh, bless the Lord. That's the divine purpose. Then there's the divine path here. You find the trail that they took from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho through Jordan and to glory. That was the trip that Elijah made, the divine path, the divine promise here. The promise, my friend, that God would answer Elijah's prayer if he saw him when he left here. And my friend, the promise of God is yea and amen, and you can depend on the promise of God from the man of God. There is the divine performance here, the translation of Elijah. He took a plane air trip. Hallelujah to the glory world. Went up by a whirlwind. What a way to go. I'm telling you what a time. I'm telling on this day there next to the Jordan River. He didn't have to die. He just flew away with God in the chariot of God. Hallelujah. The divine performance. And then there is in this story the double portion. And the double portion is the need of this hour for the men of God, for the servant of God, for the preacher, the pastor, the missionary, the evangelist, and the singer, and the churchgoer. We need a good double portion of the Holy Ghost. Hey, hey, not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. The greatest need of this hour is for us to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Now don't let that scare you bunch of badness. I want to tell you what the Bible said, be not drunk with wine where it is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Oh yes. And if you ever get filled with the Holy Ghost, hey, it'll manifest itself with the tongue. Y'all looking at me funny. Well, let's read on. Be not drunk with wine, but in excess be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves. Amen. It'll make you talk to yourself. Get filled with the Holy Ghost. Speaking to yourself in what? In Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Amen. Oh, my soul, it'll have effect on your tongue. It'll put a song in your heart, a spring in your step, and glory in your soul. I'm talking about that double portion. But now, I want to get to the text. Now, here is Elijah, or Elisha, standing. He's looking up. He's left alone. He takes up Elijah's mantle. While smiting the waters, He cries out, where is the Lord God of Elijah? I want to expound a little bit on that and I want to develop in four questions here. Number one, as you think about the question, where is he? When you look at the question Elijah asked here, I want to say it is a question of expectancy. He's expecting something from God. Hey, this is not a question of doubt. He's not questioning the existence of God. He's just wondering how God's going to do it and how God's going to show up. Amen. You can depend on God. He'll always show up at the right time. It was a question of expectancy. I want to say number two, it was a question of endeavor because brother and sister, he smoked the waters just like he saw his master do just a few moments before when he folded up that mantle and my friend and smoked the waters and they walked over Jordan on dry shot. Oh yes. I don't reckon Elijah or Elisha, either one could swim. They didn't have to. They had a God that could open up a way when there wasn't no way. I say hallelujah for that. It is not only a question of expectancy and a question of endeavor, but it's a question of experience. Because my friend, when he said, where is the Lord God of Elijah? When he spoke that river, hey, hey, it opened up. and he come a-walkin' across the river. Amen, dry shod. And that crowd, my friend, over yonder, that had been full of doubt, and my friend tried to discourage him. Hey, they had to watch the man of God with the power of God on him coming through the river. Oh yes, I see. Where is he? Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Number two, I want to ask this question. Who is he? Not only where is he, but who is he? Well, he's the Lord God. You notice in the text, it's capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. Anytime you find that in the Authorized King James Bible, it is a translation of the word Jehovah. Oh yes, and Jehovah is the self-existing one, the eternal one, the covenant keeping God with Israel, the great I am, the I am that I am. That's who it is. Oh yes. but he's the Lord God. That's Jehovah Elohim. Elohim is the plural name, my friend, of God. It's the name of God in Genesis 1-1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Elohim is a plural name. In the beginning, literally, God's. not my friend that there's several gods, but one God manifest in three persons, Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. He's wanting to know where God's at. Amen. Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Who is he? He is the Lord God. He is God. Well, when I think about who he is, let me just stop and say he's the creator. He's the almighty. He's the all-powerful, all-present, all-perceptive God. He's the blessing of God, the beginner of the begotten. He's the breath of life, and He's the beauty of the saints. Who is He? He's the creator of all. He's the controller of all. He's the commander of all. He's the compassionate King of kings and Lord of lords. Who is he? He is the deliverer of his people. He's the dispeller of darkness. He's the dominator of dominions. Who is he? He's the eternal God, the everlasting God. Who is he? He's my heavenly father. And he's a friend that's thicker, closer than a brother. And he's faithful, bless his holy name, the faithful God. Who is he? He's God. He's God. Gracious. He's God. Good. Hallelujah. Who is he? He's holy. Holy. Holy. He's our hope and our help. Who is He? He's the infinite one, the immutable one. He's the great I am. Who is He? He's Jehovah. He's the judge. He's the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. Who is He? He's the king of kings. And he's the keeper of my soul. He's the king of the ages. Who is he? He's Lord. He's my Lord. Is he you? Your Lord. And if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in mine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Amen. Remember when that bunch of Pharisees brought that woman taking an adultery and throw her down at Jesus' feet and said, now master, Moses said, this woman been taking a very active adultery. That bunch of cowards, they brought the woman, they didn't bring the man. Bunch of sissies. Oh yeah, oh yeah. And he said, but what do you say? He got down and wrote on the ground. He said, what did he write on the ground? I don't think it was so much what he's writing, I think what he was showing, hey, you see this finger that's writing down? This is the one that wrote the law. You'll get that in a minute. But hey, he said, he got back up and said, he's without sin among you, let him cast the first stone. And my friend, that crowd got embarrassed and they know they was wicked as hell. Cause every one of them got to lust. And I'll tell you what they walked on and I've seen my friend that caused them to be eat up with lust themselves, I guarantee you. And my friend, you just think about it. So they got to decide. I believe I need to go to the house. I believe mama's expecting me here very quickly. They got to go to that one by one. Jesus, nobody was around left, but the only one who could cast a stone. And the only one who cast a stone, who could cast a stone, said, woman, hast thou no accusers? She said, no man. Lord. Hallelujah. When she acknowledged him as Lord, business picked up in her heart. I believe she got saved by the grace of God and his instruction was go and sin no more. Hey, he's Lord. He's Lord of heaven, Lord of earth. He's Lord of my life. Is he Lord of your life? I like what the old colored preacher, he may not have put his allotment remark on the medicine of a thousand hills, but he's Lord. Hallelujah. He may not put his brand on the cattle, but he's Lord. Hallelujah. He made it all and he's Lord. Who is he? Well, he's Lord. Hey, and he's love. And he's life. And he's the liberator of my soul. Bless God, who is he? Well, he's the maker and he's the master. Who is he? He's the one that'll never forsake you. He's the nigh one. Draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to you. He's the nourisher of my soul. Who is he? I'm telling you, that's who he is. Praise God. That may not bless you, it's a blessing, my blesser. Who is He? The omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. The only God. He's not just one of many, He's the only. He's not the best God. He's the only. Best is a comparative term. Better is a comparative term. He's not compared with any because there ain't any to compare Him with. What are you going to compare Him with? You can't compare. He's incomparable. Hallelujah. He's the only God. Who is He? Well, He's the provider and He's doing it right now for this radio station. He's the protector of my soul. Hallelujah. He's the preserver of my life. He's the pleasure of his people. He's the praise of our song. Bless his holy name. Who is it? Well, bless God. He's the quickener. He's the redeemer, the revealer, the reviver, the renewer. Hallelujah. One of these days, the rapturer. I'm leaving here, children. Hey, hey, who is he? He's the sovereign one, the supreme one, the savior of sinners, the supplier of our needs, the sustainer of our life. Hallelujah, who is he? He's the true one, truth, the true and living God. He's the triumphant one. Hallelujah, we have victory in him. is he? Well, he's the unchanging one. He's the unctionizing one. I like it when he unctionizes. You say, what's that about? You get under the spout where the glory runs out and you'll understand it. Hallelujah. He's the understanding one. Aren't you glad he knows? Hallelujah. Who is Who is he? He's the yearning of my soul. He's the yesterday, today, and forever. Who is he? He's the zenith of Zion Hill. Hallelujah, that's who he is. He's the Lord God. He's my Lord. He's my God. And I'll just say, he's altogether lovely. Bless his holy name. Lovely, lovely. Lord. Well, ask the question, where is he? Who is he? Question number three, whose is he? Whose is he? Well, it says here, the Lord God of Elijah. Amen, Elijah was his servant. Elijah was subject to like passion just like you and I. Saved by the grace of God just like you and I. Oh my, so the Lord God of Elijah, Elijah means my God is Jehovah. That's what the word means. My God is Jehovah. By the way, Elisha. Elisha's name means to whom God is salvation. Oh yes. And so who is he? He's the God of his blood-bought people. He's the God of the church. He's my God. If you're saved, He's your God. Amen. He's my shepherd and my Lord and my King and my all in all. Hallelujah. He's sweeter than the honey from the honeycomb. He's the blesser of my life. Hallelujah. He's the Savior of my soul. Whose is He? And then number, I want you to think about number four. And here's in our text, really a little exposition here. Here's a crutch of the message. Here the question is, when is He? Where is He? Who is He? Whose is He? But when is it? Now this isn't too deep. Sometimes I go so deep and come up so dry. But this is just simple stuff. But it's a blessing to me. But thinking about when is it? Look at our text. And I want to mention four things here. Actually five. When is it? Well, number one, as you look at the text, When you stand before the cold waters of chilly Jordan, He'll be there. I'm 75 years old. I've been pastoring Mount Sinai for 47 years. I'm going on my 48th. I've been preaching and pastoring for over 55, 56 years. Tell you what, in my soul, can I just go on record to testify. My friend, he's never let me down. One of these days, if life just progresses like ordinary, I don't know by reason of strength if I'm going to get to 80. I know a preacher one day, I introduced him to my young wife. He said, you'll live to be 100. I said, well, I'm for that. Praise God. Amen. I appreciate that. I better not say nothing. I get in trouble here. But hey, hey, hey, but one of these days, if time progresses like ordinary, I'm going to face that chilly river. You are too. Sign of God. None of us are going to stay here forever. We're leaving here. This world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. But one of these days I'm going to approach chilly Jordan and I'll stand there. But guess what? I won't have to cross Jordan alone. Why is that? Because he'll be there. Oh yes. Hey, he'll be there. He'll be there. I bless His name. When you stand before the cold waters of chilly Jordan, He'll be there. Number two, when you have just been separated from a dear friend and companion, God will be there. Most of you know that my first wife, my darling wife, Mary, she went home to be the glory God took my lifelong companion. I want to tell you what, God showed up. I think at her funeral was one of the greatest experiences of God I ever seen. God honored her funeral, showed up. We sung and shouted and some of y'all were there. What I'm saying, hey, some of y'all may have to walk by the coffin of a dear loved one, a dear companion, a dear friend, but he ain't gonna, he's not gonna leave you. He'll be there. Where is the Lord God? He's there. He was there with Elisha. He's there, my friend, when Elijah was taken and he's left alone, but he's really not alone because God's there. Number three, when is he? All right, think about this. When the man of God you have faithfully followed, has been removed from the scene and you're left to try to carry on the work. Hey, Sinai, I'm 75 years old. I don't know how much longer I got. One of these days God's going to either take me up or take me out. Hey, hey, what you going to do? Well, the same God that anointed me will be there to help you, to guide you, to bless you, and to keep you in the way. I want to tell you what, brother and sister, when you lose a man of God and some dear friend, and you're left to carry the work alone, I want to tell you what, you won't have to be alone. God's still God. Hey, when Moses moves off the scene, there'll be a Joshua. When Elijah moves off the scene, there'll be an Elisha. Our God will have a witness. He'll have a testimony. I bless his name. When is he? Well, when you need a way opened up, when there seems to be no way. He's standing at that river. I don't reckon he could swim. If he could swim, he could swim. There wouldn't be no miracle if he could swim. But he's standing there at that river. And my friend, there ain't no way to get across. He got to go over there and help that 50, that bunch of 50 backslid preachers over there need to get things right. He needs to get to them. but he's standing there, there ain't no way, but I'm telling you what, you're gonna get there. In fact, we, many of us have been there, I've been to the place, my friend, when there wasn't no way. I mean, but I'm telling you what, like the children of Israel at the Red Sea, hey, there's a mountain on one side, a mountain on the other side, the Egyptian army behind them and the Red Sea before them. and there ain't no way. There ain't no way to get out of this. They can't go up, they can't go down, they can't go right or left or back. There's only one way to go. And that is for God to show up and open a way when there ain't no way. And our God specializes in opening a way when there is none. That's when He'll show up. You know, as long as we can do it, He'll let us try. As long as we can operate in our own strength, He'll let us try. But it's when we come to the extremity of the end of ourselves, that's when God will open up a way where there is none. And then one other thing I think about, when is He? Well, I'll tell you what he is. When deep in your soul, you're dissatisfied with your spiritual condition, and you long to have a double portion, and to be filled with the Holy Ghost, and you're willing to die to self in old Jordan. Hallelujah! And my soul, you look by faith to the God, my friend, who is there. And yes, he cries, where is the Lord God of Elijah? And hallelujah, as he smoked that water, the waters parted, and my friend God and Elijah walked across on dry ground. Hallelujah. Where is the Lord God? Where is He? Well, I want to say He's in heaven and He's still on the throne. I say He's in our hearts as His people and He wants to sit on the throne there. I say he's here presently with us, to walk with us and to help us. Where is he? He's here. How do you know he's here? Well, we gathered in the name of Jesus. Edward, two or three were gathered by name. I'll be there in a minute. He's here. Amen. He occupies, amen. The Bible says he inhabiteth eternity. The Bible said he inhabited the praises of his people. And I've heard some praise in here this night. Oh yes, he's here, he's here. My, so where is he? Well, as I end the message tonight, I wanna say this. He is with us. He's with us. In Matthew 28 and verse 20, and go into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. And lo, I am with you all the way. All the way and all the way. All the way. Hallelujah. Even to the end of the world. And then Jesus says, amen. I like it when Jesus says amen. He's with us. And something else, He's not only with us, He's in us. In John 14, 16, Jesus said, I'll pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth from the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. He's in there. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of theirs. But if he is in, if you're saved, he's in there. Ain't no sense thing of being saved and not have men. Now in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God came on men and moved off them. But in the New Testament, because the blood's been applied, hallelujah, and Jesus has been glorified, for the saint of God, he don't just move on them, he moves in them. Bless God, he takes up his abode in us. He's in me. Praise God, he's with us, he's in us. Hey, but I like that times when he gets on us. I like it when He gets on us. Hey, the Bible said, and you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. And you shall be witnesses unto me, both in Judea and Samaria and unto other parts of the earth. I want to tell you what, bless God, I like it when the Holy Ghost moves on you. I like that, amen. I like it when He not only, praise God, shows up, but He shows out. I'm telling you what, He's here. Hallelujah. He's in us. He's on us. Hey, then I think about Scripture, He's above us. I'm glad He is. None higher than He. Amen. The Bible said in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter four and verse 39, know therefore this day and consider in thine heart that the Lord, he is God in heaven above. Bless God, he's above all this mess, all this nasty world. My friend, I'm telling you what, he's the highest of the high. Oh, there's none higher than he. There's no greater court to appeal to. My friend, he's the Lord of all. I say hallelujah, he's above us. That's good. But you know what else? He's beneath us. I'm glad for that. Amen. I like that. I got something beneath me. My church years ago used to laugh and make jokes about putting a trap door up here when I preach the law and just hit the button. But I got something beneath me. Solid foundation. And the Lord's beneath us. You say that in the book, sure is. Deuteronomy 33 verse 27, the eternal God is our refuge and underneath. are the everlasting arms. If you fall, you're gonna fall in his arms. Hallelujah. Don't act like you couldn't ever fall. Every one of you is made out of the same junk that I am, and we're subject to fall, but hallelujah, the everlasting arms are under us. Then he's before us. Oh yes. Deuteronomy 130, the Lord your God which goeth before you. Hallelujah. And He's behind us! in the book of Isaiah 30 and verse 21. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it. In chapter 52 and verse 12 of that same book, For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight. For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rearward. The devil would like to slip up on my blind side. He may slip up on my blind side, but he ain't slipping up on God's blind side, because God don't have a blind side. I say, hallelujah, children. Where is he? Well, he's just all around us. Oh yes, the angel of the Lord encampeth about, round about them. I mean, any way you look, right, left, up, down, backwards, forward, bless God, we encapsulate, bless God, the Lord is all around us. He's in us, he's under us, he's over us. Bless God, and he's here right now to move and to bless and to help you, hallelujah. Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Well, he's here right now to help you if you'll let him. Let's stand for prayer all over the house. Father, I preach this little simple message you've laid on my heart. I pray the Holy Ghost. I take the word and bless your people. Have your way, Lord. Meet the needs of this station and get glory to yourself. In Jesus' name, amen. If the Lord spoke to your heart, come as Brother Hobart sings. Sometimes our skies are cloudy and dreary. Sometimes our hearts are bound. But we may know what e'er may befall us, Jesus is always there. Never a burden that he doth not carry, never a sorrow that he Whether the days may be sunny or dreary, Jesus is always there.