Pray the Word with David Platt - Living with Expectancy (2 Kings 2:11)

0:00Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net. Second Kings, chapter 2, verse 11, and as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. I love this verse. Just imagine, so put yourself in a lychee's shoes. You're walking beside Elijah, and you both know that at any moment God has said he's going to bring Elijah home. And all of a sudden, in the middle of conversation, chariots of fire and horses of fire come down in between the two of you. Just picture that in your mind. Chariots of fire, fire chariots, and horses of fire, fire horses, and they immediately pick Elijah up and take him up into heaven by a whirlwind.

1:03Is that another incredible scene? Just imagine that. You're talking with somebody and in an instant, chariots of fire and horses of fire, pick this person you're talking with up and take him away. And I read this verse in my mind. It immediately goes to 1st S. Loneon's chapter 4, when verse 16 says, 1 day the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command with the voice of an archangel with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christful rise first, then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will always be with the Lord. In other words, 1 day this is going to happen. Not chariots of fire and horses of fire, but 1 day and it could be today. Think about one brother and our church family who's now with the Lord. But he always said, Tom, whenever I saw him, he would always say, and he was in a wheelchair struggling with the self. He would look at me with

2:08a smile on his face and he'd say, perhaps today. And remember the first time he said to us, what do you mean? Perhaps today you said, perhaps today will be the day when Jesus comes back. And then every Sunday I saw him, he would say the same thing, perhaps today. And it just was such an encouragement to me in a way that I want to encourage you today to live today like this could be the day. Like this could be the day. Think about it. This could be the moment in the next hour when Jesus comes back. This could happen at any time. And to live today in light of that reality. To live today in light of the reality that Jesus could return at any moment or he could bring us home at any moment. So to make every moment count for his glory in ways that are pleasing to him, ways that are glorifying to him that if you were to come back at any moment, we would be ready. And we would not be doing anything, thinking anything, desire anything. There would not be

3:09pleasing to him that everything in our life would be pleasing to him, glorifying to him and waiting for him. Oh God, please help us to live that way. At every moment, God, we praise you for your promise that one day you're coming back and you're going to free us fully and finally from this world of evil and sin and suffering and sorrow and death. We praise you for that promise that Jesus is coming back for his people and whether we're alive or dead at that point that we will be caught up together with you and will always be with you. So help us, we pray today to live in light of that day. Help us to realize our lives are missed. They were here for a vapor and then gone the next. Help us then we pray to think, to speak, to desire, to live in every way today.

4:12Like we're waiting for that moment and yearning, longing for that moment. Help us to be active in not just us being prepared but in leaning others to be prepared for that day. God we pray for family members and friends, co-workers and classmates who are not ready for that day right now because they don't know you've got to help us to share the gospel with urgency. Help us to spread the gospel around the world with urgency. We pray specifically today for the solar people of China, 150,000 of them who are not ready for that day. God we pray that you would cause the gospel to spread to all the people including the solar of China that they might know your grace and your mercy and your love and they might be looking for her too and ready for that day to meet you. Oh God, we pray. Help us to live with urgency and anticipation in light of this picture in 2nd Kings chapter 2 verse 11 in our lives today in Jesus name we pray. Amen.