Good morning, our Fire-starter comes from 2 Kings 2. Our Fire-starter
thought is: how big is God? Depends on how close you are to him!!!!
Our Fire-starter verse is verse 7.
Here in our text Elijah is about to be taken into Heaven and before he
is they stop at three places Bethel, Jericho, and Jordan. Bethel and
Jericho have sons of the prophets there and they all mention to Elisha
that Elijah would be taken away from him. Elisha’s response is I know it…
When the time comes for him to be taken away Elijah and Elisha are
standing at Jordan but there are fifty sons of the prophets that are
standing to view afar off.
Something all of us can be reminded this morning and that is we will be
as close to God as we want to be!!!! The Bible states in James 4:8 KJV
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye
sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

These fifty sons of the prophets could have been closer but they viewed
afar off. How many times are we viewing afar off?
See, we like to see the mighty power of God but from a distance. It’s
all good when God shows up and does stuff around us and we want to be
apart of it but we do not want to be up close. Friend, there are things
that can be experienced when you are up close to the master. We serve a
big God but some see him as a small God and that is because they are
viewing afar off. Heard of a little boy asked his dad how big God was
and to help him understand he saw a plane and asked his son how big is
that plane and he said really small. The dad then took him to the
airport where the planes were kept and then asked his son again how big
are the planes and he said “dad, they are huge. He replied that’s the
way God is.  To those that live a far away life he is very small but to
those that live close to him he is very big. Later on in the chapter the
sons of the prophets in Jericho told him about their water situation and
Elisha being close to God had the answer from God how to handle the
situation. These sons of the prophets could have had the miracle
themselves had they simply been close to the Savior.
Friend, are you close or viewing at a far away distance? If you are far
away you can’t see how big God is. He will be small to you until you get
close to him then he will become a big God!!!! My friend, I serve a big
God today!!!!
By the way, once you see how big God is you will want to experience more
of his greatness.
Hope you have a wonderful Friday!!! And keep looking up because Jesus is
coming soon!!!!

2 Kings 2:1-25 KJV
And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a
whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. [2] And Elijah said
unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to
Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. [3] And the
sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said
unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy
head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it ; hold ye your peace. [4] 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 thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. [5] 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 to
day? And he answered, Yea, I know it ; hold ye your peace. [6] 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 thy soul liveth, I
will not leave thee. And they two went on. [7] And fifty men of the sons
of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by
Jordan. [8] And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and
smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they
two went over on dry ground. [9] 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. [10] And he said, Thou hast
asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from
thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. [11] 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. [12] 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. [13] He took up also the
mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the
bank of Jordan; [14] 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 Elisha went over. [15] And when the sons of the prophets which were
to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on
Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground
before him. [16] And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy
servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy
master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and
cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall
not send. [17] And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said,
Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but
found him not. [18] And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at
Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not? [19] And
the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation
of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and
the ground barren. [20] And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt
therein. And they brought it to him. [21] And he went forth unto the
spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith
the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any
more death or barren land. [22] So the waters were healed unto this day,
according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. [23] And he went up
from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came
forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto
him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. [24] And he turned
back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And
there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two
children of them. [25] And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from
thence he returned to Samaria.