Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Receiving the baton of faith from the saints who have gone before us””
Nov 2, 2014
Scripture
2 Kings 2:1-14
When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and
Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 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. 3 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." 4 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. 5 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." 6 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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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. 10 "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." 11 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. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My
father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no
more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. 13 He picked up
the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the
Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water
with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck
the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
Core Idea, challenge and summary
Core Idea: God gives us faith through the saints that have gone on before us.
Challenge: To comfort people as they remember their loved ones who have
passed on.
Summary: In a relay race, the most crucial part of the race is the passing of the
baton. If the transition of the baton from one racer to the next racer goes
smoothly, the racer receiving the baton can continue the race without
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Receiving the baton of faith from the saints who have gone before us””
Nov 2, 2014
interruption. But, if either racer fumbles and drops the baton, the racer receiving
the baton must stop, turn around and pick up the baton before continuing with the
race. When this happens, the relay team almost always loses the race.
In our faith journey, we must receive the baton of faith from previous saints. Our
faith ultimately comes from God but God delivers our faith through the saints that
have gone on before us. We see this illustrated in the story of the prophets Elijah
and Elisha. Just prior to his ascension into heaven, Elijah asked Elisha what he
would like. Elisha responded that he would like a double portion of his spirit.
Elisha knew that his faith will come from God through his predecessor, Elijah.
When horses and chariots came down from heaven to take Elijah away, Elijah’s
mantle fell down at Elisha’s feet. Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle and carried on
his prophetic ministry. The baton of faith was passed from Elijah to Elisha.
Likewise, we can receive the baton of faith from the saints who have gone before
us. It doesn’t matter if the saint is young or old. God used the life and death of my
7 month old daughter, Sarah, to teach my wife, Jackie, and I about God’s
unconditional love. We loved Sarah even though she didn’t do anything to
deserve our love. We loved her simply because it was in us to love her. God’s
love for us is even greater than that and we got a small glimpse of that love in the
way we loved our daughter. In this way, we received faith from God through our
daughter.
You too can receive faith from God through your loved ones who have gone
before you. Remember them and cherish the time you had with them.
Remember, through faith in Jesus we can know where they are. Also through
faith in Jesus, we can look forward to seeing them again. Jesus said, “But about
the resurrection of the dead-- have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of
the dead but of the living. (Matthew 22:31-32)
Sermon
I.
Introduction: Relay races
A. Most important part of race is the passing of the baton

If the transition of the baton from one racer to the next racer goes
smoothly, the racer receiving the baton can continue the race
without interruption.

If either racer fumbles and drops the baton,
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Receiving the baton of faith from the saints who have gone before us””
Nov 2, 2014
 The racer receiving the baton must stop, turn around and
pick up the baton before continuing with the race.
 When this happens, the relay team almost always loses the
race.

The passing of the baton is the most important part of a relay race

As followers of Christ, we must receive the baton of faith without
fumbling or dropping it
II.
In our faith journey, we must receive a baton of faith from previous saints
A. Our faith ultimately comes from God but God delivers our faith through the
saints that have gone on before us.

Many of us received faith through our parents and family.
 Timothy received faith through his mother and grandmother
(2 Timothy 1:5)

Many have received faith through a Christian friend or evangelist.
 The Ethiopian eunuch received faith through Philip, an
ordinary Christian willing to conduct a simple Bible study with
a stranger (Acts 8:26-39)
 Philip introduced his friend, Nathanael, to Jesus. (John 1:4351)
B. God gives us faith but usually uses other people of faith to do so.
III.

The baton of faith is normally passed from one person to another.

We see this illustrated in the story of the prophets Elijah and Elisha.
The story of Elijah passing the baton (mantle) of faith to Elisha
A. At the Jordan River, Elijah rolls up his mantle (fur cloak) and strikes the
water.

The water parts and Elijah and Elisha walk across the Jordan on
dry ground
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Receiving the baton of faith from the saints who have gone before us””
Nov 2, 2014

This demonstrates that Elijah is a prophet on the same level as
Moses and Joshua (Moses parted the red sea and Joshua parted
the Jordan)
B. Just prior to his ascension into heaven, Elijah asked Elisha what he would
like.

Elisha responded that he would like a double portion of his spirit.

This goes back to the social custom of the day.
 The oldest son normally got a double portion of the father’s
inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17)
 Receiving a double portion of Elijah’s spirit would indicate
that Elisha will take over from Elijah.
 The baton would be passed
 Elisha knew that his faith will come from God through his
predecessor, Elijah.

Elijah replied that if Elisha sees him when he’s taken to heaven,
he’ll receive a double portion of his spirit.
C. Elijah taken up to heaven by heavenly horses and chariots.

When horses and chariots came down from heaven to take Elijah
away, Elisha was able to see it.

As Elijah was being taken up into heaven, his mantle (fur cloak) fell
down at Elisha’s feet.

Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle and used it to part the Jordan River
and walk back across it on dry ground. Evidently, Elisha received a
double portion of Elijah’s faith and is expected to carry on his
prophetic ministry.

IV.
The baton (mantle) of faith was passed from Elijah to Elisha.
Just as Elisha received the mantle of faith from Elijah, we can receive the baton
of faith from the saints who have gone before us.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Receiving the baton of faith from the saints who have gone before us””
Nov 2, 2014
A. It doesn’t matter if the saint is young or old. God used the life and death of
my 7 month old daughter, Sarah, to teach my wife, Jackie, and I about
God’s unconditional love.

We loved Sarah even though she didn’t do anything to deserve our
love.

We loved her simply because it was in us to love her.

God’s love for us is even greater than that.

By loving our daughter with unconditional love, we got a little taste
of God’s unconditional love for us.

In this way, we received faith from God through our daughter.
B. You too can receive faith from God through your loved ones who have
gone before you.

Remember, through faith in Jesus we can know where they are.
Also through faith in Jesus, we can look forward to seeing them
again.
 Jesus said, “But about the resurrection of the dead-- have
you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is
not the God of the dead but of the living. (Matthew 22:31-32)
 With this statement, Jesus confirmed that eternal life
continues even when our fleshy bodies cease to function. He
also confirmed the certainty of the resurrection.

Until you see them again…
 Remember them and cherish the time you had with them.
 Learn from them – copy their righteous characteristics and
learn what not to do from their imperfections
 Most importantly – incorporate their faith, learn from their
faith stories – allow their faith to inspire you to greater trust in
Jesus
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