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??Introduction：Have you ever seen a whirlwind or tornado？Elisha stared up into the sky, where just a few seconds before he had seen a whirlwind catch up his precious friend and teacher, Elijah. Old Elijah had disappeared into Heaven, leaving only his cloak behind.
??"I want a double portion of your spirit!" Elisha had answered when old Elijah asked for his last request. Elijah had said, "If you see me when I go up to Heaven, you will have that request." Elisha had seen Elijah go up, but perhaps he still wondered, "Do I have that double portion of Elijah's spirit？"
??Picking up the cloak, Elisha turned to go back to the edge of the Jordan River. There were 50 men watching from the other side. They were called the sons of the prophets, and they were men whom Elijah and Elisha had taught. Suddenly they saw Elisha take the cloak and hit the waters of the Jordan. "Where is the God of Elijah？" cried Elisha. Suddenly the waters parted, just as they had for Elijah, and Elisha walked across the river.
??"The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha!" the prophets said in awe, and they came to bow down before Elisha to show their respect for his authority. They said to him, "Look now, we have fifty strong men, so please let us go and look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord took him up, and then cast him down on some mountain or in some valley.
??Elisha knew the Lord had not done any such thing, and he said, "No, you shall not go." But even though the prophets had bowed to show their respect, they now argued with Elisha. The Bible says they kept on insisting until Elisha was ashamed, so he told them to go ahead with their plan. Do you think they really respected Elisha as a man of God？
??Main Teaching：Have you ever been guilty of showing disrespect for God's workers？
??If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, God wants you to show respect for His workers. Can you say today's Bible verse with me？Hebrews 13：17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves..." Hebrews 13：17. Showing respect means treating others politely and listening to what they say. We should show respect for everyone, but we are to especially respect God's workers. The fifty sons of the prophets were not showing real respect for Elisha as a prophet of God, because they didn't believe him.
??Elisha finally told them, "Go on and look for Elijah." Do you think they found old Elijah's body？II Kings 2：17 says the men looked for three days, but did not find him. When they reported to Elisha, what do you think Elisha said？"Didn't I tell you not to go？" They should have respected and obeyed Elisha's word.
??Elisha was in Jericho at that time, and the men of the city came to him with a problem.
??"Look at our city, the location is so pleasant as you can see, but the water is terrible. The water is so bad it keeps the plants from growing and bearing fruit." Because they respected Elisha as a true prophet of God, they were telling him their problem with great expectation that he could help. Elisha said, "Bring me a new pitcher and put salt in it."
??Quickly the new pitcher with salt was brought to the prophet. They followed Elisha to the spring of the waters, where they watched him cast the salt into the water. "Thus says the Lord, I have healed these waters; from now on there shall not be any more death or barren land." II Kings 2：22 says, "So the waters were healed...according to the saying of Elisha."
??Did Elisha heal the waters？No, he was very careful to give glory to the Lord! And the men of Jericho were very careful to show respect for the prophet of the Lord!
??Main Truth：If you are a child of God, God wants you to show respect for His workers. What are some ways you can show respect for God's workers？When your pastor or teacher is teaching God's Word, do you play or draw or misbehave？God wants you to listen attentively and reverently, for your pastor and Bible teachers are God's messengers to you. You should not only listen, but pray for your pastor and teachers, and obey their words. Why not go to them and politely thank them for teaching you？??Your parents are also God's workers to teach and train you. My niece who is now grown and married said recently, "Aunt Dee, I once resented my grandmother making me help in the kitchen. But now I am so proud to know how to work in my kitchen and make delicious food for my husband, all because of Grandma's good training." Your parents are God's workers to teach you how to work, and learn to do practical things and right things. You should respect them by obeying cheerfully, by listening quietly without interruptions and complaining. You should speak well of your parents to others.
??Remember, you are pleasing the Lord greatly when you show respect for His workers.
??God was quick to show Elisha how to heal the waters of Jericho, perhaps because God saw the respect the men of the city had for His messenger.
??As Elisha left Jericho to go to Bethel, the Bible tells us that a group of young people came to meet the prophet. It grieves me to tell you these young people were NOT showing respect for God's prophet. II Kings 2：23 says they began to mock Elisha, saying, "Go up you bald head; go up, you bald head." If they were so rude to mistreat God's worker, how do you think they felt about God Himself？
??Gospel：God says when we mistreat even one of the least of His children, we have mistreated Him. How awful to think of mistreating the God Who created us, to use the breath He gave us to say rude things about Him or His people! What a terrible sin! Ephesians 2：4 says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, " All of us have sinned against God, the Bible tells us, and the punishment for sin is everlasting death away from God and Heaven. But our Creator loves us. He loves us and made a way for our sin to be forgiven. When God sent His perfect Son Jesus to earth to die and take the punishment for our sin, the people were rude and mocked Jesus too. But how did Jesus respond？From the cross where He hung dying for our sin, Jesus cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Jesus willingly took the mocking and beating because of His great love for us. He died, was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead. Now the Lord Jesus is in Heaven at God's right hand, and He is ready to forgive those who have sinned when they come to Him, repenting of their sin and believing on Him.
??How could anyone mock and say rude things about such a wonderful, loving God？God says that when we say rude things about one of His workers, we have said those things about Him. The young people did not realize they were really mocking God as they called out, "Go up, you bald head; go up, you bald head." Elisha turned around and looked at them. He called on the Lord to bring punishment on them. The Bible tells us that suddenly there came the frightful sight of two angry mother bears, rushing out of the nearby woods. Before the young people could run away, the bears attacked the group and badly wounded forty-two of them!
??Evidently the bears did not harm Elisha for he continued on his way. But we can be sure there were some young people who learned an unforgettable lesson on the seriousness of not respecting God's worker! If you know the Lord Jesus, will you commit to showing a greater respect for God's workers？We should show respect for all those in authority over us, but especially to those who know the Lord Jesus and work for Him. Can you name some of God's workers in your life？This week will you write down your memory verse, and under it list ways you can show respect for God's workers. Then put a check by those ways when you do them this week. Remember to pray, asking God for His help.
??If you have never believed on the Lord Jesus, God's Word says that you must bear your own punishment for sin, which is everlasting death and separation from God. Why not come to the Lord Jesus today and let Him take that burden of your sin, and let Him give you His everlasting life instead？Go right now to "How to Be a Child of God."
