Miracle of the Teenage Boys and the She-Bears

2 Kings 2:19-25 Elisha

Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds 2 Kings 2:19-25, contrasting God's goodness in healing Jericho's waters with His severity in judging the mocking youths of Bethel. He argues that despising God's Word and His appointed messengers incurs divine wrath, drawing parallels to the dangers of peer pressure and the lasting scars of sin. Martin concludes with the hope of the cross, where Christ bore God's wrath in place of sinners, offering forgiveness and freedom from judgment.

2 illustrations in this sermon

Sober Warning to All: Despising God's Word and Messengers

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Resenting a Warning Sign

The point: Beware of despising the greatest privilege which can ever come to a fallen son of Adam, namely, the pure preaching of the word of God by a duly appointed man of God.

Martin uses the analogy of a driver resenting a 'warning: potholes' or 'warning: sharp curve' sign to illustrate the moral insanity of resenting God's warnings in Scripture.

Someone says, oh, Pastor Martin, there you go again. With all that heavy stuff, that warning, warning, warning. My friend, listen to me. When did you ever resent a warning that was in your best interest?

31:48 - 31:59 Read in full sermon

Sober Warning to Young People: Peer Pressure and Lasting Scars

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25-Year Reunion

In this part of the sermon: Martin specifically warns young people against succumbing to peer pressure to do evil and highlights the lasting 'scars' of rebellion and lost innocence, urging them to seek…

Martin recounts attending a 25-year reunion where former classmates who pitied his 'religious fanaticism' were now 'living monuments' to the hard way of the transgressor, with dissipated bodies, hollow eyes, and broken lives, contrasting with his own rich life in Christ.

The Bible says, The paths of the Lord drop sweetness. I mentioned this a few months ago, and I'm not repeating myself because I'm getting senile, contrary to the opinion of some of you. But how vividly this was brought home to me at that reunion last October. Twenty-five years.

50:17 - 50:37 Read in full sermon

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