WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.339 Have you guys ever had a moment when someone 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:08.000 suddenly handed you a responsibility that you 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:11.140 were not expecting? Maybe you didn't want it 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:13.980 even? You didn't feel like you were equipped 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:17.679 or ready to handle that responsibility? Or maybe 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.339 you just felt like, man, why are you handing 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:22.859 me this responsibility? This is not my responsibility. 00:00:23.739 --> 00:00:30.679 This doesn't belong to me. More than a couple 00:00:30.679 --> 00:00:33.740 years ago now. It was probably six or eight years 00:00:33.740 --> 00:00:37.539 ago my great uncle he was on his deathbed and 00:00:37.539 --> 00:00:41.539 He's at the hospital and they had they could 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:45.179 potentially save him and It would require life 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:50.500 support so my family long story short They didn't 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:52.560 have this organized yet. Nobody knew what they 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:55.840 were gonna do and we had half of the people were 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:58.740 like you know, let them pass on. The other half 00:00:58.740 --> 00:01:01.359 were like, hey, put them on life support. And 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:04.560 so they're in disarray and Gabby and I, we go 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.680 to visit, to be there to support, to say our 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:09.920 goodbyes or whatever the case may be, not really 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:14.280 knowing what was going on. And we get there, 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:16.780 we walk into the room and they're in this like 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:19.680 family council, like eight people, eight couples 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:21.599 really just like talking this out and we walk 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:23.200 into the room and it was like they all looked 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:25.909 at us in unison and we're like, hey, What do 00:01:25.909 --> 00:01:28.290 you think we should do? And we're like, wow. 00:01:29.129 --> 00:01:31.090 We're by far the youngest people in the room. 00:01:31.109 --> 00:01:35.129 We're like 20 to 22 at the time. And we're feeling 00:01:35.129 --> 00:01:38.769 like, man, how did we get this responsibility? 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:47.450 But we didn't plan for that. We didn't plan to 00:01:47.450 --> 00:01:49.430 make that decision. We were called on it. We 00:01:49.430 --> 00:01:51.650 were called upon to make that decision. And looking 00:01:51.650 --> 00:01:55.090 back, we kind of took all the I'm not gonna give 00:01:55.090 --> 00:01:56.730 you all the details, but we took all the details 00:01:56.730 --> 00:01:59.709 into account, and we casted our vote, I guess, 00:01:59.750 --> 00:02:02.189 and they went with the vote that we did, and 00:02:02.189 --> 00:02:05.030 I think we made the right decision. I think my 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:08.870 uncle got saved that week. He died shortly after, 00:02:09.150 --> 00:02:12.069 but it gave him another opportunity to hear the 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:14.990 gospel and to get saved, and so that was kind 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:16.650 of our main thinking when we made the decision, 00:02:16.729 --> 00:02:22.969 but back to being called to do things, just like 00:02:22.969 --> 00:02:27.129 my uncle's bedside moment that we had, God sometimes 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:30.750 calls us when we're least expecting it. And that's 00:02:30.750 --> 00:02:33.509 what we see going on in Elijah's life tonight. 00:02:33.849 --> 00:02:35.629 Tonight we're gonna be starting a new series 00:02:35.629 --> 00:02:39.629 in Elijah, talking about Elijah, seeing God's 00:02:39.629 --> 00:02:43.270 hand at work. And our session tonight is called 00:02:43.270 --> 00:02:46.210 God's Call to Service. And so the amazing thing 00:02:46.210 --> 00:02:49.789 about God is that he extends a divine invitation 00:02:49.789 --> 00:02:52.909 to each and every one of us. God calls us to 00:02:52.909 --> 00:02:56.370 himself. through his son, Jesus Christ. And in 00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:59.750 Christ, he calls us to join in his work, to reach 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:03.449 the world in various capacities, right? And the 00:03:03.449 --> 00:03:05.250 God of the universe, he doesn't necessarily need 00:03:05.250 --> 00:03:07.650 us, but he chooses to call us into his work. 00:03:08.509 --> 00:03:12.810 And now we know when God calls us, we don't all 00:03:12.810 --> 00:03:16.889 respond the same way. We don't all say yes immediately 00:03:16.889 --> 00:03:20.490 to God's call. Some of us hesitate, some of us 00:03:20.490 --> 00:03:22.949 negotiate or even run the opposite direction, 00:03:23.050 --> 00:03:26.449 right? I mean, Jonah did it. I'm sure somebody 00:03:26.449 --> 00:03:28.969 in here has done that before. And some people 00:03:28.969 --> 00:03:32.330 just say, hey, God, that's not my job, right? 00:03:32.530 --> 00:03:36.689 I don't know how many of you have done all three 00:03:36.689 --> 00:03:40.289 in your life, but you've said yes to God calling 00:03:40.289 --> 00:03:42.310 your life. You've tried to find a way around 00:03:42.310 --> 00:03:45.169 God's calling your life, or you just completely 00:03:45.169 --> 00:03:47.169 neglected it. I don't know how many people have 00:03:47.169 --> 00:03:48.909 done all three. I know I've done all three in 00:03:48.909 --> 00:03:53.599 my life. And I sometimes wonder, man, What would 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:57.020 life be like if I just responded with a yes every 00:03:57.020 --> 00:04:00.120 time I felt God's call in my life? Have you guys 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:05.219 ever wondered that? If I did what God called 00:04:05.219 --> 00:04:07.819 me to do, I would be in full -time ministry by 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:11.280 now. I'd be a pastor. I would have led X amount 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:12.740 of people to the Lord, because I would have been 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:15.479 faithful to his call in my life. My kids would 00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:18.259 be like this. My marriage would be like this. 00:04:19.769 --> 00:04:22.350 Who knows what God could do with our lives if 00:04:22.350 --> 00:04:25.069 we all did what God called us to every time he 00:04:25.069 --> 00:04:29.170 called us, right? What nobody knows what that 00:04:29.170 --> 00:04:31.389 would be like. But that's not the case in our 00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:34.149 lives. And so there's no reason to necessarily 00:04:34.149 --> 00:04:37.610 dwell on missed opportunities. If you're alive 00:04:37.610 --> 00:04:40.649 right now, you have an opportunity to respond 00:04:40.649 --> 00:04:44.439 to God's call today. And God can use you and 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:46.399 he can use those experiences that you've went 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.259 through to equip you for what God has called 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:51.800 you to right now. And so if you're a believer, 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:54.939 God's called you to join in his work. And tonight 00:04:54.939 --> 00:04:56.579 through Elijah's story, we're gonna discover 00:04:56.579 --> 00:04:59.699 three steps that show us exactly how to respond 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:04.000 to God's call to serve him. And so here's the 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:07.120 objective statement. Every believer can join 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:10.279 God's work by following Elijah's pattern of response 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:13.910 to God's divine calling. And so just a little 00:05:13.910 --> 00:05:16.750 bit of context, under King Ahab's leadership, 00:05:16.970 --> 00:05:21.209 Israel is at like an all time low. The scripture 00:05:21.209 --> 00:05:24.209 tells us that King Ahab did more to provoke the 00:05:24.209 --> 00:05:27.449 Lord, to anger than any other king before him. 00:05:28.149 --> 00:05:30.610 And so this is the place where God has called 00:05:30.610 --> 00:05:33.290 Elijah and Elisha, who we're gonna be talking 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:36.589 about tonight, to serve. We know the story of 00:05:36.589 --> 00:05:39.410 Elijah. He had just experienced the highest high, 00:05:39.569 --> 00:05:42.889 the greatest triumph of his life. defeating the 00:05:42.889 --> 00:05:45.170 prophets of Baal, and then he went through the 00:05:45.170 --> 00:05:47.529 deepest sorrow in his life where he fled from 00:05:47.529 --> 00:05:50.329 Jezebel's threats, right? And then God goes to 00:05:50.329 --> 00:05:52.310 the mountain, meets him there, he comforts him, 00:05:52.610 --> 00:05:54.430 and then he gives him a new mission, and his 00:05:54.430 --> 00:05:59.550 mission is to go anoint kings over Israel and 00:05:59.550 --> 00:06:04.750 Syria, and then God says to anoint Elisha to 00:06:04.750 --> 00:06:09.790 be his successor. In 1 Kings 19, 16, it says, 00:06:10.110 --> 00:06:14.529 And Jehu, the son of Nimshi, shalt thou anoint 00:06:14.529 --> 00:06:17.790 king over Israel, and Elijah, the son of Shaphat 00:06:17.790 --> 00:06:25.509 of Abomahola, shalt thou anoint to be the prophet 00:06:25.509 --> 00:06:32.329 in thy room. And so Elijah is gonna anoint Elisha. 00:06:32.589 --> 00:06:35.449 And Elisha is, he was a man of faith, but he 00:06:35.449 --> 00:06:37.470 was just a normal man. He's a farmer by trade. 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:40.800 He loved the Lord, but he wasn't a priest, he 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:44.399 wasn't a prophet, he wasn't a king, and yet God 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:47.720 called him to leave behind his trade and to join 00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:50.920 in God's work. And in response, his response 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.399 serves as an example for all believers of how 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.079 we should respond to God's call and how we can 00:06:57.079 --> 00:06:59.720 be used by God in his mission to reach the world 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:04.120 with the gospel. And so throughout Israel's history, 00:07:04.960 --> 00:07:08.899 prophets like Elijah and Elisha were called to 00:07:08.899 --> 00:07:11.139 call Israel to holiness, to reveal God's will 00:07:11.139 --> 00:07:14.199 to them and to challenge injustice and to prepare 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:16.819 their hearts for Jesus. And that's kind of like, 00:07:17.019 --> 00:07:19.800 they were kind of like spiritual forerunners 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:23.120 to the mission that believers are called to today, 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:27.079 to carry out, to reach the world with the gospel. 00:07:27.259 --> 00:07:31.079 And so just as God strategically positioned prophets 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:34.620 for that specific purpose in their time, God 00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:39.420 continues to call ordinary people like us to 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:41.740 extraordinary service in his redemptive plan 00:07:41.740 --> 00:07:46.720 for humanity. And so, again, the objective tonight, 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:49.019 what I want everybody to leave here knowing is 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:51.519 that every believer can join in God's work by 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.980 following Elijah's three -step pattern of response 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:58.519 to God's divine calling. And step one we're gonna 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:01.699 look at is decisive response, and we're gonna 00:08:01.699 --> 00:08:07.759 pick up in... First Kings 19 verse 19 First Kings 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:14.519 19 says So he departed thence and found Elisha 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:19.199 the son of Shaphat who was plowing who was plowing 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:22.459 with the 12 yoke of oxen before him and he with 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:26.420 the 12th and Elijah passed by him and cast his 00:08:26.420 --> 00:08:30.579 mantle upon him and he left the oxen and ran 00:08:30.579 --> 00:08:33.620 after Elijah and said "'Let me, I pray thee, 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.340 kiss my father and my mother, "'and then I will 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:39.600 follow thee.' And he said unto him, "'Go back 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:44.419 again, for what have I done to thee?' And he 00:08:44.419 --> 00:08:46.600 returned back to him and took the yoke of oxen 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:50.120 and slew them and boiled their flesh, and with 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:52.720 the instruments of the oxen he gave unto the 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:56.039 people, and they did eat. Then he arose and went 00:08:56.039 --> 00:09:00.169 after Elijah and ministered to him." And so we 00:09:00.169 --> 00:09:02.830 see that Elijah, he obeyed God's call in his 00:09:02.830 --> 00:09:05.789 life, and he goes and he finds Elijah, he anoints 00:09:05.789 --> 00:09:07.690 him, and he kinda does it in a funny way, at 00:09:07.690 --> 00:09:11.129 least I thought it was funny. He casts his mantle 00:09:11.129 --> 00:09:14.169 on him, his way of kinda saying, hey, you're 00:09:14.169 --> 00:09:20.549 next. The mantle is like a cloak, but it symbolizes 00:09:20.549 --> 00:09:26.669 Elijah's prophetic authority, and so it symbolizes 00:09:26.669 --> 00:09:29.879 that God's with him. And when he casted the mantle 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:31.899 on him, could you imagine kind of how that must 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:34.639 have felt? I thought it would be kind of like 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:39.379 if Pastor Ben's preaching and he comes over to 00:09:39.379 --> 00:09:46.860 Justin and he's like, you're next, right? And 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:49.840 how many people would be like, wow, what is going 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:54.840 on here, right? I don't think I'm ready for that, 00:09:54.899 --> 00:09:57.539 right? I mean, I definitely don't know if I would 00:09:57.539 --> 00:10:00.620 be prepared to just pick up the mantle and go. 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:05.980 But it seems like Elisha knew exactly what Elisha 00:10:05.980 --> 00:10:08.259 was doing and what he meant by this. Because 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:13.220 he doesn't really ask any questions. It seems 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:16.620 like he understood what he meant. But I know, 00:10:16.940 --> 00:10:19.279 even if I understood what was going on, even 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:22.600 if I knew, okay, Pastor Ben is giving me the 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:25.500 microphone, he wants me to go up there. I still 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:27.360 would probably be like, hold on, hold on, hold 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:29.279 on, I'm not ready, I didn't prepare any notes, 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:32.259 I don't know what's going on, right? That wasn't 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:34.840 Elijah's response. Elijah immediately abandoned 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:39.460 his former life and he answers God's call. And 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:42.700 now when I say that, somebody may be like, hold 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:46.460 on Damon, that's not what happened. He went home, 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:49.779 he kissed his mom and dad goodbye. And isn't 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:53.279 there a verse where Jesus rebukes somebody for 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:58.669 doing that same exact thing? In Luke 9, Luke 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:01.330 goes through these three conversations where 00:11:01.330 --> 00:11:04.549 Jesus conveys a proper understanding of what 00:11:04.549 --> 00:11:09.009 being called entails. And in Elijah's case, what 00:11:09.009 --> 00:11:12.690 taking up that mantle meant, right? Right after 00:11:12.690 --> 00:11:15.149 these conversations that Jesus has with these 00:11:15.149 --> 00:11:18.169 disciples, he sends 70 disciples away. And so 00:11:18.169 --> 00:11:20.090 the purpose of these conversations, I don't think 00:11:20.090 --> 00:11:23.169 they were to rebuke anybody, they were. they 00:11:23.169 --> 00:11:24.970 were to help those disciples understand what 00:11:24.970 --> 00:11:29.389 the calling meant. And they also help us to understand 00:11:29.389 --> 00:11:31.529 Elijah's response to his own calling. And so 00:11:31.529 --> 00:11:34.370 the first conversation Jesus has in Luke nine 00:11:34.370 --> 00:11:40.789 is found in verse 57. And it says, and it came 00:11:40.789 --> 00:11:44.389 to pass that as they went in the way, a certain 00:11:44.389 --> 00:11:47.929 man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever 00:11:47.929 --> 00:11:50.789 thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, foxes have 00:11:50.789 --> 00:11:54.419 holes and birds. of the air have nests, the son 00:11:54.419 --> 00:11:57.700 of man hath not where to lay his head. And so 00:11:57.700 --> 00:12:00.320 we see this really eager man come to Jesus, and 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.519 he's like, Jesus, I'll follow you anywhere you 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:06.580 go. And Jesus, he doesn't discourage him, but 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:09.379 I think he ensures that he has a right understanding 00:12:09.379 --> 00:12:14.820 of discipleship, of what discipleship means, 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:18.419 and it may mean sacrifice, right? You might have 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:21.129 to sacrifice your comfort and security. And so 00:12:21.129 --> 00:12:24.629 Jesus himself, he says, had no permanent home, 00:12:25.490 --> 00:12:27.450 and following God's call, it's not always gonna 00:12:27.450 --> 00:12:31.490 be comfortable, but that shouldn't stop us from 00:12:31.490 --> 00:12:35.309 our responding to it, right? We must not have 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:38.750 a fictional, so we can't just have this fictional 00:12:38.750 --> 00:12:41.149 concept of what the calling is gonna be like, 00:12:41.409 --> 00:12:44.750 though. We can't think, man, God is gonna take 00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:47.389 care of us, right? But our walk's not gonna be 00:12:47.389 --> 00:12:50.690 perfect, and I think that's what Jesus was. was 00:12:50.690 --> 00:12:53.009 trying to tell this guy, it's not gonna be easy 00:12:53.009 --> 00:12:55.429 all the time. I don't have a permanent place 00:12:55.429 --> 00:12:57.629 to lay my head, and you, as you follow me, you 00:12:57.629 --> 00:13:00.350 might not. And so, he wasn't trying to discourage 00:13:00.350 --> 00:13:02.570 him, but the man was very eager, and he was trying 00:13:02.570 --> 00:13:05.850 to give him a right understanding of what following 00:13:05.850 --> 00:13:07.929 Jesus was gonna entail. The second conversation 00:13:07.929 --> 00:13:11.809 we see is in the next few verses. In verse 59, 00:13:12.330 --> 00:13:15.870 he said, and he said unto another, follow me. 00:13:16.190 --> 00:13:19.149 But he said, Lord, suffer me to go first or to 00:13:19.149 --> 00:13:23.049 go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, let 00:13:23.049 --> 00:13:26.090 the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach 00:13:26.090 --> 00:13:29.889 the kingdom of God. And so the one guy says, 00:13:29.929 --> 00:13:32.450 hey, I'll follow you anywhere. And Jesus says, 00:13:32.529 --> 00:13:34.730 hold on, let me tell you what this really means. 00:13:35.190 --> 00:13:37.769 This next guy, Jesus says, hey, follow me. And 00:13:37.769 --> 00:13:41.049 he says, you know, I wanna bury my father. Most 00:13:41.049 --> 00:13:43.929 people agree that and believe that this man wasn't 00:13:43.929 --> 00:13:46.820 just asking, hey, can I go to my dad's funeral 00:13:46.820 --> 00:13:49.779 really quick? What he was actually asking is, 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:54.019 hey, my father's gonna die eventually, and I 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:56.720 wanna be here when he goes. And so he was just, 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:59.200 he was postponing the call indefinitely. He was 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:02.320 saying, hey, I wanna follow you, but whenever, 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:04.700 it's gonna have to wait until this takes place 00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:08.940 first. And so Jesus, he gives a seemingly harsh 00:14:08.940 --> 00:14:11.340 response, but he makes this vital point that 00:14:11.340 --> 00:14:14.269 nothing should delay our response to God's call. 00:14:14.370 --> 00:14:17.549 God's mission, it can't just wait until we feel 00:14:17.549 --> 00:14:21.029 like obeying God's call because souls hang in 00:14:21.029 --> 00:14:23.950 the balance, right? He said, go thou and preach 00:14:23.950 --> 00:14:25.730 the kingdom of God. People need to hear that. 00:14:26.429 --> 00:14:29.210 And that leads to the third conversation that 00:14:29.210 --> 00:14:33.129 he has in the next two verses. In verse 61, it 00:14:33.129 --> 00:14:35.889 says, and another said, Lord, I will follow thee, 00:14:36.169 --> 00:14:38.830 but let me first go bid them farewell, which 00:14:38.830 --> 00:14:41.970 are home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, 00:14:42.139 --> 00:14:45.539 no man having put his hand to the plow and looking 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:49.659 back is fit for the kingdom of God. And so, this 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:51.860 situation here, it's the one that most closely 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:55.659 resembles what we read about in Elijah's calling. 00:14:56.559 --> 00:14:59.200 The man, he wants to say goodbye to his family, 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:01.620 which is a reasonable request. Like, if Jason 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:03.799 and Angela were going to be missionaries in some 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:05.840 far -off land, I would hope that they would come 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:08.639 give me a hug and a kiss, right? Like, that seems 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:12.240 reasonable. But Jesus, we see here, he alludes 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:16.360 to the plowing, just like Elijah was doing when 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:19.879 he was called, and he warns about divided commitment. 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:23.899 So unlike the previous guy who said, hey, when 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:25.559 this happens, then I'll follow you. This guy, 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:29.279 he really wanted to follow Jesus, and he planned 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:31.120 to follow Jesus, but he wanted to say goodbye 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:35.759 first. And so Jesus here, he's not forbidding 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:38.419 farewells. He's not saying, hey, You don't need 00:15:38.419 --> 00:15:41.500 to say goodbye to your family. He's just emphasizing 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:46.100 that following God and God's call, it requires 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:49.720 our undivided focus. It divides our whole heart 00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:53.860 behind it. We don't necessarily know what that 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:57.700 guy did, but we do get to see what Elisha did 00:15:57.700 --> 00:15:59.820 in his own life. He says goodbye to his family, 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:03.860 and then he sacrifices his 12 yoke of oxen, which 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:07.820 I don't know. Matt Bam's not in here, but I don't 00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:10.039 know how much that would cost, but in my studies, 00:16:10.259 --> 00:16:12.500 it seemed like that was a significant, that was 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:14.259 worth a significant amount of money to have 12 00:16:14.259 --> 00:16:17.980 yoke of oxen. That's 24 oxen, and he sacrificed 00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:22.120 them all. He burns his equipment to cook them, 00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:24.980 and then he never looks back, right? And this 00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:27.679 is the kind of decisive response that I believe 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.080 God's looking for in his people. Think about 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:33.629 Abraham. When Abraham was called, In Genesis 00:16:33.629 --> 00:16:36.509 12, verse one it says, now the Lord said unto 00:16:36.509 --> 00:16:39.149 Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from 00:16:39.149 --> 00:16:41.769 thy kindred, and from thy father's house, and 00:16:41.769 --> 00:16:44.309 unto a land that I will show you. And then in 00:16:44.309 --> 00:16:46.970 verse four it says, so Abraham departed as the 00:16:46.970 --> 00:16:49.470 Lord had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him, 00:16:49.590 --> 00:16:52.149 and Abraham was 75 years old when he departed 00:16:52.149 --> 00:16:55.330 from Haran. So God said go and Abraham left, 00:16:55.809 --> 00:16:59.259 right? I'm gonna be honest with you, it's hard 00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:01.500 to follow God's call like that as a 28 -year 00:17:01.500 --> 00:17:04.220 -old. I can't imagine doing that at the age of 00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:07.680 75, right? Abraham was 75, it says. But that's 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:10.180 the kind of response to God's call that Abraham 00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:12.539 had. He trusted God had a better plan for him 00:17:12.539 --> 00:17:15.960 than what he had for himself. And think about 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:19.240 the disciples, right? When Jesus called Peter, 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:22.559 Andrew, James and John, they immediately left 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:26.589 their fishing nets and followed Jesus. They demonstrated 00:17:26.589 --> 00:17:30.309 that same decisive abandonment of their lifestyle, 00:17:30.509 --> 00:17:34.450 of their livelihood, for faith. And that's the 00:17:34.450 --> 00:17:39.509 same thing Elijah did. And man, we all know that 00:17:39.509 --> 00:17:43.210 is much easier said than done, right? It's much 00:17:43.210 --> 00:17:47.430 easier said than done. But that's why Elijah, 00:17:47.829 --> 00:17:52.210 he said to Elijah, go back again for what have 00:17:52.210 --> 00:17:57.309 I done to thee. So remember, Elijah had experienced 00:17:57.309 --> 00:17:59.990 the highest of highs and the lowest of lows being 00:17:59.990 --> 00:18:03.410 a prophet, right? We talked about his depression 00:18:03.410 --> 00:18:07.349 in our emotions series, right? He was depressed. 00:18:07.849 --> 00:18:11.849 He was ready for God to take him out. He had 00:18:11.849 --> 00:18:13.809 experienced it all. He called down fire from 00:18:13.809 --> 00:18:17.309 heaven and then he was ready to go. So he knew 00:18:17.309 --> 00:18:19.750 the depth of what this calling meant for Elijah, 00:18:20.109 --> 00:18:22.759 for Elisha's life. And so he wanted him to have 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:24.380 this full understanding, kind of like we see 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:28.359 Jesus in those conversations, clearing up the 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:32.279 idea. Because Elijah, he was called to this thing, 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:35.720 and so he says, for what have I done to thee? 00:18:36.660 --> 00:18:39.799 He knew what he had done to Elijah, and Elijah 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:42.339 needed to understand that. But I think Elijah 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:45.619 did understand that, and we see that by his response. 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:50.299 So today, We know that God calls all believers 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:53.160 to take part in his mission, to spread the gospel 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:56.200 to the world. Whether you get paid for full -time 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:01.759 ministry or not, we all face this temptation 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:05.660 to not follow our call, right? It's so much easier 00:19:05.660 --> 00:19:11.180 to not do what we're called to do. And sometimes, 00:19:12.199 --> 00:19:14.079 It's not comfortable. Sometimes it means that 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:15.880 we have to give up things Sometimes it means 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:18.259 that we have to trust in God instead of our riches, 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:21.180 right? It's so much easier to do that But we 00:19:21.180 --> 00:19:23.880 can trust in the Lord and I and when I was doing 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:26.180 this I was thinking about the guy or family that 00:19:26.180 --> 00:19:30.019 we had recently The missionaries that were going 00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:33.180 to Guatemala They they told their testimony in 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:34.960 their testimony. They basically said hey, we 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:37.920 had we had the American dream We had it all and 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:41.009 and then they gave it up to be about the Lord's 00:19:41.009 --> 00:19:43.190 work, and they went to a whole new country, and 00:19:43.190 --> 00:19:45.190 that testimony I felt like was super encouraging 00:19:45.190 --> 00:19:49.569 to hear. Now God, he doesn't call us all to leave 00:19:49.569 --> 00:19:52.390 the country to go learn a new language, but he 00:19:52.390 --> 00:19:55.789 does call us all to participate in his work, 00:19:56.190 --> 00:19:58.089 and sometimes that means leaving our families, 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:01.769 sometimes that means we're simply called to reach 00:20:01.769 --> 00:20:04.150 our families, right? Which, that can be difficult 00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:07.559 at times. or maybe just to reach our community 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:09.779 in Findlay, Ohio. Right now, personally, I believe 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:12.920 that I'm called to reach young adults in Findlay, 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:18.599 Ohio. You guys know why I believe that? Because 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:21.799 I'm a young adult in Findlay, Ohio. And so that's 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:23.880 my demographic. That's who I should reach. And 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:26.579 then on top of that, I feel like God put a stamp 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:29.140 on it because I teach a young adult Sunday school 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:32.039 class where I have the opportunity to minister 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:36.440 to young adults every week. And so I think that's 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:40.680 where God has called me right now. Where or who 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:44.460 has God called you to reach, right? And then 00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:46.359 are you committed to living out that call in 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:49.400 your lives, or do you have oxen and a plow that 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:51.640 you need to get rid of? Are you holding on to 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:54.039 something that's keeping you from a decisive 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.359 response to follow God's call? Again, for some 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:00.440 it's financial security, for others it's fear 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:03.880 of unknown concerns, what others might think. 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:07.859 what might happen if I do this, if I follow God 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:11.259 in this way. Whatever it is, I think Elijah shows 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:14.059 us that complete commitment to the Lord's call 00:21:14.059 --> 00:21:16.799 is really the only appropriate response for us 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.940 to have to God's divine invitation. And so if 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:23.819 you're willing to respond with a decisive yes 00:21:23.819 --> 00:21:26.839 to God, I believe he's gonna use you, and he'll 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:30.339 use that. And if you ask, he will empower you 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:32.180 for the work that he's called you to do. And 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:33.660 that's what we're gonna see in our next point. 00:21:34.630 --> 00:21:37.509 Elijah's decisive response, it sets him up on 00:21:37.509 --> 00:21:40.930 this path of ministry, but responding was just 00:21:40.930 --> 00:21:43.369 the first step. He faithfully served alongside 00:21:43.369 --> 00:21:46.309 Elijah for a while, and he recognized God's calling 00:21:46.309 --> 00:21:49.089 was gonna require more than just human effort. 00:21:49.289 --> 00:21:52.170 He would need God's empowerment if he was gonna 00:21:52.170 --> 00:21:54.869 fulfill that call the way that God wanted him 00:21:54.869 --> 00:21:57.809 to. Just as we need God's power to fulfill God's 00:21:57.809 --> 00:22:00.529 calling in our lives, Elijah knew that he needed 00:22:00.529 --> 00:22:03.200 the... God's divine strength if he was gonna 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.240 do what God was calling him to do in fulfilling 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:09.980 and taking up that mantle. So that brings us 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:13.960 to our second step, which is a bold request. 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:17.160 Bold request, and that's gonna be, we're gonna 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:20.960 skip a couple chapters. We'll be in 2 Kings 2, 00:22:21.579 --> 00:22:25.759 verse seven. And verse seven we're gonna pick 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:30.220 up. And 50 men of the sons of the prophets went 00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:34.799 and stood to view afar off, and they too stood 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:37.819 by the Jordan, and Elijah took his mantle and 00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:41.059 wrapped it together and smote the waters, and 00:22:41.059 --> 00:22:44.299 they were divided hither and thither so that 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:46.720 they too went over on dry ground, and it came 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:49.759 to pass when they were gone over that Elijah 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:54.279 said to Elisha, ask what I shall do for thee 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:57.059 before I be taken away from thee, and Elijah 00:22:57.059 --> 00:22:59.690 said, I pray thee, Let a double portion of thy 00:22:59.690 --> 00:23:02.309 spirit be upon me. And he said, thou hast asked 00:23:02.309 --> 00:23:05.789 a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when 00:23:05.789 --> 00:23:09.049 I am taken away from thee, it shall be so unto 00:23:09.049 --> 00:23:12.809 thee. But if not, it shall not be so. And so 00:23:12.809 --> 00:23:16.069 the time had come for Elijah to be taken up to 00:23:16.069 --> 00:23:19.170 heaven. And we know that he didn't go the way 00:23:19.170 --> 00:23:21.789 that most of us go, right? We're gonna see in 00:23:21.789 --> 00:23:25.309 the next point that he was taken up in a whirlwind. 00:23:25.609 --> 00:23:28.339 He was lifted up, he never died. and that's amazing. 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:31.359 But Elijah, he knew it was time for him to go, 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:33.779 and so in the context, we didn't read this part, 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:36.980 but he tries to get Elisha to stay behind, and 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:39.420 Elisha, he's determined to stay with his mentor 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:41.960 until he was gone, and so we see Elisha allows 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:45.200 him to do that, and as they're walking along, 00:23:45.779 --> 00:23:48.059 they're followed by this entourage of men, the 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:49.660 sons of the prophets, and they're watching them 00:23:49.660 --> 00:23:52.079 from a distance as they cross over the river, 00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:58.029 and they see Elisha, Elijah, rather, hit the 00:23:58.029 --> 00:24:02.789 water, part the river, and they observe this 00:24:02.789 --> 00:24:06.009 last moment between this mentor and his mentee, 00:24:06.089 --> 00:24:10.549 or the prophet in training, the prophetic intern, 00:24:10.809 --> 00:24:17.470 if you will. We see that, and again, he smites 00:24:17.470 --> 00:24:20.309 the water, and they cross on dry ground, just 00:24:20.309 --> 00:24:23.430 like Moses and Israel in the Red Sea. Then Elijah 00:24:23.430 --> 00:24:26.589 asks him, What shall I do before I be taken away? 00:24:26.630 --> 00:24:30.910 And I think that's a huge invitation. And Elisha 00:24:30.910 --> 00:24:32.950 doesn't miss the opportunity, right? Have you 00:24:32.950 --> 00:24:35.670 guys ever been asked, like, hey, I'll give you 00:24:35.670 --> 00:24:37.509 whatever you want. And you ask for something 00:24:37.509 --> 00:24:40.049 really, like, lame that you could have. You're 00:24:40.049 --> 00:24:41.710 like, wait, I could have asked for it. I didn't 00:24:41.710 --> 00:24:43.690 know you really meant anything I wanted, right? 00:24:44.890 --> 00:24:47.809 That happened to me one time when I was younger. 00:24:47.890 --> 00:24:49.690 My grandmother, she asked me what I wanted for 00:24:49.690 --> 00:24:53.670 Christmas. And I asked for something. Just normal, 00:24:54.029 --> 00:24:57.849 small. And she responded, that's all. And my 00:24:57.849 --> 00:25:01.890 eyes were open that day. She shouldn't have done 00:25:01.890 --> 00:25:06.809 that. As I got older, I realized, man, my grandma, 00:25:06.809 --> 00:25:10.730 she really does want to bless me. She wants me 00:25:10.730 --> 00:25:13.930 to make bold requests. Maybe not as bold as I 00:25:13.930 --> 00:25:17.990 got, but she took joy in fulfilling. these requests, 00:25:18.170 --> 00:25:19.809 right? Like she loved to get me things and that 00:25:19.809 --> 00:25:22.009 was nice, but I learned not to hold back when 00:25:22.009 --> 00:25:24.890 I made requests, right? I'm like, hey, I would 00:25:24.890 --> 00:25:34.349 like a PS5 and five games and a 50 inch TV and 00:25:34.349 --> 00:25:39.789 I need a spare controller. I didn't get all that, 00:25:39.789 --> 00:25:44.009 but it was worth a try. Elisha, he courageously 00:25:44.009 --> 00:25:48.569 asked for spiritual empowerment. Elijah gave 00:25:48.569 --> 00:25:55.009 him that option. Like my grandparents, I believe 00:25:55.009 --> 00:25:59.089 that God, he invites us to make these bold requests, 00:26:00.109 --> 00:26:02.589 and when our requests align with his purposes, 00:26:03.829 --> 00:26:06.390 he's gonna help us fulfill our calling in our 00:26:06.390 --> 00:26:09.369 lives. He delights in granting our requests when 00:26:09.369 --> 00:26:11.529 they align with his purposes, and it's a beautiful 00:26:11.529 --> 00:26:15.269 thing. We see this in this instance with Elijah 00:26:15.269 --> 00:26:19.250 and Elisha. He doesn't necessarily promise, hey, 00:26:19.309 --> 00:26:21.289 whatever you ask, I'll give it to you. He asks, 00:26:21.430 --> 00:26:23.910 what should I give you? He responds, he goes, 00:26:24.069 --> 00:26:26.750 man, that's a hard thing. If you're here with 00:26:26.750 --> 00:26:30.069 me, I'll give it to you. If you're not, I won't. 00:26:30.670 --> 00:26:34.329 But just like, I think that's kinda like God 00:26:34.329 --> 00:26:37.230 and my grandmother. They didn't necessarily promise 00:26:37.230 --> 00:26:40.230 to give us everything we ask for, every single 00:26:40.230 --> 00:26:43.109 thing we ask for, but he makes the opportunity 00:26:43.109 --> 00:26:45.150 known to him, and we see that the Bible tells 00:26:45.150 --> 00:26:49.089 us, often that we should be making our requests 00:26:49.089 --> 00:26:51.049 known to God. James says, you have not because 00:26:51.049 --> 00:26:55.349 you ask not. And we know that Elijah had proven 00:26:55.349 --> 00:26:58.410 that he was faithful. And when he made this, 00:26:59.369 --> 00:27:02.269 well finish that James verse, or you ask amiss, 00:27:02.390 --> 00:27:04.369 right? You have not because you ask not, or you 00:27:04.369 --> 00:27:08.490 ask amiss. We know that Elijah was proven to 00:27:08.490 --> 00:27:11.869 be faithful. And so when he asked, he didn't 00:27:11.869 --> 00:27:18.019 ask amiss. And Elijah, then saw greatly how the 00:27:18.019 --> 00:27:20.339 Spirit of God was gonna work in his life. He 00:27:20.339 --> 00:27:22.880 saw in Elijah's life, and he wanted the same 00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:25.099 for himself, and he asked for a double portion. 00:27:26.460 --> 00:27:28.240 And so the idea of a double portion here, it 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:31.480 points to the way that Israel would have handled 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:34.099 their children's inheritance. Think back to Jacob 00:27:34.099 --> 00:27:38.259 and Esau. You guys remember how Jacob stole Esau's 00:27:38.259 --> 00:27:42.119 birthright? Esau was the firstborn, and at that 00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:45.950 time, the firstborn, he would get He would get 00:27:45.950 --> 00:27:48.569 a double portion. You're right, he sold it to 00:27:48.569 --> 00:27:54.269 him. But that's not what Esau said, right? But 00:27:54.269 --> 00:27:56.910 the firstborn at the time would get a double 00:27:56.910 --> 00:27:58.490 portion of the father's inheritance and they 00:27:58.490 --> 00:28:00.650 would get the responsibility to steward it. And 00:28:00.650 --> 00:28:02.609 so for Esau, what that meant, there was only 00:28:02.609 --> 00:28:06.450 two boys, so what that meant was Esau was gonna 00:28:06.450 --> 00:28:10.150 have it all. But Jacob tricked him, he stole 00:28:10.150 --> 00:28:13.079 it, he bought it, however you wanna. However 00:28:13.079 --> 00:28:17.299 you wanna say it, for Elijah what this meant 00:28:17.299 --> 00:28:22.299 though was that he wanted to undertake Elijah's 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:26.819 ministry as opposed to those other 50 sons of 00:28:26.819 --> 00:28:30.539 the prophets that we're observing. So Elijah, 00:28:30.539 --> 00:28:33.359 he wasn't necessarily being greedy, but he recognized 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:38.400 that as Elijah's spiritual firstborn among those 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:42.339 prophets, he was gonna need all of God's power, 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:46.140 all of what Elijah had, and some, to carry on 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:48.799 that mantle, to do what God had called him to 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:52.039 do. And so he asked for the double portion, not 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:54.759 just about, that wasn't just about power, but 00:28:54.759 --> 00:28:57.400 about responsibility. He needed those spiritual 00:28:57.400 --> 00:28:59.480 resources. He needed God's strength to do what 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:02.140 he was called to do. And so we know that scripture 00:29:02.140 --> 00:29:04.240 confirms that God honored that bold request. 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:08.240 Elijah, we see in his ministry, and we're gonna 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:11.650 probably see in the next few, on Wednesday nights 00:29:11.650 --> 00:29:17.430 that Elijah performs almost twice as many miracles 00:29:17.430 --> 00:29:22.309 as Elijah did. And so if you remember, he had 00:29:22.309 --> 00:29:24.910 already been given the mantle once, and so now 00:29:24.910 --> 00:29:28.029 he wasn't just asking for this double portion 00:29:28.029 --> 00:29:30.849 so he could be awesome. He knew that Elijah was 00:29:30.849 --> 00:29:34.369 gonna be gone and that he would need God, God's 00:29:34.369 --> 00:29:36.190 strength and God's power as he was gonna live 00:29:36.190 --> 00:29:37.910 out this calling. And so that's what he asked 00:29:37.910 --> 00:29:40.940 for. He could have asked for anything, but that's 00:29:40.940 --> 00:29:43.359 what he asked for. And it reminds me of Solomon, 00:29:43.539 --> 00:29:47.799 right? When Solomon is asked by God, hey, what 00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:49.680 would you like me to give you? And he asked for 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:51.140 wisdom. He could have asked for anything. He 00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:52.480 could have asked for riches, but he asked for 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:55.680 wisdom. And God blessed him, said, because you've 00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:58.660 asked for wisdom and not riches, I'll give you 00:29:58.660 --> 00:30:02.680 both. Elisha, I don't know if he was that fortunate 00:30:02.680 --> 00:30:05.539 to have both. I don't think Scripture necessarily 00:30:05.539 --> 00:30:07.740 outlines that, but God did take care of him, 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:12.700 and God did give him what he asked for. And so, 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:16.019 we're gonna see that Elijah remained faithful, 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:18.500 and he saw what God had promised him come to 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:23.039 fruition. I think the Bible is full of all kinds 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:25.940 of people who make bold requests, and they remain 00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:28.599 faithful, and they receive great blessing from 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:30.839 it. I think throughout the Scripture, we see 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:34.500 this as a pattern. of bold requests that align 00:30:34.500 --> 00:30:38.240 with God's purposes, and God blesses that. Look 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:42.740 at Moses. Moses asked to see God's glory, right? 00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:45.980 And God blessed that. Hannah requested a son. 00:30:46.339 --> 00:30:48.160 She said, I'll dedicate my son to you if you 00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:52.079 give me a son. And God blessed that. And when 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:55.380 our requests align with God's will for our calling, 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:57.420 I think he delights in that. I believe he does. 00:30:58.299 --> 00:31:02.839 And he wants to empower us for his work. When 00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:05.440 we make these bold requests to God and stay faithful 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:08.660 while we wait, it shows our faith is true, and 00:31:08.660 --> 00:31:11.940 he blesses that as it accomplishes his will in 00:31:11.940 --> 00:31:15.759 our lives. And that's why we can make these kind 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:19.400 of bold requests in relation to our call. When 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:21.960 Elijah asked for the double portion of Elijah's 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:23.700 spirit, he was essentially saying, God, give 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:27.980 me your spirit to empower me. And we see God 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:30.039 did that, and of course God wanted to do that. 00:31:32.700 --> 00:31:36.079 In the New Testament, we see this principle amplified 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:42.299 when God, in Acts one, he says, but ye shall 00:31:42.299 --> 00:31:45.079 receive power after that which the Holy Ghost 00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:47.039 has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:50.079 unto me. God wants to empower his people to do 00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:52.660 his work in the world. And so just as Elijah 00:31:52.660 --> 00:31:55.900 needed the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill 00:31:55.900 --> 00:31:57.859 his prophetic calling, we need the Holy Spirit 00:31:57.859 --> 00:32:00.710 today. we need that empowerment to fulfill our 00:32:00.710 --> 00:32:04.009 calling as witnesses for Christ. It's not just 00:32:04.009 --> 00:32:05.750 about our ability, it's about his power working 00:32:05.750 --> 00:32:08.809 through us, and so I think it's important as 00:32:08.809 --> 00:32:11.970 we're talking about this to just know that salvation 00:32:11.970 --> 00:32:15.730 is a free gift, right? It's conditionless, and 00:32:15.730 --> 00:32:17.990 that's an amazing thing, and we all need Jesus, 00:32:18.029 --> 00:32:20.250 we all need to put our faith in Jesus to be saved. 00:32:21.990 --> 00:32:24.569 But growth and sanctification and spiritual empowerment, 00:32:24.670 --> 00:32:29.390 that often comes when we ask and when we remain 00:32:29.390 --> 00:32:31.250 faithful to what God's called us to do. And so 00:32:31.250 --> 00:32:35.529 I think that Jesus, think about that clear invitation 00:32:35.529 --> 00:32:38.869 that Jesus gives us in Matthew seven verses seven 00:32:38.869 --> 00:32:41.049 and eight. He says, asking it shall be given 00:32:41.049 --> 00:32:43.470 to you, seeking you shall find, knock, and it 00:32:43.470 --> 00:32:46.509 shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, 00:32:46.670 --> 00:32:48.910 receiveth, and he that seeketh, findeth, and 00:32:48.910 --> 00:32:51.809 to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Jesus 00:32:51.809 --> 00:32:54.869 isn't suggesting we might ask. He's commanding 00:32:54.869 --> 00:32:57.269 us to ask boldly, right? God wants us to make 00:32:57.269 --> 00:33:01.170 these bold, request to Him, not being presumptuous. 00:33:01.470 --> 00:33:03.150 We're not being presumptuous when we do that. 00:33:03.329 --> 00:33:05.849 When we ask God big things, we're not being presumptuous. 00:33:06.049 --> 00:33:09.650 We're acknowledging, God, I need you. I need 00:33:09.650 --> 00:33:11.690 your strength. I need your power. If I'm gonna 00:33:11.690 --> 00:33:14.009 be able to do what you called me to do, we're 00:33:14.009 --> 00:33:15.690 dependent on Him, and that's what we're acknowledging 00:33:15.690 --> 00:33:18.750 when we make those bold requests. And that's 00:33:18.750 --> 00:33:20.970 the very foundation of our relationship with 00:33:20.970 --> 00:33:23.130 God. That's where it starts. God, I need you. 00:33:23.150 --> 00:33:25.210 I can't save myself. I need you to save me from 00:33:25.210 --> 00:33:27.640 my sins. And it continues like that. I need your 00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:29.720 strength to do what you've called me to do. And 00:33:29.720 --> 00:33:32.119 so when we pray, God I need you, we're admitting 00:33:32.119 --> 00:33:36.119 we can't fulfill his calling on our lives in 00:33:36.119 --> 00:33:38.539 our own strength. And so like Elisha, we need 00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:41.299 that supernatural power to accomplish God's will. 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:47.779 And so when we make these bold requests in faith, 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:51.339 then God empowers us just like he empowered Elisha 00:33:51.339 --> 00:33:54.599 to stand ready to do his will. And so remember 00:33:54.599 --> 00:33:59.250 Elisha, Like Elijah, we need God's empowerment. 00:33:59.630 --> 00:34:01.970 So don't be afraid to ask big questions. Don't 00:34:01.970 --> 00:34:05.329 be afraid to ask, to make big requests to God 00:34:05.329 --> 00:34:07.549 for his strength, for whatever you're going through. 00:34:07.569 --> 00:34:10.230 God wants to help you through those things. And 00:34:10.230 --> 00:34:12.449 be prepared to walk faithfully, though, as you 00:34:12.449 --> 00:34:15.869 wait. I know there's such a temptation to make 00:34:15.869 --> 00:34:19.650 these big requests and not see it come to fruition 00:34:19.650 --> 00:34:23.730 today and then say, man, God's not gonna answer 00:34:23.730 --> 00:34:30.099 this prayer. or for some people it's, man, is 00:34:30.099 --> 00:34:33.079 he even there? God is there, he wants to answer 00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:36.239 those requests, but he also expects us to be 00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:40.119 faithful while we wait on his response. It's 00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:43.599 not enough to make bold requests. After Elijah 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:47.360 courageously asked God, then we see that he actively 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:51.570 received what God. We're gonna look at how Elisha 00:34:51.570 --> 00:34:54.050 claimed and exercised his spiritual inheritance 00:34:54.050 --> 00:34:57.550 in these next few verses. And in step three, 00:34:57.949 --> 00:35:04.489 which is active reception. Pick up in verse 11. 00:35:06.170 --> 00:35:10.210 Verse 11, and it came to pass, as they still 00:35:10.210 --> 00:35:12.809 went on and talked, that behold, there appeared 00:35:12.809 --> 00:35:16.760 a chariot of fire and horses of fire. and parted 00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:19.719 them both asunder. And Elijah went up by whirlwind 00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:25.360 into heaven. And Elijah saw it and cried, my 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:27.840 father, my father, the chariot of Israel and 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:31.500 the horseman thereof. And he saw him no more. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:34.840 And he took hold of his own clothes and rent 00:35:34.840 --> 00:35:37.460 them in two pieces. And he took also the mantle 00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:40.500 of Elijah that fell on him and went back and 00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:43.179 stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:46.360 mantle of Elijah. that fell on him and smote 00:35:46.360 --> 00:35:48.920 the waters and said, where is the Lord God of 00:35:48.920 --> 00:35:52.400 Israel? And when he had also smitten the waters, 00:35:52.739 --> 00:35:55.440 they parted hither and thither, and Elijah went 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:58.179 over, and when the sons of the prophets which 00:35:58.179 --> 00:36:01.659 were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, the 00:36:01.659 --> 00:36:05.599 spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:07.960 came to meet him and bowed themselves on the 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:10.500 ground before him. And so man, that is quite 00:36:10.500 --> 00:36:14.300 a dramatic scene, right? We see, heavenly chariots 00:36:14.300 --> 00:36:17.760 of fire appear between him and Elijah as he swept 00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:20.760 away in this whirlwind. And then we see Elijah, 00:36:20.780 --> 00:36:23.780 he cries out, my father, my father, the chariot 00:36:23.780 --> 00:36:26.800 of Israel and the horseman thereof. When he did 00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:30.880 that, when he said that, he was recognizing that 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:33.199 Israel's true strength, it wasn't in their military 00:36:33.199 --> 00:36:36.179 might, it wasn't in their wealth, it was in God 00:36:36.179 --> 00:36:38.619 ultimately, but it was through their man of God, 00:36:38.940 --> 00:36:42.280 Elijah. And so because God, God was empowering 00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:45.900 Elijah to fight on his behalf, to combat the 00:36:45.900 --> 00:36:48.619 idolatry that was going on in amazing ways in 00:36:48.619 --> 00:36:51.679 his story. And so when that disappeared, the 00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:55.420 natural feeling that Elijah must have been feeling 00:36:55.420 --> 00:36:59.360 was, no, our man of God is gone. My mentor is 00:36:59.360 --> 00:37:02.199 gone. What are we gonna do now? And in grief 00:37:02.199 --> 00:37:05.519 it says he tears his clothes, which is basically 00:37:05.519 --> 00:37:09.449 an expression of deep distress. I think. In our 00:37:09.449 --> 00:37:11.250 culture, in our society today, that's just kind 00:37:11.250 --> 00:37:13.570 of weird though. Could you imagine if every time 00:37:13.570 --> 00:37:18.150 you were in deep distress, you just, ah! Just 00:37:18.150 --> 00:37:21.829 straight Hulk Hogan. You go to McDonald's and 00:37:21.829 --> 00:37:23.550 you get your fries and they're cold and you're 00:37:23.550 --> 00:37:26.469 like, no! And then your shirt, yeah, it's terrible. 00:37:26.750 --> 00:37:28.889 It would be so weird. People would look at you 00:37:28.889 --> 00:37:35.210 so strange. Nevermind. That's more or less what 00:37:35.210 --> 00:37:38.000 happened though. Elijah's mentor is gone, the 00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:40.860 prophet is taken away from the earth, but notice 00:37:40.860 --> 00:37:43.599 what happens next. He doesn't just stand there 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:47.599 like the disciples when Jesus was taken up, and 00:37:47.599 --> 00:37:49.039 he's like, hey, why are you guys still standing 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:51.579 here? You have a work to do. He grabs a mantle, 00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:54.480 he picks it up off the ground. This is the same 00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:56.639 mantle that symbolized his calling in the beginning, 00:37:56.699 --> 00:38:00.480 and now it's gonna be a token that, man, the 00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:03.119 prophetic authority that Elijah had is now on 00:38:03.119 --> 00:38:05.980 Elijah, and he picks it up. actively receiving 00:38:05.980 --> 00:38:09.519 what God had offered him, that calling that he 00:38:09.519 --> 00:38:13.480 had given him. That mantle that rested on Elijah's 00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:16.099 shoulders was now on his, and so he goes from 00:38:16.099 --> 00:38:20.059 the prophetic intern to being the prophet now, 00:38:20.059 --> 00:38:22.360 right? And I think this would be kind of like 00:38:22.360 --> 00:38:26.880 if Pastor, he was gone now, Justin's got the 00:38:26.880 --> 00:38:31.099 lapel, and he starts going, you know, he puts 00:38:31.099 --> 00:38:33.800 it on, you're not dismissed, you're sent. You're 00:38:33.800 --> 00:38:36.019 not dismissed, you're sent. You're not dismissed, 00:38:36.039 --> 00:38:39.840 you're sent, right? Like he's the guy now. Now 00:38:39.840 --> 00:38:42.840 he's the person leading. His mentor's gone and 00:38:42.840 --> 00:38:44.800 he's the one preaching the sermons. He's the 00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:47.699 one shepherding the flock. The mantle is on him. 00:38:48.059 --> 00:38:51.079 And so notice what Elisha does immediately after 00:38:51.079 --> 00:38:53.300 putting on the mantle. He goes right to the river, 00:38:53.659 --> 00:38:57.840 right to the Jordan River and he faithfully did 00:38:57.840 --> 00:38:59.280 what he was called to do and what he was taught 00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:02.340 to do. Just as he saw Elisha strike the water, 00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:06.719 he strikes the water. and he calls on God, he 00:39:06.719 --> 00:39:09.659 says, where is the Lord of Israel? And the water's 00:39:09.659 --> 00:39:13.079 part, proving that God's power was now with him. 00:39:13.420 --> 00:39:19.320 And so, he actively, he didn't take the mantle 00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:22.480 and frame it, he didn't put it away, he actively 00:39:22.480 --> 00:39:25.639 used what God, or what he had been given, what 00:39:25.639 --> 00:39:29.360 God had called him to, and he did what God would 00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:31.239 have him to do, and God confirmed his calling 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:34.460 in the sight of all these other prophets. And 00:39:34.460 --> 00:39:37.699 so in our context today, actively receiving God's 00:39:37.699 --> 00:39:39.659 calling, it might look like finally saying yes 00:39:39.659 --> 00:39:42.079 to teaching in children's ministry or something 00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:45.380 of that nature. It might look like initiating 00:39:45.380 --> 00:39:48.519 spiritual conversations with our friends, family 00:39:48.519 --> 00:39:51.920 or coworkers. It might look like stepping into 00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:55.019 a ministry opportunity that you've been considering 00:39:55.019 --> 00:39:58.599 or like at least pursuing that. Some of us have 00:39:58.599 --> 00:40:01.880 received God's calling in our lives and we need 00:40:01.880 --> 00:40:05.780 to move away from that contemplation, like the 00:40:05.780 --> 00:40:08.460 disciples when Jesus left, to that action that 00:40:08.460 --> 00:40:11.260 we see Elisha doing there. This is a critical 00:40:11.260 --> 00:40:13.340 lesson, I think, for all of us to learn because 00:40:13.340 --> 00:40:16.360 it's not enough just to receive God's calling 00:40:16.360 --> 00:40:19.619 on our lives. We have to actively step into it 00:40:19.619 --> 00:40:23.280 and exercise the gifts that he's given us to 00:40:23.280 --> 00:40:26.840 fulfill that calling. The sons of the prophets, 00:40:26.980 --> 00:40:31.300 they recognize that the spirit of Elisha was 00:40:31.300 --> 00:40:34.460 now with Elisha because they saw him doing what 00:40:34.460 --> 00:40:39.019 he was called to do. And so what gifts or what 00:40:39.019 --> 00:40:41.440 callings has God placed in your life that you 00:40:41.440 --> 00:40:47.500 need to actively receive and exercise? The mantle, 00:40:47.559 --> 00:40:50.519 it falls on useless ground until somebody picks 00:40:50.519 --> 00:40:55.199 it up and puts it into action. And so God's calling. 00:40:55.530 --> 00:40:58.329 It can come in many forms in our lives. Some 00:40:58.329 --> 00:41:00.809 are called to ministry roles, pastoral leadership, 00:41:01.349 --> 00:41:04.889 or missions, or teaching, but everyone, every 00:41:04.889 --> 00:41:06.670 single one of us, if we put our faith in Jesus, 00:41:06.730 --> 00:41:10.230 is called to service through evangelism, through 00:41:10.230 --> 00:41:14.469 hospitality, through encouragement and generosity, 00:41:14.929 --> 00:41:18.130 and just using our gifts for his will and for 00:41:18.130 --> 00:41:19.750 the furthering of the gospel. We're all called 00:41:19.750 --> 00:41:23.150 to that, and so maybe you've sensed God's call. 00:41:23.750 --> 00:41:27.619 Maybe you've even, ask for his empowerment like 00:41:27.619 --> 00:41:30.360 Elijah, but now comes that final step. You have 00:41:30.360 --> 00:41:33.780 to actually walk with the Lord and put that into 00:41:33.780 --> 00:41:35.860 play. You have to pick up that spiritual mantle 00:41:35.860 --> 00:41:38.280 and use it, and when you step into your calling 00:41:38.280 --> 00:41:42.000 with the Spirit empowering you, people are gonna 00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:44.000 not see your talent, they're gonna see God's 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:47.019 glory through that, right? God is gonna be glorified 00:41:47.019 --> 00:41:49.159 because of your faithfulness to him, and it's 00:41:49.159 --> 00:41:54.139 gonna be amazing for people to see. Elijah, we 00:41:54.139 --> 00:41:56.239 see that he didn't just observe Elijah's ministry 00:41:56.239 --> 00:41:58.360 and study his methods. He actively stepped into 00:41:58.360 --> 00:42:01.239 God's rule that God prepared for him in the same 00:42:01.239 --> 00:42:05.000 way our faith has to move beyond just acknowledging 00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:08.280 God or just having knowledge about God to following 00:42:08.280 --> 00:42:12.199 God and to walking in our calling. We have to 00:42:12.199 --> 00:42:14.420 receive and exercise our spiritual inheritance 00:42:14.420 --> 00:42:18.539 in Christ. Through Elijah's example, we discover 00:42:18.539 --> 00:42:21.590 three steps. We discover a three -step process 00:42:21.590 --> 00:42:26.929 of answering God's call and we see complete commitment. 00:42:27.070 --> 00:42:30.590 We see courageously asking God for empowerment 00:42:30.590 --> 00:42:33.110 and active participation in his work that he's 00:42:33.110 --> 00:42:35.510 prepared us for. And I believe that every believer, 00:42:35.889 --> 00:42:37.389 every single one of us, if we put our faith in 00:42:37.389 --> 00:42:41.469 Jesus, we can join in God's work. We can do that 00:42:41.469 --> 00:42:44.929 when we follow Elijah's pattern, when we make 00:42:44.929 --> 00:42:49.619 that decisive response, when we see Elijah, He 00:42:49.619 --> 00:42:51.579 immediately abandoned his former life to answer 00:42:51.579 --> 00:42:54.199 God's call, right? When we make that bold request, 00:42:55.260 --> 00:42:59.280 how Elisha courageously asked God to be empowered 00:42:59.280 --> 00:43:02.460 for that calling. And when we have an active 00:43:02.460 --> 00:43:06.039 reception, when we go from just knowing what 00:43:06.039 --> 00:43:10.199 we're called to, to actually living it out, to 00:43:10.199 --> 00:43:13.760 picking up that mantle, to exercising our gifts 00:43:13.760 --> 00:43:17.659 in the Lord. And so, I don't think this is just 00:43:17.659 --> 00:43:19.949 a pattern. for Elijah's life. I think this is 00:43:19.949 --> 00:43:23.250 a pattern that could be in all of our lives. 00:43:24.130 --> 00:43:26.130 We see responses like that throughout scripture. 00:43:26.269 --> 00:43:28.630 We see Abraham left his homeland. We see Moses 00:43:28.630 --> 00:43:31.409 asked to see God's glory and we see the disciples, 00:43:31.429 --> 00:43:34.170 they left their nets and they picked up Christ's 00:43:34.170 --> 00:43:35.630 mantle and they're carried on his mission and 00:43:35.630 --> 00:43:38.769 that's how we heard the gospel, right? That's 00:43:38.769 --> 00:43:41.389 what we're even called to do today. And so time 00:43:41.389 --> 00:43:45.130 and time again we see people of faith show us 00:43:45.130 --> 00:43:48.980 what it means. to answer God's call with these 00:43:48.980 --> 00:43:51.539 three responses. And if you're here tonight and 00:43:51.539 --> 00:43:53.380 you don't know Christ, God's calling you to have 00:43:53.380 --> 00:43:56.539 a decisive response. Jesus Christ came to the 00:43:56.539 --> 00:43:58.940 earth. He lived a perfect life on your behalf. 00:43:58.980 --> 00:44:02.400 He died for your sins. And the right response 00:44:02.400 --> 00:44:05.860 is faith. And so if you're here tonight and you 00:44:05.860 --> 00:44:08.980 don't know the Lord, will you make that decision 00:44:08.980 --> 00:44:13.059 to follow Christ tonight? If you know Christ, 00:44:13.469 --> 00:44:17.050 then you've been called to live a life that honors 00:44:17.050 --> 00:44:19.690 God, that glorifies him, and primarily we're 00:44:19.690 --> 00:44:21.530 gonna see that done through the advancing of 00:44:21.530 --> 00:44:24.889 the gospel. And we know that we have free will, 00:44:25.010 --> 00:44:28.250 right? You can respond to God however you want. 00:44:28.329 --> 00:44:30.969 You can deny the faith altogether, that's your 00:44:30.969 --> 00:44:34.949 decision. You can believe but refuse to live 00:44:34.949 --> 00:44:38.150 a life of obedience, right? Lots of people do 00:44:38.150 --> 00:44:41.360 that. But I think we can all agree that the best 00:44:41.360 --> 00:44:43.739 way and the way that we should respond to God's 00:44:43.739 --> 00:44:45.860 call is the way that God would have us to respond 00:44:45.860 --> 00:44:48.940 to God's call, right? Yet many believers, we 00:44:48.940 --> 00:44:51.139 hit barriers that keep us from responding to 00:44:51.139 --> 00:44:53.280 God's call that way. Some people fear rejection. 00:44:54.179 --> 00:44:58.559 Some people feel inadequate. Some people are 00:44:58.559 --> 00:45:00.539 just comfortable where they are. They don't want 00:45:00.539 --> 00:45:02.559 to change anything. They don't want to get out 00:45:02.559 --> 00:45:05.400 of things that are comfortable for them. Others 00:45:05.400 --> 00:45:08.219 maybe are distracted from the busyness of life. 00:45:09.599 --> 00:45:12.019 I think I've been all of those things at some 00:45:12.019 --> 00:45:15.360 point, maybe even this week, right? But we hit 00:45:15.360 --> 00:45:18.219 these barriers and they may seem unique to us 00:45:18.219 --> 00:45:20.079 in our context, but I think these are the same 00:45:20.079 --> 00:45:24.119 obstacles that people have hit all throughout 00:45:24.119 --> 00:45:27.780 history. And so tonight we see Elijah, he overcomes 00:45:27.780 --> 00:45:30.960 those barriers in a dramatic but effective way. 00:45:31.539 --> 00:45:34.019 He literally used them to build an altar, or 00:45:34.019 --> 00:45:38.099 not to build an altar, but he used them to, barbecue 00:45:38.099 --> 00:45:40.400 his oxen and then he left. He left everything 00:45:40.400 --> 00:45:45.260 to follow God. And so though these barriers, 00:45:45.260 --> 00:45:48.039 they can feel insurmountable, we can overcome 00:45:48.039 --> 00:45:50.400 these barriers as well when we follow God's call. 00:45:52.039 --> 00:45:55.980 And again, like I said, we had the guyers in 00:45:55.980 --> 00:46:00.099 here recently and they really exemplified this 00:46:00.099 --> 00:46:03.579 following of God's call. They made that, they 00:46:03.579 --> 00:46:06.719 made a, a decisive response to leave behind everything 00:46:06.719 --> 00:46:09.719 they had, the American dream. They boldly requested 00:46:09.719 --> 00:46:12.179 God's empowerment for their work and they actively 00:46:12.179 --> 00:46:14.360 received their calling and stepped into ministry 00:46:14.360 --> 00:46:16.559 or to missionary service. That was their testimony, 00:46:16.619 --> 00:46:18.980 right? And that was a beautiful thing to hear. 00:46:19.800 --> 00:46:22.260 But something else they said in their service 00:46:22.260 --> 00:46:26.800 was they challenged us to give God our yes. And 00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:29.059 essentially what they were saying was, hey, are 00:46:29.059 --> 00:46:31.000 you willing to just say, hey God, whatever you 00:46:31.000 --> 00:46:34.059 want for my life, I'm willing to do it, yes. 00:46:35.519 --> 00:46:38.340 And after they said that, they shared their concern 00:46:38.340 --> 00:46:41.079 with missionaries, how there's fewer and fewer 00:46:41.079 --> 00:46:42.639 missionaries being sent today, and they asked 00:46:42.639 --> 00:46:45.219 a really powerful question, I thought. Is your 00:46:45.219 --> 00:46:48.219 church sending missionaries? And then they gave 00:46:48.219 --> 00:46:50.280 this dramatic pause, right? And you're like, 00:46:50.480 --> 00:46:54.480 huh. And then they said, why not, right? I think 00:46:54.480 --> 00:46:58.039 that question strikes at the heart of our discussion. 00:46:59.300 --> 00:47:01.679 The answer isn't that God stopped calling people, 00:47:01.980 --> 00:47:06.780 right? The Bible says that he who is faithful 00:47:06.780 --> 00:47:08.659 with little will be faithful with much. And I 00:47:08.659 --> 00:47:10.420 believe the reason fewer and fewer people are 00:47:10.420 --> 00:47:13.840 being sent today is because many believers aren't 00:47:13.840 --> 00:47:16.179 giving God their yes in the general calling that 00:47:16.179 --> 00:47:20.300 we all have, the fundamental obedience of living 00:47:20.300 --> 00:47:24.460 lives of faith and engaging in evangelism. And 00:47:24.460 --> 00:47:26.719 if we're not faithful in those foundational things, 00:47:27.260 --> 00:47:30.460 then how can we expect God to entrust us with 00:47:30.460 --> 00:47:33.420 greater responsibilities? Elijah, he was faithful 00:47:33.420 --> 00:47:35.980 in his response and God used him mightily. So 00:47:35.980 --> 00:47:39.000 what about us? I want you to just take a moment 00:47:39.000 --> 00:47:42.500 and ask yourself, man, where am I in responding 00:47:42.500 --> 00:47:46.679 to God's call? Have I decisively responded like 00:47:46.679 --> 00:47:49.800 Elijah, leaving behind what holds me back? Have 00:47:49.800 --> 00:47:53.260 I boldly requested God to empower me for the 00:47:53.260 --> 00:47:57.239 work that he's called me to? And have I stepped 00:47:57.239 --> 00:47:59.260 into my calling, picking up the mantle that he's 00:47:59.260 --> 00:48:02.369 placed before me? If you haven't, decisively 00:48:02.369 --> 00:48:06.130 responded to God's call. Make a conscious decision 00:48:06.130 --> 00:48:09.429 this week to give God your yes. I don't know 00:48:09.429 --> 00:48:11.349 what that looks like in each of our lives, in 00:48:11.349 --> 00:48:14.269 each of your lives, but maybe it's sharing your 00:48:14.269 --> 00:48:16.630 faith with a coworker, maybe it's serving in 00:48:16.630 --> 00:48:20.170 a ministry team. If you're unsure, maybe it just 00:48:20.170 --> 00:48:23.590 starts by asking God what that might be, right? 00:48:25.510 --> 00:48:29.760 If you... No, then perhaps you need to make a 00:48:29.760 --> 00:48:31.619 bold, if you know what God's call is for your 00:48:31.619 --> 00:48:33.820 life, maybe you need to make a bold request like 00:48:33.820 --> 00:48:36.239 Elijah for God to empower you to do that calling. 00:48:36.340 --> 00:48:38.619 And if you've done those two steps, then maybe 00:48:38.619 --> 00:48:41.500 you just need to take some initiative and do 00:48:41.500 --> 00:48:44.159 what you know to do until you know what to do. 00:48:44.380 --> 00:48:46.880 The mantle, it falls on useless ground until 00:48:46.880 --> 00:48:48.679 someone picks it up and puts it into action. 00:48:49.760 --> 00:48:52.219 And I can't imagine, or I can't help but imagine, 00:48:52.300 --> 00:48:54.489 man, what would... What would this room look 00:48:54.489 --> 00:48:56.909 like if everybody in this room followed God's 00:48:56.909 --> 00:48:59.289 calling to a T, followed this pattern that Elijah 00:48:59.289 --> 00:49:01.769 sets for us to a T? What would our church look 00:49:01.769 --> 00:49:05.809 like? What would our town look like, right? God, 00:49:06.050 --> 00:49:08.389 he doesn't just work through pastors and missionaries. 00:49:08.769 --> 00:49:11.690 He works through all of his believers. He's called 00:49:11.690 --> 00:49:15.690 us all to follow him in that way. And so God 00:49:15.690 --> 00:49:17.929 has made this divine invitation to each and every 00:49:17.929 --> 00:49:20.429 one of us tonight. And so will you, like Elijah, 00:49:20.570 --> 00:49:23.579 pick up that mantle? that God's placed before 00:49:23.579 --> 00:49:27.059 you and give God your yes to his call so that 00:49:27.059 --> 00:49:30.460 you can see him work in your life. We're gonna 00:49:30.460 --> 00:49:32.840 go into a time of prayer and then we'll have 00:49:32.840 --> 00:49:36.420 our brother come up and lead us in our Wednesday 00:49:36.420 --> 00:49:40.800 night prayer list. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness 00:49:40.800 --> 00:49:45.139 to us. We thank you that you call us to salvation, 00:49:45.260 --> 00:49:48.099 that you call us to works, that we could bring 00:49:48.099 --> 00:49:51.199 glory to your name, that we could. participate 00:49:51.199 --> 00:49:54.519 in leading others to you, Lord. And I just pray 00:49:54.519 --> 00:49:58.280 that you would give us courage to walk out your 00:49:58.280 --> 00:50:00.199 calling in our lives, that you would help us 00:50:00.199 --> 00:50:03.340 to respond decisively, that we could leave behind 00:50:03.340 --> 00:50:05.420 the things that are holding us back and be faithful 00:50:05.420 --> 00:50:08.719 to you, that you would give us the wisdom to 00:50:08.719 --> 00:50:11.340 seek you when we need to seek you, to seek your 00:50:11.340 --> 00:50:14.219 strength and to walk in it on a daily basis, 00:50:14.380 --> 00:50:16.940 Lord. We love you and we pray this in Jesus' 00:50:17.179 --> 00:50:18.000 name, amen.