Stepping Into Service

1 Kings 19:19–21 NASB95

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

INTRO: As we begin our time this morning, I’d like to ask you to do a quick self-assessment. I’m going to ask you 2 questions and I want you to answer them honestly, but you don’t have to answer out loud.

On a scale of 1-5 (1 being poor and 5 being excellent)

How well are you serving the Lord?

How well equipped are you to serve the Lord?

Have you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? The Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) states that 80% of the outcomes result from 20% of the causes. Or, applied to churches, 80% of the serving is done by 20% of the people.

If you were to look at the nominating report for LRBC, you would see that to be largely the case. The same people who teach, serve on committees and ministry teams. The result is that there are gaps that go unfilled and ultimately potential that is unreached. Now, let me just say that LRBC is a church that is doing great things! And I am so thankful!

The reality is that there is much to be done in our community and around the globe in order to reach people for Jesus Christ. We cannot do it all, but I want to ask you to use your imagination for just a moment.

What if, instead of the 80/20 rule being true of LRBC, we were all engaged in serving the Lord to the point where we actually had to create more opportunities and reach out farther into the community? What if we served God so well that we wound up starting new churches in the surrounding areas where the population is exploding (Mills River)? What if we served Jesus so well that Satan saw us as a threat to his domain?

I think that the desire for LRBC to be that kind of church is present. The problem isn’t desire, but rather lies in our understanding and ownership of the role we are to play in the overall mission of the church… a mission that goes far beyond Sunday’s scheduled service. Indeed, serving the Lord is not something limited to the confines of this building.

In our text this morning, we are introduced to Elisha. We’ve talked about how many of God’s people were given Hebrew names intended to remind them of their relationship with Yahweh. Elijah’s, the prophet we’ve looked at largely over the last several weeks, means “Yahweh is my God”. Thus far, Elijah’s ministry has been one of condemning false gods or idols and demonstrating that Yahweh is the one true God.

Elisha means “My God Saves”. His ministry will be marked with miracles of healing and restoration.

If you picked up a bulletin, I encourage you to make use of the sermon guide as we learn together. Today, we just have a few short verses that describe Elisha’s calling into service. We will examine this event and highlight 3 factors which will enable us to fulfill our mission. The sermon is entitled, Stepping Into Service.

The first step we must take is

Accept Your Calling (19a, 20a)

Before we dive into this point, we need to recognize that ‘calling’ is not a word that only applies to professional ministers or prophets. Everyone has a calling.

Elijah had a specific calling to be a prophet, but that was not the extent of his calling. If you look back up to v. 16, you see that in addition to a vocational calling, Elijah was commissioned to anoint kings and his own replacement. To anoint means to bless or to name someone for a certain role.

ILL: Before I entered ministry, I worked in hotel management. One principle that I learned there was that if I hoped to be promoted to the next level, it was necessary that I train someone who could take my place.

Elijah was given that task in his ministry. And if you look at v. 19, Elijah was called to “GO” and he went. (READ v.19a)

But it wasn’t easy. You see, Elijah found Elisha and even though he knew that he was to anoint him, Elisha was busy. Elijah did not find him alone nor unoccupied. Elisha was not expecting Elijah nor did he seek Elijah out.

No, Elisha was plowing a field. There was work to be done- rain had finally come and the fields needed to be readied for seed. It would be awkward to interrupt him.

But, let me just point out that often a calling involves people who are busy: Nehemiah was busy as the King’s cupbearer when God called him to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Peter, James, and John were busy running a fishing business when Jesus said to ‘follow me’, Paul was busy persecuting Christians and Elisha was busy plowing fields.

But just as Elijah accepted his call to anoint Elisha, Elisha accepted the call to follow Elijah. (READ 20a)

Folks, let me remind you that you too have a calling. In fact, every Christian is called. God has gifted you and placed you here to fulfill a specific role in this body. You might be called as a teacher, a deacon, a choir member, or any number of roles that advance the mission of LRBC.

But in general, we are all called to advance God’s Kingdom Mission. We do this through multiplication.

That’s why we call it the Great Commission!

Matthew 28:18–20 NASB95

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

We can often find all sorts of excuses to not act on this calling, but excuses are worthless. We often say, “Make disciples” which might seem a bit vague, so let me clarify this command. “Teach others to obey/ keep Jesus’ commands” or “TRAIN others to live as God’s people”

Did you know that SBC has an alternative name? Great Commission Baptists! I like the sound of that, don’t you?

Let me ask:

Do you accept that God has called you to serve Him?

Hopefully your answer is yes. But accepting your calling only gets us so far. Now, we need to do something with that calling. So, we must then

Invite Others to Learn from You (19b, 20b)

Here we only get a taste, but I believe it is enough to point us in the right direction. Look with me at. v.19b (READ)

This might seem like a bizarre action, but there is great meaning in all of this.

A mantle was a cloak, but it was also a symbol of Elijah’s role and authority as a prophet of God. He threw his mantle on Elisha which signalled that he was calling Elisha to be his apprentice in order to succeed him. He anointed Elisha to take his place.

This anointing was the beginning of a commitment to invest in Elisha until then. Let us think through this process:

Elijah was intentional.

He didn’t accidentally happen upon Elisha and drop is mantle accidentally upon him. He took the initiative and went to him.

Elijah communicated the goal.

Though we don’t hear a conversation, the mantle represents the end-goal: That Elisha would take over Elijah’s role.

Elijah did not call Elisha to be his servant, but to be his replacement.

Elijah shared ministry.

From that day on, Elijah and Elisha would serve together. Elisha would watch, ask questions, and help Elijah.

Eventually, Elisha would be ready to step into his role as prophet.

Now, you might be thinking, “How do I do this?” Who can I equip? What if I am not equipped?

Let me first say that we are all at different points in life and service. We all need equipping and we all need to be equipping others. So, how do we look at this?

Well, first you need to understand your gifting.

For example: It is more natural for me to help equip men who are either in ministry or aspiring to ministry. I can invite them to observe, assist, and practice different parts of ministry naturally. My goal is to train them to be effective ministers either here or to be sent out elsewhere for God’s glory.

Some of you might be gifted in areas of hospitality and thus you could naturally train someone to use their gift to encourage and build up others by inviting them to join you as you naturally extend hospitality. Practically, some of you are gifted and talented in areas of ministry like teaching, encouragement, leading kids, administration.

Let me ask- how many of you are tired and are feeling a little burned out? So was Elijah!

And like Elijah had to invite Elisha to learn from him so he would know that the ministry would continue, You must invite others with similar gifting to observe you, serve with you, etc. so they can be equipped to be sent out or to take ownership of that ministry area. At the heart of this is the ministry of the GC- Going, making disciples, baptizing, teaching

How can you practically invest in the growth of another believer?

Folks, our calling demands that we not only invest in God’s Kingdom, but also to invest in others. Accept your calling and invite others to learn from you.

Finally, we must address our own shortcomings. I don’t have it all figured out… do you? Well, that leads us to our last step today which is:

Learn from Others (21)

Elisha had no experience being a prophet. He was good at plowing though. Elisha was likely well-off… his family owned a large field and had 24 healthy oxen to plow it. He could have lived comfortably there. Surely, it would have been easier and more convenient to stay put and let someone else go do that.

But, we are commanded to leverage our lives for the sake of the Gospel. This means that we must be life-long learners, seeking to grow ever closer to Christ. Elisha no doubt desired to follow Elijah and learn from him. In fact, we see that he demonstrated not only a desire, but a commitment. Let’s read v. 21 (READ)

It wasn’t necessary for Elisha to slaughter his oxen, but the picture here is that he was effectively showing his absolute devotion to this calling. The text simply tells us that following a meal, no doubt a farewell party- that he got up and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

IOW- he submitted himself to the leadership of Elijah.

Elisha he knew that in order to be useful for God’s Kingdom, he would have to go through a period of learning now.

You and I can recognize this principle. It’s why we send our kids to school, why we come to church and join Bible studies. Here’s the thing: Learning is not just for kids. We add value to our lives when we learn.

Elisha served in the menial, mundane tasks as a support to Elijah. These tasks that he took on may not have a lot of fanfare, but they enabled Elijah to accomplish his mission and simultaneously equipped Elisha for his future role.

Let me ask you something:

Are you actively trying to learn from someone right now?

Learning from others takes a humble spirit. Like Elisha, we have a choice. If he had chosen not to learn from Elijah, he would have missed out on so much of God’s intended blessings.

So it is with us. God has called us all to service. And in the midst of serving Him, we are to train others and open ourselves up to learn.

I am confident that God has great things ahead for us at LRBC. And I believe if we are all-in for His kingdom and mission, we will get to experience tremendous blessings.

Romans 14:18 NASB95

For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

“How serious are you about your calling?”

Will you commit, like Elisha, to God’s mission?

Who will you teach?

Who will you learn from?

Let’s serve the Lord well here and beyond the walls of this building.