Pass the Cloak (1 Kings 19:19-21)

Introduction

· As we continue our worship by studying God’s Word, please open your Bibles up to 1 Kings 19.

· This morning, on Father’s Day, we come to the next section of 1 King 19, where Elijah takes on the role of a spiritual father. Up to now, Elijah has been a bit of a lone ranger.

· You know the old TV series, the “Lone Ranger.” He wore a mask to hide his identity and uphold the law after the rest of his posse were ambushed and killed. In one episode he rides into town to help a sheriff arrest a criminal, in another he solves a string of stagecoach holdups. At the end of almost every episode someone would say, “Who was that masked man anyway?” And another would reply, “Why, that’s the lone ranger.” Apart from his faithful friend Tonto, he generally worked alone, and was a bit of a mystery...

· Elijah has acted something like that. He appears to King Ahab in Samaria, then suddenly, he is far up in Zaraphath, serving a helpless widow, then he is on Mount Carmel, challenging the Prophets of Baal. Much of the time, he felt alone. But after meeting God on Mt. Horeb, he is instructed to go anoint his replacement. A man named Elisha…

Elijah Meets Elijah (19-20)

· Read 19:19-20

· Elijah travels some 250 miles back up into Israel, to a little village called Abel-meholah about halfway up from the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee.

· The name might mean, “meadow of dancing.” Lying along the Jordan River Valley, it would have received more regular irrigation, and was a fertile area for agricultural, and continues to this day.

· When Elijah arrives, he finds Elisha out in the field, plowing. We discover that Elisha comes from a farming family, and a fairly wealthy one at that. The twelve yoke of oxen (24 animals), which indicate they had a large family or number of hired hands, with a large swath of property to be plowed, sown and harvested. Must have been quite a food supply, with plenty left over to trade and sell and make a profit. No doubt after the drought, they were eager to plow the fields and to start up production again. Elijah, the reclusive prophet who had wandered about, wearing a tunic of course animal hair and wide leather belt, now approaches a man of some wealth, perhaps more accustomed to fine linen clothing and a spacious home.

· The scene reminds me of winters back in the Midwest. Sometimes on the I-94 freeway, we would see the snow plows line up side by side, the one on the far left fast lane going first, then slightly behind it would be a second plow in the next lane, then behind it, a third plow in the next lane, and so as the snow was pushed, it would keep being scraped aside all the way over to the right shoulder.

· The prophet Elijah watches as the first eleven yoke pass by, then steps forward and lays his cloak on the shoulder of Elisha. The same cloak that had shielded the face of Elijah from the glory of God as he stood atop Mount Horeb is now passed on to rest on Elisha. It was a symbolic act, a way of saying, “God has a plan for you Elisha. He has set you apart for a special purpose.”

The Call of God

· Notice Elisha’s reply: “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” In other words, let me say goodbye to my family, and then I will accept this sacred call and follow after you. Elijah replies, “What have I done to you?” A figure of speech – “Go ahead. What have I done to stop you?” This leads to our life lesson for today.

· LIFE LESSON: Each of us must accept God’s call on our life.

· God had had told Elijah in v. 16 to anoint Elisha, and when he receives that call, he accepts it. Of course, in the context, Elisha is responding to a call to ministry.

· But let’s back up for a few minutes and think about the nature of God’s call. There are three ways the Bible uses the word “call.”

· The first is a “general call,” i.e. it is a universal call made to all people to worship the living God by repenting of their sins and believing in Christ’s death and resurrection. Sometimes this is called the “gospel call” or the “external call.”

· Matthew 11:28–30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ….” Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

· This call is not a suggestion. It’s a command. Yes, it is an invitation, but it’s an invitation given with someone with great authority, by one who loves you, knows what is best for you, and has the power to save you. It is like the words of of a lifeguard who says to the drowning man, relax, I’m here to help you, just hold onto this floating device, let me take you back safely to shore. Friend, you have a duty to respond to this call.

· Have you accepted this call? Time is running out. What are you waiting for? Why do you delay? I received the heartbreaking news this week that a friend who would sometimes attend this church just passed away. He was not quite 60 years old. He had contracted brain cancer. The doctors said he would likely just die in his sleep, not even knowing anything was wrong. When I met with him, he said to me, “I’m just not ready yet.” I said, life is short, and I want you to be ready. I asked if he had a Bible and took him to Luke 17, and the story of the tax collector and the Pharisee. Many think we have to become like the Pharisee, clean up our act, and earn a ticket to heaven. But Jesus says the tax collector, who says, “God be merciful to me, the sinner,” is the one who would receive forgiveness. I don’t know if he accepted it, but that was the general call.

Effectual Call

· But there is secondly in the Bible what we could call, the “effectual call.” This is an act of God, that is accompanied by his Holy Spirit’s enablement, that brings someone to salvation. Romans 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified…

· It is a sweet, irresistible force, like a gravitational pull that draws us to God.

· 1 Peter 2:9 also says, that God “called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

· Wayne Grudem says, “This calling is rather a kind of ‘summons’ from the King of the universe and it has such power that it brings about the response that it asks for in people’s hearts.”

· If you have trusted in Christ, you can be assured this happened because he called you. He summoned you. You saw the light and desired him, not because of anything good in you. It is because he called you to himself. John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

· Whereas some sadly reject the general call to repent and believe, no one rejects the effectual call, for it has intrinsic power. It is something hidden deep within the mystery of divine sovereignty. You and I don’t know who has the effectual call. We are simply instructed to give a general call to repentance, with the expectation that any who receive the effectual from by God will respond in faith and receive the gift of eternal life.

· This is an important point whenever we think about evangelism and the doctrine of salvation, but it is not the call that is in mind here in in 1 Kings 19. Here, we are thinking of yet another call. A third call. The Call to ministry…

The Call to Ministry

· God speaks of it in Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

· Paul refers to it in 2 Timothy 1:6–7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

· What is the call to ministry? A strong desire and divine compulsion to preach the word and shepherd God’s flock, exercising the gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit and affirmed by the local church.

· Ask, has God given me that call? Is it possible he wants me to go into full-time ministry? Perhaps to be a pastor. Or church planter. Or missionary. Or chaplain. Or a Christian teacher. Or a Bible translator. We need more of all of these.

· The parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd leaves 99 in the open country to go after the one that is lost. “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” Great celebration. “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance” (Lk. 15:5). You could be about the business of rescuing souls!

· Young people, in particular. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t waste your life chasing after a degree, a well paying job, a nice car, big home, a healthy family, and a retirement full of driving a golf cart around. Do something of eternal significance! Find something that you are passionate about. Something God has gifted you at. And pour yourself into doing it your very best for the glory of God. Think about what you can do of eternal significance.

· You say, “but I don’t know what that would look like, or where God wants me to go.” That is what the church is here for. Our church has already raised up and trained a number of ministry leaders.

· Not all will be called to full time ministry. But if you are a Christian, you are called to some kind of ministry. You have a gift, and you need to use it. I know it has been difficult with this quarantine. But as we begin to open back up, don’t forget, you have a gift. Don’t be mistaken by my talking face on this camera as though my ministry is the only one, or even the most important one in this church. The bulk of the ministry is to be done by the members, not the leaders. You are the church. I am just here to equip you to do the ministry.

· Ephesians 4:11–12 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

· Final lesson for the church – we have a bit of a leadership vacuum. Right now, many of our ministries remain closed. But we are lacking in several important roles. Kids. Youth. Small Group Teachers. VBS. Mercy Ministry like feeding the hungry and visiting the sick. If and when it is time to open back up, we need leaders. Perhaps God has called some of you to help. Would challenge you to step up your commitment.

· You hear more the word “job” or “career” but don’t hear the word “vocation” much anymore. A vocation refers to more than just a job. It refers to a special calling, a set of skills to be used to glorify God and serve others. What is your calling? Every one of us has a calling from God. What is yours?

· Review LIFE LESSON: Each of us must accept God’s call on our life.

· >>Now, as we close, let’s see how Elisha responds…

Elisha Accepts the Call

· Read v. 21

· Elisha makes a clean break, honors his family, but leaves no room to go back.

· If he had known the song, he would have been singing, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus…No Turning Back, No Turning Back.”

· Not like the false disciples of Jesus. Matthew 8:18–22 … “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” These disciples wanted to appear dedicated, but they made excuses why they couldn’t follow him right now.

· We have read of some exciting miracles that Elijah has performed. But this gesture is more important than all of them. It is not enough just to start well. We must end well. And part of ending well is handing off the ministry to our successor.

· Lastly, Elisha Forsakes All to Follow the Lord (20-21)