Sequel to the Call of Elisha

Introduction: The Sequel to Elisha's Call

0:05 Is there not a prophet of the Lord that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

0:37 We come this evening to the fourth in our series of studies in the fascinating life and ministry of the prophet Elisha. Having already considered Elisha's peculiar place in the history of redemption, we began several Lord's Day evenings ago to examine the record of Scripture with reference to the call of God as it came to the man Elisha. We spent one evening. We spent one evening considering the scanty but very pregnant details with respect to the circumstances in which God called the man Elisha.

1:19 Last Lord's Day evening we considered together the substance of the call of the man of God as given to us in 1 Kings 19. Now tonight we want to trace out a third line of thought that is here in the narrative. Having considered the circumstances, the circumstances of Elisha's call, the substance of his call, tonight I would direct your attention to what I have entitled the sequel to his call. What happened after the mantle falls upon the man of God and he responds with that kiss of separation, with that fire of renunciation,

2:03 and with that feast of confession, it's as though, upon, upon this strange activity and his response to it that God shuns him to the side for a while and the focus of the narrative from 1 Kings 20 on through the end of the book right on into the first chapter of 2 Kings is not upon Elisha but upon Elijah. And yet in the midst of these narratives there are some very wonderful suggestions as to what it was that Elisha was doing. subsequent to his formal call to the prophetic office and yet prior to his actually being

2:46 given the spirit of Elijah in order to carry on the task of the prophetic ministry. And so I want us to consider that segment of time in the life of this man under the heading the sequel to his call. This period of time spans approximately 20 years. This period of time spans approximately 20 years.

Elisha as Servant to Elijah, His Master

3:06 This period of time spans approximately 20 years. This period of time spans approximately 20 years. This period of time spans approximately 20 years. This period of time spans approximately 20 years.

3:09 This period of time spans approximately 20 years. From the time the mantle rested upon his shoulders and he gladly responds as the property of Jehovah God of Israel until the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him in the measure allotted to the firstborn until the spirit of the Lord comes upon him in the measure allotted to the firstborn and he strikes the river and it parts and the sons of the prophets recognize that the Spirit of God rests upon him and that the word of God was with him. Well, what then was he doing in these 10 years? ten years? Was he simply marking time? Did he go off with a stack of scrolls to do some

3:44 intensive reading in theology? What was he doing to be prepared for the task for which he has already been formally designated by the prophet Elijah? Well, I would suggest at the outset it's clear from the passages which were read in your hearing that he was not sent off into isolation. He was not holed up somewhere, cut off from the real world of men and things simply to meditate in preparation for his future ministry. For we read in the

4:21 summary statement in 1 Kings 19 that subsequent to that final feast of confection and cutting the ties with his family, that he arose and went after Elijah. Elijah and ministered unto him. Furthermore, it is clear from the passage read in your hearing in 2 Kings 3 that the thing for which he was remembered when the king asks, is there a prophet, is the fact that he was the man who poured water upon the hands of Elijah. That is, he was a man who was in very close proximity to the prophet and fulfilled the function

5:04 of a companion, a disciple, and a servant. And then when we read that moving chapter, and if you are not moved by that second chapter of 2 Kings, then I say there's something that's been neutered in your ability to be moved by anything. The picture of this older man of God and the younger man of God in such intimate, loving, open communication, walking and talking as they go. And then the pain that the younger man feels when the man upon whom he has leaned and the man from whom he has learned so much is taken up and he cries out in the deepest form of

5:47 filial affection, my father, my father. And then in the grief of that hour he rends his clothes as a man in mourning. Surely there is every indication that these ten years were spent in the most intimate way. The intimate, loving association between Elisha and Elijah, the man of God. And I would suggest

6:12 that in sorting out the biblical materials, it is helpful to consider the sequel to his call in this broad dimension of his association with the prophet Elijah as consisting in a three-fold relationship. Elisha stood in these ten years. Elijah stood in these ten years. In an intimate relationship marked by three distinct categories of thought, though they overlap and interpenetrate, they are distinct. First of all, he stood in the relationship

6:47 of a servant to the master. Secondly, he stood in the relationship of a disciple to his teacher. And thirdly, he stood in the relationship of a companion in deep, familial affection. First of all, then, we should understand the sequel to his call as comprising this relationship in which Elisha, already marked out for the prophetic office, becomes a servant

7:23 to Elijah who is constituted his master. Now, this is very clearly indicated, as I've already suggested, in 1 Kings 9. 1 Kings 9 and verse 21, that when the writer would summarize what it is that Elisha did after he left his plow and left his family and his friends, he summarizes it in this language. He arose and went after Elijah. There is the emphasis upon attachment to the

7:57 man. But now, what was his function once he was attached to the man? And he ministered unto him. And then, paralleling this with the passage in 2 Kings 3.14, he poured

8:12 water upon the hands of Elijah. And this was a description of the function of a common servant. It was the servant who would run for the water jug when the man would wash his hands, either in a ceremonial washing or simply washing his hands in preparation to eat a meal as a matter of personal cleanliness. It is the picture of what we would say in our day of a valet, the man who would be there to hold his cloak for him, who would pick up his mantle and hold it for him to cast it upon his shoulders. He took the role of a servant to Elijah as

8:53 his master. Now, you have some very interesting details of what this involved in the relationship between a bona fide prophet and a would-be. Prophet, or what we might call a preacher boy prophet. Because later on in the narrative, you have the record of the relationship between Elisha and Gehazi, his servant. And it really

9:16 was a servant-master relationship. For we read in such passages as 2 Kings 4, that when Elisha has an errand to be performed, he simply calls his servant Gehazi. We read in 2 Kings 4.11.

9:33 And it fell on a day that he came thither and turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. Now, there is no debate. There is no discussion. It was a clearly recognized relationship of

9:54 the servant to the master. And later on in the chapter in verse 25, you find a similar thing. The woman's son has died. And the prophet sees her coming. And he wants to know what her problem is. So he says to

10:08 Gehazi, Go, run to her. Find out what the problem is. And he runs on that errand. And so this relationship of servant involved being a general errand boy, a valet, a messenger, and a host of other things, even at times being a mouthpiece of God and delivering the word of God.

10:29 Now, isn't it strange? A very dramatic action of the prophet Elisha, throwing his mantle upon Elijah, and thereby signifying that Jehovah, God of the covenant, has marked out this man for the lofty office of a prophet. He should become a servant boy. Somebody's cooling to pour water upon the hands of a man of God.

11:00 Now, why in the world? With all of the Baal worship that was going on in the world, why in the world did the prophet Elisha, who was rife in Israel, with all of the ignorance, with all of the tragic situation that needed more prophetic voices, why would God constitute his appointed mouthpiece an errand boy, a coolie, a valet, a messenger boy, for ten years?

The Spiritual Principle of Servanthood in Leadership

11:28 Well, there is great reason for this. Perhaps it can best be summarized from a New Testament analogy. It was during these ten years. That Elisha was learning something of what it was to imbibe the Spirit, not of his earthly master Elijah, but of his true master, even him who said, I am among you, as he that serveth.

12:00 You remember what our Lord Jesus said? I came not to be ministered unto, but to do what? But to minister. To serve.

12:10 To serve, and to give my life a ransom for many. I would remind you of the words of our Lord in Mark's Gospel, chapter 9, verses 33 to 35, with respect to this very vital principle of spiritual leadership. Mark's Gospel, chapter 9, and beginning with verse 33. And when they came to Capernaum, and he was in the house, he asked them, What were ye

12:51 reasoning in the way? But they held their peace, for they had disputed one with another on the way, who was the greatest? And he sat down and called the twelve, and said unto them, If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all. And then in another passage, our Lord says, This true leadership in the kingdom is not based on the same principles as leadership among the Gentiles. He said, Among the Gentiles, it's the hot shots, it's the big pressure,

13:28 high pressure personalities that become the leaders. The people that can run roughshod over others, they're the ones who become the corporation presidents, and leave a trail of blood in their wake. He says, It shall not be so amongst you. He that would be great among you shall be great among you. He that would be great among you shall be great among

13:46 you. He that would be great among you shall become servant of all. And it was because God had marked out Elisha for true greatness that he thought it no waste of time to direct him to spend ten years in the role of a coolie, in the role of a servant, in the role of an errand boy, that he might so imbibe that which is the heart of true spiritual leadership, that his influence would be enhanced by that lesson throughout all of his days. And we

14:25 gain wonderful insights into the outworking of that principle. Here is a man upon whose shoulders rests, as it were, from the human side, the destiny of the entire nation in terms of its fidelity to Jehovah. And yet again and again, how do we see him? We see him in relationship with Israel. We see him in relationship with Israel. We see him in

14:48 relationship with Israel. We see him in partnership with Israel. And yet again, how do we see him? We see him in relationship with Israel. We see him in relationship with Israel, in addition

14:51 to the fact that he would be kind to one another in front of each other or with others, but also that he would be kind to every one of those people by way of their essential services. Or we would see him, again, as a servant of God, with the exception of some new relatives or relatives of Israel, or he was a servant with some old relatives whose family in Israel was in need of a new domestic husband. Or we would see him, again, as a servant of God, in respect of what he had before him. Father, I should adopt the teaching that you had to teach us in the world of the Lord God that a servant of God is, a servant of God, I believe, We see him never in a position where he says, look, I'm the successor of Elijah.

15:25 I'm the prophet in Israel. I can't be bothered with little piddling things. No, no. We constantly see him in a dimension of service to the people of God.

15:37 And many times individual people, people who cannot obviously return his kindness or his service. We don't find him hobnobbing and flirting with the great ones. He dares to stand before them and hurl the word of God into their consciences, fearless as was his spiritual father Elijah. But we see him as the servant of Jehovah, as we see him serving the people of God in acts of selfless abandonment.

16:11 You see, this is where the church is erred so greatly. When it sees the young man. The young man who seems to manifest some strength of character and some aggressiveness of personality and some gift of gab. He's immediately pushed to a platform so that everyone can reap the benefits of this young Tyro's gifts.

16:34 And he begins to think that he is indeed God's gift to the church. And begins to strut and to swagger and to be insensitive. And he thinks that people exist to be the platform. Upon which he can parade his greatness.

16:50 Not so with Elijah. He went and he ministered unto him. Yes, there is a prophet, Elijah the son of Shaphat, who poured water upon the hands of Elijah. And there is nothing in the word of God to indicate that God altered his normal pattern of sanctifying grace or the imparting of it.

17:20 There is nothing to indicate that Elisha was holy, sanctified in the sense that his remaining corruption was purged from him this side of heaven. And perhaps there were times when he himself wondered. Thinking back to that moment of tremendous dramatic intensity when the man of God came over the knoll there in the valley of the dance. And threw his mantle upon his shoulder.

17:47 And the wonder and the glory and the awesome reality. Of all this burst upon him. And here he is shining his master's shoes. And perhaps he was tempted to wonder.

17:57 What in the name of common sense does this have to do with being a prophet of God in Israel. Going out for a bucket of water. What in the world does this have to do with my high and my noble calling. It had everything to do with it.

18:14 He was learning to be a servant. That he might be a true prophet of God. In Israel. So then the sequel to his call is to be understood first of all in this dimension.

Elisha as Disciple to Elijah, His Teacher

18:29 Of his relationship as a servant to his master Elijah. But then secondly it was relationship characterized by that which we see when we look at a disciple in the presence of his teacher. Now here again there is a very vital principle. Wonderfully articulated in the New Testament.

18:55 In Matthew chapter 10 verses 24 and 25. We find our Lord articulating this principle. Matthew chapter 10 verses 24 and 25. A disciple is not above his teacher.

19:13 Nor a servant above his Lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher. Notice. It is not enough that the disciple simply think as his teacher.

19:29 But that he be as his teacher. And the servant as his Lord. The same principle is stated in a little different language in Luke 6 and verse 40. Now what do we learn then from the few incidents that are recorded.

19:49 Concerning the interaction between Elisha. And Elijah during this ten year period. Well there are some very helpful suggestions. That indeed the relationship was one of the disciple to the teacher.

20:06 You remember the opening words. Or the words attached to the initial appearance of Elijah in 1st Kings 17. Elijah burst upon the scene unannounced. Here as it were is a sermon.

20:22 With no introduction. Verse 1 of 1st Kings 17. And Elijah the Tishbite who was of the sojourners of Gilead. Said unto Ahab.

20:36 As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand. And then he makes his announcement. And in our study of the life of that man of God. We noted that that little phrase.

20:50 The Lord God liveth before whom I stand. Is the key to the whole dimension of the prophets life. Or to the whole spectrum of what he was as a man. He was a man who lived in the consciousness of the presence of the living God.

21:09 Well it's interesting that when we find one of the first official pronouncements. Of Elisha recorded in scripture. That same formula stands prominent in his pronouncement. 2nd Kings chapter 3.

21:26 Elisha has been consulted by this coalition of kings. And we read in verse 14. And Elisha said. As the Lord of hosts liveth before whom I stand.

21:45 Now what was he doing? Was he merely parroting. The language of official prophetic jargon. As learned in a notebook or from a scroll.

21:56 No, no. It was during these ten years of intimate association with the man of God Elijah. That he not only was in the position of a servant obedient to his master. But a disciple in the presence of his teacher.

22:16 Learning from the older man of God. The principles by which a prophet lives. The principles by which a prophet represents Jehovah. In the midst of his people.

22:30 It was from the older man that he learned the joys and the pitfalls of the prophetic office. It was from the older man that he learned his lessons of prevailing prayer. For one cannot help but see this similarity of pattern. Of tremendous error.

22:48 Of tremendous earnestness. And tremendous energy. And persistence in prayer. A pattern manifested in Elijah.

22:57 And then again in his successor Elisha. And to summarize then we may say. That it was by practical spiritual assimilation. And imitation.

23:11 That Elisha became a man of God. After the stripe of his Elijah. Now again. This sets forth a very vital principle with respect to the work of God.

God's Method of Making Men of God: Mentorship and Modeling

23:27 And I'll have occasion to enlarge it more in a more extended application. Subsequent to our third area of study. But let me just pause to underscore again. A principle that stands on the face of scripture from the old and the new testaments.

23:45 That God is never in a hurry to make a man of God. And that he generally makes a man of God. By putting someone in the presence of another man of God. You see God who works sovereignly works rationally and by means.

24:03 And it's not surprising to find no fewer than six or seven times in the letters of the apostle Paul. A direct commandment. Be ye followers of me. Even as I am of Christ.

24:18 He could say to Timothy. Timothy you have fully known. My doctrine. My manner of life.

24:24 My faith. Timothy follow me. I set a pattern not only of sound words. But of life and of ministry.

24:33 Paul could say to the Ephesian elders. He said I have so walked so as to set an example before you. And then he specifies the areas in which his exemplary life was to be their model. And so here.

24:48 In the life of Elijah. Subsequent to his formal call to the prophetic office. He enters into a ten year program of learning. Not that he ceases to learn when the man of God goes home.

25:04 But this was the intense period of learning. When God's great concern was not so much what he would speak through the mouth of Elijah. But what he would pour into the character of Elijah. As he lived.

25:19 And prayed. And laughed. And walked. And wept.

25:23 And talked with this man of God. Weren't you moved by that little praise. And as they walked on. They talked.

25:31 You realize how few men there are that can talk freely for any length of time. There are precious few couples that can do it. Communication in marriage, free, open, full, unfettered communication, is a rarity. It ought not to be but it is.

25:50 I do enough marriage counseling. do enough marriage counseling to know. And something even more rare yet, men who can talk freely, openly, with unfathomment for any length of time. What a beautiful picture.

26:07 They're not just taking walks that involve, you know, 300 yards. You get your Bible map out and look at the distance between Gilgal and Jericho and then down to the Jordan. And while they walked, they talked. Now, you see, that didn't just come at them at the last day. This was something that was nurtured. And again, the text is silent, but because

26:32 we know the pattern of human nature by reading the Scriptures and reading our own hearts, I'm sure, I'm not sure, I'm 99 and 44 one hundredths percent sure that there are times when, no doubt, Elijah was weary with the questions of Elisha. Tell me, Elijah, what was it like to stand all alone on that mountain? God? Elijah did. And to throw out that challenge and to have them pour the barrels of water

27:07 into the tross. Tell me, Elijah, in a situation like that, what does a man of God think? What does a man of God do? No doubt, Elijah told him his own struggles between faith and unbelief and how faith conquered over sense and the great principles by which a man walks with God. No doubt, there were questions about such matters as prevailing in prayer. And

27:33 in fact, there were such questions that pertain to how do you know when it's the voice of the Lord coming and not the impulses of your own mind and heart and all of those things that would be involved. Here was an eager young learner. You see, he did not take the indisputable evidence of his divine credentials as a warrant to run off half-cocked and start preaching. You see it? He did not take the indisputable evidence of his divine credentials

28:04 as evidence of his credentials. The mantle had rested on his shoulder. But he didn't run off half-cocked, saying, God's called me. That's all that matters. I'm going to get

28:15 me a church. I'm going to go out and start me a church. He took the role of a disciple in the presence of God's appointed teacher that he might learn the ways of God more fully. But then in the third place, in the sequel to his call, there is this beautiful dimension of the relationship.

Elisha as Companion in Familial Intimacy

28:37 To which I've already alluded, he not only became servant to Elijah, his master, the disciple in the presence of Elijah, his teacher, but he became a companion. And as I fished for a word, the best word I could come up with, he became a companion in familial intimacy. Familial means of or pertaining to the family. And why do I say familial intimacy? Because

29:09 I say that because of the language, the pathetic language, pathetic in the sense of being full of genuine pathos, the language that leaps from the heart of Elijah when he stands and witnesses the severance of Elijah. He's taken up in a whirlwind, having been parted by these chariots of fire. And the language that leaps from his heart is not, oh, man of God, oh, a prophet of God, but the language that leaps from his heart is the language

29:46 of a son who's had his father radically, suddenly, dramatically taken away from him. And he cries out, my father, my father. And then he identifies him as the great defense of Israel, as we shall see in the subsequent study. But for now, I simply underscore the words, my father, my father. I direct your attention back to that sense of, what shall we say, sanctified

30:20 intransigence. You better stay here, Elisha. God's told me to go there. He says, as long as God's alive and you're alive, you won't find me anywhere but at your side. Isn't that beautiful? Are you

30:34 moved by that, or do you just read that in your Bible? Are you moved? Do you feel anything of the tremendous importance of God's presence in your life? Are you moved by that, or do you just read the intensity of the bonds of affection between these two men? I mean, that's a strong oath. As long

30:49 as God's alive and you're alive, and he knew that both of them were not going to die, he said, I'm staying where you are. And then again, he says, you better stay here. God's told me to go there as the Lord God liveth and as my soul liveth. No, sir, I'm going to stay with you. I will not

31:07 leave you. In other words, he said, I'm not leaving you until God takes you to the place where I can't follow you anymore. And it was in a little while that he said, I'm not leaving you. God did it. And then in genuine grief at the party, he rends his clothes. You see, here was

31:23 no formal external relationship. That's possible between the servant and the master. It's even possible to some degree between the disciple and his teacher. But here were the deepest bonds of familial intimacy. Here was a son who loved his father. This man who was his spiritual father,

31:46 to whom he was bound in these deepest bonds of intimate and loving affection. And yet, and this to me is the marvel, so pure was this relationship by the grace of God that there wasn't a trace of rivalry one against the other. The older man who knew that he was in the presence of his successor or manifest no jealousy. That wasn't true.

32:17 Saul, was it? When Saul is in the presence of younger David, an evil spirit troubles him and he's filled with envy and suspicion until he takes his javelin and he hurls it at David seeking to kill him. On the other hand, there was no desire on the part of Elisha to upstage Elijah. And we have the record of that in the Bible. Remember Absalom? He couldn't stand it that his pappy was

32:47 still sitting on the throne getting all the attention. So he parks himself at the gate and sort of foofs up his nice long hair as the people go by and then seems very spiritual. Oh, do you have a problem? He poofs his hair and it says he stole the hearts of the people until later on you know what he did. He commits insurrection, seeks to draw the people

33:14 after himself and to drive his own father out of Jerusalem. But you see, there's none of that in this relationship. It was a pure, God-given relationship. Spirit-sanctified relationship of the deepest kind of familial intimacy and love with no rivalry or jealousy, no trace of suspicion, no desire on the part of one to upstage the other. And yet,

33:43 wonder of wonders, there was no absorption of personality one into the other. Elijah was still and he goes out as Elijah would go out. How else do you expect a man like Elijah to go out of this life if he's not going to die? You don't expect him to go out in the soft cloud. He's a whirlwind of a man who seems to be dropped out of the whirlwind in the presence of Ahab.

34:07 And he hurls the challenge and says what? As the Lord God liveth, the key sticks and walks out. Well, you expect a man like that to go out in the whirlwind. And he did. He was a whirlwind of a man.

34:22 He didn't make a whirlwind of a man out of Elisha. Elisha is marked from the very outset as a Gentile. He's a Gentile. He's a Gentile. He's a Gentile. He's a Gentile. He's a Gentile. He's a Gentile. He's a Gentile.

34:33 A man who's sociable, who feels at ease in the presence of widows and young preachers. You see, there's a marvelous thing that he could be so intimate for so long in the relationship of servant to master, teacher, a learner to teacher, disciple to teacher, and this deepest friendship, and yet he maintained his own God-given identity. He was still Elisha. And Elijah was still Elijah.

35:03 And that's one of the marks of a spirit-owned friendship, that there is no artificial absorption of one personality by the other. There is no desire on the part of one to mold the close friend into its own image. Well, I suggest that this is the sequel to the call of the man of God, a sequel that involved this relationship to Elijah for ten years, servant, disciple, and companion.

Application: Preparation for Ministry and Life

35:39 Now, what does this say to us? And now here's the part in which I do want to make some practical and pointed applications. Well, first of all, it reminds us that it's one thing to have a sight of the glory of God in the face of Christ, and to own, as did Elisha, the unreserved rights of Jehovah to all that we are. It's one thing to feel, as it were, the pressure of the mantle of grace upon our shoulders and to respond to that mantle with all our hearts, saying, Lord, I'm yours to be and to do whatever you want me to be or do.

36:22 It's one thing to make solemn, deep, earnest vows of being the Lord's. It's quite another thing to be formed into someone that God can use for his glory.

36:38 The indication of the will of God for Elisha was the act of a moment. The mantle was upon his shoulder and off again in a matter of seconds. Ten years to mold the character of the man who would be God's martyr. I said earlier, I repeat, God is never in a hurry to make a man of God.

37:01 The greatest part of preparation for the ministry is not the sorting out of all the strands of theology. The greatest part of preparation for the ministry is not the sorting out of all the strands of theology. Though that's essential, it is not lining up all the great epochs in the history of the church, though that is essential.

37:24 The greatest part is that which God has to do in the molding of character and making a man who is fit for the awesome responsibility of the work to which he calls it. And that's true whatever our calling is. When the mantle of grace rests upon each of us, it may not be...

37:46 It may not be an indication of the will of God to be prophet. Our calling may be that of housewife and mother, of workman in the shop, in the office, whatever it is. God's great work is always that inner work of making the character that will be usable in his hands for the work to which he has called us. Now I want to break that down into several strands of more specific application.

Application for Aspiring Ministers: Learn Servanthood

38:14 I want to speak to you men who have aspirations for the work. You have some reason to believe that the mantle has fallen upon you in the sense that there is some evidence of gift and grace for the awesome task of the pastoral office. What should you do? My friend, you better pray that God will help you to find ways to be a servant.

38:40 If you do not learn the great principle that the work of the ministry is one continuous diaconal function, you'll never make it. You'll never make a true shepherd of souls.

38:53 You say, Pastor, did I hear you right? You're mixing up elder with deacon. No, I'm not mixing up anything. I've got it straight.

39:01 Jesus said, as the great shepherd of the sheep of our souls, I am among you as he that serves. The great shepherd of deacons would be a literal translation. And the work of the ministry is a work of continuous self-sacrificing. A continuous diaconal service in which you pour out your life expecting nothing in return.

39:40 And you find it your joy to do so.

39:45 Elisha learned that. Later on when there's a circumstance that demands selfless, whole-souled engagement for the concerns of another, he's prepared now to stretch himself out on the body of that little boy and to pray and to cry, to God, until life is given. He learned that lesson in those ten years with Elijah.

40:12 He's prepared when a poor young preacher boy has his axe head flying off when they're trying to enlarge the dormitory. And he says, alas, my master, it was borrowed. He didn't say, well, look, Baal worshiped all over the place. I don't have time to stop and worry about your old axe head.

40:28 Go borrow a few shekels and buy another one and pay it back. The man of God stops long enough to throw a stick in the water. And in the name of Jehovah performs a miracle. Makes the axe head to swim to the joy of that young preacher who was penniless.

40:46 Can't you just picture how he jumped up for joy and ran around to all the fellows? Hey, you see what happened down there by the Jordan? You know what happened? And then he tells the story.

40:56 It was a very mundane, selfless act. And that marks this man all the way through. I hope you feel something of the pressure of his selflessness as you read through the narrative. Well, you men who have aspirations for the ministry, if you have the notion that there's something glorious in a place of leadership, that's all it is, is a notion.

41:19 And the sooner you divest yourself of it, the better off you'll be, because you'll be in the world of reality. Oh, of course, there are those moments of glory when God the Spirit is pleased to expand and dilate your own heart and your own mental and spiritual faculties. And in the presence of God and his people, you sense that the Lord is there and the hearts of God's people are emoting and responding and your heart is responding. There are those little pinnacles of glory.

41:48 But for the most part, my friend, it's just the slog of selfless, self-denying servitude to the people of God.

42:01 And you better pray that you learn it in these formative days.

Application for Parents: Selfless Service in Child-Rearing

42:08 This also says something not only with respect to men who aspire to the work of the ministry. It says something. Listen to all of us who are in our formative period of life. And this congregation is relatively a young congregation.

42:23 You who are mothers and young fathers praying, Oh, God, make me the kind of father and mother you want me to be. How do you expect God's going to answer that prayer? He's going to put in your path situations and circumstances that demand that you learn what it is to find your joy in the service of others. Being a good parent is one continuous call to self-denial.

42:52 You labor for the most part for 20 years with each one of your kids before you see much in the way of return. That's a long time. I have to fool around with this. Say no to myself so I can put them in Christian school.

43:12 Say no to long vacations. Say no to fancy cars and clothes. And a woman who says no to this and that and the other, that she may be there with the freshness, the freshness of all of her mental and spiritual and emotional energies to be a true mother in the molding of that character. What's the use?

43:32 Well, I'll tell you what the use is. You realize if we don't give to this crazy mixed-up country of ours some stable men and women who know God and who know what life is all about and who can face it with resolute step, what hope is there for this nation?

43:51 And so you're thinking beyond the end of your nose and you're wondering, and you're wondering, and you're wondering, and you're willing to be poured out in the selfless rigors of being a true parent. And it is. It's a selfless task. One that demands selflessness and self-denial continually.

44:09 Well, if God has to bring a prophet through those disciplines, any of us think we're going to be exempt from it? If anyone should be able to bypass that, it's a man whom God is calling directly. But God doesn't bypass it. He uses the same basic formative principle even with that man of God.

Application for Mentors and Older Believers: Be Living Models

44:29 And of course, it says a tremendous thing to those of us who've taken upon ourselves the awesome responsibility of trying to prepare other men for the work of the ministry. It is enough that the disciple be as his master. And one of the most frightening things to me about this whole project of the academy lies right here. That God expects these men who come to us to have viable models, to have men to whom they can look not as perfect men, but as men who have to some degree grasped what it is to know God, to walk with God, know what it is to serve His people

45:13 and to lead His people. And oh, if you do not pray for Mr. Garlington and for Mr. Letham, for Pastor Fisher and myself in these labors, I plead with you to pray for us.

45:28 It's not enough that we propose, prepare lectures that somehow adequately represent the truth of God in the given area of our discipline. No, no, that's not enough. We must be what we want these men to become. And that's a frightening responsibility.

45:48 But that responsibility is on every older man or woman in this place because it says in Titus that it is the mature older men and women who are to train the younger men and women in practical godliness. They must have models. They must have a model. They must have living models.

46:06 Tangible embodiments. What does it mean to be a husband who loves his wife as Christ loved the church? They ought to be able to look at any of us who have been married more than ten years and say, there, there's an example. That's what it means.

46:20 And to see the concrete expressions of that tender, sensitive, selfless, sacrificial love wherewith Christ loves His church. What's it mean to rule well the house? Any of us married, have children, been at this thing longer than five or ten years, they ought to be able to look at us and say, that's what it means to rule well one's house. You see, this responsibility is upon us.

Christ, the Only Perfect Savior and Pattern

46:49 It not only applies to an Elijah and Elisha. There are principles that undergird God's peculiar dealing with them that impinge upon every one of us. But in closing, let me underscore something that Elijah could not be to Elisha in this relation. What would Elisha have to do when he blew his cork and got impatient and said, I don't want to shine any more shoes today?

47:18 If he didn't say it, he felt it. Well, you see, there's something Elijah could not do for him. Elijah could not cleanse his guilty conscience. Elijah could not purge away the sin of his irritation with his servant's role.

47:33 And if he was dull and insensitive to the lessons he needed to learn as a disciple, Elijah could not forgive him of the sin of mental sloth and spiritual dullness. And if he ever felt anything of resentment or jealousy to the older man or envy, Elijah could never cleanse his heart. You see, there were many needs that Elijah could meet, but many that Elijah could not meet. And Elisha's very name was a reminder of what his recourse was.

48:04 His name meant that the Lord is Savior. And Elisha, he became ultimately the man he was because he knew what it was to rely upon the only Savior of sinners, Jehovah, the great God of the covenant, the One whom we know, this side of the incarnation and the cross and the resurrection, as the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, we stand right where Elisha stands. Thank God to the extent that we have living models.

48:39 Thank God to the extent that there are those who can truly teach us. But the best of models and the best of teachers cannot purge away our sin. There is one for whom that work is reserved exclusively. And the Scripture says, Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.

49:05 And there were no doubt areas where the melancholic temperament of Elijah and where the volatile spirit of Elijah manifested themselves in ways that were not spiritual, even as we have recorded in the record of the Word of God. And at such times, Elisha had to realize there was but one perfect example. The One who was His Savior was His true and only perfect pattern. And so I would close tonight by taking your eyes off Elisha, taking them off Elijah, and turning them to the gracious Savior who made these men in what they were, and urge you if you have no saving,

49:46 vital relationship to Elijah and Elisha's God, that you seek the same in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And dear child of God, when you are tempted to be disillusioned, when you see the failures of your Elijahs, to whom you are looking for a pattern and a cupos of good works, look beyond them and their failures to that only perfect God. For the Scripture says He hath left us an example that we should follow His steps. Oh, may God grant that we may lay the lessons of this sequel to Elisha's call to heart,

Prayer for Instruction and Godly Models

50:27 and by the grace of God profit from the word of instruction and the word of exhortation. Let us pray. Our Father, we are indeed so full of gratitude that we have the Scriptures, and we have the Word of God. As a lamp unto our feet and a light to our pathway, we bless You for the richness of the Word of God.

51:01 We thank You for its perennial freshness. And we pray that this glimpse tonight of that very beautiful relationship between Elijah and Elisha will indeed be used in each of our lives. As you know, we have need of its instruction, of its admonition and its exhortation. Seal then the Word to our hearts, and grant that during this coming week we may so live as to set a pattern for our younger brothers and sisters in Christ.

51:42 And those who are new in the faith, O Lord, give them bona fide models of what it is to walk with You and to live before You. Grant that none of us may feel that this is the responsibility of the formal leadership alone. May each of us feel the burden of responsibility to be as holy as Your grace can make us, to be as prayerful as Your grace can make us, to the end that those whom You bring to birth through the labors of this assembly may see the Elijahs who have gone before them and may follow You, even as they follow Christ.

52:26 Help us, O Lord, help us in these things. Cleanse us from our many sins and failures and receive our praise for the greater than Elijah and the greater than Elisha, even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We ask these mercies in His name. Amen.