BURN THE PLOW & ROAST THE COW
I KGS. 19:19-21
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A farmer decided he knew as much as any doctor, so he opened a doctor’s office. He charged $500 a visit, but would give you $1,000 if he couldn’t cure you.
2. The town’s regular doctor decided to show him to be a fraud and collect several $1,000. He went to the farmer-doctor and said, “I’ve lost my taste. Can you cure me?”
3. The farmer said, “Nurse, give him 3 drops from that blue bottle.” The real doctor choked on the drops, “That’s gasoline!” “Congratulations! Your taste has been restored. That’ll be $500!”
4. The real Doctor paid, but decided to try another approach. “Doctor, I’ve lost my short-term memory; can you cure me?” “Sure. Nurse give him 3 drops from that little blue bottle.” “But I remember that that’s gasoline!” “Congratulations! Your memory is cured. That will be $500!”
5. Doctor paid, went home. He thought of one more that should stump him. “Doctor, I’ve lost my eyesight. Can you restore sight to the blind?” The farmer-doctor looked glum. “No, I can’t restore lost sight, so I have to pay you $1,000.”
6. The doctor said to himself, “At last I’ve beaten him!” The farmer-doctor said, “Hold out your hand so I can pay you” and he put a $50 bill in the doctor’s hand. The doctor shouted, “Hey! That’s only a $50 bill!” The farmer took it back. “Congratulations! Your eyesight has been restored! That will be $500!”
B. SETTING
1. This morning we’re looking at Elijah the prophet. Elijah was the greatest prophet of the O.T., so volatile that he was called the “Prophet of Fire” because he called down fire on people.
2. But despite his fiery temperament, he let his environment – his backslidden nation – discourage him. He also became intimidated by the threats of Queen Jezebel. So he fled for his life, almost dying on the journey.
3. So he traveled approximately 300 miles on foot. After reaching Mt. Sinai/Horeb in Arabia, he experienced several supernatural signs connected with the manifestation of God’s presence.
4. First a tornado-like wind tore through the mountains ripping everything loose. Then an earthquake shook it, and huge rock formations came tumbling down.
5. Next a fire – representing that ‘God is a consuming fire’ – raged around the mountain. But Elijah knew these were manifestations and not God Himself.
6. At last Elijah heard the still small voice of God speaking to him – the words of today’s text. If we get quiet and wait on God, we too will hear God’s voice speaking to us.
C. TEXT
The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.” So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. "Let me kiss my father and mother good-by," he said, "and then I will come with you." Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?" So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant. 1 Kgs. 19:15-21.
D. THESIS:
1. It’s interesting that although Elijah was told to anoint two kings, that he didn’t do that first. Indeed, they’re not even mentioned in this chapter.
2. Because the prophet reflects God’s priority of importance. Earthly kings come and go and leave no lasting impression; but a man or woman of God ranks higher and is the focus of God’s purpose.
3. The title of today’s message is “Burn the Plow and Roast the Cow.” It’s a message about the kind of commitment God demands of us if we would be his servants.
4. Elijah had to travel 330 miles to reach Elisha. When he found him, he was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen.
I. GOD “FOUND ELISHA…PLOWING” (VS. 19)
A. GOD NEVER CALLS AN IDLE MAN/ WOMAN
1. Do you know what you get when you get a lazy man saved? A saved lazy man. Do you know what you get when you get a “go-getter” saved? A saved “go-getter!”
2. Owning 12 pairs of oxen was equivalent to you owning 24 cars! It’s obvious Elisha was ambitious and prosperous. It’s also obvious he was humble, for when he could be sitting back watching his 11 servants work, he was out there working too. Those who are physically ambitious – when they get saved – become those who are spiritually ambitious. God is looking for that trait!
3. Adrian Rogers, former president of the Southern Baptist convention, told about the man who made his sons work in the cornfields while their peers spent the afternoon at the swimming hole. Someone scolded the father saying, "Why do you make those boys work so hard? You don't need all that corn." The wise father answered, "Sir, I'm not raising corn, I'm raising boys!"
4. ILLUS. Jesus said, "He that is faithful in little will also be faithful in much."
a. A humble minister in the village of Leicestershire, England only influenced two boys to accept Christ during his entire ministry.
b. Some might call that a waste, but the two boys he influenced were William Carey, the father of world missions and first missionary to India, and Robert Hall, the greatest preacher of his day!
B. DIDN’T TRY TO PROMOTE HIMSELF
1. He didn't try to follow Elijah around, he just worked at what he found to do. Many of the student prophets tried to follow Elijah around, hoping for promotion.
2. Where was Abel-Meholah? No-where’s-ville! Elisha didn’t let a spirit of discontent with his current ministry cause him to become complacent or leave his place of service.
3. Imagine if Elisha had grown discontent, quit, and left for Jerusalem. Elijah would have arrived and there would have been No Elisha to make his successor.
4. Instead, Elisha remained faithful to what God gave him to do. "Promotion … cometh from the Lord."
C. 330 MILES AWAY, GOD WAS SPEAKING OF HIM
1. "Anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat, of Abel Meholah, in the desert of Damascus." (vs. 15-16).
2. These days we’re seldom known by our names. The Gov’t knows us by our S.S. #, the IRS by our taxpayer #, the police by our driver’s license #, doctors by our patient #. We’re just another number to them: impersonal.
3. But we read in the Bible, God, “determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name” Psalms 147:4.
4. Kornreich estimates there are 10 trillion galaxies in the universe, resulting in 100 octillion stars, or 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars, or a "1" with 29 zeros after it. (14 quintillion X # of humans!)
5. Yet God has the capacity to name each one and to call them by their names. Such a colossal mind obviously wouldn’t have any difficulty keeping up with the mere 7+ billion humans, how many hairs they have on their heads, what their thoughts are, and keeping each atom in the universe swinging in its own orbit, held together by His invisible hand! These are mere child’s play to the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.
6. The politicians don’t know you, nor does the pope, nor the actors & actresses in Hollywood, nor the bankers on Wall Street. Nor am I known at the Ivy League schools, at the Pentagon, nor at the NFL, NBA, or the PGA – but God knows my name!
7. I’ve never been mentioned on network news, never went viral on Facebook, never made the front page of a big newspaper or magazine, I’ve never made any top ten chart – but the God of the Universe knows every detail of my life!
8. And God knows where You are. You should bloom where you’re planted. Elisha went from plowing clods to plowing hearts. Keep plowing!
II. “ELISHA LEFT HIS OXEN” (VS.20)
A. ELISHA’S CALL
1. The prophet strode out into the field and cast his mantle or prophet's coat [badge of office; Moses had a rod] upon Elisha. (Elijah is a type of Christ -- taken up to heaven. Christ comes to each one of us with a call.)
2. This was a clear call.
3. It was a moment of eternal DECISION. How far will we go with this thing?
B. CONSIDERATIONS OF HIS DECISION
1. The death threats of Jezebel. It was a bad time for prophets of the Lord: many of them had been killed.
2. He was leaving a prosperous business and financial security.
3. He was leaving his father and mother -- he “honored” them before leaving.
C. PARALLELS TO JESUS’ CALL
1. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, there was a wonderful
atmosphere around Jesus: there was the prophetic, the counter-culture, the miracles, the crowds, the excitement.
2. Everybody wanted to jump on board. A giddy, exuberant disciple following Jesus shouted, “This is awesome! I want to be one of Your followers!” But Jesus had some sobering words for his followers:
a. ‘There’s no financial security following Me:’ “Birds have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.” Luke 9:58.
b. Followers of Jesus have to put Him before earthly relatives and friends. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” Mt. 10:37.
3. People say, “I’ll follow Jesus later on. I’ve other more important things to attend to right now. My career, my education, my girlfriend, my boyfriend. I’ve got to provide a nest egg for my family first; wouldn’t God want me to be responsible like that?!”
4. Followers of Jesus are not to ever be distracted from His call or go back! Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Lk. 9:62.
5. We see many parallels to Jesus calling his first four disciples in Matthew 4:18-20; "Come and follow Me.” "And they left their boats and their nets and followed Him."
6. Patrick Morley has noted: “The American gospel has evolved into a gospel of addition without subtraction. It is the belief that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior… A changed life is one that has added Christ and subtracted sin, that attracts a world weary of worn-out words. Obedience is the proof.”
7. You can’t have God AND have the world! God wants ALL of you or NONE of you!
C. A PERMANENT DECISION
1. When you make the decision to follow Christ "once-for-all," you don't have to make it hourly. You already know what you're going to do. The devil can't throw us off as easy then.
2. It’s like the story of the chicken and the pig who approached a church and read the advertised sermon topic, "What can we do to help the poor?" Immediately the chicken suggested they feed them bacon and eggs. The pig thought for a moment and said, "There’s only one thing wrong with feeding bacon and eggs to the poor. For you it requires only a contribution, but for me it requires a total commitment!"
III. “TOOK…OXEN & SLEW THEM” (VS 21)
A. REMOVED ALL OBSTACLES TO TURNING BACK
1. He did the modern equivalent of "burning your bridges."
2. Many men of the world have understood the necessity for commitment if they were to accomplish great things. For example, when Spanish explorer Cortes landed at Vera Cruz in 1519 to begin his conquest of Mexico with a small force of 700 men, legend has it that he purposely set fire to his fleet of 11 ships.
3. Presumably, his men on the shore watched their only means of retreat sink to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. There was then only one direction to move -- forward into the Mexican Interior to meet whatever might come their way.
4. Elisha gave up worldly security for a higher calling.
B. EFFECTS OF HIS DEDICATION
1. When he "Burned the Plow and Roasted the Cow," he supplied sustenance (meat) to the people.
2. His dedication became a source of Life and Strength to the people.
3. PRACTICAL LORDSHIP
a. In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery.
b. “Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.” “I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.”
c. “Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”
d. When we tire of our roles and responsibilities, it helps to remember GOD has planted us in a certain place and told us to be a good accountant or teacher or mother or father. Christ expects us to be faithful where he puts us, and when he returns, we’ll rule together with him.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Some of you may be saying, "That's a big commitment!" Yes, but look at what God has done for you! No one else is worthy of the sacrifices called for.
2. In the USSR, during the reign of Stalin, an old woman entered the Russian Orthodox Church. She approached the statue of Christ and reverently kissed Christ's foot.
3. The communist guards who stood there said, "Old woman, are you also willing to kiss Premier Josef Stalin's foot?" She answered, "If he would die on the cross for my sins and rise again, yes." [Jesus alone is worthy!]
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Are you feeling insignificant? Like your efforts aren't being noticed or appreciated? Remember that God is speaking your name; He's aware of all you are doing. Be faithful! Keep plowing!
2. Have you answered God's call in your life? Have you made a final decision? Some of you have been saved a long time, but your dedication level has slipped. Now is the day to renew your dedication.
3. Have you burned your bridges to follow Jesus? What did Elisha burn? a). The "yokes" of bondage; b). The worldly plow; c). The cow/oxen.
4. Musicians play, “Just as I Am.” Come to the altar to make a new dedication of your life.
