*(I do want to add at the beginning here, I did not read all of the scriptures that are in this, I just like to list my references in my notes so that I can better go over the story with the congregation. I also shortened some of the stories as needed.)*
Hello, how is everyone?
I have been thinking a lot about a couple of questions: Am I doing all I can for God? What does that look like? Why should I work hard for God? I think of all of those questions whenever the thought of being a servant of the kingdom comes into my mind.
Here lately, I have been thinking of this more often. This led me to the story of Elijah and Elish, but particularly the story of Elisha. Both of these men were prophets before the time of Jesus and they dedicated their whole lives to God. Elijah came first, and most of his story is found in I Kings, then towards the end of that book, Elijah is sent to find and anoint Elisha as a prophet. I just wanted to tell you that as a little bit of background on our text for today.
Read- 2 Kings 2:1-15
Now something a little bit funny that I think about after reading is about how fast food restaurants used to have the upsize options to get a little extra food. You had a Biggie size from Wendys, King Size from Burger King, and probably the most well known was the SuperSize option from McDonalds. Unfortunately for me, this all went away before I made my own money and could have purchased it. The SuperSize Me documentary was showing how bad this amount of fast food was and ultimately ruined it for everyone else. This led to it disappearing before I could experience my “Double Portion”.
Teaching:
All jokes aside, this portion of scripture is key in answering the questions that I began with today. In order to understand how it answers those questions, we need to dive a little deeper into the stories of these two men.
Who were they and What did they do?
So who were Elijah and Elisha? Well, there were some kings that came after King David, and most of them would eventually turn their back on God. Eventually, during the reign of King Ahab, Elijah shows up and prophecies in the name of God and all of the things that he prophecies happen. Guess they wouldn’t have been prophecies otherwise. Well, Elijah continues in his prophetic ways and also performs some miracles, most notably he resurrects the widow's son, keep that in mind because we will discuss it more later. Also, he challenges the prophets of Baal and through calling fire from the skies, proves that God is the only God. Ahab’s wife hears of this and decides that Elijah needs to be dealt with, this leads Elijah to flee. During the time when he was fleeing, God sends him to anoint Elisha as a prophet. Elisha then serves God through his service of Elijah up until our passage we just read. Then Elisha continues on in the same way as Elijah. Miracles, prophecies, these were all in a day's work for Elisha.
That is a little more of a background on these guys to better help us understand our passage for today. Kings were steering people from God, so God sent some people to get them back on track. Both of these men were really incredible men of faith, and in order to answer our questions, we can look to their lives as an example. I’m not saying that we need to perform miracles or anything like that, but we can model their walk. Everything that they did, they did for God and we need to have that same framework and mindset.
Truths/Points:
I have a few truths that we can draw from the lives of these men and the passage we read to start.
1- Follow Like Elisha-
My first truth is that we need to follow like Elisha. Whether it was in the way he followed Elijah, or in the way he followed God, he followed diligently. Let’s look at some examples of how he did this.
a) Left his old life behind
The first thing Elisha did was leave his old life behind. He literally got rid of everything. The bible tells us that Elisha slaughtered his livestock and burned his plowing equipment. He lived out the “Burn the boats” mindset. Speaking of that mindset, I’m sure you have all heard that saying, but to better understand it, I’d like to tell you where it came from.
Hernan Cortez was a Spanish conquistador who famously burned down all of the ships in his fleet in an attempt to motivate men. Initially, the men were angered by this. They thought he had basically just signed their death certificates because their only way home was just destroyed. Cortez then explained to them that their only way to get back home was to be victorious and seize the enemy ships. This unorthodox motivation led their mission being successful because the men fought harder and more courageously in order to be able to return home.
I think that some of us may need this mindset in order to separate ourselves from our old lives. Too often we let things from our past slip back into our present. We leave a path back to our old life. Sometimes we may need to “burn the boats” so that our only path is the path forward. If someone has an issue with alcohol, they maybe shouldn’t take the path home from work that goes past their favorite bar. If someone struggles with pornography, or just lust in general, then don’t watch shows or movies that overly sexualize women. Some of this sounds simple, but for the people struggling, it’s hard to light the match. I promise that although it seems like you're losing something, you will actually be gaining freedom when that boat is ablaze.
b) Work Hard for God
The next way we can follow like Elisha is to model his work ethic. He was always working hard for God. The bible tells us that in whatever we do, we need to do it for the glory of God. Elisha modeled this well. He began this by serving God via Serving Elijah.
Let’s look at II Kings 3:11- But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.
Elisha’s service to Elijah was so well known that it was used to verify the fact that he was a prophet and servant of God. We could think of this as “walking the walk”. How many of us could say that we could be identified as christians without actually telling someone that we are. Do our actions look like the actions of a servant of God? That is why I am saying that working for God is important. They say if someone were to look at how you spend your time, they would know what was truly important to you. What you spend your time doing is ultimately what you are serving. Maybe we need to spend some more time with God. Honestly, you can’t expect to receive without putting in time and effort.
When I played football, this was definitely evident. When guys would show up right before the school year began, missing all of the “optional” summer camps and practices, and then were handed starting spot, it drove me and some other players crazy. There were a lot of times that they ended up not knowing plays and performed poorly and were eventually benched. A good example of this was my freshman year. A kid showed up near the end of summer. He didn’t have the mandatory padded practices he needed in order to be able to actually participate in the scrimmages or practice, so he just had to do conditioning in full pads until he had enough practices in to be able to be a full participant. Once he was able to do so, the freshman coach put him at starting DE on the right side. Most of us players didn’t like that, and to top it off, he was playing bad. I can’t remember if he was benched or got hurt, but either way I ended up getting the chance to have his spot. The coach had told me that he saw the work and effort I was putting in and he thought I deserved the chance. Well the next game ended early at halftime due to weather. Right before that however, I sacked the quarterback to stop their drive and take us into halftime. My coach asked me after that game and, continued this question after every game for the rest of the season, but he would ask me “Will continue to play like that for me?” I don’t tell this story to relive my football glory days, but to illustrate the point that hard work does matter. Whether it’s in high school football, or in service of God, the HARD WORK MATTERS
2- Strive for the Double Portion-
Now that brings me to my 2nd truth: we need to strive for the double portion. Hard work will lead to the double portion. Let’s look back to our passage at verse 9.
II Kings 2:9: When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
Elisha wanted a double portion of what Elijah had, so let’s break that down a little.
a) What does the double portion look like?
We are going to start by talking about what the double portion looks like, and to do so I have another story from my younger years:
(6th grade story- visiting the school with the buddy day, hearing about middle school super lunch and then ultimately not getting to have it, end with talking about how you ate whole trays of salad until they took that away. Then “All i wanted was double”)
That’s what Elisha wanted. He wanted to receive double what Elijah had. We can see through that way that Elisha carried himself that he had a little something extra, but we are going to look at and discuss some of what Elijah did, and then what Elisha did.
Firstly, Elijah did a lot in the name of and for God. I want to first look at the story of Elijah and the widow. (Talk about her not having food when elijah requested it, but then she ends up having enough to cook until the drought is over) Then the scripture tells us her son gets sick and ultimately dies, and thats where we are going to pick up in
I Kings 17:17-24: 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”
Elijah was able to call upon God and resurrect the boy. This is the only instance of Elijah doing this. Keep that in mind as we continue.
Now we will look at a couple of the more notable things that Elisha did, specifically the ones that resemble what Elijah did, but seemed to have a little extra to them. Elisha also happened to meet a widow. (Elishas widow story. Able to fill all of the jars from the neighbors and pay off all her debts and still have some left over.) Theres a double portion. Now let’s look to a couple of sections of scripture.
II Kings 4:8-16: 8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.” 11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I have a home among my own people.” 14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”
God did provide this woman with a son, and it was miraculous. A great thing came from the mouth of the servant of God. But the story get’s tragic. The boy gets sick and dies. The woman finds Elisha and is mad at him. Tells him that she never wanted a son and that he caused this. She asks Elisha to come back to her house and do something so he does. We will quickly read
II Kings 4:32-37: When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
Elisha was able to resurrect her child. Just like Elisha. He also performed many more signs, prophecies, and miracles. Now we can see in this that there are some instances where it seems like he did a little more than Elijah, but we haven’t truly seen what I would consider a “double portion”. Even his death wasn’t like Elijah’s. Elijah was called up in a whirlwind without even actually dying, but Elisha died like anyone else would. But this is actually where we can see the double portion. I want to read to you what happens after Elisha’s death:
II Kings 13:20-21: Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
You can’t tell me that the spirit of God doesn’t have power. Elisha said “Give me double!” That double portion allowed Elisha to perform two resurrections, 1 in life and 1 in death. His extra bit of spirit was so strong that just merely touching his bones brought this man back to life. All from the double portion.
b) God Still does this today
I know that some of us are probably thinking “well that happened thousands of years ago, what about today?” I can confidently tell you that God still works wonders today. God not only will bless us, but he will fill us with his spirit and then we can bless others. It’s all about staying on the path God has laid out for us. There’s a worship song we sing, and I actually heard the artist tell a story when people were criticizing and being skeptical of the song. First I want to tell you some of the words from the song.
I can't resurrect a man with my own hands
But just the mention of Your Name can raise the dead
I believe
You're the wonder-working God
You're the wonder-working God
All the miracles I've seen
Too good to not believe
And I've seen cancer disappear, I've seen metal plates dissolve
Don't you tell me He can't do it, don't you tell me He can't do it
Cause I've seen real life resurrection, I've seen mental health restored
Don't you tell me He can't do it, don't you tell me He can't do it
Cause I've seen families reunited, I've seen prodigals return
Don't you tell me He can't do it, don't you tell me He can't do it
Cause I've seen troubled souls delivered, I've seen addicts finally free
Don't you tell me He can't do it, don't you tell me He can't do it
(Brandon Lake story about this song, people were saying it’s far fetched, woman told him her story)
When we are allowing God to direct us, miracles and blessings will flow in and through us.
3- You Reap What You Sow
This brings me to the 3rd truth we can take from this story of the double portion: You reap what you sow. This may be the most important part of all of this, so if you have kind of spaced out for a minute because I’m going over so much scripture and background info, this is the part you should pay attention to. What you put in is what you are going to get out. This isn’t something that just applies to the church or to Christianity, this truth applies to all aspects of life. If you want a good marriage, you have to work and sow into it. That is the same for any type of relationship truthfully. Also, this applies to your job. If you want to make more money or get promoted, you have to put in what you are hoping to get out.
a) Farmers-
This can be a difficult thing to do in life. Whenever we sow, we don’t always have a guarantee of a good harvest. That is why whenever we are doing so, we need to have the mindset that farmers have. (Talk about farmers planting without knowing exactly what will grow. Talk about how they continue to work on it even when they see nothing- Fertalize, weed it, and give constant care.) If we approach life with that mindset, then we will be truly working towards the double portion.
b) Outcome is only guaranteed if you do nothing-
I said a minute ago that when we are sowing, the outcome isn’t guaranteed. That isn’t entirely true, we can easily guarantee it- if we do nothing, then nothing will happen. It sounds simple, but it is definitely true. If you don’t put money into a retirent fund of some sort, then there will be no money in your retirement when that time comes. Elisha has a story that illustrates this well.
II Kings 13:14-19: “Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.” Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.””
??As we can see here, the input determines the output. If we only “half-do” something, or just don’t do it all, then our harvest will reflect that. Doing nothing will do nothing. So if you want to know the result every time, then just don’t do anything at all, but if you want to see the way that God can fruitfully bless you, then you have to put in a fruitful effort.
Conclusion-
So when we follow the example set by Elisha, we see a few things. We see that we need to leave our old self behind, we need to strive for the double portion, and ultimately to do all of that it will require hard work. I actually read something funny in regards to hard work and how the work never stops. (Dairy farmer says cows don’t stay milked)
The work we do for God is on-going, and although there can be some immediate results, the work will still continue, just like the dairy farmer says.
Conclusion-
*Be a useful tool for God.
One of the things that we should be working towards is being a useful tool for God’s kingdom. We can do this in a couple of big ways.
We can be useful in our life by serving God. Living a life pleasing to him. Strive to be told “Well done my good and faithful servant”. We need to be a walking testimony to those around us. I’ve always said that the best testimony is you. Not what you say, but your character. How you act when no one is watching. That is where the best testimony can be found. Be consistent in asking and allowing God to use you as a light to those around you.
We can also be a tool for him in our death. I know that may sound strange but look to what Elisha did in his death. He brought a man back to life even after he himself had already passed on. I think the greatest example of what I mean is the example Jesus gave us. He spent his whole life helping and serving. When he died, it was a tremendous loss to the world. Then he rose again and defeated death. His death was an important part in all of that. Now I’m not saying that we have to resurrect people who touch our dry bones, or we ourselves be resurrected. What I am saying is that when we live a life pleasing to God, a life of service to him and others, after our death people will think about us. When they browse their memories of us, they will be reminded of the example we set. If we lived a life like the people we read about in this library we call the Bible, they will remember and potentially strive for the same. That’s what I mean when I say we have to be a tool in our death.
Closing:
I’m going to close, but this is why working hard and striving for the double portion is so important. Our lives impact the lives of those around us. Probably the best example of this is a story that I shared a few months ago, but want to bring up again.
(Billy Graham- John Wesley house.)- Billy Graham visited the house of John Wesley as a college student and they found him praying where John would pray and saying "Do it again God. Do it again in me!"
That’s what this is about. Are you telling God that you are ready to do what he has called you to. Can he do it again in you? Ask God for more. Put the work in. That’s what I want to leave you with, ask God while I pray if there is something he needs you to do, and truly be ready for what he says. Seek him and allow his Holy Spirit to fill you to be a tool for his kingdom and to be in search of that double portion.
Let’s Pray.
