Iliff & Saltillo UM churches
March 2, 2003
“Stay in Right Lane”: Consistency Counts
II Kings 2:1-12
INTRODUCTION: We will soon begin the Lenten Season. I’d like you to look back over the past year and ask yourself the question, “Am I a more consistent or less consistent Christian than I was last year at this time?” The Lenten Season is a time to reflect on our walk with the Lord and to make the changes we need to make. During the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday, I will be using a series of ROAD SIGNS, which we are all familiar with, to help us in our journey.
Today is “Stay in Right Lane”: Consistency Counts. We have all seen the orange construction signs on the highways that say, “Stay in Right Lane.” It’s there for a purpose. What you also see is people who pay absolutely no attention to these signs. People impatient with slow traffic think they will try the left lane anyway. No one traveling in that one. Sign doesn’t mean anything. Let’s try it. Down the road they find this wasn’t such a good idea. People won’t let them back into the right lane, and they may now be at a complete standstill. Has this ever happened to you?
Today’s scripture speaks of the importance of consistently obeying the signs that are put there for our benefit. At the beginning of this chapter the aged prophet Elijah and his younger assistant, Elisha, were walking from Gilgal. There was some indication that this would be the day that Elijah would be taken to heaven, and Elisha was aware of this revelation. Elijah wanted to visit the schools of the prophets one last time. As Elijah and Elisha were talking, it seemed as if Elijah was trying to “shake him off” by saying, “Stay here, the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” He was trying to sidetrack him from going along. This doesn’t seem to be a direct order but rather a suggestion like, “You don’t have to go all the way down there with me. Why don’t you just stay here at Gilgal.”
Elisha answered, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them continued to walk on toward Bethel.
Elisha did not want to leave Elijah just in case this was actually the day. When they got to the school some of the students took Elisha aside and said, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” Elisha said, “Yes, I know...but don’t remind me of it.” This happened three different times and Elisha answered in the same way each time. What he is actually saying to Elijah is, “Not on your life. I’m not letting you out of my sight!”
From Elisha’s thinking he doesn’t want to miss out on anything.
From Elijah’s thinking he wants to know for sure if Elisha is really the one to be his successor by putting him to a test.
Elisha passed the test all three times by refusing to be sidetracked. He had developed a pattern of consistency over a period of time while he was Elijah’s aide. He was a person who had learned to “stay in right lane” and not let anything sidetrack him. What does today’s scripture say to us today?
1. Day by Day Consistency: Too often we view our Christianity as important but not an integral part of our daily life. It is a compartmentalized thing--assigned to an hour on Sunday morning. Elisha would never have passed the consistency test had he not been walking with the Lord daily. It would have been tempting to “stay behind.” Day in and day out, good days and bad days, Elisha followed the Lord. Many things could have sidetracked him. It may have sounded very logical to him that Elijah his mentor would have him stay behind that day. But he knew what he should do, and he continued on the way. I think that God gives all us difficult assignments to see what we will do.
All of us have many things that try to sidetrack us in our Christian walk. Today we have more options than ever before. We are lured away from the Lord in many subtle ways as well as in more direct ways. You face these every day. Jesus knew that we could easily be distracted and that is why he told his disciples a way to “stay in right lane.”
Luke 9:23 says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Our daily determination to follow the Lord counts. It is not just the big decisions that trip us up but rather the little daily choices.
2. Mediocrity: Elisha was not content to be a mediocre person. You will notice that in vs. 7 “fifty men of the company of the prophets stood at a distance facing Elijah and Elisha at the Jordan. It may have been out of curiosity that they were wanting to see what was going to happen. As they stood at a distance on the fringe of things, Elisha was right up there with his mentor. When Elijah asked him what he would like him to do for him before he was taken up to heaven, Elisha was ready with his request. He said, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” Elisha knew that he had already been selected to succeed Elijah, but he didn’t want to be just a mediocre person spiritually. He wanted an extra measure of spiritual power to carry out his work. Elijah said, “You have asked a difficult thing, but if you see me when I am taken up from you, your request will be granted. Otherwise it won’t” (vs. 10).
Elisha knew that he had to be watchful and not let other things pull his attention away from his master. Even though he was probably more consistent in his spiritual walk than many people around him who “stood at a distance,” he could still miss seeing Elijah leave and miss out on his request. He didn’t want anything to sidetrack him.
What things have a tendency to sidetrack you spiritually? What lures you “out of right lane”? Are you often content to be a mediocre Christian just standing by on the fringe of things?
Probably “busyness” is one of the #1 things that sidetracks Christians more than anything else these days. There could be any number of very legitimate things that take up all of our time and God gets crowded out. Getting our eyes on people and what they think also diverts our attention away from the Lord. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to get our mind so taken up with things that don’t really matter. Sometimes people will get us upset over the slightest things, and we find that we fret and stew for days and try to come up with ways to get even or get back at them. We are not in the place where God can use us to much advantage when that happens. These are all tricks of the enemy to get us “out of the right lane.”
How do we shake the tendency of mediocrity? I John 1:7 says, “if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His son purifies us from all sin.” The word walk tells us that it is consistent, disciplined commitment over the long haul. “Stay in Right Lane.” Avoid being mediocre.
3. Was Elisha Disappointed?: You might wonder if it is worth living a consistent and committed Christian life. Is it worth the effort? You see others who “seem to” get along fine and they are not making any real effort to serve the Lord. You might think you are self sufficient and don’t really need to rely on His guidance and direction. You think, “I can get along fine on my own. I can do as I please.” Scripture tells us that “the way of transgressors is hard” (Proverbs 13:15).
If we could see what heaven would be like and it were really “real” to us, we would probably all be more diligent and faithful Christians each day. Sometimes we are disappointed with the outcome of things we do. Even things that start out well.
STORY: One vacation we were traveling in Oregon and Washington and tried to find all of the lighthouses on the coast. We found most of the ones in Oregon and took pictures. They were beautiful, and we continued to hunt for more in Washington. There was one called Cape Disappointment. We parked in the parking area and then found out we had to walk up a trail to the lighthouse. We started out and thought it would be just a short distance. We walked and walked through a trail in the woods and up a hill. Would we ever get there. We were huffing and puffing and getting out of breath. After quite awhile the lighthouse came into view. We got to the top of the hill and sure enough there it was--Cape Disappointment. It was a real disappointment. They had scaffolding up and were painting the lighthouse. We didn’t even get a good picture for all of our effort. It was a real let down. Then we had to turn around and walk all the way back to the parking lot.
True, sometimes the way that we take turns out to be a disappointment, and we have regrets.
In Elisha’s case what happened? Was he disappointed? verse 11 says, “As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” Vs, 13 says, “Elisha picked up the cloak (mantle) that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan, then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah? When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left and he crossed over” (v. 13).
Elisha was not disappointed. Later scriptures show that he did receive the double portion of the Spirit that he had requested. He was equipped for his future ministry, and he performed many more miracles than Elijah had performed.
Sometimes we all get discouraged and impatient in our Christian journey. We are lured by many things that would sidetrack us from fulfilling God’s will and purpose in our life. When this happens Remember Elisha.
CONCLUSION:
1. Elisha was disciplined and consistent in his daily walk with the Lord. He was willing to follow and learn in order to gain power to do the work he was called to do. In the midst of all the demands on your time, do you take time out to think and pray and meditate on what God wants you to do? Are you “Staying in Right Lane” to avoid problems later?
2. When you are tempted to just stay on the fringe and be a mediocre Christian, do you have an overall vision of what God wants you to be that helps you to stay on target? To be persistent?
3. Do you ever feel disappointed and discouraged if your walk seems to slow down to a complete stop at times? Remember Elisha--he was not disappointed in the long run. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Matthew Henry said, “Let not those that follow Christ come short by tiring at last.”
LET US PRAY:
Again Lord.
I have looked away from You Lord
again
Lord let me look upon You
again
I have walked away from You
again
Lord let me walk with You
again
I have not read Your Word
again
Lord give me a hunger for Your Word
again
I have lost my faith in You again
again
Lord give me faith to trust You
again
I have disappointed You Lord
again
Lord strengthen me so I will not disappoint You
again
Free me Lord from this circle, grant me the victory found within You, in the power of Jesus Christ’s blood.
for always..
Amen (unkown source)
