When God Calls

INTRODUCTION

Good morning! My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church.

Before we begin here, I just want to personally encourage you to take a Renovation U class this summer.

This is what we do here.

We do House Church during the school year, and take Renovation U classes in the summer.

We don’t want to take 3 months off in our discipleship.

Keep growing.. Keep learning

We want you to grow deeper in learning to interpret & study the Bible, growing in your theological knowledge & more

If you’re brand new in your faith, as so many of you are, it’s critical that you take that First Steps class, and start learning some of the foundations of your faith.

So get signed up today.

All right, I am pumped this morning, as we are starting our new summer series.

For the last 5 summer now, every summer we’ve taught through a book or a larger section of the Old Testament.

Last year we taught through the thrilling book of Esther, before that was Zechariah, and Joshua, and back in 2021, we did a series called “Life of Elijah”

And we studied the life of the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings

This summer, we’re going to do a sequel series to that fun series on Elijah, and will be studying the life of his successor, Elisha…

(Life of Elisha)

…and his life mostly takes place in the book of 2 Kings in the Old Testament.

Elisha’s ministry happened about 850 years or so before Jesus came to earth

At that point, the Israelites had been freed from slavery in Egypt, and they had settled back in the promised land, and even begun the age of having their own kings..

They had King Saul, then King David, then Solomon.

Then things began to fall apart.

The Kingdom of Israel broke into two: the Kingdom of Israel in the north & the Kingdom of Judah in the south.

and the people were influenced by the idol-worshipping people groups around them that almost en masse, God’s people started to follow false gods,

But Elisha the Prophet is going to speak the Word of God to them, do miracles, and speak truth to those in leadership

This morning, we’re going to kick off our series with “The Call of Elisha”

Now, “calling” is one of the most misunderstood Christian words out there.

We tend to overuse it here in America, and we talk as if we need to wait for God to call us to do just about everything.

Like, “I don’t know if I should have pancakes for breakfast or waffles, because I’m still waiting on God’s calling…on hearing the Lord’s will.”

And yet, if you study the Bible, most of “God’s will for your life” is already laid out for you:

He has called you to: repent, to holiness, to freedom, to obedience, to love, and on and on.

And you actually don’t need to pray about if you should forgive your neighbor or not, because he already called you to.

Actually, one of the best books I’ve read in the last couple of years (it was on my Reading List this past year) is:

Just Do Something Book

Kevin DeYoung’s “Just Do Something”

Where he brilliant lays out how we’ve overcomplicated God’s will and calling.

We have several copies of the book in our library, although they are all checked out right now, so go get on that hold list. It’s excellent.

However, even thought a lot of our “callings” are already all laid out in here, sometimes God does still indeed uniquely call you to do something specific.

Let me give you some examples:

Different Ways God May Uniquely Be Calling You:

-To move

-To confront a friend

-To share the gospel with someone

-To start a business or a ministry

-To give generously

-To adopt

And this list could be 50 things long…

The point I’m trying to make is that Jesus is alive, not dead, and He does still uniquely call us to do specific things, to have specific conversations, and go specific places

Now, I don’t think that’s the majority of our Christian walk, but it does happen sometimes

And I want to give you a lot of examples of calling in my life today, so…

…one of the times that happened for me was when God called me to start giving the Gospel every single week here (we didn’t use to do that)

But right before we finished this building…

..it was like all I could think about it
…and people kept suggesting it to me

… and I thought about it while I read the Bible, when I prayed, and when I laid down to sleep at night.

And I I thought, “I’m about as sure as I can get (and it’s hard to be 100%, that’s why we call it faith), but I’m about as sure as I can get that God is calling me to do this specific thing”

So as we talk about Elisha’s call today, I want you to think about what unique thing God may be calling you to do right now (it could be really small).

But what is one thing He been putting on your heart?

And go ahead and grab a Bible

1 Kings 19:19-21

Page 245

We’re going to have to start with just 1 passage in 1 Kings (before we get to 2 Kings for the rest of the summer) because that’s where Elisha’s call begins.

Let’s take a look

#1: WILL YOU LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND?

(1 Kings 19:19-21) – NIV

19 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. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
21 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 servant.

(When God Calls)

And so as we study God’s unique calls on our life today, this first passage gives us the first question we all must ask:

When God Calls:

#1: Will we leave everything behind?

Because that is what is happening here.

Elisha is just at the plow, minding his own business…and the call of God comes on his life to be the next prophet in Israel

And it’s interesting because he’s not on a prayer retreat in the woods asking for direction.

Similarly, when God called David, he was just out watching the sheep, same with Moses.

Peter was just out casting nets.

I think sometimes we over spiritualize things when it comes to calling.

90% of your Christian walk is just going to be obeying the call of Scripture that God has already laid out for you

But then, sometimes, often when you least expect it, God will uniquely call.

And when He does, will you go?

If he’s telling you to quit your job, will you?

If God is telling you to move, will you?

And I don’t just mean “Yes, God is calling me to a bigger house with a walk out basement”

What if it’s truly God calling, but it’s a worse situation?? Will you still obey and go?

The thing we need to understand to make sense of this first passage is that Elisha was incredibly rich.

If you look at the text, it says Elisha was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen

So 12 pairs of oxen

He owns 24 oxen.

In those days, most people most likely didn’t have any oxen.

Maybe a few families had 1 or 2

Elisha had 24

TWENTY FOUR

He was the wealthy landowner of that area

And think of what he’s being called to now…

Being a prophet is about as far away from a life of luxury as you can get

But the Bible says that Elisha burns the plows.

He burns all of his farming equipment?

Why???

Why not just give the business to a friend or something?

Because he knows, that as soon as being a prophet gets rough and it will), if he still has this life of luxury to fall back on, he will.

So he burns his escape route, he burns his “plan b,” because when God calls, you leave everything behind.

And so this is the question in front of many of you: “If God is calling you to something, to say something, do something, go somewhere…”

…will you leave everything else behind?

Will His call be worth more than any risk, or pain, or difficulty?

Again, just using my own life as an example, I remember when God first started calling me to plant this church…

(And he did so in a myriad of ways…

…some of which was just logic, I looked at studies…

…some of the calling came through conversations with friends & mentors, through sermons, through His Word)…

…through all of that…He called me to start this church.

And yet…there were several people who said, “Don’t do that”

I even had relatives that said, “Don’t start a church!”

They said, “It’s going to be so much harder, and unknown, and how will you get paid, or will you even have health insurance, and what if no one comes, and why can’t you just take a normal church job at an existing church?!?”

And I had to decide, “is this worth the risk?”

And I think the only thing that can make you take a risk where you say, “I’ll go…..I’m going to have this hard conversation with my family member…I’m going to take that job…I’m going to risk my reputation for Christ…”

…what allows you to do that is if you know the God of heaven has called you to do it.

When God Himself calls, you burn the plows.

#2: WILL YOU KEEP GOING WHEN IT GETS HARD?

Okay, we’re going to jump ahead now into 2 Kings to the 2nd part of Elisha’s calling

2 Kings 2:1-6

Page 250

And we’re going to see that as Elijah prepares for his final hours, he’s going to test his future successor Elisha

Let’s read

(2 Kings 2:1-6) - NIV

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”
4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”
And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.

(When God Calls)

So what’s happening here?

At each stop (on the way to Gilgal, and Bethel, and Jericho, and the Jordan), Elijah tests Elisha by telling him to just stop…that he doesn’t need to follow him anymore.

He’s testing him to see if Elisha’s going to pursue his calling as a prophet even when it gets hard…

But Elisha remembers that God has already called him (back when he burned the plows) to be Elijah’s successor, and he’s not going to stop now.

And this is the second question that we have to ask of ourselves when God uniquely calls us to do something:

When God Calls:

#1: Will we leave everything behind?

#2: Will we keep going when it gets hard?

And this is where I think calling is really important.

When you know God has called you to do something, that calling gives you strength to stay the course.

About 9 months before we started this church, Lindsey and I went to our denomination (Converge’s) Church Planting Assessment Center

…which was a grueling 4-day interview where 20 or so pastors assess you and see if you having the calling and the giftings to plant a church

And when that finished, even though I was only 26 at the time, and they said, “Yes, we see this call on your life. We think you should plant a church.”

I gotta tell you that moment, that clarity of calling has been an absolute gift to me

Not only did it give me the courage to take a huge leap and faith and actually attempt to start a church from scratch…

But it has given me the endurance to keep going.

There have been 2 or 3 times in 16 years where I just wanted to throw in the towel.

Mostly during capital campaigns where I was working myself to death.

But I knew that I was called, that this is what God wants me to do.

And so to walk away from ministry, isn’t just to quit, it’s to walk away from what God Himself has called me to do.

And I don’t want to do that.

And so my friend if God has called you to stay faithful in your marriage (and He has!)…

…if God has called you to mentor someone or reconcile with someone, then you must…even if it gets hard…you must.

The King of heaven has called, and you must not refuse

You must not choose comfort instead.

Jump down to verse 9 now because it talks about this.

2 Kings 2:9-10

Page 250

(2 Kings 2:9-10) - NIV

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.

10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

When God Calls:

#1: Will we leave everything behind?

#2: Will we keep going when it gets hard?

And he does indeed see him as he is taken away

Now, when Elisha asks for a double portion, he’s not asking for twice as much as Elijah had

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 21 that the firstborn son in a Jewish family was to get a double portion…that just means twice the portion that the other sons will get for their inheritance.

So now, as the Chariots of Fire show up, Elisha is asking for the right to now receive his inheritance as Elijah’s “firstborn son in ministry” (his successor).

But even in this exchange, there is still one last test.

Elijah says, verse 9, “Tell me what can I do for you?”

Now listen, if you could have a powerful prophet, on behalf of God, say to you, “What can I do for you?”

What would you ask for?

Comfort, wealth, pleasure, health, safety?

But Elisha says, “I want what you have! I want to continue serving God in power!”

Pray that this week!

Because the things most likely to tempt you away from doing God’s will are the things of this world like comfort and pleasure.

Perhaps you know God’s calling you to go talk to that person, but that’s quite uncomfortable…so maybe another day

You know God’s calling you to finally start recovery, but there’s nothing easy about that…so maybe another day.

But if God has called, we have to keep going, even when it gets hard.

And honestly, it probably WILL get hard!

That’s the story of the Bible.

Which of these followers of God in here had it easy?

It’s hard!

So keep going!

Don’t let difficulty deter you from His call!

#3: WILL YOU WAIT FOR THE FRUIT?

So Elisha sees his mentor Elijah get taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah’s cloak (his prophetic mantle) falls down to the ground, and Elisha picks it up and he is now the new lead prophet.

And let’s jump ahead to see his first major miracle….verse 19 now of chapter 2

2 Kings 2:19-22

Page 250

(2 Kings 2:19-22) - NIV

19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”
20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” 22 And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

And here’s the 3rd question that we have to ask of ourselves when God has called us:

When God Calls:

#1: Will we leave everything behind?

#2: Will we keep going when it gets hard?

#3: Will we wait for the fruit?

Will you wait for God to grow fruit from your actions?

We talked about this when we taught through John 15 and the vine.

When a planter plants a vineyard, they don’t get a good harvest of grapes until year 4!

God may call you to pray for someone to be saved…

That doesn’t mean that spiritual fruit is going to grow tomorrow

God may call you to start a non-profit, that doesn’t mean it’s going to change your city in its first year

Now, Elisha sees some fruit pretty quickly here, but it’s not the prophetic fruit we’re used to seeing in the Bible…especially from his mentor Elijah

In this passage, Elisha doesn’t call down fire from heaven or confront kings on their throne…

…he just takes a little salt, puts it in a bowl, and throws it into the spring, and the water gets better…

…and you could see Elisha getting maybe getting discouraged by this small miracle, but he doesn’t.

He’s just starting out!

I see a lot of young people just starting in evangelism, or ministry, or even missionaries when they first go out, get discouraged because they don’t see a ton of lives changed right away.

And usually, it just doesn’t work like that.

You want to know how many came to Christ though in this church in just the first 15 weeks?

Zero.

In the first year?

Just 9.

That’s not a lot, but it’s a start.

And listen:

When God calls, your responsibility is not to produce results but to walk in obedience.

And the results will come.

But they will come in his timing, and in His way

But When God calls, start walking.