In the year 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived in the “New World” with 600 men and, upon arrival, made history by “burning his ships.” This sent a clear message to his men. There is no turning back! Two years later, he succeeded in his complete conquest of the Aztec empire. When Cortés arrived in what is today Mexico, his soldiers did not want to fight. They were tired of the voyage, the natives were not friendly, and it was a strange land. Cortés, who wanted to conquer this new land, would have none. To motivate his men, he burned his ships to the waterline. They were now all faced with a stark choice: fight or die! • Elijah had seen God’s power in his ministry: • Raising a boy back to life (1 Kings 17). After speaking out against Ahab, Elijah spent seven years in hiding, much of it with a widow and her son in the Sidonian town of Zarephath. During this period, the widow’s son died of illness, and Elijah prayed for the boy to come back to life. After Elijah prayed and touched the boy three times, he returned to life. • Fire on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). After seven years of drought, Elijah had King Ahab bring the 450 priests of Baal and 400 priests of Asherah to Mount Carmel. He challenged to build an altar and see which god set it on fire there. After many hours of the pagan priests trying to get a response from Baal, Elijah built his altar. To make things more interesting, Elijah covered his altar with water after he built it. After praying to God, fire came from heaven and lit Elijah’s alter, even making the water burn. To top the event off, Elijah had all the priests of Baal killed. • Meeting God at Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19). After Elijah had shown God’s power on Mount Carmel and killed all the prophets of Baal, Ahab’s wife Jezebel planned to have him killed. Elijah fled into the desert and prayed for his death. Instead, an angel appeared multiple times and gave him food. Ultimately, Elijah reached Mount Horeb, and God spoke to him, giving him new tasks and clarifying that he wasn’t finished with Elijah yet. • Now, God was asking him to pass on this to the next generation. Lessons From The Call of Elisha 1 Kings 19:19 1. God’s Calling Is Inescapable • Elijah accepts the Lord’s reassurances and anoints Elisha. Like the widow, the people on Mount Carmel, and Ahab, Elijah has experienced the power and healing of God. So he sets out to obey God, fully aware that God is his strength and his word will not fail. Elijah throws his cloak, or mantle, upon Elisha, a symbolic way of transferring the prophetic power from one man to the next. Can you imagine the amazing things the Lord can do through you if you just submit to the call? 1 Kings 19:20 2. Stop Praying About What God Is Clearly Asking • What have I done to (prevent) you? could mean, ‘Go back, but remember what I have done to you.’ It might be a rebuke at any delay in following. • Elijah was encouraging Elisha that he knew that he was called. He didn't need to pray about it. How many things in our lives do we delay because we need to pray? Can I tell you that you are delaying the blessings of God in your life because you are indecisive? 1 Kings 19:21a 3. God Does Not Want Us Looking Back • Elisha comes from a prosperous background (Jones) where twelve teams of oxen were used for plowing. • Burning the wooden yokes, rather than boiling the yoke of oxen, marked a break from his past life. The farewell feast celebrated his new role as the aide to Elijah. • Elisha says farewell to his family, then slaughters his oxen and burns his plow, demonstrating the clear break between his old and new lives. Jesus reflects on this type of separation when he states, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Elisha seems to know he must take a single-minded approach to the difficult task he will assume. We love to have a safety net, but God wants us to eliminate that security. God is saying delete those numbers, stop hanging with those friends, stop longing for that old life. Put the old you to death and follow him with all you have! › Whole-hearted devotion to God is not keeping your options open. 1 Kings 19:21b 4. God Calls Us To Serve Before We Lead • Elijah still had work to accomplish for God. That task was threefold: • (1) in the realm of international politics, he was to anoint Hazael to succeed Ben-Hadad, Israel’s perennial adversary in Damascus • (2) in national affairs, Jehu was to be anointed as the next king (v.16) • (3) in the spiritual realm, Elisha was to be commissioned as his own successor (cf. God’s instruction to Moses in Num 27:18–23). Notice that God did not promote Elisha straight into being in charge. Elijah has more to accomplish and will learn from Elijah. Elisha’s ministry was even greater than his teacher’s because he submitted to his anointing and honored God’s hand on him. › God will not honor us pushing to be in charge when we are in a season of learning. God will promote you when he sees fit. What are our transformational moments? 1. What excuses are you making as to why you cannot serve the Lord? (stop for salvation) 2. What ministry is God calling you to? (marketplace, serving in the church, vocational, missions) 3. Will you burn your plow and answer the call today?