THE BALD PROPHET: Part 1

ELISHA'S CALL
with Adam Waters
September 9, 2007

WHO WANTS THE BALL?
*does anyone have a hero?
*our KidZONE is going through Heroes of the Bible all year long starting on the 23rd.
*We're going to look at one of my heroes in the prophet Elisha!
*We're going to do that through 3 series.
1) HIS CALL
2) CHILDLIKE STORIES
3) EXPECTING THE MIRACULOUS

I Kings 19:19-21 ~ The Call of Elisha
So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were 12 teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!” Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.” So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.

WHO WANTS THE BALL?
Elisha is being called by...
ELIJAH: master prophet, feared, powerful, loved and hated

*the master prophet met him and calls on him to follow him.
*Elisha makes an excuse.
*The master prophet allows him to go.
*Elisha left his job, his family and his life.
*Elisha left himslef no excuses to go back.
--when called he runs after him
--when called he doesn't let family get in the way
--when called he notices something special is happening
--when called he makes it permanent

Elisha sacrificed!

LUKE 9:1-5, and 9:57-62 ~The Cost of Following Jesus
One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”
As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

WHO WANTS THE BALL?

They are called by Jesus: loved and hated, feared and powerful
The MASTER meets us.
The MASTER calls us to a life of extreme sacrifice.
Those who desire to follow have excuses.
The MASTER cuts through their excuses, but allows them to leave.
Some disciples followed Luke 9:6!
Most did not.

When called to a life with nothing... no clothes, no home, no food, sometimes even no family...
Will you follow?
Jesus calls us to sacrifice!!!


TODAY WE ARE CHALLENGED
-Elisha is my hero for many reasons but foremost because he went "All in"
-Jesus is our master who calls us to a life of love and sacrifice
-Where are you at?
-Are you ready to follow the example of Elisha? the call of Jesus?

There are many moments in life where a decision needs to be made. This is your moment...

WHO WANTS THE BALL?