1 Kings 19. Let's stand together, please, out of respect for the Bible. We'll look at the end of the chapter. 1 Kings 19, beginning with verse number 19. Only two more nights to go. This is a meeting for revival. And as pastor mentioned, whether we experience revival or not is really truly up to us. I used to think revival is just something that will happen on a calendar when God sees fit to give it. And that's not revival. Revival is simply God responding to the cries of his people. And whenever we talk about revival, sometimes we think of it as a statewide, nationwide, statewide, churchwide, but really we can't even have a churchwide revival until individuals within the church, they get desperate and they want to get back to normal Christianity. And so these are meetings concentrated dose for us to get back to normal. And you have to cast your vote. You'll either cooperate with God or you'll not cooperate with God. God longs to send reviving, refreshing presence and power to his people. Let me say this before we read the text. If in this service you will draw near to God, He will draw near to you. And so help yourself to Him this evening. If you go away disappointed, discouraged, defeated, it is only because you failed to draw near to Him. 1 Kings 19, beginning in verse 19, we're gonna read about two men whose names are very similar. One is the older preacher, his name is Elijah. The younger is Elisha. Verse 19, the Bible reads, so he, that is the older Elijah, departed thence, and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he, that is the younger Elisha, left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he, Elijah, said unto him, go back again, for what have I done to thee? In other words, he's simply saying, I'm not stopping you, you take care of whatever business needs to be taken care of, verse 21. And he, Elisha, returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people and they did eat. Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him. Now Elijah, he's on his way from Sinai to Damascus when God directs his steps to come across the younger Elisha. As we're told, Elisha is plowing in the field with 12 yoke of oxen, he himself with the 12. Elijah comes along, takes that mantle, and he casts it around the shoulders of the younger Elisha. He was stating by that act, this thought, Elisha, God, wants to use you. And God did want to use Elisha. And God did use Elisha. But Elisha had to respond properly to that call that was being placed upon his life from Almighty God. I want us to see tonight that the same God that took Elisha, who had been plowing in the field and made him a preacher of the faith, is the same God tonight that longs to use you and bless you and empower you if you too will but embrace the same ingredients as did Elisha." The title of the message tonight is, Why God Used Elisha. Why God Used Elisha and How God Can Use You. Thank you. You may be seated. The first and most basic ingredient as to why God used Elisha and how God can use us is number one, first and foremost, after that of salvation, Elisha was a surrendered Man. He's a surrendered man. Do you know surrender is the only right response that you and I can have to the God who created us and the God who formed and fashioned us, as well as the God who is so faithful to provide salvation, and if you're saved, to have converted, redeemed our soul. Surrender is the only right response that we can have to Almighty God. See, God does not use perfect people because there are none, but there is a perfect plan of God. And God's plan being fulfilled within our life, it hinges upon you and I being surrendered to Him. 2 Chronicles 30 and verse number eight, Now be ye not stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord. Romans 12 and verse one, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, we know this, that we would present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. I'm so thankful God is not asking anything of us that is unreasonable. Romans 14, verse seven and eight. For none of us liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself. Whether we live, we live unto the Lord. Whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's. Paul says of the church in 2nd Corinthians 8 and verse 5, And this they did not as we hoped, but first gave of their own selves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. Paul asks with consternation, 1st Corinthians 6, 19, What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? And then he says in verse 20, Glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are His. It's a life of surrender. The Apostle Paul gives us his heartbeat in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 21 when he says, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I believe some of the most misunderstood, misused, and misapplied verses in all the Old Testament, if not the Bible, are the verses I will find many times when I go into a Christian institution, where I can find a yearbook, where I can locate the section where the seniors might be graduating. They'll have their caption and perhaps a life verse. And so many times I see these verses mentioned. Verses that I believe are grossly misunderstood, misapplied, and mistaken for what they were intended when God gave them to us. These verses would be Proverbs chapter three verses five and six, or five or six. And a lot of times people claim those verses because of it being God's directional verses for my life. I'm at a crossroads. I'm at a crisis. I'm getting ready to go from this station to this station, uncharted waters, unknown territory, and hear these verses that promise that God will direct me. But listen to me, Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 is not primarily about God directing me as much as it is about me surrendering to God. Listen carefully. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart." Well, I wonder how much of our heart He really wants us to trust Him with. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. I wonder why He would say that. Maybe it's because so often I've heard people say, well, I know that's what He says, but you know the way I see it, that's a lot of times the very problem in itself. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him. How many ways might that be? all thy ways acknowledge Him, and then He shall direct thy path." See, God's directing and leadership within our life, it hinges upon our being surrendered to Him. That's why about 150 years ago, a man by the name of Henry Varley said these words, God is yet to see, or the world is yet to see what God can do with and through and for and in a man who's wholly yielded and consecrated to him. And at that time, it was a young man by the name of D.L. Moody, an imperfect man who said, I, by the grace of God, will be that man. And it's no wonder God shook two continents for his cause through an uneducated, imperfect, yet surrendered young man. Are you surrendered? It's unfortunate that God has used Balaam's donkey a whole lot more than he's used a lot of his children that he died for. Because Balaam's donkey was surrendered to God. Let's qualify surrender. Surrender is a willingness to do anything. Are you willing to do anything? One young man said to me, I'm willing to serve God in the ministry as long as I can be a youth pastor and make $75,000 a year. I said, I've got a news flash. You're not surrendered and it ain't going to happen. It's a willingness to do anything that God wants me to do. Are you surrendered? Listen, surrender is a willingness to do anything that God wants you to do. I'm willing to do anything as long as I don't have to move away from the grandkids. You're not surrendered. Surrenders a willingness to do anything that God wants you to do. And why should we expect any less of us than what Jesus demonstrated in his life here upon this earth? Jesus said, Father, would you let this cup pass from me? Nevertheless, let thy will be done. Because he was willing to do anything that his Heavenly Father wanted of him. But that's part of the equation. Surrender is a willingness to do anything that God wants me to do and it is an obedience to everything God has told me to do. Are you surrender? It is being willing to do anything and it is obeying God when you find out what that will might be and then do it. His name was Saul. He was converted there on the Damascus Road in Acts chapter number 9. And the first words out of his mouth after he got saved was, in everything. A lot of times when I talk about surrender in a message or in a meeting, people tend to turn the message off because of the misunderstanding about surrender. See, a lot of times people confuse surrender to be something synonymous with salvation in this sense. A lot of times when it comes to surrender, people think, I've done this before. Yeah, I can take you to the missions conference where I surrendered, I've already done this. I can take you to the place there at the altar where I've done this. This isn't for me. I can take you back to the teen camp where I surrendered. I've done this. And what we're doing is we're confusing the essence of surrender to be something like that of salvation. Now, salvation, it requires a definite decision on our part. Nobody gets saved by accident. No one is saved automatically. No one will ever get to heaven and wonder, well, how did I get here? It requires a definite decision of trust, faith, and dependence upon the only one who died, was buried, and resurrected, and able to save you. There must be a definite decision and a transaction of faith within your life. Salvation, it requires a definite decision. But salvation, it is also unique in that it is a one-time event. Jesus died one time, you get saved one time. You know, I'm thankful that when I called upon the name of the Lord and He saved, He did a great job when He did that. I know a lot of times people, you know, the longer you've been married, you've been married for a number of years in a certain age or year of marriage, people tend to renew their wedding vows. And if you want to do that, you go right ahead, you have at it. I wouldn't tell you it was too much money and too much work the first time around for me. I ain't doing it again. And I'm thankful I don't have to. It worked just fine the first time. Salvation, it works. You just need to participate in the plan which God has given, and it's not so much about the plan as it is the Savior of that plan, and placing your faith, trust, dependence upon Him to save. Has that happened with you? Salvation is a one-time event. Jesus dying on the cross was a one-time event. But here's where salvation and surrender differ. Surrender does require a definite decision. In other words, no one is surrendered by accident. No one's willing to do anything obedient to God in everything automatically. It requires that we make a decision. Jesus made a definite decision according to Philippians chapter 2 to be surrendered. But surrender differs from salvation in its essence in that while salvation and surrender both require definite decision, salvation is a one-time event. Surrender, however, has to be a definite decision to be willing to do anything, to obey God in everything, lived out daily. See, the fact is you might have surrendered to God on Sunday, but be in need of surrendering to God today. Right now I ask, not do you want to be willing to do anything and obedient to God in everything, but I'm asking, are you willing to do anything right now? Are you obedient to God in everything? Are you right now surrendered? Surrender is to be a definite decision lived out daily. It should be every day that we come back to this, Lord, what will you have me to do? And when he says it, that's what he wants you to do. And through leadership and when he communes and he guides and he directs and he illumines you to something else, then do it. We are told in this passage when Elisha, he heard from Elijah that God wanted to use him by the casting of the mantle. Elisha, he goes back home. He tells mom and dad. He takes his oxen. He takes his plows. He takes the equipment. He takes the animal. And he takes that which is his livelihood. And as it's been stated for many years, Elisha, he took the plow and he burned the plow. He took the cow and he killed the cow. What Elisha is doing is he is making sure that there is nothing between him and God and being effective and used by God Are there some plows in your life that need to be burned? Are there some cows in your life that need to be killed? Elisha is not holding this kind of old closet type of Christianity. No one has to ask Elisha if he's serious about serving God. He tells mom and dad, he burns the plow, he kills the cow, he has a feast for everybody to participate in. No one has to wonder if Elisha is serious. Listen, it ought to disturb you if people have to ask you, do you love God? Are you serious about the things of God? Do you want to be used of God? No one had to ask Elisha. When he burned the plows and he killed the cows and he communicated to others, God wants to use me. They could see it. It was evident because if we're going to be used of God, there has to be this willingness to do anything and obedience to God and everything, but it has to be lived out daily. I was preaching in a meeting in Illinois near the Chicago area and a man came up to me after the service and he said, I've sensed that I've lost the power of God. I just don't have it like I once had. Can you help me? I said, the Bible has the answer and God can help you. I'll do whatever I can. He said, can we talk? I said, sure. I said, do you mind if your pastor joins us? He said, I don't mind. So the three of us sat down, his name was John. I said, John, are you surrendered? He said, I think so. I said, wait a minute, let me qualify. Are you willing to do anything and are you obedient to God in everything? He thought for a moment, he said, boy, I sure want to be, I think so. The pastor said, now John, you've been perplexed about this. And the evangelist asked, are you willing to do anything? Are you obedient to God in everything? And the fact is, you've told me, you've told me yourself. You've not been tithing. John said, you're right, pastor. Furthermore, the pastor said, we've talked about this. You don't get off work sometimes on Wednesday nights until right when church starts, but you're just right down the road. And we've already said, there's nothing wrong with you coming to work, wearing your work uniform. No one will mind that. In fact, your church family will just be thankful and thrilled that you showed up for the family reunion service called church. But you've used a migraine headache to not come to church. but you didn't use the same migraine headache to keep you from taking your family out to eat during church. John said, you're right pastor. To which I said, John, do you need me anymore? John said, I think I figured it out. I'll tell you what John's problem was. He was either not willing to do anything or he was not obedient to God in everything. Surrender. I used to say, The first step of obedience after salvation is baptism. I now disagree with that. I don't think that the first step of obedience after salvation is baptism. I think the first step of obedience after salvation is surrender. You know why there are people who are saved and not baptized? Either because they're not willing to do anything or they're not obedient to God in everything. Do you know that baptism is not just a picture? It is several things, but one of which that we most often will say is that it's a picture, but it's not just a picture like a wedding band. It's not just a picture of salvation, but it is also a picture of one who is saved and willing now to walk in newness of life, a saved, surrendered child of God. See, surrender is the key that unlocks the blessings of God within our life. Are you willing to do anything? Are you obedient to God in everything? Listen, this is not a college-level course. This is simply kindergarten-level Christianity. You know why people still struggle? Even after hearing a message and people will gripe and complain about the preacher talking about coming forward and coming to the altar and having to respond in an invitation. because you think your Christianity is something private while Jesus made it very public and you live in public and the reason why people get ticked off whenever the pastor asks that you do something and you will follow his leadership and people get bent out of shape is simply because you've never gotten out of the nursery stage of Christianity. You're not willing to do anything. You're not obedient to God in everything. You've yet to burn the plows and kill the cows or you've not been doing it daily. Well, I wish I knew how to be plainer about that. I think we ought to park here a little bit, shouldn't we? F.B. Meyer. He's in heaven now. He was very transparent about this. He struggled in his own soul as a preacher. He went to a younger preacher and he said, you seem to have something that I lack. Can you help me with what it might be? The younger preacher asked immediately, are you surrendered? And F.B. Meyer said, I think I am. He went away from the young preacher knowing deep down inside he was not surrendered and he was grieved on the inside. He went to a study, threw himself upon his knees and he cried out to God. Oh God, I long to be willing to do anything. Oh God, I want to obey you in everything. And as he was crying, His eyes grew heavy and he drifted off into sleep. Now it's just a dream he had, it's just a dream. But in his dream, he dreamt he was upon his knees. In his dream, he dreamt he was crying out to God about surrender. And in the dream, the Lord Jesus walked into the very room where he was kneeling. In the dream, the Lord Jesus approached F.B. Meyer and said to him, Meyer, I want the keys to your life, all of them. Meyers said it, I reached into my pocket in that dream and I pulled out a ring of keys and I handed them to the Lord. And in the dream, the Lord Jesus took those keys and he counted them one by one. And then he turned and commenced to walk out the very same door that he had entered, to which F.B. Meyer turned and looked at the Lord and said, Lord, wait, where are you going? I don't want you to leave me. To which the Lord Jesus turned and looked into the eyes of F.B. Meyer in that dream and said, Meyer, I told you I wanted all the keys to your life. There's one missing. And if I'm not Lord of all in your life, I'm not your Lord at all. Meyers said, I began to weep profusely. In my dream, just like I had when I was awake. He said, in my dream, I reached in my pocket and pulled out one solitary key and I handed it to the Lord. Let me ask you, what key might you be holding onto tonight? Your dreams, your plans, your wants, your desires, your hurts, your bitterness, handed over to him. He knows what to do with the keys far more than we do. After a service, a lady came up to me after giving that same example. And the lady said to me, preacher, I gave all the keys to God tonight. I said, praise the Lord. No, she said, you don't understand. I gave all the keys to God tonight. I said, that's wonderful. She said, no, you really don't get it. She said, I gave all the keys. I said, what are you talking about? She said, my husband's been relocated. We're having to leave our church and move to another state. And she said, I've just been devastated by this transition that's about to happen. But because of this move, my husband said, we're going to have to downsize and we're going to have to sell your car. She said, oh, I love my car. She said, I love my car so much that I long to go to work in the morning just so I could drive my car. I said, what kind of car do you have? She said, that's beside the point. She said, but I love my car. And I told my husband, no, not the car, anything but the car. One of the kids maybe, but not the car. And he said, no, we've got to sell it. She said, I fought him over that. But she said, tonight, I gave all the keys to God tonight. And in so doing, I got up from the altar, went and handed that key to my husband. I want to tell you, it may not be a car for you. It may not be a key that goes to a door somewhere for you, but it might be for somebody else. And while our keys might be different, the same person that we are to give our keys to would be the same. His name is Jesus Christ. Are you willing to do anything and will you obey Him in everything? Elisha was used of God and you too can be used of God if you will but embrace kindergarten level Christianity truths, surrender. Take your Bible and go to 2 Kings 2 and we'll finish up here. In 2 Kings 2, and truthfully, we're just looking at a bird's eye view, I'm not obviously expositing these passages, but as I read through the life of Elisha, these were the ingredients that stood out in my mind as I read through Elisha's life. Elisha was surrendered, willing to do anything, obedient to God in everything. We look at 2 Kings chapter 2 and verse number 1. What we'd find if we could read these verses is that God is leading Elijah. The last word in verse 1 is the word Gilgal. The last word in verse 2 is Bethel. The last word in verse number 4 is Jericho. And the last word in verse number 7 is Jordan. And God is leading the man Elijah. He's coming to an end of his life here upon earth and he's leading him to go from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho and over to Jordan. And if we were to read these verses, here's what we'd find. Elisha was right there with them. You know why God was able to use Elisha? After he made up his mind to embrace the ingredient, the first step, the first necessary ingredient after salvation, willingness to do anything, obedience to God in everything, being surrendered, a definite decision lived daily. The second ingredient as to why God used Elisha and the second ingredient as to how God can use us is number two, he's steadfast. He was a steadfast young man. If you were to look at a map and see where they traveled from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho and over to Jordan, it wasn't an easy hike. And if you were to recall anything about the ministry of Elijah, you'd find this is not an easy ministry. But God was able to bless and use and bless and use this man, Elisha, because when he was surrendered daily, willing to do anything, obedient to God in everything, then he embraced the ingredient of being steadfast. If there's something that is missing among the people of God today, it's that matter of being steadfast. We have lost the concept of commitment in our civilization today. This generation in which we live, we're not committed. We're not committed to work. We're not committed to education. We're not committed to family. We're not committed to marriage. We're not committed as God's people across this nation to the very church that Jesus died for and shed his blood for. We are not Steadfast. The Bible says in Genesis chapter 29 or 25 verse number 29 and 30 that Esau came in from the field and he was faint. What he's simply saying is, I'm not going to make it. And the Bible says that he said to Jacob, feed me I pray thee with that same red pottage for I am faint. And you know the story that Esau, he traded his sacred, his spiritual birthright for simply a bowl of soup. And Hebrews 12 tells us of Esau, he was profane. Profane, not meaning that he was cursing and he was using profanity, though that's where the word profanity comes from. Profane, and that he took that which was sacred and he traded it for something that was secular or treated it as though it were secular. You say, I never trade my spiritual sacred inheritance for a bowl of soup. Oh, you may not. But too many of God's people have traded church service, which is indeed spiritual and sacred for the super bowl. I've actually had preachers call and say, I'd like to schedule revival. Well, the only date I have all year long, I said to a couple when they've called is this week. And I've actually had pastors say, I can't do a revival meeting that week, that's Superbowl. I'm telling you, we're in a mess. And all Esau was saying was, I will trade this spiritual sacred birthright. This birthright is where Jesus Christ would come through that lineage. It was a big deal. And he traded it because he said, I just can't make it. He wasn't steadfast. Proverbs 24 and verse 10, if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Isaiah 40 and verse 29, he God giveth power, however, to the faint. Luke 9 verse 62, Jesus said, no man having put his hand to the plow, looking back is fed for the kingdom of God. Luke 18 one, Jesus said, men ought to always pray, that is live in dependence upon God. Men ought to always pray, staying in communion with God. Men ought to always pray and not faint. Why? Because the one that you are to pray to and depend upon, he never faints. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 1, Paul says, seeing therefore we have this ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not. The Bible tells us in Galatians 6 and verse 9, don't be weary in well-doing, for in due season ye shall reap if you faint not. I love this one, Hebrews 12 and verse 3. Perhaps you've come in tonight, you've considered slacking off, backing off. Perhaps you've considered just giving up or throwing in the towel. The writer of Hebrews says in chapter 12 and verse 3, consider Jesus. Consider Jesus that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself. And the Bible says you consider Jesus lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. Jesus didn't throw in the towel for you. And he says, would you just think about him and consider him tonight? Too many times I've gone back into meetings and I've said to pastors what I so often will say. Last time I was here, I remember so-and-so. I remember so-and-so taking us out to eat. I remember meeting so-and-so and I vividly remember the conversations, but I haven't seen them this time around. And too many times the pastor will say something like this. They're just, they're not with us anymore. Oh, where did they go? They didn't go anywhere. They just left. They didn't consider Jesus. They didn't pray, because had they prayed, they wouldn't faint. They didn't access mercy, because had they accessed mercy, they wouldn't have given up and thrown in the towel. See, Elisha was a steadfast man. Now I wanna tell you, there are two key areas in which Elisha was steadfast, two key areas. And these are the two key areas that I see so many times whenever these things are lacking in somebody's life. I will say to my wife, it won't be long before they're out of the church and they're on the sideline, not even serving God at all. two key areas. I mean, these are two key areas I'm getting ready to tell you. Elisha was surrendered and he was steadfast, but he was steadfast in two key areas. And there are two key areas that you and I must be steadfast in if we are going to experience the blessings of God and God using us as He did Elisha. I've seen too often young men go off to a Bible college, recognizing the call of God upon their life, spend thousands of dollars, many years, come out, get into ministry, but not make it and leave the ministry. Oh, too many, too many. who have gone to Bible college, they recognize the call of God, and they go into ministry, they leave ministry, and they don't just leave ministry, but they leave church altogether, and they don't just leave church altogether, but too many of them have left family and children altogether. But it started with not being steadfast in these two areas. Elisha was steadfast, number one, in following his authority. He was steadfast in following his mentor, spiritual leader, authority. Who was Elisha's authority? His name was Elijah. Elijah. See, God was able to use and bless Elisha even greater so than he did perhaps Elijah because Elisha was steadfast in following the man of God. Sometimes people say, well, if I had Elijah as my pastor, I'd follow him too. To which I say, you would never want Elijah to be your pastor. If you knew anything about Elijah, you would never even consider him to be your pastor. All you have to do is read chapter number one of 2 Kings. Elijah, he's up on the mountain. He's already, because of his ministry, he's already stirred up the nation. He's already ticked off the king. And the king says, I want you, my captain, to take 50 men, and you go tell that preacher, I want a meeting with him. So the captain of the 50 men goes to the bottom of the mountain and he says, O thou man of God, the king says you come down right now. And Elijah said, if I be a man of God, let the fire of God come down right now and consume you. So the fire of God fell and it killed that captain with 50 men. And in case you're still thinking you may want that kind of a man to be your pastor, the king says, I'm not putting up with it. I'm gonna send a second captain with 50 men. And the second captain went to the bottom of the mountain and he said, oh man of God, the king says, you better come down right now. And Elijah said, if I still be a man of God, let the fire of God come down, consume you as well. And the fire of God came down and killed that second captain and his 50 men. Now to me, the smartest man in all the Old Testament was the third captain. He comes to the bottom of the mountain. I'm just gonna paraphrase, you can read it later. But he said something like this, all thou man of God, would you possibly pray about maybe just considering coming down on me if you'd like to, only if it would be convenient for you. And God said, hey, I wanna tell you, if you were stepping over 102 dead bodies, I think you'd approach Elijah just a little bit different. And God said, Elijah, go ahead. Elijah said, okay, I think I will. And he went down. I'm gonna tell you, people have in their minds so often, well, if I had this as my parents, if I had this as my principal, if I had this particular ingredients as my pastor, then it'd be easier. No, no, what you're missing is God does not use perfect people because there are none. What you're missing is you have yet to embrace the perfect plan of God. And that includes His power. See, the fact is, if you're not right, young person, with mom and dad, you're not right with God, period. Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is, it doesn't say obey mom and dad because they are right. It says you obey because it is right. One young lady said, well, my parents are not my biological parents. What do you have to say to that? What I have to say to that is, they didn't have you, they chose you, all the more reason to kick it in gear and obey. And then it says honor. In other words, do it with the right attitude. If you're not right with mom and dad, you're not right with God, period. The Bible also says, wives, submit yourselves to your own husband. How come we didn't get any amens on that one? I did see a few of you men winking. You're so henpecked, you can't even say amen. But I did see that, I saw the winking. The fact is, if you're not right with your husband, you're not right with God. But I'm not nearly as concerned about the teenagers and the wives. Even though the teenagers might be in rebellion and the wives might be running the home, that still means that the problem lies with the one that God placed in charge. His name is husband or dad. And the reality is, sir, if you're not right with your pastor, you're not right with God. If you're not right with your pastor, you're not right with God. Several years ago, God began to work in my heart to help me to see while I'm going to church after church every week, I'm in a church it seems, almost every night of the week I'm in church, but I began to recognize that I didn't have quite the grasp and the understanding of the concept of the local church and God's plan of the local church, including the pastor, like I thought. See, we're all We're all products of our education. And unfortunately, there's too much education in our Bible emphasis around the nation that teaches, and let me say it this way, too many of our Bible colleges have striven to teach young people how to be right with God without being connected to a local church, and it's not possible. You cannot be right with God if you're not rightly related to the local church and to the man of God. Let me say it this way, since you're already bothered and you're not coming back probably, so let me go ahead and just get it all out here. All through the Bible, I don't see any place in the Bible, and you won't either, but I don't see any place in the Bible where God blesses people just for the sake of blessing people. What you will find is God's principle is that His blessings are upon His men, the men of God. And the people's relationship to the men of God will determine the blessings of God upon their life. Well, I think we have to help keep the pastor in line. No, you have to trust God and obey. Well, what if he's wrong? Hmm, what if mom and dad are wrong? Bible doesn't say children obey your parents and the Lord as long as they're right. See, God's plan is always right. Well, how can a young person submit to mom and dad if they're not even saved? You wanna know how? Trust God and obey. How can a wife submit to a husband who's not even saved? And Peter said, you can. And if you don't, don't ever expect him to get saved. One lady came up to me after service, said, I'd like to talk to you. Anytime somebody does their finger like that, it's never gonna be good. I'd like to talk to you about what you said about that, submitting to your husband. I said, sure, I don't mind talking to you about it, but just time out just for a second. Let me just say this before I let you finish. I didn't say it, God did. Now go ahead. She said, oh, nevermind, just nevermind. How can a woman, how can a lady submit to an unsaved husband? Trust God and obey. Have you ever thought about this? Trust and obey. There's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust God and obey. Somebody ought to write a song about that. That's a good truth. Well, how can somebody follow a pastor who is human? He's not God. No, he's not. But God is, and God's plan is trust and obey. When God was helping me understand this about the church, I recognized, based upon Ephesians chapter number 4, outside of my salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, One of the greatest gifts I have ever received is called my pastor. I want to tell you, I say this every single week. If I'm not right with my pastor, I'm not right with God. My pastor, he may not know where I am and he may not even care. But I do, because it falls upon me to be rightly connected to Him. You say, but you're a preacher. Yes, but even preachers need to be connected to the local church and follow the plan that God has for their life. And as long as one is not a pastor, you need a pastor. Listen, you don't need a preacher to preach your funeral when you die. You need a pastor who will shepherd, who will guide, who will lead, who will help, he will confront, he can challenge you. You need a pastor, the greatest gift outside of salvation and the Lord Jesus Christ is called the pastor of the local church and you ought to thank God for him. Somebody says, oh, you say this for his sake. No, no, no. I'm saying it for your sake. I'm trying to tell you how you can get under the spout where God's blessings come out. It's not going to be by going around the man of God. I have faced many decisions in my life, and I've tried to get the mind of God, and I've always come back to my pastor, and I will say, and I want to tell you, my pastor is not about keeping me under his thumb. My pastor has not been about trying to manipulate my life, but my pastor is like your pastor, one who walks with God and recognizes he has to give an account. You don't have to give an account for your pastor. You do have to give an account for your relationship to Him and trusting God and following Him, but your pastor has to give an account to you." And I would go to my pastor and I'd say, what do you think, pastor? What do you think? And he would give me his advice and I would say, pastor, if there's anything that you don't like about this, if there's anything that you don't like about my ministry, you have to tell me because I want to be right with you. I want to be right with God. I need the blessings of Almighty God. And as an evangelist for many years, I recognized, and while I was preaching in churches, I did not have the right relationship with my pastor, and God helped me revive my heart and understanding as to how to get under the spout where God's blessings do come out. And when I began to put this together, and I began to trust God and obey, all of a sudden blessings, manifold blessings, came upon our life. You say whatever you wanna say, you think whatever you wanna think, but I've gone on the record, I'll go on the record again tonight and tell you, I believe with all of my heart. 16 years we prayed that God would give us a child. November 11th, 2013, Priscilla Lee was born into this world, I believe, as a direct blessing of Almighty God, because I understood that God's blessings do not come upon my life by me going around the man of God, but by me trusting and following the man of God. I want to tell you, there's a lot of blessings being withheld because God's people refuse to trust and obey. See, God's plan is always perfect. And it's interesting that God's perfect plan includes people who are not perfect. How can you do that? Trust God and obey. Are you right with your parents Are you right with your spouse? But are you right with your pastor? And by that, I'm not asking if you're right with your pastor in the sense you're sitting there thinking, you know, I haven't chewed them out in the last three months, I think I'm okay with them. But I'm talking about, are you one who has burned the plows and killed the cows and you know, and your pastor knows you're trusting God and you'll follow and obey? Elisha was steadfast in following the man of God. He was steadfast in another area, and this is what seems to be lacking as well in many lives, and they cannot even get out of kindergarten level Christianity. He was steadfast in finishing his assignments. I don't ever find anything that Elisha was given but what he completed. How many times has God laid something upon your heart in a meeting? How many times has he impressed upon you to do something? How many times has the pastor or someone in leadership confronted you and say, we would like for you to do this. And you may undergo the activity, but you've treated it like a new year's resolution and you only go after it for a few months and then you lay it aside. Elisha was steadfast in following the man of God and finishing the assignments of God within his life. You say, well, you don't understand the distractions, the opposition. Oh, Elisha had them as well. He had distractions and he had difficulties. In fact, the distractions for Elisha came from people he was not expecting. Notice what it says in verse number three. Verse number five, and the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And basically what they're saying is, hey Elisha, don't you know that this revival that you're experiencing is not gonna last? And Elisha said, look at his response in verse five. Elisha said, yea, I know it. Hold ye your peace. Well, that's a translation from the Hebrew. If we were to translate it literally, it would probably go this way. Yes, I know it, shut up. See, Elisha, he had distractions, but he says, I'm gonna stay steadfast. There were difficulties. You stay with the man of God and there's gonna be difficulties because Satan has placed a target upon his back. And if this church is gonna stand for truth in the midst of compromise, when not just the world is compromising, but churches all around, I'm talking about this, I don't understand this mega church concept. I don't understand this kind of church concept where they're trying to get the crowds. And don't ever misunderstand. Don't ever misinterpret. Don't ever think that a crowd constitutes a church. It does not. But there is a crowd and people say, ah, this is the greatest church over here. Ah, you know, we don't have rules or standards, though God does, and we don't have these things. Oh, it's so great. Well, my question is why? If it's so great, how come you only have service one time a week? Yeah, it's not so great after all, is it? And the fact is, there are people who are no longer steadfast in finishing and completing what God has placed within their heart to do. And there are oppositions, there's difficulties, but Elisha stayed with it. Would you look at one third thing, and I'll give this to you just in moments, and we'll talk about this one next night or two. Notice in verse number 9, And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee? And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. Notice verse number 14, And he, Elisha, took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither, and Elisha went over. Here's the picture. Elijah says, Elisha, I'm about to depart. What is it you want? Oh, really? What do you want? More than anything. Elisha said, I'm glad you asked me that. I'll tell you what I'd like. I'd like some notoriety around here. That's not what he said. I would like a pay raise. That's not what he said. Elisha said, you're asking me what I want? I'll tell you what I'd like. I like a double portion of what God's been doing in your life. Elisha was surrendered, willing to do anything, obedient to God in everything. He burned the plows, he killed the cows. It was a definite decision he made on a daily basis. He was steadfast. He was steadfast in following the man that God placed within his life. How? By trusting and obeying. He was steadfast in finishing his assignments. But a third most basic ingredient as to why God used Elisha and how God can use us, third most basic ingredient is that Elisha was simply a spiritual man. Spiritually minded. Spirituality is not something you can necessarily compare. It is something that exists or needs to exist. In other words, like salvation. You're either saved or you need to get saved. Being spirit-filled, spiritually-minded, spiritual individual. But you can sometimes tell whether or not you're spiritual in the same ways we can see that in Elisha, by what he desires and who he depends upon. Elisha says, I want a double portion. Commentators will differ as to how many miracles that Elijah performed, but some suggest that Elijah performed eight miracles. And Elisha said, I want a double portion. Elijah had performed eight miracles before he was taken away. And Elisha says, I want a double portion. And when Elisha had died, He had performed 15 miracles. Eight plus eight is 15. And Elisha got exactly that which he asked for. And if God can do it for Elisha, he can do it for you. And usually that tells me who the homeschoolers are. Because they're the ones saying, mom, can't tell him he's wrong about that. But it also identifies who the true blondes are because they're always the ones going, that's exactly right. Eight plus eight is 15. That's what I've always been saying. Somebody said, you shouldn't say those blonde jokes. That's so mean. They don't get it anyway, so it doesn't bother them. Don't worry about it. Elisha got gypped. He only saw 15. Remember, however, when that dead body was thrown into the grave where the bones of Elisha remained and that dead body touched the bones of Elisha and that dead body came to life? Number 16. I sometimes wonder, I just wonder if Elisha's not been trying to say sometimes to us, hey, ask for a triple portion. But you know, we have not because we really don't care. Elijah is a spiritual man. You can tell by his desire. Your spouse knows your desire, your children and your grandchildren know your desire, but even more importantly, God does. The question is, do you? And then we find that Elijah is taken away from Elijah. The sons of the prophets, the Bible college, other preacher boys are looking on. Elijah goes over and he takes that mantle of Elijah, that fallen from Elijah. Elijah says, I know what to do. I know what to do. Yeah, where's my alumni directory? I'll tell you what to do. I didn't say that. He said, where's that preacher's fellowship? I'll get some answers. You know, I'm afraid sometimes, pastor, to ask some preachers where they went to college because I'm afraid they're gonna show me the tattoo of their alma mater somewhere on their body because they're more loyal to an institution than they are to the individual of Almighty God. Elisha said, I know what to do. I've seen my preacher get a hold of God. I know what to do. And the Bible says he takes that mantle and he goes over and he says, where is the Lord God? of Elijah. Too many times we tend, it's just human nature, I guess, we tend to emulate the flesh things about other preachers, but Elijah says, no, I saw my preacher get a hold of God, and if there's anything that I've wanted from my preacher, it's a double portion of God, His power. And he said, where is the Lord God of Elijah? And he took that mantle and he smote the waters. And the Bible says they parted hither and thither. I think that was God's way of saying, Elisha, here I am. That's how God used Elisha. He was surrendered, steadfast, spiritual. ABC's kindergarten level Christianity, and that's exactly how God is going to use you. Thank you. Would you bow your heads with me, please? Lord, would you help now in this invitation? Lord, would you help us to recognize that this does not have to be something that is drawn out over weeks or months or years, but one can walk out of here as right with God as the day they got saved. But they're going to have to embrace the same ingredients. Lord, I'm so thankful that what Elijah did, what Elisha did, you also show us the same three ingredients in your life. So Lord, help us to see we're not above you. And if we're going to find your blessing in our life, it's going to require that we too be surrendered, steadfast, and spiritual.