You know, what kind of person does God use? Think back at, you know, my wife and I were not long ago, we're looking through our yearbook from back in the day. And there were those that we were certain would be, would shape the world for Christ. And of course, we look at it now from a different viewpoint, years later, decades later, actually. And some of those that we thought would be most successful in Christian ministry, you don't hear of anymore. Some that are doing amazing things, you wonder, I don't even remember seeing them in school. So what kind of person does God use? Is it somebody who has a strong vision, very articulate maybe? Strong personality, one who is able to inspire the masses or whatever. Well, we're going to look today at the life of Elisha the prophet. Because God used him, and in our text that we're going to look at, there were several qualities that I think that made him usable. These are top of the list qualities that God was able to take and use Elisha in amazing ways. So if you have your Bibles, turn to 1 Kings chapter 19. 1 Kings chapter 19. Elijah had been, for years now, the prophet in Israel. He was the one that called down fire from heaven there on Mount Carmel. God had used him in an amazing way. He was now in the process of choosing a successor and passing the mantle, literally, from himself to a successor. And we read the beginning of that process in 1 Kings chapter 19, beginning at verse 19. It says, and so he, that is Elijah, Departed fence and found Elisha the son of the fat who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him and he with the 12th and Elisha passed by him and cast his mantle upon him and He 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 said unto him go back again for what have I done to thee and And he 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, went after Elijah, and ministered unto him." And so we see here the beginning of this particular transition, and Elijah chose Elisha, certainly by the direction of God. So what was it that made Elisha usable? There are a number of qualities that we're going to look at here and hopefully these are qualities that we have in our own life and we'll certainly cultivate in our own life as we look forward to future ministry. The first quality that we see here that made Elisha usable is that he was obedient to God's leading. He was obedient to God's leading. Elijah found Elisha by divine direction. He did not find him in the schools of the prophets, although Elijah had a number of schools of the prophets, and we'll see that in just a bit. But Elisha was out in the field, he was a farmer. There he was plowing with the oxen, preparing the fields. And Elijah walked up to him, cast his mantle, it was a cloak, but a very symbolic gesture, as he cast his mantle upon Elijah, signifying that you are God's choice to be the next prophet in Israel. that was very significant what Elijah did is immediately was obedient to God's leading here there's nothing wrong with being a farmer if that's God's calling for your life and certainly at this point in time that was Elisha's calling but when God spoke Elijah was obedient to God's leading and was willing to put the farming behind him and move forward and be used of God. Our mission here at the university, of course, is to develop leaders for ministry in the local church and the world to the praise of his glory. And our goal is in all of our lives is to be obedient to the calling that God ascends us to. I was reading an interesting article on determining God's calling in your life. And this writer identified a number of things that are helpful in determining God's calling in your life. Here's what he wrote. Number one, above all, know your Bible and saturate your mind with it. The Bible shapes our minds for ministry and so have to be in the word. Number two, know your gifts and know yourself. Every Christian has gifts and knowing them shapes your conviction about your calling And know yourself deepens your sense of fitness for various ministries. So as you know your gifts, you know yourselves, God can use that to direct you for future ministry. Next is ponder the needs of the world. Look at the needs that are out there and as you think about them and as you pray about them, God will oftentimes direct you in that direction. Number four, read biographies and frontline stories of those that are in ministry and have done wonderful things, and that will certainly burden you. Next, know your burdens. Where are you burdened for others? What has God given to you, the burdens that you have? Next, he says, know your circumstances. And there may be circumstances at various age categories, parents, health, children, age. All of these matter, but are certainly not decisive. But know your circumstances. Pray for God to throw you out where you can be best used for his glory. The next he identified is do not neglect corporate worship. The most important missionary calling that we see in scripture took place in the midst of corporate worship. Acts 13, 2, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Do not neglect corporate worship. He also goes on to say, listen humbly to the spiritual people in your life. They not only, they will confirm your gifts, but they are also instruments used by God to awaken the possibilities of ministry in your life. And then finally, this writer wrote, cultivate absolute surrender for all that you are and have to Christ. And as you do this, the Lord opens your eyes and opens your heart for the various direction in your life and be obedient to God's leading. That was the first thing in the life of Elisha. As Elijah cast his mantle upon Elijah, what did he do? He immediately was obedient to that particular calling. Quality number two. that we see in our text, and that is that he was attentive to the needs of others, attentive to the needs of others. If you notice, in the last part of verse 21 there in chapter 19, then he, that is Elijah, arose, went after Elijah, and ministered unto him. You see, what he was doing is focusing on the needs of others, and that really is the crux of ministry. As the Lord puts us wherever, we look around and see others and see our ability to minister to them. Oftentimes we have visions of grandeur, you know, large churches and big schools and great ministries or businesses and a big role in the local church and all these kind of things. The reality is, ministry is people. Ministering is serving the individual out there. In class, I would often start the semester out with this question. Thinking back to your high school years, what had the greatest impact in your life in your local church youth ministry? So there could be a lot of things. It could be youth activities, could be summer camp, a mission trip, Bible study, Sunday school class, any number of things. Invariably, year after year, the same consistent pattern came forth, and that is this. The majority of them said the thing that had the greatest impact in their life was the relationship, either of the youth pastor, his wife, or a youth leader there. These are individuals that are investing their life in others, and investing their lives in our students as they were going through their high school years. So as the Lord gives you the opportunity for ministry even now, in your extension churches, your local churches, summer, even as visitors come onto campus, checking out the school, seeking God's will for their life, as you open your eyes to the ability to minister to the needs of individuals. And so, Elisha was usable because he was obedient to God's leading. He was attentive to the needs of others. But there's a third quality, and that is, Elisha had a patient view of ministry. Patient view of ministry. Now, that text is 1 Kings chapter 20, 21, 22, and 2 Kings chapter one. So four chapters, extensive section of reading, and so we're going to have to take a read quickly here in order to get these four chapters in. Well, we're not gonna read those four chapters. Why aren't we gonna read the four chapters? Well, the reason we're not going to read them is that Elisha is not mentioned in any of these four chapters. In fact, biblical scholars tell us that this period of time is, these four chapters take up probably 10 years or more. And so here's the point. Here's Elisha working in his farm, and he was a wealthy farmer. You could tell that by the number of oxen that he was plowing with, 12 yoke, that's 24 oxen. Those days you were judged your wealth was judged by how many animals you had it's kind of like a farmer today How many tractors do you have? well, this guy had 12 yoke of oxen he was a Wealthy farmer and Elijah cast his mantle upon him signifying that you're the one that's God's has chosen and he left his farm and went after and ministered on to Elijah and Now what happens? For ten long years we hear nothing of him No big miracles, no calling down fire from heaven. No, what he is doing, though, in all of this time, he has a very patient view of ministry. He is ministering to the needs of Elijah. You know, patience is not just passive acceptance of everything that comes our way. Now, patience really is staying on course. It is remaining focused on the mission that we have before us. And Elisha was patient during this particular time. You know, we look at biographies of great missionaries and we can see enormous patience in their lives. J. Hudson Taylor. God had called him to China, he arrived in China in 1854, and eventually started the China Inland Missions, and it was through that organization that hundreds of missionaries spanned out through that massive country, and God used him in a great way, but it took a lot of patience, especially at the beginning of that. When J. Hudson Taylor arrived in China from England, Shanghai, the city that he was arriving in, was under siege. Two of the three contacts were dead. He embarked on 10 years of language study and understanding the culture before he saw any measurable results. 10 years. He would not have started the China Inland Missions without demonstrating enormous patience in that particular task. There are other missionaries. William Carey, he labored seven years in India before this first Hindu convert. Adam Irem Judson toiled seven years before his faithful preaching was rewarded. Sometimes what happens is that we get in the ministry and we want to see immediate results We want to see things turned around overnight and what it takes is just plodding along patiently working and doing the job ministering to the needs of others and leaving the results to God and So he was obedient to God's leading. He was attentive to the needs of others. He had a patient view of ministry. But the third quality that we see in 2 Kings 2 is he had a persistent determination to complete the task. He had a persistent determination to complete the task. We finally see now Elisha's name mentioned. Ten years later, God had somehow communicated to Elijah that your ministry is done, I'm going to take you home to heaven. And so he was doing a final farewell tour to the schools of the prophets that he had. And so we pick up the account in verse 1 of chapter 2. And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elisha said unto Elisha, Terry, I pray thee here, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. Verse four. And Elijah said unto him, Elijah, tarry I pray thee, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he said, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. Verse six. And Elijah said unto him, tarry I pray thee here, for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they too went on. And so we see this journey that goes from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to Jordan. I'm told it's a rugged journey, one fraught with danger, oftentimes thieves that may rob the travelers and that type of thing. And for whatever reason, Elijah said, Terry here, while I go and finish and bid farewell to the schools of the prophets, and Elisha answered each and every time, no, I will not leave thee. I have a task given to me by God. I am gonna complete that task. Persistence is defined as continuing despite difficult problems or difficulties. It's one of the qualities of high achievers. The longer you stay committed to a task or goal, the more likely something good will happen for you. In fact, it was Thomas Edison that said, Genius is 2% inspiration, 98% perspiration. And it's written of him that he worked 18-hour days, and whenever he latched on to a concept and an idea, he would continue with that process until it obviously didn't work or some great invention came out of it. He was persistent at that task. Henry Ford's early businesses failed, left and broke five times before he founded the Ford Motor Company. It was written that Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper for lacking imagination and good ideas. Dr. Sue's first book was rejected by 27 publishers before it was finally accepted. I'm sure you could go with a long list of individuals who bumped into difficulty and obstacles and hardship, and yet were able to plow through that to accomplish the task. And when you get out in the ministry, there will be all kinds of difficulties. The question is, will you plow through that? Will you be persistent, continuing despite problems or difficulties, or in the face of opposition, do you fold and give in? We talked earlier about J. Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Missions. At one point, they had 1,387 missionaries that were in China, despite the great obstacles. In fact, here are some of the obstacles that they suffered. They suffered at the hands of a band of rebels who invaded Shanghai and greater devastation when the imperial Chinese army fought to defeat the rebels. There was a boxer rebellion. In that rebellion, 56 missionaries and 23 of their children were killed. They struggled with the Chinese Revolution, World War I, the Chinese Civil War, but J. Hudson Taylor's son wrote this. He said, William Carey wrote, he said, if after my removal, anyone should think it worth his while to write my life, I will give you the criterion by which you may judge its correctness. If he gives me credit for being a plotter, he will describe me justly. I can plot. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. So Elisha was persistent and persistently determined to complete a task. But there's a fifth quality here in our text, and that is Elisha was dependent on God for the results. Dependent on God for the results. Notice verse seven of 2 Kings chapter two. And 50 men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view afar off, and they too stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither so that they too went over on dry ground. And it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elijah, 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. You see, Elisha recognized the enormity of the task before him, and he realized that he could not do it without the power of God in his life. And if I were in Elisha's shoes, I probably would have asked for something else. Give me your boldness. Give me your personality and your leadership style or whatever. No, what Elisha said is, I want a double portion of thy spirit. He was claiming the right of the firstborn here. As the firstborn would get a double portion, he recognized it was God that was going to do the work, and what we need to do is recognize and be dependent on God to work through us in the various ministries that we have. And then the last and final characteristic that we see here is that Elisha moved forward in faith. Elisha moved forward in faith. Elijah said, ask what I should do for thee before I be taken away. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. Verse 10, and Elijah said, thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee, but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder. And Elijah went by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more, and he took hold of his own clothes and read them in two pieces. And he took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, went back and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and smote the waters and said, where is the Lord God of Elijah? What did he do? In ministry, he moved forward in faith. He knew God had called him. All these years later now, he has stayed patient and persistent in ministering to Elijah. He was dependent on God for the result. And what he needed to do in that moment of truth there is to move forward in faith. And that's what it takes. To have a burden. To have a goal. but to step out in faith, asking God to use you in an amazing way. Again, the stories of individuals who have exhibited these qualities are enormous. The missionaries Robert and Mary Moffat are two, ministering there in the southern part of Africa. And for years, They had absolutely no results, no converts, nobody that they could point to in all of their years of labor. In fact, the mission board debated whether they should call them back or not. But somebody from their home church wrote Mrs. Moffitt and asked if there was some kind of a gift that they could send, that they could use in ministry. And Mrs. Moffitt replied, send a communion set. Well, they haven't had any converts yet. What would they need a communion set for? But Mrs. Moffitt had enormous faith. And they continued to patiently, persistently follow the calling that they had there. And soon, there were a number of converts. And certainly that communion set was used. But even greater than that may be the eldest daughter of the Moffat's Mary who married David Livingstone, the great missionary explorer, one who did shake the continent for Christ. These are individuals like Elijah that had the qualities that God could use. So what do we see here? We see Elijah was obedient to God's leading. He was attentive to the needs of others. He had a patient view of ministry, a persistent determination to complete a task. He was dependent upon God for results. He moved forward in faith. Trust the Lord will allow these qualities to be the important qualities in our life and that God would use you in ministry. Lord, thank you for your word. for the life of Elisha, so many others who have gone on before us who have exhibited these qualities in their life. May you use us for your glory, in Christ's name we pray, amen.