A Life God Blesses: Aug 31, 08
August 31, 2008
A Life God Blesses
Ken Shigematsu
Text: 2 Kings 2:1-18
BC’s Carol Huynh was Canada’s first gold medalist (or winner of a medal of any colour) at the Beijing Olympic Games. Carol was born here in B.C to parents who had come here as refugees from Vietnam. To get ready for the summer games, Carol redesigned her training, to increase both her strength capacity, and boost her confidence by employing two sports psychologists. She wanted to enter the Olympics with a greater edge.
Michael Phelps, the swimmer from Baltimore, of course did something that no Olympian has ever done before. He won 8 gold medals. Michael Phelps’ parents were divorced when he was nine years old. As a child he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and yet despite this adversity, Michael Phelps became a very, very disciplined swimmer.
He spends five hours a day in the pool and swims nearly 50 miles a week during peak training. He says, “All I do is eat, sleep, and swim.”
And he eats a lot! For breakfast, Michael Phelps eats….
Three fried egg sandwiches; cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; fried onions; mayonnaise; three chocolate-chip pancakes; five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast; bowl of grits; two cups of coffee
But it’s not just Olympic athletes. All of us want to get an edge on something that matters to us, whether we are students and want to get an edge on our ability to study, or we are working and want to get an edge in our ability to deliver in the workplace, or artists wishing to hone our craft, or in a relationship seeking to improve the quality of that relationship. We are all looking for an edge.
In the most important, enduring pursuit of our lives, our journey with God, we may also be looking for an edge in that journey.
In the text we are about to read today, we are going to see a man named Elisha who desires to receive the edge for his journey with God. As we look at the text, we are going to see how he goes about this…
Please turn to 2 Kings 2:1.
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
1 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.
7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
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."
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.
13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
In a few moments we’re going to look at how Elisha gets the edge for his journey with God, but first let give some background his mentor Elijah.
Elijah was a powerful prophet of old who ministered by the Jordan River in the wilderness.
According to James, a writer of the New Testament, Elijah was a man just like us.
He was like us in that he was prone to breaking out in anger, wrestling with feelings of discouragement, fighting fatigue.
He was very human.
But he was also extraordinary. James also tells us that Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain—and it did not rain on the land for 3 ½ years. And again Elijah prayed and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced crops.
Elijah courageously confronted the prophets of Baal, the god of rain and fertility on Mount Carmel and he literally called down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice as a way to demonstrate that the LORD was God and not Baal.
In our text today we see that Elijah coming to the end of his ministry.
When Elijah comes to the end of his ministry and as he prepares to depart from this world, it seems that he desires to be alone, in solitude, to be with God… He says good-bye to his young friend and mentoree Elisha 3 times, at Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho.
But his faithful student Elisha is unwilling to leave his master, and continues to doggedly follow him.
Elijah walks toward the Jordan River with Elisha…
Elijah then takes his cloak, rolls it up and strikes the water with it. The water divides to the right and to the left (a dramatic sign that God is with Elijah), and the two of them cross over on dry ground.
When they cross to the other side, Elijah says to Elisha, “Come. Tell me what can I do before I am taken from you?” And Elisha says, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” When Elisha says this, he is not expressing a desire to have a ministry twice as great as Elijah’s, but he is expressing his desire to carry on Elijah’s ministry by inheriting it as kind of first born son. Deuteronomy 21:17 tells us that the first-born son received a double portion of all that the father possessed.
Elisha is asking for the Spirit that was on Elijah so that he can carry on his ministry as a prophet. And Elijah says that if Elisha is able to see Elijah being taken from him, from the earth, then his request will be granted.
As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses appeared and separated the two of them. And Elijah ascends to heaven with the chariot and whirlwind. Elisha sees this. Therefore, Elisha is qualified for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit and energy.
What does this all mean for us who want an edge in our journey with God?
Do we ask Elijah for his spirit?
No--we ask the one to whom Elijah ultimately points.
Elijah not only pointed forward to Elisha, but also to another great prophet, John the Baptist.
John the Baptist in his day was seen as a prophet who re-embodied the Spirit of Elijah.
John the Baptist, the “new Elijah,” was a bold and powerful prophet who brought healing to people and their families as he ministered by the Jordan River…
And John the Baptist, the “new Elijah,” points forward to yet a greater and more powerful figure… Jesus Christ…
John said, "I baptize you with water.... But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
We don’t ask Elijah for his spirit, but we ask the one to whom Elijah ultimately points… Jesus Christ, the one who can baptize us with fire.
The ultimate Elijah, Jesus can baptize with a fire of Spirit…
If we want the Spirit of Elijah, the Spirit of fire, the energy of God… What will we do?
We will become people who ask for God’s Spirit, the Spirit if Jesus Christ.
As a younger person, when I boarded a plane, I often thought it would be great if I ended up sitting beside someone interesting to talk to, but as I get older and more of my travel is work related, I hope that seat next to me won’t be occupied so I can have a bit of solitude or rest…
Elijah seemed to be in that mood. He seemed to want to be alone, and he seems to hint to Elisha that it is time for him to go. 3 different places (Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho) Elijah seems to say “It’s been good to see you. I’m heading off.” But Elisha persists and continues to follow Elijah. When given the opportunity, Elisha asks Elijah for a double portion of his spirit.
Paul in 1 Corinthians encourages us to desire and ask for the great gifts of the Holy Spirit, gifts that enable us to go about the community of Christ and bless the world.
Jesus himself said:
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
9 "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
We know that it is God’s will for us to receive the Spirit, but God asks us to ask.
Asking opens doors for us.
When I was a freshman at university my roommate Andy was telling me that he graduated at the top of his high school classes, 4.0, had great S.A.T. scores, but was not admitted to the school. I asked, “How did you get in? I called the admissions office and asked them to re-consider and they let me in.
Asking can open a door.
God is far more generous than the a typical admissions officer at a school, and asking for God’s Spirit can open a door for you to receive God’s energy and give you an edge in your journey with God.
Second, if we want to have an edge in our journey with God by receiving God’s Spirit, we will seek an Elijah figure in our lives, someone who can mediate the presence of the Spirit to us. Joshua had Moses. Timothy had Paul. Elisha had Elijah.
Richard Rohr, in his book, From Wild Man to Wise Man, talks about how a younger man needs an older man, not primarily to receive knowledge and information from him, but so he can receive the spirit of the older person.
2 weeks ago, I was in Mexico City to mentor some younger emerging leaders.
At breakfast one day one of the young leaders, asked us, “If you could pick any living, famous person who would happen to sit on the top of the tour bus next to you, who would you choose?”
I said, Barack… someone else said, Katie Holmes, someone else Tom Hanks, someone else Michael Phelps and so on.
If she had asked the question who are people you want to walk with closely for season or perhaps a lifetime, I’m sure the answers would have been different.
If we want an edge in our journey with God, if want to live with the Spirit of God, the energy of God, we will walk with people who have that energy.
As I walk with these younger leader, I feel I receive the energy of God.
Take my younger friend Joelle, for example. Joelle is young pastor from Minnesota who came to Mexico for the mentor gathering.
Joelle was sharing with the group (and she has given me permission to re-share this) that when she was single there was a big part of her that preferred to stay single (though as strikingly attractive woman, she was always being pursued by someone!) so she could more freely serve God… but she was led to marry Adam… and now there’s part of her that really doesn’t want to have kids, so she can be freer to serve young people in need of a parent, and is praying about it with her husband…
Her purity of heart inspires me to live with the energy of God.
I want to catch the energy of people who have this Spirit of God.
In a city like Vancouver, it is very possible have no significant friends who walk with God.
Part of what it means for us to have a life that is energized by the Holy Spirit is to walk closely with people who have the Spirit of God and who can become a channel of that energy for us. (Please don’t misunderstand me. We need friends from all walks of life, ideally from all different cultures and people who believe in God and people who don’t believe in God. That kind of diversity is very helpful and very healthy, but if we want a life truly energized by the Spirit of God, the people closest to us ideally will be those who are filled with the Spirit of God. Those who influence us most deeply will be those who walk with God.)
Third, and finally, part of what it means to live a life that is energized by God is to trust the Word of God. When Elisha asks Elijah to grant him a double portion of his spirit, Elijah hedges and implies that that is not really a decision for him to make. But, if Elisha can see Elijah being taken up to heaven, then Elijah indicates that Elisha’s wish will be granted. Elisha sees Elijah being taken up with the chariot of fire into the heavens, and therefore receives the Spirit of God.
Part of what it means to live a life that is blessed by God, a life that is anointed by the Spirit, is that we trust God and follow his word when he speaks to us. We see this in Elisha.
When Jesus is on a high mountain and is transfigured as the glory of God shines on him like the sun, he joined with Elijah and Moses. We hear the Father saying “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased”. Then God says, “Listen to him. Obey his word. Follow him.”
There is a direct connection between trusting Christ enough to follow his word and a life that is empowered by the Spirit.
Bobby Clinton is a professor of leadership down at Fuller Theological Seminary in southern California has written a book called The Making of a Leader. Bobby Clinton has studied the lives of hundreds and hundreds of Christian leaders throughout history. One of the things that he writes about in his book, The Making of a Leader, is that a leader will often go through a faith test, an obedience test to be able to demonstrate whether he or she trusts God enough to follow God’s word. These obedience test often become the defining moment in the life of a leader.
I am not saying that if we disobey God in some way that we are necessarily on Track B for our lives, but if we hear the Word of God and know that God has spoken to us and obey him in our lives, we will be empowered by God’s Spirit.
I have been away on a summer study sabbatical that happened to coincide with the birth of our first child, son Joe. Each summer I think about my original call to Tenth Avenue Church. When I was just 20 years old, I visited Tenth Church for a service for the first time, and as I sat here I had a sense (an almost audible voice) saying that I will be back to be senior pastor one day. Ten years later, during a time of fasting and prayer when I was seeking direction for what to do with the next chapter of my life, God seemed to say, “Tenth Avenue Church. Senior pastor.” It seemed odd because the church had a senior pastor. As I discussed this with some people who knew about me and knew about the history of the church here, they discouraged me from pursuing this post. They knew that the church had gone through many pastors in a relatively short period of time and that the church’s general trajectory had been in decline. Yet I sensed this was God’s call and so did the search committee and the board. I am glad that I responded to what I understood to be God’s call then because it has really opened up a world of blessing for me. Not that it has been challenge-free by any means, but it has been something that has opened me up in a new way to the blessing of God.
When we respond to God’s call, whether it is in a big area or in a small area, maybe in a response to a call that God has for us, or it may be honouring God in a relationship, in a sexual choice, in taking Sabbath, a financial matter, those acts open the door for us to live a life that is blessed by God.
The most important and enduring race for us will not take place for a gold medal or an honour roll or a promotion… but for God.
If we, like Elisha, live a life of trusting God enough to follow his word and if we walk with people who bear the Spirit of God and if we will simply ask for the Spirit, we have an edge in the most important and enduring race of our lives, because we will live a life that is empowered by the very life of living God.
Pray.
A Life God Blesses
Ken Shigematsu
Text: 2 Kings 2:1-18
BC’s Carol Huynh was Canada’s first gold medalist (or winner of a medal of any colour) at the Beijing Olympic Games. Carol was born here in B.C to parents who had come here as refugees from Vietnam. To get ready for the summer games, Carol redesigned her training, to increase both her strength capacity, and boost her confidence by employing two sports psychologists. She wanted to enter the Olympics with a greater edge.
Michael Phelps, the swimmer from Baltimore, of course did something that no Olympian has ever done before. He won 8 gold medals. Michael Phelps’ parents were divorced when he was nine years old. As a child he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and yet despite this adversity, Michael Phelps became a very, very disciplined swimmer.
He spends five hours a day in the pool and swims nearly 50 miles a week during peak training. He says, “All I do is eat, sleep, and swim.”
And he eats a lot! For breakfast, Michael Phelps eats….
Three fried egg sandwiches; cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; fried onions; mayonnaise; three chocolate-chip pancakes; five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast; bowl of grits; two cups of coffee
But it’s not just Olympic athletes. All of us want to get an edge on something that matters to us, whether we are students and want to get an edge on our ability to study, or we are working and want to get an edge in our ability to deliver in the workplace, or artists wishing to hone our craft, or in a relationship seeking to improve the quality of that relationship. We are all looking for an edge.
In the most important, enduring pursuit of our lives, our journey with God, we may also be looking for an edge in that journey.
In the text we are about to read today, we are going to see a man named Elisha who desires to receive the edge for his journey with God. As we look at the text, we are going to see how he goes about this…
Please turn to 2 Kings 2:1.
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
1 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.
7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
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."
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.
13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
In a few moments we’re going to look at how Elisha gets the edge for his journey with God, but first let give some background his mentor Elijah.
Elijah was a powerful prophet of old who ministered by the Jordan River in the wilderness.
According to James, a writer of the New Testament, Elijah was a man just like us.
He was like us in that he was prone to breaking out in anger, wrestling with feelings of discouragement, fighting fatigue.
He was very human.
But he was also extraordinary. James also tells us that Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain—and it did not rain on the land for 3 ½ years. And again Elijah prayed and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced crops.
Elijah courageously confronted the prophets of Baal, the god of rain and fertility on Mount Carmel and he literally called down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice as a way to demonstrate that the LORD was God and not Baal.
In our text today we see that Elijah coming to the end of his ministry.
When Elijah comes to the end of his ministry and as he prepares to depart from this world, it seems that he desires to be alone, in solitude, to be with God… He says good-bye to his young friend and mentoree Elisha 3 times, at Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho.
But his faithful student Elisha is unwilling to leave his master, and continues to doggedly follow him.
Elijah walks toward the Jordan River with Elisha…
Elijah then takes his cloak, rolls it up and strikes the water with it. The water divides to the right and to the left (a dramatic sign that God is with Elijah), and the two of them cross over on dry ground.
When they cross to the other side, Elijah says to Elisha, “Come. Tell me what can I do before I am taken from you?” And Elisha says, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” When Elisha says this, he is not expressing a desire to have a ministry twice as great as Elijah’s, but he is expressing his desire to carry on Elijah’s ministry by inheriting it as kind of first born son. Deuteronomy 21:17 tells us that the first-born son received a double portion of all that the father possessed.
Elisha is asking for the Spirit that was on Elijah so that he can carry on his ministry as a prophet. And Elijah says that if Elisha is able to see Elijah being taken from him, from the earth, then his request will be granted.
As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses appeared and separated the two of them. And Elijah ascends to heaven with the chariot and whirlwind. Elisha sees this. Therefore, Elisha is qualified for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit and energy.
What does this all mean for us who want an edge in our journey with God?
Do we ask Elijah for his spirit?
No--we ask the one to whom Elijah ultimately points.
Elijah not only pointed forward to Elisha, but also to another great prophet, John the Baptist.
John the Baptist in his day was seen as a prophet who re-embodied the Spirit of Elijah.
John the Baptist, the “new Elijah,” was a bold and powerful prophet who brought healing to people and their families as he ministered by the Jordan River…
And John the Baptist, the “new Elijah,” points forward to yet a greater and more powerful figure… Jesus Christ…
John said, "I baptize you with water.... But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
We don’t ask Elijah for his spirit, but we ask the one to whom Elijah ultimately points… Jesus Christ, the one who can baptize us with fire.
The ultimate Elijah, Jesus can baptize with a fire of Spirit…
If we want the Spirit of Elijah, the Spirit of fire, the energy of God… What will we do?
We will become people who ask for God’s Spirit, the Spirit if Jesus Christ.
As a younger person, when I boarded a plane, I often thought it would be great if I ended up sitting beside someone interesting to talk to, but as I get older and more of my travel is work related, I hope that seat next to me won’t be occupied so I can have a bit of solitude or rest…
Elijah seemed to be in that mood. He seemed to want to be alone, and he seems to hint to Elisha that it is time for him to go. 3 different places (Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho) Elijah seems to say “It’s been good to see you. I’m heading off.” But Elisha persists and continues to follow Elijah. When given the opportunity, Elisha asks Elijah for a double portion of his spirit.
Paul in 1 Corinthians encourages us to desire and ask for the great gifts of the Holy Spirit, gifts that enable us to go about the community of Christ and bless the world.
Jesus himself said:
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
9 "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
We know that it is God’s will for us to receive the Spirit, but God asks us to ask.
Asking opens doors for us.
When I was a freshman at university my roommate Andy was telling me that he graduated at the top of his high school classes, 4.0, had great S.A.T. scores, but was not admitted to the school. I asked, “How did you get in? I called the admissions office and asked them to re-consider and they let me in.
Asking can open a door.
God is far more generous than the a typical admissions officer at a school, and asking for God’s Spirit can open a door for you to receive God’s energy and give you an edge in your journey with God.
Second, if we want to have an edge in our journey with God by receiving God’s Spirit, we will seek an Elijah figure in our lives, someone who can mediate the presence of the Spirit to us. Joshua had Moses. Timothy had Paul. Elisha had Elijah.
Richard Rohr, in his book, From Wild Man to Wise Man, talks about how a younger man needs an older man, not primarily to receive knowledge and information from him, but so he can receive the spirit of the older person.
2 weeks ago, I was in Mexico City to mentor some younger emerging leaders.
At breakfast one day one of the young leaders, asked us, “If you could pick any living, famous person who would happen to sit on the top of the tour bus next to you, who would you choose?”
I said, Barack… someone else said, Katie Holmes, someone else Tom Hanks, someone else Michael Phelps and so on.
If she had asked the question who are people you want to walk with closely for season or perhaps a lifetime, I’m sure the answers would have been different.
If we want an edge in our journey with God, if want to live with the Spirit of God, the energy of God, we will walk with people who have that energy.
As I walk with these younger leader, I feel I receive the energy of God.
Take my younger friend Joelle, for example. Joelle is young pastor from Minnesota who came to Mexico for the mentor gathering.
Joelle was sharing with the group (and she has given me permission to re-share this) that when she was single there was a big part of her that preferred to stay single (though as strikingly attractive woman, she was always being pursued by someone!) so she could more freely serve God… but she was led to marry Adam… and now there’s part of her that really doesn’t want to have kids, so she can be freer to serve young people in need of a parent, and is praying about it with her husband…
Her purity of heart inspires me to live with the energy of God.
I want to catch the energy of people who have this Spirit of God.
In a city like Vancouver, it is very possible have no significant friends who walk with God.
Part of what it means for us to have a life that is energized by the Holy Spirit is to walk closely with people who have the Spirit of God and who can become a channel of that energy for us. (Please don’t misunderstand me. We need friends from all walks of life, ideally from all different cultures and people who believe in God and people who don’t believe in God. That kind of diversity is very helpful and very healthy, but if we want a life truly energized by the Spirit of God, the people closest to us ideally will be those who are filled with the Spirit of God. Those who influence us most deeply will be those who walk with God.)
Third, and finally, part of what it means to live a life that is energized by God is to trust the Word of God. When Elisha asks Elijah to grant him a double portion of his spirit, Elijah hedges and implies that that is not really a decision for him to make. But, if Elisha can see Elijah being taken up to heaven, then Elijah indicates that Elisha’s wish will be granted. Elisha sees Elijah being taken up with the chariot of fire into the heavens, and therefore receives the Spirit of God.
Part of what it means to live a life that is blessed by God, a life that is anointed by the Spirit, is that we trust God and follow his word when he speaks to us. We see this in Elisha.
When Jesus is on a high mountain and is transfigured as the glory of God shines on him like the sun, he joined with Elijah and Moses. We hear the Father saying “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased”. Then God says, “Listen to him. Obey his word. Follow him.”
There is a direct connection between trusting Christ enough to follow his word and a life that is empowered by the Spirit.
Bobby Clinton is a professor of leadership down at Fuller Theological Seminary in southern California has written a book called The Making of a Leader. Bobby Clinton has studied the lives of hundreds and hundreds of Christian leaders throughout history. One of the things that he writes about in his book, The Making of a Leader, is that a leader will often go through a faith test, an obedience test to be able to demonstrate whether he or she trusts God enough to follow God’s word. These obedience test often become the defining moment in the life of a leader.
I am not saying that if we disobey God in some way that we are necessarily on Track B for our lives, but if we hear the Word of God and know that God has spoken to us and obey him in our lives, we will be empowered by God’s Spirit.
I have been away on a summer study sabbatical that happened to coincide with the birth of our first child, son Joe. Each summer I think about my original call to Tenth Avenue Church. When I was just 20 years old, I visited Tenth Church for a service for the first time, and as I sat here I had a sense (an almost audible voice) saying that I will be back to be senior pastor one day. Ten years later, during a time of fasting and prayer when I was seeking direction for what to do with the next chapter of my life, God seemed to say, “Tenth Avenue Church. Senior pastor.” It seemed odd because the church had a senior pastor. As I discussed this with some people who knew about me and knew about the history of the church here, they discouraged me from pursuing this post. They knew that the church had gone through many pastors in a relatively short period of time and that the church’s general trajectory had been in decline. Yet I sensed this was God’s call and so did the search committee and the board. I am glad that I responded to what I understood to be God’s call then because it has really opened up a world of blessing for me. Not that it has been challenge-free by any means, but it has been something that has opened me up in a new way to the blessing of God.
When we respond to God’s call, whether it is in a big area or in a small area, maybe in a response to a call that God has for us, or it may be honouring God in a relationship, in a sexual choice, in taking Sabbath, a financial matter, those acts open the door for us to live a life that is blessed by God.
The most important and enduring race for us will not take place for a gold medal or an honour roll or a promotion… but for God.
If we, like Elisha, live a life of trusting God enough to follow his word and if we walk with people who bear the Spirit of God and if we will simply ask for the Spirit, we have an edge in the most important and enduring race of our lives, because we will live a life that is empowered by the very life of living God.
Pray.
posted by Shigematsu at 1:20 PM
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