Faith to Follow

​This is the 4th message in our series on faith! I’d encourage you to scroll down and listen to some of our other messages in this series as they contain some encouraging teaching on the topic.
 
Our key verse for this series is from Hebrews 11:1:
 
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
 
If you haven’t already, try to commit this passage to memory!
 
Last week we looked at two examples of women in 2 Kings who showed courageous faith despite difficult circumstances. In ‘Faith to Follow’ we are winding back the clock a bit, back to the call of Elisha.
 
This passage is towards the end of Elijah’s ministry as a prophet. In the passages before this takes place – Elijah had reached the end of his capacity. He was exhausted. He cried out to God – and God answered his cry, providing him with a renewed purpose – his job now was to raise up a younger man to take over the role – and scripture tells us that in return Elisha ministered to him.
 
Remember that even in your fatigue, your fear or perhaps your later years that God always has a purpose for you. Just as when Elijah felt like he had nothing more to give, God gave him the renewed purpose of mentoring Elisha.
 
Let’s look at the passage in 1 Kings 19:19
 
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the ploughing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.
 
It has been suggested here that Elisha was from a reasonably wealthy family. The fact that he was ploughing a field with a dozen oxen suggests that his family was not poor. So not only did Elisha literally burn his plough and kill the oxen, he did it in another sense. You see when Elisha stepped into the calling of God on his life, he stepped away from the safety of everything he’d even known. He stepped away from the safety and security of home and family. He also swapped his inheritance for a life that contained no promises of wealth and fame.
 
Yet he had the faith to follow God’s plan for his life.
 
God has a plan for your life too! He has an incredible purpose! Do you have the faith to step into it?
 
Listen to the message to hear insight on knowing God’s will for your life – and encouragement to have the faith to follow Him!
 
God Bless,
Ps Simon
simon@horizonchurch.org.au