Bulletins - Richvale Community Church

Good morning!
(Hold up a pencil.)
There's nothing particularly special about this pencil, is there?
You can buy one for a few cents.
Most of us probably have a few lying around the house.
There is artist in NY city..
Devon Rodriguez.
who has became famous for drawing people he meets on the subway.
He incredibly gifted artist..
He sits across from a complete stranger and begins sketching their face.
He can take an ordinary pencil and create a master piece..
But one of the best parts is when he finishes ….he gives the person the drawing...
And there is often a reaction… people are surprised. And overwhelmed ..because Someone has taken the time to notice them..
when you think about ..
It's just a pencil.!
But pencil in the hands of someone who knows how to use it..
Is powerful…
it
Changes everything..
Something ordinary becomes something extraordinary
Here is the thing..when we see people who are gifted.. like Devon..
We might think we don’t have much to offer.
We look at our gifts, our abilities, and what we have, and we wonder if it really makes much difference.
But when it comes to serving God, the question isn’t just
, “What has God given me?”
It’s also, “What am I doing with what God has given me?”
In Exodus, God asks Moses a simple question:
“What is that in your hand?”
Moses has a staff. Nothing particularly remarkable about it. But God uses that ordinary staff in extraordinary ways.
And in our text today in 2 kings 2
Elijah and Elisha are surrounded by the chariots of fire… and the horses of fire from heaven … it’s an angelic visitation..
In this holy moment
Elijah is separated from Elisha—and is translated into heaven —
AND —as Elijah is being caught up INTO HEAVEN he drops his mantle..
Can you imagine this dramatic scene and the silence… that followed…the a sence of Elijah…Was shock I g.. Elijah mourns Elijah.. he tears his own clothes..
The mantle is the only thing left be hind!
This wasn’t a fancy coat..it was a simple garment..most likely made out of goats hair or sheeps hide. …. it was ordinary ..
But..What made Elijah’s mantle special….significant is that it was a token.. of prophetic succession
As We come to the end of our series on Elijah—
I want us to wrestle with the application.
. we have seen the highs and the lows of Elijahs ministry..
His victories and vunrabilities…
All that is left is a mantle....
And it begs the question…
….what matter most in life..
“What has God placed in your hand?”
Because everyone of us has been entrusted with something.
It may be…
A gift
An opportunity.
An influence.
A ministry.
And the question is bigger than, “What have I been given?”
The question is also, “What am I doing with what I have been given?”
T/s How should we view God’s gifts and grace?
1. A Gift Carries Responsibility
There have been a several times in our ministry when Pam and I have been commissioned …set a part.. ..go a certain work..
Fifteen years ago, we had our installation service.. here at Richvale church.
And Dr. Gill Sigler (district director) led the service and he brought a charge..
It was a charge…
to faithfully preach God's Word,
to care for His people, to be discern the body..,.
and to fulfil the ministry God had entrusted to us.
It was reminder thst — ministry caries responsibility.
We see this in the life of Elijah and Elisha..
If we go back to 1 Kings 19, we discover that Elisha's calling didn't begin at the Jordan River.
It began years earlier, when God anointed Elisha for ministry…
We read of that encounter in..
1 Kings 19:19–21 ESV
19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
When Elijah found Elisha he is ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen…
we learn .
Elisha came from a family of means —
He had Oxen and fields to harvest..
This wasn’t a young man with nothing to lose.
He had a family.
He had a future.
He had a livelihood.
He had a life already established. When Elijah finds him -
Elisha is on the 12th yoked Oxen.in the middle of harvest..
Elijah comes up beside him and throws his garment over him…
The mantle represented prophetic succession..
What is amazing is that..
Elisha knew immediately what was being asked..
Elisha asks to say good bye go his family… leaves behind his oxen
And follows Elijah.
There is an interesting detail in the story.
Before Elisha leaves, he takes his yoke of oxen, slaughters them, and gives it to the people to eat.
Tim Keller points out that this was more than simply preparing a farewell meal.
Elisha was effectively liquidating his business.
He wasn't just taking a break from farming.
He was making a decisive break with his old life.
From that point on, Elisha becomes Elijah's disciple.
He travels with him.
He learns from him.
He serves him.
learning what it means to serve God.
And there is something familiar about this story, isn't there?
Because this is how Jesus called His first disciples.
Jesus comes to Peter and Andrew while they are fishing and says,
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
And Matthew tells us that immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Then Jesus calls
James and John.
They are in the boat with their father, mending their nets.
And again, Jesus calls them to leave what they are doing and follow Him.
Do you see the pattern?
God meets people in the middle of ordinary life and calls them to something greater.
We don't have to over-spiritualize God's calling.
God often calls us..
In the normal, sometimes mundane rhythms of life.
And in a moment, our ordinary lives become an opportunity to answer God's call.
There are two dimensions of God's calling.
God Calls us to himself
and God calls us to serve others
And we see both dimensions in the life of Elijah.
…we find God calling Elijah back to himself…
They then the calling go proclaim the word and make disciples..
It’s easy to over look..
Elijah's calling wasn't only confronting Ahab and Jezebel or performing miracles.
He made disciples.
He invested in people.
He invested in the sons of the prophets —
These were prophetic communities where men were being taught, trained, and formed in the work of God.
They where found in Bethel.. Gigal and Jericho..
Elijah invested in Elisha…his successor. He invested in the future…
And that's an important part of calling…
God wants to use what He has placed in our hands to make a difference in the lives of others.
T/s How do we use what God had given?
1. A Gift Carries Responsibility
2. Don't Confuse the Gift With the Giver
A few years ago, Pam inherited her grandmother’s wedding ring.
It’s a beautiful ring.
We have no idea what it’s worth financially, and to be honest, we have no real interest in finding out.
Because its value has very little to do with money.
That ring carries memories. It represents love. It connects Pam to her grandmother and to a piece of her family’s story.
Its value isn’t just in what it is, but in what it represents..
The mantle was important to Elisha, but it wasn’t the source of his power. It was a token ..a reminder of God’s calling upon his life.
Like a ring it points back towards a relationship… it represents…some thing bigger..
They coat pointed to the
God of Elijah.
..— to the giver..of grace…
to giver of our gifts….
When get this backwards..
our focus is all wrong.....
We can take pride in the ability…
the position…
the opportunity…
we forget where it came from
and forget that it was God who gave it to us in the first place.
The mantle was not the source… mantle was a token…
In 2 kings 2 —- when Elijah is taken up in Whirlwind—
Elijah is gone.
Elisha sees the mantle lying on the ground…and he picks it up
2 Kings 2:13–14 ESV
13 And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
— There something significant about picking up the mantle..
The mantle represented prophetic calling..
… He could have ignored it..
but in order go back to the promised land he had to pick it up..
And He does exactly what Elijah did..
He strikes the water…
He asks,
“Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?”
notice Elisha doesn't ask,
“Where is Elijah?”
He asks,
“Where is the LORD?” The God of Elijah..
Because Elisha knows that the power was never in Elijah…
and it was never in the mantle.
It was always God.
And that is important for us.
Because sometimes we can become so impressed with what God has given ….
The gifts..
that we forget the One who gave it.
We can become attached to the person…
the position…
the ability…
the success…
and forget the Giver.
Elisha had the mantle…but he still needed the God,of Elijah..
There is a a lesson here about how God uses us a a the body…Paul teaches us 1 Cor 12..
Although there are “varieties of gifts,” “varieties of service,” and “varieties of activities,”
they all flow from “the same Spirit,” “the same Lord,” and “the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” (1 Cor
In other words. God uses each of us with our unique temperament and gifts..
According go his powerfully..
Elisha did need to become a copy of Elijah.
He didn't have to become Elijah.
He didn't have Elijah's personality.
He didn't have Elijah's experiences.
He didn't have to reproduce Elijah's ministry.
He needed to trust the God of Elijah.
In the some We can trust the Lord..
God has wired us a certain way with our temperament and unique gifts..
we can trust Him with what He has placed in our hands.
And look what happens.
The Jordan opens.
And Elisha walks across on dry land…
The crossing becomes public Evidence that a Gods power h as been transfered..to Elijahs successor..
Now. …
The prophets have watched Elisha cross the Jordan and come back again.
They bow before him and say, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.”
They recognize that God is at work…the miracle at the a Jordan..
From Moses… Joshua to Elijah and now Elisha..
God did this!! But Change often brings uncertainty…
In 2 Kings 2:16–18’
The prophets question what they just witnessed..
They began to try and figure things out on their own …they wonder whar really happen to Elijah?
. They want to make sense of what has happened.
Perhaps God has dropped him on some mountain or in some valley..
They want to do something. They want to find him
Elisha tells them not to go.
But they keep pressing him until eventually he gives in. -- he gives in to social pressure..
They search for three days and find nothing.
And when they return, Elisha says, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
I think there is something very human about this…
You can do.. and say all the right things… but some times people have to learn to let go..
Sometimes we have to let people work things out for themselves.
And notice Elisha. He doesn't abandon his calling because people question him.
He waits for them in Jericho and continues doing what God has called him to do.
…..thats Grace Isnt it…
T/s How should we view God’s gifts and grace?
1. A Gift Carries Responsibility
2. Don't Confuse the Gift With the Giver
3. Use What God Gives You for Someone Else
Have you ever visited somewhere and thought, “I would love to live here”?
You know, every coastal town seems to have those real estate agents with the houses listed in the windows.
And you find yourself looking at the pictures, imagining what it would be like to live there…
You start dreaming for a minute.
If only!
This is Lajolla…it’s a second..
We sometimes limit our selves with is only..
We think, “If only my circumstances were different.
If only I had more opportunities, more resources, or lived somewhere else—then God could really use me.”
We learn form the life of Elijah and now Elisha..
Calling had nothing to do with resources…
Becasue ..
God suppliers the need.. h is warehouse is full.....
Now, look at what happens when Elisha arrives in Jericho.
2 Kings 2:19–22 ESV
19 Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” 20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” 22 So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.
Elijah is in Jericho…now.
If there was ever a city that received Gods grace its Jericho…
Joshua cursed the city.. and the city was rebuild.. there was consequences..
Now it’s redeemed..
This city had potential …
But there is still problems..
You can be redeemed and still have problems.. The people tell him, “The situation of this city is pleasant.”.
But there's a problem. The water is bad, and the land is unproductive.
Israel is faced with a dilemma.
Jericho is a beautiful place, with pleasant surroundings and great potential.
But there’s a problem.
The water is bad, and the land is unproductive.
This is very relatable..becasue
sometimes what looks good on the outside…is not good underneath.
We have all seen.
The house looks good.
The family looks good.
The career looks good.
The smile looks good.
The social media pictures look good.
But underneath…
The heart is hurting.
The relationship is broken.
The past hasn't been dealt with.
There is bitterness.
There is fear.
There is shame.
There is barrenness.
And the people come to Elisha and say,“We have a problem.”
And I want you to notice what Elisha does.
He doesn't simply say,
“Try harder.”
He doesn't tell them to improve the landscaping.
He doesn't say,
“Let's make the place look better.”
He goes to the source.
They bring him a new bowl…and salt.
He goes to the spring…and he puts the salt there.
And then he says,
“Thus says the LORD, I have healed this water.”
He declares Gods word over the chaos…
And then the text says the water was healed.
That is important.
Because the answer wasn't in the bowl.The answer wasn't in the salt.
The answer wasn't even in Elisha.
The anser is form the lord..
The LORD healed the water.
And I think there is a principle here that we desperately need to remember.
God works from the inside out.
You can spend a lot of time fixing the surface…
while the source remains broken.
You can repaint the house…
while the foundation is cracking.
You can change the circumstances…
without ever changing the heart.
And that is why Jesus is so important.
Because the gospel isn't simply,
“Let's help you have a better life.”
The gospel says,
“God wants to do something new in you.”
Jesus doesn't merely come to make bad circumstances easier.
He comes to deal with our deepest problem.
Sin.
Separation from God.
A heart that cannot heal itself.
And throughout Scripture, water becomes a powerful picture of God's life and restoration.
Israel comes to bitter water at Marah…
and God provides what they cannot provide.
Jesus stands at a well and tells a woman that He can give her living water.
And at Cana, Jesus takes ordinary water and does something extraordinary with it.
Scripture keeps reminding us that life comes from God.
And in Christ, God meets our deepest need.
what happened at Jericho.
God didn't just make the outside look better.
He healed the source.

Conclusion
The story of Elijah—and now Elisha—is a story of God’s grace.
Grace is not something we simply admire.
It is something we live out.
God doesn’t pour His grace into our lives simply for us to hold on to it.
He gives us grace so that we can extend that same grace to others.
We receive forgiveness so we can forgive.
We receive mercy so we can show mercy.
We experience God’s patience so we can be patient with others.
And look at Elisha.
God called Elisha.
God prepared Elisha. God empowered Elisha.
And now God uses Elisha to bring healing to the people of Jericho.
Think about that for a moment.
Elisha could have held on to the mantle as a reminder of his calling.
He could have admired it, protected it, and kept it for himself.
But the mantle wasn’t given to him simply to possess.
It was given to him to be used.
What God placed in Elisha’s hands became a blessing to others.
That’s what grace does. It doesn’t stop with us.
Before we finish this morning, I want you to look at the pencil you’ve received.
It has a point on one end, but it also has an eraser on the other.
Why?
Because we don’t always get things right.
Sometimes we make mistakes.
Sometimes we mess things up,
and we need to make corrections.
And that’s a picture of grace.
Today we are y hose who . received mercy…
We might think we don’t have much to offer. We might look at our gifts, our abilities, or what we have in our hands and wonder whether we can really make a difference.
But let’s me remind you
God is a multiplier.
What we place in His hands, He can use to bless others in ways we could never accomplish on our own.
So let me leave you with two questions this morning:
What has God placed in my hands?
And who can I bless with what He has given me?
Let’s underestimate what God can do with what you already have.
Today a special day..
FIrst …we have vote..for overseers…hopefully if you are member…confirm nomination of Craig Bryant..
Afterwards..We’re going to celebrate baptisms with Danall and Diane.
Let’s sing . These are the days of Elijah. …
- - 1 Kings 19:19–21ESV
- - 2 Kings 2:13–14ESV
- - 2 Kings 2:19–22ESV

1. A Gift Carries Responsibility

2. Don't Confuse the Gift With the Giver

3. Use What God Gives You for Someone Else

Conclusion

1 Kings 19:19–21ESV

2 Kings 2:13–14ESV

2 Kings 2:19–22ESV