Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon - 2 Kings 2:1–12 Double
Share of Spirit
First Presbyterian Church of Ocean
City
February 15, 2015
For
the last two weeks we have been looking at prophets. Moses told us the standards that we should
use in selecting a prophet. A prophet
must point us in the direction of the true God, the creator, as revealed to us
in Jesus Christ. And the prophet's words
must be consistent with scripture and our own experience of God. Then, last week we observed a prophet at work
as one used the ideas of the prophet Isaiah to speak words of comfort to the
children of the faithful who had been exiled to Babylon a generation
before. He reminded those who were
falling away that we worship the creator of the world who is also very
concerned about each one us. Today we
will look at a transition as one prophet, bigger than life, gives way to
another. We will get to this, but first
let's pray.
Grant
unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with
true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John
Calvin)
Today
is transfiguration Sunday. We remember,
on this day, the time when Jesus and four disciples ascended a mountain and met
Moses and Elijah. Both Moses and Elijah
had their own mountaintop experiences.
Moses climbed to the top of Mt. Horeb to receive from God the Ten
Commandments. Elijah ascended a mountain
where he encountered a hurricane and an earthquake before hearing God in a
gentle whisper.
What
God told Elijah in that still small voice was that new kings had to be anointed
over Israel and Aram, and, more importantly, Elijah was to anoint his
successor. It was time for Elijah to
retire and God had selected Elisha as the new prophet. Elijah then found Elisha plowing a field behind
twelve oxen. Elijah placed his cloak on
Elisha as a sign of his selection as prophet.
Elijah sacrificed the oxen and had a great feast for Elisha's family and
neighbors. Elisha then left with Elijah
as his assistant.
A
prophet is called by God. God always
makes the selection of who will be his prophet. God decision was discerned by Elijah on the
mountaintop. Elijah revealed God's
decision to Elisha be covering him with his cloak. And Elijah revealed God's decision to
Elisha's family and community with the feast.
Elisha responded to God's call by following Elijah and entering into a
time of study.
God's
decision concerning my call occurred over a period of time. In 1995 I was at a Wednesday night dinner at
my church. After dinner several Christian
education classes were available. Two of
my friends, Nat and Linda, were going to
take a class called the Bethel Bible Series.
This was a two year survey of the entire Bible. I followed them into the class and began to
study. We had homework each week and I
tried to keep up. I completed the two
years and found that I loved studying the Bible very much.
I
asked my pastor if I could be trained as a teacher in this program. He invited me to attend a two year training
class with him which would begin in September of 1998. It would last for two years, and I would be
obligated to teach at the church for two more years. I completed the training and taught Bethel
for four years at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington DC. And I represented the Bethel Program on the
Adult Nurture Council.
After
four years as a Bethel teacher I was ready for even more study of the
scriptures. So in 2004 I started the
process to become a Presbyterian pastor and enrolled at Fuller Theological
Seminary.
Elisha's
apprenticeship under Elijah came at a difficult time. There was constant warfare among the states
of Israel, Judah and Aram. Elijah had
the difficult task of proclaiming God's judgment on the King of Israel. God wanted new kings for these nations and
Elisha as his prophet. Let's hear the
story from the Book of Second Kings.
2nd Kings 2:1
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?”
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.
Before Elisha could
become God's prophet he had to be tested.
He already been chosen by God and had received his education about God
from his teacher Elijah. But now he must
be examined. Elijah gave Elisha several
opportunities to give up and go back home.
But Elisha was up to the tests.
Three groups of prophets examined Elisha as he and Elijah approached the
Jordan river. We don't know what the
test were. We just know that Elisha was
made aware that he would be replacing Elijah.
He must have passed the tests.
As I completed my
studies at Fuller Seminary I was examined by the Presbyterian Church for my
ability to be a pastor. I was tested on
Bible Content, Theology, Worship, Church Polity, and Biblical Exegesis, the
ability to interpret and understand the Bible in its original languages and
contexts . Like Elijah I was examined by
elders and pastors of the church and was found suitable to serve as a
Presbyterian pastor.
After Elisha had
completed his exams he was ready for ordination as a prophet of God. Let's go back to the story.
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.
Just
as Moses had parted the Red Sea and Joshua parted the Jordan river when
entering the promised land, so now the great Elijah parts the Jordan. He does this by dipping his cloak in the
water. Elijah's cloak is very
special. Remember he used the cloak to
cover Elisha back on the farm as a sign of his call from God. And now this cloak was dipped in the river
and caused the waters to part. What is
it? What is this cloak? What is covering Elijah? We will get to this, but let's keep going in
the story.
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.”
So
Elisha wants a double share of Elijah's spirit when Elijah goes to be with the
Lord. No amount of training or high test
scores can substitute for the Holy Spirit's presence with prophet. A person may be called. A person may be trained. A person may be tested. But a person does not become a prophet until
anointed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit gives a prophet or a pastor the ability to do what God requires. And therefore the Holy Spirit must be a
significant part of a prophet's ministry.
Elisha knows that he can never measure up to Elijah's performance. He is only half as good. So he needs a double share of the Holy Spirit
if he ever hopes to approach what Elijah did.
Let's go back and hear the conclusion of the story.
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.
So God came down in a
chariot of fire to watch as Elijah was carried to heaven in a whirlwind. And Elisha tore his cloak into two
pieces. And now we know what Elijah's
cloak was. Elijah was cloaked with the
Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit who
called Elisha into ministry. It was the
Holy Spirit who parted the Jordan.
Elisha now has the cloak, the Holy Spirit. And by tearing it in two he now has received
the double portion of the Spirit he needed.
In November of 2007 I
was ready for ordination as a Presbyterian pastor. I had completed my Master of Divinity at
Fuller Theological Seminary. I had
passed all five ordination exams. My
call from God was confirmed by a church calling me as their pastor. National Capitol Presbytery came to my home
church in DC and ordained me as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. I became a Presbyterian pastor.
So as this church looks
for a new pastor, what are you looking for.
Well, first you want someone who has been called by God. Ask this person if he or she experienced a
call from God into pastoral ministry and if this call was confirmed by his or
her church and presbytery. Then ask about his or her education and
examinations. But most importantly find
out if God has given her or him sufficient quantities of the Holy Spirit to do
the work required of a pastor.
And if any of you are
sense God's call into ministry, come talk to me about it. The Holy Spirit may be trying to tell you
something. Lets find out the best way to
respond. Please join me in prayer.
Holy Spirit of God we
thank you for calling men and women into ministry. We thank you for the opportunities we have to
study your word in depth. We thank you
for equipping women and me to serves as your pastor. We offer this prayer to you in the name of
Jesus Christ, the son of God. Amen.
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