Last week we began a new series of messages titled: Greater Things.
God has been speaking into my heart and telling me that we are in a new season and that He will do new things and we will experience greater things.
I want to share the second message today: Burn down what prevents you from experiencing greater things!
Today I want you to understand God has something greater for you so let’s read 1 Kings 19:19-21
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 mantle on 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 plowing 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.”
1 Kings 19:19-21 NIV
God called Elisha for a greater and better life!
As soon as he heard the calling of God, he went to say goodbye to his father and mother and returned, burned the plowing equipment, cooked all the oxen, and gave it to his people.
Elisha was from a prosperous family, for they had 12 pairs of oxen to plow the land, still he gave everything up, he lost everything so could respond his calling. He left it all to be with Elijah and follow him. He became his assistant, in a low position , he began as nothing more than a servant.
This text can teach us many things and bring profound revelations to all of us.
Beloved, did you know that this was the first time Elisha appeared on the Bible? He was not a prophet, he was not a leader, he was not a wise man, he had never preached, he was nothing. He had never done any miracles, he lived a simple, ordinary life.
This excites me, because wasn’t anything special, he was an ordinary person, he worked in the field, he was only a farmer and his main job was plowing. Elisha lived a quiet life, until one day he received a calling to live a new life.
This may sound a lot like your life!
There is nothing wrong with living this way, you work, make money, have your work routine, but the problem is when you start living for this only and you have no more passions, your walk with God becomes a religion and everything else just routine.
Those who live religiously, does not expect greater things. When you become religious, your spiritual life, relationship with God, relationship with the Church, your relationship with your brothers and sister, all become monotonous and we start living a common and mediocre life.
When we enter this monotony, we lose our passion for Jesus; He is no longer the most important and no longer the first in our life.
If you have come to accept this you will abort and destroy the best of God and will never get to live the greatest plans that God has for your life.
Despite your settling for this mediocre life, God still has a plan for your. One day, after another regular, common afternoon, Elijah appeared to Elisha! One day Elijah will show up!
Has Elijah ever shown up in your life? Have you asked Elijah to appear in your life?
Do you kneel in prayer every day and ask for something to happen in your life?
Do you cry to God every day for something new? Or do you no longer have any more expectations?
Do you cry out to God every day for more of His presence?
Since I was born again I have always had so many expectations in God. Whenever I go to a Service, I ask: God please use this preacher, speak to me, perform a miracle in my life. I do not miss any services, I never stayed home because of laziness, even when I was sick I would not miss out on a meeting. For the day you do not show up, you will miss on something from God.
(Testimony of the fish bone / maybe you’ve heard)
Fabiana once made lunch on a Sunday and cooked a delicious fish. When I was eating, this big fishbone got stuck in my throat. I could not even talk and even breathe because it hurt so much.
Fabiana said: I think we should take you to see a doctor now! But I said: I will not miss the Service because of this fishbone, we will go to the service, and after the service if needed I go to the hospital.
So I went to the church and I could not even sing because I was in so much pain, but I knelt down and worship God! At the end of the worship time , I realised that the fishbone had disappeared from my throat as I was worshiping God.
We need to have expectations when we go to the presence of God! How is your heart today? Elijah can still appear in your life!
Elijah showed up! The Great Prophet Elijah, the man who confronted 400 prophets of Baal, who prayed and fire came down from heaven , who prayed and made it rain down after 3.5 years of severe drought.
The presence of Elijah had the potential to change the life of Elisha forever. I want to talk about the steps for you to also have a greater life:
1- You must have a perception of the presence of God
Elisha submitted himself to Elijah, because Elijah represented God and Elisha realised that. Greater things happen when you become more aware of the presence of God in your life.
Just as Elijah came personally to Elisha with an invitation, God is here to invite you as well!
God still uses men to talk to us. Just as God used Elijah to speak to Elisha He sent me here today to give you this invitation!
Who wants to receive an invitation from God?
God is inviting you today: Come with me, do you want to live new things? So follow me! Walk with God, recognise his presence in your life.
God is telling you: Come walk with me for I can turn your life around, I can lead you to bigger things. God is inviting you now!
His presence does not bring condemnation, it doesn’t carry disapproval, even if your sins are terrible he wants to forgive you. He wants to clean you and give new direction to your life! God wants to take you from this simple, ordinary life and lead you to amazing things.
Will you hear his voice? His presence is here, He’s with me, He’s with you, because He is an omnipresent God, He is a God who is everywhere, but the question is: Do you even realise He is here?
Are you listening to His voice? If you hear His voice, will you follow His direction? Or will you continue following your proud heart, will you continue to follow your own plans and live in sameness and mediocrity?
In order for you to live an extraordinary life, you need to make a decision!
The Bible says, As soon as Elisha heard the voice of Elijah, he left his plans, his family and his people behind and followed Elijah, he ran and went after the calling of God.
I see so many people today who know God’s path, they have heard the voice of God, they have even heard their calling, but they are too afraid to make a decision, or they followed it only halfway through, or decided to return to plowing the land because it was safer and more comfortable staying with people they knew than to follow a calling to live greater things!
They do not want to burn their plows because they do not understand that it is God who is talking to them, and so they are stagnant and miss out on the supernatural of God.
2- Greater things happen when you understand that God has a calling for you!
The second point is this: You need to be aware not only of His presence, but that He came to call you out !
How did Elijah approached Elisha? The Bible says: Elijah went up to him and threw his mantle on him.
Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle over Elisha! Throwing over a mantle has two meaning in the Bible:
The act of casting the mantle means a choice has been made! I’m choosing you, Elisha !
The act of casting the mantle was also an act of adoption, it was the act of taking over!
A father casts the mantle and says, this is now my son, I’m adopting him.
That’s why Elisha screamed, ” “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!”
II Kings 2:12
Elisha could have rejected his calling , but he accepted to be under the authority of Elijah.
Casting the mantle meant: I saw you as my successor, I have a promise for you, all that I have is now for you, the anointing and authority I have I will pass on to you and this will happen when I cast my mantle over you.
Casting the mantle is a statement of succession, paternity! He was saying: You were not made for this, you were not made to spend your life behind the plow, you were not made for the dirt and the dust.
You have a bigger calling, God wants you to have greater experiences with him. And the mantle has been cast over Shalom, the mantle has been cast over your life and God is saying: Come and follow me because I have bigger things for you!
God has wonderful experiences for you: Do you want them?
Elisha received the mantle and we’re being offered the same mantle, but now comes the time to make a choice: will Elisha choose the greater life? Will Elisha choose to go back to plow the ground or he will follow Elijah?
Will he stay in the sameness, in his safe, normal life or will he go after Elijah and do bigger things?
Some people say they have not calling , but the spiritual truth is that everyone here in this Church and everyone who is listening to me has a calling from God.
In Matthew 22 Jesus said: God prepared a banquet and sent to call everyone for this banquet. But most of them gave excuses saying, I cannot go because I have things to do, I have to work, I have other places to be…
That’s why Jesus said: “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 22:14 NKJV
Many think that God chooses only a few and that God is unfair, that He has His “darling ones”, His chosen ones, but this is not true!
All are called, but few are chosen, why? Because they do not accept the calling.
The calling is for everyone!
“I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then Isaiah said, “Here am I! Send me.””
Isaiah 6:8 NKJV
God said whom shall I send? Anyone could have answered, but only Isaiah chose to answer!
All of us are called, but few chosen! Why? Because most will say: I can’t go!
Example: If I ask: How many of you want to have lunch with me today? And only one of you rise up their hand, I will have to say: Okay, I choose you to have lunch with me today!
Being chosen by God is the result of your answer and your decision!
If you want a bigger life with God, raise up your hands to Him!
Who wants bigger things? Elisha said: I do!
If you read II Kings chapter 2 you will see that it was his choice.
Elijah said: If You are faithful and follow me you will experience greater things! If you go with me to Jericho, if you go with me to Gilgal, if you go with me to Bethel, you will have double portion of my spirit and you’ll be my successor!
What defines your life here on this earth is not your calling but it is your answer to the calling.
It is your response: God I give you all my life to experience bigger things. I want to live your purpose!
3- If you want to live a greater life, you will have to burn your plows!
Burn down what prevents you from experiencing greater things!
Bigger things happen when you burn your plows. We all know God has more for us but we do not try it!
Why do most of believers do not experience greater things from God?
Because we do not burn our plows!
Bigger things happen when we burn down things from our old life!
That’s what Elisha did: When Elijah called Elisha for a bigger life, even without knowing what he was getting into he decided: I’ll follow this man and I’ll do it in such a way that I cannot ever come back!
I will not go back, and I’m going to burn my plows! I’ll sacrifice my oxen. Why? Because he’s breaking up with his old life.
All of that represented: stability, routine, accommodation, life close to the family, security.
God has bigger plans than you imagine, but if you want to reach it, you will have to do what Eliseu did: burn down your plow.
Burn down everything that connects you to your past, everything that holds you back from living the new and the supernatural.
Doing this sometimes hurts us, there is a price to pay to receive the mantle, there is a price to pay to receive direction and guidance, there is a price to pay to be under the ministry that God has planned for us.
Burning the plows can mean leaving a job because of the kingdom of God, it may mean being away from family because of the kingdom of God, burning the plows can be spending money to come to the church that is far from your home.
Burning the plows means you lose your reputation, you humble yourself, ask for forgiveness, to say that you have made wrong decision, say that you have sinned, that you did something wrong… And unfortunately many cannot burn down their plows and they will never have a greater life in God. They rather hold on to their old life.
Burning the plows is a matter of trusting in God and surrendering everything to God, even if it costs you! In order for you to have a greater life, you need to surrender and give over all you have.
There are people who are afraid to surrender, there are people who are afraid to quit the wrong and sinful relationship they are in, there are people who are afraid to abandon their job even though it’s not doing them well, there are people who are afraid to throw away their old life, their idolatry, their idols, pictures of saints and their religious books from the past.
I know you have the feeling you’re missing out on something, burning your plows will bring you freedom to go for greatness!
No one will live the revival of God if they do not abandon their “pet sins”.
No one will have a wonderful marriage if they do not forgive what happened in the past.
This is what is missing in the life of believers, a decision that it is now all about Jesus, I will follow my leader, I will listen to my Elijah, I will honour the mantle I have received, I will walk in unity because God has bigger things me.
How many of you will respond to the call of God?
God bless you and may you hear and answer the voice of God because greater things are in store for you!