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Well, if you have your Bibles this morning, would you take them and open them with me to 1 Kings chapter number 19? 1 Kings or 1 Kings if you prefer. I want to begin a new series this morning that I shared with online called The God of the Impossible. The life and times of Elisha. 1 Kings chapter 19. Impossibilities. We all face them. Most of us feel that we can handle the normal of life. You know what I'm talking about. You know, the predictable, the manageable. But eventually, every one of us and everyone you know will stand in front of something that they cannot fix. They cannot afford. They cannot heal. They cannot change, and they cannot control. Anybody feel that way this morning? It's the marriage that seems so far beyond repair. It's the child who has wandered far from God. It's the doctor's report and diagnosis and prognosis that seemingly has changed everything. It's the financial burden that keeps you awake at night unable to sleep. It's the habit you have unsuccessfully battled for years. Or maybe it's the dream that has died. Yet, in the light of all this, we know this. The Bible teaches us, reminds us both over and over and over again that not only does life throw us moments that seem impossible, that we serve a God who declares that there is nothing too difficult or nothing impossible for him. This series is designed to remind us of this great truth. Nothing is impossible with God. Can I get an amen this morning? However, it's not just to remind us that nothing is impossible with God, it's to remind us that God often does the impossible through the lives of the improbable, which means that qualifies you and I to be a part of the miracle-working God of the impossible. When ordinary people like you and I choose to fully surrender and completely trust God, even when his direction and that path does not make a lot of sense, we position ourselves to experience the God of the impossible who is doing the impossible oftentimes through our own lives. Some of you are facing things, no doubt, this morning that feel impossible. They look impossible, and on paper they are no doubt impossible. And it's compounded because you look around at your own resources, your abilities, your ability to sort out the answer, and you can't find a solution. Well, this series, friends, it is for you. And I want to introduce this morning to you someone who faced incredible impossibilities, great challenges, yet he discovered that there was a God of Israel who was the God of the impossible, who was willing to work in and on his behalf if he would just surrender and walk with him. And that guy's name is Elisha. Elisha. Who is this guy, Elisha? Well, Elisha is an Old Testament prophet. In the Old Testament, prophets were men and women that God chose by his grace to speak to the nation on behalf of God. Like one of their favorite phrases that they use is this Thus saith the Lord. And when you read through the Old Testament, you'll hear these prophets who get up and they speak, thus saith the Lord. And in the Old Testament, there are two different types of prophets. They were the writing prophets and they were the non-writing prophets. The writing prophets are like Isaiah or Jeremiah or Daniel. And we know God's word through them, through what they wrote and how they shared that, and we have it in our canon of Scripture. But there were also non-writing prophets. These were men and women who were used mightily of God at times to speak to the nations, to speak to leaders, to speak to communities. Though they did not write a book, their story is recorded in the historical books of the Bible, 1st and 2 Samuel, 1st and 2 Kings, and the likes thereof. Elisha is a non-writing prophet. He did not give us any book, but boy, his life gives us insight to the miracle-working God as God shows up with Elisha in these moments of impossibility. Elisha's story is found mainly in chapter or in 2 Kings, but it begins in 1 Kings chapter 19. So now that we have our Bibles open, let's read our text this morning. 1 Kings chapter 19. We begin with verse 19 through 21, and this will launch us into this series, The God of the Impossible. Now let me give you some context so I don't just drop you in the middle of this text. This is actually a chapter that you are probably more familiar with than you might think initially. Chapter 19 of 1 Kings records this great moment in Elijah's life. He too was a prophet of old, a non-riding prophet. And you might remember Elijah. He was mighty in God, called down fire. God did great miracles through him. But there came a time in his life when he was confronting King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, who were evil rulers. And after he had confronted them, Jezebel set out a death warrant for Elijah's life. He got overwhelmed with fear and anxiety so much so he ran and he hid in a cave. He became despondent, upset. Even some would suggest suicidal. He was in a low ebb of his life. Can I remind all of us that regardless of how spiritual we think someone may be and they actually might be, there are still moments in all of our lives where the bottom falls out. Can I get an amen? So don't be too quick to judge someone who may be going through a difficult moment. Elijah was in that very place and he was hiding out in the cave. And you'll remember there came the whirlwind, there came the fire, there came all this. But God's voice was, do you remember? Not in any of it until finally there came a what? A still small voice. And God says, Elijah, I'm with you. You remember? That's 1 Kings chapter 19. And at the conclusion of the Lord speaking to Elijah in that cave, he says, Now Elijah, this is how we're going to move forward. I want you to go and get an assistant, a guy that you will mentor into the next generation. And his name is Elisha. So with that, let's pick up with verse number 19. So Elijah went out and found Elisha, son of Saphi, plowing a field. Now there were 12 teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the 12th team. Elijah went over to him and threw a cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah and said to him, Let me go and kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will go to you. And Elijah replied, Go back, but think about what I've done to you. So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. Then he used the wood from the plough to build a fire and roast the oxen's flesh. He passed around the meat to all the townspeople, and they all ate. And finally, then he went with Elijah as his assistant. May the Lord give us grace as we hear the word of the Lord this morning, and we said together, Amen. There are five things I want you to learn this morning about Elijah that are applicable to our life, transferable to us in the 21st century. And the first one I want you to know is this word chosen. Elisha was chosen by God for the work of God. Subtitle is this God chooses ordinary people. The first thing I really want us to see in this text is that Elisha was a very ordinary guy. Matter of fact, so ordinary, he was simply a farmer. Before Elisha ever stood before kings and saw miracles, he was simply a man working in a field with his hands. His hands were not raised in the sanctuary. He did not have a seminary degree. They were roughed and they were calloused as he held to the plow day after day. His life was not marked by public ministry, but rather obscurity. Elisha was not searching for a prophetic call. There's no indication that he had been crying out to God to be used of God. He was simply being faithful in the ordinary life that was before him. He was working the field that God had already given him. Yet in that ordinary place, God was beginning to write an extraordinary story. Too often we think that God is waiting for extraordinary people to sign up so that God can work through their extraordinary lives. The reality that is not how God works. He is oftentimes coming to the most ordinary, those that we would pass over, those that we would not think somehow qualify, and he calls ordinary people to follow him. And when they respond, they discover his extraordinary purposes for their life. The kingdom of God, friends, has never been dependent on celebrity or status. It depends on surrendered hearts, those who are willing to follow the Lord with all their life and all their heart. You may not have a remarkable life, and you may think your life is ridiculously ordinary, but that qualifies you to be ex to experience the grace and the mercy of an extraordinary looking God. You do not have to be remarkable remarkable to live a remarkable life for God. You simply have to make yourself available like Elisha did. Number two is this committed. Committed. Not only was Elisha chosen by God, Elisha committed himself to God who chose him. Byline is this ordinary people burn plows. It's kind of this odd little moment that we need some context, a cultural understanding. Elijah walks out into the field where Elisha is plowing with other guys. And matter of fact, he is the last one in the line of plowers that day. And the scripture says that Elijah goes and he throws his cloak over Elisha and he says, Hey, come go with me. It was an ancient expression of him being chosen by Elijah to come and apprentice and to walk with him. Elisha knew it immediately what was going on. And he says, Okay, I'll go, but I need to go tell my parents what's going on. And Elisha said this. Elijah said these words to Elisha. Yes, go and tell them. But you need to think about this. I'm not asking you to come with me for just a convenient weekend or a long weekend. I'm asking you and I'm calling you to full-on commitment, and you need to think about what this means in your life. And as we went back, Elisha recognized he was not going to live half-hearted in this commitment. And he goes back and he takes the oxen that he was plowing with, and he takes their yokes, and he takes the yoke, which was the wooden device that he could troll them by, and he built an altar, and he built a fire, and he slaughtered the animals and he cooked them, and then he gave it all to the people. See, Elisha's response to God's call was immediate and it was decisive. He did not negotiate, he did not delay, he didn't ask, well, okay, Elijah, if I follow you, what is the guarantee you're going to give me for success? If I give my all, what are you promising me in return? No, Elisha went all in. He does not keep one foot in his old life while trying to embrace a new life. Instead, he burns the plow and he sacrifices the oxen. The plows represent his security and the job in which he was comfortable with and the life that was predictable. The oxen represented his income and possibly even some expression of wealth. Together, they represented ultimately an option that he was saying that I am not going back. I'm all in. I'm not making a contribution, I'm giving my all. This is it. We're not asking for a contribution, the Lord says. I'm not asking you for a weekend moment. I'm asking you to go all in with me. And people who are following after God realize there comes a moment that we have to burn our plows. Following God is not only about what we move forward to, it's also about what we are willing to release to God from behind. At some point, obedience requires a clear break from our past life. God doesn't call us to half-hearted commitment. He calls us to trust him completely, even when that means letting go of what feels so safe and comfortable. Burning the plows is not about being reckless, it's about trusting. It's about saying, God is calling me into more certainty than what I'm leaving behind. Therefore, I will trust him. So it begins with chosen, then it moves to committed. Number three is this faithful. Faithful. The third thing I want you to know about Elisha's life is he who is faithful. Subline is this God raises servants before he platforms leaders. God will raise up servants before he will platform a leader. Before Elisha ever performed a miracle, he learned how to serve. He was not instantly promoted to the great mouthpiece of God to the nation of Israel. No, he was quietly formed by the Spirit of God when no one else was watching. In 2 Kings chapter number 3, the leaders of the nation of Israel, they're looking for a prophet because Elijah now has died. And they said, Is there not a prophet anywhere in Israel? In other words, at this point in Elisha's journey, which had been now many years later, after leaving the plows behind, no one still knows him. But he was not waiting on the sidelines with his arms crossed, mad because God had not platformed him yet, had not given him a following yet, had not elevated his voice. No, the Bible says during those years that it was Elisha who was being formed in the Spirit of God to be a servant of God. And it says it like this in 2 Kings chapter 3 that Elisha would pour the water on Elijah's hands. An ancient expression of how he would sit with Elijah, Elijah and watch and listen, and he waited. The big idea here, friends, is simply this: God develops servants before he releases leaders. This season is often overlooked in our lives. It's often pushed back on, but this season of servant leadership development is essential. In a world that rushes towards the platform invisibility, God still honors hidden faithfulness. The quiet years of your life are not wasted years. Their preparation. Elisha learned that greatness in the kingdom of God is not first about being seen. Greatness in the kingdom of God is being formed into the likeness in the image of Jesus. And almost never does that happen exclusively in the spotlight. It happens when no one's watching. It's Joseph in the prison. It's David watching his father's sheep. It's Elisha pouring the water over Elijah's hands. These are the formative years. The God of the impossible is calling men and women to walk with him, to experience his wonderful working power in them, with them, for them, and through them. In a world that celebrates visibility, God still values character. In a culture that rushes towards the flat platform, God develops patience. In a generation that wants to influence quickly, God teaches faithfulness slowly. Can I get an amen from anyone? This is the work of God forming those that will walk deeply with Him. The fourth thing is this focus. The fourth thing is focus that I want you to notice about Elisha. Because faithfulness develops acute focus in our life. There were several opportunities that once Elisha started following Elijah, that he could have gotten distracted and he could have walked away and said, All right, I had that season in my life, but I'm moving on. That was fun then, but now there's other things I want to pursue, and there's other things I would like to accomplish in my life. And there were moments in which Elijah even says, Hey Elisha, would you like just to stay here? Would you like to call it a day? Would you like to end your commitment at this moment here at Jericho or at Bethel or at Gilgal? You can stay here and I'll move on. But Elijah had developed such a focus on the work of God and God's work in him. Elisha said to Elijah, No, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave your side. Later on, just before Elijah's death, there were other prophets who came and he said to Elisha, they said to Elisha, Hey, you understand the Lord's about to take Elijah. We're talking about the next steps. Do you want to join in that conversation? And Elisha said, I am not going to get distracted by the noise of other people who may not have the heart of God aligned in their heart. There even came a time when Elisha is walking with Elijah and they're all alone, and Elijah comes up to the river Jordan. He takes his cloak, he strikes the river Jordan, it separates like the Red Sea. He and Elisha walk across on dry land. They get to the other side, and the only ones that are there are Elijah and Elisha. But the Bible says there was a group of prophets watching from the other side of the river. They were more spectators than they were participators. They were more Monday morning quarterbacks than they were walking with the will and the purposes of God. And there will come moments in our journey of faith that we have to allow the Lord to develop a focus in our life on the Lord. That it does not matter what the noise of the culture is. It doesn't even matter what the noise of the community of faith is. It doesn't matter what's going on over here or what this group says or this denominational stance says on this. I believe we need to go back and have a streamlined focus. As the writer of Hebrews says, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Let us not look to the left or to the right. But God, in this season in which we're living in, let me have a focus on you, Lord Jesus, that I will not be deterred by the distractions of this life or this hour. These are the qualities. These are the qualities. And at this point, what has Elisha done that would make anybody's Sunday school lesson? Nothing. No miracles. No crowd. No wonders or signs or any of that. Simply a man who recognizes God has chosen me. A man who has said I'm going to commit myself fully to him. A man who recognizes this and he says, I'm all in. And if it means I got to cut some things loose in my life, I will do it. It is a man who has said I'm going to be faithful in allowing God to form me into the person he wants me to be. And in that faithfulness, I will develop a focus. And then it comes to this final moment. It comes to anointing. And this is kind of the big moment that really launches Elisha into that next season of his life. Spiritual focus. Focus leads to a fresh anointing in our life. As I just shared with you the story of Elijah and Elisha crossing the River Jordan and this miracle in which the river parts. We get to the other side, and Elijah says to Elisha, Alright, all right, son, what is it that you want? What is it that you need from me? What can I impart into your life? And Elisha didn't say, I want fame, I want fortune, I want comfort or I want ease. He didn't say, I want a big following, I want my name to be recognized. No. He says, Elijah, what I long for, that God would give me a double portion of your spirit. That God, who has clearly anointed you for your generation, would anoint me in my generation. That God's spirit would rest upon me. As though somehow Elisha was saying, I need more than just the commitment. I need more than just developing faithfulness. I need more than just having a great focus. I need a divine touch from heaven that pulls it all together. Yes, I will commit. Yes, I know it's the grace of God that chooses me, but I also need an anointing. I need a touch of God from heaven. I need the Spirit of God to move mightily on my life because I just can't do what I believe God might be calling me to do and face what I'm having to face in my own strength, in my own ability, through my own resources. I need God to do something dynamic in my life, Elijah. I've often wondered why did he ask for this? Why did he ask? And I'll close with this. Why did he ask for this? Maybe it was this. Maybe Elijah was at a point and he says, I'm so fired up to the ministry. I'm so fired up to be a voice of God to this generation. I'm so ready to see the power of God flow through me and turn this nation back to God and the hearts of its leaders. Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait. Oh, I'm gonna remember moments like that in my own journey. Oh, the calling of God on my life, to stand and lead and pastor a people, to speak the word of the Lord beyond myself, but a voice within my voice, the Spirit of God anointing, that somehow God would use me and some work of public ministry for his glory, for his honor. And over 25 years I stand back humbled that over and over I've seen that again. And maybe some of you are there today. I want to do great works for God. I know God's called me to be a teacher. It's challenging, it's overwhelming. I need an anointing from God, Tony. I know God's called me to be a business owner. I know God's called me to be an entrepreneur. And I'm trying to be focused and I'm trying to be all in for Christ. But if I'm gonna do what God's called me to do, I need an anointing from God. A supernaturally enabling to do what I cannot do solely within my own talents, resources, and giftings. I need a touch from heaven, and maybe that's why Elisha asked for that. But I've also wondered if Elisha may have been in a moment of his life and said ministry, do ministry. Bro, I'm just trying to keep my marriage together. I'm just trying to keep my kids from going completely berserk. I'm just trying not to lose my joy in a world that is so cynical. I'm just trying to live out my faith in a way that would honor God. I'm not really thinking outside of ministry. I'm just trying to, how can I make it another day? Because surely there's more than just faithfulness to this. Surely there's more than just commitment. Surely there's more than just knowing that I'm chosen. Those things are wonderful. Isn't there an endument of power available for me, for life, and for ministry? God, what I need is I need an anointing. I need a fresh touch from heaven. Listen, many of us were raised in the church and around the church. And we remember the generations before us and the great anointing in which they lived in and they functioned in, and the power of God that they experienced in both their personal life and in public ministry. But somewhere, maybe Elisha was saying that was good for your generation, that level, but we need a fresh generational anointing for our day and our time today. It was great for grandma and mama and pawpaw and all that, but I'm telling you, I'm facing things I've never thought I'd face as a pastor before. What I need is a fresh anointing, God. I need your spirit to enable and empower. Our marriage needs a touch. Our home needs a touch. Our family needs a breakthrough. Our health is struggling. And the scripture said this. That Elijah says, okay, you want to carry that burden, that responsibility, that dependency? He says, Here's what I want you to do. I want you to stay focused. If you see me when I'm taken up, then you'll receive that. In other words, don't lose your focus in the midst of you cry. And as they were standing there, the Bible says that there came a chariot of fire from heaven. I don't even, I wish Steven Spielberg would do a story on this. And it separated them. And a whirlwind came up, and it took Elijah to heaven. And Elisha sees the God of the impossible in a way he never thought imaginable. And the scripture says that that mantle, that cloak that was on Elisha fell at the feet of Elisha. And he says, Now pick it up and you can begin to walk in it. I wonder if there's anyone here this morning who says, I need a fresh touch of anointing in my life. I wonder if there's anyone here that says, I need the Holy Spirit to do something in me. It doesn't diminish what he has done in the past, it doesn't lessen his grace and mercy, but it's simply saying, Now, God, I need a fresh touch from heaven. Because I'm facing impossibilities and questions and uncertainties. That just reason and rationale and hard work and faithfulness, I need a heavenly breakthrough in my life. Can we just think about the farmers around our community here? They can have the best seed on the best ground with the best plan. But every now and then they need to check and make sure there's some fresh oil in the tractor. And I wonder if there's anyone here that needs fresh oil today. I wonder if there's anyone here that needs a fresh touch from heaven as we enter into this season and this series. I wonder if there's anyone here who'd say, you know, Tony, yes, I don't even maybe know what that means. I just know I need God to touch us. So this is how we're gonna end this service and close this time together. In just a minute, I'm gonna invite you to stand up. And in that moment, our elders and our staff who are well prepared and ready to minister to you, they're gonna come to the front and they're gonna have oil. Anointing oil is what we refer to as. And they're gonna invite you to come, and we're gonna invite you to come to receive prayer from them. And they're gonna anoint your head with oil. Why would they do that? One, it is a biblical uh prescription that we see throughout the Old Testament, oil symbolic of the Holy Spirit, thicken upon us. And but the Old Testament and the New Testament, we see where the people of God receive anointing, and they would receive an anointing of oil in prayer to be healed, to be saved, to receive power for ministry. And they're just gonna pray over you. I'll tell you right now, there's nothing nothing powerful in the oil in and of itself. Sidebart, it's olive oil, but it's the messaging of it that the Holy Spirit's anointing, I'm asking for. And I want you to think about this promise of Jesus. If you being evil men, give good gifts to your children in that when they ask for bread, you don't give them a stone. When you ask for a fish, you do they do you do not give them a scorpion. If you being evil men, give good gifts to your children, how much more? How much more? How much more will the father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask? I believe there are people here today saying, I'm gonna ask for a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit in my life. Would you stand with me, please? Father, as our elders and prayer team could be.