GREATER WORKS

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

A lot of us got interested in God because it seemed like he could something to our lives that we were missing.

He could give us peace; help when we are in trouble; comfort when we were worried; a stable foundation for our families; assurance that when we die we’d go to heaven. And that’s great. Those are all valid reasons to come to God.

But you don’t come to God to get services from him. You give yourself wholly to him.

In the sixteenth century, the Renaissance astronomer Nicholas Copernicus challenged the belief that the earth was the center of the universe. Copernicus argued that the sun didn’t revolve around the earth, but rather that the earth revolved around the sun. The Copernican Revolution turned the scientific world upside down by turning the universe inside out.

We each need to have a Copernican Revolution of the soul. Most of us view the world me-‐centrically, and for many us, when we do decide to follow Jesus, it’s mainly because we think he can add something to our lives. And so in our list of priorities he comes 2nd or 3rd or 10th.

You think you are following Jesus; in actuality, you’ve invited him to follow you. Many have bought in but never sold out.

Watch how God calls Elisha.

1 Kings 19:19–21 ESV

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. 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?” 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.

THE CALL TO FOLLOW

BEGINS WITH GOD’S INITIATIVE

1 Kings 19:17 ESV

And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.

COMES WITH AN INVITATION FROM GOD.

1 Kings 19:19 ESV

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.

God calls us not by throwing a cloak on you but by covering you in a robe of righteousness.

THE COMEBACK OF FAITH

COMMENCES WITH SURRENDER

Elisha is surrendering his life to follow a man who was not popular. A man who was currently being pursued by the authorities for crimes that carry the death penalty. Following Elijah meant a drastic change in his manner of life. It meant giving up a lucrative worldly life.

Remember Paul’s words to young Timothy in

2 Timothy 2:4 ESV

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Burning his plow meant handing in his resignation as CEO of Elisha farms. He literally cooked his old way of life and had it for dinner! Elijah was his master now, no plan B.

True followers of Jesus go all in and all out for the all in all. If you don’t go all in, you’ll never enter the Promised Land. But if you go all out, God will part the Jordan River so you can cross through on dry ground.

If you aren’t hungry for God, you are full of yourself. That’s why God cannot fill you with His Spirit. But if you will empty yourself, if you will die to self, you’ll be a different person by the end of this sermon.

CARRIES US TO THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE

Elisha was rich. How do I know that?

Well, he’s got at least 24 oxen. 12 pair. Think of oxen like cars. A middle-‐class family in that day had one... Elisha had 24 and notice that it says he was in line behind the 12th set, but they were all his. What does that mean? He had servants pulling the others.

He lived in a place called the “Abel Meholah,” (which in English would be translated “the dancing meadow.”) This area was known as the breadbasket of Israel; a little fertile area right along the Jordan River.

So see, he was rich. He had the best land; servants; and lots of oxen.

Well, Elijah, if you recall, was a wanted man. He lived on the run. God feeds him through handouts from widows and by ravens beside creek beds.

Elisha is being called from a life of luxury to one of poverty and danger.

Watch how he responds…

1 Kings 19:20 ESV

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?”

“Go back again, for what have I done to you?” is a Hebrew figure of speech meaning, “Why not?” or “Who’s stopping you?”

1 Kings 19:21 ESV

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.

So he kills the oxen and uses them to feed the poor in his community. One ox would typically feed a family of 5 for a year and a half. 24 oxen. This would have been an epic feast!

Theological side not . . . this is where many theological believe this is where the vision for the Golden Corral originated.

Elisha is the antitype of the rich young ruler. Remember, the rich young ruler. He wanted to follow Jesus. He was seeking the free gift of eternal life. However, he walked away sorrowful because though the gift was free its demands were to great.

I haven’t met many demon possessed people but I have met many possessed by their possessions. They don’t own things. Things own them.

The comeback of faith commences with surrender, continues the altar of sacrifice, and commits itself to a life of servitude.

COMMITS TO A LIFE OF SERVITUDE

1 Kings 19:21 ESV

He became Elijah’s “assistant.” He made coffee for him. He went from calling the shots to making coffee and copies for 18 years. For 18 years Elisha is a servant, doing menial tasks for Elijah.

As I have explained to you before… whenever God calls people in the Bible, they almost always have a wilderness time of preparation.

Before God uses someone, he must first humble them…

“The way up is the way down.” The path of exaltation always goes through the valley of humiliation. If you don’t excel in those areas God has assigned you to be a servant—if you’re not a good employee; a good student; a good son or daughter; a good door-‐holder, you’ll never make a great prophet!

God calls to service, and sometimes he takes a long time to teach you that; in Elisha’s case 18 years!

Are you faithful in the little things? Honor God with all your heart, in the little things, and in due time, he will lift you up.

When God calls people, these 3 words begin to characterize their lives: Surrender, Sacrifice, Service. Jesus would take this up a level:

Mark 8:34 ESV

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

“Deny yourself” means total abandonment of your life to God.

Note that Jesus did not say, “Deny money” or “Deny illicit sex” or even “Deny sin” but “Deny yourself.” Denying yourself means saying “no” to all you want from life so you can say, “Yes” to all that God wants from it. It means putting your “yes” on the table.

“Take up your cross…” think about that one, for a moment.

Crosses in those days were instruments of torture. In our day, crosses are sentimental—symbols of our faith; pieces of jewelry we wear around our necks.

But for that first century audience, “crosses” were symbols of Roman racism and oppression. They evoked horror in the hearts of all who beheld them. Condemned men hung upon them, in shame, totally dominated by the will of another.

Sometimes in our use of the symbol we lose its horror.

Imagine you went to someone’s house and above their dining room table was a picture of a man being electrocuted. In their family room they have a life-‐size lethal injection table. Above their baby’s crib they have mobile with little dangling hangman’s nooses… Are these the kinds of people you want to be friends with? You want your kids playing with their kids?

Yet this is the image Jesus used… and his disciples told him he was crazy. They were like, “Jesus. You can’t start a movement going around telling people they need to strap on their electric chairs and come after you. People like self-‐empowerment. They like upward mobility. Give them that stuff.”

And btw, this was not just for an elite few, like a Varsity subset of Christians. Did you see the detail at the beginning of vs. 34, “he called the crowd to him with his disciples.” Not just the 12 Apostles he is speaking to here, but everyone.

Are you ready for that?

It’s all or nothing. You can’t come to God with any conditions or hedging your bet in any way.

Now, the point is not that God has called all of you to resign your job like Elisha, or even to give away all your money. The point is that you are fully committed to obey in whatever he says, whether it’s to give up all your money or resign your career… The point is total and unqualified obedience.

You see, I do know that…. I can’t tell you exactly what God will have you do specifically with your life—he leads some to be missionaries and others to be bankers; some to take care of foster kids; some to serve in the prison ministry; some to reach their co-‐workers and lead a small group—I can’t tell you specifically what it will be—but I can assure you that following Jesus means your life takes on the air of sacrifice and service.

According to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs:

In AD 44, Herod the Great had the Apostle James thrust through with a sword. He was the first Christian martyr.

Luke, who wrote the third book in your NT, was hung by the neck from an olive tree in Greece.

Doubting Thomas was pierced with a pine spear, tortured with red-‐hot plates, and burned alive in India.

In AD 54, the proconsul of Hierapolis had Philip tortured and crucified because his wife converted to Christianity while listening to Philip preach.

Matthew was stabbed in the back in Ethiopia.

Bartholomew was clubbed to death in Armenia.

The other James (the Just) was thrown off the southeast pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem. He survived the 100-‐foot fall and was then clubbed to death by a mob.

Simon the Zealot was crucified in Syria in AD 74.

Judas Thaddeus was beaten to death with sticks in Mesopotamia.

Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot, was stoned to death and then beheaded.

Peter was, of course, crucified upside down, at his own request.

John, who wrote the 4th Gospel, is the only disciple to die of natural causes, but that's only because he survived his execution. When a cauldron of boiling oil could not kill John, Emperor Diocletian exiled him to the island of Patmos, where he lived until his death in AD 95.3

Now, admittedly, they were a special class of people, Paul said so, but do you really think that following Jesus for them meant that—pain and the cross, and for you it means simply flowers and roses and ‘God bless yous’ and self-‐fulfillment?

Vs. 34, “and he called the whole crowd to himself and said these things…”

Listen, if you’re into power, and earthly reward, and personal fulfillment, become a Muslim. The head of Islam rode on a horse and conquered cities. The head of Christianity called himself a servant, washed feet and died on a cross for criminals and those who had betrayed him.

I look at my life and I say, “Where is the sacrifice?” I look at how God has blessed me, and that’s great, it’s his choice, but I find myself rising up to say with David, “I will not give unto the Lord that which cost me nothing…” I want to serve. I want to be bold. I want to give.

Is that what characterizes your life? Giving your stuff away… leveraging your life to serve those who can’t necessarily pay you back? Or do you simply use your skills and your opportunities to earn more money, more luxury, more convenience, more notoriety, for yourself, and occasionally tip God?

If so, you may be a fine religious person, but you’re not a disciple of Jesus. He washed feet, carried a cross to Calvary and bid us to “follow him.”

I think of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

The call of salvation proves itself legitimate in our lives by our surrender, sacrifice, and service.

If you have bought in but not sold out then you need to remember the ABC’s of sanctification.

Act Boldly for Christ

“On February 19, 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés set sail for Mexico with an entourage of 11 ships, 13 horses, 110 sailors, and 553 soldiers. The indigenous population upon hisarrival was approximately five million. From a purely mathematical standpoint, the odds were stacked against him by a ratio of 7,541 to 1. Two previous expeditions had failed to even establish a settlement in the New World, yet Cortes conquered much of the South American continent.

What Cortes is reported to have done after landing is an epic tale of mythic proportions. He issued an order to… burn the ships. As his crew watched their fleet of ships burn and sink, they came to terms with the fact that retreat was not an option.

Nine times out of ten, failure is resorting to Plan B when Plan A gets too risky, too costly, or too difficult. That's why most people are living their Plan B. They didn't burn the ships. Plan A people don't have a Plan B. It's Plan A or bust. They would rather crash and burn going after (what God has told them) than succeed at anything else.”

Some of you need to act boldly in faith. Quit messing around with it and act boldly...

Let me show you something. Let’s fast-‐forward Elisha’s life 18 years. He’s been Elijah’s servant for 18 years.

2 Kings 2:8–14 ESV

Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 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.

So, here’s Elisha with Elijah’s cloak in his hand, and he’s like, “Well, here goes…” and he slaps the water with Elijah’s cloak the way Elijah did… and when he does, the waters draw up into walls on either side like secret passageway opening up, and he walks through.

So, in other words, Elisha got what he asked for.

In fact, if you count the number of miracles Elijah did, it was 14. If you count Elisha’s, it’s 28. Elisha got the double-‐ anointing… because he didn’t hold anything back.

Write this down: Elisha got what he asked for because he didn’t hold anything back. The great blessings of faith come only from bold moves of faith.

For many of you, I see that your lives could be so much more. You are living a good life; you’re a decent person; making money, but not making an eternal difference for anyone. You could have an eternally significant life but you have to act boldly. Burn the ships. Invest the mina.

Jesus said, For whoever would keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will keep it.” (Mark 8:35)

You find your greater life by giving your old, good life away. Remember the little rhyme you used to say as a kid, “Finders, keepers; losers, weepers?” According to Jesus, it’s actually “losers, keepers; finders, weepers.”))

You want to keep plowing the fields with your 24 oxen? You might be forfeiting 28 miracles. Oh, what your life could be! It’s not Elijah’s cloak offered to you, but Jesus’ cloak!

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

He said, “Greater works than I have done, you will do!” Greater does not mean greater in their power, for what greater work is there than raising the dead? Greater means greater in number. Elijah did 14; Elisha did 28. We have the cloak of authority to multiply Jesus’ works in people groups all over our planet!

THE COMMISSION OF A FOLLOWER

2 Kings 2:9–14 ESV

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 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.

GO AND DO GREATER

The great commission is the call to greater works.

GUARANTEE OF GREATER

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Where do you stand today?

There are three categories of people here today; the not in, the bought in, and the sold out.

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