1 Kings chapter 19 and verse 19, and we're speaking about Elijah, we're speaking about the time when the Lord had spoken to him in the still small voice. given him another commission, comforted him in his distress, and sent him back upon his work as a prophet. And he had been given three tasks. He was to anoint two kings, and he was to anoint a successor in the person of Elisha. And it's this that we are turning to now.

Verse 19 says, so he departed, that is Elijah, departed thence and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee.' And he said unto him, Go back again, for what have I done to thee? and he returned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and slew them and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen and gave unto the people and they did eat. Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this reading from his word.

So once again, we're back thinking about this man, Elijah, and being introduced today more particularly to this young man, Elisha. The Lord spoke to Elijah on Mount Horeb. We spoke about this last week. It was also called Mount Sinai. It was where the Lord had spoken to Moses and given him the Ten Commandments. And here, Many years later the Lord once again spoke to Elijah in this place but he spoke to him in a still small voice and he told the prophet to return to his own land and anoint a new king in Israel and a new king in Judah. Now this would take some time, but that basically was a reference to the fact that this is what God was going to do. And he gave Elijah knowledge beforehand of who was to be the new king in both Israel and Judah, the two divided kingdoms at this time. and he was also to anoint a new prophet who would take Elijah's place.

Elijah was weary, we've learned that over recent weeks. He longed to give up this earthly life but his work was not yet done. In appointing Elisha, the Lord showed Elijah that he was preparing for the day when Elijah would be called home. So as well as recommissioning Elijah and sending him back to do more work, the Lord, in allowing him to see that there would be a replacement, granted him a token of his goodness and his mercy that there would come a time when Elijah's work was over. However, we should see it was probably another seven or eight years before the Lord took Elijah to heaven. Nevertheless, from now on, Elijah would have an assistant and a successor. And today, we are introduced to Elisha, who would become the next mighty prophet of the Lord for the long period of about 60 years. So that was the length of time that Elisha would serve, approximately 60 years.

The first thing we're told is that Elijah met Elisha as the young man was working in the fields, probably at his father's farm. He was ploughing with 12 yoke of oxen before him and he with the 12th. Now I'm not sure exactly what that means. Whether there were 12 in a big long line, whether there were 12 oxen linked together, I cannot easily conceive what it means that he was ploughing with 12 yoke of oxen before him. What it does suggest is that it was a big farm to have that many yoke of oxen ploughing. Perhaps it means that Elisha was the son of the farmer, the farm owner, and that he was supervising 12 teams of oxen at work. And maybe the picture is that he would exercise a prophetic ministry over the 12 tribes of Israel so that his role and responsibilities would extend in Israel, the 10 tribes, and also in Judah, the other two.

But what we can say is that Elisha was chosen by God. It was God's sovereign will to choose Elisha. There was no interview for this job, this post of prophet. There was no interview. There were no multiple candidates. There was no question. Elijah simply went up to Elisha threw over his shoulders his rough mantle, his cloak, and thereby anointed him to this prophetical office. And then he walked on.

No words. were spoken as far as we know, no words are recorded, but Elisha seems to have grasped what this act meant. Perhaps he had encountered Elijah before, I don't know, we've no reason to think he had. Perhaps he recognized him as a prophet because of the way he was dressed. Perhaps he knew of him by reputation. But the simple act of throwing his cloak over his shoulders, meant that Elisha understood something about what Elijah had done.

And I'm sure that in addition to the old prophet's action, Elisha's heart was touched by the Lord in that moment as well. The Lord who sent Elijah to anoint Elisha prepared Elisha to be anointed. And as Elijah made his way away, as he walked away, Elisha ran after him. And he asked a simple question, can I go and kiss farewell to his parents? After which he would follow.

And Elijah agreed, which was, I think, an act of kindness on the old prophet's part. The prophet's comment, Elijah's comment, go back again, for what have I done to thee? Might be considered a bit of a test, as if to say, it's up to you whether you follow me or not. It's up to you to decide whether you want to go back or not.

But I actually think that there's a little bit more to it than that. I think that there was an element of compassion here in Elijah's treating of the young man. Elijah knew what a life of following the Lord consisted of. And he knew that Elisha's life would be difficult from now on, as Elijah felt his own to be. When Elijah said, What have I done to thee? He was telling Elisha that the youth had no idea what challenges lay before him. And that's true, I think, for us all. None of us know what challenges the Lord may have in store for us in the days that lie ahead.

and there was some comfort granted to Elisha in this moment that he might make a suitable and we might say a sentimental, a loving farewell to his parents. So he returned home to his parents, he said goodbye, and then he returned to the field where his oxen were still in yoke. We're told that he slew the oxen, the oxen that he had previously been driving, and he used the yoke of the oxen, which held them together, to cook a meal for his fellow workers and those who were present. Perhaps his parents had come out as well.

And this tells us several things. First, his calling and his departure from home was publicly recognised by his family and friends as they shared together this meal with him. Second, it tells us that his plough and oxen were now redundant. He no longer needed the beasts and the implements of his previous life. He was dedicated now to a new life. And thirdly, it spoke of his commitment to follow Elijah and follow the Lord. He would not be returning to farming. He burned the ox's yoke and he slew and they feasted upon the oxen. We might say that he was burning his bridges or he was burning his boats because that is exactly what he was doing.

These tasks completed, we read that Elisha arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him. Elisha became Elijah's servant. He followed him. He listened to what he said. He watched what he did and he was taught by Elijah of the Lord. We might think of Elisha as Elijah's apprentice. Yet as we shall see during the following years, as I say, perhaps seven or eight, we actually hear nothing more of Elisha during this time, except at the end in connection with the closing scenes of Elijah's life.

So here we have this young man's calling and his joining to Elisha. And I think there are a few applications that we can draw from these few verses. And the first one is this. I want us to note again that the choice of Elisha was God's sovereign choice.

Now, I'm going to put a question in your mouths. Why does he make so much of this? Perhaps some of you are wondering why I mention God's sovereignty so often and appear to make a lot of it. You might say to me, is God's sovereignty not obvious? If God is God, he must be sovereign. Well, you'd think, right? But for many, it isn't the case. Most people and most religious people who claim to believe in God will agree with the phrase that he is sovereign. They might even say we serve a sovereign God. They might say he's King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He can do what he pleases in his world. But then, just as confidently, they will add, but man still has free will. People are free to accept or reject God's will. So whose will has preeminence? Whose will wins out? If it is God's will to call a man to service, as he did with Elisha, can that man say, no, I'm not doing it? If it is God's will to save a man or a woman or a young person like you, can that person say, no, I don't want your salvation. I don't want your Christian life. I don't want all your talk about Jesus. He means nothing to me. Well, that's the question. Whose will is sovereign?

Now I believe, and I hope you do too, that God's will has preeminence. And that's why I constantly stress God's sovereignty in these decisions. I hope by repeating these things time after time, that that emphasis will enter into your mind, enter into your understanding, enter into your heart. Because I know you won't always listen to me. And someday you might find yourself in another church, might find yourself in another conversation, speaking to someone who speaks about man's free will and insists upon it. And I want you to be equipped to be able to say, that's not the way I understand it. That's not the way I've been taught. I believe that the Bible teaches that the Lord makes a person willing to do his will and follow his direction. He makes us willing, not by force, not by coercion, but by conviction and by convincing. He plants a need in those he chooses. and he gently brings us into conformity with his will and induces us to be followers of his ways.

Now perhaps in doing this in Elisha's life, the Spirit of God had been working on Elisha for months, maybe years, preparing his heart giving him a softness of heart towards the things of the Lord.

Elisha was a farmer with his plough and his oxen, but the Lord singled him out from all the other ploughmen. and he worked in his heart, silently, powerfully, effectually, to bring Elisha to himself.

When Elijah walked up and threw his coat over Elisha, another person might have said, what are you doing old man? Can't you see I'm busy? I've got a job to do. Elisha said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow thee.

What induced such a response? God's sovereign will. We sometimes call it God's effectual call. When God calls us, he first overcomes our natural hostility, and he makes us willing to obey.

In fact, Unless God makes the change, we all, each one of us, remain slaves to our sinful nature, servants to Satan and under God's judgment. It takes the Lord to make that change. And then he sends his call to us and we happily, gratefully, gladly respond.

Our wills are tied to our desires by nature. And no one seeks Christ until he makes us willing in the day of his power. So when I speak of God's sovereignty, this is what I mean. And it's an important truth. And that is why I mention it so much and so often.

The second point I want to leave with you is connected to this. When the Lord calls someone, there's no turning back. God doesn't change his mind. When the Holy Spirit makes a sinner willing to trust and obey the Lord Jesus, that transformation, that conversion is fixed and final.

Now that doesn't mean we don't have any doubts. We've seen that. Elijah had plenty of struggles. It does mean that the Lord will always see us through our troubles because we are his.

Elisha would serve the Lord through thick and thin for the next 60 years until the Lord took his spirit home to glory. And if you trust the Lord and ask for His help and seek forgiveness and salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ, it is because the Lord has brought you to this point and made you desirous of it, made you willing to trust Christ.

And if you do trust Christ, the Lord will keep you faithful, will keep you trusting Him all the days of your life because you are one of His. He will never lose one of those little ones for whom He suffered and died.

And then finally, let us note Elisha's need to learn. Elisha became apprentice to Elijah. He became his disciple, if you like. He became his student. Elisha learned from Elijah. And each of us must learn the things of the Lord as good students.

You're young. But I want you to think about not only being a student at school, but being a student of the Lord, being a student of Scripture. We are to be good students, good workmen, good workwomen, who need not be ashamed of what we believe and how we live in faith and obedience to Christ.

Christianity, is not a free-for-all where you can believe whatever you want as long as you can couch it in a few Bible words and phrases. There is doctrine in scripture that we need to learn. The doctrine of God, the doctrine of Christ.

We are to study the truth as it is found in Jesus. We are to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means and what it consists of. The Bible, the Bible speaks of good doctrine, sound doctrine, the doctrine of God our Saviour. It also speaks of the doctrine of vanities and the doctrines of devils.

Can we tell those apart? There is simplicity in Christ. We are to learn Christ. Christ's yoke is easy. His burden is light to bear, but bear it we must. And we ought not to remain children and immature in the gospel, but in understanding be men and in understanding be women too.

Young men and women who know what we believe and ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you.

May the Lord call us, keep us, and teach us his ways to the glory of his name. Amen.