by: Jonathan Painter
“But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.” 1 Kings 3:11
I believe that all over our country there are young men whom God has called to preach, but they feel that they never get their chance to preach. I am afraid some of these preachers-to-be burn themselves out from discouragement because they feel they cannot serve in the capacity of which they were called. Some of these young preachers get so discouraged that they give up. In this article I want to show you what kind of man on what kind of road it takes to truly become a man of God who can stand behind a pulpit and deliver the Word of God with zeal and power. We see all this on the road that Elisha traveled.
- Elisha Was A Worker
The first time we see Elisha in Scripture he is out in the field plowing with his father’s oxen. Elijah came along and found a young man already hard at work in his father’s field. God is searching up and down this country for a young man who is a hard worker. If you are a young man called to be a preacher, but you’re lazy at home and won’t work, then God has no place for you in his pulpits. God is interested in the hard working young man. Hard work enables you to endure struggles. It was Elisha’s hard work as a young man that gave him the working mindset which allowed him to prophecy to King Joash on his death bed. Young men, learn to work! When I was in Bible college, I went to school with young men who were workers. They would work all night and go to school all day and still be involved in various ministries. My junior year in college, I worked sixty hours a week between two jobs and went to school full-time on top of doing my ministry. God wants young men who will work!
Elisha Did Whatever the Man of God Wanted Done
“But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.”
Elisha did whatever Elijah wanted him to do, he was Elijah’s SERVANT. Elisha did not wrinkle up his nose when asked to pour the water and say, “Well! I am called of God to be a prophet!” No, Elisha understood that if he was to be the prophet someday, he must first learn to serve the prophet. Young preachers need to learn that if they are going to be pastors, evangelists or preachers, they first need to learn how to serve the pastor.
When your pastor asks you to work on a bus route, do it, and do it heartily for the glory of the Lord! Be thankful to have a part in the ministry. If the pastor wants you to help out as an assistant teacher, don’t be upset because you’re not the teacher, just be happy with a chance to serve.
Far too often young men feel that since they have been called to preach that anything short of a pulpit and a microphone is not worthy of their talents. This attitude will get you nowhere in the ministry. Elisha did greater things than Elijah in his ministry because he learned how to work and he learned how to serve. Your talents are best served wherever God puts them by the word of your pastor. Learn to serve your man of God, and then one day you could have a double portion of his spirit.
Jonathan Painter
Youth Pastor
Lincoln Baptist Church
Lincoln, NE