Go The Distance

Go The Distance:

• 1 Kings 19:1-8 - Elijah flees to Horeb
• Verse 9-18 - God appears to Elijah
  • Vs. 13- when Elijah heard God whisper to him, he hid his face in his cloak(mantle).
• Elijah meets Elisha.  Elijah throws his cloak on Elisha. 
• The very things we use as a security blanket/coping device to hide behind, God can use as a vessel for power and authority to strengthen and courage others. Mentorship/discipleship. 
• Elisha slaughtered the oxen and burned the plow to cook the meat to give to the people. His decision to go the distance at all cost. No turning back.

BURN THE SHIPS

• In 1519, Hernan Cortez arrived in Mexico. He told the 600 men and over 100 sailors to burn the 11 ships. Many had plotted to take some of the ships and flee to Cuba.  This sent a message that there was no turning back. 
  • This phrase, burn the ships, is to mean that you are fully committed to a cause, purpose or goal. This demonstrated that it is better to show a commitment of moving forward than to stop and hesitate
  • By destroying the ships, Cortez ensured his crew would be motivated, dedicated and willing to work together for a purpose.
• 2 Kings 2:1-10 Elijah tells Elisha that he will be taken up to Heaven. 
• Elijah then takes his cloak, the same one that he had hid his face in when the Lord appeared to him on Mount Horeb, rolls it up and strikes the Jordan with it. They cross over on dry ground.

Take up the Mantle

• In the Bible, the double portion was always reserved for the first born male child of the family. The right of the firstborn son.
• Verse 11 says they walked and talked along the way together and when the chariot of fire came that it had to separate them.
  • This indicates that they were walking shoulder to shoulder as brothers.
  • Elisha then tore his clothes and then picked up Elijah’s cloak and struck the water and crossed back over.
• Matthew 16:13-23 - Jesus asks His disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
• In John 21- Peter tells the others that he is going fishing. Going back to what he knew before he met Jesus. He didn’t burn the ships to leave any chance of being completely sold out.
• Going the Distance
  • So, what is going the distance?
    • In the Cambridge dictionary, it is defined as to manage or continue until the end of a competition.
    • Yourdictionary.com says - to have the endurance to see a difficult sustained challenge to its natural end without faltering.
    • To continue to the end, no matter how difficult.
• In the movie "Field of Dreams", Ray is following the prompting of The Voice to build a baseball field. Then it directs him to go see Terrance Mann and take him to a baseball game. At the game Ray hears the voice telling him to go the distance.
  •  As Ray takes Terry home he would tell Ray, “I wish I had your passion Ray, as misguided as it may be; it's still a passion. I used to feel that way about things.”
• In 2 Timothy, Paul encourages Timothy to “Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”
• Wide World of Sports”

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