He Loves Me Like I Am His Only Child

Bible Book: 1 Kings 19 : 16-21

Subject: Love of God; God's Love; Father God

Introduction

Several years ago, The Rochester Family from Blacksburg, SC recorded a song called, “He Loves Me Like I Was His Only Child.” The song says...

(Verse 1)

My Father has a great big family;

And there are many children besides me.

And if you’re wondering how He divides His time,

Just let me say I never stand in line.

(Verse 2)

He never favors me above the rest;

But I can’t help but feel that I am blessed.

He treats me best I always say;

But then all my Father’s children feel that way.

(Chorus)

He loves me like I was His only child;

I never felt so loved before;

I could never ask for more

He loves me like I was His only child;

God really loves me, yes He really loves me He loves me like I was His only child.

It’s on my heart to preach on that thought today – “He Loves Me Like I Was His Only Child.” And I want to use the relationship that existed between Elijah and Elisha to magnify our salvation relationship with God. I don’t believe that this is too much of a stretch because the name Elijah means, “my God is Jehovah,” and the name Elisha means, “my God is salvation.” So we have God and salvation in the relationship of these two.

Then too, I want to use the relationship that existed between Elijah and Elisha to magnify the Father – child relationship that every Christian has with God. I don’t believe that this is too much of a stretch either, because when “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it … he cried, My father, my father” (2 Kings 2:11-12). Elisha understood that his relationship with Elijah had been a father – child relationship. And every saved person in the building understands that your relationship with God is a Father – child relationship.

You know, Elisha must have felt like he had a unique relationship with Elijah. Out of all the people in Israel in Elijah’s day, out of all the sons of the prophets in the schools of the prophets, out of th “seven thousand in Israel” that had “not bowed unto Baal” (1 Kings 19:18), out of all these, Elijah had cast his mantle on Elisha. Elisha must have felt like Elijah loved him like he was his only child.

I read one website that said according to statistics from 1993 that 10 percent of the world’s population professes to be Christian. “This means that there are 560,000,000 Christians worldwide.” It went on to say that “3,000 churches are started every week,” and “90,000 people are saved each day.”1 But you know, even though there may be 560 million or more professing Christians in the world, I feel sometimes like God loves me like I was His only child.

“And if you’re wondering how He divides His time, just let me say I never stand in line.” And I realize that “He never favors me above the rest; but I can’t help but feel that I am blessed. He treats me best I always say; but then all my Father’s children feel that way.” Why I am I suggesting that Elisha felt that way in his relationship with Elijah? And why do we all feel that way?

I. I Know He Loves Me Because Of The Adoption Process

(1 Kings 19:19–21)

Elisha could call Elijah “Father,” and we can say, “Our Father which art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9) because of what Romans 8:15 says. “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

In Elisha’s call in 1 Kings 19 we see three truths.

A. This Adoption Process Involved The Features Of Grace

1. Notice Elisha’s Condition

Consider His Life

(1 Kings 19:19) Elisha the son of Shaphat – meaning judge

Similarly, before God saved me, I was a child of judgment, a child of condemnation.

Consider His Labor

(1 Kings 19:19) So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

He was laboring, as Isaiah says, “for that which satisfieth not” (Isaiah 55:2); but more than that, he was the last one in line, the least likely to succeed.

2. Notice Elijah’s Cognizance (Awareness)

(1 Kings 19:16) And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.

Before he ever went to Abelmeholah, Elijah knew who and where Elisha was. And long before I was saved, God knew what I was. He knew where I was. And as John said, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

3. Notice Elijah’s Coming

He found Elisha, like David found Mephibosheth, and like God found me. As Brother Squire Parsons wrote, “When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.”

B. This Adoption Process Involved The Father’s Gift

This mantle or coat was a token of the Holy Spirit’s work and power in the life of the prophet. And the casting of the mantle or the giving of the coat…

1. It Speaks Of A Father’s Affection

(Genesis 37:3) Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

2. It Speaks Of A Father’s Access

(Numbers 20:28) And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.

The garment was the token of Aaron and Eleazar’s priesthood, and in the New Testament the Spirit is our access. As Ephesians 2:18 says that through Jesus, “we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

3. It Speaks Of A Father’s Acceptance

(Luke 15:22) But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

One day, God’s righteousness was imputed to me and the Holy Spirit was given to me like the mantle was cast on Elisha. And God showed me His affection, and the access to the Father, and His acceptance.

C. This Adoption Process Involved The Family’s Gladness

I know some of you are thinking that Elisha was turning away from the call in 1 Kings 19:20, and you’re comparing him to the fellow in Luke 9:61-62 who said, “Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” And I know some of you believe that Elisha is rebuking him by saying in verse 20, “Go back again: for what have I done to thee?” But these things could just as easily be indications of gladness and the joy of the Lord.

1. Notice The Gladness In The Caress

(1 Kings 19:20) 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?

2. Notice The Gladness In The Consideration

The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary says that this statement means, “Go, but keep in mind the solemn ceremony I have just performed on thee.” Similarly, we need to think about and consider what God has done to us.

3. Notice The Gladness In The Celebration

(1 Kings 19:21) 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.

This makes me think again of the situation in Luke 15 when the father said in verses 23-24, “Bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

II. I Know He Loves Me Because Of The Abiding Presence

(2 Kings 2:1–8)

It was F. S. Webster who said…

From the moment the mantle fell upon him everything was changed. The new life was one of (faithfulness) to Elijah. Elisha might have said, “To me to live is Elijah.” Years afterwards he was known by this title, “Elisha, that poured water on the hands of Elijah” (2 Kings 3:11). (From The Biblical Illustrator)

This very personal act of washing another’s hands was done in preparation for a meal, and according to Mrs. O.F. Walton it “was always done by an inferior. In families where no servant was kept, the youngest in the household performed the office.” (Mrs. O.F. Walton, Elisha The Man Of Abel- Meholah, The Religious Tract Society, pg. 21)

It was an act of communion that put the master or the father first above one’s own interests or needs. It some respects it reminds me of the fellowship that we have with God in prayer and praise. This washing of the hands was not the only indication of Elijah and Elisha’s fellowship. Let’s look at 2 Kings 2 and the journey of Elisha and Elijah. The Bible says, “it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal” (2 Kings 2:1). It’s interesting to me that this was Elijah’s journey, but the Bible says that he “went with Elisha.” But of course, isn’t that how we would describe our Christian experience? It is the Father’s way, but He goes with us.

A. The Father Abides With Us In The Place Of Church

Notice The Meaning Of This Bethel Place

It was at Bethel that Jacob had seen the ladder going up into heaven...

(Genesis 28:16-19) And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. {17} And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. {18} And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. {19} And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

The name Bethel means the house of God. It has the idea of the place where God meets with His people, and in our way of thinking it suggests the church.

2. Notice The Meeting Of This Bethel Place

(2 Kings 2:2) And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel.

And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

(Matthew 18:20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

B. The Father Abides With Us In The Place Of Conflict

The Lord Is The Conqueror At Jericho, The Place Of Conflict

Jericho was the first obstacle that Joshua and the children of Israel encountered after they crossed the Jordan from the wilderness of death into the land of Canaan.

(Joshua 5:13-14) And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? {14} And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

2. The Lord Is Our Companion At Jericho, The Place Of Conflict

(2 Kings 2:4) And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

Just as God was with Joshua at Jericho, Elijah was with Elisha at Jericho. And God goes with us in our places of conflict.

C. The Father Abides With Us In The Place Of Crossing Over

Joe Parsons said that when you come to water in the Bible there’s a changing of worlds. This is certainly true of crossing over Jordan, which has come to symbolize a death issue in our thinking. But we learn from Elijah’s abiding presence that…

1. The Father Will Be With Us When Crossing Jordan Is Anticipated

(2 Kings 2:6) And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

2. The Father Will Be With Us When Crossing Jordan Is An Actuality

(2 Kings 2:8) And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

III. I Know He Loves Me Because Of The Authorized Portion

(2 Kings 2:9–13)

A. This Points To A Substantial Portion

Let’s Notice The Great Expression Of “A Double Portion”

(2 Kings 2:9) And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

The double portion “basically involves a doubling of an original item … getting twice as much as originally. … ? In Zechariah 9:12 … God promises Israel a double portion, which may mean a superabundance of blessing, or perhaps better the full blessing.” (From the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament)

(Zechariah 9:12) Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

It is, as the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary explains it “a portion of two.”

2. Let’s Notice The Great Example Of A Double Portion

(Job 1:3) His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

(Job 42:12) So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

As one preacher said, God gave Job “double for his trouble.”

B. This Points To A Son’s Portion

This Is The Portion Of A Firstborn Son

(Deuteronomy 21:15-17) If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:

{16} Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: {17} But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

2. This Is The Portion Of A Faithful Son

(2 Kings 2:10) And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

C. This Points To The Spirit’s Portion

As Elijah was taken up into heaven and the mantle fell back to the earth, it reminds us of the Spirit of

God that was promised. Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

1. The Double Portion And The Mantle Speaks Of The Spirit’s Power

(John 16:7-8) Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. {8} And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

2. The Double Portion And The Mantle Speaks Of The Spirit’s Prospects

(Ephesians 1:13-14) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, {14} Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

It’s just a little advance on the Father’s inheritance.

Conclusion

My dad, who is by no means a wealthy man, has helped us financially at different times over the years. He and mom have signed a couple of cars over to us when we couldn’t afford to get anything. They have given us sums of money and helped us pay off debts. I was so grateful for each and every manifestation of my dad’s help, and I felt like I was the only one that was a recipient of such magnanimous generosity. But I have learned over the years that dad has also assisted my two younger sisters in similar ways.

I do feel sometimes like my Heavenly Father treats me better than anybody else, but I know today that He wants to manifest His love and grace in similar ways in your life.

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~samkong/mission/christian.php