Keith Battle - Shifts - Part 1

First Kings chapter 19 is where the lesson will come from today. I’m glad you all made it. Let me sincerely say that, on behalf of my wife and me, we are so grateful that you all come to this church and give us the opportunity to serve you. It’s a blessing that you will come here; you don’t have to, and you don’t have to watch online, but you do, and you bring people and tell others about it. It’s encouraging to me to know that you can do something that you feel God laid on your heart and just be authentically yourself, and people will come and appreciate it. So thank you all for being a blessing to me with your presence; your presence matters, and I appreciate that. I also want to celebrate; today is Grandparents Day. I found out today that it’s Grandparents Day. I’m sorry, it’s both! So let me celebrate all the grandparents in here! Great grandparents, stand up; we want to celebrate you! Yeah, we made it! Look around, look around, stand back up! You’re looking at a room full of punks! We are a bunch of punks when it comes to those grandkids! Our kids don’t even know who we are anymore! Like, when were you ever that nice? Hey man, I told my wife she’s too fine to be a grandparent! Getting your number after the service; I’m going to stalk you! Glory to God!

First Kings chapter 19! My man, Pastor Thomas Jefferson Simmons, Pastor Jeff, has been rolling with us all day. You know Jeff; he only comes out on special occasions like a groundhog. We are honored he is with us today. That’s my dude right there, for life!

Verse 19 of First Kings chapter 19 says, «So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were 12 teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the 12th team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away.» Verse 20: «Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, ‘First, let me go and kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will go with you.’ Elijah replied, ‘Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.’» Verse 21 says, «So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.»

I want to use that passage to talk from the subject: shifts. Everybody say shifts! Be careful with that, though; get the «f» in there—diction is important: shifts! When I use the term «shift» in this message, I’m referring to major transitions in our lives. They are not everyday occurrences for most of us. We’ll have opportunities for maybe four or five major shifts in our entire lives; they are precious. Some shifts are imposed on you; they are beyond your control. One day you’re married, and the next day you’re a widow—that’s a shift. You have to say goodbye to someone you expected to still be here—that’s a shift. A medical trauma comes up in your life, and it changes your ability from being able-bodied to disabled—that’s a shift.

There are people in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida facing a shift that was imposed upon them. They have to go; their vocation and location for many of them will never be the same—shifts! But then there are some shifts that are not imposed on us; there are some shifts that we’re invited into. I believe God will offer us an opportunity to shift, but just because He offers it and He wills it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. The unique thing…