Last week, I had an amazing time with many of our Senior High Youth in beautiful Montreat, NC. Now, I told them I was going to share all kinds of stories about them this morning, but I’ll spare them the embarrassment. However, I do wish to share one insight with you because I believe these awesome youth embody the text this morning. This year’s High School Conference theme “In these Waters” had our youth confront the storms and tumultuous waters of their lives, and to cling to their faith claimed in the waters of their Baptisms. When we sat together as a youth group late in the evening…very late….too late, in fact, and we discussed the things of the day….one theme kept emerging from the hearts of these youth….that was the need for each other….salt & light….witnesses to the truth…companions in the midst of the storms. I was blessed to be privy to a week where I watched these youth be witnesses to Christ for one another as storms were named, shared, cried over, and lifted up to God.

And I imagine the companionship of Elisha to Elijah the prophet was very similar to that of our youth. As we encounter Elisha this morning, he says 3 times that he will not leave Elijah’s side. This is no coincidence….anytime you see 3 in Scripture…it is not by accident….3 times the devil tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness…3 times Peter denied Christ….3 times Jesus asked Peter “do you love me?”….and on the 3^rd day, our Lord and Savior was raised from the dead. And so here, we see that Elisha, in spite of being given the opportunity to leave his companion who is going to be taken from him, 3 times he makes the choice to stay by Elijah’s side….to weather the storm to the end with his companion.

This is some powerful stuff! Can we imagine such loyalty & commitment? Can you fathom such passion and dedication? Elisha tells the company of prophets in Bethel & in Jericho, he knows where they are heading. He knows how the story will end. He knows that Elijah will be taken from him. And yet, he went! Even when 50 men stood at a safe distance on the shore….Elisha faithfully crossed through the parted waters of the Jordan…the same waters which Christ would later be baptized in. Elisha said 3 times “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” This is bold and passionate companionship.

Elisha went on faith…allowing nothing to separate them…in fact, it wasn’t until chariots of fire and horses of fire sent by God came that the text this morning finally proclaims that they were separated. So, I ask us again….do we know of such passionate companionship and bold loyalty? Can we fathom such dedication and genuine commitment?

Our gospel text from Luke this morning stakes claim to the contrary. It is entitled the “would be followers of Jesus.” They would be followers of Jesus, as genuine companions, if only…if only they could first bury their dead, or say farewell. Their loyalties were elsewhere; their dedication was to other things apart from Christ.

And why not? Even today we have difficulty in proclaiming true loyalty and commitment. We struggle with genuine companionship with one another, so why would we expect any different with Almighty God? David Benner writes a book entitled “Sacred Companions,” where he says “The principal reason friendship is so undervalued is probably that too few people have ever experienced a significant, enduring friendship. Typically, such relationships involve no more than a passing connection. Relationships today generally involve little of the intimacy, trust, commitment, and loyalty of real friendships.”

See, in today’s culture we struggle with genuine and passionate companionship. Our loyalties and dedication are to everything apart from God. In this competing culture we are taught to look out for ourselves, to be loyal to our own cause and intentions, and seek relationships that generally serve a purpose unto ourselves. It’s no wonder we are plagued with a nation of cynicism, skepticism, greed and fear.

But Elisha is a different example. Elijah asks Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elijah stopped as he was nearing the end of life’s journey, and looked at his true companion who never left his side…he saw the passion and loyalty in his eyes, and Elisha said “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” Not wealth or possessions; not power or respect. Elisha simply wanted a double share of his spirit. He wanted the typical firstborn inheritance of a double share, but not of fame and riches, not of land or gain….but of the spirit of God. The Spirit of God that lives and reigns…that calls forth all loyalty and all passion. See, Christ looked at His “would be followers” and he said “follow me,” but their loyalties and passions were in things apart from God. But Elisha longed for God’s Spirit…it was all he searched for, all he asked for, all that he wanted from his companion.

What about for us? Do we long to live in the passion and loyalty of this same spirit, like Elisha, or are we simply “would be followers,” afraid to truly follow, to truly commit? Maybe people will think we’re fanatics? They might call us “Jesus Freaks.” After all, there’s an appropriate time and place for “God talk.”

The keynote speaker at Montreat came out every morning to this sappy sounding elevator music. She’d do a little dance that looked kind of like this……It was one of those things where you couldn’t quite understand, and she looked ridiculous, and you were kind of embarrassed for her. But the more I thought about this silly dancing, the more I wondered…why not? What if, in her passion for the proclamation of God’s word each morning, the spirit of God moved her to dance? What if the passion of her loyalty to God caused her to move her feet and follow God’s lead in this dance? Why not?

George preached last week that love requires a certain degree of foolishness. It says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” So maybe it’s not a cheesy dance, and maybe we should all be prepared to look foolish to those who do not understand!

Dr. Bob Moorehead writes a poem called, “The Fellowship of the Unashamed” which proclaims, “I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, and tame visions. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.”

To be a true companion…to follow to the very end…to live in foolishness of the dance….to live with passion and loyalty….comes only from the Spirit of God. It’s the same Spirit Elisha longed for and sought after. It’s the same Spirit Christ commands when He says to follow me. It’s the same Spirit many unashamed disciples of Jesus Christ bear witness to every day.

The Spirit of God in genuine passion and loyalty led my parents to adopt many in my family, including several hard to place children that would otherwise not have a chance at life. My youngest sister Sarah, for example, was adopted in Galveston, Texas…in the burn unit of the hospital there. Sarah’s biological mother left her in a tub of hot water when she was a baby and Sarah suffered from third degree burns from her forearm to her feet. Doctors did numerous skin graphs and surgeries, but they still were unsure whether Sarah would ever be able to walk again. Sarah spent the first two years of her life in a full body cast and in and out of doctors’ offices. Sarah is now 24 years old, and teaches Preschool at Spanish Fort Presbyterian Church, and lives in her own house in Fairhope. The foolishness of the Spirit of God, led my parents to adopt her into our family and to give her life. The passion and the loyalty of God called them to genuine companionship and love.

Now I’m not saying all passion and loyalty is to such extremes. I’m not asking us all this morning to live in the extremes, but to live in the Spirit…in the foolishness…in the passion and loyalty of genuine companionship with God and with one another. In the same way that Jane Hale exemplified when she gave her vacation time to chaperone our Senior High’s to Montreat. In the same Spirit that Laura Jensen took on the call to direct VBS this year. In the same foolishness that Travis and Lisa cooked for a household of youth for a week. In the same passion that led John and Marilyn Moses and Nicole Moss to help with transportation dilemmas.

Elisha, picked up the mantle of Elijah, he called out to God, and he struck the ground, and the waters of the Jordan parted, and when the company of prophets saw this they bowed down and declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” So, I ask for a 3^rd time now….can we imagine such passion and loyalty to the Spirit of God? And, can we boldly live unashamed as followers of that same Spirit of Christ?