February 27, 2007

• 2 Kings 2 by Pastor Don

  Here is the continuation of Friday’s Bible study  I cannot believe that this week the kids have had a snow day on Friday, and also Monday. Yesterday, because I am cookie coordinator, I had to receive a truckload of cookies in the snow. My oldest son, as a teenager, has elevated snowman building to a new level. He made huge snowballs, so that the snowmen were taller than us! And of course since he has received his driver’s licence, he was pulling the huge snowballs for the snowmen on sleds tied to the car’s bumper (with my husband’s permission of course). When I can I will put up a picture of this feat.

  Anyway, back to 2 Kings 2.

  A question came up about spiritual mentors, and Pastor Don pointed out that you don’t go and pick your mentor, God has one picked for you to be your spiritual daddy (or mommy), and when He brings the two of you together you both will be blessed.

  2 Kings 2:9  And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask!” What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

  In the previous post, I mentioned that Pastor Don emphasized that until this point in the spiritual walk, if Elisha had asked this from Elijah the answer would have been, “No.” Because Elisha had to walk with Elijah through the various stages of the spiritual journey, Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, Jordan. Only then would he be ready to receive such a double portion. And of course, Elisha had to be righteous to receive it.

  2 Kings 2:10 So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”

  Pastor Don pointed out that verses 9 and 10 could not have happened if Elisha wasn’t in the Spirit from that time on. Elijah gave Elisha much knowledge in their walk through life, but a teacher can never tell the effectiveness of the sowing until the test comes. You can’t compete with the power of God. You need to be in the Spirit to prophesy, to be able to give such a statement to Elisha, Elijah had to have been in the Spirit. Elijah, at this point, probably knew that he was being taken by God, but did not know how he was going to be taken.

  Enoch walked with God and was no more. Elijah knew that he was not like Enoch. Elijah got slapped down by God. At one point he was complaining the he was the only prophet left, and God pointed out that He had preserved 7,000 who would not kneel to baal.

  The Holy Spirit told Elisha that a double portion would fall. Remember from the last post that the word used for mantle was ADDERETH, which means glory, a goodly made dress garment of splendor, beauty. Elijah’s mantle, addereth, glory, was what would pass from Elijah to Elisha in a double portion.

  No minister of God can create the glory that God gives them, the glory is God’s, but at the moment that the manifestation of the glory is in the minister, that glory is theirs to use, it flows through them. It is dangerous to get puffed up because of the glory that God gives for the moment. The glory does not come because of anything the pastor is doing or not doing. It is because God wills that glory. It is God who is doing the ministering and prophesying.

  The requirement made in verse 10 was hard because Elisha had to stay in the Spirit, and view what would come. He could not lose his focus, lose his concentration, for he did not know what or when this would occur. He had to have eyes to see, and his vision had to be totally clean and clear.

  The Jordan is not a wide river, it is about 25-30 feet wide, and in most places 12 feet.

  What was to occur, occurred in the Spirit realm, you have to be out of the flesh totally to be able to see what God is doing in the Spirit. All distractions needed to be put away, and Elisha had to stay spiritually focused. When God leads us by the Spirit, it is often just step by step, one direction at a time, not the full blueprint of what God wants us to do. So we need to stay focused.

  Pastor Don pointed out that a number of people attend church because something is going on. Many churches bring in things to excite the people, to be relevant. Signs and wonders. Signs and wonders alone only lead to the need for greater signs and wonders to impress the people. When you focus on signs and wonders only, you are operating in the flesh. It is far harder to hear a Word from God and do it, depending only on God’s Word, not the signs and wonders. If everyone in the Body of Christ received a double portion, and they were only prophesying in the flesh, what they would prophesy would appeal to the flesh of the person. But that is not God’s design.

  2 Kings 2:11  Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

  Pastor Don pointed out that Elisha and Elijah needed to be separated for the fulfillment of the promise, so the Spirit of God came between them and separated them. Elijah being caught up in the whirlwind. (Heather’s note, I just realized that Jesus too had to be separated from us in the flesh in order for the Holy Spirit to fall).

  2 Kings 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.

  You end up separating from something to step into the role of prophet. You can’t function in the old ways anymore. God moved Elisha to another level. Elisha discarded his old clothes. Whatever is fleshly in you must be separated from you. We can let go of the old because we can trust that God will not let us down. God gives us grace to overcome any aspect of your life that needs changing. God will give you the grace to step out of your old fleshly ways, to go down into the Jordan and to cross over to the other side. And when we do this, it is always to the next level. Why stay where you are? To stay where you are is to go backward.

  2 Kings 2:13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

  Elijah did not need the mantle when he stepped into the Glory. Remember that it was not the mantle itself that brought power, it is God who gives power.

  2 Kings 2:14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over.

  When God gives us the anointing, we take ownership of it, to use it, to apply it as God wills. Elisha manifested the same power as Elijah in dividing the waters. He put the anointing to the test. He took the mantle and struck the water with it, walking free in the new anointing.

  2 Kings 2:15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said,”The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.

  These sons of the prophets who watched from afar, saw the manifesting of the Spirit, the power of God. God permitted them to see that God conferred the anointing from Elijah to Elisha. Everyone there saw that Elisha was the new real deal.

  2 Kings 2:16-18 Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send anyone.” But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men and they searched for three days but did not find him. And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, “Do not go?”

  This shows that God only opened up Elisha’s eyes to see what happened to Elijah. The others were there looking on, but did not see what Elisha saw. If the 50 had seen it, they would have not needed to search for Elijah.

  Pastor Don cautioned us to not fall for spiritual presumption. If God does a spiritual thing, don’t look for a carnal reason. If God opens your eyes and you see, tell the truth. What you know and understand in the spiritual may be closed to the carnal mind. After this Mountain Top Experience, Elisha stayed at Jericho (breath, spirit, knowledge and understanding) He went back to the place where God breathed on him. After a battlefield experience, you have to get back to God. After the struggle of the Jordan, you need to get back to God. Don’t chase around in your flesh, stay with the breath of God. Don’t get confused. Stay with God.

  Powerful, powerful teaching. Pastor Don had to stop here, as it was getting late. I can’t wait until Friday!!!!

  I count myself so blessed to be able to sit under the teachings of incredible Bible teachers like Pastor Don.

  Have a blessed day. It is still snowing here, while two are still sleeping, my oldest is hoping for yet again another snow day. He said that he would love a “triple snowday” for he has never had that before.

  Heather

  • 8:25 am
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