We find here an amazing part of history. It is the story of two things happening. One Elijah being taken up into glory on one of God’s fiery chariots, and secondly we see the transferences of power and authority from one generation to the next generation. Here God is unmistakably teaching a lesson not only to Elisha but to us today. The lesson that God is teaching us is that God wants to do a greater things with this generation then what was done with the previous generation.
The Bible says that He calls the old because they know the way; and that he calls the young because they are strong. Elijah represents the older generation whereas Elisha represents the younger generation. Elisha has done greater works than Elijah, but not better work. But he did more in abundance. In fact, Elijah is accredited with 16 miracles and Elisha is accredited with 32 which is considered too be a double portion or greater works.
However, in order for the next generation to do greater things that means that this generation must seek God’s face, and experience God for themselves. They must be endued and be equipped with power from on high for themselves. Because what momma and daddy experienced through God was good enough for them but what I have learned is that we are going to need your own experience with God.
What we find here in our text is that the time had come for Elijah to go off the scene. Understand that a shift in the prophetic era was about to happen. And this shift was going to take what Elijah had done and move it to another dimension through the work of Elisha.
However before any of this can happen, there was a process that had to be done first. How many of you realize that in order for you to go from one space to another there has to be a process. In our text today Elijah was about to leave this old world behind and go on into glory. And God had told Elijah to go to a certain place and from that place he would be rapture away. Elijah and Elisha begin a process that will bring supernatural results. So the record is that Elijah and Elisha left Gilgal.
Now understand that Gilgal is the place where the children of Israel came after they crossed the Jordan River. It was at Gilgal where Joshua had them to erect 12 standing stones as a witness of what God has done. So Gilgal means standing stone or witness. Gilgal represents the church because the church is a witness to the world of what God has done. Can anybody here be a witness to what God has done? Can you share in the spirit and tell your neighbor, that you are looking at a miracle because of what God had done? Because the truth of the matter is that some of us sitting here are a miracle, someone here didn’t think that you were going to make it thus far, so you can witness that they are looking at a miracle.
Although Gilgal represents the church; in order for the shift to happen they had to leave Gilgal, the church, the organized religious system. They had to leave their comfort zone, their traditions, their familiar surroundings; they had to leave what they were used to because it was part of the process that was going to bring about a change.
And if we’re ever going to be successful in this community, if we are ever going to be that light that sit out on the hill, something has got to change and we are going to have to leave our comfort zone. Because once they left Gilgal, the religious system, they came to Bethel. The name Bethel means “House of God” but here it represents the world because although Bethel had a great spiritual heritage something happened to the city let me show you what I mean.
Jeroboam the 1st king of the northern kingdom of Israel had set up a golden calf in the city of Bethel causing the people to worship idolatry. As a result of these action an entire generation had become lost to skepticism, mockery, scoffing they became contemptuous, disdainful, scornful, and disrespectful and making fun of Elijah and Elisha as they walked through the streets of Bethel. And what I have learned down through the years is that people will laugh at you when you are trying to live right. People will straight up lie on you for trying to live right. If you ever want to be talked about I dare you to start living right. If you ever want your name dragged through the mug turn your life over to God and watch what happens.
Elijah the older, wiser, and more spiritually matured prophet looked at this back slidden generation, with a tear in his eye and wanted to fight sin, and change their evil ways, but his strength wasn’t as it use to be.
And whenever God send us to do a job, we don’t need to be spending unnecessary strength, time or money on the things that we were not commission to do.
This new generation was a more hardened, godless, rebellious, and evil generation then he had ever dealt with before. Elijah knew that Elisha was younger; he knew that Elisha could talk the talk of this generation so he says to Elisha why don’t you just stay here in Bethel.
But Elisha knew that he had to go through the process. He wasn’t worried about making a name for himself, he wasn’t worried about a title, but he wanted to be endued and empowered with power, so he said to Elijah “As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee”. He understood that there was still something he needed to learn from Elijah, and in order to learn it he had to go through the process. But the problem with most people today is that they don’t want to go through the process. (They want everything instant)
So as Elijah and Elisha leave Bethel and come to Jericho. Jericho means “A place called pleasant. Although its name means pleasant, Jericho was barren, dry, lifeless, unresponsive, unmoving, motionless, and dead. There were no trees, no flowers, and no fruit everything had withered away, because poison had infiltrated the water supply of Jericho and it killed the life and the reproduction of new life. Whenever, you have poison in the system it will stop the reproduction of life.
The city of Jericho represented a dead and dry Christianity. In this city of Jericho there were some prophets there and these prophets were students of the scriptures, they even had a prophetic vision because they knew that Elijah was going to be taken away, but there was something wrong with them, they lacked power, they didn’t have an anointing, and they didn’t know how to operate in the spirit of the Holy Ghost. And I must say this, just because a person is in position, doesn’t mean that they have power, in other words just because they are available doesn’t mean that they are anointed. A person can hold a position and don’t know Jesus. A person can sing a song, pray a prayer, and preach a sermon, but it does not mean that they have been delivered.
They could preach with the best of them, they could speak in tongues, witness like it was no body’s business, but it does not mean that they have experienced God’s anointing power for themselves. These men couldn’t effectively make a change, because they were caught up in a fleshly ministry. And there’s nothing worst then hearing from someone that rattles on and on without any anointing.
In other words, they represented church people that have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. They were constantly trying to recreate something that happened in the past. They were crying for an old time revival, instead of realizing that God wanted to do a new thing. Elijah took one looked at this dry group of people and said to Elisha why don’t you stay here. But Elisha knew he had to go through the process so he said nall I will not leave you”.
So Elijah and Elisha left Jericho, and they came to the Jordan River. The name Jordan means “flowing down” and a river of a natural stream of water. And know that water in the Bible represents God’s spirit.
It was at the Jordan River, something was going to happen. At the Jordan is where the shift would take place. It was at the Jordan River.
It is said that Elijah the seasoned prophet took his mantle wrapped it together, and smote the water; the waters divided representing the dividing of the spirit, distinguishing the old and the new.
The Bible says they crossed the Jordan on dry ground and at this point in verse nine Elijah asked Elisha “what shall I do unto thee” Elisha said “Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me”. You see Elisha knew he had to do a new thing, and he knew that it was going to take more power to deal with what he had to deal with, he needed the anointing to be stronger, because he was going to be dealing with a new generation of sinners that were more hardened then the previous generation. He knew that just putting his hand behind his ear and screaming wasn’t going to be enough for this new generation. So he said a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. What was he saying Spies? He was saying what you have is good enough for you, but I need more, so let more fall upon me. In other words what he was saying was pass it to me with a double shot of it.
In verse 10 says Elijah said thou ask a hard thing, what Elijah was saying is what I’m about to say to you all this morning and that is be careful when you ask for somebody else anointing because you don’t know what they went through to get what they have. Here he is asking for a double dose of the Holy Ghost. And Elijah said thou asked a hard thing but nevertheless. He said if you see me when I am taken away from thee it shall be so unto thee, but if not, it shall not be so.
So, it is said that Elisha saw it, and he saw Elijah no more. So he rent his clothes in two pieces, representing he was taking off the old man, he was taking off traditionalism, he was taking off religiosity, he was taking off man made rules.
The bible says that He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him”. What is this mantle? A mantle is a covering, something that encircles, something that encases, and something that clothes. The word clothe in the Greek means to be endued. When Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah and placed it upon himself he was endued, covered, and wrapped up in the spirit.
So as we move to a close it was stated that Elisha comes back to the Jordan River, and at the Jordan River he smote the waters and asked where is the God of Elijah. He knew to smote the river because he had been trained by Elijah, he had gone through the process.
When he smote the waters, the waters divided and he came across on dry ground. But when he got back across the Jordan, he was met by 50 prophets. These were the church people that were not ready for a change they wanted to keep on doing things the same old way.
They saw something in Elisha, but they were comfortable with Elijah, they knew Elijah, they were use to his ways. So instead of wanting to move forward they wanted to go back to what was comfortable to them, they wanted to do what was familiar. The same old tricks, the same old lies and the same old attitudes.
The fear of the unknown kept them from going forward, fear caused them to go back to look for Elijah, they were looking for the old preacher and the old pastor, but he was gone on to glory and never to come back anymore. In fact,it is said that for 3 days they looked for Elijah, but were not able to find him because a shift had taken place, and this was a new thing. The fact of the matter is they were hard headed when Elijah there and they are hard headed now. That’s like when a love one dies and someone would say I wish heaven had a phone I would call them up. No, you wouldn’t because people have cell phone right now and they are living, and you don’t call them. No, you wouldn’t because there are people in the church family that are going through and you know that they are going through and you won’t visited them, call them or even send them a get well card.
They looked for him three days, and after three days they came back to Jericho, Elisha was there in Jericho, Elisha said, did I not say to you not to go? Did not I say don’t go backwards, because God wants to do a new thing.
The men of the city who represent the deacons of the church said unto Elisha “Behold I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant as my lord seeth, but the water which is the spirit is naught, ruined, morally bad, and the ground is barren”.
In other words the church has a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof. In other words, when lives are not being transformed, when people come to church hurt, hungry, and thirsting for love, and looking for a new lease on life, and only find hate, fighting and disarray. They came to Elisha and said look at what has become of this place.
Elisha said bring me a new cruse and put salt in it, don’t bring me an old cruse, but bring me a new cruse. I need a new cruse, a new vessel, this represents the next generation, a generation that is not flawed by traditionalism.
It represents those that are willing to be used by God in this next move, because we are not trying to ride the coat-tails of our predecessors, but those that are willing to do a new thing, I know what you did at your last church, I know what you’ve done with your last pastor, I know how the church was packed years ago but what about now? It time for a new cruse.
So he said bring me a new cruse. Then he said in the new cruse put some salt. Now salt represents the “Word of God”. Elisha poured the salt in the water and the waters were healed.
And may I tell you that whenever you apply the Spirit of God, and the Word of God, things will change. After Elisha brought about a change at Jericho or to the church, then he was able to move forward, and I think I need to tell you this morning, that if the church ever gets right, then we can change the world.
So after Jericho was healed he went to Bethel. They laugh at the church and make a mockery of the church. However, Elisha when he came back to Bethel after the shift had taken place, he knew that a new thing had come about. So it’s all right, let them laugh at you right now, let them make fun of you right now, but when the shift comes they won’t be laughing anymore.
They laughed at the so much and so hard that I heard that there came a group of young adult between the ages of 25–40 years old, who was old enough to know better, were outside of the city mocking him, they said go up bald head go up. They had gotten so far away from God that they did not have any understanding of God, they were a lost generation. They also did not understand the shift that had taken place, so they were comfortable with making a mockery of Elisha and everything that was Holy, that they made fun of the man of God, kind of like people today. However, a new thing had come into play. The bible says that Elisha turned, looked at them, cursed them in the name of the Lord and the Bible says that two she bears came out of the wood and killed 42 of them. Because a new thing was in place.
May I tell you church, that God wants to do a new thing, and God needs some people that will not compromise.
God needs some people that will expose sin.
God needs some people that will raise the standard of Holiness.
God needs some people that will die out too self.
God needs some people who fear the Lord and not man.
God needs some people that will Worship him in the spirit and in truth, and move beyond spectatorship and entertainment.
God needs some people who will say for God I live and for God I die.
God needs some people who will tell the world that we are standing on the promises of Jesus.
God needs some people that will say no we’re not going to take it.
