THEME: KEEP A CLOSE MARKING WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT 2 Kings 2:1-15
Introduction
The Holy Spirit has been given to every Christian to prepare us and present us to the bridegroom who is Christ Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:13-14. Because of this, God through Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:30 admonishes us not to grieve the Holy Spirit which has been given to us for the day of redemption.
Christians be you a leader or a member needs to walk with the Holy Spirit and give Him a close marking. If you really want to succeed in this Christian journey, we cannot do it without the help of the Holy Spirit.
If we really want to possess the nations for Christ then we need to cling to the Holy Spirit and never allow him to go.
When God was about taking Elijah to Heaven, he wanted to use this same scene to teach us on how we need to walk with the Holy Spirt in this generation. We cannot possess the nation if we are not led by the Holy Spirit. So, Jesus told the disciples never to leave Jerusalem but rather to wait for the promise of the father. This statement proves that without the Holy Spirit’s leadings we cannot do anything beneficial or profitable for God.
Mantles are not needed in Heaven; mantles are used to serve on earth here and so there are so many mantles that we need to catch. We need to catch the mantles of our forbearers.
Before Elisha got the mantle, he had to do some things and these are the things we would be looking at today.
- He had to consistently and persistently follow the master to the end with undivided attention. The master tried to stop him at Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho and Jordan but he did not stop. Why didn’t he stop but decided to follow the master closely like that? It was because all these places had spiritual significance and if he really wanted to catch had to continue to the end.
- At Gilgal, God told Joshua to circumcise all the males. Gilgal means the rolling away of the reproach of Sin Joshua 5:8-9. So, if you want to possess the nations for Christ you don’t stop at Gilgal but rather you need to continue the journey. If you want to possess the nations, we need to continue with the Holy Spirit move from Gilgal to the next stage. The uncircumcised person is like someone who has not repented. If we want to catch the mantle there are certain sins we need to roll away from our lives. We cannot continue our walk with the Holy Spirit whiles we still have this kind of sins with us. We have to deal with the flesh at Gilgal. Till we put to death all the things of the flesh we can never please God. Anyone walking in the flesh can not enter into the kingdom of God.
In our days it is not about physical circumcision but it is about a circumcision of the heart. Romans 2:28-29 NIV
[28] A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. [29] No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
Acts 2:37-39 NKJV
[37] Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” [38] Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
The things of the flesh brings the wrath of God and so we need to put to death the things of the flesh. Colossians 3:5-6 NKJV
[5] Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. [6] Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV
[1] Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- From Gilgal they continued to Bethel. In Genesis 28:15-22, when Jacob was running away from the brother to his uncle Laban and got to Bethel the Bible says that it was in the evening so he took a stone and used it as a pillow and slept. When he slept, he saw a vision of a stairway resting on the earth with its top reaching to heaven and the angles of God ascending and descending. Then He saw the Lord pronouncing the blessings of Abraham on him. At Bethel, we put our trust in God and depend on him for divine providence, for a fruitful journey and also, we pay or honor our vows. After dealing with the flesh you no longer have confidence in the flesh but rather you put all your hope and trust in the Lord to see you through this Christian journey.
- From Bethel they moved on to Jericho. When we get to Jericho we are at warfare and we listen to the Lord for direction and the Lord comes in to fight for us. Joshua 5:13-14. Elisha knowing the background of Jericho didn’t want to remain there but decided to continue the journey.
- From Jericho the continued to Jordan. Joshua 3:1-7. When we get to Jordan, God opens a new chapter in our life. God decided to do something new in the life of the Israelites when they got to Jordan. When they got there, Jordan had overflown its banks and they didn’t know what to do but God told Joshua that the priest should stet into the water first and as they did, the water was divided into two. God over here did not use the same method he used to divide the red sea but rather used a different method. Today if you are here, I want you to understand that God is going to do something new in our life.
- After they crossed the Jordan that was when Elijah asked him to ask whatever he wants. Then he said he needed the double portion of His anointing. I pray that the double portion of the anointing of our fathers will fall upon us today so that we will be able to possess the nations for Christ.
Conclusion
In our walk with the Lord we will have to go through all these stages and catch the mantle before we will be able to possess the nations for the Lord. If we are able to cross the Jordan those who laughed at us will now come and bow before us. I pray that the Lord will lead us through all these stages and help us to catch the mantel. We need to deal with the flesh, trust in God, get our spiritual amour for battle and embrace the new chapter the Lord will open for us. That is when we can possess the nations. Amen