The Secrets of Elisha 3

Compliments of the Season! Ain't you grateful that God has brought us this far? If you are not grateful, then you are not better than a great fool. In all that you do this season, always remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and as you celebrate him, may He make you a celebrity. Ain't you suppose to be talking about Elisha? someone may be asking. Of course I am but I need to put down those lines in the spirit of the season.

We have diagnosed the various stages in his journey with Elijah and their spiritual significance in part 1 & 2. As I conclude this post today, I will be looking at the attributes or qualities in Elisha that stood him out from the crowd. I am afraid I may need a part 4 to conclude this series but I will try as much as possible to see that this won't be the case. I crave your patience cos u may be in for a lengthy reading but trust me, it has a lot in stock for u!

Hope you are aware that Elisha wasn't the only prophet in town at the time. Of course not! In I Kings 18: 13, Obediah reminded Elijah of how he hid an hundred prophets of the Lord in a cave away from the onslaught of Jezebel. So there were some prophets in the Land at the time. Also recall that at each stage Elijah and Elisha got to, there were sons of the prophets (these were prophets-in-waiting, i.e there were trainee prophets serving other prophets with the hope of succeeding them). It is obvious that there are other prophets at the time but why did God by pass them and went for Elisha? That's the question I will attempt to answer in this post. He by-passed them, I believe, because of the qualities He saw in Elisha. Those prophets were cowards and were not worthy to be entrusted with the great task of confronting the prophets of baal and of reviving Israel. There were alive but there impact was not being felt. It got to the point that Elijah was bold enough to declare to God that he was the only prophet left in the Land. If you know what that implies, then you would understand the extent of their cowardice. Elijah didn't know they existed, and God couldn't count on them either. If only one Elijah troubled Jezebel and her prophets, imagine what those hundred prophets could have been able to do if they were cut out of the same sterner stuff as Elijah.
God knew that these anonymous prophets would chicken out when the chips are down. Imagine them been hid in the cave by an "ordinary" Obediah who wasn't even a prophet because of a woman. So, when it was time for heaven to shop for Elijah's replacement, none of them nor their students passed heaven's test except Elisha. Elisha was , in my opinion, the least experienced in prophetic matters amongst existing prophets and sons of prophets then. Remember Elisha was not yet known until I Kings19:19 that was after Elijah confronted and defeated Jezebel and her porphets.
So, what are the qualities that made Elisha thick?
They are:

1) Desire and Hunger:
Elisha was a man with a burning desire, an insatiable hunger for the spiritual. He was never content with his spiritual level but was continuously pressing forward. Neither the joy of Gilgal, nor the splendour of Bethel, nor the oppositions of Jericho could hold him back. He refused to settle down on any of these mountains as it were. He, like apostle Paul, was in the practice of forgetting those things there were behind and reaching forth unto those things that are before. He pressed on until he reached his mark. Remember at every level they got to, there were the sons of the prophets. Elisha meets and leaves them behind at each level. These sons of the prophet lack hunger for the spiritual, although they knew what God was about to do but they were too complacent to key into it. There are such people in churches today. Year in, year out, they remain where they have always been. No growth, no progress. They can tell you how their church started, or even recite the scriptures by rot but are very anonymous. Their impact are not being felt in their churches. They leave in their past. For them it is now, "I remember when i was a soldier". And if you are not careful they may slow you down just like that old prophet did to that young prophet in the bible. Desire and hunger are spiritual lubricants that keep the wheel of your spiritual life going.

2) Focus:

"Show me a man who knows where he is going but never gets there, and I will show you a man who lacks focus, a man given to much distractions"-Prince

Elisha had a great deal of focus. The first sign of this was manifest in I Kings 19:21 when Elijah first found him. The Bible says he burnt his yoke of oxen and bade his family goodbye. In other words, he made sure nothing stands as a potential source of distraction to him. He like the early apostles, abandoned all and followed his master. Another evidence of his focus was his response to the batches of fifty sons of the prophets as each tried to distract him from following Elijah at each level they got to. He always told them, "I know but hold your peace". And the climax of it was over Jordan when Elijah asked him to make a request which he did. Elijah told him in II Kings 2: 10, "Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see when i am taken from thee, it shall be so unto; but if not, it shall not be so" It sounds simple but very tricky. And Elisha passed the test. One thing that is obvious is that Elisha abandoned himself to this cause and gave his all. One of the weapons the devil uses against youths of this generation is distraction. There are forces of diversion and distraction all over demanding our attention and resources. Their aim? To distract you from your goal and divert your energy and resources to something else. They are countless and abound at every turn: on campuses, in churches, in our neighborhoods etc. No matter where you find them, their mission is the same. One of the tasks you owe yourself is that of been able to discern these forces whenever they show up. Many destinies are aborted because of these forces. If you doubt me, go and ask Samson.

3) Foresight and vision:
Needless to say, Elisha was a man with profound foresight. He knew that Elijah's mission was over and there was need for a successor and thus positioned himself for it. Not only that, he had a clear vision and purpose for following Elijah which was why he didn't hesitate to state what he wanted when asked to do so.
He knew what he wanted even before he embarked on the journey. He had his desired or expected end in sight which was why he could endure the pains of that lengthy journey. It wasn't a rosy journey at all!
He knew what God has spoken concerning him and was willing to the pay the price for it.
Do you have a vision of your tomorow? What is your goal or vision concerning your present engagement. Hear this:

"your life flows in the direction of your vision"- Prince

It means without vision, your life will be without direction.

4) Ability to see and seize opportunity:
Let me say this. There was no open invitation to Elisha to come with Elijah. In fact at every turn of the journey, Elijah would try to dissuade him but he wouldn't let go because he saw in that journey an opportunity others couldn't see even though they too, knew about the journey. They (the sons of the prophets) all had an opportunity to come on board but were too blind to it. Elisha saw and seize the opportunity. For more on the dynamics of opportunity see my post on opportunity

5) Determination, persistence and patience:
Wow! Finally we've come to the last lap of the race.
Elisha was a man of great determination, persistence and patience. Not even the subtile discouragement of his master Elijah could stop him.
I believe we can all pin point how and where the trio of determination, persistence and patience were exhibited by Elisha.
I also believe there might be other qualities of Elisha than those highlighted above.
So am leaving that out for you to highlight as your comments in the comment section.

Cheers!

The Secrets of Elisha (1)

Below is an excerpt from a message I preached in one of our youth meetings. And I am sure it will bless your life.


Text: II Kings 2:1-15.
Our text is about the account of Elijah and Elisha, a very familiar story in the Scriptures but for the sake of time and space, we wont read it all at a go now. Rather we will read it in bits as we go along.


Let me say that there is a great spiritual lesson to learn from this account. Elisha came to limelight because of this encounter he had with Elijah. Men who have gone far with the Lord consciously or unconsciously passed through this spiritual pathway.
If you desire to be one among those who will change the tide of time in this generation, then get set because God is looking for vessels upon whom He will release a double portion of His Spirit. There is always a price tag on every exploit in life whether in spiritual or secular settings.
Before we examine the price Elisha paid, lets first examine the pathway or stages he went through as revealed in our text. The price he had to pay as well the entire pathway he went through are the secrets to greatness and exploits in His kingdom.

1) Gilgal
II Kings 2:1 "And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal"
Every spiritual journey begins from Gilgal. If in your spiritual journey, Gilgal is missing, then you've got a wrong beginning. Elisha would have been of all men most miserable if he had not had the Gilgal experience. Remember, Elisha has been ministering to Elijah before this time but when it was time for him to really begin his assignment, it was needful that he start all over again from Gilgal.
So, what does Gilgal represent or symbolize? Joshua 5:9 " And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day"
Gilgal represents what we call the salvation (or born again) experience. It is at Gilgal that God rolls away the reproach of Egypt (Sin) from the individual. This experience gives the individual the right footing to start off from in his spiritual journey.
It may surprise you to know that there are individuals who, though very busy with the things of God in churches today, do not have a gilgal xperience. They are busy in the choir, ushering, protocol etc depts. How do I know, ask them when they got born again, and you will see them fumble with words. They can't tell. The Lord said unto Joshua, "THIS DAY HAVE I..." This experience is such that can not be forgotten in a hurry. It can not be faked or counterfeited: if it has not taken place, then it has not taken place and can not be substituted. If you can not tell the day you gave your life to the Lord, then check up. But come to think of it, how could you forget the day you were born into God's kingdom? I mean your spiritual (and real) birthday.
I repeat, one can be very busy with religious activities but lack this experience. John Wesley was a missionary for years but little did he know that he hadn't been saved until the day the Lord opened his eyes to this truth. That very day, the reality of his spiritual standing with God dawned on him. He saw that he has been standing on a sinking (religious) ground. Thank God he eventually got saved and his ministry was officially commissioned by heaven thereafter.
What can we say about Isaiah's cry in Chapter6:5 when he had an encounter with the Most High: "Then said I, woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts"
What a confession. See the result in verse7 " And he (The seraphims from God's alter with a purging coal in his hand) laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged.
A spiritual journey started without a gilgal experience is a journey founded on sinking sand. Like they would say, ''first things first''. Remember the story of Simon in Acts8:9-24. This fellow heard the gospel, got baptized and joined Philip's missionary team but was not born again. Thank God for the gift of discernment at work in Peter's life. At times I wonder what would have been our response today to someone like Simon in our contemporary churches. So sad that many who have manifested and shown these traits or even worse in churches today have gone away with just slaps on their wrists even though we know such traits are pointers to something more deadly locked up within. Think about that.
Make sure you have a gilgal experience and if you have lost yours, remember He is a God of a second chance.

2) Bethel
II Kings 2:2 "And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bthel. ANd Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel"
Bethel was Elisha's next port of call as it were.
While every spiritual journey begins from gilgal, it must not end there. Gilgal, as mentioned above, is regarded as salvation experience. Don't limit yourself to gilgal, there is bethel waiting for you. There are no commitments nor challenges at gilgal. Gilgal is the baby stage, dont dwell there. I challenge you to come over to bethel, a place of communion and intimacy with God.
Bethel is a place of commitment. The first place Jacob made a vow was at bethel. Alters are raised at bethel (see Genesis 12: 8; 13:4; 28:16-19, ). God's voice is always heard at bethel (see Genesis 35: 15). Bethel is the secret place of the Most High.
A lot of Christians operate without a bethel in their lives. These are Christians without commitments; they don't know what it means to hear the voice of God.
Bethel is God's reference point in your life, that is for those who have had the bethel experience. That period in your life when you (just like Jacob) promised God heaven and earth; when you vowed to do exploits for Him in your generation; when to you, it was as though you literally saw God each time you closed your eyes in prayers , was when you had a bethel experience. Everywhere to you then was like the house of God because you were in tune with Him.
Hear Jacob when he had this experience in Genesis 28: 16-19 "...and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not...this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven...And he called the name of that place Bethel..."
Have you ever had a bethel experience?

Now hear me, your bethel must be kept alive. No wonder God had to command Jacob to go back to bethel where He first appeared unto him (see Genesis 35:1-2). Jacob, at that time, seemed to have forgotten his bethel and was busy about with cattle here and there. He was losing sight of his commitments with God. God stepped in to avert an abortion of His purpose for his life. You bethel must be kept alive! If you have lost your bethel, God is asking you to "go back to bethel and dwell there" Genesis 35:1.

...to be continued
Watch out for part 2 as we take a look at Elisha's next ports of call-Jericho and Jordan