Who were the two men in the Old Testament who were taken up to heaven and did not taste death Enoch and Elijah. Their Testimony “ They Walked with God and Pleased God
2 Kings 2:1-15 1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." 4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. 5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on. 7 Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied. 10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours-- otherwise not." 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. 13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
1) There is a higher calling in every one of our life. Are we ready to go all the way to that calling kept for us in Christ Jesus
Philippians 3:12-14 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (KJV)
There is a higher calling in every believers life. But we are not willing to go all the way to the Higher Calling of God in our life
We tend to settle somehow for less along the way
Today , God is speaking to us and is saying Its time to wake up Arise and pursue the higher calling of God in your life.
Don't settle for anything less. The things of the world, the pleasures of the world, the lust of the flesh have hampered our Spiritual progress and made us lag behind
Elisha was a man who right from the time of his calling was very committed to the Lord.
1 King 19:19-21 19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. "Let me kiss my father and mother good-by," he said, "and then I will come with you." "Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?" 21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.
When he was called, he slaughtered his yoke of Oxen and burned the plowing equipment as firewood to cook the meat
Elisha knew what the cost of Commitment meant .Unlike Peter who when called parked his fishing boat and followed Jesus. After Jesus died , Peter went back fishing. ( John 21 )
Many Christians come to Jesus but park their boats aside. They park their old life aside. And then when things don't work as they hoped for, they go back into it
When we follow Jesus, there is no turning back. there is NO RETREAT only moving forward.
God's armour that He has given us has no protection for our backs Turning back means exposing ourselves to the enemy to shoot at us
Lets look at the 4 levels we all have to pass through in our Christian Life.
1) Gilgal is a place of Circumcision
We all start at Gilgal where God circumcises our hearts and we become born Again. A new person in Christ .A child of God
Joshua 5:8-9 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. 9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.
Here God rolls away the reproach of Sin in our Lives We are forgiven by the Blood of Jesus and washed of all our Sins
But then we are supposed to move on to the next step which is Bethel.
2) Bethel is the place of Prayer ( Altar )
Bethel means House of God. It is a place of Prayer
Abraham built an Altar in Bethel Jacob also built an Altar in Bethel
Gen 35:1-7 1 Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
Many believers settle in Gilgal and are not willing to Go to Bethel
Bethel is also a place of Consecration where we have to get rid of ALL foreign gods in our life
3) Jericho is a place of walking in Faith.
Remember how the Children of Israel had to walk around the city of Jericho ( in Joshua 6) for 7 days without saying a word, or talking or shouting when the walls came down
Believers are not willing to walk in Total Faith and Trust the Lord The flesh always tells us to walk by Sight
Here one will march in Faith in different areas of Life You quit a great paying job to take a position where there is no income. You go where you get no praise, attention, or acclaim.
Some will go this far but not all. The Rich Young Ruler wouldn't go this far. He would follow to the House of God but he wouldn't follow where it didn't make sense. Many of us will go this far but no further.
4) Jordan is a place of Death
Death to the Flesh¦. Death to Sin
Not many people are willing to go this far in the Lord
Crossing the Jordan signifies Death to the Flesh, Sin Jordan is a place of Baptism where the Old man of the Flesh is buried and the New man of the spirit is resurrected
It was in the Jordan River where Jesus was Baptized in the Holy Spirit and received a mighty Anointing for Service
Jesus came out of the Jordan FULL of the Holy Spirit
It is a place where the Apostle Paul says
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Phil 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
It is a place where our Desires for the world and the things of the world die It is a place where Self dies and Spirit rises comes alive
It is a place where Jesus means everything to us
Double portion Anointing does not come easily. We must be willing to crucify the flesh, self, sin.
Romans 12:1-2 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
God is calling us to walk all the way to Jordan. Not to stay behind.
3 times Elijah told Elisha - Stay Here while I go forward But Elisha completely refused and said :
Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
How many of us have stayed back instead of going to our next level with the Lord ??
Today , God is calling you to come out of your hiding place Where have you settled yourself and made your comfortable ? Is it in Gilgal, Bethel, or Jericho or you are in Jordan ready to receive A supernatural Anointing of God in your Life
The only way is to PRESS ON TO THE HIGHER CALLING OF GOD
And going ALL THE WAY to where the Lord wants us, will require us to:
1) Have a clear vision of How and where God wants to use you
Without a Vision, people perish
2) Refuse Distractions by anything or anyone
Every believer of Jesus has a Mission to fulfill in their life Don't get distracted and Fail to fulfill the Mission God has given you. We have a Destiny to fulfill. Souls are at stake.
Even the company of prophets tried to discourage him 3 times saying , do you know that the Lord is going to take your master
And Elisha said – Yes I know and Be quiet. Shut up Elisha knew that the end of Elijah was not his end but just the beginning of a new era in his life
The death of Moses was a new beginning for Joshua !
3) Stay focused to the Lord
If you see me taken, then you will receive Be spiritually Alert .
4) Walk in Faith with the Lord.
Elisha took the mantle of Elijah and when he reached the Jordan , He struck the water and the water parted
May God bless you
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