Greetings to you, dear friends! Grace and peace to you from our Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ! We have been discussing how Apostle Paul applied the principle of discipline to his life. It was the subjection of himself to certain orders and rules that helped Paul to become an effective minister and to accomplish his goals in God. Today I would like to offer another Bible example of how Prophet Elisha accomplished his goal in life. And that goal was to obtain the double portion of Elijah’s anointing. He wanted to receive the double portion of Elijah’s anointing so badly that he was willing to pay a dare price for it. Elijah was the spiritual father of Elisha. After Elisha closely observed the life of this man of God in his life and saw all the miracles that God performed through Elijah, he understood that the key to Elijah’s success was his love and total commitment to God. So Elisha desired and became hungry for the same anointing and lifestyle of Elijah his mentor. But more interestingly is the fact that Elisha wasn’t satisfied to do just what Elijah did; he craved for the double portion of Elijah’s his anointing. In other words, Elisha had very definite goals which are as follows
- He wanted to live like his spiritual father;
- He wanted to have Elijah’s anointing;
- He wanted to move in the same power of God as he on Elijah.
With these desires and goals burning in his heart, Elisha made a firm decision that he will accomplish them whatever the price. What was the reason why Elisha followed Elijah till the very end and refused to back off even when Elijah himself pleaded with him to stay away? Many of Elisha’s comrades also tried to talk him out of following Elijah, but Elisha was unrelenting in his decision. He was so focused on his goal that he subjected his whole life to its accomplishment. Elisha deliberately and tenaciously walked with Elijah and nobody could stop him. This whole story is written in 2
nd Book of Kings.
“And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 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.” 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.” 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. 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. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 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. 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» (2 Kings, 2:1-15).
Did you notice how often Elijah asked Elisha to stay back and not go with him? It was more than once, isn’t it? Elijah pleaded with Elisha to stay behind in
Gilgal, in
Bethel, and in
Jericho. But every time he said that, Elisha’s reply to Elijah was:
« As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!» In other words, Elisha was saying:
«Only death will set us apart. I’ll rather die than to leave you. You won’t be able to persuade me to do otherwise, so forget about that idea». Elisha was obsessed with the idea of reaching his goal and he was totally committed to it. Such tenacity disciplines a person and helps him from been distracted by anything. If necessary, Elisha was ready or willing to sacrifice his life in order to fulfil his life mission. And running a little bit ahead I can say that it was this level of self-discipline and focus that helped Elisha to become one of the outstanding people of all times. That is the key to success for every person! We will talk more about this tomorrow! God bless you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
