Elisha saw Elijah being taken into heaven!
2 King 2:11,12”….Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it…….”
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Memorize)
We’ll just take the above few words for today’s meditation; this is a delicious portion in the Bible, that makes our jaws drop! Elijah being taken into heaven by chariots of fire and horses! Surreal! Incredible! Wonderful! This is going to be a ‘missionary message’ that would set you on fire! At the onset let me tell you, I write this with fasting, lot of prayer and tears! The anointing of God is on me! Let this ignite a fire in your bones that does not/cannot be extinguished! I write this piece so that more Elijahs’ and Elishas’ would arise for God! Since this portion is vast and many lovely revelations are hidden in it, I want to just expound on the words ‘ELISHA SAW’! God allowed/permitted/organized/orchestrated Elisha to see Elijah being taken up into heaven! This was not for curiosity, thrill or personal gratification – but for a higher purpose! I will take this forward step by step so that you take in ounce by ounce and relish…….
COMMITTED: The all-consuming passion, aggressive and unswerving commitment of Elisha is staggering! As he travels along with Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel, Jericho and Jordan, Elisha keeps repeating to Elijah” I will not leave you!’ Elisha humbly follows his leader! Before crossing Jordan, Elijah looks at Elisha and tells him, ‘stay here’, Elisha politely declines and firmly persists in hanging on to Elijah. The Bible says in 2 King 2:6 ‘…so the two of them went on.’ The word ‘so’ connects many things: Elisha persisted so…Elisha refused to leave Elijah so…… Elisha was hungry to serve the Lord like Elijah so….and so on…..Today there is too much of distraction, attraction, confusion and interruption, hence not many have this commitment! During my initial days of salvation, I would be holding on to the alarm-clock all the time; I was committed to my prayer timings and hence would set the alarm in the night to wake up in the wee hours of the next day for prayer. Midnight I would check if the clock is working just in case I miss the beep! Folks at home would call me crazy but I still do that, though. Committed! Do you hear me? People who say, ‘I will pray tomorrow cannot achieve much for God!’ God is looking for Elijahs’ and Elishas’!
You got to be committed to your goal! Are you listening please? We have successful cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar who is a living legend in the field of cricket because of his hard work and commitment towards practice. Nothing comes without pain! The recipient of the Oscar award for best actor in 2014, Matthew McConaughey’s amazing weight loss of 20 kg for his role in the film “The Dallas Buyer’s Club” is an amazing feat! He had to not only give up on cheese and hamburgers but also follow a strict regimen to achieve this goal. When people of the world do such exploits, it is sad to watch Christians live a shoddy life with no commitment whatsoever! How many of you have committed yourself to fast for 40 days? Very few, I’m sure………
SEPARATION: Fifty men of the sons of the prophets stood at a distance but only Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan. Not many would venture into an unknown territory, only the ones who blindly trust God would go forward! Miracles are reserved for such go-getters and trend-setters! Are you listening? Elisha’s persistence and hot pursuit behind Elijah paid off when he was a personal witness to the parting of Jordan by Elijah. Miracles, divine vision and mysteries of heaven are reserved for people who are ready to separate themselves from the world and do some hard chasing! Are you listening? I have talked a lot on the subject of ‘separation’ in my ebook ‘Locked up with God!’ (click HERE for free download)
Self-denial is essential for a disciple! Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mathew 16:24) While I was still working for a multinational bank and after the miraculous birth of my son Joshua, I was 100 percent sure that I would resign my job and serve the Lord in the mission field. I had made up my mind. One day I did something crazy, it was mid-week and a working day, I visited a garment showroom and purchased around 10 - 15 cotton saris and kept it secretly stored in my cupboard. I prepared myself for the future ’mission days’ just in case I may not be able to buy clothes for myself ! I chuckle as I write this today, because I don’t wear saris much these days….Such was my fierce commitment to the cause! Hudson Taylor, missionary who went to China, was seventeen-year-old when he gave up his feather-bed to sleep on hard boards because young Hudson said: "I'm getting rid of it--they don't have comfortable mattresses in China, you know -sleeping on hard boards ought to toughen me up." Let these words sink into you and change you!
BIG ASKING FOR HARD SERVING: Now, comes a ‘fire portion’ where a deal is being discussed! Listen carefully! After watching the hot pursuit of Elisha behind him, Elijah is now convinced that Elisha deserves a reward, so he looks at him and asks ‘Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.’ Elijah was talking of a reward that he would give ‘NOW’ and not ‘AFTERWARDS!’ Sincere, true, loyal, faithful, devoted, reliable workers would be rewarded then and there! Are you listening? I am talking of 100 percent loyalty! If your log-in time at work is 9 am, be at your work spot much before that, do not stroll around the cafeteria in the name of ‘sharing Gospel’, be sincere at work, do not extend tea and lunch breaks – come back to your seat on time. When I was conducting afternoon prayer cells at my work place, I would give strict instructions to my colleagues to be in their respective seats on time after lunch, I would even go to the extent of checking it out myself. No fun in carrying big Bibles, if we are lackadaisical and not honest at our work place!
To the question of ‘what do you want’ by Elijah, the reply of Elisha is ace! He does not ask for gold, silver or some acres of land to start his ministry, he asks, ‘please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.’ Boy! I can’t help but write this portion with choked emotions! I wish we had more of ‘such’ servants for God rather than people who are interested in releasing their music albums, building fancy churches, doing luxurious programs and what not! Elijah was no emotional mom like me, he said the wish would be granted on a condition, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." Double portion of anointing would be given to servants who are worthy for it! Elijah expected Elisha to be still more focused, fixed and determined in his vision! Elisha I guess intensified his prayers and pleaded, “Lord, open my eyes so that I see Elijah be carried into heaven!” Suddenly as they were discussing, ‘chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven and Elisha saw it!
The hot chase behind Elijah, the single-minded focus on his master, separation from his family and home town to be with Elijah were all for the ‘anointing’ that he needed to serve His Lord effectively! In these days of hot pursuit for the latest electronic gadgets, cars, laptops and iPhones this message talks about a man Elisha who chased his mentor Elijah for a greater purpose of serving His Lord mightily!
It was mixed feelings for Elisha, having seen Elijah be taken up into heaven, he now has a confirmation of the double portion of anointing being given to him, but at the same time, his mentor and beloved master Elijah had left him; however, he did not hang around there mourning but he picked up the mantle of Elijah and without an iota of doubt of the anointing that has been rewarded to him, he stood before the Jordan and struck the water like Elijah and went over.
The vision granted to Elisha of the chariots of fire and horses was to encourage and push him forward to serve the Lord with fire. The generation Elisha was going to minister to were hard, rebellious, blind and unruly hence he needed such heavenly visions to hold on to during times of adversity.
Elisha saw beautiful things of heaven! Before Elisha saw he had to sow commitment, determination, separation, self-denial and single-minded focus in order to get the harvest of the heavenly vision! Many Christians are content with mediocrity, but we need more power of the Holy Spirit and more anointing to pepper the opponents like Elisha. Elisha ministered to the people when there was war and famine, he was counseling kings, commanders and at the same time poor widows. The dead were brought to life and empty vessels were filled with oil because of his instructions and guidance.
