THE ROAD TO A DOUBLE ANOINTING
2 Kings 2:1-15
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. JOKE 1: A Sunday school teacher was teaching on the story of Elijah the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal. She explained how Elijah built the altar, put wood upon it, cut the steer in pieces and laid it upon the altar.
2. And then Elijah commanded the people of God to fill four barrels of water and pour it over the altar. He had them do this four times.
3. "Now," said the teacher, "can anyone tell me why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?"
4. A little girl in the back of the room raised her hand with great enthusiasm; "To make the gravy!"
5. JOKE 2: Some observant Jews in the UK discovered recently that their local Kosher butcher had, without knowing it, given them horse meat which they had eaten.
6. Worried, they went to their doctor who, after checking them out, said they were in 'stable' condition.
B. TEXT
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, “so be quiet.” 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, “so be quiet.” 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 from 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, it will 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 garment and tore it in two. 13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah 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. 2 Kings 2:1-15.
C. THESIS
1. We know that Elisha went from being a ploughman, working in the fields one day, to being a prophet of the Lord. Elisha was tested at each step of the journey. Elijah would say, “Stay here, don’t go any further.”
2. And Elisha passed the test by saying (in so many words), “There’s no way I’m stopping on my spiritual journey! I want all the anointing you’ve got, and more!”
3. Today I want us to look at the four places mentioned that Elijah & Elisha visited from the time his test began: Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho and the Jordan.
4. Each one is highly significant in Israel’s history and I believe they are symbolic of key growth stages in the Christian’s life. Each one must be achieved if we would be candidates for a double portion of God’s Spirit.
5. The title of this message is “The Road to a Double Anointing.” Somebody say, “I Want A Double Portion!”
I. GILGAL: SEPARATION
A. THE GOD WHO IS ALIVE
1. WHAT HAPPENED AT GILGAL? If you were to go to Gilgal in the days of the Israelites, what would you see?” A specific pile of stones. In Josh. 3 & 4, God parted the flood-stage Jericho River so that the army of Israel could cross over on dry ground.
2. As they were going across, Joshua had them pick up 12 boulders – one for each tribe – and pile them up on the bank as a sign/reminder of the miracle God was performing -- so their descendants would hear about it & believe in God.
3. IT WAS A WITNESS THAT GOD IS ALIVE! These stones were a reminder that God is alive! Some people think He’s dead or that He doesn’t do marvels anymore. But the presence of Israel back in the holy land is a witness that God is alive and still acting on behalf of His people!
B. SEPARATION, CUTTING AWAY
1. Gilgal is also the place where all the Israelites were circumcised – the sign they were God’s covenant people. Those born in the wilderness had never been circumcised. Circumcision represents the “cutting away” of the carnal nature done by Christ when we got saved (Col. 2:11 NKJV).
2. After circumcision, God said, “Today, I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” God was saying to them “I have rolled away the past, the reproach of your former sinful lives.”
3. GILGAL MEANS “SEPARATION!”
a. 2 Cor. 6:17, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
b. One thing that hinders the Christian from having the power of the Holy Spirit on them is that they’ve NEVER fully SURRENDERED to the Lord! We want our:
* BEER/SPORTS more than we want God.
* We don’t want to surrender our TIME to God.
* “ “ “ “ “ our MONEY to God.
* Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman” (31:1).
* We don’t want to surrender our UNFORGIVENESS, our ANGER, our PRIDE…to HUMBLE OURSELVES! No wonder revival hasn’t come!
4. To gain a double anointing, we must SURRENDER to Christ and SEPARATE ourselves from our old sins. Do you really want
a double anointing? Are you willing to forsake your old life?
5. Somebody say, “I Want A Double Portion!”
II. BETHEL: DESIRE FOR GOD’S PRESENCE
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.”
A. JACOB’S TWO ENCOUNTERS
1. In Gen. 28, Jacob left home, stopped at this location – the Hard Rock Hotel – (he used a stone for a pillow), and had a dream of angels visiting that place. He awoke and called it Bethel which means “House of God.”
2. It was at Bethel where Jacob wrestled God (Gen. 35:7) and God again revealed Himself to Jacob. Bethel was one of the 3 regular places Samuel went to each year (1 Sam. 7:16).
B. WE MUST SEEK HIS PRESENCE
1. During the time of Judges, Bethel was where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, where people went to seek of the Lord. What does that mean for us?
2. Bethel speaks of the Lord’s presence. It means “the House of God!” We need to desire to be in His presence.
3. The first step was to be separated and put away our sins & old life. The second step on the journey to double anointing has to do with a desire for God and a desire for His presence.
4. Ps. 63:1-4, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you…. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” Do YOU desire His presence?
C. ARE YOU ACCEPTING LESS?
1. We’re so proud of our new grandchild – Eloise, Joel & Autumn’s baby. She’s very sweet! I’m reminded how….
2. Now we’ve all seen mothers sit at the back. When the baby gets hungry, the mother will first pull out a pacifier to quiet the baby. The baby thinks it’s getting something to eat, so it gets quiet.
3. But before long, babies come to realize that the pacifier is not food and that the mother is trying to distract him from his real craving.
4. Many people go to churches on Sunday and are satisfied with just a pacifier experience instead of pressing in and really getting something from God! It’s time we got what Elisha had! Somebody say, “I Want A Double Anointing!”
III. JERICHO: SPIRITUAL WARFARE
Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” Elisha replied, “I will not leave you.”
A. SIGNIFICANCE OF JERICHO
1. Jericho was the first battle the Israelites faced. It had huge, high walls. The city was 2,000 years old and was thought to be invincible!
2. God asked the Israelites to do something completely illogical to win their battle: to walk around it by faith for 7 days. What possible good could that do? But God’s battles are not won by earthly strategies.
B. THE WEAPONS GOD’S GIVEN US
If we’re going to win battles in the spiritual realm, we’re going to have to use the spiritual weapons God has given us.
1. One weapon is the Word of God. Jesus used the Word of God when battling Satan after the 40 days of fasting. It’s necessary we commit the Word to memory. It is the “Sword of the Spirit!”
2. Another weapon is the Name of Jesus. The Name of Jesus is a proxy for the Person of Jesus Himself. When a man or woman puts on a police uniform, they cease from being a regular person to being a person endowed with all the authority of the state. So it is when we ‘put on Christ.’ In the proper discharge of our duties, we are given authority in His name to command certain things to be done.
3. Another weapon is the Blood of Jesus. Jesus’ blood is the FORCE FIELD the enemy can’t penetrate. It frees us from the curse of the Law and it breaks the power of sin! Praise God for the Blood!
4. One more weapon is PRAYER. Leonard Ravenhill said, “One might estimate the weight of the world, tell the size of the celestial city, the stars of heaven, measure the speed of lightning, and tell the time of the rising and setting of the sun – but you cannot estimate prayer-power. Prayer is as vast as God because He is behind it and has committed Himself to answer it!”
R.A. Torrey says, “There have been revivals without much preaching, but there has never been a mighty revival without mighty praying!”
5. Use your spiritual weapons and fight the good fight of faith!
IV. THE JORDAN: FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
The final test for Elisha came with the Jordan.
A. CROSSING NECESSARY FOR POSSESSING LAND
1. THE JORDAN IS THE BOUNDARY OF THE PROMISED LAND GOD HAS GIVEN US. WE ARE TO GO IN AND POSSESS IT.
2. Deut. 11:8 Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess….” Are you willing to move into new territory and take it for Jesus?
B. A VERY UNIQUE RIVER
1. ONLY THE JORDAN WAS SACRED ENOUGH TO WASH NAAMAN’S LEPROSY AWAY. Naaman thought the rivers of Damascus were better rivers, but it was only the Jordan that could heal him. 2 Kings 5:12,14. It was this same Jordan in which John the Baptist & the Lord Jesus baptized people. Their sins were washed away!
2. WHILE THE LORD JESUS WAS IN THE JORDAN HE WAS BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT! Luke 3:21, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too [in the Jordan]. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” Luke 4:1.
3. THE JORDAN REPRESENTS ELISHA’S WILLINGNESS TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT!
C. ILLUSTRATION: “Baby Arrives in the Midst of Oil Change” Hou. Chron. 1/5/17.
1. It happened in Dormont, PA. Some auto shops offer 10 minute oil change service. That still would have been about 7 minutes too long for a Pennsylvania woman who gave birth while the oil in her husband’s pickup was being changed at an auto dealership.
2. Amanda Sherman, 24, gave birth when she went to the restroom at a dealership in suburban Pittsburg. Another customer, a nurse, aided with the delivery of 7 lb., 12 oz. Heather Lynn.
3. This sounds like a horrible thing for an expectant mother in this circumstance, but it’s a very interesting parallel. When the oil started flowing –– the baby began to be born. How true that the Child of God is Born of the Spirit and must be continuously filled with the Spirit! I was born in the Fire and only by the Fire can I be maintained!
4. Somebody say, “I Want A Double Portion!”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: POP CORN
1. When you’ve been touched by the Holy Spirit, others will know it. I was eating popcorn the other night and thought about how popcorn is like church.
2. You take a bag of popcorn and throw it in the microwave. All the popcorn kernels experience the same thing, just like people in church. But when all is said and done, some kernels are so stubborn, they just won’t pop!
3. They’re all put into the same room; they’re all hearing the same buzz, they are all under the same light, but some of them just won’t pop! [hold up a popped microwave bag.]
4. We can all be exposed to the same anointing, the same Holy Spirit is wooing us; and some people respond – they head for the altar, they surrender to the anointing.
5. But some just don’t know how to let go! Step out! Come forward! Put your hands up. Give it up! Let the Holy Spirit have His way in your life! Come to Him! Yield to Him! Say “Come in Lord Jesus & take possession of my Life! Fill me up Holy Spirit!”
B. THE CALL
1. Elisha was tested: Would he be separate from the world? Would he desire & pursue God’s presence? Would he engage in spiritual warfare? Would he press in for the fullness of the Spirit?
2. I want to open the altars and invite you to come forward and find a place to pray. These 4 things will usher us into a “double portion.” Do we really want it?
3. Prayer.
[This is a rewrite of a message of the same title by William Poovey.]
