The Road To A Double Anointing

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.