I love to study about Elijah and Elisha; in fact, they both are among my favorite Biblical characters. I can relate more to Elijah at times, though. Why? First, because he had such a heart to rid the nation of Israel from idolatrous worship and to dethrone Jezebel.
Secondly…well, I admit it…beause he ran from Jezebel and stayed in a cave awhile after she threatened to kill him.
Thirdly, because he was a prophet that understood that to see miracles and remain obedient he had to be willing to take risks. So, you see, as a prophet, I can relate to him a bit. But let’s not negate this one important fact, and this part includes you and your destiny to demonstrate the raw power of God as he often did, “He was a man just like us.” (James 5:17 NIV). This means that each of us has a unique call of God on our lives and when we pray, we will see God’s power demonstrated on the earth.
Elijah is a person that has positively provoked me often. His life inspires me to be more committed to bring Heaven to Earth and demonstrate God’s power. He was truly unique, wasn’t he? One day he’s out-running a horse-driven chariot and another day, he’s trying to outrun Jezebel. One day he’s calling down fire from Heaven and the next day he sets out on a blazing run into the desert as a coward. Yep, I can relate. But, this is not just a summary of Elijah’s or Elisha’s life. This is a revelatory word concerning the year 2017 so keep reading!
A Shift
Elijah made a huge shift in his ministry when God gave him clear instructions to anoint someone else whom he was to mentor. You know the story; he threw his mantle upon Elisha who was to become his successor. All the time that Elijah was being used by God to demonstrate His power, Elijah had not chosen anyone to succeed him.
Now, Elijah had servants, but he had no “spiritual son.” So, when Elijah was taken to Heaven in a whirlwind, Elisha was there. Elijah had instructed Elisha that if he “saw him” when he left this Earth, he could receive his mantle. Elisha remained determined to follow his father in the Lord until the very end. Elisha did all but wash Elijah’s hands. He remained faithful to being mentored and to the process required to receive the double portion mantle that he was called to demonstrate.
Because of his determination and faithfulness, Elisha received Elijah’s mantle. But the anointing was doubled! As we notice in Scripture, Elisha did twice the number of miracles as Elijah. I want that also, don’t you?
Receive Your Double Portions
I heard the Lord say very clearly that, “The Elishas are rising up in this next season and will receive a double portion anointing as well as demonstrate it. It will be a season of revolution! The Elisha’s will arise and move with great power and then they will become like Elijah—the one who mentors others to become Elishas!”
Now, at first this was a bit confusing to me. So, for clarity let me break it down a bit so that you can understand it as the Lord showed me:
Those of you who have been an Elisha, serving someone else and being mentored; you are about to be released to rise up and move forward with a double portion anointing. In the seasons ahead, as you remain teachable and pliable in the hands of the Master Potter, you will become like an Elijah to someone else who desires to serve you like an Elisha. So Elisha becomes an Elijah to another person called to be an Elisha!
A strong mentoring anointing is occurring once again. Father’s will not be simply religious leaders, but rather true spiritual fathers. Servants in the house of the Lord will become true sons.
As a result of this, great manifestations of God’s power will be demonstrated and the future generations will rise up with incredible passion to serve the Lord and advance the Kingdom of God.
A Revolution of Spiritual Reproduction
What I am talking about is a process of spiritual reproduction. You might say that Elisha never passed his mantle to anyone. True; but today, it doesn’t have to be that way! There are many Elishas today that are called to father/mother their own spiritual sons/daughters. This is all what the apostolic ministry does; it turns the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to the fathers (see Malachi 4:6).
Elisha died without casting his mantle on anyone; how sad! Think about this, as far as we know Elijah had no plans to raise up anyone or give anyone else his mantle. In fact, he thought that he was the only prophet around! God had to give Elijah instructions to find Elisha and mentor him. Precious Saints, it’s time to take time to mentor others!
We are in the midst of a spiritual revolution of spiritual reproduction! A revolution is an overthrow of a government or political system that is established. May I just point out that in order to completely overthrow the plans of the enemy that we need an Elijah-Elisha revolution today? There needs to be an overthrow of evil and corruption that is established upon the Earth. And, when we think about all that Elijah and Elisha accomplished, it should pale in the demonstration of power we witness today. We, after all, have been given the keys of the Kingdom to bind the enemy. That power with the anointing upon the Church should cause every enemy to flee!
Dear ones, traditional Church must change. The Church needs to become “revolutionary;” meaning that we become actively engaged in the revolution. As the Scripture clearly points out; faith without works is dead, we must actively participate with Heaven’s mandate.
And, we must, and I repeat this for impact, must consider and allow the Lord to fulfill Malachi 4:6 which says this:
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; (NIV)
Revolutionary New Generation Prayer and Worship
There’s much more that I could write concerning the mantles of Elijah and Elisha; but for the sake of this article I need to reestablish the necessity of entering into a new level of prophetic power and authority in our prayer and worship.
This year, we will reach a frequency in Heaven that will revolutionary release the angelic host to co-labor with us in spiritual warfare; and it directly involves prayer and worship. Keep this in mind as I discuss the meaning of a spiritual revolution or being “revolutionary;” one of the meanings is “to bring about a sudden, complete, or a marked change.” I do believe that Elijah was a worshiper and he definitely knew how to pray! Our prayer life is an extension of our worship. So, when we pray and worship things are going to suddenly change!
Remember how during a drought Elijah prayed several times and it began to rain? He prayed down fire from Heaven and the fire of God consumed the sacrifice at Mt. Carmel. Elisha was also a man of prayer and worship. When Elijah passed his mantle, Elisha received double portion anointing from his mentor! He prayed also and raised the dead more than his father in the Lord did.
Therefore, we can see a clear example of how when Elisha prayed and worshiped even more happened! Take some time and read all that Elijah and Elisha accomplished for God so that you can get your faith up now for accessing the supernatural in 2017!
Dear ones, in this next year we are going to see the results of our prayers and worship. The same mantles upon Elijah and Elisha are upon us to fulfill our callings and commissioning. Our prayers will become great demonstrations of God’s power on the Earth. Mentors of prayer and worship are going to excel in this next season. The year 2017 will release the true Elijahs and Elishas to come forth to teach and train the next generation.
It has been my concern for a very long time that worship is often simple entertainment. But, the Lord says this about worship, “God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).” (John 4:24 AMP with emphasis).
We must teach the next generation true worship which is from the heartfelt and intimate adoration expressed to the Lord rather than religious performance. There is an important account in Scripture to consider concerning worship. What I want to point out is how God desires to empower us and anoint us during our time of worship in this next year.
In 2 Kings 3, we read the passage where the Kings of Israel, Judah and Edom were in pursuit of the Moabites and they went into the desert and realized that they were completely out of water. There was no water for them or their horses. Wisely, they asked for a prophet to come on the scene! Elisha came and saw that they were in dire straits. He looked at their situation and then said, “Bring me a minstrel!” (v. 15). While the minstrel (harpist) was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he prophesied this:
This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; He will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones. (2 Kings 3:17-19 NIV)
Wow! You may need to go back and read this again! Elisha, because of the anointing upon worship, prophesied that they were to start digging ditches because God was about to send water! If you read on, you find out that He did and it was an awesome miracle. And, as Elisha prophesied, He gave them victory over the Moabites!
Reader, please realize the power of worship. It releases an anointing to prophesy the Word of the Lord, release godly direction and promise victory in warfare! Amazing, right? So, the mantles on the Elishas will empower them to move even more boldly during worship to declare the word of the Lord.
Therefore, dear ones, let’s get serious in our callings. Let us become true worshipers this next year! Let us be determined to remain passionate to demonstrate the Kingdom of God and be a part of the upcoming Elijah-Elisha Revolution! Let the Fathers arise, let the sons and daughters arise. Receive and demonstrate your mantles in 2017!
In Christ,
Sandie Freed
Zion Ministries |Co-pastor, Lifegate Church, Hurst, Texas
Email: zionministries1@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.lifegatechurch.org
ElijahList Publications
528 Ellsworth St. SW
Albany, OR 97321
www.elijahlist.com
email: info@elijahlist.net
Phone 1-541-926-3250