The Life of Elisha: Tests and Double Mantles

Written By: Barbie L. Breathitt Ph.D.
Breath of the Spirit Ministries
 (www.myonar.com)

Tests and a Double Mantle

After Elijah trained his servant Elisha to look and see, listen and hear, and prophesy the word of the Lord, it was time for him to return to Heaven. The heavenly chariot of God carried Elijah away from Elisha into the spiritual expanse of Heaven's eternity outside of time. Elisha was told by Elijah, "If you see me when I am taken from you, [you will receive a double portion of my spirit]..."

Elisha had to pass many tests and persevere in order to walk in Elijah's double mantle (see 2 Kings 2:1-18). Elijah asked Elisha to stay in Gilgal, the place of cutting, circumcision, and the rolling away of reproach, but he refused. This is a picture for us that when God removes our past failures and reproach, we must walk through the gates of authority into the new place with God; and so Elijah then moved on to Bethel, the place or house of God, the gates of Heaven. Bethel was a place where people went to seek counsel from God. Elisha followed Elijah to Bethel to learn how to obtain God's counsel.

We must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to the next place of testing to progress spiritually. We cannot remain complacent or stagnant; the river of God always flows.

Next, the sons of the prophets came to Elisha in Bethel and said, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?' And Elisha said, "Yes I know; be still!" Elijah told Elisha to remain in Bethel while he went on to Jericho. But Elisha said, "I will not leave you" (2 Kings 2:3 NASB).

The sons of the prophets in Jericho, a place of fragrance and warfare, had also been shown that Elijah was going to be taken away from Elisha that day.

From Jericho, Elijah and Elisha traveled on to Jordan, a place of flowing down or descending, where fifty men of the sons of the prophets stood opposite them at the Jordan River. Elijah took his mantle, folded it together, and struck the waters of the Jordan, which divided, allowing both prophets to cross over on dry ground.

When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." 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." As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to Heaven. Elisha saw it [the chariot] and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 2 Kings 2:9-12 NASB

However, Elijah did not hand his mantle onto Elisha; Elisha had to pick it up after Elijah was taken into Heaven.

What Was the Significance of Elijah's Mantle For Elisha?

The word mantle in Hebrew is addereth; its root word being adar, which is also the word for the last month on the Hebrew calendar. The month of Adar is the best time to remove any personal barriers to holiness, thus it is a time to create the potential for the greatest joy. Adar is the final month of the year, i.e. it completes the year, and hence it is a time of completion. The root meaning of adar is glorious, splendid, marvelous, and mighty. In a noun form it is rendered as a cloak or mantle.

He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over. 2 Kings 2:13-14 NASB

Jewish traditions indicate that the mantle that fell from Elijah was a tallith or prayer shawl. The tallith of a prophet or master teacher would have dark purple-blue threads in the corner tassel. People believed that the purple thread contained miracle power. This is why the woman with the issue of blood wanted to touch the hem of Jesus' tallith or garment. When she was healed, Jesus said, "Who touched Me?...I felt virtue leave Me." Then He told her, "Your faith has made you whole," not a purple thread (see Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48).

Elijah's tallith, mantle, or "adar" symbolized that Elisha had removed any barriers to his relationship with God. He was no longer the servant but now stepped into the place of the prophet he had served. Elijah's mantle was a doorway to God's power. Elijah told Elisha that if he saw him taken, he would have his desire to carry on the prophetic ministry with a double portion of his spirit.

The mantle is a symbol of joy and completion. Elijah left his mantle as a sign that he had completed his assignment. Elisha picked up Elijah's mantle indicating the start of a new year; he was picking up where Elijah left off and beginning his own ministry as a prophet. Elijah's mantle was a symbol of an agreement of power and authority between Elijah and God. Elisha's picking up Elijah's mantle symbolized that he was entering into the same agreement with God. When Elisha used Elijah's mantle to part the Jordan River, God established His agreement or covenant with Elisha.

What The Double Portion Looks Like

Everyone is at a different level of hearing and seeing in their spiritual understanding. Elisha had walked and been personally trained by Elijah for years. He had been tested and tried in spiritual disciplines. The sons of the prophets had been through training as well, yet they did not possess the level of seeing that Elisha had developed. Elisha saw the chariot of fire and the horses come to separate him from Elijah. He cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" (2 Kings 2:12 NASB).

The sons of the prophets only saw the whirlwind the chariot created. The sons of the prophets were left wondering if Elijah had been translated to Heaven or if he had possibly been transported to another geographic location. They had to search for three days in the natural to come into peace. Elisha knew Elijah had been taken to Heaven because he saw beyond the natural into the invisible realm of the Spirit.

Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. They said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send." But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him. They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?" 2 Kings 2:15-18 NASB

The New Testament shares an example of the audible voice of God speaking from Heaven when Jesus foretold of His death. Some that stood by didn't hear anything. Others who were present in the crowd heard God's voice manifested in thunder, while still others thought it was an angel.

So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes." John 12:29-30 NASB

The names of both Elijah (meaning "the Lord is my God" or spiritual champion) and Elisha (meaning "God will save me" or protected) carries the record of what they represent, but not necessarily how they saw, if they are thought to be seers. Elijah's name means God is Jehovah or YHVH is my God. He functioned as the Father's recorder on earth.

In the case of God's servant Elijah, the chariot was a trans-dimensional carrier of God's servant. The chariot of God transported Elijah out of time into the eternal realm where Elijah had always existed in heavenly places. When the fullness of time came, God reached down to retrieve the recording of Himself He had placed within Elijah.

Elijah came to restore all things back to God. He was called to turn the hearts of the Fathers back to the sons, and to turn the sons' hearts back to the fathers', to make ready a people for God lest God curse the earth (see Malachi 4). Elijah's anointing was to restore righteousness and protect the earthly realm from being struck with a curse caused by sin.

Elisha's name means "GOD is salvation" or "My God is salvation." He functioned under a double portion of Elijah's spirit.

Walk Like the Prophet Elisha

Elisha's eyes saw beyond the veil of the natural into the supernatural realm where God's army of fiery angels and chariots reside. His eyes were not limited by situations or hard facts. He knew to look beyond the natural to see God's provision. He trusted more in the realm of faith than what seemed to appear in the natural.

When fear blinded Elisha's servant, the prophet's prayer was able to open the attendant's spiritually blind eyes to see the coexisting spiritual realms of angels. Knowing that there are more for us than against us brings a peace beyond our present understanding.

Prayer delivers us from fear. Prayer opens our eyes to see God's ever-present answer, while at the same time prophetic decree will blind our enemies and place them at our mercy. For God to trust us at this level, it requires us to develop greater levels of obedience of compassion. God wants to trust us with the lives of our enemies. God tests and tries us until He knows that we will not execute our own judgment or harm people in any way.

When God delivers our enemies into our hands, we must return good for evil, blessing for cursing, and lovingkindness for abuse. The Lord is the only one who should ever move in judgment. He said, "Vengeance is Mine." We have no right to be vengeful. It is God's place to vindicate us.

We are called to love our enemies, to be kind to those who persecute, use, and abuse our kindness. We should lead our enemies to salvation, and their eyes will be opened to God's saving word, loving spirit, and grace. It is time to love like God loves; see like God sees; obey what God's Word says, and then do what God does.

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-17 NASB

When Elisha's enemies came down off the mountain to pursue him, Elisha prayed. We should follow his example. Elisha's prayers struck his enemies with blindness. This removed the enemy's power and control. They were forced into a vulnerable place, wandering in darkness and confusion. The army had come to do the prophet great harm, but God protected him. The prophet placed his trust in God. In this new state of total dependence and humiliation, the enemy had to trust and blindly follow Elisha to Samaria. Elisha said, "Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek" (2 Kings 6:19 NASB).

When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, "Strike this people with blindness, I pray." So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." And he brought them to Samaria. 2 Kings 6:18-19 NASB

Elisha's enemies had to walk through the process of trusting the one they were sent to destroy. Once they arrived at the promised location, Elisha prayed that God would reopen their blind eyes. Their vision was restored. New vision was given in the midst of their enemies.

When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, "O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 2 Kings 6:20 NASB

Many of us have been wounded by an enemy or betrayed by a close friend, but we are to respond to them with God's lovingkindness and compassion.

Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, "My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?" He answered, "You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow?... 2 Kings 6:21-22 NASB

Elisha told the King of Israel to respond according to the greatness of God's loving-kindness, to make his enemies the objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors. Elisha encouraged the king to feed the Arameans, to provide for and care for his enemies instead of killing them. The king prepared a feast for the enemy soldiers and they ate to their fill.

"...Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel. 2 Kings 6:22-23 NASB

Elisha's mercy triumphed over judgment. Great grace leads us to victory. The King of Israel's enemies were delivered into his hands. The King was eager to execute judgment and destroy his enemies, but the prophet carefully redirected his focus to blessing and not destruction.

Good will always triumph over evil. Love will also bring forth a better result than hate. Never greet your enemy in the same malignant spirit. Never return evil for evil but learn to bless instead of curse. We are not of this world, so we cannot respond in the spirit of this world. God is love so we must respond in the power of His might.

What Ever Happened to the Power of God?

When I was 20 years old I gave my life to Jesus Christ.  My boss at that time had been sharing with me about how much Jesus loved me, I knew my parents and family loved me, but when I heard that Jesus Christ loved me, the Holy Spirit began to transform my life. We all think we know what love is, until we encounter the Lover of our Soul.  I was so AMAZED that Jesus Christ loved ME. Every break at work I would ask her to share with me about this "love".  As she was sharing, there was so much peace that was invading my hectic life. 

Then one day she invited me to a "revival" at her local church in Tallahassee.  When I went there the first thing I felt when I walked in the door was peace.  I loved being there. As the service started the music was wonderful, then the evangelist got up to speak and he was sharing on the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit".  All I knew was I need what he is talking about and to be honest I wanted him to stop talking so I can come receive. When he finally called all those that were wanting to receive the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit", I ran up to the front.  Now remember, I did not grow up in a pentecostal church, I had no idea what he was talking about, but the Spirit of God was drawing me. As I got up to the front, the evangelist came by and prayed for me, then a lady came and stood with me and explained what was going to happen. Who would of ever thought my life would never be the same again.  Some other language started to come out of my mouth and I hit the floor.  The Power of God swept through my body and Jesus started to take away all the depression that I had battled the last couple of years as a teenager. For 2.5 hours I was on the floor and God was shaking everything out of my life that did not need to be there. When I finally got up my life had totally changed.

The changes in my life could not have been changed through positive thinking, or some 10 step program. I needed the Power of the Holy Spirit. I am so glad that the church I was visiting did not preach a sweet message and then say, Goodnight, see you tomorrow." They gave me a chance to experience the Jesus that the Bible talks about.  

I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and there are some of the most amazing ministries that are here.  The problem with some of this is that we are having multiple services where we are getting in and out of the services.  Some churches don't even give altar calls.  It is also very rare for me to hear someone giving a call for the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit".  

My question is: If we have taken out the Power of the Holy Spirit, why are we gathering each week?  I can read and study the Word of God at my house.

I do know this, if I was a teenager today having to face the pressure of the secular school system and attended church I would definitely need the Power of God to stay pure, live holy and be used in my school to make a difference.  We as ministers/christians need to have a normal lifestyle of the Power of God, so the next generation sees and knows that their God is greater than anything that they see in front of them.  

When I look at the condition of the youth groups and how many young people that are shacking up, the holiness level of churches and ministries, we are no better than the world.  No wonder we have a generation that looks at us and decides that the world looks better.

We need some power and demonstration of the power back in the local church.  Sometimes it seems that the "high calling" of the Sunday morning service is to make sure we get out at 12noon.  I would love to interview some young people after Church and ask them if what they experienced in that service would draw their friends to Christ. 

Just a thought:  What if we as leaders would come in and ask the Holy Spirit what He wants to accomplish in church today. It would probably SHOCK ministers to really hear people share about their encounter with visiting churches. People are so hungry for the supernatural, if we don't demonstrate it we will see a generation be drawn to New Age and other religions. Wait, I think that is already happening.

I love Jesus Christ with all of my heart. I am so grateful for people in my life that when I am going through a lot that I can ask them to pray for me and they have the Power of God on their life.  I can't imagine my life without them. 

I am sharing my heart, because I know it is the will of God to have power encounters with His people and the people that do not know Him yet as Savior and Lord.

Prayer for today:  Lord, please start in me that I be a person that walks in the demonstration of power.  And I would release it wherever I go to show others the love of Christ.

Back to the Basics - Fiery Christianity

For some days now I have been going over in my heart the condition of the american church in the age group of 18-39.  We have many youth movements rising up and one thing that we are seeing over and over is a “lack of holiness”; of course, this is some, not everyone.  If we have young leaders under us we need to always gauge their "holiness" level.  We are overseers over their souls and will stand before God for their spiritual growth or lack of growth.  I believe in these leaders and the mission of their movements.  But please let us not forget the foundation of our lives and of each movement, which is the Cross of Jesus Christ.  The Blood represents, the “sanctifying work of Jesus Christ” and the Cross represents the “redemptive work of Jesus Christ.”

I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and I see daily the condition of the church from those I interact with weekly, even monthly.  We have this “form of godliness, yet, we deny the Power” to change our lives.” (2 Timothy 3)

We call evil good and good evil. We entertain ourselves with the “vomit” that satan has put in the minds of the ungodly to produce films, that in turn pollute our souls (I do believe that God is looking for those that will produce films for the Glory of God). Yet, week after week we go rent/buy these movies. Our television is a “gateway” into our homes.  Then off to church on Sunday we go, as we raise our hands weekly in church services, and tell Him who suffered an excruciating death for the redemption of our souls, “Oh, Jesus how I love you.”  How is it we raise our hands, with “stained-spotted robes”.  Have we lost the “fear of the Lord”?  Have we grieved the Holy Spirit so long that we don’t even know if He is in our midst. 

When I was 20 years old I gave my heart to Jesus Christ.  A couple of weeks after giving my heart to Jesus, I did not feel the nearness of Christ as I did before. So I went to visit my pastor and he sat me down in his office and talked to me about “grieving the Holy Spirit” and if I had things in my life that separated me from God that I could have “grieved the Holy Spirit”.  I have NEVER forgotten that conversation with him.  For years now, I have pursued a personal, daily walk with the Holy Spirit. 

I have a deep burden in my heart to warn those that are mixing the profane and the good.  We see a deep increase of those that try to make Christianity a “cool” religion.  We have those that have polluted the minds of others with mixing eastern religion in with our biblical beliefs, for example yoga, karate, etc. And let me not even start on the "tattooing" trend.

Our sugar coated messages that gives the listener the sweetness of some false gospel, instead of the transforming work of Jesus Christ.  Last week I called a wonderful lady that I have been friends with for 13 years, a powerful saint of God and I shared with her my burden and she told me that the Lord spoke to her and told her to tell me, concerning the condition of the american church, “ If salt loses it savor, what good is it.”  (Mark 5:13) YIKES, how POWERFUL is that statement!

We need minsters of the Gospel teaching about the abominations that are invading the christian culture.  People with good intentions that are polluting the Body of Christ and allowing the stains of the world to get on the “dress” of the Bride of Christ that is being prepared for the Bridegroom’s return. 

Some have chosen leaders in the Body of Christ that have not been proven over time and we “pick” them to lead because they have the charisma to draw people, or to accomplish the task needed.  As I read the Book of Acts, it seems that when the apostles would go to choose a leader, they would pray and ask the Lord for direction on choosing a leader.  We sometimes choose leaders that have not been “tested” and “approved” by God.

This is not the message of the Cross, it is the cool, american christianity.  I wonder how many churches when picking leaders ask them about their salvation experience, not “Have you grown up in church and know the ways of the church.” Even to ask them the question, “what is God saying to you?”  We ask them, “Do you play golf?”  I am not against sports, as I am a basketball fan, but I am against putting the temperal things over the eternal things. 

My heart grieves because where much is given, much is required! 

Lord, start with me, if there is anything that is hindering the flow of God in my life remove it from me.  Cleanse my heart from anything that does not represents the Kingdom of God.  Any impurities, that keep me from your Presence. Stay close to me Jesus, or should I say I will stay close to you through living a “holy” life!

Revival or BUST!

Waking up this morning thinking about revival.  I am so tired of church as usual. I can walk in a church service and know exactly how it will go.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the local body of believers, as I am part of one.  But I am remembering the day when I did not know what God was going to do that particular Sunday morning church service.  He may come with healing, deliverance, or He may just come to love on His children.  I am at a place of spiritual discontent.  Revival has to start in me first. I want to be a person of the supernatural, not flaky, but operating in the genuine power of the Holy Spirit.  The Lord has allowed me to see so much since I have been a christian.  I don’t want to be so analytical that I reason God right out of a church service to proceed with my agenda. 

I grew up in the Brownsville Revival and experience revival firsthand.  I fell in love with Jesus Christ.  What I do everyday is because I love Him.  Real revival will always create a greater passion in the hearts of the believers for Christ.  To increase my hunger even more, I heard about the revival in Argentina, so I went down to Buenos Aires and spent some time with one of the pastors on staff at Rey de Reyes.  He told me about how the Argentine revival started in their local body and how many were renewed, refreshed and saved.   As he was telling me stories, you could still see the hunger for revival on his face after all those years.

Books after books I have read about revival, and I usually end up putting the book down and weeping.  I long for the day that the supernatural will enter our american churches again.  Sinners and saints need to hear the voice of God again.   

My heart is burning to see a move of God!  I want the Lord to purify every part of my life so He can use me powerfully.

Dreaming with God is dangerous!

P.S…..I know that there are many that wants Christ to return now, but I am not one of them. There are so many souls lost all over the world.  I am dreaming of a day of hearing on my TV that there is a move of God in the middle east.  My dream of a children revival in Afghanistan and conversions that will rock the hierarchy in the Arab world.  I need to see global revival before Jesus comes back.   If my soul had an imprint on it today, it would read:  REVIVAL or BUST!

Arise and Shine - A Time to Prepare

A couple of years ago,  I was driving to work and it was a morning that I decided to go in earlier than usual.  It was dark outside and as I drove I was noticing signs that were lit up and restaurants I had never noticed in the daytime.  The Lord started speaking to me saying that there were going to be dark times coming and those that were prepared in the Body of Christ that no one had ever noticed or that people thought were foolish for believing in Jesus Christ before were going to shine in the dark times.

Now it has been a couple of years since that time, but months ago, I was listening to a pastor preach these verses:

Isaiah 60:1-4 “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.  See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you:All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip.”

When I heard the pastor say that verse, that time in the car overwhelmingly came back to me and I knew he was making a prophetic declaration.

With all this being said, I believe that we are in a time that the Lord is saying to the Body of Christ, especially in America…”Wake up and prepare yourself.  I want to use you in the coming days, because gross darkness is about to cover the earth and I need My people to be prepared to hear and recognize My voice to lead them.”

The Bible says that the Lord does nothing without letting the prophets know. (Amos 3:7)

Since the time of hearing this sermon, there has been preacher after preacher saying the same verses.

Here is a great starting point to preparing yourself to be used in this endtime, as a LIGHT in the world:

Hebrews 12:1a Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

We need to get anything out of our lives that would hinder us from hearing the Voice of God.  We need to declutter our lives spiritually, physically and emotionally.  As much as possible to getting back to the basics in all areas of our lives.

The greatest days for the Church are in front of us.  We will see unprecedented miracles.  Souls will come in the Kingdom in great numbers, but we MUST prepare ourselves to be used by God. 

We Have Lost Our SALTINESS!

We as a church have lost our saltiness to influence a generation and a nation.  Matthew 5:13 says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” 

We call good evil and evil good. If someone tries to preach a holiness message we call them legalistic.  We need revival to awaken our God-conscience again.  We give a platform to those with charisma, instead of character. We have lost our way.  The way to the Cross has been defiled in our messages that teach a self-serving, man-pleasing gospel, which is no gospel at all.  If the message makes us uncomfortable, then it must NOT be God…is our theology!  GOD HELP US!

Our hearts need to “burn” again for the things of God.  We are more excited about the newest movie, style or electronic gadget than the movement of the Holy Spirit in this nation.  We see with “eyes of the world” than the “eyes of God”. 

My heart burns to see a generation in love with the Creator of the Universe, to live holy and to share the love of God with the lost and dying world.

Compassion to help single moms, visit the elderly and feed the homeless.

Could we be so close to God’s heart that whatever He wants to do on the earth our hearts are listening and “in-sync” with His?

Just dreaming of the day that our hearts will “burn” for the Lord and live according to HIS Word, not our own consciences. Christianity in America today has a “seared” conscience.  We NEED the fear of the Lord!

My Prayer: Lord, if there is anything in me that is not of you, I repent. 

I stand in the gap for a generation that overall does not know Your power.  Visit us with the fear of the Lord and with the Power of God.  We ask you for a personal awakening, as well as, a national awakening.  Have mercy!

What You Honor is What You Receive From

A close ministry friend of mine called me this evening and as we were talking about what is going on in each others lives, our conversation got stuck on talking about HONOR.

Since one of the things I feel called to do is "merge the generations" to work together to establish the Kingdom of God. I purpose myself to always dialogue with people multi-generationally.

I was sharing with my friend how when I was in a conference how I heard the question ask by a young lady to an older lady, "What does honor look like to you?"

Now you have to understand that I have dialogued A LOT with people on honor and I have never heard that question asked. So of course I wanted to know the answer and in that moment God started to expand my view on honor.

At the end of that dialoging time between the generations they spoke a "blessing" over each other. I was later told by the host that the act of blessing broke the conference open. To be honest, I don't know spiritually all that happened during that time, but there were many tears shed that day.

After that conference, there is no one that can convince me that there is not hurts that the enemy has put between the generations. Reconciliation and repentance has to occur for the "mantles" to be passed right. Now don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful leaders that have done it right and raised up someone next to them to take their place.

But my focus at this time is to teach and bring to light the other side.

I want to share the view from my seat.

I love people of all nations, tongues and ages. I really respect all that people have been through and honor them. But what I hear in conversations is how each generation views the other. This is a conclusion that I have come to: There are some basics things on honoring each other, but I think the "look" of honor is different in every generation.

For instance, "honor" to me, and I will say to most people in my age bracket that I personally know, is that you "listen and understand when I am sharing and what I am saying". If you cut me down or cut me off that is "dishonor" to me. You are saying that what I am saying as a person is not valid and therefore you do not receive me as a person. I want to say that if I feel someone is being dishonorable to me it is very hard for me to receive from them. Now I know the statement, "You honor because you are honorable, not because that person deserves it". I am on a journey where I purpose to go past my feelings and honor people that are dishonorable to me no matter how they treat me and with the help of the Holy Spirit I have passed many tests.

Now to my parents generation, honor will mean something totally different. For example, honor to them could be me not just saying words, but me carrying out the actions that they have asked of me.

Let me say this, no one generation is more "right" than the other, we are just different and when you can love and honor the difference you will see much "fruit" in those relationships.

My job is to learn and dialogue what is "honoring" to each generation and working my best to make them feel honored, as they would me. When this happens, hearts are opened to receive from each other and "what you honor you will receive from".

"Elijah's LEGACY is found in Elisha, and Elisha's DESTINY is found in Elijah."

PRAYER: Lord, please help us to be more understanding to each other and to love each others differences. We need each other to establish Your Kingdom.

What LEGACY are you leaving behind?

1. Personal Legacy:  Personal legacy is a choice we make everyday. We choose to get up, spend time with Jesus Christ and walk in the Fruit of the Spirit.  Our daily walk turns into our weekly walk, which turns into our monthly walk, etc.  Consistency, discipline and obedience to God will start you into creating a Godly legacy or heritage for you as an individual.

2. Family Legacy:  As with personal legacy, it starts with you and then on to your family. You choose as a family, “As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.”  Morning and/or evening devotions as a family will create a “center stage” for Jesus Christ to not just be Lord over you, but your household.

As a family you will pray and ask the Lord to be the Lord of your home and that all that goes on in your home will honor Him.

The dad is the “head” in the family and the mom is the “heart” of the family.  Each part is needed to create the family legacy.

I like the saying that says, “ A family that prays together, stays together.”

3. “Mountain” Legacy:  Mountain legacy is your everyday job. Whatever God has called you to, whether it is owning your own business, being the mayor of your city, superintendent of your school district, being a mother to your 2 kids or being a pastor you do it UNTO Him.

You have the chance everyday to influence those that are around you in a work environment.  Your lifestyle will either drive them to Christ or away from Him.  Your integrity, character and hard work is the “Bible” they will read everyday.

Becoming the BEST at what you do and asking the Lord to open doors gives Him “glory” as others see your excellence in that arena.  I personally want to be the best at what I do, when others look at me, I want them to say that she is a “GREAT” example of excellence and she always honors the Lord in what she does.  Though, I am still working on this, I am definitely a “work in progress”.

4. Church Legacy:  Every church has a church legacy.  The pastor is the visionary of the church.  He will implement the vision that God has given him for that area in that city.  A local body is “like” a body. Each person in the church has a role to help the body function and flow.  In the Book of Revelation, churches individually were addressed. So we see in the 7 churches that they were either creating legacy that honored the Lord or that which dishonored Him.  There were blessings for those churches that honored Him and sharp rebukes for those that did not honor Him.

Each believer in a local body should ask the Lord, “Lord, what is my role in this church? What is my family’s role?  You have called me and/or my family here and I want to do my part and honor You.  I want to be a world changer by changing my world around me. 

Closing Word:  How and what kind of legacy you leave behind is up to you.  You WILL leave a legacy, it is your choice WHAT kind of legacy you want to leave.

Elizabeth Devo:  Elisha’s DESTINY was in Elijah, but Elijah’s LEGACY was in Elisha.

Elijah/Elisha - Running Together

As I sit with different generations dialoging about their callings, needs and their view on legacy my heart is always moved. I find that each one desires the same things, they want to feel honored and loved for who their are and would like the other generations to accept them.

Each generation has different assignments from the Lord and so each generation will look different.

Whether we want to admit it or not the enemy has put dividing lines between the generations. Instead of standing on the shoulders of the previous generation, we are putting up walls and the newest generation has to start from scratch.
I love seeing where a son/daughter builds upon what their parents have done.  A "work" should not end when someone dies. There should be a successor. Randy Feldschau says, "Mantles were not meant for graveyards."
There should be a "passing of the baton".

I long for a day I walk in a church and not see all the youth sitting on one end of the building.  I want someone that is 15 to feel comfortable sitting with a 60 year old. Someone 80 to feel comfortable sitting next to a 30 year old.

Some may think that this is not a big problem, but it is.  I am on the phone with young leaders and one of the main cries of their heart is that they would like a older/more seasoned generation investing and teaching them.

He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

My dreams seem crazy, but with God ALL things are possible.