PASSING THE MANTEL 3

 

PASSING THE MANTEL 3

I Kings 2:11-15

A hymn that we used to sing in the church is, Faith is the Victory. I am sure that it is still sung in many churches, but it has been a while since I heard it. But, the message of the hymn rings so very true in life. When we exercise faith, we experience victory. In this life, we gain victory over our sinful nature. We are able to live in victory over Satan. We able to let go of our pasts and forge ahead by faith. And, of course, our ultimate victory is eternal life in the presence of God.

We observe in our text today that for Elijah, his walk of faith was over. He had lived faithfully to the Lord. He had served Him well. He had not shied away from being a. bold witness for the Lord. He lived a life of obedience, and now his coronation day had arrived. God sent a fiery chariot to come and swoop him away to heaven. It was a glorious testimony of the life he had lived. It was a welcome home unlike any other human has ever known. II Tim. 4;6-8

For Elisha, it was the beginning of his glorious ministry. He had been mentored well by Elijah, and it was now the time for him to step out on his own and continue Elijah’s ministry. 11-15 He had been a witness to how God can use a mighty man of faith. He absorbed how to walk with God by faith. He was ready to follow the Lord. He picked up Elijah’s discarded cloak and set out to follow the Lord. Immediately God answered Elisha’s prayer and opened up a pathway through the Jordan River for him to walk through. It was just the beginning of great things God did through Elisha to show His people that He was God and was able to help them if they would but let Him.

One of the things we dare not miss from our text is that Elisha needed to spend time being mentored by Elijah. When we skip this step and venture out on our own, all kinds of problems arise. We need to be taught how to properly understand and apply God’s Word. We need to understand how to trust God with seemingly impossible circumstances of life. We need to learn how to discern truth from error. We need to learn the importance of prayer in life. We need to learn how to live by faith and not by sight. We need to learn how to serve the Lord selflessly for His honor and glory.