POSSESSION AFTER THE CROSSING OVER

As Elijah and Elisha crossed over the Jordan, Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him “…Elisha said, ‘Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” (2 Kings 2:9) In his request, Elisha showed not only his willingness to endure but also his desire to receive the impartation.

Elijah realized the power of impartation. To impart any authority or power from his life meant that Elisha had to have the capacity to receive it. What would Elijah actually impart to Elisha? He could not fulfill the wishes and whims of Elisha, but he could impart to him what he had been formed to become. We can only receive an enlargement of what we are and what we are willing to become.

Desire is a thought that has the power of the entire being behind its need for fulfillment. It is active. “So 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.” (2 Kings 2:10)

What we see of a person is actually what we are as a person. Elijah knew that if the process of transformation had not been completed in Elisha, he would not see the supernatural manifestation of God that would be essential for the actual impartation. If his vision was still human and within the accomplishments of the laws of religion, he could never see the supernatural manifestation of God when Elijah would be translated into God’s presence.

If he had looked at the circumstances which had taken Elijah from him with human understanding, he would be grieving for his loss and miss the moment which would be the birth of his ministry. The effect of God’s Glory will be to set us free from the influence of men so that God can influence us and shape us.

“And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, ‘My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!’ So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.” (2 Kings 2:12) At the crucial hour, the transformation had taken place in Elisha’s life. He saw the power of God manifested and had the capacity within himself to interpret it and comprehend it for his life. As he realized the meaning of the event, he saw with his eyes, he became the prophet!

He rent his own clothing as a final sign of the separation from his identity. He put on his new identity when he took the mantle that had been Elijah’s and made it his identity. The prophet for the hour had arisen in the Spirit. Because he had found his new identity, he could see the need for a prophet in Israel. He accepted this burden and as a result, he received the impartation.

“He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, ‘Where is the LORD God of Elijah?’ And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.” (2 Kings 2:13-14) He had acquired the possession, the power and the double anointing of God, through the final death to his old self-image.

In His Love,
      Sigi

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