THE PROPHETIC DOUBLE ANOINTING

The Prophetic Double Anointing By joyalministries  In the book of 2 Kings 2 we read of the powerful “taking up into heaven by a whirlwind” of the Prophet Elijah (v.11). He was a man who ministered in the supernatural power of God like few men have. A younger Elisha had followed and observed closely the life and ministry of the older Elijah, and had obviously been powerfully affected by his life and ministry. This came about as a result of Elisha being Elijah’s servant for a period of time (1 Kings 19:21 ; 2 Kings 3:11 ). He served the man and ministry he admired the most. His position as a servant to the great prophet enabled him to observe his life firsthand. Those observations so impacted Elisha that he strongly desired to have a double portion of all that Elijah had. He would have gleaned so much from Elijah during that time of servant-hood. It did not in any way diminish his “vision” to have a double portion of that man’s spirit. Elisha pursued a growing desire to pattern his life and ministry after that of Elijah – except that Elisha was very bold in desiring a double portion of that which Elijah had. Think of that for a moment. There was no one else around at that time that could come anywhere near to matching the ministry as that of Elijah. Yet Elisha had the audacity to not only desire to be like him, but to have a double portion (twice as much!) of that which Elijah displayed! Some could even have accused Elisha of being brash, erratic, or proud in his desire, but Elisha knew what he wanted, and he went after it (it is recorded that Elijah did eight major miracles and Elisha sixteen, confirming he did indeed minister in a double portion of Elijah’s spirit). And God certainly did not rebuke Elisha for his great desire to have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit – He enabled him to fulfil it! Elijah and Elisha carried prophetic calls and destinies. Both knew the seasons and times of the Lord. Both knew the day when Elijah was to be taken up into heaven. Elijah knew there were conditions that Elisha would need to fulfil if he were to have his heart’s desire. Elisha knew there would have to be a transference or impartation of spirit from Elijah to him. Therefore Elisha refused to be distracted or diverted from taking his eyes off of Elijah on that momentous day. Elijah tried to distract him, but Elisha would have none of it. Even the sons of the prophets knew something “very special and important” was happening that day, and questioned Elisha accordingly. As Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan River that day – with 50 men of the sons of the prophets watching from a distance – Elijah “took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; And it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground” (2 Kings 2:7-8 , NKJV). Once they were over the river, Elijah asked Elisha what he (Elisha) would like him (Elijah) to do for him before he departed. Elisha’s answer was quick and sure: “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” (v.9). Elijah replied that it was a hard thing he had asked, and added that the requirement would be that Elisha had to see Elijah taken up from him. Elisha greatly desired to be effective as a man of God. Elijah had set a standard of ministry that majored on the demonstration of power that Elisha longed to experience and walk in. Elijah had become his example, his mentor, as to what a prophet of God should be like. He longed for an impartation of the power that Elijah walked and lived in. That longing was not to be satisfied with that of being equal to the power Elijah displayed, but a great longing to have a double portion of that power! Elisha demonstrates that it is possible to desire great things in God and to achieve them. THE IMPORTANCE OF SEEING Elisha never took his eyes off Elijah. He watched him every moment. He knew the power of the eye-gate and the ability to see and know things through the “eye of the spirit” which operates through our own spiritual eyes. No matter what Elijah did to try and distract him, Elisha was totally committed to that which he desired more than ever in life – to have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. And that moment had arrived! It was right before him standing there! He was not going to miss that “once in a life time opportunity” to step into his dream! It is that kind of desire that accomplishes great things in God. Unfortunately, many of us today do not carry that same kind of desire. We want things too easy. We expect them to come to us, “to be handed to us on a plate” by our church or Christian ministers, not realizing that the things of the Spirit of God are released to us and through us “according to the desire of our heart” (Psalm 37:4 , 1 Corinthians 12:31 & 14:1). We read that Elisha did see Elijah ascend up into heaven that day. It happened suddenly; there was no pre-set time that Elisha had to be watching. He had to be awake and watching all the time. Because his eyes were open, Elisha saw the chariot of fire and the horses of fire that came and separated them, sweeping Elijah up into heaven. “And Elisha saw it . . .”(v.12). He fulfilled the requirements, the conditions. Notice that as soon as Elisha had seen Elijah go, and his mantle come floating down to the ground, that Elisha tore his own clothes into two pieces. By an action he laid down all that which he had known and experienced up to that time, and exchanged it for the mantle of the one he desired to have a double portion of. He did not allow what he had had up to that point in his life to get in the way of that which he so longed to walk into. He exchanged his mantle for that of the Prophet Elijah’s, with the promise that he would have a double portion of that man’s prophetic spirit. The transference from the one to the other had taken place. Elisha took the mantle of Elijah and struck the waters of the Jordan, crying out, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” (v.14). The Lord God of Elijah heard that cry and the power of God poured through Elijah’s mantle and divided the waters of the Jordan, enabling Elisha to cross over. The sons of the prophets were watching these proceedings and saw that “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha” (v.15). There wasseen evidence of that which Elisha desired! ARE WE WILLING TO EXCHANGE WHAT WE HAVE FOR THAT WHICH CAN BE? Are we willing to lay down “our own mantle” for that of another’s? Often we have become very comfortable in our own mantle. It has fitted us for so long. But “our mantle” will not enable us to achieve our destiny in Jesus Christ, and therefore we need to exchange it for that which will lead us into more of a double portion of anything we have ever had before. It is a decision we have to make ourselves. No one else tore Elisha’s old mantle in two. He did it himself. He knew if he was going to fulfil his dream, then he had to demonstrate by his actions that he meant what he said. He knew he could not get the benefits of Elijah’s mantle while he still clung to his own. This is something we all have to learn if we want to be more fruitful in the purposes of God. The tearing of the mantle also signified the transference of Elisha from being that of a servant to another (Elijah), to stepping into that which would enable him to fulfil his own destiny in God. Until that “exchange” takes place we will be limited in what we can achieve in life. SO FEW UNDERSTAND THE PROPHETIC We hear a lot about the prophetic ministry today, but it seems that so few understand what it is really about. It is more than prophesying in church, or making a declaration or two “in the name of the Lord.” When we commit to the prophetic it will cause us to make changes in the way we think, believe and act. It will take us in a different direction to that which we have generally been taught in our Christian life. It will cause us to re-examine our core values, and to let go of those “Christian theories” that simply do not work. The prophetic will cause us to function in a supernatural yet practical way that sees lives transformed to the glory of God. It enables us to fulfil our dreams and desires like nothing else. Why? Because the prophetic is all about our connecting with “the present tense” (the Greek word is “rhema”) voice of God that releases faith in us to fulfil that which the Word or voice of God is saying to us today (Romans 10:17 ). I have been a Holy Spirit-filled Christian for 45 years, yet since I have committed to walking in the prophetic, I have seen and experienced more of the impact of God in my life than ever before. We are ministering to thousands more people than we ever did in the past, and we are seeing God provide financially like never before. Why? “The Word of the Lord is right”when we will hear it, receive it, and act upon it in the now! The prophetic is a very different way. Far too many give only “lip service” to it. It is not seen as being “all that important” in the life of many churches, and therefore the people never get to experience, flow in, or release in their own lives this powerful realm of the Holy Spirit that can take us into “double portion territory” with God. And if we do not get the opportunities to develop in the prophetic ministry, then we are missing a huge part of God’s purposes for our lives. Knowing what I now know of the prophetic ministry, we simply cannot afford to miss this huge part of God’s purposes, as it holds so many keys to fulfilling the will of God for the Church internationally, and for us individually. If we do not embrace more of the prophetic, we will continue to slip into obscurity in a modernistic, Christ-rejecting generation (especially in the Western world). There are so many advantages for a Christian when we will pursue the prophetic ministry with all our heart. God speaks, directs, anoints, provides, enables us to do things we have never been able to do before, and even allows us to supersede those we have admired and longed to have what we have seen in their lives and ministries. The question is, “Who do we look to today to inspire us in such a way? Whose spirit would we earnestly desire to have a double portion of?” It is very easy for a Christian to glibly say, “I want to be more like Jesus,” for, if we do, then our lives should go on to display the power and impact of His ministry like never before. As far as I can understand from the Bible, it all comes down to the strength of our desire for the things of God. Do we desire the supernatural of God strongly enough to sacrifice everything else for it? How ironic it is that some religions are willing to physically die for a lost cause, when so many Christians are not even prepared to live for theirs! When Jesus is real enough – and alive enough – within our lives, then we will do whatever is necessary to walk in that “double anointing” of the Holy Spirit, to keep our eyes steadfastly fixed on Jesus and what He is saying to us today, that we will demonstrate our love for Him by our obedience to Him in whatever He says! That is what a prophetic person is about. It is not about living in the history of the past, or in speculating about the future, but in hearing and knowing “What the Spirit is saying to the churches today” and to us as individual followers of the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 2 & 3). Recently the Holy Spirit spoke to me these words, “Right now many of My people are hearing My voice, but they are not free enough in themselves to obey Me.” As I thought about that, I could not help but see how true that is. It is important for us to learn that with the voice of God speaking to us today, He is giving us the “keys” to fulfil our destiny in a supernatural way. I have also learned that there is no room for any excuses when we are hearing the voice of God. The voice of God comes to us, and, out of a love relationship with Jesus we are committed to doing whatever He says (John 2:5 ). And the sooner we obey, the sooner we see the hand of God at work to fulfil what He has said. The question is: “Are we free enough in ourselves to do whatever He asks?” To obey the voice of God means more than “committing the matter to prayer!” The voice of God demands an action on our part – a demonstration that we do believe that what He says is true. Once we learn that kind of obedience, we discover the hand of God in a marvellous way to open doors of opportunity to us, and to provide our every need to fulfil those opportunities – better than anything I have experienced in my earlier years as a Holy Spirit-filled Christian. THE WORLD – AND THE CHURCH - NEEDS SOME ELISHA’S The world and the Church today have a great need for some prophetic Elisha’s! People who know the seasons and the times (like the sons of Issachar - 1 Chronicles 12:32 ), who can see with the eye of the spirit, hear the voice of God, and demonstrate by their actions that they are indeed hearing from Heaven. This generation does not need “another sermon” or a discourse on that which does not work, or a tame message that allows people to “comfortably live in sin, yet attend church too.” Our mandate is to bring the voice of God to the people in a loving, yet impacting way that causes us to positively change the way we think, believe and behave. If your theories will not work for you, then why hold on to them? If you cannot prove what you believe, then who will be convinced by your message? If you are not hearing the voice of God, then what do you have to share with a generation that are desperately needing answers to deliver them out of their hopelessness and despair? The prophetic ministry – when ministered in the love and power of the Holy Spirit – does all these things and more. It brings Jesus into the “now” of their lives and sets them free to love and serve Him with a whole heart. May you be blessed and inspired through the life and example of the Prophet Elisha