Texts: 2KINGS 2:1-15; JOHN 6:67-68
2Ki 2:1 ¶ And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they went down to Bethel….14 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. 15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed to the
ground before him.
2Ki 2:1 ¶ And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they went down to Bethel….14 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. 15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed to the
ground before him.
Joh 6:67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
INTRODUCTION: LOYALTY PAYS
There are so many instances in the Bible where people were rewarded for being faithful and
loyal to their convictions. Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi earned her a noble, good husband in Boaz, and subsequently becoming an ancestor to Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. (Ruth 4:21-22)
Rahab’s story is no different. She stuck faithfully to her conviction that the Lord God Almighty
was with Israel so her people could never win over Israel and therefore promised to protect the Israelite spies. This earned her deliverance for herself and her family. (Joshua 6:23)
Abigail was one woman who was not only saved from the wrath of David but also secured a better
husband in David from that foolish Nabal. (1 Samuel 25:37-39)
Caleb and Joshua, the only two people out the twelve spies of the Promised Land, were
blessed with long life to survive the vagaries of the wilderness and to possess special inheritance in the Promised Land. (Numbers 26:65)
There are so many instances in the Bible where people were rewarded for being faithful and
loyal to their convictions. Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi earned her a noble, good husband in Boaz, and subsequently becoming an ancestor to Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. (Ruth 4:21-22)
Rahab’s story is no different. She stuck faithfully to her conviction that the Lord God Almighty
was with Israel so her people could never win over Israel and therefore promised to protect the Israelite spies. This earned her deliverance for herself and her family. (Joshua 6:23)
Abigail was one woman who was not only saved from the wrath of David but also secured a better
husband in David from that foolish Nabal. (1 Samuel 25:37-39)
Caleb and Joshua, the only two people out the twelve spies of the Promised Land, were
blessed with long life to survive the vagaries of the wilderness and to possess special inheritance in the Promised Land. (Numbers 26:65)
ELISHA: THE CASE STUDY OF HIS LOYALTY TO ELIJAH
With all these instances of people being loyal to the cause of God in mind, I want to draw
your attention to the main character of this discussion – Elisha. Elisha is the only prophet in the bible who received a double portion of God’s anointing. He is credited with the first of two post-humous miracles in the Bible… He was so anointed that long after his death, his bones could bring a dead person back to life! Yet this man did not take it easy in his calling and ministry. He was called out into ministry
when he had the greatest chance of making big money as a commercial farmer. He had prepared a very big land for a very ambitious agricultural project. But he left it and followed Elijah, the man of God.
Unfortunately when the time came for Elijah to hand over the ministry to Elisha, he subjected
this young prophet to a very difficult testing. Elijah knew he would be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, yet he asked Elisha not to follow him. But upon being persistent, he followed Elijah to where he was taken up and received a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. Take note that Elisha’s motto was, “I will not leave you”. He made such statements several times. And he never left Elijah till he achieved what he was determined for.
Never ever leave your church. There may be some people like Elijah who may hide many things from you, but if you persist and remain loyal, God will reward you with all your heart's desires. The import of this discussion is very simple and straight-forward. There are many of us who
profess to be church members and yet do not want to totally commit themselves to the church. The scenario now is that many Christians have been hopping from one church or ministry to another. This is having some serious repercussions to ministry in churches. If this menace is
not halted, a time will come when one of the essential purpose of the church –
thus fellowship - will be replaced with disunity and incoherence. Pastors and church leaders cannot tell members from visitors. This has already started in some prayer ministries. We
would want to explore the possible causes to this scenario and assign solutions to them in the subsequent discussions. God bless you all.
profess to be church members and yet do not want to totally commit themselves to the church. The scenario now is that many Christians have been hopping from one church or ministry to another. This is having some serious repercussions to ministry in churches. If this menace is
not halted, a time will come when one of the essential purpose of the church –
thus fellowship - will be replaced with disunity and incoherence. Pastors and church leaders cannot tell members from visitors. This has already started in some prayer ministries. We
would want to explore the possible causes to this scenario and assign solutions to them in the subsequent discussions. God bless you all.
PASTOR WILLIAM BOACHIE-ANSAH
We Thank God for this Revelation,God Bless you!
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