𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• If someone were to copy the way you do things, how do you think you would react?

• When was the last time you led a group or an activity? What did you discover about yourself from that experience?

• Have you ever followed someone persistently? What made you follow that person and what was their impact on your life?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢, “𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭. 𝟮 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟮:𝟭-𝟮

(Read also 𝟮 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟮:𝟯-𝟭𝟱.)

In the last days of the prophet Elijah, there was going to be a transition in prophetic leadership in Israel as he was about to be taken up to heaven. The passage above shows us how Elisha, a follower of Elijah who is also a prophet, refused to leave his side. Today, we will look at how this transition took place and how God continued His work through the life of someone with the same fire and passion as his predecessor.

𝟭. 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗷𝗮𝗵.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢, “𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭. 𝟮 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟮:𝟮

Elisha was set on spending as much time as he could with the prophet Elijah. He knew that Elijah’s days on earth were almost over, so he persistently followed Elijah as he accomplished God’s remaining tasks for him. We see Elisha’s humility, trying to learn as much as he could from his mentor and his faithfulness to God’s call. Elisha’s posture is a good example for us to eagerly learn from those who have been walking with God ahead of us. Is there someone from the older generation that you are walking with and learning from? What have you learned from this person?

𝟮. 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗷𝗮𝗵.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢, “𝘈𝘴𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦.” 𝟮 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟮:𝟵

For people during their time, it would be clear that when Elisha asked for a 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 of Elijah’s spirit, he was referring to the double share of the inheritance given to the oldest son or the leadership role in the family. Elisha was expressing that he was willing and ready to step up and carry the responsibility that Elijah had. This is a reminder that we can also choose to embrace whatever leadership role God has for us today. We are to willingly continue the work of the men and women of God who have gone before us, burning brighter as we participate in the mission of God. In what areas has God entrusted you to lead? How have you experienced His presence as you lead?

𝟯. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩?” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝟮 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟮:𝟭𝟰-𝟭𝟱

The other prophets acknowledged that the leadership mantle had been passed from Elijah to Elisha. God honored Elisha’s eagerness and desire by giving His Spirit upon him. God’s faithfulness in raising and equipping the next generation to accomplish His purposes continues to this day. It is also an invitation for us to embrace God’s call in our lives and to walk faithfully with Him, as He calls and empowers us. Recall how you’ve seen God work through different generations.

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Is there an area in your life where you need to be persistent? List three things you can do to grow in this area, and trust that God will mold your character and enable you to fulfill what He is calling you to do.

• How can you grow more as a leader? Think of two things you can do this week to be more proactive in leading yourself and others.

• Who are you persistently following in terms of Christian life and leadership? How can you actively take part in continuing God’s work through those who have gone ahead of you?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Ask God to lead you to someone who will be an example of Christian living and leadership for you. Pray for opportunities to participate and continue God’s work through the previous generations.

• Pray that just like Elisha, you will not be afraid to step up whenever there is a need. Ask God to mold you as a servant leader and for a double portion of His Spirit.

• Ask God for open doors to share His word across generations. Pray that He would make you and keep you ready to speak about His faithfulness to you and your family.