๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข If someone were to copy the way you do things, how do you think you would react?ย
โข When was the last time you led a group or an activity? What did you discover about yourself from that experience?
โข Have you ever followed someone persistently? What made you follow that person and what was their impact on your life?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ญ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐จ๐ข๐ญ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข, โ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ณ ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ.โ ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ.โ ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ.ย ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ฎ:๐ญ-๐ฎ
(Read also ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ฎ:๐ฏ-๐ญ๐ฑ.)
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.
๐ญ. ๐๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ท๐ฎ๐ต.ย
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข, โ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ณ ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ.โ ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ.โ ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ. ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ฎ:๐ฎ
Elisha was set on spending as much time as he could with the prophet Elijah. He knew that Elijahโs days on earth were almost over, so he persistently followed Elijah as he accomplished Godโs remaining tasks for him. We see Elishaโs humility, trying to learn as much as he could from his mentor and his faithfulness to Godโs call. Elishaโs 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?
๐ฎ. ๐๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ท๐ฎ๐ต.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข, โ๐๐ด๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ.โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โย ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ฎ:๐ต
For people during their time, it would be clear that when Elisha asked for a ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ of Elijahโs 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?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ?โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ต๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ข.โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ. ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ฐ-๐ญ๐ฑ
The other prophets acknowledged that the leadership mantle had been passed from Elijah to Elisha. God honored Elishaโs eagerness and desire by giving His Spirit upon him. Godโs 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 Godโs call in our lives and to walk faithfully with Him, as He calls and empowers us. Recall how youโve seen God work through different generations.
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข 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.
โข 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.ย
โข Who are you persistently following in terms of Christian life and leadership? How can you actively take part in continuing Godโs work through those who have gone ahead of you?
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข 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 Godโs work through the previous generations.ย
โข 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.
โข 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.