“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” Paul—Timothy, 2 Timothy 2:2

It has always been God’s design to pass on “all the things” God gives to us to others who love Him and to those who do not yet know Him.  God leads people to us to teach us. God leads us to pass on to others in our lives who need what we have learned through God’s Word along with our “trial and error” experiences. We do not have to be perfect to pass on the lessons God has given to us in our lives.

God calls, equips, and sends us to declare His glory, share what His Word says, and point the way to eternal life through Jesus, His Son.  We don’t need to know it all to pass on what we do know!  If we waited to know it all; someone stays lost in the wait!  Truth:  We will never know all there is to know about God. That’s okay! Know who does know!  One of our goals in life is to consistently “be still and know God” by letting go of what we think we know to what is true.  We do that be seeking Him first, believing all He says in His Word, trusting the leading of His Holy Spirit—even if we don’t understand it all, with a holy “loving Hm back” attitude of cheerful obedience. God will fill in the rest!  How great is our God!?!

Pause to Ponder the Beauty of God’s Design: When we really think about this truth, we learn that there will generally be people who need to know from us what we have learned from God along with those God sends into our lives to teach us what they have learned and what we need to know. All these things and people of all ages and stages in life come from Almighty God who builds the faith of His created.  We must be alert to all people God puts in our lives!  All people have purpose—some of these people might be the very ones God has sent to teach us!

As we read God’s story of the relationship between Mentor and Apprentice, look between the lines for the beautiful demonstration and evidence of God’s love between Elijah and Elisha.  Elijah taught by example.  He didn’t tell Elisha to do anything he wouldn’t do himself or had already done.  There are many principles of being a Godly Mentor at play in this passage.

2 Kings 2

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

³ The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

⁴ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵ The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.

⁷ Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

¹⁰ “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

¹¹ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

¹³ Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

¹⁵ The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶ “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”

“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”

¹⁷ But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Healing of the Water

¹⁹ The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”

²⁰ “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

²¹ Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” ²² And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

Elisha Is Jeered

²³ From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” ²⁴ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. ²⁵ And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

In our reading today, it is time for the Mentor to pass the mantle of responsibility to the Faithful Apprentice, according to the Lord.  We learn that God will always tell us the time and place of the passing of His power and responsibilities from one leader to another in His Kingdom work.  Centuries later, God’s design of passing the power was demonstrated perfectly by Jesus to His disciples then and now;

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”—Jesus, Matthew 28:18-20

And God is still passing on His power so others will know Him, know the power of Jesus Name who died to save us, and know the power of His Holy Spirit who leads us to Truth. Yes, God is still doing it, again and again, until the whole world knows and comes to Him for redemption—all because of His love, mercy, and grace! We who believe now were led to this power that resurrected Jesus from the grave by those who knew Him before we did!  Praise God for these people and thank God for His design of passing the powerful knowledge of His saving grace so “no one perish but have eternal life!  It is indeed a matter of life or death!

As Elijah’s ministry came to a close, Elisha requested a double portion of the Holy Spirit that rested upon Elijah. Elisha had seen the power of God’s Holy Spirit flow through Elijah.  Elisha’s request demonstrated his willingness to be God’s prophet, no matter the cost, but he knew he would need God’s power working through him as well.  God knew Elisha’s heart. The request was granted as Elijah’s blessing fell on Elisha. From then on Elisha would wear Elijah’s coat and serve with the authority and power it symbolized.  However, with Power comes great responsibility.  The first and greatest responsibility for all prophets are to “inquire of the Lord,” seeking God first, before doing anything of significance for the good His people, in His Name, by His power, for His glory.

OUR POWER COMES FROM GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT

God’s Holy Spirit is our super personal connection with God.  The Holy Spirit is the third part of God—The Three-in-One.  Therefore, The Holy Spirit is God within us to help us. John calls the Holy Spirit the Advocate or Helper.  Max Lucado explains;

“He comforts the saved. ‘Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you’ (John 16:7).  Jesus to His disciples.

He convicts the lost. “When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment” (Jn 16:8).

He conveys the truth. ‘I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come’ (John 16:12–13).” –Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

God’s Holy Spirit compels to worship Him alone. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth”—Jesus, God’s Son (John 4:24).

Identifying and hearing the Holy Spirit is simpler than we think:

Has God ever brought you a surprising peace when the world brought you extensive pain?  That’s God’s Holy Spirit at work to comfort us in our sorrow!

Have you ever been convicted of uneasiness and even felt a stab of sorrow for your actions? That’s God’s Holy Spirit convicting, not condemning, but convicting us for the purpose of correcting our behavior.

Have you ever read a familiar passage in God’s Word and a “light comes on” in your mind with an “ah,hah” moment?  That’s God’s Holy Spirit guiding us to Truth.  “You have heard it said,” says Jesus to all who would listen to Him, “but I say to you…” It’s these teachable moments God uses by the power of His Holy Spirit to all Truth, “all the things” that are God.  God’s Holy Spirit is God in us helping us discern between good and evil.

PAUSE TO THANK GOD!

Thank God for creating us with purpose. Thank God for sending a part of Himself, His One and Only Son, Jesus to redeem us of our sins by sacrificing His life for ours! Thank God for sending us a Helper to comfort, convict, correct, and compel us to be more like Jesus who is the Way, Truth, and Life.  Thank God for the mentors who He sent into our lives at just the right time to pass on the power of encouragement with knowledge of God. Thank God for the people we have mentored in His Name for His glory. I thank God most of all for all He has done in my life, leading me from falls and failures to finding His beauty of Truth from the ashes of defeat.  If we give ourselves to God each day; everything in life serves to lead us to grow intimately and intentionally closer to God in ways that build our trust, faith, and enduring love for Him. 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

Lord,

I offer all of me to all of You as an offering to you.  Make me a vessel of your love and grace to others.  Help me to love others like you love me.  Help me to discern your perfect will by cleansing my heart and removing all that is not You. Renew my mind so that I will think more like You, dear Jesus.  Refresh and reset my soul. Restore the joy of you in me and me in you in perfect harmony.

In Jesus Name, Amen