2 Kings 2:6–8 (ESV): Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.

This is the second act of the play and it is identical to the first. God is calling a man unto the next place, but those who follow him are trying to hang onto everything they can. That is the sign of healthy impartation.

The flow of impartation gets more potent with age. Parents remember this… We can mess stuff up a lot when we are young, but as we get older, our impartation gets better. The problem for us is that our opportunities to impart get shorter and smaller.

The best way to stay in the mode as a credible imparter is to stay humble and wait. Even when the young ones bounce off of walls and take the wrong corridors. If a child doesn’t want what you have, there is a very high chance that at a time in their life when they needed the impartation it wasn’t there or what was imparted to them wounded them.

However you want to frame that event or series of events, the truth remains that this child doesn’t want to receive from you. The best you can do is to be humble and ask to repair. Given that situation can occur, keep quiet and listen. Explaining yourself is giving to them an excuse as to why they were wounded, which will sound like your justification for wounding them.

You have to decide if being right is worth it.

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Look at all those who are following Elijah. Elisha is trailing Elijah and fifty men are following behind Elisha. They are all watching and for good reason. Elijah for many years had been God’s Prophet to the people of Israel. God spoke through this man and many mighty deeds were done. God showed Himself to be mighty and powerful before all of the world through Elijah.

There is a transition for every person. Every person has a beginning and an end. I have been part of ministries where there is no succession plan. A man stands at the helm and rules the ministry and destroys all who would be considered competition to his authority. In reality, these who are possible replacements ought to be seen as so and developed like Elijah developed Elisha.

I watched a ministry once where a man struggled when he realized it was time to transition out. His years of effectiveness were waning, but he wasn’t willing to let go. So, when he asked another to step into the helm, he subverted and actually destroyed the whole ministry because his identity was wrapped in his role.

The identity of Elijah was wrapped in his home. He wanted to go home to be with God in heaven. He was walking away from Elisha and the other prophets. He was following the leading of the Lord away from the role he walked in for many years.

Listen carefully, lean in and observe that there is an end to you on this earth. There is a time when your grip will not be tight and your mind will not be sharp. If you do not see those around you that can do better than you, you are in trouble. Turn your eyes to the Lord and allow Him to draw you toward your true identity. Nothing on this earth is adequate to define you. Your identity and home are in heaven.

Look around and see those who are strong and powerful. Do not dismiss them or be afraid of them. Welcome them with open arms and begin to impart as fast as they will allow. Bless them and tear apart their nests, make them fly. Stand near them and support them, clean up their messes until there isn’t anything to clean up. Watch as they begin to clean up yours.

Elijah is handing off the ministry the Father gave to him and He is on his way out. His eyes are on the next thing, which isn’t even on this earth. He is on his way. Elisha is trying to put the brakes on and trying to hold on as long as he can.

Elijah, listening to the Lord, does something you would expect, what everyone was accustomed to see. Elijah defies the natural laws and displays once again the power of God. The power by no means had left him, the power Elijah had was not as attractive as being called home, the place of his rest. The place he was looking toward his whole life. The power is amazing, but it pales in comparison to the sight of the Father in the distance, he is going home.

What do you have your sight set on? What would you consider to be the best place to be? What would be the happiest thing in the world to you?

Elijah, who performed some of the most amazing miracles in scripture, walked away from all of it, with no strings attached. He was going home.

Keep Jesus as the center of all you are and do. Hold nothing on this earth too tightly, especially your work for Jesus. Be willing to let go. Certainly fulfill your calling and honor the Lord with your life. The enemy is a sly one and can convince you that you are the only one who can do it right. He will tell you that no one can do it as good as you, and it belongs to you anyways. You can become defensive and self-protective. You will actually believe you are preserving something good.

Really, your fruit is rotting in the fridge and every time the doors are opened it smells to everyone like something is dead…are you getting me?!

Let’s be like Elijah and want to be home with the Father most of all. That’s the best kind of impartation for others to see.

Philippians 3:8–11 (ESV): Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Father, we hear You calling to us. We hear Your voice. Nothing on earth compares to what we will see and be when we see you. Please let us not be fooled by the wonders of this world. There are many attractive things here that seem to give us meaning. Lord it is all rubbish compared to Jesus and the representation He is of You. We look to You. We long to be home with You. Please teach us to not hold on too tightly to this world. Make us like Elijah. Thank You Jesus, because You have made all things possible.

Blessings,

Pastor D