31 Faith-Building LessonsSample

LESSON 21

Where Are the Elijahs of God

2And it came to pass, when the LORD would take Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. 3And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth- el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 4And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. 5And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 6And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

2 Kings 2:1-6

Elisha did not want Elijah to get out of his sight. Three different times, he was told to stay behind, but Elisha wouldn’t do it. He wanted to be with Elijah because he recognized the mighty power of God working through Elijah, and he didn’t want to miss anything. This is the way the Body of Christ should think. When the Spirit of God is on the move and confirming the Word with signs following, that is where believers ought to be. We should be so eager to see God move that we refuse to let anything rob us of being involved.

7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 8And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 9And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

2 Kings 2:7-9

Elisha had a lot of determination. He had followed Elijah around and ministered to him. When Elijah came his way, he laid down his plow and told his parents, “I am going to follow this man and minister unto him.” He followed Elijah and watched him very closely, working by his side and doing everything the prophet told him to do. Now that it was time for Elijah to leave, he wanted to know what he could do for his servant. Elisha said, “I want a double portion of thy spirit.” In other words, he had seen the power of God operating in Elijah’s life, and he wanted that same anointing, only he was seeking after even greater miracles. He wanted a double portion.

10And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. 13He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back and stood by the bank of Jordan; 14And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, WHERE IS THE LORD GOD OF ELIJAH? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

2 Kings 2:10-14 (emphasis added)

When Elijah was taken up, the first thing that Elisha wanted to know was whether or not he had received that double portion. The first thing he did was pick up the mantle, walk over to the river Jordan, and smite the water with the mantle as he had seen Elijah do many times. He smote the river with his mantle and said, “Where is the God of Elijah?” And God showed him.

People today are asking the same question. Where are the great miracles and healings that everyone keeps prophesying about? Where are the signs and wonders?

The Spirit of God said to me, “Son, there are many people who are asking me right now where are the miracles? Where’s the God of Elijah? I have a question I would like to ask, ‘WHERE ARE THE ELIJAHS OF GOD?’ I am where I have always been, ready to confirm My Word. Don’t ask Me, where is the God of Elijah. I want to know, where are my Elijahs?”

It takes Elijahs of God for the great and wonderful miracles of God to be performed. I’m not necessarily talking about prophets but men of faith. Elijah was a man. He wasn’t born under some lucky star. God didn’t single him out because he stood head and shoulders above the rest. He was a man that lived with God and was determined to obey God and let God order his steps. He wasn’t any superhuman or angelic being. He was just a man.

It is possible for all of us to be God’s Elijah. This is the day of a great people, the Church, the Body of Christ. We are going to see laymen do what Elijah did. We are going to see housewives do what Elijah did. We are going to see mechanics do what Elijah did. Every one of us is a potential Elijah; we have the anointing in us (1John 2:27).

James 5:17 (AMP) states:

Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have [with feelings, affections, and constitution like ours]; and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fell on the earth for three years and six months.

You see, Elijah had feelings. Some people think because I am anointed to preach the Gospel that I don’t have feelings. God uses me in a mighty way, but I have feelings. However, I have learned that I cannot allow them to control me.

Sometimes, I get up in the morning, and I don’t FEEL good. Sometimes, I FEEL bad. Sometimes, I FEEL like a machine that they can just turn on and off whenever they want. Someone asked me once, “How does it feel to be the only man on your staff that can be replaced by a CD?”

Elijah had feelings, too. Just after he challenged the 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:18-14), one of the most magnificent feats you’ll ever read about in the Old Covenant, he runs for his life. He was a man, and when he declared something, it came to pass. He boldly declared that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t rain for three and a half years. When he faced the 450 prophets of Baal, he told them to build an altar, put a bullock on it, and cry out to their god. They built their altar and cried out to their god from morning until noon, and there was no fire. Elijah made a mockery of them. He made them mad. He laughed at them. Finally, he built an altar and had the servants pour four barrels of water on the sacrifice, which poured into a trench he had dug all around the altar. When he cried out unto God, the fire of God came down and consumed the sacrifice, the altar, and all the water in the trenches. They found out who was really God, and Elijah walked out there, a hero of the faith.

But afterward, someone walked up to him and said, “Jezebel heard what you did, and she wants to kill you.” He ran for his life. He was afraid of a woman. If God can use a man like Elijah, who was so afraid of Jezebel that he fled, laid under a juniper tree, and asked God to take his life, then He can use you, too.

Elijah had feelings and affections and a constitution that was strong one minute and not so strong the next. As long as we are on the earth, we will have feelings and affections, but that doesn’t mean we have to be controlled by them. He expects us to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill them. Don’t let the devil tell you that you will never be used of God because of your thoughts or your feelings. You are Elijah in the earth today.

Elijah was like every man. The distinguishing mark that separated him from the crowd was that he PRAYED EARNESTLY. That is what takes us from the realm of the natural into the supernatural. Every one of us has the same kind of potential that Elijah had, but we will never tap into it unless we pray earnestly.

When he announced that there wouldn’t be any rain, it wasn’t his statement only that stopped the rain. He prayed earnestly.

We are the Elijahs in the earth today. We are the hands of God extended. We are the miracles of God in manifestation. God wants His Elijahs to pray earnestly for His move in the earth today. Begin to intercede and pray earnestly for one another.

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 15:30, Now I beseech you, brethren…that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. The word strive means to contend with or to wrestle. We need one another. I need you to help me and you need me to help you wrestle the principalities and powers. Paul is saying that he wants to form a spiritual tag team. We’ll gang up on the devil. When I can’t handle it anymore, I’ll tag you, prayer partner, and you’ll come in and wrestle awhile. When you get tired, you’ll tag me, and I’ll come back in and wrestle.

God is calling the Church into His prayer chambers. He says if you will come and pray earnestly, He will fill you with an anointing like you have never dreamed of and will empower you with the ability you didn’t even know was available. We are God’s Elijahs in the earth today.

124