2 Kings 2:12-14
12. And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more.
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And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.
13. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
14. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?”
And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.
The sons of prophet in Bethel could not get to the Jericho Camp, they made Bethel their bus-stop, and the sons of prophet in Jericho could not pay the price to follow through across the Jordan River, they opted, instead to be spectators of the wonders of God in the life of another son of prophet whose focus and vision were very sharp and whose heart was made up to receive from God a double portion of power and authority.
That is what it takes to do mighty exploits. That is what it takes for any aspiring minister to go beyond the camp of Bethel and Jericho. It takes sharp focus and clear visions. It takes determined heart to pay all prices necessary. It takes refusal to sit in comfort zones of the crowd of some prophet’s sons in low-vision camps. Elisha got to the other side. He saw his master going to heaven. His clear vision and sharp focus in ministry made him meet the condition for the Double Portion. Then, he got the revelation of the Power working in the life of his master, the symbolic revelation of the Chariot of Fire and the Angelic horsemen in it. Then, the Mantle dropped.
Dear heavenly-bound fellows, did you notice another strange thing in Verse 12 of 2 Kings 2?
“And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more.
And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.”
Before he bent down to pick up the Mantle of Elijah, HE TOOK HOLD OF HIS OWN CLOTHES AND TORE THEM INTO TWO PIECES. Not only One Cloth, but his CLOTHES. He tore the clothes he was wearing into two pieces. He rendered his clothes unusable thenceforth. Then, he bent down and picked up the Mantle of Elijah, and apparently put it on or wrapped it around his body. What does that mean to you?
Look at what Jesus said here:
Mark 2:22
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.
But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”
No wonder Elisha took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two first, before he put on the Mantle of Elijah. The two could not co-exist. Old nature and the new can not walk together successfully and get to the same destination. Elisha was wise. He knew that it would be suicidal to wear the Mantle of Power and Anointing upon his old clothes. He had to remove it and tear it into two. He did not even keep it. He tore it. After then, did he pick up the Mantle and wore it. That is how to handle the Mantle.
Jesus Christ, our Lord said, no one in his right sense would pour new wine into old wineskins. He said the new wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine would spill and waste on the ground and more importantly, the wineskins would burst and be ruined. he said, but new wine should be poured into new wineskins and both would be preserved. Halleluyah!
That is the problem with many of us o-o-o! We want the Mantle of Power and Authority to do mighty exploits upon our unconsecrated life. We want the anointing of God to do great wonders and preach heart-tearing sermons and heal the sick and cast out demons; we want this great anointing upon our uncircumcised heart of evil imaginations and lustful thinking. We want the power of God upon our life with the spirit of anger still paying us rent in the rented apartment of our body. A sister wants the Anointing and mantle of power and yet, her heart is still in her desire to contest for the beauty pageant of her campus. A brother had fasted and prayed for 40 or 50 or even 70 days but still remain unbroken in his unstable spirit. He has broken the hearts of 4 to 5 sisters, whom he had promised to marry and had later turned back to say: “The Lord said…” And presently, he still has 2 or 3 sisters he has proposed to simultaneously. His disease is Spirit of Impatience and Insincerity. Even after the fasting, he is still unbroken and unrepentant.
There are brothers and sisters who have taken part in series of Prayers and Fasting who are still keeping their girl-friends and boy-friends within the church or outside the church on the campus or in the office. There are those who, despite all series of prayers and fasting programs, and yet, still find it hard to break off from the immoral and lustful grip of their bosses or senior staff.
There are brethren who have not seen anything bad in building their houses or buying their cars with the proceeds of office inflated contracts or doctored financial figures. They have not been able to make necessary restitutions neither are they willing to make any amendment. They are willing to pass the Bethel, the Jericho and even cross the Jordan and get the revelation of the power working behind their pastor or spiritual leader.
They have seen their leader transiting into higher realm of manifestation of the power of God….they have seen the Mantle dropping….but they are unwilling to get hold of their own old garment of spiritual inconsistency and tear it into two. They are unwilling to pull off their old garment in order to put on this mantle. They want to wear the two. They want to put this Mantle of anointing and power upon their life of terrible spiritual deficiencies.
My advice. Don’t crave for this Mantle if you are not ready to drop your old garment of lustfulness, immorality, pride and anger and covetousness. Don’t bother to cross the Jordan River if you can not part with this unholy alliance with fraudulent business partners. Don’t try to pray and demand for the Power and Anointing while you as a brother still enjoy the company of those morally loosed girls and ladies on your campus.
Do you still cheat and falsify figures in your construction companies, don’t bother to ask for the Mantle, be contented in the midst of the crowd of sons of prophet, but if you must move on to higher level in your christian calling and ministry, if you must fulfill destiny, if you must lay hold on power and authority and be fitted into God’s end-time program, then, you will have to pour out the old wine and make this wineskin new. The Old Wine and the New Wine can not stay together in a wineskin.
This Mantle of New Wine can not be poured into the old wineskin of your unbroken life. Jesus said, “the Wineskin will burst, and the wine will spill”
That was the mistake of Judas Iscarrot. He followed Jesus Christ and received his power and authority to cast out demons and heal the sick, when they were sent out in twos, but inside the wineskin was this spirit of covetousness and greed. He received a New Wine in a Old wineskin. the wineskin eventually burst. He died miserably.
Gehazi also committed that error. He followed Elisha and was accompanying him everywhere. He received the power and authority in a wineskin of covetousness and greed. He died a leper.
Samson was another man, who received heavy anointing upon himself and wore the mantle of Power and Authority upon his old garment of lustfulness and immorality. He spent half of his years and died shamefully in the midst of his enemies.
My advice. You must fulfill destiny only when you cross to the place of power. You must fit into the programs of God and make impact in your generation, only when you are ready to pay the price for your self and your generation as Joseph paid and Daniel paid.
What, therefore, must you do? Elisha got hold of his clothes, and tore it into two. You must do away with all these lifestyle, attitudes, characters, habits and behaviors that will not let you fulfill the purpose of your existence and impact your generation. You want the Mantle? Lay hold on your clothes, and tear them into two.
Source: Evang. Mike Bamiloye
Aphorism CITY 