Determination will be the Determining Factor

Main Text:

King James Version Chapter 2

2:1 And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

2 And 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.

3 And 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.

4 And 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.

5 And 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 to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

6 And 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.

7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.

8 And 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.

9 And 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 away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And 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.

Introduction:

This day is celebrated around the world in christendom as Pentecost Sunday it is this day that the Lord had poured out of his spirit upon a group of waiting disciples in a upper room. This particular event is recorded in the book of

2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This day would be recorded as the birth of the New Testament church…it is not just important for us to understand the significance of this day but it is important for us also to realize that nothing from God or in the Kingdom is free or does not come from God with some type of requirement from God.

It is of upmost importance that value continues to be placed on the things of God and I say the things of God I mean the gifts of God and the work of God.

When you look at this outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost it did not happen the first day that the Lord told them to go to Jerusalem and wait…They went to Jerusalem and waited but it was 10 days after the Lord told them to wait... that the Holy Ghost was given to them.

The bibles declares to us In your patience possess ye your souls.

19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

What:

What I’m saying to you this morning church is this you cannot forget the sacrificial side of receiving from God, you cannot forget the value of God doing anything in your life and begin to treat it like it is nothing.

In our opening text Elisha has decided to follow Elisha because he saw something in Elijah that he valued something that he desired and something that he wanted. He saw the anointing he saw God working through Elijah and that is what he wanted for himself.

Nothing will come to you that you don’t desire and nothing will come to you that you don’t value enough to sacrifice for. In this case of Elijah and Elisha I know he wanted the mantle because he left what would be his to go and chase after what could be his.

He would leave the field of plowing and sowing in the natural and pursue something greater in the spirit he took the journey of faith…he wanted it so bad that it possessed him…you will never pursue what God has for you until it possesses you and pulls you to a place of becoming a living willing sacrifice.

You have to become so possessed until nothing and no one will stop you from receiving your blessing…it is normally when you are on the cuff of your blessing that everything comes to try and pull you from the path of your blessing.

Even Elijah told Elisha to stay in Gilgal but Elisha as the Lord liveth I’m not leaving you…after that the sons of the prophets his peers tried to tell you know Elijah is getting ready to be taken away he said I know shut your mouth don’t say nothing else I’m trying to get something that you don’t value because it’s in your lineage...