Job Description of a Flag Bearer

And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 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. 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. 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. And 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. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And 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. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

2 Kings 2:

Introduction

Where is the church?

I read a lot of random things. I suppose I read like someone sifting for gold.

Once I find some gold, I’ll stay there a while and see what all else is under there.

And then there are times when I think I’ve found a gold book and it turns out to be complete trash! Fool’s gold.

But, I read something recently in an article that really gripped me.

The article was about millennials. And the part that startled me was a study that was taken up among this age group (25 and under).

It said that, “66% of Millennials believe that the church, as a whole, is actually hurting society.”

“Of this same group, the majority seemed to criticize the church in that they did not care for the idea of meeting inside the four walls of a church twice a week, and they preferred a more active, involving group that is not divisive or instructing.”

“The main concern of this group is that the principles and lessons taught within the four walls of the church are not being seen lived out in action on the outside of the church, and it seems that they asked the question, ‘Where is the church?’”

Now, while I believe that this group of people (my generation) is for the most part ignorant and blinded, there is a question they bring up that does beg an answer today: “Where… is… the… church?”

Now, I know that there IS a church today. But my question is, “Where is the church for you?”

Does it merely reside within four walls and stay locked up for when you enter? Is it a group that only becomes the church when we are together? Is it held within a location that you have to go to in order to observe and witness the church?

My answer to you today, on “Where is the church?” is that it is no building that can ever be built and we’re not going to bring it down that low. THE CHURCH IS IN YOU and it’s in ME!!! And when we walk in these four walls it’s with us, BUT it’s got to go OUT of these four walls with us, as well!

That’s why He didn’t say, “Forsake not the assemblying of bricks, and drywall, and carpet together,” but He said, “Forsake not the assemblying of YOURSELVES together!” Because God realizes that each and every one of the children of God together ARE THE CHURCH!!!

Body

Elisha Replaces Elijah

Elijah was a great man of God. Regarded as the prophet of all prophets. A faithful man and a man who was confident in his God.

But, as with every person, there came a time for him to leave this earthly place in favor of a heavenly home. And we know that this was to be at Gilgal (with the whirlwind and the chariot of fire).

So he set out with his loyal servant and protige, Elisha.

Now - one thing that is absolutely remarkable about this young man Elisha is his his faithfulness and loyalty. He constantly stood with his master, even in the face of great challenges.

SIDE POINT: One thing that you can’t afford to miss out on in the church is having someone as a close friend or mentor.

You have to have something to shoot for and someone to encourage you in this thing. If all you have is yourself, you don’t really have a relationship with God to compare to or be encouraged by.

This is why people who want to live for God without the church are unsuccessful.

You need to get somebody you can be close to and encourage in the faith and grow in God with!

There were some boys who were the sons of the prophets in Bethel. These men knew that Elijah was leaving, and the Bible says that they asked him “whether he knew?”

They were probably wondering why Elisha was following him about if he knew his master was departing soon. And I believe that these men were probably expecting Elijah to be overcome with emotions at seeing his leader leave.

And the same thing happened when they came across the sons of the prophets in Jericho. They asked Elisha if he knew his master was leaving him. And his response was firm, “I know, hold your peace.” And they kept on travelling.

Elisha’s determination and faithfulness was even more proved when his own master told him to stay behind twice (at Bethel and at Jericho), and he refused to leave.

Elisha knew that the time had come for Elijah to leave this life. And the reason he was so close to him, and the reason he refused to leave his side is because he didn’t want to see the spirit that Elijah had leave this world, as well.

That’s why he asked for that spirit:

2 Kings 2:9–10 KJV 1900

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. 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.

Can I tell you today, that Elijah was carrying a baton that was passed to Elisha!

Elijah waved a flag that stood for godliness, for a love of the truth, for prayer, and for worship, and when it was time for Elijah to go, Elisha said, “I WANT THAT FLAG! HAND ME THE FLAG, ELIJAH! I WANT A DOUBLE PORTION OF YOUR ANOINTING!”

Elisha wanted to bear that flag that Elijah had been carrying for God.

The Flag Bearer

I recently studied into the job of a “standard bearer” or a “flag bearer”.

The person carrying the flag has been seen in Medieval times, modern times, and currently, in the Olympic games.

But the origin of the job of the flag bearer is found in war and battles.

Now, obviously there are many jobs that soldiers have dispersed to them. There are doctors. There are cooks. There are men who work in communications. And there are those who work fighting right on the frontlines.

But then there’s the job of the flag bearer...

When I began studying and reading up on the responsibilities and the job description of the flag bearer, God began to tug and pull at my heart.

The flag bearer is a job that any soldier who understands honor would surely desire.

The Job

The purpose of a flag bearer was to give the unit's member a visual signal as to where the unit was.