The Spirit and Power of Elijah

“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17) “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:6)

What does Elijah have to do with it all? This is the question that started it all off. How may Elijah have performed this function of father to son in his own life? Elijah did not have a son… or did he? This is where I began my embargo on this journey to understand “the spirit and power of Elijah” and how it affects us today and more specifically how it affects my generation and our fathers and someday our sons.

My sensitivity to this issue was piqued in February as I studied the increased focus in our present day on the emerging and next generations. Much emphasis is being placed on the need to release young new leaders (a much needed function within the Church) but little to no emphasis (probably due to its over emphasis in previous generations) on the role of the young and new in relationship to their leaders. My view of God is that He is the absolute figure of balance and so when we flush to either extreme we emphasize characteristics that have the potential to destroy in their imbalance. My preparation of this teaching is therefore to formulate a balanced view of the mentor/mentoree relationship and the beauty of its fullness in prosperity when conducted properly in love.

In this journey we must travel back to the days of King Ahab and the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19). The point in time we travel to in particular is after Elijah’s tremendous feat in the face of the nation in opposing the prophets of Baal. Following this particular event, Elijah is overcome by fear and runs for his life. Herein lays Elijah’s greatest failure: in the course of giving into a spirit of fear he also succumbs to a spirit of despair and resolves that his life is over. Elijah is under the impression that he is the only living prophet left and that all the others serving God have been killed and yet he desires to give up. What would have happened if Elijah had been allowed to give up at this point in time? Who would carry on the work of the Lord through prophetic ministry? As is typical of despair it often prompts us to entertain selfish thoughts in the extremes of self preservation or total abandon. Elijah’s situation was no different. First he gave in to the extreme of self preservation and ran and then he gave in to total abandon and lay down to die. It is in this moment of weakness that God confronts Elijah with a “simple, silent, and yet strikingly thundering in its implications” phrase: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” What was Elijah doing? The answer is—nothing! Elijah had given up on a hope and a future and was not investing himself into anything. God’s reply—not acceptable! Go anoint a successor, Elisha (and two others while you’re at it) and start planning for a future. Life does not end with you! That is the essence of what God tells Elijah to do.

Anointing a successor has always been a difficult task for mankind to accomplish. To name a successor is a morbid thought. Naming a successor is admitting one’s own mortality and the fact that you will not always be around. But it removes focus from self and begins a process of investing hope in a future. Kings and leaders all throughout history have taken issue with naming a successor. There are of course fears and dangers associated with this function. It puts into motion a particular relational dynamic that is dependent on the compliance of two parties and involvement thereof. One may choose to invest in the future through the anointing of a successor but the appointee having the gift of free will may also choose not to honor in this sense his “father”. History is chalked full of stories involving sons and military coups, overthrowing of powers and all out abuse from those desiring power. Selecting a successor is a step of faith but one that is necessary for the continuation of life—even spiritual life.

Elijah follows God’s advice and arises to anoint his successor. Elijah seeks out Elisha son of Shaphat and casts his mantle onto Elisha. And thus is fulfilled the first portion of the spirit of Elijah, “to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children”. With the simple act of casting his mantle onto his successor Elijah states his faith in a hope and a future and the furthering of life in the spiritual realm as his “father” heart is turned towards a child—his spiritual son--Elisha. But this is only one half of a beautiful and living relationship God created within man. Elisha plays out the second half of this relationship.

The second half of this dynamic within the mentoring relationship has to do with commitment to ones mentor. This is also a task mankind has struggled with throughout history-the development of patience in attaining maturity. Let us leap forward in time to the moment of Elisha’s release (2 Kings 2). All throughout Elijah and Elisha’s time together, Elisha remains devoted to Elijah and his ministry. Towards the end of Elijah’s life he requests that Elisha leave him but Elisha will not and clings lovingly to his “father” to the very end. In the last moments Elijah asks Elisha what he desires out of their relationship before he is taken and Elisha responds, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” (This was not a request of greed but is a request appropriate with the concept of increasing fruitfulness and multiplication of any relationship. If one is not intent on increasing and multiplying then are they really carrying out God’s continual command, from the moment of creation to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to bear fruit?) Elijah responds with this, “Yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not.” The implications of this statement are great. You see, if Elisha had followed Elijah’s first request to leave him then Elisha would never even have had the opportunity to see Elijah depart let alone receive a double portion of his spirit. The complete release of Elisha into the fullness of his ministry with a double portion of the spirit of Elijah would not happen unless Elisha saw his mentor through to the very moment designated for his “taking up of the mantle”. This is not to say one must wait until a mentor physically dies to see his own ministry start but there is a living and active dynamic in this relationship that is dependent on two parts—one that releases and one that honors and clings into full maturity. As Elisha fulfilled his commitment to Elijah the second portion of the spirit of Elijah was fulfilled, “the hearts of the children (will turn) to their fathers.” As Elijah is taken in a whirlwind we hear a phrase uttered only twice in all of scripture, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (2 Kings 2:12) This phrase finds its second mention at Elisha’s deathbed as the king of Israel looks upon him with complete honor and respect, mourning the loss of so great a man of God and cries out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (2 Kings 13:14).

In today’s Church we once again find ourselves faced with a silent, still whisper, “What are you doing here?” To hear this question requires great sensitivity to the voice of God. He does not announce it in a great and powerful wind. He does not ask it in a trembling earthquake. He does not inquire of us in a raging inferno but comes to us calmly and quietly—“What are you doing here?” How will you answer such an inquiry? As a father in the faith will you move with purpose into a hope and future through the naming and throwing of your mantle onto a successor? Will your father heart turn towards the preservation of a spiritual future in your children?

If you are a young and upcoming leader will your heart turn in honor and respect towards the fathers, clinging to them until you have reached full maturity and release? Will all of your being cry out in love at the moment of your release, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” The success of the spirit and the power of Elijah is dependent on the compliance and fulfillment of both parties in this relationship.

We are faced also with a tragic factor perpetuated by society but not always recognized as so heavily impacting the Church and it is this: In the next several years 90 million “fathers” within our nation are moving into a phase of retirement. This is the baby boomer generation. The magnitude of their presence would not seem so impending if we could in some manner offer them children in increasing measure, but alas that is not possible. You see, 50 million of their children were never born. Over half of the fruitfulness of that generation is missing and so the dynamic of the mentoring relationship is widely offset and imbalanced. This is not to say that the anointing and release of new leaders cannot happen, it is merely to make us aware of the challenges we face. The younger generations have fallen into a category that qualifies as a minority and so we often find it difficult to make our voices heard in our appeal to be released into ministerial fullness. But I strongly believe a solution is available. I move that we pray for a fresh outpouring of the spirit and power of Elijah onto our generation. That in spite of the dysfunction we may have ignorantly perpetuated on our world we be allowed to emerge victorious with a renewed passion between the fathers and the children; that we may once again turn our hearts towards a hope and a future.

Since I do not want to end on a negative note I will give first the consequence of not instituting this dynamic relationship but follow it up with a tremendous word of hope. The consequence states itself in Malachi’s prophesy, “…or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:6) We are in the process of experiencing this curse right now because we did not develop a love for our children or a love for our fathers; we succumbed to a spirit of self preservation instead. Both parties jerked in a relentless game of tug-o-war to see who would prevail and now we suffer the curse on not just physical prosperity but spiritual prosperity. The hope I offer is in this suggestion: the spirit and power of Elijah precedes the coming of the Word of God. If it is truly our desire to see the return of the Word of God both spiritually through renewed understanding and physically in the flesh, then we will take seriously this spirit that perfectly prepares us for the Lord and ushers in that wonderful and blessed presence to our midst.

“Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” (2 Kings 2) Fathers cast your mantles!

“As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you…My father! My father!” (2 Kings 2) Sons cling to your fathers in honor and respect!