2 Kings 2:15, “The Spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha”. As we read through the Old Testament sometimes we forget, in the church today, we have a major advantage in our lives that 99.9% of the people in Israel did not. We, post Jesus and Pentecost (Acts 2), have the Holy Spirit in our lives each minute of each day. This verse shows us that God deemed it necessary for Elijah to have the control and power of the Spirit in his life. The Holy Spirit then goes from Elijah and is transferred over to Elisha for the work of God. Joshua, David, Joseph, Noah, and even most of, if not all of, the Prophets did not have the gift we have today of the Holy Spirit.
Now you might be asking, wait a second, the Holy Spirit was resting on Elijah and he did some amazing miracles with that power for God, does that mean I can perform the same miracles for God today? Or maybe it is more of question in that, if I cannot perform the same miracles as Elijah does that mean I do not have the Holy Spirit in my life? The answers to both of those questions could be yes and no. See, God had a plan and mission for Elijah and a purpose for sending the Spirit on Elijah. God also has a plan for you and me today and also has a purpose for sending the Spirit to live in us too. The question then is, what is the purpose of God? I know one of the purposes for God in sending the Holy Spirit into our lives to live, which is “to make disciples, baptizing them….and teaching them…” (Matthew 28). If God has a purpose for you to perform a miracle like Elijah did, well then, with the power of the Spirit God will perform the miracle through you. But if God has other purposes for your life, then the Holy Spirit will give you power to preform those purposes. The real question that one has to ask is…are you listening to and tapping into the Holy Spirit living inside you as a child of the King?
Now you might be asking, wait a second, the Holy Spirit was resting on Elijah and he did some amazing miracles with that power for God, does that mean I can perform the same miracles for God today? Or maybe it is more of question in that, if I cannot perform the same miracles as Elijah does that mean I do not have the Holy Spirit in my life? The answers to both of those questions could be yes and no. See, God had a plan and mission for Elijah and a purpose for sending the Spirit on Elijah. God also has a plan for you and me today and also has a purpose for sending the Spirit to live in us too. The question then is, what is the purpose of God? I know one of the purposes for God in sending the Holy Spirit into our lives to live, which is “to make disciples, baptizing them….and teaching them…” (Matthew 28). If God has a purpose for you to perform a miracle like Elijah did, well then, with the power of the Spirit God will perform the miracle through you. But if God has other purposes for your life, then the Holy Spirit will give you power to preform those purposes. The real question that one has to ask is…are you listening to and tapping into the Holy Spirit living inside you as a child of the King?