“And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.”
1 Kings 19:19
Elijah strode back to Israel, humbled and yet strengthened to know the love and grace of the Lord God. Yes, he had run the wrong way at the very moment when God was ready to bring all Israel to a revival with Him. But Elijah knew God still cared for him as always. He was empowered to continue to work as a messenger of the living God.
As he trudged across the hills and valleys of Israel, he may have smiled at the hint of green coming into the fields. The rains were breathing new life into the land. Small streams could be seen, gathering strength day by day.
“So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him” (1 Kings 19:19).
Elijah’s mantle was more than a dusty, threadbare garment smelling of countless campfires. It was the symbol of the authority and calling of God in Elijah’s life. Elijah saw Elisha and knew what he must do. He must call Elisha to follow him.
Elijah threw his mantle over the shoulders of young Elisha and kept on walking, as if nothing had happened out of the ordinary. Yet the meaning of the mantle was not lost on Elisha. He knew it was God’s call to follow Elijah. “He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ‘Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you’” (1 Kings 18:20).
Elijah tested the young man. He gave Elisha a chance to back out of the call. He cried out to Elisha, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” (1 Kings 18:20). But Elisha was ready to go and be who God was calling him to be, and “he followed Elijah and ministered to him” (1 Kings 19:21).
Elijah had to humble himself to toss his mantle on younger shoulders. He had to submit to God’s plan to raise up a young leader who would soon replace him. Elijah had to surrender to the truth that he was expendable and that God’s work would go on well without him.
Now is the Time!
As I prayed out in the fields early one morning, God brought His prophecy in Acts 2:17 to my mind: “’And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” To prophesy is to share the Word of God, by the power of God, to the people whom God sends you to share it.
“God, what do you want me to do about helping your sons and daughters to prophesy?” I asked. God impressed me to start equipping children and youth to speak the written Word of God through practical preaching. I began with equip- ping two teenagers to prayerfully search the Word and speak the Word, and then God led me to do the same with children as well as other youth.
I required the child or teen to come with one or more parent(s), and we prayed together and planned the message God had given us from His written Word. The child or youth prepared the message with me during five sessions. The parents coached the child in between sessions, and then I team-preached with the young person.
I met with resistance in one church. Some did not like children and youth preaching and teaching the Word of God. Some left and did not come back.
I remember Darla, a young, shy teenager in love with God and terrified of being up front. She was about thirteen at the time. I had noticed that she was watching across the room when I was preparing her big brother to preach with me in a few weeks.
I walked across the room. “Darla, you seem very interested in what your older brother is preparing to do. Do you want to learn how to preach God’s Word?” I asked.
Terrified, she blurted, “I could never do that!”
“Darla, do you spend time with God in the Word each day and in prayer?” I asked gently.
Softly, she answered, “Oh yes. Most days I do.”
“Then,” I said, “God has given you something to share! Would you please pray this coming week about preaching the Word of God with me?” She agreed.
After praying for a week for Darla, I asked her, “What is your answer after praying for a week? Will you preach with me?”
“God wants me to do it!” she quietly answered. “Great!” I said cheerfully, “Let’s prepare to preach together in one week.”
“One week!” she shrieked. “I thought maybe we could prepare for me to preach in six months or a year!”
“Now is the time!” I encouraged her.
Five times I met with this girl and her parents. She and I prayed for a message from the Lord. We studied the Word. We prepared to team-preach the Word.
When we stood up before the church, Darla was absolutely terrified. She was pale and nervous, her hands clutching the podium with all her might. We preached the Word together. Every time this extremely shy girl spoke, the audience literally leaned towards her, wanting to catch everything that this unlikely speaker had to say about God.
We reached the conclusion, and it was Darla’s turn to speak again. She took a deep breath and looked out to the sea of faces that seemed to be swimming across her terrified vision.
“Do you know why I am preaching the Word of God today?” she asked the audience. “It is not to please my parents or the pastor. This is the last place I would ever want to be. I am preaching today because of my love for God and His love for me!” Tears started rolling down her cheeks. “I preach the Word because I love God and I want you to love Him and know Him, too. If God can help me preach the Word, and you know I am the shyest person in this whole church, then why can’t He help you do the same?”
The question soared out over the audience and settled uncomfortably in the hearts of young and old, bringing conviction into the hearts of many to no longer be silent. Darla simply sat down. There was nothing more to be said.
A quiet man nearing retirement ambled up to me after the service. He looked both ways to make sure no one was listening. “If God could speak through Darla today, do you think He might be able to speak through me?” he asked timidly. Two weeks later, he was preaching the Word.
One day, a grandmother, stooped with age, came up to me leaning heavily on her cane. “I need to talk with you about these children and youth preaching the Word!” she told me resolutely. I sighed and prepared for more criticism.
“Bend down here where I can tell you something in your ear!” she commanded me. I bent down to her. She cupped my ear with her arthritic hands and whispered, “You know what? These young people you have preaching...well, they preach better than you!”
I grinned, gave her a hug, and said, “Praise God! This is the best news you could have given me!”
Call to Action
Call your Elisha.
Ask God whom He is calling to replace you. Invite that person to join you!
