Let’s appreciate God, brethren, appreciate God. Father we thank You for another opportunity to hear and be blessed by Your word; it is You, Lord, we have come to seek; it is You we have come to hear; speak to us Lord, Your word that transforms; Your word that empowers; Your word that brings healing; Your word that brings deliverances; Lord, speak those words to our hearts this morning in the name of Jesus Christ.
We are not here to listen to any man speak at all, through the vessel you have prepared to use, Father, speak to us through him. At the end of this service, we pray Lord, that none of us will go back the same way we came; You will transform our lives for good; You will empower us with the double portion of Your spirit for effective service, for effective witness unto You, in Jesus name we have prayed. Amen! Praise the Lord!
Just tell your neighbor ‘good morning, you are welcome to God’s presence’. Prophesy to your neighbor; say neighbor, you will not leave here the same way you came in the name of Jesus Christ.
The theme for this year’s evangelism weekend is Inheriting Double Portion, and that would be the focus of our message this morning; I pray for you and I pray for myself brethren that we will inherit double portion of the Holy Spirit in Jesus name.
We will be taking our text from 2nd Kings 2:9; “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”. What a privilege Elisha had and what a great man Elijah was; he had finished his own work here on earth but he asked a very loyal servant that had served him to the very end, ‘what do you want me to leave behind for you?’ And Elisha did not ask for a small thing (as we will see later); the Bible says what he asked for, Elijah told him, this is a very hard thing you are asking for, but there is a condition to receiving it, if you can stay with me till the very end.
I pray for you and I pray for myself, the grace to serve God till the very end, till the point of reward, the Lord will release unto us in the name of Jesus.
Elisha was a very loyal servant and he had that opportunity to witness his master being taken up to heaven by a whirlwind and he asked for a double portion of the spirit of his master. I know many of us would have said sir, I just want to be like you; I just want to do what you were able to do here on earth; that would have also been a good thing, brethren, that would have also been a very good thing, but Elisha asked for double portion.
We also have opportunity this morning in the course of this service to ask God for something, beloved, ask for something big. You are asking from the One who made heaven and earth; you are asking from the One who is power Himself, who created power. He doesn’t need to consult with anybody; He doesn’t share power with anybody; don’t be afraid to ask your God, your Maker of anything, it may look difficult; do you know what? Things are always difficult with us, for with God, nothing shall be impossible.
I pray for you that the grace to ask God for big things, you will receive this morning in Jesus name.
Beloved, what did Elisha really asked for? What does inheriting double portion mean? Double portion is entering into a new office and doing the work as a successor and achieving twice as much, or even far more than the one you are succeeding or your master achieved.
If you look at Elijah and Elisha, the last accomplishment of Elijah was the miracle of parting the river Jordan. But beloved, that was the starting point for Elisha; and I pray for you that that miracle that even you have been saying ‘wow, if this could happen’, that that will be your own starting point in Jesus name.
Elijah parted river Jordan and Elisha also did the same, 2nd Kings 2:8 & 14, “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. (Verse 14) 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”.
It is noteworthy that Elisha performed twice the miracles done by Elijah; in fact, he became far more influential than his master, Elijah, that a king referred to him as his father, you will see that in 2nd Kings 6:21, “ And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them”? A king called Elisha ‘my father’; in fact, even in 2nd Kings 13:14, the king also addressed Elisha as ‘my father’, he said o, my father, my father. He did a lot more than his master.
What else does double portion mean? It also means having power to do greater exploits than someone who has gone before us. Elijah raised just one dead body back to life, but Elisha raised two dead bodies. Beloved, I pray for you that the power to do more, to do double, the Lord will release upon you in Jesus name.
We see this in 1st Kings 17: 20 -22; “And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived”. Praise the Lord!
And then we see in 2nd Kings 4:32 – 35 that Elisha did exactly the same thing, (you can read that by yourself at home); Elisha brought back a child who was dead to life, but in 2nd Kings 13:21, “And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha (that is the grave of Elisha): and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet”. So even in death, the bones of Elisha brought back somebody who was dead to life; so his master brought only one person back to life that was dead, but the Lord used him to bring back two dead people back to life. That is double portion, that’s what double portion mean – having power to do greater exploits than the one who has gone before us.
Another way we can also look at double portion is that it is grace to break fallow grounds. Fallow ground is a ground that has not been tilled before. In agriculture those days, they taught us fallow ground is a ground that has been left untouched, not cultivated – it’s grace to break new grounds; to do something that has never been done before; to reach a height that no one has reached before;
Let’s read Jeremiah 4:3, “For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns”. Let’s also read 2nd Kings 13: 21, we saw that the bones of Elisha raised that dead man to life. Beloved, nobody had done that before that time, so double portion is reaching a height that no one has reached before.
I pray for you and I pray for myself that that thing – that good thing that nobody has done before, the Lord will use us to do them in Jesus name.
What are the benefits, what is the significance of having double portion? Of what use is it to have double portion of the Spirit of the Lord? Beloved, we see a man, an ordinary prophet – Elisha, after he had received the double portion of the spirit that was on Elijah, he was no longer the same person, he became a different person and when he came back to the same Jericho that he had been to before, many things happened, brethren, I will just share a few of them here; he became more honorable; double portion of the Spirit brings honor, brethren. If you want honor, you should covet to have double portion of the Spirit of God.
At Jericho, the sons of the prophet who had earlier despised Elisha now came to bow before him. I pray for you, I also pray for myself, that all those who have despised you, who have looked down on you, who have been mocking you, they will come back and honor you in Jesus name. He was honored; he was celebrated where he had been despised.
Another thing we see after Elisha received the double portion of the spirit of Elijah was that his life and presence became more meaningful and impactful. Elisha had passed through Jericho before because there was no impact; he was working under the shadow of his master, in fact, no one really felt his presence, but with the double portion of the spirit that was on Elijah, Elisha destroyed the curse that was in Jericho. God used him to heal the waters in the land and God used him to put an end to barrenness that was in that land.
Let’s read 2nd Kings 2: 19 – 21, “And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land”.
Beloved, they didn’t come to meet Elisha before that time, they did not come to meet him to pray for the land, to bless the waters, but because they also noticed that this was a different Elisha, this Elisha was carrying double portion of the spirit that was in Elijah; they came to him, ‘we know your master could not do this, but we believe that God will use you,’ and God used him.
I’m trusting God that you will not go back the same way you came to this service in Jesus name. You will receive the double portion; beloved, covet it. Elisha was no longer the same Elisha, and that is what will happen to you, when you receive the double portion of the Spirit of God, people that knew you before will see a different you. Because they will see that the things you say are bringing solutions; problems that could not be solved before, ideas are coming to you to solve problems in unique ways, in different ways; that’s why you must covet to have, to receive the doubled portion of the Spirit of God.
Beloved, Elisha succeeded in providing solution where they possibly had taunted him before as being irrelevant to the community. If they thought he was relevant, they would have brought that request to him before; they would say, fine, servant of Prophet Elijah, who is this one? This one cannot help us; anybody that is telling you who is this one? They will come back and seek your help, seek your guidance, seek your advice, and God will use you to give them solutions in Jesus name.
Beloved, Elisha with the double portion succeeded where his master failed. The problem that Elijah could not solve in Jericho, God used Elisha. God will use you to solve problems that had been even before you were born in Jesus name.
Another thing we can see after Elisha received the double portion of that spirit that was in Elijah was that he arrested his arresters. Meanwhile, Elijah ran away for his dear life when Jezebel sent message to him that she was coming to kill him. Elisha with the double portion of that spirit arrested those that came to arrest him; we see that in 2nd Kings 6: 13-20, you will read it on your own; you will also read 1st Kings 19:1 -3, but I will just summarize – paraphrase what happened in 2nd Kings 6: 13 – 20; the king of Syria was warring against Israel, and everything the king was planning (even in his bedroom), God was revealing it to Elisha, because he now had the double portion of this spirit that was on Elijah; he could hear from God clearly; he could receive instructions, so as God was showing him, he was also telling the king of Israel; this is the plan; these are the secrets; this is what the enemy – the king of Syria wants to do; so he directed the king of Israel where to go, how to go, and the king of Syria was very unhappy because he felt he had a traitor among his people that was going to reveal his secrets to the Israelites.
And one of his own servants told him, we don’t have any traitor amongst us, there is a Prophet Elisha, that everything you are planning in your bedroom, God is showing him everything; and the king of Syria was very unhappy, he sent his soldiers to go and arrest the prophet Elisha. Elisha allowed them to come, he just prayed one prayer, God, give them blindness.
I’m praying beloved, that anybody that wants to come and arrest your destiny, God will give them blindness in Jesus name. And they became blind, soldiers, and he started directing them and he directed them to somewhere else. He arrested his arresters; that’s what double portion can do for you.
And another thing double portion of the spirit made Elisha to be was that even in death, his life was still relevant. And like we read earlier, his bones brought back to life a corpse – somebody that was dead, 2nd Kings 13:21.
Beloved, we cannot finish this sermon without also discussing, I’m sure you would be asking, pastor, the way you are talking about it, I’m interested, I want to have this double portion, how can we inherit the double portion?
Number one, you have to totally surrender to God and be committed to follow Him. That was the foundation upon which Elisha stood to ask for double portion, he followed his master to the end, he was there when his master was being taken away. Beloved, if he wasn’t there, he would have missed that opportunity.
And we see that when Elijah first cast his mantle upon Elisha, Elisha gave all to follow Elijah. We can see determination; we see commitment; we see selflessness; we see someone who deliberately created a platform for humble service and followership. Let’s read on our own 1st Kings 19 -21 and 2nd Kings 3:11, “But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah”. He was a very committed, very loyal servant; he followed his master.
Number two, another requirement to inherit the double portion is to faithfully abide with the Master; serving Him and not having distraction, not having double mind. Keep pressing forward in faithfulness and humility.
1st Corinthians 4:2, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful”. Stewards must be faithful, and in John 15:5, Jesus said, without Me, you cannot do anything, that’s why you must abide in Me. Praise the Lord!
The third requirement is that we must be focused in service. You must be focused, you must be a person of one thing, that’s what Apostle Paul advised in Philippians 3:13, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before”. This one thing – what is that one thing that is getting your attention for Christ?
Elisha ignored and overcame the distractions from the sons of the prophet; he concentrated on steadfastly following his master, serving him with unbroken focus. We can read 2nd Kings 2: 5 & 6, (you can read that on your own).
The fourth requirement is to be selfless and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. It’s an attitude we must cultivate, we must develop. Beloved, Elijah did not tell Elisha he was departing, he didn’t tell him but the Holy Spirit revealed it to Elisha, because Elisha has cultivated that habit, that attitude, that sensitivity that when the Holy Spirit is speaking, he knows, he understands, and the Holy Spirit could also speak to him.
The Holy Spirit cannot speak to many of us; we cannot even hear Him speaking, we are not hearing; that’s why we have many problems, we enter into dangers, the Holy Spirit is speaking, He’s warning but we are ignoring, we are not able to hear Him. The Lord will give us the grace to discern and hear from the Spirit of the Lord in Jesus name.
Even when the sons of the prophet were telling Elisha his mater would be taken that day, he told them I already know because the Holy Spirit had revealed it to him; we can see that in 2nd Kings 2: 3 & 5.
Romans 8:14 says as many as are led by the Spirit of God; they are the sons of God. Beloved, you must be led; you must cultivate that attitude fir being led by the Spirit of God.
The fifth requirement is to follow the steps of the Master. Elijah smote river Jordan, Elisha also did the same. Who is your role model? Who are we imitating? Who are we following? Some of the people we choose as role models, their lives are not pleasing to Christ; beloved, we have so many people, so many Christians, so many Christian leaders that should be our role model, and I can say our daddy GO is a very good example of a role model that we can all follow.
And I can also say without contradiction that we also have our daddy here as a role model, a man that is so transparent that we can follow, let’s choose role models, believers that we can model our lives after, that we can imitate.
1st Kings 2:8, “And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword”. They met at the Jordan. Elisha was imitating, following after the footsteps of his master. Who are you following? Who are you modeling your life after? Praise the Lord!
Another requirement to receive a double portion of the Spirit of God is to have a big vision and be desperate for big and hard things. Beloved, the double portion is given to achieve big things, not small things; you don’t need the double portion to achieve small things. So you will not have it if your dream is just me, myself, my family to be safe, that’s all; but if you want God to use you to win lots of souls for Christ, the Lord will give you double portion in Jesus name.
2nd Kings 2: 9 & 10, “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”. Beloved, ask God for big things; have big dreams, big dreams for God.
Daddy GO told us that the campground today was a bush full of grass, but we can see what it has turned to. Let’s have big dreams and the Lord will give us the double portion to achieve those big dreams in Jesus name.
Beloved, we must also have a mindset of rugged soul winning. We must have a passion for lost souls; all around us brethren, there are people who are headed to hell and we are not even interested, we are not concerned, it’s not our business; we just come to church, go back home. There are prostitutes living near you; there are smokers; there are drinkers; there are 419; there are all kinds of people, it’s none of your business, it should be your business. When you have the double portion, you will have a passion; you will be determined to save these people so that they will not go to hell.
2nd Kings 4:8, “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread”. He was looking for, he didn’t just pass by; he didn’t just say it’s not my business, and we saw later what God used Elisha to do in the life of that woman. In fact, God sent Elisha to that house for that purpose that happened later. May the Lord give us the heart, the passion for soul winning in Jesus name.
And lastly, brethren, in all, let God be your focus. I’m trusting God that you will receive that double portion this morning in Jesus name. But let God be your focus and let pleasing Him be your ultimate goal.
You don’t receive it to feel good, to feel high, to say I now have power like daddy GO, that is not the essence; God must be your ultimate focus. That’s why Elisha asked that where is the Lord God of Elijah? He knew that it’s only God that will be glorified with this double portion.
We are going to spend some time to pray v=because I want us to leave here like different people, nit the same way we came, because Elisha was not the same person again after he received the double portion. So I’m going to conclude now then the choir will lead us in some songs and then we take some prayers.
Beloved, for the fulfillment of our destinies, we need the double portion of the Spirit of Christ who has gone before us. The Bible says in 1st Corinthians 2: 9, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”. The plans God has for you has not been revealed to any man; what God will use you to do with the double portion of His Spirit, beloved, has not been revealed to any man. Don’t look down on yourself, look unto God who is the giver and who is the ultimate One.
I want us to be upstanding now, we are going to take some prayers but we are also going to worship God. [Music] Beloved, I don’t know about you, I don’t know if you are satisfied with your life, with the power of God that you have; if you are not, you have the opportunity because Elisha had the opportunity and Elijah asked him, ask what you want, what do you want me to do for you?
So this morning, I want you to join me and say Father, Father, fill me afresh with the double portion of Your Spirit. Beloved, pray like you mean it; pray like you mean it brethren, because that was what changed Elisha from the servant, somebody carrying Bible, carrying bag, following his master to somebody that became greater than his master. Ask God to fill you with the double portion of His Spirit because that is what will make you a different Christian; that is what will not allow you to be an ordinary Christian. Lord, fill me up with the double portion of Your Spirit, in Jesus name we have prayed.
In Acts 1:8, it says but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and then ye shall be witnesses. For the power to witness for Christ is what we are asking for this morning, so you will join me again and say Father, fill me with Your power; fill me with Your Holy Spirit, a double portion of Your Holy Spirit and Lord, make me an effective witness for You; let my life bring souls to Your Kingdom; use me to bring souls to Your Kingdom, Lord; fill me with Your power; thank You Lord; thank You Father, in Jesus name we have prayed.
Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: (what did He do with it?) He went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him”. So you are going to still join me and say Father, Lord fill me with Your power; Lord, I want to go about doing good; healing people; healing the oppressed; bringing deliverances to many. Lord, fill me with Your power.
Beloved, cry to God, because Elisha cried, he cried to his master and said please, give me a double portion of your spirit. Beloved, ask God; Father, please fill me with Your Holy Ghost and with Your power; fill me with Your power to be an effective witness for You Lord, thank You Father, in Jesus name we have prayed.
We saw some of the miracles that God used Elisha to do; beloved, those miracles by themselves brought people to Christ. A land whose waters was bitter; a land that has become barren; by the time God used him, what do you think happened? People said this your God, we will serve Him.
So you are going to pray for Nigeria, you will still pray that prayer for yourself, you will say Father, Father; destroy every curse that is upon the land Nigeria. Because that was what God used Elisha to do for the land of Jericho; Bible says that it was a pleasant land and they were even telling Elisha, we know you can see it but there is a problem in this land; beloved, there is problem in Nigeria; pray, destroy every curse upon Nigeria. How can we be suffering in the midst of plenty? Our wealth is like bottomless pit; people are stealing and it’s not finishing.
Imagine if we are going to be channeling all those wealth to develop Nigeria, our people will not be running abroad, they are suffering abroad; Nigeria is a better place brethren; we have better weather, better opportunities; destroy every curse upon this land. Father, we destroy every curse upon Nigeria, in Jesus name we have prayed.
You will still join me and say Father, please heal the waters of Nigeria and put an end to barrenness in Nigeria. Let our efforts; let the new government implement projects that will work for Nigeria. Things are working in other countries, it does not work in Nigeria, Father, turn it around; turn it around oh God; thank You Father, in Jesus name we have prayed.
You will pray for yourself now and say Father, put an end to barrenness and fruitless efforts in my life; Lord, make my life more honorable; let my mockers come and celebrate me. Thank You Father, Lord we bless Your name; thank You Jesus, in Jesus name we have prayed.
Beloved I pray for you that whatever limitation has been placed upon your life by anybody; by circumstances of your birth, of your upbringing, of your lineage, they are broken this morning in the name of Jesus. Every curse that has been upon your life, I destroy them by the reason of the power of the Holy Spirit; your bitter waters are turned to sweet waters; your barrenness are turned to fruitfulness; your mockers will come and celebrate you; those who have despised you will come and honor you; they will come and bow down to you. God will make you a solution to problems in the name of Jesus.
Beloved, this double portion of the Spirit is not for everybody, it can only come upon those who have surrendered to Christ. They can’t have one leg in and one leg out, it will not work; they can’t be living and enjoying sin and expect a double portion of the Spirit. If you are in the house brethren, we have our pastors here, they are going to pray for you, you want to surrender totally to Jesus, you want this double portion of the Spirit of God to come upon you, please just rush out now, we don’t have time.
You are here, you want the Holy Spirit to come upon you, to use you, wherever you are, or you want to rededicate your life to Christ, please come, our pastors are here to pray for you.
You may have to think about it, you may not come out but think about your life; you can’t have one leg in, one leg out, it will not work. I pray for you that the grace to work for God; the grace to live a life that is effective, that is winning souls for Christ, the Lord will release upon you from today, you will be a witness for Christ. You will not witness for the devil. Your life will not showcase the devil; your life will showcase God’s goodness in Jesus name. God bless you.
