What Will You Do With The Mantle?

2 Kings 2:14

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.

Elijah was about to be taken to Heaven, and the young preacher, Elisha, would not leave his preacher’s side. When the moment came that God took Elijah up to Heaven, God left the mantle. That mantle represented the methods and God’s power on Elijah’s life. Elisha, seeing the mantle left on the ground, took off his mantle and rented it, but took up the mantle of Elijah to use. Elisha immediately used that mantle to cross back over the Jordan River, and it proved true that the God of Elijah rested on Elisha. Why? Because he chose to take the same mantle and do the same works that he had learned from his preacher.

There are three groups of people represented in this story. The first group are the critics. As Elisha journeyed from the Jordan River to Bethel, you will recall a crowd of young critics mocking him. This young crowd of critics mocked the mantle and Elisha, but God defended His man and killed this young group of critics.

The second group of people were the young prophets who worked under Elijah’s ministry, but they only followed afar off. This group knew about the works of Elijah, but they just didn't want to get involved; they were comfortable with their mediocre works. They were comfortable running with the crowd instead of getting God’s power on their lives and ministries to see God work through them as He did through Elijah. Oh, this young crowd could have had the same God work through their lives just like Elisha did, but they just did not want to put the effort it took and and be criticized by the critics to have these works done in their own ministry.

The third group was not a group, it was one person. Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah, and instead of criticizing it, he worked the same works that Elijah did, and he saw the same God work through his life and ministry just like Elijah had seen. Elisha was determined not to let the mantle rot on the ground, but use it so God could be real to another generation. He realized that having that mantle was not only a privilege but a responsibility to use so the next generation could see that God is real.

My friend, the mantle of the past generations is still available today. We have been privileged not only to hear about the works of our Elijah but also to see them firsthand. What you do with that mantle will determine what God does with you and through your ministry. You can join the critics and start your podcasts to criticize the mantle, you can talk about the mantle and what you saw, or you can take it up and work the works that your Elijah worked and see God work through you as He did in the days of old.

This nation is dying for someone to take up the mantle of soul winning, bus routes, old-fashioned preaching, Sunday school classes, and big days. I am here to testify that God has enough mantles for every person to pick up. It is not that God’s hand is shortened in our day; it is that too many have left the mantle of God’s men lying on the ground to rot. I challenge you to pick up the mantle and attempt great things for God with that mantle. What you do with the mantle that God’s men from the past have left you will determine what God does through you.