Whose spirit are you going to get
Key Passage: 2 Kings 2
Date: August 27, 2023
Turning your Bibles, if you would, to 2nd Kings, chapter number 2. Second Kings, chapter number 2. It has already been good to be in the house of the Lord, just to be around our brothers and sisters in Christ, the fellowship, and hear the songs of Zion. I love that—the music of Zion. But we’re coming to the time when we’re dying at God’s table. Let’s just take that seriously and say, “Hey, Lord, I need something from you today.”
Speak to my heart. We started a new series two Sundays ago, or excuse me, last Sunday, on having a healthy spirit, having a healthy spirit. The key to that is having very much coffee in the morning time. Amen. Come on now, y’all awake out there? How many has already had some coffee this morning? All right, good, good. Looks like more on this side than over here now, you know. Do y’all do green tea over here? Flaxseed? Oh, my goodness. Wow. Black tea. We’ve got to get that right, right. Black tea. Okay, all right, I got it now. I got it. Amen. You got to get tuned in and listening this morning. Good deal, good deal. That’s great.
We started this series on having a healthy spirit. Last week was: You Have the Trump Card. When the old devil comes against you, tries to put a bad spirit in you, you have a greater spirit if you’re a born-again Christian. You have the trump card. You can go back and listen to that last Sunday. If you were not here, or if you were here sleeping, go back and listen to it on YouTube. Amen. All right. How about that? And then today, here’s the title: Whose Spirit Are You Going to Get? Whose Spirit Are You Going to Get? I want you to think about this. We’re going to read a very familiar passage, but I think it often has been misused down through the years. We’re going to try to just rightly divide and pray that it will be a help and encouragement—a help over the years for you to have a good spirit.
Second Kings, chapter number two. If you’re there already, would you say amen? Amen. Good deal, good deal. Would you stand, if you’re able, just to show the Word of God respect? Second Kings 2, we’re going to start in verse number one of God’s Word. Kings, chapter number 2, verse number 1. By the way, I hope you love and value the Bible. This old world is getting so cattywampus—that’s a great word, amen. You know, actually, that’s a hillbilly Tennessee term right there—but it’s getting so cattywampus on its belief system because it’s gotten away from the Bible, and we’re just going crazy, calling good evil and evil good because we’ve gotten away from the Bible. I hope you treasure the Word of God you hold in your hand.
Let’s start here. Verse number one: “And it came to pass when the Lord had taken up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elisha said unto him, ‘Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel.’ And Elisha said, ‘As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, ‘Knowest thou not that the Lord would take away thy master from thy head today?’ And he said, ‘Yea, I know it. Hold ye your peace.’ And Elijah said unto him, ‘Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho.’ And he said, ‘As the Lord liveth, and as my soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said unto him, ‘Knowest thou not that the Lord would take away thy master from thy head today?’ And he answered, ‘Yea, I know it. Hold ye your peace.’ And Elijah said unto him, ‘Tarry, I pray thee, here, for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan.’ And he said, ‘As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ And they two went on. And fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view off. And they too stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle—that’s his jacket, his overcoat, if you will—took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they too went over on dry ground. And it came to pass when they were going 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.’ 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.’”
This portion of scripture has been used by many for years—not bad people, good people. But it’s kind of been misused in that they use it to promote, or they’ll say it’s teaching us to get a double portion of the Lord’s Spirit. Now, I’m for that. The Bible says, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.” I’m for being filled with the Spirit of God. I’m for that. In fact, last Sunday the whole message was: Only you have the Holy Spirit; He is greater than the evil spirit trying to get your spirit, and you have the trump card. I’m for that. I’m for us being filled, having an anointing, having an unction of the Holy Spirit. I’m for that. But primarily, that is not what is being taught here.
Would you look back very briefly there at verse number nine? When Elijah asked Elisha—by the way, I’m going to get those names mixed up. Let me tell you right off the bat here, all right? Come on, have mercy on me. Elijah and Elisha. Say that ten times: Elijah, Elisha, Elijah. You know, try that all service long now, you know. If I mess it up, just say, “Well, he’s a hillbilly.” Let’s go old, amen. Don’t stop me, you know. But look at verse number nine. Elijah asked Elisha. He said, “What shall I do for thee before I be taken from thee?” And I want you to see what Elisha says. Look at it, verse number nine: “And it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha, ‘Ask what I should do for thee before I be taken away from thee.’” And Elisha—here’s what I’m trying to get to—and Elisha said, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit.” Now hold on for just a second here. Time out, would you? Would you look at your Bible and help me out? Is that spirit, that ‘S’ on the front of that spirit—look at your Bible, look right there—is that an uppercase or a lowercase ‘s’? Lowercase. Well, that’s interesting. Because in the Bible, typically, when it’s talking about the Spirit of God, it is a capital ‘S’.
That verse that I just quoted over there, Ephesians 5:18: “Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.” If you had time to look that up, don’t do it now, but if you had time to look it up, you’d find that that’s a capital ‘S’. The very beginning of the Bible over there in Genesis 1, verse number 2: “And the earth was without form, and void.” Remember that? In the beginning God created the heaven and earth, and the earth was without form, and void. And what happened? “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” That’s a capital ‘S’. Typically in the Bible, when it’s talking about the Holy Spirit of God, it is an uppercase, capital ‘S’. Well, that’s interesting. It’s a lowercase. Would you look back at verse number nine there? He said, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy…” Did you get that? Now, wait, is he talking to God right here? When he said, “Let a double portion of thy spirit,” he’s not talking to God. Who is Elisha talking to? Elijah. So he said, “Let me have a double portion of not thy [Holy] Spirit, but thy [Elisha’s] spirit.” He’s saying, “Elijah, I’ve seen you in action. I’ve seen you over the years. I’ve seen you in the morning time. I’ve seen you at night time. I’ve seen you when Ahab is coming down on you. I’ve seen you in Jezebel’s chasing. I’ve seen you in these battles. I’ve seen you deal with the sons of the prophets and the Bible colleges. I’ve seen you deal with all these people and the servants. And I’ve seen you. And I want a double portion of thy spirit.” That’s what he’s saying. He’s saying, “Look, Elijah, that’s what I’m after.” That I will—by the way, if you have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, there’s a good chance you’re going to have the Holy Spirit working through you, but that’s not primarily what he’s speaking of. He’s saying, “Hey, I want a double portion of thy…”
You know, I have an uncle. I’ll talk about it from time to time, Uncle David. And Uncle David, when he was very young, he had an accident and a stroke from it, we think, and whatnot. And the right side of his body would not grow like it should. It made his spine curve. He wasn’t even supposed to walk after somebody here’s, and he walked until the day he went home pretty much, you know, besides cancer. And the right side of his body, this right hand was just all kind of shriveled up like that. As a boy, I hung around Uncle David a lot. And if you wrestled with Uncle David, if you got his right side, you could beat him, you know. But he used his left hand for everything, so don’t let that left hand get a hold of you. You’re in trouble if he gets you with the left hand, you know. It was strong, you know.
And so Uncle David, he had worked some, but he just could not hold down a regular job because of his physical problems. And so he was disabled, and he lived with my granny, Granny Lee, his mom. And he lived there, so I would still go stay with Granny Lee. The good thing about Granny Lee’s house is she always had some ice-cold sweet tea out there. Amen? Come on now. It’s not good preaching to one. I tell you what, we’re going to preach some Bible one way or another. She always had sweet tea, you know. But I spent a lot of time with my Uncle David. Now, he had his flaws for sure. You’ve probably heard me tell something about that. But I think I caught—well, let me say this about Uncle David: When you’re disabled and you can’t walk right, always fully right, you know, and your one arm is shriveled up like that, you don’t care, maybe in some ways, quite as much about what everybody thinks about you. And you enjoy a slower pace of life, and you learn to kind of enjoy the simple things of life. And Granny always had a little bit of a farm ranch; you’d have some pigs, you know, and she’d have to shear some sheep sometimes, you know. And you remember back in the day when you dug a big old pit in the backyard and you burned everything there? That’s why we got a hole in the old yard, you know, nowadays and all that, at least that’s what happened because of Granny’s house. But anyway, that was the way he lived. And as a young person, I’d go stay at Granny’s house, and I would hang out with Uncle David because Uncle David didn’t work a regular job. And Uncle David, he had a good sense of humor, and he just kind of enjoyed the simple things of life, and he wasn’t about, you know, being popular because he’s disabled, living with his mom in his 40s. I mean, you can’t be too big a shot when you’re doing like that, you know. And I think I caught a little bit of that spirit, and I’m glad for that because it added something to my life, a little bit to my spirit. I mean, Uncle David was good with people. And I’m not saying I’m good with people, but he was good with people. He just loved people. I mean, and he liked to joke. He was the greeter at his church when I got older. And his wife—he’s in heaven now—his wife said, “You know, people in that church still ask, ‘Where’s the greeter David at?’” He was so friendly, good with people, because he just… He wasn’t all about himself. And I say all that to say, I’m thankful I got to be around him a little bit because I think I caught a little bit of that spirit.
Now, if you’ll watch, how was it that Elisha was going to catch the spirit of Elijah? What did he say? He said, “If you see me when I am taken up…” Can I just put it in our everyday language? If you hang around me, you’re going to catch my spirit. And friend, that’s such a key part of you having a healthy spirit. If you hang around them, you catch their spirit. That’s what it’s telling him. If you see me go up—look over, if you will. Y’all will me this morning, do you will? Look over in Proverbs 13, Proverbs 13 and verse number 20. I want you to see this. This is probably—there may be a better one, I’m not sure—but one of the clearest places in all the Bible to teach this truth. Proverbs 13, verse number 20. I want you to see it right there. Proverbs 13:20. And once you find it, would you say, “Praise the Lord”? Praise the Lord. Good deal, good deal. Y’all are ready to go today. That’s great. Proverbs 13:20. He says, “He that walketh with wise men…” has a good chance of being wise. Is that what your Bible says? If that’s what it says, throw it out. It’s not the right thing. Amen. He says, “He that walketh with wise men shall…” If the Bible says “will,” that’s strong, but if it says “shall,” that’s even stronger. “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise.” Wow. Look at the last part of it: “But a companion…” By the way, you don’t even have to be a fool; just a companion of fools shall be destroyed." Now, friend, there’s the truth, just plain and simple. Can I say this? You’ve heard it said before, but I want to just say it again, all right? You are, or you soon will be, what you hang around. You say, “Well, I’m a big, strong Christian.” You are not the exception to God’s rule. It’s always true, and He says, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” We might think we’re above that, but, friend, you’re not above God’s Word. And Elijah said to Elisha, “If you want to, you’ve asked a hard thing, but if you hang around me until I’m taken up, you’ll get it.” Oh, that’s so important.
And that’s interesting. Look at verse number eight. You’re back over here in 2 Kings 2. Look in verse number 8. Let’s just briefly see it here for a second. 2 Kings 2, verse number 8: “And Elijah took his mantle—that’s his jacket—wrapped it together, and smote the waters: and they were divided hither and thither.” Isn’t it interesting? He smote the waters. I mean, right there he said, “Elijah took his mantle, wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither.” I’m speaking in tongues today, not even trying to do that, you know. So they too went over on dry ground. Well, let’s look down in verse number 14. Now, this is Elisha. Elijah is up in heaven. This is Elisha, verse number—where are we at? Verse number 14: “And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters.” Wait a second. We had Elijah smiting the waters. Now we have Elisha smiting the waters. Yeah, he got his spirit. And he smote the waters and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he also had smitten the waters, they were parted hither and thither, and Elisha went over. By the way, many of you know it, Elisha goes on and performs twice the miracles that Elijah did, but the thing is, after getting his spirit…
This is the interesting thing. Would you look over in 1 Kings, chapter number 17? 1 Kings 17. You’re in 2 Kings. Can you look over to 1 Kings 17? This is the first mention of Elijah in all the Bible. I just love it. We don’t know anything about this guy, Elijah. Boom! All of a sudden, he comes on the scene. Here it is, 1 Kings 17. And he’s pointing his—every preacher has a long finger, you know? A long, bony finger, you know. And Elijah’s pointing his long, bony finger right at the president’s nose, saying, “You’re sinful. That’s why there’s not going to be any rain. The economy is going to go belly up because of your sin.” That’s just the beginning of Elijah. That’s the introduction to Elijah. It would be good to have Elijahs around in our day and time. Amen. We need him.
But I want you to notice a little statement. Little statements in the Bible are very interesting. I love this. I want you to look for a little statement he makes, all right? I’ve got it underscored in my Bible. You might want to do it in yours, but I want you to watch for it. Here we go. 1 Kings 17. Look at verse number one: “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, ‘As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.’” Now, wait a second, Elijah. You’re standing before the king, Ahab, and you said—what did you say? What was it? “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand.” You’re not… Oh, yeah, he is. He said, “Buddy, I might be standing before you as a king of this earth, but more important, I’m standing before the Lord Almighty.” You catch that little statement he makes there? Elijah making that statement.
Now look over, if you will, look over in chapter number 18. 1 Kings 18. It’s a little bit later on. This servant is coming, and he’s a servant of Ahab, but he’s a Christian man, and he’s looking for Elijah. And it’s Elijah, the king after you, and want you to go show yourself to the king, and on and on. But I want you to notice this statement that Elijah makes here again. You in 1 Kings 18:15? Are you there? Amen. Let’s try it. You’re in 1 Kings 18:15? Amen. Good, here we go. “And Elijah said, ‘As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today.’” Now, I want you just kind of notice the little statements, little sayings that Elijah would use. That was one of his little sayings that he would use. He talked about God. He said, “Before whom I stand.” It didn’t matter who he was standing in front of; he was standing in front of God.
Now I want you to look over, if you look over in 2 Kings. 2 Kings, chapter number 3. Elijah is in heaven now. He got caught up by the whirlwind, and he’s in heaven now. Elisha is talking to the king, Jehoram. He’s the son of Ahab. And I want you to see what Elisha does here. We’re in 2 Kings 3, in verse number 14. And Elisha said—he was talking to the king—“As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand.” Wow. Where did we hear that from? Elijah. Where do we hear it now from? Elisha. I want a double portion of thy spirit. Even his mannerisms, his statements begin to look like Elijah.
Look over in chapter 5. Chapter 5, and this is where he told Naaman to go dip in the Jordan River seven times and you’ll be healed, and you’ve heard all that. And look what happens. 2 Kings 5, verse number 16: “But he said, ‘As the Lord liveth…’” Help me out. What are the next four words? “As the Lord liveth.” Same thing Elijah was saying; now Elisha is saying. Friend, I’m telling you, you say, “I want to have a good spirit.” Who are you hanging around? You’re going to catch their spirit. I want a double portion of my spirit. You got it? He’s even talking the same way. He’s even using the same jargon, if you will.
Now let me just make three statements, and then we’re going to go home. Amen. All right. How many are going home? How many are you going to a restaurant? How many are going home? Going home? All right. How many are going to the restaurant? Home’s got it. Amen. Home’s cheaper. Somebody say amen right there, you know? I like that right there. Let me give you three statements, and we’re going to go, all right? You listen, don’t lose me. We’re trying to just build a foundation on top of these. We’ll get three statements.
Number one: Choose—now listen, listen, listen, listen. Young people, please listen to this part. Choose whose spirit you’re going to get. Don’t let life just choose for you. Decide, “I like their spirit. I like the way they deal with people. I like the way they deal with opposition. I like their firmness. I like their sweetness. I like their enduring quality. I like that. I want to have a spirit like that,” and choose to catch their spirit.
There’s a preacher, his name is Jack Treber. He’s in California. Believe it or not, there’s a good preacher or two in California. Can you believe that, you know? And he’s actually in the Silicon Valley—I mean, right in the middle of all that. And he’s an old-fashioned preacher, a Bible preacher that stands for truth, a hot hell, a wonderful heaven, a bad devil, and a good God, amen. And he’s a great guy, but he’s got a great spirit about him. He’s not down in the dumps. He’s not so upset about 2023, everything being so bad, living in California with the governor. He’s got a good spirit.
I listen to him. He has a little segment on KMBC. It’s just a 15-minute segment called “Revival Time.” And can I be honest with you why I listen to that 15-minute segment so often? He doesn’t typically teach any great doctrinal things; he’ll teach the Bible. The thing I love about it is his spirit. Can I tell you? It’s a large church; their auditorium seats about 3,000. I’ve been there. And it’s not some weak, stand-for-nothing church. It’s got a strong, big old backbone, standing for truth in the middle of all that junk. And yet it’s got a good spirit about him. And you know he’ll come on the radio, and how he comes on that little 15 minutes—it’s typically what I hear—“Hello, neighbor.” And he’s just on top side. And I listen to that, not necessarily trying to learn Bible truth and whatnot, but I listen to that because I want to catch his spirit.
Now let me ask you: Whose spirit did you catch? My former pastor for seven years, Brother Howes. His dad was an alcoholic, ran off and left his mom to raise him and his sister. And she would wisely say when he was a boy, “When you go to church, I want you to watch Brother So-and-so, and I want you to watch Brother So-and-so.” Why? She was saying, “I want you—your dad’s alcoholism is gone—but I want you to watch those men of that church, and I want you to catch their spirit.” Decide. Decide. Don’t let life and the devil in this messed-up world decide what kind of spirit you’re going to have. I’m going to look for the people that have the spirit I would like to have, and I want to do my best to run with them.
That’s one thing that’s so very valuable about church. That’s God’s plan for God’s children to come to God’s house and hang around other of God’s children. Because in this world, you say, “I don’t want all that spirit,” and you’re right, but you need somebody to see it in shoe leather. You say, “I like to catch Sister So-and-so’s spirit. She has a sweet, godly spirit,” and I like to catch that right there. And don’t you think—don’t you think you’re the one that’s going to bring everybody out of a bad spirit? Listen, you put one good apple in a box full of bad apples; they’re going to bring that good apple down. They are not going to change that box. You find out whose spirit you’re going to catch and catch it. That’s, friend, that’s what Elijah said to Elisha: “Hang around me.”
By the way, in our modern day—well, you say, “You ought to go to work where I work at. You talk about spirit.” Friend, in our modern day, I had a friend, Johnny Norton, who used to be in our church for years. And he sent me a text the other day, and he said, “Man, Pastor, if you get a second, watch this.” And it was an old preacher, Curtis Hudson; he has a good spirit about him. And it was about a 10 or 15-minute segment, a little 12-minute segment of just something that God could use, any type of thing. And boy, I watched that. I mean, push that button, man, and all the modern-day links—all you tech people know how to send all the links. I’m working at it, friend. You know what I mean? I’m limited. I ain’t got all the fingers you have to push all those buttons now, you know. That’s not the problem. I ain’t got all the brain cells; that’s the problem. But anyway, and I listen to that. I listen to that. Now, Curtis Hudson’s in heaven now. The world has already taken him out of here, if you will. But in our modern day, I can still, if you will, hang around Curtis Hudson and catch his spirit. And I’m simply saying, in our day and time, we’ve got no excuse. You decide whose spirit you want to catch. Stop blaming everybody in the world and decide whose spirit you’re going to catch. Can I say this? This is statement number one. Amen. This isn’t statement number two. I’ve got to clarify which statements.
Number two: Decide which spirit you don’t want to catch. I’m not talking about being mean or rude or crude, but say, “I don’t want to be down in the dumps and critical and mad and complaining for the next 30 years. I don’t want to hang around them.” Boy, it’s quiet all of a sudden. I’m not talking about being mean. I’m not telling you to tell them that. But, you know, here’s a wonderful thing about these little gadgets. Brother, can I borrow your phone? I know you’ve been on YouTube on there while we’re in service here. I’m joking. I’m joking. Here’s a wonderful thing: When Brother So-and-so calls, and I’m not saying don’t love him, but when Brother So-and-so calls and he’s going to talk to you for the next three hours about all the problems in D.C.—man, preacher, you’re going from preaching to meddling now, you know. Brother So-and-so is going to tell you about all the problems in the church, about their neighbor, and everybody that lives in a 10-mile radius around them; they’re going to tell you all about it. There’s this little thing that you don’t have to answer—a feature on those things. Thank you, brother. I’m not trying to be mean, but somewhere along life, you have to decide, “I want to catch that spirit, and I don’t want to catch that spirit right there.” Amen.
You’re not going to overcome all these spirits by hanging around them all the time. It doesn’t happen, friend. There are about 6,000 years of history proven against you. Walk with a wise man, you’ll be wise. Walk with that—you don’t. A companion of fools shall be destroyed. By the way, the best hope they have is for you to separate a little bit and do right, and maybe they’ll follow. I loved it. Who was it? Brother Joe said yesterday, when God did a work in his heart and his life, he was in a bad fraternity in college, and he gave the testimony. He said, “I’m going to live for the Lord.” He said, “I’m born again, a Christian,” and gave a testimony, and he left that crowd. And so they said, “Well, you got to stand here and help us keep it right.” He said, “No, it doesn’t work like that,” and he left that crowd. Two of those men got saved, not by him hanging around them all the time, but by him saying, “I’m going to do right.”
I talked to one of our other young men yesterday, and I said, “Hey, have you seen So-and-so doing well?” And he said, “Pastor, I love them,” something along this line: “But my spirit just cannot handle that.” Amen. I’m like, “Man, you’re a wise young man. You’re exactly right.” So when I talk to them a lot, you know, it’s just, “Bad, bad, everybody else is doing good and we’re doing bad. Why is this?” You know, the victim mentality? Good for you. Choose which spirit you want and choose which spirit you don’t want.
By the way, look in verse number 13 back over here, if you would. Look at verse number 13. We’ve got to hurry along here. Verse number 13 of chapter number two. I want you to just see this. We’re in 2 Kings 2. Look at verse number 13 right there. You there? Amen? Look at this: “And he took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan.” Here’s just a little point: He chose to pick that up. He chose to hang around him, and he chose to pick up his mantle.
There’s a little bit of a spirit or an attitude in our day and time: “Well, that old generation, they’re a bunch of old pole-dog, funny letters. They don’t know anything. Progressive, you know, we’re moving on.” That type of attitude, spirit. You know what I’m talking about? Elisha wasn’t like that. Elisha said, “I want to go back and I want to pick up the mantle.” He chose to. Friend, can I say this? Be so careful of this philosophy: “Well, that old generation is so dumb.” Seemed like they had a lot more peace, a lot of ways. A lot happier. I’m talking about, let’s go back a little bit. You know, hang on.
Look over, if you will, in Jeremiah 6 real quickly here. Keep your finger there in 2 Kings; we’ll go back to it. Look over in Jeremiah 6. This is a great verse to memorize. We’re not going to take as long on statements number two and three. We’re not going to. Amen. We’ll just leave it back there.
Look over here in Jeremiah 6:16. Jeremiah 6:16, a wonderful passage in God’s Word. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations… Jeremiah 6. Look at verse number 16. Jeremiah 6:16. You there? Amen. Amen. Look at this verse. He says, “Thus saith the Lord.” Now, this isn’t Fox. This isn’t CNN. This isn’t Dr. So-and-so. This isn’t some show on TV. This is the Lord. “Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Sad statement, but they said, “We will not walk therein.”
By the way, we’ve got to move on. By the way, Elijah did not necessarily make it easy for Elisha to hang around him. Did you notice that? He started, I think it was Gilgal, and he said, “I’m not going to leave.” He said, “Well, I’m going down to Bethel.” Okay, “I’m going to Bethel.” And he says, “Well, I’m going to go to Jericho.” “Well, I’m going to Jericho, too.” He went four different places. Elijah didn’t necessarily make it so easy for Elisha. And if you’re going to catch the right spirit, it might not be easy to do. You’re going to have to work at whose spirit you catch, because Satan’s always trying to put the wrong one in there.
This might sound like I’m bragging on myself. I’m not. I’m trying to illustrate the truth, and it didn’t come from me, put it that way. But I preached at a preacher’s conference not too long ago, and one preacher said, “Man, I love your spirit. You know, you believe God’s working even in 2023,” and man, the preachers, we all needed that and everything, you know. Well, the honest truth is that didn’t come from me. I thought about this: It came from my former preacher, Pastor Howes. That’s where it came from. It didn’t come from me. It came from somebody I was hanging around. Friends, choose whose spirit you’re going to get.
Number two: What kind of a spirit are you giving others? Parents, what kind of spirit are you giving your children? Husband, wife, what kind of spirit are you giving to your spouse? Someone asked the wife, “Did you wake up without you today?” She said, “No, I let him sleep this morning.” You’ll get that after a while. It seemed like the wives are laughing more at that than the husbands. What about that now?
We’ve got to hurry a little on, but have you ever been where you’re just barely keeping your head above water? You know, you’re fighting to have the right spirit, and you see, “Oh, that’s the worst person in the world. I don’t want to—I can’t talk to them. I can’t, because they’re going to bring it.” They’re just known for being spirit stealers, spirit suckers, people, you know. You’re like, “Oh, man, here they come.” Wouldn’t it be sad if we’re the one coming, and they thought that about us? What do people think about you when you come? Will they be encouraged, or will they take them right now? What would they think? Some people are takers, if you will, and some people are givers. Do you leave somebody with their spirit being better when you left them? What kind of a spirit are you giving to others?
By the way, I think it was very hard for Elijah, and I think it took years for God to give Elijah the spirit he had. He had many battles; he did not win them all. I already mentioned 1 Kings 17: he’s pointing his bony finger at the king, and he stood for over three years, and that’s a battle in itself. I mean, at one point, he acted like he thought he was the only one standing. God said, “No, there are 7,000 who haven’t bowed, but…” It took him a long time to get that spirit. Then on Mount Carmel, you know, with the 450 and the 400—the 850 together—all those false prophets that he stood against on his own there. And then, you know the story, Jezebel said, “I’m going to kill you,” and he kind of fell; his spirit fell. And then God said, “Hey, I’ve got a new job mission for you. You’re going to anoint a new king to Israel, a new king to Judah, and you’re going to have a new assistant, Elisha.” And then years after that, he had the sons of the prophets; he kind of had to learn to be a team player and lead a team, this Bible college, and train other people. And I’m saying it took years for Elijah to get the spirit that he had to be able to give to Elisha. Are you working at your spirit? Are you working at some kind of great spirit you could pass down to your grandchildren? What kind of spirit are they going to remember you by? How about your coworkers? I still remember a coworker when I was a teenager—it wasn’t my same denomination—but he was a pretty good Christian, and he had such a sweet spirit. And I spent 40—I don’t know—40-plus years ago, and I still remember my head. I’d like to have a spirit like that, a teenager working in a factory. What kind of spirit aren’t you giving to other people?
This is so very important. By the way, he said, “You’ve asked a hard thing.” I lied; you knew that’s a tough one right there. You’re going to have a right kind of spirit. You’re going to catch my spirit—that’s a double portion of my spirit. You’ve asked a tough one right there. What are you going to pass on? You ever see a young lady when she gets engaged? I mean, she gets that rock, and it seems like everywhere she walks, she’s got her hand out. I don’t know how that happens. I’ve seen them in Bible college—everybody’s getting engaged in Bible college, you know—and I’ve seen them during church service; they’re not listening to the preaching; they’re looking at that rock. You can’t get a diamond without heat and pressure for years. It takes time. And if you’re going to have a right kind of spirit to pass down to other people, sometimes God allows the heat and the pressure. “I want it gone!” And God says it takes time of heat and pressure to form a diamond. That’s what God… Like He did with Job. Say, “Hey, old Satan, have you considered my servant Job?” He’s bragging on Job. It takes a while for God to grow that spirit inside of you so God can brag on you.
Number one: Choose whose spirit you’re going to get. Number two: What kind of spirit have you given others? Number three, and we’re done: Hang out with the Lord and catch His Spirit.
By the way, you can’t do that unless you’re saved. You can know about God, but you can’t know God until you’re saved. A couple summers ago, my wife and I went up to Williamsburg, Virginia, went over to Jamestown, the settlement there. And then at the end of that road, if you’ve been there, there’s the James River. I don’t know how wide it is. I for sure, this old fat boy cannot swim across that. I promise you, no way. And if you look with binoculars or whatever, I’m sure I could look over there and see somebody on the other side, but there’s a ferry there. And I’m not talking about the one with the lipperist, okay? All right. There’s a boat there, you know. But anyway, we’ll edit that out of the video there. Amen. You know, Brother Josh says, “No, no, no.” But anyway, there’s a ferry there, and you pull your vehicle on that, and it takes you across to the other side.
Well, friend, it’s kind of like that. We’re here on this side of the river, and in the middle of the river is just our sin. By the way, all of us have sin. And on the other side is God. Now, you can see God over there, you can study about God, you can hear about God, and God even knocks on your heart’s door, but you can’t know God until you hop on the boat of Jesus. Jesus is the only one that can get you to the other side. He shed His blood on the cross of Calvary so He can—by the way, you don’t work your way to the other side. He carries you to the other side. Salvation is all Jesus. And once you’re a born-again Christian, you’re saved, you can hang around God and catch His Spirit.
Bobby Robertson tells a story. He was out, and he had an older preacher with him. And he was taking this older preacher to a restaurant. They were eating, and they got done eating, and they were leaving, and a lady stopped them. And she said, “I can’t help it; I’ve been watching y’all.” By the way, it wasn’t in their hometown where they pastored; it was a different town, not known there in that town. She said, “I don’t know who you are or what not, but I’ve been watching you.” And specifically talking to this older preacher that Bobby Robertson was taking out to teach, she said, “You remind me”—I don’t know why I’m saying this, but it’s been on my mind—“You remind me of God.” And Bobby Robertson said that old preacher started crying. He said, “Ma’am, I pray every day that in some ways I can resemble God to somebody.” That old preacher had been hanging out with God enough that God’s Spirit was rubbing off on him.
Number one: “Preacher, I’m going to decide whose spirit I’m going to catch. I’m going to decide. I don’t want that spirit; I want that spirit. I’m going to work at this thing.” Elisha had to work at it. “I’m going to decide whose spirit I am going to catch.” God spoke to my heart about that. That’s you this morning. If you slip your hand up, I’m going to decide who. God bless you. That’s so important. If we’re going to keep the right spirit, it’s vital.
Number two: “Preacher, I’m going to work at giving others a good spirit. I realize it’s not just about me; it’s about others also. I realize it’s not just about—I can have whatever attitude I want. No, it’s not about me; it’s about others that are watching me around me. And I want to work at giving others the right spirit.” God spoke to my heart about that. That’s you this morning. If you slip up your hand, I’m going to work at that. I want others to be able to get a good spirit through me. God bless you. Many, many hands. God bless you.
Number three: “I’m going to work at hanging around God. I’m going to make it happen. I’m going to claw out the time to spend with God. I’m not going to put that down on the bottom. I’m going to keep that priority. I’ve got to walk with God, and I want His Spirit. Oh, Lord, in Your mercy, let Your Spirit rub off on me. I’m going to work at that. I’m going to hang around God, and I want His Spirit to rub off on me.” If that’s you, slip your hand up. God bless you. That’s what this messed-up world needs. God bless you.
One more question. Say, “Preacher, I can’t hang around the Lord like I need and want to because I’ve not been saved. I know about Him, I hear about Him, but He’s on the other side of the river. I need to get on the boat of Jesus. I need Jesus to wash away my sin and save my soul. I need to get saved.”
Friend, I’m not going to call your name and embarrass you. I love you. Jesus would love to save you; He’d be thrilled. If you hear this morning, say, “Preacher, I need to get to Jesus. I need His salvation. I need to save my soul.” If that’s you this morning, slip your hand up. I need to get saved.
Hey, Christians, let’s hang around Him. He invites you to. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Would you please stand right where you are? If God spoke to your heart about any of these things, maybe you want to come and pray for someone. Would you come? I would have a word of prayer as soon as I say amen. Would you step out of your pew there? Come down to the front to an old-fashioned altar. Just spend some time with the Lord. Would you do that? It would be a great place to get close to Him. If you’re going to get baptized, now would be a great time to get ready to get baptized. Let’s pray, and you come.
It was amazing to me. My son was just maybe two years old—really, I think he was around two years old—and we were in a nursing home. My son was walking down the hallway way in front of me, and a lady stepped out of her room. She said, “Is that your son?” I said, “Yeah, that’s my son.” And I said, “How did you know that’s my son?” She said, “Because he has your walk.” Two years old, and he’s walking like his dad. And the Lord said, “Hey, catch your spirit. What kind of a spirit are you giving to others? What are you giving off? Your spirit.”
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - Who’s spirit are you going to get - Sunday AM 08132023