ELISHA’ S TIME TO FLY: BISHOP JOE MAKANDO – DAY 4 MORNING TALK 3, RCCG HOLY GHOST CONGRESS 2020 (VIRTUAL)

RCCG HOLY GHOST CONGRESS 2020 (VIRTUAL)

THEME: IT IS TIME TO FLY

MINISTERING DAY 4 MORNING TALK 3: BISHOP JOE MAKANDO (PRESIDING BISHOP OF BREAD OF LIFE CHURCH INTERNATIONAL, ZAMBIA).

TOPIC: ELISHA’ S TIME TO FLY

DATE: 10TH DECEMBER, 2020

BIBLE TEXT: 2 KINGS 2:1-15.

If you love Jesus, shout with me, a big Hallelujah – HALLELUJAH!

I greet you all, from the land of Zambia.

What a Joy and a Privilege to be Part of this Great Holy Ghost Congress 2020.

I want to salute my father in the Lord – Pastor Enoch Adeboye and I Pray that God will give him many more years – Amen.

I want also to acknowledge our dear mother – Pastor (Mrs) Folu Adeboye, and all the Leaders of The Redeemed Christian Church of God.

It is a Joy and a Privilege to me today to be able to share the Word of God under the Theme: “It is time to fly”.

Let us Pray together – Shall we!

OPENING PRAYER

Father, we approach Your Throne in the Wonderful Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Father, we acknowledged that You are the Ancient of Days, the I am that I am.

We Thank You that in You we live, move and have our Being.

We Thank You for Your Grace, we Thank You that we, who were not the People of God are now the People of God; we, who were far away, have been brought near.

We Thank You, Oh God for Jesus Christ – He has made a difference in our lives. We are today, what we are because of Him.

We Thank You Lord, for the Theme of Flying – That it is our time to Fly.

We ask, Oh God, that by the Power of the Holy Spirit, you will indeed cause each one of us to Fly to New Levels: From one Glory to another.

Father, that we may be able, Oh God to influence our world; to be able, Oh God to change our world.

My God and my Father, we ask that You bless Your Words – Your Word is already annointed. Annoint these lips of clay.

In Jesus Mighty Name – Amen.

I want you to turn in your Bible today, to the Book of 2 Kings 2; reading from Verse 1.

1. And it came to Pass when the Lord was about to take Elijah up in a whirlwind to Heaven that Elijah went with Elisha to Gilgal.
2. And Elijah said to Elisha, tarry here, I Pray thee as the Lord has sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, as your Lord lives, and as your Soul lives, I will not leave thee and they went up tp Bethel.
3. And the sons of the Prophets who were in Bethel came to Elisha and said to him, know you that the Lord will take your Master from over you today. And he said, I know. Hold your Peace.
4. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I Pray you, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he said unto him, as the Lord lives and as your Soul lives, I will not leave you. So they came to Jericho.
5. The sons of the Prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, do you know that the Lord will take away your Master from over you today. And he answered, yes, I know, hold your Peace.
6. And Elijah said unto him, tarry, I Pray you, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. And he said, as the Lord lives and as your Soul lives, I will not leave you.
7. And fifty men from the Sons of the Prophets went and stood to view from a far off. And they both stood at the Jordan.
8. And Elijah took his Mantle and wrapped together and struck the waters, and they were divided, here and there, so that they both went over on dry grounds.
9. And it came to Pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, ask, what I shall do for you. And Elisha said, I Pray you, let a Double Portion of your Anointing fall upon me.
10. And he said to him, you have asked a hard thing, nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken off from you, it shall be so unto you, but if not, it shall not be so.
11. And it came to Pass as they still went on and talked, that, behold, there appeared a Chariot of fire and horses of fire and separated them both, and Elijah went on by a whirlwind into Heaven.
12. And Elisha saw it and he cried, my father, my father, the Chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two Pieces.
13. He took up also the cloak of Elijah that fell from him. And went back and stood by the bank of river Jordan.
14. And he took the cloak of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters, and said, where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he has also struck the waters, they Parted here and there, and Elisha went over.
15. And when the Sons of the Prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, the Spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha, and they came to meet him and bow themselves to the ground before him.

I want to speak to you today on what I have Titled: “Elisha’s Time to Fly”.

Life is not static, it is always moving.

A child will grow in stages to a Youth and to an Adult.

A Cadet Officer will be Promoted through the ranks – Lieutenant to a Captain to a Major, Lieutenant Colonel to a Brigadier to a General.

A Worker would rise from one Position to another and Perhaps reach a Managerial Position.

There are levels in Ministry, there are levels in Anointing, there are levels in influence.

I want you to understand that levels do not just happens, there are steps to these levels – There are what you must do to move to the Next Level.

Our Theme declares: “It is Time to Fly”.

When I looked at this Theme, for me, it means: A Call to Fly Higher.

Elisha was a Good example of a man who flew Higher.

How did it happen?

If you are going to Fly, there are certain things that you need to do.

And my Prayer is that as I share this Word, you will get a Revelation – Amen.

And I Pray, that this Year would not end, you will Fly Higher – Amen.

There are four (4) things that i want to share with you:

1. The first (1st) is: There was opposition to Elisha’s Time to Fly.

Not everyone is happy for you to fly to the Next Level.

Elijah kept requesting for Elisha to stay behind – We see these in Verse 2, Verse 4, Verse 6.

It was as though he was chasing him – He didn’t want him to go with him.

Remember, the work of Elisha was to serve the Man of God – To Pour water on his Elijah’s hands, to Minister to his Needs.

But here we see, that he endured bad treatment – He refused to leave his Master, he refused to be offended.

… He knew that his flying Higher was connected to Elijah.

Perharps Elijah was testing Elisha – What was his motives for following him? Did he have an alternative or somewhere else to go to?

I want you to understand that God would use your Leader in Ministry or in you working Place to frustrate you.

Without Elijah, Elisha could not Fly to the Next Level.

I want you to see something about Elisha – He refused to be offended, he refused to leave his Master, he kept his focus on Elijah, he watched what he did.

You know, today – Some People are easily frustrated, they are easily annoyed, they easily take offence.

I want you to understand that:

I. As long as you serve in a Ministry, you will be frustrated.

II. As long as you work in a Particular Office, you will be frustrated.

III. In business, you will be frustrated.

IV. In Marriage, you will be frustrated.

What was the Purpose of this frustration?

I want you to understand that the enemy will use frustration to cut you off. His Plan is for you to leave your Man of God, to leave your Church, Organisation, to leave your Place of Blessing.

And when you leave, you lose your Blessings.

Ruth refused to leave Naomi – Judges 1:14.

She knew that her flying higher was connected to Naomi.

She said to Naomi: “I will not leave you. Where you go, I will go: Your People will be my People, your God will be my God. Where you die, I will also die”.

And she ended up Flying Higher – She married Boas. Between them, they had a child who came into the Lineage of Jesus.

It is time for you to Fly!

But in order for you to Fly, you will meet oppositions, you will be frustrated – Be focused on what you desire.

2. The Second (2nd) thing that I want to share with you is that: Elisha greatly desired to fly.

After Crossing Over, Elijah asked Elisha: Ask, what shall I do for you, before I’m taken from you.

Elisha did not hesitate – He had been waiting for this opportunity; he had been Praying for this opportunity.

He answered: Please, let me inherit a Double Portion of your Power.

Elijah looked at him and answered: You have asked a difficult thing. You have asked a hard thing.

In order for you to fly, you need to ask for a Hard Thing – You need to ask for a difficult things. Stop thinking small. Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.

That is why I laughed at Simon Peter – He is an example of a Man who wanted to Fly Higher.

One day, he and the other Disciples were in a boat, and they were crossing the sea of Galilee.

Around 4am in the morning, visibility was Poor, they saw an image of a man walking on water.

They were all afraid, they said: It was a Spirit.

But Simon Peter, as he looked, he said: Lord, if it is You, command me to walk on water.

… He asked for a difficult thing. He asked for a hard thing.

Jesus did not rebuked him. Jesus did not lecture him.

Jesus did not say: Peter, you and I are not in the same Class. But, instead, Jesus said to him, come, come.

I’m told of a story – I read about, many Years ago, of a King in the United Kingdom.

Many years ago. He went visiting his Subjects, and he found some, building a house. He greeted them and they responded with the usual courtesy, Oh King, live forever.

And he asked them, what can I do for you?

And their response was Oh king, if only you could give us more lands to build houses.

The King looked at them and said: Request denied.

And he moved on!

He find men milking cows and he greeted them and asked: What can I do for you?

They said well, if you can give us more cows, we will be very happy.

He said: Request denied.

And he moved on!

He came across some People that were farming, he asked them: What can I do for you?

They said, if you could give us more land.

The king said: Request denied.

Then, he came before a man, who was working, and he said: What can I do for you?

The man said: Give me half of your Kingdom.

The king said: Request granted.

His entourage were surprised.

They said to him: How is it that you refused to grant request for houses, for lands, for cows and this man who asked for half of your kingdom, you grant it?

The King answered and said: I have vast resources, I am tired of “Small Requests”.

In Ephesians 3:20; the Bible says: God is able to do exceedingly far more above what we can ever ask or think.

God is tired of “Small Requests” – He has vast resources, He wants to do Great Things.

Listen to me: Stop thinking small, expect Great Things from God; attempt Great Things for God.

The Bible says: The desires of the Righteous shall be granted.

Psalms 37:4 says: Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

What you desire, you can believe for and what you believe for, you can conceive and what you can conceive, you will be able to give birth to.

… Desire to Fly; Desire to Fly.

3. The Third (3rd) thing that I wanted to show you is Elisha’s Time to Fly.

Elijah gave Elisha a condition – If you see me when I’m taken from you, it shall be so, but if not, it shall not be so.

From that time, I believe, Elisha’s focus was on Elijah – The two (2) became inseparable. Whereever Elijah went, Elisha was there.

Listen, if you are going to Fly High, you need to keep your eye on your Leader – You need to focus.

Elisha was focused – The two (2) of them were inseparable.

Then one day, it was just an “Ordinary Day” – One thing that I love about God is that God has a one day for everybody.

One day, God will answer your Prayers; one day, God will visit you, one day, your Story will change.

There is always a “One Day”.

As Elijah and Elisha were walking; as they were talking; something happened – The Heavens opened; they saw Chariots of fire and horses of fire and these Chariots and horses of fire separated the two (2) of them.

Then, there was this Whirlwind that lifted Elijah and Elijah was taken up to Heaven. Elisha saw it, and he cried out and said: My father, my father, the Chariots of Israel and he saw him no more.

But something wonderful happened – The cloak of Elijah fell to the ground. Elisha tore his cloth into two (2).

I have always wondered: Why did he do that?

As I was meditating, I have some suggestions:

I. I believed, he tore his clothe to signify the end of Servanthood.

II. Secondly, I believed he tore his cloth, so that it may Signify the end of his Old Ministry.

Then, he picked up the cloak, signifying, the beginning of a New Ministry; signifying, flying Higher.

I Prophesy to you that before the Year ends, you will tear your clothe of your Old Ministry, of your Old Business. You will tear the clothes of your Old Job because it is your time to Fly to a New Level – Amen.

Hear me and hear me well – It is not by Might, nor by Power but by the Spirit of God – Elisha’s Time to Fly had come.

He picked up the cloak, the jacket; he rolled it, and he said to himself: I believe, let us now find out if I have moved to another Level, if I have moved to a New Level.

He came before the River Jordan, he rolled the cloak and he hit the water violently.

He said: Where now, is the Lord, God of Elijah!!

And the water Parted!

I want you to see something here – That it was an act of Faith. He did not feel the Anointing, he did not feel the Power, he acted by Faith.

Because, the Man of God said: “If you see me go” and he saw him go.

Most of us, this is where we fail to act our Faith – Faith Possesses, Faith receives, Faith is the material we give to God, to act Miracles.

The waters Parted!

I want you to see something Powerful here – He crossed over!

But before I get to that, I missed out an important thing.

Elisha, when he saw Elijah go up; he said: My father, my father.

I want you to understand that only sons inherit – Nephews do not inherit, Nieces do not inherit.

Unless you receive your Man of God as your Spiritual Father, you are not ready to inherit.

… My father, my father!

Otherwise, you will not be able to inherit.

Now, I want to show you something here: That the Anointing is by transferring – You don’t get it by Fasting and Praying on a Mountain.

The Spirit of Elisha was by transferring – This is what we call Impartation.

Elijah, hit the waters and the waters Parted and he crossed over.

I want to Prophesy to someone listening to me out there, or reading now from the Label of the DMC, that this year, you will cross over – You will cross over from a nobody to somebody, from defeat to Victory, from failure to Success, from sickness to Health, from being single to being Married, from fear to Faith.

You will cross over – Elisha crossed over.

His time to Fly had come. His Season of Flying had come.

I want to emphasise here that he went on to Perform Mighty Miracles.

Elisha’s Ministry became a Double Portion Ministry – He did twice as many Miracles as Elijah did.

But then, when you Study the Bible, you will find out that God honours the fathers.

No matter how a son becomes big, no matter how big your Ministry is, no matter how rich you are – You will never become rich as your father.

When God sent a fore-runner to Jesus Christ; He sent John the Baptist.

And John the Baptist came in the Spirit of Elijah – He did not come in the Spirit of Elisha.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, who appeared to Jesus Christ?

It was Elijah.

When you go to the Book of Revelation, again, you will see that it was Elijah – God honours the fathers.

No matter how big your Ministry becomes; no matter how rich you become; no matter how influential you become – Remember; your father is your father and that God honors the fathers.

I believe you may be asking – Bishop, what do I do, in order for me to Fly? What do I need to do in order for me to Fly to the Next Level?

I want to share four (4) things that will help you to Fly to the Next Level:

1. The first is desire to Fly to the Next Level.

What you desire, you will attract!

The desire of the Righteous shall be granted.

The Bible tells us: desire Spiritual Gifts.

So, you need to desire!

What you desire, you can believe for, and what you believe for, you can conceive, and what you conceive, you will be able to give birth to.

Do you sense something?

What has God been saying to you? What have people been saying to you?

Move into the direction of your desire.

That is the key to your Flying to the Next Level – Desire to Fly. Attempt Great Things for God. Don’t be content with where you are. Desire to Fly.

2. Secondly, fulfill whatever God has requested of you – Walk in obedience.

What has God instructed you to do?

For Abraham, God instructed him: Take now, your son, Isaac, whom you love, and sacrificed him to me on a Mountain that I will show you.

What an instruction? What a test?

But the Bible tells us that Abraham obeyed.

The following, morning, he set off with the lad, with the donkey, and a servant, and the wood. Even to the Point of laying his son on the altar, and was about to slay him.

And God said: Now, I know.

And you know, it was at that Point, God said: Blessings? – I will bless you; Multiplying, I will multiply you and your descendants will Possess the gate of their enemies.

Abraham experienced another Level because of Obedience.

I don’t know what God has told you to do? I don’t know what God has instructed you to do that you need to obey? Trust, and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

3. The Third (3rd) Thing that you need to do is to overcome opposition.

When you are on the right track, there will always be an opposition.

Don’t let opposition stop you. Hold on to what you are doing, endure hardship. Endure frustration.

Somebody said: If you watch the game of soccer, you will notice that, it is the Person who has the ball that everyone is chasing. It means, you are on the right track.

Opposition will change your Position. If you don’t believe me, ask Daniel.

When he was opposed and thrown into the den of Lions, when he came out, he was Promoted.

His Position was changed.

Opposition will lead to you Flying Higher. Opposition is the Stepping Stone to Flying Higher.

When you see opposition, then, know that you are about to Fly.

I came to tell somebody that it is Time to Fly.

4. Act your Faith.

Do what the occassion demands – Faith receives.

Can you imagine when Elisha came to the River Jordan, and just knelt down, and said: Father, have Mercy on me; Father, we Passed here with my Master; Father, can you just Part the waters.

Nothing would have happened.

What did he do?

He came and acted his Faith – He did exactly what his Master did.

The Master had hit the water and the water Parted – He also did the same thing.

So, you need to act your Faith – What you see your Master do, do it in Faith.

You must act your Faith.

I will never forget some years back – I was driving along one of our famous street, called Church Road.

And I heard a voice in my Spirit saying: You will live on this Street.

I was puzzled, because, there was a Five Star Hotel there, there was a Four Star Hotel there, the Police Lusaka largest office was located there.

I said to myself, how will I be able to live on this Street? – There are no Plots for sale. How will it be Possible was Prophetic.

I said to him, .you know, if God says you will live on this Street, what does it mean – It means, you will live on this Street.

The Second Year, something happened – I bought a Newspaper, I was reading and something said to me, look at the readers bargain.

I looked, I saw a house being sold. I sensed I should call, and I called.

The Person told me, sir, we have a better house which is not listed.

I said, okay, I’m coming to pick you up.

I picked him up and he gave me direction to where this house is.

To my shock and amazement, it was on Church Road, number fourty eight (48) and we stopped there.

My heart skipped – I remembered clearly: You shall live on this Street.

I asked, where is the owner, they said, well, he lived fifty kilometers from the City.

I said, let’s go there – We drove there.

We met him, he looked at me, he recognised me and said: Oh, I watch your Television Programmes, what brings you here.

I said to him, your house.

The man looked at me and his countenance fell.

He said, you know what? I would have really love to sell this house to you. Because, with you, I can come and eat a meal at your house.

But sorry, you are late. Somebody from the Government Office offered me more and they are now cutting the cheque. I am just waiting for my money – I’m sorry.

Something rose from my belly – I remembered the words: You shall live on this Street.

I looked at the man, I spoke boldly to him and said: You will never see that cheque. In one week, I’m coming for my house.

The man was startled. The one I was with was also in shock. And I said goodbye and we walked out.

I spoke boldly.

Beloved, do you know what happened?

After one (1) week, I Picked the Phone, called him and asked him where is your Lawyer, I will be going to the United States of America in three (3) days, can we do the Sales Agreement? Can we Sign the Sales Contract?

He told me where the Lawyer was, and I said, let’s meet tomorrow morning at nine O’ clock.

I found him waiting for me.

When we get to his lawyer, he said: This is Bishop Joe Imakando, he has come to buy my house. Can you do the Sales Agreement.

Then i remembered that the cheque never came.

Listen to me, if I had just kept quiet and walked away, I would have lost that house – I spoke boldly.

I came to encourage somebody: God has already blessed you:

I. All you need is to speak the Word.

II. All you need is to act your Faith.

III. All you need is to step out.

You are wating for God to respond but God is waiting for you to respond. He is waiting for you to step out by Faith.

Where is the God? – The Lord God of Elijah.

That is boldness!

Faith is expressed by speaking, and speaking boldly.

If you are going to Fly Higher, you need to change your language; you need to change the way you speak.

So we have seen four (4) things that you need to do, if you want to fly:

I. Desire to Fly.

II. Fulfill whatever God has requested you to do.

III. Overcome Opposition.

IV. Act your Faith – Speak boldly, it is the language of Faith.

As I bring this to a close: I believed God, in giving our father in the Lord, this Theme, He was announcing His Will for His children. His Will for you. He was saying to us: IT IS TIME TO FLY!

Receive this Prophetic Word from the Lord with excitement; receive it with Expectations because Expectation is the mother of Manifestation.

It is a declaration that your Season to Fly has come. Position yourself to Fly: Position yourself to Fly in your Ministry; to Fly in your jobs; to Fly in your Business; to fly in your Studies; to Fly in your Relationships; to Fly in your Marriages.

… It is time to Fly!

Elisha waited for his time to fly. He knew that one day, that day will come.

I don’t know how long you have been waiting, to Fly but I believed, the time for you to Fly has come. It is time for you to Fly – Amen.

It is time for your Lifting – Your Story is about to Change.

No matter what you are going through; no matter what you are Passing through; we have a Prophetic Word – IT IS TIME TO FLY!

God is willing – Are you willing?

It Is Time To Fly!

See you at the Top!

Let us Pray together.

CLOSING PRAYER

Father, we Thank You, for the examples in Your Word – The example of Elisha.

We Thank You, Oh God; Father, we ask that You give us the Grace not to be frustrated, not to be offended by our Leaders. Help us Oh God, to be focused.

Father, it is our time to Fly; grant us the Grace, grant us the Faith, grant us what it takes for us to Fly.

We give you Praise, we give you Honour.

Let this Year (Year 2020) and the beginning of the New Year (Year 2021) be a time of Flying to Higher Heights – To Fly in Ministry, to Fly in our Businesses, to Fly in our Relationships, to Fly in our Studies; to Fly in our Marriages.

Father Thank You for Your Words. Grant us that Grace.

In Jesus Name – Amen!

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