Rest on Us
Read Time: 7 mins, 18 secs
Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!
2 Kings 13:21 NLT
It has been said that legacy is planting seeds in gardens you may never see. It’s about making decisions in the present that leave a mark on the future. And this is something we’re all called to take part in.
The Bible says that a righteous man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children. An intentional and focused man of God lives in a way that allows his children’s children to benefit from the reputation, investment and foundation of faith he left behind for them. I’m humbled to say that I’m benefiting from the decisions and sacrifices of men and women of God that I’ve never met and we’re called to replicate that and sow seeds so that those coming generations after us can say the same. God has ordained us to live in a way that prospers those coming after us, and we see evidence of this life of legacy in this story.
The Bible says that Elisha had died. You know Elisha. The protege of Elijah, who asked for a double portion of his spirit. The Elisha who parted the Jordan like Joshua, saved a family from poverty that would lead to slavery, and healed Naaman of leprosy. Elisha, who fed one hundred men with twenty loaves of bread, before Jesus would feed five thousand. The Elisha who healed the poisoned water and made the poisoned stew safe. Elisha, who made an axe head float. Elisha, who brought a boy back to life. This Elisha.
After a life of greatness, it’s time for him to take his rest. It happens to all of us, but what happens next is proof of a life well lived. Even in Elisha’s death, he is bringing others' lives. His time was spent so intentionally that he is pouring into others even after he’s gone.
Almost ironically, when we hear of the prophet's death, we also hear of attacks. The death of a great man creates potential for great fear. Will the death of their protector and leader create a vacuum for consistent evil to creep in? The text says that each year, raiders would invade, and we see one of these invasions during another funeral.
Another man dies, and during his funeral, a band of raiders is spotted. In haste, the burial team throws the body into a tomb and runs for cover. Tombs in those days were not the holes dug vertically into the dirt that were used t,o but caves carved horizontally into cliffs. So as they threw the body into the cave, the corpse grazed the bones of another body. That body was the body of the famed prophet, Elisha, and instantly, when the corpse touched his bones, the dead man came to life with a new energy and vitality.
It’s really one of the most insane miracles ever. It’s one thing to heal someone from sickness. It’s another thing to raise someone from the dead. But it’s a completely different league when a dead body brings life to another dead body. It’s one thing for something living to bring something dead to life, but do you realize how much power has to be on you to bring life to someone else while you’re also dead? This show of power belongs to a class of its own.
All through the Bible, God seems to use the acts of living agents to perform miracles, but this is closer to God using an inanimate object that His glory rested on to perform a miracle. It’s like the woman with the issue of blood touching Jesus’ jacket and being healed. She didn’t need Jesus to touch her. She just touched something that touched Him. Do you recognize how much power has to be surging through you for the things you wear to expel virtue almost accidentally? Do you recognize how big of a deal it is for the things you touch to transform those who touch them? It reminds me of Acts 19, where the handkerchiefs that simply touched Paul were taken to the sick, and they were healed of disease. The Bible even says that evil spirits were exorcised because of these pieces of cloth. Excuse me? I have so many questions. Could these handkerchiefs be used multiple times? Did Paul even know who they were going to and who they were touching, or was this piece of cloth being passed around the city and making demons flee!? It reminds me of when the shadows of the apostles would fall on people and heal them. They would simply walk by, and what fell from them fell on others and made sickness flee. God is so powerful that He doesn’t have to touch something Himself to bring revitalization. He can simply touch something that touched something and bring healing. He can simply rest on someone, and when someone in need brushes up against them, they are healed.
This is what we see in our story. God rested on Elisha, so when you touched Elisha, you got something from God. A dead man was revived when he came in contact with Elisha, and Elisha never even knew about it. And I’m here to reveal the bold truth that you are called to the same thing. God wants to move so powerfully in and through you that when people come in contact with you, they get some of God. God wants you to be so filled with what He has to pour that when people bump into you, they get wet. God wants your joy to be contagious. He wants your peace to be contagious. He wants the love you exude to be contagious. But more than that, He wants to move so powerfully in you that you impact others long after you’re gone! That’s a real legacy.
I’ve seen it happen with others, and I believe it will happen with me. I’m already praying for the family curses that will be broken decades from now when people I’ve never met stumble across my sermons. I’m praying that my books will impact people in countries I didn't know existed. I want to live in a way that when my kids Google their father, they’ll be drawn closer to their Father. I'm expecting people to get degrees later because of what I sow now. I’m expecting cycles to break because of what I stand for. I’m expecting generations to be changed because of who I inspire. I’m expecting doors to be opened for others because of my reputation. I’m already expecting that descendants I don’t know I’ll have will get jobs because of my last name. That’s the legacy I want to leave. That's the reputation I want to have. The Bible says that a good name or reputation is worth more than silver and gold, and I want that wealth for my descendants. I want to live a life so saturated in the presence of God that when you bring up my name fifty years from now, you get drawn closer to Him. I want my marriage to heal marriages. I want my ministries to produce ministry leaders. I want my writing to inspire writers. I want my dedicated life to produce more dedicated lives. I want to inspire. I want everyone who touches me to be healed. I want to bring emotional, physical, and spiritual peace to those stumbling across what I leave behind. And I want to inspire another generation to be that for someone else.
I believe it’s more than possible for me, and it’s more than possible for you. By the grace of God, I’ve already seen some of the evidence. I want you to believe it’s possible too! The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and allowed His death to bring life to all, like Elisha’s brought life to a man he didn’t even know, is in you! The same Spirit is available, and all you have to do is ask for it. If you allow God to truly be your priority and foundation, you’ll be used to be a safe place and refuge for others. If you let God fill you, you won’t have to strain to pour. It’ll come naturally.
You may think you’re too broken or too old or too long. But God used a murderer in Moses. He used someone too small in David. He used someone too old in Abraham. He used someone too young in Hezekiah, and He used someone dead in Elisha! His transformative power won’t just bring life to others; it’ll bring new life to you. Accept it, and God will use you for more than you can conceive.
God used Elisha during his lifetime, and that’s amazing. I want that. But Elisha was so committed that even in his death, he brought life to more than he knew. I want that too. And if you are in the same boat, all you have to do is ask God to baptize you afresh with His Spirit. Ask for a triple portion! The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead rested on Elisha, and the same Spirit is available to us.
So as the Spirit was moving over the waters, Spirit, come move over us. Come rest on us. Come abide with us!
You’re here, and I know you’re moving. You’re here, and I know you will fill me! So fire and wind, come do it again! Open the gates, let heaven on in! Come rest on us! Abide with us! Lead us! Guide us! Empower us! Baptize us! Use us! Use us more than we know! Exceedingly and abundantly, above all that we can ask or think. Use us in ways that surprise us when we get to heaven and learn of what you accomplished through us after we were gone. Use us in ways that throw us into worship and praise! Don’t just create reputations that precede us, create legacies that linger after us! We know you can. We know you want to! You just need a willing vessel. So come down! Come rest! Come use us! Have your way in us, God!
Questions to consider:
Who do you want God to use you to impact? Who can you pray for?
How do you want to be remembered when you die? What do you want your reputation to be?
What gifts, opportunities, abilities, and influence has God gifted you that you can use for Him?
What is the Spirit doing in your life to walk you in that direction? What decisions, sacrifices, and priorities do you need to set in place now to be of impact tomorrow?
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