What God Removes Before He Releases Power

messages. Uh, the series title is Descending in Power, and this is part 1 of this series. If you pull out your pads and paper, I want to title this message The Cut, The Kiss, and The Mantle. The cut, the kiss, and the mantle. This teaching today is a teaching on legacy, consecration, and double portion. Turn your Bibles to Psalms chapter 71, verse 18. And I want to read this in your hearing. That's Psalms chapter 71, verse 18. Psalms 71, verse 18. When you get there, say, I got it. Psalms chapter 71, verse 18. The cut, the kiss, and the mantle. The Bible declares in Psalms 71:18, so I may declare your power to the next generation, is what David was saying. He said, I want to declare your power to the next generation. God's plan has always been generational. His power, his power moves by transfer, not accident. And this raises a foundational question: what spiritual legacy are you leaving behind? Amen. What of God will remain in the next generation because of you? Not what will they inherit, but what will they become? Material inheritance can be divided. Spiritual inheritance must be transferred. Let me say that again. Material inheritance can be divided. Divided. Spiritual inheritance must be transferred. The double portion request by Elisha when Elijah asked Elisha in Second Kings chapter two verse nine: What shall I do for you before I am taken? Elisha didn't ask for influence, resources, or opportunities, or status, or ministry fame. He asked, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. The meaning double portion according to Deuteronomy chapter 21, Verse 17, Deuteronomy 21, verse 17 says double portion refers to the firstborn inheritance, which signified more responsibility, more weight, more of the father's estate to care for the needs of handling the father's business now that he is departed. More responsibility, more weight, more of the father's estate. Elisha was not asking for twice the power. Elisha was not asking for twice the miracles. Elisha was not asking for twice The applause. He was asking for twice as much God as was on your life, because I will need more grace to carry the assignment. In other words, I need as much more of God on my life than you have, Elijah. I want more of God is what Elisha was asking for. Man, isn't that a beautiful thing to ask for more God. Not a Cadillac Escalade, not a Tesla Plaid, not a Lamborghini Urus, not a BMW M8. No. Not a BMW M9, not a Ferrari. Italia. But Elisha, what do you want from me while I'm present in front of you? I want more of God. This is critical because Double Portion is not about elevation. Hear me, if you're watching, listen to me. Double Portion is not about elevation. Double portion is about consecration, not privilege, but responsibility. Before Elijah could ever ask for a double portion, he had to kiss some things goodbye. So you look at 1 Kings chapter 19, Verses 19 through 21. He had to kiss some things goodbye. He had to burn the plow. He had to burn the oxen. He had to burn the tools of his former life. He kissed comfort goodbye. He kissed familiarity goodbye. Amen. He kissed family expectations goodbye. He kissed old identity goodbye. He announced to heaven, I will not return to what God is calling me out of. In essence, he removed the Plan B. Amen. There is no Plan B in Elisha's life. What are you willing to kiss goodbye to have more of God in your life? What are you willing to do to have more of God in your life? Who are you willing to kiss goodbye? What are you willing to kiss goodbye? He announced to heaven, I will not return, Pastor Keith. Amen. I will not return to what God is calling me out of. There's a principle behind what Elisha spoke and what he did. You cannot receive a mantle. Hear me. You cannot receive a mantle while holding on to a former life. Kissing goodbye deals with emotional ties, soul ties, comfort zones, identity attachments, old responsibilities. But kissing is only step one. Kissing is only step one. We've got to deal with the cut. Now, this is where it gets real deep and heavy. We got to deal with the cut because the part that we've got to deal with is we often avoid the cut. Minister failure. We avoid the cut. But we can't skip the cut. Elisha kissed some things goodbye, but Gilgal cuts things off. The next place they had to travel to was Gilgal when Elisha told him, said, we've got to travel, son. Gilgal means the rolling place. Joshua chapter 5, verse 2 through 9. Joshua 5, chapter 5, verses 2 through 9. This is where the cut comes into place. This is where circumcision happened when Israel departed Egypt. Ah, they had to come to this place where that generation Had to be circumcised. They had to be cut. Flesh was removed when the circumcision took place. God has to cut off things that will get in the way. Ah, if you want the mantle, the mantle does not equal elevation, Pastor Keith. It equals Rock and a bottle. Ah, this is where flesh was removed. This is where reproach was rolled away. This is where covenant was renewed. If you want the glory, if you want the mantle, you've got to be cut. If you want the glory, you've got to be cut. If you want covenant with God, you've got to be cut. If you want to understand the lexical meaning of circumcision, I'll give it to you. Circumcision, C-I-R-C-U-M-C-I-S-I-O-N. Circumcision means cutting away flesh that interferes interferes with the covenant flow. You gotta cut it away because it cuts off the flow of God to produce life. Why Gilgal matters for the place of power. Many believers kiss things goodbye, left old environments, Walked away from old habits, but never let God cut anything. You cannot release power, Minister Tracy, with uncircumcised hearts. Ah, let me say that again. You cannot release power with uncircumcised hearts. Flesh, blood, Blocks the flow. This is where kissing removes relationships that are unhealthy. This is where kissing removes responsibilities. This is where kissing removes comforts. God had to circumcise the Israelites because they still had the memory of Egypt. inside of them. Cutting removes fleshly impulses. If you want the glory, if you want the mantle, you've got to be cut. Somebody say, you got to be cut. You got to be cut. You got to be cut. Cutting removes hidden attitudes. Amen. I'll be the first to tell you, oh yeah, yeah, I'm not exempt. Some of us got a little hidden attitudes inside of us. If you want to see the glory, cutting removes that. Cutting removes unsubmitted desires. Now this is where it gets a little tense. Cutting removes Egypt's residue. Cutting removes internal blockage. That's why Elisha must pass through Gilgal first. Amen. God cannot trust someone with double portion who refuses divine Surgery can't trust you because when the glory shows up, you're going to tell everybody that it was you and not me. You want to take glory for my anointing, for my calling. Elisha was plowing in the field behind oxen that smelled. Amen. Dust. What art man that thou art mindful of him? Who, who, who are you, Elisha? You're just a commoner. You can't take credit for what God is doing. God's got to cut you, otherwise you're gonna boast. Amen. You're gonna pocket God's glory. Amen. You're gonna tell people that it was me that did this. You want the accolades. You, you wanna be talked about on social media. You wanna boast. Amen. I'm so— he is such a wonderful orator, a resplendent rhetorician. His knowledge of scripture is unfathomable. Such deep revelation, so profound is this man or woman of God. Oh boy, can't he or she prophesy? Yes. God said, told the prophet Jeremiah, he said, Jeremiah, I knew you when you were in your mother's womb, and I called you to be a prophet to the nations. Oh, you thought that was your gift. Yeah. There are 4 locations that we've got to deal with, and I've got to bring this into focus. The 4 locations, because in order for you to receive the presence of God, there has to be spiritual development through geography. Elijah takes Elisha through 4 places, each one a spiritual phase. This is not a road trip. This is sanctification. This is formation. Gilgal means the cut. It means consecration. Joshua 5, God removes the flesh and the shame of Egypt. Before God can pour, he must cut away What blocks the flow? God speaks to the prophet Elisha and says, after Gilgal, there is Bethel. Before you can get to Bethel, you've got to first pass the test of Gilgal. Will you let me cut you? Right. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, I think it's verse 12, it says, the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. sword. It pierces asunder joint, bone, marrow, and it is a discerner of the intents of the heart and the mind. Ah, but it's sharper than any two-edged sword. There are some cuts that are cuts to heal. There are some cuts that are cuts to kill. God's not cutting to kill. He's cutting, uh, because he wants to sever the ties. of Egypt. And if you want the power of God, you first have to allow the cut to take place. Amen. God says, you gotta lie down. I gotta cut you. If I don't cut you, you don't have a part of me. Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day. The Son of God was circumcised. So he had to do that for what? To fulfill all righteousness. But if you wanna get to Bethel, you first have to go through Gilgal. Bethel means hearing God. Bethel means Beth El, hearing God. It is the place of revelation. Genesis chapter 28, Genesis 35. Listen at this. This is the house of God where Jacob heard God. saw God and was renamed. Only the circumcised heart can clearly hear God. Amen. So if you're watching, you're saying, Pastor, I want to know how to hear God. Pastor Keith, you got to be cut if you want to hear God. For those that are watching, you say, Pastor, I, I, I don't— I need the key to this. I just told you what it was. To hear God, the flesh has got to be removed. Only the circumcised heart can hear clearly. Amen. Ah, before you get to Bethel and move on from Bethel to Jericho, you gotta be cut at Gilgal. Jericho means obeying the ridiculous. That's what Jericho means— obeying the ridiculous. It talks about faith. Walls fall not because of strength, but obedience to strange divine instruction. God was telling them, walk around the walls of Jericho. Amen. How much sense does that make? This is foolish to walk around the walls of Jericho and blow the horn. Jericho means obeying the ridiculous. Can you do the ridiculous thing when God wants to wake you up at 3 in the morning and ask you to pray? Amen. Can you obey the ridiculous thing when God says to give that seed to the church? Can you obey the ridiculous thing when God says to you to pick up that family and take them to church? Can you obey the ridiculous thing when God is asking you to serve. Amen. Can you do that? Can you obey the ridiculous thing when God says to give that person a word of knowledge? Can you walk around the walls of Jericho? Power follows— hear this— power follows obedience, even when obedience looks foolish. Minister Phyllis, some people's families say to them, you keep going to that church, you, you're there every Sunday, every Sunday you're there. That looks foolish to them. The Bible says God will take the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And that's just— God is saying, are you willing to, to look foolish for me? Amen. So before you get to Jericho, you gotta be cut. Before you get to Bethel hearing God, you've gotta be cut. Before you get to obeying God at Jericho, you've got to be cut. Are you willing to look foolish for God? Here we are, we're at the Jordan. The place Jordan means transfer and transition. In essence, Jordan is the place a promotion. Notice that every single one of these, you see it and it's like a descending before you get to the place of promotion. Jordan is always the crossing point. Ah, before Israel could cross over the Jordan, they had to be cut at Gilgal. Amen. No Jordan without Jericho. No Jericho without Bethel. Amen. No Bethel without Gilgal. The mantle follows the journey. Here is the test of commitment. 3 times Elijah tells Elisha, stay here. There are these stay here moments. 3 times Elijah tells Elisha, stay here. 3 times Elisha answers, I will not leave you. Translation, my feet follow my calling, not my comfort. Elisha— Elijah told Elisha, just stay here. Elisha said, no, wherever you go, I'll go. Are you willing to follow the purpose and the calling of God? Are you willing to allow God to cut you? Because if God can't remove the flesh, then you cannot have any part of him. Jesus said this, he said, he said, you, in order to worship God, you must worship him what? In spirit and in truth. in spirit and in truth. 3 times Elijah said to Elisha, stay here. God will test your loyalty. My wife was saying that to me this morning. We were in the garage preparing things for service, and she looked at me, and it, it really brought this Fear, a healthy fear of God in my life. She said, Harry, she looked at me, never looked at me like that before. She said, God is testing us. God will test your loyalty. God, hear this, this is where a lot of believers miss it. Hear me if you're watching. This is where the mantle is lost. God will test your consistency. God will test your focus. Here's another one right here. You need to, you need to put an asterisk on both sides of this. God will test your endurance. God will test your endurance. Can you endure hardness as a good soldier? Will you obey everything that I say? Are you willing to endure the shame or the embarrassment of being talked about? Before God gives you the mantle, he gives an assignment. Before he gives authority, before he gives anointing, God wants to know, do you want him? Amen. Or are you here for the anointing? Are you here for the gifts? Are you here for the notoriety? Are you here to make name for yourself? Are you here because you can get wealth? What is your motive, Elisha? This speaks so profoundly to each and every single one of us. Elisha refused to be part-time in a full-time calling. Here it is, the mental moment where sight releases Portion. As Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind of fire, Elisha sees it. Right. Elijah's word, if you see me when I am taken, it will be so. Meaning what you spiritually perceive determines what God can release. Portion follows perception. Amen. Elisha cries, my father, my father. Listen at this. He tears his clothes, which is a symbol of transition. He removes the things that will obstruct the mantle being placed on his shoulder. Elisha, he picks up Elisha's mantle, symbol of succession. Uh, just like Joseph. Joseph wore the coat of many colors, and Elisha takes the mantle. He strikes the Jordan, symbol of activation. But this is where the revelation is. And he asked— this is what Elisha asked— where is the God That's right. This is pivotal because Elisha did not want Elisha's fame. There are people pursuing fame, notoriety. Oh, if I could just get with that man of God, if he could become my spiritual father, if she could become my spiritual mother. Ah, nah, not Elisha. Elisha says, where is the God of Elijah. He didn't ask for fame. He wanted Elijah's God. Ah, God still works even when Elijah is not present. I want more of your God. I don't want your fame. Amen. His question becomes ours. Is the God of our spiritual fathers still with us today? What God are we transferring to the next generation? Amen. Are we giving them pride, arrogance, salacious behavior, or are we giving them more Amen. Here is the unified truth as I hasten to a close. Kissing goodbye prepares your hands. Cutting off prepares your heart. Following faithfully forms your character. Seeing clearly releases your portion. If any part is missing, the mantle cannot rest upon your life. The flow cannot move in your life. The Jordan will not part. Miracles, signs, wonders will not happen if any part is missing. The full pattern of double portion is cut at Gilgal. Remove the blockage. Number 2, hear, hear God at Bethel. Receive revelation. Number 3, obey Jericho. Build faith. Number 4, cross the Jordan, step into destiny or promotion. No cut, no clarity. No clarity, no obedience. No obedience, no breakthrough. No breakthrough, no mantle. Everything God gave Elijah, he made available to Elisha, but only after the cut. Amen. Family, you cannot walk in Elijah's power while protecting what God is trying to cut. You cannot pursue mantles and still hold on to the flesh. You cannot cry for double portion and resist single submission or getting upset over nonsense. God is raising Elijahs. Who will pour out? But the problem is, is that there are not many Elishas. It's a problem. God is raising them. There are not many fathers. And some folks, you don't want what they have. You simply don't want it. They have material things. I don't want that. I don't want your fame. I don't want your name. I don't want your notoriety. I want Your God. Ah, you— I don't want your influence, I want God. If I get God, I can have influence. The Bible says the earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof, and God is raising a generation who will pick up mantles, not memories, not TikTokers, not Facebookers. Not Instagrammers. God is raising up a generation that will pick up the mantle of God. Amen. The lesson is clear, is deep and unavoidable, Pastor Keith. Amen. What you are willing to kiss goodbye determines your direction and your trajectory. What you are willing to let God cut determines your power. What you are willing to follow determines your formation. Ah, don't miss that out there. What you are and who you are willing to follow determines your formation. Uh, some places have church on the outside, Minister Philia, but they all not church. Some of them serving chicken. They call churches chicken. Yeah, they serving chicken. They're not serving the word. They act church on the outside, but you better make sure it's not a church's chicken. Because if, ah, if you're willing to follow someone like this that is not submitted to God, that has not been cut, then the formation, the sanctification, the promotion is not going to take place in your life. What you're able to see determines your portion. Legacy is not what you leave to people. Legacy is what God leaves through you. Amen. Bow your heads in prayer. Father, we thank you this morning. If we want power, we see that we have to be circumcised. Of the flesh, deliver us from ourselves. If we want mantle, God, we must go through Gilgal. We must go through Bethel. We must go the Jordan. Excuse me. Go from Jericho to the Jordan. And I thank you, Father, for your word. I pray people that hear this, their lives will be changed. That this next generation, God, that we leave them with the power of God. If we want to ascend, we must first descend. We've gotta be cut. We've gotta be circumcised. The flesh has to be removed in order for the Spirit to operate. We thank you, Father. In Jesus' name I pray, and everyone shout amen. Amen. Amen. Give God a hand clap of praise. I'm not going to belabor the time. Pastor Keith, man of God, if you'll come up, I want to offer a salvation call for those that are watching and those that are present today. If you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, we're living in such a time that it is paramount that you get to know the Lord. Don't let this be a religious activity. Don't feel pressure. We're not putting pressure upon anyone. We sincerely, truly want you to know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. If you're here and you want to make that decision, bow your heads with me and pray this simple prayer. Father, come into my life. If you're watching on stream, repeat this prayer with me. Father, come into my life. Forgive me of all of my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the true and living God. I confess publicly, Father, that I've done things that have not been pleasing to you, that I've not been circumcised, I've not been separated, I've not been sanctified. And Father, I thank you. That you deliver me from the secularism of today. Save me, come into my life. I believe that Jesus died, rose, and ascended, and seated on the right hand of the Father. That he died and removed every blemish, every sin from my life, and I accept him as my personal Lord and Savior. Amen. Jesus, save me. I receive this free gift of salvation. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. If you prayed that prayer with me, I want you to know this: that you are born again. Do me a favor, reach out to us on Facebook, reach out to us on Instagram, TikTok, on, uh, YouTube, even on our web page. Reach out to us, call the church, leave us a message and say that, Pastor, I received Jesus Christ. I received Jesus in my life has changed. Let us know this because we want to connect with you, not just for you to receive salvation, but my wife Tracy and I and the leaders, Minister Philia and Pastor Keith, and many of the members here, we want to pastor you. We want to be your family. We want to connect you and your family to Christ. Do that. Do that for us. Reach out to us and be blessed in Jesus' name. This ain't hype. This is heaven's frequency. Purpose talk.