Samuel Rodriguez - The Mantle of The Spirit
1st Kings 19:19. Ready? If you have it, find it on your phone. If not, fake it like you have it. So Elijah went and found Elisha, son of Shaphat, plowing a field. That's him today. There were 12 teams of oxen in the field and Elisha was plowing with the 12th team. Elijah went over to him, threw his cloak across his shoulders, and then walked away like a boss. So Elijah went and found Elisha plowing a field. There were 12 teams of oxen in the field. Elisha was plowing with the 12th team. Elijah went over to him, threw his cloak across his shoulders, and then walked away. I want to speak to you in a very expedited manner here under the influence of four Starbucks today.
Here's the subject matter. The plow of perseverance and the mantle of promotion. Here's the subtext. If you can push the plow, you can carry the mantle. And here's the second subtext. When heaven starts it, hell cannot stop it. I want you to touch the neighbor you like the most and tell 'em when heaven starts it, hell cannot stop it. And tell your neighbor, the one that doesn't want to be touched, tell 'em when heaven starts it, hell cannot stop it. So here it is. I am convinced and convicted that 1 Kings 18 and 19 speaks to this very hour. I believe that we're living in the day, spiritually speaking, just like the days of Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab was a horrible king, a mucho malo hombre. Jezebel was his wife, and she was nasty on steroids. She hated the prophets, she persecuted preachers, she rejected truth.
Elijah was God's chosen prophet, a man with a mantle, a man with a message, and a man on a mission. That Elijah saw a man named Elisha, pushing a plow, breaking ground and sowing seed. Instructed by God he places a mantle upon him and walks away. That moment would change the trajectory of God's people forevermore, one that would subsequently embody the notion of a greater portion. Here's the first point if you're taking any notes. Good luck with that. It is the mantle of the spirit. Ahab represents forces. Listen, the spirit of Ahab is alive and well. It represents forces of access and authority that attempt us to prompt us to sacrifice truth on the altar of expediency. Jezebel represents the manipulative, sexually coercive, perverse, corrupt cultural spirit that wants to kill the prophetic voices.
What am I telling you? Turn on the news right now. Turn on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS. And you will discover that the spirit of Jezebel is alive and well, persecuting, prosecuting, and attempting to silence the children of the cross. The spirit of Ahab is alive and well, robbing love, killing joy, and destroying peace. The spirit of Baal is alive and well, demanding that truth and children, in and out of the womb, be sacrificed on the altar of the faults. But I traveled from Sacramento after preaching three services to tell you today, don't drink the Kool-Aid. What am I telling you? Don't drink the Kool-Aid. I don't care what you read on Facebook, what you read on Instagram, what you see on YouTube, what you read on Twitter. There is a spirit more powerful than the spirit of Jezebel. There is a spirit more powerful than the spirit of Baal. There is a spirit more powerful than the spirit of Ahab! The most, the most powerful spirit alive today is still the Holy Spirit.
Somebody shout if you have that Spirit! The most powerful spirit is the spirit of the Living God. Are we streaming? We are? We're streaming? Cameraman, give me a tight shot. I'm gonna make this clear. I'm gonna do it. Pastor Jason, we know this. During COVID, we're not political, we're prophetic. But during COVID, the governor of our state told us that we couldn't meet in church, we couldn't have church. He even got to the place where he said we couldn't even have home services. Google it. I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. I'm a lamb's agenda guy. But in this state they attempted to tell us we couldn't even have church in our home with our family.
All right, so. We're streaming, right? Give me a tight shot, baby. I want to make it clear. There's not an executive order, a Supreme Court decision, a legislative initiative, there's not a law or a social media campaign that has the power to stop the Holy Spirit from moving! You can't stop the Holy Spirit! I said you can't stop the Spirit of God! You can't stop the Holy Spirit. You can't cancel the Holy Spirit! You can't de-platform the Holy Spirit! You can't defund the Holy Spirit! It is not by might nor by power, but by my spirit! Say it! Come on! Zechariah 4:6, lift up your hands. I want to declare this right now. The next thing to fill the earth. Wow, when that spirit is present, there is power.
Acts chapter 1, verse 8. There is freedom, 2 Corinthians 3:17. We are to be led by that spirit, Galatians 5:16. Filled with that spirit, Ephesians 5:18. We are temples of that spirit, 1 Corinthians 3:16. What does this mean? Move your hands up. El delta variant. Okay, it's serious. I know. The Mu variant. There's gonna be a Delta variant, a United Airlines variant, a Southwest variant, an American variant. I'm tired of it. The next thing to fill America and fill the nations will not be COVID 20 or 21. The next thing to fill America and the nations will be the glory of the risen Christ! Will be the... Somebody praise like you have that spirit! Act like you have that spirit. Pray like you have that spirit. Live like you have that spirit! Ah!
We are about to see more people get saved than ever before in human history. Are there any questions? What was he doing? What was he doing when Elijah, the prophet with the mantle, put his mantle on him? What was he doing? That's right. Pushing the plow. Do you think it's a coincidence that the person who was pushing the plow ended up with the mantle? There are people that have never pushed a plow that are asking for a mantle. Don't you dare. If you've never pushed a plow, that serves as a metaphor. If you don't know what it is to push the plow in your family, push the plow in your faith, push the plow in your relationships. If you don't know what it is to get up every morning and push the plow, break the ground, and sow the seed, on good days and bad days, on sunny days and rainy days.
The plow pusher... I sense the Lord. The plow pusher will emerge as the mantle carrier. The mantle will fall upon those that have been pushing the plow. Oh, Padre, oh, boy. I wanna speak to every person here who has been pushing the plow. Every single day, Elijah, with the exception of the day of rest, historical contextualization, he would have to wake up and push the plow, break the ground, and sow the seed. On good days and bad days, sunny days and rainy days, happy days and sad days. On days when people liked him, and on days when he didn't even like himself, he would have no other choice but to push the plow, break the ground, and sow the seed. You think it's a coincidence that the guy who pushed the plow ended up carrying the mantle? Absolutely not.
So I'm gonna tell you what God authorized me to tell you. For every, if you haven't pushed a plow, if I were you I'd take a break, go check out the NFL scores, find out what's happening. But I'm gonna speak to every plow pusher in this place. If you've been pushing the plow on good days and bad days, on sunny days and rainy days, on happy days and sad days, on days where you were strong, and on days where you were weak, and you know what it is to push the plow, some days with a smile on your face, and some days with tears rolling down your cheeks. If you're a plow pusher, raise your hand. If you know what it is to push the plow on days where you didn't even want to push the plow, raise both hands.
This is the word of the Lord for you. Get ready. I said get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready the mantle of anointing. There is a double portion. There is a great importation coming your way. If you receive it, shout like it's all yours. Okay. Lift up your right hand. Put it in your spirit. I'm going to read it to you. Just the way God gave it to me, I give it to you. Every single plow pusher, if you're not one lower your hands. If you know what it is, raise both hands. Oh, by the way, even those of you that said, "God, I can't push the plow anymore". Is there anybody here who ever got to the point where I can't push it anymore? I was there. I told God one day, "I'm done pushing the plow". I even told God, "I promise you tomorrow morning, I'm changing careers. I'm not doing this anymore. It's over. I promise you". I even said, "I promise you tomorrow. I'm changing. I can't do this".
And then the next morning, guess who got up and continued to push the plow? Am I the only one? Do you know why I got up? Because the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of me. Romans 8:11. Okay, for real. Lift up your right hand, here it is for every, for every person here, for every person here. Every husband and wife, married and single, entrepreneur, creative, for every pastor, minister, for everyone who has been pushing the plow. Ooh, here's the word of the Lord with your hands raised. There is a mantle, a fresh touch from heaven. No joke coming your way. There is a new anointing coming your way. There is a shift in your atmosphere coming your way.
Here's the word of the Lord. There are resources at harvest coming your way. There is unbridled, unparalleled, and unprecedented favor coming your way. There is an awakening coming your way. And get ready. Turn on your porch lights. You're about to see your prodigal sons and daughters come back home. There is an import... there's glory coming your way that will shift you. I'm telling you, look up here right now. The battle you're going through is between your mind and your mantle. There's a battle. And it's between your mind and your mantle. There's a battle between anxiety and anointing. The enemy is trying to distract you, but put a smile on your face. Amos chapter nine, verse 13, it says your head will be swimming, spinning around wherever you look. North, south, east, and west. All you will see will be the blessings and the favor of God coming your way.
Is there anybody here ready for their mantle? Anybody here ready for a mantle? Anybody here ready for a mantle? I'm gonna wrap up. I'm gonna wrap up. It's just, oh man. He gave him this. He was the plow pusher. By the way, there's no conversation. Do your biblical due diligence. It's not like Elijah said, "Elisha, I'm about to put a mantle on you. Let me tell you what it represents". Never happened. This really happened. There's a guy pushing a plow. The prophet, the most important prophet, comes along of this generation, his lifetime, and he goes, and walks away. This guy immediately drops that and follows him. And history is made. The mantle Elijah put upon him was the same one he had. It is the mantle, not just of the spirit. It is not just a mantle of perseverance. It is the mantle of drought, fire, and rain.
Somebody say "drought, fire and rain". Say it loud. Say "drought, fire and rain". The prophet, Elijah, unleashed a drought wearing this mantle. What did he do? Fire, rain, all right. If you've been through at least one drought in your life, raise one hand. A couple of droughts, spiritually, relationally, financially, raise two hands. If you've been through so many droughts, you've lost count, raise both hands and a foot. If you've been through so many droughts that if I Google the word drought right now, it automatically connects me to your Instagram account. Watch this. Drought, then after the drought came the fire, and don't bypass the process. It's drought, fire, and rain. People want to jump from drought to rain without going through the fire. Oh. You can't bypass the process, baby.
You know what the fire season is? The fire season is when God removes stuff from... By the way, old school Pentecostals, and God bless them, I was born in that and I love it, but they used to teach, they used to say, you'd have no idea what they were singing because the fire doesn't make you dance. The fire makes you repent. The fire doesn't make you go, oh. The fire makes you go, oh. The fire is a sanctifying fire. The fire is a purifying fire. The fire, The fire is when God removes stuff from in you and even people from around you that would have held back the fulfillment of your destiny. Now I need to ask it. Let me ask. If you've been through the drought and the fire, raise both hands, I'm going to tell you what the Lord, I'm going to read it, one more time. The fire sanctifies you, purifies you, refines you. So if you survive the drought, and if you've been through the fire, the next thing coming your way is nothing less than abundant rain.
Somebody look at your neighbor, tell them, "Here comes the rain". Tell the other neighbor, "Here comes the rain". I feel glory for your family. Here comes the rain for your family. Here comes the rain for your family. Here comes the rain, here comes the rain. In the proper season, I will send the showers they need. Showers of blessing, Ezekiel 34:26. Deuteronomy 28, verse 8, The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens. Here comes the rain. And those who prayed with you in the drought deserve to dance with you in the rain. I'm going to say that one more time. There were people, There are people in your life that can handle the blessed you, but not the broken you. And then there are people that can handle the broken you, but they couldn't handle the blessed you. But blessed are the people that can handle both the broken you and the blessed you.
Those are the kinds of people you want to reward. Those that could handle the you in the valley and the you on the mountain top. We're done. We're done. We're done. Stand with... You are standing. This just got really awkward now. It is the mantle of the spirit. It is the mantle of perseverance. It is the mantle of drought, fire, and rain. And it is the mantle of when heaven starts it, hell cannot stop it. This is crazy. Watch this. When Elijah, before he placed this mantle on him, he confronted Ahab on Mount Carmel. 1 Kings 18. Big encounter. Do y'all know the story? You know the story. They prayed. The real God will answer with fire. All that. Jezebel's praise and worship team did their thing. They did the macarena, salsa, bachata, they did. Kumbaya, bachata, they did everything. And nothing happened. And then God's prophet with a mantle said. Which is in essence, "Lord it's time for a Texas barbecue. Send your fire".
The fire came down, the bad guys were killed. So then watch this. Ahab, the king, He's married to Jezebel, the witch. He goes to Jezebel and says, 1 Kings 19:1. He went and said, "Honey, I just came from the encounter with the guy with the mantle. Whew". She says, "What happened"? He says, parenthetically speaking, "Well, I hope they all have life insurance policies". "What do you mean"? "Remember your worship team"? "Yes". "You no longer have one". Now I want to speak to you verbatim what the Bible says. 1 Kings 19:2, Jezebel said this, "What? The guy with the mantle did what? I swear by my gods". Read it. "I swear by my gods in 24 hours, that prophet with a mantle, that Elijah guy, he will be dead". It sounded like a prophecy, but it wasn't. So we call that a prophe-lie. She prophe-lied. "I swear by my gods in 24 hours, that prophet will be dead".
Well, here's the story. 24 hours pass. Elijah did not die. So yeah, that's pretty cool. So what, what if I tell you that 48 hours passed? Elijah did not die. What if I tell you a week passed? What if I tell you a month passed? He didn't die. What if I tell you a year passed? Elijah did not die. Wait a minute. What if I tell you a decade passed? Elijah did not die. What if I tell you a hundred years passed? What? Elijah did not die. What if I tell you a thousand years passed? Elijah did not die. What if I tell you it's been close to 2.800 years since Jezebel declared it, and Elijah has yet to die? Oh, let me explain. 1 Kings 19:2 Jezebel said he would die in 24 hours. 2 Kings chapter two, verse 11. It says Elijah never died. He was picked up in a whirlwind, a chariot of fire. No, no, no, get this. He never died. Matter of fact, the next time we see Elijah, he's on the Mount of Transfiguration right next to Jesus.
What am I telling you? I traveled from Sacramento to tell you this, whatever the devil has declared upon you, your family, your health, your finances, your future, the opposite will take place. If you believe it, shout like you know it. Praise like you know it. Because when heaven starts it, hell cannot stop it. I'm going to say it again. What heaven has started, hell cannot stop. I dare you to look at your neighbor and tell them it's too late now. Tell them it's too late now. Tell them, "I am too saved to be lost. I'm too blessed to be cursed. I am too anointed to be disappointed. It's too late now". Now, lift up your hands for the final time here. Everything heaven has started in your life, everything heaven has started, heaven will complete. Everything heaven has started. There's not a power in hell or demon on earth that can stop what God already has started.