Obtaining the Fullness of the Blessing of Christ — David Wilkerson

This message is one of the Times Square Church pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing World Challenge, PO Box 260, Lindell, Texas 75771, or calling 903 -963 -8626.

You are welcome to make additional cassettes of this message for free distribution to friends. However, for all other forms of reproduction or electronic transmission, existing copyright laws apply.

The Fullness of Christ’s Blessing

Obtaining the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Obtaining the fullness of the blessing of Christ. I want you to go to Romans, the 15th chapter, please. One verse I want to read. 15th chapter of Romans, verse 29.

Paul speaking. I hear the rustling of leaves. And in the annex, do you have it? No overflow rooms? All right, Romans, 15th chapter, verse 16. Paul speaking. I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

I'll read it again. And I'm sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Heavenly Father, I thank you for the power of your word. Lord, how it corrects us, how it encourages us, and how it teaches us.

And, oh God, I ask you to do what you choose to do by your Holy Spirit with the word this morning. I know, Lord, that you have touched my heart and convicted me by what I'm preaching this morning. This is birthed out of my walk with you and out of my talking with you.

And this is what you laid on my heart. I have no way of knowing who was brought here by the Holy Spirit this morning. I don't know where they sit. I don't know what the need is. But, oh God, you chose to take this day and this message for this particular congregation.

Lord, I pray that you put your words in my mouth. Lord, keep me from speaking anything that is unlike you or unworthy of you. Lord, let it be anointed, and I pray it find its mark and bring change and bring healing quick in my body as I speak it.

In Jesus' name, amen. Now, Paul writing to those believers in Spain, he said, I anticipate coming to you after I go to Jerusalem to deliver a gift that is given for the saints in Jerusalem. But he said, but when I come, I know.

He said, I am sure. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm going to come to you, and I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Now, immediately that implies that there are degrees, there are measures of the blessing of Jesus Christ.

There are measurements. Some have a full measure. In fact, that's the goal, Paul said, is for us to come into a full measure of the blessing of Christ. Others have a mediocre. Some are just entering into a small measure of the gift of Christ.

Growing Into the Measure of Christ

Paul said, but unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. In other words, all of us have been given a measure. That's how you were saved. You were given a measure of the gift of Christ through faith.

He said, until we all come into unity of faith, the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect or mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And under the measure, what he means, of the magnitude of the blessing of Christ.

He said, there's such a magnitude to it. There's such a fullness in Christ that's available that you have to pursue it. And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now that's the goal, Paul said. That you and I, all of us, may be filled. God's no respecter of persons. He said, I want you to have the fullness of the blessing of Jesus Christ. Paul writes, now that word fullness there means to complete the task of filling up to the full.

In other words, fill it up. There has to be a task. God has given us this task that we pursue the fullness of Jesus Christ. Paul writes, there's one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and in you all.

God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost alike abides in all his people. If you are saved, God Father, Son and Holy Ghost abides in you. He said, we will come and make our abode in you. All God's children have been given grace according to their faith.

Paul the Apostle is saying, there should be a continual increase in the knowledge and the blessing of Jesus Christ in our lives. He said, the Apostle says in Ephesians 3 .19, to be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul said he had a conscience void of offense toward God and man. He said, when I come to you, you're not going to hear a message from a man. You're not going to hear a sermon. He said, my conscience is clear.

There is no controversy between me and God. My life is an open book. And I have been shut in with him. And when I come to you, you're going to know that you're hearing from God's throne. You're going to know that you're hearing from a vessel that has understood and known and experienced the fullness of God.

He said, I've not arrived yet. I've not attained. But there's a fullness in me. And I come to you. And I am sure, I am positive. There's no doubt about it. When I come to you, I'm coming in the fullness of the gospel and blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He said, there's no hidden sin in my life. There's no dark part. So that I know that there is a flow of the blessing of God. Oh, I love to be around people who are living that kind of life. And you can tell there's an aroma of Christ.

They speak only of Christ. They're full of Jesus. And it's an amazing thing to be around them because there's evidence that the blessing of God is resting upon them. The blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it's ever increasing. The fullness of blessing has little to do with materialism. We're not talking about houses and cars and lands. We're talking now about God's commendation. God's well done. In other words, God looks upon this child that is pursuing the fullness of Christ.

Wanting more and more of him. Never satisfied. There's a divine dissatisfaction because he's always reaching out for more of Christ. More of intimacy. More revelation of his love and his power. And of his severity also.

Because there's also severity about Christ. Those who disobey purposely never heeding the call to repentance. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus. That great shepherd of the sheep.

Through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Make you perfect in every good work to do his will. Working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ. To be glorified forever and ever.

That's the blessing. The well pleasing unto Christ. That Jesus can look on your life. And you know in your heart that he is saying well done. There is a sense that God gives you the Holy Spirit. I am well pleased with you my son.

I'm well pleased with you my daughter. Because there's nothing between us. There's nothing hindering. Those whose lives are well pleasing unto God. People that have certain characteristics that they share with the Apostle Paul.

The Apostle Paul had this aroma of Christ through his intimacy with the Lord. These people that I'm speaking about that have the blessing of Jesus Christ in their lives. They enjoy life. There's joy in their hearts but there's no foolishness.

They don't talk the conversation of the world. They have set their mind they will never quit. They will never give up the work that God has called them to do. There's no sense of giving up. There's no sense of despair.

Now Paul said there's a despairing but there's never a quitting. There's never giving up. There's always the resources there because of the time spent with Christ. And the desire and hunger for him. There's always resources that are flowing.

It's a constant flow. It's the blessing flow. Now the blessing flow of the prosperity preachers today is not the blessing of Jesus Christ. God loves to bless his people materially. Yes. God delights it.

God's not jealous of the kind of car you have or the house that you live in and all the blessings. But I've known very poor preachers. I've known poor people who have great blessings of Christ. Marvelous blessings and revelations of Jesus Christ having nothing to do with materialism.

Doctrinal Hindrances to Spiritual Fullness

The purpose of this message this morning is to expose that which hinders a believer from coming into the fullness of the blessing of Christ. What hinders? Paul said to the Galatians, You did run well.

Who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. Because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. He's talking about some kind of doctrinal belief.

He's talking about some kind of theology. He's talking about some kind of mindset that has come into the church that he's addressing. And he said, what's happened to you? There's something now that's hindering you.

You were doing well. He's talking to a praying people, a believing people, those who are doing good works. These are not unbelievers. These are not wicked people. These are praying people. These are those who have known a measure of the blessing of Christ.

But Paul comes and said, something is wrong. You're not growing. You're leaning now on the flesh. You're going back to things of the flesh. And I don't sense the aroma that I once sensed. There's something going on in your life.

Paul said, you were doing well. Who hindered you that you should not obey the truth? He's saying, what is this that has crept into your life? This persuasion. Because this persuasion means a convincing argument.

He said, you've been convinced by an argument that's not of God. There's something of a gospel alteration. There's something of falseness that has crept into your spirit. And now you can't grow. You cannot increase in the knowledge and the blessing of Jesus Christ.

He said, in other words, you labor diligently, but the fullness isn't there. The certainty is not there anymore. That clarity, that clearness, that fullness is not there. Beloved, there are so many godly praying saints that have been so mightily used of God in the past that something happens.

A hindrance comes. And the Holy Ghost is saying this to you. Who has hindered you? What is this? Who and what is it that has come to hinder you from going on into fullness, into the flow of blessing, where you live without guilt and without condemnation and without fear?

You can look any Christian in the eye. You can look a prophet in the eye. You can look Christ in the eye. And you know, you know that you know that I come to you in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I come in fullness. It's often this one besetting sin. There's been victory in every area of life. There's been victory over one thing after another. You have seen, you've witnessed God's hand. You've seen His forgiving grace.

But something has crept in, and it's there, and you've made peace with it, and it's there. And it's usually, oh, folks, I've seen it in the ministry. I've seen it among pastors who have been mightily used of God.

But something creeps in of leaven, and it leavens the whole lump, and it stops the spiritual growth, and it brings fear and condemnation and guilt. And usually it's, if there was victory in this one area, in this one thing, and usually it's that unwillingness to go all the way and deal with this one issue, this one matter, this one bit of leaven remaining that keeps multitudes and pastors from entering into the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

Elijah’s Flight From Jezebel

Elijah was a godly praying prophet, a mighty voice in the land. He shared the grief of God's heart. He's one of the prophets that I so enjoy reading about his life. But I believe that Elijah was hindered from coming in to the fullness of the blessing of God.

Now, I'm not saying this man had sinned, but he failed in his mission. There is no possible way to justify the actions of Jeremiah, I mean Elijah, I'm speaking of Elijah the prophet rather, Elijah. I'm not going to rehearse the whole story.

You know it on Mount Carmel, how he called fire down out of heaven, they consumed to sacrifice, and they slew all of the prophets of Baal. And he prays and the rains begin to come, and you remember he tells Ahab to eat, rise up, eat, and get to Jezreel because there's the sound of abundance of rain.

And the Spirit of God comes on Elijah and he outruns the chariot to Jezreel. And I want to pick up the story, I want you to go with me if you will, to 1 Kings, 19th chapter, 1 Kings. We're talking about that which hinders coming into the fullness of the blessing.

19th chapter, 1 Kings. Israel has repented, they've turned to the Lord. And I want you to know they had not yet probably arrived back in Jezreel, that's the capital, and that's the home of Jezebel. In chapter 19, begin to read verse 1, And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done with all how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. When he saw that, he rose and went for his life and came to Beersheba, which belonged to Judah, and left his servant there.

And he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under juniper tree and requested for himself that he might die and said, It is enough. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for I'm not better than my father's.

And I want you to know the Bible says the hand of the Lord was on Elijah. The hand of the Lord means the leading of the Lord. So we know that the Spirit of God was hurrying this man to the capital city where Jezebel was reigning over all idolatry, the idolatry of Baal.

Now, all of her priests had been slain. So we know that he's on a divine mission. He stood on Mount Carmel. Remember, he said, Lord, let them know that everything I do is at your word, at your word. What I do, you told me when I was in prayer.

And so we know there's no question that God sent him to Jezreel. Jezebel threatens to kill him, and he arose and fled for his life. Now, I disagree with almost all the commentaries I've read on this. Some of them say that God really never intended him to face Jezebel.

He'd already accomplished his purpose on Mount Carmel. Others say, well, he ran not because he was afraid, but he ran because God was going to take him into the wilderness and teach him lessons. That misses the point entirely.

I'm telling you now, God sent him to kill Jezebel. He was to kill Jezebel. Why kill all of her children, her priests, and not kill the mother of the sin? Why not get to the heart, get to the issue? Why take off the branches and not get to the root?

God was not about to let Jezebel raise up another body of children of Jezebel. Now, Jezebel, listen closely, please. Jezebel is a symbolic name. In Hebrew, it means chaste, with a question mark. In other words, chaste means not clean, evil.

And God was not about to have a revival up on the mountain and then just drop it. He had a man that was on fire, he had a mountain that was on fire, and no question about it, had he marched into that city after a night of prayer, he would have had thousands of those around him.

Jezebel could have never gotten to him. And a man who opened the rivers with his mantle, a man who called fire from heaven, a man who has fed Meraxes, lived in miracles, would have seen another miracle.

That God was trying to get at the mother of the sin. He was getting to get to master bosom sin. Otherwise, she would have raised up another corps of priests and the revival was in vain. God sent Elijah to cast down the priests.

Who were these priests? These were not imported immigrants. No, no, no, no. There's no proof of that anywhere in the Scripture. The Bible said they were seduced. I'm going to prove to you they were seduced.

These were people of Israel who were seduced by her gospel of promiscuity. Some writers, a number of writers, don't believe that Ahab's wife was really named Jezebel, but that was an epitaph, a degrading epitaph, because of her hated actions.

The Bible is full of these epitaphs, like Sodom represents, even today, Sodom. You get all of these words that are evil, represented by this epitaph. Also, Antichrist. There's not an individual alone, but a spirit.

Jezebel is a spirit. She is still, Jezebel is still, this spirit is still at work in the church of Jesus Christ. This spirit is still there. Elijah had a history with the Lord. He'd been trained to hear God's voice.

The amazing authority this man had. Then he appears on the scene and tells the servant of Ahab, Go tell your king, Elijah's here. Or when I read that. What authority, what power this man had. And now he's running for his life in fear.

He's running in fear. Now folks, Elijah wasn't God. He wasn't divine. He was human. And the Bible never tries to whitewash the failures of even his chosen servants, like David and Moses and all of those chosen men because they were human.

And these are lessons we're to learn from. He sure hasn't hidden mine until I die. Mine are opened before the eye of the Holy Ghost. And all those things in our lives, unlike him, have been opened. And God is opening something to us here now.

Confronting the Besetting Sin

I want to prove to you that there's an issue here. There's an issue. God says if you're going to come into the fullness, you've got to kill Jezebel. You have got to get to the heart of the issue of anything that is of idolatry.

Anything that is of sin. Jezebel is wickedness, uncleanness. And it speaks primarily of fornication and adultery, both spiritual and physical. I want you to go to Revelation 2. Revelation 2. The beginning of verse 18.

And unto the angel of the church at Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like brass. Now, folks, listen. When we talk about these churches of Asia that God is addressing, Christ is addressing, we're not talking just about dispensations.

We're talking about churches. We're talking about individuals. The body of Christ is made up of members or individuals. And so you have to narrow it down to the individuals who are members of every church.

And it speaks to me. It speaks to you. It speaks to all of us. To the angel of the church. And he comes now with his eyes on fire. And his feet, like fine brass, have just come out of the fire. I know Thy works in charity and service and faith, patience, works, the last to be more than the first.

In other words, what you're doing now is far greater than that which you started. You're increasing in works. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which called herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication. She repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her, the great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

I will kill her children with death. And all the churches shall know that I am he which searches the veins and hearts. And I will give unto every one of you according to your works. I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Now, Jezebel was not just some female prophetess standing up in church and teaching the ways and means of fornication and ten ways to hide your adultery. That's not what the Bible is saying. There's a spirit.

There's a spirit right out of hell, a Jezebel spirit. And the spirit is teaching people to eat the filth served to idols. Now, folks, this is speaking of indoctrination. Something that has been put into the mind, and it's not coming from God.

It's in the church, but it's not of God. And I want you to listen closely to me now, please. There's no greater source of indoctrination than television and Internet, on the face of the earth, worldwide.

You say, oh, here Pastor Dave goes again on television. God's saying something here. He said, every church is going to know. Every individual in my church is going to know where I stand. He said, I'm going to make it clear.

I'm coming to you with eyes of fire. And I've loved you, and I'm a man of God of grace and mercy. This is Christ speaking. This is not an Old Testament prophet speaking. This is the red letter. This is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, speaking to His church, speaking to you and speaking to me.

And I say the church of Jesus Christ today, from the ministry on down, is being corrupted. I mean corrupted to the point where God's people can come to His house and sing and shout and talk in tongues and go home without any shame and watch Sex and the City and The Sopranos.

I've never seen them. I don't have television. But I read about it. The filth, incredible filth. That which is absolutely incubated in hell. And when I read the letters of those who write and confess of the stuff and the filth they're watching on the Internet.

The Levin, an interview in New York Times with one of the most famous young actors in America today, did a movie called Titanic. And I've not seen that. And they asked him, are you into pornography? And his answer summed up like this.

He said, no, and I'll tell you why. Because those who are involved in pornography, they can't think anymore because it takes over your mind. And he said, anyone who has an actor, any professional person, they've got 200 films raging and pictures and scenes in their mind and they can't think.

He says, I'm not into that. Can you say that? What kind of movies do you bring home and put into your little box? And you see, it begins to wear down the mind. It's the spirit of Jezebel of seduction.

He said, seducing my children into fornication. And you can't get away from it. In the original Greek, it means fornication includes adultery. Fornication. And Jesus said, if you think in your mind and you look with lust, you are guilty.

He said, you do good works. You're full of charity and service. You have faith. But I have something against you because you allow that woman Jezebel, which called herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, to eat things sacrificed to idols.

I gave her space to repent of her fornication. She repented not. Folks, understand this. Get it. God is speaking so clearly to my own heart. And He's saying, look, this issue that you're not dealing with, if there's an issue there, He said, I've been patient with you.

I have sent prophets. I have sent messages. How patient I've been with you. Remember, ten times He was so patient with Israel. Ten times they provoked Him. How God spoke and how God even sent signs of judgment and experiences of judgment, dealing with them kindly and loving and all.

We have a loving, patient Heavenly Father. We have a Christ who endures and endures. But He said, I gave you space. I gave you time to deal with this. And the reason I want you to deal with it, I want you to come into my fullness.

I don't want you to live like paupers. I want you to have my resources. And I don't want you to be overcome by the powers of hell and darkness in this last day. I want to use you. I want to make you effective in the kingdom of God.

But I can't do it. I have something against you. There's a controversy between you and me. And I can't do it until you deal with it. How many times has God told you to deal with what you watch and what you hear and what you do?

How many times has the Holy Ghost in love put His finger on something? He just put His finger and He said, this is the one thing. Just this one thing. And if you stop, you can't even think of anything else that it could be.

But the Holy Ghost, because He loves you, will put His finger on it. He will show you. He will expose it. I've been in the presence of the Holy Ghost at times when I couldn't think of anything. And I'd sit there and say, Lord, I sense that there's something hindering.

I don't have that flow of revelation. I don't have that aroma in me. I don't have it. There's something, Lord, show me. And then the Holy Ghost will lead me in His scripture and show me. Just like my son Gary in this pulpit last Tuesday.

He said, there's something missing in my message. All afternoon he said, Lord, there's something messy. There's something wrong. This is just a sermon. I want it to be a message. And the Lord said, yes, Gary, there is a controversy.

You're 30 pounds overweight. And I've told you to deal with it for your health's sake, for your testimony's sake. And I've told you I want you to do this. And God had been dealing with him for eight months.

In fact, he stood in front of his whole staff months before and confessed that God had told him. And then he'd come in eating these sugar pops and lollipops and ice cream bars. And he said, well, God's given me a license to do this.

That may sound light to you. And I'm not speaking against anyone who is overweight. God forbid. But this is an example that God will show you. The Holy Ghost will show you that one thing that keeps you from entering into the fullness of the blessing of Jesus Christ.

The Power to Overcome Fear and Sin

You see, he was called to be an instrument. Elijah was called to be an instrument. To bring down the very heart of this matter that held back the full blessing on Israel. You allow that Jezebel woman to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication.

Eating things sacrificed to idols. Now consider the awful consequences of allowing Jezebel to live. Jezebel is that one issue. The one bosom sin. He said, I'll cast her into a bed. That root means, when the root, Hebrew word is up, put you to flight.

And you'll wear it down. You'll always be running in fear. You will wear it down. I'm going to cast you into a bed of weariness. There'll be fear of exposure. There's this, I'm going to cast into a bed, Jezebel's bed of fear.

And, folks, that's the consequences of not allowing the Holy Spirit to take you all the way in to a total victory through the covenant of Jesus Christ. He said, in great tribulation, in the Greek, rather, pressure, trouble, depression.

And I will kill her children with death, except they repent. You see, when you make a covenant with your sin, you won't deal with it, and you've made peace with it. You see, if you allow yourself to indulge in something, and you don't get convicted now.

You're not convicted by it. Comfortable. And the Jezebel spirit comes to you and says, well, you've got to have some recreation. You've worked hard. You deserve a little recreation. And this is a day of grace.

And God is not that hard. He's not as hard as David Wilkerson. It's a day of grace. And if you do sin, you can run to the cross, run to the blood, and quickly, you know, Jesus, forgive me, go to bed. Now, you see, there's a seduction taking place.

Being seduced by Jezebel spirit. Jezebel spirit. God said, you're being hindered from coming into the fullness of the blessing of God. And God tells us why he's speaking so severely. That all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and the hearts, and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Elijah, Fear, and the Need for Faith

Let's go back to Jezreel and Elijah. The Bible says in the New Testament, you've suffered Jezebel to live, and this is exactly what Elijah did. He suffered or allowed Jezebel to live. I told you, I consider Elijah one of the greatest prophets in the Bible.

And God loved this man. But I'm wondering if you're getting the point of my message this morning. That God, listen close, that God who saved you by his power through faith, that God who gave you power over many, many sins of the flesh, that God who's done so many miracles for you in the past, is the same God who has the power right now to deliver you from all the power of the enemy.

You say, well, what was the failure of Elijah? Where did Elijah fail? Elijah failed in attributing to Jezebel more power than to God. And he runs in fear. And there are Christians sitting here right now, and you don't have victory, because you say what I hear so often, this is too big for me, I've got a habit in my life, I have a sin in my life, I pray, I fast, I do everything, I don't have the power, it's overwhelming, I give up, I can't make it.

Giving more power to that spirit of Jezebel that holds you or threatens you and says, you're going down, you're not going to make it, you're going to fail, in spite of all of your faith, in spite of all your prayers, you're going to fail, you're going to fall.

And the word of God to you is, no, my word says sin shall not have power or dominion over you. Jezebel has no power. Her power is just in your mind. And Elijah runs away. Have you ever thought of running away?

There should be an amen from everyone in this building. You see, most people who run away don't go anywhere. Because running away is a frame of mind. What did David say? Oh, that I had wings like a dove and I'd fly to some wilderness and hide.

Jeremiah said that same thing, but he said, oh, that I had a cottage in the wilderness, that I could escape this people. He was tired of people, he'd given up on the church. God helped us never to give up on the church or his people.

And here's Elijah running in fear. And folks, the scripture is clear, David said, I will fear no evil. And the only way your habit holds you or sin holds you or this one issue, this hindering thing in your life, is because of fear, because you will not trust what the Holy Ghost has said, the Holy Ghost says, and this is the new covenant for everything I demand of you, this walk of purity, this walk of love, where you are free to grow, you're free to come into the fullness of Christ.

The Holy Ghost has promised you all the enabling power that you need, and the only thing that you lack is faith. Faith, to believe that what God said is true, that if you would take it in and say, God, this is bigger than me, I'm not going to sit around and cry about it anymore, I'm not going to weep over it, I've had enough tears, my tears didn't wash away anything.

You have no inner strength and power in yourself, but God will not do it without you saying, I want to be free, I want nothing standing between me and the Lord, nothing between me and the fullness of the blessing of Jesus Christ in my life.

And that's when the Holy Spirit comes with amazing strength and power, amazing resources. God said, I've never asked you to do anything unless I have promised to fulfill all the strength, authority and power you need to overcome.

And you have it, if you'll just trust Him and believe God for it this morning. Hallelujah. I find this story, before I close, I find in this story some of the greatest compassion and love of God anywhere in the Bible.

God’s Compassion for Elijah in Weariness

He's running, and he finally ends up in the wilderness under a juniper tree. He falls asleep, he's depressed, asleep of heaviness. And the angel of the Lord, God sends an angel and wakes him up. And he says, Elijah, get up and eat.

And there on hot coals, fire, there's a baked cake, and there's a cruise of water. He eats and drinks, goes right back to sleep. I would think of an angel, if I woke up, there's an angel talking to me.

Hard to go back to sleep. But this man is so down, so depressed, he goes right back to sleep. And the angel wakes him again. And there's another meal. And these kind words from the Heavenly Father. Elijah, this is too much for you.

The journey is too much. Eat. And the strength of that, he goes for 40 days and 40 nights. And he winds up in a cave on Mount Horeb, and I can't go through it all. But folks, when he gets to Mount Horeb, there's an issue.

And God's not going to sweep it under the rug, so to speak. Elijah's down. He's not a proud man. He's not thinking. He's saying, I'm the only one. But he really believes that because he has not been in contact.

This man walked alone. Not a proud, arrogant man. A man who loved God with everything in him. But he missed the fullness of seeing God complete the mission that he was called to. And God says to him very quietly in this still, small voice, Elijah, what are you doing here?

And Elijah gives his excuse. And you know what he says, I'm the only one left, and they're trying to kill me. And the Lord didn't buy it. The Lord didn't buy it at all. He said again, Elijah, what are you doing here?

In other words, why this depression? Why this fear in you? Why this resignation? Why this quitting? Why this giving up? After all these years, all I've done for you. Why? What's this all about, Elijah?