Don't Underestimate the Journey
Pastor David T. Elms 12/28/2025
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56:20
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms encourages the congregation to move past the discouragements and past successes of the journey, warning against the spiritual traps of pride and apathy as they prepare for a new season of consecration.
Key points
- •The beginning of a new year is an invitation to 'number our days' and evaluate our position in life, ensuring we do not become stuck in past victories or past traumas.
- •Spiritual maturity requires common sense and a commitment to the biblical process of salvation (repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost) rather than a 'cafeteria-style' religion.
- •Believers must actively reject the spirit of the age that seeks to make them abandon their covenants, tear down their personal altars of prayer, and harbor resentment toward the spiritual leaders God has placed in their lives.
- •Crisis and exhaustion are often precursors to new dimensions of God's power; just as Elijah's journey didn't end at the broom tree, our current 'light afflictions' are preparing us for future glory.
Scripture
Spiritual Perseverance
Divine Purpose
Salvation Doctrine
Consecration
Life application
This week, identify one 'broom tree' in your life-a place of defeat or self-pity-and ask God for the strength to rise and eat, trusting that He has future assignments for you that far outweigh your current struggles.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of your life have you allowed noise to drown out the 'still small voice' of God?
- Are you holding onto a past hurt or a 'moved cheese' moment that is preventing you from seeing the next stage of your journey?
- How can you strengthen your personal 'altar' and your commitment to your spiritual covenant this month?
- Why is it dangerous to underestimate the spiritual significance of the season you are currently in?
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Full transcript
0:00>> on her side holding her up in our
0:00prayers. Now Lord, this word I want to
0:02give to your people.
0:05I don't want to make a speech. I'm not
0:08here to deliver old bread. Oh God, I'm
0:12not in the business of just taking time
0:14in the pull pit. I want there to be a
0:17true sanction of the Holy Ghost, a true
0:22word that is empowering to everybody in
0:25this place. Let it be that your word
0:28will leave my lips. And oh God, the
0:30supernatural will take it from my spoken
0:34words all the way and let it land in the
0:38hearts of your people in Jesus precious
0:42name. I know you're going to do the work
0:44and I give you the praise for it all.
0:47Amen. You may be seated in Jesus name.
0:52Don't underestimate
0:55the journey.
0:57Next Sunday will be the first Sunday of
1:002026.
1:03I am of the age where I still catch
1:06myself saying 19.
1:12Some of you are so young you don't even
1:14get that joke.
1:16But uh most of us lived I was born in
1:191966.
1:21So you got to understand how many years
1:23I said 19 something
1:26>> 1972
1:281983
1:301985 the year I graduated. Oh man I
1:33couldn't wait to get the 85 hanging from
1:36my mirror.
1:39>> Yeah. Uhhuh. And then along came 1990
1:43and we were way advanced. And then 1992,
1:47oh my goodness, what was going to happen
1:49in '92? And then 1997,
1:53what a year. Oh, and see mo most of
1:56y'all are still waiting for me to just
1:58say 20some, aren't you? There is so much
2:01of my life that happened in the 1900s.
2:05But to believe we are now 25 years, one
2:09quarter of the way in through the 21st
2:14century, it's hard to believe. It's easy
2:17to have lived and it is a wonderful life
2:22living for the Lord. I want to be very
2:24clear today to everyone here this
2:27morning. I'm going to preach a message
2:29and many times I will say things that
2:32has to do with the blessing and the
2:35purpose and the goodness of God. But I
2:38don't want you to think that all these
2:40verses belong to you if you haven't been
2:43baptized in Jesus name and if you
2:46haven't been filled with the Holy Ghost.
2:48Don't just pass that by and say every
2:51promise the preacher applies is mine
2:55because I went to church. That is not
2:58true.
2:59>> There's going to be people who go to
3:01church their entire life and do not make
3:04heaven.
3:08>> You know that inherently.
3:10You know that as a good sinner.
3:15>> You know, it's hard to find a good
3:16sinner nowadays.
3:18I wish some of us would remember what it
3:20was like to just be a good sinner
3:23>> because good sinners generally have a
3:25lot of common sense.
3:28>> It's when people start getting drugged
3:30out on faith that they lose some of
3:32their common sense.
3:34>> Did you think a preacher would say that?
3:37>> Because living for God requires a lot of
3:41common sense. And when people check
3:45their common sense in to the door, then
3:48they start believing things like free
3:51salvation and free greasy grace and
3:54everything gets covered with a smile.
3:59>> They start believing what some preachers
4:01preach that you don't have to do
4:02anything and you can be saved.
4:05>> That's flawed theology. Except you
4:08repent,
4:10>> you shall likewise perish.
4:14>> And how often do we repent? Well, it was
4:17the favorite message of the Lord. So,
4:19you never stop repenting. You get better
4:21at the sins that come at you, but you
4:24never stop getting yourself more correct
4:28every day as you serve the Lord. And so
4:31I want to make sure that you understand
4:33as I preach about this journey today.
4:36You've got to first start the journey
4:39before this message will apply to you.
4:42Okay? If you've never been baptized in
4:44Jesus name, you haven't even been born
4:46of the spirit. You've been born once.
4:49You've got to be born of the water and
4:51of the spirit or you cannot enter or
4:55even see the kingdom of heaven. Now, I
4:58know that's very plain. It's very
5:00direct, but I want you to have it
5:02abundantly clear. You've got to be born
5:05again to even get to heaven. You can't
5:08be a churchgoer and get to heaven. You
5:11can't go to heaven because you pay your
5:13tithes. You might miss heaven because
5:16you don't, but you can't go to heaven
5:18because you do. And there are some
5:20people that also think, well, if I know
5:23how to pray, I'll go to heaven. No,
5:25everybody knows how to pray. Everybody's
5:27praying to whatever deity they want to
5:30pray to. Even those who say they're
5:32atheist, it's amazing how fast they'll
5:35use the name of Jesus when they need a
5:37powerful curse word. It's amazing how
5:40much they'll say God uh you when they
5:43need somebody to be told off. Well,
5:46there is no God if it's according to
5:48your way. So, why do you implore him?
5:50Why don't you just say your name and
5:52say, "I blank you." Uh because really
5:56every no one is a true atheist. No one
6:00it doesn't matter how much they tell you
6:02you are they are no one is a true no god
6:06deity force in this world. Everybody
6:09believes it. But the key is is that you
6:11cannot just make up a doctrine and say
6:15that will get me to heaven.
6:17>> You can't go like you go to piccadilly.
6:19Does anybody know what piccadilly is?
6:22I'm sorry if you don't know what
6:24Piccadilly is. You guys have missed a
6:26whole generation of joy. You have missed
6:29a whole generation of of of pleasure.
6:33There's nothing like going through the
6:35tray and deciding if you want jello- or
6:38salad. And then the very next thing
6:40along the way is desserts. Long before
6:43vegetables and meat, desserts are right
6:45there. Don't you think there's not
6:47strategy in the setup? Uh-huh. And I'm
6:51always catching that peach cobbler
6:52that's stuck right near the end or that
6:55cherry pie that's got the hot crust. I'm
6:58starting to get my helper coming in the
7:01house.
7:04>> Uh but some people want religion to be
7:07like that. Well, I'll just decide from
7:10my imagination how to get to heaven.
7:13Listen, you cannot from your dis
7:15imagination decide how to get an email
7:19address. You cannot with your
7:21imagination decide how to build a home.
7:24You can't out of your imagin. There are
7:26processes that you've got to take to
7:28meet certain criteria that are the
7:30definitions of that. Well, if you want
7:32to know about the God of heaven, the God
7:35of the Bible, then you can't just put
7:38words in his mouth. Preachers do this
7:42often. And I want to tell you the
7:44hottest place in hell is not for any of
7:46you unless some of you all proclaim that
7:49you're preachers. Okay? Paul said,
7:51"Don't actively seek to be a preacher or
7:56one who proposes to teach others about
7:59the doctrine of God." He said, "The
8:02reason you better not is because for
8:04those who propose to say, I know enough
8:08to instruct others, there is a greater
8:11judgment.
8:13The hottest place in hell will not be
8:15for murderers. The hottest place in hell
8:18will not be for rapists. THE HOTTEST
8:20place in hell will not be for Hitler.
8:22The hottest place in hell will not be
8:24for the worst that you think are THE
8:25WORST. THE HOTTEST PLACE IN hell is
8:28going to be FOR PREACHERS WHO PROPOSE TO
8:31people that if you follow me, I'm going
8:33to get make sure that you get to heaven.
8:36And all they do is get up and say things
8:38that make you feel good, make you feel
8:41like, "Oh, that was a wonderful,
8:43encouraging message today." Oh, he was.
8:45Wasn't that so encouraging? Sometimes we
8:49don't need encouragement. We need
8:51correction.
8:56>> Sometimes we need an adjustment. And
8:59I've been around a preacher or two that
9:01loved the correction part.
9:04That's not the only thing there. The
9:07Bible says reprove, rebuke, exhort.
9:12>> Reprove, re twothirds of that is
9:15correction. Reprove, that's a little uh
9:18a little stronger. Rebuke, that's quite
9:20a bit even more forceful. Exhort is the
9:24building up.
9:25>> And there are some preachers that have
9:26built their entire church on only
9:29exhortation.
9:31So, if that's the kind of doctrine you
9:34want, this will be a a troubling church
9:37for you.
9:39>> Because I'm going to do everything I can
9:42to make sure that when I stand before
9:44the judge.
9:45>> The Bible said when the preacher stands,
9:48there's only one man according to the
9:49word of God that's going to answer for
9:51your soul. It's the preacher that God
9:54puts in your life. That's who's going to
9:55answer for your soul. You don't just
9:57answer by yourself. The Bible said a
9:59pastor is going to answer for your soul.
10:01So who is that man?
10:03>> Who is the man that's going to answer
10:05for your soul? If you don't know his
10:06name, then you don't have a pastor.
10:09>> So you're self- led.
10:12>> And those who are self-d are not in the
10:14scripture because the Bible it pleased
10:16God by the foolishness of preaching to
10:19save not sinners to save them that
10:22believe.
10:24So, if you don't have a pastor, but
10:25you're a sinner, you're a great person.
10:28That's the way all of us were. But if
10:31you're a believer, you've got to have a
10:33preacher in your life.
10:36>> And I am the one that's called to be the
10:38pastor in this church. I am not trying
10:40to recruit you to this church. I may not
10:43be the pastor for you, but you better
10:45find a pastor. I don't I can't pastor
10:48everybody. I know that. I'm happy to
10:51excuse and dismiss people that I cannot
10:54pastor, but for 33 years, God has chosen
10:57to place me in this pullpit. And at the
11:00judgment, you're going to stand before
11:01the judge, and I'm going to stand right
11:03beside you. And the Bible said, "Make
11:06sure you do things that THE PASTOR ASKED
11:09THAT IT'S not grievious for him."
11:13>> Why? Because Jesus said that will be
11:16grievious for you.
11:19What is that day going to look like?
11:22That's going to be grievous for you.
11:23Now, I would love to preach a lot on
11:25that sermon
11:27because it sounds like it sets me an
11:28easy street.
11:30>> But that's not the point. The point is
11:33is as we follow Christ, we have voices
11:36in our lives that come and make sure
11:39we're nudged to stay on the straight and
11:42the narrow way and we don't do not start
11:45to believe a lie. The Bible said they
11:47are deceived because they received not a
11:50love for the truth and God turned them
11:53over.
11:56>> Do you know anybody that God has turned
11:58over?
12:01>> I want to ask you is that's a tr Which
12:04church have you heard that question
12:05asked?
12:07>> That's that's not one of those things
12:08that's out there. But let do we just put
12:10an eraser in the scripture there? Do we
12:13just take white out? I used to love
12:15white out. Mom always kept it underneath
12:17her drawer in the sewing room. I would
12:19go where she sewed underneath the Singer
12:21sewing machine. There was white out in
12:23there. When I made a mistake, get that
12:26white out and put it in. What an
12:28invention. It came like halfway through
12:30my life.
12:32And then I found this amazing white out
12:35that you could put I had a typewriter.
12:37My mother had a typewriter. I never
12:38owned a typewriter. Uh I I I guess I do
12:41now, don't I? on a computer, but my o
12:44mother owned a typewriter where there
12:45was a special key that you could go and
12:48WHITE OUT WOULD POP UP.
12:51>> SEE, I got some old folk in the house.
12:53So, y'all y'all can take back your amen
12:55if you want to,
12:56>> but but most of these kids have don't
12:58even have a clue about a typewriter.
13:01>> I mean, literally, a metal thing would
13:02come up and slam the page.
13:05>> SLAM THE PAGE. AND IF YOU MADE A BAD
13:07THING, YOU COULD HIT THAT WHITE OUT TAPE
13:09AND IT WOULD JUST JUMP UP REAL FAST. OH,
13:12the technology.
13:14The technology.
13:16And you could LITERALLY HAVE A PRECISE
13:18WHITE OUT ON YOUR PAPER. I got an
13:21attorney in this place looking at me
13:22right now. She has used that. I can tell
13:24by the look in her eye.
13:27I'm having fun.
13:29Here's the thing. I want to make sure
13:33that when I have delivered the word of
13:35God to you that you're not
13:37misappropriating
13:38the word and applying it to you falsely
13:43when it isn't yours to grab.
13:46>> YOU GOT TO be born again of the water
13:48and of the spirit or you're not born of
13:51God.
13:53>> You there's a many people who pray that
13:55are not born of God. THERE ARE SOME
13:58PEOPLE who receive healings that are not
14:01born of God.
14:02>> THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE VICTORY OVER
14:05THE DEVIL WHO ARE not born of God.
14:08>> The Bible tells us that the name of the
14:10Lord is a strong tower. You can run into
14:14it. The people who want TO BE RIGHT RUN
14:16INTO IT AND are safe.
14:19So that's the reason I am always
14:21emphasizing here that you need to be
14:24baptized in the name of Jesus
14:26>> for the remission of your sins and you
14:29shall receive the gift of the Holy
14:32Ghost. For the promise is unto you and
14:35to your children and to all that are a
14:38far off even as many as the Lord our God
14:41shall call.
14:44This is the last Sunday we will have our
14:47as our presentation through the main
14:49part of the service the idea of the
14:52theme of this last year. Bless this
14:55city. I have loved that theme for the
14:58year. I have loved the concept. Every
15:00time I needed to pray, you know when you
15:02pray you need to wonder. Sometimes you
15:04wonder, well, what am I going to say?
15:06Well, when the thought when came to
15:09bless this city, it was easy for me to
15:11fill up several minutes of time just
15:14thinking of all the things that I wanted
15:16to bless in my life that I would say it
15:18out loud. Bless my boss, bless my
15:21friends, bless my family, bless my wife,
15:24bless my wife. I would get stuck on
15:26bless my wife, then bless my kids, and
15:29bless my children's children. It's
15:31amazing, men. You You love your wife
15:33more when you start praying for her.
15:37Just a little hint to throw out there.
15:40>> It's crazy what will happen in your
15:42spirit. Now, I don't have a love my wife
15:44problem, okay? But it's amazing. I I if
15:47you are finding some some spirit that's
15:50trying to assault against your marriage,
15:52pray for your wife.
15:55>> Wives, are y'all hearing the other part
15:57of that message? Okay, I won't I won't
16:00dwell there, BUT BUT IT'S POWERFUL.
16:03AMEN.
16:04>> And so here as we bless our city, I
16:07don't want us to ever forget doing that.
16:10But next Sunday, we will introduce a
16:12theme for the new year. And we're going
16:14to spend uh four months of the next year
16:18in consecration. January will be a month
16:21of consecration. Every Friday night here
16:23at the church, there will be a prayer
16:25meeting from 7 to 8. Youth service is
16:28adjusted because of that. We're going to
16:30have times of prayer and fasting. After
16:33New Year's, we're starting back the
16:34reading of the word of God to come to
16:37this church and read aloud from this
16:39pullpit, this platform, scripture to the
16:42walls of the city and the walls of the
16:44church. And some can come and listen. If
16:47you've never done it, you're missing
16:49something powerful to come in while you
16:52read the word aloud. God speaks to us.
16:56We're going to consecrate our month. But
16:59the Bible says that we should number our
17:02days.
17:04>> It's so sad to see someone who doesn't
17:06know where they are in their life.
17:09Consecration causes you to quiet your
17:12spirit and do what sister Crystal was
17:14talking about. Listen for the voice of
17:17the Lord.
17:19>> If you're always putting noise in, you
17:21can't hear him. But if you'll give him
17:24enough space to talk, he'll speak to you
17:28louder than you can hear with these
17:30ears. You'll feel his words more than
17:34perceive through your eardrum what he's
17:37saying. And for years, I wanted to hear
17:40the audible voice of the Lord. I have
17:42yet to do it. And I'm 59 years young.
17:46But I have heard his voice so abundantly
17:50certain and clear and right that there's
17:55no doubt that it was the voice of the
17:57Lord.
17:58>> Where did it come from? I CAN'T DESCRIBE
18:00THAT to you. I CAN'T SAY IT COME FROM
18:03THE LEFT OR THE RIGHT or above me or
18:05beneath me or from WITHIN ME. NO, ALL I
18:08KNOW IS THERE WAS THIS SUDDEN AWARENESS.
18:11HE HAS JUST GIVEN ME INSTRUCTION. HE HAS
18:14JUST LAID. And I would say, "Lord, is
18:17that me or is that you?"
18:19>> I know I got folks in here carnal like
18:21me. Lord, did I make that up or is that
18:23you?
18:24>> And so what you do is what you hear,
18:26then you put it through the filter of
18:28the good word of God. And if it matches
18:30with scripture, then all of a sudden
18:32it'll make you have the cold calmness
18:35come over you. And in the middle of your
18:37midnights, GOD WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU
18:40OUGHT TO DO.
18:41>> Sometimes it's move. Sometimes it's be
18:44still. SOMETIMES IT'S WAIT. SOMETIMES
18:48IT'S STEP. SOMETIMES IT'S LOVE.
18:51SOMETIMES it's forgive. SOMETIMES IT'S
18:54SHOW MERCY. SOMETIMES IT'S WALK AWAY.
18:59>> Some helpers are coming into this house
19:01right now. I feel some helpers in this
19:03house hearing the word of the Lord. It's
19:06so sad when you see someone who does not
19:08take the time to figure out where they
19:12are in life. They're living their life
19:14and they just don't know where they are.
19:16They're just going from paycheck to
19:18paycheck, from car payment to car
19:20payment, from going to to this situation
19:24to that situation, and they have not
19:26ever stopped. It's almost like they're
19:29as confused as a cow on astrourf.
19:32They know they're SUPPOSED TO BEAT
19:34CHEWING SOMETHING, BUT THERE'S NOTHING
19:36THAT THEY FOUND. UH, nowhere to go and
19:39nowhere to get something of direction.
19:41And I've come to you today to tell you,
19:45you're on a journey. God has ordered
19:48your steps. You're not here on mistake.
19:53God hasn't put you on this earth to just
19:56amble your way through. He hasn't put
19:59you here to go from weekend to weekend
20:02and from drunkenness TO DRUNKENNESS AND
20:05FROM JOINT TO JOINT. HE DIDN'T GET YOU
20:08HERE JUST SO YOU COULD WAKE AND BAKE AND
20:11ENDURE the day. He didn't get you here
20:14to move from sin to sin and selfishness
20:18TO SELFISHNESS AND MAKE A DOLLAR, SPEND
20:21A DOLLAR. NO, YOU ARE HERE ON PURPOSE
20:24WITH A DIVINE SANCTION FROM HEAVEN. IF
20:29YOU DON'T KNOW THAT, LET THIS PREACHER
20:32TELL YOU TODAY. GOD KNOWS YOUR NAME. HE
20:36PUT YOU ON THIS EARTH. HE'S GOT THE
20:38NUMBER OF HAIRS ON YOUR HEAD NUMBERED.
20:41HE KNEW YOU BEFORE YOUR MOTHER KNEW YOU.
20:46You are not just a body walking around
20:49waiting to get a new pair of jeans or a
20:51new dress. YOU'RE NOT JUST SOMEBODY HERE
20:54ENJOYING CHRISTMAS PRESENTS AND WAIT TO
20:57GET TO the next big event. NO, TODAY IS
21:01THE day of salvation.
21:04>> People get caught up in the phases of
21:06their life and they don't see the whole
21:08picture. They get stuck on something
21:12that wasn't on their calendar. that can
21:14stay there for years. One of the
21:16simplest but most dynamic books that's
21:18ever been written other than the Bible
21:21is a short little book entitled Who
21:23Moved My Cheese?
21:25>> And it just talks about a couple mice
21:28that every day they went and got their
21:30cheese at the same place and they woke
21:33up one morning and the cheese was gone.
21:36And one mouse said, "Well, the cheese is
21:38gone, so I'm going to just keep going
21:40because I'm going to find cheese
21:41somewhere." And the other mouse just sat
21:44there and said, "Who moved my cheese?
21:47Why did they move my cheese? What did
21:49they have against me? Did I wear the
21:51wrong cologne? What was the problem? Was
21:54it the way I opened the door? Why is my
21:57cheese moved? Is the cheese mad at me?
22:00What's going on with the cheese? There's
22:03always been cheese here." It's the most
22:05crazy little proverb or parable, I
22:09should say, about life. And that's the
22:12way some people get things happen to us
22:15and they it can cause us to pause and
22:18feel worthless and feel like there's no
22:21order in our life and there's no steps
22:24to take forward. They don't take another
22:26step because they're stuck. Don't talk
22:28to them about the journey of life
22:31because all they THINK IS THAT STOP
22:32SIGNS ARE ON EVERY SIDE THAT they're not
22:35worth people loving. They're not
22:37supposed to get the promotion. They
22:39don't even know what a journey is. They
22:41don't know that with the journey is
22:43hills and valleys. THEY THOUGHT
22:44EVERYTHING WAS SUPPOSED TO be easy and
22:47simple and kind. Parents, if you're
22:50teaching your children that if they have
22:52a bad teacher, then that's a teacher
22:54problem. Then you misleading them.
22:58They're going to have bad teachers
22:59whether you can control it or not. The
23:02duty of parents is not to determine if
23:05the teacher's bad. It's to TEACH THE
23:07KIDS HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WHEN YOU'VE GOT
23:11SOMETHING THAT'S WORKING AGAINST YOU.
23:14IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASY. IT'S A
23:17JOURNEY. EVERYBODY ISN'T GOING to be a
23:20teacher's pet and every teacher isn't
23:22going to like YOU AND EVERY SCHOOL is
23:25not going to be perfect. And sometimes
23:27we CAN BUILD BUBBLES AROUND OUR KIDS.
23:29And ladies and gentlemen, I want my home
23:32to be a bubble. I want my home to be
23:34safe. But I promise you one thing. I
23:37want my kids to have scars on their
23:39knees.
23:41>> This next year, Lord willing, we're
23:43going to have a parenting seminar
23:45because there there's something about
23:46raising our kids as if everything's
23:49going to go their way. You are
23:51misappropriating
23:53the truth. It is not going to go your
23:55way. THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN.
23:57SOMETIMES it's going to be your fault.
23:59Sometimes it's going to BE BECAUSE
24:01OTHERS ATTACK YOU. SOMETIMES IT'S GOING
24:03TO BE JUST THE BAD TIMES OF LIFE. BUT
24:06WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU, WHAT ARE YOU
24:09GOING TO DO WHEN THE JOURNEY GETS TOUGH?
24:13>> They come to some corner and they're
24:15thinking, "Why did someone put a corner
24:17in my way? It must be how I comb my
24:20hair. It must be my fault. Or it's
24:22because of my family name." Or they come
24:25across some ditch that they fell in and
24:27they did it, but all of a sudden they're
24:29blaming everybody else. Well, you know
24:31why I'm in this ditch? Because I'm from
24:34this culture. I or I don't speak this
24:36language or because I'm of this color.
24:39I'm in this DITCH BECAUSE LISTEN, YOU'RE
24:41IN THE DITCH BECAUSE LIFE IS TOUGH.
24:46>> IT'S THE JOURNEY.
24:49>> EVERYBODY'S GOT SOME BREAKS AND
24:52EVERYBODY'S GOT SOME BREAKUPS.
24:54>> EVERYBODY'S GOT SOME HEELS
24:56>> AND EVERYONE HAS SOME VALLEYS. HELP ME,
24:59HOLY GHOST. HELP ME, HOLY GHOST. I WANT
25:02TO GET THIS THROUGH TO YOU ON THIS LAST
25:05SUNDAY OF 2025.
25:07I'm trying to put SOME SOME GRISTLE IN
25:10YOUR SPIRIT, SOME STEEL AND TINSEL
25:13STRENGTH IN YOUR SPIRIT AS WE ENTER INTO
25:16this month of consecration. Because if
25:18you COME ACROSS SOMETHING THAT happened
25:20unto you that was not good, maybe you
25:23lost your job, maybe your best friend uh
25:26uh has turned against you, maybe a
25:29parent abandoned you, maybe your partner
25:33proved unfaithful, maybe you've gone
25:36through the death of a child, God
25:38forbid. I wish it wasn't always that
25:41big. And many times IT'S NOT. IT'LL
25:44SHOCK you the things that caused people
25:47to get hung up. Maybe it was an affair
25:50that happened in your world. Well, wake
25:52up, drink some coffee, FIND OUT ABOUT
25:55THE CROSS, and walk on BECAUSE THERE'S A
25:58LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE SOME STUMBLES
26:00AND SOME SOME BAD MOMENTS IN THEIR LIFE.
26:05Sometimes people have things happen unto
26:07them and they get hung up there. And for
26:10years over something SOMEBODY SAID 25
26:14YEARS AGO, IT'S STILL DEEP EMBEDDED IN
26:18THEIR SPIRIT AND THEY CAN'T GET IT OUT.
26:20AND THEY GIVE THAT PERSON AUTHORITY TO
26:23STOP THEM BECAUSE THAT PERSON SAID ONE
26:26WORD to them. I want to preach a message
26:29of deliverance TO YOU TODAY. IT'S TIME
26:31FOR YOU TO LAY DOWN THE THINGS THAT ARE
26:34TRYING TO STOP YOU AND SAY, "I'M ON A
26:37JOURNEY. GOD'S GOT SOMETHING FOR ME.
26:48>> They haven't stopped to number their
26:50days."
26:52>> David said, "Teach me, oh Lord,
26:54>> to number my days." Yeah.
26:57>> Oh Lord, I have never honestly I every
27:00year I have purposefully enjoyed the
27:02fullness of that year
27:04>> because when I got to my age where I'm
27:06at right now, I didn't want to have any
27:08regrets looking back. I couldn't afford
27:11to do everything I wanted to do, but I
27:13did most of the things that were good
27:15for me to do. Didn't require a lot of
27:18money. Times that we were broke as a
27:20family and there were several times that
27:23I didn't have anything. My kids will
27:25tell you about those times. We still had
27:27family days. And you know what we did?
27:29We would go to the park down at the end
27:30of Sheridan. And there there's a a a
27:33walk trail that's wooden walk trail. And
27:35we would go to the end of that walk
27:37trail and there's a boat dock down there
27:38in the water. And we would go down there
27:40and the kids would jump on that dock.
27:42And they thought it was the highest
27:44paying family day the world had ever
27:48given. But it was the day daddy couldn't
27:51afford to take him to IMAX. And it was
27:53the day I couldn't take them for family
27:55day to Blockbuster and everybody get one
27:58film and one batch of candy. Those were
28:00the rich days.
28:03>> Oh, some I lost a lot of you. Some of
28:06you don't even know about Blockbuster. I
28:08apologize. I apologize. I can tell you
28:11where they used to be because I was
28:13running there to try to get tapes in
28:15before the deadline.
28:18>> Do I have a witness in the house?
28:26Just because you don't have money
28:27doesn't mean you can't have fun.
28:30Wow.
28:31>> Some of your best days. I remember when
28:33my wife and I was sleeping in the
28:34warehouse there in Margate, 2248 Mirrors
28:38Parkway, and we were sleeping in that in
28:41that and I would listen to W IOD going
28:44to sleep at night. And there was one
28:45guy, he always called the horses every
28:47day, and I would go to sleep at night.
28:49And then Brother Harold would call me,
28:50my mentor, and he'd say, "What you
28:52doing?" And I said, "Well, I'm sleeping
28:53here on this full-size bed, and I got a
28:56little gray radio on my cardboard uh
28:59drawers right here." Drawers. Are they
29:01drawers? It's a dresser. That's what I
29:03better say. People don't really know
29:04what drawers are nowadays. It was an end
29:07table. It was a cardboard end table
29:10where I kept my drawers. And and and it
29:14was all right there. And on top of that
29:16cardboard was my radio and my night
29:19lamp. And uh then a phone was right
29:21there. the gray church phone says,
29:23"Brother, brother Greg knows what I'm
29:24talking about. He talked on that." And
29:26so, Brother Harold would call me. I
29:28didn't have a cell phone. Brother Greg
29:29was the only one in the church had a
29:30cell phone back then. Yeah. Uh, if you
29:33want to know where Rich is, just look at
29:35Greg Leonard right now. I'm telling you
29:37what, right now, he'll hide it. He hides
29:40it real good. Uh, and uh, so I didn't
29:43have a cell phone. Brother Herald would
29:44call me. I would describe it to him and
29:47he'd say to me, he said, "David, you're
29:50living the best years of your life.
29:53You're going to look back at these days
29:55and say they were the sweetest days you
29:58ever had." And me and Melanie would
30:00teach Bible studies, Rich, Rafini, Don,
30:02and Dream, these were the first years so
30:05we could eat during the week. What was
30:07that Italian restaurant at 441 that we
30:10would go to that was just down on the
30:12left that we discovered uh the the early
30:15bird special?
30:17>> It was just beyond commercial where the
30:19bridge is. I don't know. But it was the
30:21first time in my life I ever knew there
30:23was such thing as an early bird special.
30:25But early bird didn't belong to just the
30:28elderly people. I found out that I could
30:30go get an early bird and save some money
30:33and eat fine dates. It wasn't a matter
30:36what I had. It was understanding you're
30:38on a journey. And so even though
30:42EVEN THOUGH IT'S TOUGH, YOU'RE NOT
30:45FORGOTTEN. EVEN THOUGH IT'S BITTER,
30:48YOU'RE NOT FORGOTTEN. EVEN THOUGH IT'S
30:52UPSET AND RUGGED, YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN.
30:55IT'S JUST PART OF the journey.
31:00>> Amen.
31:02Our
31:04text is Elijah.
31:06Elijah. I wish everybody in here was a
31:09Bible reader. You would know the story
31:12of Elijah immediately what I'm talking
31:15about. But Elijah was one of the
31:18greatest prophets in the whole Bible. In
31:21the Old Testament, he was a prophet that
31:24had seven miracles. He had a mentee that
31:26had 14 miracles because Elisha asked the
31:31Lord for a double portion of what Elijah
31:34had. Nobody had been risen from the dead
31:38until Elijah the first time ever raised
31:42someone from the dead by the power of
31:44God. Elijah is the most mentioned by
31:48name prophet in the New Testament. No
31:52prophet comes close to the mentioning of
31:55Elijah in the New Testament. Isaiah is
31:58quoted more, but Elijah is the one whose
32:01name is thrown around the most. Elijah
32:05is in our text having had great success
32:08in his ministry. By that I mean is this
32:12day that we're reading in our text is
32:14right after that great great success.
32:19And Elijah is in a situation. I had this
32:22uh graphic made up. Uh this is a broom
32:25tree. You'll see that is a real broom
32:28tree in Judea. Elijah is depicted here.
32:33And Elijah has heard he has just had
32:37unbelievable unbelievable things happen.
32:40>> There was a great great spiritual
32:43backsliding in Israel and Elijah
32:45couldn't take it. as God's man. He got
32:49up and he preached and he told the
32:51people, "You have done three things. You
32:54have forsaken the covenant of God. You
32:58have thrown down your altars, and you
33:02have you have
33:04killed the prophets."
33:07>> And it was bothering to him. So he said,
33:09"The only thing I can do is I'm going to
33:11go to the king's house." And he went to
33:14Ahab's house and said, "Because you all
33:17are serving Baal." Baal was the god of
33:21rain, the god of the storm. He said,
33:24"Since you all have forsaken the
33:26covenant of God, since you have thrown
33:29down your altars, since you have uh gone
33:32away into this desperate space of
33:36forgetting the ways of God, and in that
33:39third phase, you are killing the
33:41prophets. I'm gonna tell the heavens
33:44that they will not rain and show you
33:47that the God you serve has no power,
33:50that the storm God is a joke. And so he
33:54said in their purpose, HE SAID, "IT
33:56SHALL NOT RAIN UNTIL I SAY IT." And he
33:59left. And he went down to a brook named
34:02Cherith. And there he was sustained. The
34:06brook ran and there was no rain. It kept
34:09running and there was no rain. And the
34:12first Door Dash in history, the ravens
34:16of the heavens came and brought Door
34:19Dash dinner to Elijah every night. He
34:24didn't know where it was coming from.
34:26One night IT WOULD BE CHICK-FIL-A, THE
34:28NEXT NIGHT IT WOULD BE WENDY'S, THE NEXT
34:31DAY SPECIAL FROM PICCADILLI EXPRESS. The
34:34next day he would bring IT FROM PAYWAY.
34:36HE DIDN'T KNOW IF HE WAS HAVING SUSHI
34:38TONIGHT OR STEAK. BUT I'M TELLING YOU
34:41WHAT HE GOT. HE GOT DOOR DASH BY AIR. IT
34:45WAS THE first drone food delivery THAT
34:48HAS EVER EXISTED.
34:50THIS IS why Elijah is so mentioned. He
34:53was a disciple, a disciple of God, a
34:56prophet who said, "It shall not rain in
34:58for three and 1/2 years. IT DID NOT RAIN
35:02in that country. Drought was
35:04everywhere." and they appealed to their
35:06storm god and he could do nothing. I
35:09want to proclaim to you that any god
35:12that this world proposes is real. Being
35:14the god of Muhammad, be it the god of
35:17the Hindus, be it the god of yoga, be it
35:20the god of any religion out there other
35:23than the Lord Jesus Christ. They are a
35:25false god and they will be demonstrated
35:28to be a little god. THEY'RE A GOD. YOU
35:32CAN WORSHIP THEM. YOU CAN SACRIFICE TO
35:34THEM, BUT THEY HAVE NO POWER WHEN IT
35:37COMES TO THE ALMIGHTY.
35:43>> So after three and a half years, Elijah
35:46said, "All right, we're going to call
35:48this thing to an end, but I want you to
35:51get all the power broker go prophets of
35:54Baal and meet me on the top of Mount
35:57Carmel." I could preach all day on this
35:58and I don't have the time. And uh I will
36:01I'll just tell you they prayed and
36:04nothing happened. But Elijah went to the
36:06point of saying go get me barrels of
36:09water. There has been a drought. WATER
36:12IS A PRECIOUS COMMODITY. NOBODY'S
36:15spilling water over. But because he was
36:17the prophet, he got to do it. And they
36:19poured barrels of water over the
36:22sacrifice. And he said, "Let the God who
36:26answers by fire
36:30Y'ALL LIVING IN 2025,
36:33THAT'S STILL THE God of this house.
36:36>> I said it's still the God of this house.
36:41>> THAT THE GOD WHO ANSWERS BY FIRE. And
36:43the fire came down and lapped up every
36:46last drop of the water and burned up
36:49that altar. And they slew 450. Yes, it's
36:53bloody. That's the way it was. I'm not
36:55going to hide it. I'm not going to cover
36:57it up. 450 deaths of false preachers
37:00that way. And so that day after that,
37:04the Bible says that Elijah went up to a
37:07higher part of Mount Carmel, took his
37:10servant with him and said, "Lord, I just
37:12saw your fire,
37:13>> but that's not what we need around these
37:15parts. It's been no, there has been no
37:18rain for three and a half years. I need
37:21rain."
37:22>> And he prayed and nothing happened.
37:25>> And he prayed and nothing happened. And
37:27he prayed and nothing happened. You know
37:29I could preach this thing.
37:31>> AND FOR SEVEN TIMES HE SENT HIS SERVANT
37:34TO THE PEAK OF CARMEL JUST ABOVE WHERE
37:38HE WAS PRAYING. Go look for the sign of
37:40rain. And when his servant came back the
37:43seventh time, he said, "Sir, I can't
37:46tell you much, but there is way off in
37:50the distance a cloud about the size of a
37:55man's hand."
37:58>> AND ELIJAH GOT UP and he said, "TELL THE
38:03KING IT'S going to rain." SO AHAB GOT IN
38:07HIS CHARIOT AND HEADED BACK TO JEZRAEL
38:10TO LET THE KINGDOM know rain was coming.
38:13But the BIBLE SAYS THAT ELIJAH OUTRAN
38:17THE CHARIOT AND HORSES BY THE
38:19SUPERNATURAL AND HE GOT THERE AND found
38:21out it was going to rain. So all of this
38:24has happened. But just about the next
38:26day after the rain has fallen. Uh he has
38:30and I've missed some of the miracles. I
38:31miss the widow of Zerapath who fed him
38:34all those years during the drought with
38:36wa with oil and with flour that would
38:39not cease. I I there's so much in this
38:41but I can't take the time to tell you
38:43about Elijah because right now look at
38:46him. He's not running now, is he? He
38:49took his servant to Jezrael and said you
38:52stay there. I'm go or Beersa, I'm not
38:56sure. He I'm going on to the wilderness.
38:59and he went out to the wilderness and
39:01fell under a broom tree. The King James
39:04calls it a juniper tree, but they're
39:06very hearty. They grow where there's not
39:09hardly any water. And he fell under that
39:12and he said, "Oh God, tomorrow at this
39:16time, Jezebel says that she is going to
39:19kill me." And I've had it. Apparently,
39:24all that I've gone through hasn't been
39:26enough. I've had miracle power.
39:30>> I've seen fire fall.
39:32>> I have outran chariots. I've been fed by
39:36heaven's mana.
39:37>> I have been able to see the prophets of
39:40false doctrine taken from this earth.
39:42And the light Bible said I cannot make
39:47it. And so scripture said that an angel
39:50came and mel built a fire where Elijah
39:55was.
39:57Oh, I can't wait to see this on Heaven's
39:58IMAX.
40:00>> While that angel gather the wood,
40:03>> starts the fire,
40:05and there he warms Elijah,
40:10and he wakes Elijah up, and he said,
40:13"Elijah,
40:15rise and eat."
40:17So Elijah gets up and he eats. And then
40:21he lays back down and goes to sleep
40:23again. The angel doesn't leave him. The
40:27angel stays and he starts cooking again.
40:30>> He makes him some more bread and gets
40:33him some more water and he goes wakes up
40:36Elijah the second time. You think
40:38Elijah's enamored with angels? No. He's
40:40seen fire fall from heaven.
40:42>> An angel's not going to move him. Have
40:44you ever been so down that even if an
40:46angel showed up, you you wouldn't be
40:49sure you could FIND YOUR JOY?
40:53HE'S SO DOWN. HE SAID, "KILL ME, LORD.
40:56I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS." AND TWICE HE
40:59TELLS GOD TWO TIMES THE PROBLEMS THAT
41:02ARE GOING ON. HE SAID, "OH LORD, I CAN'T
41:05TAKE IT BECAUSE YOUR PEOPLE, they have
41:09abandoned the covenant. They have thrown
41:12down their altars and they have killed
41:15the preacher." I want to say that those
41:17same spirits are at foot a foot in
41:20America right now. You say, "How do they
41:23look?" Well, here's how they look. They
41:25want you to break every covenant you
41:27make with God. They want you to not
41:29appreciate days of fasting. They want
41:31you to not value prayer.
41:34They don't want you to value prayer.
41:36They certainly don't want you to
41:37appreciate God's people. They just want
41:40you to think that all of God's people
41:41are hypocrites and frauds and fakes.
41:44They don't want you to appreciate the
41:46house of God. They get you to abandon
41:48the covenant. Second thing after abandon
41:50the covenant is to tear down the altar.
41:55There are people, oh Lord, let it not
41:57be. But there could be people sitting in
41:59this place today that have abandoned the
42:02covenant and you're already abandoning
42:05and tearing down the altar. You have
42:08abandoned the covenant, but you're still
42:09in the house, but you certainly won't
42:12come to the altar because you've already
42:14torn that out of your life. AH, I'M
42:16TALKING ABOUT TEARING DOWN. YOU SAY
42:18THAT'S PROVERBIAL, brother Elms. Yes, it
42:20is. And no, IT'S NOT.
42:22>> THAT PLACE WHERE YOU MEET GOD, TEAR IT
42:26DOWN, SAYS HELL.
42:28>> AND ELIJAH SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY'VE
42:29DONE? THEY'VE ABANDONED THEIR COVENANT.
42:32THEY'RE THROWING DOWN THEIR altars and
42:34they're killing the preacher. That's the
42:36last thing that happens. The next thing
42:38is you start hating the preacher. You
42:40can't stand how he preaches, how long he
42:42preaches, what he preaches. You can't
42:45stand him. And then you don't want to
42:46show it. So you take it out on family.
42:48And so it goes. And they hate the
42:51preacher. And this is why when I travel
42:53many times, I won't tell people that I'm
42:54a pastor. When I'm on a plane, I tell
42:57them I'm in public relations. I'm the PR
42:59business. That's what I do. Why? BECAUSE
43:02THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT KIND OF STUFF
43:05YOU GET THROWN YOUR WAY WHEN YOU TELL
43:07PEOPLE YOU'RE A PASTOR.
43:11>> If the Lord wants TO OPEN THE DOOR,
43:13HE'LL OPEN IT. BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE
43:14BECAUSE I WALK OUT AND SAY, "I'M THE
43:16PROPHET OF GOD."
43:21Because the Bible said when the final
43:23judgment of the Lord happens to his
43:25people, he said, "I will give them a
43:28famine, but it will not be a famine of
43:30bread, nor will it be a famine of water,
43:33but it'll be a famine of hearing the
43:36word of the Lord."
43:37>> The only way God's going to get his word
43:39to you, he will speak through through
43:41prayer, but he's really chosen to speak
43:44through a preacher. That's what really
43:46he's chosen to preach. And so what the
43:48devil does is get you hating preachers
43:50where all they are is a spokesman and
43:52where are you with your love of the
43:54preacher. Huh? If you can't love me,
43:56then please go to a church. Go to a
44:00church where you can fall in love with
44:03that pastor. I beg you, I dismiss you. I
44:07ask you to leave BECAUSE YOU CANNOT BE
44:10SAVED WITHOUT A PREACHER THAT YOU LOVE
44:13WHEN HE GETS THE WORD AND HE STARTS TO
44:15GO THROUGH IT.
44:17PLEASE FIND THAT MAN.
44:20FIND HIM. HE'S STILL GOING TO GET UP in
44:23the morning like any other man. HE'S
44:26STILL GOING TO HAVE MOMENTS THAT YOU'RE
44:28OBSERVING HIS FLESH. But at the end of
44:30the day, IT PLEASED GOD BY THE
44:32FOOLISHNESS OF PREACHING TO SAVE THEM
44:35that believe.
44:38IF I ASK YOU WHAT PREACHER YOU LOVE,
44:41>> IF I ASK YOU WHAT'S THE PREACHER'S NAME
44:44THAT YOU LOVE, COULD YOU TELL ME THAT
44:47NAME?
44:49>> Could you? If you can't, the preacher of
44:52this house is standing before you right
44:54now saying, "Don't love me, but you
44:56better love a preacher. You better FIND
44:58ONE THAT YOU SAY THAT MAN, he's been
45:01walking with God when he walks behind
45:03that pull pit. I know he's prayed. I
45:05KNOW HE'S FASTED. I KNOW HE'S WORKED AND
45:07LABORED IN THE WORD. I KNOW HE'S NOT
45:09JUST TOSSING IT IN AND MAILING IT IN AND
45:13JUST GOING OFF SOME DOWNLOAD. NO, HE'S
45:16BEEN IN THE HOLY GHOST AND HE'S BRINGING
45:18ME A WORD FROM ON HIGH.
45:25Elijah was powerful. Sister Elms, come.
45:28Elijah was powerful, but he laid there.
45:35All he could see was his past. None of
45:38us have a past like him. But all he
45:41could see was his shortfalls, his
45:44shortcomings. And so he told the Lord,
45:47"It is enough. Would you please kill
45:50me?" And the angel touched him a second
45:53time and said, "Rise and eat, Elijah."
45:57He said, "Because your journey is too
46:02great." Now, I know when we see that
46:05through the first glance, we think it's
46:07just because it's too far. But when you
46:10look at the whole narrative of
46:11scripture,
46:13it means so much more than just being
46:16too far. Because Elijah, I know you've
46:19outrun a king's chariot. I know you've
46:22shut up heaven's water works for three
46:24and a half years. I know you've been fed
46:26by a widow from Zarapath. I know her son
46:30died and you laid three times on top of
46:32him and prayed and God raised that son
46:35up. I know you went to the top of Mount
46:38Carmel. I know you removed false
46:42preachers from this earth. I know,
46:44Elijah, that you called down fire from
46:47heaven. I know, Elijah, you prayed and
46:50it began to rain.
46:52>> All of that's amazing, Elijah. But if
46:55you think that's the best part of you,
47:00you have underestimated
47:02your journey.
47:07>> Cathedral. We know where we've been,
47:11but we don't know what's in front of us.
47:14And sometimes all we can think about is
47:17the day we burned the mortgage and the
47:18day we bought the school
47:21>> and the day we had great shoutouts and
47:23we've had great revival and the all
47:25night prayer meetings. We know when we
47:28just went through waves. This house has
47:30swelled up and and has diminished.
47:32Swelled up and diminished. We've had
47:34people leave and come back and leave and
47:37come back. We've had some leave that
47:39aren't back. We t
47:42>> That's right.
47:46AND I FILL THIS PULLPIT EVERY SUNDAY
47:50BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO know
47:53if you underestimate the journey, then
47:56you will want to give up and quit.
48:00And when you stop and look at the rest
48:03of what Elijah had coming,
48:06he thought Jezebel
48:08HAD BEEN THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE HE HAD
48:11EVER RUN INTO.
48:14AND HE SAID, "I JUST WANT TO DIE NOW,
48:16GOD. I would rather you kill me, Lord,
48:20than her kill me.
48:24>> LET ME DIE AT YOUR FEET, LORD."
48:28>> And the angel just cooks and feeds
48:33and cooks and feeds. And then he says to
48:37Elijah,
48:39"Man, I can see it in my mind's eye. I
48:42imagine Elisha was sitting here and the
48:45angel sitting here and he looked at him
48:48probably smiled.
48:53It's been good, Elijah.
48:56But in my mind's eye, I don't even think
48:58the angel looked at him when he said it.
49:01He was just looking at the fire. He
49:04said "Elijah
49:06the journey's
49:08greater
49:09than you can comprehend.
49:12You need Jezebel
49:14to get ready for what is coming.
49:19Because right now, some of my buddies
49:23back home are getting a fiery chariot
49:26out,
49:29saddling or hooking up the horses
49:31because Elijah,
49:33you're never going to die.
49:36You're going to be carried out of here
49:37on a fiery chariot.
49:40And I know you think you've seen the
49:42best,
49:45but you don't understand what's coming.
49:49I can't tell you about this fiery
49:51chariot,
49:53but I can tell you if YOU GO TO A CAVE
49:56and pray,
49:58>> it's all in THE 19TH CHAPTER.
50:00GOD WILL SEND A STRONG WIND THAT'LL
50:02BREAK THE rocks
50:04>> and his voice won't be in it.
50:07>> AND GOD WILL SEND A BIG FIRE AND HIS
50:10VOICE WILL NOT be in it. AND GOD WILL
50:12SEND AN EARTHQUAKE AND HIS VOICE WILL
50:15NOT be in it.
50:16>> But in a
50:19still small voice,
50:22>> I've got to get you ready for something,
50:24Elijah. Because when you get on that
50:27chariot buddy and you let your mantle
50:30fall on Elisha,
50:33when you get to heaven, there's going to
50:35be one man that's at the front of the
50:37line.
50:39You've never met him, but you have a
50:42special assignment with him. When you
50:44get there, Elijah,
50:47at the front of the line will be Moses.
50:50and he's going to walk up to you and
50:51say "Elijah
50:53I'm Moses.
50:56Nice to meet you. We need to go have a
50:59meeting because in just a little while,
51:04we will be called to the Mount
51:05Transfiguration."
51:07And there, the lamb of God will not talk
51:11with Job. He will not talk with Solomon.
51:14He will not talk with Noah. He will not
51:18talk with Adam. He will not talk with
51:22Isaiah. He will not talk with Habach. He
51:26will not talk with Esther. There's only
51:30two that he's going to talk with. He's
51:34going to have to talk with you, Moses,
51:37and with you, ELIJAH.
51:39WHAT DO WE GOT TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT? YOU
51:42GOT TO TALK to him about the things
51:45concerning the cross.
51:48What do we know about that?
51:50Well, Moses, you knew about bringing the
51:53people out of Egypt.
51:57When the people got out of Egypt, then
51:59they became backsliden in their own
52:00hearts.
52:02THEY WERE IN CANAAN LAND, BUT BACKSLID.
52:05AND THAT'S WHY you need to be there,
52:07Elijah, because when you're there,
52:09you're going to talk to them about when
52:12you brought an exodus of revival out of
52:14the church that was backsliden.
52:18Because he has one last Exodus. He's
52:22going to take the church out of the
52:24world.
52:26>> He's going to lead captivity captive.
52:30I've got so many more preparations that
52:32I will not touch, but I just want to let
52:35you know everything you're go have gone
52:38through,
52:40if you think the one thing you're going
52:41through right now is the worst thing
52:44you've ever been through, I just want
52:46you to say, don't underestimate
52:49your journey
52:51>> because that which is before is greater
52:55than that which is behind.
52:57Paul looked at the church and said, "Do
52:59you not know you're fussing over this
53:02and you're forgetting your prayers over
53:04that and you're you're coming to
53:06communion and your heart's not right?
53:09Many are sickly among you because you
53:11take it without rot right
53:14understanding."
53:15He said, "Do you not understand you're
53:17going to judge angels?"
53:21Paul said, "This present challenge that
53:24you've got, this light
53:29affliction
53:34workketh a far
53:36more weighty
53:39reward
53:41in glory." Shall we stand?
53:47I'm going to open this altar
53:49and I want you to come and recalibrate
53:53what you think of your storm.
53:56I want you to come and drag all of those
54:00things that have made you feel like
54:02you're abandoned. Bring all of those
54:05things that you feel like God forgot
54:09your address.
54:11I want you to pull up with you all that
54:14bitterness of that one person who
54:17mishandled you. Some of you need to
54:20bring that pastor up that you still
54:23cannot get over. You need to bring him
54:25up to this platform and you need to put
54:28him on the altar because what you have
54:31in front of you is far more important
54:35than anything you've been through. What
54:38is coming is much more dynamic. It is
54:42much more anointed. It is much more
54:45weighty. It is much more glorious. Do
54:48you know there's a rapture ahead of us?
54:51Do you know that it's possible that we
54:53will not meet death ourselves?
54:56Do you know that it's possible that
54:58we're going to be the one that has to go
55:00and stand with the lamb in some age to
55:03come? I'm not saying WE'RE ELIJAH. I'M
55:06JUST SAYING YOU CAN UNDERESTIMATE YOUR
55:10journey and get pulled from moving on
55:14because hell gets you to abandon the
55:17covenant.
55:18Throw down the altar and kill the
55:23preacher.
55:25Lift your voice to the Lord right now.
55:28Carry your thoughts and your heart to
55:30him. Oh Lord, I don't want anything to
55:33keep me from consecration.
55:35I don't want anything to keep me from
55:37reconsecrating to you, oh Lord, as we're
55:40about to enter into 2026.
55:43I'm not going to abandon my covenant.
55:46I'm not going to forsake the promises
55:48that I've made unto you. I'm not going
55:50to forget about the the vows that I made
55:54to you. I'm not going to abandon those
55:57promises that you gave that are yes and
55:59they are amen. I'm not going to
56:01backslide. I'm not going to say my best
56:04years were in the 70s or my best years
56:07were in the 80s or no, I'm tired of what
56:10happened in 2020. I'm tired of what's
56:13happening in the nation. Oh Lord, oh
56:16God, all of the political upheaval, the
56:19racial strife, all of these problems