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,
Post Office Box 260, Lindale, Texas, 75771, or
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Taking back control of your life.
Now, I believe God fully intends that we
have full control of our lives through the
power and the might of the Holy Ghost.
Not that we're in control, but the Holy
Ghost in us helps us control our lives.
The Bible said our life is to be
ordered by the Lord.
David said those who trust in the Lord
will not be confused.
They won't be confounded.
They won't live in confusion.
Now, your life is not under control if
you're being victimized by a spirit of fear,
or if you have a spirit of lust
on you that's driving you.
If you are under despondency or depression, if
you're under a stronghold of feeling worthless, unwanted,
you're bombarded with thoughts of giving up and
running from everything, that means your life is
not under control.
I pray this morning that the Holy Ghost
will cause you, your spirit, your mind, and
your body, everything in you, to rise up
this morning as you hear this word challenging
your heart.
I want to show you how one of
the most powerful godly men in all the
Bible lost control of his life for a
season, and I want to show you how
he got it back.
And in looking at Elijah's life, we're going
to understand how we lose control and how
we can gain back that control.
Hallelujah.
Now, you know the story very well of
Elijah on Mount Carmel, but let me give
you just a little thumbnail sketch of it,
just a little background for the message.
You remember he called Ahab together the 450
prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of
the goddess Asherah to the top of Mount
Carmel, and there was going to be a
contest.
Now, folks, the contest on Mount Carmel never
was between Elijah and Jezebel.
Jezebel was full of the devil.
Elijah was full of God.
This battle always was and always will be
between God and the devil.
That's what the battle was.
Who is worthy of worship?
Who is going to be in control of
mankind?
This was the battle that was going to
be staged.
And you remember how the Holy Ghost came
down, the Spirit of God came down and
consumed the sacrifice on Elijah's altar that he
built and licked up the 12 barrels of
water that a servant had set on it.
And then as the people saw the fire
fall, they fell, all those who were torn
between two opinions, between Baal and Asherah and
Jehovah God.
They were torn between two opinions.
They'd been told, choose this day whom you
will serve.
And now, this awesomeness of God coming down,
they fall on their face prostrate and they
said, Jehovah is God.
And in a rage for having been so
fooled and exposed to this idolatry that was
worthless and it kept them under such bondage
and captivity, in a rage they went with
Elijah to the brook Kidron and slew 850.
All of them were slain.
And then, of course, you remember the story
of this powerful man of God going, he
tells Ahab, get ready for rain.
He goes up in the mountain and this
man single-handedly preys down a mighty thunderstorm.
The Spirit of God comes on him and
he runs ahead of Ahab's chariot, 16 miles.
I don't know how an old man can
run ahead of a horse running full speed.
I don't know how any man could do
that unless the Spirit of God was on
him.
He goes to Jezreel where Ahab's palace is
and Jezebel, of course, is waiting.
And this man of God doesn't even go
into Jezreel, he waits outside the gate.
And Ahab goes into the palace and he's
saying, Jezebel, you have got to hear what
happened today.
And she said, well, I want to know
because all my priests, Baal and Asherah, have
followed you to that mountain.
What happened?
He said, they're all dead.
You should have seen it.
The fire came down right out of heaven,
consumed.
That man put 12 barrels of what he's
explaining all this to Jezebel.
And up to this point, Elijah is sitting
outside the gate of Jezreel.
And I don't know what he's thinking.
Now, we know he's a man of like
passions according to James.
He's a man who's subject to like passions
just like you and I are.
So this man was not God, he was
human.
But he represents where many of us are
right now, outside the gate of Jezreel, in
full control.
This man has called fire out of heaven.
This man is holy.
There's not an impure thought in his mind.
This man is righteous.
This man has prevailing power with God in
prayer.
This man is sitting there outside the gate
with great expectation that God's going to finish
the work that he'd begun.
That idolatry is going to come down.
That finally God is going to prevail.
And God has used me.
God has used me because after all, I'm
the only one left in all of Israel
that's jealous for God's glory.
Everybody else has failed.
I'm the only one left.
And he's sitting there thinking this and maybe
just going over all the manifestations of God's
power he's seen in his lifetime.
But I think there's something else in his
mind.
He's sitting there to see, he's curious, how
is God going to finish the work?
How is God going to fulfill what he
promised me?
And he's sitting there saying, I wonder if
there's going to be riots on the streets.
He's waiting.
I'm sure he sent his servant in a
few times.
Anybody making any noise?
Anybody on the streets?
Where are all these people who killed the
prophets and saw the fire of God?
They're back.
Where are they?
Why aren't they moving against the palace?
Why aren't they throwing Jezebel out the window?
He's waiting.
And there's no report.
He's thinking, well, they're going to need me
here.
They're going to need a prophetic voice as
soon as this erupts.
I've got to be here.
He's feeling very important that he's the only
one, very, very different and strange and powerful
and mighty in God.
And you know, he's sitting there waiting for
this miracle to happen.
Now, folks, I want to tell you your
most vulnerable point in your life.
The most vulnerable time in our life is
when right after we have experienced mighty victories
in prayer, in renting souls and being close
to God, feeling his presence and something mighty
and beautiful has happened.
That's when you're most vulnerable to the enemy
to come.
I want you to get that as your
first lesson and get it good in your
heart right now.
I know that many pastors and evangelists and
many people in the pew that have been
used of God have become smug, thinking they
have finally come to a place in God
that they're above being attacked, that if it
is an attack, they know how to handle
it and everything is fine.
And there's a smugness.
And the enemy came in at that smug
moment.
The enemy came in and many of them
fell because they were not prepared, nor was
Elijah prepared at this time.
An angry devil moved in at the first
sign of smugness and he injected some kind
of spiritual pride.
That was in Elijah.
He said, God, I have been very jealous
for the Lord God of hosts.
For the children of Israel have forsaken the
covenant.
They've thrown down your altars.
They've slain the prophets with the sword.
And I even, I alone am left and
they seek my life to take it away.
He said, I'm the only one left God.
And I'm here to see that you finish
your job and you do everything you promised
me to bring down idolatry.
You see the two battles in this story.
There's a battle on Mount Carmel and there's
a personal battle.
And it's the personal battle I want to
focus on.
Up on Mount Carmel, there's a battle between
God and the church, so to speak.
That's the corporate body of the heavenly father.
That's the church.
And this battle up there is the kind
of battle that most of us are engaged
in.
And it's an easier battle than the one
Elijah is about to face.
You see that corporate battle is the battle
of the devil against morals.
It has to do with abortion.
It has to do with taking God out
of our schools, out of our government.
It's flaunted homosexuality.
And you know, many are involved in that
battle.
They like to see the fire come down
and consume the enemy.
Folks, there's nothing wrong with demonstrating.
There's nothing wrong with petitioning.
There's nothing wrong in prayer meetings and vigils
and prayer vigils to bring down the strongholds
and bring the fire of God down and
the judgment of God against sin.
That's one battle and that's a corporate battle.
That's fine.
But there's another battle, and that's when the
devil does not come after the church, but
he comes after you.
He comes after you as an individual because
you have made an impact in the kingdom
of God and you've made an impact and
shaken hell.
And here is Satan saying, I may have
lost the battle for the church, but I'm
going after God's man.
I'm going after God's servant.
And you're going to see as the story
unfolds that you can have great victories and
be very effective against the powers of hell
and then go home and face a mad
devil.
Jezebel is a spirit.
It's still at work in the world and
especially in the church of Jesus Christ in
these last days.
It's a spirit of seduction, not just physical
seduction.
That's juvenile.
The real seduction is to try to rob
the church of the pure worship given to
the father.
The Jezebel spirit is any spirit that comes
to sidetrack people and get them involved in
anything but true holy worship.
And this is the battle that Elijah is
about to face.
You know who Jezebel is?
It's the devil in drag.
It's a man dressed as a woman.
A devil.
Camouflaged.
Coming to distort and corrupt true worship.
Now, Elijah's personal battle begins right here at
the gate.
You see, Jezebel doesn't repent because devils can't
repent.
They're reprobates.
There are some people that can't repent because
they've sold themselves out to the devil.
She listens and her face turns red with
anger.
And suddenly the devil rises up in her.
And it's the devil speaking.
And I know what she's saying.
I may have lost my priest.
And this is the devil thinking in her.
I was put to an open shame.
By the way, where did that happen before?
I mean later.
At the cross of Jesus.
Put to an open shame.
It's a crippling blow to my plans to
lose all these priests.
I may have lost the affection and worship
of many of the people of God that
I expected.
That battle's ended.
So I'm going now and focus all my
attention on this man who's caused all this
havoc in my kingdom.
I'm going after Elijah.
I don't care what else happens.
If anything else, I'm going to get that
man.
And Elijah's sitting there.
This man's holy.
He's pure.
He's righteous.
He's in control of all of his circumstances.
He's in control of his emotions.
He's high.
He's exulting in the Lord.
He just feels great.
God has done one of the greatest things
I've ever seen in my lifetime.
And suddenly he looks up and there's a
messenger of Satan looking down at him with
a frown.
Ahab said, Jezebel, you should have seen all
the lies you've done about how he had
slain all the prophets with the sword.
You know what that man, that messenger of
Satan, here's what it says.
So let the gods do to me and
more also if I do not make your
life as the life of one of them
by tomorrow at this time.
Here's the messenger of Satan saying, you're a
dead man.
You're marked from this time on.
You've done enough damage.
You're a 24-hour slave.
You're dead meat.
You've had it.
Now, first of all, she swears by her
gods that had just been exposed as useless.
Right?
So had nothing to fear about their gods.
She is saying, look, and this is the
devil speaking, you holy man, you man who
say you're sent from God.
It's all right to stand up there when
I'm trying to destroy morals and I'm trying
to get at the church.
Let's see how you stand when I come
against you.
Beloved, God allowed this personal challenge, this personal
battle for a reason.
It's the same reason that every godly, dedicated
believer goes through this same battle.
It's one thing to stand against the workers
of iniquity.
That's human beings.
It's another thing to come face to face
with an angry devil who is out to
try to get at you.
You see, when you hear about the wicked
forces in the United States killing babies, something
tells you that the devil is working against
the whole body of Christ.
He's working against the morals of our young
people.
When you hear of homosexuality being exalted and
it's flaunted, you know the devil is trying
to get at the morals of our kids.
And you see that, that it's much different
when the devil focuses everything upon you with
lies and fear.
You see, Elijah didn't stop to think that
there are chariots of fire around about him.
He didn't stop to think that the same
God who was on that mountain could help
him through his personal battles.
See, the devil didn't want to kill Elijah.
That's sending them to heaven.
Can you imagine the devil?
You see, we hear a lot of people,
Christians, saying the devil is out to kill
me.
He's not out to kill you.
Can you imagine the devil going to a
Christian philosopher and saying, Aha, look, another one
I sent to heaven.
The devil doesn't want to kill any Christians.
He doesn't want to affect your diet.
He wants to get to your living.
He wants to make you miserable.
He wants you to panic.
He wants you to live in fear and
bondage and depression.
That's the only chance he has.
He knows for many of you he can't
get at your salvation.
He can't touch your soul and your spirit.
Full of God and full of the Holy
Ghost.
So he's going to come and try to
scare you with lies.
With images he's going to roar at you,
though that roar is empty.
And this poor man, God bless him, he
panics.
You know, the devil knows that worshippers are
in control.
And the only way he can spin your
life out of control is to rob you
of your worship.
To get you so downhearted, get you feeling
so empty, so useless, that you can't worship
God anymore because you feel unworthy even to
come into his presence.
And 24 hours later you find him on
the way out in the wilderness, a day's
journey, and he's sitting on a juniper tree
and he's saying, That's enough.
I have had it.
Look in verse 19.
1 Kings 19, chapter 19, verse 4.
Speaking of Elijah, well, verse 3.
And when he saw that, or when the
messenger of Satan delivered that message, he arose
and went for his life.
And he came to Beersheba, which belongs to
Judah, and left his servants there.
He said, Look, I just won't be left
alone.
Have you ever said that?
I just won't be left alone.
I'm going through a battle, just leave me
alone.
That's what he is saying here.
But he himself went a day's journey into
the wilderness and came and sat down under
a juniper tree and he requested for himself
that he might die.
Now that's strange language from a man who's
running for his life.
This man's running for his life, the scripture
says.
He's trying to save his life and now
he's out under a juniper tree saying, Lord,
I don't want to live anymore.
Strange talk.
He requested for himself that he might die.
And he said, It is enough.
Now, O Lord, take away my life, for
I'm not better than my father's.
Have you been there?
Look at me now.
Have you been under that juniper tree?
Suddenly the enemy came in.
And first of all, he wants you to
think you were unholy.
Now get this picture, please.
The devil attacks a holy man without anything
in his life to touch.
Only simply because he had a zeal for
God and he brought down the strongholds of
Satan himself.
This man was effective, powerful, prevailing.
And yet he's being attacked by the devil.
Personally attacked by Satan.
Next time the devil tries to tell you
you're under attack because there's something deep in
you that the devil sees and he's just
calm, attracted to that sin that's in you,
remember this story and remember it well.
Confusion has set in on this man.
He's sitting on this juniper tree and he
said, I've had enough.
I can't take it anymore.
Lord, I want to die.
Now, come on, every one of you said
that at one time or another.
I've had it.
Some of you said it yesterday.
Some of you said it this morning.
Don't look at me like that.
You're standing there, poor Elijah.
No.
All of these, all of these Old Testament
stories of Scripture said are meant for our
teaching.
Upon examples, upon us, upon whom the ends
of the world have come.
Even their blessings and all their trials are
given to us so we can learn their
lessons.
Enough, Lord.
I'm going to tell you again, the devil's
not trying to kill you, he's trying to
make you miserable.
Now, Jeremiah, remember, experienced the same great battle.
Would you go to Jeremiah 20?
Hold 1 Kings 19, go to Jeremiah the
20th chapter.
There's another great holy man of God, a
great prophet of God.
Not an unclean thought in his life.
I mean, this man is righteous before God.
Start with verse 11.
Jeremiah 20.
Are you there?
If you're there, say amen.
Well, then why all the rustling of the
leaves here?
Verse 11.
But the Lord is with me as a
mighty terrible one.
Now, here's a man in control, it sounds
like, doesn't it?
Therefore, my persecutors shall stumble.
They shall not prevail.
They shall be greatly ashamed, for they shall
not prosper.
Their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
Now, that sounds like a man, he's saying,
I have a mighty terrible God with me.
My persecutors, my enemies are going to stumble.
Well, look now at verse 14.
Cursed be the day.
He's under the juniper tree.
Cursed be the day wherein I was born.
A man had just said the Lord terrible
and mighty is with him.
Let not the day wherein my mother bare
me be the blessed.
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to
my father saying, A man child is born
unto thee, making him very glad.
Someone came out, nurse said, you got a
boy.
Jeremiah said, cursed is that man who told
my father that I was a boy.
Cursed the day I was born.
Cursed the man who told my dad I
was born.
And let that man be as the cities
which the Lord overthrew and repented not.
He's angry at that man for announcing his
birth.
And let him hear the cry in the
morning and the shouting at noontime.
Because he slew me not from the womb.
He said, that man shouldn't have come and
told my dad he's a boy.
He should have taken a knife and killed
me.
Cursed is that man for not killing me.
Or that my mother might have been my
grave.
That my mother might have been my grave.
I didn't see that before.
He said, I wish I had died in
the womb was what he's saying.
And her womb to be always great with
me.
In other words, I wish I had never
come out of the womb.
Wherefore came I forth out of the womb
to see labor and sorrow that my days
should be consumed with shame.
Holy man of God.
Why didn't they kill me when I was
born?
Why didn't I stay in the womb?
And then he goes on to say, oh
Lord, you've deceived me.
And I was deceived or fooled.
You're stronger than I am and you prevailed.
I'm in derision every day and everyone mocks
me.
He said, God, I have to do your
will because you're stronger than I am.
What am I going to do?
You tell me to prophesy and I prophesy
and it doesn't happen.
Everybody's mocking, making a fool of me.
God, I want to die.
He was what kind of man was he?
Holy man.
He's under attack of hell.
Now, I want to stop here and I
want to from now on the rest of
my message.
I want to speak only to a specific
group of people here this morning.
I want to speak to those who are
walking in holiness and righteousness before the Lord.
You're not perfect, but you're striving and you
have a hunger for God.
You know at the best of your ability,
you're walking in the power of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
You're full of the Holy Spirit.
Let me tell you, it's possible for you
to have a season when things go out
of control, spin out of control.
There comes a time right in the midst
of all of that blessing, the enemy will
come at you for that very reason.
Because of the blessing and the anointing and
what you've done to his kingdom.
Now, we all know the drug addicts, alcoholics,
the wicked out in the streets.
We know their life is out of control.
They live with restlessness.
These girls from Anna House can tell you
what it was like before Jesus came in
and many of you do.
It was out of control, completely out of
control.
But there are many godly people who are
running from the devil.
They're not in control.
They're right now under guilt.
Right now feeling down and depressed and worthless.
Now folks, like I said, most of us
don't need a message on how to stand
up and not run.
There are many scriptures the Bible said stand,
stand firm, stand strong, put on the whole
armor of God, withstand the enemy.
Many of those.
There are few of us here this morning
could say as Nehemiah did, should such a
man as I run?
I'm a man of God and might go
to run.
And not many Christians can say that because
you already ran.
You already have been under attack.
You're where Elijah and Jeremiah were.
You did run.
You've said, I want to die.
I've had enough.
Now, the issue I want to talk about
is not how to stop, how to quit
from the starting to run.
I want to show you how to stop
running and how to get control back in
your life.
Now, you can take control back from the
devil.
You can take the ground again that you've
lost and reclaim it.
And I want to show you how Elijah
did it.
And I don't see any other way.
Now, folks, listen to me.
I am not preaching theology this morning.
I walked and prayed, walked and prayed over
every one of these points that I'm going
to bring, every one of these teaching points
I want to bring to you now, the
next 15 minutes or so.
God worked them into my soul.
God said, David, here's how you're going to
take back all the ground.
Here's how you're going to learn to stand.
And the Holy Spirit birthed this in my
heart.
And I want you to listen because I
know God, by His Spirit, speaking to so
many here.
First of all, if you're going to take
back control of your life, you must keep
in mind that God is with you even
in your running.
He is with you all through the attack.
He doesn't leave you.
He doesn't forsake you.
Do you know what God did when this
man is sitting under a juniper tree and
he's sleeping because he's so numb?
Do you know you can be so numb
under attack that you just want to sleep?
Do you know God looks down at this
running man, this man who's in despondency and
despair and feeling that, well, why did I
run?
He's having afterthoughts, I'm sure.
Why did I run?
And he's sitting here in this despair.
And you know what God does?
He sends him an angelic chef and butler.
You don't believe that?
Well, look at it.
It's right here, verse 5.
And as he lay and slept under a
juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him
and said unto him, Arise and eat.
And he looked and behold, there was a
cake baking on the coals and a cruise
of water at his head.
The angel was a butler and a cook.
He did eat and drink and he laid
him down again.
This man can't do anything but sleep.
The angel of the Lord came again the
second time and touched him and said, Arise
and eat.
There's another meal.
Because the journey is too great for thee.
Have you ever had a meal so nutritious
it lasted 40 days and 40 nights?
Some cook.
Some meal that was.
40 days.
He went in the strength of that meal,
the scripture says.
You know, I believe I know what the
Lord told the angel.
The father took the angel aside and was
assigned to go to minister to Jeremiah.
And I know what he said.
I think he said something like this.
Now, be patient with him.
He's hurting.
Now listen, folks, this is for you.
He's hurting.
He's confused.
He's full of questions.
He thinks he wants to die, but he
really wants to live.
He thinks he's failed me.
The devil's lying to him.
He's under attack.
He's feeling guilty.
He feels useless.
He's at the end of his rope.
But I still love him.
I've got much more kingdom work for him
to do.
I'm going to awaken his spirit soon.
But meanwhile, feed him good, refresh him, wake
him up, and walk him through the desert.
Hallelujah.
And tell Elijah, the journey is too great
for him.
I thank God the angel said that.
And that was God speaking, folks, because the
journey is too great for any of us.
The journey is too much for you.
You can't handle it.
Why don't you learn it now and quit
trying to figure it all out?
How am I going to make it?
You can't make it unless the angel of
the Lord camps around about you.
And God gives you strength.
And, folks, that's the word of God.
Here it is.
Go eat and drink, and you'll find the
strength you need through this trial.
Here it is.
This is better than an angel.
This is the very word of his own
heart.
And he said, this is the meat that
you eat, and this is the drink that
you drink, and it's the strength.
It doesn't last 40 days.
For me, it's lasted years.
I almost walked right into that.
You know what I did this past week?
I totally assured myself that no matter what
I go through, that he's not going to
forsake me.
That he's right there, and he's ministering to
me.
I may not be able to see it,
but, oh, folks, even in your hardest trial,
you'll see little things that God does for
you.
Just little nice things that God does for
you to refresh you.
This message is one of those things.
He's not mad at you.
I'm better than an angel.
God said he made me higher than the
angels.
The word.
I am preaching it.
I'm preaching my heart out.
Number two.
Listen close.
Taking back control requires dealing with the Lord's
still small voice, asking you the same question
he asked Elijah.
What are you doing here hiding out?
This is the end of side one.
And what he's saying is, like, how long
are you going to let the devil lie
to you?
How long do you let this go on?
When do you wake up and say, enough
of this running, enough of this foolishness?
What are you doing to yourself, Elijah?
Wake up.
It's time to take a stand.
It's time to fight back.
It's time to get control.
What are you doing in this condition?
That's what the still small voice of the
Lord is saying to you right now.
What are you doing living with this kind
of fear?
What are you living with this sense of
worthlessness?
Why?
What are you doing hiding here?
You're hiding out.
Why?
And he gives the Lord.
The Lord asked it two times.
The first time he said, well, Lord, it's
because they've killed all the prophets and slain
them with the sword, and I'm the only
one left, and they're trying to kill me.
Don't you understand?
He's saying to God.
And God didn't understand because he wasn't telling
the whole truth.
And so he asked him again because he's
trying to get to the real issue.
And it's the real issue that you have
to deal with this morning and hear it
in your spirit.
Holy Ghost gave it to me.
Listen.
What God was trying to get him to
say in all honesty is, God, you let
the devil get to me and harass me
and take away my joy and my rest,
and you let him put a fear on
me, and I didn't deserve that kind of
treatment.
I've been holy before you.
I was obedient.
I did everything you told me to do,
and you let Jezebel loose on me.
All my praying, my faith, my preaching, my
obedience, my devotion to you, Lord, and all
I get out of it is the biggest
battle in my life.
And he's paved.
God struck my soul with a sword of
love.
And he said, that's you, and that's my
people.
When you go about your way doing God's
work, giving your whole heart and energy, and
then you fall under attack.
It can be physical.
The devil can rob you of peace, rest.
It can just come because there's something happening
here in the spirit world.
And you run, and you're in panic, and
you have all of these fears in your
mind, and the Lord comes to you and
says, now, let's talk sense.
Why are you so down?
Why are you in panic?
Why do you have this sense of being
worthless to me and to anybody else?
What's the real problem behind it?
It's, God, I don't deserve an attack from
the enemy when I was trying so hard
to please you.
Now, folks, deal with it.
In your spirit right now, that's the only
way you're going to take control again by
the Holy Ghost, is to see how little
peeved you are.
Oh, you're not mad at the majestic God,
you're mad at the personal God.
You're mad at the personal dealings with the
Lord.
Why, Lord, must I have this season of
confusion?
Why must I be dealt with in this
manner when I have totally given my heart
to you?
My spirit is free in you.
I'm not a liar, I'm not a cheat,
I'm not an adulterer.
Why?
See, he's standing on this issue, I'm holy,
I'm the only one fighting for you, and
he didn't tell God to rest.
Well, God did everything to be a servant
to you, and now look at you, I've
allowed in my life.
And when you get that out of your
system, when you get that out and say,
Yes, Lord, I don't understand it, because this
prophet is sitting in that cave, his head
between his knees, and he's saying, I don't
understand.
I do not understand this.
I was so close to the answer, it
looked like total victory, and now I have
this season of confusion, everything of hell coming
at me.
I don't understand it.
God gets beyond me.
You see, you could be a housewife, and
you'd be sitting here this morning, you're down
and out, and you say, Lord, all my
life, all my Christian walk, I've tried to
do my best for you and my family.
I've raised my children the best I know
how, and I've tried to seek you, and
I love you with all my heart.
I try to get to all the meetings,
and I read my Bible, and now, Lord,
why do you allow the devil to come
against me and try me so powerfully?
And does my diligence and my love for
you and my walk with you, does that
not mean anything?
Does that not merit you keeping me from
such a battle?
Hmm.
Hallelujah.
But you see, God has...
Here's the real bottom line.
I don't like that word, that phrase, bottom
line.
Here's the real issue, the heart of the
issue.
What we're saying in so many words is...
And listen, please.
Give me your Holy Ghost attention.
What we're saying in so many words is,
Lord, I'm not in this to learn more
lessons.
I'm tired of learning lessons.
I'm here on this earth simply to do
your will, win victories for you, reach souls,
and go home to glory.
You see, that's the whole thing.
We're tired of learning lessons.
I'm tired.
I say, oh, no, not another lesson.
God, I'm...
I'm going to tell you again, but I'm...
At this time in my life, at this
age in my life, Lord, is there never
a time you just sit back and the
devil's defeated and you...
No more battles and you can just go
to heaven singing hallelujah.
God has a different idea and it's this.
When you learn how to resist the devil,
he'll flee from you.
Because the Bible says, resist the devil and
he'll flee from you.
You know what most people interpret that as?
They start railing against the devil.
You old dirty devil!
And they try to curse the devil and
they yell at him, they scream at him,
and they shake people, or I suppose before
the devil trying to shake the demons out.
I've been in meetings and there...
I heard one group, they were yelling the
demons away.
They were screaming, hallelujah, scare the devils away.
The devils must get a laugh out of
that.
That is foolish.
No, the Lord is saying, when you learn
how to properly resist him so that he'll
flee from you, and you're not going to
learn how to resist him until I let
him come at you.
The very fact the scripture says, resist the
enemy, stand up against the enemy, suggests that
an enemy is coming at you.
For example, those medical snake canners that get
the juice out of those rattlesnakes for medicinal
purposes, you know how they're trained?
They go into the snake pit and they
learn not to fear the snake.
And the only way they can get rid
of the fear of the snake or the
rattles is to go in there and learn
how to operate and know their devices and
their moves.
And they're trained, not outside the pit, looking
in and say, you see, don't touch that
one over there.
No, they walk into the pit.
God said, I'm going to take you into
the pit, face to face with the devil,
so you learn how to resist him, so
you know that his war has no power,
he's defeated.
You know, Michael, the archangel, says, had to
contend for the body of Moses.
The devil wanted, when Moses died, the devil
came to claim it.
And you know what he wanted to do?
He wanted to put, inject into thoughts of
the leaders of Israel to build a great
big tomb and build a monument and get
all the people to worship the body of
Moses.
And so God sent the archangel.
Nobody knows where the body was because Michael,
the archangel, took it away.
And the Scripture says, yet Michael, the archangel,
while contending with the devil, he disputed about
the body of Moses.
But he dared not bring against Satan a
raiding accusation, but he said, the Lord rebuke
thee.
And you know what happened?
Michael has not one iota fear of the
devil.
The devil comes at him and he said,
look, I'm on an assignment.
This is Michael speaking.
I'm on an assignment.
I don't have time to talk to you.
I don't have time to sit and jab
and waste arguments with you.
The Lord take care of you.
I was in what they call a deliverance
meeting years ago, and everybody's excited because they're
talking to demons, talking to devil.
Folks, you don't give him the time of
day.
The Lord takes care of him.
The Lord rebuke you.
I'm on an assignment for God.
I'm not going to worry about you.
The Lord take care of you.
You may try to attack and everything else,
but folks, don't stop and argue with the
devil.
Don't talk to the devil.
Say, the Lord rebuke you.
All right, finally, most important, you are in
control when you begin to acknowledge and understand
why God allowed you to endure such a
personal, grievous battle.
You've got to understand why he did it.
First of all, he was trying to get
you devil proof.
Now, that doesn't mean you won't be attacked
again, but you will have been trained, and
there's a reason for it, because he's trying
to open up greater doors of service.
He's trying to prepare you.
He's trying to prepare you for greater service.
And secondly, he's been preparing you for greater
anointing.
Now, the word of the Lord comes to
this man.
I want to show you something about this
man.
Verse 15.
1 Kings 19, verse 15.
Before I read that, look at me, please.
Some of you right now, you're going through
the greatest battle you've ever had in your
life, and I don't know who I'm talking
to.
You're going through the greatest attack, and you're
really under the fire, under the gun, and
you don't realize, you've got to stop.
And I'll tell you, this hit me yesterday
afternoon while I was praying over this message,
and I was writing as the Spirit was
leading me, and it hit me.
God said so clearly, the Holy Ghost said,
once you understand why you're going through this,
once you understand the real purpose of it
and why God allows it, then you have
taken back all the ground that you've lost.
You are in control by the power of
the Holy Ghost.
You understand it.
First of all, He's trying to strengthen you,
because when you go out in these last
days, there's going to be a devil come
down this earth having great wrath.
And He's got to have a body of
people that have faced off with Him, that
have been strengthened against Him, know His devices,
and are not afraid of Him.
There's no fear in their heart anymore.
They'll never run again.
Elijah would never run again.
In fact, he came back later to Ahab,
remember, in Naboth's vineyard.
He came back and prophesied the downfall of
the kingdom.
And some of you that are going through
it, and I'm going to close very shortly,
some of you that are going through it
don't know that the battle you're in right
now has been preparing you for greater service.
And the devil's been trying to tell you
that you're useless, worthless, and of no value
to God's kingdom or to anybody.
And if you'll just stop and take God's
Word into your heart right now, I'm telling
you that He's preparing you for something greater
than you've ever known, of effectiveness in your
home, with people, friends, family, and in the
kingdom of God.
Now, I want you to look at verse
15.
And the Lord said unto him, Go, return.
That's the message of the Holy Ghost right
now.
Get up and get back to work.
Go and do what I tell you now.
Return on the way to Damascus, and when
thou comest, anoint Hazael.
And look, folks, look at the next verse.
There's three anointings.
Anoint Hazael, anoint Jehu, anoint Elijah.
He has power to anoint leaders.
He's sending him to Samaria.
He's sending him to other places, and he
says, I'm giving you this cup of oil,
and I want you to go anoint here,
anoint here, and anoint here.
There's a fresh anointing on this man, and
he's now raising up something mighty in God
that's going to change the world.
Now, the control is coming back to this
man because he has a mission.
God has finally shown it to him.
Folks, when you realize that the only hold
the devil has on you is this fear,
this fear, and it's not from God, and
if God didn't give it to you, you
don't have to put up with it.
You can, in the name of the Holy
Ghost, shake that off today in an act
of faith and say, I'm not going down.
God's taking me further into his kingdom.
He's going to give me a fresh anointing
from heaven.
He's going to use me.
I like this part, and here's where I
end.
So he departed from that place, that cave.
He said, that's it.
Hallelujah.
He didn't have to shed a river of
tears.
He didn't have to go to the closet
and pray for another seven times.
He heard the word of the Lord.
As you're hearing it right now, and I'm
telling you right now, get up.
Get up out of that despair.
Get up out of that depression.
Get up out of that fear.
Get up out of that bondage and depart
from your cave.
God's going to use you, and the moment
you get up and walk out, the anointing
will flow.
Stand, please.
Hallelujah.
Lord, we're not going to run from Jezebel.
We're not going to live with fear and
bondage.
I smite that spirit in Jesus' name.
God, you're going to deliver your people today.
Deliver this house from all bondage, all fear,
all depression, all anxiety.
God, chase that messenger Satan out of this
house.
Get him out of here.
Hallelujah.
Glory be to Jesus.
Now, here's what I have to do.
I have to do it.
I don't want anybody to walk down here
unless you're in the battle of your life.
You say, Brother Dave, I am in the
battle of my life.
And I want you to humble yourself before
God.
And I want you, the moment you step
out of your seat and walk down this
aisle and stand here, I want you to
know that you're saying, I'm walking out of
this cave.
I am departing from my depression.
I'm departing from this spirit of fear.
I've had it with that.
I'm out.
I'm coming, Jesus.
I know you want to use me.
I want you to get out of your
seat up in the balcony here on the
main floor and come.
Don't come unless you say, Brother Dave, that's
me.
I'm in the battle of my lifetime.
And I want out.
I want victory.
Hallelujah.
Go ahead.
You're going to have to move in tight,
move in close.
There's going to be a lot of people
coming.
I'm going to ask all those who've come
forward and all those in the building, especially
these that have come forward.
You say that you're in a battle of
your lifetime, and it's true, many of you
are in that battle of your lifetime.
But I wonder if you're truly convinced that
you can get out of your cave.
You've got to be convinced as you stand
here right now that God wants you out.
He doesn't want you in that condition anymore,
He wants you free.
How many believe you can be free before
you walk out of this church?
Raise your hand, hold it up, hold it
up high, just hold it there right now.
And I want you to pray right out
of your innermost, pray from way down in
your soul.
Cry it out of your heart, Jesus, I'm
in a battle, a battle for my life.
But Jesus, I know you're with me, you've
not forsaken me, you do love me.
Say it again and believe it, you love
me, Jesus.
Say it again, you love me, Jesus.
You are with me, Jesus.
You've not forsaken me.
Oh, Holy Ghost, come right now, come upon
us.
You have not forsaken your children.
Ask Him to set you free right now.
Lord, I want to be free.
I lay it down at your feet.
I'll not be afraid anymore.
Repeat this with me, I will not fear
what the enemy can do.
Again, I will not fear what the enemy
can do.
Because God in me is greater.
God is greater.
Oh, thank you, Jesus.
God is greater.
God, you're greater.
You are greater.
We are not going to fall.
Oh, bless the name of Jesus.
Bless your wonderful name.
Folks, we're going to sing and clap our
hands just a minute.
But what I'm wanting to see God do
is not just a hyped up emotional, let's
go get the devil.
No, what I want to see is that
deep, quiet assurance.
When you've persuaded yourself that God is with
you.
That you can be righteous and still go
through this battle.
That you are not at the end of
your rope.
You're just beginning to climb His ladder.
And He's going to bless you.
And your battle is going to end.
He's not going to keep you in your
battle all your life.
It's going to end.
How many believe your battle is going to
end?
Did God end Elijah's battle?
Did God leave him up in a cave
and say, Well, you didn't have faith and
you ran and you panicked.
Go ahead and work it out yourself.
No, He didn't.
You've got an angel with you.
The angel of the Lord camped around about
them.
That fears Him and delivers them.
You can't see Him, but He's there.
He said, You're not going to dash your
foot against the stone.
You're not going down, you're going up.
You're going to be just like Elijah.
You're going to have victory and anointed.
And then when Jesus comes, He's going to
translate you in a chariot and take you
away.
Hallelujah.
Going to heaven with Jesus.
Glory to God.
Glory to Jesus.
Hallelujah.
Beloved, if this is true, Then there ought
to be a genuine joy breakout.
In our hearts and in this church before
we walk out here.
There ought to be a joy.
You that come forward, just stay right where
you're at.
For a few minutes while we sing this.
Let's rejoice in the Lord.
You can rejoice right in the face of
the enemy.
You can rejoice right in His face.
You can rejoice because God's with you.
Please, let all the fear of your circumstance,
all the fear of the enemy, drain out
of you as you stand here and praise
the Lord.
Now let it all go.
Hallelujah.
What can happen if God's with you?
What can happen to you if the Lord
is with you?
Hallelujah.
Glory to Jesus.
Let's sing.
What do you have?
Huh?
Let everything praise you.
Everything that hath breath, praise the Lord.
Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord.
While you're standing there, will you shake hands
with three people and say, God's in control
now.
God's in control.
This is the conclusion of the tape.