Chapter 19. I'm beginning a series. I won't necessarily stick with it every time I preach, but I'm going to be doing a series on the life of Elisha. 1 Kings 19. Most people are very familiar with Elijah. I think he's probably the favorite prophet in all the Old Testament. He was certainly of the greatest of the prophets. But Elisha, I feel like, is one that is a little bit overlooked. And as we begin to study the life of Elisha, there will be a lot of life lessons in there for us as well. But I want to begin considering the life of Elisha by looking at Elijah and how it is that God tells Elijah that he will be anointing Elisha and how it is that at a time when Elijah didn't, he had lost a purpose in his life really. He was in extreme depression and was despondent. And one of the ways that God helped him was in giving him Elisha. And so keep that in mind as we begin reading in 1 Kings Chapter 19, beginning in verse 1, it says, And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life. So he fled for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree. And he requested, so he prayed to the Lord, he requested for himself that he might die. and said, it is enough now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am not better than my father's." I'll pause there for a moment, because there's some important things that I want to consider here. Isn't it interesting how it says, he went for his life, fleeing from Jezebel, and then within 24 hours, so he wants to live. If he was despondent and he wanted to die, if you have a suicide wish, and someone is trying to kill you, don't you just turn yourself in? I mean, think about it. He wasn't until, in fact, he had just had victory in the previous chapter. He had called fire to birth from air with this passage, but he called down fire from heaven on that altar that he had poured water all around it. He was victorious. They had slain the prophets of Baal. He had been zealous for his God. And then I find it interesting that in verse one, it says, and Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done. Well, part of what Elijah had just got done doing was in pronouncing that there was going to be rain after three years of famine, and then there was rain. But Jezebel didn't really care so much about that part. She was upset because her prophets had been killed. Well, here is Elijah. He is fleeing for his life. And then within 24 hours, he's laying down on a juniper tree out in the wilderness. ready to die. He just wants to give up and he literally prays and asks that his life be taken from him. Why would he do that? Because it is natural human emotion. Adrenaline, if you will, to desire to live. But here's what happened. He fled for his life. Then he left his servant in Beersheba. And then he went out into the wilderness with no food and no water, says a day's journey into the wilderness. That was premeditated. He did not intend on coming back. He went out. Listen, if you go up here into the mountains in the middle of the summer, and you go a day's journey, you go as far as you can go, and you don't take any water with you, and you don't take any food, and then you lay down under a tree, and you fall asleep. You don't have that good of chances of... I mean, you're really stacking the odds against yourself. And that's what he did here. He left his servant and went out there by himself, with no food and no water, laid down under a tree, and prayed that the Lord would just take his life. So that's where he was at. Why? Well, if you look at what has happened in his life in general, I want us to consider the life of Elijah and what he's endured so far. And this was yet, I think during the first initial fleeing, he's fleeing for his life. But then he's like, here we go again. It's happening all over again. He lived, the famine lasted for three years. God, when he sent the famine, Ahab, was going to try to kill him. And God told him, go into the wilderness. And we know the story about how the ravens fed Elijah. And he was by the brook, and he was there so long. And I've preached a message before on this, but he was basically Israel's most wanted man. Ahab actually went into neighboring countries searching for them and asking them, have you seen this guy? And God had hid him and fed him in a way where he was to have no human contact. Nobody could rat him out, so to speak. No one could turn him in. God placed him in the wilderness away from every living human being. And you think, well, that's wonderful. That's so wonderful how God took care of him. But the reality of the situation from a human perspective is also total isolation. in his human condition, he had fled for his life and was in complete isolation. And then when he came, when that brook dried up, it takes a long time for a brook to dry up due to famine. He was out there in the wilderness for a long time before that brook dried up. And then when the brook dried up, you know the story about he eventually made it to the widow of Zarephath. And he comes wandering, I believe he was hungry. The brook had dried up, so he was evidently thirsty. He left out of necessity. You can go without food for a while, but you can't go without water. So when the water dried up, then I picture him staggering in to this village, a dusty village where there's an old lady out there trying to, well, she wasn't that old, but she's trying to gather up, she was starving. She was in starvation mode. And she's trying to gather up some sticks. And remember when Elijah asked her, Or when she told him what she was doing, and he wanted to be fed, she's like, I only have enough food for one more meal. how far down you have to be in starvation mode. You scrimp and you save, and as you know the means is running out, you begin to portion and portion. How many people here have ever watched that show alone? The survival? It's a contest to see how long they can last, and they try to outlast each other. Do those people know? They get a mouse. I mean, I've seen them kill a mouse and they're rejoicing. Sometimes they cry over something so simple because they have a mouse. And then they get that tiny little, and they suck the nutrition out of those bones. And listen, this is real life. Elijah was being fed by ravens. Then his water ran out. Then he went into a village where she's gathering the last sticks and has the last meal. And then she says, we're going to eat and then we're going to die. This is how Elijah had been spending his recent history. And then he stayed, and we know the story about how God provided for them. But it was bleak, miserable conditions that the entire nation of Israel was in at this time. And now, here, he's had victory. He came out of that. And now he's had victory, and now the Lord is going to send rain, and now that the rain is coming, and maybe things are going to be plentiful again, and now Jezebel's trying to kill him, and he's going on the run again. And you know what? When you're on the run, you don't necessarily know where you're going. And that's what I want to point out. The biggest problem with Elijah at this point is that he has no future. He has no purpose. He has no direction. He's on the run. And that's what the condition that he was in here. And so, Elijah was more sold out than any one of us has probably ever been as far as serving the Lord. It's easy to look at him and say, oh, he got depressed and he gave up and this and that. Listen, he had lived zealously. He had served the Lord wholeheartedly. And now from a human standpoint, it's like enough is enough. I mean, you just, human beings reach a point sometimes in their life for various different reasons that I've just, I've reached the, we call it the breaking point. Elijah just reached a breaking point from a human standpoint. This is where he was at. And so, oh, in verse five to go on, it says, and he lay and slept under a juniper tree. 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 coals, and a cruise of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again." Why not get up and get going? He has water, he has food. Oh, there's a blessing. Get up and get going. It's because he didn't have anywhere to go. There's nowhere to go. That's one of the main things I want to point out is, oh, he was despondent. And I believe it's important here to note that the lack of purpose that Elijah had. Have you ever been in a position in your life where you have had no direction? We all go through different phases in life. And if you've lived long enough, there are phases in life that we go through. And a lot of people reach what they call a midlife crisis. But there are times in life where, due to family, It's an empty nest. Maybe a spouse has died. And there's a sense of what now? What am I supposed to do now? I've always done this and now what? And sometimes we change locations. Sometimes now you have to start over and figure out, okay, so how am I gonna serve the Lord here? What's the next step? Sometimes due to health purposes, health has knocked us down and due to health, physical ailments, we've always done this for the Lord, we've always been this way, and now I'll never be able to do that again, so now what am I supposed to do? There are so many things in life that we come to stages, or things happen, and then There's literally a lack of purpose that we can find ourselves in. The same thing happens in ministry. It happens to everybody. It's spiritual instances. In ministry, maybe a person is pastored and then things happen and he's no longer pastoring. He doesn't know what the Lord has for him. Am I supposed to be an evangelist? Am I supposed to maybe go try to start a church? Am I supposed to even be a pastor because of this and that? There are all these things that happen in ministry. And this man here, was a prophet of God. And he had done and served God throughout his life, and now he's on the run. And he's reached this point where the angel wakes him up, and God provides him food and water. And what does he do? He eats it, and then he just goes right back to sleep. He had prayed and asked God to take his life, He ate it and he fell right back to sleep. And so it says in verse 7, and the angel of the Lord came a second time and touched him and said, arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. What journey? No lack of, that's why when I realized that, I was like, he has a total complete lack of purpose. He's on the run. And you know what? When he was on the run and he fled, I don't even know how much time he had to even get that backpack full. of survival gear. Think about it. He's on the run for his life. And so the angel here feeds him, and he gets water, and he wakes him up again and tells him, eat again. You need to eat because the journey's too great. And as I read that, I was like, from Elijah's standpoint, what journey? Because God didn't tell him, go down to Mount Sinai. It just says, the journey. It's too great. Listen, there are times in our life we need to be spiritually fed and we need to be spiritually prayed up. We need to be filled with the Holy Ghost. You might not know where you're going as far as serving the Lord. You might not know what the next chapter has for you in your life. But just because you don't know, there's still a journey. There's a journey. You don't know what the journey is. But listen, Elijah prayed and asked the Lord to take his life. Because he felt like he didn't have a purpose anymore. And he's done, he's tired. But the reality is, we know, was the Lord done with him? No! Elijah had a whole lot more to do before God took him. And God took him, he didn't die. God had more for him to do, but Elijah didn't know what that was. But there was a journey, and the journey was too great, so he needed to eat some more. And so he says here, the journey is too great for thee, and he arose and did eat and drink. And then it says, and he went in the strength of that meat, 40 days and 40 nights unto Horeb, the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou hear, Elijah?" That's where I don't know how much info Elijah had on, did God tell him at some point along the journey, go to Mount Sinai. Or did Elijah, with complete lack of direction in his life, complete, he was despondent, he was going, and all he knew is, I'm going to Mount Sinai. Why? It doesn't say that God told, in this passage anyway, unless I'm ignorant about other passages, it doesn't say God told him to go to Mount Sinai. It just says, he went to Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb, and he was in a cave. How many here have gone six days without eating? It says he went in one brave soul. Was it rough? Is it hard? No? Okay. I think it would be hard for me, but maybe you get used to it after the first day or so. I think the first 24 hours would be torture. But the thing is, he went 40 days. And the distance from Beersheba, where he left his servant, to Mount Sinai is 262 miles. Now, he went in the strength of that meat. I don't know if that means that that bread and that meat gave him all the energy and he was just peppy the whole time, or if he ate when he woke up, and then he ate again, and then he went, and in the strength of that meat, that lasted him until he got there. But the thing is, I don't know how much food there was in that cave at Mount Sinai, and how long it took for him to get back to where he was going. All I know is, he went without food for a long time, and he ended up down in, well from Beersheba, you think about it, it's quite a ways up into Israel. And Mount Sinai is clear down at the end of the Sinai Peninsula. It's actually part of Egypt today. It's a long ways. And so this is where he ended up. But this is also where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. And this is also near where God spoke to Moses in the burning bush. And this is where Elijah went. Pure speculation. Elijah knew all about everything. He knew everything about what had happened there. Did he go down there seeking direction? Did God tell him to go down there? I don't know, but that's where he ended up. And that's where God speaks to him. And so in verse 10, it says, God asked him, what doest thou hear, Elijah? In verse 10, he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant and thrown down thine altars. Is that Not true? No, it's very true. He had been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts. And he says, they have thrown down thine altars and slain thy prophets with the sword. And I, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away. You notice here how it says, they have thrown down thine altars and slain thy prophets with the sword. Up here, when he asked God to take his life, he says, am I, any better than, let me just read that, where he says, he requested for himself that he might die and said, it is enough now, oh Lord, take away my life, for I am not better than my father's. And then here we see him talking to the Lord and he says, they have slain thy prophets with the sword. And so he didn't feel like he had a purpose anymore. He didn't feel like he should be any better than those who had died before him. And so he says, I, even I only, am left. How many of those prophets that had been slain might have been his acquaintances? How many of those prophets that they had been slain, and yet he's, God feeds him. What makes him so special? I'm sure Elijah was wondering. What makes me so special? I'm fed by ravens. God, you know, performed a miracle. So the bread never ran out when he was with the widow. And now here he is, he's on the run from Jezebel. What makes me so special? What made him so special was just that God still had a purpose for his life. He wasn't dying like his fathers because God had a purpose for him. And God has a purpose for each one of us individually. And so it says in verse 11, and he said, go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by in a great strong wind, rent the mountains, and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still small voice. And it was so when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in a mantle and went out and stood in the entering of the cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him and said, what doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, it says the same thing. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword. And I, even I only, am left. And they seek my life to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, go return. And this is where we begin to see some of the purpose for him. Go return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu, the son of Nimshed, shalt thou appoint to be king over Israel. And Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel Mahola, shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slew, and him that escapeth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. yet I have left me 7,000, and then he addresses this whole thing about him being by himself. So he gives him instruction, he gives him purpose and direction, and then he says, oh, yet I have left me 7,000 in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. So he departed thence and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him, and he with the 12th. And Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again, for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and slew them and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen. and gave unto the people and they did eat. Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him." I just want to bring out a couple points from this section. Elijah's ministry was not over because Elisha was selected, ordained, or anointed. The word here is anointed. Elijah laid his mantle. We see at the end of this chapter that Elijah laid his mantle on him. But there is a lesson here that I believe we need to take a look at. There is by default always an overlapping from one generation to the next generation of preachers or servants of God. It's not that every single pastor has the experience of seeing the next preacher come along. But there should be a solace in knowing that God has a people and there will always be a next person. I've heard over the years older preachers lamenting And sometimes it was in circumstances in which I was not yet even saved. It was when I was younger. And they had no idea that the person who was in their presence at that time would end up being a preacher. But they were just talking about how the Lord just isn't calling anybody anymore. And it just seems like, oh, there just aren't any young preachers coming up anymore. And the youngest preacher that I know is aged such and such. And I've heard so many conversations as though God is done. Because that was their perspective on things. Churches are dying in America. The future is bleak. And listen, the future is not bleak as long as God is still on the throne and as long as the church... He promised the perpetuity of His church. So there will always be churches. to the Lord comes back. There will be. I don't have any doubt whatsoever that there will be churches. There will be God's people on this planet until the Lord comes back. And there will be preachers on this planet until the Lord comes back. I don't worry about that at all. What we need to do sometimes is be looking for the blessing of God, looking in anticipation and expecting the promises of God to be fulfilled instead of lamenting what we see. Now there is, it's okay to have a burden about what's going on. I'm not saying, I'm not talking about being lackadaisical, but there's not supposed to be a sense of fret and doom and gloom concerning the church and the ministry. There's not. And this is where Elijah had found himself is I'm the only one left. And so these are some things that I want to point out here. God is always calling the next generation. God is always saving the next generation. And he will until he comes back. It's going to happen. And so I am encouraged when I go certain places and I see that there's a guy that's 20 years old and he's already ordained and pastoring. I just saw that recently. There's, you see a 24 year old or I was flying a preacher out here one time and I had to get his airline tickets and he sent me a picture of his photo ID. or his driver's license, and he was born like a month before 9-11. I was like, this guy can't be a preacher. I mean, he was born in the 2000s. And it's like, oh wait, let's see. Well, I mean, he is only 18 years old, but I mean, the guy's called to preach. And that's a wonderful thing. And so, in 2000, it might have seemed super bleak. Listen, some of the greatest preachers of all time might yet be born. They might be born next year. And so, God is going to have a people, and that's what we see in this passage with Elijah. He thought he was the last one standing. Not only was he not the last one standing, but there were prophets. Not only people who had not just bowed the knee to Baal. Now listen, 7,000 in all of Israel is not very many people. 7,000 in the entire nation isn't very many people. but not only did God have people who still worshiped him, but he actually had prophets. When Elisha, we'll see in the time of Elisha, there was a school of prophets. There were actually many prophets, but Elijah had seen most of his friends die, and due to his personal experience of what he was seeing, he thought he was the only one. And so, verse 18, the Lord says, yet I have left me 7,000 in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. So Elijah had that independent Baptist mentality, that he was all alone, and God was just not working anymore. Can we, can we not accept that just because we do not see the big picture, God is still working and saving? I've already talked about that, but that is the reality. Even if we don't experience it, and we are experiencing it, but even if we don't experience it in our church, it doesn't mean that the Lord won't in the future in this church, but it doesn't mean that the Lord isn't 20 miles that way, or 100 miles that way, and so forth. And so God is always working. Sometimes we have spiritual arrogance, because we do not personally know of any people of like faith and practice or churches of like faith and practice outside of our little circle. And I see this in a lot of circles. There's a lot of circles of Baptists and they got their own little tiny little flavor that they specialize in. And there's this little circle, but it's like the Olympic rings. This circle overlaps just a little bit this circle and these preachers over here there's like two or three preachers in this circle that fellowship with some people in that circle you know and they overlap and all these circles kind of overlap and they're all just a little bit different but I've seen it where we don't have associations but we have circles and these circles of fellowships and we call them sister churches or churches of like faith and practice and so forth but listen just because of what we see going on in our circle and we think that that's all that there is. It doesn't mean that that's all there is. At all. Not even remotely close. No more than Elijah was the last one when there was actually 7,000. And so I'll give you a couple of examples. I sent out a prayer letter one time. Concerning what was going on, we first went out to the Spokane reservation, and I mentioned that we had gone out there with some preachers from, one from North Carolina, three from Oklahoma, two from the state of Washington, and I gave their names. And I got a, I sent it out to a whole bunch of preachers that I know in my circle, you know, and that's the thing. I sent them out, because all I know, it's like Facebook. I mean, I just have my group of friends, but just because my group of friends in the Baptist world, I don't know everybody. And so I sent it out to my circle. And one of the men in that circle sent me back a reply to my email and says, I've never heard, I've only heard of one of those guys. I'm assuming that they believe like we do, but I was just wanting to double check or something like that. And so I told him, yeah, these guys are Baptists, you know, but because he hadn't heard those names, then they can't really be that solid, right? But I said, yes, I vouched for him. And he's like, okay, well, if you vouch for him, then I guess they're good to go. But see, that's just how we think though, a lot of times. And if we haven't heard of them, then well, they must not be out there. And I have been guilty of this. I'll give you an example. When I was in Colorado, our church, most of you know, my church closed down that I was pastor in there. It was a long process, and I was pastor just at the very end of that process. But it was a sad thing, and I've actually had conversations, and I felt like when the church closes down, that the light is going out, like the light of the gospel is going out in this community. I mean, you just feel that it's a very sad, and it is a horrible thing when a church closes. It's absolutely a sad, sad thing. The reality is, is none of the early churches are in existence and the Lord's church is alive and doing well, but it doesn't change the fact that it's a sad thing when a church closes in a community. But sometimes we can believe that, just like in a secular sense, the world revolves around us. And because I'm not going to be there preaching anymore. And then I talk to other people who are there, who are still there, and that it's just so sad that the light has gone out. And maybe if I move away, then there's just that much, you know, the light really goes out. I've learned, here's an interesting thing, little did I know that 30 miles up the road, 30 miles is all it was, there was a church that had been started as a mission work, local church, KJV, pre-trib, the whole nine yards, and oh, I didn't know that it had been started as a mission work and had been up there, and they're trying to get going, and they start churches just like we do, and you know what? They even have the same name. We were Victory Baptist Church and we closed down. And they're Victory Baptist Church, 30 miles away. I had no idea. That's exactly what I'm talking about. And I visited that church now, and now my brother's a member there, and others that were in the church there that closed, and those have been safe since I left, are now, you know, they go to that church. We can become so, listen, the world doesn't revolve around us. And our little view and our little circle is not all there is. And that's how it was for Elijah. It's sad that Elijah was this depressed and this despondent over the fact that he thought he was the last one when he wasn't. And that's how it can be for us. Oh, we're the last one. Nobody believes anything anymore. No, we're not. They're still our people because God's still on the throne. You just go find them. They're out there. And so he didn't have anything to be depressed about. That's the bottom line. And as long as God is our God, we don't have anything to be depressed about concerning spiritual matters especially. And so God said here, I have left me 7,000 in Israel. God said. We say a lot of times that we know that it's the Lord's church and Christ is the head of church. But too many times we act like it's our church and it's our institution and this is what we're trying to do. But he said, I have left me, he preserved, I have left me 7,000 in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. They're God's people. And what is most important is that God knows his people. God knows individually every one of those 7,000 people just like he knows Elijah. Just as much as he knows Elijah. And while Elijah was an important prophet, from the value of a human soul, each one of those souls was just as valuable to God as Elijah was. And so Elijah was lamenting the fact that he was the only one and God says, I have left me. 7,000 in Israel. God is in control of this whole situation, and so they are His. Whether or not they all agree on every little detail of Scripture and how things are to be done, they are all His. His, not ours. They're His people. And so do you think that those 7,000 would have been in perfect harmony, and that they were all alike in every way? Of course not. You know why they weren't? It's because they're human beings. But they were His people. God had left Him 7,000 in Israel. And here's what's key. He says, I have 7,000 which have not worshipped Baal. That was the key. They were His people. That's what they had in common, is they worshipped the same God. And so, getting back to this next generation of preachers, and then I'll move on to our last brief point. Concerning preachers, on an individual basis, there is a discipling that takes place. And then there is ordaining, a time of training while the younger serves under the direction of the elder, which is in turn a help and an encouragement to that elder. When preachers train up other preachers and whatnot, it's not a heavy burden for that preacher. Preachers are excited to have opportunity to teach this guy, and train him, and give him opportunity to preach, and do all these things. It's not a burden. I've found it interesting how excited, I've known some very elderly preachers, and they get excited. Even though they're not currently pastoring, they are so happy to know that there are other preachers out there, and there are other preachers on the way, and that this church is actually going to be okay. That is, it's interesting. They're about to, within six months to a year to five years, they're about to be with the Lord. But what really makes them happy and gives them joy is knowing that there's a future. The Lord's work is going to continue down here. God gives them that reward and that desire and it can bring actual joy. And so as we see people from the next generation coming up, they might not all be dialed in. I'm talking about preachers. They might not be all dialed in exactly how we are. but it should still be exciting. It's a time of opportunity. It's a time for the future. And you can't help but wondering what they're going to be and how they're going to be by the time they're 40 or 50 or so on. And what does the Lord have for them? And then I want to notice Elijah's faithfulness was rewarded. And you might think, well, he wasn't faithful because he wanted to give up and he asked the Lord to take his life. But Elijah's And his body of work was that of being zealous and being faithful. And God rewarded him in this life for that faithfulness. He received a working partner in the ministry. From this point on, from this point on, when he said, I am alone, he said, I am alone and there is none left. From that point on, he had a partner. The whole way. He had a servant that was with him temporarily. But listen, he didn't have a partner who was with him when the ravens were feeding him. And he was spending all that time alone. Think about all the solitary confinement, basically, that he had when he was in the wilderness. And now, God is giving him. He didn't just say, go and anoint Elisha. And they just walk off and leave, but they spent time together. They traveled together. They did things together. And from this point until the time the Lord took him, Elijah, he didn't, he wasn't alone. And so the Lord, I believe the Lord rewarded him for this. And then Elijah also, think about this. The first man who didn't ever die was Enoch. And we know that Enoch walked with God. We don't know the exact extent, but evidently, I believe he walked with God closer than anybody did in that generation. And it says, and Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him. That's the first man who ever experienced this. And the only other man who ever experienced that, would we all not admit that that's a real blessing? I mean, we talk about the raptures like, boy, it'd be great. I don't want to die. You know, I don't mind dying, but boy, the rapture would be great. Elijah, he experienced that. And so he's the only, the second man to never see death in that way. That is not the worst thing in the world. To go out and go to be with the Lord that way. And so, oh, as we consider this here, oh, God had a prophet here who was zealous for him, served him wholeheartedly, and then he fell into depression and despondency. He asked the Lord, the only prophet, I think it's the only prophet that we know where it's recorded where he reached this point and he gave up. And he said, Lord, take my life from me. The only prophet that we have recorded where he was so zealous and then he asked the Lord to take his life, is the only prophet that didn't ever die. The Lord didn't answer his prayer. He went up to heaven. He never died. So think about that. What that leads me to consider in conclusion is, I want us to consider how much God loves us. He knows what we go through. He knows what we're experiencing. He knows Elijah's trying to tell God how much I've served you. The Lord knows that. He knew, God knew that. Do we embrace the fact? We know that God loves us, and we know that we're saved, and we know that we have a hope of heaven. But as the children of God, He cares about us. He cares about how we feel. He cares about our emotions. He cares about every little aspect about us. And especially when it comes to our suffering and what we endure for Him concerning spiritual matters and how we serve God and how we're persecuted. God absolutely cares about that. If it wouldn't have been for the persecution, Elijah wouldn't have fallen into that despondency where he was running. But God pays attention to those things. I want to finish with these two verses. He hears our cries. He doesn't care so much about our selfish sniveling and crying in that way. But concerning spiritual needs, concerning true suffering, and so forth, James 1 says this. I'll just read it. My brother encountered all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith work with patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man, the wavering man, think that he shall receive anything of God. And then finally, 1 Peter 5, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. If we truly embrace the fact that He cares for us, and we serve Him as much as we can, trust Him with the rest, trust Him with the results. Embrace the fact that He loves us and cares for us. It will help us so much in getting to that next point. Elijah was at a point in his life where he didn't know what the next step was and he didn't have direction. That's a tough place to be. It is tough to not know what the Lord has for me in the next step. But just cast all your care upon Him knowing He cares for you and He'll take care of it. Pastor.