In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes that the Bible is not just a collection of miraculous stories, but a source of spiritual lessons for our lives. The main teaching of the sermon is that God always wants to do greater things for each generation and desires to give more of His Spirit. The preacher urges the audience to seek a closer walk with Jesus and to cry out for more of God's power and anointing. The sermon also mentions warnings of impending judgment and encourages believers to heed these warnings and turn to God.

...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 WORLDCHALLENGE P.O. BOX 260 LINDALE, TEXAS 75771 or calling 903-963-8626. None of these messages are copyrighted, and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to friends. My message this morning, The Mantle of Elijah. I want you to go to 2 Kings, the second chapter, and if you will just leave your Bibles open, I'll be ministering from that throughout the course of my message today. The Mantle of Elijah. It's good to have Pastor Carter back from Macedonia and Kosovo, and pray for our teams that are still there, and our teams that are ministering around the world. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I have a word that you put in my heart for the people, and Lord, I ask you to help me to deliver it in the grace and mercy of God. I pray, Heavenly Father, that you send your Holy Spirit upon me, and Holy Spirit, as you abide in me, I pray that you speak forth the mind of the Lord, the mind of the Father, your mind, O Holy Ghost. Let no one leave this church without having something, have received something from the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit, not a dead letter, but something that has spoken directly to their heart, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, this 2 Kings, second chapter, is the marvelous story of Elijah and Elisha, the story of, one of the most exciting stories in the Bible, about Elijah being carried away in a chariot, translated to glory. Now, for our new converts and others, just to refresh, I want to give you just a synopsis, a recapping of the story, and then we'll go back and try to dig some nuggets out of it for today. Now, Elijah has been notified by the Father that his time is up, and that he's got a day or so left, and he may have warned him sooner than that, but he's told that he's going to be translated, and he has a rendezvous area on the other side of the Jordan. So just before he goes, he takes Elijah on a trip. He takes him to Bethel, he takes him to Jericho, and then when they get to the Jordan River, he takes off his outer mantle, Elijah does, and smites the Jordan, and it opens, and they go across some dry land, and they're on the other side. Now, Elijah's looking at the mountains, and most people, many scholars believe that he lived there, his abode was that area, and they thought that he just wanted to be taken near his home. I don't know the circumstances of that, but I do know that when they get on the other side of Jordan, Elijah turns to Elisha, and he said, you know I'm about to be taken from you, what is the one thing you want me to do for you? And without hesitation, Elisha says, I want a double portion of the Spirit of God that rests upon you. I want a double portion of your spirit. And Elijah said, you're asking a hard thing. And he said, well, that's what I want. And he said, well, I'll tell you what, if you can see me when I depart, it'll happen. But if you don't see me, then it won't happen. And all of a sudden, while they're talking and walking, I mean, a chariot out of heaven comes and separates them. I don't know how that happened, it just came right between them. And Elijah gets on board, and Elisha said, my father, my father, the chariots of Israel, the chariot of Israel and all the soldiers, or all the accompanying army. And suddenly, Elijah's gone, and his mantle drops. He picks up the mantle, and he goes to the Jordan. He didn't say, where is Elijah? He said, where is the God of Elijah? And the Jordan opens up, and he goes to the other side. And he goes back, recapping, I mean, going back to all of those towns that he'd been taken to by the prophet Elijah. Now, this is miraculous, isn't it? Can you imagine a chariot coming right out of heaven and just taking a man of God away? One of the most incredible, spectacular, miraculous things in the Bible. But what does it mean? Now, we know from the Scripture that none of these stories are told, these miraculous stories are just told to enamor us or cause us to revere the God of ancient Israel, and that's not at all. The Bible says very clearly, Paul the Apostle said, all these things are written for examples unto us. They were written for us, or for our learning, upon whom the ends of the world have come. It's not just a miraculous story. There are truths here that God, the Holy Ghost, wants to reveal to us that have to do with our life. The whole story is about us. The whole thing, God didn't have to record it. He recorded it in detail that we could study it and get our spiritual lessons for our day. Let me begin by telling you what I believe the focus of this story is, what God is trying to teach us. The focus teaching or the main teaching of this whole episode that we're discussing this morning. And it's simply this. God is always wanting to do greater things for every succeeding generation. He's always wanted to do more miraculous. He wants to give more of His Spirit. He wants to do greater and newer things for every succeeding generation, beyond anything in the past. Now, it's a wonderful thing for me to read about God's miracle opening of the Red Sea. It's wonderful to read about Joshua and the Jordan open. But it's another thing for God to open my Red Sea and give me the same kind of miracles. And that's what this is all about, to increase and enlarge our faith that we can believe God for miraculous things in our day. His desire for our generation that we would want that double portion, that we could go through the Old Testament read of all of His mighty works and say, Lord, I want more than that. You said, because I see Elijah here as a type of Christ in His ascension. And Jesus said, most certainly you'll do greater works than I have done, because I go to my Father. In other words, you're going to be here, sin is going to be on the increase. You're going to face things I have never seen, Jesus is saying. You're going to need more power, you're going to need authority than any other past generation, anything in the Old Testament. You're going to need an anointing of the Holy Spirit. You're going to have to have a walk with me, stronger than Elijah, stronger than all of these men of God, because I'm going to endure you with the Holy Ghost, and He will enable you to live a pure, holy, righteous life. Now, having stated what I believe is the main teaching of this episode, my first question in rereading this story was, why did Elijah take Elisha on this trip? It's certainly not a sentimental journey. It's not Elijah going down memory lane one last time. Now, we do know that he had started schools of prophets in both Bethel and Jericho, but that's not it at all. He knows he's gone, and he's been training somebody to take his place. Elisha has been his servant, but he's been watching this young man, and he's going to test him before he goes. And so, if you follow this story, first of all, Elijah is continually testing Elisha this whole trip. This was meant exclusively for Elisha, and what Elijah hopes he's going to learn. And I want to take you through this trip, and see if you and I are learning the lessons that God is trying to teach us in this. He goes to Bethel, and he takes Elisha, and he says, Elisha, stay here, Terry, right here. And what he's trying to say is, you've been well trained, you have a spiritual discernment, now, I want you to stay right here. Now, he said that after being there and visiting. Now, the Bible doesn't give us the whole dialogue. The Bible gives us certain highlights. But I'm sure this dialogue went on a good portion of the hours that they spent in Bethel. And Elijah says, look, I'm going on, I'm going further, I'm going to be going to Jericho, I'm going to go to the Jordan, and I'm going home, I want you to stay here, you know what is needed. Now, the prophet Elijah was hoping that his younger student would learn exactly what he wanted him to see. And I'll tell you what he saw when he went to Bethel. Just to dare say, after Bethel, remember that he's going to come back, and there are going to be 42 children that are going to be torn apart by she-bears. Because they're coming out to mock him. And I want you to know those mockers were there when Elijah and Elisha first came into Bethel. Now, you know that Bethel means house of God. You know that this is where Jacob sacrificed. There's so many things about Bethel that have to do with faith and with hope and with honesty and purity. It had a great heritage, but something had happened in Bethel. Remember, Jeroboam had set up a golden calf there. They were given to idolatry. And they had lost, the parents had lost the whole young generation. The young generation was given over to skepticism. They became scoffers and mockers. And it's an amazing thing that this happens with 50 prophets there in the middle, having their headquarters, studying the Word of God. Unable to affect that society whatsoever. Now Bethel to me represents, and I believe that's what the Scripture is trying to bring to us, represents our evil society. And what it's become, our society has become a society of mockery, of everything that's holy and pure and righteous. We live amongst scoffers today. They were given over to homosexuality. They were given over to lust, sensuality, and idolatry. And so Elijah is saying, why don't you settle here? You see the need. You see a society that's gone mad. You see people that are mocking and scoffing. They need a revival here, Elijah. Why don't you stay here and pastor right here? Certainly, this is something he has to consider because it comes from his leader. He knows he's a great man of God. But I believe that Elijah is remembering another prophet that had come into that city and prophesied to Jeroboam's idol. And Jeroboam was there when he prophesied. And he said, that golden calf is coming down. That idolatry is coming down. And God knocked it down right in his presence. And the ashes poured out of the altar. And Jeroboam reaches out to strike him and his hand is paralyzed. But he remembers that prophet didn't have what it took to reach that society because he was seduced by an older prophet who lived in Bethel. And that man ends up being eaten up by a lion who's a type of Satan. He didn't have what he needed to reach that wicked society. He didn't have it. And Elijah knew that Elijah didn't have it, but he wanted to see it. He wanted to hear it. Elijah wanted, I know in his heart, to say, oh, there's something deeper that I need. There's a greater work of the Holy Spirit that's needed in my life before I can ever stand up against the spirit that is in this city. God had sent prophets. These people had been warned. He said to the prophet, Elijah, I will not. I want to tell you something. We face a society today that Bethel couldn't even comprehend. Elijah and Elijah never saw what we are seeing now here in the United States and around today. We have lost our young generation just as they did in Bethel. We have kids killing kids. We have to have now metal detectors at the school doors. We have a generation. I suggest someday if you want your heart broken, come outside the department. I live a block from this church. And listen to the public high school kids coming by. And listen to the girls' language. They can't put three words together without the F word and without all of the cursing and the vileness. They talk like drunken sailors. Look at the movies that they're pouring into, the X-rated movies. Think of a whole generation now given over to drugs and alcohol and promiscuous sex like no other generation could imagine. Now, I'm not condemning the whole generation. Thank God, even in this church and other churches in this city, we have godly young people on fire for God. And I thank God for the many that are still taking a stand for Christ. But folks, even the most liberal, atheistic reporters in this nation are saying we have backslidden, we've become immoral, we have no moral guide. We have lost a whole generation. And what is it going to take to reach this lost generation? It's going to take men and women with a double portion of the Holy Ghost, something no other generation has had because we face a generation unlike any other generation when it comes to sin mounting to the heavens. Elisha represents that holy remnant saying there is more. There is a remnant who says I am not going to go out and face this generation until I know I've been touched by the hand of God. Preachers who are not willing to go out and just do it because it has to be done, not just because there's a world of wickedness out there, but because they've been shunned in with God and they say there's more. And when I go out on the streets, when I go out into this city, I want to know that God's going to work for me and through me. I want to be able to stand up against every demon and devil in hell and not be shaken. I'm not going to be devoured by a lion. As the Lord liveth, Elisha said, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. Now Jericho, the meaning of the word Jericho is a pleasant place. But Elijah and Elisha come upon a situation of barrenness, dryness, deadness, emptiness. There were no trees. We'll come back to the reason for it a little later in my message. There were no trees, there were no pasture, there was no fruit. Everything had dried up because there was a poison stream coming through Jericho at the time. And this represents the dead, dry, barren church of these last days. It's the sardish church that has a name that it lives, and yet God said it's dead. Now we know that at Jericho they visited the school of the prophets that Elijah established there because they'd come to Elijah and he says, do you not know that your Lord is going to be taken from you today? Do you know that you're going to lose your master? Now, these were some upstart young men because Elijah had to cut them right off and said, be silent. In other words, keep quiet. I know it. You see, they were students of the word of God. They knew the theology. They even had a streak of prophetic vision. They somehow knew that Elijah was going to be taken that day. But you see, these young men of God were going to be those that sent out across Judah and Israel to minister to that society of young rebels that we've just discussed. And I picture Elijah standing by. Elijah knows what's in the heart of these young men. And he's wondering if Elijah is going to see where the ministry is headed. And he's standing by to see if he has discernment, if he picks it up. And Elijah says to Elijah, why don't you stay here? You see, these young men, they are students, but they are totally ignorant of the ways and the moving of the Holy Spirit. Because they know that Elijah is going to be translated. And when Elijah comes back alone, and they know the Spirit of the Lord is taking him up. They meet him on his return trip from the Jordan, through the Jordan. They say, Elijah, we know God's hand is on you, and we know the Spirit of the Lord carried your master away. But we've got 50 strong young men here going to go back over the Jordan. And we're going to go search for him in case the Holy Ghost dropped him on the mountain. Or in a valley. That's total ignorance of the ways in working of the Holy Spirit. And that's where many churches are today. These young men, if you talk to them, they can talk about the ascension. They can preach theology. They can tell you about the miracles. They know the history. And that's the reason he would not stay at Jericho. Because he knew if he became their teacher, if he became a pastor to these young men, all they'd be talking about was Elijah. Tell us, how many hours a day did he pray? What time did he get up? What kind of meals did he eat? Tell us more about his miracles. See, they'd be living in the past. I know theologians who've been studying past revivals all their life. I know two or three who've written books who spent their lifetime trying to resurrect some method of the past. And he knew that if he's there, all they're going to talk about is the past. They're going to talk about Elijah and want to know about him. He's going to send out 50 little Elijahs trying to recreate his miracles without the power and authority of the Holy Ghost. Oh, we've got them all over the country today. You know, man of miracles, signs and wonders. You really don't know, have never been visited with the Holy Ghost truly to probe the depths of sin in their lives. You know, Elijah said, if I ever come back here, if I ever pass through here, I'm going to come and I'm going to be talking about some miracles in the past. I respect my father. I respect the fathers and the spiritual giants of the past. But God wants to do a new thing. He's gone and I'm here. And I have to have the touch of God myself. I'm not going to talk about the past. Oh, folks, we have people trying to resurrect New Testament patterns. We have people studying revivals and trying to get the keys to revival. No, no, no. There are no shortcuts. You see, we talk about the past because we'd have nothing to care with when we ask about revival. All my life I've heard people and pastors and churches talk about we need a revival, a Holy Ghost revival to sweep across the nation. What many are saying, we want the Holy Ghost to do what we ought to be doing. They don't want to witness. They want to sit in a church and seek God and have the blessing of God and have an anointing of the Holy Spirit in their own life and let the Holy Ghost do the evangelizing. No, no, no, no. Elijah knows he's going to face wicked spirits, Bethel. He knows that he's going to be dealing with the deadness and dryness of the church. And he says, I need greater power, Elijah, even that you had. Under Elijah, those revivals never came. God picks up a young man and he does a new work. And just the way he's doing it now, Bethel to us represents that wicked, awful society. Jericho represents the dead church. And so, these young men were destined to build schools. They were destined to build the church of the future and to live by faith. But something was missing. We have fallen into the same snare in our day of looking to the past and not having faith to believe for miracles today. We go to our Bible studies. We go to our Bible and we read of these great, fantastic miracles. And all along, God is saying, I've offered you something better. I've offered you something greater. I want to do miracles in your life. I want to change your home. I want to do miracles. I want to fix your marriage. I want to save your unsaved. You're going to face your own Red Sea. You're going to face your own Jordan. I want to do it for you. Hallelujah. That's something that ought to be rising in all of us in this last day. Folks, we're facing the perilous times that are coming. They're right at the door. And we're going to need more than some of us have right now, including myself. Again, he says, I'm not leave you. I'm going on. Thank God for those who are going further and deeper in the Holy Ghost. They're not satisfied with what they have. I don't ever want to be satisfied. I want to stay hungry and thirsty till Jesus comes or till they bury me. Now they're standing at the shore of the Jordan. Been to Bethel, been to Jericho, now they're at the Jordan. Now, why did Elijah insist on a miracle passing rather than a natural passing? Now, there's 50 young men right there, strong men. They could have built a raft in two hours. They're strong enough to have taken them under the shoulder and swum them across. Swum, swam, swam. They could have carried them across. Why did he insist on a miracle? Think about it for just a minute. There's no word that it was a swollen river at the time. And really, the Jordan was not that wide or that deep. But he insisted on a miracle crossing. In part, it's the same lesson that God's trying to teach. Elijah is saying to Elijah that the miracle crossing of the past, the Red Sea, the Jordan. In fact, this miracle that I'm showing you now, this is what God wants for you. This is what God wants. He wants you to believe for a miracle. I'm going to be gone soon. And you're going to come back over the same way. I want you to come back the way that you're going now. I want you to believe God for the miraculous in your life. I want you to believe. He knew his mantle would be left. Folks, that mantle has no power in it. There is nothing. It's a piece of cloth. There's no power in it. If you believe there's power in that, then you've got to believe that there's power in that cross that somebody has, claims to be a piece of wood from the original cross, and they want to touch it as if there's some power in that piece of wood. It wasn't in the piece of wood, the cross, not the wood itself. It was the Christ who hung on the cross. What he's saying, when you go forth now, Elijah, I don't want you to talk about mere miracles. I want you to talk about the miracles you've seen and experienced in your own life. Hallelujah. Now, over the Jordan, Elijah says to Elisha, we go back to it now, says, Ask of me, what shall I do for you before I go? Now, he's not acting the part of a genie that's popped out of a bottle and says, I'll give you three wishes. You can't compare it to that. That's not what it is at all. Because, really, he's limited in what he could do. He was not God. There's no way he could give of his spirit. Only the Holy Ghost can do that. He couldn't do that. He was penniless. What could this man do? Now, place yourself in this scene, and this great man of God, this miracle worker, has raised people from the dead, and he says to you, I'm going, what do you want me to do for you? Now, I know what I would have probably done. I would have said, well, look, I've been to Bethel, and I've seen this society that's going to hell in a handbasket, and it's getting wicked, it's unsafe to walk the streets, and I'm tired of this battle against sin and the devil. Take me with you! Oh, come on, folks. If the Lord told me tomorrow, listen to, God told me to mark midnight here on 51st, right here, 51st Street, He's going to send a chariot after me? How many of you would like to go along? You have just proven the point of my whole message. God doesn't want you now! He doesn't want me now! Because he's still bleeding for those in Bethel. He's still weeping over his dead church. He's got to have somebody that's still here. So forget the chariot. You ain't going anywhere right now. I know the Bible said that we're to say, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. We're to continue to look for his appearing. But folks, many in the church have become absolute escapists. They want Jesus to come right now, only to lift them out of the horror and the shame around them, and all the trials that they're going through. They just want to be delivered so they can just kind of go to heaven and lay their pillow, head on a pillow and relax and get rid of the stress in their life and have a nice easy eternity. And forget a city of wicked and vile people. Forget the people around them. They're going to go to hell. Not so for Elisha. Elisha knows his master's work is done. He knew he's got to have to stay and the responsibility is going to be upon him. And he said, now look, Elijah, you know what I'm going to face. You know the problems. You've just shown me the world. You've shown me the condition of society. You've shown me the condition of the church. You know I'm going to need more than anyone has ever needed. I'm asking for a double portion of the Spirit of God on you. Elijah says, if you can see me when I depart, it shall be done unto thee, but if not, it shall not be. You've asked a hard thing, he said. Hard for who? Is it too hard for God? No. It is too hard for Elijah because he can't give of his spirit. But no, it's hard because of the cost to Elisha himself. The hardness has to do with the young man he's talking to and he's training and this is his last lesson. He said, you know, you read this. Nevertheless, if you see me when I'm taken from thee, it shall be done unto thee, but if not, it shall not be done. Look. This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over. In other words, if you see me before I go, you're going to get your blessing. If not, you're going to leave disappointed and all this is going to be in vain? No way. In the original, there are two words that are not, in fact, they're in italics in your King James. And that is when and am. When I am taken. That is not in the original. In fact, that's been corrected in the revised edition. In context of the whole teaching of this chapter, there's only one conclusion. When you see me as being gone, it's something that has to happen in you, Elisha. When I go, you can't build me a memorial. You can't be preaching about what I did. You have to see me as gone. When you see me, in your mind, in your heart, that the past is dead and gone. Elijah was a humble man. He didn't want him going around building schools in his name. He didn't want them to be talking about what God did through him or who he's raised from the dead, Elijah. God wants you to raise the dead. He wants you to do more than I ever did. But you've got to see me as gone. And when I go and it dawns on you, you stand alone. He's gone. Here I am, Lord. This is all you've got to work with. And you lay hold of that by faith. The Holy Ghost will come upon you. Suddenly, Elijah's gone and there's his mantle. He tears his own clothes in two. And he picks up the mantle, puts it on his shoulders. He goes to the Jordan and he says, Where's the God of Elijah? He smites it. And the Spirit of Almighty God was on that man. The waters opened. He had received that double portion. The prophets of Jericho had seen it and they bowed for him. They said the Spirit that was on Elijah is on. Not the Spirit of Elijah, but the Spirit that was on Elijah is now on Elisha. And what does he do? He retraces his steps. He's ready now to face a dead-draught church. He's ready now to face a society that's gone mad. Because he's had a touch from God. He has the Holy Ghost revealed to him. He knows his ways now. The Holy Ghost. He had gone further than any man had gone with the prophet. He went deeper. He paid a price. Now, I know this salvation is free. But, folks, if you're going to know the ways of the Spirit and the true intimacy of Jesus Christ, and know the ways of the Holy Ghost, you're going to spend time. You're going to go deeper into the closet, farther into the Word. You're going to walk closer than any other man or woman has ever walked through the power of the Holy Ghost. There'll be a hunger to cry in you. I can't stop. I will not let God go. Until he teaches me his ways and gives me the spiritual authority I need to go out and witness for Jesus Christ and change lives. He comes to Jericho. And the 50 prophets meet him. And they said, Now, you know this is called a pleasant place. But look around. There's death everywhere you go. Now, I told you to go to 2 Kings. And I hope you have your Bible open there. And I want you to go to 2 Kings 2, chapter verse 18. He's on his way back now. He's retracing the steps. Verse 18. And when they came again to him, for he tarried at Jericho. Now, remember Elijah had asked him to tarry there. And he said no. He knew he wasn't ready. He wasn't prepared. Now he's tarrying at Jericho. He said unto them, Did I not say unto you, go not? And the men of the city said unto Elijah, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of the city is pleasant. That's the name of the city, really. As my Lord seeth. But the water is not, and the ground is barren. And he said, bring me a new cruise, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters. There shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elijah, which he spoke. Look at me, please. Fifty men of God. Fifty students of theology. Fifty students who could talk about ascension. Could give you all the details and miracles of men of God of the past. But they're totally helpless. Totally powerless. To stop the poison that's creating the deadness and the barrenness. Representing the church. They said there's a problem here. There's a poisoned well, and it's bringing polluted waters, and it's killing everything. Killing everything. Now you see, until this man had been alone with God, and crying out for that double portion of the Holy Spirit, and getting to know Him, and yielding himself fully to the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit, and not to the flesh at all. Now he has the Holy Spirit upon him, and working in him and through him. He has his own touch of God. He has his own vision. His own anointing. And now he knows. Here comes a man with the answer. And what is the answer to the pollution? What's the answer to deadness, dryness in the church of Jesus Christ? Where did the pollution come from? It came from the wellhead. From the pulpit. Men of God, who have never dealt with their sins, and full of iniquity, and there's poison, there's a disease in the heart. It can be pornography, on the internet, it can be almost anything. Now I'm not indicting the whole ministry. I'm indicting those ministers who have killed their churches. Literally caused death. Because they can't preach against sin. They have polluted everything that comes out of their mouth, because the stream is polluted. They that bear the ark must be holy and clean and pure, the Bible says. Those that handle the things of God. And out of this... You show me a church where a pastor is in the pulpit, who doesn't believe in the inerrancy of the Scripture, he doesn't believe in the virgin birth, he doesn't believe there's a heaven, there's a hell, he doesn't preach against sin, he doesn't expose the sin in his own life, he's comfortable with what he's doing, he's not going to deal with sin in the congregation, and I can show you a dead church, and a man who's sending people to hell on the left and on the right. And what's the answer? What's the answer? He didn't go to the stream and try to rebuke it. He said the answer, a new vessel, a clean vessel, full of salt. We'd call it a salt shaker. But he said, this, I want a new one. That's the new heart. Sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Salt. By the way, folks, what is the water? The water is the Word of God. It was polluted. The deadness in the church is caused by a polluted gospel that's going forth. He said, get me a new vessel and pour salt in it. And he goes to the spring, not to the river, he goes to the spring where it started, the wellhead, and he pours the salt into the river and it's cleansed. From that day on. Folks, that salt is the gospel of purity. It's the gospel of righteousness of Jesus Christ, preached through clean, holy vessels. You show me a man or woman that shut in with God, hates and despises anything in their life unlike Christ, and goes beyond what others are willing to go, shut in with the Lord, saying, oh God, fill me and anoint me with the Holy Ghost, that when I speak, I speak your mind. I don't speak the flesh, I speak your mind and your heart. You, Lord, put the salt in me. You let me live that life. Let me have that savor in me of Jesus Christ. And I'm telling you, that's a rebuke to the whole world. And that's something that no dead church can stand up against. And that's the only cure. It's not for sharper young entrepreneurial pastors that have a lot of head knowledge. No, no, no, no. And folks, I see this now. God's raising up young men, especially, and young women. They've been sending me their literature. They're sending me their notes. And I was four hours yesterday just reading. I got so excited about what some young lady sent. I got her on the phone and started listening to what God's saying to her. She's a housewife. And God is revealing things I have never seen or heard in my life. I said, how did it come? She said, 12 years being shut in with God. Took a whole year off just to pray that I would get to know Jesus. And God met my needs, and He began to reveal Himself to me. And she's saying things. And I believe there are going to be books coming out of this woman's pen. Incredible. In fact, I was working on this message. I'd go and call her and say, what do you see in this chapter? He goes back to Bethel, this corrupted society. Look at verse 23. And I'm going to close in just a minute here. Verse 23. And he went up from Jericho to Bethel. As he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him. And said unto him, go up, thou bald head. Go up, thou bald head. Go up, thou bald head. I see people looking at heads in front of them everywhere. And he turned back and looked on them and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wooden chair, 42 children. There were more than 42, but the ringleaders, the 42 of them, were torn by she-bears. I don't know whether they were killed or not, but they were torn by she-bears. And people who read that say, how cruel! How terrible that this man Elijah, just touched by the Holy Ghost, should go in a fit and a rage and curse children because they called him baldy. No, folks. No, no, no, no. This man was moving under the anointing and unction of the Holy Spirit. His life had been touched in such a powerful way. You see, these children had committed an unpardonable sin. You see, they knew. They had been told by their parents. Their parents had mocked it, ridiculed it, made fun of it. The story of the work of the Holy Spirit. That was the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit to take Elijah. And now they are mocking the work of the Holy Spirit. That's an unpardonable sin. And you see, God had sent prophets to Bethel. He had sent all kinds of prophets. Now, folks, there are 50 young men there. And I wonder what would have happened if those young men, instead of just staying in their church, studying theology, I don't know if they made an effort at all to warn those kids, you keep up the way you're going and you're going to pay a price. Did they ever go to the parents and say, look what's happening to our city. You see, I don't know what they tried, but I know what they're trying today in the church. I know what young prophets are trying to do to try to reach them. They're bringing the very music into the church that caused them to rebel. They are having rock and roll concerts. They're letting them dress like demons. They're going out as young men and taking polls to find out what a rebellious society would like to see in the way of a church to seduce them to come in. And folks, when God has dealt and dealt and dealt with the society, He's sent pastors and preachers, He's preached mercy, He's preached grace. There comes a time, if you know your scripture, that God says enough. Enough! And then He says, I have to have men full of the Holy Ghost that are not afraid to proclaim judgment upon their society. This was the message of judgment that came out of a merciful soul. That was the work of the Holy Ghost. Folks, we've been warning and warning and warning and I'm at the place now, I honestly don't care. I'm not a prophet. I've said that a thousand times. But I am one of His watchmen. And one thing I am sure of, I'm in touch with what I call this Elisha Company. All over the United States. Out of the hundreds of thousands on my mailing list. And folks, I'm in touch with the Holy Remnant and so is Pastor Carter. And we're in touch with people sudden with God. This Elisha Company that are not satisfied. This Elisha Company that knows that God's going to do a new thing in the last day. Along with judgment and through judgment, He's going to have mercy. His very judgment will be an act of mercy. To save a society from going absolutely over the brink into hell. I can assure you of one thing. That everyone that I know that's been shut in with God. Everyone that's seeking God and for this double portion of the Holy Ghost, they're all hearing the same thing. Judgment is at the door. Judgment is at the door. He returned to preach. To show the awesome judgments of God. They're about to fall. I don't know how close we are. The stock market this past week has dropped a thousand points. I don't know how close we are, but it's right at the door. That's what I hear. And that is confirmed by people from all over the United States shut in with God. They hear the same thing. The Lord is speaking and warning very, very powerfully. And Pastor Carter told me that he was told by believers over in Kosovo and Macedonia. That the Holy Ghost had warned that judgment was coming. They were clearly warned. He has warned us. Let me tell you now, in closing, what I get out of this story. And what it means to me. It means this. I have told God the same thing that Elisha told Elijah. But I've made it even stronger. I've said, God, I've set my heart. And this happened in an incredible way just a few years ago. I set my heart to seek God. And I looked in the face of my Heavenly Father and said, I will not let you go. I'm going to seek you. I'm going to fast and pray. Not for any merit. Not for any good thing in me. But I have to have more than I've ever had. I don't have enough of what I need. Of your Holy Spirit. I want more of your Spirit. I want more of your Holy Ghost authority. Not to curse people. Not to hurt people. But to stand against the devils that are in them. And take authority in Jesus' name. I want that with all my heart. But at the same time, I'll preach mercy. I'll preach grace. But I'm not going to be a wimp. Facing this in-your-face generation. God has not called us to be wimps. He's told you and He's told me. If you have the Holy Ghost on you, you're going to tell the whole world. You're going to tell your neighbors. You're going to warn everybody. Judgment is at the door. You think right now. Right here in our museums. Right now, the mayor of this city is trying to shut down this terrible called art show in one of our museums. Sponsored by our tax money. A picture of the Virgin Mary splattered with elephant dung. Another museum just up the road here. They have there, it looks like it's going to be a permanent display. And it's the cross of Jesus Christ in a vat of urine. And it says, Urinate Christ. That's the title. I gave you the gentle word. Think of the militant homosexuals who march up and down with their signs, Christ was gay. You think of where our society is going now. And there has to be something rising up in you that the Holy Ghost is telling you. And that you have to announce, God said enough. And one of these days soon, God is going to smite. The man who created the cross in a vat of urine was stricken with AIDS and died in his 40s. You watch the judgments of God begin to fall. Folks, I don't know if you see what I see. I see hurricanes coming. And I see floods everywhere. And bugs, mosquitoes with encephalitis here in New York City for the first time. And you see things happening all over the United States. Don't you say God is doing something? God is trying to speak. God is trying to say something to this nation. And yet I hear preachers say, Oh, God is going to bless America. God has great things ahead. He does for the church, yes. But for God and the society, no. The sea bears are coming from the woods. God, raise up some pastors who are not wimps concerning this wickedness in this last day. Not afraid to stand up and proclaim the awesome judgments of God. Not out of wrath. Not out of judgment. But out of the love of Christ for a lost generation. Will you stand? How many confess that you need more of the Holy Ghost? Raise your hand, please. You say, Oh, I've been baptized in the Holy Ghost. Are you walking in the Spirit? Are you moving in the ways and the works of the Holy Spirit? Listen to me in closing. If you go to Times Square Church, you've been here months or years. You've been fed and fed and fed. You ought to be able to go to your neighbors or anybody in the job that's sick. You could share a little bottle of oil if you want. Or you can just believe God and speak the word. Every single one in this church needs to be an evangelist. You don't need papers. You don't need ordinations or license. All you need is a hunger for a greater anointing of the Holy Ghost on your life. I'm not talking about the anointing some people call the anointing. For more money and for riches and things like that. Or to be able to go out and read people's minds. No, I'm talking about the anointing that produces godliness in you. And produces purity and holiness of Jesus so that you can speak a pure word that gives life. And it doesn't produce death. Because death produces death. Oh, no, no, no. You should be praying for the sick. You need to be every place on the subways and in the bus. You need to turn to one on the right or the left. If all you can say is, do you go to church? I know a good church. And all you do is hand out a card. Whatever you do to strike a conversation on the job wherever you are. As you walk in these streets. Do as I do. Do as Pastor does. I pray and I weep over this city. I cry and pray and say, Lord, lead me to somebody that's hungry now. But more and more God is saying, hear me please. I've given you the Holy Ghost for a purpose. To go back over the Jordan. Back to this deadness and back to this and make changes. God, help us never to just come into this church and soak it in. Because those waters soon get stagnant. That's why we have to stir them up. If you've ever seen a pond with all the junk on it. Rains come and the flood comes and pushes all the junk over the dam. We need another outpouring of the Holy Ghost as we've never seen. Father, I thank you for truth that sets us free. Lord, I want to hear. And I know you want to hear from many, many people here. We have to acknowledge. I wanted to go further. I wanted to go deeper. I wanted to know more intimacy with Christ. I wanted to walk more fully in the power and unction of the Holy Ghost. But somehow I got stopped. Somehow I'm not moving ahead anymore. I'm not growing. I don't know what happened, but I've slipped back. I'm not making progress. I'm not growing. There's some kind of death that's crept into my life. Oh God, in Jesus' name, change things today. Holy Spirit, come forth with new vessels full of salt. Hallelujah. Sanctify us, purge us that the savor of Christ may come forth from our hearts and our lives. If you're here in this main auditorium and I'm speaking, those that are in the annexes and the other auditoriums watching on the jumbotrons, Holy Ghost doesn't bring a message like this just to intrigue you. And it's not for you to go home and say, well, that was interesting. Or, that was different. No, no, no. He's trying to teach you and He's trying to teach me something. God has something far beyond what you've had or experienced. If you're satisfied with what you have, God help you. There ought to be a cry in your heart right now, oh God. I'm so far from what I want to be in you. There's so much more that I need. If you have an unsaved family, husband, wife, or children, it's evident things haven't changed, so it's evident that you need more of His power and more of His anointing in your life and a closer walk with Jesus. If God's dealt with you this morning in the annex, I want you to go not to the screen, but between the screens. Just step forward in between the screens. The pastor will be there and take you into another room and pray with you. Here in the main auditorium, come forward only as the Holy Spirit moves. We're going to ask God to do a new thing in your life. If you're unsaved, if you're not right with God, if you're back, join these that are coming. In the annex, the same. In all the rooms, just go between the screens. Just step forward right now. And up in the balcony, go on stairs on either side and come down any aisle. Please move in close to make room for those that are coming, if you will, please. God's going to do a new thing in many lives here now. Here's what I want to say to you in closing. And listen closely, because here's the key. After he went to Jericho, then to Bethel, the Bible says in the last verse, and he went from thence to Mount Carmel. Why would he go to Mount Carmel? He went there to say, Holy Spirit, thank you for the miracles. Thank you for the work you're doing in my heart. Thank you for using me to raise the spiritually dead. But, oh God, more than anything else, I want you. He went to Mount Carmel to shut himself in with God. Because, you see, even after the miracles and after God answering prayer, he said, Lord, it's all about you. I just want to be with you. And if that's in your heart. He didn't come here just to see miracles. He didn't come here just to have your Red Sea open or your Jordan crossed. That all is a part of it. This great new thing he wants to do, a fresh new work in your heart. But there has to be something in your heart that says, above all of that, oh God, I want to be a man or woman of prayer. I want to continue seeking your face. So much so that if I don't even see a miracle, if I didn't see anything, I know I have a place with you. Do you have your Mount Carmel that you can escape to, that you can go to? He went to the very place where the fire once fell. He went back to where Elijah had seen miracles. But now there are no miracles, just a man on his knees, worshipping. Oh God, bring us to that place. God, we have a whole nation that when I preach about miracles, and we talk about miracles, that's all they want. They want signs, wonders, and miracles. Lord, we'll get our signs and wonders and miracles because you want to do for us, exceeding, abundant, above all we could ask or think. But oh God, more than anything else, you're trying to draw us to yourself. You give us the Holy Ghost to walk in the Spirit, but that walk in the Spirit is directly into your presence first. The Holy Spirit will always lead us to Carmel, to pray and seek the face of God. You pray this prayer with me. Jesus, I want you more than I want your gifts. I want you more than miracles. I want you more than anything in my life. Draw me closer to you. Forgive me for being so busy and preoccupied with the things of my own life. Now Jesus, cleanse me, forgive me, pour in the salt of your holiness into my heart and cleanse the stream that comes out of my mouth and out of my heart that will be pure and righteous and holy because of the blood sprinkled on my heart because I believe you, Lord, that you've given me the Holy Ghost. You've put the Holy Spirit in me to love the world, to minister to the lost. Father, forgive me if I have been selfish and kept all of this to myself. Open the doors for me, Lord, to witness for you. Give me the power of the Holy Ghost and authority of the Holy Spirit to speak the word and to know that God will work with me. Now raise your hands and just thank Him now. Just give Him thanks. Lord, I thank you. I give you thanks. What a faithful God. God is faithful, loving, kind, merciful. Hallelujah.