Finding Hope: Overcoming Depression Through Faith and Community

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1 Kings 19:5-8 (NIV)
> Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

#### Observation Questions
1. What did the angel instruct Elijah to do when he was under the bush? (1 Kings 19:5-7)
2. How did Elijah respond to the angel’s instructions, and what was the result? (1 Kings 19:8)
3. According to the sermon, what are some causes of depression mentioned? ([51:49])
4. What was the first problem in the Bible, according to the sermon, and how does it relate to the need for community? ([54:15])

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think the angel’s instruction to “get up and eat” was significant for Elijah’s recovery? How does this relate to the importance of physical and spiritual nourishment? ([58:44])
2. How does the story of Elijah illustrate the importance of admitting our struggles and seeking help? ([01:07:54])
3. In what ways does the sermon suggest that community and small groups can aid in mental health recovery? ([39:10])
4. How does reconnecting with our God-given purpose help us overcome mental battles, according to the sermon? ([01:25:08])

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you felt overwhelmed or depressed. Did you admit your need for help? How did that impact your recovery? ([01:07:54])
2. How can you actively engage in a community or small group to foster honest conversations and mutual support? What steps will you take this week to connect with others? ([39:10])
3. What are some practical ways you can ensure you are receiving both physical and spiritual nourishment in your daily life? ([58:44])
4. Think about your current life balance. Are there areas where you are taking on too much or isolating yourself? What changes can you make to create a healthier balance? ([51:49])
5. How can you remind yourself of your true identity in God during moments of despair? What specific actions or practices can help you reconnect with your divine purpose? ([01:20:19])
6. Identify one area in your life where you feel disconnected from your purpose. What steps can you take to realign with your God-given mission this week? ([01:25:08])
7. Consider someone in your life who might be struggling with depression or isolation. How can you support them in admitting their need for help and connecting with a community? ([01:07:54])

Day 1: Courage to Acknowledge Our Struggles
Admitting the need for recovery is a crucial first step in the journey towards healing. Just as one would rush to an emergency room to treat a physical ailment, acknowledging our mental and emotional struggles is essential for beginning the process of recovery. This admission is not a sign of weakness but of strength and self-awareness. It allows us to confront our issues head-on, opening the door to the necessary help and support. Recognizing our vulnerabilities can be challenging, but it is the first step towards profound healing and transformation. [01:07:54]

Psalm 142:1-3 (ESV): "With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. When my spirit faints within me, you know my way!"

Reflection: What are the struggles or pains you have been hesitant to admit to yourself or others? How can you take a step today to acknowledge them?

Day 2: Healing in Community
The importance of community in the healing process cannot be overstated. Engaging in small groups provides a platform for honest conversations and mutual support, which are vital for overcoming personal and spiritual battles. In these groups, individuals can remove their masks, share their struggles, and find a safe environment that fosters healing and accountability. This communal aspect of healing reflects the biblical principle that we are made for fellowship and that bearing one another's burdens is part of our spiritual calling. [39:10]

Galatians 6:2 (ESV): "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Reflection: Who are the people in your life with whom you can be truly honest about your struggles? Consider reaching out to join or form a small group this week.

Day 3: Nourished by Word and Spirit
Just as Elijah was physically and spiritually nourished by the angel's food, we too need nourishment to face our life's journeys. This nourishment isn't just physical but includes spiritual sustenance through prayer, scripture, and fellowship. Regularly feeding our soul with these spiritual disciplines empowers us to endure and overcome the trials we face. By integrating these practices into our daily lives, we ensure that our spiritual health is maintained, which is crucial for overall well-being. [58:44]

1 Kings 19:5-8 (ESV): "And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, 'Arise and eat.' And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, 'Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.'"

Reflection: How can you better integrate spiritual nourishment into your daily routine to strengthen your journey through life?

Day 4: Embracing Our True Identity
In moments of despair, reconnecting with our true identity in God can fortify us against life's challenges. Remembering who we are in Christ helps us resist the lies of inferiority or defeat that often accompany difficult times. This embrace of our divine identity is not just about self-recognition; it's about accepting the reality of God's love and purpose for us, which empowers us to overcome any mental battles and fulfill our potential. [01:20:19]

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV): "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Reflection: What are some lies about your identity that you need to reject? What truths about your identity in Christ can you affirm today?

Day 5: Reconnecting with Our Purpose
Depression can often make us feel disconnected from our purpose. By realigning with our God-given missions and roles, we not only gain clarity but also renew our motivation to persevere and thrive. This reconnection is a powerful antidote to the hopelessness that often accompanies mental health struggles. It reminds us that we are part of a larger story and that our lives have meaning and direction, which is essential for moving forward with hope and determination. [01:25:08]

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV): "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Reflection: What aspects of your life's purpose feel most disconnected right now? How can you take steps this week to realign with your God-given purpose?

Our next step into whatever that looks like.

So I just want to encourage you as we just ended our spring semester of small groups. We will be preparing for our summer semester. And if you've been here any length of time, you know our summer semester is a pretty short semester. The other semesters are 13 weeks, but the summer semester is only six weeks long.

And we do that intentionally because people are getting ready to travel and vacations and things like that. So our registration to sign up to lead a group will open up this week. It will last for six weeks, starting the first Sunday in June and go to, I think, the last, the first Saturday in July.

So six weeks. I want to encourage you if you feel led to lead a group this semester and you never wanted to do one that long, this will be a perfect time to lead a group. Whether it's for men, women, teens, a singles group, a marriage group, a crochet group, whatever's in your heart, you know, whatever gift or talent is on the inside of you and you want to share that with other people.

You may have a finance group locked up on the inside of you. God may give you some wisdom on how to help people get houses, whatever it may be. We give you as much freedom to lead that small group as possible.

And so I want to encourage you, just like the young lady here, she found freedom, she found hope in her small group. There are a lot of things you'll never say in front of the masses, but when we get in our small groups, those things begin to come off and people begin to raise their hand and say, "Hey, my name is Corey and this is my problem."

There's safety, there's community in your small group. So thank you, thank you, thank you, ladies, for sharing that on this weekend. It appears you guys were blessed, ladies, this past weekend at our women's... well, about to say women's conference, but the women's brunch.

And Pastor T always has a way she says things. I'm like, "Where does she get that from?" I mean, she says some stuff, but I'm like, "It took me a year to get that." But she got along with God for five minutes and got a whole book. It takes me weeks to get a word. Come on, somebody. Y'all laughing, I'm serious.

Prepare for my method; it's weeks out and week out. She can get a word that can get that. What? That's me, that's me. If I scared of that, that's you. See her, you see me. Come on, somebody, that's me. I did that. Come on, I don't need it to be the opposite way.

I'm like, "Lord, now what is she doing up there embarrassing the whole household up here?" You know? And so I love to see God use her minister. And thank you for being my baby mama. Come on, somebody. Happy Mother's Day to you, every Mother's Day to you, and every Mother's Day to all the mothers, and every Mother's Day to all the mothers watching online, even my mama who's watching online on today as well.

Happy Mother's Day to you, and happy Mother's Day to all the ladies in here that God has given the gift, whether you are a mother or not. But all you ladies that God has blessed with that amazing gift to give birth to a child, I'm so grateful He saw you fit to have that gift and not us.

So we mean, come on, man, stand to your feet, man, and then just honor all the women. Come on, all the men, give the women a handclap of praise in this place on today. Amen. We honor you for who you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Amen. I want to just give a couple quick announcements and jump right into the message on today. This was supposed to be a four-week teaching on mental health, but I think it's going to end up in about six weeks.

So technically, the last two weeks of this series, I kind of want to turn the Sunday morning service into like a conference. I'm still processing and looking at it to hopefully get a speaker here that fifth week who's deep into the mental health space.

We have a lot of resources available here at the building to be put in your hand. And so that's going to be a weekend where I really want to encourage you to invite your family and your friends. Of course, the second service is at capacity. We're working on figuring out some things with that.

But again, for those who like the early morning, get up, eight o'clock service is an option. That's a full service as well. Still room in there and the third service as well. I'm looking at trying to find some ways to manipulate y'all to go to the first service.

No, like, you know, doing stuff like offering breakfast to the first service. So trying to figure out some kind of ways to make it enticing. And I think for the third service to make the third service enticing because many people don't like the twelve o'clock service because it's like twelve o'clock, one-thirty is late.

So I'm thinking about making the twelve o'clock service like a seventy-five-minute service. So finding a way, just the word and worship, no announcements, nothing. So I'm trying to get a little link on your phone, get the announcements on your phone, but just the worship, the word, get out of here, okay?

And so trying to figure out ways because obviously folk are coming here, folk are finding freedom, finding hope, finding help. And if God is sending people our way, we want to do our best to accommodate as many people as possible.

I'm looking forward to our next upcoming launch meeting for the Pool Campus in June. So excited about the launch of the Pool Campus. It's going to help out a lot. And I just say, just stay in prayer. Just been believing God for us for the right building to pop up.

It can't be too far from here because again, folk buildings pop up left and right downtown, but I can't move a mass of people from here to downtown. Y'all are going to find another church to go to. So it got to be in the right proximity.

So be praying for that. God is up to something; He's doing something amazing in our midst, and I'm glad that all of us get to be a part of what God is doing right now. Many of you have skills in you, talent in you that have yet to be used, yet to be unleashed.

I believe you're in the right house at the right time for God to use you in ways that you don't even see or imagine. So be open for what God desires to do in this season. Amen.

And then the other two things to add to that as we're working on doing that same season, going to be releasing some information about, through the foundation, we will be launching what is going to be called Mine.

Well, it's going to be a mental health program that's just not for Hope City, but it's for the community, for the city. More details will be shared on that on the fourth Sunday, but we'll be launching that. We're working on our counseling services here at Hope City and making sure that structured and robust the right way.

So we're working on that right now. More details on that on the fourth Sunday as well. And then last but not least, I'm looking forward to launching in July. For those who've been here long enough, you know we always do our national serve day the first Saturday in July with hundreds of churches across the country.

So this July, we'll be doing that serve day again. It's going to be a national serve day. What's going to make this unique for us at the end of the month, I want to launch every fourth Friday evening when I turn the entire lobby. If you've been here long enough, you know we do a giving hope Christmas mall.

I literally want to turn our lobby into like a shopping store for free stuff to give to people who are in need, like food, clothes, makeup for ladies, people who are trying to start over again, and really encourage people to be a store that is open every Friday, first Friday, the fourth Friday of the month for those that are in need.

People need help; they need hope. And that will be one of our ways of... and the whole idea is making people feel beautiful and look beautiful. And so we'll show more details on that, but we're looking forward to launching that in July.

And all of that is part of the mental health awareness. Again, how people look, how people feel makes a huge difference when it comes to one's mental health. So be proud for us. A lot of amazing things to come in.

And again, we cannot do what we do here at Hope City, as Minister Jeannie had already said, without your faithfulness, your commitment, and your generosity. Someone said to me last week, "Do y'all take tithes and offerings?" I said, "Of course we do."

They said, "Why you say that?" I said, "Because I don't see the buckets passing." I said, "No, we take tithes and offerings." So if you don't believe we take tithes and offerings here at Hope City Church, we take tithes and offerings.

We do what we don't take; we receive an offering. Okay? We ain't the mafia. Come on, somebody. We receive offerings. We receive an offering for the Lord. We tend to do that in a slightly different way from many churches you may have been to.

It's two reasons why people say they don't go to church: because all the church wants is my money. And one of our desires is to make sure that people know that that's not the reason why we're here. We're not trying to get something from you; we're actually trying to get something to you.

And so, but as Christians, as believers, we try to eat the whole roll, the whole word of God. And whatever God desires or tells us to do, that's what we want to do. So giving is big here at Hope City.

I shared a few weeks ago, a hundred and sixteen thousand dollars we gave as a church because of the generosity of the people of Hope City. We gave a hundred and sixteen thousand dollars in outreaches in twenty twenty-three. And so we truly believe in that.

We can't do that without your faithfulness and your commitment. As long as the more you get here, you realize we do everything online for the most part. Most people give in the middle of the week.

Listen, ninety percent of the people give in the middle of the week. It doesn't make sense for us to spend ten to fifteen minutes on a Sunday morning dealing with the offering when people are learning and understanding and already in their heart know what to do.

So we do hit that what seems to be sometimes in a casual way, but we do believe that offering given is a part of our worship. And many of you have already embraced that. And for those who are new to the faith, your first-time guest, again, feel no obligation to give.

As a guest, this service is our gift to you. Those of you who are new to the faith, I will encourage you to make sure to ask one of the ministers, ask us if you are not getting the information you need. What does the Bible say about tithing, offering, giving, and things like that?

So we can make sure you're given because you desire to give and you got the revelation on giving, not because you've been forced to give. The scripture is clear: He loves a cheerful giver and not one who's given because we're forcing you to give. Amen?

Amen. Well, let's jump right into the word of God. Last week, we kicked off a series called Mental Health. And I was going to try to come up with a fancy little cute name to call this, but I said, "No, I'll make it plain."

We talk about mental health. Know that everybody will know what the subject was. It was mental health. And so today, last week we talked about how we get in a cave or how we get into depression. And this week we talk about how to get out of a cave or how to get out of depression.

Okay? And so we talked about how there are many people that... there's no one who is having a depression that is not or cannot run the risk of falling into a place of depression. Everyone, no one is exempt, if you would, from its impact, including great men in the Bible, such as men named King David or Elijah.

We even talked about the prophet Jeremiah, who wrote the book of Jeremiah but also wrote the entire book of Lamentations, which really means the book of lamenting. He was crying. His ministry was so much pressure in his ministry, in his prophetic calling, that he literally wept.

We call him the weeping prophet. When you read his book, you realize he was a person under pressure. You will see the dark stages of his life that he found himself in. And the whole goal of bringing those guys out was to show you that even as believers, as Christians, no one is exempt from falling into depression if we are not careful.

One scripture is clear: in this world, you will have tribulations. Stop right there. Don't move on yet to be of good cheer. But we, in this world, as Christians, as believers, in this world, as long as you're working, got a job, you have kids, getting married, got responsibility, in this world, you're going to have some tribulation and trouble.

He says, "But be of good cheer. I have already overcome." In other words, I have a way for you to overcome what's trying to overcome you. Okay? And so we're going to continue that conversation on today.

We talked about how all depression is not because of chemical imbalance. There is a depression that is because of a chemical imbalance in the brain. There is biological... and watch this here. There is even in some people's genetic family line, there is a depression strand that you can see where the mama, the daddy, the uncle, the brother, all of them had that depression.

And so it could be a chemical imbalance. But what I'm focusing more so on is life imbalances. Life imbalances that is causing most people today are not dealing with a chemical imbalance; they are dealing with a life imbalance.

And so we talked about six ways people get into depression or into a cave. One was life imbalances. You got too much on your plate; you're doing too much. You don't know how to say no. Come on, somebody. You're accepting every assignment because they are doing something, now you want to do something.

You don't know you accept every invitation that comes your way. If I tell y'all how many invitations I get to preach every year that I do not accept because my life would be... there'd be no balance. And so every invitation is not a call for you to respond to.

Not only is there a life imbalance that leads us into caves and depressions, we compare ourselves with other people. When you compare yourself with someone else, you open yourself up. "Well, they got this and they got that. Why don't I? Why don't I have this?"

We begin to compare ourselves with other people. If that can bring us down, down, down, we can also ruminate and self-talk. So self-talk can be negative. Self-talk is destructive. That is where Elijah found himself in the cave.

He's going to find himself at today talking about, "I'm the only one. Why me? Why me?" Ruminating and self-talk. "We'll never have a house. I'll never be here. She'll never love me. He'll never treat me right."

Self-talk. Here's a fourth one that we talked about: the inability to process pain. A lot of people who do not know how to process pain, you find yourself in depression or a cave. And many times, the way that people deal with depression and don't even realize they are depressed, they like to drink a lot.

They can eat a lot. Here's another one here: you can party too much. That's all... that's a coping mechanism. You want to eat a lot; you want to eat too much; you want to party too much. You want to go there. Those are ways to cope with life.

And because they feel good in the moment, you find pleasure in it in a moment. You don't even see nothing wrong with it, but it's eating away at the quality of your life. Not only the inability to process pain, but also we talked about people end up in caves because of isolation and loneliness.

If you isolate yourself too much or you're by yourself too much, you can find yourself in a cave. I shared that how the first issue or the first issue in the Bible was not sin. That was not the first problem of mankind. The first problem was when God said in Genesis chapter 2, "It's not good that man be alone."

And that's why He said, "Let me make him a helpmeet." That's before even sin came into play. The first problem was, "I made a man; he's by himself." Isolation, too much time by yourself has created too much problems in our own lives.

And if you be honest with yourself, you can look back on your life. "I did that when I was by myself. I did that when I was disconnected. I did that when I don't let nobody in." Too much isolation, too much separation can be an unhealthy thing.

And this is where Elijah found himself. He left his servant; he went a day's journey away and found himself under a cave. He left his responsibility; he left those who can hold him accountable to go to a place where he can go to a place to soak into his despair, to soak into his disappointment.

And here's the last thing we talked about last week that can lead us into a cave or into depression: spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare. What made Elijah... if you remember the story, Elijah ran away from his calling where he was at because after he had just called fire down from heaven, he slain all the prophets of Baal.

Even prior to that, he prophesied that there would be no rain or dew according to my word. And I don't have a word. He called a famine too. He called a drought to come forth with his own words. Why? Because he was a man of God, a prophet of God.

He did all of that, and then he gets one message from Jezebel that tomorrow about this time, I'm going to kill you. And how many of you get an email or a text or a letter, and your day was great until you read that letter? Your day was great until you read that email?

You forgot about all the victories you did in one season because of one day you got one bad message. Come on, somebody. And this is where Elijah finds himself: great man of God, mighty acts, doing great stuff. You got one bad message, one bad text, and we all get them.

Before that, can bring us... "Hey, just had a baby, just got married, just got a raise." One bad message. Today we're going to talk about five ways we can get out of that cave.

Look what it says in First Kings 19, verse 5, verse 6. "Then he lay down under the bush, and he fell asleep." He ran away from his calling. I shared last week the bush that he was under, it was a broom bush that sat so low that it was able to make a shade for him.

So he was in a comfortable, convenient place. He was cool with his gangsta lean under the shade, and he felt good. He was comfortable, but he was out of order. He was at rest, but he was not in a purpose.

And it's played some of you are at rest. You are comfortable being out of order. You got great peace, but you're not in your purpose. Come on, somebody. You ran away from your purpose all because you forgot all the victories God brought you through.

If God brought me through that, if God brought me through this, I know He can help me come through this. Yet we forget about all that. Life can dish us some blows in such a way we forget we have more than enough strength and power.

If we got through that, surely I can get through this. He got depressed. Pressure can bring even the greatest person down, as we see here through Elijah, through Jeremiah, through David, and some others.

Then he laid down under the bush, and he fell asleep. Is that all? At once an angel came and touched him and said, "Get up and eat." Out of all things, He had said, "Get up and prophesy." He didn't say, "Get up and sing a song."

He said, "Hey," touched him, said, "Get up and eat." You got some people in your life who are so down, who are so low, before they can do anything else, you need to make them eat. Life has dished them a blow.

That wife, that man walked out on them, and they have no desire to eat. They lost their dream job; they lost their home due to foreclosure, whatever the specificity of it may be. The dream, the vision that they had is not coming to pass, and now they're under a broom bush.

They are comfortable under the cover; they're relaxed. But someone needs to wake them up and say, "You need to get up and eat." This is where the prophet Elijah finds himself.

As you remember last week, we read scriptures where he was speaking about his calling and his purpose and how he wanted to die. Elijah, the prophet, the man of God, said, "I want to die." He's telling God, "Take me out of here. Kill me."

He had suicidal thoughts. Jesus, when He went up to the mountain to get away from everybody, it says when He went up there, the devil tempted Him. The devil tried to get Him to turn the stones into bread.

He said, "Turn these stones into bread." And Jesus said, "It is not written, man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God." He told him, "Matter of fact, fight that through."

He said, "Throw yourself down from here, and God's angels will lift you up." The devil wasn't there physically; this was all in his mind. Same thing with your mind. The enemy can come at our mind and throw ideas; he could throw doubts; he could throw stuff in our mouth and make you sabotage even some of the best things that God is trying to bring in your life.

But thank God Jesus knew how to contend with the devil. He knew how to contend with the thoughts that were coming to his mind. Everybody don't have that. Everybody don't know how to deal with the thoughts that are coming their way.

They don't know how to process it, and they get in the head, they get in the heart, and we start acting out those very things. Jesus said, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

We got to be very... Elijah found himself. He said, "Get up and eat." Look around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. It says he ate and he drank and then lay down again.

Then the angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him and said, "Get up and eat." It reminds me like Sundays. You go home, eat, you lay down, wake back up, go look at the pop... it gives any, and go lay right down.

You get up, you go eat something else, walk in the refrigerator, eat, and go lay back down. Now sometimes in our lives, all you do is just eat and sleep. Some of you right now, all you need to recover, and if you're better, you need to eat.

You need to sleep. That's your recipe right there. You need to eat and go to bed. You're working too hard; you're doing too much. You're not eating, and you're not sleeping. Come on, somebody.

Okay, see that? See, see that went deep. It was so practical. You even... even you know what that is. "Oh my God, I need to eat." It went deeper. But for some of you, you just need to eat, sleep.

You're going like forty and north, going north and south at the same time. You're never stopping; you're never resting. You don't know how to shut down. People see me posting on Facebook like, "Man, how you do all of that?"

Y'all, I normally have stuff that I posted. I did a week or two ago. Some of my posts are not in real time. Come on, somebody. And where you at right now? I did a post one day made about three weeks ago with me on the plane with my wife.

Listen to me, y'all. I have a story of a safe trip. That was last year. Come on, somebody. We ain't going nowhere. I just like the picture. Come on, somebody.

What y'all get going? We ain't going nowhere. I just like this picture. After this today, guess what I'm doing? Hopefully, I can do it. I'm going to the yard and playing some dirt.

You got to find a way that gives you a way to replenish and restore yourself. What brings you joy and pleasure that don't require you to have to do no real hard work? You know, planting and dirt for me just feels... there's something about getting close to the earth.

It just... it just fun to me. I don't... y'all can keep all that. Pastor, I got me a yard man. Okay, that's fine. Let the yard man do it for you. I got one too. But I just... certain stuff I like doing myself.

Okay, so this is it. So the angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." He says, "Where you are going and what you have to do, this journey is too much for you to do it in the lack of strength that you don't have.

So you need to get up and you need to eat." He says, "So get up." And he ate and drank. It says here, "Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mount of God."

Now wait, now wait. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty... I don't know about you, but after I eat about two o'clock today, I'm going to need some more. And I know I said more. I know it's not more, but I will say it's more.

More? No, it don't sound right. So it is more. More right now, but it's preacher talk. Need some more. It says he ate enough food in such a way that he was strengthened enough to go a forty-day journey without eating again.

I'm telling you, the strength that God wants to put in your life, the rest that God... the meal that God wants to give you in this season, it may not be natural food; it may be wisdom from somebody, guidance from somebody, insight, peace, joy, whatever it is.

It can give you strength for forty days till you get to your destiny. Can we give God a praise for that? Because it said the angel of the Lord brought all that. So now I'm just assuming if the angel of the Lord made that food, that food had to be good.

Come on, somebody. You know it is. It's like a heavenly Krispy Kreme. And I ain't talking about no Dunkin'. I say Dunkin' Donut, but them Krispy Kreme donuts. It's like I bet he had a Krispy Kreme donut and a sweet tea sitting right there.

If that was me, if I was Elijah, the Lord would know who I was. They would have corn like tea and Krispy Kreme donuts. So put them a Krispy Kreme donut right there as a sweet tea, a lot of sugar.

Come on, somebody. I've been doing good for the past 21 days. I slipped up yesterday, though. I slipped. I did. I did slip. I slipped. Actually, I slipped Friday with my daughter. We were driving back from Albany.

I think you know all that moving out there, moving them kids out of college. Y'all, it ain't no joke. It's like, "Where did all that stuff come from when I brought you here? We have this much." I mean, moving her, it was crazy.

So we go get something to eat from wherever it was, and I said, "I think I deserve a sweet tea." She said, "You deserve a sweet tea." I said, "My daughter said I deserve a sweet tea. I'm getting this sweet tea."

Happy Father's Day. Come on, somebody. So I had me a little sweet tea. I ain't drinking the whole thing, though. I drink it all. I just look at a little bit. I just got a little tea.

See, you know, not a whole cup of tea. That's a little bit. Say, "Yeah, I know how y'all do." Say, "Ain't drink all this tea." I did have a little bit of tea.

Listen, you will never get to where you need to get to in this season until you rest. You will never get to where you need to get to in this season and your marriage until you cease, cease from murmuring, cease from complaining, cease from ruminating on what he did and what she did.

Five, until you will never get to where you're trying to go until you cease. You will never get that dream home you want until you cease from spending too much money. Until you... that hit somebody.

Then I would say that a little bit longer real fast. Until you stop using them credit cards the way you use them, you got to cease. You got to rest because where you are going, you're going somewhere amazing. It's somewhere great, but you'll never get there until you cease from doing certain things.

Are you with me? Here's the five things we need to do to get out of depression or out of our cave. Number one: step into a needed recovery step. Step into recovery.

Listen, you cannot go to the emergency room and expect to be seen if you don't go through admittance. You can go to the emergency room all you want to. You better go and check in.

If you go there and just sit down, no one's never going to call your name. But you must go to the emergency room, check in, write down your name, and say, "My name is Corey. This is my problem."

Too many people are showing up at the emergency room or coming to church, but you're not checking in. You're not admitting. You're going to the small group meeting every week, but you're not admitting.

You're hearing everybody else's problem, but you're not admitting you have a problem. In order to be seen by the doctor, you must go through admittance. And some of you, you need to step... if you're going to come out of the cave, get out of depression, you need to admit, "I've been down. I've been low. I'm angry. I'm mad. I want to quit. I want to snap every time somebody... I just want to snap every two seconds."

Come on, somebody. Who Jesus called me? We're all going to need Him, right? You must go through admittance. I heard a pastor share a couple weeks ago. He had a member of his church that was dealing with a kidney issue, and he found he was on a waiting list for a kidney.

And he finally got the call he had been hoping to get for a long time. And he had to drive down to whatever state for this kidney transplant. When you get there for the kidney transplant, he went through a process of things to get him prepped and ready for the transplant.

Asked a lot of questions, had to do the system test. But when the doctor came back after the test and the process, he said, "I apologize. We cannot give you the kidney."

He said, "You're too sick to get well." Let me say it again. He said, "You're too sick to get well." He said, "There was still too much of the sickness in your body for us to put this healthy kidney in your body because that sickness is sick."

Though we have a solution for your problem, you're too sick to receive the solution. And listen, y'all, there are solutions all around us for your problem, but many times you're too sick to receive the solution.

He was going through dialysis week after week after week. My dad, for example, he's about to go through that right now three times a week. And if he ever needed something, there can only be so much sickness in your body for the healthy thing to do what it needs to do to recover the whole.

But he was too sick. He was too sick to see. Are you too unhealthy to receive your healing? Some of you, you need to rest. You can't get this new future you're looking for because you're too sick.

You're too tired. I'm saying with a... you're too tired. You're too burned out. You're too bitter. You're too mad. You haven't forgiven your mama for something she did 20 years ago. You haven't forgiven your daddy for something he did 20 years ago.

You're too sick to receive the solution. You're in the counseling session; they got the solution to your problem, but you can't even receive it because you can't let go of what happened yesterday.

Solutions are in front of you. We must get our lives back in order and in control of what we can control and always stop blaming the devil. Y'all, the devil's bad. I get it. He's the one who is easy. He's a bad boy. I want to be in a ring with him by myself.

But some stuff we blame the devil, and the devil is you. You did that. You went to that kitchen. The doctor told you don't eat no more salt. You went to the kitchen; you fixed that plate. You sprinkled that shot on it and got some... see, you did that.

The devil didn't make you do that. You got more power than you think. And when you learn you got more power than you giving the devil stuff that you think you got to keep playing to get fits can be fixed just like that.

Oh, the devil made me... the devil didn't make you talk to your husband like that. The devil didn't make you talk to your wife like that. That's you. You need to get here. You're too unhealthy.

I know, thank you. Seriously, got me. We got to get healthy. Some of the teaching we heard years ago or months ago, you got to get that unhealthy teaching out of you to even receive some of the good teaching I'm teaching right now.

Some of you are going to struggle to even receive some good solid teaching because of what you was taught 10 or 12 or 30 and 40 years ago. That in many cases, if you take the time to study to show yourself approved, a workman that needs not to say rightly dividing the word of truth, you're right, man.

Some of the stuff I learned years ago was not even Bible. It was opinion. It was emotionalism. It was sensationalism. You know what? I'm going to do this here because the more I keep seeing people that I love die or that you love die, I just feel compelled to do a teaching one day on death.

Because Christians are still having a hard time. "Oh, why did this happen to him? Why did this happen?" We teach people how to live, but don't teach people how to die. And then we find ourselves in the pulpit over somebody's body who's dead saying stupid stuff like, "Your mama took him," or "The Lord took your mama because He needed a flower in His garden."

Excuse me? God did what? He needed a flower in His garden? Could He say, "Poof, be a flower?" You know what I'm saying? All that stuff sounds good, but if you pause long enough... and some of you are unfortunate because you don't want to study the Bible by yourself.

You just listen; you just process, and you won't take the time to say, "Did that really make sense?" And I'm not saying everything that God says makes it, but I'm saying there's some basic stuff that if you read your own Bible, if you study yourselves, you'll be further along in what God was calling us to do.

It just happened. Somebody ought to step into a needed recovery. Thank you. Listen, because if you don't step into your needed recovery, if you don't prioritize your life, somebody will do it for you.

If you don't prioritize... like some... somebody... like when you go to work on Monday, your boss already got work for you to do. People are already saying, "When Sheila gets in on Monday, I'm going to help her to do all these five people."

It's already got work for you to do. So if you don't set order to your own life, I promise you other people... and it's Mother's Day, so man, let's just do what they tell us to do, and let's do it today, not Monday.

"My day off, don't bother me." No, I'm all in. I need you to fix the light. I need you to change this. I need... I'm saying people will prioritize your life for you.

And the men say amen to your spouse, and I will get you out of this. This will be my day off. I think about three weeks ago, Monday, my wife called me, "Hey, honey, the A.C. people are coming."

Because I knew what that meant. Because for Christmas, I stored all the stuff in the attic. They can't even get to the A.C. without me taking all that stuff down. So what she said, "Honey, the A.C. people are coming at some time."

Like, so that means don't just open the door and let them in. Go up in the attic and take all that stuff down so that they have A.C. I'm like, "This is my... I'm trying to cease. I'm trying to rest."

Step into your needed recovery. Look what Psalm 90:12 says: "Teach me to number our days and recognize how few they are, and help us to spend them as we should."

Time is... time, y'all, our days are short. Whether it's 40 years, 50, 60, 90, in the scheme of life, it's a vapor. And He said, "No, it's not that way, but teach us how to manage our days, not just wasteful living, not even to enjoy the life and the relationships you have."

Teach us to number our days. First Kings 19:9 says, "There he went into a cave and spent the night, and the word of the Lord came to him. What are you doing here, Elijah?"

I'm going to say this here: what are you doing here, David? What are you doing here, Harold? What are you doing here, Corey? I put your name down. What are you doing here?

What are you doing in that? Didn't you just call me? Didn't you just call fight from heaven? Didn't you just get a new home? Didn't you just give birth to a new baby? Didn't you just... Elijah, what are you doing here?

Elijah said, "I've been very zealous for the Lord Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left."

He's so low, he thinks he don't want you to have been a phone. "I'm done. I'm the only one that cares. I'm the only one."

"Wait, it's just me, mama. Will you tell him to get in here to help me out? I'm the only one." This is Elijah right here. "I'm the only one. I've been up cooking all night, and nobody had me cook this food in here."

Y'all know mama coming in. Y'all know what she like. You know, I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me too.

But the Lord says, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Said, "Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rock before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind."

After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, a fire came, but the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire came a gentle whisper. So you're looking for God, but you got too much noise going on, too much activity going on. You're looking for God in the big bang, boom, boom.

God ain't got... God's coming to still small voice. And until you be still, Psalm 46, be still. You're just always going somewhere. Be still, girl. You're always... boy, you're always in them streets.

You're always ripping and running, as our grandma would say. Stop ripping and running around this house. Be still because it's only until you be still that you can know.

He said, "Be still and know that I am." You'll never know that He is the true and living God. You know how to be still? Get your hands off of it and let Him do it.

Psalm 73, so number two: step into a God encounter. He says in Psalm 73:16, "When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply until I entered the sanctuary of God."

He said, "All this troubled me, all of this bothered me until I entered into the house of God, until I got into the presence of God."

Let me hasten quickly here. First Kings 19:13, "When Elijah heard it, he put his cloak over his face, and when he stood at the mouth of the cave, then a voice said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"

He replied, "I've been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword, and I am only alone. Now they are trying to kill me also."

Number three: step into your true identity. Step into your true identity. You got to know whenever you face opposition and persecution, when you forget who you are, your authority and your power, you will take on a lesser version of who you are.

You will put on armor and stuff that's not even who you are. Imagine Elijah, who just did all those great things. He's in a dark cave right now, and somebody comes and says, "Hey, who are you?"

He said, "Oh, I mean, like to say you Elijah. You don't want to call fire from heaven. You just called... killed all the prophets. Why are you in the cave?"

And that's how some of y'all look right now. You are a mighty man of God, a mighty woman of God. You've done some amazing stuff, and you got the devil got you off in a cave, losing your power, losing your strength.

You got to get out of the cave today. You got to get out. You got to get out of that hole. Eleanor Roosevelt says, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. He gave Jezebel consent to make him feel inferior when he ran from her, and she didn't even physically was there.

She sent a message that tomorrow about this time, I ain't going to kill you. You're going to be just like them dead. He felt inferior, and no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

He should have reminded himself that if God brought me through this, God brought me through that. You ain't no match for the God that I served.

First Kings 19:15 said, "The Lord said to him, 'Go back.'" He talked about he the only one, how they tried to kill him. That's why I'm in a cave. That's why I'm depressed. That's why I'm alone.

And God said to him, "He said, 'Go back the way you came.'" And go to... He didn't even acknowledge what he was talking about. "Okay, I heard you. Now get up, get up, and go back the way you came."

And think about the way he came. He told him to get up and go back to purpose. To get up, get up, get up, and go back the way you came.

Some of y'all ran into a cave; you need to go back the way you came. Go back to your vision. Go back to your dream. Go back to your purpose. Go back to your hopes. Go back to your purpose.

God's not done with it yet. And if you think He's done with it, maybe you need some therapy or some counselor who can help you see through that.

Maybe that's your thing for him. He had to sleep and eat. Maybe yours is counseling. Well, that was good, y'all. Here's what he needed: some sleep. It's rest.

Maybe yours is you need some counseling. You need some therapy. You need a vacation, whatever it may be. He said, "Go back the way you came and go to the desert of Damascus."

He said, "When you get there..." I mean, just like he just skipped over all that. He said, "When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram."

He said, "Hey, also anoint Jehu's son of Nimshi king over Israel." And he said, "And while you're at it, anoint Elisha's son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet."

In other words, get back to work. You're bigger than this. You're bigger than that. So watch this here. He said, "Jehu will put to death any who escaped the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escaped the sword of Jehu."

Watch us here. He said, "Yeah." And he said, "Let's be clear." He said, "Yeah, and I reserve 7,000 in Israel."

You talking about... "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, you ain't the only one. I got 7,000." Y'all got this here. He said, "I see when you're in depression, you say stupid stuff. When you're low, when you're by yourself, you cannot... the worst thing to do when you are depressed and down is diagnose yourself."

Because sometimes you would diagnose yourself. God forbid you have a situation going on in your body, and you start Googling it, and they give you all kinds of symptoms. You might will call the court because you think you about to die.

Hello? Oh my God, so and so, I got some... no, go read that stuff, and then you stop. "My back do hurt." Right? Your back wouldn't even hurt me until you read those symptoms over there.

Not on my back, and besides, hurt you. Let's be clear. I reserve 7,000 in Israel. In other words, you are not alone. All whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.

Step into your true identity. Go back the way you came for step into your new assignment. See, some of you, Victor Frankl said, "People have enough to live by but nothing to live for."

He said they have means but no meaning. You can have a whole lot of stuff if you have a purpose to live for. If you wake up every day just to go to work to pay the bills, that's a meaningless... that's no way to live.

You need a purpose bigger than paying the bills, an assignment that's bigger than that that motivates you and drives you to make you want to get up every day and go serve and make a difference.

See, the reason why Paul died when Paul said, "I finished my course, I finished my race," he... Paul, I'm done. There's nothing left. See, see, I can't die until I'm finished.

And that's how you got something. I'm thinking about your own life. But if you have a purpose, said, "What? There's no vision. People perish."

In the word, that word perish means they are shaken. Look what... where there's no vision, where there's no redemptive revelation, where people perish, they are shaken loose. They have no restraint, no structure, no order to their life, and they're living a life a case of "ross, ross, ross, whatever be will be."

Not necessarily always physical death, but their vision, their dream, their life, there's no life to it. Step into your new assignment.

Said, "So Elijah..." So Elijah, First Kings 19:19, "So Elijah went from there and found Elisha, son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair."

Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Listen, step into relational strength. You need some relational strength.

When he connected with Elisha, a certain strength, purpose, like, "You know what? But I'm running from that front. I got people to impact. I got worlds to change. I got a baby to take care of. I got a business to start. I got a book to write."

I get it. And for that single person who's waiting for their spouse, "My spouse coming." Now that was weak. Single people, whether... what? But good, that's cool. Then you may be content. Good, praise the Lord.

But my point is you got something worth living for. You got a purpose. The old folk used to say back in the days, "A charge to keep I have, and that God to serve this present age is what you need is my calling to fulfill."

Step into relational strength. Elisha strengthened Elijah. And then you get that one person in your relationship who say stuff like, "Hey, can I have a double portion of what's on you?"

The mentee challenging the mentor. And we like this now, "Okay, you want what I got? Okay, cool. If you see me when I go up, you can have what I have."

In that very moment, Elisha had the mindset of, "Wherever you go, I'm going. I'm going. I'm going to stick beside this one."

Right here is what he was saying. "I must stay close." If you ever read the scripture, when Elijah got ready to be transitioned up, the Bible says as he began to transcend up, his mantle fell, and it fell on Elisha.

Watch this here. That was... it was a lot of people that saw Elijah transition, but only one got the transfer. You want to know why? Because only one was close enough for the transfer.

This is not the season to be in the house but not close. It's okay to come here Sunday morning and be the big family reunion, but it's time to get close. It's small groups. Come on, somebody.

It's time to take off the mask and say, "My name is Cory, and this is my problem." And I promise you, here, this is one thing you will not get when you take off the mask and you want to get help.

You're not going to get some more people say, "Oh, for real? Oh my God, I can't believe you're going to get... oh, you for real?" Guess what? Me too. I've been there. I dealt with that.

You in the right place at the right time with the right people. Five ways to get out of a cave and get out of your depression.

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "Life would be there be no balance and so every invitation is not a call for you to respond to. Not only is there a life in balances that leads us into caves and depressions, we compare ourselves with other people. When you compare yourself with someone else, you open yourself up. What they got this and they got that, why don't I, why don't I have this? We begin to compare ourselves with other people. If that can bring us down, down, down." [53:01](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



2. "Would some of you right now, all you need to recover and if you're better, you need to eat, you need to sleep. That's your recipe right there. You need to eat and go to bed. You working too hard, you're doing too much, you're not eating, and you're not sleeping. Come on somebody." [01:01:55](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



3. "Again I'm telling the strength that God wants to put in your life, the rest that God wants to give you in this season. It may not be natural food, it may be wisdom from somebody, guidance from somebody, insight, peace, joy, whatever it is, it can give you strength for forty days till you get to your destiny." [01:04:30](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



4. "You never get to where you need to get to in this season until you rest. You never get to where you need to get to in this season in your marriage until you cease from murmuring, cease from complaining, cease from ruminating on what he did and what she did five until you would never get to where you're trying to go until you cease." [01:07:14](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



### Quotes for Members

1. "In July and so six weeks want to encourage you if you feel led to lead a group this semester and you never wanted to do one that long, this will be a perfect time to lead a group whether it's for men, women, teens, a singles group, a marriage group, a crochet group, whatever's in your heart." [39:10](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



2. "Of a cave or how to get out of the pression okay and so we talked about how there is many people that there's no one who is having a depression that is not or or cannot run the risk of falling into a place of depression. Everyone, no one is exempt if you would from its impact including great men in the Bible such as men named King David or Elijah." [50:01](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



3. "Great but you'll never get there until you cease from doing certain things. Are you with me? Here's the five things we need to do to get out of depression or out of our okay number one step into a needed recovery step and step into recovery. Listen, you cannot go to the emergency room and expect to be seen if you don't go through admittance." [01:07:54](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



4. "Your prophets to death with the sword and I am only alone now they are trying to kill me also number three step into your true identity. Step into your true identity. You gotta know whenever you face opposition and persecution when you forget who you are, your authority, and your power, you would take on a lesser version of who you are." [01:20:19](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



5. "Didn't say get up and sing a song, he said hey it touched him say get up and eat. You got some people in your life who is so down, who's so low before they can do anything else you need to make them eat. Life has dished him a blow that wife that man walked out on them and they have no desire to eat, they lost their dream job, they lost their home do the foreclosure whatever the specificity of it may be." [58:44](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)