Second thing that he did was he isolated and withdrew from relationship. He would not go in. When people have an orphan spirit and abandonment and bitterness in their heart, when something happens that knocks them emotionally, they withdraw from relationship and connect and isolate. If you withdraw from relationship and isolate, it's most likely that at the core of your heart you have an orphan spirit operating. You don't understand the Father's love and so you're taking it on personally. Then what he did was he struggled with deep feelings of rejection and loneliness and isolation and resentment. Now this is my experience with many people. I have struggled with that over many years of my life. Things would happen that would be a setback and instead of thinking about it right and handling it like a child of God, I'd go into an old pattern, a childhood pattern and become hurt inside, then isolate, withdraw, shut down.
It become such a habit of mine I could hardly stop it happening. What it means is there's something wrong in the heart. There's a lack or devoid of revelation of the love of the Father. That's what causes that. It's a void of revelation of love, so therefore you isolate and then you live in your pain and try and process it. Of course you become lonely and you'll say church is a lonely place. The church isn't here to meet your needs for loneliness. That has to be met by choice of your own, to deal with the inner belief system and find a relationship with God and learn to build friendships. When you build friendships the fruit of that is you're not lonely. If you want friendships you'll always be lonely. Just think about that.
Okay then, so his words revealed the mentality so you notice his behaviours revealed what was in his heart as soon as he heard that someone else had been blessed. Now how many times have you heard someone else get promoted and instead of celebrating immediately you thought why not me? It's not fair. That inability to celebrate with others, rejoice with their successes, is a sure sign of your lack of revelation of the Father's love and provision for you. I've found very often when someone gets blessed others in the house will say why him? They're an elder brother. They haven't got revelation of the Father's love for them, so the moment someone is acknowledged or comes forward, immediately there's negative feelings and a shutting down and withdrawing in pain and it's because of underneath there's a lack of revelation of Father's love for you.
When you're full of the love of the Father for you you're happy for everyone to be promoted, everyone to be celebrated. Someone just got a new car - that is fantastic! Take me out in it, you know, instead of you don't deserve that. ... [Laughter] ... That's an elder brother attitude. See, that's what the elder brother's - he doesn't deserve that! He doesn't deserve being blessed or being generous. Why? Because he needs to earn it and he hasn't earned it. Where did he get that thinking from? That was his own thinking. I've got to earn it. I've got to earn it. If I just am good enough and work hard enough I'll earn blessing from my father. That's what he's thinking. So now his words give him away completely.
Notice what he says; your brother has come - he was angry, wouldn't go in, so he answered. He said 'Lo, these many years I've served you. I've been serving you. I've been serving you. I'm the one entitled to the fatted calf. How come he got the diamond and I didn't? Look, it touches everyone. When there's revival and God pours His spirit out, the elder brothers appear in their numbers. It's true, so the first thing you notice - I'll give you some keys ways, a slave mentality, a victim mentality. Look, people think like victims, they'll think similar. This is what it is. First of all they justify themselves, I'm right. See, I've been a servant. I've been working, look, I'm doing alright. There's nothing wrong with me. Don't look at me. I've done something, I've been working hard you know - so a victim will always think they're right. I'm right. The word is viewed through 'I'm right' see? They justify themselves.