Catch and Keep - Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts

foreign [Music] God gave me something to share that I hope will be helpful and edifying um it's in Ephesians 6 it's not unfamiliar but I do believe that it is a timely reminder of where we are to be positioned and focused not just as Believers but as change agents I think that if we get caught up just being churchgoers will miss out on the opportunity to be change agents to be people who establish the kingdom so I'm going to be in Ephesians 6 and 10. my subject is Catch and keep catch and keep God's going to help me make it make sense Ephesians 6 and 10 begins it says finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and then the power of His might put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against The Wiles of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against Powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the Heavenly places therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand Spirit of the Living God I need you surely without you I am incapable of doing anything that could touch your people but holy spirit when you breathe on this word when you breathe on my life when you breathe on this message lives are changed and so God we invite you further into this moment that it would be an opportunity for us to see your face God amongst all of the other things we're having to pay attention to God just for the next 40 minutes the next 30 minutes let us see you and you alone and may we be so taken away by what we see that it changes how we see God I thank you for the gift of wisdom prophecy Insight Revelation the full use of the Holy Spirit God and I thank you that as you release your spirit in me that there will be glory that breaks out in this room that lasts for Generations after Generations do that thing that you do when you sit in a room in Jesus name a man and amen amen okay I am just pulling up my notes Here I've always found it fascinating that when Jesus is recruiting his disciples to join him in Ministry that he uses the phrase Fishers of Men if you follow me I will make you Fishers of Men of all of the different professions of the time there was something unique about fishermen that he wanted the the disciples to understand would be a framework for how they moved into discipleship then moving into discipleship would be very similar to how they were already functioning outside of purpose that's one of the things that I love about God and the way that he uses every experience that we've ever had is that he says I'm going to take what you already know and I'm going to build upon it but this time I'm going to use it for my purpose I'm going to take what seemingly had no purpose and use it in a way that gives it your purpose multiplication that gives your gifts and talents impact that it would not have otherwise possessed this is the difference between as just living our lives and doing what we can to take our gifts and talents to the next level versus partnering with God and trusting that God can do with our gifts and talents that which we could have never done God if I can see Limitless potential for who I am I wonder what you see when you look at the gifts and talents that you gave me because your thoughts are not my thoughts and my ways are not your ways and so as far as you can see we serve a God who says I can still do exceedingly and abundantly above all that you could ask for or imagine and so he says to the disciples I'm going to use what you know but I'm going to put you somewhere or I take it modify it and multiply it I love this because when I think about what it means to be a disciple I recognize that it's not about titles it's not about Fame he doesn't say follow me and I'm going to make your name great though with many of the disciples he does he doesn't say follow me and you're going to be popular and you're going to be likable though that does happen for many of the disciples it gives us Insight that the ultimate goal of someone who is a disciple of Jesus is not even to be someone who regularly attends church the ultimate goal of a disciple is to be someone who Masters the art of catching and Gathering people who have not received the knowledge of who Jesus is and bringing them into a place where they are functioning at their optimal identity that means a disciple doesn't need a microphone a disciple doesn't need a platform a disciple doesn't even need a perfect past a disciple doesn't have to have done everything the right way if you're looking at your life and thinking to yourself I'm not eligible to be a disciple because of X Y and Z then you have missed that the goal of being a disciple is whether or not you have the bait the bait of God changed my life debated the testimony of where you should be had it not been for God who stepped in and made a way out of no way the greatest bait that anyone can use is the testimony of what God has done in their life I know you want a degree I know you want to speak in tongues I know you want a church to endorse you I know you want your mother to get on the same page but if all you ever have is the testimony of who God is in your life that is enough bait for you to become a disciple you don't even have to have someone to lay hands on you all you need to know is that God never took his hands off of me I may not ever be able to say it the way Bishop Jake say it but one thing I do know as God still gave me something to say I don't know who you are in this room but I hear God saying that it's time for you to unleash your tongue maybe you're not in this room maybe you're watching online but I hear God saying there's more power in your testimony than you think there is that your testimony doesn't need an audience your testimony just needs one ear I hear God saying that you could do more with one ear than one person can do with one million because a person with one million may not have a testimony they may have a cute song they may have a nice body they may have a gift and talent that eyes haven't seen But unless they have a testimony then they don't have any power all of the power that God has assigned to your life is not in what you have achieved it is not in your success it is in the fact that God has allowed you the grace to overcome it isn't the fact that you ought to be dead somewhere it is in the fact that you ought to be locked up it's in the fact that you should have lost your mind it's and I know it's right I know I don't even have to understand what's happening in this room the sound is going out because there's going to be a sound that is released in this room isn't it ironic that the moment I say you need to unleash your sound that the enemy starts messing with the sound there's something connected to what's going to happen when you start tapping into a level of breakthrough Jesus didn't have a microphone Dallas we could be here all night you know I'm already the one for this kind of job I'm trying to let somebody know that if one can chase one thousand and two can chase ten thousand what can you do with the testimony that God gave you what can you do with the fact that you survived hell and came out on the other side what can you do with the gift of God that's down on the inside of you your testimony your testimony it's gonna break the chain your testimony it's going to make the difference and as long as the enemy can keep you silent then your Liberation is not the only one at risk but the liberation of the Nations connected to you are also at risk and I don't know why God gave me this message unless I believe that it is time for someone to start moving into a space of being established and who they are not in who they want to be not in who they used to be but in the full picture of who they are yes I used to be that and now I'm also this yes I used to do that but I'm also doing this and I didn't have to betray who I was to step into who I was becoming because God didn't require me to be anything other than who I am and for some reason I'm crazy enough to believe that he's going to make all things work together yes the best that I haven't passed is going to work for my future yes the past that I was crazy is going to work for my destiny yes the fact that I almost blew my brains out it's going to work because there's somebody who needs to understand that Suicidal Thoughts are not the end there's someone who needs the understand that depression doesn't have the final say and no one didn't want to go through it but God if you took me through it do something with it God if you took me through it I'm gonna lay it down on the Altar and I'll only pick me pick back up when you breathed on it in such a way that what was once a wound is now a weapon [Music] um once a wound now a weapon once kept me up all night now got me up all night cause I got a book I gotta write to help somebody that wasn't even in my nose but I feel like somebody that's got a wound that's on the way to turning into a weapon of mass destruction everything that the enemy ever met for April I wanna destroy with the very wound this should have took me out that's the word for every wound in this room you don't believe me this ain't in my notes so I don't know who you are if you don't believe that wounds turn to weapons let me tell you about a man named Jesus who was wounded for our transgressions then all of a sudden those same wounds got put into a tomb and they shouldn't have stayed in the Tomb they should have left him dead they should have left him powerless but he was raised with all power in his hand and every hand that they nailed to the crosses now the hand that is leading you and guiding you and if you want to let God's hand be on you you might as well let him touch the wound [Music] [Applause] that wasn't in my notes [Applause] not even a little bit but there must be some wounded people in this room who are right on the precipice of stepping out of the pain of the wound and they can feel it in their body because the things that used to hurt don't quite hurt the way they used to I used to be hurt when they walked away I used to be hurt when they betrayed me I used to be hurt when they talked about me it used to be a wound but now I understand in order to move and who God has called me to be I may have to take a licking and keep on and keep on writing and keep on breathing and keep on producing and keep on praying [Music] I believe I believe God gave me this message because so many of us have been engaged in involuntary catch and release only the fishermen know what this is there are some types of recreational fishing where you go in and you can catch the fish you can even take a picture with the fish but you have to release the fish when Jesus says follow me and I will make you Fishers and Men the intent is for them to catch and keep the fish not catch and release them and so Jesus has to spend time with them so they can Master the art of catching and keeping If we're honest we're in this room and outside of even catching and releasing people as disciples we catch and release a word caught the word life got hard I release the word I caught the good people I caught the one who was the kind of person who I'd want to be mentored by the kind of person who I'd want to have in my life but I released them it was involuntary I wanted to keep them I wish I had the character to do it I wish I had the skill set to keep them I wish I could have stayed in the job I wish I could have stayed in the business but for some reason I don't have any problem catching I just have a problem keeping for some reason God says to these fishermen in order for you to really be effective you can't just be someone who can catch an idea who can catch a word who can attract people you got to give them something that sustains them in such a way that you can also keep them so as I was studying this message I started to dissect this scripture this chapter of Ephesians 6. because I recognize that the Apostle Paul is on a mission to make sure that what he started in Ephesus can be maintained because he recognizes that they caught something and if you don't nurture what you caught you're going to lose it if you don't nurture what you caught you're going to lose it you have to understand that I wasn't just in the room I didn't just get a word that made me feel good for a minute I caught something and because I caught it and I want to keep it I have to make sure that I have an environment that can keep the very thing that I caught and that may mean that I need help and I may need tools because I've never caught something like this before there's somebody in this room and you have caught something that no one in your family has ever caught you've caught a revelation about what is possible you've caught a revelation about what can happen in your community you didn't just stumble into that I hear God saying I put you in a position where you could catch it I put you in a position that's why you had to be in that family so that you could catch that level of work ethic that's why you had to be in that family so that you could catch that level of hunger I put you in that family so that you can catch it and then be hungry to do something that would change it [Applause] Paul is writing this letter from a prison to a baby Church that with any little bit of division with any little bit of fear could easily abort the very thing that they caught tonight my assignment is very simple tonight my assignment is to help you dissect the steps and the tools according to this text and how you catch and keep what God's doing in your life come on this is Bible study I studied this text and I honestly I'm like God everybody anybody who's gone to church for a little bit has heard this text I don't see why it Bears any relevance to where we are now but I heard God tell me very clearly that there is an establishing that has taken place and in this establishing that there are people who are going to be afraid that when God establishes them that they may not be able to stay in the place where they have been established and so they're afraid to step out they're afraid to trust the opportunity they're afraid to trust the Revelation because they're afraid that if I trusted and I can't keep it then I'm going to be embarrassed but I'm here to prophesy to you tonight that God would not just allow you to catch something that he has no intention of helping you to keep God says if I put you in a position to catch it I'm going to make sure that you also have the tools the connections the mentorship to make sure that you also keep it I don't know who you are but I hear God saying you need to start thinking on the level of what you caught you need to start thinking on the level of who you need to be oh God I wish I could say this the way I hear it in my head but I hear God saying that when you catch it it does feel bigger than you when you catch it it does feel like you're in over your head and I hear God saying that's okay because I'm also going to make sure that you start thinking on the level of what you caught I'm gonna make sure that you start acting and communicating on the level of what you caught and you may not happen right now but if you caught it the catching of it is evidence that I'm going to help you keep it God if you let me catch it God I'm trusting that you're also oh God that's my word I don't know who you are but I'm going to say that this is my word because God's been throwing so many things in my direction and I've been looking at me and I've been looking at it and I'm like God I don't want to step into it because if I step into it and fall then maybe I won't be able to keep it and I hear God saying that I will uphold your foot with my right hand that if you order your steps I'm going to take them so I'm going to let somebody praise God off of my word because maybe if you're in this room it's your word too and I would hate for that word to pass you by so I'm going to give you 10 seconds to catch that word how do you catch that word you say God that was for me God I thank you that you're speaking to my doubt I thank you that you're speaking to my fear I thank you that you're giving me confidence for this next level I caught it I caught it I caught it the text begins in Ephesians 6 and 10. and it starts off very clearly he says finally my brethren finally he says my brother and be strong in the Lord and in the power of His spirit I want to skip down to verse 12 because I think verse 12 gives us an incredible perspective on what the Church of Ephesus is up against the Church of Ephesus at this time is under Roman rule to understand the PowerHouse that is ancient Rome you would have to go back and really do a full study on just how barbaric ancient Rome was when we read about how Jesus was beaten and bruised we need to understand that these were Roman soldiers who did this their Emperor is so cold the emperor literally at this time I think it was Nero Nero had his mother killed because his mother was trying to rule the throne through him and instead of having her rule the throne through him he killed her and she killed her husband so her son could rule it sounds crazy to us because we live in such a modernized western culture but back in ancient Rome this was the norm that you wrestle against flesh and blood that if you have an issue and concern it should end in bloodshed this is the mentality and the culture of what Ephesus is up against when they receive conversion because this is the mentality of their environment Paul has an assignment to make sure that they are able to be you transformed by the renewing of their mind which means that the environment where you have been formed is not going to be conducive to the transformation that you have experienced so he's teaching them how to keep what they caught you caught something the first thing you have to do is be willing to recognize that the mentality of where you are is at war with who you are becoming what I love about this is you know we we act like you can just pick up and move just leave those people leave your family leave yourself they don't understand you just leave If we're honest the way our bank account is set up I wish I could just leave I can't just leave this job I can't just leave this city but I'm telling you there are some times where yes if you can leave and God has called you to leave you have got to leave but then there are moments where God says you don't have to leave to be gone I am going to teach you how to still stay in that environment that you cannot change but I won't let the environment that you cannot change keep you from being able to be transformed it's inability to change has nothing to do with my desire for you to change I'm going to teach you how to transform with an audience I'm going to teach you how to be converted even when no one around you is being converted you think that you need other people to be on the same page and I hear God saying there will be some Seasons where you cannot just move and be with like-minded people but if you catch what I'm giving you I'm going to make sure that you can keep it even if you cannot move I know that that's somebody's word because sometimes we feel restricted by what we cannot do and I hear God saying if you stop focusing on what you can can't do you'll see what I can still do without you moving from where you are God says I can still do it with that boss I can still do it in that family I can still do it in that City if you think you need to move to get it done then you're shrinking my power God says that I can do it because of who I am not because of who they are if you put more weight on them then you do the word that I gave you then they are your God and not me but if I gave you a word I'm going to make sure that that word stays in the earth that word will not return unto me void when you caught it you caught a word what is happening on here when you caught it you got a word and God says when you caught that word there will be sustainability so Paul makes sure that they understand that if you bring the mentality of the Romans the mentality of your environment into this conversion you are going to mess it up this is important to understand because to be a believer of Jesus at this time was not a badge of honor the Romans tolerated the Jews at best tolerated them they understood they had their own God their own way of doing things and as long as they paid their taxes and stayed out of the Roman way then they could continue to be under Roman rule if they started coming cutting up they would be exiled when they got it together they could come back as long as they abided by the rules and so the Romans tolerated the Jews but when the Gentiles begin to be converted and many people began to believe in Jesus now there was division amongst the Jews it was one thing when the Jews were all on this same page and experiencing oppression together but it was another thing when the Jews started being divided because some of them started believing in Jesus and others did not I say that to say that to be a Christian at that time was to be at war with everyone around you and the solution when you are used to being at war with everyone around you may be to fight because of the culture of where you come from oh that's a word unto itself but Paul teaches them we don't wrestle against flesh and blood this isn't about the Jews it's not about the Romans it's not about whether or not we will be accepted or exiled or received again this is bigger than that I want to get into how Paul lays out the threat against what they caught it says for we wrestle not against flesh and blood you could keep there we go but against principalities I am I'm a Church Girl and I have always understood principalities to be assigned to a region let me break this down I like to break things down because sometimes we say things and we just assume that everyone knows what it means but a principality as I have understood it growing up in church is a rule that happens over a region some would say that what the south side of Chicago experiences in gang violence is the result of a principality a demonic power that hovers over that City that dictates what happens in that City so whenever we go on this tour we go into a city my husband and I are praying that God would show us what is the principality in this city because I want to understand what is ruling this the culture of this city not just what am I going to preach but what is my word up against I want them to catch something but I also want to make sure that they keep it and if I'm going to make sure they keep it I have to understand what they're up against so I understand what it's like to live in this city every region has a principality connected to it when I looked up the Greek meaning of the word principality it means to be first in political rank or power that means that a principality is whatever got there first before the Church of Ephesus was erected and before they became Believers of Jesus they just because they became a Believer didn't mean that they got to take over you can't take over because something ruled here first it doesn't mean that you cannot eventually take over but you have to understand that you're up against what got here first that's what happens regionally let me make it personal whenever you receive a revelation from God that Revelation from God that you receive you caught it but if you're going to keep that word you have to determine what was here first what was ruling first what shame was ruling before I got a word that I was free you see because the word of God is up against your own principality you are a territory and within your territory there are principalities that have been ruling before the word got there before the word got there there was something that was already in control so when I receive a word from God I have to recognize that that word is not just for me it's also for what has been ruling over me so when I say I'm fearfully and wonderfully made it is meant to go to war with the thing that tells me I am inadequate and will never be nothing that has been ruling over me for years but when I received the word I received a word that was meant to go to battle with that principality there are principalities connected to families there are principalities connected to workplaces and if you don't recognize the principality then you don't know how to properly direct your faith but when you understand how to properly direct your faith you make the principality your target what has been ruling in your life that God is giving an eviction notice better yet a revolution A revolution is the overthrowing of a government or system I don't know who you are but I hear Kirk Franklin saying do you want a revolution in that place where there is a principality that has been ruling the way that you speak that has been ruling the way that you show up that has been ruling your marriage it's not just an argument that's a principality it's not just something happening with that child it's the same thing that happened with your grandmother and that thing has been ruling in your family for a long time you can think it's new if you want to as long as you think it new you don't understand that there is a generational anointing that is waiting to be birthed on the inside of you and it's going to break over every generation that came before you and the generation that comes ahead of you you can say that's just the way we are all we want to but I hear God saying no the way you are is a principality that was installed the moment you experience pain and the moment you experience sin and the moment you experience heartbreak but when God allowed you to catch a word it was so that you could release that principality we don't need you any longer we got a new king we don't need your dictation any longer we got a new rule there's a new King in town There's a new order of business there is a new way of doing things I caught something that's helping me go to war with the thing that has had me snagged Paul says I'm trying to apprehend what I have been apprehended for I can understand that I've been caught so that I can do some catching myself I don't know who you are but Dallas I want you to know you got a temple to catch London I want you to know you got a temple to catch Nigeria I want you to understand you got a devil to catch not just over your house but over your region oh God I feel like preaching in this place because I feel like it's Kingdom time in this city not just church time it's Kingdom time I got a principality to catch over drug dealers I got a principality to catch over lust I got a principality to catch it's been plaguing my city for too long it's been plaguing my family for too long so I need yeah a principality a shame Lush anger over and over men anger silence hugger hovering over women it's a principality assigned to keep you from bringing in a a real Reign and a real rule for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and against powers [Music] are the Privileges that only exist because of the principality that is in place that word power literally means privileges there are certain privileges that exists when you see anybody who's ruling and then you see certain things that happen underneath them that you know shouldn't happen but because of the principality there are things that are in power that should not be in power so Paul says we're not just wrestling against the principality we're also wrestling against the power the Privileges that that principality has allowed to exist wish I could break this thing on down if the principality is Gang vows then drugs have more power than they should have because they're trying to escape the pain of what happens when when gang violence is allowed to be the principality of the region now drugs are a little bit more acceptable because they have a power to help you deal with the oppression connected to the principality most people when they DM me when they call me they're telling me what happened my daughters cutting my daughter won't talk to me my marriage is falling apart they're telling me about what happened but that cutting that symptom that action is only empowered by something that is at the root that has been ruling before the action ever took place [Music] so it's not enough to Dethrone the principality if you're not also going to make sure that you extract the power what has been empowered as a result of the principality that means that you can pray that God delivers you but you also need to pray that God shows you what have I empowered as a result of what was ruling over me because I want to get rid of that too if I had to manipulate in order to feel safe I don't want you to just deliver me from what happened to me I want you to deliver me from who I had to become in order to survive what happened to me if I'm going to go after the industry God I don't want to just be at the top I want to change the culture from the top down God help me to eliminate what has been empowered as a result of what has ruled Apostles if you make it about them you're going to miss that I elevated you so that you could see the whole system for what it is don't wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age so we have the systems that man exist in and what has been empowered as a result of the principality connected to the region the individual the family the business the culture but then we also have the reality that there is the ruler of Darkness as well I love this scripture because it says also against the rulers of Darkness of this age that means we have to be willing to ask God in this generation that we are alive in what is the plan of the ruler of Darkness for this age because this is the age that I am in oh this is Kingdom this is the age that you have allowed me to be birthed in and if this is the age that you have allowed me to be birthed in it means that I am the answer to what is happening in the earth and so God I need to understand who is my opponent what is the ruler of Darkness of this age I understand the system I may need to tear down I understand that what it has empowered but I also want to know from a spiritual level what is it that the enemy is trying to accomplish in the Earth because it cannot happen on my watch don't you see now why it is so important that Ephesus doesn't make this about hand-to-hand combat because they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and when you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit it has given you Authority and anointing to go to war with other Spirits yes I want you to dismantle what has disrupted your family I want you to dismantle what has disrupted your city but I also want you to dismantle every plot and plan of hell I want you to dismantle and every plot and plan of the enemy and you gotta believe that the spirit of God is working on the inside of you because you are the answer to the ruler of the darkness of this age Let It Be technology you get on there and you preach a word you think I'm preaching for likes I'm preaching to come up against the ruler of Darkness of this age maybe it is depression so I'm going to go to therapy because I need to be positioned to come up against the ruler of Darkness of this age the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent taken by force you gotta be hungry you gotta be violent if you gonna run up on the temple this is not the kind of work that we reserve from people who want to look cute and get it done this is the kind of work for somebody who understands if I gotta snatch these shoes off if I gotta be up in the middle of the night if I gotta get ugly with it if I gotta get credit with it I gotta make sure that the ruler of the Darkness at this age doesn't rule anything connected to me and if you get on your square and I get on my Square then maybe hell will have to back up off of our children and hell would have to back up off of our church and maybe hell would have to back up off of our finances because the rule of the Darkness at this age ain't got nothing on the ruler of the king of kings the Lord of lords who is the Lord God strong and mighty I wish [Applause] you got a real enemy and you got a real devil to fight and that's why you got to get your life together because if you only make your life about fighting what you can see you'll miss the attack of what's Happening where you cannot see and I hear God saying I will give you insight into what is happening in the spirit realm so that you can Target your prayers with power and authority you think the child is acting out I hear God saying that that child is in a war for their life that child is in a war for their spirit I don't know whose baby is in trouble but I hear God saying they got the right parent for the job I hear God saying they got the right parent for the job I don't know whose marriage is in trouble but I hear God saying you got the rights to ask for the job there are some things that happen but then there are other things that are on assignment there is an assignment from Hell over your life oh God [Music] thank you there is an assignment from hell that hovers over your life and if you think it is just about what you can see you will not release the anointing in the way that it needs to be released sometimes you got to get up in your heavenly language and let hell know that I see what you're doing but I'm not gonna let you go I feel like going somewhere on a Wednesday night that we not supposed to go I see what you're trying to do to my mind but I rebuke you in the name of Jesus I see what you're trying to do with my child but when I say I tell hell no you can't have my child I tell hell no you can't have my mind sometimes you gotta let hell know that I am covered by the blood of Jesus do you know what my god did when he sent Jesus on the cross he had victory over everything that's trying to drown me so if I got water in my lungs I gotta cough it up cause me is not an option an assignment from hell to break up your family an assignment from hell to make you think you're less than who God has called you to be an assignment from hell trying to keep you quiet an assignment from hell trying to keep you from birthing purpose and assignment from hell trying to make you believe that your life doesn't matter an assignment from hell trying to make you think that because they walked away that you're not worthy of receiving who God said you are and I came here to prophesy that every plot and plan of the enemy is destroyed and rebuked in the Jesus in the name that is above all names and the name that makes demon triple in the name that went down the hill took back the keys and said I declare that they're free and who the son has set free my God they're free indeed freedom freedom freedom Freedom cause devil I see you working God show me yeah God show me that his desire is for all things to work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose and at the same time that that's God's plan the enemy has a plan too and that is to make all things work together for the distraction of those who love the Lord and are called according to their purpose so you are not crazy because you think that this destruction is bigger I've had a bad day this feels different I've had some things be off before this feels different this feels like Warfare this feels like somebody is trying to stop me in my tracks this feels like somebody's trying to silence me this feels like somebody's trying to make me believe that I don't have no business being in this room when God has opened the door for me to walk through it this he's trying to talk me out of my destiny this feels like somebody's trying to convince me that the curse cannot be broken this feels like somebody's trying to convince me that I'm always gonna be certain this feels like someone's trying to convince me that I can't do no better than this this is like someone's trying to convince me that the weapons are gonna Prosper this feels like somebody's trying to convince me that I can't trust God no more [Music] [Applause] but job said though he's slay me yet shall I trust in them job said that when this is all finished I'm gonna come out as pure gold you gotta understand that job had a revelation law that all of this that I'm up against is not about what I'm up against it's about the rulers of Darkness trying to convince me that I'm Not Who God said I am but I'm going to start speaking even in the midst of the pain because my words unlock my weapons [Applause] so I don't know [Music] [Applause] against principalities against powers against the ruler of Darkness of this age and against The Host spiritual host of wickedness in the Heavenly places host like an army that's the devil in all his own minions who forgot that there's a hedge of protection around you though I hope should encamp against me this I will be confident one thing that I desire of the Lord that which I seek after that I might dwell in the house of the Lord if I dwell I'm not saying that the host isn't there I'm just saying that the host is behind the game I'm not saying that the enemy is not there I'm just saying that the host can't get to where I am that's why if you're in this room you better make sure that you're dwelling in the right place I know somebody's been dwelling in fear somebody's been dwelling in anxiety but I hear God saying it's never too late to relocate somebody's been dwelling in Pride somebody's been dwelling in ego I'm telling you the house is about to shake and when the house begins to shake there's nothing that that place can do for you but if you start dwelling in the house of the Lord the hosts lose loses his excess the only way we survive the reality that we have a vicious opponent powerful opponent yes Jesus Took the power from the Devil we don't always live with that revelation sometimes that enemy feels more powerful than we are but if we're going to live in the revelation that that enemy is in fact no more powerful than The God Who dwells within us we have to be willing to put on the whole armor of God which is another phrase that many of us may have heard in church so many times that we don't know how to make it practical to put on the whole armor of God it's a function in such a way the scripture says that you gird your waist with truth that means at your core you got to know the truth my mind may not know it but in my core I know that I'm fearfully and wonderfully made in my core I know that I'm anointed in my court now my mind I might get fuzzy and my head I may get caught up in who I used to be and what I'm up against but in my core I gotta have the truth you got to get the truth in your core once you get the truth in your core you get to move into the breastplate of righteousness covering your heart my heart's desires to be righteous so anything that makes me feel dirty not pure I gotta put some righteousness over that I can't engage in it because the breastplate of righteousness has got to protect my heart because if the enemy can get my heart he can get my mouth and if he gets my mouth it can change what I prophesy out of the abundance of the heart the mouth charge your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace walk with the expectation that peace is already there [Applause] even in the midst of War I'm walking with such peace because my feet have been bound my feet are bound to the preparation of the gospel of peace if the peace isn't there yet the peace is on the way The Shield of Faith the helmet of salvation the sword of the spirit they're countless things that help us to keep what we caught and now that you understand what you caught is up against maybe you will look differently at these scriptures that talk about the armor of God because there is a real principality real powers real darkness that are hovering in your life but the armor is more real than the principality the powers or the darkness I'm finished I'm going to say this in closing I recognize when reading this text when they started talking about the principality and what ruled first that Paul's ultimate assignment was not to position them to overthrow what was in place it was to keep them positioned so that they could be the last man standing ah you see so many of us want to be the first to do x y and z because we feel like there's such a prize that is connected with first but Paul has an Insight that if they stay in position that there's something more powerful than being first and that's being last I know it sounds crazy but there is a scripture that says the first shall be last and the last shall be first Maybe maybe history and culture has made us believe that there's only value in being first but when God positions you to catch something the reason why you have to keep it is because the threshold between catching and keeping is the bridge from what was and what will be and in that bridge that means that there is someone in this room who will be the last person in their family the last person in their City the last person at their business to ever experience the poison and the toxicity and the generational trauma that has been plaguing their family for Generation after generation there were so many people who want to be first but I'm going to be honest with you there are a few things that I want to be the last person to ever experience there is a beauty in being in the last place Paul is positioning them to finish last so that they can start over in a way that cannot be shaken so that the Next Generation doesn't have to experience the same war and battle that they went through I'm going to be the last one to ever cry over this type of Brokenness the last one to ever swallow this type of anger the last one to ever wonder what love is the last one to ever wonder what it's like to really have someone who was for you the last one to ever wonder whether or not you can really depend on family there are some fathers in this room who are the fathers that they are because they decide I'm going to be the last one to ever wonder where their father is I'm gonna show up even if they don't want me to be there because I made a decision to be the last one who was ever abandoned some women in this room who have made a decision to be the last one to use their words as a weapon if I can't build you up I won't say it if I can't say it with kindness then I won't say it at all cause I want to be the last one who was on the receiving end of that level of pain I'm raising up a standard and I'm the bridge between last and first I want to pray with you Family I want to pray with all of you to be honest I'm not even going to do a full altar call because God made it so clear to me that we're in this season where he's going to position us to catch new things new ways of thinking new ways of being new ways of believing new ways of receiving new ways of giving God says I'm gonna put you in rooms where you don't have any choice but to catch something oh God I'm gonna put you around some people where you have no choice but to catch something you don't have to pretend like you're supposed to be in there I got you in there as a net so that you can catch everything you're going to need for when I release you to be who you've who I've called you to be when I pray that God would give you Sticky Fingers that everything he throws your way um [Applause] Holy Spirit what a wonderful savior you are oh I thank you God that every day you're throwing out Grace every day you throwing out Mercy every day you throwing out wisdom and father If we're honest sometimes we miss it because our hands are so full from carrying the burdens of yesterday that rolled over into today God our hands are so so full and yet tonight you have breathed the word in this room that has given us permission to lay down our burdens to lay down our thoughts to lay down our fears so that we can catch your truth so that we can catch your revelation and so God we open our hands not just in surrender but in a posture of receiving God even tonight I believe that as we stand under an open heaven that you are pouring out peace that you're pouring out wisdom you're pouring out courage you're pouring out real power we receive it we receive it we receive it we receive it over fear we receive it over shame we receive it over worry we receive it over anxiety we receive strength God if you're pouring out strength we receive it God if you're pouring out love we receive it God we've never been so hurt so broken in our lives we receive it we receive your peace we receive your love we receive your wisdom we receive that we are not lonely we receive that we are not in it by ourselves we receive that we have value we receive your identity we thank you God that we are never without because you are Our Shepherd and God we also thank you that you will not take back what you poured somebody's in this room and then caught something years ago and they think it's gone because they didn't activate it I thank you God that you don't take it back I thank you God that they still have time I thank you God that you're going to bring them into rooms that can nurture what you've placed inside of them that you're going to illuminate mentors even from afar who have caught what they are trying to keep and I thank you God that they are going to become students students of how to be married students of how to build business students of how to walk this thing out with Integrity I thank you God that they are going to keep it and I thank you God that you have already secured their Victory and I thank you because their Victory is secured that even when the enemy tries it he will fail that even when the enemy opens up his mouth to speak against them that those words will return void because you have spoken a better word I thank you God that your angels and Camp around them I thank you God that even when they leave this place that you're ordering their steps God I thank you that even as they're watching online that your spirit is meeting them right where they are I thank you God that they're going to play this word over and over again and each time they play it they're going to get new strength and each time they play it they're going to get a new weapon and each time they play it they're going to feel their help coming back and each time they play it they're going to feel stronger than they ever felt I think you got that each time they play it that you're going to elevate their Consciousness that each time they play that they're going to feel like they can go to war again I thank you God that their battle days are not over but this time all they have to do is stand still and see the salvation of the Lord I thank you God that they're tired because now that they're tired you can take control and I thank you God that when you take control that you make all things work together so I prophesy in the name of Jesus that good is waiting on them I prophesy in the name of Jesus that their latter days will be greater than their former days I thank you God that they will be the last one who ever experienced that kind of pain that they'll be the last one that ever experiences that type of breakdown that they will be the last one that ever feels that level of Brokenness and I thank you God that they're also going to be the first because you're going to make sure that they are positioned to blaze the trail that they're not going to die in last place but you're going to show them that that last place was that actually the first place and I thank you God that they're going to be the first to prophesy the first to build the business the first to raise the standard of righteousness the first to make sure that every tongue shall confess in their family that Jesus is Lord I thank you God that no weapon formed against them would prospered and I thank you God that they're just getting started so we say Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get Ready Get ready we gotta battle the fight we got a kingdom to establish and Can't Nobody Do you like you so baby get in position [Music] heal this word God is only you can do let it take root and let it produce fruit in Jesus name amen family we love you God bless you good night [Music] foreign

Channel: T.D. Jakes

Views: 644,946

Keywords: td jakes, faith, wtal, woman thou are loosed, megafest, potters house, bishop jakes, pastors and leadership, pastors, leaders, instinctbishops, village, trust the opportunity, fishers of men

Id: x-g4XL4IOmU

Length: 62min 4sec (3724 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 30 2023