I Know Better - Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts

foreign [Music] mother just tell her happy Mother's Day happy Mother's Day we're so grateful for you we love you I really I wanted to get right into the word but God put this on my heart and I want to do it it might be a little weird but um Mother's Day isn't always easy on everyone sometimes your mom has gone on to be with the Lord sometimes your mom is in the world but not in your world and Mother's Day can be hard you can be a mom but not have your mom and still feel that ache of that motherhood wound and if that is you I wonder if you would for a moment just allow us to love on you if today is not the easiest day for you and you didn't know where else to go but to be in the presence of the Lord would you just wave at us so that we could love on you oh if you're by someone who's having a hard time will you just give them a squeeze let them know God's got you you're not in it on your own God allowed you to sit next to them to minister to them in this sensitive delicate day we see you we know it's not easy but we're grateful that you trusted us to be with you on such a hard day we love you we love you that's what family's about that's what church family if you're watching online and today is a hard day for you I want you to drop in the chat you are not alone you are not alone so that someone reading it has a reminder that when your father and mother forsake you that the Lord is still going to be there with you you're in the right place to receive love to receive healing to receive comfort in the place that you need it the most Luke 1 verse 57. this is man most of this text when we read about it Sinners around Mary receiving word from the angel of the Lord that she has been chosen to give birth to the Messiah that is not going to be my focus today because before Mary receives this news the angel of the Lord comes to visit Zacharias a priest and he says to Zacharias though you are old in age though your wife Elizabeth is barren that I am going to allow you all to conceive and who you conceive will be a prophet we know him as John the Forerunner of Jesus and while we do mostly focus in Luke 1 about the miraculous messenger that allowed Mary to conceive by the Holy Spirit I wanted to take a moment and focus on Zacharias and Elizabeth's experiences I believe that the Lord has revealed something to me that is Meaningful for where we are at this time in our lives when we enter into the text Elizabeth this woman who was Barren and older in age has given birth to John and all of the women in the city have gathered as is the custom of the time to celebrate this Monumental occasion where the Lord has allowed her to give birth even though it seemed that it would be difficult my text begins it says now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered and she brought forth the son when her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great Mercy to her they rejoiced with her so it was on the eighth day that they came to circumcise the child and they would have called him by the name of his father Zacharias his mother answered and said no he shall be called John but they said to her there was no one among your relatives who was called by this name so they made signs to his father what we would have him called and he asked for a Writing Tablet John and wrote saying his name is John so they all marveled immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed and he spoke praising God then fear came on all who dwelt around them and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the Hill Country of Judea my subject is I know better Spirit of the Living God I need you I want to see your face let this message be a song to you harmonizing with the needs of the people in this room harmonizing with what your spirit would have us to receive God you know every circumstance every Destiny every wound every purpose you know everything that you were reconciling within us and so God We Lay ourselves out before you and we say Speak Lord your sermon is listening Speak Lord in a way that only you can do Speak Lord until we become what you had in mind when you formed us in our mother's womb let this be an intimate moment between Creator and creation that allows us to become one step closer to what you have in mind God I thank you that there will be no nerves for me no fear no anxiety that I will decrease that you may increase and that it will be evident and obvious that it is no longer I who speaks but you who speaks through me have your way great God that you are in Jesus name amen amen Genesis 1 begins it says in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth and the Earth was without form and void and darkness covered the face of the deep and the spirit of God hovered over the waters as we continue reading throughout Genesis 1 we see over and over again that the earth goes from being this without form and void space into something akin to what we experience now the sea was filled with life the sun was placed in the sky and over and over again as God is creating the Earth we hear him in those moments of Creation with and it was good it was good over and over again God said let there be light and then there was light and God saw the light and said it's good Genesis 1 continues to tell us all the way through him creating Humanity how it was good what he created and then in Genesis 2 he let it he lets it be known to humanity this is man and woman at the time as they had not received names until later on in Genesis 3 and Genesis 2 though he tells them I set this up to be good for you everything in it should function the way that it is supposed to function the sun is not going to fall out of the sky the day is going to be day the night will be night the fish will stay in the sea the seed will continue to bring forth fruit season after season it's all good the only thing you have to do is not eat from the Tree of Life or from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil if you will obey this everything will stay intact your obedient seals the deal God says I did my part everything is good but if it's going to stay good you're going to have to be obedient your obedience will ensure that everything in this system will continue to function in the way that I have designed it to function the only thing you have to do is just be obedient the only thing you have to do you may not understand how it's going to function you may Wonder in one season will the tree bring forth fruit the way that it did in the last season God says you don't have to worry about any of that just be obedient to these rules be obedient to what I told you to do in this season and your obedience is like shaking the hand of a deal that's God's way of saying this is what I'm going to do for you will you obey God says I'll take care of all of the rest you just be obedient and they had it made baby they had it made okay I believe Eve had all her edges I believe she never had to worry about a lace front betraying her I believe that they had a six-pack anointing I don't believe that they even had to worry about the scale what is acne I believe they had it made their children was going to act right I believe God set it up for everything to be good they weren't going to be worried there wasn't going to be any depression everything was going to work out well but then Eve and Adam Adam and Eve people just be bored we are people we just are supposed to act right but we just be bored like everything's got to be an adventure like let's just see what happens and now look at us fighting for every Edge we got God didn't want that for us can't turn down Chick-fil-A we needed to be closed on Sunday now carbs have a strong coat on me I was meant to eat fruits and vegetables that's how God set it up I didn't even need the bread of life at that time I had everything I needed I always wondered why is it that God did not want them to eat from the Tree of Life or from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil then I recognized in studying that God and his gracious generous wisdom and love for us did not want us to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil not because he didn't want us to know good because Genesis 1 makes it plain that everything he created was good so I don't mind you knowing what's good I don't even mind you knowing what's God as a matter of fact the only thing I want you to know is good and God the way I set this system up that'll be the only thing you even have a point of reference for is good and God but if you eat from this tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil you're going to have knowledge of something that I never wanted you to know the knowledge of Good and Evil wasn't necessarily just the knowledge of good but it is the reality that when you have the knowledge of Good and Evil it can be difficult to distinguish between the two talk for a minute about the knowledge of evil that God never intended for you to know it's hard for us when we think about the generational disappointments and the generational struggles that are all that we have ever known to come to a place where we can separate our experience from God's intention because when we learn to separate our experience from God's intention then we begin to recognize that it was never God's intention for me to know this evil that I now know this was never God's intention that's why we asked things like where was God in the middle of this the truth is that God is in the middle of it now because of the way that we acted out his plan but the truth is that in God's original intention you were never supposed to know betrayal and God's original intention you would have never known heartbreak and God's original intention there would have never been mass shootings and God's original intention the headlines wouldn't cause discouragement and God's original intention there were there was no broken family and God's original intention there were no abandonment issues there were no rejection issues this was not God's intention and so I try to be careful not to place the blame on God for what Humanity did for what evil did because I recognize that in God's original intention it was never meant for me to know this I was never supposed to know this level of Brokenness I was never supposed to know this level of depression I was never supposed to know this level of insecurity and the fact that I know it is a direct reflection of what happened in the garden where I was receiving the knowledge of good and Evil you were never supposed to know it and it broke God's heart now that you know it oh so well now that it's in your bloodline now that it's in your family God says I never wanted them to know that but God is so good that he says you can't unknow what you know man oh I feel like ministering in this place I want to talk to somebody who wants to unknow what they know so you got to know some things that you don't want to know to even understand what that sentence means but I want to unknow that this type of betrayal can exist in someone I want to know that this type of weakness exists within me there are some things that I know now that I wish I could unknown and sometimes I'm stuck because not because of what I don't know I'm set because of what I do know I do know that people will leave you I do know that you can get in a situation where your pride makes you fall I know some things that have kept me stuck and God says I can't I know what you know but what I can do is cover what you know so in the garden God comes down and he's asking Adam and Eve what happened when he recognizes that they've eaten from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil it says in my text that immediately when Adam ate from it that his eyes were open and he saw that he was naked when God created him naked God said it was good he ate from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil and now he sees his nakedness as evil that's why I said it's difficult to distinguish between what's good and what's evil because now you have this knowledge and what you're calling good God might be calling evil with true calling evil God might be calling good I think that's why the psalmist says it was good for me that I was afflicted I don't think he stumbled into that I think he sat back and waited long enough to see that what I thought was an evil Affliction was actually god making all things work together for my good it takes someone crazy to look at what the enemy meant for evil and say actually I think God may have meant it for good because now what I thought I needed was something that would feel good I thought I needed something that would make me better but maybe what I really needed was something that would inflict me enough that I understood who my friends were that would inflict me enough that I started praying differently that what inflicts me enough that I started worship differently some people thank God for what he did and how he blessed them sometimes I thank God for what he didn't do and there were tears streaming down my face and I was crying and I was heartbroken but then I waited about six months and I said you know what God it was good for me that I was afflicted because I now I know you'll never leave me nor forsake me now I know who's really with me and who is against me now I know what's on the inside of me now I trust the gift of God that you've placed on the inside of me and I wouldn't have gotten there unless I was afflicted [Applause] passes I'ma cover you you weren't supposed to know it but I'ma cover you you weren't supposed to see your nakedness as evil but now I gotta get down on your level of thinking so that I could grow you up into who I want you to become if you're calling it evil I'ma cover you right here but I'm also going to make sure that there is a plan that takes you from the way you think now into the discovery that your ways are not my ways and your thoughts are not my thoughts and so you think it's evil and so I'm going to allow you to vent on the level that you think oh God help me to say this the way I feel it in my spirit sometimes God gets down on your level so that he can speak the language that you're speaking I know you're mad I know you're angry I know you're upset I know you're lost and you're confused if you think God only speaks on a high level then you miss out on the whole reason why we're here the whole reason why he got in Mary's room wrapped himself in flesh is because sometimes there is a job that requires I get down on your level you serve a God who knows how to get down in depression sometimes we pray depression away sometimes we say God if you could meet me in this depression because it feels like it's stronger than me so I need you to Get Down On My Level to break this thing off of me that is why God gets down on your level because sometimes you cannot fight this devil on your own and while you're busy trying to get up God's trying to get down with you so that I can help you fight on a level you didn't even know was possible so that I could breathe my words of wisdom in a way that helps you to understand that if they left you you didn't need them if they walked away let them walk if they kept on moving so that you could keep growing sometimes you just gotta thank God but you gotta allow him to get down on your level with it [Applause] Adam [Applause] serves a God who doesn't mind getting down on his level Adam and Eve are in this Garden having to distinguish now between what's good what's evil and what's God man and in the process of them trying to determine the difference between what's good what's God and what's evil they recognize that God has the ability to take what they are attempting to make good and teach them and train them so that it could actually become the good that he had in mind isn't this why he gets upset with Cain and he says to him why did you kill your brother did you not know that if you would have leveled up I know you thought you had a good sacrifice but it wasn't good enough but I'm not just going to leave you in the area of it not being good enough God says I'll also get down there in there with you and teach you how to take what you thought was good and make it better God knows how to take good God knows how to take evil and turn it into good I had to use the word turn it Pastor Phil pointed out something in Genesis 50 and 20. that we always say the enemy you meant it for evil but God turned it for good but that's not what it says it says you meant it for evil but God meant it for good there were two intentions that were happening at the same time so when we say that God turned it it makes it seem like it did start off evil but then God turned it around no no Genesis 50 and 20 actually points out that it's not that God turned it it's just all while they thought it was evil I actually thought it was good I'm reminded of Jesus on the cross when he said forgive me Father for they know not what they do they think that they're doing something that's good but I actually know that it's going to be even better because when you get finished with it they think it's evil but when you get finished they're going to see that it was actually good there is something powerful about knowing that there are two intentions moving at the same time and so I want to know Potter's House which narrative are you going to buy into are you going to buy into the narrative that the Lord that they meant it for evil and there's a period on what they meant for evil and that if God's going to change it he's going to have to turn it or are you crazy enough to believe that God doesn't even have to turn it that even oh God thing so you can keep your intentions God doesn't have to change it you can mean it for evil God still means it for good you can talk about me all you want to but God still means it for good I didn't have to get the job it felt like it was evil that I didn't get the job but God must submit it for good it felt like it was tragic that I went through the breakdown but God meant it for good I gotta hang on to this truth that God meant it for good because my mind is trying to convince me that God meant it for evil or that God was not in it at all but I am reminded because of who he is that he knows how to allow the wheat and The Tear to grow up at the same time and it is not until Harper's season with a threshing floor will make the difference the threshing floor is when we will separate what you meant for evil my God meant for good you thought I was gonna stumble but God says I'm going to pick you up you thought it would kill me but God says I know CPR you're right it took me out but he's got a resurrecting power and for evil snack it's not even what I'm preaching about [Applause] what's up [Music] God yeah yeah I don't even know what that's about but it feels like somebody got breakthrough feels like some I'm trying to keep it tight cause we got a journey to go on so I'm gonna give somebody about 10 seconds to thank God that is two intentions happening at the same time you're right is evil but God said you're also right it's gonna be good you're right that is terrible but it's also going to be good you're right that is painful but it's also gonna be purposeful I got two things working at the same time you make that you're at the end of your roof but God says I'm about to give you some wings I got two things working at the same time if you don't break down I can't build you up I got two things working at the same time foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] what happens not just one God allows what the evil what the enemy meant for evil he means for good what happens not when the evil turns out to be good what happens when what's good starts to look evil [Applause] what happens when I felt like God was in it God was on it I know he was in it how could it be that it could start off this good and end up looking this evil told them truth but now everything's on the line I thought it was good this is this is why he didn't want us to have the knowledge of Good and Evil because now what was good has evil consequences what was good has a consequence that makes me feel like maybe I should have kept it to myself maybe I should have just stayed maybe I should have never moved maybe I should have never trusted maybe I should have never did the therapy and then maybe I should have never spoken up it started off good my heart was in the right place I knew that God was in it I knew that he was going to see me through God I stepped out on faith and it felt like it was good but now it feels like I'm sinking and I'm drowning God help me to understand how could good turn out to be evil God you told me you'd bring my people to me and now my people are walking away from me God you told me that you would prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies but now I'm hungry and I'm starving and I see my enemies eating God how is it possible that it started off good foreign [Music] the business don't look good the marriage don't look good children it's not it's not looking like what you promised I know we at church and everybody want to act like God is good all the time all the time God is good I know I know I know [Applause] sometimes it's hard [Applause] I'm reminded of the Widow in First Kings 17. who is preparing to die with her son they're in a drought she's down to her last as it relates to food and God sends a prophet he sends the Prophet Elijah and Elijah says go grab me a drink and she does that and he says also get me some bread and she says actually I only have enough for one cake and me and my son were going to eat it and then we're gonna die Elijah says go ahead and make the cake and as much as you make it it'll never run dry [Applause] in every area that you think you're going to end up running out God says it may not feel like it's overflowing but I'll make sure that there's just enough that should never run out and all of a sudden it looked like what was meant for evil has become good and the text doesn't tell us that the woman celebrated it just suggests that she settled into good but then we read a little bit further and her son dies now wait a minute God you saved me when I was ready to die you gave me a taste for more you gave me an expectancy that there was going to be more and I started adjusting to the reality that I could trust what was good but now Elijah the prophet is here and my son is dying how could something good end up looking like it was evil and she is mad because she doesn't understand did you not come into this house to bless me only for the tables to turn and now I'm in mourning God how did you allow this to happen she's begging the prophet to make a difference and the prophet doesn't really know what to say to her but he takes the body of the boy into the upper room of her home and he gives us insight into what we need to do when we are questioning God how could good become evil the question is not is it still good the true question is is it still God because I cannot trust the knowledge that I have of Good and Evil sometimes I can't ask God is it good God is it evil because my definition and your definition may be two different things so maybe what I need to be asking instead is God are you still in it God are you still here because at the end of the day I don't want to be outside of the will of God I don't care how good it is if it ain't God I don't want it I don't care how much money it is if it ain't God I don't want it I don't want to just settle for good I want to know is it God I can't trust my knowledge my knowledge has been skewed my knowledge has been hijacked by the culture my knowledge tells me that sexing and drinking is the way to join I can't trust this knowledge that I have but God isn't still good is it still God is it still God are you still in it God are you still in it God cause if you're still in it I'll still build it God if you're still in it I believe you can breathe life can do it God if you're still in it I believe that you can make all things new God if you're still in it I believe you'll give me strength to see it God if you're still in it I believe you'll give me Vision God if you're still in it I believe you'll give me Innovation God if see you gotta understand what happens when God is in it when God is in it it never runs dry God if you're in it then Miracles can happen God [Music] if you're still in it I'll know better than what I see this is how I know that the whole reason why this woman went from good to God the only step in between was affliction it was good that she had meals but then her son dies But First Kings 17 and 24 says that when Elijah brings her son back to life that she gets a revelation the Revelation is that then the woman said to Elijah now by this I know that you are a man of God I didn't know you were a man of God when things were just good but when I got finished going through my Affliction I understood that you are a man of God not because of the way you provided but because of the way you made a way out of nowhere Now by this I know because you brought a dead thing back to life now by this I know because you could have left him dead but you took him up to the holies of holies and when you took him up to the holies of holies you made a demand on God too now by this I know I don't know who you are in this room but I feel like God wants to take you to another level of knowledge I don't want you to just know good or evil I want you to know that everything that I allow to happen in your life is going to be honest assignment to help you get a revelation of who God is you want an outcome but God wants to give you a revelation and if you hang on to the outcome you miss the Revelation that if I brought you this far I'm not going to leave you if I allowed you to build it for 20 plus years I'm not gonna let nobody tear this thing down and now by this I know that my God is who he says he is now by this I know that no weapon formed against me will prosper I thought it was good but now I know it's God no no no no I thought it was good but now I know it's God I thought it was gonna be good but God says imma take it to another level because if you know it's God you won't depend on Elijah because Elijah's got to move on with a woman but when Elijah moves on I want you to understand that the same power that allowed Elijah to bring your son back to life is the same power that I'm going to use to take you from season to season to season yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah he had to allow that Affliction to happen cause Elijah was gonna move on in the next chapter but before he moves on I don't know who you are but I hear God saying if you only depend on a man you miss out on the fact that it was God moving through the man it was God moving through the job it was God moving through them God did it God did it God did it y'all cannot give your ties if you want to I get my times cause I know God did it I know who signed the chat but I know who actually signed the check I shouldn't even be here but God did it I know better than to know that a prophet tears anything that God didn't release him to do first and if God did it then he'll do it [Music] [Applause] [Music] same God same God same God same breakthrough same healing same Miracle same power thank God same God [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] the same it's the same guy same guy [Music] y'all gotta stop with that music because it sounded like a Battle Cry and I'm trying to move into my text but something happens when somebody starts recognizing that they got more Arsenal than they think they do I know through God for the pulling down a stronghold okay okay all right calm down everybody okay [Music] all right all right in Luke one and Luke one Zacharias stuck between good I was going to say Good and Evil but I gotta be honest with you he's not just stuck between Good and Evil he stuck between good and can I trust better yeah be honest with you [Applause] when all you've ever known is disappointment it is hard to trust better [Applause] we see it in relationships we see it in work cultures when you have been set to only expect disappointment it's hard to trust better it's not what we're talking about in this text though there are moments when you are already in a good place where you're already further out than anyone in your family could have ever anticipated but if you're honest sometimes it's hard to trust that it can get any better than this [Applause] start thinking I've gotten as high as I can get I say that he's stuck here because in Luke 1 when I heard text begins Zacharias is serving as a priest in herod's Temple to understand the significance of this you have to understand that when Herod had the temple rebuilt because it was so sacred and holy to the Jews at that time that only those of Jewish priesthood could be a part of rebuilding the temple time that the temple was rebuilt there were over a thousand priests I know you're like what is this it is significant that with a thousand priests that it had become zacharias's turn to serve in the temple it is a once in a lifetime opportunity one priest one week out of the year for a full week goes in and burns incense in the temple there's only 52 weeks in a year and a thousand priests when the angel of the Lord comes to visit Zacharias he is as what many would think at the top of his game comes from a long righteous family he and Elizabeth this is the ultimate honor and the angel of the Lord comes to him and says to him you and your wife Elizabeth are going to conceive can I trust this God I'm already at the top of what I thought was possible this is already an honor of a lifetime that I could serve in your temple but now you're going to bless me in a way that I don't even think that you should be able to bless me see we talk a lot about imposter syndrome but let's talk about what happens when we don't trust that God could do any better than he's already done I know you so saved and Sanctified that you say God can do the impossible but when the impossible is standing in front of your door you begin to think God well I got the spouse or I got the job and I built the business maybe I shouldn't trust God for anything more maybe I shouldn't step out on faith and continue to breathe out what you've placed on the inside of me and Zacharias has settled into good but God says I can do better than that I want to talk to some people in this room who struggle to believe not just that it can get better they're struggling to believe that what God actually said God you said this but I don't trust it [Music] because I don't feel worthy of it because I feel too old for it because I feel too young for it and yes God you said it it's not anything about what you said it's about me becoming the person who believes that I can step into what you said Zacharias doesn't believe it the priest who was burning incense in the temple who should have the most Faith out of anyone at this time doesn't have faith that God can show up for him in the area that he'd given up on it's not just self-sabotage God told me it's Destiny sabotage if you don't learn to trust what God Said over what you believe if you don't learn to trust what God Said over your disappointment over your own insecurity over your own inadequacy if you aren't careful your therapist will tell you it's self-sabotage but if you get into the closet with the Holy Spirit the holy spirit will let you no no no no this is Destiny sabotage if you were just sabotaging yourself we know that you would sacrificed you because we've seen you sacrifice your own needs your own will your own dreams for everyone else before some of you are willing to lay down on the altar of self-sabotage but God told me I needed to add some gravity to this to let you understand that this is Destiny sabotage that this is the destiny that God has for your life this is the destiny that only God says you can fulfill so if you don't learn to receive it your destiny is on the line [Music] [Applause] I've always wondered I'm almost finished listen I always wondered Mary and Zacharias actually have similar responses when the angel of the Lord visits them and tells them that they're going to have children um when the angel of the Lord visits Mary says how can this be because I have not known a man Zacharias doesn't quite say how can I be how can this be but he questions it too but Zacharias ends up mute when he questions God and Mary ends up free the difference between what they asked though was Mary said how can this be and Zachariah says how can I know this one is about technicality the other is about an inner knowing that I need to have in order to trust it I wish I could say that the way God gave it to me Zacharias wants to know how do I turn a word into a knowing how do I take a prophecy into a knowing how do I walk this thing out with confidence how do I do it with certainty Mary just wants to know how are you going to do it Zechariah says I want to know this thing in my soul I want to know it does anybody want to know in this room I want to know that no weapon formed against me will prosper I don't want to be afraid every time I see a weapon I don't want to be afraid anytime I feel like I'm losing I want to know that you're faithful I want to know that extra righteous I want to know that you are a deliverer I want to know that you got that child I want to know that you got that marriage I want to know that you have that business I don't want to just have a feeling I want to know down in my soul because who I am when I have a knowing is different than who I am when I'm sitting on the fence wondering when I walk with a knowing it doesn't matter what anyone says about it because I have a knowing that God is not a man that he shall lie I'm not talking about something that God told me he might do I'm not talking about something that God says maybe we'll see maybe we won't When God gives me a word I want to possess that word I want to take that word and I want to work that word with confidence and power and strategy and Innovation because I know if I do my part that God says the rest of it is already taken care of I want to talk to somebody who's been walking around second guessing what God Said trying to understand how can I know this thing and I want you to know [Music] You Gotta Know It [Music] so the angel of the Lord says he doesn't walk away from him he doesn't say I give up on you because you don't know it I give up on you because you don't have faith on it that's what people do that's not what God did God says I am going to make you mute though because if I make you mute you won't be able to talk over me if I make you mute you won't be able to sabotage the very thing I'm trying to place in your life and while you're mute he positions Zacharias to be mute but watching said how can I know this if you want to know it I'ma tell you the first thing you got to do is you got to be mute you got to stop talking about it you gotta stop second guessing again you may not be able to speak faith into it but the least you could do is shut up I know we're not supposed to say that but what I want to talk to somebody who is speaking their fears into a season that only requires faith I want you to understand that if you cannot add value to it then you are subtracting from it so the least you could do is be quiet sometimes you got to bring your fears into the mute season sometimes you got to bring your circle into a mute season I can't let just anybody talk into this I Gotta Go mute that word mute it means involuntary silence yeah and voluntary Stillness that means if you're waiting on them to be quiet so that you can have the faith that you need to produce what God says you're going to miss out on the moment so you're going to have to put them into an involuntary Stillness they won't even know that we don't talk about it anymore because the moment you bring it up I change the subject you got to go mute on that that's my destiny we could talk about the weather we can talk about what's on TV but you can't talk about this child because I'm trying to oh God's trying to do something in this child and if you start speaking while God is working then I may miss out on what God is doing so you got to stop talking girl did you see that no I didn't see it and I don't want to hear it either I gotta make sure my circle is new enough that I'm not distracted when it's time for me to be watching God says it's time for you to watch and Zechariah starts watching what God Said become what God is doing because Elizabeth starts showing [Applause] Elizabeth starts showing God says if you'll get mute I'll show you if you get quiet you can get quiet but open your eyes you see most of us get quiet and we shut our heart out and we shut our mind out and we set our spirit out and we say I don't want it anyway I don't want it anymore anyhow but God says you can get mute but keep your eyes open because if you keep your eyes open you'll start seeing what I said is going to start showing up in your life cause it's all you got to do is be quiet [Applause] start watching I want you to start watching God told me that would be somebody's word [Music] [Applause] that [Applause] I'll tell you I got one more point that word that was translated mute and Luke 1 in the earlier part is the same word that Jesus is used that Jesus uses when the storm is Raging and he's on the boat when Jesus says peace be still that word peace is the same word that was translated mute when the angel of the Lord tells Zacharias that he's going to have to be mute I'm going to have to bring you to a place of peace [Applause] the way that you turn a word into a knowing it's when you come to a place of peace I'm not going to let myself talk myself out of this I'm not going to let you talk me out of this I'm not going to disqualify what God Said based off of what you see what you think what you feel I'm not even going to let science disqualify what God said if God says I'm Healed then I gotta bring my heart to a place of Peace because if God says I'm Healed and I don't believe I'm Healed or I allow you to project your fears onto me I can't concentrate with the word oh God I feel like somebody's got to take that word and bring it into a season of concentration so that it doesn't lose its potency with opinion so that it doesn't lose its potency with disappointment I gotta let it be concentrated and sometimes the only way the word can become concentrated is if your Force to concentrate the whole point of this message when we get into our text Zacharias has come to the point where it is time for him to name John we're in Luke 1 57. Elizabeth has given birth and he's seen at least 10 months of God taking a word and turning it into something tangible he's still mute she gives birth though and he's still mute so it wasn't just about when she gave birth then he would finally be able to speak again he's still mute this moment in the Texas when he goes from being mute and able to speak again and I recognize that part of the reason why this moment matters so much this moment where he must confirm what John's name will be it matters so much because he has to make sure that that word that has been concentrated that word that received death that word that was perfected in him over time we got to make sure that when it's time for him to actually release it into the world when it's time for him to release it into his community that he doesn't shrink it in order to fit in that he doesn't get so prideful that he starts saying well I made it to this side now I'll take over no I gotta make sure that you stay mute long enough to make sure that when you open your mouth your mouth reflects what I said that when you release your gift that that gift reflects what I said I know some of you have been waiting to be discovered for so long and you've been wondering God why is it that my voice has been silent why is it that I'm not the one who is out there doing it and I see other people doing it but I hear God saying because I got to make sure that when I release you that you release what I gave you and not what you wanted it to be that you released what I gave you and not what they said it should be that you release what I gave you and not what your mama said it should be and now what your cousin said it should be I want to make sure that you don't lose what I gave you when it's time for it to be released and it is important that Zacharias does this well because Zacharias is John's Forerunner somebody ought to preach this for Father's day but it talks about the role of a father in this text to set an environment for his son to be all that he can be this is the moment that everyone is waiting for because what God gave him is going to shock the community what God gave him is going to shock the culture and if he doesn't set an atmosphere for his son to step into it he's going to make it harder on his son than it has to be but because he has decided that I'm going to do what God told me to do he didn't even realize that his obedience was going to pave the way for his son to not have to work as hard as he had to work for I want to talk to somebody who needs to understand that it's bigger than you who needs to understand that the generations are coming after you it is not just about you and your mouth and your praise it's about the generations that are coming up behind you in the oh God when I was studying this text [Applause] God told me trying to stop hollering God told me that Zacharias had to get to a place of knowing he had to get up to a place of being solid and steadfast because what John was going to do in the Earth would be foreign and unknown he would look like a wild man to everyone else and if he didn't come to a place of knowing he could not invade he could not allow John to invade the Earth with the unknown God help me to say this You Gotta Know It because when it comes out of you it's going to look foreign it's going to look unknown it's going to look strange it's going to look weird and if you don't know it then somebody will mess around and say you don't deserve it if you don't know it then someone could convince you that there's no space for it but when you know that you know that you know it doesn't matter what happens it may be unknown to you but it is known to me it may be unknown to you that I would be up here but it is known to me because God placed a knowing down in my spirit everyone else can be surprised when the baby graduate I'm not going to be surprised because God told me that when that baby was in kindergarten that that baby was gonna make it to the other side everyone else can be surprised that I made it to the other side with my mind but I'm not surprised because God gave me a knowing god told me I'm going to call you into the unknown and it's going to look weird to everyone on the outside looking in but it's not going to be weird to you because you're going to have a deposit of what is known I hear God's saying I'm not surprised that that came out oh God everybody else was surprised but God John Zacharias and Elizabeth were not surprised because they had been in the secret place they had learned to get still enough with the word that God gave them that even though it shocked everyone else it was right on schedule for them they didn't know that God had already named this child before the child took his first breath the God had already named that business before you had the first employee that God had already named that house before you even applied for the loan that God had already named that deal before they even came up to you and presented it to you and everyone else could be surprised but I knew it was coming I know we don't like to preach about prideful messages and this isn't about Pride this is about a knowing I hear God saying let it catch everyone else by surprise but you stand by and you see the salvation of the Lord because I knew it was coming I knew you were going to do it I knew it was going to come through I knew you were going to release me I knew you had a place for me I know better than some it's at my last days are going to be been worse than my former days I know better than to believe that this evil is going to have the last say I know better than to believe that though he's me I can't trust them I know better I know better I know better I know better I know better than you leave me I know better than depression will have the final say I know better than I'm gonna lose my mind I may be down but I'm not lost cause I know he'll come find me I know he'll keep me I know he'll make a way out of nowhere I know I know it I know it I know better I know better I know better I know better I know better I went through hell but I know better I went through hell but I know better I had to fight off the grid but I know better I was silent but I know better I've been crying but I know better I'm glad you did it cause I know better I know better I know better I know better I know better when I know better I move better and when I move better I said hell oh notice and no better it's me I know better I know better [Music] okay I know better I know better this is zechariah's moment to release what he knows into the Earth and I have a prophetic declaration for somebody in this room that it's time for you to take what you know and release it into the Earth it's time for you to take what you know and let it confuse some people who didn't know I know better than you know it's okay it's time for you to take what you know and start releasing it into that marriage of time for you to take what you know and start releasing it into that business it's time for you to take what you know and start releasing it into that church it's time for you to take what you know and start releasing it into that music release it into a movie I know better than to believe that the wealth of the wicked it's just gonna say stewardess I know better [Music] I know I know better I know better the business collapsed but I know better they walked away from me but I know better I know I should be out of my mind waving baby but I know better okay I know better [Music] [Applause] so all right we're going home we're going to brunch I'ma just say this when Zacharias finally releases what he knows my text tells me oh God I feel you that when he released what he knew that this boy name is John and they marveled at this and fear came on them because he was doing something unknown with his knowing he was doing something unknown to them but it was known to him it says immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loose and he spoke praising God this is my final point there was something that happened to his praise when he released what he knew that allowed him to begin praising God and I am crazy enough to believe that he wasn't just praising God that his tongue was loose I believe he was praising God because God took a word and turned it into a knowing and he had enough fuel in the tank to help him raise a child who would go on to be the Forerunner of Jesus Christ you got enough knowing for generations to walk through what she going through you got enough knowing to pave a road for someone coming up behind you you got enough knowing I want you to know that you went through hell but God says I know you went through hell that's why I know that you're gonna pay the road I know that you want to carry breakthrough I know that demons tremble when you wake up in the morning I know know that I know that I know [Music] I know there's a praise that can only be released when you know you gotta praise when you want you gotta praise when you kind of believe but there is a praise that is released when you know that I've never seen the righteous forsaken and the seed begging for bread I know I always gotta know it God I know you better to me that I deserve I know you're faithful I know you're righteous I know you're a Healer I know you still do Miracles I know you still heal marriages I know you still deliver I know you still set free I know I know [Applause] [Music] [Applause] okay [Applause] God told me I'm gonna bring you to a place of knowing I'm gonna bring you to a place of knowing [Music] no more insecurity no more second guessing no more doubting no more disbelief imma bring you to a place of knowing [Music] confidence and what you know I'm going to allow to overflow until it becomes someone else's knowing someone's going to know by proxy because you know [Music] for a father to affirm a son and his identity means that this son doesn't have to question himself the way that he would question himself he only had the ears of other people but because Zacharias went through this process there is a knowing that he can give to his son this is Mother's Day I want to talk to some people in this room who were robbed of a sense of knowing [Music] because somebody wasn't able to do the work receive the Revelation do the healing that would have given you the knowing that you need [Music] I want to talk to someone feels like they've been working at a deficit because no one deposited in me a sense of righteous identity a real sense of Salvation I don't really know who I am and you're in this room and God's given you a word about what he can do through you and with you and for you but if you're honest sometimes you just don't know just don't know if he can do it I don't know if it's still God cause it got hard and what you want more than anything is to know better I want to know better I want to silence the doubt I want to silence the worry I want to silence the pain if that's you would you just wave at me no matter where you're hey God knows God knows God knows God knows God knows who you are God knew they couldn't give it to you God knew that you would want it but God says I can cover what they couldn't give you I can feel the areas that they left entity with that they left empty God says I see it I see it I see those empty places in you I see you wonder and I see you question God says I want to bring you to a place of knowing but it can only happen by my spirit I know you got your affirmations I know you're reading all the books I know you got all the podcasts cause you're just trying to know better you're trying to know better but I hear God saying the knowing is in the connection The Knowing is in the trusting The Knowing is in the Walking The Knowing is in the watching The Knowing is in the trusting The Knowing is in the faith to believe that even when they didn't know you God knew what was in you lift your hands I want to pray with you Holy Spirit oh God I thank you for truth I thank you for vulnerability I thank you God that for maybe the first time in a long time that someone in this room doesn't feel less than because they don't have what they think they should have I thank you God that you created this opportunity where their emptiness could be revealed not to shame them not to condemn them but so that you could feel them so Holy Spirit I ask the chore spirit would begin to fall that they would even fill a weight in their hands that they would fill a fire in their hands that they would feel a fire in their hearts God I pray that your spirit would begin to fall on them in an intimate way not just where they hear it God but let them feel it somewhere in their body God let it stir up the gift of God that's on the inside of them God Let Your Presence touch them on their shoulder Let Your Presence be with them right now in this moment God as a sign that you know I know it hurt I know you're worried I know you're concerned but God says I know better I know a better way I know a better path I know a better future God began to whisper in their ears is only you can do what you know about their circumstance what you know about their identity what you know about their gifts their talents their family what you know about them may they hear I am fearfully and wonderfully made they hear that they are your beloved may they hear that you have a purpose for them may they hear that depression is not the end may they hear that their enemies may have minted for evil but that you mean it for good may they hear that you will never leave them nor forsake them may they hear that you are a Healer and the Waymaker may they hear that you see the tears they're crying may they hear that you see that the dream that is inside of them is about to explode and they're worried that there's no one who can handle the birth of what's coming through them may they hear that you have midwives on demand that the moment they start to push that someone's going to catch it God may they hear that they are exactly where they are supposed to be and nowhere close to where they will be because when you get finished with them you're going to transform them God there's somebody in this room and they stop trusting you they couldn't tell what was good what was evil and what was God today they're making a silent commitment to trust you again maybe it's baby steps maybe they trusted you in every other area but in this one particular area they've been holding on to it God I thank you that they're going to give it back to you they're going to trust that you have provision and that you have wisdom and strategy that is waiting to be released I thank you God that you stood still do miracles that you're still making ways out of no ways that you're still leading and guiding and so God I pray that this Whisper of your spirit would continue to be with them there is no such thing as sealing this moment because we just took the seal off [Applause] let it flow God let it flow let it flow let it flow let it flow let it flow let it flow let it flow let it flow let rivers of Living Water start flowing through them oh God it may have saturate everything connected to them we release you to be you in every way that you can in Jesus name amen can you just praise for me can you lift up a praise like zecharias did can you come on can we do better than that I know we gotta go but can we do better than that I'm going to tell you before you go I'm just going to tell you this is the kind of word that I would sow into if I were you and if you're looking for direction on how to sew I'm not going to make a big deal out of it they can put instructions on the screen you can drop a seed into the pmt's bucket but what I will say is this is that it was on the eighth day that Zacharias released what he knew and so if you were going to give I highly suggest that you give a seed that has a connection with eight eighty dollars eighty eight dollars eight hundred eight eight eight eight eight it means new beginnings and on the eighth day when Zacharias released what he knew a new beginning started not just for him but for the generations that were going to come through him and so I want someone who has decided that this is where I am going to Mark the Spot to show in the eight eight whatever your increment of eight is into this word Let It Be an offering let it be a sacrifice and thank you guys I love you happy Mother's Day [Music] [Music]

Channel: T.D. Jakes

Views: 804,505

Keywords: td jakes, faith, wtal, woman thou are loosed, megafest, potters house, bishop jakes, pastors and leadership, pastors, leaders, instinctbishops, village, NKJV, I know better, 1 Peter 2:9, Luke 1:57-66, 1 Kings 17:25, Genesis 50:20, does god know whats best for me, second guessing god, sarah jakes roberts

Id: xK6BZFoRPM0

Length: 75min 40sec (4540 seconds)

Published: Sun May 14 2023