Insights on Influence - Bishop T.D. Jakes

[Music] so we started out in joshua 3 6-17 and we were talking about one of the points that we were talking about was influence and i want to go back to that whole topic tonight i'm going to call it insights on influence insights on influence and where did you get that from well joshua had just taken over as leader over a group of people that he was amongst anytime you switch roles in front of people it's hard for them to see you in the new light they say i knew you win you know if you were hourly worker and now you become a part of management the people who are hourly workers feel like you betrayed them and they start acting funny oh now you're about now you to rule over me anytime you go through transitions then the environment around you becomes frustrated because they say you change as if there was a terrible thing oh you changed yes i changed everything living changes everything living changes yeah i'm supposed to change it would be a shame for me to be 40 years old and not change 50 years old and not change 35 years old and still acting like i'm 12. i change is a part of the sign that god lives in me and he dwells in me and he develops me and he increases me say amen somebody so when joshua moves into this new role what fascinated me uh in the text is that god says to joshua that i will exalt you or i will increase you in the eyes of the people okay i will i will raise you up and this this gives you influence because titles don't give you influence okay just because they call you something don't make you that influence enables you to act on what they call you effectively one of the things i pray for all the time i never prayed to be famous i never prayed to be famous i never prayed to be a public figure i never even wanted any of that i prayed to be effective because the thing that i don't want to be is not effective are you hearing what i'm saying and so when you start talking about influence let's define influence influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character development of the character development or behavior of someone or something or effect itself like the influence of television violence it could be a thing it could be a person but it makes you effective at producing change it's it's influence it's quantifiable you can measure your impact and i was thinking about uh sometimes when i was younger i'd have dreams and i'd there be somebody chasing me or i'd be in a fight with somebody and i'd be punching them but it had no effect anybody had those kind of dreams where you just couldn't get you couldn't get that good one in you know and then you thought you landed it but it did it just turned into nothing that's a nightmare i wake up almost screaming or you're running but you can't get up any speed you can't get up any traction some people live their lives like i had my dream they punch without impact they run without gaining ground they expend energy but they see no results in order to have impact god has to give you influence in the eyes of the people and that's something that god has to do because you can't do you cannot control how people see you i don't care if you change your hair change your dress change your clothes get more degrees in a thermometer spin all around do whatever you want to do you cannot control how people see you god can control how people see you and so god says i'm going to control how they see you for my glory now i'm not going to change how the whole world sees you but i'm going to give you influence in proportion to the authority that i've given you so this this message is a one-size-fits-all message it will work whether you're the governor or the president or a papa and you just want to influence your son or a wife and you just want to influence your husband whatever you have dominion over you want to have influence is my liberty basically that's what they're saying is by living in vain when i walk into the room does it change influence the ability to walk into the room and affect atmosphere the ability to speak to somebody and influence their behavior or how they respond gives me impact if i didn't think that i had influence i couldn't teach tonight now if you watch carefully at bible teachers and preachers a lot of people standing up here don't necessarily enjoy the benefit of influence sometimes because they don't believe that they have effect okay let's go deeper with this influence is potency how potent are you how potent are you you can if you are impotent it doesn't mean that you've been castrated so to be impotent doesn't mean that you don't have all the equipment it just means that it's not potent how many things in your life are you doing without potency which brings you down to number one should i be doing it i could love something that i'm not effective at and if i'm not effective at it then i should enjoy watching other people doing it and leave it alone because i only have time to do things where i am effective okay i don't know whether i have as much time as i have money but because i don't know how much time i got i know how much money i don't know how much time i got but i do know this i cannot buy more time with money so the more the less time you have the more valuable it comes it becomes i can't stand for you to waste my time because my time is valuable to me i don't want to engage my effort doing things that i am not effective at and sometimes you have to pray for god to give you the stature that is necessary not in your eyes in the eyes of those that you hope to influence so god created trouble to raise joshua's influence okay that's what we that's where we left off sunday god created trouble because how you manage crisis changes how people see you okay so we started talking about uh the president in ukraine and we started talking about how he said i don't need uh evacuation i need ammunition and all of a sudden that one phrase changed how people saw him what you say in a storm changes how people see you changes how they respect you that's why the enemy's always trying to get you to go off under pressure [Applause] because the enemy knows that if you go off under pressure you decrease your influence with your hysteria if you want to be strong you want to be strong under pressure then you gain influence under pressure and in order to be strong there are certain things that you need to know you need to know that you are doing what you were created to do even if it's not a big thing even if it's not a great thing to other people it only matters to the people that it matters to and it shouldn't matter to you what outside people think about inside influence the reason we have so much misery in the world today is that you are because social media tempts you to try to get outside people to form an opinion about your inside ability and all of a sudden if they don't like the post you want to take it down or if they say something weird you want to freak out about it but in reality i'm letting you observe something that is frankly none of your business you understand so your opinion doesn't really matter to me if i don't have any authority with you then it's just an opinion and opinions are common everybody's got one everybody's got one and when you bring yourself down to the point that you allow people to make you come off the wall that god has assigned you on because of somebody's opinion who is not assigned to you then you give up your influence over the people you have influenced with because of somebody that doesn't even matter one way or the other it doesn't even make any sense are you hearing what i'm saying so you you it's not enough for god to raise your influence in the eyes of external people if you're leaking internally oh yeah we we're about to go there we're about to go there we're about to get down into the depths of it we're about to get down into the depths of why paul prayed in ephesians that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you might know you have to know it's not enough for them to know if you don't know what is the hope of your calling so in order for me to have uh influence in influence it starts in me i cannot convince outside people to believe something about me that i don't believe about myself that will make you an imposter and the stress many of us have right now is that we we have impostor syndrome where we feel like we are living a fake life and we think that we're living a fake life not because we have inconsistencies because we all do but because we are not convinced of our purpose so paul prays that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened okay you can't be an external light if you don't have internal light that the eyes of your understanding might be enlightened so before god starts elevating joshua in the eyes of the people he talks to joshua by himself and he says as i was with moses so shall i be with you be strong and very courageous for i am with thee to deliver thee whether so ever thou good joshua you have to know you're the man then he created the swelling of the jordan to give an outer display of what he had convinced joshua of inwardly so the question tonight for you is are you convinced y'all not talking to me but i'm talking to you are you convinced because if you're not convinced the enemy has already defeated you you cannot influence where you are not fully persuaded so paul prays that the eyes of your understanding might be enlightened that you might know not wish not hope not think but that you might know what is the hope of his calling and what is the riches of his inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us word who believe you have to know that this is my purpose this is my place this is my gift this is what i do this is what i am it's not about you knowing it i have to know it first moses my servant is dead god says to joshua as i was with moses so shall i be with you now the people are still warning moses but god says to him don't worry i am going to change how they see you which is going to increase your influence and somebody watching me tonight god is getting ready to increase your influence when the bible says enlarge your tense and strengthen your stakes that means god is about to increase your influence and and we shout about it and that's a wonderful thing but you need to understand that's going to increase your responsibility that's going to increase your pressure that's going to increase your harvest that's going to increase your return that's going to increase your haters that's going to increase your attack you can't increase in one area and not increase in another somebody shall increase then you got to be ready for it if you can't run with the footmen how shall you contend with the horses so if you're stumbling right now and all you're running with is foot men and you holiday increase then when god puts you with the horses you'll never be able to stand it you can't have more of this without having more of that it all connects together and when god increases your influence he will also increase your enemies [Applause] so how do you thrive in an environment of conflict god has increased joshua's influence with his people but he has also increased joshua's enemies the hittites the jebusites the garroshites the canaanites are riding around on chariots on top of the wall why because joshua's having an increase who am i talking to tonight any time god gives you increase you will look out and you'll see barriers and restrictions that you never saw before you'll see what was a creek turn into a river and overflow its banks and flood because you're on the verge of stepping into another level of influence and when you're on the verge of stepping into another level of influence there will be certain floods that come in your life and you have to be prepared to deal with the flood so that you can get to the harvest [Music] are you hearing what i'm saying so why is influence the currency of impact and purpose you can't if this water is just water but if i put kool-aid in it i will influence it okay it will never be water again if something as simple as a tablespoon of kool-aid will influence this water how can you live a life where you are being poured into something that doesn't change [Applause] somebody ought to miss you [Music] somebody ought to call you somebody i'll see about you somebody ought to think oh if you were here my life would be better influence is not just about you it is about your ability to affect the behavior of those around you come on the day you walk in the room and they don't look up you've lost influence the day you walk in the room they keep on reading the book you've lost influence i don't care whether it's your kids your wife your husband you need to measure influence how did i change what i was exposed to and the reason we get frustrated sometimes is that days go by which we can't get back again weeks go by which we can't get back months go by which we can't get back and we cannot see our impact on those that matter most around us i'm telling you i said that's real it's hard to come into a situation where it's still just like it was before you got there if i pour myself into you you ought to turn into something else if i pour myself into you you ought to turn into something else if i pour my wisdom into you you ought to turn into something else because if you don't turn into something else it suggests to me that i'm impotent and i have no influence in your life which leads to frustration [Applause] because i'm not seeing any result so that brings us to the question can influence be increased go to luke 2 52. some of y'all know exactly where i'm going with this [Applause] and jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with god and man jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with god and man some people think if you increase with god you can't increase with man no come on talk to the deep folks in here a minute you're running around with all this kind of people you're doing all of this kind of stuff you're doing all of that they think true holiness is increasing with favor with god and not with man but jesus increased with favor with god and [Applause] somebody shout increase okay if i'm going to increase my influence i've already told you there's going to be some some some restrictions and there's going to be some attacks and there's going to be some adversities but as i am exposed to it god builds up my tolerance to the level of my influence oh is somebody getting anything out of this tonight god builds up my tolerance to the level of my influence that's why i don't want to live your life because i haven't been built up enough to have tolerance to be you i have tolerance to handle my level of influence that's why i can't put my mouth on you and what you did because i don't know what you're going through on your level oh y'all don't hear what i'm saying it's easy for people to sit back in a cracker box and start talking about somebody on capitol hill because you don't have tolerance for the level of pressure they're under you say i don't understand no you don't understand so shut up to the people that god is increasing don't don't stop growing because of the attacks because the attacks are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in you don't stay down low to make other people comfortable don't diminish yourself so that you won't make them uncomfortable their comfort is not your responsibility go ahead and make them uncomfortable and let them say whatever they've got to say because god is getting ready to increase your influence who am i talking to in fact you can tell who can grow with you and who can go with you by who gets uncomfortable at your growth warning warning warning when you get around people that only liked you when you were down it's time for one or the other of you to step away from the other because i refuse to diminish myself another year just so that you will like me because i'm feeding the reason i'm at bible class tonight is because i'm feeding something i ca i came to feed something if i don't feed it if i don't feed it it can't grow i came to be fed i came to be fair i didn't come because i didn't have nothing else to do i didn't come because i don't have other needs i came because i'm feeding something inside of me that you might not even see yet but i'm feeding something i ran into the late bishop w w smith in philadelphia his grandson and he told me that his grandfather used to tell his father to watch me i was sitting on the front row about 16 years old he said watch that young man he's going somewhere how did he know that i mean i was i was there i couldn't even pay for anything i was there i was broke i was eating sardines and and stuff while everybody was going to eat and reading i was sitting in church when they got back because i didn't have no money i was just sitting there but i was feeding something your hunger is an indication of your future i'ma say that again for the people in the back your hunger is an indication of your future have you ever tried to feed somebody who wasn't hungry or teach somebody who wasn't teachable or approach somebody who's distracted the reason you're distracted is because i'm not talking to you if you find yourself honing in on me with an appetite your appetite is an indication that i'm feeding something that might not even be visible right now you might not see it next week you might not see it next month but eventually whatever you feed is going to explode in your life if you feed envy you're going to be jealous if you feed hate you're going to be a hater if he flesh you're going to be lustful whatever you feed is going to grow you don't come out on a wednesday night to show off your dress if you come out in the middle of the week do all the traffic we have in dallas and you just got off work but you had to be here there's something in you that's hungry make some noise if i'm talking to the right people [Applause] god's getting ready to increase your influence so we're getting insight on how to manage influence we know if you hurt sunday influence and affluence are not the same thing a lot of people are affluent but they don't have influence a lot of people have influence and they're not affluent those are two different things means that you can be in the upper echelon of society but not necessarily have the ability to change other people's behavior and decisions that's influence you can't write a check for that [Applause] affluence can put you in a nice neighborhood influence can change the neighborhood i'm gonna keep on teaching it till you get it till you get it till you get it till you get it till you get it sometimes when you have influence god puts you in a situation to change it into something other than what it is so stop complaining about what it is that's why god sent you there to change if what it is because you have influence and if i don't influence you maybe you're not mine [Applause] [Music] so tonight we're feeding something i want you to go to first samuel 14 17 through 29 we're gonna have some fun tonight i feel it i feel it i feel the teaching anointing in this building now now this is a moment that that jonathan has separated away from saul and gone on this this this attack mode with just his armor bearer in the middle of the night while the rest of the army is someplace else resting with his father he goes out to battle then said saul unto the people that were with him number now and see who is gone from us because the reason saul is saying this is because they hear this ruckus going on and they don't know where he's coming from and when they had numbered behold jonathan and his armor bearer were not there and saul said unto ahayah bring hither the ark of god for the ark of god was at that time with the children of israel bring the presence of god because my son is gone and it came to pass while saul talked unto the priests that the noise that was in the host of the philistines went on and increased it kept getting louder and louder and louder it's just two guys over there raising all this cane okay his two guys have set the whole thing off woke everybody up and they're all in disarray and saul said unto the priests withdrawal in hand and saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves and they came to the battle and behold every man's sword was against his fellow and there was a very great discomfiture okay keep going moreover the hebrews that were with the philistine watches now this line right here is what i want you to zone in the the see the the the saul is a hebrew he's fighting against the philistines but they're saying there are some hebrews that have joined the philistinian army but when saul comes over and starts to wage war as jonathan has led them into the battle some of those hebrews that were with the philistines before that time which went up with them into the camp from the country round about even they also turned to be with the israelites that were with saul and jonathan okay okay wait wait wait right there for a minute okay i want you to understand this real good the they're fighting the philistines but in the philistinian army are some turncoat hebrews who have joined up with the other side but when jonathan starts fighting with them and they see the glory of god fall on jonathan and the armor bearer they switch sides and return back to the other side i know y'all don't hear what i'm saying god's getting ready to make some people turn around they've been turn coats they've switched over but when they see the glory of god's favor resting on your life they're going to come back [Applause] and if they come back then god has increased your influence so the reason you had to strengthen your course and live in your stakes may be for the return of people that betrayed you [Music] wait a minute wait a minute are you big enough [Applause] [Music] are you big enough person to let them grow enough y'all don't hear what i'm saying so that god can enlarge your territory he may enlarge your territory with people that hurt you [Applause] stay with me stay with me stay with me stay with me he may enlarge your territory with people that you are afraid to trust and he may even enlarge your territory with people that you don't like anymore [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you have to be big enough for the prodigal son to come home even though he spent your money in riotous living with prostitutes and broke your heart and left you laying in the bed crying for a long time when he comes back instead of you telling oh i don't know where you're going but you ain't coming back up in here you should appreciated me when you had the chair you have to be big enough to run out to meet him and kiss him and kill the fatted calf can you throw a party for somebody who broke your heart oh i don't know if i got anybody online i don't know if i got anybody in this room i'm just teaching the word of god likewise all the men of israel which had hid themselves in mount ephraim when they heard that the philistines fled even they also followed hard after them in the battle so the lord saved israel that day and the battle passed over unto beth haven and the men of israel were distressed that day for saul had adjured the people saying curse it be the man that eateth any food until evening that's what saul had said that i may be a venge of mine enemies so can't nobody eat nothing until i'm even to my enemy so none of the people tasted any food come on and all they of the land came to a wood and there was honey upon the ground and when the people were come into the woods can you imagine this see this for a minute they're in the woods they have driven away the enemy they're exhausted from their battle but they can't eat because there has been a decree made that they can't eat and when the people were coming to the woods behold the honey was dropping down off the leaves and off the branches and just falling down up under their feet and on their toes and all around and all the bushes were covered with honey but no man put his hand to his mouth no man put his hand to his mouth for the people feared the oath that saul had made but jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth and his eyes were [Music] enlightened good god can you see that jonathan is renewed where other people are depleted because he put his rod into a honeycomb and put it into his mouth and his eyes were enlightened you can't have a clear vision with an empty stomach [Music] that's why you had to be here tonight because god is clearing your vision because god is allowing you to be fed on the level of where he's getting ready to take you up to and other people have been passing by the honey and they have not touched it because they're afraid of man but because you dipped your rod into the honey and you have tasted of the honey god says i am going to enlarge your vision enlightenment is coming on you because you got something to feed look at somebody say i got something to feed i got something to feed i got something to feed type it on the line i got something to feed i got something to feed i got something to feed i got something to feed there's something down inside of me i got something to feed i got something to feed i'm talking to somebody then answered one of the people and said thy father straightly charge the people with an oath saying curse it be the man that eateth any food this day and the people were fainting then said jonathan my father has troubled the land see i pray you how my eyes have been enlightened because i tasted a little of this honey and the reason i had to give you this tonight because whoever i'm teaching tonight god said he gave you a taste oh [Laughter] [Applause] god said he gave you a taste of what's next yet who who am i talking to tonight glory to god he gave you a taste he exposed you to something that's about it about to erupt in your life and it changed the way you see things and it changed the way you see yourself and it changed the way you see your circumstance look at your neighbor and say i got a taste of it i can't go back to being who i used to be because i got a taste of it i can't act like i used to hike because i got a taste of it devil you should have killed me before i got a taste of the honey just a little taste of the honey has changed the way i see the world [Applause] and if you're in here if there are any haters in here haters hear me good the only reason you're a hater is that you haven't got a taste [Applause] and when you don't have a taste of it you condemn what you haven't tasted that's why the bible said old taste and see that the lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him i can't consume him but i can get a little taste and if i get a little tasty [Music] [Applause] i tasted him i tasted him i tasted him i tasted him and isn't it funny that what goes in jonathan's mouth affects his eyes [Applause] what you eat affects what you see [Music] if you eat with princess you will think like kings [Applause] you cannot fly with eagles and eat with chickens are you hearing what i'm saying to you i don't know who this is but the lord said he's let you get a taste of it and it's changed your whole life it's changed your insights it's changed your foresight it's changed the way you see the world because you got a taste of it glory to god some of y'all moved here cause you got a taste of it you got a taste of something and you said all of a sudden what i used to call church i don't call church anymore cause i got a taste of something [Applause] y'all sit down cause y'all gonna make me go too far [Applause] this is supposed to be a one-time sermon y'all trying to make it a two-towel sermon y'all don't hear what i'm saying to you touch your neighbor and tell them something's about to happen in here tonight something's about to happen in here tonight something's about to happen here tonight i got a little taste of honey i got a little bit of taste and i taste some my taste something i taste something that something's about to happen [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so listen so so your the increase of your influence must require the increase of your vulnerability because now god is sending back people who hurt you this is a big point and we're not going to gloss over this point because if you don't develop the elasticity of heart that allows other people to change you will diminish your influence down to your mentality some people can't go because they can't grow they are still stuck back oh no i don't want you back you you turned on me you was with the philistines you talked about me i heard what you said about me i'm still i don't trust you i don't like you don't come near me but god said sometimes i'm going to enlarge you with people who betrayed you oh i lost them on that jesus they were shouting real good a minute ago let me let me stay there a minute since it makes you uncomfortable let me just sit there a minute [Applause] could you let them back in after they've been with the philistines because they don't make any difference whether they are with the philistines or whether they are with me it does not dilute or pollute who i am and as soon as you realize that the changing of people doesn't change you you will feel safe enough you you will be like joseph say i know you meant it for evil but it all worked out for my good and so come on in here and get some of me because i'm okay about it it don't make any difference anyway i know you threw me in a pit and told my father i was dead i know you sold me to the midianites for 20 pieces of silver but i'm cool now he didn't say that in the pit he's now in the palace he has learned that it didn't matter what they did i got there anyway and the reason you can let people in and out of your life because whether they come or go doesn't change my destiny but it does change my territory [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you can't change my destiny but you can enlarge my territory and if it becomes necessary to forgive you to enlarge my territory y'all know y'all can't handle it y'all can't handle this the reason god can't give you any more influences because you're still too petty [Applause] and he can't trust you with more influence because you can't get over what the prodigal son did you love the story of the prodigal son but you can't get a role in the movie because you would still be mad at him [Applause] where the money no you ain't coming back where my money [Applause] you go back to them hookers and get my money back [Applause] they'd have to rewrite the whole bible because of you but his father never fully closed the door [Music] and ran out to meet the son that wanted his stuff more than he wanted his presence [Applause] how do i get to be this larger person you have to feel safe can i go deep you have to feel safe and in order to feel safe you have to realize that whether they're with the philistines or with me it didn't change my outcome stop allowing yourself to think that things should have or would have turned out differently if somebody else was there and accept that everything turned out just exactly the way it was supposed to to develop me for where god is going to send me so whether you come or go i'm cool [Music] [Applause] and i am able to love you twice because if i survive your first one [Applause] i can survive your next one see this isn't about you god is using you to grow me so that i will be strong enough to feel safe irrespective of your changes [Applause] who am i helping tonight [Music] see you can't the reason a lot of people don't have influence is because they are inflexible you can't have massive influence and be massively inflexible so when you're inflexible i have to limit your territory you know when kovit was on i was gaining weight i didn't know it because i didn't have no reason to put on my suits so i was wearing my jogging stuff and they were flexible [Applause] but when i put on them pants that had a snap on them and a button they were inflexible and they didn't have room for increase come on come on come on if if you're gonna have room for increase you have to be like my gym pants you have to be flexible i didn't know i had put on that much weight because i was wearing something that was for where god is getting ready to take you you can't have a limit on a limitless god you can't put a snap where god is trying to make you flexible with the band so so so all these people that oh god [Applause] you people that's this that i'm preaching to teaching tonight about the insights on influence you got to be more flexible baby your little circle got to open up that little cocoon you're in that little matrix you locked into where you're comfortable with is a prison me and my four no boys nelly susie jane and fred and if it ain't one of them they ain't getting in you will never have the influence you could have because you don't have the flexibility to expand and detract [Applause] paul said i have learned how to abase and abound i've learned how to have little i've learned how to have much and then he said i've learned whatever state i'm in there with to be content because none of those things move me from who i am i like me when i was in the storefront and my mama was behind the wall frying chicken i didn't need you to come to like me so when kobe came and all of y'all left i could still do me because my me is not built on you oh y'all y'all don't go talk to me y'all ain't gonna talk to me y'all ain't gonna talk to me now let's go deeper i got a little bit of time i got oh no no this is what i'm gonna do that's what i'm gonna do even if i don't finish this what i'm gonna do if you're online and you've got a question and you want to send it in and it ain't crazy i'm i'm going to answer a few questions about this influence now when when i get the question i'm going to answer it whether you text it from in the room or whether you text it from across the waters i want you to understand that god is exposing you to a little taste of honey so that you can see things differently so that you can feel safe enough to grow broad enough to function with the level of influence that you need for where god is getting ready to take you your inflexibility has diminished your influence down to your comfort level which is a trick of the enemy to stop you from being like jesus who increased in wisdom and stature and favor with god and man even on the cross jesus is ministering forgiveness to the people who crucified him because he knew that nothing they did to him would change who he is so even while he's bleeding he said father into thy hands i commend my spirit because this was never about flesh anyway glorify me with the glory i had with you before the foundations of the world nothing that they did to me detracted from my divinity or who i am i'm still god i'm still god and as soon as you know i'm still god's man i'm still god's woman i'm still okay i still made it with or without you i can expand or contract and be comfortable gideon wants to know please explain celebrating someone who has hurt you first of all get in you have to understand god celebrates you and you heard him so what i'm saying is and and i'm not so much talking about celebrating as the father did with the son as i am saying leaving room for people to grow you know why get in because blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy what you give out comes back to you and when you are inflexible people will be inflexible with you and it's only a matter of time before you get to live the story out playing the other role [Applause] if you sow mercy you'll reap mercy but you can't sow judgment and then when it's you want mercy so i'm i'm celebrating not because you fooled me and not because you made a fool out of me and not because i didn't see what you did and not because i like what you did but i'm celebrating so that i can stay in a space of eligibility to receive grace in my life when i need it if oh y'all don't hear what i'm saying are y'all hearing what i'm saying does a season of loneliness aid in the process of influence difficult question to answer because it depends on why are you lonely and uh a season of loneliness loneliness is a funny thing it has nothing to do with people this is the biggest misnomer about loneliness single people think some of them single some single people think if i only had a companion i wouldn't be lonely but you only think that because you're not married if you talk to married people they'll tell you that it is quite possible to be married and still be lonely it is possible to be in a crowd of people and still be lonely it is possible to have children and be lonely but if your woman's barren you think if i only had a child i wouldn't be lonely and the truth of the matter is you can have a child and still be lonely see the goal isn't to change other people the goal is god may have allowed you to go through a season of being by yourself so that you could find wholeness within yourself so that when people come you can want them and appreciate them but not need them in order to feel whole because if you need them to be whole then they become god in your life and every idol that comes in your life god will bring am i helping anybody sabrina asked me how can you influence others when you are broken sabrina sweetheart let me tell you something everybody is broken in some way the only reason you don't know it is that they either camouflage it well or don't choose to let you in and the the fact that you don't know it creates this isolation that says that somehow you are less than everybody else when in truth me not showing you my wounds doesn't mean that i don't have them are you hearing what i'm saying so so jesus thank you lord thank you you're so good he he just said there's some such an easier way to explain this she says how can you influence people when you're broken he said how did i influence people while i was bleeding [Applause] so so so he said just just go to the cross jesus influenced the whole world while he himself was bleeding can i teach this tonight everybody's bleeding somewhere that's what helped me to wholeness because i didn't think nobody was broke but me but the longer i ministered i found out am i a little bit crazy sometimes you have to marry him to find out what kind of crazy are you it's like baskin robbins i don't know whether you cherry nut or maple nut or which kind of peanut or chocolate nuts but use some kind of nuts and you all dressed up to cover it up but use some kind of nut which makes it okay for me am i telling the truth [Music] so so i'ma take one more cat david is influence measured by character or does character determine influence that's a good question right there cat hat's off to you baby is influence measured by character or does character determine influence i'm going to answer you as honestly as i know how i think that there are people who have influence who don't have character i could give a lot of names and i think that there are people who have great character who don't have influence i believe cat that influence is a result of purpose that god gives you influence according to his purpose okay let me prove it to you cat because this is bible class and i got to be able to have bible to back me up god gave influence to a hooker who had no no character that we would call character at all i would argue that she had might have had character and didn't have morals but that's a split hair point we'll talk about that another day but god gave her the ability to influence the destiny of israel though she lacked character she influenced the outcome of the whole narrative but not because she was good but according to god's purpose god will use the jawbone of an ass to accomplish his purpose god will you god isn't using you because you gifted god's using you because of his purpose and there could be somebody more gifted sitting in the crowd but god chose you according to his purpose the bible said according to his purpose have he begotten us god has a plan and if it becomes necessary to execute his plan he will use jew or gentile saint or sinner he will use somebody who's of good character or somebody who is of no character he will use a fool like peter to preach on the day of pentecost even though peter had denied him three times but because there was something in peter that god could use god raised him up and you or he could use paul who was a christian killer to write most of the new testament because it fulfilled his purpose because peter had boldness but he wasn't educated and couldn't write paul was educated and he could write though he was such a boring preacher that a man fell out of window and broke his neck and died god will use you according to your gifting to accomplish his purpose because it's not about you it's about his purpose somebody how to give god a praise on that somebody how to give god a praise on that gloria and i asked the last question how do you influence you all enjoying this how do you influence when you are surrounded by the enemy oh gloriana sweetheart listen i think this is what questions i like doing questions because questions let me get right it's like a prescription it goes right to a bull's-eye and helps you to hear what i just taught because i just taught this irrespective to your environment you can change the enviro if the environment wasn't evil why would you need to influence it [Music] if everybody got saved i wouldn't have a job the most successful businesses are built around the biggest problems the problem is what makes the business successful so the truth of the matter is peter and john needed the lame man more than the lame man needed peter and john because peter and john could have went in the synagogue and preached and not been as effective as the lame man was when he came in walking and leaping and praising god he upset the whole synagogue because they said is not this a man that was laying at the gate called beautiful so the man it looks like the land man needed peter but the truth of the matter is peter and john needed the lame man he was the message for the service he was a better message than anything so you need evil around you so you can stand out good [Applause] now gloriana in order to receive this you have to decide that you are enough you cannot do what i just said until you become determined that you are enough and gloriana you were created in the image and the likeness of god and you're enough or he wouldn't put you in the situation if you couldn't handle it it wouldn't happen [Applause] you keep delaying your destiny because you think you need them to change when all god needs is for you to change once you know who you are that settles everything i can i can talk to anybody atheists agnostic see christians don't get this they think you should run oh what are you doing with this person what you doing with that person i don't think you should be over here i don't think you should be over there what does their behavior have to do with my behavior let me give you a bible for it the bible said let the wheat and the tear grow up together in the last days i will separate don't you separate i will separate lest while trying to get the tear you also uproot the wheat because man looks on the outer appearance and god looks on the heart so some of the people you call sinners might be the ones that welcome you into the pearly gates so i can talk to anybody i can run with anybody take pictures with anybody i can shake hands with anybody running around with anybody because your choices don't affect my outcomes [Applause] they only affect yours if we are the salt of the earth how can we affect the earth if we stay in the shaker [Applause] [Music] you got to be able to be in it and not of it you ca we can take a fifth uh secrets right now do i like y'all don't know what sequins is and you can drink the whole bottle and i won't be drunk i can stand right beside you while you drink it and i won't be drunk off of what you drink your decisions don't affect my outcome i'll switch it around because that ain't fair i could drink the whole bottle and you wouldn't be drunk because my decisions don't affect your outcomes they only affect mine if i want to change my outcomes i have to change my decisions [Applause] not my clothes not my hair [Applause] my decisions are you hearing what i'm saying when you were born you were born looking like your parents when you die you die looking like your decisions you're gonna die looking just like your decisions not your mama not your daddy your choices in fact right now you're starting to look like your choices [Applause] [Laughter] i got all y'all figuring oh y'all got quiet on that didn't you the whole church just went into a solemn assembly glory to god you are where you are largely because of your choices well it wasn't my fault i didn't have support there are a lot of people who got a doctorate that didn't have support who who won marathons without support who were olympic finalists without support who opened up businesses without support who built cathedrals without support you decided to allow where you came from to control where you're going somebody else used where they came from for fuel to take them where they're going i'm not criticizing you i'm trying to help you let me close with this story because i didn't get finished but that's okay i wasn't trying to finish this one drunk town drunk got somebody pregnant the model and the mama had twins and twins grew up in the city and one boy was drunk just like his dad they came up to him and said why are you an alcoholic he said because my father was they found the other twin who would never take a drink and said why don't you drink he said because my father was an alcoholic do you all hear what i'm saying to you one son allowed who his father was to affect him negatively the other boy with the same dad and the same genes said i'll never be that after seeing what it did to my dad i don't want that most people i have met who were exceptional exceptional in many different ways whether it's athletes or whether it's acting in some way were broken wounded hurt exceptionally you don't launch forward exceptionally if you are not pulled back exceptionally take a bow and arrow the further you pull it back the farther it's going to shoot if you have been greatly pulled back you have an opportunity to launch extremely forward [Applause] do you hear what i'm saying who am i talking to tonight now this is what i know this is what i know this is she said you know a lot this is what i know god wouldn't give you this taste of honey tonight if he wasn't trying to open your eyes in some way what area of your influence is god talking to you about tonight that you yearn to be more effective at and god is talking to you it's not your fault that this situation exists but if you allow the situation to change you that's your fault see boats don't sink because water's around them they only sink when water gets in them so god says when you pass through the water i'll be with you when you go through the flood i'll be there when you go through the fire i'll be with you a thousand may fall at that right now ten thousand i followed thy left side it shall not come nigh be you worried about stuff says none of your business it does not control your outcome now god is getting ready to give you influence and your influence is increasing you can't get to where god is trying to take you and be worried about what somebody said about you or who left you or who didn't raise you or who didn't love you or who didn't support you because that bitterness contaminates you from birthing on the level of your potential do you hear what i'm saying to you you're getting ready to birth on another level hannah so you got to lay on this altar and get all of that bitterness up out of you so that you can birth what you thought you couldn't birth in your life is only held up because you carried bitterness where you could have carried better how companies having all of these children and i go without a child and my womb is shut up it's not just shut up it's filled up you're full of hurt you're full of anger you're full of frustration how can you birth the promise when you're already pregnant with pain [Music] god wants that stuff out of you god wants that stuff out of you but god wanting it out of you is not enough you gotta want it out too you got a warning out whether they apologize or not whether they pay you back or not whether they forgive you or not whether they come back or not whether they love you or not you cannot allow them to have that much control over your destiny take back your authority take back your authority i will not spend my life waiting on you to change how you are i'm running out of time i gotta change who i am with or without you i'm wondering tonight if there's anybody in this room that would have the courage to empty out the stuff you've been carrying in because god wants to give you influence but he can't give you influence if you're already full now this is the moment that really deserves a song but but i don't want you to sing one because i don't want the song to create a mood what i want is a close decision a flat footed sober-minded i am sick of this i'm not going home with this i'm tired of shaking my neck and fighting and all i'm doing is my big girl is fighting trying to protect my little girl i want to change and i want it tonight [Music] you

Channel: T.D. Jakes

Views: 1,039,036

Keywords: td jakes, faith, wtal, woman thou are loosed, megafest, potters house, bishop jakes, pastors and leadership, pastors, leaders, instinctbishops, village, how to be effective for god, walk in your influence

Id: gFLs_m9XdHY

Length: 77min 38sec (4658 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 08 2022