Living Bigger Than Me! - Bishop T.D. Jakes

and with that i think i'm going to this really is a good set up to it because what i'm going to share with you today is all predicated upon an individual who didn't drop the mic who recognized the opportunity who was willing to evolve as a person and go through the transformation that was necessary for his time and redefine how he saw himself i'm talking about nehemiah and i want you to go to nehemiah chapter 2 verse 1-10 and there you will find our study of the word of god today are you all ready for some word in this place if you're ready for some word make some noise yeah yeah in the month of nicen in the 20th year of king are texases when wine was brought for him i took the wine and gave it to the king i had not been sad in his presence before so the king asked me why does your face look so sad when you are not ill this can be nothing but sadness of heart i was very much afraid but i said don't drop the bite i said to the king may the king live forever he knew how to talk to him why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire the king said to him what is it you want then i prayed to the god of heaven and i answered the king if it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight let him send me to the city in judah where my ancestors are buried so that i can rebuild it then the king with the queen sitting beside him asks me how long will your journey take and when will you get back it pleased the king to send me so i set a time i also said to him if he pleases the king may i have letters to the governors of trans euphrates so that they will provide me safe conduct until i arrive in judah and may i have a letter to asaph keeper of the royal park so he will give me timber to make beams he started asking for everything didn't he so yeah so that he can make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the reference and for the residents i will occupy and because the gracious hand of my god was on me the king granted my request so i went to the governors of trans-euphrates and gave them the king's letter the king had also sent army officers and calvary with me when sam ballard the horonite and tobiah the ammonite officials heard about this they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the israelites can you say amen i want to use a subject this morning living bigger than me living bigger than me let's pray while we're standing father in the name of jesus i thank you for your goodness and your mercy i pray that what you've invested in me would be imparted into them that there would be a transference of revelation of knowledge of understanding of your will and your word for such a time as this i believe you to do it have your way great god that you are in the name of jesus we pray every believer everywhere said amen you may be seated in the presence of god so i'm going to start a sin for a man i'm sitting with you so i recently lost a very very dear friend of mine lost had a conversation with him the night before he passed many of you know holloway gray passed away last night the last night that we talked on the phone we had this amazing conversation and i was telling him about i had told him before but it came up again how as you get older one of the things that gives you a feeling of feeling good about where you are in life is that you didn't waste your youth and i said halloween we got so much to be proud of we didn't waste our youth we didn't waste our strength we didn't waste our energy just living to ourselves doing our own thing paying the bills making the rent and bringing in the groceries and going home we got outside of the box and changed lives and touched people and reached around the world and did something that was beyond ourselves and it gave us a feeling of gratification and a feeling of a life well-lived never in my wildest dreams did i realize this would be my last conversation with him the reason i broached the subject with him though is because i recognize that we are living in such uh a me society it's me it's all about me selfies thousands of pictures of me everything is about me my feelings my needs what i want what i feel you didn't treat me right every every everything is about me and two when two me's get married you got a mess you got a real mess because she's talking about herself he's talking about himself and the me syndrome goes on and on and on and people never evolve into becoming who they should be because they never get beyond living for themselves if you hire somebody like that they can't get along with anybody the moment they get their feelings hurt they lose their mission because their feelings got hurt they lose their assignment because their feelings got hurt they lose their calling because their feelings got hurt they sit around and pout and become obnoxious because their feelings got her you know why because we're in a narcissistic society where everything is about them it's about me i can't be loyal cause it's about me i can't be dependable because it's about me i can't sacrifice because it's about me i got a voice but i won't sing cause i don't feel like coming out on thursday night cause it's about me i've got a message but i won't give it because i don't like being in front about people it's about me everything is about me i will go after this other job i'm gonna stay on this job because it's about me i got kids but i don't want to be bothered with them because to get on my nerves it's about me come on talk to me somebody i have never seen anything like this people who have kids that don't want to be bothered with them now there might be some times that they got on your nerves but you still got to hang in there because you got to know that in order to be a mother it's a sacrifice quit looking at some cute guy and saying i want to be your your i want you to be my daddy what is it mama baby daddy i want you to be my baby daddy no no no no no no when he gets through being cute you still got that kid you got to want the kid not the daddy you got to want the kid because that's a lifelong experience if you're a man quit looking at a woman she's gorgeous i want you to have my baby after she had the baby i want you to take care of that baby i want you to get a job i want you to make some payments i want you to bring some bread and some food up in this mud we got to get rid of this mesa drone it's killing us it is destroying us it is destroying our ministry people who are preaching now are not preaching for the crowd or for the people or for the benefit of the people they're preaching for themselves what's in it for me you cannot serve god and be a christian not a real christian and be stuck on stupid and tied into yourself and refuse to evolve to the degree that you understand this is about sacrifice this is about service this is about giving yourself away this is about pouring out your energy and going where you've never gone before and living for a purpose for living bigger than me i want to live big i want to live big i want to live big type that in the timeline i want to live big i'm through living small i'm not gonna let the devil talk me into living small i'm gonna live big i'm gonna live big because i'm living around so many people that are dying and the more people die the more it makes me wanna live big i don't wanna waste a week i don't want to waste a day i don't want to waste an hour i don't want to waste a second i want to live big that's why i'm not going to let you get on my nerves because i want to live big that's why i'm not going to let you frustrate me because i want to live big that's why i don't care what you think about me because i want to live big i want to live big i want to live so big that i live for something that is bigger than myself in our text today we have nehemiah he is neither a prophet nor priest nor king he's just somebody working a job the the book of nehemiah begins in such a way that it introduces his character to us who leaps at us almost without warning from a position of working a nine to five he's got a grind he's got a job he's doing his own thing it's cool he's set up he's working in a nice place he's got everything together let me explain to you how nehemiah comes to have his job he undoubtedly was born during the time that israel was in captivity up under the babylonian captivity the babylonians had taken jerusalem and destroyed it and you've heard me preach before about how they left in change and if i forget jerusalem let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth you've heard me preach before about the sacrifices they went through well then they did go through those sacrifices babylon ripped them away from their home but guess what you reap what you sow the same babylon that tore things up for them got overcome by the persian army and now the babylonians are out of power and the children of israel have been released to go back home and some of them have stayed nehemiah is one of the ones that have stayed he is now working for king or texas says king art texas is a persian king he's a new ruler he's a new emperor that nehemiah is his cupbearer and he's now in a position of authority and he's now in a position of power and he has nehemiah as a cupbearer now that doesn't make nehemiah a waiter it doesn't make him a bus boy it doesn't make him just somebody who's going to and fro that means that everything that every time the king drinks wine nehemiah tastes the wine before the kingdom makes sure it was safe so nehemiah is used to danger i'm not trying to tell you that he's a why no i'm not trying to tell you he's a drunk i'm assuming that you understand that one of the proclivities of the persian governments was to kill or to do a cool on a king by poisoning him and to circumvent the possibility that the king might be poisoned it was nehemiah's job that if there was anything bad in the cup he took it first i want you to understand the mentality of the guy that came from because your destiny is always hidden in your history y'all didn't hear what i was saying your destiny if you go back in your life you will see certain things that prepared you for where you are right now if you go back in your life you'll see things that don't even seem related to what you're doing right now but have served you well now that you're in the place that you're in right now because now nehemiah is in a situation where he faces death every day every morning he goes to work he knows it could be his last morning he has already begun to have the roots of living beyond himself i wouldn't want nehemiah's job i might give it to the cat and if the cat don't make it then i say king don't drink this wine it's not good i would not want to be nehemiah's job because if nehemiah went to work one morning and somebody was poisoned in the king that evidence of saving the king would cost him his life this is a seed of unselfishness that is planted in him from the earliest of his existence parents hear me well if you don't plant quality don't plan to reap quality in adults if you don't plant the seeds of unselfishness if you don't plant the seeds of courage if you don't plant the seeds in them where they learn not to be selfish and they learn to share and they learn that everything is not about them and it's not about what you want and it's not about you liking chuck e cheese we're going this place today we'll go that place another i know that sounds like little bitty things but it's just the root work of creating a certain type of person that they don't think that the whole world evolves around their wishes the reason we have so many divorces today is because you think the whole world evolves around your wishes and if you don't find somebody who evolves around your wishes you're ready to get out because you're not willing to live beyond yourself come on and talk to me somebody type in the comments i want to live bigger than me i didn't come here to live and die just to pay the mortgage on a house i'm gonna leave i didn't come here just to pay the rent for somebody who's a homeowner and i made my payments and my credit is good that's great and i lived here and then i died that was it that's all you're gonna do is live for some clothes in your closet and some red on the bottom of your shoes you could get some paint and paint red on the bottom of your shoe you're living all your life for stuff you're gonna leave what are you doing that is beyond you take a minute and think about it i don't want to bring your joy down i don't want to make you feel bad but but but what would what would people lose if they lost you how are you affecting the life of somebody other than you and yours when god gives you gifts do you think he gave you the gift for you if god gave you a voice to sing did do you think he gave you the voice for you to sing in the shower whatever god gave you he gave it to you to affect somebody beyond yourself you have to realize this and nehemiah and his introduction to us is already learning to live his life beyond himself the king already understood the king's father had been poisoned nehemiah had faced death every day it was clear to him he understood quite clearly what was going on in his life and while he has decided to stay behind and not go back to israel and not go back to jerusalem he has not lost his compassion for jerusalem now watch this in the previous chapter somebody has come to him on his job and said have you heard about back home everybody back home they're back home but things are not cool they're back home and they're living there and they're doing the best they can but the whole place is in ruins the houses have collapsed the economy is poor the people are struggling and the walls of jerusalem lay in ruins the gates have been burned with fire and everything has been destroyed now the person who told him told him and walked away but nehemiah could not get out of his head that he was supposed to do something about that isn't it amazing how both of us can be exposed to the same information it bothers one person and it doesn't bother another person at all it's almost like somebody living in a messy room some people are happy in a messy room it doesn't bother them to be in a messy room but it drives you crazy to be in a messy room see the things that drive you crazy are the things you have the power to change if you've been looking for your purpose look at look at your passions not just what you like but what you don't like what you can't stand to see is a clue not that they should do something but that you should do something now nehemiah has nothing to do with it he's set for life he works for the king he doesn't work for the cobbler making shoes he doesn't work for the carpenter he doesn't work for the conference this boy working for the king and he goes on a fast and stops eating because he is worried about something bigger than him i don't care whether you're 30 years old 40 years old 50 years old 60 years old 10 years old until you have been worried about something bigger than you you have not lived yet until your prayer life has gone beyond you and your four and no more you are not an intercessor you're not a prayer warrior if all you care about is you until you have gone to bed troubled about something that you didn't behind the world you were gonna fix but it bothered you you're not living you're just existing nehemiah is troubled where other people are comfortable you want to know what makes people great it's when you are troubled by what makes other people comfortable i never will forget one day i came in and we had a staff meeting and it was not a good one it was not a good one i very seldom fly off the handle but it was really not a good one and i remember one of the things i said to them i said i'm angry and i'm angry because you're not because if you had been angry i wouldn't have to be angry the only reason i have to be angry is because you saw it and you remained indifferent about something that i think is extremely important what moves you what what do you value what will you fight for what will you put yourself at risk for if you can't answer that you have not lived john lewis answered that dr king answered that mahatma gandhi answered that mandela answered that all of our heroes are heroes because they were living for something bigger than themselves everybody worth talking about every name you ever want to mention that really shook the world or shook the neighborhood or shook the community or even shook their child did it because they were living for something bigger than themselves nehemiah was troubled and he was upset and he was disturbed in his spirit and now it has gotten to the point that when he comes before the king he has fasted so and become so sad that the king says you're not sick but why do you look so sad what troubles you to the point that it's noticeable what troubles you disturbs you doesn't matter to you does it matter to you does it matter that people are dying does it matter that people are suffering i know these seem like simple questions but today we have to ask this question because we're living in a society today that doesn't seem to care even that hundreds of thousands of people are dead you can no longer assume human compassion we are living in the last days that the bible said that the love of many will wax coal one of the reasons that we have such coldness is because we're living in the last days that coldness the the the loss of natural affections a sign of the end time the fact that people can see somebody shot down in the street and keep on eating their lunch the fact that you can have a seizure in the city and people walk past you because they got to get to work it's a sign that something is wrong with our society what has happened to us that we are not moved with other people's pain and their problem nehemiah was touched by the feeling of their infirmity not only was he touched by it because we're often touched by a lot of things but we don't always do something about the things we've been touched by nehemiah was touched to the point of action don't tell me you care if you can't back it up with what you do oh don't have love for me if i don't get it don't be concerned about me and you didn't call me i want to be able to see a correlation between what you care about and what you are doing or you're just living for yourself i want to see you go out of your way for somebody other than you i want to see your sacrifice for something where you don't get a reward for it you just think it's important and you're willing to sow into it i want you to care enough about something that you put something on the line to say i'm a bigger person i'm bigger than that i'm too big to live this small i'm too big to live in a cage of comfort and never do anything with my life that shakes the world i'm living for something that's bigger then me and he goes before the king and the king notices that his countenance has fallen and the bible said he was a friend and he had a right to be a friend because history says that this particular king had killed his brother to get the position he didn't take any foolishness the king asked him why do you look sad this can be nothing but sadness of heart and he says i was very much afraid i was scared you don't run up on the king just any kind of way good god all of a sudden i realized that nehemiah isn't working for the king alone he's not working for the wine alone he has been positioned for purpose write this down because this is for somebody somebody i'm preaching to you think you're there for the job you think you're in that city in that country in that place for just to be there but god has positioned you for purpose that's why you don't move every time somebody says something to get on your nerve because sometimes god didn't put you there for the wine he puts you there for the influence can't you suffer anything god had put him in a place that he was kin to the jews but he worked for the persons which made him bilingual enough that he knew how to talk to the king and he knew how to talk to his own people in my book when i talk about you understanding your crowd you can have the same message but you change the language depending upon the audience and your world will be no bigger than your ability to adapt your language to your audience nehemiah knew how to talk to the king he starts the conversation off with the king all king live forever he wants to know where i'm on your side king by the way my people are in trouble he knew how to approach him he had been positioned for purpose and i don't know who i'm preaching to this morning but the lord sent me here to tell you you've been positioned for purpose stop complaining about the temperature your desk is too small they don't recognize you they didn't print your name god put you there for purpose when the time is right when the time is right god's going to use you to influence and to make a chain and to make a difference you can get paid anywhere god didn't send you there to get paid he sent you there to make changes he sent you there to make a difference he sent you there how to to learn another language another protocol another methodology another culture and ability so that he could use you in an ambidextrous sort of way so that you wouldn't be so limited some of you need to come out of your cocoon you've been in your safety zone so long that you're about to asphyxiate god wants to put you into a place that scares you at a place where you're careful what you say and a place you have to study to be ready for so that you can evolve if you ever get exposed to greatness and go back home to weakness you won't even feel at home anymore it will change you when you hear what they're talking about when you hear their conversation you used to think it's funny now you think it's irrelevant because god has put you positioned you for purpose he planted nehemiah there god knew that he was going to need a man on the inside and he planted him right there and when the time was right he troubled him and when he troubled him bad enough he went in to see the king and he said king my my the land of my how can i be happy when the land of my ancestors is suffering the land of my ancestors he had to say because he had never really been there in order for him to be young enough to do what he did he had to be born in captivity as they were in captivity for 70 years but he still had respect for where he came from i could spend all night on that i'm not even i'm scared to even touch any of that right there he had respect for where he came from he wasn't neutralized by his faith so that he saw everybody in a uniform sort of way he understood where he came from and he was there without denying his heritage don't let nobody give you their jesus at the expense of losing your heritage it's the difference between me teaching christ and teaching culture you don't have to give up your culture to accept christ you can be your culture you can wear your hair you can put on your clothes like you want you can eat what you want to eat and still be a christian and when people start teaching you their culture instead of their christianity they have a hidden agenda do you hear what i'm saying to you and there he is in this situation and he knows he has to do something and the king asked him he says if i have found favor in my sight of old king i need you to allow me to go back and to change my people and god had given him favor with the king of persia good god almighty next point god's about to give you favor god's about to give you favor with somebody that you don't even have a right to have favor with not connected to do you not know sometimes god will give you more favor with people you're not related to oh y'all ain't gonna talk to me then the people you are related to god will use somebody to bless you that is unexpected and the people you thought would help you when you got in trouble won't help you at all and somebody way out here from left field or come in with your blessing somebody's got your blessing oh my god type that on the line somebody's got your blessing just because you don't have the money to do the job and just because you don't have the wood to build the building and just because you don't have the resources and just because you don't have the degree to do what you're trying to do god will use somebody to underwrite your blessing hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah nehemiah didn't give up and say i can't do nothing about it i don't have the money nehemiah himself didn't have the money but god will fund your vision with his provision oh god i'm preaching way better than you shall god if if the vision be of god why would god give you the vision and then not give you the prohibition god gave me a maya the vision and then he gave him access to the provision and the king asked him and this this sounds like it's not a hard question to answer but i have had this question asked to me before and it is a difficult question for certain personality types to be able to answer the king answered him ask him a question and said what do you want the hardest question to answer when you've been a self-reliant person all your life and you've never been taught to lean on anybody it's difficult to open your mouth to really say well especially when what you want is expensive it's one thing i want to stick a chewing gum it's another thing if i need a half a million dollars the king asked him what are you but look at who asked him the king asked him what do you want the king is used to talking big talk look you can't be no king you're not used to talking big talk so the big talking king asked him what do you want and because nehemiah has been raised in an environment that he never had to pay for because that's what favor is favor enables you to enjoy that which you didn't have to labor for flavor brings you to a table that you didn't have to buy favor feeds you food that you didn't have to get at the grocery store favor opens up a door and brings you before people you could have never met on your own favor gives you this unearned undeserved access to a realm of influence he couldn't have got no appointment with the king he's having a big conversation with a big king and he's got to have a big faith to respond to this question and the question for you this sunday morning is what do you want what's it going to take to bring a smile back on your face what's it going to take for you to live your life with purpose what do you want do you know what you want or are you just complaining the king was used to solving problems so he says what is it that you want and the first thing nehemiah did was pray he didn't even answer him without praying i know he said oh god i don't want to mess this up let me get this right and then he starts answering the king and he starts to tell him he said i answered the king if it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight let him send me to the city in judah where my ancestors are married so that i can rebuild it so he's asking for some time off and then the king then the king with the queen sitting beside him asking how long will your journey take and when will you get back and it pleased the king to send him so i set a time so while the door was open since you gonna give me the time off by the way i was wondering if you could give me a letter for the governors of trans euphrates so that they will provide me safe conduct and by way can i have a few soldiers to go with me on the journey and you know when i get back home i'm gonna need some wood so i need you to under right my vision oh y'all ain't shouting if y'all believe this word this word ought to be a sign to you that somebody's got the woods you need somebody's got the security that you need somebody's got the help that you need somebody's got everything maybe think of that song if you want it god's got it he's got everything you need i don't know who i'm talking to but god sent me to stir your faith this morning he's got everything that you need and this guy who is a servant in the house ends up with security letters from the king access to the king's forest he got enough wood to rebuild all the gates that had been set on fire and the king paid the bill and his salary and he said by the way i need enough wood for my house so the king built him a house if god asks you what do you want do you have an answer some of y'all don't even know how much you need i need some money what is that i can give you 50 cents i could give you a quarter i could give you at least you don't even know how far in debt you are you don't know what it takes for you to be out you you don't you you haven't even gotten an answer to the question but nehemiah knew that the king was only being nice to him because he says it this way because the gracious hand of my god was on me the king granted my request oh god if i was talking to some people of faith this morning they would shout the hand of god is on me the hand of my god is on me the hand of my god i can tell the hand of god is on me because he made you like me when the hand of god is on your life he'll make your enemies your footstool when the hand of god is on your life he will supply all of your needs according to his riches in glory somebody out of shock his hand is on me good god almighty his hand is on me his hand is on me his hand is on me his hand is on me i don't understand it but his hand is on me it always has been coral all of my life god's hand has been on my life as far back as i can remember the hand of god was on my life it was only when i was right it was only when i was wrong it was only when i was weak it was only when i was strong but the reason my enemies couldn't kill me was the hand hand of god the hand of god the hand of god the handicap the hand of god the hand of god the hand of god the hand of god the hand of god stop the cancer stop the disease stop the plague stop the enemy stop the curse stop the bondage stop the virus the hand of the lord nehemiah knew that the graciousness that was extended to him by the king came from god god's going to use other people to bless you but he's not going to use other people to bless you when your vision is only you god is not going to give you the king's ransom when all you want is about you god underwrote the budget because nehemiah was living bigger than me he wanted to do something that was bigger than him and wherever vision goes provision will get right in behind it it'll get right in behind it it might not walk with it you might have to have a vision first that you can't pay for but if you look over your shoulder goodness and mercy are following you all the days of your life provision look over your shoulder provision is right over your shoulder ah can i go deeper with this test because i want you to get this text better still the holy spirit wanted you to get this text the reason god got you up to hear this message is that god wants you to get this text he wants you to understand that he's already got the bill paid for he's already raised the trees that are going to be the gates to the city he's already made the way now you got to be courageous you got to be courageous because it's one thing to be dealing with a cup of wine and it's another thing to be dealing with the dean of thieves god's getting ready to take you to the next level and every time you go to the next level you go to the next devil you can't you can't get more without getting more more house means more payments means more insurance means more taxes means more options means more rooms means more bathtubs means more bathroom may mean more swimming pools but more means more means you're gonna have more breakdown more plumbing more this more that you can't get more of what you want if you're not prepared to deal with more of what you don't want oh y'all don't hear what i'm saying somebody type that more means more you can't get more of this and not have more of that if you get a car you're gonna need a garage if you need a garage you're gonna have to have some more if you have some oil you gotta have some gas more means more think you're not strained that these fiery trials have come upon you you know why fire trials will come upon you because you got more to him whom much is given much is required you can't have much given and little required now he has to go right into the enemy's camp and face him one man fighting for a whole nation odds against it and the reason that he's gone is because jerusalem lay in ruins the walls had all been broken down and the gates had all been burned the sheep gate and the dung gate were all the systems that supported their life the sheep went out one gate the dung went out the other gate they had a place to do everything but all the gates had been burned with fire and the walls all the walls had been torn down the bible says when nehemiah got to jerusalem that he rested for three days it was such a journey to get there he rested for three days and then by night while the guards were sleeping curtis he snuck away from his security and went out by night by himself to inspect the wall now this is where it gets good when he went out to inspect the walls by night the walls all lay in ruins and you know what your problem has been your walls lay and ruin do you think i'm really preaching about jerusalem the bible says a man that cannot rule his own spirit is like a city without walls if you cannot control you it's not that you're a bad person it's not that you're evil it's not that you're wicked it's not even that you're weak he said your walls are torn down what is a city without walls in the bible days walls were your defense it defined who you were you were defined by your boundaries boundaries aren't what you do boundaries are what you won't do oh this is so good this is so good this is so good i started to say this and preaching somewhere boundaries are defined by what you won't do and you've lost your boundaries that's how he climbed in this how you climbed into your life you're not silly your walls are down this is how she took the money she got your money because your walls were down your walls determine your strength a man that cannot rule his own spirit cannot control his own tongue cannot control his own anger cannot rule his own body is like a city without walls and here nehemiah teaches us not only the danger of losing your walls because see when you when you lose your walls anything can get out and anything can get in and i want to know what is accessing you depression and fear and anger and low self-esteem and doubt and dread and moodiness and anger and hostility and intimidation and insecurity you didn't inherit that it got in because you don't have walls it got in because you didn't say no and all of this text is about the importance of boundaries you can have a friend but you got to have you can eat but you got to have some y'all don't hear what i'm saying in any area that you're being defeated you're being defeated because in that area your walls are torn down this might be the most important message you will ever hear this year because none of us wants to be defeated sam ballad and tobiah and all of them were samaritans and they were assyrians and they had came over because they were taking advantage of jerusalem because their walls were down what is taking advantage of you because your walls are torn down how wait can i go i need some time this morning how how did my walls get torn down you know that last big fight you had you know that last big fight that last emotional upheaval that last loved one that died that last relationship that fell apart she didn't just get the couch in the refrigerator she come down your walls you didn't just lose your daddy you throw it down your walls and now jerusalem has come back home and they are back home and they are back to worshiping and they have built zaruba bell's temple and they're back to praising god but they are praising god without walls somebody listening at me it's not that you don't love jesus you love jesus it's not that you don't read your bible you read your bible it's not that you don't love the word you're listening at me right now but you are praising god in a city that has no walks so you can sing the songs of zion and still be suicidal because you have no walls and god has sent this word this morning because brick by brick by brick by brick by brick by brick by brick by brick by brick god is going to rebuild your walls you ought to shout right there give it three minutes of crazy praise crazy praise crazy praying crazy praise crazy praise crazy praise crazy praise crazy praise crazy praise crazy praying crazy praying crazy prayers crazy praise i never will forget i had the hardest time learning to save money corey i couldn't save money to save my life i go out there and make money look like everything just went through my hands like water i had to pray about it i had to really use my spiritual weapons against my economy at first i was praying god gave me more and more and more and he gave me more and i still didn't have nothing and he said now what you was broke with nothing and you still broke with something so it's not the amount i'm giving you you have no walls he said if you build walls if you resist urges if you develop discipline i'll open up the windows of heaven and pour you out of blessing you won't have room enough to receive but i will not be complicit in your dysfunction oh y'all ain't shouting now he said td jakes i want to use you in a mighty way you're pastoring in the woods right now but i got a place for you in dallas but i can't send you to dallas because you don't have the walls if you don't learn how to have walls in montgomery you won't have walls in dallas if you don't have walls with 30 members you won't have walls with 30 000. and he said so before i can bless you any further i got to sit send a nehemiah spirit yeah type it in the comments a near my spirit is coming into my life a rebuilding spirit is coming into my life of reconstruction is coming into my life a replacement of priorities is coming in my life a new priority is coming in my life new boundaries are coming into my life i am going to build back the walls that left me vulnerable when sam mylon heard about it he went crazy he said oh no don't build back the walls hal gets nervous when you start talking about building walls do you even start trembling when you start talking about building wall witches get nervous when you start building walls because the only way they can access you is cause your walls are torn down nehemiah goes up at night he dips out by night and he he views the city he viewed it how bad is that all of that has burned out he did a damage assessment analysis right now with your 30 year old self right now with your 45 year old self let's do a damage assessment analysis let's not live in denial let's not close our eyes let's not call wrong right and right wrong let's take an honest damage assessment analysis where should you be by now where could you be by now let's see what is torn down that's stopping you from going let's see how many times you're on the basketball court when other people are studying their words how can your ministry explode when you underfunded with your attention there's a reason i cannot play the piano like marcus i can play the piano frankly i understand music theory better than him i got fingers longer than him my fingers are better for the keyboard than yours the only reason you can outplay me is you invested more into it you invested you played you rehearsed longer you played longer you worked longer i hit it and got them did something else and everywhere the walls go down everything gets out and everything gets in he built his walls higher than mine what can you lean huh hey flat you're an eight flat so if he's in a flat i know exactly what chord he's playing i know what makes an a flat triad i know what makes an a flat fifth i know what hit me give me an a5 jazz seven a jazz seven is a minor seven yeah yeah that's a jazz seven i know exactly give me an eight flat augmented chord it's gonna it's gonna take me to d flat if you if you don't get out of it but that's a day flat augmented core i understand it intellectually i understand it i could teach it but i can't do it because i didn't build the walls that it took to protect the gift y'all don't hear what i'm saying somebody how to build that wall somebody hella build that wall or the devil didn't hear you holler be a land wow what happened to the well oh lord i'm gonna go finish you keep feeding me while i'm standing here what happened to the woman with the issue of blood that she was young enough to still carry water young enough to still be attractive and beautiful and had five husbands and a situation you know how you have a situation all jesus did was build her walls the seventh man built her walls high enough that she didn't need the other six wonder why god's got you listening at this message wonder what areas you need we all got em we all got em we all got em i was on the treadmill yesterday sweatin and huffin and puffing it all out of breath we all got something we got to be working on what wall do you need to build in order to accomplish your purpose nehemiah has assessed the walls he's seen the damage and then he starts the building process and this is what i want you to understand he built the wall in 52 days 52 not 52 days 52 weeks i think it was he built the wall so fast no time at all he had completely surrounded the city with walls but that ain't the good part he ended up staying there for 12 years the good part is he built it out of burn stones i know your stones have been burned i know you've been through some fires i know you've seen the ruins of what you've been through and what happened to you and i know the devil is trying to tell you that you cannot build a new wall out of old stones but the devil is a liar the devil is a liar you can build a new wall out of burn stones i want to talk to the people who messed up i want to talk to the people who got secrets i want to talk to the people who've had abortions and made mistakes and had affairs and blown their time and don't have anything to show for it and still don't own anything and still don't have anything i want to talk to the people who got better clothes and you got a house i want to talk to the people who have better shoes than you have a car i want to talk to the people who have burned stones god wants to build a new wall how to burn stones you say well if he built the wall out of stones why did he get the wood i'm glad you asked he got the wood for the gates the gates had been burned down and there are certain things once they're burned you can't reuse them if wood burns it's over you can't rebuild out of burnt wood but all of you was not wood you got something left you got usable materials that still exist and you have allowed all of these other nations to come in and affect you when all you really needed to do was build back your walls so nehemiah climbs up on the wall and he starts rebuilding he starts rebuilding and the lord said to me this is a time of innovation the season that we're going into now is a time of innovation he says in order for you to be productive in 2021 and 2022 you're going to have to build from burn stones you're going to have to be innovative enough to assess what you've got left and go back to building not crying not lamenting building not dancing and worshiping building remember you can worship without walls so you keep giving god more worship and yet you keep having more attack and you don't understand that worship does not replace walls walls require your involvement you must build back the walls and the wood is for the gates now the damage suggests that the gates are not repairable because they have burned down and they have to be built again but the wall he said i think we could do something with this wall hey hey hey hey you you you listening at me right now do you still believe that you can do something with these walls because if you don't believe cut me off right now ain't no need to be talking to somebody who don't believe that you could do something with these walls i want to talk to somebody who believes that you can do something with this wall type it right in the comments i believe i can do something with this wall i know it's burned but i believe i can do something with this wall i believe i can do something with the second half of my life and stop using your age as an excuse colonel sanders was 65 when he started kfc bob schaefer told me everything important that happened in his life the american journalist happened after 65. but you have talked yourself into dying picking out plots and if you're going to get to 2021 and 2022 and you're gonna have to fight with one hand and build with the other but god said if you put a sword in one hand and a trial in the other everything that the enemy that the enemy that the enemy the enemy that the enemy stole from you said you go build it back somebody say bill and the wall say bill and wall save me a little shouting bill at all fighting and building and fighting and building fighting and building and fighting and building fighting and building and fighting and building fighting and building fighting and building oh god oh i feel the holy ghost i feel the holy ghost talking to somebody right now hell is nervous right now witches are worried right now demons are distressed right now cause you got a sword in one hand and you got a trial in the other and you're gonna be looking and you're gonna fight and you're gonna fight and you're gonna be home and you go fight and you're gonna build and you're gonna build and you're gonna fight somebody build that wall so they couldn't stop him from building the wall so they tried to distract him from building the wall so they stood down at the bottom of the wall sand ballad and tobiah told him why don't we we want to talk to you we want to talk to you now listen to this this is very important they are trying to seduce him into thinking that changing their mind is the victory they want him to accept a false victory you're not doing this to prove something to your ex-husband you're not doing this to prove something to your sister you're not doing this to get your mama to love you you're not doing this for the joneses across the street all of those are distraction it's false goal it's false goal is false gold and nehemiah hollowed by down said why should the work cease why should i stop doing what i'm doing i finally got up on this wall i finally got a rhythm going i'm finally fighting on one hand and building on the other hand fighting on one hand and building on the other and you're not gonna break my rhythm the devil wants to break your rhythm but the devil is let them say whatever they want to say let them say whatever they want to say let them talk about you let them write about you let them make fun of you but don't break your rhythm hallelujah somebody shout hallelujah what you are getting ready to build is absolutely amazing it is going to fortify for generations it is going to make a difference in the world when you start living bigger than yourself it is going to bring about a massive deliverance and god is going to open up doors for you to have influence on a level that you never had it before that's why i told you don't drop the mic this is no time to get depressed and drop the mic this is no time to walk away this is no time to lose your voice this is no time to give up on your dream and this is no time to break your rhythm don't break it the noise beneath you is always a distraction the person who's hollered up at you noticed they didn't come up to have the conversation they stayed down where they were and they're trying to call you down i feel like i'm prophesying to somebody i don't know who i'm prophesying dude but something is trying to call you down you already been down the reason you're on this wall is that you left down to get there and now something out of your past wants to hey hey hey hey hey hey come over here let no no no no we don't have nothing to talk about because i got a rhythm i got a rhythm i got a rhythm i got a rhythm i got a rhythm and why should the work cease god said if you respond to them you will do it at the expense of your mission so i don't know who i'm talking to if i'm talking to you wave at me yeah yeah hit the wave button do something make some noise if i'm talking right to you yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes god wants you to live big live bigger than yourself live bigger than just getting by live bigger than just paying the bills live bigger than just fill in your closet full of clothes live bigger than you all that stuff is fine as long as you can show me evidence that you did something for somebody that you gave something to somebody that you prayed about something and invested in something that was not selfish that you learn the art of service because if you serve god will pay you they didn't hear me oscar if you're sad god will pay you if you're sad god will pay if you just save god will pay you if you're sad god will pay you you're saying if you pay me god i'll serve you god says if you serve me i'll pay you i'll pay you as i come to a close of this message i want you to understand something right now i feel this thing i feel this thing i've always lived for something bigger than me always live for something bigger than me bigger than myself bigger than my own needs bigger than my own oh yes oh yes i've been blessed oh yes oh yes i have been blessed god has been good to me but i didn't have to rip anybody off to get there i didn't have to be selfish to get there i didn't have to mistreat people to get there i didn't have to rob anybody to get there i live for something bigger than me and he blessed me now this wednesday night i'm gonna take this to the next level and most of my sunday morning people are not wednesday night people but wednesday night at seven o'clock i want you to tune in same station same place you are right now to our bible class make room for it because i want to give you another dose of this this is the first dose the second dose is coming the second dose is coming the second dose is coming we got to build that wall billet wall it's coming because i won't stop until you really are living for something bigger than yourself and i gotta clear out some debris and i'm gonna clear out some more wins tonight i'm gonna clear it out of the way so that i can get you on the path to building the walls that will define you the walls define you they define whatever you you get ready to sell property the first thing the realtor wants to see is a survey exactly where are the lines i want you to draw some lines around you the lines around your time lines around your thoughts lines around what you will allow yourself to entertain in your head there were three nations on the other side of that wall who did not want those walls to go up identify the nations people places or things in your life that are benefiting from your dysfunction they don't want you better they don't want you whole they don't want you to know who you are nehemiah stayed there 12 years and became the governor of his people from a cupbearer to a governor he got there because he had as much integrity down low as he did up high integrity is boundaries god i preached good this morning i felt something when i spent around in a circle i felt somebody uncomfortable because this message is chipping away at something you're into when i spin around in a circle just saying god said this message is chipping away into something you're into as long as i preach about worship you're good as long as i preach about being blessed you're good as long as i preach about prosperity you good but this particular message is chipping away at something you're into and there's a fight going on in your spirit because you have justified your behavior because your needs aren't being met and now i'm telling you to live bigger than yourself i'm telling you it ain't about you whatever little license you made for yourself to stay in debt to not pay people to not be honest to not be true to not be whole to not work to not stand to not build whatever little credentials you had i didn't know my mother i didn't know my father i didn't grow up in the right neighborhood i didn't physical whatever little degree you got in stupid yeah we gonna burn it because there are people who did have a mother or father who built nations and companies and businesses and churches and there are people who were more abused than you who went further than you and i am going to burn your credentials for failure and i know you're a little uncomfortable and i know i'm cutting in kind of deep but this is a surgery if we are going to build with burn stones then we gotta scrape the char off the stones and get it down to what's solid and i sense the holy spirit wooing you and i sense him pulling at you and i sense him shaking your heart and you wrestle and try not you're trying not to be emotional but this wall is coming this word is coming after you this word is coming after this word is coming after you this word is coming after you this word is coming you know why the word is coming after you because you are somebody because you have potential and because you're supposed to be somebody and because you're not supposed to be running around with no walls and you got too many enemies not to have walls because i pray for you today i pray that god would just touch you in a mighty way from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet as i pray for you today i know it's going to be a process it took many weeks to build the wall but it was worth it 52 weeks you're not going to do it in 52 minutes but brick by brick we're going to start building walls father right now in the name of jesus distance me from all of the rodents that have been climbing over the debris of my broken walls i come to you lord i understand that last thing i went to it burned me it broke me down it hurt me really really bad and i stopped trying and i stopped living and i stopped breathing and i just settled for whatever whatever whatever but that old man from dallas preached something that made me get my fight back and i'm getting ready to build a new wall out of all stones father right now in the name of jesus i pray for the spirit of innovation and creativity to come in and take over as we begin to build the walls i'm going to rule my temper i'm going to rule my tongue i'm going to rule my depression i'm going to rule my fear my anxiety my feeling of unworthiness i'm going to rule my spirit my biggest enemy is the enemy and today i'm going to build the walls i'm going to put a brick every time that thought comes to me i'm gonna put a brick right there every time that image or that feeling or that urge that says i'm a nothing and it doesn't matter i'm gonna put a brick right there prick by brick by brick i build this wall and i offer it to you let the work start today let it start right now let it start in this moment a reconstructive message from the lord has come to my life today while your head's about and your eyes are closed and you're still yet praying i want particularly those of you who have been living with torn down walls to sow a seed in this atmosphere to say god i heard you i heard you i'm not hiding i heard you i'm not lying i heard you i know my walls have been torn down and either in my moods or my finances or my behavior stuff has been going in or out but i heard you this morning and i'm going to saw a seed as a sign that i accept the challenge i don't build that wall till i'm the man i was supposed to be until i'm the woman i was created to be until i'm the preacher i was meant to be until i'm the deacon i was called to be i'm gonna build that wall until i start using my gifts again my drawing i've got art in me i've got song in me i've got music in my mouth but because of my selfishness i have not lived the way i should be living but today i make a commitment i am going to live bigger than me as an act of unselfishness i sacrificed this sea in jesus name amen one more thing if you're here and you don't know jesus if you're here you've never given your life to him bow your heads with me and say lord jesus i give you my life my life is in ruins i have no walls i have no stone i have no brick i have no block i have no wood created me a clean heart and renew a right spirit i'm ready to serve you right now i accept you into my life and into my heart all around the world wherever i have viewers and there are thousands and thousands of people watching me right now i want you to worship god out of your mouth out of your mouth i want you to open your mouth and worship god i appreciate the comments i appreciate the typing but i want you to open your mouth open open over and over and over and over there's something about speaking to a speaking god word to word spirit to spirit air to air pneuma luma air to air open your mouth and let god hear the breath of your words as you worship him uh-huh you can even lift your hands if you want uh is he's turning it around oh it won't always be like this sooner or later in a time he's turning it around for me he's turning it around for me now as we close some of you have never had unselfishness demonstrated before you you grew up in an environment that taught you selfishness so you have to unlearn some things but it's your turn to set the standard for the next generation are you going to repeat the mistakes of your elders god is giving you influence that's why i'm telling you don't drop the mic don't mess this up you can't mess this up because we're going to break some generational curses and i have never asked you on a sunday morning to follow me to a wednesday night bible class but because you and i are working on this and we know one dose it's not going to be enough i want you to watch the wednesday night bible class i want to add to what i'm laying the foundation on now if god blesses you or blesses your friend or you and your girlfriends go in together and get one book don't drop the mic and we're going to keep building on it and we're going to keep building on it and we're going to keep building on it you're going to learn a little language you're going to learn how to speak in the direction that you're going in you're going to learn who to say no to you're going to learn how to deal with different things and you're going to understand why you have been positioned for purpose i'm bishop t.d jakes i am the senior pastor of the potter's house i have not lost my vision nor am i deaf to hear what the spirit of god is saying to the church i want to thank you for watching this i want to thank you for being here i want to thank you for giving me purpose and giving me life and giving me a reason to get out of the bed in the morning you have done so much to enhance the value of my life you are my bigger than me you are my bigger than me so i thank you for giving me a bigger than me because my bigger than me is you don't go nowhere i need you as much as you need me and together we're going to learn to live bigger than ourselves i'll see you wednesday night god bless you he's turning it around you

Channel: T.D. Jakes

Views: 641,736

Rating: 4.8531566 out of 5

Keywords: td jakes, faith, potters house, bishop jakes, The Potter's House of Dallas, TPH Dallas, td jakes sermons, bishop td jakes, inspiration, td jakes motivation, motivation, sermons, td jakes ministries, motivational speaker, motivational speech, gospel, motivational, sundayservice, tdjakes, td jakes 2021, td jakes sermons 2021, living bigger than me, livingbiggerthanme, live beyond yourself, give us an awakening

Id: j99Vm2CymVs

Length: 92min 16sec (5536 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 14 2021