Stop Living in Limbo - Bishop T.D. Jakes

[Music] foreign [Music] to the word of God first Kings chapter 19 verse 9 through 18. there you will find the text that the Holy Spirit has underscored for me today to share with you it is Illuminating in my soul even as I stand before you beginning at verse 9. if you're able to stand please stand out of honor to the word of God I will be reading out of the NIV you follow along in whatsoever translation you so choose there he went into a cave and spent the night and the word of the Lord came to him what are you doing here Elijah he replied I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty the Israelites have rejected your Covenant torn down your altars and put your prophets to death with the sword I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too the Lord said go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord for the Lord is about [Applause] the Lord is about to pass by [Applause] you stuck up in a cave and the Lord is about to pass by uh uh if you don't move out from where you are you're going to miss it the Lord is about to pass [Applause] you're in a dark place but the Lord is about to pass by your self-consumed with your own situation but the Lord is about to pass by then a great and powerful wind tore the mountain apart and shattered the Rocks before the Lord but the Lord was not in the Wind after the wind there was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake after the earthquake came a fire but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire came a gentle whisper [Applause] when Elijah heard it he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave the inner voice said to him what are you doing here Elijah second time God has the same question what are you doing here what are you doing stuck in this state what are you to God the omniscient God has asked the finite man a question what are you doing here and he replied the same thing he just said I've been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty the Israelites and rejected your Covenant torn down your altars and put your prophets to death with the sword I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me do you just said that the Lord said to him go back the way you came and go to the desert of Damascus and when you get there anoint Hazel King over Aram also anoint jehu the son of nimsha King over Israel and anointing Elisha the son of shafat from Abel mahaloa to succeed you as prophet jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazel and Elijah will put to death any who escaped the sword of jehu yet I reserve 7 000 in Israel all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouth have not kissed him [Applause] my subject this morning [Applause] is stop living in limbo foreign living in limbo Spirit of the Living God fall fresh on this places we're going to your word today I thank you in advance for what you're going to do have your way great God that you are I believe you for amazing things to happen in this place and I trust you and I thank you and I adore you bless every hearer of the word whether they're listening in an Istanbul or Indiana bless them now with the word of God oh whether they are a Zulu or deetsy bless them with the word of God whether they're in Afghanistan or England bless them with the word of God whether they're in Alabama or Birmingham in the UK bless him with the word of God Speak for our seven years in Jesus name we pray every believer at the top of your lungs like you're yelling at your kids shout amen [Applause] oh you may be seated in the presence of the Lord go to work [Applause] [Music] is limbo you mean that they are in a situation where they seem to be caught between two stages in limbo Frozen tuck it is unclear what will happen next because they are neither here nor there in the early days of my faith growing up at the Baptist Church in the hills of West Virginia we would say I may not be where what I ought to be but I thank God I'm not what I used to be and that you all know what y'all knew that phrase well and it sounded real good but it's bothersome to neither be here nor there to be stuck in a stage of ambiguity and transition and Frozen in midair to the point that God himself has to come get you there are only a few times in all of the scriptures that God asked of question of any human being Adam foreign decaying to Elijah what do a style here in other words you are not where I expected you to be you are stuck in memory Elijah the man of faith and Power he is not lukewarm or tacit he is profound and provocative he is massive and heroic he has stood for Yahweh against the onslaught of bailism as bailism has merged down on the people as a result of a union between Ahab and Jezebel can I take my time with this King Ahab is the son of King ombre who rules the northern kingdom as Israel has spit into and he has set himself in a position because of his father the predecessor entering into a relationship with the Phoenicians the Phoenicians who were idolaters and had multiplicities of God's particularly Baal and asteroth were their particular gods they have entered into a relationship country to Country that is consummated in a marriage between a Hebrew king and a we would say a Phoenician woman the woman's name is Jezebel Jezebel like the foreign wives of Solomon required facilities for carrying on her form of worship because she has left her country but not her culture having moved into the territory with Israel who worshiped Yahweh she felt uncomfortable without the forms of worship that she needed and because she has the ear of the king she influences him be careful who you let have your year because often those have whispered in your ear can shift your destiny Chief whispered in his ear until he has given Samaria to them to build a temple to Baal and in the process people are so easily influenced Tamar that if they are exposed to something they have a tendency to become whatever they are exposed to and the more they are exposed to Baal the more like him they become until you see the Hebrew children converting over to ballistic ideologies and only a few were fighting for truth and Jezebel being treacherous as she was begin to slay those who withstood the ballistic forms of government until there was great blood in the city one man was willing to be an antagonist against the antagonistic and it is Elijah Elijah is speaking out against the dilution of the worship of Yahweh he's speaking out boldly with force and with power when you studied out closely if you study the caves of Elijah there are two caves of Elijah according to biblical according to theologians and Scholars one cave is the cave he goes in before he has some out Carmel experience it is there that he consecrates himself and prepares for a display of power as he goes up against 450 prophets of Baal he prepares himself in private for what he is about to do publicly you didn't get that that was good that that was good he he's a fighter by nature but any good fighter prepares for the fight and he prepares himself for cave that's one cave but this is another cave if there were headlines today the headlines would be read if it were in the New York Times or the Washington Post it would read Elijah the great in Exile who would ever think of such a thing that somebody could be great one moment and then Exile the next that they could experience great power great highs followed by great laws but great Highs are often followed by great laws and your ability to withstand them has a lot to do with how you handle the fatigue of being a fighter fibers in the wrong and people know you are a fighter they know you are a fighter and they'll put you in the ring whether it is your fight or not but there Comes A Time in your life that you suffer from Fighters fatigue [Applause] there comes a prime in your life that you get tired of fighting other people's battles they bring you their battles as if you have none your own as if you don't have to fight like they have to fight they Heap upon you more and more and more and Elijah has gotten sick to death of smelling the blood of his own people and their worship to his God and he has decided to fight back but he is outnumbered I want to talk to you in three dimensions I want to talk about exuberance I want to talk about exhaustion I want to talk about exile after he comes out of this first cave that history documents he comes to Mount Carmel to have a standoff with the prophets of Baal and you know the story as well as I do how the prophets of Baal are prepared an altar and slayed a Bullock on the Altar and then begin to call for Baal to come down and show himself and he did not and Elijah said to them maybe if you call louder he will come and he did not maybe if you've written your clothes he will come and he did not and finally when they were humiliated and exasperated and frustrated he has a moment on Mount Carmel of exuberance of such magnitude that it shakes the stronghold that the Theology of Baal had on Jerusalem lay wait on me but I'm going somewhere every now and then God will create a stage for you and you will have exuberant moments of great victory when Elijah walks up on Mount Carmel and he prepares The Altar and he lays out the stones for the 12 tribes of Israel and he puts in the wood and he puts down the water on top of the wood with the water making the wood wet the stones not even being perishable and then calls God for fire this fire that came down from heaven is not a natural fire because a natural fire would not burn Stone a natural fire would not burn water but this is a Divine Glory that comes down from God Have You Ever Had God do something for you that defied science that defied logic the defied circumstances I'm wondering is there anybody left that still Believes In Miracles all right oh I admit it's not every day it's not every weekend but every now and then at times God will give you a miracle the car crashes and you should have been destroyed and you came out alive talk to me somebody you go through something and you should have had a nervous breakdown but some kind of way god holds your head together and you come out not by might nor by power but by my spirit accept the Lord there are moments of exuberance that are so strong in your life that it removes all doubt from your mind as to the authenticity and the Integrity of God that God is God all by himself if there were no Bible I would still know there was a God if there were no preacher I would still know there is a God because I have seen his hand snatched he has had moments when the odds were against him 450 to one is bad odds but if God before you who shall be against you let me just stop right there and talk to somebody who's got the odds against him and the stats are against you and the data is against you and it looks like all hell is breaking loose and you cannot win God does not count like men you don't have to have the numbers on your side to come out the Victor 450 against one but God is to equalizer thank you he has had exuberance because he he is willing to have confrontation get this down you cannot have exuberant moments without confrontation you cannot be passive in shrink away from debate and experience the exuberance of God God blesses people who will say what has to be said God blesses people who will step off a boat onto water and walk in the middle of a storm God blesses people like Elijah who doesn't mind the odds being stacked against him because he knows that he's got the glory they were singing about against his back [Applause] confrontation is rewarding but it is also exhausting thank you it is exhausting to deal with people I told God one day God I love you but your people are wearing me out gods are good but your kids are crazy you know the stuff not you not you not you I'm just I've thought about the person sitting beside you [Applause] great moment of power at night that started with him getting a word from God that it was going to rain in the middle of a famine I've read all the things they're saying about the economy [Applause] know the facts are accurate but I also know the difference between facts and Truth facts are we're headed for recession the truth is my God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in Glory by Christ Jesus the facts are we're living in inflation the truth is that if I was hungry I wouldn't tell you the cattle on a thousand hills belong to my God the facts are the next couple of years look tempestuous but the truth is the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want are you going to live in the facts or are you going to stand for the fruit the infallible immutable Everlasting Eternal preeminence of the Divine Sovereign God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all you may ask or faith according to the power that working where in US said you're getting me excited don't do that don't do that you're gonna you'll make me go too fast what I love is the tempestuous ride the Airman flow the Topography of the text lends itself to rugged terrain from the Mount of Carmel where the power Falls like fire having been preceded by Elijah pronouncing that it is going to rain after a drought rain after and proud destroys famine sometimes we pray about the famine but not the drought that caused it it is never the thing you need to pray about it is the thing behind the thing [Applause] we're praying about famines God's answering about droughts very few people look behind for the why they pray for the what Elijah has the insight to understand the driving force of the famine is a result of the drought so he sticks his head between his knees and he prays for rain and when the answer comes it looks insignificant it is the size of a man's hand but out of small will come great abundance of rain I preached in Washington a few weeks ago the new being is small it's gonna come out of small places that that that that that that unlikely people are going to come to the Forefront that the new big is small great things are going to be incubated in small places God gives us the first hint in childbirth [Applause] that out of small places comes great things and it rained and God said it's like not diabetic and get me out until I have the rain is coming and Elijah has outrun The Chariot [Applause] he has called fire down from heaven he has humiliated 450 prophets of Baal he has taken them down to the river and slain 450 Prophets which takes us from exuberance to exhaust I came in the house the other day Governor I told my wife girl I said I'm so tired she said I guess you are and I thought I was gonna get some confidence you know some soothing words some empathy she said you've been going like a madman for months and months I guess you should be tired I was shocked because I was tired because when you have the anointing to be exuberant exhaustion is a stranger see some of y'all don't get that because you're exhausted all the time I understand that but I might have a point for you in a minute but to those of us who are Fighters to those of us who call fire down from heaven to those of us who will make it rain up in here we don't have time to be tired because we've got goals we've got Giants to kill we've got mountains to climb we've got things we want to get done for God an exhaustion is not in our purview and I know he's exhausted because you can tell you're exhausted when your emotions betray you [Applause] one of the symptoms of exhaustion isn't just a need for sleep it will show up in your emotional stability and his emotions have now betrayed him and he is depressed and he goes up under a juniper tree not to rest but to die he goes to the juniper tree to die at the voice of a woman this man who withstood 450 prophets of Baal has now started running from a woman one woman I don't care who says she couldn't be that bad one woman you call fire down from heaven and you're running from one woman who said if God begotten by tomorrow this time I will utterly destroy you and he ran up under the juniper tree tired so tired he didn't notice that 24 hours had passed and he was still here is there anybody in the room have you not noticed that whatever threatened you you are still I wish I had some survivors in this place some people that could testify to the fact that had you listened at the voices that spoke up against you you wouldn't be sitting where you're sitting right now the very fact that you're alive tired or not is a testimony to the authenticity of God not somebody say I'm still here if I don't make any more money I'm still here if I don't finish my masters I'm still here if I don't get my Doctrine I'm still here the fact that I'm still here is Victory all by itself I've made it through hell and high water he is he is exhausted I see you bless your heart she wanted me to see her give it I saw you now thank you God bless you he is exhausted I'm not talking about the kind of you know sleepy there's a difference between sleepy and exhausted exhausted is not just just about sleep it's about emptiness is about brain fatigue it's about a lapse of energy it's a collapsing of stamina it is a betrayal of emotions exhaustion will make you start crying and not know why exhaustion will make you run from things you could beat give up on causes you could have won exhaustion and depletion comes after exuberance you cannot continue to produce at 140 miles an hour and not be depleted it is not logical to Faith that you can be everybody's Savior and never become exhausted I know it was exhaustion because when he gets to the juniper tree God does nothing Divine to revive him he simply supplies physical need sleep and food sleep and Truth no fire coming down from heaven no wind no lightning no Thunder no uproar no spiritual Uprising no flapping of Angel swings just sleep and eat there are some problems that we have that do not require Divine assistance but the meaning of natural needs Elijah you haven't lost your power you're just tired you haven't lost your gift you're just tired baby you you're still minor prophet you're just tired it's okay to be tired and the Bible says that he ate and fell asleep and then ate and then fell asleep but that's what happens when you outrun chariots look at all the stuff you out ran look at all the stuff you outran look at all the stuff you out ran with no wheels and no horse and you still got there they gave you less to work with and you still got foreign [Applause] God's getting ready to renew your strength God's getting ready to revive your power God's getting ready to give you your energy back God's getting ready to renew you it's not going to be an annoying thing it's not going to be an auction God's got a natural answer to a natural problem you have been running you've been running past chariots [Applause] and sometimes because we have hero complexes we don't know how to deal with exhaustion because we are trained to deal with exuberance and in the face of exhaustion we have not been wired to see exhaustion as a natural thing we see exhaustion as failure [Applause] exhaustion and failure are not the same thing it's the same reason that the priest could not live in the holies of holies cause you can't be that kind of anointed all the time you got to come out to the most holy place and eat bread and drink wine and get have some normalcy you can't stay producing at a hundred percent it's the same reason we have fallen winter so that the trees can rest and the ground can refurbish cause you can't be fruitful 24 hours a day stop thinking that God left you just because your season changed he may have to change your season to sustain your fruitfulness though your leaves turn brown it doesn't mean that God is dead he's ordered rest and food because as mighty as Elijah was he was not exempt from exhaustion last week I mentioned the Sleepy Jesus you remember that Jesus sleeping on the boat in the storm even though he was Jesus he still got even though he was Jesus he said in order to deal with this next demon I got to get some rest in order to cast out this next devil I got to rest up for this one because this is Legion where you're getting ready to go you're gonna have Legions to fight and you got to be at your best you in order to produce on the level that you need to produce you've got to be at your best but because you feel guilty about resting he maketh you to lie down oh y'all didn't hear what I said he making for me to lie down if you won't lay down on your own God will make you lay down in Green Pastures so that he can restore your soul it's not just your body your soul your emotions your mind your your feelings off guilta you're running from a girl man you're running from one girl you just kill 450 prophets and you're running from one girl who has not succeeded at killing you and by the way she's not even near you [Applause] she is an image in your head she is a threat in your thoughts she is a what if in your psyche she is a possibility in your reasoning or I feel like preaching I'm about to feel like preaching in here have you ever run from something that wasn't even tangible just a thought in your head a suggestion a possibility an ideology that is driving you nuts what if [Applause] the enemy is trying to kill you with what ifs and that's why God wanted you to be here this morning to hear this word from God what if I don't make it what if I don't succeed what if I don't win what if I'm not enough what if I don't have it what if it's the loan isn't approval what if we lose the house what if what if what if what if what if [Applause] and you don't realize that you are exhausted and the Bible says that God fed him and let him sleep and when he woke up he said no go back to bed eat some more go back to sleep don't be guilty because you're tired it's okay to be tired because as mighty as you are and as much as you outran you have the right to rest I just released somebody I don't know who it is it's not that I put them to bed I release you of the guilt of entering into another season you don't have to do what you used to do cause you already did it I don't have to perform like I performed when I was 30. because I've already been 30. so I don't have to keep producing at the same level just to entertain your idea of me at the expense of losing me I have got to enjoy every stage I'm in oh god of Mercy I said all of that to explain how this Mighty Man finds himself exhausted now renewed in strength he continues in the strength of that meat for 40 days in the strength of that meat 40 days I don't know whether he should have gone further in 40 days or whether he should have risen to the level of preparing his next meal but for some reason God does not expect to see Elijah in point three exile if God expected the cave to be his next resting place then why does God say what do us thou hear why are you stuck in limbo why did I have to come find you Elijah why are you in this cave and there are people in this room that are living in limbo you're not where you used to be but you're not where you're gonna be you took a pit stop that became permanent [Applause] and people don't even know that you are in a cave it is possible to be in a cave and still fool people because all caves are not made out of rocks they're emotional layovers I was talking to a young man last night he said I finally got in from out of town I said why so late he said my plane was delayed limbo will make you all I know is that Elijah was not where God expected him to be for the days he gave him I gave you 40 days you should have been further I didn't give you 40 days that you would make a destination out of a pit stop I did not create this level of greatness for you to be a caveman I'm almost finished are you with me am I talking to anybody in this room he is in a cave a cave that makes God when God asks you a question you are in a strange place God is omnipotence all-powerful omnipresent in all places omniscient all-knowing so that means that God has never asked anything he couldn't answer he's never needed anything he couldn't Supply he never thought of anything he couldn't create he is all sufficient he is El Shaddai he is complete within himself lacking absolutely nothing and yet God asked him [Applause] I'll understand how you got here I didn't feed you to end up in a cave I didn't give you cruises of water for you to end up in a cave I didn't give you all I gave you all the giftings all the power for you to run from things that are lesser than you [Applause] you let her run you home you let her run you back by the way she ain't your problem [Applause] I will deal with her as soon as I figure out what's wrong with you [Applause] Jezebel is a false antagonist [Applause] see the false antagonist sometimes we put too much energy into fighting what are not really our battles I told a young man I was mentoring the other day I said don't be deceived into getting down in the bottom of the fish tank fighting with catfish as if changing their mind about you will reap a reward because if you're not careful you'll be after something that's worthy of you and detour to fix something that's irrelevant to you y'all don't hear what I'm saying to you [Applause] and Elijah is an exile and God says what are you doing here what are you doing in this place and then he tells him what he told him before Mount Carmel what he told him at Juniper at the juniper tree what he told him in the cave is his underlying belief system I'm almost close you can call fire down from heaven you can destroy 450 prophets of Baal you can see rain before it falls you can outrun chariots but you can't outrun a faulty belief system can I go a little bit deeper because it's not good for me to analyze the problem if I'm not going to give you the solution [Applause] so if you're going to get out of limbo you got to understand what's got to die it's not Jezebel that's got you in the cave and if you're not careful you'll be fighting the wrong thing and wondering why you're not getting the right result [Applause] your enemy is enemy and y'all didn't get that I'ma try it for the people in the back your enemy is enemy is not outside of me it's not what they said about me it's not what she threatened me with it is not what Jezebel said that's killing you it is what you are saying to yourself over and over and over and over again whenever you squeeze Elijah the same toothpaste comes out ain't nobody left but Me Lord all the prophets are dead and I alone am left and now they seek to take my life the same mouth that caught fire down from heaven the same mouth that called Yahweh to move in the prophet in the face of the prophets of Baal could not withstand the voice in his own head the voice in your own head signifies your belief system I'm not talking about your confession of faith I'm not talking about your positive profession I'm not talking about the things you say on stage I'm not talking about the things you do when you're doing what you do like you do when nobody else can do what you do like you do it I'm talking about the stuff you say at two o'clock in the morning in your own head your belief system has nothing to do with your performance you can perform like a giant and believe like a whip oh notice I said belief system it's a system that is a system a system systems have a way of being invisible when I say something is a system you can't touch it it's our culture it's a way things work in your own head a system of belief has brought him to a place of limbo because in spite of what he does he still believes that all the prophets of God are dead and he is alone and now they seek my life suppose just suppose what you believe about you isn't true just you just just let's have the courage to challenge [Applause] the understanding we stand under because it could be possible that you are standing under false perceptions [Applause] and the reason you keep getting defeated is not because of what they are saying about you it is what you are saying to you what kept bringing this a good message Lord have mercy what kept bringing Elijah to living in limbo is that he you operate up under a Creed an oath that's never been ridden you operate up under a Creed an oath that has not been written for example I have always believed that God loved me I have always believed that I was chosen to do something even when I didn't know what it was I have always believed that the hand of God was over my life and that Mighty things were going to come out of me and I didn't know when and I didn't know where and I didn't know how I have always believed that I have always believed that God was for me even when he wasn't pleased with me I still knew he was Come on talk to me somebody I knew he was for me if he chasing me he was for me if he chastised me he was for me if he got on me I knew he was still and you always show up in life according to the Creed you believe about you you can outrun chariots but you cannot run your own head [Applause] you can rip down prophets but you cannot destroy that he has a complex that's not written in concrete but it's effective at stopping him at every hand because he has believed a false narrative number one he says all the prophets are dead that wasn't true he said I'm the only one left nobody has ever been through what I've been through I alone am left nobody is a problematic or dysfunctional as me that's not true listen at how many times he said it to himself he said it so much that when God asked him what do us out here it came out like toothpaste when I squeeze you when pressure is applied to you what you really think will ultimately come out of your mouth it is your Creed is this your Dogma it is your Doctrine you never wrote it down but you feed it to yourself like baby food nobody will ever love me I'm not worthy of love I'm not worthy of better I'm a bad person I don't have what it takes instead of saying I did bad things you are thinking I am bad instead of thinking I made mistakes you were thinking I am a mistake instead of thinking that I've been delayed you are thinking I've been denied and it doesn't matter how gifted you are how much money you make how many degrees you got don't get it twisted I got people in here with more degrees than a thermometer don't Define Us by the images on TV there are phds in this room there are lawyers in this room there are dentists and doctors in this room there are chemists and scientists in this room but none of that has anything to do with the Mantra and the Creed that exists in your class you graduated from Yale I came out of Harvard and I owned this home that I did that I did the other that has nothing to do with what you say to yourself at two o'clock in the morning you can be on the cover of variety magazine you can be on Vogue you can be in everything and still think you're ugly you could lose a hundred pounds and look in the mirror and still see a fat boy that's the cream that puts you in limbo and when God comes down to counsel him you know you bad when you got God as a therapist God becomes Elijah's therapist and all a therapist does is help you dig out what's in you they don't give you answers they help you unearth anthers by asking questions so God becomes what Isaiah said he was a wonderful counselor thank you [Music] and When God says what do us thou hear it's not because he doesn't know he is trying to help Elijah question himself to find the answer because whatever's wrong with you the answer is already in you they didn't get that I'm gonna try to tell you whatever is going on with you the answer is somewhere locked up inside of you whatever puts you in limbo whatever locked you in a cave whatever shuts you down is not going to come from who you marry who you lay with who you Court who you date who you sleep with they can't fix you because the enemy is in a me and until you pull the answer out of your guts out of your belly so flow rivers of Living Water if I'm helping somebody giving 30 seconds of Crazy Praise yes foreign [Applause] isn't helping nobody else that word didn't loosen anybody else type it on the line type it on the line if the word is breaking down walls and turn down barriers make something always up in this place Make Some Noise up in this place makes a knife in his face Make some noise in this place makes the noise in his face makes a dive in his face Make some noise in this place I'm coming out of this [Applause] give me five minutes and I'm through God said oh I feel that brother don't you do that because I I tell you I would do a cartwheel right down the aisle right now land up and do a Japanese splits because I am so tired of seeing us in limbo [Applause] don't you know God is not through with you yet don't you know God has more for you don't you know you're gonna land and not borrow don't you know you're the head and not the tail don't you know you're above and I believe don't you know that you're more than a conqueror don't you know that he that begin a good work in you shall perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ the truth will be just as bad in your old age that you were in your young age that you're gonna be strong in your Uprising and traveling in your down City can't you see I'm 65 and I still feel it I my hair is white and I still got it I got enough energy heaven to preach right beside anybody from the White House to the crack house I I still know who I am boy so quickly two things in a mouth until you confront that negative belief system that keeps ensnaring you over and over again you will not discover watch this watch this you will not discover the second half of your life [Applause] Paul the first half the life of your life but when you get to a certain age in order to go into the second half of your life what brought you here cannot take you there and you have compassed around this mountain long enough and in order to get clear Direction you got to get clear thinking for as a man thinketh in his heart so is he if you think you're a loser you're a loser if you think you can't get up you can't get up if you think you can't make it you can't make it but I dare you to stream your head I strive in your spine hold your head up high and walk in a room like a full-grown man how dare you foreign [Applause] oh God does is two things I don't know if you got that I don't know if you got the courage to challenge your belief system because that ain't easy it's been the rock you've been leaning on it's been the the POV you always had you think it's right because it has seniority it is a reflection of the world you live in so you think it is a reflection of the world sorry the world you live in is not the world it's just the world you live in there's a in your same city there are people living in another world down the street from you there are people living in another world if you don't like the world you're living in leaf change it move it break it God says to him I got 7 000 prophets that have not bowed to Baal nor kiss the nasty image whatever you've been telling yourself is alive and it's slowing you down and it's holding you back and it's stopping you from realizing that he's happy for you I'm gonna do just a little bit of black preaching finally if I'm happy for you who can be against you a thousands of fall into right side ten thousand shall fall into the left side but they shall not come by you you belong to me from the crown of your head yes shout if I'm talking about you I said shout if I'm talking about you [Applause] most people never get the courage to challenge their perspective they do not have the strength they can confront other people but they can come out confront themselves you have no trouble confronting the prophets of Baal but you will not confront your belief system I'm wrong I'm wrong I'm not alone and I'm not dated [Applause] and Jezebel ain't got the drop on me all right and I'm still here and he ain't finished with me yet in fact he's about to do something absolutely amazing in my life my best days are not behind me my best days are in front of me I haven't tried my highest mountain I haven't done my greatest Miracle yet I will not stay stuck in this place slap somebody and tell them I'm coming out foreign you got to get them ready for it cause some folk only like you when you're in limbo when you get direction they can't stand you when you get confidence they don't like you they need you to be dysfunctional because that makes them feel better about themselves but slap them and tell them I'm getting ready to leave come to myself somewhere but I will not die [Applause] so the Lord says to Elijah I can do nothing with you in that cave until you come out of limbo [Music] until you come out of limbo I will do nothing for you but I tell you what I'm getting ready to pass by [Applause] and I'm giving you enough time to wake yourself up and come out of your sleep I'm gonna pass by one time and you gotta be out of limbo in order to hear what I'm gonna say grab somebody and pull over and say will you come out come out of it physically come out of it emotionally come out of it financially come out of it spiritually Shake Yourself I got to go I will not die in this case [Applause] that that was a great win but God was not in it And Then There came an earthquake and God was not in this and then there became a fire and God was not here the Reason God wasn't in the wind the Reason God went to the earthquake the Reason God wasn't in the fire is because none of that would take away the voice God knew it took a voice to drive out a voice and after all of the wind and the earthquake and the fire the Bible said that God spoke in a still small voice because that's what's been shutting you down is a still small voice but God's got a voice that'll come against the voice that's been holding you back [Applause] so according to the text the wind wouldn't bring him out and the earthquake wouldn't bring him out and the fire didn't bring him out all of that loud stuff didn't bring him out oh girl I feel like preaching this morning you must be praying for me I feel an anointing up in this place Hallelujah I'm trying to act rights be a little bit dignified I got the company in here I got act like I got some intelligence but I feel a little holy ghost power up in this place right now I feel a little Holy Ghost Deliverance up in this place right now I feel a little Holy Ghost breakthrough up in this place right now and since he clapping I'm gonna clap with you [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] people say stop living in limbo stop being in between places stop being stuck in a conundrum stop being in a state of Perpetual depression stop making excuses for yourself stop delaying your Victory here stop delaying your exit this is your exit ramp this is where you get off this is where you get out this is where you get over no the salient point of Deliverance is at the parade precedes the presence the earthquake the wind and the fire God always has a parade before presidents we see it on the day of Pentecost and they were in one place with one Accord and suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind but then when the Holy Ghost clothing tongues like a little fire came next and set upon each of them wait a minute here comes the Holy Ghost and then they were all fear so God always has a parade the earthquake passed the wind blue the fire came but God wasn't in it they were the pageantry that proceeded you know what real Deliverance is real Deliverance in the dance it's not a breakthrough it's not a shout it's not a hoop it's not a hollow it's a whiskey real Deliverance comes real Deliverance came in the car when I told you 40 50 years ago Jackie I'm not gonna be broke no more she said what do you mean I said I don't like you I knew that my life did not reflect my belief system and I refuse to marry Jezebel because she's close by there was nothing wrong with my house but it wasn't my house there was nothing wrong with my life except it wasn't my life there was nothing wrong with my situation except it wasn't my situation there was nothing wrong with poor people who needed food stamps getting them [Applause] but that was not so I said so watch this watch this watch this kisses don't miss us all I did was decide this ain't me I'm leaving [Applause] I still no small voice a woman in an abusive relationship been in an abusive relationship for years her sister couldn't get her out her auntie couldn't get her out her mama couldn't get her out she made excuses for him over and over and over again and one day a steel small voice says thank you I'm better than this if I'ma Do Bad I can do bad by myself can I get a witness in here my daddy was mopping with a mouth flipping the corners you remember how daddy could flip the corners with him out I couldn't make it come back like he was Rembrandt and he took a mop in a bucket and turned it into a business with 52 employees and 10 trucks and did business with the entire state of West Virginia in the 60s he didn't have a PhD but he had a drive and determination that said I will be summoned my mama decided that while she was getting School teachers paid which isn't that much to start buying a property and piece by piece brought up the whole street till they renamed the street after it's Jake street today my mama was collecting rent when she had Alzheimer's and couldn't remember the house you don't like your life change it stop being in limbo and this is what's going to bring you out the wind will come first but that won't get you out of limbo the fire will come next but that won't get you out of limbo the earthquake where everything shakes none of all of those outside experiences will not get you out of limbo and all of that noise Elijah heard a steal small voice The Voice can say I'm better than this [Music] the voice can say I have something to offer the voice can say I'm not arrogant but I'm absolutely guilty [Applause] thank you the voice can say even if you reject me I'm going to send you a sympathy card because you lost you you you lost you're gonna search all over the world you're not gonna find another me I'm in a class I'm talking about your Mantra your Creed your dog what you live by what you don't let nobody take from you ever you'll fight back [Applause] God used a voice against a voice a voice got him in them both and a voice got him out what I am trying to do is not entertain you or impress you or motivate you I am trying to send a voice Against The Voice that's got you stuck in limbo because it is what you are saying it is not what they are saying it has nothing to do with what they are doing wait a minute Elijah had a school of prophets how could he be teaching a school of prophets and think he was alone this voice was an obvious lie sometimes you can have an obvious life you can look in the mirror and still see ugly and everybody faint when they walk by you and nobody would believe that all you see is ugly cause you hate your nose and you hate your lips or you hate your voice or you hate something about yourself and you allow that voice to keep you in limbo I am telling you the voice is a liar stand to your feet there's something I want you to know God will find you wherever you are when you can't get to him he'll get to you he'll pass by your cave he won't go in it he'll pass by it you have to have the courage to come meet him whether you are listening at me in the U.S or in Canada or in Brazil or South America whether you are listening at me in Watts or yell or Hove it or Morehouse whether you are listening at me on welfare or in Washington D.C the same truth

Channel: T.D. Jakes

Views: 1,984,615

Keywords: td jakes, faith, wtal, woman thou are loosed, megafest, potters house, bishop jakes, pastors and leadership, pastors, leaders, instinctbishops, village, 1 kings 19 niv, stop living in limbo, the potter's house of dallas, am i in the wrong place, live up to your potential

Id: SSfZBG_hbjs

Length: 79min 15sec (4755 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 06 2022