TD Jakes — The Importance of a Right Outlook
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. I am Bishop T.D. Jakes I am delighted and excited to have this opportunity and share the Word of the Lord as we step into a new year. Whenever we talk about our family where we are going as a couple, she always wants details, who, what, when, where, how, I said girl you have to walk by faith. She is not around today let me tell you. There are moments I walk, too, and wonder Lord, I sure would love to have details. God is not always big on details.
The truth of the matter is, if you are going to walk with God you have to walk by faith. I am going to share a series that will help you to become more comfortable in the process when God doesn't give a lot of details. The series is blind faith. I want you to understand the importance of the right perspective the right outlook and how to move into the new year and the right outlook for the future. Take a look at this and get your heart ready for what God is about to do next in your life.
Paul does not pray for the opening of physical eyes. He prays that the eyes of our understanding in Ephesians 1, he said I pray that your inner eye would open up. He said, I pray that the eyes of your understanding. I didn't know my understanding had eyes. He said, yeah, I pray that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened that ye may know what is the hope of your calling, what is the riches of the inheritance in his saints. He didn't pray about other people at all. He didn't pray about circumstances. He didn't pray about who was going to be president. He didn't pray about none of that. He said, what's going on in your world is not your problem. It's what's going on inside of you that's the problem. It is so easy to blame outside stuff for inside turmoil. You have a revival. I would have been further if you would have loved me. I would have been better if you had been a good partner. I could have done this. It is so easy to blame the outside.
Paul said I got one big prayer for you. I pray that you get your head on straight. That's an African American colloquialism for — a substitute for a Jewish expression. The eyes of your understanding be enlightened that you have an epiphany. That your eyes be open. That you may know. What is the open of his calling. What is the riches. What is the hope of his calling. What you created for what you hoped for when he made you. I want you to know what he hoped for when he made you. If you don't know what he hoped for when he made you how can you say he's successful? You might be successful doing something that you weren't even created to do. What did God hope for when he made you?
I used to go in the kitchen and cook stuff and whatever it was I called it. I didn't know what it was going to be. Whatever it turned out that's what it was. You got to learn, you know. I have created some stuff. I can't recreated. I created original dishes. I didn't have what the cookbook called for. I called it something else. What is this? Well it's beef splendor. Most of us live our lives and throw in whatever is handy and calling it whatever we need to call it. What did God hope for when he created? What did he have in mind for you to do while you are here? Could you be busy doing stuff that don't even matter? And neglecting what you were created to do.
He said I pray that the eyes of your understanding might be enlightened that you know what is the hope of his calling. Second thing you might know what is the riches of his inheritance that you might know what God planted down inside of you, your own hidden treasure. Or are you so busy seeing what's good about other people that you don't see what's good about you? What God placed down inside of you, what gifts lie inside of you. What is his inheritance. Not your inheritance. What is his inheritance? I want you to know God took his inheritance and hid it down in your trash. There is treasure in your trash.
Do you no good if you don't know that. What is the exceeding greatness of his power for us that believes. How much power God would invest if you believed. He said I want you to know that. I am not giving it to you. I just want you to know how much power God would invest if you believe. That is some great stuff. Jesus healed blind people blind people over and over again. He is not after disease on the outside. He is after disease on the inside. He is trying to tell us how important it is to get your head on straight. The eyes of your understanding be enlightened that you might know some stuff, that your inlook determines your outlook.
He takes a guy like the apostle Paul and meets him on the road to Damascus. Takes away his sight on the outside, but glasses, neon signs on the inside. Paul is right on the inside though dark on the outside. So dark he had to be led by the man he was leading on the outside. But all of them sat at his feet to hear about the light he saw on the inside. Are you hearing what I am saying?
This particular text that we are going to talk about this morning is to me the Magna Carta of blindness, the healing of blindness. It is so unique, first of all, because of the methodology where by Christ heals him. It's so base, so vile. Some say they could not take it. God to spit in your eye. Let me ask you. How many people have been spat on? It is an unforgettable experience. It might have happened when you were 7 years old on the back of a school bus. But here you are 47. You still remember that goop sliding down your face and what it said and what it meant and how you reacted when they did it.
How many of you who raised your hand and you have been spat on you smiled through it? It's not something you smile about. It is degrading to a degree. It's insulting. You spat on me like I am dirt. Jesus spat on it. And the dynamics of the healing are so unique first of all we don't see him healing any other blind man quite this way. Each one of them he healed differently. He does not want us to develop a recipe for healing blindness. Each of us has an awakening a different way. Some people get into the music. Some people get into the word. Some people get into a conversation. We have different ways of getting into a moment of greatness when we see things. Some people get it at 20. Some people they get their selves together at early ages. They spend their life on top. Other people by the time you get any sense you are too old to do anything about it.
Paul says when I was a child I acted like a child, understood as a child. I can see like a child. Saw everything like a kid. Me, me, me, me, me, me, me. Kids are always selfish. It's inherent. When I became a man, when I became what, a man. When I evolved into adult hood. How do you know? I put away childish things. It could be possible that your life is littered with childish things while you pray adult prayers. Your prayer life could exceed your vision. Your whole life could be faltered. It's interesting to understand God doesn't heal everybody the same way.
Some of you are in the process of being healed and trying to straighten out everybody else. You are deputies over everybody else's spirituality. You are barrenness in your room, discouragement in your heart. God is not finished with you. I am not saying you have to be finished in order to minister to people. If that's the case I am going to go sit down. What I am saying to you is that you have become a judge, jury and a hang man over people while you were still afflicted yourself. Because sometimes it is easier to fix other people than it is to fix yourself.
This is an amazing story. It is so big, and it is so bold because it also let's us know that healing is progressive. One touch doesn't always do it. One coming to the altar might not always do it. One time having hands laid on you might not always do it. That you could be functioning up under a first touch experience. Perpetrating to see better than you do. That's why it's good. I get distracted by all of that. When I get distracted by all of that, I mess some significant information. Jesus has come to Bethesda.
Hey brought him a blind man. I don't know who they were. The Bible never tells us who they were. Thank God for they. God will always give you a day. Might not be a mama. May not be a father. There are many people in here right now who have never known the love of a father, they are so amazing to me as a father. I cannot describe to you how big that love is, and how different that love is from the love of a mother. Totally different. There are some people who have never had. They cannot even fathom what that would be like.
My wife and I have the same kids our reaction was totally different. I do things she could never do. We love so differently sometimes our love gets into hand-to-hand combat. She wants to go in and nurture the kids and I want to discipline. She wants to go in and soothe them and I want to kill the perpetrator. We are arguing. Get the medicine. I say no we must protect the village. Kill anything that comes near the gate. We love violently, passionately. Some people have never known that kind of love that protective provisionary propensity of masculine love.
A man, a good man defines himself by his ability to protect and provide for what he loves. Whether you want to go in the Bible or the jungle a man is a protector. He fights for the food he brings him the stuff. When a man can't protect and can't provide he is by virtue emasculated. They aren't married to a man they are married to an alien. They think he's a woman in pants. Don't make your man your girlfriend. Understand what hurts him is different than what hurts you. Equally as important to him. He won't tell you. If you ask him what's wrong he is going to say nothing.
Some people have never known the love of a mother. That's amazing. There's nothing like the love of a mother. A good mama will go to hell and back for you. Yes, she will. I am not talking about some of the stuff we see today. They are just women having babies. There's a difference between a woman having a baby and a mama. When you are a real mama. When you are a real mama, everybody else can turn their back on that baby everybody else can walk away and a mama will climb through hell's kitchen and snatch her baby back. You ain't been in a fight for you to mess around and mess with one of them kids.
Some people never had the benefit of all of that support around them. They have never had a perfect environment for them to experience these types of support mechanisms. Yet, they survive. Miracle upon miracle didn't get water didn't get sunlight. Plants still grew. I guess here a little there a little surviving off what you can get however you can get to get up on your feet you made it anyway. Instead of grieving over what you didn't get you ought to celebrate the fact that in spite of it I still made it. That's amazing.
When I look around and I see you I can see why you made it. You got water. You got sunshine. You got carried down to school. Somebody helped you with homework. Somebody went down to watch you play football. I guess you did make it. Look at me, I made it, too. By myself on my own. Dirt in my fingernails, tears in my eyes. Confused. Maybe even a little bit crazy. But I am here. I know what I just said represents a portion of this congregation. I wish you would blow your cover and give God a praise that you made it anyway. Give it to you. Even if it didn't come from the places that other people got it from, he will always send somebody who cares about you.
This is important. Who cares about this blind man. They are doing business who cares about this blind man. There is a bunch of men in here sweaty men big fish. It's musty rowdy funky. Yet there is a they. Did I say that? There's a they. Pray for me God. Intercede. It is not working this morning. There's a they in your life. Wouldn't it have been something if the mind man had to listen to they. I ain't going nowhere. Ain't no need. I made it this far. Leave me alone. They brought into Jesus.
Jesus has come to Bethesda, they brought him to Jesus in Bethesda and Jesus is the first thing he does is turn around and takes him out of the village. Out of Bethesda. You just got here Jesus. Excuse me. You came to Bethesda. You come with your staff and your team you just got to Bethesda brought in a blind man the first thing Jesus does is lead him out of what he just came into. I am so distracted by the blindness I forgot to look at the environment. Why does Jesus turn right around on his heels and walk out of what he just walked into when he sees a blind man. He led him out of Bethesda and healed him.
I said God, are you not God in Bethesda? Could you not heal this mind man in Bethesda. Why did you take him out of Bethesda to perform the miracle when you are God of the whole earth. What do you want the blind man to see about his environment? Until the mind man sees his environment correctly, his outlook will never change. Jesus brings the blind man out of Bethesda, brings him outside of the city and takes nothing. Your healing will take nothing once I get you out of your environment.
Let me tell you how easy. He spat on me. My spit is better than the wealth of Bethesda. God's foolishness is better than the wisdom of this world. God experienced in a worldly environment. They led him out of Bethesda. When he got him out of the environment he spat in his eye. Some people say normally you spit on me. He's still working on me. I am not there yet. I am very open about this. I am not there. I am in stages of recovery. I need my medicine. If I don't get my treatment I have a reaction. If you spat on me I can't guarantee.
There are two of them folks down in there arguing all of the time. If you win what do you get? Might get praise for it might get punched. Hope you are a gambler. Odds are against you. Might not get through this real well. Jesus spat on him. Why doesn't this man get angry? Because there comes a time in your life that you have been blind so long you don't care what it takes to get out of your situation. You simply want out. Being insulted is a luxury for people who are not in trouble. When you are in trouble, you cannot afford to be insulted.