TD Jakes - Purpose Isn't Petty
Rahab—prostitute on wall—gateway to Jericho's possession; God's purpose overrides principles/pettiness. Sweeping intentional for lost value (self/position); fallen yet silver remains—comeback through divine sweep, building legacy from old stones amid disruption.
Rahab: Purpose Over Principles
Some of the most bitter people are sanctimonious, always judging other people, because they have no appreciation for what God has given them, they sit in the seat of judgment.
God has a purpose, he has predestined everything according to his own will. I looked up "purpose," purpose, it literally means "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists," the reason. "The reason for which something is done or created for which something exists," that is its purpose.
The purpose of this black box is to be an instrument that produces sound so that, as I am speaking, I can hear myself. I could use it for a lot of things, I could sit on it, I would probably crush it, but I could sit on it, but that is not its purpose. I could stand it up sideways and eat dinner on it, but that is not its purpose.
What I must do is find its highest and best use, because it was designed for a purpose, and if I use it correctly, I am using it for its highest purpose, and if I use it for anything else, I am ab-using it. Yeah, so all the people that contorted you into what they needed rather than what he had purpose, they abused you.
The reason for which a thing exists or was created is its purpose, so purpose is not about what happened, it is about why, it is about why.
Why Over What
And I noticed the funniest thing about most people, most people, when they call you up and they say, "I got something to tell you," you know? And then, generally, there is some gossip, and if you are a gossiper and you are petty, you say, "Child, what happened"? Nobody says, "Child, why did it happen"? Because petty always wants to know what, purpose always wants to know why.
When you start understanding the why, and let me tell you something, ministers, you cannot help people if you are focused on what they did. If you focus on what they did, you are petty. Ministry begins when you start praying about why they did it.
The problem with the world, today, we have too many what-preachers and not enough why. They know principles, they know when you broke a principle, they know that disciples should not be eating corn on the Sabbath day, they know that you should not be healing this woman on the Sabbath day. "Do not you know the sun has gone down"? They know what, they do not know why.
What will make you bitter and petty, what will make you miss your purpose, you want to know why. The greatest question is, "Why"? Everything begins with why, and until you start asking why, you will never be a great pastor, you will never be a great preacher, you will never be a great orator, you must ask why.
When you read the text, you must ask why, when you face the people, you must ask why, when you hear the news, you must ask why, because you cannot get in there where the surgery needs to occur to make them better if you do not know why. If Mephibosheth comes stumbling up to you and you do not know why he is stumbling, you will make fun of him, but if you understand why, that somebody dropped him, you will be able to minister him more effectively, because you understand why.
When you understand why, you say, "It was good for me that I was afflicted, had I not been afflicted I would have never discovered the purpose of God for my life". Am I talking to anybody tonight?
Purpose in Himself
So we are studying the purpose of God, "Which he hath purpose in himself". Oh, let me stop, God, let me stop. "Which he hath purposed in himself," he has purposed it in himself, he did not meet with the board, he did not talk with the committee, he did not get the legislators to vote on it, he did not ask Congress to pass a law, everything that God ever set out to do, because he is sovereign, he purposed it himself.
When he said, "Let there be light," there was light, because he purposed it in himself. When he said, "I will separate the firmaments above the water from the firmaments beneath the water," because he purposed it himself.
When he got ready to make man, he did not need a woman, he said, "Let us make man in our own likeness, and in our own image," because there is nothing in the Godhead that God needed to complete him, he purposed in himself.
If he purposes me to live, I will live, if he purposes me to die, I will die. If the car wreck was not meant to kill me, I do not care if it is a head-on collision at 90 miles an hour, I will get out, the plane can crash and I will walk away. What God has for me is for me, I am talking about the purpose of God.
You cannot have faith until you learn this, this is what your faith is built on, this is the recipe of your faith, your faith must rest in the purpose of God. Jesus did not teach, "Have faith," he said, "Have faith in God". Are you hearing what I am saying?
Faith in Impossible Timing
Stop-stop. He did not mean for Abraham to have a son when he was strong and virile, because who wants to write about that? Everybody do that, he waited until his body was good as dead and his wife was past childbearing age, she had gone through the change, and she could not have had a child before she went through the change.
And when it was impossible with men, God purposed, "Now I am gonna do it, I am gonna put my signature on it, you are gonna know it was me that did it. As soon as you discover that you cannot do it, you are gonna find out that it was me that did it. You still gotta go in the tent, but it is gonna be me that did it. You still gotta spend the night, but it is gonna be me that did it. Do not you walk out the tent with your chest all stuck out, old man, because it was me that gave you power".
Oh, it is God that gives us power to get wealth. It is God that gives us the power to get wealth, he does not give us the wealth, he gives us the power.
Petty vs. Purpose
Let us talk a little bit about petty, because purpose is not petty, and you have to understand what it means to be petty. To be petty literally means "of little importance; trivial," as in, "Both groups are known to be petty".
Now, I want you to think about this, it did not say that petty meant "non-consequential," it did not say that it did not have any value, just little value, trivial matters, does not mean that it does not matter, it is trivial. Petty people always focus on trivial things, small-minded, spiteful ways, as in, "'He was prone to be petty revenge on friends and family,' Narrow-minded, of secondary or lesser importance, lower rank, smaller scale, minor, 'a petty official.'"
Now what I want you to understand about this, that just because they are petty does not mean it does not have any merit, it just means that it is minor, "Small, trivial things: a petty person. Showing or caused by meanness of spirit, 'a petty revenge,'" is a petty person.
You would be surprised, now this is going to rock some people is world, you would be surprised at how many people who are saved or say they are saved but they are still petty, they are still petty.
The reason I said purpose is not petty is because most religious people who are sanctimonious and would read this text would never see that the gateway to possessing the first city would be a prostitute. He placed the prostitute on the wall, positioned her in a particular place to be the gatekeeper to his promise.
Petty people could not see past what she was. Oh, I am gonna preach before I leave here. They could not see past what she was to see why she was. Petty people would never ask, "Why has God put her on the wall"? Purpose is not petty, and you will not really begin to fully get God until you understand that God is a God of purpose and not a God of petty.
That is why God uses people you do not like. Come on, come on, somebody be real. Has there ever been somebody that you did not like and God used them anyway?
Struggle: Principles vs. Purpose
She lied to protect the spies. Now, what we are talking about, get this, I want you to write this down, what we are talking about is the struggle between principles and purpose. It is not that the principles are bad, it is just that anytime your principles become more important than your purpose you have missed who your God is.
There is a struggle between purpose and principles. Should we disregard the principle? Absolutely not, it is just that we cannot exalt our principles above his purpose, because sometimes God uses people that you would not approve of to accomplish his purpose in your life. Are you hearing what I am saying to you?
Context Matters
Let us go a little deeper because I want to unravel this. Look at Amos 3:1-3 for a minute. Amos chapter 3, verse 1 through 3, "Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." God is talking to his people, he says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed"?
How many times have you heard that 3rd verse? But you did not hear those first two. So, we use that, "Can two walk together, save they agree" to talk about human relationships. Well, Lord, have mercy, if that is true, I would have got a divorce the first year.
I am married today because we got two cars, we ever get down to one car, I do not know. I do not know, I am just saying, I do not know. Might be, I do not know, I do not know, I do not know, but we do not agree. I am packed for next week, my wife do not know what she gonna wear tomorrow, yet we have been married 42 years.
We walk together through life, through death, through sickness, through health, for better, for worse, for rich or for poor, but it was not because we always agreed. Right in the middle of the worst places we have had some of the worst arguments because I thought we ought to do this and she thought we ought to do that.
So when we take this scripture that is about God is relationship with his people, and he says, "If you are going to walk with me, you have got to be in agreement with me, even if you are not in agreement with each other," and when you take the text out of context and apply it to people, then now you are talking to the spies. "What are you doing at Rahab is house? How can two walk together, save they agree? It do not look right for you to be up there". Truth out of context is a lie.
God was not concerned about it. I will show you another one, 2 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 15 through 18, take a look at this. Oh my God, I am almost out of time, Jesus, help me. Can I run over about 10-15 minutes?
2 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 15, "And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel"? Come on. "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Come on. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty".
Did he say it? Absolutely. Did he mean it? Absolutely. Who was he talking to, why did he say it? He was talking to Corinth, who was establishing new converts. They were new converts, in the middle of orgies and idolatry and evil and wickedness, and he told them, "'Come out from among them, and be ye separate,' you are not ready, you cannot handle it, you are getting drunk off of Communion, you are committing incest in the house, you are not ready to witness to these people, 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate,' 'And I will be your God, and ye shall be my people,' because I see you, you are worshiping me and Belial".
Why would God say to all of the church, "Come out from the world, and be ye separate," and then turn around and say, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature". I cannot go into all the world and come out at the same time. Anytime the text is taken out of context, you destroy the validity of the text.
Wealth Transfer Requires Engagement
I will show you one more, Proverbs 13:22, take a look. "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children is children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just". Take a look at this. "The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the," if it is laid up for the just, how you gonna pull it down if you do not touch them, if you do not talk to them, if you cannot be seen with them, if you cannot go anywhere with them, if you do not have no business with them? If you are supposed to remain separate from it how is there going to be a download of wealth?
In our text, there is a download of wealth, "The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just," but in order to get it, you had to go in where sinners go. In order to get it, in order to get it, you had to go into Rahab is house, in order to get it, you had to be entangled with people and it did not look good, but in order to get the download, God did not promise to bless you through church folk.
I am going to say it again for the people in the back. God did not promise to bless you through church folk. I see Christians say some crazy stuff. "My physician, my surgeon was a Christian". That is nice, but can he operate? "My pilot is filled with the Holy Ghost," but can he fly? "What are you doing with So-and-so"? They have been on my "Twitter" all the time, "What are you doing with So-and-so, what are you doing with So-and-so"?
You with sinners all the time. You got on a plane, you did not ask the pilot was he saved, you go to the family reunion with your drunk uncle, and you still at the family reunion and you brought potato salad. But the moment you see somebody else, you turn up your nose because you heard something about them, now they are untouchable.
Suppose they said to the spy, "Do not stay in her house". In fact, that is what the disciples did with Jesus, they said, "If Jesus knew what kind of woman that was that washed his feet, he would stop her". How could Jesus not know that she was a sinner woman? Glory to God. And yet Jesus took his feet out and let this woman wash his feet.
Some of you are more religious than God, and I hope you are watching tonight so I can tell you to your face, because you are two-faced and you are phony. You work with sinners, you are married to sinners, your children are sinners, they smoking dope in the attic, and there you are turning up your nose, talking about other people. How can the love of God dwell in you? You are petty, you are petty, you are petty, you are petty, you are petty, you are petty, you do not see purpose.
God used Rahab is platform to take the whole city, he did not use a believer, he used a prostitute, Rahab saved the spies. And in the 20th verse through the 25th verse, now, because she saved the spies, now they saved her. Come on, go with me, read it again, see if I am wrong.
Wait a minute, they did not just save her, they saved her whole family, they saved her father, they saved her mother, and then the Bible says they saved all them that were with her. Who were they? They was not children. I am almost finished, can I go a little deeper?
Joshua 6:20-25 is a profound, prolific, articulate depiction of the grace of God, because it proves to us that God kept his word to a prostitute, because the text says as the wall came down, the text said, "Go find Rahab, and save everybody in her house, according to your oath".
And God saved everybody in the house because he kept his word to a prostitute. Now, here is my question for you, if God kept his word to a prostitute then what makes you think that God will not keep his word towards you? If God kept his word and was careful to separate her from the wrath to come, and the Bible said they pulled her whole family out and set her outside the house of Israel, so that when the city was burning down, Rahab did not burn up.
Oh, at the times I should have burned up, but I did not burn up, because God set me aside and saved me. And I am not praising him because I am good, I am praising him because I am not, I am not praising him because I am worthy, I am praising him because I am not.
Let me say it like my old folks used to say it. When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he is done for me, my soul cries out, "Hallelujah, thank God for saving me". Somebody give him 30 seconds of crazy praise.