TD Jakes - Keep Sweeping
There are three characters in the story. There are two scriptures in the text. There is the woman, the broom, and the coins, and that's all we have to work with is a woman, the broom, and the coins. That's all we have. The coins, the number ten identifies the coins, but it's only one woman which is a tenth of the ten. You missed it. There are ten coins, there's only one woman in the whole story. She doesn't invite people till the story is over. She is a tenth. She is what she lost. So maybe, maybe there aren't three characters. Maybe the woman and the coin have a lot in common, because the coin is a tenth of the ten, and it's just like the woman who is one which brings us down to understanding individual value is critical. Because if you don't understand individual value, you won't sweep.
This is where the enemy comes in after your self-esteem and how you see yourself. This is where the enemy tries to erase. "I can do all things" out of your head, because you think you are stuck waiting on somebody else to come, but on an individual level, you have to do your own sweeping. I can love you but I can't sweep for you. I can pray for you but I can't sweep for you. I can advise you but I can't sweep for you. I can counsel you but I can't sweep for you. You can't wait till you get married to start sweeping, having a man won't make you sweep. Finding your woman won't make you sweep. If they wasn't sweeping when you met him, you coming along to a deadbeat ain't gonna make a deadbeat come alive. You got to get your broom before you get with me, baby. I need to see something in your hand. Some kind of motion, some kind of action.
Somebody who gets what I'm saying, make some noise in here. I can't be locked up with somebody that don't have no broom. Touch ten people and say, "Where's your broom"? Where's your broom? Where's your broom? Yeah, where's your broom? You came to church this morning, where's your broom? What you gonna get it with? What you gonna pull it in with? What you gonna tweak with? What's your strategy? What are you working with? Don't come to the well and not have something to draw with. Where's your broom? So the woman, see, I wanna draw a little bit more association between the woman and the coin because you can only gather what you relate to. She's not trying to get the nine, she got the nine. She's after the one. She is one. You can only get what you are.
That's why imitating me won't make you better. There has to be an association between what you are after and what you are. So you got one woman looking for one coin to make it an aggregate of ten because nine is a deficit. So the decision has to be made, are you gonna live with a deficit, or you gonna sweep for an aggregate kind of...come on, come on, come on with me, church. Come on. Look at your neighbor and say, "We got some sweeping to do". If you ain't a sweeper, get up and move. We got some sweeping to do. We got some sweeping to do this morning. We got some sweeping to do this morning. If we don't do some sweeping, we're not gonna get the breakthrough. God's got something for us to receive this morning, but we gotta be ready to do some sweeping.
Are there any sweepers in the house? Make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. Sweepers make some noise. You can't be a sweeper if you're not intentional. When you see the woman grab her broom, that means, "I am not gonna settle to live the rest of my life in a deficit". When you see her go for her broom, it means, "I'm gonna get back what the enemy stole from me".
When you see her go for the broom, it's a sign that "whatever is missing in my life, I'm willing to sweep for it. I'm not willing to do without it. I'm not willing to make the best of a bad situation. Whatever it takes to get the breakthrough that I need, I'm willing to sweep for it". I feel a sweeping Spirit about to hit this house. I feel a breakthrough getting ready to hit this room. I feel a deliverance about to come. Somebody's watching over the internet and the Holy Ghost just showed you, you got to get your broom back. Hallelujah. Yes, you survived it, but until you get your broom back, you're not gonna stop things from falling. You got some sweeping to do. But if you sweep for it, everything that the enemy took out of your life, God is gonna give it back to you pressed down, shaken together and running over. Whoever I'm preaching to in this room, whatever God is talking to you about, if you are tracking with me, give God some praise in this house.
So how did I saw a coin falling? I saw a coin. I saw a coin falling. I won't even begin to go into everything he showed me about it, but I saw a coin falling. And the coin fell without feeling. And then I saw a baby falling. And when I saw the baby falling, I saw Mephibosheth. I saw Mephibosheth falling. Mephibosheth fell because somebody dropped him. It wasn't even his fault. Somebody responsible, and I saw the terror of falling. I saw the loss of control in the fall. I saw the loss of support in the fall, and he fell. And he fell into Lo-debar. Like you fell into depression, like you fell into obscurity, like you fell into silence, like you fell into shame, like you fell into heartache, like you fell into narcissism, like you fell into agony.
The real problem is not your fault. Somebody...they set a course on trajectory of fright and hysteria because you have the feeling of being out of control. And anytime you feel out of control, it triggers you. Your trigger is instigated by the loss of control, because you have been dropped, and etched into your memory bank is the feeling of being out of control. So you can only operate in controlled environments, because when you don't feel like you're in control, you become hysterical, because it triggers the trauma, because somebody dropped you. So Mephibosheth fell into Lo-debar and he could not get himself out. So David had to sweep for it. Come on, come on, stay with me.
So David's question, "Is there any left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness to?" said to Ziba, "Go sweep for him, find him, he's down there in Lo-debar," and Ziba swept him out. The Holy Ghost said, "God's gonna sweep you out". Some of you have been dropped, but God's getting ready to sweep you out. Some of you have fallen but God's getting ready to sweep you out. Some of you have been let down but, God's getting ready to sweep you out. Some of you are just flailing through life, but God is getting ready to sweep you out. Some of you have fallen into all kinds of addictions, and problems, and pain, and turmoil. And you said, "How did I get here"? You got here because somebody dropped you, but you're gonna get out because somebody's gonna sweep you.
Slap somebody and say, "Get ready for a comeback". Get ready for a comeback. Get ready for a comeback. You fell into something and you can't get out of it, but get ready for a comeback. You fell into a relationship but get ready for a comeback. You fell into an addiction but get ready for a comeback. You fell into an attitude but get ready for a comeback. You fell into a mood swing but get ready for a comeback. You fell into despair but get ready for a comeback. What did you come to church for anyway? Why come to church if you're not willing to change, if you're not willing to transform, if you're not willing to move, if you're not willing to go to the next level? Somebody in here was lost and about to be found. Somebody in here, God is getting ready to put you back in the position that you fell out of. Give him 30 seconds of crazy, ridiculous, Holy Ghost, hysterical, revolutionary, restorative praise. That ain't it. I said restorative praise.
In Revelations, the church at Ephesus fell as a collective. The Bible says to the church at Ephesus in the Book of Revelations, "Remember from what great height you have fallen". Entire movements are falling. And remember from what great height you have fallen has always reminded me of erosion. Because if I felt like Mephibosheth, I can't forget it. But if I fall gradually, I can't remember it. If I fall suddenly, it's a trigger. But if I fall gradually, I can't even notice it. So God says, "Remember from what great height you have fallen". That's the gradual erosion of your position, your status or your integrity. And you don't even know when you dropped it. It wasn't a conscious decision to drop it. It was a gradual erosion. Little by little, you struck, lowered your standards. Lowered, your integrity. Little by little you gave up you to fit in with them. And now you're down here in this low place. And God says, "Remember from what great height you were there and look at you now". You used to be excited to come to church.
Now it's a choice and it's the opposite. You used to be the first one waiting on theme to open when they go open the door. Don't make no sense. Why don't they open up the door? He was fussing trying to get in. Now, we can't get you out of bed and you don't even notice what day it happened. The gradual erosion of the collective is perhaps more traumatic than the sudden dropping of the individual, because a sudden dropping of the individual brought awareness. Gradual erosions happened without notice. Remember from what great height you have fallen.
Can I go to deep on Sunday morning? Do I have permission to go to the deep? Humanity fell in the book of Genesis. When Eve was a protector of the fruit, humanity didn't fall. But when she...ooh it's one woman again, when she turned and gave it to her husband, all humanity fell when he bit, and everything in him fell. So everything that was born out of their union was born fallen. So we don't have to do anything wrong to be a sinner because to be a sinner is not just an action, it's a state. It's a position. I was born in the position. I was born in iniquity. I was born in sin. I was shapen in iniquity. If I was born in sin before I got to do anything, I was in it before I did it. That's why I did it, because I was in it. You can't help but do it, because you was born in it. Like the woman can't help but sweep for the coin because any time you sweep for it, you have to be it to get it back. Kinsman, you gotta be kin to what you're after. You gotta be kind to what you're after. Are you hearing what I'm saying? You gotta be kin to what you're after.
Can I go deeper? Jesus said, "I saw Lucifer falling from heaven. I saw him falling from heaven, trying to point them through". It's not even a point. It's a prophecy. There shall be a great city. There shall be a great sweeping. But in order to get the great sweeping, you have to be intentional. You don't sweep by accident. The woman had an intentionality and an urgency in her sweep. She is not distracted. She is not divided. She's not cooking and sweeping. She's not looking out the window and sweeping. She has put a high priority on the aggregate value of getting back to the ten. In order to get what you're after, you're gonna have to focus on it. You're gonna have to shut out your ears to all outside noise and everything that everybody's been saying to you to distract you.
That is not your battle. That is not your problem. That is not your assignment. That is not your business. That is not your situation. That is not your circumstance, that is not your problem to solve. Quit letting everybody drop their problems on you and let their problems become your assignment. In order for you to get the great sweeping, you're gonna have to focus. Who am I talking to? I feel like a prophetic word is coming to somebody. There shall be a great sweeping. Touch three people and say, "Get ready to sweep for it".
Watch this. Watch this. Whoever I'm preaching to, I'm talking to you. You getting this? You're ready to receive this? You're open to receive this? Are you open to receive this? If you're watching online, are you open to receive this? If you're screaming on the broadcast, are you open to receive this? This is the Word of the Lord to you. Thus saith the Lord. You have lost place. "You have lost place" means you have lost position. "You are flying at a lower altitude than what I created you to function on".
You have lost place, descending in altitude but has put you in a different atmosphere. You have lost place. "Hear ye the Word of the Lord, you have entered into a turbulence that you're not designed to fly in because you're flying too low". "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength". Why do I need strength? Because I'm gonna mount up on wings like eagles'. What do eagles do? They don't ride through the storm, they ride above the storm. "If you're in turbulence, if you're in confusion, if you're in chaos, you're riding too low, it's time to lift your wings, and strengthen yourself, and get back at the altitude that I created you to fly in". You have lost place. You have lost time. Every day, you are lost. That nine are functioning at a deficit. This woman is urgently sweeping.
There's a time factor to it. You don't have time to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. You don't have time to repeat the same cycle over and over again. What used to throw me don't throw me like it used to throw me. Look at your neighbor and say, "I don't have time. I'm on a mission. If it ain't sweeping, I ain't talking. If it ain't sweeping, I'm not looking. If it's not sweeping, I'm not paying it no attention. I don't have time to look out the window. I don't have time to play games. This is my last chance to sweep".
Slap somebody and say, "Sweep that thing". Sweep the whole house. Sweep the living room. Sweep behind the couch. Sweep behind the chair. Sweep up under the dining room table. God said you're about to get everything you lost. Give him a praise somebody. You lost place. You lost time. You lost environment, because God did not create you to be in the hog pen. God did not create you to be lost in the house. God did not create you to go to hell from church.
What is a dime doing on the floor? How did the dime get on the floor in the first place? Somebody must have dropped it for it to get on the floor. Nobody makes dimes for floors, but it's fallen into an environment that's beneath them. You have dumbed down who you are, so you could have company, but God is getting ready to sweep you out. He's gonna sweep you out of that clique. He's gonna sweep you out of that club. He's gonna sweep you out of that association. Who am I preaching to? So I'll start with this. The Lord said you've lost time, you've lost place, you've lost the environment.
Watch this, but you have not lost value. You lost time. You've lost place. You're in a strange, lost environment. You're in Lo-debar. You don't belong in Lo-debar. You belong in the king's house. You're a king's kid. You're living beneath your privilege, but you have not...wait, wait. You've lost time. You've lost place. You've lost environment. You have not lost value. The dime is worth as much on the floor... if I was silver in the hand, I'm silver on the floor. If I was gold on this level, I'm still gold on the floor. That's why I stick out on the floor. That's why I don't fit in on the floor. That's why I don't look right with dust, that dirt on the floor because I was not designed for what I'm in. Who am I preaching to? You were not designed for what you're in.