TD Jakes - Don't Give Up On Your Moment
So, he comes down to the Jordan. This time it’s the Jordan, not the Red Sea. The conditions have changed, but it’s still the same thing: the water is an obstacle. He approaches the water with the promise of God, reaching the Jordan River, and yet nothing happens. This is the moment that proves the authenticity of his leadership. This is the moment that earns him public validation—a majestic move of God that silences every doubt concerning his calling. He stands at the brink of the swelling Jordan, and still nothing happens. The priests are behind him; the people are behind him; the promise of God is before him, yet nothing occurs.
What do you do when it’s your moment and nothing happens? What do you do after fighting to reach the door, only to find it locked? What do you do when it’s your moment and it doesn’t work? This text is not about what worked; it’s about what didn’t. If God was going to do with him what He did with Moses, he should have reached the edge of the Jordan, raised his rod, and seen the waters part. He walked to the edge of the swelling Jordan, and nothing happened. Can you imagine what the crowd was saying behind him? Can’t you almost feel the beating of his heart and the rush of blood to his face? He has proclaimed that God is with him, and still, there is no move from heaven—no wind, no stirring, no parting of the waters. Everything acts as if he has no anointing at all.
It is in this moment that he must decide, just as you must decide right now; you have come to a critical point in your life where nothing is happening. You must choose: will you tuck your tail and turn back, or will you step down into the water? God said, «As I was with Moses, so shall I be with you.» But He didn’t say, «I’m going to do with you what I did with Moses.» He merely assured him of His presence. So, he had to step down into the water. My God, look at his favor; suppose nothing happens. He went down into the Jordan, and the priests followed him into the immovable, swelling tide of the river.
Yes, whoever I’m preaching to, you are getting ready to walk into something that isn’t moving. You are on the brink of facing something that stands firm against your faith, telling you that your God doesn’t work, and you’re all alone. If God were with you, your husband wouldn’t have left, or all hell would have broken loose in your life. If God were with you, you wouldn’t have to face tests in the storm. If God were with you, you wouldn’t have to fight off the enemy. But the devil is a liar! I said, the devil is a liar! I said it again: the devil is a liar! I said, the devil is a liar! Somebody give Him 30 seconds of crazy praise!
Now, let me set the scene. He is now in the water; his feet are wet. If I were with him—if God were with him—there would be no stopping. The devil doesn’t want this to go forth, but the devil is a liar, and I’m going to preach this anyway. I’m going to preach it anyway because this is going to unlock something for somebody, break a yoke for someone, open a door for someone, and set you free. You are in the midst of transition, amidst change and obstacles, and you thought God would work one way, but things didn’t go as you expected. You think that because it didn’t happen like you expected means God said no; but the devil is a liar! Just because the waters don’t part at the bank doesn’t mean they won’t open in the middle. He stepped down into the water, and he was already out in the current. The type is shattered, for Moses’s people bragged because their feet never got wet.
Can you imagine the people coming into the water, questioning this? They’d say, «Something is wrong with this, because Mama said that when they stepped down into the water, their feet didn’t get wet, and now this man has us walking in water that isn’t moving!» Hallelujah to God! It seemed as if God was not with them. Yet, he kept walking, enduring murmuring and complaints. He continued on amid controversy. Our country is in controversy; our world is in turmoil. Some people are trying to figure out what to do. You must keep on walking. They can say whatever they want, do whatever they want, and feel however they want, but you must keep moving forward. When you know God is on your side, you’ve got to keep going! I don’t know who I’m encouraging, but no matter your position, you have an opposition. I said, no matter your position, you have an opposition. And if you feel like your position is truly gone, you’ve got to keep moving forward.
They kept walking, stepping into the water, and nothing stirred, yet the priests went with him. You need someone who will be there, committed to you, someone who will step down into the water with you. If you don’t have that, you are alone. You need someone so dedicated to you that they will step into the water and say, «If you say go, I’ll go. If I perish, I perish; I’m going to see the King.» We might have to drown out here, but I’m going to see the King. We might be swallowed up, but I’m going anyway! I’ve left too much behind to turn back now. I’ve made up my mind: if I perish, I perish; I’m stepping into this water. My feet might get wet, but I’m stepping in! My ankles might get soaked, but I’m stepping in! My knees might be wet, but I’m stepping in! «Though He slay me, yet shall I trust Him!» I’m getting in the water, and the Holy Ghost sent me here to tell you to step in anyway. I know they don’t like you, but step in anyway! I know they’re talking about you, but step in anyway! I know they’re against you, but step in anyway! I know they’ve been texting about you, but step in anyway! I know they’re discussing you on Facebook and Instagram, but step into it anyway! Step on into the middle of the water!
And all of a sudden, Joshua and his priests stepped down into the water; when they got in the middle of it, God showed up. God told me to tell you He’s not going to do anything if you don’t do anything. He’s not going to move if you don’t move; He’s not going to show up if you don’t show up. But if you show up, the Lord said, «I’ll meet you halfway.» God said, «I’ll meet you halfway.» You have to be willing to get your feet wet, step down into the water, and I’ll meet you halfway. So, Joshua stepped down into the water because this was the moment.
When it’s your moment, you can’t go back. When it’s your moment, you cannot give up. When it’s your moment, you cannot give in. I came to tell America—this is the moment! This is your moment; this is your time! This is the kind of moment that changes the world, the trajectory of our reality! This is our moment, this is our time! Step down into the water, step into the controversy, step into the confusion, step into the messiness! Get mud between your toes, kick off your cute shoes, and get down into the mess, declaring, «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!» I don’t know who I’m talking to, but I feel like I’m speaking to someone. Hallelujah! Tell your neighbor, «Step on in it! Step on in it! Step into the mess!»
If your marriage is in trouble, it’s not going to get better as long as you stand on the bank. You’ve got to step into the mess, get your feet dirty, and tell the devil, «You can’t have my marriage, you can’t have my son, you can’t have my daughter, you can’t have my mind, you can’t have my church!» They told me I had to shut the church down, that the law said all doors must close. Everyone was asking me, «What are we going to do?» I said, «I don’t know, but I’m going to step into it!» I’m going to step right into the middle of it, and if I perish, I’ll perish! I’m not going to sit at home and cry. I’ll preach if I have to preach by myself. Somebody help me praise Him in this place!
So, I stepped into it. I began preaching to empty buildings; I started teaching Bible classes, going live on Facebook, and participating in Instagram chats. My friends said, «Looks like you’re doing everything!» Yes, it’s a fight, and when it’s a fight, you must give it your all. You see, if you’re a cute fighter, you have rules. I’m a street fighter: I’ll bite your ankles, snatch you by your hair, or spit in your eye. I have no rules. But when I step down, he stepped down into the water, and I want you to picture this: all the priests stepped into it with him, and they were all in the middle of it. When they got into the middle of it, God got in their midst! God will always get in the middle!
I listened to Dr. James preach Wednesday night, and she spoke about the Middleman. God has always been the Middleman. You have a priest here and a priest there, one standing on this side, and another on that side. The Bible says, «Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.» The Holy Ghost came down into the midst of the priests and began to drive the waters back so that they stood on dry ground. God will make the waters roll back out of your way! The Bible says that suddenly, the people had to come through quickly. You have to understand that they weren’t merely walking through water; because the priests were in place, they were walking through praise! When the Spirit comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against the enemy! That’s why the priests had to go first, because they always represent praise. When praises go up, blessings come down!
I don’t know what you’re in the middle of right now, but you need to drop your iPad and offer up some crazy praise! Praise Him in your pajamas, praise Him in your housecoat, praise Him in your nightgown, praise Him in your underwear! Drop your fork and praise Him; put down your coffee cup and praise Him! When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that He’s done for me, my soul cries out, «Hallelujah!» I thank God for saving me! Praise Him while you’re sitting on that back deck; praise Him right where you are! Because if you want God to show up, you must learn how to give Him praise! Someone in this room needs to praise Him right now! Praise Him like you’re in a fight; praise Him like you’re in a storm; praise Him like you’re in a battle; praise Him like you want a breakthrough! I can’t hear you! Open your mouth and give God praise!
So the priests were standing firm, and the children of Israel were coming through the priests quickly, and they came through in a hurry. The Bible says, «Where the feet of the priests stood firm.» God said, «Wherever you take a stand, wherever you are firm, whenever you stop being wishy-washy, when you stop being two-faced, wherever your feet stand firm…» God said, «I want you to take a stone from the place where the feet of the priests stood firm.»
That means you’ve got to stand when it looks like it’s not working; you’ve got to stand when it seems like God didn’t hear you. You’ve got to stand when everybody is ostracizing you. You’ve got to stand when life looks complicated. And the priests just stood there. They stood until the wind came, they stood until the waters parted, they stood until a way was made, and they stood until the children of Israel started coming through. They just stood. Slap your neighbor and say, «Just stand!» If you don’t know what to do, just stand! Stand firm on the rock; this rock is Jesus! Stand on the promises of God; stand on the fact that God is not a man that He should lie!
Lie not, for the Son of Man is not to repent. Devil, this is what I’m going to do. Having done all, I’m gonna stand therefore, with my loins girded about with truth. Slap somebody and say «stand». Look at someone and say «stand». Point at someone and say «stand». Lay hands on yourself and say «out».