TD Jakes - Fighting for Position Vs. Waiting for Promotion (05/06/2025)
Jesus watches the guests scrambling for seats of honor at a dinner and teaches through a parable that humility opens the door to true promotion—take the lowest place so the host may call you higher—reminding us that God exalts the humble even in difficult times, overriding every obstacle to lift those who wait patiently in the background.
Jesus Observes the Struggle for Position
It says that Jesus noticed how they were fighting for the best seats. This tells us that while they were watching Jesus, Jesus was watching them. He was observing them, and while He watched, He noticed them rushing to get the high seat.
The high seat, in case you do not know, is the seat closest to the host. Whenever you go to a dinner table, whoever sits on the right or left of the host is a sign of power and influence. They wanted to be seen as powerful people, and they were fighting to sit at the head of the table as close as they could to the host.
And Jesus is just sitting back. Wait a minute—if anybody had the right to sit at that table and in that seat of the highest honor, it should have been Jesus. Nobody in there was as good as Jesus, and yet there are people fighting to get into a position where even Jesus Himself is just sitting back.
He is just sitting back, watching them. If He wore glasses, He would be looking like this—you know how you look sometimes; you do not say anything; you are just thinking to yourself. There is nobody to talk to, no friend with Him to whisper in His ear, no Peter, James, and John—none of His circle, none of His boys.
Look at Jesus; how strong He is that He enters a room full of enemies without bringing any backup with Him because He is fine all by Himself. He does not need the disciples to support Him; He does not need His inner circle to have His back; He does not need His best friend to cover Him.
He says, "I am God enough that if I get Myself into it, I can get Myself out of it." He walked into the room and sat down by Himself, and they are watching Him as if they have the power to decide whether He is right or not. He is watching them.
The Church Is Watching You
To all of you who are trying to decide whether Christianity is relevant or not—to all of you who are trying to determine if there is any room in contemporary society for the church today—to all of you trying to decide in a post-modern society if the church is still relevant—while you sit there with your pharisaical selves trying to evaluate whether the church has any relevance, you are looking at it, but it is also looking at you.
It is watching you fight for power and position, watching you be judgmental and critical, watching you being self-righteous, and watching you tear down others in the name of being right, better, superior, and smarter.
And Jesus is watching them, and all of a sudden, at the table, He starts talking. Now the atmosphere is changing because Jesus says a certain man was having a wedding. Bear in mind, He is not at a wedding; He is at a dinner, but His story is about a wedding supper.
He says when you go where you are invited to a wedding, the first thing I want to start with is that being invited is a privilege. I want to speak to all the arrogant people who get offended because you did not get the best seat, you did not sit up front, and nobody called your name on the program, or did this or that.
The very fact that you are invited is an honor; you have been invited to the wedding.
The Wisdom of Humility
He said, but when you are invited to the wedding, do not be so self-aggrandizing, do not be so self-enthroned, do not be so egoistic, do not be so egotistical, and do not be so self-promoting. Do not be so aggressive, and do not be so assertive that you push yourself in beyond where you need to be.
Jesus says the wisest thing to do when you come into a great house is not to push yourself into a realm where you set yourself up to be embarrassed. He says because someone with more honor could come in, and the host who invited you may then have to walk up to you with them and say, "Excuse me, do you mind sitting over here? The governor or so-and-so has come," and you will then have to get up, pack your stuff, and endure the embarrassment of everyone watching you move.
It is not wise to puff yourself up and inflate yourself to impress people who really do not matter. It is much wiser for you not to inflate your image trying to impress people that do not matter, because then all they can feel is disappointment when you come down.
Instead, Jesus says that when you enter a situation you have been invited into—you know God is preparing you for a new realm, a new audience, a new stage, a new place—this is not something you can handle like you handled that.
Just because you were big stuff over here does not mean you will be big stuff over there. God is getting ready to take you to a whole other level and is trying to train you on how you are supposed to act when you walk into the room.
Take the Lowest Place
He says do not walk into the room and try to push yourself up close to the top; it is far better to take the back seat. He says because if you take the back seat—you open yourself to the possibility of promotion. Good God of mercy! When you humble yourself, you become a candidate for promotion. Hallelujah!
If you just lower the noise and your name and the bragging about yourself—some of you have your entire resume on Instagram—if you just tone it down, you cannot be all of that. "I am an architect, I am a hairdresser, I am an artist, I am a designer, and I also study political science, and I do tax returns." Shut up! That is too much!
Lower your seat; bring yourself down. Let people be surprised that you know more than they expect rather than disappointed that you said more than you knew. So Jesus says, "I want you to take the back seat so that when the host comes in, he can say to you, 'Oh no, I do not want you back there. I want you to come up here.'"
Get Ready for Promotion
The Holy Ghost told me to tell you to get ready for promotion! Get ready for promotion! To all of you who have humbled yourselves, get ready for promotion. For all of you who have been in the back seat watching everyone rushing past you and you wonder if God has forgotten you, this message is for you.
God has not forgotten you! To all of you who feel cast aside, and they never asked you to sing, or say anything, or do anything—if you think you have got more inside you than your circumstances reflect—this one is for you.
The Holy Ghost said promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, testimony, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion!
God is getting ready to give you promotion, and He is trying to show you how to handle it because you are about to walk into a room that is going to open up a door for promotion. I feel the Holy Ghost speaking in this place today.
He says promotion, promotion, promotion, and you are saying, "Oh God, it cannot be a promotion right now; I am in a pandemic." God does not care about a pandemic! If God gets ready to promote you, He will promote you in spite of a pandemic.
He will raise you despite the storm; He will lift you while others are falling. A thousand may fall at your right side, and ten thousand at your left, but if God is ready to lift you up, He knows how to elevate you.