TD Jakes - Embracing the Stability of God
God will stand with you through changes. Now, it’s important that we understand this because we need to recognize that God is right when we are wrong, that God is strong when we are weak, and that God is there when we stray. It is only the integrity of God that establishes our faith. Our faith is not built on a man, our faith is not built on a preacher, our faith is not built on a building, and our faith is not built on a denomination. Our faith is built on the integrity of God, and that integrity includes a loyalty—one so strong that it is beyond human comprehension. It is about that loyalty that we are preaching today. It’s hard to preach about something for which there is no metaphor. When Jesus came and preached the kingdom, he kept saying, «The kingdom is likened unto this,» and «The kingdom is likened unto that.»
However, when it comes to the loyalty of God, I am unable to find a metaphor that rightly depicts its strength and power. What can I say about the Lord? The only thing I can think to say is that God kept His promise to Abraham when Abraham was dead. Abraham was dead, and for 400 years, Israel was enslaved in Egypt, yet God still brought Israel out of enslavement because He had given His word to a dead man. You have a God who says, «I am not a man that I should lie, nor a son of man that I should repent. Have I not spoken? Will I not make it good?»
The reason I share this with you today is that just as turbulent as the times were in Rome, that same indecisiveness exists today in our country and others around the world, where you don’t know from day to day what will happen. This one is fighting against that one. In fact, Rome was on the brink of a civil war—one in which there would be fighting between traditional Jews and the Roman Empire that almost split the country. Now, in the tribal times of our country, everybody is mad at everybody, fighting about everything and at war with each other. It is one thing to disagree, but now we hate those who are not on our team, who are not on our side. If you wonder whether we might not run into what Rome faced, internal corruption ultimately destroyed the Roman Empire.
When I look at America today, I want to speak directly to our nation: you are on the brink of total destruction, not because we have disagreements but because we have disloyalty, disjointedness, and division. A house divided against itself shall not stand. It is in the midst of that division that God sends a word. I love God because He doesn’t need a perfect situation to send a perfect word. He will send a word into a chaotic situation, reminding you that He is still God amidst it all.
I want you to understand that Rome was going through what America is experiencing, along with other countries around the world—anarchy, deceitfulness, betrayal, denial, and uncertainty. Every day you woke up in Rome, you didn’t know what would happen next; yet, in the midst of all that, God remained faithful. He had not cast away His people, even when His people rejected Him. The Bible says that Jesus came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But despite this, God still committed to being loyal to them. In fact, one writer says that God is married to the backslider. I want to speak to somebody who has drifted away, turned your back on God, or gone in another direction.
Now you’re feeling guilty and full of shame, and you’ve done things of which you are ashamed. Perhaps you’ve had an abortion, had a baby out of wedlock, or strayed into perversion, idolatry, or other religions. I want you to know that God is still right where you left off, and you have unfinished business with Him. This text is about unfinished business with God. He is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness. He’s still waiting for you to come to yourself, and God has not forever cast you away. I know the devil wants to tell you that God has cast you aside. I know the devil wants you to feel hopeless, giving you an excuse to sink further into degradation. But the devil is a liar. God is still right where you left Him.
Ask the prodigal son if the father won’t welcome you back. He will stand right where He stood and say, «You’re still my son, and I still love you, and I’m right where you left me.» If you come to yourself, I’ll bring you up out of the muck and mire. I want to speak to America and say that if we just come to ourselves, God is waiting for us to understand who we are so that we can stand in the power, grace, and anointing of God. «I am the Lord thy God. I change not. My mercies are new every morning. I am consistent, stable. Your mother is shaky, but I’m stable. Your father is shaky, but I’m stable. Your husband is shaky, but I’m stable. Your wife is shaky, but I’m stable. Your job is shaky, but I’m stable. Your finances are shaky, but I’m stable. The stock market is shaky, but I’m stable. Your friends are shaky, but I’m stable. I am God. I am a rock, a cornerstone, a sure place—an absolute in a chaotic world. I do not have Alzheimer’s; I have not forgotten you. I know you. You think it’s about you knowing me? No, it’s about me knowing you. I know you. In fact, I knew you. The text says, 'I foreknew you.'»
God has not forgotten those He foreknew. Nothing about the times, nothing about the world, nothing about the violence, nothing about the chaos, nothing about the plagues, nothing about the diseases, nothing about the presidency, nothing about the leadership, nothing about the elections—nothing about the nation has caused God to forget who you are to Him. By the way, our nation is not of this world. Our kingdom is not of this world. Our King is not of this world. We have a King; His name is Jesus. He said, 'I’m still here, the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.' I am the Lord thy God; I change not. I will say that again: I am the Lord thy God; I change not. I am the Lord thy God; I change not. Lord, that’s good news.