TD Jakes - Understanding The Stability of God
Why do we come to God by faith? Because if we came by facts, we would need intelligence in order to approach Him. He had to fix the door so that both the illiterate and the intellectual could enter through the same door. I’m proud of your degrees, and I’m proud of your accomplishments. I’m proud of the many accolades that have been bestowed upon you, but you do not reach God because you are smart; you reach God because you believe. And if you believe in God, it is counted unto you as righteousness. If you want to impress God, it is not your money that impresses Him; it is your faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. That is the text we have before us today—the text we had before: the common denominator that brings both Jew and Gentile rushing through the same door.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. That is the God we are talking about right now—the God who is faithful when you are foolish. I said He is faithful when you are foolish. I know you need to act like you have never been foolish, but the truth is, there is not a person listening to me right now who has not been foolish at some point, walked in your own way, turned away from God, done your own thing, and then stumbled back to the cross asking God for mercy. He was right where you left Him; He was there all the time—in your pain, in your suffering, and in your agony. God has not forgotten His people.
Say that with me: God has not forgotten His people. Say it again: God has not forgotten His people. Again: God has not forgotten His people. Say it again: God has not forgotten His people. I have to tell you this blesses me. I do not know what it does for you, but it blesses me because I admit that sometimes I feel forgotten. I feel forgotten by everybody and everything. I have helped people who forgot me. I have loaned money to people who forgot me. I have comforted people who forgot me. I have stood by people who forgot me. I have opened doors for people who forgot me. And I have to admit that sometimes it gives me comfort to know that God has not forgotten me. God has not forgotten.
The Bible says God is not unjust to forget your labor of love and the ministry you have shown to the saints and continue to show. God remembers when others forget. God has not forgotten. You know why? God is loyal. God is consistent. We are talking about the loyalty of God, and the reason I am ministering about His loyalty is that I am doing so in an atmosphere filled with a total feeling of abandonment. I have never seen a year like 2020 that has challenged us so deeply, down to the core of our existence. We feel abandoned by truth, abandoned by justice, abandoned by mercy, abandoned by leadership, abandoned by families and friends. The feeling of abandonment is pervasive.
Now, excuse me if you do not get blessed because if you have never felt abandoned, then loyalty does not mean much. But if you have ever been abandoned, it is helpful to understand that God is saying, «I will not treat you like they did. I will not leave you like they did. I will not forget you like they did. I will not abuse you like they did. I will not forsake you like they did.» God is saying, «I will not treat you as you treat Me. I will not abandon you, despite how you feel, despite your circumstances, despite your economy, despite your politics, despite your government, and despite your world. In spite of the chaos of the times, God says, I’m still here—in the pandemic with you, in the fiery furnace with you, right there with you in the unemployment line. I’m with you in the hospital. I’m with you in despair. I’m with you in feeling forsaken. I am still with you.»
God is saying, «I am still with you. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.» I am not like your father; I will not abandon you. I will comfort you as a hen gathers her chicks. I will comfort you. I’m fighting against the feeling of abandonment. Every time you see somebody shot down, you feel abandoned. Every time you see the wrong person adjudicated and dismissed from being apprehended and justice not working, it makes you feel abandoned. Every time you cannot get into the grocery store to buy what you need while watching everybody else get what they want, you feel abandoned. Every time justice walks past your house, you feel abandoned. Every time people look over you as if you’re not a person, you feel abandoned.
But God said, «I am not like them. I will not abandon you.» Oh, somebody type: God is loyal! God is loyal! He is with you in the storm, in the test, and in the trial. And God says, you cannot afford to walk in your feelings; you cannot afford to walk in your emotions; you cannot afford to walk in your abandonment; you cannot afford to walk in your childhood; you cannot afford to walk in your trauma; you cannot afford to walk in your strife. We are talking about the loyalty of God!
The writer goes further and starts giving the example of Elijah, who feels abandoned—not because he is not anointed. You can be anointed and still feel abandoned. Elijah is anointed; he called down fire on Mount Carmel. He overcame all the prophets of Baal and called down fire that consumed 450 prophets of Baal. Yet he turned around and ran like a little girl because you can be anointed and still feel abandoned. He said, «I’m running not just because I’m afraid of Jezebel, not just because I’m worried about Ahab, I’m running because I feel alone.»
I want to talk to some people who feel alone—alone in your house, alone in your apartment, alone by yourself, alone in your marriage. Yes, you can be married and still be alone—alone in your ministry, alone in your faith—and you feel abandoned and forsaken, and you’re by yourself. That is what made Elijah run, and this is why Paul brings him up in the text. Elijah was running from a feeling; it wasn’t just a woman that made him run. He said, «I’m running because I feel alone; I’m by myself. I killed the prophets, I got the victory, but what good is victory if I’m abandoned?»
I want to talk to people who have great victory yet feel guilty because you’re not enjoying your victory. You feel abandoned and forsaken. You thought victory would feel better. You’ve got the job, you’ve got the house, you’ve got the car, yet you’ve forgotten how blessed you are because none of it brought you the joy you thought it would. Suddenly, you recognize the house as just a bill, the car as just a loan to be paid. And all of a sudden, you have all this stuff, but you’re wondering why you’re running. You’re running because you feel alone. Elijah was feeling alone, and he got under a juniper tree and said, «I am alone. I’m anointed, but I’m alone. I’m gifted, but I’m alone. I’m powerful, but I’m by myself. There are none left but me; I am by myself.»
And God says to him, «Are you crazy? I’ve got seven thousand who have not bowed to Baal nor kissed the idol. I have people you have never met yet. I have doors in front of you that you haven’t even seen yet. I have blessings you haven’t even touched yet. I have revelations you haven’t even seen yet. I have power you haven’t even tapped into yet. I have victory you haven’t even claimed yet. Don’t you know I am God? I’m still God! I’m God in the face of Ahab. I’m God in the face of Jezebel. I’m God in the face of Rome. I’m God in the face of America. I’m God in the unemployment line. I’m God in the hospital room. I’m God in a time of trouble. I’m God in a time of agony. I’m God in your affliction. I’m God in your divorce. I’m God in your crisis. I am God. I’m not your boyfriend; I’m God. I’m not your girlfriend; I’m God.»
Oh, God, you don’t hear me! I feel the anointing; I feel the anointing of the Holy Ghost. We are talking about the loyalty of God, and we weigh it against the feelings of men. The feelings of men say, «I am alone, I am abandoned, and I am forsaken, and I am here by myself.» But the loyalty of God says that is a lie! I have resources you haven’t touched yet. And to somebody listening to me right now, I’m calling on a revolution in your mind. Stop coming to God talking about how you feel; start talking to God about who He is. Stop going to God saying, «I feel like giving up. I feel like walking away. I don’t feel appreciated.»
You don’t come to God by feelings; you come to God by faith. And in order to have faith, you need to start talking God’s talk. You cannot be speaking man’s talk. You have to talk God’s talk. You cannot be telling God what’s wrong; God already knows what’s wrong. If you’re going to come to Him, you have to come by faith. Stop whining to God. God is not your therapist. God is not your counselor. He doesn’t need to know when you were potty trained! You don’t need to bring your doubt; bring your faith. God, I thank You; You’re loyal. God, I thank You; You’re faithful. God, I thank You; You’re consistent. God, I thank You; You’re able. God, I thank You; You’ve got power. God, I thank You; You’ve got mercy. God, I know who You are! I may not see Him, but I know You have help. I know You have prophets, and I know You have resources.
God said, «I’ve got 7,000 prophets that you have not even seen.» I want to close by talking to you about what you have not seen. You keep praying about what you see, and God keeps talking about what you don’t see. Elijah is running because of what he sees. God is talking to him about what he does not see. «I have 7,000 prophets that have not bowed to Baal nor kissed the idol. You are not in this alone; I have help you haven’t touched yet. I have resources you have yet to tap into.» God wants to talk to you about the unseen. The Bible says, «Your eyes have not seen, your ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has in store for them that love Him.»
If you’re going to climb out of this ditch, you will climb out in the unseen. Some of you are trying to climb out talking about what you see; you will never get out of it that way. You have to climb out of that ditch by focusing on what you do not see. I know You have blessings I haven’t seen yet. I know You have doors that are about to open in my life. I know You have blessings I haven’t tapped into yet. I know You have things ahead of me that are greater than what is behind me. I know my tomorrow is better than my today. I know my latter end is greater than my beginning. I know that greater is the end of a thing than the beginning of a thing. God wants to talk to you about what is next, not what was, not what used to be, and not even what is.
God wants to talk to you about what is next! In my text today, God is challenging you to open your heart, open your mind, and open your spirit beyond how you feel, beyond what you see—beyond feeling abandoned, beyond feeling rejected, beyond feeling scared, and beyond feeling uncertain. If you are going to climb out of this ditch, I’m going to give you a rope to climb out of this ditch. Get your hands on the rope! You never see anybody climbing up a rope looking down. Whenever people are climbing up a rope, they are always looking up, and God said you have been down in the pit too long!
But I am getting ready to throw you a rope this Sunday, and you are climbing out by this rope. And in order to climb up this rope, you need to start looking up! You have to start looking at tomorrow. You have to start understanding what your eyes have not seen, and your ears have not heard. You have to start counting on money that hasn’t arrived yet. You have to start walking in health that you do not feel yet. You have to start walking in wisdom you have yet to realize. Y’all don’t hear what I’m saying—God! God! God!
He’s faithful; He’s consistent; He’s loyal; He’s immutable; He’s everlasting; He’s eternal; He’s God! He’s wonderful; He’s a counselor; He’s a mighty God; He’s the Prince of Peace; He’s an everlasting Father; He’s a kinsman; He’s a Redeemer; He’s the Day Star; He’s a trumpet; He’s a shield; He’s a buckler. Excuse me! He’s the lily of the valley! I thought I’d pick Him up! He’s the bright and morning star! He’s my hope in the middle of hopelessness. He’s my joy in the middle of chaos. He’s my peace in the midst of confusion. God is the joy and the strength of my life. He moves on pain, misery, and strife—the faithfulness of God! The problem in our world—my God I feel it! The problem in our world today is we have raised a generation of people who know church… But they don’t know God.