TD Jakes - How to Remember Who You Are
Because he knew three things, and there are three things I want you to understand and remember: they are very important. Number one: taking me to Babylon doesn’t make me a Babylonian. You can take me to Babylon, but you can’t make me a Babylonian. I will always be who I am; I don’t care where you drag me, I don’t care what you do to me, and I don’t care what you take from me.
Taking me to Babylon doesn’t make me a Babylonian. You can change my name, and they did. You can change my clothes, and they did. You can impose a name on me that honors your god, and they did that too. But you can never make me forget who I am. I am not this; I may be in this. So shut up! I may be in this, but I am not this. I don’t know whom I’m preaching to. You may be in it, but you are not dead. Don’t let the devil convince you, just because of a temporary circumstance, to forget who you really are. You might be in a storm right now; you might be suffering right now; you might be broke right now. But don’t believe it! Tell the devil, «You took my clothes, and you took my name, but you did not take my memory! I still remember who I am.»
Number two: remember this: my memories define my identity. You can take my clothes, but it wasn’t in my clothes. You can take my bracelets; it’s not in my bracelets. You can change my name and cut my hair, but you cannot take my identity because I still remember who I am. The last thing I told my youngest son when I took him off to college, I hollered out the window, «Hey boy, don’t you forget who you are!» I want to tell this church I don’t care how long the pandemic lasts; I don’t care how much we go through; I don’t care how tough it gets; and I don’t care how much they fight in Washington. Hey, don’t you forget who you are! Hold on to your memories. There’s not a person in this room that God didn’t do something in your life as evidence to you that He is God over every circumstance in your life—some moment, some situation where God showed up in your life. And don’t you get in this storm and forget what He taught you.
Number three: why do we value more in retrospect than we do in real time? Sometimes we don’t appreciate the good things until we lose them. Sometimes we don’t value the people we have in our lives until we lose them. Sometimes we don’t appreciate a good job, a good ministry, a good opportunity, or a good friend until it’s gone. Why do we value more in retrospect than we do in real time? We throw people away so easily; we get rid of them like they are expendable commodities. Sometimes you ought to remember, before you make a decision, that you may be throwing away somebody today that you need tomorrow. And he said, «I hung my heart by the willow tree.» We hanged our arms upon the willows in the midst.
If you’ve ever seen a willow tree, of all the trees that stretch their branches upward toward heaven, a willow tree always looks sad because its branches hang down. And he said, «I hung my harp on the willow tree.» I took the instrument of praise that I sang and danced before God with and tied it to a tree that was pointing to the ground. And on the willow tree, we hung our harps; when we hung our harps by the willow trees, the only sound they could hear from us was weeping. You can take me from it, but you can’t make me not want it. You can lock me up, but you can’t stop me from remembering it.
I took that last look as you dragged me away, and it burned a picture in my mind before a camera had ever been made. If I forget Jerusalem, my tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth. My only defiance to the times we’re living in is the memory that God gave me to hold on to. And this do in remembrance of me; as often as you do this, I don’t want you to ever get in a situation that you forget that I am God. I don’t want you to ever let some change grip you so tightly that you forget that I’m God. Don’t you ever get so broke that you forget that I’m God! Don’t you ever get so lonely that you forget that I’m God! Don’t you ever get so depressed that you forget that I’m God!
I’m wondering if there’s anybody in this room or listening online who has anything that God ever did for you, and you know, that you know, that you know, that you know that God did for you! That whenever all hell breaks loose and the enemy tries to take you captive, you can remember it and say, «Devil, you’re a liar! I know God is real!» If there’s anybody who’s got a memory of God in your life, open your mouth and give Him praise! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Just the praise!
I know He did that; I know He did that; I know He did that for me! I know He did that for me! I know He did that! I don’t know what I’m going to eat tomorrow, but I know He did that! I don’t know whether my marriage is going to work, but I know God did that! I don’t know whether I’ll get my job back, but I know God! I know, I know, I know, I know that my Redeemer lives! Though the skin worms eat up my flesh and the boils are all over my body, I know that my Redeemer lives! Job said that with his kids dead, his house burned down, and his crops all ended up. He said, «All of that might be true, but I know that my Redeemer—» I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know! Somebody, I’m preaching to you!