TD Jakes - How to Handle Being Alone
You see, the church exists within two different sociological constructs: while it is not of the world, it is in the world. The fact that it is in the world means it is affected by the world. We cannot claim autonomy for the church to the degree that we completely ignore what is going on in the world because what is happening in the world affects the church. It is not just that the church affects the world; the world also affects the church. Such were the times from the earliest stages and even to now. It is arguable which one affects the other the most because we are influenced by the environment in which we are planted, just as a seed is affected by the soil it is placed in, and the seed, in turn, affects the soil.
In like manner, the church is in the world and yet not of the world; it is affected by the world while simultaneously having an effect on the world. Did you get that? All right, stay with me because I’m going down into the depths of the water, and I want you to be able to go with me. We are witnessing the church at a time when it is born out of the scars, scrapes, and oppression of a suppressed people called Jews, who are being oppressed in their own land. They have not traveled by boat to a far country to be oppressed; they are being subjugated in their own home. Can you imagine someone taking you captive in your own house?
Rome has come into Israel’s house and taken them captive in their own community, subjugating them and forcing them to submit to the sovereign powers of a political system that is imposed on the Jewish community. Out of that Jewish community, the church is a sect, so you have Rome, the sovereign power, dominating the Jewish community or Israel as if they were trying to set up an offshoot of their Roman Empire. Inside of that offshoot, which is Israel, is a religious sect called the church, and Peter is ministering to the church, hoping to influence the nation and ultimately the world. However, he is fighting at a complete disadvantage; he is not fighting as if he were the emperor of the Roman Empire with all the support of power and influence. No, he is a subcategory of a sect of people that are largely ignored, not only by the Romans but by the Jews as well.
That is why the text carefully notes that he is overcoming not only the oppression that Herod has placed on him but also the expectations of the Jews. In other words, he is ministering to a people who are not interested in his message. Have you ever tried to help someone who didn’t want your help? You fought off their enemies, and they didn’t even appreciate what you had to offer. I wish I had a witness!
Have you ever tried to save someone, and the person you were trying to save was trying to kill you while you were fighting off devils you didn’t even have to confront? That is the situation for Peter. He has attracted the hatred and the acrimonious disposition of Herod solely because he seeks to serve the Jews, of whom Herod is not even a part. Herod is interested in the Roman Empire, and the Roman Empire is focused on dominating the Jews. Thus, what happens with the Jews concerns the Romans, and they have no tolerance for the Jews one way or the other.
Now, this small group is causing an upheaval, which has reached the ears of Caesar, of whom Herod is a subordinate. Herod is trying to prove to Caesar that he can handle this problem so that he will be released from this dismal post in Israel and be assigned a better position in Rome, where his family, livelihood, power, and the seat of their government reside. It is in that environment that we step into this text. You must understand the periphery; otherwise, you won’t appreciate the predicament. Herod has arrested Peter; this is not a group of Jewish priests who have taken him into captivity—this is a sovereign power. This is a governmental attack.
The powers that be have arrested Peter and taken him hostage, assigning sixteen soldiers to one man for an overnight stay. You know you’re important by the level of the attack directed against you. The enemy would not be assigning so many demons to you if you weren’t significant in the kingdom of God. Sixteen Roman soldiers is a lot to have surrounding one individual. I don’t believe they used 16 soldiers to arrest Jesus, and yet Peter finds himself so significant that he is attacked and guarded by 16 soldiers.
Perhaps it is because Peter has a reputation as a disciple. He is an outspoken disciple, a radical disciple. He is the kind of disciple who will stand up on the boat in the middle of a storm and say, «Hey, Jesus, if you bid me to come.» Peter was not a passive, lackadaisical disciple; if he was on the boat, he was going to make some noise. If something was happening on the boat, Peter would make some noise—even if he had to jump off the boat naked and swim to Jesus. Peter was radical! I’m talking about water-walking Peter, the Peter who reached to his side and pulled his sword, cutting off the ear—not of a Jew, but of a Roman soldier. Peter was fierce; he didn’t take any nonsense. He was radical; he would set it off.
That’s what he used to do. He had a reputation, and they assigned 16 soldiers to control him because of it. His reputation was formidable, but I must confess that it is seen in the light of the fact that he has always functioned in the midst of his comrades. Every time we see Peter cutting off ears or walking on waters, he is surrounded by other believers. But not now—not anymore. He is no longer surrounded by the crowds because you draw a certain amount of energy from the crowd. The crowd has dissipated; in fact, the crowd has gone and shut up in a woman’s house named Mary, praying for him because they figure Simon Peter is probably next to be beheaded in the morning. It is the night before the trial, and Peter is alone.
You know, you can be mighty at what you do, but you still have to deal with your devils when you’re alone. Ah, in the crowd, in the right environment, you’re tough and strong and rambunctious, but when you go home, take off your makeup, put away your clothes, and put your hair on the stand, you come down to the real you. Real faith strips you of all the mechanisms that make you seem powerful, bringing you down to your lowest common denominator.
The enemy wants to know, «How do you like me now? Who are you now?» It’s not who you are on stage; it’s not who you are when you’re doing what you do. The real test and agony of life is how many years you cut it when you are alone, how much water you walk on when you are lonely, and how much power you have when you are by yourself with nobody egging you on, no one believing in you, and no one to witness who you are. How do you handle being alone?