TD Jakes - God Will Make a Way of Escape
David is running from the man he protected. David is running from the man he admired. David is running from the man he used to work for. David is running from the man whose demons he was familiar with, whose musical ability had cast those demons out of him. The only way Saul could get to sleep was for David to play for him. In one season, then the season changed, and the same man who hired him is now trying to kill him. I wish I had a witness in this place. Have you ever had people turn on you? Have you ever had people switch on you? Have you ever had people try to destroy you?
The very people you admired and had an emotional investment in are now trying to destroy you. It makes you nervous; it makes you scared; it makes you fearful to open up to people because you can’t tell what they’re going to do next. David is now running from Saul, which means he’s running from Saul’s army, which means he’s running from an army he used to lead. He’s running from his own people, the ones who ate like him, dressed like him, danced like him, and moved like him in motion. He’s running from his own culture, his own background, his own ethnicity, which is trying to kill him. It is so bad that David ends up hiding among the Philistines, who had always been an enemy.
If you’re not careful, the rejection of your people will drive you into the camp of your enemy. Come on with me; I’m just showing you the backside of the text. There he is in this situation with the Philistines, and he thinks maybe if he goes among them, they won’t hurt him. Maybe they won’t remember that he killed Goliath. But as soon as he moves in with the Philistines, the first thing the priest does is say, «Aren’t you David?» That’s the trouble with backsliding. If you’ve ever really been saved, you can go back to the strip club if you want, but you will dance like a deacon because once God puts His hands on your life, they will know you’re not really one of them.
You can play strip poker if you want, but take off all your clothes, and you’re still going to be a child of the King. Once God puts His hands on you, it will never come off; it’s indelible, immutable, and unchangeable. It will never pass away. Ask Peter. You can warm yourself by the fire, but they will point you out and say you’ve been with Jesus. If you’ve ever really been with Jesus, you can never shake it off; it will come out of your pores. When your car slides, your holler of Jesus! Everybody in the car may curse, but you’re hollering, «Oh, Jesus!» Is there anybody in here who has been with Jesus?
David had a reputation for military prowess; he had led the armies of Israel that he’s now running from, and the priest says to him, «You ain’t no Philistine!» Every backslider in this room, I want you to know, every runaway girl, every prodigal son, they’re looking at you saying, «You ain’t no Philistine!» The priest says to him, «Do you want the sword?» because they’ve got the sword to kill Goliath. But David cannot win this battle with the sword. David is afraid that when they find him, they’re going to imprison him, or worse still, kill him. If there was ever a time he needed a sword, it was now. But God had a plan. I don’t know who this is for, but God said, «You cannot fight today’s battle with yesterday’s weapon. What used to work will not work in this situation. You will have to come back to Me because I’ve got the plan for the problem you’re facing right now.»
And the plan was for David to pretend to be insane. He started banging his head against the gate, just hitting his head against the gate. They brought him to Achish, the king. When the king saw him, David was banging his head against the gate, and then he started scribbling all over the wall, just writing up and down and sideways on the wall. Then he began dropping spittle into his beard until it was covered with spit. His head was banging against the wall, and his hand was scribbling. The Philistines wanted nothing to do with him.
Achish, the king, asked, «Can’t you see he’s crazy? Why did you let him in here? Don’t you think I have enough crazy people already in Philistia without bringing him here? I don’t need another crazy man; put him out!» He was like the Liberians; he escaped because God had His hand on him. You’re not going to escape because of your sword; you’re going to escape because God has your back. I want to go deeper with this; he managed to escape. He got away. You are going to get out of this without your sword! 2 Chronicles 20:21–22 says he got the victory without fighting. Stop fighting. The strategy of the Lord is smarter than that. When God has a plan, it’s always a crazy plan.
Who am I talking to? The Lord told me to tell you He’s going to give you a crazy plan. God’s plans sound mad! Stuff like building a boat in your backyard like Noah. Or telling Elijah to leave his inheritance and all of his relatives to take a menial job washing the hands of a prophet. That’s crazy! Or telling Elijah to go to a bankrupt widow and sustain him there. That’s crazy! Or telling Elijah to throw a stick in the water to retrieve an ax head. That’s crazy! Or sending a backslidden prophet to run a revival in Nineveh. That’s crazy! Or telling Moses to stretch forth a stick and the Red Sea will part. That’s crazy! Or going down on an innocent man so guilty men can be saved.
That’s crazy! Or calling a Christian terrorist to write most of the New Testament epistles. That’s crazy! Or telling you to humble yourself so He can exalt you. That’s crazy! Or saying whoever loses his life shall find it. That’s crazy! Or giving Him two fish and five loaves of bread, and He’ll feed 5,000 people. That’s crazy! Or saying to go to the tomb where you buried your brother and roll the stone away. That’s crazy! God has a crazy plan; it’s not going to make sense to you. All you rational people are going to have to put your rationality behind you and follow something that sounds totally crazy because God is going to bring you out of your situation. God is going to bring you out of your trouble. God is going to bring you out of your dilemma if your ego doesn’t stop you from being willing to do something crazy.
Nudge your neighbor and tell them, «I’m about to do something crazy! I’m about to do something I’ve never done before! I’m about to act mad! I’m about to bang my head against the wall! I’m about to spit in my own beard! I’m about to write up and down the wall!»
Whatever God has for you, it’s a crazy blessing! They didn’t hear me. I’m going to tell you, whatever God has for you is a crazy blessing! They kind of heard me; I’m going to try y’all again! Whatever God has for you is a crazy blessing! You’ve got to be crazy! You’ve got to be crazy if you’re going to do this! Paul said I’m a fool for Christ! Is there anybody that’s ready to act a fool? We’re in a season of trouble. Finances are crazy; gas prices are going up; the recession is on our heels, but God said if you’re willing to act a fool, I swear I’m going to bless you! I’m going to pull you out of this rut! I’m going to pull you out of this hole! I’m going to pull you out of this dilemma! But you’ve got to be willing to act a fool! Paul said, «I’m a fool for Christ.»
I want to preach to a room full of fools, a room full of people that will step out of the boat and walk on water. They don’t have any bridge, don’t see any rocks, but I’m going to walk on it anyway! God’s getting ready to take you in a way that would blow your mind. I need a crazy praise up in this place! I need a praise online! I need a praise in your living room! I need a praise on YouTube! I need a praise on Facebook! This is a time that God is going to elevate crazy people, not people who play it safe, not people who play it cool, not people who play it easy, not people who color in the lines! You’ve got to get outside of the lines! I’m tired of coloring in the lines! I’m going to get out of the lines and do my own thing! It may be scribbling, but it’s going to work for you! It may look bad, but it’s going to work for you! I need 30 seconds of crazy praise in this place!