TD Jakes - How God Gives Influence
Joshua was a fighter, and now he’s learning how to be a true leader. God created trouble to give him influence, which leads me to impediments. Can I take a little bit longer today? I came fully loaded; I didn’t bring a Happy Meal—I brought a five-course filet mignon dinner served in segments, with sorbet in between each course. Are you ready for this? The flood was an impediment that God used to increase Joshua’s influence. You’ve been asking God to move the impediment, but if God removes the impediment, you won’t have the influence. How you respond to your impediment is what gives you influence.
Watch this! Oh God, I’m excited! I’m so excited! See, Joshua, when he was under Moses, had seen the grapes—the grapes of the promised land. He had fore tasted the grapes but had not seen the flood. The flood was associated with the harvest, but it didn’t flood all the time. When Joshua was last there, he talked about the giants in the land, the sons of Anak, but he didn’t mention the flood. He sent spies, but they didn’t come back talking about the flood; they hadn’t seen it.
Remember Joshua 3:15? The Bible says, «The Jordan overflows all its banks at the time of harvest.» The flood and the harvest are connected. Joshua has come to the promised land at the time of harvest, which means it’s raining a lot, and all the waters of Jerusalem have no place to flow but down. I’ve been to Israel; I’ve seen the Sea of Galilee, and I was shocked when I got to the Jordan River. Were you shocked when you got to the Jordan River? I was disappointed when I got there! I expected to at least see the Kanawha River, the river from Charleston. I thought it would be a big river, but the Jordan River looked like a creek. Baptizing in the Jordan River is no wider than this stage.
I was so disappointed because in my head I pictured something grand, but when I came to the Jordan River, it wasn’t during a flood. So if you come to my backyard when it hasn’t flooded, it’s actually quite dry. But because it’s in a floodplain, if you come at another time, bring your swimming trunks because the little pond in my backyard overflows to the point that I had to claim insurance—not because I live next to a river, but because in that season, it flooded. You are in a flooding season, and the Lord wants you to hear this word today because God ordered the impediment of the flood to give you influence. How you handle this flood will determine the influence for the rest of your life because you are leading a group of people who have no point of reference. So God has simulated a crisis to prove His promise: «As I was with Moses, so shall I be with you.»
God has turned a creek into a river so that He can demonstrate His power in your life. Instead of rebuking the devil and pleading the blood, I want you to thank God for the flood in your life. Come on, come on, come on! The flood is a sign that the harvest is in process, and the flood is a sign that God is about to give you influence beyond your wildest dreams. How you deal with this impediment will determine the influence you walk in for the rest of your life. If you don’t cross this Jordan, you will never defeat the Canaanites, the Gergashites, the Hivites, the Hittites, or the Jebusites. Everything you’re going to be depends on how you handle this flood. It was a creek when you saw it; now it’s a flood when you get up to it, and you’re standing there at the Jordan, wondering what to do. You don’t need evacuation; you need ammunition.
Joshua is leading the people to where he has already been, just like Moses led them to a place he had already been. You cannot lead people to places you haven’t gone, so stop trying to be a tour guide in a place you know nothing about. Joshua is leading them to a place he has experienced before. He is proficient at crossing the Jordan when it’s not a flood, but now it’s a flood, and all he has is the promise of God: «As I was with Moses, so shall I be with you.»
The only difference is that at the Red Sea, Moses stretched forth his rod and the waters parted, and they walked across on dry ground. But when Joshua gets to the Jordan, and the flood has turned it into an amazing river, he stands there, and standing still is not working. He can’t stretch forth his rod; that’s not working. God said, «I’m going to be with you like I was with Moses, but I’m not going to do it like I did with Moses.»
So you can’t imitate your Moses and cross your Jordan. Who am I preaching to in this place? Slap your neighbor and say, «I’m going to cross over! I’m about to cross over! I’m about to leave the old me and cross over to the new me! I’m about to leave my old place and cross over to a new place! I’m about to step out of this zone and step into that zone! Not everybody will be able to go with me, so some people will have to stay on this side of the Jordan because not every tribe can cross over a floodplain.»
The Lord sent me here to preach to somebody standing in front of a flood: you can’t bring everybody with you. Some people have to pitch their tent in the desert because they are desert babies; they are not kingdom builders. You’ve got to let them pitch their tent within their comfort zone. But there are a few of us who have come too far to fall short of the promise of God! Is there anybody in this house who has come too far to settle in the desert? You’ve been through too much, cried too many nights, and endured hardships. Whatever you have to go through, I’m going to step into this Jordan and make something happen. Give me 30 seconds of crazy praise!
I gotta go all the way! If Mama doesn’t go, if Daddy doesn’t go, if Sister doesn’t go, if Brother doesn’t go, I’ve got to go all the way! I don’t know how to work it; my rod isn’t working, but I’m going to do something to get my miracle from the Lord! Maybe you stretched forth your rod and it worked for Moses, but it didn’t work for you. It’s not Moses' method; it’s Moses' anointing that is on you to cross over this season in your life. If I’m answering prayers, if I’m speaking to your destiny, let your boy know!