TD Jakes - The Beginning of Wisdom
The greatest thing to know is what you don’t know. Write that down. I’m not going to say anything more; importantly, the greatest thing to know is what you don’t know. You will never be wise until you can admit what you don’t know, and yet we’re living in a society where people like to brag to everybody about what they know, even though they don’t truly understand what they claim to know, and they don’t know what they don’t know. That means there’s no room for you to learn or grow because you are already filled with your own need to impress everyone with what you don’t know. The beginning of wisdom is recognizing your ignorance; the beginning of fullness is understanding emptiness; the beginning of up is down. If you would humble yourself, God would exalt you, but because you’ve exalted yourself, there’s no room for promotion in a vessel that’s already full.
Somebody’s saying, «I don’t know.» One of the things we learn in running a corporation is that we are afraid to say «I don’t know.» So the first thing they teach you in crisis management is to gather people and script their responses, ensuring that everyone who answers the phone can direct inquiries to the right person, because we feel embarrassed to admit our ignorance. Instead, we offer responses we’re unsure of in order to appear informed. Say it again: «I don’t know.»
The best doctors in the world are those who can say to you, «I would rather you know that my father is dead today because he went to a doctor who treated him for a long time without knowing what was wrong until all chances of healing were lost, and finally the doctor admitted, 'I don’t know, ' when it was too late.» Not being able to say «I don’t know» can kill a marriage, a ministry, a company, or even a person. Your arrogance is a lethal weapon that ought to be registered because you cannot say «I don’t know.»
A little moment for preachers: it is not what you know about the text that makes you a great preacher; it is what you ask of the text. If you approach the text as a fool, you will leave as a professor; but if you approach it as a professor, you will walk away as a fool. Say it again: «I don’t know.» For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. We don’t know; we don’t know; we don’t know; we don’t know; we don’t know what it’s going to be like. We don’t know what’s going to happen; we don’t know what tomorrow will bring; we don’t know how to live in the Promised Land; we don’t know how to fight this kind of fight. We don’t know Joshua like we knew Moses. We don’t know where we are; we’re in transition.
And when you’re in transition, nobody has to say anything for you to be irritable. You’re irritable because you’re scared. You’re irritable because your norm has been shattered. You’re irritable because you’re in a nebulous place. You’re irritable because you have landed in the city but have not checked into the hotel. Tradition will not produce transformation. Transformation is personal. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). That’s personal; that’s not congregational. You don’t get transformation by merely going to a church. You can attend until you’re old, but if you are not transformed by the renewing of your mind, you won’t be able to make it.
Romans 8 talks about how we know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord. For we know, we know, we know; and then it finally says we know not what to pray for as we ought. That humility of saying «we know not» is essential. «I don’t know.» Joshua, you don’t know how to lead Israel; you don’t know how to follow. Joshua doesn’t know how to lead; I know he doesn’t, because the first thing he does is pull out his sword against an angel and asks God, «Whose side are You on?» What «I don’t know» produces is a praying church that wants God to be on their side more than they seek to be on His. Are you spending all your time trying to get God to bless what you plan, or are you humbly coming to Him and saying, «Lord, give me Your plan, because I don’t know»?
Today, I’m going to talk to you about three things and then I’ll be done. I’ll talk to you about influence, impediments, and instigators. I’ll discuss influence and impediments, because that’s what the flood is—an impediment—and I’ll talk about instigators. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be gone.
What God says to Joshua is vitally important; He says, «I will magnify you in the eyes of the people,» which means God is going to give you influence. Don’t confuse affluence with influence, because there are many people who are affluent but do not have influence. They are affluent; they are well-known, recognizable, equipped with big names, big offices, and big suites, but they don’t have an effect on the people who follow them. Affluence does not equate with influence. God says to Joshua, «I will give you influence.» Influence is leadership flowing out of you; it’s not just what you say, but what truly emanates from you.
Influence affects everything around you; the subconscious things you emit into the atmosphere are effluence. So, we have affluence, influence, and effluence. He was already influential; he wouldn’t have been leading people otherwise. He was a warrior, but being a warrior doesn’t make him Moses. However, influence is the ability to have a measurable impact on others' decisions, behaviors, and subsequent outcomes.
There’s not a person in this room, or a person watching online, who doesn’t need influence. If it’s just over your daughter, or your son, or your job, or your position, or with your team or staff, whatever it is that falls under your auspices, it is a terrible thing to lead something without influence. We think of great influencers—those who positively or even controversially affected the world around them; we mustn’t confuse their affluence either. In reality, many influencers may not have been affluent at all. Martin Luther wasn’t affluent, but when he translated the Latin scriptures into the German language in 1522, it gave him influence that led to the Protestant movement, which encompasses Baptists, Methodists, AMEs, United Methodists, Church of God in Christ, and many more.
His work gave him influence because it affected our behaviors, decisions, and choices. How effective are you at influencing other people’s behaviors and decisions? Influence doesn’t come by yelling, screaming, arguing, nagging, complaining, cursing people out, breaking dishes, or coming at them with skillets. You cannot make people respect you. You cannot buy respect; giving gifts, sending flowers, or giving money doesn’t ensure respect to the point of affecting my decisions or outcomes.
Oh my God, I’m preaching! God said, «I will magnify you before the people.» Don’t confuse titles with influence. You get more than just the Apostle title. That’s the big thing now: «I’m an Apostle. I’m a Chief Apostle. I’m going from Bishop to Apostle.» But if you were a Bishop and now you’re an Apostle, it doesn’t change the impact. If you have influence, you have influence, whether they give you the title or not. Titles are not influence. Don’t confuse degrees, education, and intellect with influence. You can have more degrees than a thermometer and influence absolutely nobody.
God says to Joshua, «I will magnify you in the eyes of the people.» Here’s the question: because some of you, God is about to magnify in the eyes of the people—if God magnifies you, will you magnify Him? «Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.» If God gives you the power to influence people’s decisions, outcomes, and purposes, would you then magnify God, or would you magnify yourself and brag about how smart and capable you are? Because God is not giving influence in this season to those who need self-aggrandizement and promotion. God has given influence to humble people who will lay on their faces before Him and say, «To God be the glory for the things He has done.»
Are you in the building? Give me some power on the mic! Are you in the building? Are you here in the building? Are you in the balcony? Are you up there in the balcony anywhere? Are you online anywhere? Is there anyone left that God can magnify and who will remember to magnify the Lord? Make some noise if I’m talking to you!