TD Jakes - Empowered By God
You didn’t cause the storm; the storm is not your fault. It’s not like Peter went in the wrong direction. It’s not like this guy knew that another guy was going to pass out on the plane. You did not cause the storm, so stop allowing that voice to accuse you, because Satan is an accuser of the brethren. He will say, «You brought this on yourself. You’re a fool; you should never have done it. You must have lost your mind! What is it about you that made you think you could do something that big? You must be crazy!»
You must know storms come to everybody: anointed people, saved people, unsaved people, backslidden people, straight people, gay people, clever people, ugly people, fat, bow-legged people—everybody has storms. What made you think that you would be exempt from going through storms? Everything that I know about God that matters, I learned not in a concordance, not even in a scripture. I learned it all in a storm. I learned it all on the edge of a cliff, about to die—so sick I could throw up—and wondering if I would live to see another day. Everything I’ve learned about God that mattered came through a crisis—not a promotion, not an advancement, not a check in the mail, not the accolades of men. Those don’t teach you a thing.
Going through sickness, pain, chaos, trouble, heartbreak, disgrace, embarrassment, frustration, humiliation, and unbearable grief—everything I ever learned about «the Lord is my shepherd,» I learned in a storm. I learned it in a fight. I learned it in a crisis. I learned it when the odds were against me. I learned that while they were talking about me like a dog; I learned it while they were rolling their eyes; I learned it while they were blogging about me; I learned it while they were lying about me. Who am I preaching to? And the word of the Lord is to stay steady in the storm. Don’t back up; don’t give in; don’t give up; don’t retreat; don’t run from people.
Don’t worry about what they think. Their opinion is not your victory. Changing their mind is not the crown that you’re going to wear. People are going to think whatever they’re going to think; people are going to say whatever they’re going to say. Don’t be distracted by trying to manage a storm that wasn’t yours in the first place. What you have to do—this is the little bit I’ve learned—is to be steady in the storm. When I read the text, I asked myself, «When Jesus, when they woke up Jesus, didn’t just review the winds and waves; he revealed Peter.» I said, «Well now, Lord, wait a minute. What did Peter do wrong? You told us to pray without ceasing. You were asleep! All Peter did was wake you up. What did Peter do wrong that made Jesus rebuke him?»
Number one: Peter forgot the power of His presence. Peter was addicted to Christ’s performance and not His presence. Had Peter recognized the power of His presence, he would have known that the storm was lying, because there was no way that Jesus could be drowning—not the one who said, «I come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.» The very fact that Jesus is still with you is a sign that the storm is alive. I don’t know how you’re going to make it out. I don’t know whether you’re going to float out on pieces; I don’t know if you’re going to float out on a raft; I don’t know if you’re coming out on a boat. But as long as you have your anointing, baby, when all is said and done, the presence of God is enough to take you through anything. Hallelujah! Turn to your neighbor and say, «Jesus is on the boat!»
The other thing that Peter did wrong: Peter was in charge, and Peter became hysterical. He started acting like he wasn’t in charge of what he was in charge of. What God wanted Peter to learn was how to be steady in the storm. You’ve got to be steady in the storm. You can’t be a leader if you’re not steady in the storm. You can’t run and hide and be a leader. You’ve got to be steady in the storm. Your tears may be running down your face, but you’ve got to hold on to that wheel. You’ll never get out if you let go of the wheel.
And by the way, the storm isn’t that bad. There was water in the boat, but it wasn’t enough water to wake up Jesus, and Jesus was asleep in the bottom of the boat. So if the storm had been that bad, how come the water didn’t wake up Jesus? But the enemy has a way of amplifying trouble in your mind to make you think that it’s worse than it really is. And you panic because the devil knows his storm can’t take you out. It’s your fear that’s going to take you out. What God is trying to teach you to do—I’m talking to somebody; I don’t know who it is, but God is saying, «Be steady. All hell is breaking loose. Be steady. Your emotions are all over the place. Be steady. Your enemies are everywhere. Be steady.»
Thank you! I’ve got to be steady in the storm. You’ve got to be steady when they like you; you’ve got to be steady when they don’t like you. You’ve got to be steady when they’re saying, «Hosanna!» You’ve got to be steady when they say, «Crucify!» You’ve got to be steady at the wedding; you’ve got to be steady at the funeral. You’ve got to be steady when things are up; you’ve got to be steady when things are down. Don’t take your hand off that wheel. Come hell or high water, hold on to the wheel and keep on aiming for the other side. Keep aiming for the other side! Keep your eyes on where you’re trying to go and aim for the other side!
The third thing that Peter did wrong is he failed to believe that he had what it takes to get through what he was facing. The fact that Jesus rebuked him for waking him up means, «I equipped you with enough stuff to make it through this storm. This was not a storm for me to rebuke; this was a storm for you to rebuke! And you are asking me to do what I have called you to do. Behold, I give you power! I give you power over the enemy! I give you power over what’s happening in your life. I give you power over what they said about you. I give you power! I give you power! And you’re giving up the power when you’re frantic and frustrated and allow your emotions to control your decisions.»
I cannot afford to call an emotional leader because you’re going to have to preach for me on the day of Pentecost. Because you’re going to have to spread the word in cities that don’t believe in you. Because ultimately, you will be crucified upside down, and I need to know when I commission you to go that, come hell or high water, you will hold fast to your profession of faith and not panic. The storm was just a test in a controlled environment to prepare you for what I’m about to do in your life.
Who am I talking to? I’m preaching to somebody. The Holy Ghost said, «Be steady in the storm! Don’t back up. Don’t give in. Don’t faint. Don’t collapse.» You may have to get on the walkie-talkie; you might not know the right language; you might not use the right word, but survival is the ultimate goal. Be steady in the storm! I don’t know what you call it, but hello, hello, hello, can you hear me? If I’m preaching to you, shout in this house! Almost every day of my life, I’ve got people telling me what went wrong. Very, very seldom do they call me to tell me what went right. They always call me to tell me what went wrong.
And so, a constant bombardment with «We’ve got a problem; we don’t have this result; we don’t have that result; we don’t have the other result"—after a while, it feels like a tsunami coming from every direction. And when they get a moment with you, they quickly get to what’s wrong, because they don’t get to talk to you often. So let me get right to it. Like you’re not even human; they don’t even ask me, «How am I?» «Are you having a good day today? Is this a good time to have a conversation?» «Let me tell you what I need! Let me tell you what’s going on!»
And what I learned is that I cannot react to their stimuli. I have to keep a steady head so that I can make a calm, calculated, accurate decision. And I can’t make an accurate decision off of one person’s opinion, because every time I made a decision based on one person’s opinion, I had to go back and fix it because I found out they didn’t tell me everything.
So my word as a leader is to be sober and be vigilant, for your enemy goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. If he’s seeking whom he may devour, that means there’s somebody he can’t devour! I want to be the guy he can’t devour! I want to be the guy who makes it to the other side! I want to be the guy who crosses over because I’ve got an assignment waiting on me! Let me show you one more thing. In front of every major move of God, there will always be some sort of storm, some sort of challenge, some sort of test. When you run into your Goliath, you have come into your kingdom! David needed Goliath; Goliath announced, «You have arrived!»
Goliath is not there to kill you; Goliath is there to introduce you. Until Goliath comes—and I feel like preaching now—until Goliath comes, David is just a shepherd boy. But Goliath put David’s talents on full display. Goliath separated David from the other shepherd boys. Goliath put him in a class all by himself! If anything at all, David should have paid Goliath because the king wouldn’t have paid David any attention if it weren’t for the Goliath he fought! The reason you’re fighting what you’re fighting right now is that God’s creating a stage for His anointing to restore! Do you hear what I’m saying to you?
The only reason this storm is out here in the first place is that Jesus is bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles! This is huge, and the storm is trying to stop it! And the greater the storm, the greater the assignment. If God trusts you with that level of trouble, you’ve got to be somebody! The storm didn’t fall on nobody except somebody! The storm didn’t fall on nobody; it only fell on somebody! And if the storm is in your life right now, guess what? You’re somebody! Do you hear the word? The words that are coming out of my mouth? Somebody said, «I am somebody!»
I know I’m somebody— not because of my degrees, not because of my accomplishments, not because of my money, but because of the storm that has come into my life! The devil wouldn’t attack me if I wasn’t somebody! Shout yes! Shout yes again! Shout yes! Whoever I’m preaching to, you’re about to step into something! You’re about to come into another dimension! You’re about to come into another realm of the spirit! And the reason all hell has broken loose is that this is Satan’s last attempt to stop you from landing on dry ground! But the devil is a liar! I’m going to be steady! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
This young lady said, «Everybody loves to hear you when you come out, but when you’re in, don’t nobody want to hear you!» When you’re in pain, don’t nobody want to hear you! When you’re struggling in your faith, don’t nobody want to hear you! But you’re just paying your dues! This is a toll bridge! You have to pay to make it to the other side! Y’all don’t understand what a toll bridge is—it means it costs you something to get to the other side! And once you’ve paid the price, you ain’t gonna let nobody take your prize away from you! I need 30 seconds of crazy, spontaneous, Holy Ghost supernatural praise in this house! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him like you’re a king!