TD Jakes - Rest In His Promises
Have you ever found yourself on death’s road because of somebody else’s ambition? Married folks, let me talk to you. Have you ever found yourself in trouble because somebody was after your spouse? I bet you better holler back at me right now before I point you out. And it’s not that you burnt the toast. It’s not that you don’t come home at night. It’s not that you’re not a good wife. It’s not that you’re not a good husband. Someone’s plotting against you, and they have a strategy in place. They’re out to discredit you, and you find yourself in a situation where you know they’ve been talking to someone. You don’t know who they’ve been talking to, but you’ve been married for 20 years, and you ain’t spoken like this.
Now, after 20 years, you’re talking strange. You’ve been talking to someone. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on! And Peter is thrown into jail. Listen, he has 16 soldiers assigned to him, divided into four quadrants. This shows respect; this is respect. The level of attack determines the level of respect. If King Herod didn’t know Peter was someone to deal with, he would have put one man to guard him, and that would have sufficed. But he quadrupled the number of guards because Herod knows that if he gives Peter half a chance to get up, Peter will pull out his sword, start cutting off ears, setting people free, and breaking chains. That same devil knows that about you: if he gives you half a chance to get up on your feet, all hell is going to break loose in that place. Hallelujah! And y’all don’t hear what I’m saying. He knows you have power. He knows you have power, and he’s attacking you because you have power.
How many can say, «I got power»? I know I have power because I have problems. If you have power, you’re going to have problems. The problems are a sign that you have power. Nobody sends that level of problems if you don’t have any power. You don’t get 16 soldiers to guard a three-year-old. You get 16 soldiers to guard one man when that man is dangerous and has power. Somebody shout because you have power! You’re under attack because you have power. You’re being besieged by the enemy because you have power. He’s put unnecessary guards around you, but if it ain’t this, it’s that. If it ain’t that, it’s the other.
As soon as you get through one thing, here comes something else. And it’s all because hell is nervous about you. Hell is nervous about what you’re going to be. Hell is nervous about what you’re going to do, and he’s increased the guards to block you from getting where you’re trying to go. Do you hear what I’m saying? But throw your hands up and say, «Walk me through it! Walk me through it! Walk me through it! Walk me through it!» Because I will not die today.
Cool points to Peter: he has 16 soldiers, and he’s handcuffed to two of them. This is the greatest expression of faith I’ve ever seen—silent faith screams. Silent faith screams faith that will not be discombobulated just because you’re under attack. It’s faith at its best, running all over the office, anointing the elevator with oil. It might not be faith at its best, but faith at its best is peace in the midst of the storm. Faith at its best is peace in the middle of the storm. And I thought to myself, «Peter, how did you sleep in prison on the night before you were going to be killed?» Simon has just been beheaded.
Now, if you’re going to kill me, you know, stop by CVS and pick up something. I’m not for this dramatic stuff; I like my head. You might not like my head; I know it ain’t fine, but it’s my head. I want my head! Don’t cut my head off! Cutting my head off would probably mess up my nap. If I thought you were going to cut my head off in the morning, I probably wouldn’t sleep that night.
So, I asked Peter, «How in the world did you go to sleep chained to two guards in the inner sanctum of the prison? Even if you whip them, you’ve got 14 more to go before you can get out. And you slept? Dude, where did you learn how to sleep like this?» Then I remembered how Jesus was sleeping on the boat. Y’all don’t hear what I’m saying to you! The thing that Peter has learned from his mentor is to sleep in the middle of a storm. If you can keep your peace when all hell is breaking loose, if you can refuse to react in a predictable way when all hell is breaking loose, God will find a way to bless you. Sometimes, the best response to the attack is the sleep that says, «I don’t know what he’s going to do, but he’s going to do something.» The sleep says, «I don’t know how he’s going to move, but he’s going to move something.» The sleep says, «I don’t have the answer to the problem, but I know who does have the answer.»
The sleep says, «The battle is not mine; it belongs to the Lord.» The sleep says, «Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.» The sleep says, «The enemies that you see today, you shall see them no more.» The sleep says, «When the battle is over, I’m going to shout the victory, and I’m going to need some rest to get my dance on.» Touch three people and say, «Sleep through it! Sleep through it!» Yeah, sleep through it! Sleep through it! Don’t argue about it! Don’t fuss about it! Don’t fight about it! Don’t get mad about it! Don’t get upset! Don’t cuss anybody out about it! Just sleep through it. He that began a good work in you shall perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. I don’t know who I’m preaching to in this building, but God says, «Sleep through it! Don’t get even! Don’t seek revenge! Don’t retaliate! Just go to bed, because God has determined your end from your beginning, and when it’s all over, he’s going to give you a breakthrough!»
I need a 30-second praise break! I’m getting my peace back! I’m getting my peace back! I’m getting my confidence back! I’m getting my trust back! I’m learning how to just go to bed and leave it in God’s hands. I’m leaving my children in God’s hands! I’m leaving my wife in God’s hands! I’m leaving my marriage in God’s hands! I’m leaving my future in God’s hands! For the Lord knows the way that I take, and when he has tried me, I shall come forth as pure gold. Somebody give me an old-fashioned Hallelujah Pentecostal! And while he was sleeping, you know God does his best work while you sleep. When God got ready to bring Eve into the world, he put Adam to sleep, because God doesn’t need your participation to bless you.
When God gets ready to give you what you need, you can be asleep, and he can still pull out of you what he placed inside of you and cause you to prosper. And, Abraham, he said, «Abraham, through your seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed.» Go to sleep, and I’m going to make a covenant for you without you. And Jesus hung his head in the locks of his shoulders and died until the sun refused to shine and the ground began to tremble. And God was working the night shift. Tell somebody, «He’s pulling stuff out of me in my sleep! He’s working it out for me in my sleep! He’s moving obstacles in my sleep! He’s turning it around in my sleep! He’s making a way in my sleep! He’s providing in my sleep!
I don’t have to do anything! I don’t have to say anything! I don’t have to plant any gossip! I don’t have to retaliate! I don’t have to scheme and plot! You stay up; I’m going to bed! I’m covered! I’m protected! I’m loved! I’m cradled! I’m taken care of! I’ve got the blood of Jesus over my life. Hallelujah! I’m blessed in the city! I’m blessed in the field! I’m blessed in my uprising! I’m blessed in my down-sitting! I don’t know who I’m talking to, but God said you’ve been up too many nights, and it’s time for you to just go to bed and rest in the Lord, for He that began a good work in you shall perform it until the day of Jesus Christ!» Who am I talking to in here?