TD Jakes - Who Died and Left You in Charge?
We’re so blessed in the Lord, and I’m excited about what God is doing. We’re going to delve into the Word of God; we’re going to be blessed and strengthened as we go deeper into it. Today, I told you my subject is «Who Died and Left You in Charge?» I better give you some scripture real quick, or you’ll think I’ve lost my mind. I have not lost my mind! I’m going to be in Second Timothy, chapter four, verses 1 through 9.
«I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. My God! And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things; endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me.»
Who died and left you in charge? Let me pray over your seed. I’m going to pray over the Word, and we’re going to believe God for increase.
Father, now in the name of Jesus, we thank You for the sacrificial seeds that have gone up before the throne. We ask You to worship the Father with those sacrificial seeds, and we thank You, Lord, for the hands that gave them and for the hearts that released them. We thank You, Lord, for the covenant we have with You in the area of our giving, and we thank You that all of our needs are met by Christ Jesus. Thank You for Your abundance, Your blessings, Your peace, Your power, and the things that You give us that money cannot buy.
Now, as we go into the Word of God, we want the Word of God to go into us, that it might dwell in our hearts by faith and that we might be edified by that which proceeds out of the mouth of God. That means we’re under construction, Lord. There are some areas that need to be rehabbed, remodeled, updated, changed—new roof, new windows, new doors. Whatever we stand in need of, we submit ourselves to You. Do the work, God, in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.
Wow! Okay, we are talking about a very personal letter between Paul and Timothy. The mentor and the mentee are having a discussion. Paul is not necessarily talking to us; he’s talking to Timothy. We’re eavesdropping on a personal conversation between the mentor and the mentee. That’s quite a relationship; it’s almost like a father and son—it’s a very intimate relationship. You can’t mentor anybody without becoming involved with them, loving them, caring about them, being concerned about them, and wanting what’s best for them. Likewise, you can’t be mentored by someone you don’t respect; someone you don’t believe is living the life you aspire to and hope to accomplish. Their surrounding you insulates, informs, and inspires you. That’s what a mentor should do: inform you, insulate you, and inspire you.
To inform you means you’re gaining knowledge; to insulate you implies there’s protection around you. Whenever you’re not the boss, whenever you’re submitted under someone’s authority, people think it’s a bad thing, but it’s a great thing. You’re insulated by that person. The buck stops with them and not with you. You can make mistakes, and they can correct them—that’s part of the process. When they are gone, the insulation is gone, and all the heat and cold they prevented from reaching you now comes directly to you.
So, it should inform you, it should insulate you, and then it should inspire you. You can’t be mentored by someone who doesn’t inspire you. You need someone who inspires you. The word «inspire» comes from «spire,» which means to point upward, reminiscent of chapels that have spires reaching toward heaven. To inspire is to have something inside that looks up. So, when I hear you preach, teach, minister, train, or do what you do, you cause my insides to look up. That’s inspiration. You don’t want to be mentored by someone who does not inspire you, someone who doesn’t cause you to look up to reach the next level.
These are three things you need to understand: Paul was to Timothy what a good mentor should be. He insulated him. Whenever there was a complaint or a time someone needed to be thrown in prison, it wasn’t Timothy; it was Paul. Paul insulated Timothy from being the one under attack. Don’t always rush to be in power because it’s not as good as it looks once you’re in those situations. When the buck stops with you, instead of them hunting someone else down, they’re hunting you down. They came and apprehended Jesus; they didn’t bother Thomas, Bartholomew, James, or John. They came and got Jesus; they crucified Him and beat Him all night long. When you are at the top, you get the licks, the blows, the strikes. Many of you may not feel anything because you’ve been insulated.
When the Bible says that a man should cover his wife, it means that a good husband insulates. Truth be told, a good wife insulates, good parents insulate their children, good pastors insulate their churches, and good presidents insulate the country. Insulation results from having great covering, and that’s an important thing to consider.
They should inform you. They should have a communication responsibility; they should have information you don’t have. Coming to hear them speak should not be out of duty; it ought to be out of hunger. When you attend, you get fed. Whoever feeds leads. For them to inform you is a powerful thing. Insulation creates a comfortable environment for you to learn from your mistakes, to grow and develop. Once that insulation is removed, you are exposed to the elements—the cruelty of people and the expectations of people. Paul was providing insulation for Timothy, providing information and inspiration for him.
Now, he writes a different kind of letter. This is not a class; it’s not a school; it’s not just about making full proof of his ministry. It’s more than that; he is giving him his charge. It’s like a commencement exercise, a graduation, a promotion. He gives him three things, and I want to talk about them because they are important.
Number one, he gives him a charge. He said, «I charge you before God.» Let’s look at that in verse one: «I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing. Preach the word; be instant in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.» When you have great ministry, your ministry should vary. You shouldn’t always be preaching hellfire and brimstone, nor should you always be preaching comfort and soft messages. You have a responsibility to do all of it. You must reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.
He said, «I want you to preach the Word in season. I want you to preach it out of season. Preach it when it’s 'fashionable' to be Christian; preach it when it’s not.» I want you to do it for the time will come, and this moves from the charge to the challenge. «The time will come,» he said, «when they will not endure sound doctrine.» They will heap to themselves teachers, following their own lusts. The time will come when doing right will not be popular; being a leader will not get applause or an amen. Whether you’re a mother, a father, a pastor, a business owner—whatever you’re in charge of—even if you’re only in charge of yourself, there are times when the required discipline will not be popular, and people will not like what you have to say.
They will not like you, even though they don’t really know you. They will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. This is interesting today because we stayed in our church regardless of what the pastor preached. No matter how they disciplined us, they sat us down, silenced us, stopped us in the middle of our preaching, and pulled our coattails while we were up in front of everyone. It was humiliating and embarrassing, but it prepared you. Today, if you do something like that, people leave your church and go to someone who is softer, someone who is less demanding, someone who lets you do what you want. This has become the order of the day. It almost sounds like Paul is describing our age when he says they shall heap to themselves teachers with itching ears.
They just want to hear what they want to hear. Sometimes, it’s a struggle for me to do counseling, particularly marital counseling. By the time people come to you, they are already set in their position, only looking for you to reinforce their stance to their husband or wife. They aren’t truly willing to be informed, insulated, or inspired; they just want you to endorse their perspective. That gets tiring. They already know what they’re going to do; they’ve made up their minds before they even got here. Don’t waste my time with things like that.
The relationship between Paul and Timothy is quite interesting. Timothy has a generational relationship with God that goes back to his grandmother and mother, Eunice and Lois. He is the third tier of that generation, deeply rooted in faith and nurtured in an atmosphere of belief. Yet, he still needs to be mentored. The fact that you grew up in church doesn’t negate your need for mentorship—spiritually, economically, and in handling finances or being a husband. Just because you know Jesus doesn’t mean you know how to be a great husband or budget your finances.
Stop conflating faith and using it where it is not appropriate; it will not negate the fact that you may truly be a believer. God may have truly opened your business; that doesn’t take away from the need for mentoring and development. A bond develops between the mentee and mentor; it is a strong connection. It’s like Elijah and Elisha, Ruth and Naomi, John and Jesus, Paul and Timothy. In each case, a profound emotional and spiritual connection occurs. You can’t do it without being fed by the person who’s pouring into you. You’re nursing off their experience, and there’s gratitude, appreciation, and honor that accompany it.
You don’t choose someone because they’re the biggest, the brightest, or have the most degrees. Their criteria should be leadership qualities that truly inform, insulate, and inspire you. Now, the problem is that we don’t want to be mentored. We get the call, the charge, the Bible and the building—we’re ready to go! «Let me go! I’ll figure it out as I go.» The problem with that, particularly for preachers, is that while you’re figuring it out, souls are dying. While you figure things out, you make mistakes that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Without mentorship, you’re causing damage, and one day, 20 years later, you’re going to answer for the things you did the first three years. This «on-the-job training» without mentoring can be very expensive and lead to independence.
Let me tell you this story: I grew up in the hills of West Virginia, and I grew up in a time when we did a lot of walking. We walked to the bus stop, took the bus, went to the grocery store, and brought groceries back on the bus. Afterward, I had to walk up the hill. I was constantly in situations, trudging through snow and ice, walking down the path with my mother, holding her hand, whether we were catching a bus or going to school. I didn’t want her to hold my hand because I thought I was a big boy who could handle things on my own.
I would say, «Don’t hold on to me,» as if I were helping her, when in reality, she was helping me. To appreciate this, you have to know my mother. When I insisted she let me go, I ended up sliding, falling, rolling, and catapulting down the hill, with snow and ice everywhere. My leg went one way, my arm went the other, and my books went flying. I was a mess—embarrassed, humiliated, and humbled. After that, I took her hand; I learned a very important lesson: seeking independence prematurely can lead to pain. I learned the lesson of the prodigal son—that asking for your share of goods before it’s truly yours can leave you shipwrecked; you spend your money and opportunities, ultimately ending up in the pigpen, having to come back smelling of who knows what because you asked for something too soon. Independence is overrated; it will come eventually, but getting it before you’re ready is a mistake.
Paul is now telling Timothy that he’s ready for it. It is not Timothy telling Paul he’s ready; Paul is telling Timothy he’s ready. He’s saying, «You’ve reached a point; I’ve watched you develop, and I’ve seen you face the charge. I’m ready to give you the release you need to go do what you must.» The charge is to preach the word, to be instant in season and out of season. The challenge is what I charge you to do: people may not want you to take that step. The challenge is that I’m telling you to do something that will become increasingly unpopular. There will come a time when men will not endure sound doctrine; they will surround themselves with teachers having itching ears. So, I’m charging you to excel in doing things that will be controversial, that will lead to rejection and heartbreak. A charge may not seem very exciting when it’s accompanied by the challenge that you have been assigned to do something difficult.
That can be crippling because most of us want to be charged with doing things that win applause and applause alone. No, he said, «I’m charging you before God to preach the word in the presence of Jesus Christ, to be instant in season and out of season, to reprove and rebuke with all suffering.» He is telling him all of that; that’s the charge. The challenge is that the time is coming when they will not endure what I charge you to do. Now, there are two ways to view a challenge: it can be intimidating and scary, or it can be invigorating. I choose to view it as invigorating. I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t challenge me. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life doing things that are easy, as I’d rather be on an assignment that scares me a little, pushes me to pray more, and keeps me awake at night thinking.
I am never as alive as I am when I’m challenging myself. The problem for many of you right now is that you’re living a boring, dried-up, non-challenging life, and you aren’t growing or developing. Despite the fact that you receive a lot of word, you aren’t applying that word; it is in the challenges of life that the word is spent. You need a place that demands something of you, that requires you to grow into it. You need a coat, like Joseph’s, that is too big, forcing you to grow into it. You need a calling, a challenge, and a mandate that allows you the space to grow and then to appreciate the challenge. Not many people like challenges, and if you avoid them, you will neglect your charge and hide behind excuses and mundane tasks that you can handle easily instead of facing your giants.
Paul is talking to Timothy. He is charging Timothy and challenging him, while also informing him of the change. So, there are three parts to the text that I want to explore: the charge, the challenge, and the change. We’ve discussed the charge, and we’ve talked about the challenge, although I don’t think we’ve exhausted it, as I wonder if you truly recognize the necessity of a life full of challenges. You only grow when you’re challenged; you only evolve when you face adversity. That’s the difference between lifting weights alone and having a trainer. The trainer challenges you when you would typically quit, urging you for one more rep or one more turn. The challenge pushes you toward your best self.
You need to be challenged. Some of you have been coddled to death; you’ve been overly pampered. You need a challenging voice in your life that demands something of you. You don’t need someone constantly praising you; you need a voice saying, «Get up! You can do better than that. Pull yourself together.» That challenge is invaluable; it clarifies that I’m charging you and empowering you to do something that may not be popular with everyone. They will not endure sound doctrine and may gravitate toward softer voices, voices that don’t compel them to grow. Amid people disinterested in being charged, you must remain charged—that’s your challenge. How can you stay charged when surrounded by people who don’t want to be challenged?
You only have to account for yourself; you must answer for you, not them. I charge you, not them. The fact that they do not want to be charged is your challenge, and the mission, should you accept it, is to work in adverse circumstances. You can’t preach until you can do so in front of someone who dislikes you. You aren’t proving your worth as a preacher until you can confidently deliver your message, unfazed by a scowling face in the front row. You’re not here to win a popularity contest; it doesn’t matter if they reach past you for someone else; what matters is that you respond to the charge.
Timothy can hear the charge. Timothy can hear the challenge. But he must also grasp the change. I want to read the change to you, and I want you to hear it as if you’ve been with Paul for a long time as he says, «I’m now ready to be offered up.» He’s never spoken like this before. Have you ever been with someone who suddenly talks differently than you’re used to? He says, «The time is right for me to be offered up.» When you talk about being offered up, I consider this glass as a metaphor. This is a glass, and to offer it up means I’m down to the last drop. To get to the last drop, you must pour it out. Paul is saying he’s down to the last drop.
Everything you experience in life takes a little away from you—a sip of your strength, your tenacity, your vigor. You may have been through a divorce; it took something from you. You survived cancer; it too extracted a cost. You faced time in prison; that took from you as well. Over time, you have to tip the glass further and further to retrieve what’s left, and when you reach the last drop, you must offer it up. When he declares, «I am ready to be offered up,» it’s reminiscent of a drink offering—a libation where the priest pours out the offering before God as a sacrifice. Paul is writing from a place of emptiness.
No, he’s not burned out; he’s empty. He’s not angry; he’s empty. He doesn’t need rest or a vacation; he’s empty. Life, little by little, drop by drop, has cost him more and more, and he knows he’s nearing the end because he feels empty. Can you imagine hearing that from a loved one, a parent, or a mentor? When he says, «I’m now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand,» he is aware of his expiration date. Do you live your life cognizant of your expiration date? A loaf of bread tells you to sell before a certain date; it doesn’t mean it’s unusable, but it must go off the shelf before then. You don’t have time to waste, to play games with people or argue with critics. You have an expiration date. He says, «I’m out of time, Timothy. Not only am I out of juice, but I’m out of time.»
When he speaks to Timothy, listen closely; this isn’t an everyday conversation. He proclaims, «It’s time for me to be offered up. I’m ready to be offered. I’m empty; I’ve poured out everything I had. It took everything to reach this stage.» Don’t underestimate that—it takes everything to survive and be productive while you are surviving. «The time of my departure is at hand.» I can hear the ticking clock; my departure is imminent. He reflects on his life, as we all do in moments of self-evaluation. «You know what? I fought a good fight.» Can you, at this moment, looking back over your life, say that you fought a good fight? He doesn’t concern himself with who won or lost; he simply states, «I fought a good fight. I may have gotten beaten up sometimes, but I fought a good fight; I may have cried at times, or required hospitalization, yet I fought a good fight. Have you fought a good fight?
The thing you’re praying about—are you just praying, or have you fought a good fight? He declares, „I have finished my course,“ not yours, not the kingdom’s, not the work, not the calling. There will be plenty left to do after I’m gone, but I have finished my course. Are you aware of what you are meant to do, or are you constantly derailing yourself, trying to do what others do? „I fought a good fight; I finished my course; I have kept the faith.“ Even when beaten down, I have kept the faith. I have persevered through stonings, shipwrecks, and snake bites; I have kept the faith. Consistency—"I have kept the faith.»
Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will grant me at that day, and not to me only, but also to all those who love His appearing. «Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me,» he tells Timothy. «You need to hear my words. I’m out of time, I’m out of juice.» What Paul is revealing to Timothy is that now you’re in charge. For all you ambitious people, this is a moment to rejoice, so dance right now! But for others, this can be a scary moment because this means the insulation is gone, and the information will cease and inspiration is ending. Who died and left you in charge? All of a sudden, you must embody what you once received.
I once told one of my sons, now pastoring a church, that he must understand: he cannot show up at that church as himself; he must show up as me. By that, I didn’t mean he should imitate me; I meant he is no longer a student—he’s now the teacher. He is no longer a classmate; he is the professor. He is no longer a mentee; he is the mentor. He must ensure he shows up in character because he has been left in charge. Up in character, you can’t show up as a daughter when you’re a mother. You can’t show up as a child when you’re an adult. You have to show up in the character that I’m placing on you.
Paul is saying, «I’m getting ready to die, and I’m leaving you in charge.» Who died and left you in charge? You can’t just make yourself in charge because you want to be in charge. We’re talking about our nation going through what is supposed to be the peaceful transference of power. I don’t know how peaceful it is; I don’t know how transformative it is, but that’s what it’s supposed to be—it’s supposed to be the peaceful transfer of power. Power is transferred, not created, not self-induced. It is transferred from one to the other. Somebody has to convey power unto you. Transfers of power are the very reason that John pointed out Jesus when he was standing in the Jordan River and said, «Behold, the Lamb of God.» He pointed him out; he empowered him and transferred some power. After that, he said, «I must decrease that he might increase.»
Transfers of power—why are you teaching this? We are in the middle of the change, the changing of the guard, the changing of the world, the changing of times. We are right in the middle of not just the charge, not just the challenge, but we are in the middle of change. Change is uncomfortable. My wife, when she was grieving the loss of her mother, I told her the only thing she could do was be to the kids what her mother was to her, thereby keeping her alive in her behavior. She died and left you in charge. Though the saints are passing off the scene, you’re in charge. Are you ready to grow up and stand up and be the person you were created to be, or are you stuck in the student’s role, knees locked up under a desk, books under your seat, and you don’t know when to get up out of that chair and walk to the front of the class and teach the course?
«Let me go, Mama; I got it.» No! My time of tutelage was not over. I failed because I left too soon. The prodigal son fell because he went too soon. We are seeing massive failures from good people—good people making bad mistakes because they went too soon. Paul says, «I will tell you when to go; now is the time to go.» I can tell it’s time for you to start because I’m empty. I can tell that you are full because I’m drained. I can tell that you are ready because I’m finished. Do you have a «who» in your life that pours into you, builds you up, strengthens you, and prepares you? You need that in every area of your life, and they don’t always have to be the same person.
The person who mentors me in faith might not be the one who mentors me in finances, might not be the person who mentors me in exercise, or the one who mentors me as a husband. But for every area in which you hope to excel, there has to be somebody that pours into you and then decides when they’re ready to give you the charge, the challenge, and the change. He then says to Timothy, if that were not startling enough, if that were not enough to digest that I have to be what I saw and that I have to show up in the world as my teacher and not as his student; that I had to put on my daddy’s shoes and make them fit; that I had to be a grown woman, that I have to be a grown man, that I have to stand up to life—if that were not daunting enough and intimidating enough, and enough to make you fall down on your knees and humbly say, «God, without you I can do nothing, without you I would fail, without you I’d be like a ship without a sail».
If that were not enough to make you do that, if it were not enough to drop you to your knees, if it is not enough to get you off of Instagram making all kinds of crazy posts because you think this is fun, this is not fun! This is life and death. This is not about you; this is about Jesus. It’s not about getting people to be attracted to you; this is about getting people to be attracted to Jesus. This is not that willy-nilly stuff that I see passing for ministry today. It’s not reproof, rebuke, with all long-suffering—it’s not this willy-nilly stuff that we see to get attention—it’s not ministry as gimmicks. I know it’s hard to hear, but somebody’s got to say it, like Mama had to let me go so I could discover that I wasn’t helping her; she was helping me. She had to let me have that experience to bring me to a place of humility.
Like the father, the prodigal son had to give him the portion of goods and let him go because this boy is insistent he’s ready for something he is absolutely not ready for, and the only way to prove to someone that they’re not ready is to let them go and let them find out it’s not what it looked like. You were insulated when you saw it; you saw it because I was providing it. You didn’t understand what it took to give it. It’s one thing to run the water for 15 minutes while you’re talking on the phone; I haven’t gotten in the shower yet. You can do that when you’re staying with Mom and Dad, but when you’re paying the water bill, all of a sudden you cut that water off or cut the phone call off and say, «I gotta go take a shower,» because it’s different when there’s no insulation.
Who died and left you in charge? What has happened in your life in recent years that has challenged you, charged you, changed you, and made you have to stand up to things that you normally could ignore? If it hasn’t happened yet, it’s going to happen soon, where you find yourself in a situation that demands immediate maturity. You don’t get to go on a retreat and think about this. You don’t get to go on a 90-day fast and think about this. You don’t get to decline the offer and seek another position. In fact, in the ninth verse, he says, if you’re coming, you must hurry up. Do you not know there is a date, an expiration date on God’s offer? He says, if you’re coming, if you’re going to get this impartation, you’ve got to do it quickly; do that diligence!
I want to read it because I like this: «Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me.» He said work hard not to procrastinate. You don’t get to pontificate; you don’t get to procrastinate; you don’t get to debate; you don’t get to argue. Come quickly because it’s your turn! I’m talking to you tonight because there’s a shift coming, and when the shift comes, there are doors that are going to open to you that are big doors and blessed doors, but they’re also going to come with challenges; they’re going to come with charges; they’re going to come with changes, and you’ve got to be ready for it. I can hear the door opening. I don’t know who I’m talking to, but the door is open, and it’s a great door, but it’s a scary door.
Somebody just died and left you in charge; somebody just retired and left you in charge; somebody’s going to move and leave you in charge; somebody’s going to build a house that you’re going to have to take over. God said, «I’m going to give you houses that you didn’t build, but you’re going to have to maintain them.» You didn’t build it, but you’re going to have to be able to maintain it. «I’m just going to step into it.» No, no, no, no. Once you get the house, you’ve got to maintain the house. You don’t want to be like the dog who goes charging down the street chasing cars.
Isn’t it funny to watch a dog chase a car? Never in its life remembering that it can’t drive. They’re like people who chase down things that cannot run. Who died and left you in charge? You’re getting ready to move into something that’s going to require you to be charged up. You’re going to have to be strong enough that you don’t whimper when you run into challenges and criticisms, haters and naysayers. You have to be strong enough to hold your head up and your back straight and walk through it. It’s part of the job, Timothy. You don’t get to nitpick the parts you like and leave out the parts you don’t. «I’ll take the charge, but I don’t want to take the challenge.» No, the challenge comes with the charge, and it means you have to change.
Now when we were growing up and said, «Who died and left you in charge?» we were being smart; it was our way of telling you off. Who died and left you in charge? In other words, «I’m grown; I’ll do what I want to do.» But I’m not being facetious; I’m literally saying somebody is going to move and leave you in charge, and your days of being a child are coming to an end. Are you ready? Because the ball is in your court; the times are in your hands. Now, as you go, in order to be who God called you to be, every time you win, every time you fight, every time you war, it’s going to cost you a little bit of something until you’re emptied out, and you too are offered up.
That is the way of all life, my friend. That is how little girls become their mothers and produce daughters who end up burying them and become their mothers. That is how the church has survived for 2,000 years. No matter how great the preacher was of that era, he died, and somebody rose up, and the church moved on. It will always be that way; there will always be seed time and harvest. Somebody is getting ready to move, and their move is going to create an opportunity for you. I prophesy to you it’s coming to you in the name of Jesus, and this message is telling you to stop whining about the challenges, get charged up, and get ready for change!
Now, eventually, I could walk up and down the path by myself. My legs got long enough; my feet got firm enough that I could stand in the snow and not slide on the ice, and I learned how to maneuver on the hill. But the only reason I learned how to do it is because I stayed holding Mama’s hand long enough before I released myself again to make myself the chief, enlarging and in charge. I waited till I was ready. If the prodigal son could be here and preach this message to you today, he would tell you to wait until you’re ready; that if you’re not ready, you’ll get money and run through it, spend your substance on riotous living, and you’ll get friends and run through them because they’re only friends while you have some money, and when you run out of money, they’re going to all run off and leave you.
If the prodigal son were here today, he would tell you it’s better to be a son in your father’s house than to be a father in a hog pen. If the prodigal son were here today, he would tell you how to get back home. He would tell you that you have to come muddy and smelly and humbly and say, «Make me one of your hired servants,» because my time of being mentored and growing is not over, and that’s not a bad thing. Because every bad thing that happened to me in this story happened because I went too soon. If the prodigal son were here today, he would tell you, «Don’t underestimate freedom; it’s not as good as it looks.» Not to despise the days of small beginnings and of coverings and of being subordinate.
Nobody wants to be subordinate; nobody wants to be submissive. Everybody’s insulted if you don’t see them as a giant; they’re insulted. Everybody’s rushing to be a giant. Giants die. Stop rushing into positions that you’re not ready for! And when you’re ready, rush into it, but run on your knees because it’s going to cost you something. As we come to the end of this Bible class today, somebody needs to hear this because the door is about to open for you, and it’s demanding a charge being placed on you and the challenge, and you’re going to have to change in order to be ready for it. And somebody else needed to hear it because you’re going too fast, and you need to slow down a little bit and appreciate the fact that you still have a Paul in your life.
If God has blessed you with a Paul, honor Paul while you can! Go out of your way; don’t get so busy that you don’t honor Paul. «Do that diligence to come unto me shortly,» because soon you will not have the option to come! Honor your mother and father, because if you don’t, pretty soon you will not have the option to. What you’re going to do is appreciate being insulated while you’re waiting on opportunity. This is the word of the Lord concerning you, and this is a prophetic utterance concerning you.
This is God warning you that while you are coming, your coverings are leaving, and I charge you before God that you be instant in season and out of season. I charge you before God that you have versatility in your ministry, that you can reprove and rebuke, that you can be long-suffering and shut up and endure it. I charge you because the challenge is coming—that they’re going to flock to people who will tell them what they want to hear, and you still have to be who God called you to be. I want you to understand that promotion only comes through change, while one man is being harvested, another man is being planted, and as long as the earth remaineth, there will always be seed time and harvest. The only hard part is determining which one you are experiencing: is it harvest time or seed time in your life?
So let a man examine himself. Who died and left you in charge? And if they haven’t died yet, run to them. Do that diligence to come under me because for the rest of your life, you’re going to wish you could come, and I won’t be there. You’re going to want to call, and there won’t be anybody to answer, because that’s the way life is for everybody. It’s not a demon, it’s not a spirit, it’s not a witch; it’s life.
Watch those people who are in charge and mark them well, because they will die and leave you in charge. Watch the people who can hold the family together and settle disputes, and learn from them, because you’re next. Watch those people who can maneuver through different types of crowds and situations and have the versatility to be multilingual enough to not only preach or teach but also to lead, direct, converse, debate, or interview. They can go in and out and find green pastures. Mark them, because you’re next.
God’s going to move them, and you’re going to be in charge, and that will make you shout, make you pray, make you laugh, make you cry, stir your faith, and scare you to death. How in the world could Timothy have the impact of Paul? Can you imagine Timothy running to meet the Apostle Paul, knowing that this would be his last trip? How he would soak and luxuriate in Paul’s words and try to remember everything—the smell of the room—because we don’t appreciate things when we have them in abundance. We only value them when we are wise enough to recognize that they are rare and that we are running out of time. Who died and left you in charge?
Father, as I close this message today, I pray that it will speak in a very deep way to the realities and complexities of life and what we are called to do, and how much it costs to do it. I pray for the person who is coming down to the last drop, who has survived battle after battle after battle. Everything they survived—and even succeeded in—cost them a little something, and the glass is not as full as it used to be. And that’s okay; those are the expenses of success. I pray for the person who’s not sleepy or tired, but getting empty. That’s the plan: to die empty, to be good to the last drop. That’s the plan. I pray that this Bible class will inspire somebody tonight and prepare them for what’s next in their life. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen, amen, amen.
If you have been running too soon, moving too fast, and this message told you to slow down, get under cover, then do it. If you feel a transition coming into your life and there’s an impartation that needs to take place, hurry up and do it, because you’re next. The message «Who died and left you in charge?» I’ll leave with you this Wednesday night when so much is changing in the world around us, in the government, and in the White House. Forget the White House—in your house, in my house, there’s a shift going on every day. Oh, and when everything shifts, people go crazy because it is difficult to remain consistent through change. Paul said, «I fought a good fight, I kept the faith, I was consistent through change, and now I’m finished, and I leave you in charge.»