TD Jakes - Velvet Gloves
I want you to get your Bibles and go to Hebrews 11:32–34 and Judges chapter 4, verses 15-21. Again, Hebrews 11:32–34 and Judges chapter 4, verses 15 through 21. I’m going to repeat it again because I gave you two scriptures, and some of you can only remember Hebrews 11:32 through 34, and then we’re going to Judges chapter 4, verses 15 through 21. When you have them, say amen.
It is interesting because where we pick up reading in Hebrews 11 is seldom read. We always read Hebrews 11 from the very top: «Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.» For by it, the elders obtained a good report. Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things that are seen were not made from things that do appear. Everybody talks about them: «By faith, Abel; by faith, Enoch; by faith, Noah; through faith, Sarah also herself received strength to conceive when she was past childbearing age.» We talk about all of that up here, but down toward the end is a less familiar passage of scripture that we’re going to read today.
Hebrews 11:32: «And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon and Barak, and we’re going to talk about him today, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice.» I didn’t know God was concerned about justice; God is concerned about justice. That’s interesting! «And gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword.» Watch this closely: «Whose weakness was turned to strength.» That part right there is what grabbed me—"Whose weakness was turned to strength.» Now, if you don’t have any weakness in here, that won’t mean anything to you; but if you understand by faith that God can take your weakness and turn it into strength, glory to God! The thing you hated about yourself, the thing you worried about, the thing you were embarrassed about—the Bible says by faith, God can use your weakness and turn it into strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Can you say amen?
Let’s go to Judges for a minute and visit Judges. I’m picking it up in the middle of the story, but I’m going to tie it all together. «At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.» He got beat so bad he had to jump off his chariot and run! Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all of Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left. Meanwhile, Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the family of Heber the Kenite.
Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, «Come, my lord. Come right in. Don’t be afraid.» So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. «I’m thirsty,» he said. «Please give me some water.» She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up. «Stand in the doorway of the tent,» he told her. «If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone in here? ' say no.» But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died. Judges 4:21, so ends the word of the Lord. This morning, I want to talk from a very unusual subject: «Velvet Gloves.» Let us pray.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on us today. We have come to be moistened by the dew of your glory; the dry, parched, scorched earth in which we live has left us famished for your dewdrops. If you would let it rain on us, it would probably be more than we could handle, but just let some drops fall on us to moisten our hearts, our minds, our souls, our spirits, our attitudes, and our dispositions so that we can leave this place refreshed because we have been with the Lord. I thank you in advance for what you’re going to do. Have your way, great God that you are! We are careful to give you the glory, the honor, and the praise, not as if we were doing you a favor, but it is yours—rightfully yours—and we only give you what is due to you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
You may be seated. It is interesting to note that I underscored the fact that God is concerned about justice—not just truth and not just mercy, but justice. That justice, the Bible said, should flow down like a mighty stream; it’s God’s will for His people that there be justice. And justice also means equality—to be treated fairly, to have opportunities equally distributed among all people—and yet that has not been the case, not just in our contemporary society but throughout history. That has not been the case—not with the traditional conversation alone that we often have about minorities in this country, but even in relation to gender. There has not always been justice.
I am amazed when I read the text about Deborah, the only woman who is listed to be a judge over Israel, who subdued 9,000 chariots from the Canaanite army, and she hardly ever gets a mention anywhere—not in a song, not in a sermon, not anywhere. We are quick to talk about Moses, who was able to overcome 600 chariots, but this woman overcame 9,000 chariots and hardly gets a mention at all. It might be because so much of the pulpit is dominated by men that we have a tendency to glorify men at the expense of not acknowledging women, because our influences have contaminated our theology to the degree that we don’t always recognize women for fear that we cannot oppress them from the stage and from the pulpit and from doing all the things they were given to do.
But Deborah was a remarkable woman! She was a prophetess and a wife, a judge and a family woman. She had the power to rule as a judge and the ability to follow as a wife, equally distributed in the same person, one without contaminating the other. She stood in a class all by herself. To be honest, society has often down through history been misogynistic in the way that we treated women. Women were treated almost like livestock not that long ago. Marriages were decided by men through bartering. The woman wouldn’t even be in the room, and they would decide who you were going to give your body to, who you were going to be married to, and where you were going to go without you having any say at all.
I know it’s hard for some of you to understand this, but this was not that long ago. Women were basically sold based on the dowry of the family, given to the highest bidder. It was a form of slavery to be a woman because they bought you, and anytime people feel like they buy you, they own you. Many cultures practiced this then, and some still do today. One of the atrocities of Afghanistan being taken by the Taliban is the fear of women’s rights being abolished again, as they had been in the past; only this time, they’re being abolished by a generation that for the last 20 years has enjoyed the freedoms and the rights that are due to them as women, and they are shocked by the atrocities that their mothers lived through.
Do you hear what I’m saying? Even America’s history is littered with feminine abuse. If the truth were to be told, it was late in the fight for justice that women got any rights in this country at all, and it’s not that long ago. If you talk to your grandmothers, it’s not that long ago that women were exiled from the right to vote. They were exiled from the right to lead, to have positions in the corporate world, or even in the pulpit or on stage. In fact, as a little boy, I can remember that if a woman was to speak, she had to stand on the floor. She could sing all she wanted to, but if she got ready to say anything, she had to stand on the floor. This still goes on today.
Wife beating was made illegal in all states of the United States in 1920. Up until 1920, it wasn’t illegal to beat your wife, and it wasn’t really enforced strongly until the 1970s! In your lifetime, there was a time when it was common to beat a child and a wife with the same belt. Think about that for a minute! Think about that. Particularly within feminism and the women’s rights movement, they began to push, push, push to finally, around 1970, recognize the laws from 1920 as concerns about wives being beaten by their husbands gained more and more attention.
Victory is something you have to fight for. It doesn’t come easy; it doesn’t come without fighting; it doesn’t come without protest. Often, it doesn’t come without bloodshed. To a degree, the pendulum has begun to swing such that women have rights never experienced before. In fact, it’s a pretty good time to be a woman right now! A lot is starting to change in the world for women. Come on, talk to me!
Let me give you a little history—I’m going somewhere! Passed by Congress on June 4th, 1919, and ratified on August 18th, 1920, the 19th Amendment finally granted women the right to vote. Up until then, they had the right to work but not the right to vote. They had the responsibility to pay taxes but not the right to vote—taxation without representation; the very thing we fought against, we came along and did to women in this country. The 19th Amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote at last! Until you get the right to vote, nobody pays you any attention.
Young people, hear me when I tell you: the right to tweet is not the same as the right to vote. You think you’ve really done something when you tweet or post about something; it doesn’t mean anything at all. The right to vote is the thing that makes a difference because no legislation is going to be passed because you tweeted it; legislation is only passed when people fear they’re going to be booted out of office because you have the right to vote.
The right to vote is a very important thing. It empowers women; it changed the world. It empowered people of color; it empowered minorities. It’s a powerful thing! Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle. Victory took decades of agitation and protest. You don’t always get what you want when you want it; it takes a long time to get things to really change. Society changes ever so slowly—ever so slowly—and religion changes slower than that—slower than that!
The Me Too movement was a wake-up call that the workplace can still be an unfriendly place for women to work. Saudi Arabia granted women the right to drive only one year ago! For the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia, a woman could get behind the steering wheel and drive her own car. Can you imagine that? A historic move that cracked open a window to new freedoms for women, who have long lived under repressive laws.
We’re living in the middle of change! Faith, however, has also been complicit in this. I can’t understand that faith has been complicit; it’s been an accomplice in limiting women’s rights; and the Bible has been used to justify abuse using scripture out of context, like «submission» to control women; they use those terms to oppress women. They’ve also used biblical terms to reinforce slavery.
Scripture in the hands of a fool becomes a weapon of unrighteousness. Do you hear what I’m saying? Be careful how you use scripture when you have an agenda. Even church people sometimes will twist scripture to accomplish their own agenda—to do what they want to get done. That’s why we don’t need bootleg preachers preaching in the house, using scriptures out of context to control people. Scriptures are powerful, but when they’re misused, they become dangerous.
Religion has been a part of the problem—religion but not God. God has often been an emancipator for women; He’s often spoken up for women; He’s always spoken for justice; He’s always spoken up for integrity. The Bible says, «Male and female created he them and called their name Adam.» He created them and called their name Adam equally—not substandardly. She was equal. Adam and Eve were equal—male and female; created He them and saw them as one person. One person with the same justice, with the same right. She was taken out of Adam’s side—not his back to stand behind him, but rather from his side to stand beside him.
And might I remind you of the daughters of Zelophehad, who had to go to Moses because their father had died and had no sons, and they weren’t going to get their inheritance only because they were women? They had to go to Moses and fight for the right to inherit their father’s wealth. Moses, in turn, didn’t give it to them right away; he went to God and asked, «What shall I do with these women that won’t shut up? These women that keep coming? These women that keep fighting back? These women that keep arguing? These women that keep protesting?» And the Lord said to Moses, «The women are right!»
I thought the sisters would shout me down to know that God had your back, to know that God would speak up for you, to know that God would make sure that you got your inheritance. That ought to make you shout me down, to understand that you have a God who cares about you and sees you in the same light that He sees me, and makes sure you get everything that is inherited to you. Because if He wouldn’t fight for your inheritance, then your prayer life would have no power. For every healing, every miracle, and every deliverance that you ever receive is also part of your inheritance. And you don’t have to go to a man to get a man to pray for you—not any man, not a pastor, not a priest, not a pope, not a potentate.
It’s good for you to know that when you bow your head and open your mouth, you can open up heaven, and God will hear you. You can claim every promise that God has offered you, and you have equal access to the throne—not to replace me, but to stand shoulder to shoulder beside me. Can we make some noise in this place? This is not the kind of liberation that puts men down; this is the kind of liberation that relieves stress off men. I don’t want a woman who can’t hold her own ground. I don’t want a mindless woman who cannot be a partner in life for the kind of devil we deal with. I need somebody who can touch and agree with me. I need somebody who can be strong when I’m weak.
I need somebody who can be wise when I’m angry. I need somebody who can help in a crisis. I mean, if somebody breaks into the house, I don’t need anyone screaming in a corner; I need somebody who can grab a lamp! Did I say that? I said that out loud. In our text today, we have two very powerful, influential women that I hardly ever talk about. One of them is Deborah, and I told you Deborah is a judge. She comes into power after Ehud. The Bible doesn’t tell us how she rises to power, but she is a stand-alone woman to be a judge—not over a court, not over a community, but over a country, over a whole body of people.
The tribe of Israel is headed by a judge. There were no kings, so she was a sovereign power with absolute authority, and we hardly ever hear anything about this multitasking, bad sister girl who could judge Israel all day long, all twelve tribes, and still make it home for dinner and take care of her husband. She was a bad sister, and nobody says anything about her. She was a judge, she was a wife, and she was a prophetess. She could hear from God; she could get a word from God, and the word that she delivered was sure, stable, and solid. God chose Deborah to be a judge at a time when the Canaanites were attacking Israel as part of God’s judgment on Israel, and their 9,000 chariots were sent against Israel. God had a woman up front leading the way, calling the shots, making the decisions, and in a place of power.
On the other end of the spectrum is a woman named Jael. Jael is married to a man who was an Ephraimite, and she is a housewife. Both of them play a strong role in the story. Jael is not a judge; she is not known to be a prophetess. She did not write any books; she did not have any particular obvious power. But yet, at the end of the day, she strikes the final blow that ends the war and destroys the reign of the Canaanites by a common woman, a housewife. That’s good news for you—you don’t have to have a degree, you don’t have to be a graduate, you don’t have to be a CEO, you don’t have to be a president, you don’t have to be a senator. You still have power with God, and Jael represents a woman who’s been overlooked and ignored, but in a time of trouble, God chose her to get a breakthrough. Are you hearing what I’m saying?
There are two men in the story: Barak the Ephraimite and Cicero, the captain of the Canaanite army with his nine thousand chariots and soldiers. War at that time was considered a man’s responsibility; it was leadership. And here God breaks all societal rules. I don’t know who this is for, but the Lord told me to tell you He’s gonna break a rule to bless you. I don’t know whether you can handle that or not, but God said He’s gonna break a rule to bless you. If you’re strong enough, if you’re tough enough to withstand the ridicule of public opinion, God said, «I’m going to put you in a position of influence, and I’m going to break a rule to bless you.»
I’m not just talking to the women; I’m talking to some men in here too—that it looked like all the odds were against you, and it looked like you would never be anything. And if anybody knew where you came from, they’d never understand where you’re going. But God said He’s gonna break a rule to bless you. He’s gonna take you out of the hood and raise you up in a way that would blow your mind. He’s gonna take you from the back row to the front row. The last shall be first, and the tail shall be the head. And God said, «I’m getting ready to switch some things up.» That’s why He’s shaking the world right now, because God is getting ready to switch some things up. And I came to tell you this morning that change is on the way.
Look at your neighbor and say, «Change is on the way! Change is on the way! Change is on the way!» Forgive me for saying this; it might be kind of rude, but I don’t want to come to church if change is not on the way. I don’t want to worship a God that can’t change anything; I don’t want to worship a God that’s just a statue sitting on a wall. I don’t want to worship a God who can’t make a difference in my life. I came to worship a God that could do radical things, things that I cannot do, that can touch things that I cannot touch. I came to worship a God who is a God of miracles, a God of healing, a God of deliverance, a God of power, a yoke-breaking God, a door-opening God, a mountain-moving God, a wave-making God.
When you see me shout, that’s what I’m shouting about! When you hear me holler, that’s what I’m hollering about! When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that He’s done for me, I don’t know about you, but my soul cries out, «Hallelujah!» I don’t want to be in a passive religion, a limp-wristed religion that doesn’t have influence, that doesn’t have impact. That brings me from the gutter most to the uttermost. I want to serve a God that when all of hell has come against me and all the demons are riding on chariots and all of Satan’s horsemen are coming to take me out, I want to serve a God who has the power to strike a blow, and break a yoke, and open up a door, and loose somebody.
I wish I had 30 seconds of crazy praise to fill this house. You see, we really don’t know how to praise God right, because when it comes to praising God, we give Him those cute little praises. We actually make more noise at a football game than we do in a church service. But the Bible said, «Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.» If your God is a great God, He deserves a great praise! I ought to be able to see the greatness of God in how you praise—on your couch, in your living room, sitting in your car, looking at your iPad. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Yes, yes, if He’s done something for you!
Look at your neighbor and say, «He’s greater than that! He’s greater than your dance! He’s greater than your shout! He’s greater than your tambourine! He’s greater than your voice! He’s greater than your leaping!» Oh, if I had the tongues of men and of angels, I still wouldn’t be able to express how great God is to me. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! The story goes that Israel was in trouble, and God raises up this one woman, Deborah, to be a liberator. The oppressed becomes the liberator. God has a sense of humor; He will take your weakness and turn it into strength. He will take the very thing they used against you to open up a door for you. That’s why you ought to stop hiding your weakness because God said, «My strength is made perfect in your weakness.»
I will take the foolish things of this world. Who would have thought that God would raise up a woman in the middle of one of the greatest attacks that Israel had ever experienced, when women were oppressed? Yet, God said, «That’s who I want! I want somebody who’s oppressed! I want somebody they look down on! I want somebody they said would never be anything! I want somebody who had three strikes against them! I want somebody who’s been through hell and hot water so that when I raise you up, they will know it was me and not you that got the job done!»
If I had a witness in this place, I would preach this morning. I feel the presence of God about to take over this place. Of all the millions of people that God could have chosen, and all the powerful, influential, and highly respected people, God chose Deborah. She set up under a palm tree; it is called the Palm of Deborah, and she judged all of Israel with power, integrity, and authority. The judge has become the leader! Imagine that! The oppressed has become the leader! Do you have an imagination that accommodates a reversal in your life of what you’ve been through? Can you believe God that God could reverse your entire story? That’s why I am totally against suicide, because when you kill yourself, you don’t know who you’re killing.
You’re killing your past, but you haven’t met your future. God can do things in your future that will negate everything that happened in your past. I come against the spirit of suicide; it’s based on where you’ve been, but it ain’t got nothing to do with where you’re going. God can raise you higher than you’ve ever been before! And God raised her up, and there, perched under a palm tree, she settled the disputes amongst the people with wisdom, grace, and integrity. And when the time was right, the Lord spoke to her and said, «It’s time to settle up with the Canaanites.» Nine thousand chariots, with nine thousand men, are coming against you, and I want you to attack them—not cry, not faint, not collapse, not give out! God said, «I want you to attack them and bring them down!»
And He told her to get Barak to come and be the captain of her army. She’s the judge; he’s the captain. She chose him. She calls Barak and says, «Barak, I want you to lead the army.» She says, «I’m going to bring them down to Mount Tabor, but when I get them down to the mountain, I want you to be ready with all of your armies to attack them, to destroy them, and to annihilate them.» She was strong, and Barak said, «I will only go if you go with me.» And he said, «If you don’t go with me, I will not go.» And she said, «I’ll go.»
So here you have Barak and Deborah launching a war with the armies of Canaan. Can I preach this thing? And they’re launching a war against the Canaanites. I want to talk to somebody who’s launching a war and you feel overwhelmed. It feels like it’s more against you than it is for you, but I came to tell you something! If God be for you, He’s more than the world against you! You are not in this thing by yourself; God is on your side, and He’s going to bring you out—not just a conqueror, but more than a conqueror! Talk to me, somebody—more than a conqueror! But when Barak said, «I will not go unless you go with me,» and «If you don’t go with me, I will not go,» he was saying no to God because God had called him to lead the army.
At any time God calls you, you don’t say yes based on any condition! If God said do it, you do it! I don’t care who quits; I don’t care who leaves; I don’t care who walks away; I don’t care who gets mad. Let me talk to my leadership here for a minute—away with allowing people to control your department! I don’t care who quits! If God told you to do it, while they’re walking out the door, have somebody else coming in the other door, because the work of God has got to go forward! And the old saying «one monkey will stop the show» isn’t true—can I hear some noise in this place? If you don’t want to go, please don’t hinder me!
I need some strong leaders—some leaders with some spine, with some backbone, and with some guts! I’m tired of people whimpering and crying, and chasing people, and begging people. I ain’t gonna beg you to do anything! If you don’t do it, God’s got somebody else that’ll stand up and get the job done, and get it done with power and glory. I’m gonna find them, and while I’m waiting, I’m gonna do it myself. Check my record! And Deborah prophesied, «Because you have said this, you will do the work, but a woman shall get the credit for bringing the Canaanites to their knees!»
It almost sounds like she is talking about herself because she is fighting beside him, but she is actually referring to a no-name, inconsequential, unthought-of housewife named Jael. Jael wasn’t even on the map, but God was holding her back for such a time as this. These two women, one on the left and one on the right, are the bookends of victory: soft, sensitive, compassionate, and caring—fragrant and romantic. They are both wives and warriors. I call them «velvet gloves.» I would love to say I created the term, but I did not. The truth of the matter is that Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is often credited with first using the expression «an iron fist in a velvet glove» to signify that firmness can be couched with outward gentleness; that you don’t have to run around looking like a rock to be tough; that you don’t have to be hateful, mean, and obnoxious to possess strength. It is possible to have an iron fist in a velvet glove, which is why I call Deborah and Jael velvet gloves. But don’t let the glove fool you; in that glove is an iron fist.
The notion of an iron fist in a velvet glove is an oxymoron—the velvet is as soft as the iron is hard. Somewhere in every person in this room is a velvet glove and an iron fist. If you find it, you can fight your way out of anything the enemy sends against you. Some of you are more acquainted with your velvet glove than your iron fist, while some are more familiar with their iron fist than their velvet glove. Yet both serve a function in securing your victory. The velvet glove is often the approach you want to take because people will underestimate the velvet glove and never see the iron fist coming. If you’re going to make it through this world, you have to be a velvet glove with an iron fist.
Can I preach this thing? An iron fist in a velvet glove means a person who has a gentle, sweet, or unassuming appearance or disposition, but who, in reality, is particularly severe, forceful, and uncompromising. An example used in a sentence is: «Tom is in for it now with his wife. She might seem like a nice lady to us, but she’s an iron fist in a velvet glove.»
I wonder how many people in this room have discovered their iron fist. How many people in this room have been pushed hard enough to find that place within you that won’t break? Maybe there’s someone over in the corner who has been pushed to the wall, and all of a sudden, you discovered that you’re tougher than you thought, stronger than you believed, and capable of more than you imagined. Or perhaps it’s someone over here who got backed into a corner, shoved to the wall, and thought they were going to break, but they didn’t. Hell thought it had you, but it didn’t. You stood up with an iron fist in a velvet glove, yet you still know how to be nice, graceful, and kind. But don’t push me, because behind my velvet glove, I have an iron fist.
I can stand on my own, I can fight back, because I have an iron fist in a velvet glove. Jael, a mere housewife, succeeded after Deborah and Barak had driven 9,000 soldiers down, defeating them all—not one escaped. It was so bad that Sisera had to jump off his chariot and run like a little girl into a tent, choosing the right one. Jael opened the door to the tent and said, «Come on in! Are you thirsty? You want some milk? Come on in and get some rest.» He entered her bed, laid down, and she covered him with a blanket. When he went to sleep, this velvet glove, this soft-spoken woman, this easygoing individual, had enough steel to—wait a minute—no, not a nail; that would be bad. She took a spike used to hold down a tent in a windstorm, pulled it up from the earth, and drove it into his head, nailing his head to the ground.
God says there are some things in your life you just have to nail down. There is stuff you just have to nail; no need for counseling, no need for wrestling with it, no need for talking to it, no need for waiting on it to feel sorry for you. This is a season in your life where you must nail it! If you don’t nail it, it will nail you. I don’t know who I’m preaching to or what you’re going through, but God says He’s going to put your enemy in a vulnerable position for you to nail it. Look at someone and say, «Nail it!» Comment online, «Nail it!» If you get the interview, nail it. If you go out to the house, nail it. If God opens up a door, nail it. Whatever it is that God puts before you, I want you to nail it. And by the way, devil, not in my house! You’re not going to come into my house and do whatever you want, because as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
I want 60 seconds of crazy praise from those who have made up their minds: «I’m going to nail it! I don’t care what it takes; I’m going to nail it! I don’t care what I have to go through; I’m going to nail it! This is my moment, this is my time, this is my opportunity, and this is my chance to get my degree! I don’t care what my age is; I’m going to nail it!» I want you to praise God for nailing the thing that tried to nail you. Open your mouth and give Him some praise! Praise Him on the internet! Praise Him on the livestream! Praise Him on YouTube! Praise Him on Facebook! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise Him right now! Praise Him out loud! Praise Him with your mouth! Praise Him with your feet! Praise Him with your hands! Somebody has an anointing to nail that thing—nail it to the floor! Nail it until it can’t get away! Nail it until it doesn’t move!
I can’t hear you! Open your mouth! Yes, yes! Confess it out loud: «I’m going to nail it!» It’s tough, but I’m going to nail it! It’s bloody, but I’m going to nail it! If I have to work overtime, I’m going to nail it! If I have to take two jobs, I’m going to nail it! If I have to study all night, I’m going to nail it! This is a season where you have to nail it! If you don’t nail it, it’ll nail you! Make up your mind: «I’m going to nail it!» I’m going to nail it to the floor! I need a victory praise— a celebration—for when she nailed Sisera, the war was over. Barak did the fighting, but Jael brought the victory. I’ll fight you; you bring the victory! If you fight, I’ll bring the victory! If two of us agree concerning anything on earth, it shall be done. Your standing here this morning is living proof that if we come into agreement, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Every tongue that rises against you, God will condemn.
So, if you kill the Canaanites, I’ll drive the spike in Sisera’s head. Or if I kill the Canaanites, you’ll drive the spike in Sisera’s head. Either way, we’re not going to stop! We’re not going to quit! We’re not going to back up! We’re not going to give up until we get the victory! Press down, shake it together, and run it over! Press down, shake it together, and run it over! Because we are a steel fist and a velvet glove, and no weapon formed against us shall be able to prosper! I’m talking to you too! I’m talking about your fight, your situation, your circumstance! Whatever devil is fighting you, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and say, «Wait a minute! I’m going to fight back until I nail it! Until I nail it!» Say it! «I’m going to nail it!» Say it again! Say it until you mean it! Say it until it never hears you!
The world hears you say, «Until the enemy hears you, I’m gonna nail it!» Whatever you come against or whatever comes against you, I command you this day, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to nail it. Stop entertaining stuff you won’t nail. If it gets in your tent, nail it. If it lies in your bed, nail it. I don’t care if it’s grief, I don’t care if it’s anger, I don’t care if it’s low self-esteem; it’s time to nail it. You ain’t got time to feel sorry for yourself. This is a moment for you to nail that thing in the name of Jesus. Get whatever you gotta get: get therapy, take counseling, take medicine, read scriptures, say Bible verses, say, «I love Jesus.» Turn around in a circle; I don’t care what you use as a weapon, but fight! Fight! Open your mouth. Never! That is the sound of velvet gloves.
Make some noise! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Out of your family! Out of your daughter! Out of your grandchildren! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly destroyed! Utterly finally destroyed! Utterly! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Where you fight? Where you fight? There! Where you’re fighting? Where you’re fighting? Where’s your fighter? Where’s your fighters? Where’s your fighters? Where’s your fighter? Where’s your father? Where’s your planet? Where’s your fight? Where’s your fight?
Man, that’s my prophecy to you this week! As you go into this week, it is going to… this week! As you step into this week, as you step into this week, as you step into this week, you’re going to nail it till you utterly destroy him. For the first time, I began to realize all my life I wondered, «Why did He call me? Why didn’t you get one of those talented people, one of those gifted people, one of those good people? Why? Why did you?» I suddenly began to realize that He chose me because He turns weakness into strength. The Bible said He did it with Samson; He did it with Jephthah; He did it with Barak; He did it with Deborah; He did it with Jael. And you mean He won’t do it with you?