TD Jakes - Angels in Your Wilderness
In the Gospel of St. Mark, chapter one, verses 9-13, we will find our assignment for this morning. Thank you, Jesus. Mark 1:9-13. I may read another text too before I get too lost in it; just a brief text. And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And straightway, coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And there came a voice from Heaven saying, «Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.» And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness for 40 days, tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered unto him.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold that text right there. We have a wilderness, we have beasts, we have a weary Savior, and we have angels—all of this together in the same sentence. Do you think it’s strange because you have so many things going on, good and bad, simultaneously in the same space? That’s where the glory of the Lord is revealed. This morning, by the grace of God, I want to talk to you for just a little while about angels in your wilderness. Look at your neighbor like you know what you’re talking about; look them right eyeball to eyeball, fake eyelash to fake eyelash, lip gloss to lip gloss, glory to God, and tell them, «I got angels in my wilderness!»
Yeah, I got angels in my wilderness! You better be careful fooling with me, 'cause I got angels in my wilderness! I’m not in this by myself; I got angels in my wilderness! I got angels in my wilderness, and if you don’t help me, they’ll help me; and if you don’t come get me, they’ll come get me; and if you don’t protect me, they’ll protect me! I got angels in my wilderness!
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on us today as we open up the oracles of God. Open your mouth, clear your throat, and speak to us, oh God. Speak so clearly and so succinctly that we are mesmerized by the profundity of your truth, the relevance of your elevation. The healing words should flow into our souls, our spirits, our families, our finances, and our emotions. God, we will not hold any place back from you getting to. If you need to correct us, correct us; if you need to turn us around, turn us around; if you need to chasten us, chasten us. But please, sir, don’t leave us, for without you we are nothing. Have your way, great God that you are, in Jesus' name. Somebody shout amen! You may be seated in the presence of God.
Yes, it is important that we look at this with a very clear understanding of contextualization because when people step into the middle of your story, they misdiagnose who you are, and they make false assumptions based on brief statements. We’re living in an age now where people will take a snippet of a sermon and write an argument against a snippet, based on one statement you put out, and they say they know you by a phrase, as if you could be reduced to a sentence. See, the quickest way to get into heresy is to take a text out of context.
Now, I’m all for technology, but sometimes when people text me, I have to pick up the phone and call them because sometimes you meant it in one way, but I read it in another way. And before I respond, I read it. I just want to be sure—did you really mean for me to go off like I’m getting ready to go off? You know, I just want to be sure. Let’s set some rules straight, 'cause I might have read it in the wrong tone, and most of the time I was wrong because it is difficult to deliver sensitive information in a text. A text does not give you context.
So, as we read this brief statement—these four verses of Scripture in the Gospel of St. Mark, chapter 1—I’m not sure that this text of Scripture gives us context. Jesus wasn’t born in the wilderness, neither did he grow up in the wilderness, okay? Nor was he baptized in the wilderness. Yet he finds himself in the wilderness. I have been in the same spot that Jesus was in. I had the privilege years ago of going to Jerusalem, and not only going to Jerusalem—which is amazing—but going down to the Jordan and across the Jordan River into the country of Jordan. And when you cross the Jordan River, you are standing in what is now currently called Jordan, and you’re on your way to Amman, but you have to go through the wilderness to get there. Little did I know that the same wilderness I was standing in is the wilderness in which Jesus was tempted; it is also the place where Elijah comes, having crossed the Jordan to be caught up in the chariot of fire.
So, the history of the text goes archaeologically deep into the soil of the same space. A lot of things happen in the same geographical location, so in the same place that God sends a chariot down from heaven to evacuate Elijah out of the mundane ritualistic world, it is in that same spot where he allows the Spirit to carry Jesus to be tempted. Have you ever had a spot that provoked many different memories? A house you used to live in, and you can remember good times and bad times? A person you grew up with, and you remember something nice and something not so nice? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Spaces are complicated, and the Spirit has brought Him to this place, but I don’t want to take the text out of context.
It is important that we understand that Jesus has dropped off the scene for at least 18 years. We know nothing, and it is funny to me because the Bible gives us the highlights of the life of Jesus and not the mundane moments. The hardest parts of walking with God are through the days of nothingness; they’re neither hot nor cold, neither good nor bad. It’s just—"I just woke up, I just made it through another day.» What you doing? Nothing! You know what you’re doing? This, this, this, this stuff I gotta do. Can I stay with God through days of nothingness? Eighteen years that are obscure to us, where Jesus is just a non-name carpenter’s son, moving about, growing up from 12 to 30 years old in total obscurity. He doesn’t pick up again until this new, highly successful, and accomplished, disruptive thinker, John. I call him a disruptor because he broke all of his father’s rules and won doing it. He didn’t dress like a priest; he didn’t eat like a priest; he didn’t function in the synagogue. He was in the wilderness, eating wild locusts and honey and dressed in camel’s hair.
Don’t be scared to be different. Different does not disqualify greatness; in fact, it actually confirms greatness. Nobody writes books about ordinary people. Go to the library—you won’t see any books written about people who weren’t disruptive or in some way extraordinary. You have to understand that Jesus spends 18 years that we know nothing about, and then at 30 years old, he’s in the crowd, not on the stage; he’s in the crowd, not on the program; he’s in the back row of the crowd coming to hear his cousin John. He comes down to the Jordan, and all the eyes are on John, and none of them are on Jesus, because John the Baptist is the new hot thing, and you know how we love the new hot thing. I tell young preachers that when you start a church, you’re only new once. You’re only new once, so while you’re new, you might as well rock it! Go all the way with it, 'cause as soon as people get used to you, they start taking you for granted. «Oh, I won’t go this week; I’ll go next week. I’ll check it out later. I’ll check it out online if I get to it. I’ll come to it.» That’s what happens in any relationship; familiarity breeds contempt.
If you want to stay fresh, stay back. That’s right! Because if you overexpose yourself, no matter how good you are at what you do, people get used to you. You can sing the paint off the wall, but if you sing all the time, they get used to your riffs and runs. And the person they shouted about today, they ignore tomorrow. You can be the greatest wife in the world and celebrated for the first few years, but after a while, they get used to it and want to know, «Are there any new tricks?» So save some. Don’t spend everything in the first week! Hallelujah! Come on, somebody! Don’t spend everything in the first week! Don’t tell everything in the first week because you got to keep it fresh. You got to update; you got to remain interesting. You got to keep reading; you got to keep developing yourself. Because once people get used to you, they walk past you, they ignore you. They walked past Jesus to get to John because John was the new thing. He was bad; he was disruptive; he was dressed differently. People were coming to check him out, and while John is baptizing in the Jordan, nobody is talking about Jesus!
You better go make some shoes somewhere, make a table or a chair somewhere, push past Jesus trying to get to John. Often we push past the greater trying to get to the lesser because it takes time to fulfill and reveal greatness, and when time has not exposed who you really are, people shove you to the side trying to get to something that is less than what’s down inside of you. And you got to be okay with it 'cause that’s a test too. Obscurity is a test too. Being ignored is a test too. Being treated as ordinary is a test too, to make sure that your ego is low enough that when God exalts you, you won’t start worshiping yourself. He’ll let people push past you and say, «How you like me now?» 'Cause He doesn’t want you to be ego-driven; He wants you to be Spirit-led, and you can’t be Spirit-led and ego-driven.
So God allows people to walk past you. Can you imagine walking past the water-walking Jesus? Can you imagine walking past the dead-raising Jesus? Can you imagine walking past the Jesus who turned water into wine? Can you imagine who you might have walked past this morning? And Jesus does not stop them from walking past Him. He doesn’t whip out His business cards; He doesn’t start performing side-show miracles to get on their itinerary. I like Him 'cause He’s got class. There’s a difference between education and class; there’s a difference between money and class; there’s a difference between a great vocabulary and class. I’m not sure you can teach class. Jesus had class.
Oh my God, I think I’m still on the roll! I feel like preaching up in here! If y’all mess with me this morning, it’s going to be church up in this place! I feel something flowing in this place right now. I want to celebrate all the people who have kept their class. It wasn’t that you weren’t lonely, but you kept your class. It wasn’t that you weren’t qualified, but you had class. It was that God wasn’t going to use you in a mighty way, but you held on to your integrity. Job lost everything, but he held on to his integrity. Without your integrity, you’ve got nothing. Your integrity is determined by what you want to do and what you won’t do.
There are some things that I’m just not going to do. I’m just not going to do that! If I go broke, I’m not going to do that. If I have to sell the car, I’m not going to do that. If I have to sell the shoes, I’m not going to do that. I’m just not going to do it. Why? 'Cause I think too much of myself. You don’t know me, but He does. And all of a sudden, John the Baptist looks up with his feet standing in the Jordan River—in the same Jordan River that Joshua’s feet had stood in, the same Jordan that went hither and thither, where the children of Israel had walked across on dry ground. John is standing in that same Jordan, and instead of him pulling out a rock, he’s about to reveal The Rock, the Rock of Ages, the Rock in a weary land, the Rock in a sure place. I’m talking about Jesus! Everybody’s looking at John, but John looks up and he sees Jesus.
And how you manage greatness has a lot to do with how you end up. A lot of people will not shine a light on anybody who might make them look less. Let me hear you! So John says, «Behold! Don’t keep looking at me; behold! There’s something greater than me; behold! The one you walked past; behold! The one you overlooked; behold! The one you ignored! He is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world!» And the Bible says the crowd parts. Jesus goes from obscurity to notoriety in a step.
To take years, you’re just going to step into what God has ordained. The steps have already been ordered; don’t worry about the stage. Pray for the step. If you make the step, the stage will take care of itself. Too many people are in love with the stage and not the steps, so they get on the stage and can’t stay there because they haven’t taken the steps that qualify them for it. Don’t pray for the stage; pray for the steps. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. I feel something in this place; I feel something in this place. Something’s about to break loose here, and Lord, if it isn’t cousin Jesus coming from obscurity to notoriety.
The Bible says that Jesus came down to the Jordan, and John didn’t even want to baptize Him. For my new members, this is the déjà vu moment. This is the first time we have seen Jesus and John in the same space since they were in Mary and Elizabeth. There’s something familiar about them standing in fluid again. The last time Jesus and John were together, John got filled with the Holy Ghost while he was still in his mother’s womb. Good God Almighty! In the wet place, in the birthing place, in the reshaping place, in the rebuilding place—it’s familiar, but it’s not familiar. It’s the same, but it’s not the same. It’s déjà vu! Somebody in this room, what God is doing in your life is familiar but not familiar. Everything in your past has prepared you for what you’re about to do now. It is the same, but it’s not the same.
They’re standing in the fluid again, and just like before, the Holy Ghost shows up. The Holy Ghost shows up! It showed up the first time and leaped in Elizabeth’s womb, and John was filled with the Holy Ghost. This time, it descends like a dove. It descends like a dove, and the Bible says that the heavens opened up. Woo! Hold up for a minute, Lord! Please lead my steps to the place where the heavens open up. Hey, Jesus, if you don’t mind, lead my steps to the place where the heavens open up! I don’t want to shout in front of closed heavens. I don’t want to give in front of closed heavens. I don’t want to work in front of closed heavens. Put me in the position where the heavens open up. They’re only going to open in one spot, so I have to be in place when they open.
Excuse me, I don’t have time to argue with you; I’ve got to get to this place. I’ve got to get to this place, 'cause they’re only going to open in one spot, and I must be in the spot. Jesus, Jesus comes to the spot. Glory to God! Nudge your neighbor and say, «I’m close to the spot.» I know I’m close to the spot because hell is nervous. I know I’m close to the spot because it’s tougher than it’s ever been. I know I’m close to the spot because my emotions are all over the place. I know I’m close to the spot because the enemy is trying to discourage me, and he wouldn’t be trying to discourage me if I weren’t close to the spot. I’m online this morning 'cause I’m close to the spot, and God wants to give me some directions.
Joy may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. God is trying to tell you you’re getting close to the spot! Don’t give place to the devil; don’t give territory to the devil; don’t give up your spot to the devil. Stand on your spot! Look at somebody and say, «This is the spot where it goes down! This is the spot where the heavens open up! This is the spot where the demons get stirred up! This is the spot where the yolks are broken! This is the spot where the glory comes down! This is the spot where the Father speaks!» Somebody shout, «This is the spot!» Stay with me; ain’t nothing better than distraction! Stay with me; this is the spot, this is the spot. Look at your neighbor and say, «This is the spot.»
See, you’ve got to know when you’re in the spot, because if you don’t know what you have, you won’t know if you lose it. When you know you’re in the spot, you can’t let any devil in hell move you out of your spot. This is the spot. The devil can’t have no stage here! This is the spot. If you’re looking for entertainment, you better go down the street; this is the spot! This is the spot; this spot is occupied! I got this spot covered! Camera over here, I got this spot covered. This is the spot; I know you want it, but this is the spot. I know you’re trying to take it away from me, but this is the spot. I know you’re trying to be a sideshow in my theater, but this is the spot. I’mma hold it down! I’mma hold it right here! I got it right here; I’m going to hold it right now!
The enemy is after your spot. Somebody say, «Hold it down!» I’ve been around too long to give up my spot. I’ve been preaching too hard to give up my spot. You don’t do something for 46 years and let a sideshow take your spot. The devil is a liar! I paid for this spot! I cried for this spot! I studied for this spot! I labored for this spot! Stop! Somebody say, «Hold it down!» This is the spot; watch this. This is the spot where everything changes. This is the spot where obscurity turns to notoriety. This is the spot where His purpose is revealed. This is the spot where the yokes break. This is the spot, check this out, of affirmation. He gets affirmed in this spot, not just by God but by John. You need somebody else to affirm you other than yourself.
If you’re the only person who thinks you’re great, when John pointed Him out, it put Him on the map; it made Him relevant. John took his influence and directed it toward Jesus when he said, «Behold the Lamb of God.» He told his crowd to watch Him. That’s a turning point! You have to be a pretty big person to use your influence to make somebody else look good. Very few people will do that; they’d rather write you a check than give up some influence. This is the spot where Jesus is discovered by the crowd. This is the spot where the heavens open up and the Holy Spirit floated down. It wasn’t a dove, but that’s as close to a metaphor as we can use to describe how the Holy Spirit descends.
The Holy Spirit is gentle; it’s not out of control. If you’ve got a spirit that has you out of control, it’s not God. God’s Spirit is a gentle spirit. It doesn’t take 20 people to hold you when it’s God. God’s Spirit is a gentle spirit. The writer said, «I need a metaphor to describe it,» because I can’t explain how soft it felt. One minute we were just singing a song, and then we don’t even know which verse it fell in, but the Spirit just descended like a dove. I started out praying out of my intellect, and all of a sudden the Holy Spirit just took over. It descended like a dove. I can’t teach it because I can’t control it. I can’t describe it; I can’t control it. I didn’t do it; I didn’t manufacture it.
The Holy Spirit descended like a dove. It is a place of affirmation; it is a place where He shuts down your haters. It is a place where even your critics have to admit, «That boy’s got some oil on him.» It is that place where they have to recognize you can do what you do like you do. I’m not just talking about preaching; whatever it is you do—if it’s surgery, if it’s medicine, if it’s pulling teeth—there’s something that God gave you that you can do like you do, unlike anyone else. They went to the same school, they took the same classes, they took the same courses, but God put something down inside of you. You have an instinct, not just information; you’ve got an instinct that causes you to stand head and shoulders above others.
It’s because the Holy Spirit descended on you like a dove. This is the spot! And if that weren’t enough, His Father affirmed Him. His Father, come on fellas, His Father said, «That’s my boy! Boy, you’re bad! You’ve got the juice; you’re the one! Look at you, looking like your daddy, expressing your daddy on the earth.» No man has seen the Father at any time, save the Son, but the Son has revealed Him. Can I teach this class? So He says, «This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.» So there is no question as to whether God is pleased with Him. Yet, the same Spirit that anointed Him led Him into the wilderness. The reason we must put the text in context is that sometimes you find yourself in the wilderness, and you think you did something wrong.
This wilderness is not your fault; it is not your punishment; it is your preparation! This is the place where God proves the authenticity of what He said in the Jordan, because God says, «I’m not going to call you something that you can’t manifest, so I’m going to lead you into the wilderness.» But don’t walk into it feeling punished. Oh, that’s better than y’all shouting! Yeah! The wilderness has been designed to set you into a category of exceptionalism. The wilderness is where I will use you to teach Satan you’re not like the first Adam, and his three tricks that he used in the garden will not work on you! Satan’s three tricks—this is all he has in his bag: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life—that’s all he’s got in his bag! It may have a different dress on it; it may be wearing jeans; it may say «swag,» but all of it is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.
That’s all that’s in the world! We get hung up on details, but God is talking about categories! The Bible said He was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin. It doesn’t make any difference to your body whether you ate banana pudding or chocolate cake; it’s still calories! Now we get into fights: how dare you like chocolate? I like banana pudding! That’s detail, something God doesn’t care about! It’s the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life! They were in the garden with Eve when she saw that it was pleasant to the eyes; when she saw it was good for food—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. That’s how we all fail—behind those three things.
Now the second man Adam has to face those same three things to pass! So he is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. What I want you to gather from this is I may be going through a wilderness, but that does not mean that I am not His beloved Son in whom I am well pleased! God’s favor does not exempt you from famines! See, you keep saying, «I thought I had the favor of God! If I had the favor of God, I wouldn’t have lost my job! If I had the favor of God, I wouldn’t have gone through this crisis! If I had the favor of God, I wouldn’t have this lack.»
The two things have nothing to do with each other; this is not punishment; it’s preparation! So He led Him into the wilderness 'cause God has history with this wilderness! He caught up Elijah in this wilderness. He taught Joshua how to lead in this wilderness. He established Israel as a nation in this wilderness! God has history in this wilderness! He met Rahab in this wilderness! God is a wilderness God; He is a rock in the wilderness! He’ll put streams in the wilderness! God is a God of the wilderness! You’re looking for Him in the sanctuary, but God hangs out in the wilderness! I heard Him say, «I am a present help in trouble!» If you aren’t in trouble, you aren’t in God, because God is a present help in trouble!
I want to talk to my people in trouble right now. If you’re in trouble, you’re not in it by yourself, because God is a present help! Watch this: He led Him into the wilderness to be tempted, to be tested, to be tried, to be proven—not as though God didn’t know, but so that all of His spectators would know that He is legit! They know you’re legit by how you handle pain! If you can handle power but can’t handle pain, you’re not fit for the kingdom! The Bible said if you put your hand to the plow and look back, you’re not fit for the kingdom! Stand up to it! And He went out there and fasted for 40 days. Now look: I can’t imagine. I’m going to be honest; obviously, I have not fasted for 40 days, and respectfully, you don’t look like you have!
See, I love this new generation of church. The old church I grew up in, when we went on a fast, you just had water! Y’all fast got hours like it works a job. «I’m fasting! I’m on the Ezekiel fast; I’m on the Daniel fast; I fast till 6:00! I fast from TV; I fast from porn!» What kind of fast is that? «I fast from Facebook; I fast from Twitter!» Y’all got these nice little fasts. We had the kind of fast where your jaws were sunken, and you were hoping you didn’t have bad breath and were scared to eat a search because a church, come on somebody! When we went on a fast, it was a fast. It wasn’t a fast from vegetables; it wasn’t a fast from Big Macs; it wasn’t a fast from fast food. It was a real fast. It was a jaw-sickening fast. It was an eye-bulging fast. It was a fast where you came to church but felt weak.
It was a fast where you wanted to dance, but if I couldn’t say a word, that’s where that came from. I just waved my hand because when you were fasting, you couldn’t dance. Jesus fasted for 40 days to tell his flesh, «You will not control me,» to say to his flesh, «There is something more powerful than your urges,» to say to his flesh, «I won’t fall where Adam fell.» Though I feel what Adam feels, I feel it enough to be touched by the feeling of your infirmities, but I’m strong enough to win where you lose. Because if I’m going to give you my victory and take on your failure, I must maintain my victory or all we will do is exchange sin. That’s why you make a mistake when you come against the devil in your righteousness, because your righteousness is as filthy rags. You have to confront the devil with the righteousness of God.
That’s why Paul teaches that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He is my righteousness; I am complete in him. I will never be complete in myself. It seems to me that the devil should have attacked him while he was fasting, but he knew Jesus had too much integrity to break his fast, so he waited until the fast was over, when it was legal for him to eat. Wow! He said, «There is no biblical reason why you can’t have some food, so if thou be the Son of God, just have some lunch, man! Let’s have some lunch.» «We ain’t got to go to the deli; turn this stone to bread. Use your power to satisfy your need. Turn something that isn’t into something you want.» Y’all are quiet now because some of y’all are sitting by a stone. Some of you knew that wasn’t bread when you married it. You knew there was no bread, but you said, «I’m going to turn it into bread.»
You can’t turn a stone into bread. You can’t turn stones into bread. Jesus said, «You will not tempt me to see stones as bread.» Are you tempted to see stones as bread? For the record, stones are hard, bread is soft. Have you married something hard and tried to make it soft? That is the temptation that comes on you after the fast. After you’ve spent yourself, you can’t trust yourself not to see stones as bread. He says, «Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.» Then, he takes him up to a high place, and when he goes up to a high place, he shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Now, I was at that high place; it’s Mount Nebo—it’s the same high place that Moses went to, to see the Promised Land. He couldn’t go; Mount Nebo is high enough that you can see for miles.
You can see Jordan and Jerusalem. Oh, you can see Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from Mount Nebo; you can see a lot of land, but you can’t see all the kingdoms. So he took him to a high place and showed him beyond Sidelines what he would give him. He showed him Jerusalem, the city that Moses was happy just to see. «I may not get there with you, but I got to see it.» He knew what Jesus wanted before he showed it to him because Satan will never tempt you with something you don’t like. Quick story: I was going through a test, and this woman was calling us all the time. A long time ago, years in our marriage, you know the story, so don’t tighten up. At 2:00 in the morning, 3:00 in the morning, she said, «I was going to die, her husband was going to die, and we were going to get married.»
All our children were going to die, and we were going to get married, and it was aggravating; it was nerve-wracking. I called a spiritual mentor and said, «What do you think about this?» She asked, «Are you attracted to this woman?» I said, «No, not at all. Do you want this woman?» «Absolutely not.» She said to me, «Don’t you think that if the devil was going to tempt you, he would tempt you with the woman you wanted?» Then she asked me, «What do you feel when she calls?» I said, «Rage.» She said, «That’s the temptation.»
So the next time she calls, I want you to resist rage and worship. I’m just telling this to help somebody. Instead of getting enraged and tossing threats at each other and threatening to run over her with the car and stuff like that, because I was growing in the Lord— I was growing; I was growing—I wasn’t there yet, so don’t judge me. When she called again, I said, «Oh, I bless you, Lord! I bless you! I bless your holy name. There’s nobody like you, Lord. You’re holy in the earth. I give you glory and honor, and I give you praise, and I lift you up.» She started screaming, «You might be fighting the right devil with the wrong weapon.» Jesus is at the end of his fast, and the enemy is now tempting him with the pride of life. By the way, you are offering Jesus what’s already his, because the earth is the Lord’s, the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein.
How are you going to offer the bread to the Bread when he is the Bread of Life? The enemy is always offering you stuff you already have, counting on you not knowing it to need it. Jesus has been living life, and let me tell you what living life is: living life is like going to Six Flags. It’s up and down; you’re laughing and crying, screaming and threatening, «Let me off! I want off this thing!» That’s what I do; I threaten him: «Let me off! I don’t care that it’s small; let me off! If you don’t want me to throw up on you, you better let me off!» You don’t get to get out of it because the ride gets rough. Jesus' first lesson to us is to teach us that one moment you’re being affirmed by man and God, and the next moment you’re in the wilderness in the fast of your life, and that’s normal.
One moment you’re talking to your Father, and the next moment you’re fighting with your devil, and that’s normal. One moment you’re reconciling with your friend, and the next moment you’re by yourself. That’s life; that’s normal. Jesus exemplifies faith in transition. You keep waiting for faith to stop the movement; you’ve got to have faith in the movement. Life is going to do what life is going to do, and it doesn’t mean that you don’t have faith, and it doesn’t mean that God is judging you just because you’re in a wilderness. By the way, a wilderness is a dry place; very few things grow there.
A wilderness is a place of isolation; a wilderness is a place of unpredictable temperatures. It is hotter than fire during the day, and it is ice cold at night. You can’t dress for it; you can’t prepare for it; you have to survive it. Some of you are in a wilderness. You’re living in a city, but you’re in a wilderness. You’ve got a nice condo, but you’re in a wilderness. You’ve got two kids and a dog, but you’re in the wilderness. You are in a wilderness right now because nothing is growing, and nothing is moving, and it is dry, and you are alone, and you are wondering, «Where is God who opened up the heavens last month?» Now that I’m in the wilderness, and that’s why I had to preach this message, because we only see God in the magnificent; we don’t see God in the mundane. But God reveals himself in the mundane wilderness places of your life. Does anyone need this?
You can see God when the choir is singing and everybody’s shouting; you can see God real good. But you can’t see God when you’re driving home from a job you’ve lost. You can’t see God when the doctor says there’s a lump in your breast. You can’t see God when the principal says, «We’re putting your child out of school,» and you have no place to put him. You needed him to go to school because it was good for him, but it was good for you too. And now you’ve got this crumb snatcher at home not doing anything, and nobody to take care of him, and his actions have made your life complicated. Talk to me, somebody! Have you ever had somebody’s life make your life complicated, and you’re trying to figure out what you’re going to do? Where is God in my wilderness?
And by the way, the fast is over, so why am I under attack now? You bring me up here and show me all the kingdoms— the lust of the eye that you will give me if I just bow to you. But it is written that I shall only serve the Lord my God, and I will have no other gods before Him. So though I’m hungry, and though I’m weak, and though I will weep over Jerusalem, I will not bow. Watch this! And so the Bible says that as Jesus experienced in the wilderness, continuing to be weak from the fast but not falling, he is now against the rocks. He is now against the rocks!
Now, everybody won’t understand that phrase, «against the rocks,» but Jesus is now against the rocks. I’m against the rocks! I can’t walk any further; I can’t talk any further; I can’t pray any louder. And one writer says that Jesus is up against the rocks. Watch, you in the presence of beasts! The beasts are waiting on him to die because we see him as Savior, but the beasts see him as dinner. See, you got to understand that you see yourself as a person, but many people see you as an opportunity, and they are waiting to catch you against the rocks.
So Jesus is against the rocks, and the wild beasts are just waiting on him to pass out. And then the Bible says that the angels came and ministered unto him. The angels didn’t say anything when he was on the mountain. The angels didn’t say anything while he was fasting. The angels didn’t say anything while he was tempted, but when the beasts got ready to devour him— the reason I like this text is I know what it is to be against the rocks and know that the beasts are waiting on me, and they see me like dinner. I know what it’s like to see the glare, the red glare of the eyes of the enemy saying, «I got you where I want you, and I’m going to take you out.» I know what it’s like for the enemy to come at the most inconvenient time when I’m at my tiredest, my weakest, and I’m hungry and I’ve been fasting.
I know what it’s like for the enemy to come at the most vulnerable moment in your life and say, «I’m coming in to kill.» But I also know what it’s like for the angels to come in and rescue me out of stuff. I know what it’s like that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. I know what it’s like for God to show up in the moment of your calamity, for the Bible said that the angels of the Lord encamp around those that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. And I want to tell you right now, your angels are on the way! I know you’re tired; I know you’ve been up against the rocks. I know it’s been harder than it should have been; I know you’re out of food and strength, and friends and fellowship, and I know your life looks schizophrenic—that it’s the best of times and the worst of times.
But your angels are on the way, and if you get this out of the message, you got the whole message. God is not going to see His children up against the rocks and not rescue them. We have a God that will send angels coming at you in every direction, and in case you don’t believe it, let me get some witnesses. The reason the car wreck didn’t kill you is because the angels covered you. The reason you got by with stuff that other people drowned in is because the angels covered you. Let me go a little bit higher: the reason you got the job wasn’t your degree. There were people who had more credentials, but they didn’t have more favor. When God gets ready to minister to you, He will minister to you, and the reason you are here right now is because the angels are in your wilderness. I can’t get you out the wilderness, but I can’t get your angels out either.
I want you to know that you can learn whatever state you’re in to still be content. Whether I’m in the Jordan, whether I’m on the mountain, whether I’m in the wilderness, the one consistent thing is that the angels are always there. You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying, but the angels are wrapping all around you right now. I’m glad if you want to wear a mask. I’m glad if you got on PPP. I’m glad if you got on special clothes, I don’t care what you have on; your greatest force field is that the angels of the Lord encamp around you. I don’t want to insult you, but the reason you haven’t lost your mind is not because you didn’t experience trauma.
When your mind was coming unglued, the angels of the Lord encamped round about you. When your enemy was glaring at you and seeking your position, it was the angel of the Lord who went into the boardroom and got your job back. If there’s anybody in here who ought to give God praise, it’s those people who have angels in their wilderness. Yes, yes, yes, yes! You go ahead and shout because you have on Gucci shoes, but I’m going to shout because I have angels in the wilderness. You go ahead and shout because you just got married, but I’m going to shout because I have angels in the wilderness. You go ahead and shout because you have a four-bedroom house, but I’ll stay in this one-bedroom efficiency suite and give God the glory because I’m never by myself.
You go ahead and shout because you’re fine and wonderful, but I’m shouting because I’m healthy and covered by the blood. You go ahead and shout because you have a corner office; I’m working from my house, but I’m still giving God praise because every time the devil thinks he has me, God sends angels into my wilderness. I want you to take 30 seconds and praise Him until the angels know that you know that God is there. Yes, yes, yes! I’m praising Him because I’m recognizing I was never by myself. Clap your hands and give God the glory!
Look at seven people and tell them, «I have angels; I have angels. Don’t mess with me; I have angels!» I have angels, I have angels, I have angels all around me. I have angels watching my house. I have angels watching my car. I have angels watching my mind. I have angels watching my peace. I have angels watching my joy. I have angels covering for me. I thank You for my angels! Hallelujah! He sent angels; He sent angels. Sometimes they look like people; sometimes they don’t look like anything I could see, but God sent angels to rescue me. To God be the glory! To God be the glory! To God, to God, to God be the glory for the things He’s done! To God be the glory. My story shouldn’t end up like this, but to God be the glory. They tried to eat me for dinner, but to God be the glory.
I thought I couldn’t make it, but to God be the glory. As I close today, I’m just trying to make you aware of how blessed you are, how good God has been to you, and how you didn’t get through just because you were smart. Sometimes stuff was glaring at you that you didn’t even know was glaring at you. In the presence of beasts, God bless you. In the presence of enemies, God bless you. In the presence of haters, God bless you. In the presence of envy, God bless you. In the presence of tricks, God bless you. In the presence of witchcraft, God bless you. In the presence of people trying to overthrow you, God bless you. In the presence of rumors, God bless you. In the presence of office politics, God bless you.
In the presence of people playing games, God bless you. I pray to somebody in the presence of all hell breaking loose, God bless you! And what God is trying to figure out is how you can stand there with your lips glued together and act like I am not good to you when I’ve brought you all this way by my right hand and my holy arm. If nobody else praises me in this building, I have done too much in your life for you not to give me praise. They might know how good I am, but I know you know how good God is! Good job, good job! I was watching one of these crazy television shows where they do crazy stuff like jump out of helicopters with chains wrapped around them or open their mouths and eat worms, and there’s a disclaimer on the show, «Don’t try this on your own.»
I want to say to you this morning, as I close, «Don’t try this. Don’t try this. Now, now, don’t try this just because you came in at the time I was on the mountain. Don’t try this on your own. Mountains are made out of valleys. Don’t try this because you came in and you saw the text, but you didn’t see the context. Don’t try this because of three years of fame after 18 years of silence. All right? You think you’re going to reach past the 18 and get to the three? If you reach past the 18 and get the three, you can’t stand the pressure that comes with the three. It’s the 18 of being ignored that gets you ready for what God is going to do next.
Everybody stand to your feet. Do you feel me? Do you feel me this morning? Do you feel me online? Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? Don’t try this on your own. I was watching— I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I was watching this show, and they had people get up on a helicopter and they fell backward. You’re supposed to keep your back straight and your head go through the water. If you bent your back, the water would feel like concrete; you might pass out or break your neck. The first thing I knew was that I didn’t want to be on that show. Yeah, that’s the first thing I knew. The second thing I came to understand is that only a certain type of person is inclined to take certain kinds of risks, and I wasn’t going to be jealous of something I’m not equipped for. So stop envying what God gave somebody else, and only appreciate what God has equipped you for. Am I preaching? Amen!
Say, „I can’t do what you do. I love you, but I can’t do what you do. If I could do what you do, I would have done it, and there’s no need for me to be here trying to do it now if I didn’t do it before.“ Now, I probably can’t do that—not on the field, not even on the dance floor—but just because I don’t have what you have doesn’t mean I don’t have something. So the reason I have the grace to let him be him is that I’m happy being me. When you learn how to be happy being who God created you to be, you’ll be free.
Listen to me good. Let me tell you why it’s not working out for you right now. It’s not that you go through wildernesses; we go through all the same wildernesses. That’s not the problem. I’m not trying to say if you come to Jesus, your wildernesses are over. It wasn’t over for Jesus, so it’s not going to be over for you.
How can I take a Jesus who went through a wilderness and teach a gospel that denies wilderness? Wilderness comes to everybody, but angels only come to those who fear Him. To fear means to reverence. People who reverence God have angels, and I’m going to tell you right now, life will always bring its wilderness. It will bring it to young people; it will bring it to older people; it will bring it to white people; it will bring it to black people; it will bring it to brown people; it will bring it to rich people. Quit idolizing rich people. If I just had money, everything would be all right! I know lots of crazy rich people; the people I know who are rich are as crazy as bedbugs in a bottle of rum. Wilderness comes to everybody, but angels only come to those whom the Father sends them.