TD Jakes - Holding Patterns
So God doesn’t just want you to have a spiritual experience with Him and be out of line in other areas of your life. He says, «I wish above all things that you prosper.» Somebody shout «prosper» and «be in good health, even as your soul does prosper.» The stronger your soul gets, the more God wants your resources to come into balance and alignment, so you’re not stressed out about stuff. And somebody’s amen, the real folks said, «Amen,» because my God shall supply all of my needs, all of my customers, all my manufacturers, all my distributions, all my contracts, all my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I don’t care what’s going on in the economy or what’s going on in the country. I’m in the spirit, and it’s done in the spirit. Say «Amen,» somebody.
This is Palm Sunday, and whenever I think of Palm Sunday, I think of it as if I were a six-year-old. When I walked into the service and entered the building, I almost lifted up my lapel for somebody to put a little cross on my lapel because every Palm Sunday in the church I grew up in, they put a little cross made out of sheaves on your lapel. This is Palm Sunday, but it’s about more than laying down sheets before Christ. This is the beginning of the holiest week of the year. I was watching before I left the house how the Pope, who had been sick and had some sort of bronchitis, got out of the hospital and immediately went out to pray for the masses of people, fresh out of the hospital.
This is Holy Week. It’s no accident that you’re here during Holy Week, a time of change, transformation, and new beginnings. I want you to understand that I don’t assume everyone in the room is a Bible scholar or understands church. As we delve into the text today, I have the challenge of feeding the mature and the newly converted, but by God’s grace, we will get there. I have preached on Palm Sunday for 46 years, and I have seen the scripture upside down, sideways, and crisscross. Yet, when I looked at it, I saw something new.
Mark 11:1 states, «And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent forth two of his disciples, saying unto them, 'Go your way into the village over against you; and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him: and straightway he will send him hither.'» Jesus starts out the week talking about the colt, and they went their way and found the colt tied by the door, outside in a place where two ways met, and they loosed him. Certain of them that stood there said unto them, «What do ye, loosing the colt?»
They said unto them even as Jesus had commanded, and they let them go. Whoo! God’s getting ready to let you go, Jesus! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! They brought the colt to Jesus and cast their garments on him, and he, meaning Jesus, sat upon him. Many spread their garments in the way, and others cut down branches off the trees and strewed them in the way. That’s what the crowd did. They that went before and they that followed cried, saying, «Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!» Can the church say «Amen»? My fascination is to give me that verse where the colt is tied one more time. I think it’s the verse, yeah, yeah, verse four: «And they went their way and found the colt tied by the door, outside in a place where two ways met, and they loosed him.» I want to preach about holding patterns.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us. We endeavor to extrapolate from the text that medicinal power that comes through the unveiling of revelatory truth. We are so grateful for the opportunity to be fed inwardly, to be nourished at a cellular level of the body of Christ until every joint in here, every part of us, every aspect of us is renewed by your presence. Thank you in advance for what you’re going to do. In Jesus' name we pray. Let the people of God shout «Amen.»
You may be seated. I must confess before I begin this message so that I will have the purity of heart and the cleansing that is necessary to articulate the text, that I am not the most patient person in the world. I’m busy. I’ve got places to go and people to see. I’ve got things to do, and I have a schedule that I am very disciplined about, or I wouldn’t be who I am. I don’t write into my schedule time for breakdowns, mishaps, and delays. So if I am to catch a flight, for example, and the plane is delayed, or the crew is delayed, or the captain is delayed, or they put us into a holding pattern, I have to go into prayer. Yes, I have to go into prayer, sometimes completely in tongues, roll my eyes up in my head, and chew on my tongue because I’ve got places to go.
I missed an entire funeral, the whole funeral. I couldn’t get the plane to move and missed the entire funeral. When you’re busy, you get frustrated in holding patterns. So when we talk about holding patterns, we talk about it in relation to aircraft. Putting it in a holding pattern means it might be in the air, circling around until the control tower gives a release for them to land, or they might be on the ground getting ready to take off and can’t take off because they’re in line. Have you ever been in line to take off? Isn’t it shocking how long you can be in line in a holding pattern?
After a while, those peanuts don’t taste salty, and the drink stuff doesn’t taste good. You have eaten all the Oreo cookies that you can stand to eat until you have black stuff in between your teeth, and they’re still on the ground. You get frustrated because you’re in a holding pattern. Yet there are times in our lives when God puts us in a holding pattern. A holding pattern, as if something or someone is in a holding pattern, means they remain in the same state or continue to do the same thing while waiting for something to happen. There’s not a person in this room, regardless of how beautiful they may be, how intellectual they may be, how wealthy they may be, how poor they may be, how young they may be, how old they may be, how brown or light or bright or white or black they may be.
There’s not one of us, though we may appear on the outside as if we are always fluid and moving, the reality is that all of us, at some point in our lives, go through holding patterns that are frustrating. We feel overlooked, and we get tired of waiting for something to happen. There’s a difference between relaxation, which is important for renewal and revitalization. Relaxation is intentional holding, but when my intention is to move and I feel restricted, it produces a different reaction. Though I’m still in the same state, there is an anxiety that builds up in the human spirit that exists in a perpetual obsession of the frustration associated with stagnation.
I’m not moving. I’m not getting anywhere. I thought I’d be married by now. I thought I would have a job by now. I thought I would have my degree by now. Oh, y’all are not talking to me! And I thought things would be better by now. Somebody’s saying, «I thought I’d be married,» and somebody else is saying, «I thought I’d be divorced.» But whatever it is that you’re waiting on, stagnation is irritating whether we’re stagnated by our own mindsets or our attitudes, we self-sabotage ourselves, or some of us are in a state of stagnation because our sinful behavior has caused us to become stagnant in situations we are participatory in but no longer enjoy like we did at first. We are habitually stuck in it because we don’t want to make anybody else uncomfortable.
We are willing to participate in something that is no longer gratifying, and we are in a state of stagnation. Sometimes this stagnation arises from internal turmoil. We just can’t get it together. There are invisible ropes tying us. All of us can relate to seasons of non-productivity. It seems like I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere on this job. I’ve been passed up three times for promotions. I’m tired of being in a state of stagnation, and what was a blessing has become an irritation because I’m stuck on this job, and I’m not going anywhere. It’s getting on my nerves because I’m getting older, and I’m training people who end up in positions that I trained them for. I wish there were some people in the room who would be real with me. When you don’t see a way to get up and don’t see a way to go forward, it perplexes your mind.
How can I be stopped? I’m not tortured; I’m not abused; I’m not mutilated; I’m stagnated. But stagnation is torture to a person who is motivated to move forward. I want all the progressive people in here to make some noise. Then there is the guilt that comes with being a progressive person stuck in a stagnant situation: a stagnant relationship, a stagnant marriage, a stagnant church, a stagnant ministry, a stagnant business, a stagnant situation that is driving me crazy, a stagnant conversation. I can’t keep talking to people who don’t read. I can do it for a little while; we can make small talk about the weather or something else, but eventually I want to know that your conversation is growing or I lose interest and make an excuse to move away. Because if you’re not adding to me, you’re subtracting from me.
If you’re not an asset, you’re a liability. I like to be in a room so smart that I have to think twice before I say anything. I like to be in a room so intellectually stimulating that I’m on fire. I don’t want to be in a non-productive situation. Some of your old friends—you love them, but they’re boring. They are talking about stuff you were talking about 20 years ago. You can do it for about 30 minutes or so. Do you remember Jack? Do you remember Jim? Do you remember Fred? After a while, you get tired of remembering, and you want to start talking about something that’s new, that’s moving, and going forward. Then there is the embarrassment of being stuck, living in this fast-paced world where everything is going at breakneck speed. It is obvious to others that you’re stagnant. It’s one thing for me to know I’m stagnant, but it’s another thing for you to observe the fact that I am still where I was.
I start making excuses. «I know, I know the house still isn’t clean, but you know I’ve been so busy. Child, come on in if you can get in. Somebody get ready to get into your car, move those cups in the McDonald’s bag from last week! Come on, come on in, child. I’ve been busy.» I’m stepping on some toes; I can feel toes crunching under my feet while I’m talking. It’s embarrassing for people to see that I’m stuck, that I’m stagnant. It feels like an indictment against me. There’s pressure on me to be productive, whether you’re held back by poor skills, childhood trauma, or self-sabotaging belief systems. You’re watching time pass away, and if you are stuck around people that are moving, it becomes obvious that you are stagnant. You can only hide that for so long.
You can only preach the same sermon for so long before the congregation is finished with point B, point C, and point D. After a while, we’re going to know that you’re not growing as an orator and that you’re stuck. The text opens in the most mysterious way because Jesus is now dealing with us about stagnation. The stagnation that He’s talking to us about is something that we can relate to because everyone in here has some area in your life that you wish were further along. I wish when I was 40, I had prepared for being 70. Oh, no, no! Don’t sit there; I’m going to get you before I leave! You know, I wish I hadn’t accumulated quite as many fur coats and hats and had a little bit more in my 401K plans and mutual funds.
Now I’m ready to sell these hats because I need some groceries up in here! I wish when I was 20, I had started putting something back. I wish somebody would have told me to save something because now that I’m getting older, I want more than a hot date. I want real estate. I want property. I want development. I want security. I don’t want to get married just because I’m broke; I want to get married because I’m in love. I wish I weren’t. I’m tired of watching people marry people’s wallets. You marry the wallet, but you go home with the man, and all of a sudden, you find yourself stuck. Being in this building is fine because as long as you know you can leave, you’re comfortable. But the moment I get up here and announce on the loudspeaker that all the doors are jammed and we’re stuck, the whole atmosphere changes.
Just with the information that I can’t get out, all of the men would start pushing against the glass in the window, and the women would take off their heels and start hammering against the glass because we’ve got to get out of here. Why? We’ve got to get out because we’re stuck. Come on, you know you’re stuck; that is torturous, barbaric, frustrating, intimidating, and stressful. Your adrenaline gland starts secreting fluids that, if you don’t activate them and don’t use them, turn against you in the body and start causing diseases in your flesh because you stretch. You have such stress on the inside that you can’t get out of your predicament.
Being stuck is expensive. Being stuck can cause you to be hypertensive. Being stuck can cause you to have diabetes. Being stuck can cause you to have heart malfunctions. Being stuck can affect you with mood swings and physical disorders because you are stuck. Jesus starts out the dialogue dealing with an animal in another village, and he’s not even in his neighborhood, but Jesus knows he’s stuck. Get him out of here! Recently, I had the privilege of being a speaker at the Lake Nona Impact Forum. I’d never been there before, never heard of it before. I did my research on it and found out I should be honored that they would ask someone like me to be on a platform like that.
When I walked in, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain was speaking with Sanjay Gupta, and I thought I had a decision to make. The choices were either to urinate down my leg and run out the door because that’s what I felt like doing or faint on the floor and act like I developed some sort of COVID attack and needed an ambulance, or man up, gather myself, and walk in the room and give them what I had. It was amazing! They were talking about rearranging the DNA of bees, and they were discussing creating hearts from cells for heart replacement on a level that was beyond human comprehension. Their reason for wanting to create hearts from cells—I remember when they did the first open-heart surgery and the heart transplants and how they stumbled into progress until they got good at it—and now they’re talking about creating hearts. They said, «We’re tired of being vulnerable to the weather.»
They had three hearts on a plane trying to reach a patient, but because of the ice storm, the plane was stuck, and it was stuck so long that the hearts died on the runway. The patients who were waiting on them were in a holding pattern because the hearts were in a holding pattern, and they went home sick because they couldn’t get the hearts to the people who needed them in time. Holding patterns can be dangerous because there is an expiration date on how long I can wait. Ask me to marry him, but there is an expiration date on how long I’m willing to sit here and wait for this to happen. I’m waiting for them to offer me a promotion, but I can’t sit here until I’m 60 waiting for a promotion to go. If you’re going to offer it, you better offer it now.
That’s why the Bible says those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint because it’s dangerous to wait too long, stuck in a holding pattern. Brothers and sisters, I want to get to this whole issue because Jesus starts talking about the colt, so I’m going to divide it into three quick points and move quickly out of your way: the colt, the crowd, and the Christ. I believe, first of all, that the colt becomes a symbol of the entire narrative in the story. Let me start with the crowd. The colt is tied, but whether you know it or not, the crowd is also tied. You see, Jerusalem is part of Roman colonialism.
Colonialism did not start with Europe and America, or even Europe and Africa; it goes all the way back to Israel. They had set up what we would call colonialism today and taken control of the region, and a group of Jews are now captive to a degree, or at least controlled by Roman powers. They are tied to Rome. So, when they see Jesus coming, he comes, and every time you hear them call him the son of David, they are not just referring to him as the Messiah but also acknowledging him as their King. They see him as a great liberator who would emancipate them from the bondage of Rome. So, the crowd, though we see them in a state of jubilation singing, «Hosanna to the son of David,» their jubilation is a bit misconstrued because they are worshiping him because they think he’s about to take the throne.
If he takes the throne, he’s going to take them out from under the rope that’s tied around their neck called Rome, which is holding them in captivity. They are looking for Jesus to be an emancipator and a liberator. They are singing in praise. Imagine what it feels like for these people who have been oppressed in their own country. It’s one thing for me to be abducted and taken to a strange place, but it’s another thing to be held hostage in my own house. Here I am—it’s my living room, but it’s not my living room; it’s my refrigerator, but it’s not my refrigerator—and I’m stuck. Here comes Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, and turning water into wine, and he becomes a prime candidate to liberate them from the captivity that has seized them.
So, yes, they are dancing and yes, they are singing, and yes, they’re throwing their coats down, and yes, they’re throwing palms down in the road, but they are throwing palms down because they see a crown. They see a king; they’re looking for the Messiah; they’re looking for a political revolution; they’re looking for liberty and emancipation; they’re looking for restoration; they’re looking for reparations; they’re looking for everything to be restored back like it was, and they’re singing and dancing. Jesus has to deal with the fact that the dancing of the crowd is for something that he is not going to do at that time. Have you ever had people expect things from you that were not on your agenda? You don’t hear what I’m saying to you. Jesus has to walk through the palms knowing that what they’re expecting him to do is not the first thing he’s going to do. He is headed for a cross, but they are shouting about a crown.
See, too many times in church, we shout about crowns, but we go home to crosses because nobody has the nerve to tell you that on your way to the crown, you’ve got to go through your cross. So, there you are—you don’t hear what I’m saying to you—there you are shouting about the crown, and then you go home to the cross, and you feel like the cross is the devil, so you rebuke it, and you plead the blood, and you anoint it with oil, and it’s still standing there in front of you because you don’t recognize that the cross is part of God’s strategy to get you to your next crown. I don’t know who I’m talking to today, hallelujah, but God has not forgotten your crown just because he put a rest stop at a cross.
Jesus has to walk through their lofty expectations, just like you have to live with all the people who think you’re superhuman. They think you never get tired; they think you never get weary. I want to talk to the strong folks in here—the strong people that everybody calls whenever they’re in trouble, the wise people that everybody calls when they want advice, and they think you never get tired. They think you are on call 24/7 to be there for everybody else but you, and you have to walk through their expectations. They think you don’t get tired; you don’t need a break; you don’t need encouragement; you don’t need to be uplifted. Every time they call you, they’re in trouble.
Be careful of one-sided relationships where they always take and never give. Eventually, you’re going to become depleted because it’s all about what can you do for me, and sooner or later, you get tired of people who only call you when it’s about them. Can I have a 30-second praise break for some people that are tired of always being the one? I don’t mind helping you out of trouble, but I don’t live to get you out of trouble. I don’t mind helping you, but I’m not just sitting by the phone, waiting on you to bring me another crisis. By the way, I had some crises before you called!
Jesus is surrounded by people who are tied up, and the crowd is tied up, and they’re shouting over the idea that this may be it. I was reading through the non-canonical book, the Gospel According to Judas, which is not even in the scriptures and, in the Gospel According to Judas—though it is non-canonical, it is yet informative—it says that Judas didn’t really call himself betraying Jesus but rather pushing Jesus into a place where he would take over the kingdom. The pressure was so great for change, so desperate the Jews to start. They wanted him to stop healing people and start the revolution, and so the supposition is made that perhaps if I put him in a precarious predicament, he’ll have to show who he is—he who walked on water, he who healed the sick, and he who raised the dead.
Surely, he can overthrow the oppression that we’re under, and since you are distracted by the needs of the people, I’m going to call the showdown between you and Rome. Oh! I just want you to see— I don’t want you to evaluate the authenticity of the Gospel According to Judas—though I’ve read it, I do want you to see how desperate the people were to get out of it. When you want out, you want out! Enough of this rope around my neck! Enough of this! I want out! I want out! I want out! If spiritual problems would materialize, you’d be shocked at how many nooses are in this room. I’m going to say it again: if spiritual problems would materialize, you’d be shocked at how many nooses are in this room. There’s something pulling against your neck, and you can only go so far.
You pawn around in the same ground over and over again—five steps up and five steps back—because you keep getting pulled back. You can’t get out, and you’re frustrated, and you want out. The crowd was tired of the Roman rope, and they’re throwing down the palms and calling him the son of David, which recognizes his kingship. «Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!» This is about their expectation.
Come on with me, don’t leave me now. You know it’s a terrible thing when people’s expectations don’t line up with your assignment. Stay with me because everybody here knows what it’s like when somebody expects more from you than what you’ve been assigned to do. Jesus is walking through the palms, knowing that he’s not going to take the crown; he’s going to take the cross. Enough about the crowd; let’s talk about the Christ. He is tied in Gethsemane, trying to get loose from this. «Father, if it be your will, pass this bitter cup from me.»
Three times Jesus prayed! Jesus didn’t have to pray three times to raise Lazarus from the dead. Jesus didn’t have to pray three times to heal the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus didn’t have to pray three times to open the blinding eyes of Bartimaeus. Jesus didn’t have to pray three times to raise up the widow of Nain’s son. But when it came to what he was tied to, Jesus prayed three times trying to get this rope off of his neck. «Father, pass this bitter cup. Pass this cup!» I can do anything else, but I don’t want this! He submits to the time of being tied to the will of the Father by saying, «Not my will, but thine be done.» So, my brothers and sisters, we have a tired crowd, a tied Christ, who then speaks about a tired colt.
Jesus says to the colt, «I don’t know how long he’s been tied,» the Bible doesn’t tell us, «but the Bible does tell us that no man has ever sat on him.» So evidently, he’s been tied a long time. The Bible tells us that he is tied between two roads, so he’s tied in traffic. I’m wondering if there’s anybody in here that’s tied in traffic. You have to watch everybody else moving but you. Everybody else is buying a house but you. Everybody else is getting married but you. Everybody else got a new job but you. Everybody else got invited but you. But you are tied where two roads join together, and you are stuck in a place of movement. If that’s your story, holla at your boy! No matter how much I love him, I’m stuck. No matter how much I praise him, I’m stuck. I’ve gone to therapy, but I’m stuck.
I took night classes, but I’m still stuck. I’m taking a LinkedIn class, but I’m stuck, and I can’t get this rope from around my neck. We’ve got a tied colt; we’ve got a tied Jesus. Then he brings up a tied colt and says to them, «Watch this, watch your show.» He says to his disciples, «Oh, another village; there is a colt tied to a post in the other village.» This tells me that if Jesus was aware… now, nobody needs this but the folks who are tied up, and some of the folks who are tied up can’t act like they’re tied up because they sit next to what they’re tied up to. But that’s okay, just sit up here, come on, come on, breathe in, breathe out; we’re going to make it through this in a minute.
So you’ve got to act confused and act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, but you know this is God getting the word to you because you’re tied in this situation. It’s just three roads back, but you’re tied in a situation. This is waiting for you at the house, but you’re tied in a situation, and God says, «I know where you are.» What in the world is Jesus doing, even thinking about a colt on his way to the cross? What is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him? There’s a colt over in the other city, in the other village, who is tied, and he knows exactly where he is, in between two roads. The Lord told me to tell you, «I know exactly where you are.»
You’ve been trying to explain to me where you’re at, but I know exactly where you are. You’ve been going to therapy, trying to get them to help you figure out where you’re at, but God says, «I know exactly where you are.» That’s enough to make me praise the Lord right now because if somebody just knows where I’m at… Sometimes I feel invisible, sometimes I feel forgotten, sometimes I feel embarrassed, sometimes I feel rejected. But it helps me to know that God knows, to know that God knows, to know that God knows. It makes me feel better to know that He sees me. It makes me feel better to understand that He has a plan for my pain, a fix for my problem, an answer to my crisis, a deliverance from my dilemma.
I don’t know who this message is for, but I came to preach this word to somebody. You’ve been in a holding pattern, but you’ve been cleared for takeoff. Now, if you haven’t been in a holding pattern, then being cleared doesn’t mean anything for you. But if you’ve been in a holding pattern, what I just said released something off your neck! Somebody shout «yes!» I know it sounds silly, and it’s a little bit Pentecostal of me, but shake your neck around and let the devil know, «I’m coming out of this!» I’ve been tied in my mind, I’ve been tied in my emotions, I’ve been tied in my thinking, I’ve been tied in my finances, but I’m coming out of this rope because Jesus knows where I’m at, and He’s coming to loose me and let me go.
Slap somebody and say, «Loose here!» You gotta realize you thought you were restricted, but the truth is you were reserved. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and wanted to sit down at a table, and the sign said «reserved»? The reason you’re restricted from sitting there is because the table has been reserved. The colt thought he was restricted, but he was really reserved because Zephaniah said that in the last days, «Behold, your king will come riding on a colt.» So the condition of the colt was prophesied; it was God’s will for the colt to be tied up because sometimes God will put you in a holding pattern waiting for all the conditions to be right to loose you and let you go. You’re not there because you did something wrong; you’re not there because you’re stupid; you’re not there because you’re inadequate; you’re not there because you’re insufficient. Huh! You’re there because God works all things after the counsel of His own will. He had to wait until the right time to loose the rope from around your neck! Shout to somebody and tell them, «I’m about to come out of this!»
This message is my witness; this is my confirmation; this is an answer to my prayer. I’m about to get a release! Somebody give Him 30 seconds of praise. Beware of people who only dance for you when there’s something in it for them. Where were the people saying, «Hosanna» when He got to the cross? They were only saying «Hosanna» because of what was in it for them. But when they saw it wasn’t a crown but a cross, none of them were singing or praising or praying anymore. Some of the folks that are dancing around you are not really for you, but God is still going to use them to loose you for what He’s about to do in your life. I feel like I’m talking to somebody. You might be online right now, but I’m talking to you. You’ve been in a holding pattern long enough, but God said, «I’m gonna loose you.»
So the Bible said, «Go till you find the colt and then loose him from what he was restricted by, what he was tied to.» And if anybody tries to stop you, tell them the Lord has need of you. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute… wait a minute. How could this be possible? It would have been enough for anybody to want the colt since he spent his whole life with nobody wanting it; but he goes from nobody to the Lord. Y’all don’t get it. He goes from being stuck in a holding pattern, ignored and overlooked, stuck in traffic with nobody wanting him, and he gets loosed because of the Lord.
The moment the Lord wants you, now they want to know, «What are y’all doing over there with the colt?» Well, why didn’t you say something all that time I was tied up? If you wanted me, you should have said something before now, but the moment somebody else wants you, now all of a sudden… oh, I feel like running around! I feel like leaping! I feel like shouting because just when you thought it was too late for your purpose, God’s gonna set you smack dab in the middle of His will. This is your day; this is your time; this is your message; this is your moment! And can’t no devil in hell stop it.
Look at your neighbor and say, «You can’t stop this!» You can talk about it, but you can’t stop this. You can run your mouth, but you can’t stop this. Ask all the questions you want to, but you can’t stop this. This is marvelous! Oh, I felt something break; I felt something loose. Okay, if you hear what I’m preaching, there will be a great liberation in here because everything that had your mind tied up, everything that had your emotions tied up, everything that had your finances tied up, God said is about to loose you! And it’s going to be a sudden change. The last shall be first!
I’m gonna switch it from the background to the forefront! You’ve been hidden in a small village, but I’m about to put you on a full stage! Here comes this colt from a small town coming into a big place. Pull on your neighbor and say, «It’s gonna be big!» That’s why you had to hold so long; that’s why you had to wait so long. Type it online, «It’s gonna be big!» That’s why you had to wait so long; that’s why the enemy tried to attack you for so long.
Tell your neighbor, «It’s gonna be big!» That’s why all hell broke loose; that’s why you almost prayed. That’s why you almost gave up. Huh! Look at somebody and say, «It’s gonna be big!» I didn’t wait this long for a little thing! I didn’t wait this long for a small thing! What God has for me is worth the wait. What God has for me is worth the tears. What God has for me is worth the agony! Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Somebody throw your head back and holler, «Yes!» Thank you! And I will ride into it because I got Jesus on my back. I’m gonna go through it because I got Jesus on my back. He’s gonna prepare a way for me because I got Jesus on my back.
Slap your neighbor and say, «I got Jesus on my back.» I’m going to a new place because I got Jesus on my back. I’m gonna see heights I never saw before because I got Jesus on my back. Tell your other neighbor, «I got Jesus on my back.» I’m done. So the text says that they started laying their coats down in the way and others laid down branches. But Jesus wasn’t walking on the colt or the branches. The colt, to every person in here, realize this: you’re the colt Jesus is going to ride in on. And because you have Him on your back, it’s going to be your hooves that walk on coats and branches. Or let me say it this way: He’s prepared a table for you in the presence of your enemies.
And so the Lord told me that this morning was to be a morning of loosing you from holding patterns. You’ve been faithful in a holding pattern; you praised God in a holding pattern; you sang in the choir but were in a holding pattern. Who came to church though you were in a holding pattern? You’ve been watching online in spite of the fact you’ve been in a holding pattern. You thought this was just Palm Sunday? No, this is Loosing Sunday! Every risk that you believe in for is about to be released! If you consecrate—this is Holy Week—if you fast and pray and believe God this week, it’s not just about Jesus having a resurrection; every dead dream in your life is about to be resurrected by the power of God! But don’t start walking till you get Jesus on your back.
There are some people in here that can tell you that they can’t do some stuff that they thought they couldn’t go through, but because Jesus was on their backs, they made it through some things: dangers seen and unseen, tough places and hard places—places that normally would have broken them down—but because Jesus was on their back, they made it over! Get a hold of someone by the hand and squeeze them just a little bit tight. The person you’re touching has in some way been in a holding pattern on the inside—emotionally, spiritually, financially, mentally, relationally, occupationally—in some area of their life, they’ve been in a holding pattern. They watch other people be successful where they failed and felt inadequate because they failed, embarrassed because they failed, because they were in a holding pattern; they couldn’t do what they really dreamed to do because they were in a holding pattern.
Squeeze their hand; they’ve been tied up for a long time, and they’re amazed that they’ve made it as far as they did with as many ropes as they had around their neck. But God is about to ease a restriction! I don’t want you to let go of them yet; I want you to pray for them first. I want you to pray that every yoke would be broken— that every yoke would be broken! I’m praying for people online all across the world: that every yoke in your life, and every stronghold in your life, and every noose in your life, and every attitude in your life, and every stubbornness, and every self-sabotaging ideology in your life, and every philosophy in your life would be broken, utterly destroyed by the power of God!
Pray for them! Pray for them; they’re always given to other people, but nobody ever really prays for them. Pray for them! Pray for them! Squeeze their hand and pray for them! Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray! On the count of three, I want you to loose them, and when you loose them, I want every person in this room to declare, «I’ve been cleared! I’ve been released for takeoff!» One: you’ve been waiting a long time for it and the enemy made you think it would never happen. The devil told you you were too old, that it was too late, and that you’d never have freedom, and never have happiness, and never have joy, and never have fulfillment. But the devil is a liar! The Lord has been trying to encourage you to just hang on in there.
You’ve been frustrated, but God said, «Hang on in there! Something good is about to happen in your life, and God has reserved it for such a time as this!» When I holler, «Three,» loose them! I can’t hear you! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, oh! I feel a shout of deliverance! I feel a sound of deliverance! Deliverance, deliverance, deliverance, deliverance, deliverance, deliverance will come; it must come; it shall come; it’s gotta come; it’s gotta come! Deliverance belongs to me. The Bible says, «Whom the Son has set free is free indeed.» I need a thousand free folks to jump up in the house and let hell know, «I got the message; this is my word, and I’m free today!» One, two, three… Go! You now find you and I!