TD Jakes — You're the Man
God gives the hope to Joseph when he is amongst his brethren sitting in the crowd, shows him a dream that he's gonna rise to a position of power. He shares it with his brethren, and they see the position and not the mission. If they would've seen the mission, they wouldn't have tried to kill him. But because he had a dream that they would one day bow to him, they hated him over the position and not the mission. I'm gonna give you five principles this morning, and the first one is, understand your mission, mission, mission, not position, mission. Some people are so focused on the position that they lose sight of the mission. They think God is a talent agency. They think God is a booking agent. They are trying to pray to God to get them in a better position. If you are asking God to change your position, he will never understand what you're talking about because whoever you are up here, you were down there. God knows position means nothing if you don't understand mission.
Now, if you understand the mission, God will change your position to accomplish your mission. He will changer your position to accomplish your mission. Any time God brings you from something you didn't have into a place that you do have, always be aware of your mission. Don't get drunk off of your position because if you get drunk off of your position, "Pride cometh before a fall," you'll lose it all because you got caught up in the position and lost sight of the mission. It's the mission that brings you to the position. He shows him a dream, and in the dream, his brothers are bowing before him. And in his immaturity, he shares the position with his brethren. And don't allow your immaturity to make you mismanage your opportunity because in your immaturity, you will become infatuated with your position and lose sight of the fact that whenever God promotes you, it's always because he's got you on a mission.
I was challenged of the Holy Spirit to remind you that God has given you every talent, every gift, every resource, every door open, every favor, every dollar you've ever made, every favor you've ever had with anybody, not because he was interested in you bein' important. It's because he has given it to you because he wants to trust you with the mission, not the position. Now you're trying to get the position, but God is concerned about the mission. The mission, the mission, the mission, he needs somebody who can represent people who would never get there, and he'll move you up if you never lose sight of the mission. And I wanna ask you, do you see yourself on a mission? Do you really? Because very few people pray about mission. They want prayer for position. They want prayer for power. They want prayer for prosperity. "Give me power. Give me position. Give me prosperity". You seldom get a prayer request for a mission.
I was in a pastor's meeting, and one pastor was teaching, and he was saying that a young pastor came to him and said, "Pray for me that my church will grow". He said, "I want my church to grow". It seemed like an innocent prayer request. He said, "Pray for me that my church will grow". I was shocked at the other pastor's answer, but then I understood it. He said, "Why? Why do you want your church to grow"? And the young pastor couldn't come up with a decent answer. He said, "That's why it's not growing. Why do you want more people"? Until you can answer the why of it, you'll never get the what of it. The truth of the matter is, he wanted more people so that he would measure up against other pastors in the city, that's position. God is not going to feed your insecurity by giving you validation that has no mission. Oh, y'all don't hear what I'm sayin'. I'm gonna work this thing. I'm gonna get up under it. I'm gonna step on some toes. I hope you wore some hard shoes this morning 'cause I'mma get in some crevices.
Does what you're praying for, have a "Why," or is it just a "What"? Why do you want it? More people for what? More money for what? More fame for what? For what? Do you know why, or do you just want a bunch of people bowin' to make you feel good about yourself? And so, when the pastor got through preaching and teaching, I got him to the side because I was fascinated by what he said. I wanted to talk about it a little bit more. He said, "If the man would've told me about his mission to win the city, to feed the hungry, to reach the disenfranchised, that he needed more people to accomplish what he was trying to do as it related to his purpose, we could've touched and agreed. But the fact that he wants position without mission says that he is driven by ego". And I just wanna know, is ego making your decisions? Is your ego, your need for validation, you need making those kinds of decisions? Because you must understand, until you are mission driven, until you are mission driven, resources will be locked up.
Let me try it over here. Until you are mission driven, resources will be denied. Why do you want it? Why do you want it? Want it for what? Is there a sense of mission pulling you along? Is it more mission or more money? Because if your money doesn't have a mission... I'm tryin' to help somebody in here today. So the big word is "mission". Somebody holler, "Mission". Ask the person next to you, "Are you on a mission"? I'm gonna put 'em on the spot. Ask them, "What is your mission"? Number two, my big word is, "maneuvered". Joseph saw that he would end up in this place, but he did not see how he would be maneuvered to get there. If anybody would've told you 10 years ago that you'd be sittin' on this stage at The Potter's House, in Dallas, Texas, she said, "I would never believe it, never believe it, no way in the world". Left your family, left your background, singin' with your sisters way up in Ohio. How in the world did you get to Dallas, Texas? When God has a plan for your life, he will maneuver you. He will maneuver you. He will maneuver you. Good God of mercy.
Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? Somebody watching over the Internet, that's your word. God is maneuvering you. Don't even worry about it. Don't even cry about it. Don't be upset it. He maneuvers you. The strange thing is, Joseph saw up, but he went down. Watch this, he saw up, he saw himself up and his brothers bowin' before him. So that means he saw himself up and his brothers down. But when God started maneuvering him, his brothers were up, and he was in a pit. So the maneuver looked just the opposite of the dream. Most people walk away from things that don't look like what they've dreamed. They don't understand that when God starts maneuvering you, he will show you the destination. But in the process, it will shift. And you thought you were gonna be up. Your first test is survive bein' down. "If I'm God in the pit, I'll be God in the palace. But until you can praise me"...
Number three is management. Can you handle it? Can you handle it? Can you handle it? I know you want the robe. I know you want the ring, but can you handle it? I know you want the position. I know you want the title. Can you handle? Can you handle the stress? Can you handle it? I know you got a degree in it, but can you handle it? I know you taught it, but can you do it? I'm shocked at the people who can teach things they can't do. Oh, God, you know the book of it, but you don't know the experience of it. Can you manage the pressure, the anxiety, the loneliness, the alienation? Or do you feel so uncomfortable by the opportunity that you go back to your old seat because you can't manage what goes along with sitting in this seat? Are you praying for a blessing that you can't manage? The thing that made Joseph incredible, whether he was in the pit or Potiphar's house or in the prison, life couldn't throw anything on him that he didn't manage. He managed bein' in the pit. He survived it. He handled it. They drug him out like a slave and took him and sold him into Potiphar's house.
This boy, who had never been in the house of aristocracy stepped from obscurity to aristocracy and managed it. Do you know how hard it is to manage success, to manage bein' in a position of power when you weren't raised like that, you didn't come from that, you don't know the protocol there, to adapt your environment, step in it, and ended up runnin' all of Potiphar's affairs? Excuse me, what university did Joseph go to? None. What kinda background did Joseph have in managin' a rich man's house? None. Excuse me, Joseph isn't even in his neighborhood with his kin people. How does he end up managin' it? Joseph has the ability. I don't care what you throw him in, he will always manage it. Touch three people and say, "Manage it". Manage it, manage it, stop cryin' and manage it. Stop feelin' sorry for yourself and manage it. Stop havin' a pity party and manage it. Manage the people. Manage the problems. Manage your emotions. Mange your fears. Manage your doubts. Manage your insecurities. You're not fit to be blessed if you can't manage the process, manage it! I'm gonna go a little bit further.
My fourth word is "mediation". Now, mediation is really the mission. He has moved Joseph into a position ahead of time before the famine ever broke out so that when the famine broke out amongst his kin, there would be somebody in power who could mediate on their behalf, who was strategic enough and managerial enough and confident enough and had survived enough maneuvers, see, because Joseph had moved into a position of power where everything is about to change. He steps into the position as a prince of Egypt and moves into a position, he says, "King, you're gonna have seven years of plenty. You're gonna have seven years of famine, but don't worry about it. I know how to manage stuff. I know how to manage all kinds of things. I know how to deal with maneuvering. I was up. I was down. I was in the pit. I was in the palace. I can show you how to survive, good times, bad times, plenty, lack, I got a degree from this. I got a degree in hard knocks. And don't worry about it, you can save up the good times and spend it in the bad times. I did it in the pit. I did it in the prison. I did it in Potiphar's house. I know how to survive a famine. I had a famine of love. I had a famine of support. I had a famine of recognition, but I withstood it all. And if you'll follow my directions, I'll show you how to survive your famine".
Some of the things God took you through, it wasn't even for you. It was for other people so if you hadn't've gone through it, you might have been haughty and high-minded, but you learned some principles that make you able to mediate. And now in a position of power, when the same brothers who hated him come in to try to get food, not only is he managing the gross national product for a country, he managed bein' in the pit, he managed a rich man's house, he managed in the prison till Joseph became a leader in the prison, and now he is managing a country, an entire country. He has grown so much that when his brothers come in, they don't even recognize him. Do you not know that the people who knew you when you were sittin' back there, sometimes they don't even recognize you when you're sittin up there? Because you have grown so much you're not recognizable. But here's the key. Them not recognizing you doesn't give you a license not to recognize them.
So here's the dichotomy. Not only are you helpin' people who don't recognize you, you're also helping people who were hating on you all the while you were getting there. But God knows that you have the kind of character that can manage any resentment that you would have and still function from a position of clarity. And when they don't recognize you, you still recognize them. And now, he is mediating in their behalf for them to access food that they wouldn't get. They are eating Joseph's character. It is not the corn that they are eating. They are eating Joseph's character. Without Joseph's character, they would never access the corn. Sometimes God will allow you to access corn that you would never get through the character of somebody who is, Oh, y'all don't hear me. Who am I preachin' to? They are eating off of Joseph's character because Joseph, because he is kin to them, can be touched by the feeling of their infirmity.
Now I see, out of all of the brethren, why Joseph was selected. He was selected to do this job because of his character. When push came to shove, he could override his own frailties and get the job done. That's why he was the man. And until you can override your insecurities and step into your destiny, you'll never be the man. But the Lord gave me this message to preach today because the principles that I'm teaching you will reveal whether you are the man or not. "There is but one God, and one Mediator between God and men, and that is the Man Christ Jesus". The Man Christ Jesus had a mission. The Man Christ Jesus was maneuvered. The Man Christ Jesus had to manage his own feelings. "Not my will, but thine be done". Are you followin' me? The Man Christ Jesus ever liveth as a Mediator between the power and the problem. And all we are waiting on now is for the manifestation, the manifestation. The Bible says that Joseph finally revealed himself to his brethren. The Bible says that Jesus will reveal himself to his brethren.
So, my fifth one is, "manifestation". The Bible says, "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God," the sons, S-O-N-S, not S-O-N, the S-O-N-S, the sons of God. You know why the world is in trouble right now? They're waiting on the manifestation of the church, but the church is so busy havin' a pity party that you've never shown them the power of being the sons of God. I came to tell you this Sunday morning, this is the Sunday that you oughtta grow up and step into the full stature of who you are in God.
See, the whole sermon, you thought I was talkin' about Jesus. Then you thought I was talkin' about Joseph. But the truth of the matter is, I'm trying to talk about you. "For, beloved, now are ye the sons of God. It does not yet appear what you shall be". I don't care what you're goin' through right now, "It does not yet appear what you shall be". Touch ten people and say, "You're the man". You're the man. You're the one. You're the one. You're the man. You're the man. In that office, you're the man. In that courtroom, you're the man. On that board, you're the man. In your house, you're the man. You've been waitin' on somebody to fix your problem. Fixing yourself. For the next three minutes, if there's anybody in this church, anybody on that Internet who understands the power of what I just said, give God a crazy praise!