TD Jakes — Worship Connects Us
"And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man". Are you with me? "And Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'" Keep goin', "Therefore shall a man," ooh, there it is again, "therefore shall a man leave," therefore, therefore, because of what I just told you, "shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be," what? "One flesh".
In the sight of God, there have only been two men. There are almost 8 billion people on the planet, but in the sight of God, there are only 2 men, the first man Adam, and the last Man Adam. You are either one or the other. You cannot be both. If you are carnal, you are still a part of the first man Adam. If you've been born again, you are born again because you are connected to the last Man Adam. There are only two. All of us are in one or the other. There was a man who was in the first man Adam named Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, and he said, "I wanna be in your kingdom". He said, "You can't be in my kingdom 'cause you're not my kid. You're still a part of the first man Adam. You must be born again". Because in being born again, you are now a part of the last Man Adam.
Somebody say, "The last Man Adam". I am assuming that you know that the last Man Adam is Jesus, that the first man Adam is God's first created son, that the last Man Adam is his only begotten Son. I'm just assuming that you know that. I'm assuming that you have run ahead of me and thought, "Just as the first man Adam got his bride by going into a deep sleep, the last Man Adam had to go into a deep sleep, too". In fact, the last Man Adam said, "Father, if it be thy will, pass this bitter cup from me". But the Father said, "I can't introduce you to your bride if you don't go to sleep".
So they hung him high and they stretched him wide! And the last Man Adam went into his sleep so he could meet his bride, who was chosen in him before the foundations of the world. So those of us who were chosen in him were brought out of him that we might be connected... oh, y'all aren't with me this mornin'. That's why I thank the Roman soldier for performing the surgery. Because while the last Man Adam was in his sleep, see, the other people who were on the cross, when they came up to them, they broke their legs. They broke their legs to stop them from resisting the nails of the cross.
When you broke their legs, they went limp, and they had to become obedient unto death. But when they came to Jesus, he was already dead, so they never broke a bone in his body, because he was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. I thought y'all wanted me to teach some Bible this mornin'. And besides, if they'd have broke a bone, they would have ruined him from being the Lamb of God, because in order to be the Lamb of God, he had to be whole, with no bones broken in his body. So, there he was. He was already dead, and they checked him. They thought they were just checkin' him, but they were really doin' surgery because the Roman soldier pierced him in his side. And out of his side, the blood began to flow, and the Bible says, "The New Testament," or the new covenant, "was in his blood".
When you see the blood and water flowing out, you are seeing you and I, the church, the New Testament, the new deal coming out of his side. "Drink this cup, boys. This is my blood. The New Testament is in my blood. My bride is in my blood". Thank you, Roman soldier, for piercing him in the side, because you opened up the side even as the Father opened up the first man Adam's side and brought his bride out or brought his body out. When you pierced him in Jesus' side, you pierced him so that the church, who is the body of Christ and the bride of Christ, could come forth. And now, the church stands as the body of Christ and the bride of Christ, because the bride is the body living separate from the groom.
That alone is enough to preach, this morning. The church is his mystical body, many members, one body, but she is also his wife. Watch this. So, when Paul starts talking in Ephesians, he is talking to the bride of Christ, who is the body of Christ, and he is using the metaphor of marriage, because the metaphor of marriage is the best description of what our relationship is like with Christ. And you must understand who we are. You must understand who we are as the bride of Christ. You must understand.
I wanna take you into the Song of Solomon for a minute, around chapter 2, of verse 8 through 10. And she said: "Behold, my beloved cometh to me". "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills". She says, "My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall. He looketh forth at windows, showing himself through the lattice". She says, "My beloved". It sounds like a love story, and the guy is coming for the girl, and he's looking for her, and he is showing himself through the lattice.
What is lattice? Lattice is a kind of wall and fencing that you can peer through, you can see through it, but not fully. That's where we are right now. We can see him, but not fully. But he's showing himself through the lattice. We cannot see him clearly. In fact, Paul, in another place, says, "Now we see through a glass darkly". Come on, stay with me. "I can see him, but I can't... he's peering to me through the lattice like a bridegroom peering at the bride. I can see him, but not clearly. So I prophesy in part, and I understand in part because I can only see him". Come on, somebody. "My beloved spake, and said unto me, 'Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.'" What happened to us last Sunday is that the voice of the Lord said, "Rise up, my beloved, and come away, for, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone". And he is calling me to rise up and come away. He wants intimacy.
This is the seeking Savior peering through the lattice at me, saying, "Come meet me. Rise up and meet me. I'm coming as close to you as I can. Now you must rise up and come away, meet me". This is a lovers' rendezvous. This is a weekend retreat in Hawaii. "Rise up, my beloved, and come away. You can't see me. If you don't leave, you can't cleave. Rise up, my beloved, and come away. You came in here carnal. I'm waiting for you in the spirit. I've come as close as I can come to you. You must come the rest of the way. Rise up, my beloved, and come away". See, you can ride to church with somebody who didn't get what you got 'cause they didn't go where you went. They sat in the building, but they never got in the spirit.
"Behold, my beloved cometh to me as a hart, as a young roe, as a strong man. He cometh to me and seeketh me". He peers through the lattice. He who peers now calls. He looks and now he calls. He calls me to rise up and come away. That call left us prostrate on the floor. That call had tears running down our face. That call had us laid out in the presence of God. You know what that was? That was people who were leavin' where they were and cleaving to where God was calling them, because he was calling me to rise up and come away. Understand, I can't come away if I don't rise up. There are some realms of glory you can't get until you rise up from where you were and come away.
He's calling you. He wants to bless you. He wants to feed you. He wants to pour his anointing on you, but he can't give you what he's got for ya if you don't rise up and come away. Touch your neighbor and say, "Rise up and come away". Now, look at this. Stay with me 'cause I'm goin' somewhere. Y'all with me? "My beloved cometh to me. He cometh as a young roe. He cometh skipping across the mountains. He cometh to me". But he doesn't connect to the one he comes to. He comes as close as he can and peers through the lattice, and then says to the one, the object of his love, "Meet me. I won't do it all. There is some responsibility on you to rise up and come away".
What you get out of this service depends on how much you are willing to rise up and come away. When we start worshiping God and praising God, we are not doing that so that we can have an emotional experience. This is not about being emotional. This is not about being ignorant. This is not about being Pentecostal. This is not about being black. This is not about culture. This is not about religion. This is about a call that God is giving to his people, saying, "Rise up, my beloved, and come away". Touch your neighbor and say, "You got to move". If you're gonna get what God has for you, you got to move. You can't stay in this same sewer you've been in and experience the power of God in order to fulfill your destiny. You've got to move. You can't live like you've been livin', and think like you've been thinkin' and run with who you've been runnin' with and experience what God has for ya. You have to rise up, my beloved, and come away.
Come away, come away from your foolishness. Come away from your carnality. Come away from the way you talk, and the way you think, and the way you act, and the way you live, and the way you treat people. In order to get this, you gotta rise up. You gotta rise up and come away. When we worship God, we rise up and come away, because he is seeking someone. Well, let me show you here. He told the disciples, "Go on and get me somethin' to eat. I'm going to go to Samaria". He went down to Samaria and sat at the well 'cause he was waiting for a woman to come her part. I came mine, now you come yours.
And the Bible said that "he sat by the well". He was a Well sittin' on top of a well. A Well, Jacob's Well sat on Jacob's Well, waiting for somebody thirsty enough to rise up and come away. It's not enough that you came in the building. If you're not thirsty, you won't get this water. You have to want this water! Somebody holler, "I want it"! I want it so bad, I'm willing to rise up. I want it so bad, I'm willing to inconvenience myself. I want it so bad, I don't care what I look like. I want it so bad, I'll mess up my makeup. I want it so bad, I'll let tears run down my face. I want it so bad, I'll kick off my shoes. I want it so bad, I'll lay prostrate on the floor. I want the glory!
And he has another crazy conversation with this woman. He says, "Give me to drink". And she said, "You know you don't want no water. You don't have nothin' to draw with". She thought he was hittin' on her. She sensed it was something intimate that was being offered her. You know how you can feel that vibe when the "hello" is more than "hello". They be talkin' about, "How you doin'"? She said, "Now, you know you don't want no water. You don't even have no bucket to draw with". And he says, "If you knew who I was, you would be askin' me for water". He said, "For if you drink of the water that you have, you will thirst again. But if you drink of the water that I have, you will never thirst again".
In other words, "I know you got some water, but I got some water that you don't have. Your water will not satisfy. My water will quench your thirst". And she said, "Give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw". Wait a minute. Then he said somethin' to her. He says, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth". Wait a minute. Are we talkin' about water, or are we talkin' about worship? His water comes to worship. "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth".
I don't have to come to Jacob's Well. I come to him through the Spirit. When I worship, I connect. I'm like a lamp. I don't care how good I look unplugged. You'll never see what I was designed to be until I'm connected. Worship is how I connect. I don't worship 'cause I feel like worshiping. I don't worship 'cause I'm emotional. I don't worship 'cause I'm that kind of person. That has nothing to do with it. I worship 'cause I'm thirsty. I worship because I wanna be connected. I worship because this is the place where lovers meet. Jesus is the lover of my soul. He has arranged a meeting place where we could connect and meet together. It is only through worship.
"God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth". "The hour cometh, and now is". In other words, it wasn't like this before, but now you're steppin' into a mysterium. I'm gettin' ready to unveil somethin'. "When you can connect with me through your worship, let me tell ya how effective it is. They can't stop ya from doin' it". You can do it in jail. You could be locked in jail, and at midnight, if you start worshiping and praising God, "Wherever you start praising me, I will come in and get ya". I'm gonna prove somethin' to ya. The Bible says, "At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and suddenly there was a sound and a shaking, and the prisons began to shake".
I used to think that God opened the prison so that Paul and Silas could get out. But when I later learned that they didn't leave, I realized he didn't open it up so that they could get out. He opened it up so that he could get... Come on, somebody. So, wherever you start praising God, he will come to you. If you make your bed in hell, he'll come there. If you ascend to the uttermost parts of the earth, he'll come there. Touch your neighbor and tell 'em, "You can't bother me. I'm a worshiper. You oughtta be glad you're sittin' near me. I'm a worshiper. If I open my mouth and start praisin' God, he will turn this place..." Yeah, yeah, tell your neighbor, "He's about to show up right now". Now, open your mouth and start praisin' him. You gotta rise up to do it. You gotta come away to do it. But if you rise up and come away, he'll come and get you.