TD Jakes - On The Cusp Of The Kingdom
People are layered with issues, and insecurities, and vulnerabilities, and they are complicated. They are complicated. I mean, anybody who saw Solomon dressed in his fine array and moving into the office of kingship and standing on the verge of taking over all that his father had left to him, anybody would have thought, just to look on the outside, that he was fine, he was strong, that he had it together. And I'm not saying that he didn't, but there's not a robust, powerful person praying here, there's a little boy saying, "Daddy, my life is bigger than me. The demands seem greater than my supply".
I'm honored that you've given me an opportunity, but do you know how ill-suited I am to play this role, to live this life, to raise this child, to be married to this man, to provide for this family, to handle this situation? I mean, God, do you understand that you have given a tractor-trailer to a toddler? Do you understand that the demands on this level are greater than the supply that I have with inside of myself? God, do you know that I am a child? Some of the greatest men in the Bible that God used in mighty ways refer to themselves as children.
Jeremiah said, "Lord, I recognize that you called me to be a prophet unto the nations, but I am a child", and God says to him, "Say not that you are a child, for you shall go to all that I shall send you. In fact, before I formed thee in the belly, I already knew you, what you're trying to hide, what you're trying to pretend, what you're trying to cover up. I already know all about it. I already ordained you, I sanctified you to be. I knew you before, I sanctified you to be. I knew you, I sanctified you to be". I knew you deals with the past, I sanctified you to be deals with the future.
God said, "I took it all into consideration when I gave you the opportunity". I know what you got. I know where you're at, and you are on the cusp of the kingdom. Now, Solomon, you will remember, is in a very unique position. You will remember that he comes through his father's love tryst with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. And the Bible, embarrassingly, seems intent on not calling her Bathsheba. They just keep calling her Uriah's wife. Uriah is dead, and they still call her Uriah's wife, because David took this woman.
Let me break this down for you that are not Biblically astute. He snatched her, ravenously. Her husband was a solider serving in his army. He brought him in, so that because when he took her... I'm trying to get this into preacher language. She was with child, that's how the Bible says, and she was with child, and he wanted it to look like that she was pregnant by her husband who was working on the battlefield, brought him in for the weekend, but her husband was so loyal to the king, he wouldn't sleep with his own wife, and the plan failed, and David said, "I'm gonna have to do something radical", so he got the husband killed, and took his woman, and she was pregnant. And God judged David's action with the death of the child.
Now, that should make you feel better. You missed that. You should be shouting, because I started out by telling you, you were complicated, and when I got through describing the mess going on in David's house, unless you have killed somebody, took their wife, and the wife is pregnant, you're doing pretty good. God never let any of that stop him from accomplishing his purpose. He judged it, he chastened it, it wasn't easy. David wrapped himself up in sack cloths and ashes, and cried unto God for the life of his child, and he prayed, and he sweated, and he rent his clothes, and he threw dust in the air, and he had a fit on the floor, and the baby died. The baby died, but the king survived.
Sometimes you got to let things die, so that you can survive. You might not have got what you wanted, but if you come out of it, you ought to still thank God. I lost some stuff, but I made it. I lost some things, but I made it. Scarred knees, bent back, but I made it. Lost the house, but I made it. I hate to get this real with you, lost the marriage, but I made it, and I'm stronger, and I'm wiser, and I'm better. See, if I had it my way, I would just have a church full of survivors, because I really like to be in a room of survivors. I don't like to be in a room full of people who have never been through anything, never failed at anything, never messed up anything, because judgmental, self-righteous, arrogant people make me itch.
I like to be around somebody that says, "You know what, man? If it were not for the grace of God, I wouldn't even be standing here today. I've been through some stuff, I should have been dead, I could have been gone, I could have lost my mind, but by his grace, I made it. Devil, I'm stronger. Devil, I'm wiser. Devil, I'm better suited. Devil, I've got a better understanding". Whoo, glory to God, glory to God. Look at your neighbor and say, "Something's gonna happen in here this morning". God does not allow any of this to move him, because you know what? God is committed to one thing. He said I've got to get this seed. I've gotta get this seed. I've gotta get this purpose. I've gotta accomplish my purpose, and I can move past this, and I'm gonna move past this one, and if I can't go through this, I'll go through that.
That baby died. Bathsheba was wounded. The Bible said David came in and comforted her, and you know how men comfort. When we really wanna be a blessing, you know... And out of David's comforting ministry, Solomon was born. But Solomon is more than an expression of David's comfort, he is an expression of God's purpose. He is an expression of God's forgiveness. He is an expression of God giving a second chance to a sinful union who had made mistakes so terrible that God took a life but still gave them a second chance. God is committed to his purpose, and this Solomon, who is a breath of fresh air, who is the budding of a new beginning, who is the starting of a fresh life, is now standing on the verge of inheriting his father's kingdom and inheriting a kingdom from a failure is no problem.
But it's really a challenge when you inherit a kingdom from somebody who is successful, and powerful, and talented, and resourceful, because say what you want about David, you know, he had a couple little issues, but David was gifted. He was strong, he was talented, he was resourceful. David was so gifted, he killed a giant that the entire army of Israel could not kill, and he used lesser equipment and did more with it. You know you are gifted when you can take less stuff and get better results. Anybody could have killed him who was prepared with a sword, but David took a rock and destroyed him. David was not to be played with. In touch with all sides of himself. He could go out in the woods and write poetry, write poetry, sing songs.
When God found him, he was dancing on the mountaintops, singing songs, and writing poetry to God. In touch with the soft side of himself. But before you wanna categorize him as an easy touch, he also could grab a sword, and he would kill out the Philistines, and throw their foreskins at the feet of the king, and say, "You want some of this"? David was awesome. He was an orchestrator. He was a motivator. He took a bunch of rejected men in a cave called Adullam and trained them to be skillful, and to be warriors, and to stand up. David was powerful. If he marched, he marched in a militance and a power that was absolutely awesome. When he danced, he danced out of his clothes until the glory of the Lord rested on his shoulder. When he went to war, no army could stand against him, and when he reigned, it was of his kingdom there would be no end.
The problem was, Solomon was not David. Solomon was not David. And all the people who were used to David are now looking at Solomon. And the problem comes when people expect more than you think you can supply. So, Solomon offers up a thousand rams in a high place, and God appears in the middle of the offering, and they have this conversation. And Solomon says to God, "I'm scared. I'm scared that this opportunity is too big for me. I'm scared that the demands are greater than the supply. I'm scared that I got too many people pulling at me for answers, and I'm confused myself. How can you ask me to lead when I long to follow? How could you ask me to stand up when I feel like sitting down? So, I came up to the high place to offer you an offering, because I understand that I'm on the cusp of something that is bigger than me".
And I don't know what this is about, I don't know who this is for, but somebody in this church this morning, somebody in this church this morning, you don't understand you are not just going from day to day, week to week, month to month, and now you're getting ready to step into another year, you are standing on the cusp of an entirely new awakening, a new season, a new purpose. It is going to be fertilized with your experiences. It's gonna be validated with your wisdom. It's bringing you into a place now that you can finally receive on a level that you have never received on before.
Yes, Lord, the Lord said before you can tell 'em what I told you to tell 'em, you have got to curse the spirit of apathy, indifference, the lack of expectation. The people who think that the good old days are gone will never receive your word. They have to understand that I saved the best for last. They have to understand, hallelujah, that I'm getting ready to show you why you had to go through what you had to go through to get what you had to get. You have to understand that you're standing on the cusp, on the cusp, on the very cusp, on the very edge, and that is why the enemy attacks you so. Why else would the enemy attack you in this season of your life? If you're finished, why's he fighting you? If you don't have any value, why are you up under attack? If God isn't gonna use you, why are you in so much spiritual warfare?
Touch your neighbor and say, "You better shake yourself". You better shake yourself. The reason the witch couldn't hex you, the reason the test didn't destroy you, the reason the temptation didn't take you out is God has a purpose for your life. The reason the car wreck didn't take you out, the reason the sickness didn't destroy you, God didn't just leave you here so you could watch other people do things, God left you here so you could seize your purpose. Somebody help me praise him. Somebody help me praise him. Somebody help me praise him. Somebody help me praise him. Somebody help me praise him. Somebody help me praise him. Somebody help me praise him. Somebody help me, somebody, somebody help me, somebody help.
Now, now, now, touch your neighbor and say, "I'm on the edge". I'm on the verge. I'm on the cusp of the kingdom. I gotta be close to it. I can tell, because it's gotten tougher, it's gotten harder, it's gotten more difficult. Any woman in labor will tell you the pains get greater when the baby gets closer. I don't know who I'm talking to, but the closer you get to the birthing of the baby, the greater the pains come. Solomon says, "I am not ready for this. I cannot handle this". He says, "I am a child. I have been offered a life that feels too big for me". This is called stress. Stress is born when you realize your own limitations. When you see that the demands keep coming and you're afraid that you cannot supply what life is demanding, that's how stress is born. Stress is the cause of over 70% of the physical diseases that are incurred in the human body. It's not coming from bacterias and infection, it's coming from stress and the pressure to stand up.
What I'm trying to tell you is that it is hard to be you. I'm afraid that what is before me is too big for who I am. I'm afraid that what is behind me has crippled me so that I cannot handle what is before me. I'm afraid that I will not be enough, and so I slip to you, and I ask you, Lord, to give me, if you're gonna give me something, give me wisdom. You can hold your money, yeah, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. You don't have to give me a check. You don't have to kill my haters, I've learned how to deal with them. I'm not worried about that, I can survive all of that. What I need from you, O God, is wisdom.
I need the mindset of where I'm going, but I have the mindset of where I've been. And until you get rid of the mindset of where you've been, you will never be able to seize where you're going. I need wisdom and understanding, because I'm playing a new role, and people are taking me serious in a way that I've never been taken serious before. We call this shuck and jive. I can kinda play around and fool around, but I've entered into a stage of life where it's show and tell, and now I've got to pray, Lord, because without you, I can do nothing. Without you, I can't stand the storm. Without you, I can't raise this child. Without you, I can't get through this period. Oh, but do you hear what I'm saying to you?
He says, "God, I cannot move into the kingdom without wisdom and understanding". Wisdom, wisdom, wisdom, give me wisdom. Give me wisdom. Give me what to do and when to do it, who to trust and who not to trust. Give me the wisdom when to speak and when to hold my peace. Give me the understanding of where I am. He says, "Lord, I don't know how to go in and out. I don't know the protocol of the world I'm in. I don't know how to navigate in the world I'm in. I don't know how to stand in the world I'm in, and before my foolishness destroys me, I want you to get this new mind in this old head, so I can move in a fresh direction".
I'm trying to tell you I don't care what your calendar says, you cannot have a new year if you got an old mind. Now, you can blow whistles, you can go out and celebrate, you can do whatever you wanna do, but you will never have a new year as long as you walk in an old mind. So, somebody this morning, I'm gonna forget those things which are behind me, and reach to those things which are before me. Somebody take 30 seconds and give God a crazy praise. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him like you're going somewhere. Praise him like you got something to live for. Praise him like you got a future and a destiny. Praise him until shackles fall off of you. Praise him 'til you stop feeling sorry for yourself. Praise him 'til you get a spirit of expectation. Somebody help me praise him in this church right now.
Slap your neighbor and say, "Neighbor, I'm right on the verge of reaching my dream". I couldn't have it sooner, I wasn't ready then, but I'm ready to step into my destiny. I'm ready to step into my purpose. I'm ready to assume my position. I'm ready to be the head, not the tail, above, not beneath. I'm ready to clap my hands and rejoice in my God. Yes, yes, I dare you to praise him. Praise him until hell gets nervous. Praise him until demons tremble. Praise him 'til depression falls off of you. Praise him 'til sickness has to turn you loose, praise him.
The Bible said, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth liberally and upbraideth not". I want you to understand there is wisdom for what's up ahead. You don't have to work harder, you have to work smarter. Oh, I'm talking to somebody. I don't know who it is. You're good at working hard, but for this you're gonna have to work smart. Your strength is not in your arms, it's in your head. You need to be praying for wisdom not wealth. If you get the wealth without the wisdom, you will lose it every time.