TD Jakes - Get In God's Path
And that in order to be ultimately, fully, completely, and totally fulfilled in life, you have to be able to get in God's path. I want to pause a minute and get every believer in here to throw your hands up and say, "God, I wanna get it in your path". If I'm not in your path, I want you to move me. If I'm not in your path, I want you to push me. If I'm not in your path, I want you to lead me. But God, God, I've been off course sometimes. I went down the wrong road sometimes. I made a wrong turn sometimes. I got into trouble sometimes. I took a detour sometimes. But now that I've come to my senses, Lord, I want you to lead me, guide me. I'm trying to find my way to your...
Touch three people and say, "Get in God's path". I was reading my Bible, Sarah, and I started to realize that most of the people in the New Testament that received a miracle in the Gospels got the miracle because they got in God's path. The woman with issue of blood, if she'd've been a street over... I'm gonna say that again 'cause I don't think you got it. If she'd've been one block over, she would have bled to death. The reason that her stocks were stopped was she got in God's, Blind Bartimaeus would've died a blind man if he would've been in the wrong alley, but he got his sight because he got in God's path. The ten lepers would've died of leprosy, but... touch somebody and say, "Get in the path. Get in the path". David says this. He says, "Lead me in a plain path because of my enemies".
In other words, there are too many people that want me to fail so I want you to lead me in a plain... y'all ain't got no enemies. Lead me. They're just waiting on me to lose everything I got. God, lead me in a plain, "Lead me in a plain path because of my enemies". My enemies round about me, such as breathe out cruelty. I want to be in your path. Paul, when he's getting ready to die, wrote Timothy and said, "I'm getting ready to die, but that's all right 'cause I got in the path. I finished my", Oh, y'all ain't talkin' to me. Y'all ain't talkin' to me. If there's somebody in here that's getting ready to commit suicide, don't take your life. You're going to need your life to get it on path. Something is waiting for you. Zacchaeus was a man that said, "If I can get in the path, everything else is going to take care of itself".
So he ran down the road and saw a tree, 'cause he knew he was short. But when you're short, God will always lead you. I want to talk to the people who are comin' up short, comin' up short as a husband, comin' up short as a wife, comin' up short in your finances, comin' up short in your business. I want you to know God's got a tree that will... Tell your neighbor, "I've been comin' up short, but I see a tree". Oh, I wish I had 30 seconds of... I came up short as a mother. I came up short as a father. I came up short as a business. I came up short in my finances. But every time the devil tried to kill me, God sent a tree. Oh, a tree. Lord, I thank you. I don't know who I'm preaching to but God's got a tree waiting on you. God's got a tree waiting on you. God's got a tree waiting on you. Hallelujah to God. This is your year to climb a tree. This is your year to climb. You don't hear me online. This is your year to climb a tree.
Slap somebody and tell em, "I'm short, but I'm climbing". I'm short, but I'm climbing. I'm late, but I'm climbing. I'm broke, but I'm climbing. I'm hurt, but I'm climbing. I'm depressed, but I'm climbing. I'm worried, but I'm climbing. I've been down, but I'm climbing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, last week the preacher told ya. Oh my God, she told ya. She really told ya that trees take a long time to grow. So I believe that God grew the tree before Zacchaeus's mama had ever met his daddy. God had already started growing a tree 'cause he already knew that Zacchaeus was gonna come up short. And I want you to know that God is growing you a... Sit with me. Sit with me 'cause you're making me get excited already. To think that God would love me enough to plant me a tree. To think that his foreknowledge was so profound that he already raised the tree so that when I got hungry enough, when I got thirsty enough, when I got humble enough to admit that I was not enough by myself, he already had a tree. God, who am I preaching to?
As soon as you stop trying to impress people with what you do have and humble down and admit what you don't have, you'll find your tree. You can't find your tree. You can't find your tree if you're caught up in yourself. You have to be humble enough to admit, "I'm short. I'm anointed, but I'm short. I'm fine, but I'm short. I'm gifted, but I'm short". See, you can allow people to so focus on your gifts that you forget about your height. Don't ever get so high on what you do have that you don't recognize what you don't have. Your tree is depending on you to admit that you're short, but your ego has got you so drunk. That's why you don't praise him, 'cause you're too important. What does it look like for the chief of the publicans to be in a tree?
I read this and I thought to myself, "I know a lot of rich people". Now, rich is a relative term. To everybody in this room, you are rich to somebody. I realize that I had just enough money to get in the room with people who really had money. And when I met people who really had money, I came up short. I said, "Lord, I sure is short, Jesus. I sure is short". I didn't know. I didn't know. You don't know how short short is 'til you get around tall. You didn't hear that. You're gonna get that when you get home.
He climbed up a tree so he could see. You're not gonna get a vision on the level you're on. You got to climb higher so you can see. The reason you can't see your way clear is that you living on the level of your problems. But if you climb above your situation, if you climb above your circumstance, if you climb above your dilemma, you're gonna see on a level that you've never seen 'cause you're gonna be on a level that you've never been. Good God Almighty. That's so good I'm gonna buy this CD myself. Sometimes what is coming is so big that you gotta start climbing before it comes. You can't wait 'til it comes and then start climbing because you won't be ready for what God is about to do in your life. I don't know who I'm preaching to, but the Holy Ghost said, "Start climbing".
Now, now, wait, wait, wait. You want me to climb, Lord? I don't see nothin' goin' on? Noah didn't see no rain when he built the ark. A guy was texting me last night. He was talkin' about somebody who just sold their business for $1.3 billion, and that several years ago that he had connected with a particular company and they had gone into partnership when the company was still small. And so I text him back and said, "Do you think that he connected with the company because he had instinct or intel"? And he text me back and said, "A little bit of both", because he connected with the company while the company was yet small. And because of that connection, that foresight, as the company exploded, his business exploded and he just sold it for $1.3 billion, with a B, so I was asking questions. I said, "In this case, I am not the teacher. I am the student, so explain to me what he did". He said, "It was a little bit of both, intel and instinct".
He probably had a little bit of classified information, but he also had instinct. Get out in front of it. Get out in front of it. Get out in front of it. Get out in front of it. Get out in front of it. That's what separates the men from the boys is their ability to get out in front of it. Now, you gotta understand this, I'm going to call him a fool. This fool is, yeah, I'm gonna call him a fool. I don't mean it in a bad way. I almost preached about bein' a fool this morning. This fool, 'cause God uses fools. The Bible said he uses fools to confound the wise. This fool, and he looked like a fool 'cause nothing was happening. Nothing was happening. This fool's running. Ain't nobody chasing you. Nobody's up here. You done ran out here with your rich, important self, looking stupid in front of everybody, and climbed up a tree on a hunch.
Do you hear what I'm sayin' to ya? He said, "I believe I'm in God's path and I believe this tree is for me". So I can no longer use my shortness as an excuse because God has provided a tree to make up the difference between my limitations and my opportunities. Oh, y'all don't hear what I'm sayin'. Oh, somebody oughta just, I know you got a record, but I got a tree. I know you made some mistakes, but I got a tree. I know you had a baby out of wedlock, but I got a tree. I know you've been persecuted, but I got a tree. I know you was on drugs, but I got a tree. And if you get in that tree, I'm gonna pass by. I am amazed at the people who come to church and spend more time getting dressed for church than they do energy once they get to church because they like to look churchy, but they don't praise God.
Why would you get out of bed on your only free day and come to a worship service and then not worship? That's kind of stupid to me. That's like going to a bar if you don't drink. Why are you here? Brother Fred, when I thought about it, I thought, "You know what? This is a class in humility". Zacchaeus is short to teach us humility, to make us admit that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. See, the problem with the Pharisees is that they would never admit that they came short. They were so busy trying to impress everybody with how high they were, and how big they were, and how spiritual they were, they never would come short. The problem with the children of Israel when they got the law, the law was never given to them for them to live up to the law.
It was given to them so that they could admit that they couldn't keep the law. Because the same God that gave them the law, at the same time gave them the tabernacle because the tabernacle was a tree if they would admit that they were short. But because they wouldn't admit that they were short... y'all don't hear what I'm sayin'. Zacchaeus climbed up the tree. And this is... oh, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. This is what the Holy Spirit said, "Be sure that you explain to them that there's all this murmuring goin' on".
The atmosphere is not conducive for the miracle. There's all of this controversy. Jesus has got somethin' else on his mind. The disciples are stressed out. They'd been fussing at people. They've been flipping out. It's not a good day. It's not a good time. It's not a good atmosphere. And the Bible tells us that there's murmuring goin'. And the Holy Spirit said to me that in the midst of all of this chatter that's going on in your life right now, that you have been waiting on the chatter to stop, but God said he's gonna do it in the middle of the chatter. The enemy can't stop God from blessing you. He's trying to distract you with all of the chatter, but God said it's time for you to focus because the chatter can't stop God from what he's about to do in your life.
Stop responding to the chatter and get your focus back on your assignment, because nothing that they're saying matters to what God is gonna do in your life. Who am I talkin' to? Just wave your hand. I just want to know who I'm talking to. I don't care if you're sitting on your couch, wave your hand if I'm talking to you. Zacchaeus gets in God's path. He climbs up the tree and he waits. He has positioned himself. You hear me, don't ya? He has positioned himself for an encounter with God. You know why some people go to the same church you go to and get nothing out of it? Because they have not positioned themselves for an encounter with God. You can't get any more out of the service than what you put into it. You have to position yourself.
So look here, look here, look here. He positioned himself and here comes Jesus. And Jesus comes to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus didn't come to Jesus. Jesus comes to Zacchaeus because he has positioned himself, and the Bible says that when Jesus got to the tree, he looked up. Don't let God look up and you not be there. Don't let God look up and you not be there because that's what brought about the curse. "Adam, where art thou? You're not in the path. You're not in the place. You're not where you're supposed to be. Adam"! You let the murmuring distract you. When the voice of the Lord walked through the cool of the garden, he's looking for Adam, "Where are you"? I want to be where you want me to be when you want me to be there.