TD Jakes - The Proceeding Word of God (03/09/2021)
Jesus teaches that man lives not by bread alone but by every word proceeding from God's mouth, emphasizing the need to hear God's current voice rather than relying on past words. Through examples like Abraham nearly sacrificing Isaac and Peter walking on water, the preacher urges believers to quiet external noise, worship deeply, and listen for the Holy Spirit's fresh guidance to sustain and transform life.
The Proceeding Word of God
"It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.'" Now, "Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God". One translation just says, "Every word of God," the other translation says, "Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God". Somebody say proceedeth.
I want you to think about that because that is what we are talking about right now, "The Proceeding Word of God".
The proceeding word of God is important for us to understand because it suggests that God is not through talking, and that is important for you to know because a lot of times we are going off of what God has said. Have God not said? We are going by what God has said, and not what he is saying right now.
Hearing God's Current Voice
I am going to make this clear to you where you can really get it. You remember in Genesis 22, when God said to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thy only son... and go to a place I will show thee; and there you shall offer him up as a burnt sacrifice unto me".
And Abraham grabbed his son and he grabbed the wood and they started going up the hill to the mountain. And his son is going up there, he knows something is up, you know? He said Daddy, I see the knife, something is wrong with this, I see the wood, "But where is the sacrifice"? The son is starting to feel like maybe, you know, am I dinner or something?
And he gets up there and Abraham takes his son, his only son, and lays him out on the altar and ties him down on the altar, and puts the wood up under him, fully prepared to offer him up like you would a lamb for a burnt offering. He even pulls the knife and raises the knife up to slay his son.
And then God says, "Abraham, Abraham," and he speaks right to him, "Behold, I have got a ram tied up in the thicket".
The Danger of Antiquated Words
Now, if Abraham would have continued to walk in what God had said, he would have slain his son. The only reason Isaac is alive is because Abraham was in tune with the proceeding word of God.
I see so many churches and so many ministries and so many Christians who are walking in an antiquated word of something that God said to you five years ago, three years ago, two years ago, 10 years ago. And you are obedient to what God has said but you are not close enough to hear what God is... Oh, this is good.
And when you do not hear the proceeding word of God, there will be casualties, wherever there is deafness. There will be casualties wherever there is deafness.
Now, if man shall only be sustained, because that is what, "Live by," means. Man shall only be sustained by the proceeding word of God, if my survival depends on it, I need to hear.
See, a lot of people come to church, you just like a little inspiration, you just want to get a little inspiration from God. Some of us come to church because we need direction, and we are listening at the word of God, we are listening at the sermon being preached, we are listening at the message, we are praying ourselves, we are having devotionals every morning because we know how important it is to get the Word of God right.
The Need to Listen
Because we must confess, we have gotten it wrong sometime, and gotten in trouble sometimes going in our own way.
And I do not want to go in my own way, I want to go in God's way so I want to hear clearly, what are you saying at this junction? I do not want to quit this job if you are telling me not to quit this job, I do not want to move to Alaska if it is not your will for me to go to Alaska.
I do not want to make a dumb decision, Lord, I need to hear from you. Touch your neighbor and say he still speaks.
The question then becomes, not so much, does he still speak? but, are you still listening? Because, if I am correct, the Bible said, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church".
So God says do not doubt that I am talking, I am doubting that you are listening. It is not about me talking, it is, are you listening?
Let all the parents say amen. It is not that I did not warn you, it is not that I did not tell you that boy was not no good, it is not that I did not tell you to leave that girl alone. It is not that I did not tell you, but are you listening?
Distractions and Noise
And I want to suggest to you, I know that there are some people that rebel or just intentionally do not listen, but there are also other people who really have a good heart but we get so distracted, by the noise and the pestilence and the things going on around us, that we lose sight of what we heard; like Peter walking on the water.
When Peter was walking on water, Peter stepped off the boat into the water, and we say he was walking on the water, I say he was walking on the Word, because you cannot walk on water, you can walk on Word.
Sometimes Word is water, sometimes water is Word. And when Jesus said, "Come," Peter did not step off the boat till Jesus said come, because when Jesus said come, not only did he give him permission, it gave him foundation.
Where Jesus says come, I could walk into a shaky situation and still remain stable because I know in whom I have believed and I can remain stable.
Though the winds and the waves are boisterous all around me, I can keep my head above water, and keep on progressing and going forward when others are going down because Jesus said come.
Divine Permission
That is how important divine permission is. Divine permission can allow me to prosper when other people are going bankrupt. Divine permission can cause me to get healed while other people are getting worse.
Divine permission can cause me to be successful where other people fail. I do not always have to read the newspaper to get my cues because everything around me could be going down, but if God said come, I can step out on his Word.
The problem is, the only problem Peter found was when he start listening at the winds and the waves, distractions. It is hard to hear God in noise and this is the noisiest time we ever had in our lives.
It is just noisy, just noisy. All kind of noise. All on TV, all on your phone, all in your life, all on your job, all around you; 24/7 you are bombarded with noise.
There is a reason the Bible said, "Be still and know that I am God". I am going to say that again. It is a reason the Bible said, "Be still and know that I am God".
Finding Stillness
There is a reason the Bible said, "He leadeth me beside the still waters". If God is going to restore your soul, you got to get in a calm place.
Not he say, not she say, not they say, not I heard, not this, not that nor the other, you got to be still.
And that is why the devil wants to keep you so busy that you cannot find your still place so that you can have a sure word from the Lord.
I am talking to somebody, I do not even know who it is. The enemy cannot stop God from talking but he can stop you from listening, and you just got to be in a still place.
I was traveling, I just got back, I have been on the road and I got, you know, it is interesting, these limo drivers, not limo drivers but car drivers, car services that come and pick you up.
It depends on the mood of the driver what the experience is like. And I had to speak and I got this driver who act like he was on speed or something, not because he was driving fast, he would just start talking like somebody just, talking about all kinds of stuff, his girlfriend or how they met and where they went to school and how they grew up and all that kind of stuff.
Eliminating Distractions
And I am getting ready to preach, and anybody who knows me, that when I am getting ready to preach, I do not like to hear anybody say anything. I do not like noise, I do not like, I do not even want to hear Gospel music, I do not want to hear other people preach.
I want to get so in tune with God that when I walk up there to minister, that I have got a clear and a definite word from God.
Sometimes the enemy will put people in your life just to create noise and turbulence. They are just rattling in your life, it does not make any sense, they are just chattering in your life to break your focus.
Somebody lift your hands and say I need to hear from God. My children are depending on me to hear from God, my future depends on the fact that I hear from God.
I need to hear from God. We need to hear from you, we need a word from you. I want you to understand what you got when you have the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit's Role
What you have when you have the Holy Spirit is inside information. "He shall not speak of himself," he is not just going to talk, he is not just going to say things, he is going to bring you fresh manna from heaven, he is going to come right out of the boardroom of glory and he is going to say, "That building is yours".
He is not saying that to make you dance, he is not saying that to make you shout, he is speaking to you of things to come.
I am here right now, in this building right now, because I walked into this, was not this building but next door, I walked into the building that existed at that time and asked God one question. Is it mine?
I did not ask you how I am going to pay for it, where the people are going to come from, what is going to be done about this or that or the other, how is this going to happen over here, how many days do I have to make transition, what am I going to do with my mother and father, what am I going to do about the... No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no, one thing, is it mine?
And when the Holy Spirit said yes, I walked out there and told the man, "Sign the papers, I am doing the deal".
Obedience Over Questions
Obedience is better than sacrifice. There is no need to ask God what his will is if you are going to bombard him with a bunch of questions.
I am going to tell you something that I learned from experience: God is not big on details.
He told Abraham you are going to have a child, but he did not tell him you are going to be an old man when you have the child, your body is going to be dried up, your wife is going to be dried up, you are going to feel like it is not going to happen but I am still going to bring it to pass.
God does not give you a lot of details, he just tells you what the end is going to be. Talk to me, somebody.
I do not know who I am talking to but I am talking to somebody right now. You need to stop with all of your questions and just say yes.
Why does God give us the Holy Spirit? And this is why I put it up there now. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities".
The Spirit did not come to our perfectness, the Spirit came into our brokenness. He was drawn to me because I was messed up, he said, "They that are not sick do not need a physician. I came to seek and to save that which is lost".
I chose you because you are crazy, "My strength is made perfect in weakness".
The Spirit's Intercession
I chose you so that, when I stand up in you, they are going to know it is me and not you, they are going to know that I was on your side, they are going to know you could not do this without me.
Who am I preaching to in here? "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities," because not only do we not know his voice, "We know not what we should pray for as we ought".
I do not trust myself to pray because sometimes my prayer will take a side road and go right in the middle of it. I mean, just right in the middle of the prayer, right in the middle of praying about love and forgiveness and everything, and kumbaya and everything.
And right in the middle of prayer, I will say something like, "Kill him," just something stupid just jumps out of my mouth. Pray for me, it just happens sometimes. Sometimes I do not know how to pray.
Give me the job or take it, keep Mama here or let her go, move to Chicago or fight for Dallas. "We know not what to pray for as we ought".
But, "The Spirit helpeth our infirmities: we know not what to pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself," that is where I want, "The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings".
"Why is Bishop making that noise, Mommy? He sound like somebody having a baby". I mean to.
The Spirit itself is groaning and moaning down in you until Christ's nature is birthed in you; he is travailing and warring for you.
The Spirit is working on the inside of you because, while other people are talking about what you do, the Spirit has gotten down in there and he knows why you do it.
Worship for Inner Healing
And he is trying to heal you from the inside, not from the outside, so that you will not need people like you need them, you will not need validation like you need it, you will not need commendation like you need it.
You do not need six lovers, you do not need seven wives, you do not need 12 white horses to feel good about yourself. The Spirit is down in you.
Right now, while the devil is trying to kill you, the Holy Ghost is down in you with groanings and moanings, fighting to heal the why of you and not the what of you.
And when he gets through warring for you, you will know his voice because you will have heard that groaning in your soul till there is an awareness in your Spirit: that is God, that is God for my life.
That is not my flesh, that is not my pride, that is not my temper, that is not my lust, that is God.
We do not ask you to worship because we want to have an electrifying service, we do not ask you to worship because we want theatrics and spiritual gymnastics and biblical calisthenics.
Spirit-to-Spirit Contact
We ask you to worship so that you can contact God Spirit-to-spirit, Spirit-to-spirit.
We ask you to worship so that you can strip yourself of all of your agendas and all of your opinions, and all of your attitudes, and come down before him, naked in his presence, naked in his presence.
We are not asking you to worship because we are black or because it is cultural or because we are Pentecostal, it is denominational.
No, we are asking you to worship because God has to get in your spirit before he can change your life.
We need you to get contact in your spirit, and we are asking you to worship because you do more for your flesh than you do for your spirit.
You do more for your flesh than you do for your spirit. Everything flesh wants, flesh gets.
That is why Jesus went on the fast, as I close, he was trying to deny his flesh so he could awaken his spirit.
Awakening the Spirit
And God said the reason your flesh is running you is because you are more focused on your outside than you are on your inside.
But when Zion travails, sons and daughters shall be born. I am lonely, I am hungry, hold me, touch me; all about your flesh.
But when you worship, when you worship, when you lift your hands and open your mouth and start worshiping, when you open up and surrender your agenda to God and say, if I do not get a position, if I do not get a kingdom, if I never get to preach, if I never record, if I never write the book...
When you worship, when you worship. My God, I wish I had a musician who was sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
When you worship, when you worship, when you worship, the deepest part of you cries out to the deepest part of God.
When you worship the Holy Ghost gets to the why of you and beyond the what of you.
I want you to lift your hands and I want you to open your mouth.
And worship leaders, you do not need a song to worship lead, if you will worship leader, lead us in worship.
We do not want to hear you sing, we want to hear you worship. We want to hear you worship until something breaks open in your heart, worship until something is healed that has been bleeding in you all of your life.
Worship to Break Chains
Worship to your grandmama's words do not matter, worship till what your daddy did does not hurt.
"Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors," because God wants to say something to you.
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church".
I am here, because I need the Lord, it is not that the Lord needs me. I did not come to pay a bill or make a visit or do a checkup, I am here because I need the Lord.
I need to hear his voice, I need him to speak at me and walk at me and talk at me, and help me with my temper and help me with my pride and help me with my mouth and help me with my anger.
And help me because I can be insensitive, and help me because I am anointed but I am rude, I am gifted but I got a nasty mouth, and I got it because my mama had a nasty mouth.
And I really do not know how to be nice but, God... get down, I dare you to open up before him.
It does not matter whether Bishop preaches or whether the choir sings, or whether the worship singers sing.
It matters that I hear you speak in me, talk to me, Jesus.
I surrender my will and my agenda and my brokenness and my barrenness and my frustration and my attitude, here it is.