TD Jakes - The Atmosphere of Change
Now they have a king, but they think like slaves. It sounds like a good preaching today. A lot of times you're preaching kingdom food, but you're talking to people with slave mentality. And when you talk to people with slave mentality, they eat the bones and leave the meat. My mother used to say, "Eat the meat and throw away the bones," but no, today, we eat the bones and we throw away the meat. Samuel, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. Samuel, who was only born at God's divine request. Samuel, the only prophet in the Bible that prophesied after his death. Samuel, who was one of the most anointed prophets of the Old Testament, has now kissed the face of Saul and anointed him to be king. And then he gives him a challenge, a threefold challenge. I'mma give you this real quick and I'll go.
Number one, he gives him the confirmation. He says, "Now, being anointed is not enough. I want you to go. And when you get to a particular area," he said, "you know, down by Rachel's tomb," he said, "Two men are going to come down there. Not one, but two. And they're going to tell you that your father has been looking for you and that he's been concerned about the sheep. But the sheep have come back home, but you have not come back home and he is concerned about you". He said he did this so that Saul would have an absolute confirmation that Samuel was the anointed man of God. You cannot use word that is unconfirmed. You can only use a word that has a confirmation. Stop marrying people 'cause somebody told you to marry him. Stop doing things because somebody said, "Thus saith the Lord". If there is no confirmation, there is no application.
And so there was a confirmation to confirm the authenticity. And notice, not only how he confirmed it, notice where he confirmed it. He confirmed it at Rachel's tomb. You remember Rachel's tomb? Can I preach? Lord have mercy. You remember Rachel's tomb? Rachel what's the matriarch of the Old Testament who was pregnant with her second child and went into labor on the road to Ephratah. And the Bible says in the back of a wagon, an ol' lopsided raggedy wagon, while they were yet a little ways from Ephratah, her water broke and she went into labor. And she pushed out her final baby just before she gave up the ghost, and the nurse caught the baby and told the mother, says, "Don't worry, it's a boy".
And as Rachel was taking her flight, as she was closing her eyes and going into a death rattle, she said, "Benoni". She named him, "Son of My Sorrows," 'cause that was how she saw it. But ol' Jacob was sitting on the wagon, and he hopped down off the wagon, "Whoa, Nelly! Whoa"! And he brought his old body back to the back of the wagon where he could hear the women squalling. And he opened up the wagon and moved the curtains out of the way just in time to see the love of his life slip away into glory. And between her legs comes the hope of his legacy, a child she called Benoni, Son of My Sorrows. But Jacob looked at him and said, "No".
His point of view was totally different. He had been named by a dying woman. Her point of view is, "He's a Son of my Sorrows. I'm sorry I won't raise you. I'm sorry I won't be there with you. I'm sorry I didn't get to see you through. I'm sorry my water broke before I got there. I'm sorry I won't be able to watch you grow. I'm sorry I won't be able to give you my wisdom". But Jacob was not dying. He was alive. He saw him as, "Son of My Strength," and he birthed him and called him Benjamin, Son of My Strength.
Now, Saul is a descendant of Benjamin, and the reason that Samuel tells Saul to go to by Rachel's tomb is so that Rachel can see that all that she suffered was not in vain. And God said to somebody watching tonight, said, "Before it's over, I'm gonna show ya that all that you suffered was not in vain". The nights you were up, the nights you cried, the nights your food wouldn't go down, the nights you were pacing the floor, God said it was not in vain. There's a king coming out of your storm. There was a reason for that season in your life. I don't know who I'm preaching to, but I feel like I'm talking to somebody. If you're in the house, make some noise. If I'm in your business, make some noise. If I'm talkin' to your head, make some noise. Open your mouth and give God a praise, a praise, a praise, a praise.
Lord, I thank you my labor was not in vain. Lord, I thank you my crying was not in vain. Lord, I thank you. I thank you, Lord. He said, go down and walk past Rachel's grave. Let her see that it wasn't just sorrow. You birthed a king. Let her see that the prophecy was right. Let her see all's well that ends well. Let her see that I brought success out of your sorrow. I brought day out of your night. I brought promise out of your pain. Let her see that if I be for ya, I'm more than the world against ya. Let her see that I'm God all by myself. I don't even need you to be alive to bring my Word to pass. If I promise you, I'm gonna make that thing happen. And God's going to bring it to pass.
I need 30 seconds of crazy praise. Just crazy, Holy Ghost, supernatural praise right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Praise him. Praise him like you mean it. Praise him like you got a made-up mind. Praise him like the devil's defeated. Praise him like you're about to deliver a promise. Praise him like God is about to perform a miracle in your life and the oil is flowing. The oil is flowing. It's comin' out of your mouth. It's comin' out of your praise. It's comin' out of your tear ducts. It's comin' out of the clapping of your hands. You got five seconds left to give God a praise right now. Just five, just five. Just four, just four. Just three, just three. Just two, just two. In your last second, shout to God like you lost your mind. Yes, yes, yes.
So the first test, the first test brought confirmation. The second test brought consecration because he said, "Go 'til you get to Bethel". Bethel is the house of God. He said, "And when you get to Bethel, you're gonna see some men heading up to Bethel and they're going up to worship". He says, "You're gonna see three men. They're gonna be carrying three goats. They're going to have three loaves of bread. They're gonna have a flagon of wine". He said, "They're not going to offer you the goats. They're not going to offer you the wine. They're gonna offer you two loaves of bread". Why did they have the bread in the first place? The bread was something you used at an offering up to God. The wine was something you used in an offering up to God. The goats were something you used in an offering up to God. It was unusual to share God's offering with anyone, but they're going to give you two loaves.
I believe that the two loaves are prophetic for the splitting of Israel into two kingdoms. And that when you reign, you're gonna have to reign over Judah and Israel. There are two loaves, but they're made out of one lump. Can you lead through a split? Hey, can you lead through a split? And they're gonna give you two loaves of bread. Bear in mind, he's still greasy. All of this is happening with oil all over his clothes. He hadn't gotten a chance to change. Did you know that the oil is still on you? I know you went through a lot last year, but did you know the oil is still on you? I know you suffered a lot of things, but did you know the oil is still on you? I know you had to cry yourself to sleep, but you're still greasy. You're still greasy. They lied on you, but you're still greasy. They talked about you, but you're still greasy. They backed you up against the wall, but you're still greasy.
Look at somebody and tell 'em, "I'm still greasy". I'm still greasy. You lied on me, but you didn't take my grease. You talked about me, but you couldn't take my grease. You betrayed me, but you couldn't take my grease. You hurt my feelings, but you couldn't hurt my grease. What God has for me is for me. Since God anointed me, no devil in hell, no witch, no root worker, no dust thrower, no mafia, no gang leader, nobody could take this oil that I have. The world didn't give it to me and the world can't take it away. Somebody type now, "I got it". I got it. I lost my car, but I got it. I lost my job, but I got it. I lost my friends, but I got it. I lost my marriage, but I got it. I'm still greasy. You left me, but the oil is still here. Walk where you gotta walk. Talk like you gotta talk. Move like you gotta move. The oil is still here.
Now, Saul takes his greasy self to Bethel, and there he experiences the consecration of the loaves. The consecration of the loaves. The two loaves. It's the same thing that Jesus did on the road to Emmaus when he sat down with the disciples. And the Bible said that they saw him not through the cup, but they saw him through the order of the breaking of bread. God reveals himself in the breaking of bread. He did with two fish and five loaves of bread. He revealed himself in the order of the breaking of bread. 2020 was a breaking year. But you see God in the breaking. So that was his consecration. God is not worried about changing your situation. God is worried about changing you. Because if God can change you, you can change the situation.
The problem with you is that your perspective is influenced by your emotions. Rachel, because you're in pain, everything coming out of you is named from your point of view. You want me to change the baby? I don't need to change the baby. I need to change the mother, 'cause you name the baby. So go by Rachel's grave and let's fix this thing, that her sorrow was really my strength; that her pain was really my purpose; that her problem was my power. And then go to Bethel, where Jacob has discovered the house of God and you'll see some men getting ready to worship. And I'm gonna share my offering with you. This covenant is going to legitimize my relationship with you as a king so that you can reign over your domain.
Get out of other people's business. You ain't got nothing to do with what's goin' on in their house, in their marriage, on their job, in their life. It's going to take all of your anointing to rule over what God has given you dominion over. He walked on a little bit further, and he goes and he says, "When you come to this next place, you're gonna see the prophets coming down off the hill. Now, watch. In the second place, they were going up to worship. In the third place, they're coming down, having been in my presence. They have been in my glory. And you're gonna see the prophets coming out of my glory and they're going to be singing, and they're going to be playing on harps, and they're gonna be playing instruments".
Music is an important part of this text. Give me some music. Music is an important part of this text. The reason I want him to play for a minute is that music controls atmosphere. If you wanna change your house and you can't get no new furniture, and you can't paint anything, and you can't move any walls, if you just turn on some music, music will change the atmosphere. Yeah, yeah. He walked into that. He didn't create it, he walked into it. He said, "When you get there, they're gonna already be playing. You're going to step into an atmosphere that is not your own. The atmosphere is waiting on you". God said he's got an atmosphere that is waiting on you and you are about to step into a glory you didn't even create yourself. You're getting ready to step into an anointing. You got an anointing on you, but the anointing on you will never replace what I'm about to put in you. You're about to step into it.
What you've been wearing on the outside is about to get on the inside. Lift your hands and open your mouth. And I want you to praise him. He brought you through all the heartache. He brought you through all the pain and you're still here. Second, I want you to praise him because he kept you alive for a reason. If God didn't have anything for you, he could've took you out of here. But the very fact he left you alive means that God has something in store for you. Thirdly, I want you to praise him because you're getting ready to step into a supernatural, divine, Holy Ghost, saturated power from the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And in just a few minutes, in just a few minutes, in just a few minutes, you're getting ready to walk into a change that God's been waiting on, that you've been praying for, that your family's been needing, that your spouse has been craving. God is about to change souls' hearts.
The atmosphere. The atmosphere. The atmosphere. Here comes the atmosphere of change. You can't change anything until you get in the atmosphere of change. I feel an atmosphere coming in this place right now. I feel an atmosphere. You have to be a survivor to understand what I'm talkin' about. I feel an atmosphere. And the Bible said that when Saul stepped into the atmosphere, he became... check this out. He became what was around him. You see, Saul wasn't a prophet, but when he got around the prophets, he started prophesying. You need to change your circle. You need to be in an atmosphere of change. The people you've been around you've been workin' your nerves. You've been in an atmosphere of chaos, but you've gotta get in an atmosphere of change so you can find out what you can do.
Saul didn't know he could prophesy. Saul didn't know he could be used of God. But when he got around people that were being used of God, he became what he was around. If you change your circle, you'll change your year. If you change your friends, you'll change your year. If you change who you run around with, you'll change your year. If you change the people in your phone book, you'll change your year. If you stop letting the same people eat up your day, you'll change your entire year. When Saul stepped into that... He started to transform. He started to transform. He started to play like 'em. He started to play like them. He started to move like them. He started to feel like them. He started to think like them. He started to talk like them. He opened his mouth to speak and he sounded like them.
He opened his mouth to speak, and the Bible says, God said, "I'm going to turn you into another man. It's gonna be you, but it's not gonna be you. He's going to have on your shoes, but it's not gonna be you. He's gonna be walkin' around in your jeans, but it's not gonna be you. I'm getting ready to turn you into another man. All I'm gonna do is drop you in an atmosphere. Oh, I'm going to drop you in an atmosphere of change and the rest of it is up to you".
Here we go. Are you ready? On your mark, get set, let's change. Let's change. Let's change. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three. Come on, come on. Step into it. Change! Change! Change! It is here. It is here. It is here. It is me, but it ain't me. I am the same, but I'm not the same. I'm not the same. I'm not the same. I'm not the same. I can move better. I can walk better. I can talk better. I can think better. I can fight better. I can stand better. I can cry better. I can preach better. I feel a change. I feel a change. I feel a change. I feel a change. The devil don't like it. The devil don't like it. The devil don't like it. He can't stop it. Bring your greasy self right into the middle of that change.
Step into it. Step, step, step, step, step, step, step! Atmosphere of change. Atmosphere of change. Atmosphere of change. Atmosphere of change. Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere. The atmosphere. The atmosphere. The atmosphere. The atmosphere. The atmosphere. The atmosphere. The atmosphere. I feel a change in the atmosphere. It's not my clock that changed, it's me. It's not my calendar that changed, it's me. It's not my watch that changed, it's me. You've been waiting on a new year. God's been waiting on a new you. As much as lies within you, be new. As much as lies within you, be new, be new.