The Collective Expression of His Essence - Bishop T.D. Jakes

[Music] I'm going to Ephesians chap 2 verse 13-22 and I'm probably going to take you somewhere different than you're used to going on a on a Sunday morning I'm probably going to to swim upstream against the current of the culture because the culture as a whole is very narcissistic and I hate to use that word because it's probably overused in our society today but but it's it's all about what's in it for me but if you will indulge me I think you're going to understand what's in it for you Ephesians 213 through 22 when you

have it say amen amen but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made n by the blood of Christ oh gosh made not by the blood of Christ for he is our peace who have made both one talking about Jews and Gentiles if you read read the old chapter he's made both one he's Blended them together in a very unique fashion and have broken down the middle wall of petition between us gosh having abolished in his flesh the enmity even the law of Commandments contained in ordinances he took he took the

thing that separated us and he abolished it in his flesh even the law of Commandments contained in ordinances for to make in himself of Twain to one new man so making peace and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross having slain the enmity thereby he vanquished what we were fighting about he ended what was contrary to our Unity he moved the Obstacle of our religiosity out of the way that is not to say that the law was wrong because the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul but

it put a wall between the Jew and the Gentile and Jesus brought it down having abolished it in his flesh he completed did it he fulfilled it so that the Gentile who was lawless had just as many rights to come before God as the Jew because he took all of that out of the way and came and preached peace to you which were a far off and you don't have to be uh living 2,000 years ago to have been a far off he came and preached peace to you which were a far off and to

them that were nigh for through him we both have access oh is't that beautiful see there are some people in this church who have been raised in church all their life they don't know what cigarette smoke smells tastes like they they've never smoked a joint in their life theyve never tasted alcohol in their life their mama was in Holiness that they are in the Hol they were pure they've never done anything never been on a dance floor don't know how to do anything don't know how to shuffle don't know how to slide don't gamble don't

cheat don't know how to do anything they there are I'm there really are some people in the church who have been in the church all their life I mean really in the church and then there's the rest of us [Applause] we we kind of you know we took the long way in we did some window shopping and we stopped by the store and and we peaked in the club and we dropped it like it was hot and picked it up like it was cold and and imagine now we're all in here together for through him

we both ain't no need of you looking down your nose at me through him we both have access by one Spirit see by one Spirit that's what did it one Spirit unto the father I can come in there just like you can with your holy self With Your Righteous self with your never told a lie stole a cookie self I can come in there with crumbs on my mouth and come boldly to the throne of grace through him now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the Saints and of the

household of God I want you to pay attention to that go back to that verse again because I want them to see now therefore ye Are No More Strangers you you're not standing outside knocking at the door nor foreigners you're not immigrants you you don't you don't have to wonder do you belong let me tell you something you got just as much right to be in this church you might have been a drug dealer drug user you might you you might have been all kinds of I could name all kind of stuff and y'all be

talking about wo like you wasn't it but every everything is in here now therefore here's the good news you're no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the Saints fellow citizens with the shap with equal rights and of the household and I want I want you pay close attention that that we collectively make up the household the household of God come on and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets Jesus Christ himself being the Chief [Music] Cornerstone the apostles laid the foundation Christ is the Cornerstone God is builing building a

house out of people in whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto a holy Temple in the Lord notice it didn't say Tabernacle but we grow into a temple of the Lord and I'm going to get into why it didn't say Tabernacle in whom ye also are build it together together together together say that together together together in whom you also are building together for a habitation of God the Reason God brought you together is that you're going to be a habitation you're going to be God's address a habitation of God through the spirit

can you say amen amen now this is not a jazzy title it's not a fancy title I got some and I could use some but but this is kind of a little bit more of a a Collegiate title a theological title A a title that I want you to to let it sit in you the collective expression of his Essence the collective Collective that takes me away from the individual the collective expression of not my Essence my opinion my attitude my story what happened to me when I was five what happened to me now what

my last husband said to me left me want no no no no no no no I'm not to express that I'm to express his Essence in the earth if the world is to see him they're going to see him through me no let me fix it they're going to see him through us and we're living at a time that we are losing our sense of us we have given up us for me we have given up Unity for identity I I identify I identify I I don't care whether you like I don't care everything is

about I but in the Bible you do whatever you want to do in the Bible the emphasis is on our Collective expression of his Essence which makes me dependent upon you because I cannot be a full expression of his Essence by myself it is it is something that happens when we get together and so the reason the enemy is determined for us not to to get together is because there is something that amplifies about God in our connectivity that we don't have in our individuality are you hearing what I'm saying I'm just setting the stage

for it I I want you to get this let's pray Spirit of the Living God fall fresh on us as we delve into the word help me to get through this Lord help me to get through it in a way that's clear and succin help me to get through it in a way that has synchronization and revelation help me to get through it in a way that reflects how you gave it to me in the name of Jesus we pray somebody shout amen you may be seated now I I need the woman right at the

top of the message to help me out a little bit how how many women in here got on makeup okay in my church we put you out for that but back in the old days they they you you you would have wooed but how many women in here that got on makeup put it on in a mirror how many people know when you left the mirror there was no makeup on it so you didn't put lipstick on the mirror because the mirror is just a reflection that helps you to have accuracy as you get what

do y'all call beat down which is a terrible Name by the way y'all y'all can come up with the they her face is beat like somebody punch you in the mouth when the Bible says that we were created in His image and in his likeness it it it does not make us the person but the mirror we we we reflect the glory of God let me let me use another one the the moon has no light and yet it lights up the night it only lights up the night because of its proximity to the sun

and the light that is radiating from the Moon is really a mirror of its ability to be in proximity and the reason it's half moon quarter moon full moon is As the World Turns it is able to get less and less reflection at Full Moon it is able to totally reflect a light that is not its own this light that you have is not your light it is the collective light of God so if if you want to spend all your time studying yourself you're studying a dark moon if you want to better understand yourself

you have to study the Sun not the moon if you want to see yourself it ain't no need in taking pictures of the mirror you must begin to understand that understanding God is important and we are living in an age that almost I I flip through uh Instagram sometime listening at the preacher and and 10 out of 12 messages is about us how to pick a good husband and how to get married how to recover from divorce and all that kind of stuff and there's a time and a place for all of that but I

can't hardly find anybody left in the church today that's teaching about God it would be like going in the liquor store and they don't have nothing but Isis the church is supposed to bring you to God we're the last institution that should be talking about God that is what we do that is who we are and yet we have trained our people to come to church to get encouragement for them aside from God as if God were totally independent from your peace if you could generate your own peace through knowledge that's called humanism come on

in order to really get your peace and your power and your understanding you're only getting it by the level of closeness you have to the light that causes you to shine that means if you see anything good in me if you see anything righteous in me if you see anything forgiving in me if you see anything that's holy in me I can't take credit for it it's only me reflecting him in my life and without him I don't have no life are you follow what I'm saying there are many many things that you must understand

the the his name Yahweh his name Yahweh properly pronounced is the same sound of breathing yah way means you have to inhale yah where y way you cannot say it without inhaling and exhaling so the first human sound you made whether you knew it or not believed it or not or liked it or not the first thing you said when you got here was yah way the last thing you say when you leave yeah he said I am Alpha and Omega I started it I'll finish it I am God and besides me there is no

other do you hear what I'm saying let's go a little bit deeper with it there are a lot of uh uh metaphors there a lot of terms there are a lot of anthropomorphic that's what I'm looking for anthropomorphic terms that Express God because God really isn't like anything on Earth so we have to get symbols of God see your phone when you touch the icon and you touch the icon that says NIV Bible you're not touching the information you're touching the icon that opens up the information are you following what I'm saying to you okay

so you must begin to realize that the best we can do is say the spirit of the Lord is La it unto because we cannot compare it to anything because there is nothing like God even God couldn't find nothing to compare himself he said I look for someone to swear by finding no one greater than myself I swore by myself that surely blessings I Will Bless The multiplying I will multiply so we are left with metaphors like consuming fire metaphors like he is the light of the world metaphors is like he produces Glory shakana Glory

rivers of Living Water woman if you believe on me as the scriptures have had out of your belly shall flow sisters of Living Water but God you can find sisters but don't worship it because the sister is not God it's just a way of expressing the unexpressable let's go deeper with this he is the breath of the breath and the wind are an expression of God the spirit Jesus said is like a wind it bloweth where it listed and no man knows from whence it came or where it goes God likes to compare himself to

when like breath that's how he Compares himself I'm like when from Everlasting to Everlasting Thou Art God if you go back as far as you can go back in time to the very beginning before there was a where or when or this or that or a star or a planet or sun or sea before there was an earth before there was dirt before there was Clay there was ruach and ruach sounds like this just win let's go wind breath Joe the breath of the almighty has given me life that's what gave me life mouth to

mouth resuscitation came from right there your God is wind your God is air are you hearing what I'm saying in the Old Testament is ruach in the New Testament it is Numa are you hearing what I'm saying in the New Testament it is Numa for God Is Win are you hearing what I'm saying num patology is what it's called in the New Testament where we get the word pneumonia which deal with your breathing Puma air I can't get air oh I'm getting air pneumonia pneumonia means I got a bronchial problem God is air he is

breath he is wind he is wind down inside of you that's why on the day of Pentecost the Bible said he came like a mighty rushan Rush a rushing wind clothing tongues appeared like as a fire and set upon each of them they didn't say it was wind they said it was like it doesn't mean their clothes was blowing but it was like wind your God is like wind your God is like breath your God is like air your God has the ability to be able when when Ezekiel came to the dry bones in the

valley and the Bible said he came down there to the dry bones in the valley and the bones were dry and very dry I picture in my Sanctified mind there skeletons with swords and the swords are Rusty there there are skeletons with shields and the shields are bent in and corroded and the only thing is left is the sad memories of what used to be humanistically powerful there's nothing there can these bones live again Lord thou knowest so he Ezekiel doesn't get a a for Faith there are some things that God's going to do in

your life that your faith will not take credit [Music] for y'all don't hear what I'm saying it's not going to be because you walk down into the dry bones of the valley and say oh this ain't nothing for God God can do anything God can make anything no you go say I don't know I don't know how this is gonna go he said so when Faith fell obedience won come on come on with me he said I don't know whether this is going to live or not but God said speak to the bones that they

might live Ezekiel said with no faith I prophesied as I was commanded so it was not faith that brought the bones together it was obedience that brought the bones together I told the Lord I said the Lord told me to call the men together I said I don't want to call the men together I said we don't have enough time to advertise for it I'm doing a thousand other things and and there's not going to be that many men to come in he said it's not your job to count them he said it's your job

to call them I didn't ask you to count them I ask you to call them and if it ain't but two of them as long as you obey me you have done what I told you to do see sometimes we're worried about [Applause] effect while God is grating you on obedience oh y'all don't hear what I'm saying and you're all stressed out about something that the test ain't even about I'm going to get to something in a minute I got got something for you I got something for you something's going to happen in here today

the indwelling of his person coming to live inside an individual is a intimate experience it is the visitation of his Essence in times past in the Old Testament he visited men and the spirit of the Lord Came Upon Moses and the spirit of the Lord Came Upon Samson and the spirit of the Lord Came Upon Elijah those were visitations of his Essence to perform a particular work it was not Incarnation it was visitation in the Old Testament he visited us when Jacob wrestled with the man and he wrestled with him to the breaking of day

and he asked him what was his name he couldn't give Jacob his name because it wasn't time to give his name yet because it was Jesus which was a theophonic manifestation of Jesus Christ and the name was hidden it had not been revealed yet and so he said I can give you your name your name is not Jacob but Israel you're not a con man you're a prince but you don't know it there are some people in this room that are living up under a false name people have called you something so long that you

think you are really it but you're a prince and you don't even know it you don't have any idea who you are you don't know who you are he said I can't tell you my name my name is hidden until I find the Virgin my name is hidden but I'm going to tell you who you are it's going to cost you something to know who you are you going to lip away from the Revelation you don't get to know who you are without a limp but when the when the fight is over and the limp

is on you going to be a grown woman I said when the fight is over and you got a limp in your life you a grown woman not because you had 21 birthdays but because you had 21 shades of hell and survived all of them and you got a limp to prove it now you're a grown woman some people don't grow up till a 40 some people don't grow up up till a 50 but after you suffered a while the Bible [Applause] said tell somebody and tell them the wind going to blow in here today

so in the Old Testament he came and he visited us he theophonic appeared before us Christ could not come in his fullness the Bible said the lamb was slain from the foundation of the world so don't think that Jesus birthday was really his birthday it really was his Earth Day because he was here before there was a where or when or this or that he just had not manifested himself and he would slip in but he couldn't stay because he didn't want to break the law that man that is born of a woman he had

to be born of a woman and so he could only visit us he couldn't abide with us until he found the woman do you hear what I'm saying are you hearing what I'm after I'm getting ready to take you somewhere and I want you to understand but in order for you to accomplish lifting this gate and destroying these Philistines I'll let my spirit visit you so the spirit of the Lord Came Upon Samson it came upon Ezekiel It Came Upon Jeremiah there are some of you it wasn't that you was living right or close to

right or serving God or holy but have you ever seen God anoint you at the craziest time in your life and you didn't understand why he did it every now and then the spirit of the Lord will just visit you I wish I had somebody in the room that has ever had God just walking the hospital room [Applause] and when he gets ready to indwell we see it with Mary when Gabriel said to Mary hell Mary you've been highly favored amongst women you shall bring forth a son and his now here comes and his and

wait what what what Jacob couldn't find out now that we found a woman for him to be born of it's okay to give the and his name Shall be Called Jesus and he shall save his people from the sin wait a minute and the spirit of the Lord came up on her glory to God glory to God the spirit of God came up on her which is the Incarnation of Jesus Christ can I go deeper because if you you don't understand this you're just a churchgoer this is what converts you to discipleship as you begin

to understand your relationship with God has everything to do with everything this will kill Church hurt because if you have God relationship it will kill Church hurt but because you have people relationship ship when you fall out with people you leave the church but if you ever have an encounter there ain't a person in here can run me out of God's house I'm a child of a king I'm a child [Applause] slap three people say I ain't going nowhere roll your eyes send your notes send your text say what you want to say having done

all to stand I'm going stand there anyway cuz I didn't come to have a relationship with you I came to have a relationship with God the spirit of the Lord Came Upon me and he walks with me and and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own and the joy we share as we ter none [Applause] ofs can't nobody else give you that I can't give you the Holy Ghost you have to seek the Holy Ghost you have to seek the indwelling of the Holy Spirit you have to get tired of

being around people and decide you want to be around God and you have to seek the Lord and call upon his name and say fill up every empty place in my life I've had 12 boyfriends and ain't none of them hit the spot but Lord I'm turning it over to you I been through five women and ain't none of them satisfied me but only you can feel the spot and the problem with the church today we got church goers but we don't have people who are filled with the Holy Ghost the Holy Ghost will make

you get out the bed in the morning the Holy Ghost will make you drive down the road the Holy Ghost will make you want to be with your own people and praise His name collectively if you don't have something on the inside that's driving you to be around other people that are filled with the Holy Ghost maybe you don't have it like the Bible said because there's something about metal that will attract a magnet and if you don't have a magnet you don't miss no metal but if the Holy Ghost is your magnet there's something

that you get when you get in the house of God that you cannot get anywhere else somebody take 30 seconds and just [Applause] I was reading an article the other day talking about America that America is one of the few countries that's not the only country in the world after the pandemic that never went back to work we're the only country that's having a fight about going back to work go to Italy go to Rome go to Japan go anywhere else we're the only people who insist on working from home because we are more interested

in our convenience than our productivity I know you don't like it but I'm just telling you what I read I I'm just doing a book report you ain't got to like it so don't get your lips all swoll up at me never mind the fact that you have brought about the biggest Calamity in the history of America with real estate as all industrial business uh businesses and offices are being shut down and the reason you can't get a bank loan is that the feds have demanded that the banks Reserve enough money to eat up the

buildings that you won't go in Jesus come on come on but as long as you can walk around in your jammies and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches you don't care that people can't buy houses that cities are having to rearrange the entire city plan to commit themselves to your convenience every th every decision you make affects other [Applause] people y'all don't want me to preach the truth y'all can't handle the truth y'all can't handle it and yet you are the greatest nation in the world and yet you're the only nation that won't go back

to work teachers won't go back to teaching there's a shortage of nurses in the hospital there's a crisis in this country because we love convenience more than purpose so let them get sick and die let them grow up and can't reach we used to be the Envy of the world academically number one in education now we're number 25 we had more marriages in slavery no this is a fact check me fact check me fact check me we had more marriages in slavery than we do now we're down to about 32% when I was young it

was 50 something and we were shot is 32% because everybody is so [Applause] selfish anything that requires compromise we run from it anything that requires inconvenience we run from it I got to be me I got to be me and the whole National economy is riveted by the decision of somebody who worked for 25 years and decided if I don't work from home I'm not working now all the buildings are shutting down and the banks are prepared to gobble of the debt cuz the leases are up and the loans are due and it's all so

you can stay at home with Boo Boo and make hot baloney sandwiches and watch Days of Our Lives and only get on the computer when it's a zoom and tell us you're a full-time employer and you want a [Applause] raise you you want you you want a race let me get off there you want a raise you want me to pay you more while you do less never understanding that God created us to be a community that that we get something from each other that we cannot get in isolation that we are better together than

we are apart that I don't care how fine the sister is in here she can't have a baby by herself I don't care how many degrees he got the man can't have a baby by himself we are only fruitful when we make connection you can be healthy but you can't be fruitful as long as you stay in isolation never mind the fact the the only thing that God complained about in the creation was it's not good for man to be alone but your trauma has driven you into total isolation and I get it because one

of the things that trauma does is make you want to be alone I'd rather be alone with my lights off I want to be alone even if the kids don't get to eat I want to be alone even if I break the heart of the one I love I want to be alone why cuz my trauma only makes me feel safe in isolation when I'm alone and so I had a daughter but I'm not going to be a real mother wow because even with my own baby my God I don't feel safe Jesus I want

to be alone so we are good with being filled with the Holy Ghost as long as we get to be alone at 10x the number I got in this building right now online some of it is because people live too far away some of it is because people go to work some of it is because people are close enough to drive but they are not healed enough don't worry I'm going to mess it up y'all can clean it up after I'm gone don't about it it's going to be all right it's going to be all

right the problem is when when Christ stepped into the woman he became incarnate and they called him Jesus and they also called him Emmanuel watching T God tabernacled With Us in in what I'm going somewhere bear with Me God tabernacled With Us the dwell amongst us God it was God coming to hang out with us cuz you cannot lead people you don't touch you can't stay safe and stay away from the patient and impact the condition I love being a doctor but I hate patience come on I love being a mechanic but I don't want

to be around cars you need to check your dream against your trauma and decide do you want your trauma or do you want your dream because your dream necessitates that you confront your own trauma or you won't be effective at a distance even God could not redeem us staying away from us so he came he came where we were he gave up his pre-existent glory his omnipotence his omnipresence and his omniscience he gave up the 24 elders and the sea of glass he poured out his pre-existent divinity and came and wrapped himself up in flesh

and got sleepy for the first time got tired for the first time got weary for the first time dealt with unbelief for the first time just to be around us because he had to be a kinsman redeemer and if he wasn't kin to me he couldn't redeem me so he had to go through what I went through so that when I pray he can be touched by the feeling of my infirmity because as God he couldn't relate to Temptation he had to go through lust and Agony and pain so that whatever you're crying out about

he said yeah I know how you feel good God I feel the Holy Ghost about to sweep up in this [Applause] place touch three people and say he already knows what you what you're trying to say he already knows what you're trying to say he already knows what you're trying to pray about he already knows he already knows he came so he would know what it was like to be in your situation can I go a little bit deeper y'all ain't tired all right so Christ is in the flesh what the Tabernacle was in in

the wilderness he is God on the move he is the nomadic God he is the dwell amongst us God he is the word of God walking through the cool of the garden he is a word made flesh he describes himself not as a temple but as a tabernacle because he went from City to City he was transportable that is not what Paul is talking about in this text because he does not use the word Tabernacle he uses the word temple temple is stabilized Temple is solid Temple is absolute Temple is one place you by yourself

are a tabernacle you brought your yourself in here you'll take yourself out you'll take yourself to dinner you move with God in you individually your Tabernacle but that is not what this text is talking about this text is talking about moving progressively from being a tabernacle to a temple of which Christ is the Chief Cornerstone oh I know the book baby don't don't don't mess with me and the apostles have laid the foundation God I feel like preaching Lord have mercy can I preach in this place Hallelujah the stone that the builders rejected has been

made the Chief Cornerstone the more people reject you the more God selects you have you ever noticed the more they hatte you the more God empowers you and he'll make you the head and not the tail above and not beneath I wish I had 50 witnesses that would break out in a praise they tried to fluck you out of school and you made anyway they said what's a girl doing with a guy like him and you got him anyway what's a guy doing with a girl like her and y'all been married 12 years you better

stand up and say something with your cute [Applause] self let me hear it so the stone the builders rejected became the Chief Cornerstone the apostles laid the foundation said No Greater Foundation has any man laid than that which was laid by Christ Jesus and upon this rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock I will build my church and the Gates of Hell shall not Prevail against it this is not a tent because you can knock a tent over he said but the temple I'm getting ready to build the Gates of Hell

shall not Prevail against it and then in another text he says you are Lively stones in the building in other words I fill you with the Holy Ghost not so you could run WI but so that I could set you in place and stabilize you and make you solid and not have you jumping from church to church to church to church to church some of you have had 12 spiritual fathers and the one you got now ain't yours because you refuse to be sa but the Bible said that if your feet are planted in the

house of the Lord you will flourish in the courts of our God and you're praying for God to flourish what you won't let God to plant you got to get in one place and stay there through the good and the bad the bitter and the better the sweet of it and the worst of it having done all to stand you got to stand right there as Lively as you are as anointed as you are as gifted as you are God wants to set you in a place of stability why because your life has never been

stable you don't know how to be stable you had to go for yourself all of your life you were the first one in your family to break through the wall you were the first one in your community to achieve certain accomplishments and because you have developed I got to go for myself mentality now you can't be set and anything that requires you to be set you're not good at it can I go deeper I'm almost done I'm I'm sure I'm a fin finish now yeah I'm I'm down to the last two verses I'm going make

it on in now so what what Paul is building in Ephesus is a temple where we are jointly fit together if you ever seen a stone makes it not a brick layer not a not a block layer but a stone layer lay Stone Stones don't Naturally Fit together that's right you got to take a Anvil and chip off some edges in order to make a fit and see that's what some of y'all don't want to be chipped come on you you you you got to cut off the points and the Twist and the turns and

get it level enough so that when you put the mortar in between it you the stone wall based on the Stone's ability to be [Music] cut cut me so I can fit yeah I'm Too Old to Die an outlaw I'm too old to be on the run the rest of my life there you are 50 years still running running cuz your hurt running cuz you're traumatized running because the the memory lives on the pain is gone but the memory lives on quick story quick quick quick quick quick I was working yeah I was working I

had to think where John Amos fire plant and I was going through the back of the plant and they were they were they were fouling some metal and they were working with metal and they had it on thing where it spins and the Sparks Fly and a spark got in my eye I should have had on safety goggles but a a spark got into my eye it burned into my eye into my cornea and I went in and they flushed it out with water and they looked at it and they researched it and it was

so painful I couldn't see and after a few hours she said the object is gone but the memory continues wow yeah wow so your brain is still getting a signal though the heat is gone and the object is removed your brain is still getting a signal so bad that I'm covering up my eye and I'm trembling Jesus I'm trembling to the point of one an ambulance and it's over wow for every everybody but me wow Jesus now God says in order for you to be a temple a stabilized believer I got to cut you so

you can fit with people cuz sometimes you got too much mouth sometimes you got too much ego sometimes you are too stubborn and I'm going to have to cut that off either by watch this watch this either by word or experiences if you won't hear my word I'll take you through experiences [Music]