Latest / THE WORLD'S BEST PREACHER / T.D. Jakes Sermons - Don't Be Afraid of the Gift God Gives [Part 1] - The Potter’s House of Dallas

Transcript

T.D. Jakes Sermons - Don't Be Afraid of the Gift God Gives [Part 1] - The Potter’s House of Dallas · THE WORLD'S BEST PREACHER

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Fear can make you give up something that God is
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: going to use to bless you.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Fear can make you try.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: To put away, as Joseph did, the only redemption that
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: was available to him. He was about to give it
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: away because of fear. Be careful that you do not
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: allow fear to rob you of God's gifts.
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: This is the part of time.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Oh, thank you for allowing me to be a part
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: of this very special day as we commemorate the birth
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is a
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: great time. And I want you to understand how significant
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: it is to Christians all over the world to acknowledge
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: the entrance of the divine into the human. Jesus Christ,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: the Lord of glory. The message, don't be afraid of
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: the gift. May it bless you today. Enjoy your family
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: and friends. Enjoy your life. And from our house to
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: your house, Merry Christmas. You know, when we hear beautiful
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: songs that have been shared with us, O come all
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: ye faithful, O holy night, O little town of Bethlehem.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: When we watch the beautiful renditions that are depicted through
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: the auspices of Hollywood and the modern technology of television,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: DVDs and VCRs all come together in collaboration to bring
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: to life the miracles, the magic, the wonder, and the
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: splendor of Christmas. Sharing with us the great story of
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: our Lord's entrance into the world. That the King of Kings,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: the Lord of Lords, and the mighty God would step
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: down from eternity, down into time. Wrap himself up in
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: flesh that he acquired from the dressing room of Mary's womb.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: And tabernacle amongst men is cause for even angels to
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: celebrate the glory and the presence of God. And because
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: of this great gift that God has given to us,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: the world stands in awe and the church in splendiferous
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: praise unto God, celebrating the gift that he has given
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: us through Jesus Christ. And that gift expressly is eternal life.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Without his coming into the world and without him taking
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: on human form and becoming kin to me, he could
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: not redeem me as kinsman redeemer from the ills and
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: the plight of humanity and the consequences of sinful endeavors
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: are all eradicated in the presence of Jesus Christ. For
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: wherever Jesus is, tis heaven there. And whenever Jesus shows up,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: deliverance is bound to happen. We celebrate his entrance into
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: the world. But be careful in all of the splendor
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: and all of the glitter and the pageantry and the
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: beautiful lights and the gift giving and all of the
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: wonderful things that we do to commemorate the birth of
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: the Lord, the depictions of the mangers and all of
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: the holy scenes that we have. Be careful to understand
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: that the first Christmas was not quite as beautiful as
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: the ones we see today. The first Christmas was not
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: filled with all the splendor and all the wonderment and
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  Speaker 1: all the fine foods and all the pageantry and all
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: the wrapping paper that is engulfing your living room right now.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: The first Christmas was not even filled with all the
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: joy and all the praise and all the wonder that
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: we feel right now, particularly in the life of some
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: people who were directly affected by Christ coming into the world.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: You would think that there would be joy, but the
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: reality is most in generally with the gifts God gives us,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: we have joy in retrospect as we look back and
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: see that his plan was better than ours. I want
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: to warn you, my brothers and sisters, that initially when
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: God gives you a gift, it does not always evoke
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  Speaker 1: joy and praise and splendor. It often causes confusion, mayhem,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: and chaos. And you wonder in your own mind whether
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: this is a gift from God or a plot from
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  Speaker 1: the enemy to destroy your very life. You would think
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: that Joseph would be filled with glee and excitement about
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: the birth of Jesus Christ. That God had chosen the
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: woman that Joseph had chosen. That God had set her
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: aside even as Joseph had set her aside. That God
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: himself had selected her should have eased all ill in
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: his mind as to whether she was a virtuous woman.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: But sometimes being chosen of God and selected of.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: God and receiving gifts from God leaves a fellow weak.
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  Speaker 2: In disarray.
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  Speaker 1: And so when we see Joseph, we don't see him
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: dancing and celebrating. We don't see him opening up gifts
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  Speaker 1: with joy and exuberation. No, we see Joseph worried and upset.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Because generally when God gives a gift, it often worries
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  Speaker 1: you before it blesses you.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Frankly, at the time that Joseph leaps on the pages
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  Speaker 1: of this Holy Writ, he is not trying to find
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  Speaker 1: a way to get closer to the baby Jesus or
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  Speaker 1: his mother, his mother who is pregnant with him. No,
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  Speaker 1: he's trying to figure out how can I get out
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  Speaker 1: of this? Just as quietly and as calmly as possible
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  Speaker 1: without drawing.
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  Speaker 2: Any attention to myself.
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  Speaker 1: Just show me the door so that I can exit
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  Speaker 1: and get away from this gift. I want to warn
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  Speaker 1: you that many times when God gives you a gift,
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: instead of running toward it, our propensity is to run
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: from it. Because after all, who knows what's in a
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: gift given until it's unwrapped. Perhaps it is not so
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  Speaker 1: much the gift that I want to warn you about
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: because ultimately God's gifts always will pay off in the end.
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  Speaker 2: Perhaps it's not the gift.
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  Speaker 1: That I should sound the alarm about and tell you
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  Speaker 1: to watch out for. Perhaps it is the wrapping paper.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Because God's greatest gifts are often wrapped in.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: Problems, in anxiety, in worry, in chaos.
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  Speaker 1: God's greatest gifts often come to us camouflaged in a
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: fine array of disgusting, perilous circumstances that seem insurmountable. Great
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: gifts can come wrapped up in being fired from a job.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Great gifts can.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Come wrapped up in a package where somebody you thought
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: you couldn't live without walked away and left you.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: In fact, God can give you a.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Gift and you not feel gifted at all.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, being.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Gifted can be a problem with God because many times
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  Speaker 1: when God gives you a gift, people are not happy
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  Speaker 1: for you. They don't celebrate the gift that God has
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  Speaker 1: given you. They don't come to worship the gift. They
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: often come to kill you. the gift, to destroy the gift.
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  Speaker 1: I suggest to you, my brothers and sisters, that we
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  Speaker 1: must move beyond the meek and murky borders of just
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: discussing the birth of Jesus Christ from its historical perspectives,
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  Speaker 1: as wonderful as it may be, but to extract from
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: this historical illustration some contemporary word of wisdom that we
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: can use it against the challenges that we face today
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: is what makes our faith vibrant and relevant and effective.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: We didn't come to just commemorate a historical God for
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: something that happened 2,000 years ago. We came to recognize
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  Speaker 1: a relevant God who is still effecting change in our
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  Speaker 1: contemporary society. The very first thing the angel says to
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  Speaker 1: worry Joseph is fear not. Touch somebody and say fear not.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: Why do they tell him to fear not? Because fear
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: can paralyze your faith. Fear can limit your perspective. Fear
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: can intimidate you from growth. Fear can make you give
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: up on something prematurely, not recognizing that God is not
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: through working his magic and his miracle in the gift
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: he's given you. Fear can make you give up something
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: that God is going to use to bless you. Fear
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: can make you try to put away, as Joseph did,
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: the only redemption that was available to him. He was
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: about to give it away because of fear. Be careful
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: that you do not allow fear to rob you of
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: God's gifts. There are three different types of fear that
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: I believe engulf Joseph's mind and I want to share
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: them with you today. Not only so that you might
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: have a deeper and more intrinsic understanding of Joseph and
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: the propensity, the fear on his life, but that you
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: might be able to effectively use them in your own
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: life as you face God's gifts. New jobs, new marriages,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: new children, new opportunities, new obstacles, new enemies can all
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: be gifts from God.
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: Still to come on The Potter's Touch.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: He says in Revelations, I have set before you an
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: open door. Can you receive that word for yourself that
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: God has set before you.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: In the coming year? He has set... It's firm. It's anchored.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: It's concrete. It's unbreakable. It's unreversible. It's unmovable.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: He has set before you an open door.
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: He has a place in mind.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: Somebody ought to thank God for shut doors.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: A peace in store.
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  Speaker 1: God can give you some things that your money cannot buy.
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  Speaker 4: And provision for your need.
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  Speaker 1: He already had the manger in place. While man was
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  Speaker 1: shutting doors.
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  Speaker 4: So don't be afraid of the gift God gives.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: Don't be afraid when he bypasses a hotel and takes
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  Speaker 1: you to the barn. Because God had the way of
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: turning a barn into a penthouse suite. Don't be afraid
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: of the gift God gives.
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: For helping us reach others with your best gift, we
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: would like to give you Don't Be Afraid of the
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: Gift God Gives on CD, as well as a bonus message,
• 11:10
  Speaker 4: The Rainmaker, on DVD. And when your gift is $ 150
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: or more, receive our Blessed and Loved calendar, a Blessed
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: and Loved journal for recording your experiences to new heights,
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: and our Blessed and Loved Inspiration Cup when you visit
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: our website or call 1-800-BISHOP-2-TODAY.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: I know you're used to the traditional gifts that come
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  Speaker 1: wrapped in beautiful packages, but not God. He doesn't wrap
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  Speaker 1: his gifts that way. There were three things that I
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  Speaker 1: believe that caused Joseph to be in a conundrum of
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: fear and adversity. Number one was the fear of perception.
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  Speaker 1: What will people think? Often when God gives you a gift,
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  Speaker 1: he gives you a gift that causes you to become
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: controversial in the eyes of people. And if you were
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: not so gifted, my brothers and sisters, you would not
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: be so hated. If you will notice our society, we
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: seldom waste hate on people who are not gifted. And
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: if you understand it correctly, it's a privilege to be
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: hated for his name's sake. It's an honor to be
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: so chosen and so selected and so gifted that somebody
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  Speaker 1: has set out.
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  Speaker 2: A decree to kill you.
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  Speaker 1: I want to tell you, somebody's on the hit list
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  Speaker 1: of hell, but it's only because you're gifted.
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  Speaker 2: Touch somebody and say you're gifted. You're gifted.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: Even if you didn't receive anything from Christmas, even if
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  Speaker 1: you're in a nursing home and nobody came by to
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: see you, even if you're a lovely mother and your
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: kids didn't recognize you for Christmas, you are still gifted
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: with life and health and strength and integrity and ideas
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  Speaker 1: and concepts and creative potential.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Oh my God, you are gifted.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: If you do not allow fear to rob you, Fear
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: of perceptions, what will they think? What will they say?
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: What will they do? How will they feel about me?
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: The fear of misperceptions often robs us of the gifts
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: that God came to give us. So on this Christmas morning,
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  Speaker 1: I would encourage you to shake off the fear of perception.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: Because if you can shake off the fear of perception...
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: On Christmas. Then in the new year. You'll be ready
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: to receive the abundance. I've got something to tell you.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: There's something coming for you. In the new year that
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: will justify. But you can't receive it if you're more
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: concerned about perceptions than you are receiving the power of
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: what God has.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: To give you.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Number two, I want to warn you against the fear
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: for provisions. Can I afford this gift? Do I have
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: what it takes to maintain This gift. I never will
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: forget of the young man just starting to work and
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: make a nice living. I decided to take my mother
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: out to dinner, took her to a very nice restaurant.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: I grew up in an age and an era where
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: we didn't go out to dinner very much.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: And I took her to a very.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Plush and posh restaurant to show her the depth and
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: the height and the breadth of my.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Love toward her.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: And we sat down as the waiter dropped a white
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: linen into our lap and began to discuss the options
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: and entrees that were available to us. And I noticed
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: as I peeked over top of the menu that my
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: mother did not seem particularly happy. Her reaction was not
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: what I had expected it to be at all. She
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: peered over top of the menu not to say what
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: a great son I was.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: She said, child, have you seen these prices?
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: I was frustrated.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: I said, mother, I didn't bring you here to worry
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: about how much it costs. I brought you here to
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: enjoy the meal. Be careful that God doesn't take you
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: a place of blessings and you're so worried about how
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: much it costs that you don't enjoy the.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: Meal.
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  Speaker 1: I am not trying to imply that Joseph had no
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: resources at all. Obviously, he had enough resources to have
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: a diary in order to espouse.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: The virgin to be his bride.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: Obviously, he had enough resources that as they traveled, he
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: and his pregnant fiancee moving from place to place, he
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: wasn't looking for benevolence. He was looking for hotels. You
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: don't look for hotels if you have no money. But
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: when you are dealing with provisions, you must understand that
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: sometimes you need provisions that money cannot buy. Joseph had
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: the money, but the ends were all filled. And isn't
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: it a frustrating thing that by the time you realize
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: the money you need for the places you need to go,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: suddenly you find out that money is not the only
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: provision that you.
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: Need to sustain.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: You where God. In other words, I'm trying to tell
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  Speaker 1: you that God can give you some things that your
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: money cannot buy. Amen. Touch your neighbor and tell them
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: God's going to give you something that your money cannot buy.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: Don't be afraid. Fear not. Fear not.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: God has the provisions covered. He already has a place
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: prepared for you. He already has a provision set up
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: for you.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: And when people.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: Shut the door on you, it's only a sign that God.
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  Speaker 2: Is about to open another door in your life. Oh
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: my God, I don't know who.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: I'm preaching to this Christmas day. But somebody ought to
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: thank God for shut doors. Look at some man say
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: he shut the door to open a new one. Lord,
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  Speaker 1: I thank you for shutting doors. They shut him out.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: You can't come to this hotel. You can't stay at
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: this motel. We're filled for the night. No vacancies over here.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: But God has an open door. When man closes the door,
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: God opens another door. To God be the glory for
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: the doors he opens and for the ways he's made.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: How many people are believing God for open doors?
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  Speaker 3: Amen.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, I thank him.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, how I thank him. For doors he opens, no
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: man can shut. And doors he shuts, no man can open.
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  Speaker 1: God will open a door for you and you don't
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: have to live in fear of somebody shutting the door
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: that God has opened. He says in Revelations, I have
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: set before you an open door. Can you receive that
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: word for yourself that God has set before you in
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: the coming year?
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: He has set. It's firm. It's anchored. It's concrete. It's unbreakable.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: It's unreversible. It's unmovable.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: He has set before you an open door. Touch your
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: neighbor and say, don't be afraid of the gifts God gives. Yes.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: It is true.
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: Wherever God guides, he will provide. I wish I had some,
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: he will provide folks in here today. Amen.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: He will.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: Provide number three the fear for providence the fear for
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: providence providence simply God's guidance the fear if I go
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: Will you go with me? if I say yes to
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: this new door and this new opportunity and this new direction,
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: if I seize the gift that I used to run from,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: if I embrace the thing that historically I've been terrified of,
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: I could do it better if I knew for sure
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: that you were going to go with me because I
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: know if you go with me, the storm can break out,
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: the lightning can flash, the thunder can roll, and the
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: boat still will not sink as long as I understand
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: that you Maybe I should understand that Christmas looks better
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: in retrospect than it did in reality. And maybe life
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: looks better when you look back at it than it
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: does while you're going through it. And maybe there's somebody
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: in here right now who's rejoicing about something that you
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: used to cry about. Maybe it's in retrospect that God
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: calibrates the issues and the vicissitudes of life. Maybe it's
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: when we look back at it that we say, you
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: know what? It was good for me that I was afflicted.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: Because if I didn't go through what I went through...
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: If I had not gone through it, if I hadn't
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: faced it, if I hadn't endured it, if I hadn't
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: have been fired, if I hadn't have been rejected, if
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: I hadn't have been turned down, if I had not
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: been ostracized, I wouldn't have found the door that God
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: had in store. In fact, thank you for hating me.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: Thank you for leaving me. Thank you for rejecting me.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Thank you for disappointing me. Thank you for shutting the
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: door and telling me you can't stay here. You're not
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: welcome here. Thank you. If you had not done that,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: I would have never gotten to spend the night in
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: a barn serenaded by angels. Illuminated by stars and behold
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: the wondrous splendor of God's provision. Often takes you away
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: from normal places. Because where God is going to bless
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: you may be outside of the box. Outside of the system.
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  Speaker 1: Away from the norm. In a place that you never
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  Speaker 1: thought a blessing could be. God may bless you.
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  Speaker 2: In an unlikely place.
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  Speaker 1: Don't be afraid of the gifts God gives. Don't be
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: afraid when he bypasses a hotel and takes you to
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: the barn.
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  Speaker 2: Because God has a.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: Way of turning a barn into a penthouse suite. Don't
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: be afraid of the gifts God gives. I know it's
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Christmas morning and you're excited and you're all dressed up
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  Speaker 1: and you're ready to hurry up and get home and
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: open up.
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  Speaker 2: Gifts and eat turkeys.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: But touch three or four people and tell them God
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: is up to something. Yes, God is up to something.
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  Speaker 1: In every barn, in every manger, with the mooing of
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: every cow, the gathering of every lamb, in the midst
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: of every gathering of hay and goats and sheep, God
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: is up to something. Anytime God takes a holy thing
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: and puts it in a mundane thing, God is up
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  Speaker 1: to something. Anytime God promised you a blessing and you
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: see yourself going down instead of up, God is up
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: to something. Anytime God takes you outside of the system,
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: who am I preaching to?
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: God! God is.
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  Speaker 1: He's up to something. Stop being afraid of change. Because
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: whenever God is getting ready to rearrange your life, you've
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: got to open up and say, change whatever needs to
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: be changed. Move whatever needs to be moved. Shake whatever
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: needs to be shaken. I'm available to you.
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: I trust you. I open this gift by faith. God
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: is up to something. Take a look inside. Fear not, Joseph.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: Fear not. Calm down.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: Joseph, you're so troubled that you're worried in your sleep.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: And I had to speak to you in your dreams.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: Because when you're awake, you're so worried you're not listening
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: to me.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: And so I.
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: Invaded the only space left available to speak to you.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: When you finally give up on your thoughts long enough
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: to hear my thoughts, I spoke to you in the
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: night because you're not listening at me in the light.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Fear not, Joseph. Hold somebody's hand and say, fear not.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: The Lord is with you. Here are a few takeaway points.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: That I want you to get out of this text.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: He says, fear not Joseph, that that is within Mary
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: has been conceived by the Holy Ghost. What he is saying,
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: stop worrying about how things are going to turn out.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: Because whatever God starts, he will finish it. Hate to
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: stop you right there, but I'll be right back.
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: He has a place in mind.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: Somebody ought to thank God for shut doors. A peace
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: in store.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: God can give you some things that your money cannot buy.
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  Speaker 4: And provision for your need.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: He already had the manger in place. While man was
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: shutting doors.
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: So don't be afraid of the gift God gives.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: Don't be afraid when he bypasses a hotel and takes
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: you to the barn. Because God had the way of
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: turning a barn into a penthouse suite.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: Don't be afraid of the gift. God gives.
• 27:02
  Speaker 4: For helping us reach others with your best gift, we
• 27:04
  Speaker 4: would like to give you Don't Be Afraid of the
• 27:06
  Speaker 4: Gift God Gives on CD, as well as a bonus message,
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: The Rainmaker, on DVD. And when your gift is $ 150
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: or more, receive our Blessed and Loved calendar, a Blessed
• 27:16
  Speaker 4: and Loved journal for recording your experiences to new heights,
• 27:19
  Speaker 4: and our Blessed and Loved Inspiration Cup when you visit
• 27:22
  Speaker 4: our website or call 1-800-BISHOP-2 today.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: Just in time for the holidays, Bishop T.D. Jakes and
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: the Potter's House present This Christmas, complete with your favorite
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: Christmas classics like Silent Night, The Christmas Story, O Holy Night,
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: with a special holiday prayer from Bishop Jakes and more.
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: Receive your CD today when you visit us online or
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: call 1-800-BISHOP-2. Also, check out this CD and other holiday
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: specials when you log on to tdjakes.org.
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: As we come to a close today, I pray that
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: God's choices and blessings would be given to you and
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: that you would have the grace and the faith to
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: receive the gift because it does take courage to receive
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: what God has for you. Our series, Don't Be Afraid
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: of the Gift, is challenging you to be all that
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: you can be.
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: May God bless you. May heaven smile upon you. It's
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: my prayer. This is the part of suffering in me.