The Sound of 50: Celebrating 50 Years of The Ministry of Bishop T.D. Jakes

2:33:17 to mind is harvest. and people would come not just in Jerusalem but from all around the parameters of Jerusalem Judea, Samaria the uttermost parts of the earth and they would come to Pentecost with their harvest nobody knows how far you had to travel and what you had to go through to get to where you are right now. And as we stand here, I told one of my spiritual sons, I said, when you all play those old messages, you hear what I said, but I hear what I thought. I hear what I had to go through to preach it. I hear things that will never be on video and never be on tape.

2:34:12 But I am standing in the exceeding abundant grace of God that has done more than I could ever imagine. I want to, you can be seated. I want to take just a moment and honor the pastors of this church, Pastor Toray, Pastor Sarah Jakes-Roberts. Thank you for lifting the load when the load got heavy and when the storms got dark. I want to thank you. I want to thank the associate pastors for all that you have done, seen and unseen. I want to thank Pastor Oscar Williams for the work that he's done in putting together this opportunity along with a host of people with him to make it what it is I certainly enjoyed it I will always cherish it and always remember it I have to acknowledge people I think the person I think I'm not sure of this but I think the person who came the furthest is Pastor Paul Adaferson.

2:35:32 Sometimes your effort is the gift. Your presence is a gift. See, some of you, you hear about Nigeria, and you know it's in another country, that it is another country on another continent. But until you have taken that flight and passed through them time zones, and until you have glued your eyes open because it's nighttime over somewhere else and you had to perform in spite of your body still being in one country, your mouth is in another country, I thank you specifically for having traveled all the miles that you traveled.

2:36:26 I want you to give him a plundered supply. етьeron discomfort Love is an action word. A lot of people say it, but only a few people do it. It costs something to be loving and to be kind, and I appreciate it. Are there any more international pastors that came from outside of the U.S. to be here? If so, Stan. Anybody? I don't want to slight anybody. To all of my spiritual sons and daughters who have come inside this country, I realize you could be at your own church this morning. I realize that you are not without something to do. I realize that you are not a castaway or been thrown away. You left something to come to something and your presence is deeply and profoundly appreciated.

2:37:25 Would you stand and let me just acknowledge you in this moment? I thank you so much for being here. Come on, do it a little bit more. Do it a little bit more. I appreciate your yes. I appreciate your yes to be here with us today. I want my children that are in the room and all of my grandchildren to stand. I want you to stand. Thank you for 50 years of sleeping in the car, doing your hair in the rearview mirror, standing with me in times and struggles and tests. You have always been there.

2:38:19 And I want you to know, as our children, I say my children, but I think she has something to do with it. I want you to know before all of these people watching in this room and around the world I am so proud of you I am so proud of the gifts that God put in you and how you used those gifts to the glory of God and I know that it wasn't just me on that 50 year journey you endured, you sacrificed you put up with while I traveled around the world, often helping other people, and you needed me to be at home. And I just want you to know your sacrifice is not without a harvest. And I pray that God would restore unto you everything that you gave out in the name of Jesus.

2:39:12 In the name of Jesus. Come on, come on. It takes something. You know how hard it is to raise your children and you live in the same city they are. We did it over the phone, we did it in the air, we did it on Facebook, we did it whatever way we could to be the best that we knew how to be to our children, to our family. I think family is very important. To the crown jewel. To the crown jewel who causes my pendulum to shine. to my sapphire by ruby my diamond my strength when I had no strength when I couldn't see, when I was sick and down.

2:40:33 Thank you for all the nights you got up at 3 o'clock in the morning and was willing to go in the kitchen to cook through, make sure I had something to eat and give me all the medicines that they had to take. You all have no idea what I've been through throughout this whole 50-year process. is staggering. We took turns taking care of each other. But today as people honor me, it would be inappropriate for me to take the credit for all of that. and not acknowledge the fact that when everybody pursued me When everybody got busy and nobody took time and when I was going through things that were life-threatening, I can never remember a time that I was ever sick or down or out or discouraged or burdened or heavy or lonely or in despair that you were not accessible to me.

2:41:52 And I honor you today. I want you to stand and I want you to take the roof off of this house because if there were no her, there would be no me. Lady Serena Jakes, stand. Come on, come on, come on, give me a little bit more. How many of you know that you went through things that you couldn't talk about? That you went through things that nobody knows about, that it is not easy to be you?

2:42:49 How many of you know that? How many people know that you are often undervalued and not fully appreciated for the level of sacrifice that you bring to the table? And that's in your life. Can you imagine in our lives what that comes to? But today, so many faces I see. Pastor Frasen, where are you? Yeah.

2:43:18 I was going to tell you to stand, but you're already up. Everybody else is standing. Y'all sit down so you can see. I practiced on him. I was his pastor when he was 17, 17 years old to this day. When he was 17, I was in, what, maybe 20, 23, okay? So I had no long resume. I had no credentials to impress you. I had no you as a backup. He followed me even though my church was small. Seven members when we started.

2:44:02 But you couldn't tell us we wasn't the cathedral of tomorrow. And we were busy for the Lord. Sometimes we spent more on gas than we got in offerings. But we were busy for the Lord. I used to have to put my car in neutral heading and float down the hills so I wouldn't run out of gas when I had to go up the hill. in the snow, in hell storms, through crisis and storms. And he started all the way back there. And I used to teach him homiletics and hermeneutics and things about the Bible all the way back then. And he's still preaching the gospel. Thank you for taking the time to come out here and be with us today. Come on, let's celebrate. to the potter's house Young and old, new and chartered members, we will always be the Father's House.

2:45:19 Nobody will ever take that away from us. no matter how times change and songs change and methods change and faces change what we built is more than one man we built something that God said he wanted in the earth and I want to applaud each and every one of you who pressed your way today and yesterday and the day before to be here the Potter's House is never just Bishop Jakes. It never was and it never will be. There is an anointing that is on this house that is unique to this house.

2:46:03 And when you join, you join into that anointing. And I pray that the oil of God would come down from the head to the beards to the skirts. That means everything that's in alignment. That if you're in your place, I pray the oil would hit you and saturate your life and stir up your gifts and open doors and make ways as God prepares you for what's next in your life. I want you to clap your hands and receive it in the name of Jesus. I'll say this and I'll sit down.

2:46:45 My wife always teased me about this. I was always a big fan of Dolly Parton. I admired not only her beautiful voice, but her ability to do so many different things so well. The multifacetedness of her gift and the polymath that she was in terms of how she thought and how she was creative and how she was before her time. Her genre of music was different from mine. Her skin color was different than mine, but I recognize brilliance, no matter what the package it comes in. And as you know, Dolly has gone home and left us here to memorialize and remember who she is. And we find it impossible to acknowledge her without appreciating Whitney Houston.

2:47:48 so all over my timeline because I was already a fan everybody little boys old ladies people in wheelchairs people on respirators are singing I will always love you so today because I am so speechless I want the potter's house to know I will always. I will always love you. So help me appreciate you by the clapping of hands and giving God a praise. And I thank you so much for your sacrifice, for your love, for your goodness.

2:48:47 I thank each and every one of you. I want to call everybody's name, but I can't. Bishop Nelson, all of you. I want to appreciate you. Pastor T, all of you. I want to appreciate every last one of you who came from near or far. And even those old members who came back to say thank you. I pray that God would give you a double portion of his spirit for what you have done. Pastor Don is coming at this time. How many people are glad you came out tonight? Good night. If you are watching online and you have worshipped with us and you have sung with us, if you have ever watched us on television, if your mother or your grandmother ever watched us, if you watched us in a hospital bed, if you watched us when your heart was grieving, if If you ever were a partner and sowed and served, a volunteer who worked or came, or somebody who just gave a glass of water, you deserve a reward.

2:49:55 And I'm praying that God will reward you for your harvest and for your time and for the seeds you've sown. And I thank you for hanging with me. I got on television in December. I didn't own a camera. I didn't have but one person on staff. We had $8,000 in the bank, which is nothing but the cost of television. It was crazy. It was ridiculous. My first people to answer 1-800-Bishop2 was church mothers.

2:50:32 Little Meemaws with legal pads writing down orders that we couldn't read. but they served with dignity and with grace and they were there for us and they prayed over us and they interceded for us and i'm gonna tell you something i often say but it's still true it doesn't matter where you start stop waiting for the perfect start it does not matter where you start it only matters where you finish. To all of you from everywhere, from every church, all over the city, all over the country, all over the world, whether you're watching online in another time zone or sitting here through this service, I appreciate you. And once again, I will always love you. Pastor Don.