From Evernote:

Bishop Jakes- Surviving is Not Enough

(KJV) John 5:1-13

(KJV) John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time [in that case], he saith unto him, <b>Wilt thou be made whole?</b>

5 porches

Not dead enuf to be in the cemetery. They enjoyed the fact that they had survived. The fact that you are still alive in some contexts is worth celebrating.

There was a pathology around this pool. Make the best if a bad situation. Settling for still being here. Some of the torture of the pool is the commerce around it.

Down becomes normal. When people see something beyond them, it makes them dare to want it.

Stuck in a state of survival.

The blind had a porch. The lame had a porch.

If you want to know what porch you're on, look in your cell phone. You cannot surround yourself with blindness and expect to see. What is the name of your porch.

We have hangouts for what we do. We still have porches.

They are survivors- they aren't dead ... But is surviving what Jesus wanted you to have or did he come that you may live life abundantly. Deliver me from people who don't want anything.

You cannot be casual when you are in a state of crisis. Exceptional desire gets exceptional results.

Jesus comes down in a place where the culture is against change.

The Answer asked a question: do you want to be made whole?

When he saw him lie there... When he saw his behavior. Nothing in your actions let's me know that you want to get up. You mean that you have a bed in this mess!

I don't want to disturb you if you like where you are...

If survival is all you want- stop praying.

Wilt thou be made whole?

Because you and I will have to be in agreement. People curse their deliverance bc they are hell bent on staying in their bed.

What's wrong with you that better don't look good? Have you developed an addiction to your affliction.

God says, I don't wanna take you where you don't want to go. Do you want change or do you want him to make convenient your porch?

Anytime you justify your condition, you have given it license to stay.

And when i was getting up, somebody got in my way. Do you want it enough to get in somebody's way?

You may go slow- but you're coming.

You can't wait until you see the angel to get in the water. Jump now!

Survival is not enough.

When Jesus came, it was not the right time or season, but he said I'm gonna bless you anyhow.

Wrong season. No angel. Broken man. No water.  Jesus said, not going to dip. The way I'm going to give it to you will not be traditional.

Defies anything you have seen before. The wait is over. Move you out of wait mode. Survival mode. Decorating your porch mode.

He didn't sprinkle the man with oil. He challenged him. Stop living where you're not challenged.

Sometimes your strength is in your struggle.

You need to get up so that the thing that was once carrying you, you now carry it.

From Evernote:

Bishop Jakes - Feb 13, 2011

The Witness of Change

(KJV) John 1:8 He was not that Light, but [was sent] to bear witness of that Light.

You first have to have a direction.

Purpose has process.

He needs you to be you so it doesn't mess up the plan. You are meant to be in a certain role. You have been curved just so you fit in a particular place!

We seek him bc we want to know our purpose. It is not innate to seek Him.

Seasons are really stages. Life has stages. You have grace for that stage. The process prepares you for the promise.

If Joseph had not spent 40 yrs in the palace he would not have been able to relate to the pharoh. If Moses had not spent 40 yrs in the wilderness he would have been to egotistical. Don't worry about your location as long as you are prospering. Joseph went from the prison to the palace.

He would never have gotten in the prison if Potiphar had not sent him. He would never have gotten out if the two men had not witnessed his gift. Who is your witness? Who is your sponsor? Sponsors take you from one season to the next.

God will send his blessing through a man. Where is the man?

My resource is going to come through my relationships. The enemy is fighting your relationships.

The gatekeeper exposes you to the next season in your life.

The text is about a relationship that God had ordained to take Jesus to the next level.

The relationship is really a generational relationship. In the womb, the babies leaped.

You would think that Jesus would have started his ministry with miracles. You would think that he wouldn't need a witness to point him out.

You can't start yourself. You need a witness. You don't need to be wonderful in your own eyes. There's a process for promotion that validates that it is time for a change. Don't leg restlessness be your witness.

We see nothing about Jesus between ages 12 and 30. They are following John.

Stop letting people bang you into places where you don't fit. Lord show me where I fit.

"It cannot be said that I made myself." You gotta go through process.

It is not ahoy the money. Your resource is going to come through your relationships. Your sponsor may nit be someone who is related to you, but it is someone who relates to you on a higher level.

Always friend up. If you can friend up, you can go up without pretending to be something you are not.

You are not that light. Your role in history may not be to be the Man. Your role may be to point out the Light. Do what you're good at. So your goods show you what to do. God will give you the goods/gifts for what you are supposed to do. According to what he predestined you to do.

Just because I'm not the general doesn't mean that the army doesn't need me.

Just because you do something doesn't mean you are something.