The Potter's House Podcast

Episode: WIOW: The Groan Before the Glory
Date: October 23, 2025
Speaker: Bishop T.D. Jakes

Main Theme & Purpose

In this powerful “Walk It Out Wednesday” episode, Bishop T.D. Jakes explores the Apostle Paul’s teaching in Romans 8, focusing on the mysterious and sometimes painful “groaning” believers endure before experiencing God’s glory. Using vivid language, Bishop Jakes invites listeners to embrace suffering as an essential process that precedes transformation, power, and divine inheritance. The message is designed to reframe struggles not as signs of defeat, but as birth pains leading to spiritual greatness and the manifestation of God's purpose.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Position vs. Condition

(Begins ~09:00)

• Many believers focus on their condition (circumstances) instead of their position (status in Christ).
• “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.”
• Knowing your position as one “in Christ” changes how you experience attacks, struggles, criticism, even personal failings.

Notable Quote:

"We spend too much time worried about our condition and not enough worried about our position." — Bishop Jakes (13:08)

2. The Law of the Spirit vs. The Law of the Flesh

(14:00 - 20:00)

• Paul distinguishes between living by the flesh (carnal, “meaty-minded”) and the Spirit.
• Carnal thinking leads to death; spiritual thinking leads to life and peace.
• Shifting to a spiritual mindset brings supernatural peace, which cannot be faked or bought.

Notable Quote:

"If you're carnally minded and you switch and start being spiritually minded... peace will just come over your soul." — Bishop Jakes (18:24)

3. Adoption and Inheritance

(24:49 - 33:00)

• Believers receive the “spirit of adoption,” chosen purposely and intentionally by God.
• No one—devil, circumstance, mistake—can change your status as God’s child.
• If you’re a child, you are also an heir of God, jointly inheriting with Christ.

Notable Quote:

"Adopted children... never had to wonder are they wanted? Because you had an option not to adopt them." (25:07)

"If you are a child, then you are an heir... whatever Christ got, I got it too!" (35:08)

4. The Necessity and Nature of Suffering

(36:01 - 44:46)

• Suffering isn’t popular to teach, but is central to Christian formation—without the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, there can be no resurrection power.
• Value is forged through suffering: “Value is added through suffering.”
• Christians are not promised a painless or fair life, but a process that results in transformation.

Notable Quote:

"Sometimes God takes you through stuff just to show you he could get you out of stuff." (40:01)

"Power comes through knowing him in the fellowship of his suffering and the power of his resurrection." (44:40)

5. Reframing Pain: The Groan Before the Glory

(45:13 - 56:00)

• Paul’s reckoning: after weighing all his pain, his suffering is insignificant compared to the “weight” of future glory (Romans 8:18).
• Suffering is likened to night pain—amplified in the dark; the key is to drag suffering “into the light” of God’s glory.
• Roots for the anointing grow in dark, hidden places. True anointing—like spiced oil in the biblical apothecary—is only produced through what’s endured in darkness.

Notable Quotes:

“I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (47:32)

"The oil that they used in the Bible days was the oil of the apothecary. It was made from the roots because the roots grew in the dark." (64:53)

6. The Universal Groan: Creation, the Church, and the Spirit

(79:27 - 89:41)

• All creation “groans” in eager expectation for God’s sons to manifest.
• Believers groan internally, burdened by unspoken struggles, yet this groaning is a sign of hope and transformation.
• Even the Holy Spirit “groans” with us when we don’t have the words to pray, uniting His intercession to our suffering so that “all things work together for good”.

Notable Quotes:

“It takes a groan to stop a groan. So the Spirit comes... Now you're gonna get some help, now you're gonna get some comfort because the Spirit is gonna come in there and groan with you.” (85:18)

"He matches your groaning. He meets you in the groaning. He meets you in the pain." (90:31)

7. Manifestation and Hope Beyond Pain

(73:36 - End)

• The world waits for the “manifestation of the sons of God”—for believers to emerge from suffering as agents of change, healing, and strength.
• The call is not to escape struggle, but let God use it for birth—“there ain’t no cute way to push that baby out.”
• The episode concludes with an altar call: bring your pain, your struggle, and let God transform it into glory.

Memorable Moments & Illustrative Analogies

• The Marketplace Scales: Suffering vs. Glory
  “So when I put the suffering on the scale, it went up. When I put the glory on the scale, it fell down. So when I stand back and look at it, the greater weight is on the glory…” (47:26)
• Night Suffering:
  “Pain gets worse at night... you can have a cold all day…and the later it gets at night, the worse it gets.” (59:15)
• The Oil of the Apothecary:
  “Real anointing grows in the dark. Notice I said it grows. You're not going to get this quick…this is something that God's going to give you after you have suffered a while to weed out the pretenders.” (65:13)
• Groanings in Harmony:
  An on-the-spot illustration as musicians play discordant notes to represent the “dissonance” inside us—“Groaning is not pleasant… if I would write a score with what's going on inside of your spirit, it would sound like [discord] because the Spirit is groaning in your spirit.” (86:29/90:05)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Opening Praise and Exhortation: 01:32 – 05:33
• Foundation: Romans 8 and Our Position: 05:45 – 14:13
• Law of the Spirit vs. Flesh: 14:14 – 22:29
• On Adoption and Inheritance: 24:49 – 35:08
• Suffering as the Price of Glory / The Case for Groaning: 36:01 – 51:00
• Teaching on Pathema (Suffering): 56:59 – 59:37
• Anointing from the Dark (Oil of the Apothecary): 62:54 – 66:57
• Groaning Within and Spirit’s Intercession: 79:27 – 90:31
• Manifestation, Altar Call, and Conclusion Worship: 104:12 – End

Overall Tone & Style

Bishop Jakes’ message is deeply passionate, honest, and pastorally direct. He employs vivid imagery, biblical exegesis, humor, and personal testimony to draw listeners into both conviction and hope. The energy is often high, but never detached from real pain or complexity. He stresses authenticity (“It’s okay for me to groan”) and invites listeners to drop shame and pretense.

Takeaways for Listeners

• Embrace your suffering: It’s not a sign of God’s absence, but the necessary “groan” before the birth of glory.
• Your pain has purpose: The world is waiting for you to manifest; your struggle is shaping you for impact.
• Rely on God’s Spirit: Even when you can’t articulate your need or fix your feelings, the Spirit is groaning on your behalf.
• Don’t undervalue your “roots in the dark”: True spiritual power doesn’t come easy or in the spotlight.
• Step out vulnerably: Bring yourself to God, not just your offerings or problems; walk out your faith, even when it’s messy.

Selected Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• “We spend too much time worried about our condition and not enough worried about our position.” (13:08)
• “If you chase God, he’ll chase you back.” (09:44)
• “You have to mortify the flesh… I had to wound it and let it bleed out on the floor…” (23:31)
• “Value is added through suffering.” (51:21)
• “If you ain’t been through none of that stuff, you don’t really know what I’m talking about. You can say my words, but you won’t have my power because the word hasn’t been proven in you.” (43:42)
• “When you have earned this glory, you don’t let nobody… take it away.” (52:10)
• “Suffering is anything that happens to you… that you undergo rather than choose.” (58:49)
• “Real anointing grows in the dark.” (65:04)
• "All creation groans… we groan within ourselves… the Spirit groans… It takes a groan to stop a groan.” (85:18)
• “Disappointment is made from expectation.” (91:06)
• “If we don’t walk this word out, it’s gonna kill us.” (103:14)

Call to Action

Bishop Jakes closes with an urgent altar call—inviting all, especially those “groaning” deep within, to come forward (or participate online), surrender their pain, and receive new hope from God.

"Tonight’s your night for you to get your hope back...God is getting you ready for glory." (90:53 – End)

End of Summary