Dharius Daniels - My Beach is Better

Matthew 24:24 through 27, listen to how it reads: it says, therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. Somebody say «Rock!» But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. This is the reading of Scripture. I want to talk from this subject. This is the twelve o’clock, so I know y’all gonna feel me here. I want to talk from this subject today: My Beach is Better.

Family, there is an epidemic that has unknowingly invaded the earth. It is, in fact, an epidemic that is inhibiting many from experiencing the reality of God’s best. It is an epidemic that has many meandering throughout a maze of misery. It is an epidemic that has served as a catalyst for chaos. It has been the avenue for addiction; it has deterred and detoured many from their destiny and blinded many from seeing God’s blessing. It’s an epidemic that keeps some people up at night but keeps others in bed all day. It is an epidemic that is emotional in nature, yet destructive in its expression. The epidemic I’m referring to, ladies and gentlemen, is the epidemic of emptiness. Somebody say «Empty!»

And whether we know it or not, family, emptiness is ubiquitous. It can be everywhere and anywhere. You can live in the Northeast and be empty, and you can live in the Dirty South and be empty. You can be empty on the East Coast and empty on the West Coast. You can be empty living under palm trees and be empty where there are no trees. Emptiness does not discriminate. You can be older and be empty, be middle-aged and be empty, or be young and be empty. You can be rich and be empty, or be poor and be empty. No matter what your ethnicity is, or however much melanin or lack thereof you have in your skin, you can be empty, empty, empty.

Whenever you’re dealing with an epidemic, an epidemic cannot be addressed with acquisitions; you can only address an epidemic with an antidote. Money can’t fix it; a career won’t fix it; a ring won’t fix it; a spouse won’t fix it; a promotion won’t fix it. There’s only one who holds, in His possession, the antidote for our emptiness, and it’s God. Because emptiness resides in a place that only He can reach, emptiness is postured in a position where only God can scratch. It is a thirst only God can quench, because the only answer to emptiness is fulfillment, and only God can make you fulfilled. Can I hear an Amen right there? Only God can make us fulfilled.

And whether people are aware or not, many on this search for fulfillment are not searching for what they think they are searching for; they’re searching for what they think their search will give them. What everybody is really searching for is fulfillment—they want to be full—filled. You can have a full house and still be empty, a full bank account and still be empty, a full schedule and still be empty. Acquisitions don’t address it; accomplishments will not appease it. Because whenever you get there, it never feels like you’re there. There is deceptive: when you step into another level, you get exposed to another level that existed that you didn’t know about until you got to one level. Levels are deceptive.

They’re like Jacob, who worked for seven years thinking he was marrying Rachel and woke up to find it was Leah. It’s what accomplishment will do: you will work your whole life, sacrifice your health, miss your children, and not take advantage of endless opportunities to enjoy the goodness of God’s creation, and then reach a season in your life where you wake up like Jacob and say, «I sacrificed all of that for this.» Let me take it a little further: I gave up all of this for them. Somebody say «Empty!» We need fulfillment, and only God can give it. I am arguing, ladies and gentlemen, that God does not give us fulfillment for self-gratifying and self-glorifying reasons. God wants to give us fulfillment, satisfaction, and contentment. He wants to give us fulfillment; here it is, because Matthew 7 teaches us this: a life without fulfillment is fragile. Somebody say «Fragile!»

Yeah, a life without fulfillment is fragile, because when a person is satisfied, their selections get wiser. When a person is content, they choose better. When a person is fulfilled, they are less likely to fall prey to schemes, plots, snares, and imposters. Your discernment increases when you are fulfilled because you are no longer residing in a place of desperation. And when you are not desperate, you realize you have options. Whenever you realize you have options, you make better decisions. God says in order to get you wiser, I’ve got to get you fulfilled. I’ve got to get you operating in a place where you realize you don’t have a deficit that I can’t meet. You don’t have a need that I cannot supply. I need to get you to see that I am the God Almighty, who is «I Am That I Am,» who will give you what you need when you need it, so you don’t have to fall victim to settling for something that is not in your best interests and not healthy.