Dharius Daniels - This Means War

I want us to look at an example of a person in the Bible who went through something similar; his name was Gideon. I want to read Judges 6:12–16. I’m reading from the New International Version, and this is what it says: When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, «The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.» «Pardon me,» Gideon replied, «but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? ' But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.» The Lord turned to him and said, «Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?» «Pardon me, my Lord,» Gideon replied, «but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I’m the least in my family.» The Lord answered, «I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.» This is the reading of God’s Word. I want to give this text a title: This is your affirmation; this is your declaration in this season. Here it is: This Means War! I’m going to say that one more time because the Scriptures not only instruct us to shout; they instruct us to shout with a certain specificity: shout unto God with a voice of triumph. I’m going to say the title one more time: Victory Has a Sound. I’m not talking about noise—victory has a sound. So, I’m going to say this one more time, and I want to hear a sound of victory tonight: This means war! Not without a fight, devil. Not without a fight, devil! Not without a fight, devil! Not without a fight, devil! This means war, family. It has been said and suggested that part of the role and responsibility of the church is to be the educational arm of the Kingdom of God. I’m not saying that a church is a school; I am saying that a church has educational and not just inspirational responsibilities. Got me? If a church is simply inspirational but not educational, they are not faithfully fulfilling what some biblical historians call the Great Commission. See, Alan Hirsch puts it this way: God’s church doesn’t have a mission; God’s mission has a church. He knows what he wants to do. The church doesn’t determine what we do; He knows what He wants to do, and He has given the church the assignment to make disciples, apprentices to teach people how to live the King’s way. I can say, because I can’t speak for the church all over the world—my experience with the church has been in the West and in America—that to a degree we’ve attempted to carry out that responsibility. We’ve taught you how to serve, we’ve taught you how to sow, we’ve taught you how to shout, but there is an area that is equally important but often overlooked. We’ve taught you to serve, we’ve taught you to sow, we’ve taught you to shout, but we have not taught you how to fight. As a result of that reality, many of us go into adversity unprepared and ill-equipped because the assumption that many operate under is this: that if, listen to me, if God has something for me, it doesn’t have to be fought for. I came today to tell you that the entire book of Judges, which is a book about conquest, is the Old Testament equivalent of the book of Ephesians. It is a book that is intended to transition you from prophetic announcement to prophetic fulfillment. It’s a book that exists to teach you to move from just singing about it to actually walking in it. Did you hear what I’m saying? Yeah! It’s a book that is intended to shift you from a «It’s about to happen» season to an «It already has» season. It’s a book about conquest and the possession of what God promised. If you read the book, it is filled with battles because God is trying to teach you and me. He’s not condoning violence here, but He’s trying to teach us that what is for you must be fought for. Listen to me: your willingness to fight for it is a revelation that you actually believe it belongs to you. So, the fight isn’t works; the fight is faith. Faith is what provokes you to fight because you don’t fight for what you don’t believe is yours. But if you leave the epicenter, go back to your house, and discover someone is in your house who shouldn’t be there and is taking something that doesn’t belong to them, you are more inclined to lay hands on them. Why? Because you believe they are taking something that belongs to you. The reason some people don’t fight for peace is that they don’t believe it’s theirs. The reason some people don’t fight for joy is that they don’t believe it’s theirs. The reason some people settle for relationships that are toxic, abusive, and exploitative is that they don’t believe God has someone who will love them right. But I came to the epicenter tonight to let ATL know that what God has for you, it is for you! And I’m telling you, faith must put up a fight. So, there’s something that we need. We need, listen to me, to be taught more than aptitude; we need to be taught attitude. Did you hear what I just said? I said we need to be taught more than aptitude; we need to be taught attitude because…