Dharius Daniels - Training for Reigning

So, Judges chapter 7, verse 15 says, «When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, 'Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.' Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.» I want to talk from this subject this morning: «Training for Reigning.» How many have been blessed by this Gladiator series—training for reigning? Family, the Scriptures teach that we have been created and crafted by our Creator with the ability to undergo unique evolutions. This means that God has empowered us to evolve into different versions of ourselves that can be completely different from the person we used to be. It is something that is not ubiquitous in all of the created order; it is a human distinctive. When a catfish is born, it is a catfish forever. Right? When a bass is born, it’s a bass forever. When a turtle is born, it’s a turtle forever. But with the human species, it’s a bit different because we can experience evolutions to the degree that we don’t even recognize our former selves. I believe I have some people in this room and some watching online who will say, «My life is evidence of evolution,» because if you think I’m a handful right now, let me go to this side of it: if you think I’m a handful right now, you should have met me before God put His hand on me. You are looking at evidence of evolution. So, what does this mean? This means that your past does not determine your future. This means that who you used to be doesn’t determine who you can be. This means that your history does not determine your destiny because we serve a God who empowers and enables us to undergo evolution. If you know God is an evolutionary God and He has called you to evolve in ways you didn’t even think you could evolve, if you know you’ve changed in ways you didn’t even think you could change, if you can look back at your life and see where you are right now, you’re surprised at your own growth. Come on, one of your partners should have given praise for that! Am I making sense? Yeah, and it’s important to understand that although evolution is revealed and seen in our actions, it begins with our attitude. Romans 12 teaches that transformation takes place by the renewing of the mind. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, because when my attitude changes, my actions follow. Change begins headfirst. Am I making sense? I believe this is one of the ways in which God wants to use this Gladiator series. He wants to use this series to empower us to experience an attitude adjustment. I believe He wants to develop the disposition of Christ in us. One of the ways He wants to do this is by cultivating in us the disposition of a gladiator. What do I mean by that? We talked a little about this in earlier parts of this series, where we communicated that there are two animal metaphors that the Bible uses to describe the two dominant aspects of Christ’s character. The first is a lamb, which speaks to Jesus’s tendency to be meek, docile, humble, and compliant. The other metaphor the Bible uses to describe another aspect of Jesus’s personality is not equally emphasized, but it is very important. Jesus is not just a lamb; He is also called a lion, which speaks to His resilience, His willingness to be assertive, and His tendency to overcome obstacles that many—if not most—would be unable to overcome, including the grave. If we’re going to become all that God has called us to be and if we’re going to accomplish all God wants us to accomplish, we too must hold in tension these two dominant character traits. We must know when to be a lamb, but we must also know when to be a lion. When we are facing adversity and obstacles that attempt to inhibit us from experiencing God’s best, when trouble rings your doorbell, don’t send the lamb to the door. When trouble rings your doorbell, you send the lamb to the back, and you send the lion to the door, because if you don’t overcome it, it will overcome you. If you don’t slay it, it will slay you. If you don’t conquer it, it will conquer you, because life isn’t just about what happens to us. Life happens to all of us; life is about how we respond to what happens. Does the sheep baa, or does the lion roar? Am I making sense? This evolution that I’m referring to for many of us means experiencing an evolution in a way that we become more like lions. That evolution has inherent benefits and blessings, and when that takes place, three things happen. I don’t know if you know this, but lions have superb eyesight. So when we evolve and become lion-like, we see things differently. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but lions see six times better than humans in the dark. Lions’ eyes light up in the dark. You didn’t hear what I said; I’ll say it again. Their eyes light up in the dark; they hunt at night. See, when it gets dark in your life and you stop hunting, you’re not a lion. But when you become a lion, even when it’s…