Dharius Daniels - Express Yourself

I want to talk to you about public displays of affection. In 2 Samuel, chapter 6, verse 20, it says this: when David returned home to bless his household, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him and said, «How the king of Israel distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls and of his servants, as any vulgar fellow would!» David said to Michal, «It was before the Lord who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people. I will celebrate before the Lord, and I will become even more undignified than this.»

I’m going to pause for a moment to tell you the topic and the title of today’s lesson. I want to speak from this subject: express yourself. In a little less than a week, many in our culture will be celebrating a day that is dubbed and designated as Valentine’s Day. Many men, like your boy, are feeling the pressure to come up with something romantic and creative in order to demonstrate to the significant ones in our lives that they are loved, appreciated, and valued. Although this day has some real consumeristic tendencies and undertones—of course culture wants us to spend money—there is something redemptive about the day. I believe it is appropriate to be intentional, listen to this: not just about feeling loved but about showing love.

Here it is, a thought for my note-takers and my posters and tweeters: any relationship we don’t appreciate is a relationship that will disintegrate. It is essential to pause to intentionally express our love, appreciation, and adoration for those who hold significant places in our lives. The people we love don’t benefit from the love we feel; they only benefit from the love we show. If you love me, you ought to show it.

As it is in our relationships with people, so it is in our relationship with God. God does more than declare His love for us; God demonstrates His love for us. The Bible puts it this way in Romans, chapter 5, verse 8: «But God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.» I don’t know about you, family, but I’m glad God did more than declare His love for me; I’m glad God demonstrated His love for me. We don’t benefit from the love others feel; we only benefit from the love they show. Just as God demonstrates His love to us, God has an expectation that we demonstrate our love back to Him.

There is a word the Bible uses to describe this demonstration of our love for Him, and that word is worship. Worship, family, is PDA. Worship is a public display of affection. In fact, the English word has some Latin roots that mean worth-ship, which is to express worth. It doesn’t just mean to feel gratitude; it means to express worth. God has an expectation that His people demonstrate their appreciation for who He has been and what He has done in their lives. He wants us to express ourselves.

Pastor, how do you know that? I was reading my Bible and stumbled across this story in Luke, chapter 17, about ten men who had the incurable disease called leprosy. They were scratching and itching and walked up to Jesus and said, «This Benadryl is not working; this Aveeno is not working.» I’m going to see how old-school you are: «This calamine lotion isn’t working. None of this is working, Jesus.» The Bible says Jesus looked at them; He didn’t touch them or say, «Be healed.» All He said was, «Go show yourselves to the priest.»

The Bible says they turned around and started walking to the priest. What you need to know is that the walk to the priest was a walk of faith because the only reason you went to the priest was so that the priest could examine your condition, determine whether or not you were still contagious, and release you from being quarantined in a leper colony so you could interact with the general population. So when Jesus said, «Go and show yourself to the priest,» their walk to the priest was an act of faith, meaning, «I’m not healed yet, but by the time I get to where He’s sending me, everything is going to be alright.»

The Bible says as they went, they were healed. One of them, in the midst of the miracle—not even completely healed yet—starts looking at himself, getting better, and says, «I’m not even going to wait until all of this gets worked out to worship. Right in the middle of the miracle, just because it’s not as bad as it used to be, even though it’s not fixed, it’s better. I’m not going to wait until it’s perfect to praise. I’m going to turn around and go back to Jesus.» Is there anybody that is in a miracle right now? You can say, «PB, it ain’t quite fixed, but it’s getting better. I can feel something turning in my life.»

He goes back to Jesus and says, «Listen, I just want to say thank you.» Here’s Jesus’s response to him: «Were there not ten of you?» He says, «Yes.» Jesus responds, «Where are the other nine?» He’s not saying you don’t feel gratitude; He’s saying the other nine didn’t express it. This is consistent all throughout Scripture where God requests His people to express His worth in their lives.