Dharius Daniels - Hunger Games

If you’re ready for the word, put «yes» in the chat. All right, if you’re ready for the word, say «yes» in the studio. Yes? All right! John chapter 5, verse 1 says, «Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda, surrounded by five porches. A great number of disabled people used to lie there—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well? ' 'Sir, ' the invalid replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred; while I’m trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.' At once, the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.» This last lesson in this Beast Mode series, I want to talk from the subject: My subject is «Hunger Games.» You know, family, I was doing some reflection in preparation for today’s presentation. I recalled and remembered some of the Southern folk phrases that persons like my grandmother used to regularly rehearse. My grandmother, Chinella Nettles, was an amazing cook, and there were times when our family would gleefully gather at her home to enjoy some of her delicious dishes. You don’t know anything about this, huh? Collard greens with ham hocks, cornbread—not Jiffy (though I like Jiffy)—but cornbread from scratch, pecan pie, sweet potato pie, coconut cream pie, lemon meringue pie, chocolate cake, German chocolate cake, pound cake, lemon pound cake. She was an incredible, amazing cook, and she would cook, sit back in her chair, and with joy, gaze at us enjoying what she had labored so diligently and generously to provide for us. She got more joy out of watching us eat than she did eating herself, and she was a very intent and intense observer. From time to time, she would watch us, watch this, pile our plates with food that was far too much for us to eat. She would sit back in her chair and watch us eat only a portion of that food, and she would say something like this, giggling underneath her breath: «Your eyes are too big for your stomach.» In other words, we became excited and enamored by the food that we saw, and we became intoxicated with anticipation about what it would be like and taste like. We overestimated our hunger and underestimated our appetite. Watch this: we started things we couldn’t finish because we weren’t hungry enough, and we put things on our plate that were too much for us to handle because we weren’t hungry enough. We bragged to others about how we were about to demolish this food, but we could not execute on our intention because we weren’t hungry enough. I started thinking about that thing and saw how that experience can be exegeted and utilized for this sermon because as it is with food, so it is with life. There are times in life where we put things on our plate that are too much for us to handle because we’re not hungry enough. There are times in life where we start things that we do not finish because we’re not hungry enough. There are times in life where we tell people we are about to demolish these goals, demolish these dreams, accomplish this agenda and we do not execute our intention because our eyes are bigger than our stomach. It doesn’t matter how good the food is—the future, the dream—whether we experience it or not is going to be based on our hunger. I want to pause for the cause as we conclude this series on Beast Mode and tell somebody: hunger matters. Yeah, the lion is the animal we’ve been using as a metaphor in a meaningful way, hopefully, as an example of what it means to be the best version of ourselves. I want to tell you something about lions, family: a lion is strong, a lion is fast, a lion is agile. But watch this: if a lion’s not hungry, a lion won’t fully utilize its abilities and capabilities to the maximum of its potential. Did you hear what I just said? I’m going to say that one more time: a lion is strong—that’s important; a lion is agile—that’s important; a lion is fast—that’s important. But what causes the lion to utilize the gifts that are on the inside of it is the hunger. The hunger drives the gifts, and some people are wondering, «Why am I gifted but not going anywhere? Why is my talent significant yet my life feels stuck?» Because gifts and abilities lie dormant, and they can actually be dysfunctional if you don’t have hunger. Hallelujah! That will push you to take advantage of developing and utilizing your gifts. Hallelujah! And I believe some people who may be watching this message or listening to this message right now, as I’m talking, you and God are having a sidebar conversation. Yeah, I’m preaching, and He’s speaking to you. He’s all up in your Kool-Aid; He knows the flavor because He’s bringing to your memory and into your mind all of the gifts that are in you, all of the dreams He’s given you. You don’t have a dream deficit; you got dreams! You don’t have a vision problem; you got vision! And you don’t have a talent problem; you got stuff on the inside of you you don’t even know is there.