Dharius Daniels - I'm Not Going That Way

It’s part three of the Dream Chaser series. I want to read a few verses of scripture here in Acts chapter 16, verse 6. It says, «Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word of God in the province of Asia. They came to the border of Mysia, and when they tried to enter Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.» We’re in part three of this teaching called Dream Chasers, and I want to talk on this subject during our time together: «I’m not going that way.» Family, allow me to ease into this introduction of today’s message with this axiom for my notetakers: write this or type this down: one of the greatest enemies to accomplishing dreams is not dysfunction; it’s distraction. One of the greatest enemies to accomplishing dreams is not just dysfunction; it’s distraction. The scriptures are inundated with evidence that God uses imperfect people. This is not to justify or excuse unethical behavior, but to say we can look throughout scripture and see that your imperfections do not automatically disqualify you for divine usage. Come on, that He uses people like Jacob, who are walking with Him, but walking with a limp. Come on now! However, although God uses advanced people who are imperfect, God limits how He advances and uses those, listen to this, who are unfocused. Some people have gone further than you not because they were better than you or more gifted than you, or even more moral than you, but because they were more focused than you. And because this is the case, the enemy is not just at work in our dysfunction; the enemy is also at work in and through distractions. The devil does not always show up looking like the devil. Isn’t this the primary point of the Bible using, whether it’s literal or metaphorical, the imagery of a snake in the Garden of Eden? Right? Because snakes don’t seem out of place in a garden. So whether it’s literal or metaphorical, the point is, the devil shows up looking like he belongs there, and he doesn’t always show up looking like a demon. The devil sometimes shows up looking like a distraction. But I came today to tell somebody, if you’re a dream chaser, it’s time to start treating distractions like they’re demons. I said, if you’re really going to be a dream chaser, you have to start treating distractions like they’re demons. Like, «Oh, you are sent by the enemy to capture my attention so I can’t invest my energy into the dream that God has assigned for my life.» So I’m going to rebuke this distraction the same way I would rebuke this demon, because if, watch this, if I don’t treat my distractions like demons, my distractions will become my demons. Am I making sense here? And this is why, ladies and gentlemen, it is important, it is essential, it is imperative for every dream chaser to cease underestimating the impact of distractions. Because it is easy to become involved with that which is appealing, interesting, and impressive but not essential for your assignment. Okay, let me give it to you this way: every dream chaser is an essential worker. It means they are a person who has identified, in this season of my life, what work is essential, because everything that seems important is not essential for your dream. And if you’re chasing everything that’s important without discerning what’s essential, you will find yourself on the path to somebody else’s assignment. But I came to tell somebody that what God has for you, it is for you. I came to tell somebody, I’m praying that God gives you a degree and a dimension of discernment that you’ve never had in your entire life, because you don’t have time to waste. No, no, no, not in a season like this; not in the middle of a pandemic where the margin of error is smaller and the consequences of getting it wrong are greater. In this season, you’ve got to make God moves. Every door has to be a God door; every opportunity has to be a God opportunity, because if it is not destiny, it’s a distraction. That’s why we, like the Apostle Paul, must learn to say, «I’m not going that way.» I’m going to say it one more time: we, like the Apostle Paul, must learn to say, «I’m not going that way.» I don’t care who’s going that way; I’m not going that way. I don’t care who’s asking me to go that way; I’m not going that way. I don’t care if my friends are going that way; I’m not going that way, because some people are trying to invite you around the way when you already came back from the way and you know that way ain’t the way for you. Yeah, I tried that way; that way put tears in my eyes. I don’t want that anymore. I tried that way; that way wasted my time. I don’t want that anymore. I tried that way; as Dave Ramsey said, I put my ladder… watch this, I climbed the ladder of success, got to the top, and realized it was on the wrong wall. Yeah, yeah. The Apostle Paul offers an incredible example of what I’m trying to articulate. We see a powerful picture of him literally chasing a…