Dharius Daniels - Fight Club

I want to ease into this introduction with an axiom that is attributed to Jesus. Many of us may be familiar with it; it is recorded by the Gospel writer John. He articulates that Jesus communicates these words: Jesus says, «You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.» The word «truth» here is actually a word that etymologically means «reality.» So when Jesus says, «You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,» He is saying that we all will hit seasons and situations where we need a revelation of reality. He says, «I want to interrupt your sense of reality so I can disrupt that false reality with a real reality that’s going to add real value to your life.» He says, «When you know the truth, when you get a revelation of what’s really real, that revelation of reality causes a revolution in your life.» In other words, I’ve said this before: once you get exposed, you cannot be unexposed. We must be cautious and careful in asking God to expose us—to expose us to things, to opportunities, to information, to revelation—because once you get exposed, you get spoiled. You start developing an insatiable appetite for something that you didn’t know existed until you got exposed to it. This is why some of you right now are in a season of agitation and inconvenience, because you’re saying, «Once I taste what is possible for me, I’ll never be satisfied with something that is beneath me.» Who am I talking to today? That’s a holy agitation; that’s a holy discontent. God gave you some premature exposure to your future reality so you wouldn’t get comfortable in your present reality. He says, «I’m not going to let you settle for less than my best, so I’m going to expose you to what’s for you before the time so that you don’t think that all that’s going on in your right now is the sum total of what’s going to be in your next.» I don’t know who this is for, but for somebody following me on this Father’s Day, I want you to put this in the chat: «My now is not my next.» Yep, I might be crying now, but the Bible says if I’m sowing in tears, in my next, I’m going to be reaping in joy. I may be walking into some closed doors now, but my Bible tells me He opens doors that no man can shut and closes doors that no man can open. My next is a season of open doors. My next is a season of multiple doors. My next is a season where I need increased discernment to determine what door I’m going to walk through. My next is a season where I’m not even walking through doors by myself; I’m taking everybody that the enemy wants to keep stuck and stagnant with me because my now is not my next. We need a revelation of reality, and that’s what truth does: it rescues you from operating incorrectly because you perceived something inaccurately. Right, let’s use relationships as an example. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5 dedicates an entire chapter to this. He’s talking about Christ’s relationship with the church, but he uses marriage as a metaphor for us. There are all types of viewpoints and perspectives about what it takes to make it work. What does Paul do? Paul gives them a revelation of reality, and he says in Ephesians 5 that marriage isn’t just for two people who are in love; marriage is for two mature people who are in love. He says, «I want to disrupt your understanding of that so you don’t spend years working it in ways that don’t work.» He says, «I don’t want you to work at ways that don’t work, so let me disrupt your understanding of it.» He says, «Two selfish people who are in love don’t work; this is for two people who are committed to serving each other.» And he says, «If you’ll receive that, it’ll set you free from operating in a way that’s incorrect because you’re looking at something in a way that’s inaccurate.» He said, «Truth sets you free.» I think this is important, family, because receiving this revelation helps minimize some frustration in our lives. Many of us have to wrap our heads around the fact that there are some things we have accepted as true that aren’t actually truth. When life gives you something that is incongruent or inconsistent with what you believe to be true, it can cause you to question what you believe about life. Now, watch this: if your belief, the belief I’m referring to, is a belief that you believe comes from God and then you experience something in life that’s inconsistent with that, then that will not only have us questioning life; it will also have us questioning God. For example, we just sang a song earlier about God being a good Father. Goodness is His nature; it is an incredibly important attribute every believer needs to rest in. The revelation that God is good is cathartic, therapeutic, grounding, and anchoring. It’s your shelter in the time of storm. That revelation is your bridge over troubled water; that revelation is a rock you can lean on in a weary land. Didn’t Jesus tell Peter that the revelation he had about Jesus being the Son of the living God was a rock upon which he could build his church? We need that revelation. However, God says He’s good, but He determines what’s good. So when we assume that…