Dharius Daniels - RESET - Part 10

Today, what I was going to do was start a completely different series. I think I’m going to wrap this up; we’re done with Romans. I was planning to do a series on Ephesians 4, which I was going to call «Big Mad,» but I feel like I want to discuss the same subject that is on my heart for the next couple of weeks. I’m just going to keep it under the «Reset» banner because I believe this is an area where we really need to reset. So, for the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be in Ephesians 4, reading a few verses together.

I want to start at verse 26, and we will read verses 26 and 27. This is what we will be studying for the next couple of weeks, so watch this now—I want you all to catch this. We need a reset in the area of our anger. Let me pause right there; we need a reset in the area of our anger. Listen to what Paul says. I want you to hear me out—don’t tune me out. Listen to what Paul says: In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 26, he instructs, «In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.» And in verse 27, he adds, «Do not give the devil a foothold.»

Alright, this is the Apostle Paul writing a letter to believers in Ephesus. Don’t miss this now; he is writing to believers, and he tells them, «In your anger, do not sin.» He isn’t responding to something specific happening in Ephesus, like their being beheaded, although I’m not saying there wasn’t any persecution there. He wasn’t writing specifically to people with a particular reason to be angry. The fact that he addresses this issue of anger indicates it needs to be discussed. Because, look at me—please, look at me—all anger isn’t obvious. Somebody put some fire in this chat.

All anger isn’t obvious. So when I say something like «resetting anger, ” many people automatically assume this revelation from the scripture is irrelevant for them because they don’t have any anger issues. They might say, „I’m not violent, I’m not volatile, I’m not vitriolic, so this revelation doesn’t apply to me.“ I am telling you, this is the attitude the enemy wants us to adopt and embrace. He operates in the realm of darkness and deception. His great ignorance is the enemy’s weapon of mass destruction. We see this in the garden of Eden, don’t we? The Bible says he clearly deceived Eve. He can’t destroy us—he’s not omnipresent, and he’s not omnipotent. He’s not everywhere at the same time, and he doesn’t have all power, so he cannot destroy us. What he can do is deceive us into destroying ourselves.

I know this is a Bible study, but I believe—at least I do—in affirmations and declarations. I don’t believe affirmations and declarations change things out there; I believe they change things in here. I believe their best benefit is not existential or external, but internal, psychological, and spiritual. So I just believe that your days of self-destruction are over. Come on, let’s say together, „If we believe that, my days of self-destructive behavior are over—financially over, relationally over, professionally over.“ Does that mean you’ll live perfectly? No, but just because you’re living imperfectly—and we all will—doesn’t mean we will live destructively.

We’ve got enough adversity that we’re experiencing often, and because we’re facing adversity frequently, we don’t need to accumulate more due to the lack of revelation in our own lives. I’ve been teaching our church family this for years, and I want somebody to drop this in the chat. I want to see if you’re willing to flow with me tonight. Come on, „Ignorance is expensive.“ Whatever area we are ignorant in, we suffer in it. Somebody put that in the chat: „Ignorance is expensive.“ It costs us to be ignorant, and the enemy wants us to remain uninformed. Now, ignorant doesn’t mean unintellectual; it means uninformed or misinformed.

Come on, I see you; I’ve got my Baptist Bible tonight, my Pentecostal Bible tonight—your grandma’s Bible tonight! Ignorance does not mean unintellectual; it means uninformed or misinformed. The enemy, watch this, wants us misinformed when it comes to this area of anger because he wants us to limit anger to volatile, violent, and vitriolic behavior. He wants us to assume that if we’re not throwing things or having a temper tantrum, we’re not adversely affected by anger. Not so! Listen to me; the devil exists as a liar. You know, anger has a multitude of manifestations.

Anger has a myriad of manifestations. Anger doesn’t always manifest in screaming; sometimes, it manifests in the silent treatment. Y’all better—if I’m teaching the truth, put „truth“ in the chat. Let me see if you’re doing what I ask. Okay, I see you! Yes, sometimes anger doesn’t manifest in screaming; it manifests in silence. Some people get angry and don’t speak. It’s the truth for me tonight! Yep, I understand the assignment tonight.