Dharius Daniels - The Power of Perspective

I want to talk to you tonight about the power of perspective. The power of perspective—everybody say getting out of my prison is all about my perspective. Catch this: on Sunday morning, we attempted to use Joseph’s life as a teaching tool to share some Kingdom keys that could aid and assist us in breaking out of prisons that are the consequence of unprocessed pain. This is a difficult truth to digest, but it is a truth that is consistently seen throughout Scripture. In life, you will ultimately and inevitably experience pain. You can live a blameless life—that is, not a perfect life, but a life that is above reproach like Job’s—and without explanation, the rug can be pulled out from under you and things can be turned upside down. Somebody say «pain.» I want to share this with you; you must get this because I don’t believe this truth is articulated enough from pulpits, specifically in contemporary churches. As a consequence, we meander through life without having a proper perspective on what we can potentially face. Therefore, to be surprised by the inevitable is to be naive. The Bible says, Jesus said, «In this world, because it’s broken, it’s flawed; it’s not perfect, you will have tribulation.» You are dealing with a broken world that is filled with broken people. Are you hearing me? Broken things hurt people. Somebody say «broken world»; now say «broken people.» When I say «broken world,» what does that mean? It means that nature is broken, so it does not function the way God originally intended for it to function. That’s why you have earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and hurricanes. The Bible says all of creation is groaning, waiting, expecting, and anticipating the manifestation of the sons of God. The whole created order is broken: fires and floods happen; life occurs; it rains. The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust, saved and unsaved. If you walk out in the rain, you can get wet. Are you hearing me? So I know you’re probably wondering, «Pastor, if life can happen to me, what’s the good news? What’s the gospel?» It’s this: the gospel is not a gospel of avoidance; it’s the gospel of overcoming. So for me to be victorious, I don’t have to avoid the things that God does not allow me to avoid. He gives me the strength to be able to overcome. Somebody say «the power of perspective.» I don’t want to make you cynical. Yes, there are certain things, certain pain that is avoidable. Wherever there’s the absence of wisdom, there will be the presence of pain. Ignorance is expensive; it’s painful. Am I making sense? Ignorance is expensive; it’s painful. So certain things, when there’s an absence of wisdom in our life, will hurt. It’s going to hurt. The wiser we become, the safer we become. Is there anybody in the room who will say, «That’s why in this season of my life, I want some wisdom»? Sometimes there are people who make jokes—people who have known me since I came to the area—who joke about my age. «Oh man, when you first got here, you were 26; now you’re 36, ” and they make a joke. But honestly, I really have no problem with getting older. Let me tell you why: because if I have to be as stupid as I was at 22 to go back to being 22, I don’t want to be 22 again. See, that may not be your testimony, but that was my testimony. If I have to have the mind of a 22-year-old to get the energy of a 22-year-old, I’d rather have the energy of a 36-year-old with a 36-year-old brain, because there are some lessons I had to learn the hard way that I don’t want to relearn. There are some tears I shed that I don’t want to shed again; there are some experiences I’ve had that I don’t want to have again. Am I making sense? Somebody say „pain.“ Yeah, this is my point: broken world, broken people, and some pain in your life is going to come from broken people—undeserved, unsolicited. Somebody say „the power of perspective.“ When I lack perspective, I’ll be confused and ask, „Why in the world did they do this to me when I’ve done absolutely nothing to them?“ Somebody say „perspective.“ I wish I could tell you that you will never have pain, but you will. You are going to have to bury someone one day whom you don’t want to bury. Pastor, why are you pressing this point? Why are you so aggressive? Why are you so assertive? Why are you so forthright when it comes to this? It’s because I have seen what happens to people’s faith when it is not grounded in biblical reality. I see that when you don’t teach people a comprehensive biblical perspective that includes high seasons, low seasons, winters, falls, springs, and summers, when they hit a winter season, their faith is shaken, their view of God is questioned, their commitment is shaken. Are y’all not hearing me? The enemy knows that when your perspective is inaccurate, your faith is fragile, so he knows when to send the right storm.