Dharius Daniels - The Surprising Ways God is Working in Your Life

You lose this when you lose me. Somebody felt that in a different way. You want to send that text right now? Don’t do it, though. Don’t do it. I know you feel it; you’re like, yeah, you’re feeling all of that, huh? Right now, you feel it. You thought you were fine; now you see everything you lost. So, right. So, if I’m dealing with forgiveness challenges, I’m going to read certain scriptures in the Bible about forgiveness. The scripture can be a trigger, like «seven times seventy.» Not what they did to me. Where’s my honest Church? Come on now, let’s keep it real. There’s some stuff in the Bible I’m like, yes, and then I read other stuff, and I’m like, that turn the other cheek thing—help me, Jesus, because when you see stuff like «God delivered them into the hand…» it doesn’t say «God caused Midian to capture them, ” does it? It’s „God delivered.“ So, in the Old Testament, when you see stuff like this, remember that the New Testament says God tempts or tests no one with evil. So if evil is happening, Paul is saying God’s not doing that. He doesn’t have to use that to test you, to perfect you, or to tempt you. Does that make sense? There’s a difference between God causing and God using. When you see in the Old Testament the Bible saying things like „he delivered, ” it’s not active; it’s passive. It’s not saying He called the Midianites to do that; He’s saying that the Israelites rejected His leadership. And when you reject His leadership, the inherent consequence is you forfeit His protection. Y’all are not talking to me because the Bible says in the days of the Judges there was no king in Israel, and every man, every woman did what was right in their own eyes. They were saying, „God, you don’t get to lead me, ” and God’s like, „Okay, but nobody can protect you if you won’t obey.“ If you have children, the instruction you give them is trying to protect them. If you say, „Don’t breakdance on the glass table, ” you’re doing it to protect them. Come on, it’s difficult to protect those who won’t obey. I don’t have time, but if I did, when He says, „Don’t be…“ I’ll leave it alone. Yes, when He says „don’t be unequally yoked, ” it’s just trying to protect you. Except it’s hard for me to protect those who won’t obey. I’m done. Here it is, let me wrap this up. Child, this is what happens. What ends up happening is this: they’re in this season, and God’s like, „Okay, since you rejected Me as your leader, I’m a shepherd, not a slave driver, so I won’t force Myself into an area you pushed Me out of. But when you reject My leadership, by birth, I’m not funny acting and not going to protect you.“ When you reject My leadership, you forfeit that. Because this is what comes—you lose this when you lose Me. Somebody felt that in a different way. You want to send that text right now? Don’t do it, though. Don’t do it. I know you feel it; you’re like, yeah, you’re feeling all of that, huh? Right now, you feel it. You thought you were fine; now you see everything you lost. That’s like, „You lose this when you lose Me,“ because you’re getting stuff you take for granted. Most of the things I protect you from—you didn’t know about. You didn’t know the Midianites were your enemy till I left. They missed it. The Midianites have always been your enemies; you just never dealt with them because I was protecting you from stuff, and most of the stuff God does, you’re unaware of because He’s so good at it. He doesn’t even let it get close to you. Did you hear what I just said? I said He’s so good at His job, it doesn’t even get close to you. It’s like the Midianites have always been there. Just because your enemies aren’t active doesn’t mean they’re not present. Enemies are not just people, but adversity, troubles, trials—just because it’s not active doesn’t mean it’s not present. He said you’ve got all sorts of danger in your proximity that don’t get to you because of the hedge that I am around you. This is why we should be proactive praisers. Yep, next week, come in with a proactive praise. Yep. And when people ask you, „What are you praising Him for?“ I’m praising for all the stuff He did this week, I don’t know about the accident I was spared from; I didn’t know about the sickness I was spared from; that I didn’t know about the protection of my children from danger I didn’t know about. So God says, „I gotta get a deliverer.“ Israel is under the hand of Midian for seven years. Man, that’s a long time. God knows how long to let you sit in it till you mean it because sometimes you get out of it, and you go back because you didn’t stay in long enough. I gotta go say, „Yeah, you told me that last time you were in it,“ and then I’m going to say, „I’m gonna let you sit in it this time long enough so that this time when you get out, you mean it.“ Seven years. Seven years. But this is what’s crazy. Tell you, I did some research, and I saw, I’m in the lineage. I saw that the Midianites were descendants of Midian. Midian was a son that Abraham had with Keturah. So this was an enemy that they were related to—next year, maybe next year, related to them, jealous of them because I’m from Keturah, not Sarah. You got it? Seven years, and they cry out to God.