Dharius Daniels - Back Like I Never Left

There are a few verses of Scripture I want to read found in the Gospel of John, chapter 20. I want to read a few verses beginning at verse 24. I’m reading from the New International Version, and it reads like this: Now Thomas, also known as Didymus, who was one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, «We’ve seen the Lord,» but he said, «Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.» A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, «Peace be with you.» He said to Thomas, «Put your finger here; see my hands; reach out and put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and believe.» Thomas said to him, «My Lord and my God.» I’m going to stop the reading of Scripture right here, and I want to talk from this subject in our time together today: I’m going to see if I can get at least 75 witnesses here. Back like I never left. Back like I never left. Family, this weekend people are gathered in sacred spaces all over the world in celebration of the most significant and consequential event in human history, and that is the resurrection of Jesus. Although this day is and should be a day of celebration, it is also an opportunity for education. In other words, it is one thing to know that Jesus got up; it is another thing to know what it means for me. It is in that spirit that I want to offer this axiom in our time together, and it is simply this: The resurrection is a revelation of God’s ability to orchestrate an unusual recovery. The resurrection is a revelation of God’s ability to orchestrate an unusual recovery. In other words, the resurrection is a powerful picture of a word called buoyancy, which simply means bounce-back ability. It is when God empowers individuals to recover from, bounce back from, and walk out of seasons, situations, and circumstances that other people would normally stay buried in. It is when God gives you a resurrection from something that would have ruined the average person. But I want to know: Am I talking to anybody in here today who is honest enough to admit there is nothing average about me? As a matter of fact, when I objectively observe God’s interaction and intervention in my life, there is one word that describes the things He has done for and through me, and that word is unusual. I want to know: Am I talking to anybody who is sick of settling, who is allergic to average, and who believes for God to do not normal, not ordinary, but to bless me so uniquely and so significantly that people look at me and say, «That’s unusual»? This explanation will only create excitement for those who will admit that the trajectory of their life has not been a rocket ship but a roller coaster. This segment of the sermon is for those people. It’s for people who feel like they’re behind schedule. It’s for people who feel like you would be further in your present if you had been wiser in your past. It is for people who feel like things would be different for them if that hadn’t happened. This word is for you. Here it is: God is getting ready to give you an unusual recovery. Unusual means strange, bizarre, not common, and not ordinary. It’s when God says, «I’m gonna make something happen that wouldn’t normally happen unless I made it happen,» and others who are aware of the adversity you experienced will look at you surprised and perplexed, because the last place they saw you was the tomb. They expect you to be in the same place and in the same condition you were in the last time they saw you, but they don’t realize that God has blessed you with one of the most beneficial blessings you can ever receive. That’s not bling on the outside; it’s buoyancy on the inside. See, people think you’re blessed because of what they can see, and they don’t realize that what they can see is not the blessing. What they can see is the byproduct of the blessing. The real blessing, my real flex, is not what’s on the outside; my real flex is if you would have gone through what I went through, you would have given up. If you would have gone through what I went through, you would have quit. But there’s something on the inside of me that says, «Devil, you can’t have the last say. It may be Friday, but Sunday is coming.» All right? I don’t know who this is for, and I don’t know what you’re facing, but I got two words for you today. The two words are bounce back. Bounce back! They broke up with you? Bounce back! You went through bankruptcy? Bounce back! There’s a downturn in the business? Bounce back! Because the hardest thing God ever had to do was get Jesus out of the grave, and if He could get Jesus out of the grave, He can help you recover from whatever has put you in yours. I want somebody—don’t talk to your neighbor, but say it so that they can hear you—say, «Bounce back! Bounce back! Bounce back! Bounce back!» Buoyancy is on the inside of you! Bounce back! Life will have you in a tomb on Friday, but buoyancy will have you bouncing back!