Dharius Daniels - Jesus Take The Wheel

I want to look at the book of Acts, chapter 8, verse 26, beginning at verse 30. I am starting at verse 26 and going to verse 31. It says this: now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, «Go south to the road, the desert road, that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.» So he started out, and on his way, he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, which means 'Queen of the Ethiopians.' This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home, he was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, «Go to that chariot and stay near it.» Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet and said, «Do you understand what you’re reading?» Philip asked. «How can I?» the man said, «unless someone explains it to me.» So he invited Philip to come and sit with him. I want to stop the reading of Scripture there and talk from this subject in our time together, family: «Jesus, take the wheel.» If you’re ready for God’s word, family, I want to leap into this lesson by introducing an axiom that I think may not be extremely impressive, but I do believe it is extremely important. And I want to know at the 11:30 service if you want to know what this axiom is. Okay, here it is for my note-takers: if I want God to protect me, I must be willing to let Him direct me. Let’s say it one more time for note-takers: if I want God to protect me, I must be willing to let Him direct me. His protection is tied up in His direction, and many of us can relate to this reality because we’ve experienced it in human relationships. There are people who won’t take your advice on the front end but will then ask for your help on the back end. They ask for your protection because they didn’t take your direction. You can’t protect who you can’t direct; you can’t insulate someone from adversity who keeps ignoring your advice. You can’t look out for people long-term who refuse to listen to you, and if people keep ignoring your direction, then they’re jeopardizing their protection, because direction often provides protection. I need somebody to say «yes.» This is why God has a deep desire to do more than just save our lives; God actually wants to lead our lives. He wants to lead our lives not because it’s in His best interest, but because it’s in our best interest. He wants to lead it because He knows what we don’t know; He sees what we don’t see; He can predict what we cannot predict. He knows if we lead it, we’ll end up someplace, but if He leads it, we’ll end up in the right place. David captures this beautifully in Psalms 23 when David says these words: «The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.» Come on, church! «He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters; He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yay, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, and my cup runs over.» Let your pastor be Baptist for just this one word: «Surely.» Surely, not maybe, not possibly, but surely goodness and mercy will follow me. In other words, David says if I follow Him, I don’t have to follow it; it will follow me. If I chase Him, I don’t have to chase it because it will chase me. I want to know, am I talking to anybody at the 11:30 service that has a revelation in this season of what to chase? You’ve chased the wrong thing long enough to know what’s worth chasing now and what’s worth leaving behind. But the Bible is very clear: if I seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things shall be added unto me. Is there anybody that’s believing for goodness and mercy to chase you down? I want blessings to stop me; I want them to be waiting on me when I come out of the grocery store, when I come out of the mall, when I pull up in my neighborhood. I want them chasing me down. Come on, listen to what David says: all of these things can be my experience if the Lord is my shepherd. Did you hear what I just said? Come on! Verse 2 says, «He makes me to lie down.» That’s David saying he knows how to force the right pit stops. Did you hear what I just said? He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. He lets me go not to but through the valley of the shadow of death without fear of evil because He’s with me. He says His rod, which was a stick that was used to ward off beasts and animals and enemies, He says, «And your staff protect and comfort me.» Not just the rod, but the staff. The rod is a straight stick; the staff was a stick with a hook on the end of it.