Dharius Daniels - This is Confusing

Here’s the topic of today’s teaching: «This is confusing.» All the honest people, give God some praise! If you’ve ever been confused, I want you to give God some praise. As we ease into this introduction today, I want to begin by informing some and reminding others of an axiom that you hear regularly repeated at Change Church. The axiom is as follows: God will let you live on whatever level you settle for. I’m going to say that one more time: God will let you live on whatever level you settle for. The Scriptures reveal God regularly and consistently articulating His intentions or His will for us. His will for us is His preference for us; it is what He prefers to do, what He wants to do, and what He is willing to move Heaven and Earth to do. But it is not what He will force us to do. God will let us live on whatever level we settle for. God is not a respecter of persons. That means, in principle—somebody say «principle"—not practice, but in principle, what He does for one, He will do for another. Not in practice, meaning He won’t do the exact same thing for one person that He does for another, but in principle, if He opened a door for me—come on here—He’ll open the door for you. Now, my door might not be your door, and your door might not be my door, but are y’all hearing what I’m saying? I said if He made a way for me, He’ll make a way for you. Come on, church! If He elevated me, He’ll elevate you. If He healed you over here, He can heal you over there. He’s not a respecter of persons; He’s a God of favor. But favor is not favoritism. I want somebody who gets that to just proclaim out of your mouth so that you can hear it: I got favor too! Yeah, I got favor! He’s a God of favor, but He’s not a God of favoritism. He is no respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of our choices. He will respect your choice even if your choice is less than His best. He will respect what you want even if what you want is less than what He wants for you. But I believe—can I go Mississippi church for a minute? I said can I go Mississippi church for a minute? I believe I got some people in this room that will say, «I am sick of settling; I’m allergic to average.» Can I go Mississippi church? I believe I’m talking to some people in this room and online. Let me see Mississippi! That will say, «Lord, I’m running! You got it! Trying to make a hundred; 99 and a half just won’t do.» Am I talking to anybody that will say, «I want absolutely everything God’s got for me. I want what He wants for me,» because it is not enough for God to want it for me in order for me to have it. In order for me to have it, I gotta want it for myself. And this is why the Apostle Paul says in the book of Philippians that it is God who works in you the will to do His good pleasure. God doesn’t always give you what you want, but He’ll give you what to want. He’ll give you a want for some of the stuff you want; some of the stuff you want is what He wants for you. The fact that you want some things and I want other things is an indication that God has put different things in our hearts to want because He wants different things for us. I don’t know what God wants for you, and what God wants for you, and what God wants for you, and what God wants for you specifically, but I know a word that can be used to describe what God wants to do for you, in you, and through you, and that is: God wants to do some strange things. I said, God wants to do some strange things. And the word «strange» means unusual; the word «strange» means uncommon; the word «strange» means extraordinary; the word «strange» means confusing; the word «strange» means peculiar; the word «strange» refers to head-scratching blessings. The word «strange» refers to «I don’t know how I got in this room» blessings. The word «strange» refers to «It doesn’t make sense to me either» blessings. The word «strange» is a powerful picture of a principle called the principle of exception, and the principle of exception simply suggests that what happens with them does not dictate and determine what happens with me. It means you can’t look at what did or didn’t happen with other people like me and tell me what’s possible for me, because some of us in this room have been anointed with the anointing of first. Did you hear what I just said? See, just because it hasn’t been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Somebody’s got to be first! I’m gonna say that one more time: just because it hasn’t been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Somebody has got to be first! And this is why some of you have been frustrated, because you’ve been trying to find one specific example that completely embodies what you sense you’re supposed to be doing, and you cannot find that one specific example. The reason you can’t find it is because you are it. Look at me. The reason you can’t find the blueprint is because you are the blueprint. And God wants you to know you might as well stop looking because the person you’re looking for is you. God says, «I’m calling you to be first to do.»