Dharius Daniels - You've Got the Green Light

I want to attach this subject to this scripture in our time together today: «You’ve got the green light.» Clap your hands if you’re ready to receive God’s word. So, family, recently I was on my way home from a day at the office, and I stopped at a red light. While I was in that position, a text message came through. Typically, I use a strategy for my sanity, which is a pathway for optimal productivity for me: to react and respond to certain requests in batches. I return my phone calls in batches, and I respond to texts in batches. This protects my sanity and serves as a pathway to optimal productivity for me.

Sitting in the seat of a spiritual leader, you have to use both sides of your brain. You must use the leadership side, which is strategic and managerial, and the creative side, which requires a spiritual flow state. If that flow state is interrupted—even momentarily—studies show that it can take close to 20 to 30 minutes to reenter that state, if you’re able to reenter it at all. If that is the case for flow state, what are the implications of flow state spiritually? This is particularly relevant when you’re interrupted while God is giving you downloads. So, I have to respond in batches. I typically would have waited until I got home to start responding to the text, but because of who the text was for, I paused to investigate it.

While I was looking down at my phone reading the text, I was startled by the frequent honking of the horn behind me. Now, I’m saved and I love Jesus, and I’m trying to follow Him, yet at the same time, don’t be honking at me like that! I know I’m not the only one, right? So, here it is: I looked back with a «Who are you honking at?» look, and I assumed the individual saw the intensity of my facial expression. That person pointed forward, and as I looked forward, I saw the light was green. The person was honking to get me to go because they didn’t want to miss their opportunity to take advantage of a green light. Am I making sense here?

As a communicator and teacher of the Bible, I’m always looking for opportunities to teach the way Jesus taught—taking natural things that people can understand and helping them comprehend spiritual truths that they might not otherwise grasp. I’m always seeking experiences to illustrate this concept. Shakespeare says there are some sermons in stones; when you see a rock, you see a rock, but when a preacher sees a rock, they need to see Jesus. You didn’t hear what I just said: when a preacher sees a rock, they ought to see water. Just because you can’t see the water in a rock doesn’t mean it doesn’t absorb moisture, and just because something looks like it doesn’t have it on the outside doesn’t mean it doesn’t have it on the inside. Some people are missing water because they’re looking at someone who looks like a rock, but I need somebody to declare this over your life: don’t let the looks fool you. Yeah, yeah, there are some things on the inside of me that you might need. So while you are looking past me, playing me small, and ignoring me, you have no idea of the treasure that is in this earthen vessel. Just because I don’t brag about it doesn’t mean I’m not carrying it. Just because I don’t broadcast it doesn’t mean I don’t have it. Just because I’m not telling you I can do it doesn’t mean I can’t do it—you don’t know what I can do.

I’m looking for experiences to illustrate, and I found some exegetical value in this experience. I saw, at this red light, a revelation that served as an asset for my life and hopefully for yours. This red light gave me a revelation of the power of divine partnerships. Did you hear what I just said? God, by His grace, has chosen to partner with you and me in co-creating the life He ordains for us. We are co-laborers with Him, not just in our ministries but in the creation of the life He has preordained and arranged for us.

Here is how a theologian, John Wesley, put it: when it comes to your life and my life, he says, «Without God, man cannot, but without man, God will not.» He states that in fulfilling some promises in our lives, God requires our participation, and our participation is actually an expression of our faith. It’s not works; it’s faith at work. Did you hear what I just said? It is based on the revelation that there is a part that God has to play and a part that I have to play, and the course and quality of my life depend on my understanding of who is responsible for what.

I don’t want to step into God’s responsibility because when I do, I start carrying God’s weight. When you carry God’s weight, you carry burdens you weren’t created to handle. Instead of functioning, we start to dysfunction. Come on; instead of functioning, we start to dysfunction because God didn’t create you to carry that burden. Your mind lets you know you’re not supposed to be worried about that.