Dharius Daniels - Spiritual Shadiness

Spiritual shadiness is a different kind of shade because people who operate with spiritual shadiness make the incorrect assumption that their shade is God’s work. God strategically withholds information, which means that I need to live life knowing there’s something I don’t know. I’m going to say that again: because He strategically withholds information, it means I need to live life knowing there’s something I don’t know. Even though I know everything God has talked to me about, I need to live my life knowing there’s something He hasn’t talked to me about. Now, Pastor, why is this significant? Why is this important as we journey through this series of sermons called «For the Streets?» This is important, folks. In this series titled «For the Streets,» we’re articulating that you’ve been constructed for your calling, wired for work, and made for a mission, and that mission is in the streets. When we say «streets, ” we mean society. There are seven streets and seven sectors of society that we’ve been called to occupy and influence, but you need to know that even if you know your street, there’s something you don’t know. Did you hear what I just said? Here’s what I want us to think about during our time together today. Are you all all right? Okay, here it is: you are not always on the street for the reason you think you’re on that street. Did you hear what I just said? You are not always on the street for the reason you think you’re on that street. This is important. I don’t even have time to fully address this because some of us have no idea what street we’re supposed to be on, and then there are others who have no idea why God has you on this street. You might say, „I love you, God, but I hate it here.“ I feel the realness right here. Who feels that? What a real sentiment! You might say, „God, I love you and I trust you, but I hate it here.“ So, where do you get this from, Pastor? I got this from a text that I read in Luke chapter 10. The story of the Good Samaritan is one of the most significant stories in Scripture. As a matter of fact, in 2022, I was part of a tour called the Orange Tour, and one of the things I was tasked to do was talk a little about racial reconciliation and justice, and this was the passage I used each time. It is one of the richest passages in Scripture; this is one of the most significant passages in the New Testament. But even though it’s significant, its significance is couched within the context—y’all ready for this? —of spiritual shadiness. This story doesn’t happen unless people are being shady. No, no, no, no, no. It’s right here. The Bible says that the parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus’s response to questions posed by an expert in the law, who is being shady. Spiritual shadiness is a different kind of shade because people who operate with spiritual shadiness make the incorrect assumption that their shadiness is God’s work. Who is going to talk back to me today? I said they are acting as if their shade is maintaining God’s standard. They are policing God’s people as if God can’t keep His own standard. Come on now! They have authorized and deputized themselves as ambassadors and representatives for God, thinking it’s a result of their spiritual maturation when it is really an indication of their emotional immaturity. You are not spiritual; you have an unbridled tongue and cannot keep your opinions to yourself. People aggressively oppose views and opinions they haven’t even properly understood. You have a responsibility to at least accurately understand the things you say you disagree with. What happened? I lost all my amens! We were having such a good time earlier! Their emotional immaturity had them intimidated by Jesus’s popularity. Come on! These are religious leaders who are used to this religious system, and here comes this guy who doesn’t dress like them. They’ve got all the regalia; they have all the garb. He doesn’t dress like them; he dresses so normally that when he was taken into custody on that Maundy Thursday, Judas had to identify him with a kiss. You would think if He’s the Son of God, He’d have some kind of Son of God look, right? But He looked just like everybody else. So they’re looking at Him and thinking, „Wait a minute! You’re teaching in the synagogue, but you didn’t go through the process we went through. You didn’t come up through our ranks. You didn’t do it our way, ” not realizing that God is a God who can get you to the same place without having to go through their process. He’s the God of quantum leaps; He’s a God who will put you in places that confound and confuse your enemies, and just because I didn’t go through your process doesn’t mean I didn’t go through a process. What God has for me is still for me. They’re hearing all the buzz, all the excitement about this carpenter from Nazareth who’s creating this religious movement. So when they catch Him in public, an expert in the law tries to embarrass Him.