Dharius Daniels - God Don't Like Ugly

All right, Proverbs Chapter 29, Verse 18 says this: «Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint, but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.» I’m going to see if the 11:45 feels like talking back to Pastor today. I want to speak from this subject: God doesn’t like ugly. Clap your hands everywhere, everybody! God doesn’t like ugly.

I want to launch into this lesson by articulating a few axioms that will aid and assist me in expressing the essence of today’s teaching. The first one is simply this: Living without vision is like walking without direction. You may move, but you never get anywhere. The second one is credited to a biblical philosopher and thought leader named Dr. Miles Monroe. He says, «The poorest person in the world is a person without a vision, but the most frustrated person in the world is a person with a vision that never becomes a reality.»

This final axiom is attributed to a strong, scholarly, savvy Southern sister who didn’t allow her limitations to limit her. She was blind and deaf yet became the first blind and deaf woman to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. She became the author of numerous books and a lecturer in many different spaces and circuits. Her name was Helen Keller, and Helen Keller said, «The only thing worse than being blind is having sight with no vision.»

These axioms articulate the importance and the imperative nature of vision. Vision, family, is a picture of God’s preferred future. It is a mental image of God’s preferred future. It is a sneak preview of the coming attraction. God does not show you the whole movie, but He does show you a trailer, and a trailer is enough to let you know something good is on the way.

Vision is one of the most invaluable assets that anyone could ever acquire. Why, Pastor? Because the one thing we don’t want to get wrong in life is what we’re supposed to be doing with our lives. The enemy understands this, and this is why I believe he aggressively wields a weapon called confusion and uses confusion as an act of spiritual warfare. The Bible is clear: God is not the author of confusion. So if confusion doesn’t come from God, where does it come from?

The enemy is not just unnerved and upset if we’re successful; he’s unnerved and upset when we can see. The devil is scared of your seeing because when you start seeing, you start moving differently. When you start seeing, you start talking differently. When you start seeing, you respond to adversity differently. The Bible even says about Jesus, «For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.» There was something about His ability to endure the cross on Friday because He knew a resurrection was coming on Sunday.

And I don’t know who I’m talking to today, but there might be some seasons and some situations where you would give up if you had not had the testimony of David, who said, «I would have fainted unless I believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.» So wait on the Lord and be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart. Somebody say, «Vision!»

The enemy understands the importance of this, yes sir, because he knows if I don’t know what I’m supposed to say yes to, then I won’t know what I’m supposed to say no to. Did you hear what I just said? Vision reveals to me what I’m supposed to say yes to, and if I don’t know what I’m supposed to say yes to, then I won’t know what I’m supposed to say no to. The more gifted you are, the more options you have, and the more options you have, the more easily it is to be confused.

So Solomon seems to articulate this in Proverbs. Listen to what Solomon says: «Where there is no revelation…» This word «revelation» refers to vision, but the word «revelation» suggests something about vision that we can’t afford to misunderstand. So watch what he’s saying here: Vision isn’t something I create; vision reveals what I’ve been created for. Vision isn’t something I make up; vision is something that comes down from God to me. Did you hear what I just said?

It means now that there is a difference between my vision for my life and God’s vision for my life. God will back my vision if parts of my vision align with His, but—did you hear what I just said? —the parts of my vision that don’t align with His? He’s not obligated to back because vision is a picture of God’s preferred future. God says you don’t get to make up a vision for your life because my vision reveals what you were made for.

I made you with vision in mind, so I made you with my vision in mind for your life. Therefore, you can’t get into this life and come back to me and tell me what I’m supposed to be doing with what I made. You can’t tell me what I’m supposed to be doing with what I created because I know what I created you for. I tell you what’s best for you; you don’t tell me what’s best for you. And if you trust me, I’ll do exceedingly and abundantly above all you ask or think. Get out of my way and let me bring my vision to pass.

Watch what Solomon says: «Where there isn’t revelation…» So it doesn’t mean a person doesn’t have vision; it means a person doesn’t have God’s vision for them. Got me? Most people have vision; the question is, who gave it to you? Does that make sense?