Dharius Daniels - I Need Some Motion

So, let’s go together to the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 4. Here’s what it says, family: «By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts, and through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.» I want to stop the reading of Scripture there and tag this title to the subject of our time together. I want to talk from this Scripture: I need some motion! Clap your hands if you need some things to move. I need some motion, family! Last Sunday marked the beginning of a season on the Christian liturgical calendar known as the Advent season. The word Advent, I teach you this every year, is a term that simply means «coming.» So, it is a season in which Christians celebrate the coming, or birth, of Jesus. The Advent season is a time of celebration for something we call in academic circles the Incarnation. It is God becoming man; it is God becoming like us so that we can become a little more like Him. It is God coming down so that something else in our lives can rise. It is Christ being born so that we could be born again. It is God stepping into our story so He can pull us into some glory. It is the infinite stepping into the finite so that the finite can step into the infinite. It is the God who can do anything stepping into people who can do nothing so that those people can do greater things. It is an unlimited God stepping into a limited space to expand the limitations of individuals dealing with the confines of limits that have become prisons until His presence entered their lives. I’m talking about the Incarnation; I’m talking about the birth of Jesus. It is a season and a time of celebration, and I think it’s appropriate—and almost imperative—for us to just take at least seven seconds to thank God that before He hung on a tree, He was born in a manger! Come on here! If anything in your life has improved since Jesus has come down, I think it’s appropriate to pause and praise Him for that! If you have become a little more like Him because He became like us, I think it’s appropriate to praise Him for that too! If you have been born again because He was born, I think it’s fitting for us to give Him praise for that. The Advent season should be a time of celebration, but at this church—Change Church—at this church, we lean into Advent with more than celebration. We use Advent as an opportunity for education. We aren’t just about inspiration at Change; we’re about transformation. Don’t just inspire me to live a life I hate—equip me to create one I love! God Almighty! Don’t just teach me to cope; teach me to conquer! Because if I’m reading my Bible right, Jesus didn’t die just to teach me how to die—woo! He died to show me how to live! Because He died, I can live differently. I can live in a way that’s consistent with what God intended for my life. And I want to know: Am I talking to anybody who refuses to settle for inspiration when transformation is available? I’m not a coper; I’m more than a conqueror! He didn’t call me to cope; He called me to conquer. And to do that, I need more than inspiration; I need education. I need to let Advent teach me something. The Advent season teaches us something very significant. The birth of Jesus, the Son, teaches us something about the nature of God the Father. One of the reasons God the Father sent Jesus, the Son, is so that we would know what God the Father is like. Jesus, the Son, is not just like God the Father; God the Father is like Jesus, the Son. «He who has seen Me,» Jesus says, «has seen the Father.» This is what the Father is like—this is godliness in human form. The birth of Jesus, the Son, teaches us something about God the Father; it teaches us that God the Father is a miracle worker. Wait, wait, wait! Listen to Pastor: I didn’t say it teaches us that God the Father works miracles; that’s His action. I’m talking about His nature. You got it? I didn’t say the birth of Jesus, the Son, teaches us that God the Father works miracles; I said the birth of Jesus, the Son, teaches us that God the Father is a miracle worker. Working miracles isn’t just what He does; a miracle worker is who He is! Did you hear what I just said? At 3:00 in the morning, He’s a miracle worker! He’s not just a miracle worker at 3080 Premier Parkway; He’s a miracle worker on 285! Y’all are not talking to me! He’s a miracle worker on 400! Come on! He’s a miracle worker when you step on Delta Airlines. He’s a miracle worker in your prayer closet! He won’t just show up in this house; He’ll show up in yours! He’s a miracle worker; it’s in His nature! I said it’s in His nature! Maybe, maybe, maybe I need to unpack and further explain what I mean by miracle so that we can agree without arguing that the birth…