Dharius Daniels - Don't Box Me In

Matthew chapter 13, verse 16 says, «You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl; instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.» I want to stop the reading of Scripture there. I want to talk on this subject in our time together. I don’t know if you all know this young man; he’s a campus pastor at our location. Listen to me; I am his only pastor. Yes, sir! For 19 years, I have been his first pastor. Wow! He is the only person who has come under my ministry and has given his life to Jesus. For 19 years, he has been walking with me and leads our youth location. I want to introduce him; his name is Will Johnson. Make some noise for Will, everybody! That man has been with me for 19 years. So, I want to talk on this subject in our time together: «Family, don’t box me in.» I want to start this sermon with this statement: an individual’s ability to accomplish their destiny is determined by their willingness to walk in distinction. Jesus’s life paints a powerful picture that destiny isn’t just about arrival; destiny requires authenticity. God doesn’t anoint impostors; the anointing only falls on the authentic self. In other words, God will only help you be who He’s called you to be, not who you want to be, not who others want you to be, and not who you think you should be. Therefore, you can’t find your anointing until you find yourself. The enemy understands this reality, which is why he regularly uses the weapon of conformity. Yeah, Paul is aware of this, which is why he tells believers in Rome to resist the wrong kind of conformity. He says to believers in Rome that when you feel yourself being exposed to influences that want to conform you to ways of being and living that are inconsistent with God’s intention, you must resist that conformity. He says, «Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.» The enemy knows that if we conform, it allows him to disarm us of the asset of our uniqueness. He knows you cannot carry out your calling if you’re committed to being a copy. But I believe there are some people in the 10:00 service today whose testimony is: «The devil is a liar!» I read the testimony of David, who said, «I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I have been customized for my calling. I’ve been wired for my work. God’s given me a distinction for my destiny, and He even gave me a personality that I need for my purpose.» Even my personality is not random or haphazard; I need the kind of personality to carry out the kind of purpose that God has assigned to my life. Are y’all hearing what I’m saying? Some of us, rather, who don’t understand this will reject our divine design and don’t realize that you’ve been made for who you’ve been made for. So if you are not for them, it may mean you are not made for them. You may not be their cup of tea, but they’re not the only people that drink tea. Your flavor is for somebody, and there’s somebody else waiting on what someone else cannot recognize. Come on, sir! Distinction! I’m in the text already; I’m hermeneutically hovering above the text. Distinction is the evidence of discipleship. Distinction is the evidence of discipleship. Sir, Jesus didn’t fit in, and He told us you won’t either. In the book, you cannot step into destiny if you are caught up in the need to feel normal. Some of you are not fighting your calling; you’re fighting your need to feel normal. You’re not fighting obedience; you’re fighting your need to feel normal. You’re not fighting doing what God’s called you to do; you’re fighting your need to feel normal. If you can ever get delivered from your need to be normal, you can step into what your eyes haven’t seen and what your ears haven’t heard and what your heart has not conceived. Jesus Himself attempted to normalize abnormality for His disciples when He said in John chapter 15, «If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. You do not belong to the world; yes, sir! But I’ve chosen you out of the world. That’s why the world hates you.» Let me contemporize the text: rejection is often the receipt of distinction. Rejection is the evidence of authenticity. This is why Jesus, in His first sermon recorded in Scripture, which is called The Sermon on the Mount, captured in Matthew chapter 5, verses 6 and 7, looks at His disciples and, instead of giving them instruction regarding activity—what they’re supposed to do—He gives them affirmation concerning their identity—who they’re supposed to be. He looks at them and says, «You are the salt of the earth.» It seems as if He’s suggesting that the activity should flow out of the identity. Lights don’t have to shine if they’ll just be a light. You missed it. A light doesn’t have to…