I Didn't See That Coming! | Pastor Dharius Daniels | Elevation Church

so excited to be here with you and and listen if you're at home you're probably already sitting down if you're in the room you can have your seats what matters is the posture of our heart there's some of my heart I kind of want to share today and so I want you to meet me in the second book of the Bible of the book of Exodus y'all I'm dealing with some mixed emotions today I um this morning this morning 6:30 a.m. had to drop off my firstborn son for college he's playing football at West Point University West Point Military Academy and dropped them off this morning so I'm young but I feel old and I'm old but I feel young I don't know but I got mixed emotions and excited about all the Gosselin in life of my family and glad to be here with this incredible spiritual family Exodus chapter 13 verse 17 I'm gonna read a few verses here one verse he and they were gonna use as a launching pad to leap into our lesson today this is what it says it says when Pharaoh let the people go God did not lead them on the road through Philistine country though that was shorter he said what he says for God said if they face war they might change their minds and return to Egypt so God led the people verse 18 around by the desert road toward the Red Sea the Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle I want to end the read that God's Word right there and I want to tag a title to this text I want us to think around this thought in our time together today I didn't see that coming I didn't see that coming family there are a number of interesting adjectives that can be used to describe the nature and the character of God for the purpose of our time together today I want to lift up one that I think is extremely important and at the same time extremely unsettling and that is God is unpredictable please don't read what I'm not writing please don't hear what I'm not saying I am NOT saying in any way that there is any inconsistency in God's character that's not what I'm saying God is consistently consistent he's reliably reliable he is what the writer of Hebrews calls it called immutable he is unchanging he's the same yesterday today and forever more he was away maker he is away maker he will be away maker he was a door opener he is a door opener he will be a door opener he was a healer he is a healer he will be a healer as a matter of fact the only reason that many of us are saying in the membrane in the midst of a pandemic is because God's been consistent Coronas been unpredictable but God's been consistent the economy's been uncertain but God's been consistent the only reason we're here is because God is consistent I'm not saying there's any inconsistency in his character but I am saying there is unpredictability in his activity in other words we can predict who God will be but we cannot always accurately anticipate what God will do we see instances instances in Scripture in the New Testament specifically where people find found themselves in dilemmas and in situations and circumstances and Jesus responded immediately and then we look in the same New Testament and we see examples of instances like John 11 with a dude named Lazarus Jesus gets word that Lazarus is sick and instead of going immediately he delays himself intentionally he says now i'ma wait until about four days before I get there coz the Sadducees had a teaching that the spirit of a man didn't leave until after three days and so when he got there on the fourth day they knew that it was undeniably inexplicably a miracles see you can predict who he'll be but you can't always predict what he'll do see see there are some instances where he healed jesus healed people by touching them then there instances like in mark 5 where someone got healed by touching the hem of him she didn't even touch him she touched what was touching him she said if I could touch the hem of His garment I'll be made whole there are times where he spoke the word and healed and then there are instances where he spit in dirt made mud put mud on a person's eyes and they got healed and then there are instances where individuals like the Apostle Paul said because of the abundance of Revelation given to me that was given to me a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan to buffing me concerning this thing I sought the Lord three times that it might be removed from me and on the third time God said no I migrated sufficient he's God you're not gonna change this no I'm gonna change that but God the devil sitting say yeah the devil sinneth but I like it so i'ma leave it god I've never been things have never been worse yeah but spiritually they never been better god I've never been in this much pain you've never been in this much prayer so instead of altering this I'm gonna give you grace to endure it [Applause] there's no inconsistency in his character but there is unpredictability in his activity life then will be full of surprises so listen to me family this means that the course and the quality of our life is going to be determined by our ability to handle what you didn't see coming oh and I know this is this is unnerving and this is unsettling for those of us who are like me who prefer the predictable it's uncomfortable for those of us who do not like disruption but if I want to be used by God I must be willing to be disruptive if I want to be used by God I must be willing to be disruptive because God is the god of disruption you'll be minding your business tending to sheep and then all of a sudden he'll start setting burning bushes on fire and you thought you were out of Egypt for the rest of your life Moses and then he starts telling you to take your shoes off your own holy ground and he says I know I know you thought you were gonna do one thing with your life but I'm getting ready to disrupt it I'm gonna send you back to the place you said you'd never go back to gideon minding his business threshing wheat in a wine play press disruption so the course in the quality my life it's gonna be determined by my ability to handle what I did see coming cuz God in life are full of surprises this means that people who live well must be willing to relinquish what many in our culture are addicted to holding on to and that is control control and what's weird is we need to relinquish what we really don't have so we relinquish the illusion of something for peace sake because the idea that we have control is an illusion because we don't we have responsibility but not control we have influence but not control control is an illusion control is reserved for the sovereign one and when you attempt you and I attempt to take on the responsibility and the weight of control were taken on God wait and then we're carrying weight we're not conditioned to carry and then our mind and our body begins to respond in inappropriate ways to send you a message that you weren't designed to carry this you've been designed to focus on today you haven't been built to worry about tomorrow because why are you sleeping I'm the God that never sleeps uh summers while you're trying to figure it out under God that's already working it out God wait you get today I got tomorrow [Applause] Patrol is it's an illusion it's you know try to take control I'm taking guard wait and our bodies and our minds respond in a way letting us know that we have not been created to carry weight I have responsibilities I got influence but I do not have control so here's the question here's the question especially for people who have already made the decision to become a follower of the person and the principles of Jesus here's the question do you only trust God with your past or do you trust him with your future because this means I must be willing hmm if I trust him with my future I must be willing to wrap my head around an experience that we see here in this text this text teaches us how to manage these surprise seasons this text here in Exodus offers us some insight on how to handle seasons and situations that we didn't see coming it is interesting right that this book of Exodus which captures Israel's exodus out of Egypt it shows us something really interesting to me it shows us this it shows us that that we may be able to ladies and gentlemen look at God's promises and get a sense of where he's taking us but the text teaches that we might be surprised when it comes to the way he they're right cuz this text is God's fulfilling of a promise that he makes to Moses in private God tells Moses in private I'm sending you back to Egypt and you're going to tell Pharaoh to let my people go and you're gonna take my people to a land I promised them it's inhabited by the Canaanites it's called Canaan land it's a promised land in the Old Testament it's a New Testament picture of the life that's available to us in Christ and God says to Moses I'm a usual to take Israel from Egypt to the promised land those were the only two destinations in the conversation Egypt and the promised land only two destinations in the conversation Egypt and the promised land only two destinations in the conversation Egypt and the promised land so when Moses goes to Israel he starts preaching God's promise and God is gonna take us from Egypt and get us to the promised land somebody shout from a snap look at your neighbor and say Promised Land smell the hair and say I smell Promised Land and he's preaching and the people are excited and they're screaming have been finally as God is making good on the promise the Bible says when Pharaoh lets the people go God did not leave him on the road through Philistine country though that was shorter wait a minute now Jesus wait a minute you said I was going from Egypt to the promised land you ain't saying anything about this this other route here no no it's interesting it says when Pharaoh let him go God did not leave him to the Philistine country listen to me family so that was shorter I'm gonna say that again he didn't lead them through Philistine country though that was shorter because the assumption is we're gonna have a straight path to the promised don't say no no even though that's shorter I can't lead you the short way watch this because if they face war they might change their minds and return to Egypt don't miss this family god knows what battles we are not ready to fight did you hear what I just said he says I could take you that way but if I take you that way you're gonna be exposed to some adversity that you're not quite developed for and it's gonna set you back it would have sent them back physically but sometimes it set us back spiritually and it sets us back emotionally and God knows what battles we are not ready to fight this way mark bellison he says that's a back side to every blessing did you hear what I just said so so here it is they were ready to get out of Egypt and get into Canaan but they were not ready to deal with the adversity that a short path required and y'all follow me here he says this is I know they're shorter he says but it's it's a backside of that and you're ready for the front side but you're not ready for the back side cuz the home so much is given much is required and sometimes I'm not holding you up cuz you're not ready for the front side I'm holding you up cuz you're not ready for the back side yes I'm holding this I'm not holding up cuz I'm not gonna give it to you I'm holding you up cuz when I give it to you I want you to be mature enough to handle it so that you can keep it I don't know who this is for but I want I'm gonna talk to somebody who feels like you're experiencing a divine delay I want you to know it's just delay it's not denial because God knows how to put you in the right place at the right time maybe you ready for it but you're not ready for it did you hear what I just said maybe you're ready for it but you're not ready for you know you can be ready for the promotion but not ready for the pressure you can be ready for elevation but not ready for haters you can be ready for responsibility but not be ready for being like and gods like I gotta make sure that your heart is good as your gift I've got to make sure that your soul is as whole as your gift is because if not your gift will lead you and put you in places in spaces that your heart is not mature enough to handle and a blessing will feel like a curse if you get it too early I want somebody to just pause right now and just thank God for every time he delayed something I thank God not for every open door but for the doors he closed that he knew I wasn't ready to walk in this is no no no that they face war they might change their mind and return to Egypt so so was it takes a it says something in verse 18 it says so God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea listen this family this is this is really interesting to me at least to me it's interesting because one version of the scripture translates this is desert some others translate this as the wilderness so this is a destination god left out of the conversation because if you go back and you look at God's conversation with Moses and Moses is conversation with Israel there's no mention of a desert or wilderness this means God are y'all ready for this if you ready put I'm ready in the chat if you're ready put I'm ready in the chat it means God intentionally withheld information from Israel until they were out of Egypt I want to make sure you heard what I just said it means let's stay with me it means that he intentionally withheld information from them until they were too far into it they thought about going back they talked about going back but they were too far into it to go back and I want to see if we can relate to Israel's experience because I believe there are sometimes God intentionally withholds information from us this is because if you knew everything you were saying yes to I don't know if you would give me a yes so i'ma wait until you too far away from Egypt until you recognize everything that you got yourself into because if I let you know in the beginning you would have never left your starting point taste into this this place wilderness now when I first saw that I'm saying to myself like yo that's that's negative oh I don't want that that's negative man some said to me it's necessary I'm saying no so sometimes I get in my head I'm like no it's it's negative no it's necessary it's negative it's necessary it's negative it's necessary and then this thought came Norma there's the wilderness is only negative when you stay there longer than you have to it is the wilderness represents surprise seasons it represents what you didn't see coming it represents what you cannot predict and what you cannot prefer and God says this is interesting that wilderness seasons are not necessarily negative and they're necessary listen to this because these seasons although we don't prefer them our seasons of preparation and it's weird because it is preparation that God keeps you uninformed about because God's the only one that will take you to school and you not even know you in class you didn't even know you went to school until it was over is there anybody that can look back over your life and say I didn't understand while I went through certain things when I was in the middle of it but then once I got on the other side of it and I look back I realized and recognized God was teaching me something and if I didn't learn what I needed to learn back then if I wasn't developed in the ways I needed to be developed back then I wouldn't be in the position to handle where I am right now I want to pause for the calls and tell somebody that God is not just your savior he's your teacher and he's got you in school right now teaching you some things you need to learn so just sit back dig the scene with the student Lee and get the lessons so that you can receive the blessing somebody praise them on your couch praise them in your living room it's it's it's it's it's it's interesting here he he sets them in this this wilderness this desert says yeah this is a place of a preparation and wherever listen to me family wherever there's preparation there's pruning wherever there's preparation there's pruning meaning forward movement is not just attached to what we start doing it is attached to what we stop doing it's pruning Jesus puts it this way in John 15 he says every branch that bears fruit God prunes so that it can produce more fruit and when I look at Israel's experience in the wilderness I see there was a lot of pruning going on like first of all there was pruning of issues the witness becomes like an airport hub where certain things get dropped off they can't go to the final destination because sometimes the enemy is not the enemy it's the inner me and sometimes God drops us in these surprises he says because I want to give you an opportunity to deal with some of the things that can't go with you where you going because o new seasons will keep feeling like all seasons if we don't deal with issues this might be one of the reasons why when David defeated Goliath he went up to him and cut off his head because sometimes we knocked the Giant down and we think is dead and then we turned our back on it and try to move forward in a new season and then the old problem rears itself rears its head back up and follows us into a new one pruning issues this is real really uncomfortable people get uncomfortable I talk about this one but it's also a time where there's pruning of individuals this soil is so important see proverbs 13:20 says walk with the walk with wise men and become wise but a companion of fools suffers harm listen to this family it didn't say a fool suffers harm it says a companion of fools suffers harm which means I don't have to be a fool to be hurt I just got to hang out with them the scripture sort of this one don't be to see bad company corrupts good character issues individuals is the time where God purges us of attitudes notice the text says they might see war and go back to Egypt why because for hundreds of years they've been slaves their minds had not been conditioned to think like soldiers so they were out of Egypt but Egypt was not out of them so God needed to adjust their attitude so that they could see themselves properly because you're always behaving away that is consistent with the way you see yourself and Gaza I gotta get you to see you the way I see you and this is why I spend so much time telling you who you are in Scripture because I want you to see yourself the way I see you so that you can behave in a way that's consistent with who you've been born to be not who you think you really are someone do all of this if somebody surprised ceases and I think when you look at Israel's experience we can see a connection of some of ours and I think it really answers the quintessential question when it comes to dealing with surprise ceases y'all passive errors what did what do I do with these seasons here it is what do I do what I can't with what I can't control and what I didn't predict and what I don't prefer what do I do you manage them what do I do when I can't control it I manage it and what does this mean for us it means for us what it meant for Israel practically when seasons cannot be avoided they must be managed managed and how it is managed determines whether or not it is prolonged or made permanent and I want to give a few ways to manage seasons like this because I feel like it's really important ok this is this is really important because the season itself listen to me the season itself is a surprise but then once you get in the season you're gonna experience some things that are surprised also and this is exactly what happened to Israel so they get in this in this world in this season and they start getting hungry they like we want we want some bread we want something to eat and then all of a sudden the Bible says in Exodus chapter 16 verse number 31 it's just that the people of Israel called watch this called the bread manna it was like white kuranda seed and tasted like wafers made with honey don't miss this y'all so they are in the middle of this surprise season they're asking their savior for provision and they wake up one morning and they see this Carender seed spread on the ground like Dew and they called it manna cuz manna means what is it so they asked God for bread and they wake up and they see this frost like Carender seed substance spread out like Dew and they say mana cuz mana means what is it God asks you for bread what is this actually for wisdom what is this I actually for strength what is this I actually for a blessing what is this I ask you for more what is this here it is family because here mana represents three things imma get out your weights mana represents for all the times when God's performance doesn't match your expectation listen to this they asked for bread and I guess they thought they were gonna get I'm originally from Mississippi so I'm kind of country I guess they thought they were gonna get some jiffy cornbread some hot water cornbread right some Wonder Bread but here it is the Bible says they saw something on the ground that looked so different from what they anticipated in their head they didn't even recognize that God had answered their prayer he just answered their prayer in a form that was different than what they expected so this is what some biblical historians say they say that Israel took that seed and when they took that seed they grinded it and when they grinded it grinded the seat the seat became green and they were able to take the grain and make bread don't miss this it means that God's provision came in the form of a project and you got to be willing to grind to turn it into what you know it could be I don't know who I'm preaching to in here today but I want you to know it's grinding season for you when God gives you a seed you've got to be willing to grind and if your grind you can turn it into what you know has been created to be it's when God's performance don't match your expectation okay here it is number two number two mana what is it it represents both times when God supernaturally suffocates your supply this is what was interesting about their experience with mana the manner would only last 24 hours except for the day before the Sabbath it was spoil which means that every day they woke up they had to depend on God to provide it wouldn't be like that always before that season for them God says yup and everybody's gonna hit a season where in some area of your life you will hit a season where God supernaturally suffocates your supply and say every day you're gonna have to look to me for this because watch this they're things you're having to ask me for in the wilderness that you're gonna have an overflow of in Canaan Canaan is a land that was agriculturally rich it was flowing with milk and honey and God says before you get to Canaan I want to make sure you are crystal clear on who your source is that I conditioned you properly so that when you get to Canaan you don't get the grapes and forget about God I want to know is there anybody watching me right now anybody that's willing to admit that I will not get the grapes and forget about God because God was there holding me in the midnight hour God was there coaching and counseling and consoling me God was there teaching and training that he's my source and I've got to depend and rely on him is when he supernaturally suffocates your supply he says nope in this area right now in this season I'm going to teach you a different type of dependence and finally Manor represents listen to this it represents seasonal supply here it is this one of my favorite scriptures in the Old Testament it says and the manna ceased it was temporary they they probably were getting all up in arms it's piercing extreme anxiety and gods like this just temporary this is just what I'm doing right now to hold you over until like until I get you to where I'm taking you this is just temporary provision that I'm making until I provide in a way that is more permanent it is a temporary supply here it is so instead of feeling anxiety with the manor listen to this they should have expressed appreciation for the manor because they didn't recognize that the manor was a miracle sometimes we can be so busy looking for a miracle that we miss the one we're experiencing and God's greatest critique of Israel was their uh appreciation for his benevolence and generosity to their life he's like I've done all of these miracles and they're still infected with entitlement and they don't know how to properly respond to what I've already done in my life in their life what more do I have to do to prove I got them now pasady rias what's the proper response to miracles its appreciation what's the word that we use for their in christian context it's praise praised in just noise praises good manners praise is a recognition of God's divine provision in my life and it is my organic and automatic response it is an expression of gratitude and gratitude is the seed for more the more you so praise God God starts sewing back into you and I feel like in the midst of a pandemic yes we've lost a lot yes we're going through a lot but I think we need to pause for minutes and reflect on the manner we've experienced the miracles he's already performed and refused to be infected with entitlement and say I got to praise God for what he has done and i'ma praise God in expectation for what he's getting ready to do I want somebody to praise them right now yes I'm done listen Israel mismanaged this season so what was intended to be temporary turned out to be 40 years 40 years they wandered in the wilderness they didn't have to because they mismanaged what they didn't see come listen to me this is the word is on my heart just because you're surprised doesn't mean you're not prepared you may not feel prepared but just because you've been surprised about what has come your way doesn't mean that God has not been preparing you for it and your management of it is tied to your recognition in your revelation thank god has prepared me for this I didn't see it coming but I'm ready I was caught off guard I don't prefer this and I wouldn't have picked it but if God allowed me to experience it I'm ready for it you know what happened when those plagues hit Egypt God was getting them ready you know what happened when he split that Red Sea and they walk through a crowd I was getting ready and there's some Red Sea's he split in your life what was he doing getting you ready and you prepare taking you through school not even letting you know you've been in class now here's the question in a season like this are you going to apply what your teacher has taught you this is what I've learned this is this is hard it's hard for me I struggle with it practically but when I think about it cognitively it it helps me at least a bit that when I look at God's track record in my past doubting him in my present is actually illogical so so when it when it seems it was thing like faith would be illogical but like when you look at how faithful God has been it's like no doubt is actually illogical because there hasn't been a time he hadn't reproof now he doesn't always sometimes he comes through and I'm like man what is it what is this but there has not been a time he has come through and if he didn't give me what I thought I needed he taught me how to live without it you didn't see it coming but God got it you ready for it and today I'm getting ready to close out today I just want to pray for some people who feel like you've been knocked off of your feet and caught off guard I wanna pray for some people who like pastor Darius I aniseed has come so you're so thrown when I don't know what to do I don't don't know what a turn I am Telling You just because you're surprised doesn't mean you aren't prepared your God it's been getting you ready if you're willing to manage this manner he will show you that what's on the other side of this wilderness experience is a Canaan land it flows with milk and honey where God makes good on his promises so I don't think we necessarily need another revelation now but we do need resilience and some of us need to divine the positive that I'm gonna pray that God would give it to you wherever you are so father right now I thank you that your word says it is you who works in us to will and to do your good pleasure and I pray right now that you would grant and bless your people with divine will power I pray for Supernatural resilience I pray for strength beyond our own I pray for a steadfastness that is beyond our own human capability I pray that you would strengthen us that we might be strong in the Lord and I give you praise right now that the weak are being made strong that bowed down heads are being lifted up and people who were about to throw in the towel are receiving a second wind the wind of the Holy Spirit blowing and breathing on them I thank you for strength to the weak and resilience to the weary we receive it in the name of the one who saved our life that name is Jesus it's in his name we pray amen thank you for watching the Elevation Church YouTube channel don't stop here join the EFM our online extended family and join us live every Sunday subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single video or live stream and share this with a friend you can also support the ministry by clicking the give Now button to help us continue to reach people around the world for Jesus Christ thank you again for watching god bless you

Channel: Elevation Church

Views: 675,929

Keywords: elevation church, pastor steven furtick, i didnt see that coming dharius daniels, i didnt see that coming, elevation church sermons, elevation church guest sermons, steven furtick sermons, steven furtick, 2020 sermons, dharius daniels elevation church, Dharius Daniels sermons, wilderness, control, promised land, egypt, preparation, unpredictable, growth, Dharius Daniels 2020, Dharius Daniels, pastor dharius daniels, seasons, manna, pruning, how to handle the unpredictable

Id: JSjK_TK1Y8s

Length: 42min 6sec (2526 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 13 2020