7:00 PM "I Didn’t Know I Could Do That" Dr. Dharius Daniels, Tuesday, April 15, 2025

50:22 And tonight we agree with the songwriter, faithful you have been and faithful you will be. Thank you for this privilege to gather as we reflect on what this week means. resources here at Louis durum bump 50 this passion week this holy week this Jesus week and as we gather in your presence we pray for a time of renewal of refreshing and as we reflect on your passion for us may we renew our passion for you So it's to that end that I stand today and I pray that the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, your anointing, would anoint me for this assignment.

51:32 Would you equip me to speak? And would you prepare your people to receive? Knowing you like we know you, we already have what we've asked you for. so we thank you for these things in the name of the one who saved our life his name is jesus it's in his name we pray come on fellowship let's give him a great big hand clap of praise in faith Man, while you're standing there really quick, before you have your seats, here's one of the things that I've come to know experientially, I believe it's true exegetically, and that is your greatest gifts do not roll into your life on four wheels. They walk into your life on two legs.

52:28 I've had the privilege of serving as a pastor for coming up on two decades now, and what I've learned and what I've seen, particularly with people in end-of-life situations. Whenever someone is on the verge of transitioning from this life to the next one, and they know it, I have never been in a room and people have asked for things. They always ask for people. And it's a tragedy to get to the end of your life and recognize that the thing that meant the most to you is the thing that got the least from you. God uses people. So much so, on this week, we celebrate that he came to earth as one. call it incarnational ministry so we celebrate gifts and it is it is with great cautiousness that i say this but everybody is an equal image bearer of god but everyone doesn't add equal value to you see the difference yeah we're equally valuable in the eyes of god but everyone doesn't add equal value to you so those that add unique value to you are those you should value uniquely and so today we celebrate it's just appropriate that we just pause for a minute and celebrate a gift from God in the form of the senior pastor that he gave to this house

54:32 the inimitable Pastor Reggie Sharp incredible leader amazing speaker I needed him, some things happened and I called him on a Thursday in June of last year and asked him to come for me on a Sunday in that same week because of the things that happen and we we've got four services and this man came and preached four times four different messages now i preach one four different messages and has left an indelible imprint on our church and i just said fellowship get that every week Every week.

55:29 And his incredible wife, she is so clear. She's a clear woman. Clear on her assignment. Carries great anointing with great humility.

55:53 can speak, can sing, can lead. She's nice. And so y'all aren't just blessed, you spoil. Clap your hands for your leading lady, everybody.

56:15 Jesus. And the very first time I came here, this young man was here and it seems like there was just an attack, a bullseye on his life. But he's like Lazarus. When the enemy tried to put him in the ground, God raised him back up. He's still here. Elder Kevin Vassar, everybody. Yes, sir. Love you, man.

56:50 And listen, this Reverend Dr. Brianna Parker biblically faithful culturally relevant and authentically anointed that's a that's a dangerous combination and uh we're grateful to her and this Antoine Cook fella something wrong with him something something just wrong clap your hands for all the gifts in the body of Christ we got some of my spiritual family here glad to see them you got you can be seated it's Jesus week I want to talk about Jesus um I want to talk about Jesus and I want to read a brief part of a narrative found in the good news about Jesus from the perspective of Matthew. Matthew chapter 14, beginning at verse number 25. I'm going to be reading a few verses from the New International Version of Scripture, and it reads like this. Matthew 14 verse 25 says this. It says, Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified it's a ghost they said and they cried out in fear but Jesus immediately said to them take courage it is I don't be afraid Lord if it's you Peter said tell me to come to you on the water come he said then Peter got down out of the boat walked on water and came toward jesus then peter got down out of the boat walked on water and came toward jesus then peter got down out of the boat walked on water and came toward jesus i want to tag this title to this text in our time together family i didn't know i could do that

58:59 Clap your hands if you're ready for God's Word, Fellowship. I didn't know I could do that. I want to leap into this lesson tonight by sharing a thought that is credited to the 7th century Christian monk and scholar known as Maximus the Confessor. And Maximus says this. He says Christianity is an entirely new way of being human. He argues it is alignment with God's divine assignment. He argues that humanity as God intended is an expression of the original intent of God. Dr. Leonard Sweet frames it this way. He says the story of Jesus is the story of God restoring humanity back to his original intent.

1:00:01 He says when Jesus healed a sick person, he was restoring their humanity. When Jesus rescued the woman that was about to be stoned in John 8 from religious zealots who had lost grace, he was restoring her humanity. He argues that Jesus rehumanizes dehumanized people.

1:00:29 That the first Adam in the Garden of Eden was a failed human experiment. But the second Adam, the last Adam in the garden of Gethsemane was a successful human experiment. And this second Adam that we know is Jesus didn't just come to show us what he could do. this second Adam Jesus came to also show you what you could do listen to me Jesus didn't just come to save us Jesus came to school us he wasn't just the redeemer who gets us to heaven he's a rabbi who teaches us on earth and he didn't just teach through what he did, through what he said, he taught through what he did. And in this text here in Matthew, his actions teach us how to master the art of water walking.

1:01:36 Water walking is a picture of a principle I've affectionately entitled the principle of exception. And this principle simply suggests that what happens with them does not dictate and determine what happens with me. I'm gonna say that one more time that what happens with them does not dictate and determine what happens with me this is not a declaration of superiority this is not exceptionalism this is exceptionism I'm not saying I'm better than I'm saying I'm different from I'm saying I look throughout scripture and out of all of the words that the Bible uses to describe God's people. Normal ain't one of them. Salt, light, royal, chosen, priest, beloved, anointed, appointed, selected, elected, head, not tail.

1:02:49 Above only, not beneath. Lenders, not borrowers. All throughout scripture, I see examples of God using adjectives that are exceptions to describe his people. And all throughout scripture, I see evidence that corroborates my claim. Women in their 90s don't have babies. But with Sarah, God made an exception. shepherd boys who write songs and songs do not take a rock and a slingshot and defeat a nine foot tall giant that's been trained in military warfare but with David God made an exception you can't walk up to a red sea Thank you.

1:03:48 raise your staff and stretch out your hand and waters part but with Moses God made an exception you can't walk around a wall once a day for six days and then seven times on the seventh day and then scream at a wall and a wall fall flat but with Joshua God made an exception it's Jesus week so dead men don't go in a grave and stay there for three days and then early Sunday morning get out of the grave but with Jesus God made an exception and if he did it for Sarah if he did it for David if he did it for Moses if he did it for Joshua if he did it for Jesus he can do it for you I want to know am I talking to anybody in the room and your testimony is I'm not better than but I'm different from Walking on land is normal.

1:05:14 Did you hear what I just said? Walking on land is normal. But walking on what other people drown in. I felt something right there because that's somebody's testimony right here in this section. You should be drowning right now. You should be drowning in fear. You should be drowning in anger. You should be drowning in despair. But somehow, someway, God has you on top of what should be on top of you. He's keeping me on top. Somebody take 15 seconds and praise him because you on top of it. And it's not on top of you Should have lost my mind by now Should have went off by now Should have crashed out by now Should have made mistakes by now But somehow he's got me on top of What should be on top of me Exceptions.

1:06:20 And this text is a textbook that the teacher from Nazareth wants to use to teach us how to do what he did. Because he didn't just come to show us what he could do. He came to show us what humans could do. when they submit themselves to the governance and the guidance of our heavenly father he says you capable of things you don't even know you capable of and I came to be your rabbi to teach you how to do things you hadn't done it done before because you're assuming just because you hadn't done it before it can't be done but i believe god is pushing some of us into a season when he's about to reintroduce you to you that you are about to meet a you you hadn't even met yet the redeemer came to get you to heaven but the rabbi came to teach you how to live on earth and this text is a textbook that he wants to use to show us how to walk on water first word we see in verse 22 is consequential is the word immediately yeah matthew is immediately matthew matthew is referring contextually to after jesus has completed his assignment with feeding the 5 000 men not counting women and children with two fish and five loaves of bread.

1:08:24 Tex says immediately. Yeah, he's operating with an awareness that he's come to the conclusion of the contribution he's supposed to make. he doesn't allow guilt to cause him to overstay his season in an assignment you missed it yeah did you hear what i just said he doesn't allow the expectations of people to imprison him in continue into continuing to make a contribution beyond the contribution that God's called him to make. He recognized I'm supposed to be a good human. I'm not supposed to be your God. Only God can supply all your needs. Y'all miss what I just said.

1:09:17 He wants to use me to supply some of your needs. So take this two fish and five loaves of bread. This got you today. God got you tomorrow. and some people are bitter and they are burned out and they are blaming other people for their overextension you overextended yourself you gave beyond that which God called you to give you confuse your guilt with God's impulse and now all of a sudden you've outstayed your assignment and you empty and they still entitled immediately Your generosity never makes entitled people grateful. did you hear what i just said your generosity will never make entitled people grateful you can't give enough to satisfy them they are only as happy as your last yes it doesn't matter how many yeses you've given them previously once you give them one no now all of a sudden they get amnesia and they are offended at the no when they should be grateful for the yes because i didn't have to do the yes in the first place immediately He says, disciples, we done.

1:11:00 We're done. We're done. This is the contribution God's called us to make. We're done. Get in the boat. We got to go. Get in the boat. Get in the box. And the text says, he sends them. He doesn't go with them. He sins them.

1:11:40 He doesn't go with them. He sins them. He didn't go with them. He sends them. So they have to row or sail. absent of the awareness that he's with me. They're obeying and he feels absent. they missed it have you ever felt like I'm where you told me to be but where you at let me go to this side over here I said have you ever felt like God now I'm trying to do exactly what you told me you told me to get in the boat I'm in the boat you told me to go to the other side I'm on my way to the other side I'm here. Where are you?

1:12:43 This anxiousness is often a result of an absence of understanding of the difference between omnipresence and manifest presence. omnipresence he occupies all spaces eternally and simultaneously he was where he was and he is where he is at the same time did you hear what i just said yeah dr kenneth alma says he exists with an eternal isness he just is before abraham was i am come on i was a way maker i am a way maker i will be a way maker i was a door opener i am a door opener i will be a door opener i was a healer i am a healer i will be a healer i was a way maker. I am a way maker. I will be a way maker. Omnipresence versus manifest presence.

1:14:19 He says, I'm with you because I occupy all spaces eternally and simultaneously. Yet at the same time, you can't confuse my omnipresence with my manifest presence. When I manifest, I manifest for purpose, not for preference. you got to know i'm with you even when i'm not manifest y'all miss what i just said yes yeah did you hear what i just said he said you you got you got to know that i'm in close proximity even when you feel like my god my god why hast thou forsaken me he sends them Thank you.

1:15:14 And the text says, at dawn, he meets them walking on the water. Y'all missed it. They're either sailing or rowing. But at dawn, he meets them. He walking. On the water. He manifests. He meets them. He manifests. He meets them. He manifests where he sends them. If you're looking for his manifestation. It's where you supposed to be How? Because I use my presence to pull you out of places of familiarity into places I want you to occupy.

1:16:16 Because if I didn't give you this sense of distance, you would always stay on the shore. And so I'm going to use this sense of distance to move you from where you are to where you're supposed to be and you'll feel me again when you get to where I sent you. So the whole time, they're rowing and he's walking. They're sailing. He's stepping. They're straining. He's stress-free.

1:17:02 they had a head start of ours. And here he comes. The text says, not running. he catches up without having to exert an extraordinary amount of stress and strain y'all missed it they started out ahead of him it looks like they're in front of him he could probably feel like he'll never catch up but all of a sudden before dawn he meets them just walking on the water. Pastor, what do you attribute this acceleration to? Well, when they were rowing, the text says he was praying.

1:18:02 did you hear what I just said the text says when he sends them away he goes to pray and while he is engaging watch this watch this in private prayer We see later in the text public acceleration. because if you will prioritize spiritual disciplines over human effort god will accelerate your advancement i want to talk to some people right now who feel like you should be further than you are right now i want to talk to some people now who feel like you've made some decisions you made some mistakes that may have set you back and the enemy who is the accuser of the brethren is accusing you and reminding you of decisions that you made that contributed to your stagnation i want to remind you of a prophetic promise that the minor prophet joel makes regarding the coming of the messiah he says when this happens he will restore unto you the years that the locust and the canker worm and the caterpillar have stolen from you we call this the redemption of time and when redeem means to buy back it doesn't mean God give you more time it means he take the time you got left and he do so much in the time you got left it make up for the time you miss and I want all the perfect people to be quiet but if you need God to open one door that'll make up for ten doors that you miss go ahead and put a praise of expectation in the atmosphere Aleph Singjuvestri Yeah, yeah.

1:20:07 they rowing I'm almost done I got 12 minutes y'all good yeah they rowing he's walking and the text says when they see him they say it's a ghost is that the text yeah when they see him they say it's a ghost here's my question How have you been walking with this man so long? and not recognize him when you see him. Maybe it's because God didn't always show up looking like God in a storm. this is why you got to be careful when it comes to prematurely labeling your circumstances because you might be calling it a ghost now and then later you're gonna look at it and say that's god you missed it you might be calling it a layoff now and then god does something so Amazing in your future you look back you say that was God You might be calling it rejection now and when God reschedules you You look back at that and say that was God I believe this for this section. You might be calling it a breakup now

1:21:42 But you'll look back at one moment and say that was God The text says they were all afraid, but only one spoke. the impulsive one, the temperamental one, the rash one, which tells us something about personality. Some things you're trying to change. Some things you're trying to abandon that God wants to redeem.

1:22:25 God's like, no, no, no, don't lose that. just let me repurpose that because i'm gonna use i'm gonna use that did you hear what i just said he said he said don't don't don't don't don't lose don't lose that let me put my hand on that i i know i know at times it manifests itself peter wrongly you you you you you pulling out swords and cutting off ears. And I'm having to put the ear back on which is a sign and a symbol of justification

1:23:04 Because when I put the ear back on you can't be charged for the crime I erase the evidence Just as if you never did it a divine acquittal So I know you rash, you temperamental But when I redeem it You get out of boats That the other 11 stay in watch the text Peter says Lord if it's you yeah one translation says bid me to come to you on the water bid me to come to you on the water bid me to come to you on the water bid me to come to you so what people who walk on water aren't people who are trying to walk on water.

1:24:05 People who walk on water are people who are trying to get to Jesus. did you hear what I just said he didn't say help me walk on water he said help me come to you and if you will prioritize coming to him then Jesus will enable you to walk on what other people drown in And this is the difference between vain ambition and godly ambition. One wants to walk on water. The other wants to get to Jesus. I just want to give to Jesus. He says, bid me to come, bid me to come to you on the water. Bid me to come to you on the water.

1:25:14 Bid me to come to you on the water. Nine words. and Jesus said come did you hear what I just said over here nine words and Jesus said come because if you're going to get to Jesus and you're going to walk on water if you're going to manifest your humanness in a way that is similar to the example of Jesus you're going to have to learn how to go on a come Thank you. Jesus didn't say come and I'm gonna suspend gravity Jesus didn't say come and I'm gonna make the water like a row Jesus didn't say come and you're gonna walk on top of water He said come and so many of us stay in the boat because your feet require details and Jesus Didn't always give you the details that you need He said if I say come you better step if I say come you better move if I say come you better come And text says...

1:26:35 Peter walked for a minute and he began to sink because Peter tried to do what Jesus did in public without doing what Jesus did in private. Come on, man. Come on, God. It's different. Yeah. It's different. But Jesus is showing him capability of his humanness that he hadn't tapped into yet. You see, we have such a poor theology of humanness. we conflate humanness with the flesh which is the which is different because the flesh refers to not your humanness it refers to a nature that resides in your humanity that causes an inclination to rebel against divine design it's the sin nature Okay.

1:27:47 but humans existed before sin showed up in them come on here adam and eve were an expression and an embodiment of what god intended for humans But we like associated and conflated humanness with dysfunction. and God's like you stand in boats you don't have to stay in not because you don't see me right you stand in boats you don't have to stay in cause you seeing yourself wrong boy if I had time I would take you to numbers 13 and I will show you where Israel had the opportunity to occupy Canaan land and how Moses sent over 12 spies to scout and do recon on the land and the 12 spies came back and 10 of them gave one report and two of them gave another report and the Bible says the hearts of the people began to melt like wax and here was their testimony the land is exactly what you said it is it is agriculturally rich flowing with milk and honey but there are giants in that land look at the text and we were as grasshoppers in our own eyes Come on.

1:29:26 And in their eyes also. So how do you know what they think about you? You don't. You're projecting your insecurity on your enemy. Did you hear what I said? So they didn't lose to the giant out there. They lost to the grasshopper in here. Your guard is too small and your grasshopper is too big and that's why you in a boat you could be out of. Redemption rehumanizes you. You become a human as God intended.

1:30:24 Exception. Boy, if I had time. I'd walk you through it. And I would show you Paul's critique of believers at Corinth when he's trying to correct their behavior. He says you're acting like mere humans. Mere humans. He says, mere. He says, you don't need an anointing to be regular. He said you're acting like mere humans. and Peter stepping out of the boat with the other 11 staying in can represent a step away from mere humanness did you hear what i just said it could be seen as a rejection of the mediocre it could be seen as a refusal to settle in what somebody else is comfortable with y'all miss what i just said yeah john mark homer says this he says actually following jesus will always be a minority activity he says actually following jesus will be a minority activity so if you're looking for company you're gonna be stuck if you always have to be with the crowd you're going to be stuck because most people are going to be comfortable with the boat but do i have anybody at fellowship tonight that'll say 2025