I Didn't Know This Was In Me

Summary

Podcast Summary: "I Didn't Know This Was In Me"

Podcast: Change Church Podcast
Host: Pastor Dharius Daniels
Date: October 20, 2025

---

Episode Overview

Pastor Dharius Daniels launches a new sermon series titled Detox, part of the yearlong “Goaded” series focusing exclusively on the Gospels. This message—“I Didn’t Know This Was In Me”—sets the stage for spiritual self-examination, challenging believers to recognize and remove subtle but spiritually toxic beliefs or traditions that may have infiltrated their faith. Drawing parallels between physical detox and spiritual deliverance, Pastor Daniels urges listeners to confront the “bad stuff that got to us through good stuff” and embrace authentic deliverance as core to discipleship, not just for the obviously afflicted, but for every follower of Jesus.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction: The Detox Series and Challenging Traditions (03:00–05:00)

• Pastor Daniels explains that Detox was inspired by the earlier sermon “The Burden of Bad Religion” (May 2025), feeling led to continue exploring spiritual toxicity.
• Emphasizes his aim isn’t to insult church traditions but to challenge beliefs for deeper growth:

  “Don’t confuse me challenging you to revisit what you’ve assumed to be true about a thing… with me insulting the spiritual tradition that God may have used to get you this far.” (03:02–03:05)

2. The Analogy of Physical Detox and Body Recomposition (05:01–07:37)

• Shares personal story of working with a trainer who insisted on a month-long detox before pursuing fitness goals:

  “‘Darius, sometimes toxins, which are bad things, are distributed to you in food, which is good things... The bad things got to you because the bad things were in good things.’” (06:22–06:35)

• Draws parallel to spiritual life: toxins can “get in” through otherwise good religious experiences or teaching.

3. The Need for a Biblical Theology of Deliverance (07:37–13:36)

• Defines theology of deliverance: Understanding deliverance from God's viewpoint is central to Jesus' ministry.

  “Deliverance, family, is primary to the ministry of Jesus.” (08:33) “Every time he set someone free, he wasn’t doing something strange, he was doing something standard. Because deliverance is a part of discipleship.” (09:33–09:39)

• Warns against reducing deliverance to only the “immoral” or visibly troubled:

  “Everybody who wants to be discipled is a person that has to be delivered. Spiritual liberation is necessary for sanctification. I cannot look like him without being liberated by Him.” (10:01–10:09)

4. Repression vs. True Deliverance (10:31–14:17)

• Critiques a false substitute: Repression (denial and coping, not true transformation).

  “Repression is a theological imposter of deliverance. It’s denial disguised as deliverance. It’s suppression disguised as sanctification.” (11:07)

• Calls out faith practices that focus on symptom management instead of root causes; challenges “Christianity of coping” when the Bible speaks of conquering:

  “It’s when I adopt and accept a Christianity of coping, when the Bible speaks to conquering.” (11:29)

5. Expand the Scope: Deliverance for All, Not Some (14:17–17:58)

• Cautions against associating deliverance only with those who struggle with “immoral” behaviors:

  “Deliverance is a divine act of liberation from any spiritual, emotional, or relational toxic influence that limits your likeness to Christ.” (15:07–15:32)

• Delivers pointed, relatable examples:

  “Maybe you don’t need detox from an addiction, but we need to detox you from that attitude. You need deliverance too.” (16:40)

6. Focusing on Self, Not Diagnosing Others (17:05–17:58)

• Encourages self-examination over judgment of others:

  “Is there anybody in this building? Your testimony is, this is my season to mind my business. I got me and God got some stuff we need to figure out and work out... Study to be quiet and mind your business.” (17:13–17:58)

7. Biblical Case Study: Mark 8 and the Yeast Metaphor (17:58–40:20)

• Unpacks Mark 8 where Jesus warns of “the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”
  • Yeast represents subtle, invasive infectious attitudes or beliefs embedded in otherwise good religious “bread.”
  • Warns listeners not to “throw out the bread,” but recognize and address the yeast.
• Explains the context: disciples frustrated by lack of bread miss the lesson about spiritual contamination.

  “He says, you’re talking about the bread. I need you to watch out for yeast. You’re a follower of me, but I still need you to watch out for yeast.” (39:18–39:23) “The bread is a good thing. The yeast is a bad thing, but the bad thing has been delivered to you in a good thing.” (40:20)

8. Three Spiritual Toxins to Detox (40:25–50:04)

a. Legalistic Spirituality (The Yeast of the Pharisees)

• Mistakes acceptance by God as earned by performance/obedience instead of received as evidence of relationship.

“Legalism confuses obedience as the means of acceptance rather than evidence of acceptance.” (41:45)

• Results in performative, joyless, uncertain faith.

“You left the prison of the world, and you checked into the prison of religion. You didn’t get free. You changed prisons.” (42:02)

• Encourages grace-based, relational obedience:

  “I’m keeping the commandments because I love you. Not to make you love me.” (45:33)

b. Narcissistic Spirituality (The Yeast of Herod)

• Redefines God’s purpose around self-glorification:

“The creator becomes the servant, the king becomes the consultant… Many people are worshiping a God they made, not the one that made them.” (47:13–47:25)

• Shows up as spiritual exploitation and manipulation in the church:

“Spiritual exploitation was clothed in Christian language called submission. Deal with it. Abuse is tolerated and you call it honor.” (48:54–49:02)

• Condemns transactional “give-to-get” faith.

c. Spiritual Syncretism (50:04–53:49)

• Blending of truly Christian faith with incompatible beliefs or worldviews (e.g., astrology or Greco-Roman spiritualities).

“Syncretism doesn’t ask you to abandon Jesus, it just asks you to add him to what doesn’t belong… The problem isn’t that God isn’t enough, the problem is you’ve never given him the chance to be enough because you keep adding what didn’t belong.” (51:56)

• Points out common Christian compromises:

“You cannot tell me as a Christian…that the destiny of my personality is tied to the month I was born in. I am made in the image and likeness of God.” (52:45)

• Critiques dating culture as an example:

“Instead of the first question you ask be ‘Do you love Jesus?’ you asking ‘What’s your sign?’ The cross.” (53:18–53:49)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On spiritual self-examination:

  “Everybody needs detox from something. And if we would stop trying to diagnose what everybody else needs detox from, then maybe God will show you what you need detox from.” (17:05–17:13)

• On grace and tradition:

  “I want you to give me grace because there are going to have to be some things I expose using scripture, not opinion… allow me to challenge the way you see a thing without you feeling like I’m coming for you.” (51:57)

• On performative faith:

  “You tap dancer to be accepted. So you’re living for instead of living from.” (42:02)

• On spiritual manipulation:

  “I shouldn’t do spiritual stick ups. I could teach you what the word says and then between you and God, you decide what you’re going to do… That is not generosity, that is greed and the spirit of mammon.” (50:16–50:46)

• On letting go of arguments:

  “If I win this argument, what do I win? … I can love you as an image bearer of God and not have a high view of your opinion and perspective. Sometimes you ought to feel weird if certain people are agreeing with you.” (34:34)

---

Important Timestamps

• Challenging spiritual traditions: 03:02–03:05
• Physical detox analogy: 05:01–06:35
• Theology of deliverance: 07:37–09:33
• Repression vs. deliverance: 11:07–11:29
• Detoxing for all: 15:07–17:58
• Mark 8 context and yeast analogy: 17:58–40:20
• Legalistic spirituality: 40:25–45:58
• Narcissistic spirituality: 46:17–50:04
• Spiritual syncretism: 50:04–53:49
• Closing challenge and next steps: 51:57–54:32

---

Conclusion

Pastor Daniels powerfully frames spiritual “detox” as essential, not exceptional, for all believers, warning against complacency, performative spirituality, religious pride, and dangerous compromises. The call is not to abandon the good in tradition, but to soberly examine and extract the hidden “yeast” that subtly undermines Christlikeness. The series promises to gently, yet courageously, confront these issues, inviting listeners to embrace a deeper, freer walk with Jesus.

---

If you’re ready for spiritual detox, this is a must-listen episode—and the series promises to guide you toward freedom, authenticity, and transformative faith.

Transcript

[Pastor Darius McGee]

And as your people in this house, may we always stand in awe of.

You.

Never be familiar with you and always be grateful when you choose to manifest and dwell among us. We pray you feel hosted well.

Through.

The praise of your people. Thank you for inhabiting the praises of your people in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Well, I want to, I want to get into today, the first lesson in a series of sermons all year. I'm not quite sure if you've noticed, but all year every sermon has either come from Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Every sermon this year has come from the Gospels. We're in a year long sermon series with multiple volumes called Goaded because Jesus is the goat. And so the Gospels detail the life and the ministry of Jesus. And so that's where we've been speaking all year. And this month we are starting Goaded, volume five from the series subject Detox. In May of this year, I taught a message called the Burden of Bad Religion. And I thought I was done with the sermon. And the Holy Spirit arrested me, prompted me, convinced me, convicted me that even though I was thought I was done with the sermon, that I wasn't done processing the thought. And so that sermon is the inspiration for these series of sermons we'll be engaged in over the next few weeks called Detox. And I want to go back to the Book of Mark, chapter 8, verses 14 and 15. And I want to use that as a launching pad to leap into this lesson as a pastor, even if I'm not your pastor. As a pastor, I'm going to ask you over these next few weeks to give me grace. And here's what I mean by that. I'm venturing into what is often unchartered territory where I'm going to be trying to challenge some of the spiritual beliefs that we hold true without insulting the foundation that got us to where we are.

So I never, I don't want you.

To confuse me, challenging you to revisit what you've assumed to be true about a thing.

Don't confuse that with me insulting the.

Spiritual tradition that God may have used to get you this far. Does that make sense? So I want to, I want to kind of walk that line. I don't want to dishonor you or your tradition. Yet at the same time, I want to be faithful to what I believe I'm being led to teach during this series called Detox. Does that make sense to guys? So I'm going to need your grace. I'm going to do the best I can with this. But I'm human and I'm not perfect. And I want you to hear my heart. Mark 8:14 says, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. Be careful. Jesus warned them, watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod. I want to stop the reading of Scripture there, and I want to talk from this subject in lesson one of this series of sermons called Detox. Here's the topic. I didn't know this was in me. I didn't know this was in me. Several years ago, I started working with this trainer and health coach for the purpose of achieving a very specific fitness goal within a very targeted window of time. And in our initial consultation, as he was laying out the plan for my progress, he said something to me that I think is incredibly salient for this series of sermons. He said to me, Darius, the first 30 days of this plan will be 30 days that. That is primarily dedicated to detox. To which I said to him, well.

My goal isn't necessarily to lose weight. My goal is actually to add muscle. To which he said, I understand, but what I need to walk you through.

Is what we call in my space, Darius, body recomposition.

It is where I don't necessarily lead you into a season where there's a drastic difference in how much you weigh, but I lead you into a season where there is a reallocation of what makes up your pounds, that you can weigh the same, but the way the fat and the muscle is distributed can be different. So he says, I gotta get the.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Bad stuff down and the good stuff up.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

To which I said, okay, I understand, but tell me why I need to detox. Because I feel as if my diet is relatively clean. I don't remember consuming any toxins, so why do I need to detox? To which he said, darius, unfortunately, sometimes.

Toxins, which are bad things, are distributed.

To you in food, which is good things, that the bad things got to.

You because the bad things were in good things.

It wasn't all bad, but it wasn't all good. So in order for me to develop you, I've got to detox you from some of the bad things that you picked up by consuming good things. And for those of you who may be wondering the relevance of this story to this revelation that we're sharing in.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

This sermon series called Detox, I am.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Arguing that just like that was the case for me physically, that can also.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Be the case for us spiritually. That spiritually, sometimes there is some bad stuff we Consumed, not because we consume bad stuff, but there's some bad stuff that we consumed when we consume good stuff.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

This is why I would argue that every Christian that is serious about their spiritual growth and spiritual progress must become familiar with, presented with, or represented with a healthy biblical theology of deliverance. Darius, when you say theology, what does that mean? It's a compilation of two Greek words. Theos, which speaks to God, Logos, which speaks to word, rationale, reason, spirit. So when you hear somebody say a theology of something, they are saying, this is God's rationale, his thought process, his reasoning, his words, his vantage point on a matter.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

So if we say, I have a.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Theology of prayer, we're saying I've got.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

God's vantage, perspective and viewpoint on prayer.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Not just my own.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

And so when I say we need.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

A healthy biblical theology of deliverance, I am saying that because deliverance, family, is.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Primary to the ministry of Jesus.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

It in.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

In his missional manifesto, In Luke, chapter.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Four, verse number 18, he says, the Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim, watch this. Freedom for the prisoners. Somebody say freedom. Okay. The recovery of sight for the blind and to set the oppressed free.

Somebody say free, okay.

To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. One translation says, the acceptable year of jubilee, which was a time of liberation. Slaves got set free, debts were canceled.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Because central to the ministry of Jesus is deliverance.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Deliverance.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

When Jesus makes this statement in Luke.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Chapter four, this wasn't just his mission statement, it was his ministry model. Every time he set someone free, he wasn't doing something strange, he was doing something standard. Because deliverance is a part of discipleship. It is not some extreme spiritual enterprise that is relegated for people that are.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Strung out with addiction, that are dealing with some compulsive disorders. Everybody who wants to be discipled is a person that has to be delivered. Come on. Spiritual liberation is necessary for sanctification. I cannot look like him without being liberated by Him. I cannot be free, formed like him until I am freed by Him.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

However, many believers are not experiencing this reality because they have not accurately understood it. You live on the level of your revelation, and in many settings, our understanding of deliverance has been relegated and reduced to spiritual repression. Repression is a theological imposter of deliverance. It's denial disguised as deliverance.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

It's suppression disguised as sanctification. It's when we live a life having to keep pushing down what needs to be Evicted out. It's a life where I live managing symptoms instead of identifying the source. It's when. It's when I adopt and accept a Christianity of coping.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

When the Bible speaks to conquering and I want to know, am I talking to anybody that's ready to conquer? Let me go to this side over here.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I said I want to know, am I talking to anybody that believes the book when the book says I am not just a conqueror, but I am more than a conqueror. And is anybody getting ready to step into your season of more? I want more. I sense more. I'm praying for more. I'm pursuing more. And you don't have to want more. Just don't get in my way of me pursuing more. Because I didn't come there this far just to come this far. I didn't come out of Egypt just to come out of Egypt. I came out of Egypt and I'm going all the way into the promised land because that's what he promised me. I want more.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

So as deliver, instead of deliverance being seen as a part of sanctification, it's been confused as sanctification. So many of us were in spaces and places where there's a high theology of the altar, and we have a high theology of the altar here. We just did a whole series called Alterations, because the altar represents a meeting place with God. But some of us come on here have been influenced by places that have high theology of the altar, and they use the altar as an out. So when they don't have divine insight for the source of your symptom, they use the altar as the avenue to.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Get you come on here, to get.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

You to assume that some prayers and some oil is the only thing you.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Need to walk into liberation. And I am not saying we. We don't need prayer and oil, but I am saying don't take something that is a part of sanctification and make it the whole of sanctification. Because God works miracles. But spirituality ain't magic. And sometimes when you walk away from this altar, there's some work that God still got to do and some healing that's still got to take place and some upper root that still has to be addressed. Are you here? Are you here?

[Pastor Darius McGee]

I said, are you here? Okay, so this revelation of repression reduces deliverance to only addressing the immoral. So if you're not struggling with what you think is immoral, then you think you don't need deliverance.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Next week, I'm going to show you with the Prodigal Son, it's not just the Son that left, that needed deliverance. That Pharisee that stayed is the one that also needed deliverance. Oh, my God.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Because a biblical theology of deliverance isn't.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Just God rescuing me from that which is immoral. It is him addressing anything that keeps me from Christ likeness. Here it is. Deliverance is a divine act of liberation from any spiritual, emotional, or relational toxic influence that limits your. Your likeness to Christ.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

So whatever is in the way of me exhibiting Christ likeness, I need deliverance. Some y' all aren't talking to me.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Some of us selectively apply this theology of deliverance when it needs to be applied to every disciple, because everybody needs it somewhere. We don't all have to detox from the same thing, but we got to detox from something. And how you gonna be arrogant? Let me go over here because this might help over here. Yeah, how are you gonna be arrogant? Because you don't have to detox from their thing when you and God know. And some of us know too. Cause you ain't fooling us either. That everybody's got a thing they need detox from. So maybe you don't need detox from an addiction, but we need to detox you from that attitude. You need deliverance too.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

You know how to keep yourself.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

But you can't keep a friend and you can't keep a business partnership and you sabotage every relationship. Y' all aren't talking to me. You need deliverance from poor relational intelligence. Love your neighbor as yourself.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Everybody needs detox from something. And if we would stop trying to.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Diagnose what everybody else needs detox from, then maybe God will show you what you need detox from. But is there anybody in this building? Your testimony is, this is my season to mind my business. I got me and God got some stuff we need to figure out and work out. And the Apostle Paul said to believers in Thessalonica, study to be quiet and mind your business.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

We all need detox because there's some bad stuff that got to us through some good stuff. There's some satanic stuff that got to us through spiritual stuff. Here's the way Jesus frames it in the text. There's some yeast that got to us through the bread. Here it is. Mark, chapter 8. Contextually here we picked up at verse 14. But to understand the text, got to understand the context, right? So beware of. I'm not gonna say beware of. Don't be influenced by people who cherry pick scripture, right? Just pull out a scripture and then throw it at you, right? Because Text. A text without context is pretext. What is. What is the context that the conversation is taking place so contextually Here you. You got to catch what I'm saying. The beginning of Mark, before we get to first verse 14 and 15, there's some encounter that Jesus had with bread here. Jesus has been teaching group of people for a significant period of time. And when evening comes, the Bible says that these people had been eating spiritually, but they needed something to eat physically. And here's what the text says, that the disciples come to Jesus and say, jesus, these people need to eat. We don't have it. Send them away. Because this is what underdeveloped disciples do. They assume because they don't know how to solve the problem, that the problem's unsolvable.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

So they send stuff away that Jesus.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Sends to them to teach them. Did you hear what I just said? Any underdeveloped disciples always want to send problems away. Did you hear what I just said? Yeah. Yep.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

They want an eviction of the problem.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Instead of education of the principle not realizing and recognizing that some problems are. Are an expression of God's providence. That God knows when to allow certain problems and what problems need to be allowed. He knows when to allow them and what to allow. He knows when to allow them and what to allow. He knows when to allow them and what to allow.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Because when problems come into our life.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

We'Re thinking, this is the worst time.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

But from God's perspective, he's saying, this is the best time. Because I send you problems in certain.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Seasons, because I know what lesson that.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Problem is sent to teach you. And I know you need to learn this lesson now because you're going to need this lesson in your next. So you might be complaining that I sent the lion and the bear in this season, but you need to learn how to handle the lion and the bear so that when you fight Goliath, you already know who I am and you already know what you can do. Y' all missed it.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

He says, I send you certain lessons in certain seasons because certain battles will.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Not only require you to have an.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Accurate knowledge of who I am and what I can do.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Certain battles are going to require you to have an accurate knowledge of who.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

You are and what you can do.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

So I send you problems not just.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

To show you me.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Hallelujah. I send you problems to show you you. And to show you if you work that slingshot, you can knock that giant down. David was talking heavy to Goliath because he had experience with the lion and the bear and Said, you come at me with a sword and a spear, but I come at you in the name of the living God. I got history. The same God that delivered me from the lion and the bear will deliver.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

This Philistine into my hands. Bible says, Jesus wouldn't comply. He wouldn't send the problem away. So the text says, somebody says, there's somebody out here that's got some lunch. They brought it for them and their family, but they don't know. They made assumptions about the reason why God gave them what they gave them. It's some people out here who have something, but they realize it's not theirs. Did you hear what I just said? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they prepared it, they carried it, they brought it with the intention of using it a certain way, but they so submit it that they will surrender their assumptions about how this is supposed to be used and say, even though I intended to use this one way, if you give me instruction that this used to needs to be used a different way, then I will repurpose.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

My intention for this fish and loaves.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Of bread, and I'll surrender it to you. Now, here's what's interesting. Remember a couple weeks ago I talked to you about the Synoptic Gospels, Right. Okay. When this story is told elsewhere, you'll see it's very specific. The writers say, two fish and five loaves in Mark 8. You don't see that it is pastorally and exegetically irresponsible for me not to acknowledge that. You don't have to run from it when you got truth. Mark says there were seven loaves and a few fish. So which one was it? It's either two different perspectives on the same miracle, or as some historians suggest, Jesus performed this miracle multiple times. I got to go. But just in case the latter is true, I want to give about 39 of you 39 seconds to shout. Because this. If this is the second time he.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Did this miracle, it means if he did it before, he can do it again. And I want to talk to some people who feel like you mismanaged some miracles in the past. You mismanaged some. Some opportunities you didn't properly steward. Open doors. I want to remind you that the same God that did it before can do it again.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

So text says, jesus said, bring it to me. Just because you don't know what to do with it doesn't mean something can't be done with it.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Bring this to me.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

I feel the Holy Ghost on this, and I want somebody to receive this.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

As a prophetic prompting. For your life. Bring it to me and watch me work. Bring your son to me and watch me work. Bring that issue to me and watch me work. Stand still.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

And see the salvation of the Lord. Text says he does this, y'. All alright? Text says he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. He didn't take the loaves to distribute until they sat down. Did you hear what I just said? Their obedience.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Is what led to divine provision.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

And some people miss their meal because.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

They don't realize that divine sit downs are spiritual setups. You think the only word God give you is go. Sometimes the word God gives you is stop. Let me go to this side. And it takes more faith sometimes to stop stop than it does to go. Some of you are in a sit down season and you feel like you are wasting time. You don't realize he has made you to lay down in green pastures because he's trying to save you time.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Sit down for a minute. Sit down. I got something to say to you. Sit down. I got something to do for you.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Sit down. I'm setting you up for something.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Sit down.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I'm preparing a table for you in the presence of your enemy. If you're willing to sit down, I'mma stand you up. And I'mma stand you up at the right time. I'm going to stand you up in the right place.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

So the text says. Text says, he takes the bread, he blesses the bread, breaks the bread, then gives the bread. He takes the bread, he blesses the bread. He breaks the bread. And then he gives it. He takes the bread. It's in the text. He gives thanks, blesses the bread, gives thanks. He breaks the bread, then he gives it. He doesn't take the bread, Break the bread, then bless the bread. He takes the bread, blesses the bread, then breaks it. So it's broken after it's blessed. Did you hear what I just said? It's broken after it's blessed. It is broken after it's blessed. It is broken after it's blessed. Watch this. He could not use it to the.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Maximum of its capacity until he broke it. But he blessed it before he broke it. Because this breaking wasn't for destruction. This breaking was for greater distribution. He says it's some breaking. Imma send your way. Because after this breaking I'm gonna be able to destroy, distribute you and use you in a way I couldn't use you, Pastor.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

How do I know that I'm in this season?

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

It's when you're going through the breaking, but the breaking hadn't broke you. Hallelujah. And I want to talk to somebody who feels like you're about to break, but you hadn't broke. Glory to God. You feel like you're about to break, but God's still keeping you together.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

It's because he blessed before he broke. Here it is in communion. The. The wine represents his blood. The bread represents his body. Hello, body. We are the body of Christ. So metaphorically, this can speak to how God will bless you, then break you so he can distribute you to people he couldn't distribute you to before your broken state. He says, I'm using you now, but I got to break this pride off of you to use you greater. And the Bible says in verse eight, don't y' all shout on this. And they ate. They didn't just eat. And they ate and were satis. And they ate and were satisfied. And they ate, were satisfied. And they ate and were satisfied. You trust him to save you, but do you trust him to satisfy you? And they took up the broken pieces left over seven baskets full. See, all the miracles that God does are mirrors of who God is. The real blessing isn't the miracle. The real blessing is the miracle. The message the miracle sends. The message lasts longer than the miracle. The real blessing wasn't the resources. The real blessing is the revelation. The resources is what he provided. The Revelation is he's a provider. The resources is the healing. The Revelation is the healer. Y' all miss it. The resources said he did it. The Revelation says he's able. So they had seven baskets left. So here's what happens after this. Mark says, Pharisees came, and they begin to argue with him, Right? Seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation. I love this verse 13 because this is the anointing. Some of y' all got to get. I'm going. Let you read it. First three words. You just. You read it first.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Four.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Yeah. And. And he. Okay, give me verse 11. The Pharisees came and began to argue with Him. Now give me verse 13. Give me verse 11. Again.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking a sign from heaven to test Him.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Now give me verse 13.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

And he left them.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

See, the Pharisees demand a sign. And when you have.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

When you haven't detox, you have a.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Craving to be understood by those who.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Are committed to dis. To misunderstanding you.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

But he was detoxed from the need to prove himself to people that are already committed to their perception of him. If I win this argument, what do I win?

I can't go.

I can't. I can't take this where I want to take. Right. You'll notice Jesus doesn't even labor and engage here. He just leaves because he discerns your favor. Even if your opinion of me becomes favorable, it still doesn't benefit me. So I lose nothing by you not liking me, because you don't add to me. So every loss, not a loss. Did you hear what I just said? If you win the argument, what do you win? You win the favorable opinion of people whose intellect you don't respect. I can love you as an image bearer of God and not have a high view of your opinion and perspective. Sometimes you ought to feel weird if certain people are agreeing with you. You ought to be like, oh, we think alike. I got to go back and pray. I got to.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I got to pr.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

So here it is. Y' all all right? I'm almost done. Y' all all right? All right. So text says. Text says verse 13. He left them, got into the boat again and went to the other side. See, some of you are arguing with Pharisees. You should be spending time with the disciples. You should be nurturing relationships that. With people that already love you instead of trying to convince people that don't. All right, so verse 14 says this. So that's verse 13. Verse 14 says, now they had forgotten to bring bread. They only had one loaf with them in the boat. Remember, it was seven left over, so they forgot the other six. So they upset because they're like, man, we need that bread. I was gonna eat this. I put them leftovers in the refrigerator. I was like, ooh.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

When I wake up in the morning.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

I went to the refrigerator and somebody.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Done ate my leftovers.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

So they upset. But their forgetfulness was an expression of providence. God, by his providence, chose not to remind them because God in his providence will arrange seasons where he makes sure you don't think about certain things. Isn't this what happened when Mary was going to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus? The Bible says that. See, tombs in those days, they weren't like underground. They were like caves. It was like a big hole cut in the cave front of the cave. And then there was a big stone rolled over the front of the hole. And so it would take multiple men to move that stone. Mary gets up early in the morning. She started walking to the tomb. And they just walking and they just talking. And then all of a sudden, they get close to the tomb, and Mary say, wait a minute. Who's going to roll the stone away? That forgetfulness was an expression of providence. God made sure she didn't think about it before she left, because if she thought about it before she left, she wouldn't have left.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

But now she had been walking too long. So long it's too late to turn around.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

You gotta trust me now.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

You out here now. Somebody say, we out here now. Yeah, we out here now. I just got to keep walking. And I'm not walking by sight. I am walking by faith.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

They forget the bread, and Jesus uses them forgetting lunch to teach them a lesson about life. He says, I know you've been walking with me, and I know you love me, and I know you're being used.

By me, but I need you to watch out.

He says, you're talking about the bread.

I need you to watch out for yeast.

You're a follower of me, but I still need you to watch out for yeast. He's not talking about bread. Are you following me here? When he says yeast, he's talking about the influences. So the yeast is in bread. So the bread's not a bad thing, but the yeast is in it. So he's saying, don't throw the bread away, but you got some yeast in the bread. So I need you to watch the yeast, because the yeast is going to impact your ability to properly relate to and properly represent me. Make this homiletical loop here. The bread is a good thing. The yeast is a bad thing, but the bad thing has been delivered to you in a good thing.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Are you hearing what I'm saying? So if the bread represents your spirituality.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

It'S a good thing.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

But inside the spiritual experience that you've.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Had, that is some yeast. And Jesus said, we get to a certain point in our journey where we got to start talking about yeast. We got to start talking about the residue of your past religious experience that is adversely impacting our relationship. And here's what he says. He says, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. So these are two categories that represents three things we need to be aware of that we may need to detox from bad stuff that was given to us through religion. He says, beware of the use of the Pharisees. This represents legalistic spirituality. This is a belief that your acceptance with God is based on your performance for God. Legalism confuses obedience as the means of acceptance rather than evidence of acceptance. It leads you to performative spirituality that leads to a state of ambiguity where you're always unsure about your status in standing with God. It confuses rules with relationships. And when you break the rules, you run from the relationship.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

And even though breaking God's rules breaks you, legalism causes you to run from the one that can fix you.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

So instead of. Of running to the throne of grace, you run from the throne of grace.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Instead of showing God your issues.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Come here, Adam.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

You hide and sew your own fig leaves.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

So you left the prison of the world, and you checked into the prison of religion. You didn't get free. You changed prisons, performative spirituality. You. You tap dancer to be accepted. So you're living for. Instead of living from. This is the primary point of, like, Romans 5, 6, and 7, where Paul's like, hey, you need a revelation of who you are. And you live this way because Christ has made you this way. You don't live this way for Christ to make you this way. Way. I'm done, Tara. Y'. All. And some of us. Listen to me. Some of us. Some of us don't understand, and I'm going to walk you through this over these next few weeks, how the residue of legalism shows up in the way you relate to your father, your heavenly father, God.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

So your God isn't a good father.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

The residue of legalism has your God a tyrant, ready to punish you when you're wrong. So when you. The prodigal son, you never go back because you don't think he's ready to receive you. Did you hear what I just said? Now, some of us listen to me. Maybe when God saved you, he knew the environment you needed to be put in immediately was an environment that had a certain degree of rigidity. Rigidity, because you needed that to anchor you in that season. It's good. It was helpful. God used it. You follow me? So. So I'm not. I'm not throwing off on that. I'm not disrespecting that. I'm not dishonoring it. God, you. You need holiness. You needed that. That's bread. I'm just saying inside the bread, just identify the yeast.

See, some of you, God had to.

Radically save, so you had to be in an environment of rigidity. And God used that. But what happens is. Are y' all okay? What happens is sometimes you can assume and we're Going to talk about this next week. Sometimes you can assume that what you needed is the standard for everybody. That's what you need. If eating meat offends your brothers, then don't you. You don't need to eat me. Come on. Am I in the book? Yeah. You, you, you, you. But what happens. What legal. What legalism does is it relationships need rules, but legalism confuses the rules with relationship. It's like God, I'm keeping the rules, so that makes us have a relationship.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Instead of saying God, you've given us a relationship through Christ.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

And so now I keep the rules.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Peter, do you love me?

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Yes. Keep my commandments, okay? I'm keeping the commandments because I love you. Not to make you love me. You trying to make him love you. And this is why you question whether you love that based on the week you had. This is why, when you had a wild week, you should be running to the house of God, not running from the house of God.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

And some of those downward spirals don't have to go on for weeks and months because the devil's got you sitting at home in shame. You got to get up and get to the house of God so that God can break that cycle and stop that spiral.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

It was good, but it's got you performing and it's got you imposing rules on others that they don't need. Second is narcissistic spirituality. This is the third. Beware these to the Pharisees and Herod. Herod, narcissist. You gonna kill all the firstborn. You gonna kill all the male children born just to get to Jesus? Just to protect your seat because you feel. You feel threatened by somebody that's not even born yet. That's. Here's a narcissist. He's the Pharisees in here. Narcissistic spiritual athletes is the theological inversion where you cease to exist for God's glory and remake God to exist for your glory. It's functional idolatry dressed in Christian vocabulary. It's when God is named. But selfish worship, it's not just putting yourself first. It's redefining God's purpose around your preferences. One theologian puts it this way. The creator becomes the servant. The king becomes the consultant. Okay, God, I'm going take what you say under advisement. One writer says, God made us in his image, and we tried to return the favor because many people are worshiping a God they made, not the one that made them. How do you know if I'm worshiping a God? I made y' all always agree.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

The stuff in your life, you don't.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Want to change, he don't make you change.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

The people that you don't change. Like he don't like the people you don't mess with.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

He don't mess with.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

That's not the God that made you.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

That'S the God you made. Worship becomes a transaction. Somebody say transaction. Worship becomes a transaction. And watch this. This sort of expression shows up in exploitation in the pulpit and self idolization in the pew. So in the pulpit, spiritual narcissism shows up as exploitation. And here's what happens. Some of us, it was bread. Not everything was bad. But some of in some of that was yeast. So spiritual exploitation was clothed in Christian language called submission. Deal with it. Abuse is tolerated.

And you call it honor.

So you submitted yourself to bombastic, unkind, unloving energy from the platform in the name of honor.

One time, one of our members, this is long.

Somebody say, long time ago, Long time ago. Long time ago.

One of our membership came from another.

Church and she came up to me, McGee, one time and she said, she's so sweet. She's one of our best members.

And she said, my poor pastor know how to raise an offering.

I said, no, sweetie, you just not used to not being manipulated. I believe everything your old pastor believe about the tithe, the offering, sowing, reaping. I practice it. I tithe. I don't think about it. It comes out of my account every single week. Offering, every single.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Am I making sense? Miracle offering.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

We praying over, pray over. I believe all, but because I believe all what the Bible says about giving, I believe what the Bible says about giving. And the Bible also says that when I'm encouraging you to give, you shouldn't give grudgingly nor of necessity. Come on here.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

So I shouldn't do spiritual stick ups.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

I could teach you what the word says.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

And then between you and God, you decide what you're going to do. I'm going to have to trust God to fund the vision of the work. But I'm not about to promise you a Bentley for a tithe. That is not generosity, that is greed and the spirit of mammon.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

I'm done, y'. All. Okay, I know we're a little long today. Third yeast is spiritual syncretism. This is the spiritual contamination. So Herod narcissism and syncretism, because it's like you King of the Jews, but you like, you blending stuff. This is like Roman, Greco Roman philosophy. And you blend in all that into Christianity, like, okay, Herod you putting stuff together that don't go together. This is spiritual contamination that occurs when you blend Christianity with beliefs, practices and worldviews that are fundamentally incompatible with the gospel. It's not an outright rejection of the faith. It's the slow dilution of biblical truth until what you're left with with looks Christian. But it isn't. Syncretism doesn't ask you to abandon Jesus. It just asks you to add him to what doesn't belong. It. It's rooted in the unconscious assumption that Jesus is insufficient. It's the belief that the cross needs a cosign, the scripture needs a supplement and that Christ needs a consultant. The problem isn't that God isn't enough. The problem is you've never given him the chance to be enough because you keep adding what didn't belong. The look at me. I'm done. I want everybody to see it. I don't want a mass exodus right now every.

Because I'm.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

We're getting ready to go.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

All right? So we're getting ready to. But I want you to listen to me. I want you to give me grace because there are going to have to be some things I expose using scripture, not opinion. Got me? That I expose. And I want you to allow me to challenge the way you see a thing without you feeling like I'm coming for you. We don't bring that kind of energy here. This is not that place. Okay? So I want you to hear my heart on this. So here's an example of some of the stuff I'm gonna have to tackle when I deal with syncretism. You cannot tell me as a Christian. Now if you're not a Christian, I don't know what you believe, but for me as a Christian, you cannot tell me that the destiny of my personality is tied to the month I was born in.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I am made in the image and the likeness of God. I am fearfully and I am wonderfully made. Before I form you. He says in your mother's womb, Jeremiah, I knew you. So you telling me all I can be is limited to the month I was born in? That's all I' ma ever be. With all this Holy Ghost I got in me. I'm limited in who I can be based on.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

Let me show you how this shows up. Here it is. I'm about to let everybody go. Come on now. My gosh. This shows up in like this shows up in Christian singles Missing divine connections. Cuz instead of the first question you ask be is do you love Jesus? You asking what's your sign.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

The cross.

[Pastor Darius McGee]

It's the first question you ask. That's syncretism. It's incompatible with the gospel. I'm done. I am 22 minutes and 17 seconds overtime.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

We should have been out of church 22 minutes ago. But we not playing with the devil this month. We're gonna expose every area that. That the devil's been trying to hide. And we're getting ready to step into the freest season in our entire life. If you're ready for detox, make some noise.