I Don't Understand The Assignment

Summary

Podcast Summary: Change Church Podcast

Episode: "I Don't Understand The Assignment"

Host: Pastor Dharius Daniels
Date: December 15, 2025

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Overview

In this powerful and relatable message, Pastor Dharius Daniels explores the challenge of following God’s purpose, especially when the divine assignment isn’t clear or doesn’t align with our understanding or preferences. Drawing from Matthew 1:18 and the story of Joseph, Pastor Dharius delves into the tension between purpose, calling, and destiny—emphasizing the importance of fulfilling rather than merely participating in God’s assignment for our lives. Through humor, cultural context, and vulnerability, he encourages listeners to trust God’s plan even when it defies reason, personal ambition, or comfort.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Why of Existence: Purpose, Calling, and Destiny

• Mark Twain Quote:
  "The two most important days of your life are: number one, the day you were born. Number two, the day you discover why." (02:00)
• Purpose is the reason for your creation.
• Calling is God’s invitation to participate in that purpose.
• Destiny is the summation of accepting purpose and calling.
• Notable Insight:
  “Your presence on this planet...is not a coincidence. You’re not even a result of some relational accident. Your parents may not have planned for your arrival, but God did.” (02:01, Pastor Darius)

2. Deposits Versus Discovery

• Everything needed for your assignment is already within you.
• The challenge is discovering and deploying it:
  “Your problem is not deposits. Your problem is discovery. And if you’ll ever discover what God has deposited, you will be a nightmare on Elm street for the devil.” (03:19, Pastor Darius)

3. Purpose ‘Having’ You: Shift in Standards

• Difference between having purpose and purpose ‘having’ you.
• When purpose, calling, and destiny ‘have’ you, your standards and boundaries change.
  • “You can never have a low sense of self and have high standards.” (06:06, Bishop)
  • “You’re trying to raise your standards, but you hadn’t raised your view of you.” (06:23, Pastor Darius)

4. Fulfilling vs. Participating in Purpose

• Many people confuse participating in their purpose with fulfilling it.

  • Participation: Doing part of what God called you to.
  • Fulfillment: Doing all of it.
  • Illustrations from Jesus’ life highlight this difference—miracles like feeding 5,000 or raising Lazarus were participation, but resurrection was fulfillment (09:12–09:18).

• “Because Lazarus getting out of the grave fix his life, but Jesus getting out of the grave fix mine.” (09:18, Pastor Darius)

5. The Reality of Divine Assignments: Confusion and Disagreement

• God may lead you into assignments you don’t understand or agree with.
  • “Many operate with the understanding that God requires your agreement before he picks your assignment.” (12:04, Pastor Darius)
  • The story of Joseph: A model for accepting a divine role that didn’t make sense or feel fair.

6. Retelling Joseph’s Narrative for Modern Listeners

• Relatable retelling: Joseph learning of Mary’s pregnancy, his shock, internal debate, yet choosing to act honorably.

  • "He said, you’re telling me you’re pregnant? Well, how you get pregnant? She said, God." (20:41, Pastor Darius)

• Joseph’s Example:

  • He plans to end the engagement quietly to protect Mary from disgrace (21:24–22:00).
  • Receives angelic confirmation not while busy, but when he is still: “There are certain things that God does when you’re asleep…when you’re inactive…when you’re at ease.” (22:59–23:41, Pastor Darius)
  • Joseph’s family line (David) is invoked, reminding him he is "built for hard things" (24:46).

7. Purpose Sometimes Looks Different Than Expected

• Joseph is remembered not for his carpentry, but for who he raised (Jesus):
  • “The thing he thought he would be known for may not have been the thing he ended up being known for.” (28:02, Pastor Darius)
  • “Sometimes God calls you to come alongside someone who’s carrying something that God has given them…your assignment is to help bring it to pass.” (28:58, Bishop)

8. Decreasing for the Assignment: The Example of John the Baptist

• Not everyone is assigned to be “the star”—sometimes, greatness is found in supporting roles:
  • “John was so obsessed with his assignment and not his own ambition, he said, my assignment actually requires me to decrease.” (29:43, Pastor Darius)
  • “It ain’t submission until there’s disagreement.” (32:44, Pastor Darius)

9. Detoxing from Rationalism: When Reason Limits Faith

• Encouragement to use reason as a tool, but not a master.
  • “Rationalism says my reasoning is truth. That way, if it doesn’t make sense to me, then I don’t think it’s true.” (32:44–33:50, Pastor Darius)
  • Faith goes beyond agreeing with God—sometimes it means submitting even in confusion.

10. Trusting God’s Process Over Personal Preference

• God’s plans are better than our preferences—even if costly or unglamorous:
  • “Could you do it? Yes. The question is not can I, it’s are you called to?” (38:59, Pastor Darius)
  • Personal examples: Sacrificing a law career for ministry, his wife’s career transition, and embracing family/church over material success.

11. Final Challenge: Offer God Your ‘Yes’ In Advance

• “I accept the assignment even when I don’t understand the assignment.” (39:16, Pastor Darius)
• The call to trust God’s choice, timing, and method—offering Him our obedience in advance, just as Abraham offered Isaac, knowing God had already provided a ram (41:30–42:02).

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Notable Quotes and Moments

• “Your problem is not deposits. Your problem is discovery.” (03:19, Pastor Darius)
• “You’re trying to raise your standards, but you hadn’t raised your view of you.” (06:23, Pastor Darius)
• “It’s one thing to have destiny. It’s another thing for destiny to have you.” (07:17, Pastor Darius)
• “If he only participated but didn’t fulfill, where would we be?” (09:03, Pastor Darius)
• “Many operate with the understanding that God requires your agreement before he picks your assignment.” (12:04, Pastor Darius)
• “He would be known...not by what he did, but by who he raised.” (27:50, Bishop)
• “Sometimes purpose requires that you’re Joseph. You don’t always get to be the star in the story.” (29:02, Bishop)
• “Rationalism says my reasoning is my master. So I only obey what I understand.” (33:24, Pastor Darius)
• “It ain’t submission until there’s disagreement.” (32:44, Pastor Darius)
• “My answer is yes, Father, I accept the assignment even when I don’t understand the assignment.” (39:16, Pastor Darius)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:01–04:08: Opening, reading Matthew 1:18, intro to purpose, calling, and destiny
• 09:12–09:18: Participation vs. fulfillment – Jesus’ miracles compared to resurrection
• 12:04–13:00: God doesn’t require your agreement before giving an assignment
• 19:07–23:26: Creative retelling of Joseph discovering Mary's pregnancy
• 23:41–24:46: Importance of stillness and being “asleep” to receive from God
• 28:02–29:24: On being known for supporting others’ destinies rather than starring
• 32:44–33:50: Faith vs. rationalism, what true submission means
• 38:50–39:16: The question is not “Can I?” but “Am I called to?”
• 41:30–42:50: Encouragement to offer God a “yes,” trusting His provision

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Don’t confuse being busy or involved with actually fulfilling your life’s purpose.
• Purpose is discovered through surrender, not just effort or ambition.
• Your biggest impact may come from supporting someone else’s assignment.
• God’s plans for your life will sometimes require you to yield your preferences and understanding.
• Submission begins where agreement ends. Trusting God—especially in confusion—is the ultimate yes.

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Closing Challenge:
“Are you willing to trust Him with your life’s purpose? Even when you don’t understand and even when you don’t agree? My answer is yes, Father. I accept the assignment—even when I don’t understand the assignment.” (39:16, Pastor Darius)

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Transcript

[Pastor Darius]

Let's go to Matthew, chapter number one, verse number eight. I'm glad to have my baby boy in worship with us today. Gabriel Micah, back from Syracuse University. Clap your hands for Gabe, everybody. Amen. You'll be happy when your kids come back. Matthew, chapter one, verse number 18, says, this is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, came about. His mother, Mary, was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law, he did not want to expose her to a public disgrace. He had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, the angel of the Lord came to him in a dream and said, joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save the people from their sin. I want to stop the reading of scripture there and use as a subject for our time together something very simple. I don't understand the assignment.

[Bishop]

Clap your hands if God has ever had you confused. This section.

[Pastor Darius]

Not honest.

[Bishop]

I say clap your hands if you've ever been like God. What's up with this?

[Pastor Darius]

I don't understand the assignment. I want to start today's sermon with a quote that's credited to Mark Twain. He says this. He says the two.

[Bishop]

There are two very important or the.

[Pastor Darius]

Two most important days of your life are. Number one, the day you were born. Number two, the day you discover why. Family.

[Bishop]

Your why.

[Pastor Darius]

Is the reason for your creation or existence. We call it your purpose. And I want you to know that your presence on this planet. Look at me. Is not a coincidence. You're not a result of some cosmic coincidence. You're not even a result of some relational accident. Your parents may not have planned for your arrival, but God did.

[Bishop]

I can say this not because I.

[Pastor Darius]

Know your parents, but because I know my God.

[Bishop]

And I got to eavesdrop on a conversation he had with a gentleman named Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah, chapter number one, where he tells Jeremiah these words.

[Pastor Darius]

He says, before I form you in your mother's womb, I knew you. Watch what he says. Before I form you, your parents made you. I form you.

[Bishop]

The only thing your parents could do was to do the thing that conceived you. After that, everything was out of their control.

[Pastor Darius]

The rest of it is me. Your strengths, that's me. Your talents, that's me. Your. Your personality, that's me. Your passions, that's me.

[Bishop]

Your gifts.

[Pastor Darius]

That's me.

[Bishop]

And I did not design you by default. I built you by design with your destiny in mind. You've been built by design. You've been wired for a specific work. You've been customized and crafted for a specific calling. And on the inside of you in latent form is everything you need. Need to be who God's called you to be and do what God's called you to do. Your problem is not deposits. Your problem is discovery. And if you'll ever discover what God has deposited, you will be a nightmare on Elm street for the devil. Do I have anybody listening to me this afternoon? Somebody say purpose? Somebody say calling? Somebody say destiny.

[Pastor Darius]

Say purpose.

[Bishop]

Calling.

[Pastor Darius]

Destiny.

[Bishop]

Purpose. The reason for the Watch this Purpose. The reason for the creation or existence of a thing Calling. God's invitation for your participation in the reason for your creation. Destiny. The accumulation and the summation of a person accepting their purpose and stepping into their calling. Destiny. God's intended outcome for you. It is the consummation, accumulation and summation of who you've been created to be, what you've been been created to do, and the way you've been called to do it. God's called you to do a thing, and he's called you to do it a certain way. And if you stop comparing your way to everybody else's way, God will start making ways for other people in and through your life. Somebody say amen to the bishop this afternoon. But here's a quandary that we've got to raise. Here's the issue we got to address. Here's a statement I gotta say. It's one thing to know you have.

[Pastor Darius]

A purpose, calling and destiny.

[Bishop]

It's another thing to know that it's another thing for your purpose calling and.

[Pastor Darius]

Destiny to have you.

[Bishop]

You have it. I know that because God created you with purpose calling.

[Pastor Darius]

Destiny.

[Bishop]

The question is, does it have you? Does it have your time? Does it have your focus? Does it have your energy? Does it have your attention? Does it have your gifts? Because it's one thing to have it.

[Pastor Darius]

It's another thing for it to have you.

[Bishop]

When it has you, some things change. Your standards shift. Somebody caught that. I'm gonna say it one more time. Somebody caught it. Naturally. I'm gonna see who caught it.

[Pastor Darius]

Spiritually.

[Bishop]

I said your standards shift.

[Pastor Darius]

Okay, I'mma say it one more time. I'll try it again. Your standards shift.

[Bishop]

Because standards are reflection of how you see you. So you can never have a low sense of self and have high standards. And some people's challenges. You're trying to raise your standards, but.

[Pastor Darius]

You hadn't raised your view of you.

[Bishop]

That's why you can raise it, but you can't keep it. But when you get a revelation that you are an image bearer of God made in his image and in his likeness with a set amount of time that he has graciously given you on this earth to accomplish what he put you on earth to accomplish, you recognize your days are numbered. And when you. You do that, your boundaries and your standards become set because you realize, I don't know how much time I have. So I do know I don't have time to waste. Can I get an amen in here? Is there anybody ready to make a decision that I'm about to stop wasting time trying to convince people I'm about to stop wasting time trying to convince myself. I want to be who God is.

[Pastor Darius]

Has called me to be. It's one thing to have destiny. It's another thing for destiny to have you. How many want purpose, calling and destiny to get you? How many right now, it's not even New Year's Eve.

[Bishop]

How many? How many know you need to make.

[Pastor Darius]

A decision in 2026 to stop playing.

[Bishop]

With your purpose, stop procrastinating with your calling, stop delaying your destiny.

[Pastor Darius]

If that's you, there's something I need to share. Okay, I said, if that's you, there's something I need to share. I need to know. Do I have your permission to share this? The balcony. Y' all didn't say nothing to you, boy.

[Bishop]

I said, do I have your permission to share this?

[Pastor Darius]

Okay, do you want me to share it? Do you want me to share it now? You want me to share it right now? Okay, well, since.

[Bishop]

Since you asked.

[Pastor Darius]

Since you asked, I need to share that. Many individuals will get to the end of their life only to discover they didn't do with it what they were supposed to. Here's what I mean. It's not that they didn't participate in their purpose, it's they didn't fulfill it. And many people confuse participating with fulfilling. Doing. Part of what I've been created to do is participating. Doing. All I've been created to do is fulfilling. And some people confuse participation with fulfilling. I want you to see the consequences of participating and not fulfilling through the lens of Jesus fulfilling His purpose. Because if he only participated but didn't fulfill, where would we be? Thank God for two. For two fish and five loaves of bread. But that was participation.

[Bishop]

Thank God for the sermon on the mount.

[Pastor Darius]

But that was participation.

[Bishop]

Thank God for Lazarus getting up out of the grave.

[Pastor Darius]

That's participation. Because Lazarus getting out of the grave fix his life, but Jesus getting out of the grave fix mine.

[Bishop]

He fulfilled. And I believe the Holy Spirit is using scripture this morning to push you, to challenge us, to encourage us not just to participate, but to fulfill. So that at the end of our life, our testimony is similar to the testimony of the Apostle Paul. I finished my course.

[Pastor Darius]

I finished my course. I kept the faith and I fought a good fight. Many people would get to the end of their life and realize I did not do all that I was supposed to do with my life, that I participated in purpose, but I didn't fulfill. I kept kicking the can down the road. I kept delaying destiny. I kept being detoured by distractions. I kept assigning things a place of urgency in my life that it didn't deserve. I kept making other people's irresponsibility my emergency.

[Bishop]

So nothing for them got better, but.

[Pastor Darius]

Everything for me got worse. It's. For those of us that are serious about fulfilling and not just participating. It's something I need to share with you. Do I have your permission to share this with you? Do you want me to share this with you? Do you want me to share this with you now? Do you want me to share this with you right now? Okay, here it is. I need to share this with you in order to fulfill purpose and not just participate in it. You have to accept that there will be aspects of your purpose you won't understand and aspects of your purpose that you don't agree with.

[Bishop]

We were doing so good. It was so. It was so energetic and enthusiastic. I mean, let me say it again.

[Pastor Darius]

There will be parts of your purpose. God will invite you into things that you don't understand and invite you into things that you don't agree with. And this is a shocker, because many operate with the understanding that God requires your agreement before he picks your assignment.

[Bishop]

Many of us, we don't even know we're operating with this assumption.

[Pastor Darius]

It's an unconscious assumption that God consults my opinion. When it comes to selecting my assignment.

[Bishop]

But I was reading the book of.

[Pastor Darius]

Matthew and I saw something that debunked that myth and arrested that assignment.

[Bishop]

I'm reading the book of Matthew and I'm reading a story where the star, for lack of a better word of this story, is typically a woman named Mary. And Mary should be the star. But there is someone else in the.

[Pastor Darius]

Story that, in my opinion, is incredibly.

[Bishop]

Consequential but often overlooked.

[Pastor Darius]

And his name's Joseph.

[Bishop]

Today, Joseph wants to talk to us about parts of your assignment that you may not understand and you may not agree with. Y' all got a little time?

[Pastor Darius]

I got 15 minutes. Y' all good.

[Bishop]

Here it is.

[Pastor Darius]

Here it is.

[Bishop]

This story exposes us to a man.

[Pastor Darius]

Named Joseph who is.

[Bishop]

We would use the word engaged.

[Pastor Darius]

He's engaged to a woman named Mary.

[Bishop]

Now, during this cultural context, engagement was different. Once you proposed.

[Pastor Darius]

And she come on.

[Bishop]

You rented the room, you flew all her friends in. You put rose petals all in the room. You're in it. You got candles around, and her girlfriend's in her mama's in town. Everybody crying. It's like, I thought I was going to dinner. And oh, my God. And you, when you got down on.

[Pastor Darius]

That knee, it was legally binding. It's called betrothal.

[Bishop]

Am I making sense?

[Pastor Darius]

Yeah, it was legally binding.

[Bishop]

It means.

[Pastor Darius]

I want you to catch this.

[Bishop]

It means that in order to break the engagement, even though during betrothal, you could not consummate the marriage. And typically, betrothal lasted at least a year. And one of the practical reasons for that, and I won't bother this, but I am going to teach on this next year. One of the practical reasons for that was to give the man time to practically prepare. We can't eat love. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. We need love, but we can't eat love. And the kids can't wear love. And the lights don't run off love. And the car doesn't run off love. So it gave the man time to raise his level of responsibility. Because covenantal love shows up in the.

[Pastor Darius]

Form, not just of affection, it shows up in the form of you being responsible.

[Bishop]

I can't say, as a pastor, I.

[Pastor Darius]

Love you and manage my life outside of you irresponsibly. Did you hear what I just said?

[Bishop]

I can't say I love my family and give them hugs and kisses and then outside my family's presence, make decisions and choices that put the welfare of my family in jeopardy.

[Pastor Darius]

Love.

[Bishop]

Almost with the boomerang.

[Pastor Darius]

I'm sorry.

[Bishop]

Come back, Darius. Love should show up looking like responsibility.

[Pastor Darius]

But Pastor, he, a good man, is irresponsible. Pastor, he in church and a. And when I stand in the.

[Bishop]

He in church and sometimes I'm in.

[Pastor Darius]

My garage, that don't make me a car. Let me go.

[Bishop]

Somebody missed it. Who got. I stand in my garage, that don't make me a car. I said I wasn't bothering this, Rick. I'm Not. I'm not even talking about this. But sisters, you do need to know.

[Pastor Darius]

Because this, this a equal. This is a equal church, equal opportunity. Now, sisters, y' all was just amening me.

[Bishop]

Don't get quiet on me.

[Pastor Darius]

And there are some men who ask for time not because they're running from commitment. They understand the weight of responsibility. And there are some areas, maybe even.

[Bishop]

In their own life, that you, that.

[Pastor Darius]

You hadn't made them feel safe enough for them to divulge to you.

[Bishop]

Oh, so they trying to work on stuff they hadn't told you about, and because they don't feel safe, you feel like they being slimy. I need to. I need to hit a. I need to hear the fellas back in. The bishop up right now.

[Pastor Darius]

He carrying stuff he don't know how to talk about yet. And you like, why won't you talk about it with me? And he like, sometimes it's not that you've made me feel safe. It's. I've been unsafe so long, I don't even know what safety feel like yet. So sometimes they working through stuff they're not ready to talk about with you. But anyway, that's not what we're talking about. This. Joseph, I'm back. Joseph is betrothed, right? So he's working, he's preparing practically to be able to take care of Mary. Make sense? He's doing his part. All of a sudden, Joseph at the house, he playing Madden. He get a text. It's from Mary. She say, we need to talk. Joseph is a man. So he get nervous. But he said, I'm on the game right now, just call me. She said, we need to talk in person. He like, oh, my. So he get in the car, he drive over to Mary's house. It's three o', clock. And normally, even though they just got engaged, so Mary always done up when she see him.

[Bishop]

She not quite there yet.

[Pastor Darius]

But see, she's so stressed today that when Joseph get there, he ring the doorbell. She open the door, she's so stressed. He see her lashes off, no lashes, bonnet on. It's three in the afternoon. She grabbed his hand, She grabbed his hand. She walks, she sit down on the couch. She look at him, she say, you know I love you, right? He said, yeah, baby, what is it? She says, I'm pregnant. He take his hand back. He said, you what? She said, I'm pregnant. He said, how you pregnant? We don't. We hadn't come.

[Bishop]

I knew Jackboy55, that was always liking your pictures. I told you Nobody keep double tapping that much on these pictures unless y' all know each other. It's Jackboy55, ain't.

[Pastor Darius]

She say, no, I haven't been with anybody, I promise you. He said, you're telling me you're pregnant? Well, how you get pregnant? She said, God.

[Bishop]

Guys, I'm. I'm just contemporizing the text, but I'm just bringing this to 2025.

[Pastor Darius]

That's it.

[Bishop]

Okay? I'm taking some exegetical liberty and bringing this to 2025.

[Pastor Darius]

She said, God. He said, what she say? Well, I was chilling, and then an angel came.

[Bishop]

He said, angel?

[Pastor Darius]

What?

[Bishop]

Angel came to me and was like, blessed art thou among women.

[Pastor Darius]

Blessed and high. Yeah, high favor.

[Bishop]

And they told me I was going.

[Pastor Darius]

To carry the seed of. Of.

[Bishop]

Of the Son of God. And I was like, how can this be?

[Pastor Darius]

Since I don't know a man.

[Bishop]

And they said, the Holy Spirit's going to do it.

[Pastor Darius]

And then I'm pregnant. And Joseph is a godly man, a patient man, an empathetic man, a praying man, a kind man who got his keys, walked out the door, got in his car. And. So this is why the text says, in his mind, he had made up to divorce her quietly because you couldn't break the engagement without divorce. But there are two options with divorce. That was public divorce, which led to public shame and her wearing the proverbial scarlet letter. And she could even, in some cases, be subjected to stoning. And then there's quiet divorce, where between her and him and two or three witnesses, they absolve themselves, emancipated themselves from the agreement. She went on to live her life, he went on to live his. And even though he is deeply wounded, he is deeply hurt, and he believes she's being dishonest. He still said, I'm going to do it privately. Even though he feels like he's been done wrong. He does, in the words of Ryan Leaks, something very specific. He says, I'm not going to match your energy. I'm going to hold my standard. So how I treat you isn't based on who you are or what you do to me. How I treat you is based on who I am. So he says, I'm gonna do it privately. And he's sleep. I don't have time to bother this. But he's sleep, guys. While he's sleep. While he sleep. While he's sleep. Because there are certain things that God does when you're asleep. And when I say sleep, I don't mean sleep literally. I mean Sleep, metaphorically. Because sleep is a time where you're inactive. Ooh. Sleep is a time when you're at ease. Sleep is a time where you're not busy, engaged in so much activity. Sleep is a time where you can actually position yourself to hear. And you'd be amazed.

[Bishop]

I don't have time.

[Pastor Darius]

But you. You'd be amazed. Adam, what can come out of you if you sleep? Did you hear? Did you catch what I. Did you catch what I just said? Yes.

[Bishop]

Yeah.

[Pastor Darius]

You'll be amazed what can come out of you if you just sleep. If you get still long enough. So when Joseph is still, he's asleep. Here's what happens. An angel comes to him in a dream, says, hey, do not. Here's what he says. Joseph, son of David. He calls his whole government and kingdom name son of Joseph, son of David. Joseph isn't literally David's son. He is from the lineage of David, the David that defeated Goliath. So he's reminding of him of his identity while introducing him to his assignment. He says, you come from a lineage that don't run from giants. You run to them.

[Bishop]

You don't run from hard things. You've been built for hard things. Other people run from hard things, but you don't run from hard things. That's not in your blood. And I don't know who I'm talking to in here today, but you need to know that you come from a spiritual bloodline that does not run from hard things. We've been built for hard things. And just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's not destiny.

[Pastor Darius]

He says, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, for the thing that she has conceived is from the Holy Spirit. So watch what he says next. He says, so this is what you need to do. She's going to give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name that Jesus. Joseph had the responsibility to give Jesus his name. You name it. Now let me ask you something. I want. I want the brothers and the sisters. Let's be honest. This is a difficult assignment to accept, But Joseph's life reveals to us there will be aspects of your assignment that you have to accept that you might not fully understand nor even agree with. That.

[Bishop]

That God.

[Pastor Darius]

Let's wrap up Tario. That God will require some things of you that don't quite make sense and that you don't fully agree with. But Joseph's calling to raise and protect, to name, to raise. And I'm gonna show you next week to Protect Jesus was actually a compliment.

[Bishop]

Joseph like, well, I got to do this.

[Pastor Darius]

He doesn't realize it's a compliment. God's like, I can't trust anybody and everybody. Watch this. To carry out. And an assignment to carry out. An assignment that when people are reading the story, that seems less significant. Come on here. Joseph had a career. He's a carpenter. Probably had a carpet carpenter company. Jesus was a carpenter. But he would be known desean, not by what he did, but who he raised.

[Bishop]

Where. What happened to all of the energy? I said he would be known by what, not by what he did, but by who he raised.

[Pastor Darius]

In other words, the thing he thought.

[Bishop]

He would be known for may not have been the thing he ended up being known for. And he had to realize and recognize that God doesn't exist to do what I want. I exist to do what he wants. And it is his responsibility to make my name great, not my responsibility to make my name great. So if my purpose in this season is to partner with Mary.

[Pastor Darius]

Then I'll come alongside someone and protect what I'm not even carrying. And many people are missing their purpose because the only person they see in the text is Mary. And they assume that if you're not carrying it yourself, you're not in purpose. But sometimes God calls you to come.

[Bishop]

Alongside someone who's carrying something that God has given them. And you're us. Come on here. And your assignment is to help bring it to pass. And your assignment assignment is to help raise it. And your assignment is to help protect it. Sometimes purpose requires that you're Joseph. You don't always get to be the star in the story.

[Pastor Darius]

And people are missing their assignment because they're addicted to being the star.

[Bishop]

This might be one of the several.

[Pastor Darius]

Reasons that Jesus Christ himself said, Jesus the Christ, the anointed one said, there is no greater man that's born among women than John the Baptist. Because John was so obsessed with his assignment and not his own ambition, he said, my assignment actually requires me to decrease.

[Bishop]

You know how solid spiritually you got.

[Pastor Darius]

To be, you know how healthy emotionally you got to be.

[Bishop]

You know how clear you got to be to say, my assignment is actually to decrease.

[Pastor Darius]

So that he might increase. Going to be things that God ask of you that you don't understand and that you don't agree with. They're going to be seasons he will walk you through, and you won't understand and you won't agree with. There will be certain seasons of adversity for which you never get an explanation. You know you know what the Spirit said to me one time? So, Darius, here's the reason I'm not giving you an explanation, because there's no explanation I could give you that would satisfy you. So even if I told you why I did it, you still going to ask me? Wouldn't I do why? Wouldn't I do it another way? So, Darius, when you ask me, what am I doing, I'm asking you, do you trust me? Do you hear Pastor say, do you hear Pastor? What's I. I talked all this time just to say one thing. This text teaches us that destiny requires detoxing from rationalism, not rationale you need. God's giving you common sense. He wants us to use rationale. Rationale says, I use my reason as a tool. Rationalism says my reasoning is truth. That way, if it doesn't make sense to me, then I don't think it's true. Rationale says my reason is a tool. Rationalism says my reasoning is my master. So I only obey what I understand. So when God's calling me into something, instead of acting immediately, I'm spending time negotiating with him because I require understanding before obedience. And what I found is that a lot of what we call rebellion to God's commands is actually rationalism that's governing people's lives. So when he say, love your enemy, rationalism says, that don't make sense. So we cherry pick the passages in the Bible. We obey so we're not in submission. We're in agreement. It ain't bad length, bad grammar, good theology. It ain't submission until there's disagreement. Look at me. And sometimes you and God are not going to agree. But you got to accept what you don't understand. You got to accept God's pick. Joseph is probably thinking, why me? Everybody that God used greatly in scripture felt that way. Moses like you. Why? Why me? You got the wrong one. I'm slow of speech. I don't even like the front. I like the back. And God's like, so I'm smart in everything I do, except for when I pick you. I pick you. Maybe because there's some things in you that you don't see yet. I see the value you don't see. You are saying, you can't do this. And I'm like, that's exactly why I picked you. Because you will never try in your own strength. You know you don't have it all together. So you have a childlike dependence on me. That's why I picked you. Am I making sense? Guys got to accept God's pick. You got to accept God's plan. You got to accept God's process. You got to overcome people's perception. You got to rely on God's power because they're going to be aspects of your assignment. I'm not saying everything that's a part of your assignment you will hate. I'm saying they're going to be parts of it. You're going to have to learn to love. Cuz accomplishing purpose isn't God just blessing your plans. It's him showing you his and saying mine are better than yours. Boy, if I had time, I would.

[Bishop]

Take you to Jeremiah 29 and I.

[Pastor Darius]

Would remind you of what the prophet.

[Bishop]

Jeremiah said to people that were in exile. If you quote that scripture, but you don't know the context in which that prophetic proclamation was made, you're robbed of the richness of it. These people are in exile. They've been stripped from their homeland. They've been. They've lost loved ones. They've gone through grief and poverty and destruction. And in the midst of suppression and oppression and depression, God tells Jeremiah, tell my people I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. My plans are better than yours.

[Pastor Darius]

So whenever there's a gap between what God is doing and what you understand, you got one choice. To fill that gap with doubt and suspicion and cynicism or fill that gap with trust. I don't understand and I don't even know if I agree. But I submit. Because your plans are better than mine and your ways are higher than mine. The other day I was. Last week I was on Tick Tock. A couple weeks ago, maybe I was on Tick Tock and I saw the. I was watching. Somehow lawyer stuff always come up in my feed, I guess because I be arguing cases. But anyway, in my head, I'm Matlock. Some of y' all too young. Google it. Matlock. And I saw the Harvard versus Yale game and the African American alumni from the law school at Harvard got together and I'm watching all the stuff that they're doing on TikTok. And many of you, some of you may know that my plan prior to going to seminary was going to law school and. But I submitted law school to the father and I, I, I'm looking at that. And I felt something. I've been out of college since 2001. Do you understand how long that is? That's a long time, lady.

[Bishop]

That's.

[Pastor Darius]

Oh, I've been Out of college, I'm older, I've been out of college longer than you've been alive. And 20 something years later when I saw that, something rose up in me like, man, what if? 20 something years later he rose up like, what if? How much easier would life have been for you? You don't have the bubble, you don't have the pressure, you don't have the stress. And because my father taught me work ethic and excellence, I got that from Timothy Daniels. My father taught me to fight with this. If God, if it had been God's will, my belief is the same way I approach theology and ministry. I would have took that same energy to law. I'm gonna try to be one of the best. And I'm feeling that rising me 20 something years later. And it taught me something Abraham had to offer Isaac once. There are some Isaacs you're going to have to keep offering. I don't know if some of your want to's are ever going to go away, but will you submit your want to's to your supposed tos?

[Bishop]

Come on, let's have a real conversation. Let's have a biblical conversation on purpose. It's not just you getting to do what you want with life.

[Pastor Darius]

I'm trying to save you time and energy and tears of trying to force something that he didn't form you for. Could you do it? Yes. The question is not can I, it's are you called to? And I'm not saying God's asking any of you to give anything up. I'm teaching this just so that if he does, you've already given him an answer. My answer is yes, Father, I accept the assignment even when I don't understand the assignment. I trust you now. You're trusting him with your health, you're trusting him with your career, you're trusting him with your resources. My question is, are you willing to trust him with your life's purpose? I trust you to use my life in the way that brings you the greatest glory. Even if I don't understand it and even if I don't agree with it. I thought I'd be married by now, God, but you chose something different. I accept the assignment. Even if I don't understand and I don't agree. I thought I'd be further down my.

[Bishop]

Career path right now, God, but that's not the case. I accept the assignment even though I don't understand and I don't agree. I thought my career would be in.

[Pastor Darius]

Business this and now my career is in that. I don't understand it but I agree. My wife's degree is in software engineering. She's a computer programming maker at the Stennis Space center in Bas St. Louis, Mississippi. And when God called me to seminary she gave up a career and goes from a Programmer at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, the Stennis Space center. And she is a a computer programming teacher at a charter high school in New Jersey to keep us off welfare there cuz they wouldn't give us stamps. But my oldest son Self is a wick baby. You can have it. My life's this degree is yours.

[Bishop]

I got the degree but it's yours. Whatever you want to do in my life, it's yours. I tr I trust. I don't trust me. I trust you. You it's yours.

[Pastor Darius]

So today I just want to encourage you to give him a yes. He hadn't even maybe he hadn't asked the question yet but he will. There's going to come a time. Listen to me. Everybody's going to have to offer an Isaac. But he never offered asked you to offer an Isaac when he doesn't have a ram tied in the thickets. Hello ram. They missed it.

[Bishop]

Look at the ram.

[Pastor Darius]

I would have missed.

[Bishop]

Willing to offer in Isaac the blessing. I would have missed the people I would have never met. The people my children would look at. What I would have missed.

[Pastor Darius]

Over career, over some money. And now I got family that if.

[Bishop]

They got half a ham, if we got a ham sandwich if they got a ham sandwich and I'm going hungry, they'll cut the ham sandwich in half and give me. I wouldn't have got that in law. Y' all aren't talking to me. I wouldn't have got people that love my children like they're their grandmother. Ms. Janet I wouldn't. I wouldn't have that if I was in law. God's plans are better.

[Pastor Darius]

I wouldn't get a chance to watch what God is doing in some of your life. I wouldn't have met your daddy. And it's not easy. I know I'm talking, I'm talking spicy right now. It's not easy but it's worth it. He's worthy of it. Your plans, not mine.