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All right. Okay. Well, hey, let's go to the word of God. We're going to the book of Luke. I want to start reading at Luke chapter number 11. I started a series last week, goated volume three. And the series is called Power Moves. I need the 10:15 to get a little loud saying this season of my life only making power moves. Clap your hands if you believe it. You receive it while you're clapping. Welcome in our other locations. Gwinnett, New Jersey, Global. Come on, clap your hands. Luke chapter number 11, verse number 11 says, which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? I want to stop the reading of scripture there, and I want to talk from this subject. In our time together, the subject is simple. Let's act like we in an old school church, high five somebody and tell them it's personal. Clap your hands if you're ready for the Word at every location, it's personal. I want to start this sermon with a simple yet significant statement that if you've been a part of our spiritual family for some time, you've heard me regularly repeat this from the platform. The statement is simple. It's on the screens for my note takers. Here it is. The God you see is the God you get. The God you see is the God you get. In other words, how we perceive God is, impacts and influences how we receive from God. We don't determine who God is, but we do determine who we allow him to be to us. And the enemy is aware of this reality. And therefore he passionately attempts to pervert our perspective of God. He wants our view of God to jaded, distorted, contorted and twisted. Because he knows that you cannot get right reception if you've got wrong perception. And so he is so intent on influencing the way we see God, he will utilize and weaponize any things he can get his hands on to impact and influence your view and perspective of of God. He will even use God's people to impact and influence your view of God's person. But I want to know, am I talking to anybody at any location whose conviction and confession is. I refuse to let them ruin my perception of him. You're not loud enough. I'm gonna say it again. I refuse to let them ruin my perspective of him. They may not be all they say they will be, but he is everything he said he would be. They may not do all they said they would do, but he will do everything he said he would do. They may walk out when trouble walks in, but he's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He will never leave. He never forsake. I will not let them change my perspective of him. Because the enemy understands that my perception affects my reception, that the God you see is the God you get. And this is why we can all be a part of the same faith, Christianity, serving the same savior, Jesus, and have two different experiences, because the God you see is the God you get. And here's why. I can claim that with confidence. I can claim that with confidence. Because when the enemy can't get us to see him wrongly, when the enemy can't get us to see God in a wrong way, the enemy tries to get us to see God in a reduced way. I'm going to say it again, and I need you to be louder than that. I said, when the enemy can't get us to see God in a wrong way, then the enemy tries to get us to see God in a reduced way. Because he knows if we have a reduced perception, we will have a reduced reception. But I want to know, am I talking to anybody at any location? And your conviction and your confession is. I want it all. Yeah, I. Come on here. I will not reduce the bigness of my God to the smallness of their opinion. I want it all. If he says he's a healer, I want that. If he says he's a waymaker, I want that. If he says he's a door opener, I want that. If he says he's a heart fixer and a mind regulator and a bridge over troubled water and a lawyer in the courtroom, doctor in the sick room, I want that. Because when the enemy can't get us to see him in a wrong way, he attempts to get us to see him in a reduced way. And this is part of the issue Jesus is addressing in the text in Luke chapter number 11. See, the context of this conversation in Luke Chapter number 11 is a conversation on prayer. Somebody say prayer? Yeah. The context of this conversation is a conversation of the context of prayer. Because Luke chapter number 11, verse number one, records the disciples asking this question, lord, teach us to pray. Now, there's some revelation in this request because we not only need to look at what they asked him to do, let's look at what they didn't ask him to do. They didn't say, lord, teach us how to walk on water. They didn't say, lord, teach us how to open blind eyes. They didn't say, lord, teach us how to raise people from the dead. They said, lord, teach us to pray. Because the disciples had walked with Jesus long enough to know that if I ask him to teach me how to pray, I don't have to ask him to teach me how to raise the dead. If I ask him to teach me how to pray, I don't have to ask him to teach me how to walk on water. Their request contains this revelation. There are some times you ask God for a blessing and God gives you a blueprint. And your willingness to work the blueprint will determine whether or not you step into the blessing. You ask God to bless the marriage. He gives you a blueprint to change your ways. You ask God to bless the business. He gives you a blueprint to make some adjustments. You ask God to change your mind. He gives you a blueprint to arrest your thinking. And if you will work the blueprint, you will step into the blessing. I don't know who this is for, but I want to talk to some people who've been sitting on a blueprint not working a blueprint. You asked for the blessing, he sent the blueprint. He doesn't give the ark, he gives the plans. And what you do with the plans will determine whether or not you survived the flood. I don't have time to deal with this. But this is why procrastination is a weapon of satanic warfare. The enemy has you sitting on blueprints. You need to be building because something's coming that is going to require you to have built the ark already. But I pray before this year is over that God breaks the back of procrastination off your life. Get up and do it. Hit me one time. I said, get up and do it. Get up and do it until doors open. Get up and do it until things turn around. Get up and do it until God does what he said. Listen to me. I'm not trying to over spiritualize something, but I think sometimes in religious context we over sanitize it. And what you call it determines how you fight it. If you call it an issue, you fight it one way, but if you call it a devil, you fight it another. And I am telling you, procrastination is a little fox that is spoiling the vine. It's got you sitting on blueprints that you should be building on. And I pray against feelings of guilt. I want you to feel conviction, not shame. I want you to feel conviction. Because that leads to movement, not condemnation. Because that leads to paralysis. Because some of you now are regretting what you hadn't done. Shake it off. Do it now. How? I said, shake it off and do it now. I should have did it last year, but I'm gonna do it now. And I should have did it last month, but I'm gonna do it now. And I should have did it two years ago, and I'm gonna do it now. But I believe that the God that redeems time is gonna make up for the time that I wasted. I'm gonna do it now. They said, you can be seated. Lord, teach us to pray. But that's not the only revelation in the request. Yeah, these are disciples. These are young men who. These are young Jewish men older than 13 years old. They are sons of the commandment. They've gone through. Come on. Bar mitzvah. So they know scripture and they know prayers. They memorize some prayers. So you have people who have been taught to pray second way. Which location is going to help me preach today? I said, these are Jewish men. They are not. They're not irreligious men. They're not unfamiliar with the concept of prayer. They have been praying a significant portion of their life. But when they're around their rabbi, they have witnessed something that is different and distinct about his prayer life and the results of his prayer that caused them to reevaluate what they think they already know and say, I've been doing this my whole life, but this has never done that for me. But when you do this, a different kind of that happens. So I need you to reteach me what I thought I already knew. We didn't even know another way existed until we got exposed to it. And y' all better come get me. And this is one of the reasons the enemy wants to. Wants to block and stop and hinder exposure. Because exposure awakens in you an appetite for things you didn't know you want it because you didn't know it existed. See, just because you aren't aware of another level doesn't mean there's not another level. Just because this is the best you've seen doesn't mean this is the best there is. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul said God wants to do some things that your eyes haven't seen and your ears haven't heard and your heart has not conceived. Let me see if you'll receive this prophetic prayer. I pray that God pushes you into a season where you look at an area of your life. And your testimony becomes. I didn't know it could be this good. See, you need to know how to receive a prophetic prayer. I'm gonna say that one more time. I pray that God pushes you into a season where you look at some area of your life and your testimony is, I did not know it could be like this. I didn't know I could be this happy. I didn't know I could be this focused. I didn't know I could be this prosperous. I didn't know I could be this anointed. They said, teach us how to pray. And I want you to see what Jesus does. Are y' all here? I said, are y' all here? Okay. Listen to what Jesus does. He gives them what we know as the Lord's Prayer. They said, teach us how to pray. And Jesus said, okay, when you pray, pray like this. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Right? Okay. And so when he gets to the end of what's called the model prayer, for Thine is the kingdom. See, if I had some Pentecostals in here. You know what to do right there. I'm gonna say it one more time because some of y' all forgot, and I need you to remember. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. That means if I wake up at 3:45 in the morning, you're still God. Listen so very often, Elder Goodman, the text is taught, Preach. We stopped talking, but Jesus hadn't. Come on. We stopped talking, but Jesus hadn't. Because after he deals with the practices of prayer, he deals with the perception of the person they're praying to. Come on here. He says in Luke chapter number 11, verse number 11, which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? So after he deals with the practices of prayer, he says, I got to deal with your perspective on the person you praying to. You want me to teach you how to pray? And I gave you some practices, but the practices doesn't work if you don't change your perspective of the person you praying to. He says, for me to take your prayer life to other levels of fruitfulness, I not only have to change. Listen to this. Your practices, I got to change your perspective. Because who you talking to impacts how you talk to him. So I've got to change your view of who you talking to, because who you talking to determines how you talk to it. And I can hear, if you let me listen in on the prayers in your head, I can tell you the Size of the God that's in your heart. Did you hear what I just said? And so what Jesus does in the text is he doesn't just give them this formula for prayer. He says, I need to make sure you got the right perspective of the one that you're praying to. So he subliminally here in the text makes a claim on a character trait of God that is essential to understand if a person's going to shift their prayer life. Can I show you the claim in the text? I said, can I show you the claim he makes? The claim he makes is simply this, that God is generous. I'm going to let you sit with it because you're waiting on something deeper that's deep as that's getting. Here's the claim he's making God is generous. Here's the claim he's making God is generous. And that revelation will cause a revolution in your prayer because you can't even go boldly to the throne of grace if you don't believe God is generous. Come on here. And here's the issue. Some of us have been shaped by reactionary theology. And reactionary theology is when you take a theological stance in reaction to error as opposed to objectively looking at what the Bible actually has to say about that. So here's an example of reactionary theology. Some people will hear prosperity theology, name it, claim it, brab it, grab it, call it, haul it, and then they go all the way to the other end and embrace poverty theology. So you did not objectively look at what the scriptures have to say about it. You just reacted and you went from one extreme to the next. And so in an attempt to not be self centered when it comes to prayer, in an attempt not to be ostentatious and greedy, some of us have reduced the size of your God down to the size of your character. So he's got to keep you in lack to keep you straight. I want to know what location is going to help me preach today. Did you hear what I just said? So there's this reactionary theology where it's almost as if small prayers mean great humility. Second way, it is confusing prosperity theology, which we don't embrace, with a biblical theology that includes prospering in every area. So third way doesn't have a prosperity theology, but your theology includes prospering. Here's John's request or here's John's prayer regarding those he writes to in third John, let me who said I'm going, here I come, it's me and you Today at all the location. It's me and you. I'm here. Beloved, I wish. I'm preaching myself happy boy. Beloved, I wish above all things that you would prosper. Wait a minute. And be in health even as your soul prospers. Am I in the book? So Jesus pushes back against. Against this reductionist view of God. Because if you got a reductionist view of God, you're having a reductionist approach to prayer. And there's some things you won't get cuz your God's not big enough to ask. Mine said, ask me for the nations. Hallelujah. Mine told me, call upon me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you know not. Mine told me in Isaiah 65:24, before they call, I will answer. And while they yet speaking, I will hear. Mine told me and James, you have not. Let's go old school church, every location, look at your neighbor and ask him, are you scared? Yeah, you. You scared to ask for what you want? You scared to ask him to bless it? You scared to ask him to open a door? You scared to ask him to make a way. Not me, not this season of my life. I want absolutely everything he got for me. Lord, I'm running, trying to make a hundred. You can be seated. I got six minutes. I don't know how y' all doing. I'm having a great time. I'm happy in Jesus today. He makes the claim God's generous. That's the claim he's making here. And if God is. If God is. Watch this. This is what's interesting about traits, Charles. His traits don't conflict each other. So with us we have conflicting traits. God can't have any because he's the ultimate expression of integrity. Integrity. Root words in the Latin word for which we get the English word integer, which means wholeness. Not broken, not fractured. He always is who he always is. Not funny. Not two faced. Not one way today, another day tomorrow, another way tomorrow. Yeah, he is. Come on, y' all don't know anybody like that. He's not. Yeah, yeah. No matter what room he in, he God. Don't miss this now. And because he is that, because there are no traits that can conflict. He always is who he always is at the same time. So he's always generous. He can never not be generous. So when he gives, he's generous. And when he takes away, he's generous. When the answer's yes, he's generous. And when the answer's no, he's still being generous. When he opens the door, he's being generous. And when he closes the door, he's still being generous. When people walk in your life, he being generous. And when they walk out, he's still being generous. And people who have this revelation get a revolution in they praise. People who don't have this revelation praise sporadically, but people who have this revelation praise consistently. You say, I'll bless the Lord at all times. Cause if the door open, it's in my favor. And if the door close, it's in my favor. If they walk in my life, it's in my favor. And if they walk out of my life, it's in my favor. Somebody praise him because he's generous. I said, praise him because he's generous. We done. We done. Watch what he says. Which one of you fathers, if your child asks for a fish, will give him a snake, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion, then watch what it says. If you, being evil, imperfect, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father? Now watch how specific he gets on what a good gift is. He says, I want you to know what good gift I'm talking about. How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit? Somebody at every location shall power. How much more will he give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? I'm going to read the text one more time. How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? He said, this is a good gift. Let's make a homiletical loop. He says, okay, if I give you this gift and some other gifts you don't have to ask me for. See the loop? I said, if I give you this gift, it's some other gifts you don't have to ask me for. Because when I give you this gift, this gift come with gifts. Whoa. When I feel you with him, you get his features. His features are his fruit. Did you hear what I just said? All right, we out of here. Don't miss. Is a good gift. Watch this. Not because of what he gives you. It's a good gift because of who he makes you. Uh oh. Everybody look at me. Look at Pastor. We out of here. Look at Pastor. I've been talking 30 minutes to tell you this. The role of the third person of the Trinity is to introduce you. Excuse me. The role of the third person of the Trinity is to make you like the second. Can I say it one more time? We out of here. The primary role of the third person of the Trinity is To make you like the second. The primary role is not to create a frenzy, but his primary role is formation. What's this? There's distinction in his works, but the Holy Spirit triages what's important. So it's salvation first, then confirmation. So it's salvation, sanctification, then service. So the gifts are underneath the fruit. I got to go. Did you hear what I just said? The. The evidence of the Spirit governing your life is the fruit your character carries as a result of his influence. Because fruit cannot be fabricated, but some gifts can. We don't know if that tongue is real. It's not that he doesn't use gifts, but he triages. He says what's first before service is sanctification, before function is fruit. Paul tells believers in Corinth, he said, if I speak in tongues of men and angels, but I don't have fruit, sound and brass take my symbol. So the Holy Spirit is not just a gift that gives me. He's the gift that makes me watch this. But the God you see is a God you get. So if all you see the Holy Ghost doing is giving you something, then your reductionist theology, your reductionist pneumatology is going to give you a reduced experience so you will be functioning and not formed, prophesying great futures for others while you stuck Shabbat ranks. Paul says the evidence of the Spirit is the top three. We'll cover the next three next week. Love, Unconquerable benevolence. The Holy Spirit empowers you to always seek the highest good for others, no matter what they do to you. That take the Holy Ghost, love, it becomes the key that unlocks you and frees you from the prison of the desire for revenge. And that is. And the desire for revenge for the Christian is torture because the flesh want to have it, but the Spirit won't let you take it. So you just frustrated. The Holy Spirit makes me a person of love. The Holy Spirit makes me a person of peace. Joy. Excuse me. Internal sense of jubilation based on the revelation that my welfare, my well being, rest securely in the hands of God. An inner deep gladness. And biblical joy is strength. When stuff is falling apart. This keep you together. That's the Holy Ghost. And peace, an internal sense of serenity that's resting in the revelation that the one who is for me is greater than what's against me. We done somebody to whatever degree you're comfortable, say, Holy Spirit, make me a person of love, make me a person of joy, make me a person of peace. Second way settles for having it. Third Way says, I want to be it. I want to have love. I want to be a person of love, a person of peace, and a person of joy.
Change Church Podcast: "It's Personal" Hosted by Pastor Dharius Daniels | Release Date: June 15, 2025
In the "It's Personal" episode of the Change Church Podcast, Pastor Dharius Daniels delves deep into the intimate relationship between believers and God. Focusing on the themes of perception, prayer, and the Holy Spirit, Pastor Daniels challenges listeners to reevaluate how they view and interact with the divine to enhance their spiritual reception.
Pastor Daniels opens with a profound declaration:
"The God you see is the God you get." (00:01)
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"I refuse to let them change my perspective of him. Because the enemy understands that my perception affects my reception." (Several instances around 5:30 - 6:30)
Pastor Daniels transitions to the scriptural foundation from Luke Chapter 11, highlighting the disciples' request:
"Lord, teach us to pray." (00:01)
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"I pray before this year is over that God breaks the back of procrastination off your life. Get up and do it." (Approximately 15:00)
Delving deeper into prayer dynamics, Pastor Daniels emphasizes the necessity of altering one's perspective of God to enhance prayer effectiveness.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"If God is generous, then when he closes a door, it's still in my favor." (Around 25:00)
Pastor Daniels explores the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in believers' lives, focusing on the development of character and fruitfulness.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"Holy Spirit makes me a person of love. Holy Spirit makes me a person of joy. Holy Spirit makes me a person of peace." (Final Segment around 35:00)
Wrapping up, Pastor Daniels reiterates the central theme of God's unwavering generosity and its impact on believers' lives.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"Mine told me, call upon me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you know not." (Close to the end around 40:00)
"It's Personal" serves as a compelling reminder of the intimate and dynamic relationship believers can cultivate with God. By transforming their perception and embracing His generosity, listeners are empowered to experience a more profound and fruitful spiritual journey.
For more inspiring messages and to connect with Change Church, visit www.lifechange.org.