DHARIUS DANIELS SERMON NOTES:

  1. We cannot improve what we will not own.

  2. We cannot adjust what we keep ignoring.

  3. We cannot catch blessings, if we keep casting blame.

In order for us to experience evolution, we need to develop the skill of discerning the difference between a reason and an excuse. Just because the reason is real, doesn’t mean the excuse is right. The reason says something about the situation. The excuse says something about me.

Some helplessness is learned. A mental paradigm where a person sees themselves as powerless, therefore, their welfare and wellbeing is at the mercy of what happens to them. Their circumstances become sovereign, instead of their savior being sovereign.

To live well, you gotta live with boundaries. It’s not God restricting them, it’s God protecting them.

Human beings become their best, in the context of accountability. If you don’t inspect what you expect, what you expect will become suspect.

I would not link up long term with anybody that does not believe in accountability. God cannot teach anybody anything, who thinks they already know everything.

God is teaching us how to confront: when you ask a question, you already know the answer to, it helps you see how many problems you really have.

An orientation toward excuses since Adam & Eve.

We must perceive our part, and overcome our excuses.

Leprosy is a metaphor for our sin nature. You don’t pick your strengths and you don’t pick your weaknesses.

Our reasons to be here don’t have to become the excuses that cause me to stay in this condition. I won’t die here!

2 Kings 7:5-8 MSG

What story are you telling yourself when you hear the sound?

3 Lessons to learn from the lepers:

  1. At some point, they stopped the sulking.

    1. Sulking is human, and at times, it’s an appropriate responses, because it can be grieve. It’s okay to grieve.

    2. As long as I’m sulking, I’m not emotionally sober.

    3. The most under-appreciated life-skill: decision-making. Some of the most spiritual people, make some of the worst decisions. Whenever God doesn’t give me an answer, He wants me to use wisdom!

  2. They understood the power of partnership.

    1. God’s math is multiplication, not addition.

    2. When you partner, your results are multiplied.

    3. Do you have wise counsel in your circle? They can only mentor you and advise you, to the degree that you expose yourself.

  3. They took the initiative for improvement.

    1. Nobody came to get them where they were, they had to go to where help was.

    2. How long are you gonna wait for someone to come save you? What if God meets you on your way up?

    3. The grave wasn’t Jesus’ fault, but the resurrection was his responsibility!

It’s not my fault, but it is my responsibility.

DISCUSSION:

  • Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

    • What do you think this verse means, and how can you apply it better in your life?

  • Romans 2:1 “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.”

    • What do you think this verse means, and do you struggle with passing judgement on others?

  • Do you struggle to let others help you? What does God’s Word say about that?

  • Are you a sulker? How does that affect your decision-making?

  • What are some strategies you use to stay emotionally sober?

STUDY AT HOME:

Read:

Can you think of another place in the Bible where we are instructed to take responsibility for our actions?

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