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Sad But Not Sabotaged

Dr Dharius Daniels·Change Church

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Part of Self Sabotage - Goated Vol. 2

Summary

Every believer faces days of despair and seasons of sadness, regardless of how right or wisely they live. When sadness is left unprocessed or suppressed, it becomes a seed that leads to self-sabotage and spiritual relapse. By examining Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus in John 11, Dr. Dharius Daniels highlights how to honor our humanity, trust God's overall plan over His power alone, and navigate grief by sitting in, stewarding, and surrendering our sadness.

Key Scriptures

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Job↗John 11:33-37↗Ecclesiastes 3:4↗

Themes

Stewarding Sadness and GriefOvercoming Self-SabotageHumanity vs. FleshTrusting God's Plan vs. His Power

Keep growing this week

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.

Continue this series

Self Sabotage - Goated Vol. 2

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When Stubbornness Has You Stuck

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May 25, 2025

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The Burden of Bad Religion

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May 18, 2025

Part 2 · Current

Sad But Not Sabotaged

Dr Dharius Daniels · Change Church

May 11, 2025

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This Is Where I Draw The Line

Dr Dharius Daniels · Change Church

May 4, 2025

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World War Me

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Apr 28, 2025

Surrendering Heartbreak

Pastor's Points

1.Sit in your sadness
2.Steward your sadness
3.Surrender your sadness

Key Points

1.Regardless of spiritual maturity or wisdom, everyone will face days of despair and seasons of sadness.
2.Unprocessed sadness becomes repressed pain that frequently manifests as addiction, anxiety, detachment, or explosive anger.
3.Culture addresses sadness through suppression and self-medication, emphasizing image management over inner healing.
4.Church culture often mislabels sadness as a lack of faith, forcing people to hide behind worship while hurting internally.
5.The King's way honors human emotions, provides space to grieve, and brings hope into emotional heaviness.
6.Humanity was designed by God, whereas the flesh rebels against God; feeling sad or angry is human, while sinning out of anger is flesh.
7.Jesus weeping before raising Lazarus proves that even when you know God is going to fix a situation, you still feel the pain of it.
8.Believers must move beyond having faith only in God's power to having complete trust in His timing and plan.
9.Quick relief through worldly distractions is temporary and leaves the core problem unresolved once it wears off.
10.We can prevent sadness from resulting in self-sabotage by sitting in it, stewarding it toward purpose, and surrendering it to God.

Sermon Moments

“Church culture calls sadness a lack of faith when it's really a sign of love, and spiritual immaturity when it might just be emotional honesty.”

“Being angry is human. Sinning out of anger is flesh. Being hungry is human. Being greedy is flesh.”

“Jesus wept shows us that even when you know God is going to fix it, you still feel it.”

“You have faith in His power, but you don't have faith in His plan. Believing His power says He can raise him up; believing His plan says 'I'll trust You when You don't.'”

“Sometimes bad relief is quick relief. With the right bottle in 20 minutes... but when it wears off, you're still faced with Lazarus being gone.”

“Sometimes it takes running into something you can't fix to remind you that you can't fix everything and that you need a Savior.”

This Week

Give yourself permission to feel human emotion and grieve without feeling guilty about your faith.
Identify and stop any self-medicating behaviors or unhealthy distractions used to numb internal pain.
Reject religious platitudes that rush you through necessary seasons of sorrow.
Distinguish between your fleshly impulses and your natural human emotions when processing hurt.
Practice trusting God's overall plan in situations where He chooses not to use His power to alter your circumstances immediately.
Channel your grief into serving and helping others as a step toward personal healing.
Intentionally surrender deep heartbreak to God in prayer, trusting Him to heal what you cannot fix on your own.

Remember This

You cannot avoid every sad season, but you can prevent sadness from sabotaging your life by sitting in it, stewarding it, and surrendering it to God.

A Challenge for You

Make a personal faith claim today: 'I won't let sadness drive me into self-sabotage. I'm going to sit in it, steward it, and surrender it, and I will grow through this, not just go through this, in Jesus' name.'

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