I'm Not Going Back | Dr Dharius Daniels | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

I'm Not Going Back

Dr Dharius Daniels

Change Church • Oct 20, 2024 • 33 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In this message, Dr. Dharius Daniels unpacks Proverbs 26:11 to show why believers who are called to live at high spiritual altitudes must stop returning to past follies and spiritual sickness. Drawing from the physical reality that airplanes cannot move backward under their own power, he illustrates how we must interrupt our default instincts with Godly wisdom. True spiritual formation requires recognizing our backward tendencies, managing our instincts, filling cleared-out spaces with God's presence, and refusing to step back into places that cannot receive our new identity in Christ.

Themes

Overcoming Habitual FollyInstinct ManagementWisdom and DominionSpiritual Growth and AwarenessBoundaries and New Identity

Pastor's Points

1.

Don't go back if the reason you left is still there.

2.

Don't go back to what's easy to get in, but hard to get out of.

3.

Don't go back if you can't take the new you.

Key Points

1.
Don't go back if the reason you left is still there.
2.
Don't go back to what's easy to get in, but hard to get out of.
3.
Don't go back if you can't take the new you.
4.
Things designed to fly high at high altitudes do not move backward easily under their own power.
5.
A fool's greatest mistake is not the mistake itself, but the refusal to learn from it.
6.
When you allow Godly wisdom to govern your life, you gain dominion over the very things that used to rule over you.
7.
Deliverance is not always the complete absence of harmful instincts, but learning how to manage those instincts intentionally.
8.
The enemy uses selective memory to make us romanticize past bondage while ignoring the pain and slavery that caused us to cry out in the first place.

Sermon Moments

“Airplanes cannot go backward on their own; high-flying things are not designed to move backward easily.”

“A dog's instinct causes it to return to what made it sick, illustrating how repeating folly without learning is spiritual foolishness.”

“What you do not naturally possess by default, you must build intentionally by design.”

“Deliverance is not always the absence of bad instincts, but learning effective instinct management.”

“The enemy uses selective amnesia to make you remember the food in Egypt while forgetting the oppression under Pharaoh.”

“When an unclean spirit leaves, it looks to return; if the house is clean but empty, it brings seven worse spirits with it.”

“When invited back into old environments, remember that if the new, redeemed version of you is not welcome, you shouldn't go.”

This Week

Identify default instincts and emotional triggers that regularly push you toward repeating past mistakes.

Audit past environments or relationships before returning, verifying if the root cause of why you left has actually changed.

Practice 'instinct management' by pausing to talk yourself down and aligning your behavior with scripture when tempted.

Refuse to let nostalgic feelings mask the painful reality of past bondage when facing temporary hardship in a new season of freedom.

Intentionally build healthy spiritual disciplines by design if you do not naturally possess them by default.

Fill newly emptied spaces in your schedule, mind, and heart with God's Word and community to prevent relapse.

Establish clear boundaries with people who prefer or expect the old, dysfunctional version of who you used to be.

Remember This

If you want to live at high spiritual and emotional altitudes, you must interrupt your default instincts with Godly wisdom and refuse to return to what made you sick.

A Challenge for You

Don't go back—your calling is too great, your future is too bright, and God has brought you out of tears into joy so you can walk fully into who you now are.

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