We're gonna go ahead and get into God's Word then We're gonna be reading in Daniel chapter 6 if you want to go ahead and start turning there I got a backyard neighbor funeral doesn't sound like a joke does it? Mr. Green peered over his fence noticed that the neighbors little boy was in his backyard filling in a hole curious about what the youngster was about was up to Mr. Green asked what are you doing Jimmy? Tearfully little Jimmy replied my goldfish died and I just buried him It's an awfully large hole for a goldfish, isn't it? Mr. Green said. Patting down the last bit of earth, little Joey replied, that's because he's in your cat. Got it? Little Philip was spending the weekend with his grandmother after a particularly trying week in infant school. His grandmother decided to take him to the park in the morning. It had been snowing all night, and everything was beautiful. His grandmother commented, doesn't it look like an artist painted this scenery? Did you know God painted this for you? Yes, replied Philip. God did it, and he did it left-handed. This confused his grandmother, so she asked him, what makes you say God did this with his left hand? Well, said Philip, we learned at Sunday school last week that Jesus sets on God's right hand. That kind of came to me as Brad's dog this morning. He's a bigger dog, and he likes to come and have talks with me. And his talks consisted of, as I'm trying to put my shoes on for church, he's sitting on my foot. And he's a labradoodle. I'm like, buddy, you got to move back. We're going to read about prayer. Pastor Glenn had something come up this week, wasn't able to be here for church, but he let me know about midday on Friday. And so he said, can you get a sermon together? Yeah. But it reminded me that we need to be reading and studying and be ready and prepared for what God might have for us. So if those opportunities come up, or if you need to have something ready, that you have it. So I've been reading in Daniel, so that was a perfect spot. We'll be reading about prayer. Prayer is a vital practice that fosters a deep connection with God, provides comfort, and guides individuals through life's challenges. Provides a spiritual connection, serves as that direct line and communication with God. Emotional and psychological benefits, engaging in prayer can provide comfort and peace, especially during those difficult times. Guidance and strength, prayer is not only about asking for help, it's also a means of seeking guidance and strength. Community and support prayer can also foster a sense of community among believers, just like our testimonies mentioned. Conclusion and summary, prayer is a fundamental aspect of a Christian faith that offers numerous benefits, including spiritual growth and emotional support. That's what prayer is. We're gonna learn about what Daniel, about how he relied on prayer. Daniel chapter six, verses 10 through 24 from the New King James Version reads, when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he went home. And we're talking about the writ, the king had just signed a writ that if anybody prayed to any other god then basically him as he thought he was a god then he would be punished. And in his upper room Daniel finds out about this writ, and with his windows open toward Jerusalem he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as was his custom since his early days. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. And they went before the king and spoke concerning the king's decree. Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any God or man within 30 days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? And the king answered and said, the thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which does not alter. So the answer is said before the king that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah does not show due regard for you O king or for the decree that you have signed and makes his petition three times a day. And the king when he heard these words was greatly displeased with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men approached the king and said to the king no O king that it is the law of the Medes and the Persians decree or statute which the king had established may be changed. So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you. Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting and no musicians were brought before him. Also, his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions? Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever. My God, send his angel and shut the lion's mouth so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before him. And also, king, I've done no wrong before you. Now the king was exceedingly glad for him and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel's taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him because he believed in his God. God bless the reading of his word. Daniel was a man of prayer. We often think of this as just this little children's story, right? Daniel, the lion's den, he got tossed in, God protects him from the lions, he comes out. But it's more than just a children's story, it's a story about Daniel and how fervent he was in praying to God, where that's where we need to be. We miss that importance that this prayer gives in our lives. First of all, why did Daniel end up in the lion's den? See, Daniel was put there because of his daily habit of prayer. Now, we call it a habit. It should be a habit that we pray. But when we pray, we should pray earnestly. We should pray with some seriousness. We should pray, mean it. Don't just go through the steps and say, well, I prayed over my meal. I prayed in the evening. I prayed when I woke up. No, we need to pray to God and mean what we're saying. But we need to make that a daily habit, which Daniel did. Do you ever wonder, was he the only one that defied the king's decree? Can you imagine that? Of all the people of the Israelites, was Daniel the only one that went out there and prayed? That would have been a sad spot to be in. We don't have to be that way because we have several here, I know, that love one another and support one another. Daniel might not have had that because obviously he didn't have this. There were no others that would have did not obey the king I don't know that but that that was a sad spot that they singled Daniel out But we know why they singled him out because of his position of power They wanted to knock him down What did Daniel do? I love this though. What Daniel do when he heard about the king? He could have just went and said I'm gonna hide and say my little prayers You know, he could have been one of those people that were you we just hide we don't want to offend anyone and You ever go out to lunch with somebody who prays and they're not worried about offending somebody? They'll pray at their table and be like, oh, God! Everybody's getting a touch of God when you're sitting with that person at the table. That's a good place to be, you know? Because you ought to be proud that you're praying to God. You ought to let people know that you're praying to God. And you ought to be able to let God hear it. Don't be ashamed of your prayer that God has given you. Don't be afraid to speak to God. Don't just quietly do it. Daniel didn't quietly do it. He said, OK. I'm gonna throw the windows wide open. You guys are gonna hear this one. I'm gonna catch it in the wind. You're gonna make sure. He was not trying to hide anything about the prayer that he was giving. He opened it up and he was that guy in that restaurant. He was gonna pray loud enough because he was proud of his God and that was what he did. He spoke to his God. He prayed his prayer with the windows open right by the window. Again, if we notice, it doesn't say that he went and hid in the closet, right? It said that he knelt down on his knees, just as his custom does, in the upper room with the windows open toward Jerusalem. Everyone was going to hear that prayer. He was bold in his actions. Do you think he didn't know what the consequences were, though? You know, sometimes we know, oh, if we do this, we're going to offend our brother or sister. Or, hell, we might get in trouble. That might not be allowed. Well, it might not be allowed. Daniel knew what was going to happen. He knew what the king was going to do. He could have ended up in that lion's den exactly where he ended up, but he did it anyway. I don't believe that Daniel for one minute thought, well, the king likes me. We're good. We're buddies. We're pals. We're friends. He really likes the work I'm doing. He's not going to punish me. I don't think he thought that for one minute. He knew what the consequences were. Sometimes we have to suffer the consequences that the world has for us to serve God. You're not gonna end up if you please the world and offend God you're going the wrong direction We need to make sure we're pleasing to God and sometimes the world's not gonna like that We need to understand that the world is not gonna like it If you go out there and you say you need to live for God, they don't like being told Hey, you're not living the way you should be Should be obvious to you, but you're not they don't like being told that So I don't believe that one minute Daniel didn't know what was gonna happen Because we read in these verses, the king's edict could not be changed even by the king. This doesn't make any sense to me. The king made the ruling, right? And they said, you can't change it. What good is it being the king? I've told you before, you don't want me as your king. I'm going to do anything I want to do. And if I'm going to change my mind to do it, I'm going to do it. In this case, this could not even be changed, even by the king. Because the king loved Daniel, because he spent a sleepless night of fasting with no music. That's why we should never use the absolute terms of never. I'm never gonna do that, and then you gotta eat your words. I hate telling somebody I was wrong. Oh yeah, I was wrong, you were right, I don't like doing that. He used the word never, that never was gonna change. He knew, Daniel knew, not only knew what his enemies were watching him, but he also knew that God was watching him. See, we should be less concerned about what our fellow people are thinking, more about what God's thinking of us. That's the important part. What does God think of what we're doing? I always say, though, it's not always sometimes easy. You may have to go out and make a stand. You may lose friends and family. Some of us may not really care if we lose some of our friends and family. Hey, that's good. I needed to ditch that person anyway. You may offend the world, but don't offend God. Don't make the mistake, well, I'm not gonna do this because, you know, I might offend my brother and sister, but make sure that you're right with God. We should always worry more about what God's thinking of us. Because if we have an enemy, they're always gonna think the worst of you. God's never gonna think the worst of you God will always forgive you for what you do if you're saying here today and you think well boy God will not forgive me for my sin. Whatever your sin is. God will forgive you You just have to ask him for that forgiveness, but God will be there for you But make sure if your enemy who will think the worst of you make sure that their actions don't give them reason to think poorly of you if they had disdain for you and don't like you make sure that it's because you're a witness for Jesus Christ and Because your enemy's spirit should not be the same as your spirit If you're walking in there and we're getting along great and everything going good and our spirits are really meshed together Yeah, boy You better do you don't want to do that? You want to be the one where your spirits just don't mesh It's like the guy walked past in Las Vegas and looked at me and said I don't like you. I Thought why would you even say that? You don't even know me now you get to know me and you may not like me and But I got to thinking he didn't like me because his spirit was somewhere different than my spirit was I thought well you probably shouldn't like me because if you did our spirits would be in the same spot We want our spirits to mess with fellow believers. We want our spirits to mess with God. Don't mess with the unbelievers Don't mess don't mess your spirit with sinners It should not go together Daniel had a decision to make and faithlessness would have been easier see but faithlessness is only easier for one season, right? I hate to tell you We're all not gonna live forever We are gonna die at some point or God's gonna come back and we're either gonna go to heaven or hell See, that's what the doctor I got a couple spots if you notice on my face here on my nose and it was like pre-cancer So he sneakily put something on there and froze him off and like hey that kind of hurt you could have warned me. I Then what he does is even more insulting, starts reaching around my head. He's like, hmm, hey, do you wear a hat sometimes? Do you wear sunscreen? Well, you need to start. I said, doctor, I never had to. This used to be really thick. And then I got to feeling like, oh, there's nothing up there anymore. You guys know, you guys that are shining back at me, we're all going to have to start using a little bit of cream, cover that up a little bit. We're not getting any younger so that that season could be coming to a close and make sure you know where you're gonna go when the next season starts We've got to be ready for that season that we're gonna spend in heaven because that's not gonna be a season. That's eternity Daniel's rewarded on earth for his decision, but you know what? I firmly believe that even had those lions eaten Daniel. He still would have served God and He did not go in that pen thinking, well, God will close those mouths. If God doesn't close the mouth and you're taken right to heaven, that's what God wants from you. That's God's plan for us. Daniel did not go in there thinking, well, Tony and Candy didn't go in that surgery and think, well, God, if you don't heal her and you don't do it my way, then I'm not going to serve you anymore. We have to go in there and say, you know what, God, your will. And if your will is that I have to suffer through this, then your will be done. Too often we say well your will but if your will is that you heal me then I'll be okay with you God Yeah, you did what I was supposed to what you were supposed to that's what your will be done That is not what your will be done means means God your will be done That means God's will and sometimes God's will is we have to go through something and sometimes it's not going to be easy But you know what's gonna happen. God's gonna always be there for you. I I love when we get prayer chains and they go out and somebody will come back and say I could feel the prayers That's what prayer is. We pray for one another so that we can feel each other the power of prayer We don't start that and send out prayer chains just because we like making a phone call and we want everybody to you know talk we don't put a Facebook page out where we have people that are reaching the community because we we like just doing that we do it so that the power of prayer can be felt by others and that even if it goes poorly, like it goes against what we're thinking, that the power of prayer is still there. He would have been rewarded on earth. He was rewarded on earth though, because God closed the mouths of the lions because God had another plan for Daniel and his life. He had more for him. Very, very important fact though, don't forget that Daniel did not know the outcome, but it's always easy for us. You know, we read a Bible story. And what do we say? Well, I don't know why they didn't do it that way. We know how the book ends. It's really easy if you go, I don't know how many of you, when you read a book, what do I do? I flip to the end. I ruin everything. I flip to the end to see what's going to happen, or I'll watch ahead. And they're like, don't do that. You're going to ruin the whole fun of it. Well, I'm just too impatient. I can't take it. Just got to find out what happens See if they could have read the end of the book and they would have known what was gonna happen It makes your decision a lot easier Daniel didn't know what was gonna happen, but you know what he knew he knew he was gonna serve God He knew that he was gonna do what God had him had for him to do It's a lot easier though in that case where if he would have known what was gonna happen I See, when we counsel someone to do the right thing, we can't guarantee that earthly outcome either. But we know the eternal outcome, and that's the important outcome that we have. Why was Daniel tested the way he was, and why do we get tested the way we do? First, we've got to remember we live in a fallen world. Fallen world, we're gonna face testing at some point or other in our lives. We're just gonna do that We are going to if you live long enough, you're gonna face some type of test in your life could be you could be a loved one Could be passing the loved one could be a sickness could be a financial hardship. It could be an injury. We're gonna face something If you live for God your faith is will fit your faith is gonna face tests but when we face a true test from God, it will be sent to strengthen us and And not everyone's going to get the same tests. You can't go in there and be like in school where you can look off your buddy's paper and say, well, I got the answers. No. My test is going to be different than each and every one of you sitting here today. It is going to be a little bit different. And a lot of times, because I don't struggle with what you struggle with. It can always be easy if I say, why are you having a problem with that? Just quit it. Why can you not quit saying that vulgar stuff coming out of your mouth? Just stop. Well, I don't have a problem with that. But when somebody says, why can't you stop having to change something constantly or look at something all the time because of my obsessive behavior? I'm like, I can't stop doing that. I struggle with that. You might not struggle with that. Whatever you struggle with, though, that test is there for you to be strengthened and grow. We're not all going to face the same test. We've got to work on our lives to have an unshakable faith, for when those trials and tests do come, we are ready. Unshakable faith, so that when the tests come, this faith does not leave. Even the strongest faith in God does not mean you will be spared those life's trials, though. There was nothing wrong with Daniel's faith, but it was tested. Remember if we read earlier in Daniel assignment for this week We're at chapter 6 read the first 5 verses shoot. Go ahead and read the whole book read the Bible if you want to that'd be great Read the first part of Daniel though when he's first taken into captivity the king says I'm gonna give all you young men the choices meats and the choices of food from the table and Daniel says I'm not gonna eat from your from your table King. Give me some vegetables and water. Why would he ask for vegetables? I don't get it But he asked for vegetables because he knew that wouldn't have made him look as healthy as the other men. So he said, give those to me for about, I think it was 10 days, and let's see what happens. He did the 10-day Atkins diet or whatever, the opposite, whatever diet it is. 10 days, vegetables, fruit, and what comes back? How does he come back? He looks better than the other guys. Why? Because of something Daniel did? Was it the food that he ate? No, it was because of what God did for him. He passed the test and we can see that testimony he had in this case because he could give God the glory for what was done Daniel was only doing what was right and the jealousy of the others in this lion's den Worked against him This is where I was talking about not being able to control how the others felt Nowhere does it say that he bragged about or taunted the others about his position but what a blessing that Daniel's enemies knew how he would react and When you react to something in life, does somebody say, yeah, that's their character? They wouldn't say that word. They wouldn't have been doing that. They wouldn't have been in that place where they'd say, yeah, that sounds about right. See, they knew that Daniel, in this case, if they said, don't pray to your God, what did they know Daniel was going to do? He was going to pray to your God. It's kind of like in our house. Angels say, don't do that. Oh, that's the thing I'm going to do. I'm going to do that for sure. Get under her skin That's what they knew Daniel. They said man if we tell him not to pray to God, you know what? He's gonna do he's gonna go right and pray to God. That's what he did He went right to his room open the window up caught a good breeze and so praying to God. Hey boys Can you hear it? Can you hear that? I'm praying to God not praying to this King. This King could do nothing I'm praying to the true God the God of the heavens the God that Daniel worshipped and His friends his enemies knew how he would react to that They knew he would defy the king. That's the living testimony that we all should have But in those times of life when we do sin because we are gonna make mistakes and we are gonna send Paul told us that we would send daily But that should be a shocking time and it should be rare We should not be committing the same sin over and over again because then that will be our nature and then your friends and even your enemies Will know that's what you are. They'll know that that's what you are Speaking of Paul and the greatest saints of the Bible, think of the tests that they faced. You know, we think we've got some pretty bad tests, but think about it. I mean, yeah, we look at him, we say all the apostles, you know, well, John, he pretty much made it. He was exiled to the Isle of Patmos. Yeah, after they tried to boil him in a pot. They faced some trials. They were martyred for the cause. They were persecuted so we can get through our trials. But they examined God's word and knew it was worth the cost. They all to one accord developed an unshakable faith. That's what we have to remember. If you remember anything from this week, remember an unshakable faith. Our faith has to be so unshakable that no matter what happens this afternoon or tomorrow, we will not stop serving God. To make that an unshakable faith is something we have to work on. We have to read and be prepared. I would ask myself and all of you, the finger's coming back at me, right? What I like to do, is my faith unshakable? Is there something that could happen tomorrow that would cause me to not serve God, to turn my back on Him? And if I can't say, yes, my faith is unshakable, then why not? What is holding you back today from saying, I have an unshakable faith that I will serve God no matter what? I can't answer the question for you. You have to answer that for each and every one of your hearts. Why is your faith not unshakable? Because God is there to teach you how to get that same spirit. There's so many resources today in today's world that we can learn how to live for God But we've got to make our faith that lifestyle that you do every day that everything about what you do is for God and in God's eyes a lot of times we make we use feelings to make decisions your feelings will leave you astray they will lead you astray sometimes and make bad decisions and I am blessed in my life with my wife, because my wife will tell me the truth. And I need the truth sometimes. Because sometimes my head will get a little big, and I think I'm more than what it ends. You'll be like, no, no. Call me back a little bit. You need somebody in your life that says, eh, no, no. Now when she tells me to wear a tie, that's not truth. That's just opinion, and you don't have to wear ties. We're good on that. You need somebody in your life, though, that will say, hey, You know, maybe what you're doing isn't right Maybe what you're doing isn't for God and that's of somebody that you should value because that's somebody that loves you that helps direct you Because sometimes those feelings will leave you in the wrong direction God may ask you someday to step out on faith and do something that doesn't seem rational also First what do we always tell you make sure it's God that's telling you to do that. I God says if you think that hey I can go out there and in the shape I'm in go out and go run a marathon You may just keel over in two miles It's not gonna happen. But if God tells you to do something you go do it But you must make sure that it's God's plan. But once you establish that it's God's plan then do it with your whole heart Don't do it halfway. Don't live our Christian life halfway for lukewarm. You'll be spewed out of the mouth Don't be lukewarm We have to remember it's God's plan and he knows what he is doing But we got to open up our hearts to God and allow him to prove his faithfulness God cannot force his way and he's got to be invited in you have to ask him in that is why what it Daniel did and Look at the victory that God delivered for him Haven't had he not made it out of the den without those lions eating him alive. He still was gonna serve God Wayne, would you please come and play something for us? We please stand offer an altar call Again, I take this time serious because if you don't know Jesus as your Savior, you need to know him today You need to come to God If you do know him as your Savior, where is your level of faith? I say yours and I remember I include me. Where's our level of faith? Is it unshakable? Is it something we need to work on? I know I need to work on my faith always I The willy guy will do what he promised. If we do, what are you waiting on? He sure has given us many examples over the years. I don't believe we need any more examples. He's already moved heaven and earth for us, given us many blessings, and has many more. Now is the time to say to God, I want that unshakable faith that Daniel had. It's up to you. Please, take this time. The altar is open as Wayne plays. If you need to talk to God, please come down. Somebody will come with you. you