POWER Over Problems

INTRODUCTION

- Turn in your Bibles, this morning, to Daniel 6.

o I believe that no greater passage and accompanying truth can be more helpful

§ When we are considering our theme this year – BOTH PERSONALLY & CORPORATELY for this year and onward!

§ Last week, I made the statement and had the opportunity to remind someone just this week –

· PROBLEMS & TRIALS, IN & OF THEMSELVES, ARE NOT A BAD THING!

o For it is the presence of problems & trials that will evidence the barometric pressure of our spiritual lives!

§ And therefore - should reveal to us just where we stand –

§ In our relationship and close walk with the Lord!

· Hence – the needful improvements –

· To conform us more into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ!

o This Morning, we are going to look into the life of a servant of the LORD – held in captivity for many years, and is NOW facing a dire situation in his life!

§ We ALL are aware of Daniel and the Lion’s Den!

· Hence – the emphasis is placed upon WHAT Daniel HAD DONE, and faithfully CONTINUED DOING

o When the presence of a life-threatening trial surfaced!

§ Maybe – I am speaking to someone here this morning –

· Who is facing trial after trial after trial –

o And you are beginning to wonder if you are going to be able to see the light of day!

§ Maybe you are a young person in the LORD –

· You have NOT been saved very long.

§ Perhaps you are an older saint of the Lord –

· Yet – you have allowed some space

· To creep into your spiritual walk with God

§ No Matter What Your Standing With the Lord is –

· There WILL come a time for troubles & trials in your life!

· And what you are doing currently

· Will dictate just WHAT you will do then –

· And perhaps be an indicator of how well you pull through!

§ LET’S CONSIDER DANIEL AND POWER OVER PROBLEMS THIS MORNING!

- If you have found Daniel 6, and are physically able to stand – PLEASE STAND FOR THE READING OF THE WORD OF GOD!

o Dan. 6:1 – “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;”

o Dan 6:2 – “And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.”

o Dan 6:3 – “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”

o Dan 6:4 – “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he wasfaithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”

o Dan 6:5 – “Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

o Dan 6:6 – “Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.”

o Dan 6:7 – “All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.”

o Dan 6:8 – “Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.”

o Dan 6:9 – “Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.”

§ Let’s Pray

§ And we will continue in our series – ACHIEVING VICTORY IN THE LORD, Starting in 2024, with this title -

“POWER OVER PROBLEMS!”

- When you stop to consider how problems are prepared for – no matter whether it is on a personal, corporate, spiritual, and YES – even on a political level:

o There HAS to be some kind of pre-emptive measures taken, no matter the size of the subject!

§ For one who is seeking to ACHIEVE VICTORY over the FOOD BATTLE –

· Maybe it is the continued practice

o Of utilizing a smaller plate or portions

o Or, obtaining a special kind of eating utensil –

§ Like a spoon with a hole in it!

§ For one who is seeking to ACHIEVE VICTORY over their waning lack of finances –

· Perhaps you MUST take QUICK, PRECISE, & WISE measures soon

o Hopefully by having ALREADY learned to control your money –

§ Instead of letting it control you.

o Maybe, you have already learned to practice the advice of the Apostle Paul

§ Godliness with CONTENTMENT is great gain!

o And you therefore, are faithful to live within your needs, and not always dictated by your wants!

§ Washington SURE needs to learn that principle!

· AND SOON!

o LET’’S GET VERY SERIOUS & CANDID FOR A MOMENT!

§ What about you SPIRITUALLY – Christian?

· Currently, we are NOT experiencing harsh persecution in America!

o Although, I believe that the tide could be possibly starting to shift eventually

§ Persecution, and harsh troubles abound in other foreign countries

o IF you were lined up and interrogated about your faith in God –

§ And the penalty was to be harsh results –

· Beating

· Imprison-ment

· Fines

· Maybe death

§ What would you do?

· What is your spiritual walk with the LORD

· Consists of currently?

· If haphazard church attendance

· If sporadic prayer

· And occasional Bible reading

· IS THE EXTENT OF YOUR LIFE IN CHRIST

§ COME TIME OF TROUBLES & TRIALS –

· YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!

· So – let’s see what Daniel did

· In times like these

I. DANIEL TRANSACTED TESTIMONY OVER TROUBLE. – turn back to Daniel 1.

- Briefly, consider the setting for such a life, conducted by Daniel

o We must take into account where the majority of Daniel’s life took place.

§ You have heard me mention before, the captivity of God’s people by King Nebuchadnezzar -

· In THREE besieging encounters of Jerusalem!

o With these encounters, many captives were taken hostage back to Babylon

§ And Daniel was on of those captives –

· As a very young man!

· Quite possibly a teenager.

§ What is so unique about Daniel is the lifestyle that encompassed him, and later on enabled him to be powerful over problems.

· It all starts with a familiar passage that we are familiar with – in Daniel 1 –

Daniel 1:1 – “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.”

Dan 1:2 – “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.”

Dan 1:3 – “And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;”

Dan 1:4 – “Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in themto stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.”

Dan 1:5 – “And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.”

Dan 1:6 – “Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:”

Dan 1:7 – “Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.”

Dan 1:8 – “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

- That word purposed is a very interesting word –

o It is an action verb describing a resolute forming of a design.

§ In other words, it shows the preemptive measures to take for situations down the road.

· Take for instance, a prayer of David in his testimony before the Lord in Psa. 17:3 –

“Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.”

- The lesson to gain from this is quite simple, yet often left unto the MOST ELITE SPIRITUAL GROUP – preachers, pastors, missionaries, & evangelists!

o The lesson is this – PREPARE NOW FOR WHAT TOMORROW MAY HOLD!

§ The truth is that you will NOT REACT MORE SPIRITUAL IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY

· Than you act and respond in the times of peace and tranquility!

o Truth be told, in times of adversity –

§ YOU REALLY SEE WHO IS SERIOUS OR NOT!

§ YOU SEE THOSE WHO ARE SERIOUS –

· REALLY TAKE EVEN MORE OF A STAND!

a. Notice the Trouble that is Brewing!

- From the beginning of Daniel 1 – situated around 606 B.C

o When in the fall, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem the first time - & captives are taken to Babylon, including Daniel

§ To the second attack on Jerusalem in 597, and 10,000 more captives including Ezekiel are taken back

§ To the final and long attack on Jerusalem in 586 B.C. when the city is all but completely destroyed including the Temple

· Those not killed are taken back to Babylon.

o Many kings have come and gone while Daniel is in captivity –

§ Hence, when we reach Daniel 6 – under Darius

· Daniel is believed to be in his 80’s - around 83 –

o Considering he was taken into captivity around the age of 17 –

§ That is 66 years in captivity!

· There were many notable events that took place

· In the captive life of Daniel

It was DANIEL whom God used to explain and interpret the dream of Nebuchadnezzar

It was DANIEL AGAIN – whom God used to explain a 2ND dream to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4

It was DANIEL – who read the writing on the wall by hand to Belshazzar

*In whom died and was succeeded by Darius as King

**Where we are picking up is only about a year after such events in the life of this captive!

· Follow along in Daniel 6

Dan. 6:1 – “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;”

Dan 6:2 – “And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.”

Dan 6:3 – “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. “

Dan 6:4 – “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom”

- LISTEN UP, NOW! ANYTIME – that you make the effort to stand up for what is right, especially in the eyes of God

o IN DUE PROCESS OF TIME, EXPECT FOR TROUBLE TO BE BREWING!

i. Going off of what Daniel HAD PREVIOUSLY lived out –

1. This CAUGHT the eyes of the king – Darius –

a. Who sought to empower this nobleman –

i. Yet – at the expense of the other presidents and princes.

ii. NOW CONVINCE ME THIS WOULD NOT RAISE THE HAIR ON THE BACK OF THEIR NECKS!

1. AND IT MOST CERTAINLY DID!

2. THEY GOT ENVIOUS!

- HEY! Anytime that a Child of God is ATTEMPTING to do anything great for God –

o JUST EXPECT there to be backlash over the entire matter!

§ Maybe NOT over anything seemingly wrong –

· BUT LARGELY over the matter that they claim to be Christians!

o WE HAVE ALREADY HEARD THAT RHETORIC RECENTLY ON TELEVISION!

§ Over the pushing of Christian agenda!

· Like the stopping of Abortion!

o TODAY! We are beginning to see –

§ Those who are strictly opposed to anything that Christians offer

· EVEN IF IT MAKES SENSE

· AND IS ENTIRELY POSITIVE!

§ And with the highly Satanic influence that is going on today –

· We are seeing Godly Christians

· Being the targets of those in the world!

§ AND BY THE WAY – IF we are living like we preach on Sundays – then we can expect to have fallback from the enemy!

· Hence – if you are just skirting on by –

o If you are not experiencing any kind of troubles & trials –

§ THIS MIGHT BRING TO LIGHT SOME RED FLAGS

· Worthy of your attention!

§ If you are the kind of Christian –

· Who is idle in the workplace

· Who is unfaithful to your spouse -

· Who is living the life, by the world’s standard of doing things -

· THEN YOU MAY NOT SEE MUCH TROUBLE!

· AND, YOU MAY HAVE A HARD TIME CONVINC-ING THE WORLD -

· THAT YOU REALLY ARE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE!

· SIMPLY PUT –

· YOU ARE NOT A THREAT TO THE WORLD!

o BECAUSE DANIEL, AS A YOUNG MAN, HAD PREVIOUSLY PURPOSED IN HIS HEART TO NOT DEFILE HIMSELF –

§ Later in life, as the problems began to mount up –

· Daniel’s testimony trumped the Trouble!

In Spite of the Envy That Was Presently Brewing

b. Daniel Lived a Life of True Faithfulness to God!

Dan. 6:4 – “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”

i. Just to Clear the Record –

1. The Word of God does NOT mention that ALL Christians SHALL suffer persecution. – turn over to 2 Tim. 3

- I have said it before from this pulpit, and it is certainly worthy of saying it again!

o Your walk talks, and talk talks; but your WALK talks louder than your talk talks!

§ You could literally play the part of the Christian very well –

· Showing up to church ON EVERY OCCASION THAT THE DOORS ARE OPEN –

o HAVE HALF THE BIBLE MEMORIZED

§ AND RECITE THE MOST PIETY FILLED PRAYERS EVER HEARD!

· Yet – be truly dead as a door-nail spiritually!

· What Are You Saying PASTOR?

o You MIGHT play the part very well in front of other Christians –

§ Fooling them

§ Fooling the pastor

§ Fooling Yourself

· BUT NOT FOOLING THE MOST IMPORTANT

· WHO IS ALMIGHTY GOD!

o Therefore – you are displaying a CERTAIN MESSAGE upon those who observe you THE MOST!

§ The neighbor who hears the cursing during the week!

§ The associate at work who sees the slackness on the job!

§ The driver on the road who watches the anger displayed while driving –

· Yet sees you walk into this church building

o AND THE SAD PART ABOUT IT –

§ You will probably NEVER hear a word of rebuke from those in the world –

· WHY?

2 Tim. 3:10 – “But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

2Ti 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of themall the Lord delivered me.

2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

2Ti 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

- And I am thoroughly convinced that THIS was the key to Daniel’s lifestyle!

o No doubt, from an early childhood, he must have been taught the TRUTHS OF GOD!

§ That really sunk in, and took hold

§ He thereby learned early to stick with the stuff –

· And when the time came for him to prove himself –

o Living a lifestyle of true faithfulness -

§ IN BEHIND ENEMY LINES

§ Was not a problem

· It was a way of life for Daniel!

· A testimony of faithfulness & integrity!

· And God was watching!

- In Conclusion This Morning – How About You!

o God has been delivering the Message this entire year –

§ Aimed at YOUR ACHIEVING VICTORY IN THE LORD – Starting in 2024 –

· HOW YA DOING?

· Are you seeing ANY kind of difference in your life?

o Has life just been kind and pleasant in your spiritual walk with God?

o For some apparent reason, there has NOT BEEN too many trials –

§ Come to think of it

§ I do NOT believe that I have had ANY trials!

· WOW!

· Thank You, LORD!

o BEFORE YOU GO GETTING TOO CONFIDENT –

§ There COULD Be a TROUBLE or Series of TRIALS just right around the corner -

· JUST WAITING FOR THE PERFECT MOMENT!

o How will YOU fare, in the moment?

§ What are you counting on to get you through?

§ WILL THIS TRIAL BE THE ONE THAT SINKS YOUR SHIP?

§ Could this NEXT trial be the ONE that forces you out of service for the Lord?

· IT MIGHT VERY POSSIBLY BE!

· You could be ONE TRIAL away from drifting!

§ Daniel HAD Power OVER Problems –

· Initially by His Testimony Over the Troubles!

o How’s Your Testimony?

§ Have you lived a perverted way of life –

· Reacting to trials in the flesh?

· And responding in a worldly manner?

§ Have you lived a life of purpose?

· Stayed Upon JEHOVAH?

Resting in the Promises of God?