Sermon Tone Analysis

*Don’t Change Your Address*

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Daniel 9:20-23

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We live in a world where people are bogged down with burdens, perplexed with problems & tripping over trouble.

These issues of life have forced all of us to pray at one time or another.

Yes every one of us here today has prayed at one time or another.

Maybe you prayed for a sick child, an injured spouse, a job lost, or a bad report from the doctor.

Maybe you prayed for deliverance, if you are saved you had to pray for salvation.

No matter what the case maybe, we all have prayed.

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Maybe that was your first prayer.

“Our father which art in heaven, hollowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven, give us this day, our daily bread.

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power & the glory, forever & ever amen.”

That may be the only prayer you know.

But nonetheless, we have all prayed.

Somebody’s prayer was answered in a moment a twinkling of an eye.

Somebody else’s prayer was answered over a period of time.

Somebody here just got an answer today.

Yet somebody here is still waiting for an answer.

Just in case you are still in the waiting group, I want to share with you today how to get an answer.

Anybody interested.

Don’t change your address.

Waiting can be the hardest part of any thing.

Waiting in the cold for the bus.

Waiting in a courtroom for the verdict.

Waiting on the results to come back on test.

Waiting on God, for an answer.

Yes waiting is hard on the mind, but you still got to wait.

The songwriter said, “You can’t hurry God, you just have to wait.

He’s never in a hurry but He’s never late.

So while you’re waiting, don’t change your address.

There are three things that can make even the most sanctified soul want to relocate, they are times of challenges, times of crisis & times of confusion.

But if you want to hear from heaven then don’t change your address.

Daniel lived in perilous times.

A time when his people Israel was living in captivity, the temple had been destroyed & all the people of position & power had either been killed or enslaved.

My brothers & sisters If there is ever a time to pray it is when we are held captive by people, problems & persecution.

But if you want an answer to your prayer you must have the patience of Job to wait, the conviction of Paul to be steadfast, unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord, then you must have the humility of Daniel & don’t change your address.

What do you mean preacher, don’t change your address?

I mean your humble position before the Lord.

If your heart was broken when you prayed, then stay broken until God mends it, until you get an answer.

If you had a contrite spirit when you fell on your knees then you need to stay there.

For the bible says in Isaiah 57:15, not only does God dwell in the high & holy place but also with those that are of a contrite & humble spirit.

David said it psalms 34:18, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart & a contrite spirit.”

So if you want an answer from God, don’t change your address.

If we pay attention to the life of Daniel we will find that he like you & I faced many challenges, crisis & confusion.

Daniel’s homeland Judah had been destroyed at the hand of the Babylonians.

It was the custom of the Babylonian people to take the cream of crop,  & train them for service in the king’s palace.

Daniel was chosen for this service.

Even though Daniel was a Jewish captive, he had it going on.

For he was a dream interpreter for king Nebuchadnezzar, he was educated in the king’s court.

The king gave him gifts & made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon.

Daniel was the chief of all the governors.

It does not matter what position you hold in life, where you live or what people think of you, there are some challenge we all will face in this life.

Yes Daniel was the man, but Daniel was not without challenges.

For in chapter one, Daniel & three of his homeboys Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah, ya’ll know them, Shadrah, Meshach & Abed-nego.

These four young men found themselves faced with all kind of challenges.

The challenge of learning a new language.

They faced the challenge of having new names, Daniel meaning  “God is my judge” now is called Belteshazzar, Hananiah meaning, “ Jehovah is gracious,” now is called Shadrach.

Mishael meaning, “Who is like God,” now is called Meshach, & Azariah meaning, “Jehovah is my helper,” is now called Abed-nego.

They faced the challenge of a new home.

No more temple to worship in, no longer did they have the influence of their godly parents.

Maybe it was them that first said, “Lord don’t you know, I have no friend like you, if heaven is not my home, then Lord what shall I do.”

Some of us love the opportunity to be a stranger in a strange land so we can do whatever our heart desire.

But now they faced the challenge of standing up for God & defying the king’s order.

The king had commanded they be fed with the same food he ate, to drink the same wine he drank.

The same food they offered to their god before they at it.

But these young men stood on what they believe.

For the bible says, Daniel purpose in his heart that he would not defile himself.*

Daniel* knew the requirements of the Law governing what he should and should not eat and drink.

Daniel’s desire was to please God in all he did.

So he *resolved* that even though he was not in his own land but in a culture that did not follow God’s laws, he would consider himself under the Law.

Even though he had a change of physical address.

He didn’t change his spiritual address.

He remained humble before God.

Because of his commitment to God, the bible says God showed favor unto Daniel.

If you want favor with God, you got to be humble before God, not just on Sunday, then live like a Babylonian the rest of the week.

Makes no difference where you call home.

Makes no difference what your name is or was.

You can move to china, change your name to Muhammad, learn to speak Greek, Hebrew, or Chinese.

If you want and answer from God, you must stay in humility to the voice of God.

Whatever your challenges maybe today, if you are on the Lord’s side.

Don’t change your address.

Thank you brother Job.

Job faced challenges.

You name it.

Job had it.

From death to disease, Job’s wife challenged him, to curse God & die.

But like Daniel & his crew, Job purposed in his heart.

Listen at him, “ Thou He slay me, yet will I trust Him.

Naked I came out of my mother’s womb & naked I shall return.

The Lord gave & the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

For I know that my Redeemer liveth & that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.

Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”

You got to purpose in your heart, to wait & don’t change your address!

Then there are the crises of life.

A crisis is defined as a turning point for better or for worse.

It’s a decisive moment.

A situation that has reached a critical phase.

It’s the Rubicon of life, a point of no return.