Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

In Goiania, Brazil, following an epileptic seizure, a homeless man’s dog chased the ambulance that carried him away to the hospital.

The dog was not slowing down and followed the vehicle through busy streets.

Finally, the compassionate crew, realizing the dog would give up his life before being separated from his owner, pulled over and offered a ride.

Once at the hospital, the dog would not leave the owners side.

In Siberia, Russia a dog has been coming to a hospital every day for over 2 years, unaware her master died a year ago.

Her owner was admitted 2 years ago and a patient for about a year.

Masha has come every day in search of her owner, unaware the man has passed.

She still comes, hoping to find him.

A family tried adopting Masha but she escaped and made her way back to the hospital.

Now the hospital staff makes sure she is cared for.

Dogs are known for their relentless faithfulness to their owners, through thick and thin, good or bad they want to be by their owners side ready to do whatever they say.

I think God gave us dogs for many reasons, no less as an illustration of what it means to be faithful.

We are called to be faithful to our God, always wanting to be by his side, no matter the cost, ready and willing to obey.

As we open up Daniel for our final time I think you will be struck with the call to BE FAITHFUL TO THE LIVING GOD

Matt 10:33 ““But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

Matt 24:13 ““But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

John 14:21 ““He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.””

Faithfulness to God is evidence of salvation, faithfulness is at the heart of the Christian life.

Many students struggle with roller coaster Christianity, going up at camp and then downhill at home.

Highs and lows BUT God calls us to steady faithfulness.

AND as we remain faithful, as we love him and keep his commandments we begin to KNOW him even more, we see his face clearer, we grow and we become even more satisfied.

In a age where people will backstab friends for the next best thing, where people abandon God at the sight of a momentary pleasure, where people ditch Christianity because of a tough circumstance.

A FAITHFUL GENERATION is needed more than ever.

I pray you would be the differnence, you’d be holy through faithfulness.

Prop: Be FAITHFUL to The LIVING GOD

Are you faithful in CHARACTER?

v. 1-5

Summary:

Darius appointed Satrap (governors) over the satrap were 3 commissioners (governors report to them) and Daniel was 1 of the 3 and the text could be translated of the 3 HE was NUMBER 1 (SPONGE-BOB)

Daniel was was distinguishing himself ABOVE the rest, so the Satraps out of JEALOUSY began to plot against him but they had no legitimate grounds of an accusation.

0 Corruption, 0 negligence

“extraordinary spirit” = excellent attitude

What an awesome testimony it is to be known for a good attitude.

And here is the best part YOU ARE IN CONTROL of your attitude.

You can decide to be joyful, attentive, happy, nice, communicative, kind OR you can choose to be dismissive, rude, edgy, mean, sassy, salty

Bad attitudes are sinful.

We must not ignore emotion but not let it control us either.

Don’t be the person no one WANTS to invite because your difficult, always kill the party, always sad.

If you know Jesus you know the source of Joy, you have every reason to be thankful.

Your guilt has been destroyed - your sins paid for at the Cross, your sins power destroyed at the resurrection and your waiting for sins presence to be gone because Jesus Ascended and he will take you to where he is.

Now you’d think even with a good attitude people will still find faults in us, still find maybe valid reasons to question our charcter.

Pause here, are you kidding me?!

He is 90 years old and has been in government since his teenage years and they can’t find A thing?

Think about ALL of the attempts in politics to destroy someones reputation and character.

QUICK ILLUS: Brett Kavanaugh when appointed as supreme court justice WAS torn to shreds and even his seemingly clean record was STILL somehow tarnished by finding notes in his college yearbook that were inappropriate, he was forced to become a meme by saying “I like beer” and now MANY Americans still believe he is a CRIMINAL

Daniel has been in government longer the Kavanaugh has been alive - you better believe the 119 Satraps and 2 other commissioners were digging deep and combing through every work he has ever done, finding and interrogating people from his past and FOUND NOTHING

How many of us have that level of integrity?

to the point that our character will hold up under the most intense scrutiny?

How far would we have to dig to find flaws in your character?

Out of these things which ones FALL SHORT?

Academic honesty

100% effort at practice and in games

Never missing a due date

Showing up on time to school or work

Completing all of your chores THOROUGHLY

100% honesty - not leaving out truth or bending it

Refraining from Gossip

Purity in relationships

Purity in content

God cares about your character.

He has called ALL of us to LIVE HOLY.

Holiness does not allow for any area to be sub par or miss the mark.

You may not see these as a big deal BUT GOD DOES.

Ask Him tonight to give you HIS perspective because ours is flawed and confess the areas of your character that have not been in submission to Him.

HAVE integrity.

Be faithful to the Lord, DAY in and DAY out in your Charcter.

Hows this area of your life?

Are you faithful to God in your CHARACTER?

Are you faithful in PRAYER?

v. 6-13

So they couldn’t fault his Character, so what do they do?

Summarize: they collude against Daniel to make his obedience to God illegal

These SLIMY Satraps head over to the King and appeal to his ego by pretty much saying “King your so great we want to dedicate a month to you, you know there is Black History Month, LGBTQ month, Native American Month, they want a Darius month - where nobody can pray to any other God except you.

Darius you know, gives himself a pat on the back and signs away

The satraps take the law run back to Daniels house and post up outside w/ the binos to catch his 12 oclock prayer time v.10 says that Daniel KNEW the law was decreed but prayed 3 times a day AS HE PREVIOUSLY WAS DOING.

And this gets him in trouble with the law

Now I think the main point here is that Daniel didn’t compromise when he was 19 and he won’t compromise when he is 90 no matter the circumstance

But we have to pause and examine the faithful prayer life of Daniel.

3 Times a day everyday same time same place - so consistent that they knew exactly where and when to find him

Daniel wouldn’t and couldn’t stop PRAYING

ILLUS: George Mueller

Cared for 10,000 orphans in his lifetime

One mourning he recorded that the orphanage had ran out of food.

300 hungry children sat down for breakfast but the kitchen was empty, George prayed and thanked God for the breakfast they were about to eat and no more than a minute later, an unexpected baker knocked on the door and brought in food

A wind storm came through and caused lots of damage to one of the orphanages, leaving holes in the roof and broken windows.

With the winds continuing and heavy rain coming the orphanage would no longer be inhabitable.

George prayed for the weather to calm and it did, it held just long enough for the repairmen to come in

Maybe the most amazing story is when he went around the world to share with others about the way God had worked in his life and on his voyage by sea to Quebec the captain had to bring the ship almost to a halt because of the thick fog they found themselves in, it was impossible to navigate through.

George, needing to be in Quebec the following afternoon, asked if he could use the chart room to pray, the captain agreed but stated “Pray won’t help us” after a time of prayer they returned to the deck to find the fog had lifted, the captain a short time later came to Christ

George Mueller believed that God heard his prayers and answered them, so he never made any appeal, request or fundraiser for money.

He would just pray and wait for God to answer

He would go on to see God provide 120 million dollars for the orphanages through his ministry.

In his journals there are recorded over 50,000 ANSWERED prayer requests.

He was known as a man of prayer

What He and Daniel had in common was a life that NEEDED and DEPENDED on PRAYER

Why is it that when we here a sermon on prayer were always convicted yet don’t see lasting change?

BECAUSE we live lifes that don’t see a need for prayer

God desires you to pray, he commands you to pray and ALWAYS answers prayer

Live in a way that REQUIRES God to work, meaning live a life that LITERALLY depends on God -