Emmy (0:00)

Hello, hello, you guys, and welcome back to Saved. Not. So what's going on, you guys? It's been a minute and I went without warning. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't tell you guys that I was leaving because the plan was. Was the last time I was supposed to leave off with a message. I was gonna tell you guys, hey, by the way, I'm going to Indonesia. I'm gonna take a. A peace sign off socials and I'm not gonna few weeks. But then when I came to record the podcast, it didn't end up working out. And then I was just kind of like, okay, God, I'm just gonna give it to you. I. I don't have time. I'm leaving tomorrow. Etc, now we're here. I hope y'all could accept my apology. I'm so sorry. I desperately needed to rest. I needed to lock in while I was in Indonesia and just get into everything that God was telling me to get into. So I apologize and I'm super sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm gonna come with some heat today. God is gonna come with some heat. Not me. Because the way God has just been speaking to me. No, this right here, it hits different when it blesses me first. You know, like this message really blessed my spirit and I'm really excited to share with you guys and kind of share with you guys what I did in Bali, what the Lord did in Indonesia. It was such a blessing to go all the way across the world, quite literally, and to be with 18 random Christian girls. It was a blessing and it's something I will never forget for the rest of my life. This podcast has just blessed me so much. The ministry that I'm in has blessed me so much, and I can't thank God enough. I try to be the best leader that I could, and being here and doing the things that God has had me doing is something I don't take for granted. So thank you guys for supporting everything in the movement of God and what he's doing through this ministry because you guys have a huge part in making disciples of all nations. It's just not me. It's everybody else too. So it's cool being in a ministry to where you're starting to see the fruits in person, especially when it's like mainly online, which is what I was seeing in Bali, which we're going to get more into that etc. If this is your first time and you don't know what the heck I'm yappy yapping about, My name is Emmy. I'm the host of Saved Not Soft. And this podcast is basically a testament to that, that we are saved in Christ, but we are not soft. That is not easy. It's hard. It's not a soft journey. How do you navigate the Christian lifestyle? How. How do you live as a true Christian? And we talk about all things on this podcast, whether if it's. Well, we just talk about Bible and we talk about Jesus. We will always talk about that. That will always be number one in everything that flows out of my mouth. I pray to Jesus and I agree and declare that it is scriptural. Scripturally. There we go. Based. So, yeah, everything's about Jesus on here and about navigating your life, telling you how much he loves you and how much he just wants to pour out his love to you. So, yeah, today's a little different because we also brought the camera. If you're watching on YouTube, a little closer. I wanted to see how I liked it. If we don't like it, it's okay. We could always go back because, you know, some people don't like change. But, you know, I'm optimistic. So I was like, let's just, like, bring the camera in just a little bit and see how it goes if it doesn't work. So totally okay. Totally fine. But, yeah, let's definitely pray and get into this. So if you could please bow your heads with me and I'll lead us into prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you and praise you for today. God, we just thank you that you are a God that is so good, a God that is precious and a God that is mystical. God, we thank you that you are a God that is mysterious. God, that you give us room to wonder about you. God, let us wonder about you today. Father, I thank you that you have decreed and declare us to be the head and not the tail above and not beneath, like Deuteronomy 28:13, Father. And that you have called us to tread on scorpions and serpents, like Luke 10:19, Father God, that the things that are trying to get in our way, you have placed dominion and power inside of us because of your Holy Spirit to conquer these things, Father God, I just give you this platform. I give you my will. I give you anything that could be throwing me back into hindrance. I throw it off in Jesus mighty name. Anything that could be throwing me back from running the race. Well, Father God, I just give it all to you. Anything that could trip me up, Father, I just place it at your feet. Now In Jesus, mighty name, Father, I ask that you just equip our minds and our hands and our hearts to do the things of God. And more importantly, God, that as we're listening to this podcast, that this message doesn't only just hit our ears, but it drops down to our hearts and it convicts us because of your Holy Spirit. Not because of my voice, not because of the way I'm speaking, saying anything, but because of your love and your love only. God, I just ask that the thickest thing that's in the atmosphere here today is your compassion towards your children. Father, I thank you that you are a God who protects, a God who chases after his children, and a God who also rescues his children. God, give us faith today, God, whatever faith we are, we are bringing before your feet, God, I just ask that you increase it, God. We recognize that everything that we have is not from us. It's all from you, God. So just accelerate us, God. Give us a new and fresh understanding and revelation of who you are. Or even remind us of your goodness, remind us of your prosperity, remind us of your good character, God. Make us a people of integrity and a people of character and a kingdom, people who represent you well, God. And more importantly, God, we just ask that you flow our hearts with joy, that you flow our hearts with everything that you have. Father, we thank you for all that you are. We know you're going to do something so good. And I just decree and declare power in this episode. And for your Holy Spirit to speak. God, I ask for you to give me the confidence to speak for God. You to take away any stutter, for you to be the mouthpiece of me, for you to operate through me as a vessel. God, I offer my body as a vessel to you. This is your podcast, not mine. Your platform, not mine, mine. Your microphone, not mine. Your YouTube channel, not mine. Your everything, not mine. Let this message be more about you than it is about us. We thank you, God. We thank you, Holy Spirit, and we thank you, Jesus, for doing the thing that we can never do. We love you. We praise you. In Jesus mighty name, Amen. I'm actually coming with the notebook today. I've been journaling a lot and it's been bringing me a lot of peace because I'm feeling really studious. But not just studious, it feels a little more intentional writing it down on paper and just kind of seeing the word just. Just come to life. I feel like I've been experiencing the word different when I'm actually going from Bible to notebook. That's really been helping the way I've been retaining information. I think when it comes to the iPhone notes and doing the things in the computer or on the online documents, sure is great. But something about Bible to notebook just really. It really instills the word in my spirit and I'm able to meditate on it better, if I'm being honest. So today I don't even know the title of this podcast. Can I be Real? I just knew the story that God wanted me to talk about, and whatever he wants to talk about, I'm just gonna trust that is going to be said and done and bada bing, bada boom, he's just gonna do his thing, okay? Because it's not my strength, it's not my power. Just the Holy Spirit is just gonna do his thing and I'm here for it. We're gonna be talking about Daniel 6 today, and I want to talk about how Daniel was safe in the lion's den. Kind of ironic, the place that could be meant for a tomb is actually a place where you can encounter pure safety from God. And I want to talk about the truth of the matter, the fact that the safest place you could be is in faith. And I know safety is a very interesting topic, especially for me, because safety is something especially when you don't have a positive male role model in your life as growing up, or if you were just tortured by trauma or past experiences or betrayal and abandonment, safety could be really challenging. And I believe that this story shows us the power of faith. And I believe I don't even have to talk about, quote, unquote, safety a whole lot or why we don't feel safe a whole lot. Because I'm just going to talk about faith, and faith is going to answer every single question and every empty hole that you have. Faith is the thing that stirs us up. It's the thing that encourages us. It's the thing that keeps us going. I love Hebrews 11:1 because it says that faith is confidence of what we hope for. And it's not what we see, it's what we don't see. And it's kind of this upside down definition. What do you mean I'm supposed to believe something I don't see? That's faith, right? And I think a lot of people put their faith in things that they can't see, but that's actually not faith at all. That's just evidence, right? If I were to believe something I could see, it would be easy, right? But the reason as to why the Christian Walk is so hard and so difficult is because you're having to continuously put your faith, trust and belief in something that you physically do not see with your own eyes. But you have to believe it in your heart. And I believe all of us are just chasing after that each and every single day. No matter how much you know God or how little you know God, you're forever chasing after his presence and forever deepening your faith and seeing how close to God you could get. Amen. When it came to this story that I was learning about with Daniel and the lion's den and why the Lord prompted it on my heart is because, as I was saying in the beginning of this episode, I was just in Bali, Indonesia. And I'm going to say this flat out. Bali was a very amazing place. It was awesome. The Balinese people were highly. Was it. What's the word? They were very. They were full of hospitality. That's the word. They were full of hospitality. They were generous, they were nice, they were welcoming, they were smiley. They were very nice, genuine people. At the same time, the land of Bali is very spiritually interesting. And the backstory behind me going on to this trip was I had an opportunity through this, this third party company called Shrova Trip last November. They reached out to me, they said, hey, Emmy, like your content, we do group trips and we could set up a group trip for you and a whole bunch of people who follow you can come on this trip and we could take you wherever you want in the world, bro. What? I had to make sure this wasn't a scam because that sounded too good to be true. So I was like, run that. Like, that sounds great. I mean, I prayed about it. God gave me the go and Bali came up. And I didn't know much about Bali. Or can I be more honest? I don't know much about international traveling. I went to Cabo once when I was 15, and then I went to Canada like two months ago. Besides that, I haven't been outside the country ever. So when it came to figuring out where I wanted to go and Bali came up, that was the one that God told me to go with. I didn't know that mug was all the way across the other side of the world. Not across the country, across the world. I'm talking like a 24 hour flight. I'm never doing that again. I'm never doing that again. It was just so boring. I know people are like, oh my gosh, you could watch movies and stuff. No, that sitting down for that long. I can't do it. I gotta go to the gym, I gotta do some jumping jacks, I gotta do some squats or. Or an ab workout. Like, my butt is too bony to go through that again. It was just awful. Anyways, and so we get to this island, but even before we get to the island, people signed up. Talk to them for about months of zoom calls. Like, for months, just getting to know these women, seeing what the Lord's putting on their hearts, and then just fasting and praying all the time for the behalf of this trip. Because as the day started getting closer and I started doing more research on Bali. Bali is known as the island of the gods. Yeah. The moment I heard that, I was like, bruh, what the heck did I just get into? What did I just get into? And I'm researching. Oh, dang. Just like, everything. And praise God that I did, because when I got there, I was so spiritually prepared. But everyone over there, 87% of the population, for a fact, practices Hinduism. And what Hinduism is is that they. Well, there's two main gods that they serve, but they believe that there is one God, but there's. But there's thousands, if not millions, manifestations of that God. So technically they believe in multiple gods. So what that looks like is in Bali and in Indonesia, because the majority is Hinduism and a very small minority is Christianity. I'm talking. I've never seen anything like this in my entire life. Like. Like Old Testament, biblical stuff. I was seeing statues a hundred feet tall, painted gold, and people putting offerings around the. I couldn't believe it. A Hindu temple. Every. Every five buildings, there was a temple. I. I cannot make this up. I've never seen so much physical idol worship in my entire life. And what the Lord told me before I went there, he was like, I mean, this is like. You've already seen this before. You've already dealt with this because I live in Cali. I don't live in la, but I'm close to la. And the Lord was telling me. He was like, you've dealt with the same thing before. You've dealt with idols. They just look a little different. Because when you go to la, you're seeing all these signs and protest and prostitution and all these sex imagery and all these tarot cards and New Age and crystal stuff. And the Lord told me he was like the same spirit of idols that's. Nla is the same spirit that's also in Bali. The statues are just different. Anyways, so you go there and as a Christian woman bringing a whole bunch of other Christian women. You're seeing all these false idols and people bowing down and worshiping to them. And when the girls came, obviously we knew this before we went there, but we knew God was calling us there for a reason. And it was almost the moment I landed in Indonesia and we're driving to our hotel, I almost start to get really emotional and empathetic for the people of Bali because I got past the fear and I felt God's heart for the land that I just landed in. And I felt his presence and I felt his heart for his people and for the corruption. Not just like wrath, but. But more so like a heaviness. And I just felt God so thick. And so we set the atmosphere so whenever the girls came a few days later, they were protected and covered in the spirit was awesome. They come. And this is why I bring all this up. Because this story and us talking about Bali has to do with what we're learning today in scripture. So there was. How it worked out with the trip was that there was each day we had something to do that Trova trip planned out. Keep in mind, I talked to them fully of like, yo, we're a fully Christian group. We don't want to do anything that involves drinking or clubbing or Hinduism. And we're not just like regular American Christian, we're Christian Christian because you know how people say that they Christian, but they smoke and club and party and do everything else that's not Christian anyways, American Christianity is just very interesting because people in America will say that they're Christian and not be Christian, but you'll go to other. You'll go to other countries. And when they say they're, they're Christian, that means they follow Jesus. When American people here say that they're Christian, they don't follow Jesus. They just believe in the existence of Jesus. Two completely different things. Different sermon, different thing we're going to talk about anyways. And so I told Trova trip, I was like, we're actual Christians. Like, we follow like the law of God. Like, we follow exactly what Jesus Christ is exemplified on this earth. So anything that doesn't align with that, we will not be doing. They signed us up for a few things. I had to cut some stuff off because it was just giving witchcraft, black magic, voodoo, etc. And we had a new itinerary that I was pretty pleased with. And so on the third day, we had a farming experience to where we were going to go in the rice fields and learn how to cook and like do all these Things. And again, I chopped it up with administration to, like, know each day what we were doing. So the third day comes around, me and these 18 girls, and we're all like, fam, it's great. We go to this farming experience, and we pull up to, like, this. This village, like a Hindu village or. Or to a Balinese village. And we're like, okay, we don't know what's going on. And the moment I'm walking up, I just feel this. Oh, my stomach just. Something's off. I'm walking up. I'm like, yeah, bro, we not supposed to be here. Something weird is gonna happen. Immediately, I have to start going in the spirit. And immediately God just starts giving me instruction. He's like, you gotta stay close to my voice right now. Okay, God. And what this farming experience actually ended up being, and we didn't know this, it was a whole village tour in a Balinese village. And then they were going to take us cooking and farming. But what that looked like was that they were showing us their housing situations and stuff. And, like, that was cool. But then they wanted to teach us how to make an offering to their God. What are we doing? The moment I heard that, I said, yeah, we're not doing that. And there was a lot of things that came up, even with them making the food. It was just. It was one of those places where you walk into, and the Lord was like, you can look, but don't touch. You ever been in a situation like that? You ever been in, like, a jewelry store as a kid and. And you scared to touch something? I wasn't scared. But you're not going to touch anything because you understand that. That it's fragile. Like, I went into the space and God was telling me, do not touch, do not eat, do not drink anything. Like. And. And if you do touch something, I. I'll tell you to touch it. Cool. God sounds great. And so I'm just in the spirit. And all the other girls that are there with me felt off. And they were like, yeah, something spiritually is just off here. And the. Not the tour guide, but the guy who was showing us around the village, he tried talking to us about black magic and voodoo. He tried talking to us about different practices that we don't believe in. And told him many times, respected your culture. And I'm like, hey, like, totally understand that Hinduism is a part of your culture, but also, there needs to be a respect for what we believe in as well. We could totally watch y'all cook, see your living situation, appreciate the culture that you're in but we're not going to come into agreement with your religion. And it was one of those really uncomfortable conversations you have to have because it would be easy for one to be in a situation like that and be like, oh, I don't want to make them feel weird or if I, or, or when you're in a situation like that, you're thinking, okay, I don't want to make the other person feel weird, awkward or as if they feel disrespect expected. So it would be easy for one to be like, you know what, I'm not going to say anything. Right. And as I'm in this, this Balinese village and they're practicing deep Hinduism, I had to tell the guy no and I had to be the leader of the team and say we're not going to say yes to what you're wanting us to do because it comes against the God that we serve. And Balinese people, by far the most open minded people you will ever meet. Because I told them that and they were cool. Not even like oh, like weird or anything. They were like, oh, okay, makes sense. We've had some people who've came here and they were, they were uncomfortable. So we've dealt with this before. Okay, sounds good. And the reason as to why I bring this up is because there are going to be situations to where you're going to have to stand up for your faith. Are you going to stand up for your faith? I was in a situation to where my faith was tested and other gods were being worshiped and they were making offerings and they were doing things that was pretty much blasphemous for my God. And the question is, are you going to stand up even when it's awkward? Are you going to do the thing that you really don't want to do, but you got to do it because you love your God, right? Like it's worth making everything awkward if, if you knew that your, your relationship with God would be compromised, right? Me, I'm like, I'm not letting anything get in between me and my relationship with God because I love him. So if something comes along the way and it's not of him, I don't mind putting that to the side. I don't mind getting rid of it, rebuking it and just kicking it out the door and dusting my hands off, that's me. But I know for a lot of people, if they were in a situation like that, it would be hard for them to stand up for your face. And we're going to talk about that today. Standing up for your faith and knowing that the safest place you could be is in the presence of God. It's not from people pleasing. It's not from pleasing what people think or what they want to do or what they're trying to do to you. It's about pleasing the one who has made you, which is Christ. Amen. So we're going to talk about Daniel and the lion's den today. How there was a trap set out for him and that there is safety in the den that was set for him. So I'm just gonna read down. I didn't really plan this podcast out all that much. I'm gonna keep it a buck. But we're just gonna talk. We're gonna read, we're gonna get into scripture. I had to open up with the story time as to why this is all connected, because that had to happen so God could bring this message, so it could be released onto your ears. Make sense? We're just gonna have a conversation. Okay? This isn't professional. This is just. We just. We just gotta talk. Okay? So we're just gonna read. We're reading all Daniel 6. I'm just gonna read it. Stop. Go back and forth. Starting verse one. It pleased Darius to appoint the 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom with three administrators over them. One whom was was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable for them so that the king may not suffer loss. Okay, what's this talking about? Who are satraps? Satraps, governors of like providences. Okay. And there was 120 of them. There are three administrators. Three. Three higher up governors that rule over all of them. It's pretty much like a legislative order, right? So there's 120 satraps, and then above them is three administrators that rule over those 120. And one of them is Daniel, which is who we're talking about. Okay? Now, Daniel, picking up in verse three, so distinguished. So distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. So in different translations, I believe in the KJV version, it says that Daniel had an excellent spirit, that Daniel was set apart from the rest of the governors because of his faithfulness and his trustworthiness within the Lord. Daniel had a different posture. He had a different. He was just set apart. Like, Daniel was just built different. Daniel was just built different. And they knew that. And he even had favor upon King Darius. King Darius saw Daniel Was like, that's my boy. I like him. To where it literally just said in scripture that he planned on. On setting him over the whole kingdom one day. We're gonna pick it back up in verse four at this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Dan, his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's happening? How we go from saying we're talking about the sat traps and these governors and then the king, and then how Daniel's favorable, and then now they're plotting against them. What happened? The Sageps was not rocking with Daniel. Why? Because they were jealous. They were envious. And they're haters. Y'all know anybody like that who's just jealous for no reason? A hater for no reason. It wants everything that you have. They want the favor without the fire. They want the favor without the faithfulness to God. So they try to steal everything you have without actually being faithful. Okay, this is what's going on. Daniel was a man full of faith, and he had a lot of haters. And these haters were trying to steal his oil. They were trying to steal his oil. Here's the thing. You could only get oil by favor, and you could get favor by being faithful. You can't steal oil if you're not being faithful. And these people, these scorners and mockers and plotters wanted the things of God without going through God. Isn't that so funny? It's funny how a lot of people in the world want to be blessed without going to the blesser. How is that? How is that? It's just so funny to me. It's like our world never changes. It's like you want the things of God, but you don't want to go to God, so you like what he offers more than him. Very interesting. Daniel was a man who loved God, and because he loved God, he got the things of God. These people only wanted what God could offer, but they didn't want God. So they try to mock and plot and conspire their way to set up a trap against Daniel to steal the things that only God could give him. And so what we're reading is that as they go and try to conspire against Daniel, because we just read that the king had favor on Daniel. The king saw Daniel was like, I want to set you over my whole kingdom. The Sage tribes did not like that. They were not pleased. So they thought in their minds, well, we don't want that to happen. We're jealous and envious. So we're going to plot against Daniel and try, try to find something to put against him. The verse that we just read implies that they could find nothing. They found nothing against Daniel. This man was blameless and upright, just like Job. Remember the story of Job? There was two things that was said about Job, is that he was blameless and upright. A man who truly feared God. Daniel was a man who truly feared the Lord. He truly did. And it says they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor or negligent. Daniel. And this doesn't mean that Daniel was sinless. Okay. I think sometimes we'll read stuff like this in the Bible, be like, oh, well, did they not do anything? Were they perfect? No. The only person who lived and breathed on this planet was Jesus Christ himself. But Daniel was trust, was trustworthy, and he was not a man of conduct. He was. He was a man of faithfulness. And it doesn't mean that he was sinless. It just means that he was a man of integrity and he was a leader and he had favor from the Lord. Does this make sense? And because he was a man who was trustworthy and one who feared the Lord, whenever someone tried to find something against him, they couldn't find anything. They went all the way back to his closet and there was nothing. And it says, we will never find any basis of charges against this man of Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of God. Now they getting grimy because now you can't find anything against him. So now you're trying to manipulate something to. To trap him. Here's the thing about the story of Daniel. It's so funny that they couldn't find anything wrong about Daniel. They went all the way back to his closet, they try to dig up all the dirt, and they couldn't find anything about Daniel that, that they could get him in trouble for or that they could plot against him, but they still continue to try to attack him. This is what I love about the Bible, is that even if you don't got anything in the back door, even if you don't got anything in the closet, your faith is still intimidating. Faith is the most intimidating thing you could have. Tell me this. Why is it that Job was blameless and upright and faced adversity? Why is it that Daniel was trustworthy and a man who was faithful and he still was thrown into the lion's den? Doesn't that just go against every single lukewarm Christianity concept Oh, if I just follow the things of God and if I stay faithful, then nothing will touch me. No, actually, your faith is a threat. Your faith actually steps on demons toes, and you actually got something to come to the table with. I think we fail to understand the more faithful you are, the more God trusts you with things. That is so good. I want God to trust me. I want to be a woman that's filled with so much faith to her, God can send me into the lion's den. I know that's crazy to say right now, and I know God just heard me, but that's what I aspire to be. I aspire to be a woman who has so much faith to where it intimidates those around me. This man Daniel was unshakable because of his faith, because of the power of God that resided in him. And his faith was so big that the satraps, these governors, continued to press him because his faith was such a big threat to them. It was an intimidation. Your faith is enough for people to attack you. This is why the Christian walk is not easy, y'all. Because when you have faith, it's saying you're not. It's saying when you have faith, you're basically saying that you're no longer on Satan's turf. You're no longer there. You're off. Like, you're. You're not buddy buddy with him. You're awake now. When you have faith, you're letting the enemy know that we're his enemy. Right? Like whenever you have faith, that makes the devil mad. Like, why would the devil be mad at someone who's sleeping in his tent? When you have faith. When you have faith, it opposes those who are trying to conspire against you. But greater news, it pleases God. It pleases God. I think it's so funny that we'll get upset. Like we're talking about Daniel and we're talking about Job, of how Joe was a man who was blameless and upright. Daniel was a man who was trustworthy and was faithful. And yet affliction still came. Well, God, how is that fair? I just think it's so funny that we'll be upset that things like this come, but then we forget that we have safety in the Lord, that we have provision in the Lord that his hand is over us. That when I'm actually in faith, that the safest place I could ever be. And I feel like it's this really weird saying in Christianity that kind of goes around as, oh, whenever you say yes to Christ, your life Gets quote, unquote, worse. Your life doesn't get worse. You just acknowledge a lot more. If, if you are. If you are looking at things, trying to find something, you're gonna find it, right? And I think when you're looking for evil, you're gonna find it. If you're looking for an attack, you're gonna find it. If you're looking for a threat, you're gonna find it. But if you're looking for God, you're gonna find God. And if you're looking for peace, you're gonna find peace. And if you're looking for joy, you're gonna find joy. And I don't think that whenever we become a Christian, we. I don't think when we become a Christian, our lives, quote, unquote, get worse. I just think whenever we become Christian, we understand the race that we're now running, and we're. And we're being distracted by a whole bunch of things that are never going to be our trophy. Jesus is our trophy. His love and his compassion, his grace, his mercy, his provision. And. Yeah, so I just think kind of got off track, but I'm just letting holy spirit do it, do his thing. I just think it's so funny how. Well, we'll be people who want faith. And then once we get tested in our faith, it's like, oh, I didn't want that. But your faith is, is. Is what sets it all off. And it's amazing. So, yeah, we're gonna talk more about that. Where was I? So anyways, they said that they wouldn't be able to plot against Daniel unless if they were able to conspire against him, if it has something to do with his God. God, Right. And this was devious, and this was manipulating, and this was really immature because it's like, why? Anyways, I just don't like when people be doing stuff like this in the Bible. I'll just be getting irritated with. With the enemies of God. Anyways, so it says. So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said, may king Darius live forever. The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisors and governors have all agreed that the king should issue. Hello. And indict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any God or human being during the next 30, 30 days, except you, your majesty, shall be thrown into the lion's den. Now, your majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered in accordance with the. With the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be replaced. So King Darius put the decree in writing. Whoa, what happened? I thought King Darius rocked with Daniel. He did. Y'all the satraps were liars because they said the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisors and all governors have all agreed that the king. No, first of all, you a liar because why? Daniel was a governor. He wouldn't have agreed to this nonsense. So what did they do? They lied. They lied behind my boy Daniel's back. They go to King Darius, they appeal to his pride, and they say, you know what? Any God that anyone else serves, except for you, King Darius, or. Or human that they bow down to, put them in the lion's den. They don't care about King Darius or him getting the glory. They're coming to plot against my boy Daniel and King Darius, one who really admired and have favor on Daniel. If he knew Daniel would have disagreed to that, he wouldn't have. He wouldn't have agreed. But because they came deceitful and appealing to his pride, King Darius agreed to their request. And it says so. The reason as to why they swore upon the medias, I believe that's how you say and the Persians, is because back in those times, if you decree it by the Persians, it's as if you're decreeing it, as if, like the gods have told you it. So it has to be divine. It has to be all understanding and all knowing. So whenever you write it down, it's as if God himself said it. So that's why they said you have to write it in the name of Medes and the Persians so that it cannot be altered. So not only were they conspiring, lying and scheming behind Daniel's back, but they were also trying to make a permanent result of. Of his downfall. And have no. And have security in that, if that makes sense. So stupid and evil. Right? So now it says now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows were open towards Jerusalem. Three times a day. He got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group, found Daniel praying and asking God for help. We're gonna stop right there. So this is the scene real quick. We're gonna take it from the top. Okay? This is what happens. 120 sat traps. Who is Daniel? He's one of the three that rules all over them. Who is the ruler of Daniel? It's King Darius. He's the king of Persia. Yes. And he. He's the king of him. So what happens? King Darius actually rocks with Daniel, but everybody else, they don't rock with Daniel. Why? Because they're jealous and they're envious. So what did they do? They. They mock and scorn and plot and move in devious ways to try to set up a trap against Daniel. So what do they do? They go to King Darius, they lie straight to his face, and they say, you know what? We should just praise you. And anyone who doesn't praise you, let's just send them into the lion's den. And yeah, everyone agreed. Everyone agreed. Obviously, they were lying because Daniel didn't agree. Now, what had happened is the moment that Daniel found out that he wasn't able or not that he wasn't able, the moment that Daniel found out the decree that was set by King Darius, that they were not able to pray to any other God or worship any other person except for King Darius, the first thing Daniel does is go pray. Wrote, even think twice about it. It said. Now, when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room when the windows were open, to Jerusalem, and he prayed. And not just any prayer. He didn't just pray. He prayed as he did before, not more or not less. I think this is a great attribute of Daniel that we recognize is that he immediately, faced with opposition, went and prayed. And you gotta think the consequence to praying to God would to be thrown. Would to be thrown into the lion's den. What does that mean? I'm gonna throw it into a pit and they're gonna eat me up. That's what that means. And the first thing Daniel does without hesitation is go to pray to God. It is because he understood that he was safer in God than in the rules and in the decrees of man. And so Daniel prays to God and he's on his knees. And it doesn't say that Daniel just prayed because he was worried, or Daniel didn't pray because of what just took place or because Daniel didn't pray less because he was nervous if anyone would catch him. No, it says that Daniel prayed just as he had done before. Daniel was a man of consistency. Daniel was a man who continuously sought after God. And I think it's kind of one of those things where it's like both ways. It would have been good. If Daniel prayed too much, then that means he was praying out of fear or that he was praying out of uncertainty, like God wasn't going to do it. But then if he prayed lowest, then he was intimidated by the decree of man that was just made. But it said that Daniel prayed just the same as he always has. And Daniel was a governor. Daniel was a man. It said that Daniel actually sought the Lord's feet and prayed three times a g. Whoa. Three times a day. And Daniel. Let me say that one more time. The Bible tells us that Daniel prayed three times a day and Daniel was a governor. Do you understand how much work that is? If Daniel was a full on governor for an empire and sat down and prayed to God continuously and faithfully three times a day, why is it that we can't do that as a society? This is a full on governor watching over a whole empire. But yet you stuck in your Netflix and your YouTube and, and watching Love island on Tick Tock. Like how is it that. That this was a man who was dedicated to his position over an empire and still prayed, but yet we don't have the dedication to go before the Lord and seek his feet. So the question is, do you really seek God? And if the answer is no right now, that's okay. Like own it and own that because God can help you and God can assist you. And just to be humble for a moment, there's been times where I first had my walk with God and even times now where I'm not as consistent as I would like to be. And whether if that's just life or going on a trip or whatever it may be is that your schedule gets thrown off. But. But God always puts me back in the habit just going into his Word and. And it's been like that for. I would like to say the past two years. I've been really consistent of seeking the presence of God intentionally through prayer. But there was a time where it was really hard and it was really rough and I wasn't. I wouldn't think about God for days. All I could think about each and every single day in every moment is God. But if that's you right now and you're like, dang, like, I don't have an impactful prayer life. I don't seek God every day. Like, own that and ask him to help you. Because we have to remember that God has compassion for us and God wants to teach us. And we can't get anything on our own. We can't produce everything on our own. Faith without works is dead. So worse is evidence of your faith. But faith first comes from receiving and acknowledging God. So acknowledge that you need him so he could help you because he wants to help you. So no shame in the game. If there's Things that you're struggling with. The Lord wants to assist you with that. I kind of want to talk about that for a second. I feel like sometimes we'll pray to God as if we're doing something that we're not. And what I mean by that is that I feel like a lot of our prayers are not actually going as articulate as they need to go. I feel like we'll say everything except for that we need help, or we'll say everything except for what we're struggling with, or we'll say the things that we're obviously struggling with. Right. But when it comes for asking for help, why is that hard? Why is that hard? Like, God, help me with faith. Help me if. If. If I have doubt in my heart. I think those things could be scary to admit. But the Lord admires your humility because when you say God, I. I'm needing to be more faithful. I need your help, God. I need help being more encouraged and motivated. I need your hand in this. Pray as if it's already going to be done because the Lord wants to help you. We can't be scared to ask God to help us, and we can't be scared for his, for his response, because God is loving, kind, and just, and he looks at us as his children. Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Matthew 7 says that all day. So let's pray like that, right? So Daniel was a man who prayed, who really prayed and loved God. And it says so that they. Then they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree. But did you not publish a decree that during the next 30 days, anyone who prays to God or any human being, except you, your majesty, would be thrown into the lion's den? The king answered, the decree stands in accordance with the law, the middies and the Persians, which cannot be repealed. There we go. Then they said to the king, Daniel, who is one of the exiles of Judah, pays no attention to your majesty or to the decree that you put in writing. He still prays three times a day. When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed, and he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. In the KJV version, it says that King Darius was displeased with himself. And I think that's a really important attribute to know about King Darius, is that he knew that he couldn't blame the satraps for what had happened. He could only blame himself. I think that's a really admirable posture of leadership, is to understand that even if you were deceived, it was still your fault for accepting it, Right? Like we think about Adam and Eve and the snake in the garden is that Eve was the one who ate the fruit. It wasn't Satan's fault that he deceived her. Like he. He was the one who tempted her and deceived her and questioned her and interrogated her and made her feel insecure. Like, yes, he's wrong for all of that, but Eve is wrong for agreeing to it. And King Darius recognized that he was wrong for letting that happen. And I think that's a really good attribute to have as a leader, is to take responsibility for your actions and not blame it on other people. So it said that he was displeased with himself and that he was determined to rescue Daniel and make every effort until sundown to save him. Darius rocked with Daniel. So whenever he heard this, of course he was displeased because this was a man that he was pleased with. Then it says in verse 15, then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, remember your majesty, that according to the law, the Medes and the Persians no decree or indict that the king issues can be changed. So the king gave order and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den. The king said to Daniel, may your God whom you serve continuously rescue you. This is such a powerful line in the story because King Darius is displeased with himself and distressed of what had just happened and the accusation that was upon Daniel, one of his best men, they throw him into the lion's den and Darius understands that there's nothing that he could do to save Daniel. But what does he say? He says, may your God whom you serve continuously rescue you. Darius had faith. King Darius had faith. And this faith didn't just come from nowhere. This faith that Darius had in Daniel was because of Daniel. Daniel was a man of faith. That his faith wasn't just something that stayed stirred up in him. It almost bursted into everybody else around him. King Darius had faith because Daniel was a faithful man. Is your faith contagious? Does your faith give other people faith? I think that's such a good attribute of Daniel that I've just been crying and asking God to give me God, give me faith. To where? When other people see me or when people are around me, they have just as much faith because they see you in me. They don't see me, they see you, God, they see you in me. And Darius saw God because Daniel was stewarding the Holy Spirit so well. He was stewarding the presence of God so well. He prayed to him three times a day. He was trustworthy. He was upright. He was a man without conduct. He was not a negligent person. He was a man of faith. Because Daniel was a man of faith, everyone around him who could see the spirit of the Lord also had that faith. So the fact that King Darius had faith in God because of Daniel being used as a vessel already just shows us that your faith not only affects you, but the people around you. It's not just a you thing. I think we have to understand our faith is so much bigger than just us. This ain't all about you. This world is not all about you. If this world was about you, I'm sorry to tell you, you'd be six feet under the ground and you'll be already doing the dougie with God. I don't know what it is, but you would just be doing something with God. We're on this earth for the sake of other people. Daniel had faith that gave Darius faith. It's not just about Daniel. It's about everybody else that's around Daniel. It's about all of God's children. This isn't a story about Daniel. This is a story of how God loves his people. And he used Daniel to speak to his people. You gotta understand, that's what the Bible is. I feel like we preach a lot of messages that's like, oh, this story's about Daniel, or this story is about us, or this story is about Job, or the story is about David. No, what the Bible is. The Bible is a story about God using people to restore his relationship back with us. That's what the Bible is. That's what it is. This isn't a. This isn't a dictionary to myself. I mean, I think this is the only book that you read that has the ability to read you. But that's not the importance of this. This book is for you to know God. And, and that's what I mean by you gotta make things less about, you know, more about God. You gotta go lower so you could go higher. And I think one of the ways that we fail to do that a lot of the times is that we read this book as if it's about ourselves. But more importantly, it's showing us how good God is. And I think when we're just looking within way too much, we just miss. Miss the picture of God. Well, how do I know God is my safety and my protector? And how do I know that God loves me. Stop reading the Bible. So internally for yourself, read the Bible to know God, not to know you. There's going to be some things that the Bible is going to reveal about you, and that's great. So you can improve and grow your character and the Lord is going to teach you so you can change and work and move in faith for sure. But what this has to offer is the presence of God and nothing can beat that. So, yeah. Then after they throw Daniel into the lion's den and King Darius has faith, may your God, who you continuously serve, rescue you. It says that they place a stone or a stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. A lot of people would think that this, this is something that's like, oh, you're trapping him in there. If you wanted to help, you wouldn't have sealed it. I actually think it was mercy that, that King Darius sealed it, because I feel like he knew that if he didn't seal the lion's den and if the lions didn't kill him, then the satraps and Daniel's enemies would come and kill him. That's just. That's the thought. It's an assumption. It's an assumption. Anyways, then the king returned to his palace and spent and spent the night without eating or without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. My boy was stressed, the freak. I could only imagine, like your boy is in the lion's den. I know he was up all night. It says at the first light of dawn, pause. He did not get any sleep. I know he was looking out the window, waiting for a glimpse of light. I think, I think Daniel got better sleep than King Darius. Anyways, the king got up and hurried to the lion's den. When he came near the den, he called out to Daniel in an anguished voice, daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered, may the king live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the mouths of the lion. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight, nor have I ever done anything before you. Your Majesty. Oh, my gosh. So good. Just such good news. The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in God, his Faith is what has saved him. There was no blemish and there was no wound on Daniel's body because of the faith that he had in God. It's so funny how Daniel got thrown into a lion's den. And because he had faith in God, that was probably one of the safest places he could be. We'll be in situations that look like a lion's den, and we think our circumstances in our lives are about to be eaten up. But I believe the safest place you could be. And what scripture supports that? Being in a posture of faith and having faith in the Lord is the only thing that keeps you safe. Your safe space is faith. It just said it. When Daniel was lifted. When Daniel was lifted up from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in his God. He trusted. He believed. He put his faith in God. And when you put your faith in God, that's the safest place you could be. It's the safest place you could be in a lion's den. You could be in the face of the adversity. But if you continuously put your faith in the Lord, he will continuously protect you. And this isn't like a oh, all hail Daniel moment, because faith comes from the Lord. This isn't just something that Daniel produced on his own. I believe it's Ephesians. Wow, I turned there really fast. God's the one that gives us faith. It says, Wait, where is it? Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ, in order that in the coming ages he might show his incomparable riches of his grace, expressing his kin in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not from yourselves. It is by the gift of God, not by work, so that no one could boast. Faith is not something you could produce on your own. Faith is produced by God. We're the ones who exercise it. Further, everything we get is from God. The moment you say, like, oh, I had the faith and it's me. No, it's all God. It's all God. It's Daniel's faith. But that faith was given also by God. Does that make sense? We cannot produce it on our own. God gives us. It's like this. God gives us this beautiful gift of grace, and in it comes faith. Justification, sanctification, salvation, all of these things. So whenever you accept God as your Lord and Savior, or Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and accept God as your Abba, he's going to give you faith. Your job now is to exercise it. Which is why the word says faith without works is dead is because works is evidence of your faith. Anyways, the next part says, at the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lion's den along with their wives and their children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. This turned really dark, bro. How we get here? A whole slaughter of the family. Like, that's wild. And I know some people could read this and be like, damn, like that's kind of harsh. Like through the whole. Like you'd have to do the wise or like the children, like that was kind of too much. But you gotta understand why this was crucial. Ah, Jesus. So good. Daniel was wrongly accused. Well, not wrongly accused. It was. It's a perfect example of disobedient obedience, is that Daniel was disobedient to the. Hello. Daniel was disobedient to the decree of man, but obedient to the honor, respect and reverence of God. And because of that, he was thrown into the lion's den for a very manipulative and deceptive and deceitful reason. And the moment God brought him out of the lion's den, they were like, yeah, y'all. Who were plotted against him. Your turn. It's so funny that in the story of Daniel, it's just so funny. It's so funny that in the story of Daniel, the same people who try to set up a trap before Daniel was actually. Let me say it again, I need to say this right? It's so funny that in the story of Daniel, the people that were trying to set a trap before Daniel were the same people who fell into the trap that they made for him. They fell into the trap that they set out for him. It's just so funny how enemies be working, right? Because why is it that you set up a trap for the lion's den for Daniel, but you actually set up a trap for yourself? It's just really funny. Silly to me. I just love how God is like that. And I know it's kind of excruc that they would throw his wives or their children into it, but there was no trace of an enemy left. We're done. You're cooked. Literally. And it's. And it's funny because we see the. The provision of God because it said that whenever. Whenever Daniel's enemies were thrown into the lion's den, it said that they couldn't even hit the bottom of the den yet. Meaning what? These lions were hungry. They were looking for something to feast. What shows us that whenever Daniel was in the lion's den, that was actually the provision of God in there. And he really did shut the lion's mouth. Because the moment that they threw Daniel's enemies into the den, the lions ate them up. Because why they were hungry. But no hungry lion could get in the way of what God has for you. You just have to have the faith to believe it. You have to have the faith to see it through. Daniel had the faith, and because Daniel had the faith, it shut the lion's mouth. Because God gave Daniel the faith, it shut the lion's mouth. This is a story of how God loves his people so much that through faith he's gonna send his angel. He's gonna do what he's always gonna do. He's gonna love and protect and fight for his children. Then it says, then King Darius wrote, to all the nations and people of every language in all earth, may you prosper greatly. I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and He endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves. He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the Earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions. So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and during the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Did you just hear that last part? I feel like for some of you guys just went you. I heard a moment of that. This just told us the character of God. You want to know who God is? King Darius just told us, for he is the living God. God is living and he is endures forever. God's kingdom will not be destroyed and his dominion will never end. God rescues and he saves. He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions. Look how good God is in the story. He rescues and he saves. Let this story be a reminder that God is a God who saves. God is a God who rescues. God is a God who performs signs and wonders, not just on Earth, but also in heaven, that he has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions. And because of that, it said that Daniel prospered. He prospered not because of himself. He prospered because of the Lord. God is so good for this. I think the story of Daniel also represents Jesus. This is something the Lord put on my heart today, whenever it's on the next page that I wrote, we see the, the similarities between Daniel and Jesus. Just kind of one of those cross references you're going to find in the Bible. Daniel was innocently accused, just like Jesus. Sent to death by jealousy and envy, just like Jesus by religious leaders or leaders of the empire. Jesus, the stone was rolled over, but death did not touch him. Daniel, Jesus. And then his enemies were judged. Daniel, Jesus. Isn't it funny how God will always use the people in the Old Testament to reveal the story of his Son? This was all just a setup for Jesus to come walking through. So good. So good. Jesus, we thank you. I read this verse in Psalms 7:15. It says, Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit that they had made. What? Did you just hear what I said? This has to do with what we just heard about those enemies. Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit that they had made. That's exactly what had happened with the, with the trap that, that these enemies try to put before Daniel. They try to scoop their way a hole to throw a believer in, but yet they made a grave for themselves. How sick would it be to dig your own grave? That's what they did. And why? Because they wanted to steal the favor of God without going to God. God don't like that. He don't. So what is the main. What, what is the main lesson of this story? Faith. Have faith. Be a person who continuously seeks the Lord. Be a person who continuously sharpens and grows your faith. I could not express it enough. I think sometimes times which. Oh my gosh, don't cancel me. Don't hurt me. I. I just got to say what everybody's thinking. Okay, sure, secular music and clubbing and all these things, they're important topics. But if you do not have faith and if you do not know the principles of faith, none of that matters. None of that matters. None of it. You have to stick to faith first. Faith is the thing that you always have to prioritize, keeping that faith in the Lord. Because here's the thing. Secular music, clubbing, having sex, with people, doing this with your boyfriend or girlfriend or cursing or whatever it may be. The goal for Satan isn't for you to sin. It's for you to. I heard this the other day. Satan's goal isn't for you to fall into sin. Satan's goal is for you to fall into despair. And you can't fall into despair if you're consistently a person of faith. So none of this matters if you don't have faith first. That's it. We're saved by grace. Through faith, through faith, through faith, through faith. What is the story telling us? Have faith. I think as Christians, we worry about a whole bunch of secondary stuff first. Like, why is it that we're putting second things first? I think there's things in the faith that are really important and there's issues that we need to talk about and things that we're needing to navigate through. But how is it that all these trendy Christianity topics are getting in the way of us deepening our faith? It's almost like we're so. We're so mesmerized by these side conversations that we're having to. Where we forget the fundamentals, Stick to the fundamentals. I think all these conversations are great, and I think they're important, but I don't think they're important. If you don't have faith, stick to your faith. Be a person of faith. Be a person like Daniel. Continuously seek God. Pray. Seek his presence. I think even whenever it tells us that Daniel went to go pray, it said that he went up into his upper room, that his windows were open over all of Jerusalem, and he went on his knees and he prayed. When's the last time you got on your knees and prayed? And when was the last time you intentionally prayed before going to bed? Or do you pray at all? And like how I said it's okay to openly admit where you're actually at. I think this is something we gotta understand as a church body. You gotta admit where you're at with God and not be ashamed of it. Because when you are ashamed and when you're not allowing a God to see the parts of you, it's like going to the doctor's office and expecting them to heal you, but you're not telling them where it hurts or they're giving you medicine for the wrong thing. You have to be vulnerable. You have to be transparent. You got to tell God things. And I mean. What do you mean? Because it says in the Bible that God already knows before I ask, he does, but God wants you. He wants. He wants you to be in partnership. He wants you to vocalize what you're needing. Do you know what I'm saying? It's so funny because. Sorry, I just keep rambling. Last thing I'm gonna say no, I'm not gonna say that. Actually. I don't want to take every more time. I think that's it. I feel really good about that. And again, I didn't plan this. I just kind of hope that the Holy Spirit talks. And I'm praying that he did. So, yeah. Know that your faith is what keeps you safe. Your faith is what saves. It's. It's God. It's all God. And I think this story not only shows us the importance of. Of faith, but it shows us how God admires faithful people. How God just adores people of faith. And we see God's love through this story. Even though it was kind of tragic that he was thrown into the lion's den and that his enemies were thrown in, and all these things happen. It's beautiful to know that God admires those who admire him. And Daniel wasn't perfect. It never said that, that Daniel was perfect, but he was faithful. Being faithful and being perfect are two completely different things. And God admires people who are faithful. If you want to be admired by God, continue to be faithful. That's it. That's it. If you're faithful, God loves you. If you're working on your faithfulness, it's okay. God still loves you. But you got to understand, like there, there's like this, this admiration and protection, this provision that God has for his people who operate in faith. So be encouraged to step in faith and to do it boldly and to do the thing that no one wants to do. Because it could have been easy for Daniel to abide by the decree and not pray to God. But yet he chose the difficult thing. He chose to serve his God. He chose to do the things of God, even when it was unpopular. He chose the risks of death in a lion's den than to please any human. And that's what I learned in Bali, which is. I don't even know if I ended up wrapping that up into the story. But that's the whole reason as to why this came up is because sometimes you're going to be put in situations to where your faith gets tested. And who are you going to choose? Are you choosing man, your circumstances, yourself, or you choose a guy? Because God will always make a way for you. He will always make a way for you. God loves you. You guys, can you hear me when I tell you that God loves you? He does. Please hear me. God loves you. He loves you. Our Abba loves you so much. You see what he did for Daniel? I don't know what Lions, Dan, you in. But he could do it for Daniel. He could do it for you. Let this be a testimony that all things are possible. It's just a matter of God doing it and you the faith to touch and agree with it. Pray as if it's already been done. Pray as if it's been done. God, we thank you for this. Yeah, just meditate on his love. Meditate on what he did in the story. It's so beautiful. We thank you, God. That's that. I feel good. Few announcements, same as each and every single time. Thoughts. Prayer request. Link in the bio if you feel led to tithe. Link in the bio if you don't want to tithe. Please pray for this ministry. Even bigger announcement. Restock on the save not soft teas are coming July 25th. So excited. And then I didn't. I'm not saying this on Instagram. I'm just saying it here. So if you hear it here, it's the only place that you're hearing it. Also, another surprise merch, another surprise item coming also on the 25th, but I'm not announcing it until around, like, the 15th. Yeah, I love you guys so much. God loves you more. It don't matter if I. If I love you guys a lot, because God loves you more. Sorry, don't focus on. Don't focus on how much I love you. Focus on how much God loves you. But, man, if I love you guys, how much more does God. I thank God for this podcast. I thank God for him. And yeah, I hope. I hope this blessed you guys because it. It shares. Heck blessed me and. And what the Lord's been sharing. So that's it. That's it. I love you guys. Have a great. Also wait, side. Not pause, pause, pause. I'm also going to be in Florida the next few weeks, so if the setup's a little different next few weeks, that's why. That's right. Let me know if you like this angle, too. If you don't, it's okay. We can change it back to farther. If you like it close, let me know. Okay. Love you guys. I'll see you next week or the week after something. Okay, bye.