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- [00:00]
A
Some of y' all look like you got some confident trust in the Lord. Come on, that's a buzzword around here. We have a word that shapes our year as a church, and we believe that God forms that word in us. And our word for 2026 is trust. Not shaky, trust. Not scarred. Trust confident. Trust in the Lord. It comes straight out of Scripture. And every single Sunday we declare this verse. It is at Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 35 through 37. Y' all ready to read it as a family? Here we go. Remember, you don't go till I say. Man, y' all look good. Here we go. So do not throw away. Remember, patient endurance. Then you will receive. For in just a little while the coming One will come and not delay anybody. Believe the coming one will come one day. I can't wait. It's getting crazy down here. This earth is not my home. I want the coming One to come. Come today, Lord. Those of you at the top will get there before us. Remain standing. Well, I'm sure you heard the news. Sure you heard the news. It is indicative of where the nation is because it has now been signed into law. And for the next 30 days, it is illegal to pray. Yeah, not in America. Yet. In our text, for today, in our text, for today in our text, Daniel, chapter six. I lost some of y'. All.
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What?
- [02:09]
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You laugh. But that is the climate of the text we're jumping in today. It has been deemed illegal to pray to anybody but King Darius. And we pick up in verse number 10 of Daniel, chapter 6, and it says, but when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual. That part. In his upstairs room with its windows open toward Jerusalem, he prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. Then the officials went together to Daniel's house and found him praying and asking for God's help. So they went straight to the king and reminded him about his law. Did you not sign a law that for the next 30 days, any person who prays to anyone divine or human, except you, your majesty, will be thrown into the den of lions? Yes, the king replied, that decision stands. It is an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked. Then they told the king, well, that man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day. Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament. In the evening, the men went together to the king and said, you, Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed. So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, may your God whom you serve so faithfully rescue you. A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles so that no one could rescue Daniel. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn't sleep at all that night. Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lion's den. When he got there, he called out in anguish, daniel, servant of the living.
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God, Was your God whom you served so faithfully able to rescue you from the lions?
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In my exegetical imagination, I wonder how long was the pause between verse 20 and verse 21. Because if it was me and I got rescued, I'd make him sweat just a little bit. Just wait. Oh, we got him. No, hold up. Daniel answered, long live the king. My God sent his angel to shut the lions mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight and I have not wronged you. Your Majesty. The king was overjoyed and ordered, ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him. For he had hoped in his God. Oh, my bad. He had believed in his God. No, no, he had.
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Do you see what confident trust can do that? Confident trust can shut the mouths of.
- [05:39]
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I got to warn you, I feel like preaching today. Y' all might not get to the Super Bowl. Ah, so much, so much in this text. But I love that Daniel said, I was found innocent in the sight of God. But he had so much integrity they had to make it illegal for him to pray. So he was guilty, but he was innocent at the same time. I want to preach today, using this as a title. Thank God, I'm guilty. Thank God. I don't want to preach before I preach, but there's some things you need to be guilty of, thank God. Guilty. Look at your neighbor for the last time. Just get in their face. Say, are you guilty? Wait for a response. Father, speak to us today. Have your way. Amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Thank God, I'm guilty. Social fam. There is a story that is Often told about the prolific British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He's the man that is responsible for the Sherlock Holmes stories. And the story goes that Sir Arthur was obsessed with practical jokes. He was always playing pranks on people. So much so that he. He would even do some cruel practical jokes. And so the legend is told that one night, because he was bored, he wrote a letter to five of his friends. An anonymous letter. And each letter said the exact same thing. Now, keep in mind, these men were prominent men in the society. They had impeccable reputations. But all five of them got the same letter that said this. Flee at once. Your secret has been discovered. And within 24 hours, all five of those men left the town. Now, historians aren't 100% accurate that this actually happened. But whether this happened or not, I believe it reveals something about human nature. And that is, there is nothing more painful and haunting than a guilty conscience. A guilty conscience is a heavy burden to bear. I don't know what skeletons were in the closet of those five brothers, but I know that whatever it was, just the thought of it being exposed made all of them book a ticket out of town. Because there is nothing more haunting and painful than a guilty conscience. Our souls were never designed to carry the weight of secrets. You do know that you were not created to suppress things and to keep things on the inside. Hiding our stuff works real good for teddy bears, not for humanity. Because we were not created to keep secrets. And that's why secrets eventually come out. Amen. Come on. If the climate of our current culture has not taught you anything, it ought to teach you that eventually it is going to come out. Eventually somebody is going to find out about it. I don't care how far you bury it in the sand. You can get the biggest vault that you want to hide it. You can find you a laser encrypted safe with retina security scanning and two Siberian tigers in front of it. That sign NDAs do all that you want to do, but eventually it is going to come out. Because we were not created to carry the weight of secrets. Sooner or later, it will be exposed. How many know? Many are the people who, on their deathbed, slipping between time and eternity, have grabbed a family member or a nurse and said, I gotta confess this. I gotta get this off of me. I've been carrying this for so long. Even as a pastor, many of the people I've talked to who said, hey, pastor, I've got to tell you something. I've been carrying this for years, or I never told anybody this and Pastor. I thought time would fix it, but it didn't. And how many you know they're right? Time can heal a lot of things. Not all things. A lot of things. But time will never heal guilt. There's nothing more painful than a guilty conscience. Ooh, I started off kind of heavy, and some of y' all are ready to leave right now. But let me say, conversely, there is nothing more peaceful than a clear conscience. One writer said it like this. There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience. Oh. There's something peaceful about going out in public and not having to dodge people because you frauded them or you cheated them and their money. How many know there is peace in being able to give somebody your computer and not be nervous about your browser history or your search engines? Oh, I'm gonna keep talking. Even though you're looking the way you look at that. There's peaceful about being in a relationship and handing your spouse your phone and not going into a nervous breakdown because you gave it to her. There's something peaceful about having integrity and having character. There's something peaceful about not having certain alphabets come after you. Alphabet letters. You know, I'm saying the IRS or the CIA or the FBI. There's something peaceful about having character and integrity.
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As a matter of fact, I have.
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Found that integrity and godly character will bring you peace and freedom.
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Anybody want some freedom in your life?
- [11:54]
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Live with character, live with integrity, and you will walk into new levels of freedom.
- [12:00]
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Oh, you'll get that. John, Chapter eight, Freedom, where Jesus says, whoever the sun sets free. Woo.
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Y' all went to church.
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Is free indeed. Why did it say, whoever the sun.
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Sets free is just free? No. Whoever the sun sets free is free indeed. You know, there's a difference between just being free and being free. Indeed. Now, could you give us an illustration? Absolutely. Let me break it down like this. I have never been to prison. I don't plan on going. But I believe that there are three ways to get out of prison and break yourself free. You know, we got people watching on Pando. Shout out to our brothers and sisters who are watching on the Pando app. There's three ways to get out of prison. Three ways. First way is to serve your sentence, do your time, and have the judge say, all right, you served your time, and you can walk out free. Ooh, that's a beautiful thing. Cause you served your time and you walk out free. How many know they can't charge you again for what you already did? Double jeopardy. I saw the movie that's why we lift up our hands and give God worship. Because I'm so thankful that I can't be charged for my sin. Again. Not what he already paid the price.
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So that's one way to get out. Just serve your time. He said, what if I got a life sentence?
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Oh, there's still another way to get out because that's a life sentence. It's not an eternal sentence. And you can incarcerate a body, but you cannot incarcerate a soul that has surrendered its life to Jesus. Let me keep it. 100. There are some people more free in prison. There's some of y' all who are out and they have surrendered their life to Jesus. That's another way to be free, even though your body is locked up.
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And then there's a third way.
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And I don't suggest this one.
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Just break out. Break out. It's been done before. Just escape. And when you escape, whether you go through the tunnel or you chew the bars open, how many know when you get out? You free? Kinda.
- [14:07]
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You're free, but you're not free. So now you're walking with a fake freedom. Nervous and suspicious. See lights. Oh Lord, let me go over here. Because you're free. You ain't free. Indeed, this is the freedom that the enemy wants you in. That fake freedom that has you constantly looking over your shoulder, a cloud of guilt always on you. Can't lift up your hands and worship. Drowning in shame and condemnation. It is a fake freedom that produces guilt. But there is a real freedom and there's also a good guilt. There's a real freedom and there's some good guilt. It reminds me of the apostle Paul. He was on trial. You do know what to do. There were two thirds of your Bible has some prison time. And I love it because he's on trial before Felix and they're accusing him of things he did not do. They said he was in a cult. They said he was inciting riots and they got a high powered attorney to say all this stuff. And I'm telling you, Paul with 10 toes down says y' all lying on your boy. I am innocent of all these charges that y' all are making up. He said, but I will be honest. I am guilty of some things. He said, I am guilty of worshiping the true and living God. I'm guilty of believing the law and the prophets and that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. He said, I am guilty of believing that there is a resurrection from the dead. He said, I'm guilty of that, in other words, what is the Apostle Paul doing? He's letting us know that there's some good things that you ought to be guilty of. As a matter of fact, he ends that whole statement. I believe it's in chapter. It's in verse 16 of chapter 24. Look at what he says. He says, yeah, so I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. In other words, Paul says, there's some things I don't want to be guilty of, but there's some things I do want to be guilty of, and I thank God that I'm guilty of it. I want to argue today it is the same in the current climate in which we live in. There ought to be some things that you are guilty of. I want to know today, are you guilty of having a prayer life? You ought to be guilty of getting in the word of God. You ought to be guilty of forgiving people. You ought to be guilty of blessing your enemies. You ought to be guilty of worshiping even when you don't feel like it. I want to be guilty of preaching the Gospel. Whether you say Amen or whether you walk out, you ought to be guilty of standing for righteousness and truth. You ought to be guilty of some things.
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Ooh.
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What in your life can you humbly and proudly say? Thank God I'm guilty for that. Say it another way. If trusting in God was against the law, is there enough evidence to indict you? Or would they have to dismiss the case.
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If they were locking people up.
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For holiness, would you be in jail or would you be in these streets because some of y' all are Indies? No, let me not.
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Is there enough evidence in your life.
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To validate the authenticity of your walk with the Lord?
- [17:49]
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I'm not asking you what you post. I'm not even asking you what you profess. I'm not talking about that scripture that's.
- [17:56]
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In your Instagram profile that you don't even got memorized. I want to know, what does the content of your life say? What is the story of your life? Because you do know that your life is telling a story, and every single one of your daily decisions is writing the sentences for the story. No wonder when they put you to prison and they call it a. A sentence. Your life is actually telling a story. And is there enough evidence to convict you for trusting in God? Brings me to my text today because I love that Daniel had so much integrity. He ended up being guilty for doing the right thing. We talked about Daniel last week. If you missed it, go to social Dallas YouTube page like share and subscribe. We talked about how Daniel got into position that he was in with his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. You know them as Shadrach, Meshach, and a bad Negro. You know this. Just trying to make sure some of y' all are still awake. We found out about their story last week, and we found out several things about these incredible Hebrew boys. We found out, first of all, they were exiled into Babylon. They did not pick going to Babylon. They were captured and sent there. We also found out that they were targeted because they were gifted. The king Nebuchadnezzar didn't just pick anybody. He wanted the best. He wanted the brightest. He wanted the people that were smart and brilliant. And I told you last week, there's a reason that the enemy coming after you. It's because he knows there is a gift that is on your life. We understood that they changed their names and taught them the language and the literature and the culture of the Babylonians. And here was their goal. It was to change their allegiance through assimilation. They wanted to change their allegiance through assimilation. In other words, let's get them so immersed in the culture that they won't even resist it anymore. They'll just glow. Go with the flow. They'll just go with the flow of the culture. The enemy does the same thing today. He either wants you to have assimilation where you're all the way in the culture and you don't fight against it, or he wants complete isolation and he wants you just to have church people that you hang out with light up the light and never affect the environment that you step into. But God wants you to be like Daniel and these Hebrew boys who were sent there. And they never assimilated into the culture, and they never isolated from the culture. But they were in there and they brought change while they were inside of it. They affected it without it infecting them. This is the cloth that Daniel has been cut from. And if you need a history of Daniel, read it when you get to the crib. It's amazing to see what God does for him and through him. He interprets dreams. He says what the dream is and what it means. This man shows up in a moment where a hand comes down and writes on the wall. And Daniel interprets all of that. But by the time we get to Daniel, chapter six, don't miss this. He has faithfully served three different administrations. And it was approximately 539 B.C. in chapter six, but it was around 605 B.C. when he was Taken captive. In other words, when Daniel is in chapter six, he is no longer the teenager that was taken captive. By the time we see Daniel in.
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Chapter six, y', all, he is 80 years old. Pause.
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Where's my camera? I want to look here. Right here. Straight in that camera right there.
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How come as somebody who was raised.
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In church, went to vacation Bible school, couldn't even celebrate Halloween, had hallelujah night.
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Dressed up as Bible characters? How come no Sunday school teacher ever told me when they was doing the little flannel graph that my boy Daniel, when he was thrown into the lion's den, was not a middle aged dude. He was a senior citizen. When they threw him in there with Mufasa and Aslan, this dude was 80 something years old. Oh, they gotta change the picture in the books. This is not some young dude that was thrown into the lion's den. This, this man was 80 something years old when they threw him into the lion's den. Do you know what that did for my faith when I read that this week when I found that out? That means that the same Daniel that was trusting God at 18 is the same Daniel that's trusting God at 80. That means the same Daniel that wouldn't bow down when he was 18 is the same Daniel that's not bowing down at 80. That means the same Daniel that had conviction as a teenager is the same Daniel that got conviction as an old, old man. That means he wasn't just serving God for days. He said, God, I'll serve you for decades. Cause I believe that there's something you can do if I can trust you, not just in a minute, but trust you with some mileage. Oh, I'm about to run all over the Texas Trust Theater. I don't know about you, but I'm trying to be like Daniel. I don't want to be like these little wishy washy saints that only praise God when he blesses you. I want to say, throw me in the furnace. Throw me in the den. Though he slay me yet, will I trust him? 80 years old. 80 years old and you still show up. Some of y' all done change churches five times this year. Eight years old and you're still doing the same thing. 80 years old and it ain't got boring to you yet.
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80 years old and you still got your resolve and you still got your hallelujah. Oh, we live in a generation where we celebrate intensity when people show up for a minute. Intensity. Oh, did you see the tick tock? Forget your tick tock. I want to see. Can you put in some time over years? I'm glad you came to church today. Can you keep showing up and serving and worshiping and praying for decades?
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How come my Sunday school teacher didn't tell me?
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He's 80 years old and he's still saying you are worthy of it all. 80 years old. Hadn't lost his hallelujah. 80 years old and says, yeah, I'm still not gonna compromise. As a matter of fact, the more I live, the more history I have to trust him. How? You been walking with God for as long as you have and your trust is dwindling. Daniel is a picture of faithful consistency. Here's what David. Daniel. Did I say David or Daniel? I said David. But, you know, I met Daniel. Okay, I'm just making sure you paying attention. Daniel taught me something this week. He taught me that power and fame will fade, but faithfulness will last. Faithfulness will stand the test of time. Can you prove it in the text? Yeah, matter of fact, I want to prove it in the room if I can. Lord, help me. Anybody in here? And stand up if it's true. Anybody in here, your name is Nebuchadnezzar. Neb. Any Neb in the house? Okay, no Nebuchadnezzar. Okay. Any Belshazzars? Any Belshazzar in the back? No.
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No.
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Did not hear that. Okay, anybody in here, your name is Daniel. Any Daniel, Come right here. Come right here. Not me. Praying there would be one. And he right in the front. Your name is what? Daniel? That's your government name? Yes, sir. Daniel, just look right there. Isn't it interesting? Not a single Nebuchadnezzar, not a single Belshazzar. But we got a Daniel.
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You, Daniel, too.
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Come up here.
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All the Daniels sitting in the front.
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Lord, I love that you're here, because here's what blows my mind. All those kings had more money, had more power, and had more position. But I want you to see these Daniels standing here today because Daniel lives, proves that he had more legacy.
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You gotta ask yourself, you want fame, power and position? Or do you want something that will stand the test of time? Do you want something that years from now, your children's children's children, children's children will say, the reason I'm serving God, oh, is because my great, great, great, great, great, great granddaddy used to go to a church called Social Dallas and gave his life to Jesus. That's why I'm here today. What you living for? You living for now or you living for later?
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Thank y' All Daniels, you can have your seat.
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No Nebuchadnezzar's, no Belshazzars.
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But two Daniels. If you're online and you're Daniel, put your name in the chat. Put your name in the chat. That means Daniel was not just living a life of God. I'll worship you when it feels good. He's got some time in. And that made me go, man, I want to be like Daniel. Like, for real, for real. Some of y' all are too young to remember the commercial. If I could be like Mike, remember? And drinking the Gatorade, I want to be like Daniel. Daniel, how in the world did you keep showing up for decades? Daniel, what was different about you? We know in the text about his prayer life. We know what he refused to eat. But what else was different about Daniel? What distinguished him to make him last for decades? Now I'm gonna prove it in the text. It's in Daniel, chapter six, verse three. It said then this is Daniel. I love it. This Daniel. Like, they knew there would be two other ones. Not them. This. I'm not throwing shade. I'm just saying it's this one. This. This. Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and the satraps because an excellent spirit was in him. Daniel, why are you so devoted? Why you so different? How are you distinguished? Because an excellent spirit was in him. Now, I gotta be honest. I love people that show up with excellence. Don't you? Don't you? Some of y' all scare of me. I love people that do things with excellence. I am obsessed with people that do things with excellence. I don't care how big it is or how small it is. If you want to get my attention, do it with excellence. If you want to annoy me, do it average. Have that like it's good enough. Be comfortable with mediocrity. I love people that do things with excellence. I love it so much. We made it a core value. It's a core value. At Social Dallas, we say we are creators who believe that excellence is always worth the extra effort. We show up on time, fully prepared and engaged. We can't be careless. We do this in Jesus name, so we do it with excellence. Yeah. I love, love, excellence.
- [30:47]
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And I have read this verse before, and I think I read it too.
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Fast because I took from that that you just do things with excellence. But the text didn't say that David was excellent. It said he had an excellent spirit. He did things with excellence, but he had an excellent spirit.
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And I have found that sometimes people can do things with Excellence.
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But they do it from a cantankerous, nasty, funky spirit.
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And they'll fool you for a while.
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Because they'll be so good with their spreadsheet. It'll be so proficient.
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But don't give them position or the title that they want or let things.
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Go the wrong way.
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Watch them for a while. You realize, oh, you're good with spreadsheets and spreading gossip. Oh, I didn't know. I didn't know that. You are a master organizer and a master manipulator. Wow.
- [31:58]
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So I love Daniel because he's not just doing excellent things. He has an excellent spirit. In other words, the excellent things that he does is an overflow of his interior life. There is a difference. Some of us, we only have excellence on the exterior, and that's good. In fact, some of you, you should start. Start with excellence on the. Like, show up on time to work tomorrow. You should start there. But, but. But Daniel does not have just excellence on the exterior. No. There's something about his spirit. There's something about his interior life that is now bleeding over into his exterior life. He's got an excellent spirit. Now, how many of you want to have an excellent spirit? Anybody? Come on, beautiful. Okay, I see all those hands. All right, now, if you want an excellent spirit, I have some good news and I have some bad news. Which one you want first? I'm going to give you the good news first. If you got an excellent spirit, here's the good news. Oh, don't miss this. If you have an excellent spirit, God will promote you. If you have an excellent spirit, I'm telling you, promotion is inevitable. I don't know what it will look like. I don't know when it will happen. But I promise you, God knows how to get your name in a room. He knows how to get you in the exact place that you need to be. You will get promotion. We see it in the life of Daniel. But the bad news is, if you have an excellent spirit, people will not like you. As a matter of fact, they will hate you. Now, before I go too far on that little rabbit trail, let me just clarify. Because one thing I can't stand is when people have a persecution complex and sometimes people preach out of that place.
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Oh.
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A
The reason I got so many haters is because I'm anointed. The reason they couldn't handle me is cause I was going to the next level. Every elevator lets people get off on different levels. They had to get off. Cause I was going on another level. I'm hated. Cause I'm anointed. Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes you just hate it cause you're rude.
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Sometimes you hate it cause you don't have people skills.
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It's not anointing. Boo. Boo. So just make sure you keep it in context. But Daniel has proved positive that because he has an excellent spirit, he gets promotion. And with this promotion comes an attack from the people around him. They start running their mouth.
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Why?
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Because they are insecure. And whenever you have insecurity, insecurity always incubates jealousy. And jealousy is the trophy that mediocrity gives to excellence. Okay, okay. The problem with the people around Daniel is their insecurity. And insecurity incubates jealousy. And jealousy is the trophy that mediocrity gives to excellence. So anytime you see people being jealous around you because of your excellent spirit, no, they ain't mad at you. They're mad at at what it's exposing in them. So Daniel's just being excellent, doing what God has called him to do. All of a sudden, the people around him can't stand them. Daniel's walking in the room and they starting running their mouth. Look at him. Think he all there. You ever had the pain of somebody talking about you and they don't even know you and don't even know the full story? Can you see him talking about Daniel? Look at him. Look at him. Daniel been eating fruits and veggies since he was 1880. Shredded six pack. Here they go, talking about. Yeah, you know, I heard Daniel Arnold's epic. Yeah. Really? Yeah, that's what I heard. Now you look at him. Ain't no 80 year old looks like that. Come on, you see that? I didn't know it was out yet. No, he prophetic. He got it early. Running. Running their mouth. Running their mouth. They're talking about them. They're talking about them. They're running their mouth, running their mouth, talking about walking in the room, whispers, walking in the room, talking about criticism. Here is where I got offended on Daniel's behalf. Daniel got in the lion's den. Don't miss this. Because people were running there. Daniel got in the lion's den because people were running there. I'm gonna get participation from everybody before this service is over.
- [37:19]
B
He got in there because people were running there. He got out the lion's den because God shut. So my question for God is, if you can shut the mouths of lions, why not shut the mouths of liars that keep running there? And God said, well, Robert, you're asking the wrong question. I said, no, I'm not. Because it makes more sense to me to shut the mouths of the liars so I don't ever have to deal with the mouths of the lions. It makes more sense. Sense to me that you would just shut their mouth and shut the persecution. And God said, you're asking the wrong question. You're asking what makes sense. But I don't just do things because they make sense. I always ask the question, how much.
- [38:28]
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Glory am I going to get out of this?
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And I don't get a whole lot of glory by shutting the mouths of the liars. But do you know how much glory I get by shutting the mouths of liars? Sense. It makes more sense to go around a sea to get freedom. But God gets more glory when he splits a sea and you walk through. Makes more sense for a giant to fight another giant named Goliath. But God gets more glory when a little bitty boy with a slingshot knocks him out. It makes more sense to heal Lazarus when he's sick. But God gets more glory when he shows up four days later and says, lazarus, come forth. And a dead man comes out of the. I gotta hurry and get to the next service. You been asking the wrong question about your situation. You've been talking about God. This doesn't make sense. Sense. Make the attack stop.
- [39:37]
A
Not realizing that attack is auditioning for a miracle from God. You tell me what's a better Sunday school story, kids? People were talking about Daniel and God told him, stop it. Well, kids, Daniel trusted God from 18 to 80 and allowed them to throw him in a den. And he still trusted. And God had the power to shut the mouths of the lions and pull him out of it. And he got the glory. Oh, you don't have a clue. The story God is writing. If you would just trust him. I wish I had time. It's interesting because you know that Darius did not want Daniel thrown in the lion's den. He just let them play him on his ego. Like, why would you say yes to letting people only pray to you for 30 days? That's a lot of ego as a leader. I'm scared of people in leadership positions that have too much ego. Furthermore, they had a crazy law. The law of the Medes and the Persians stated that the king should have enough foresight that once he makes a decree that's can't be changed. Stupid law king, you ain't that good. There's only one king that can say something and it doesn't need to be changed. Earthly leaders need to give themselves the right to Say, hey, that was stupid. Now that was wrong. Now we got to change that. But the law was the law. What's interesting to me is they throw Daniel in and he don't even say anything. No speech.
- [41:59]
B
No, wait a minute. No, I'm innocent.
- [42:02]
A
He doesn't throw him in. But this pagan king Darius goes, daniel, may your God whom you serve faithfully rescue you. What? A pagan king goes, may your God who you serve faithfully, rescued. That sound like a prayer to me?
- [42:27]
B
What, Daniel, you mean to tell me your situation? Got a pagan king talking about, may your God whom you serve faithfully rescue you? The Bible says that same king went back to his palace and couldn't sleep.
- [42:40]
A
That night and started fasting.
- [42:42]
B
Hold on, Daniel, you mean to tell me your situation? Got a pagan king praying and fasting? Your situation?
- [42:49]
A
Hold on.
- [42:49]
B
Got a king up at night, can't sleep. Oh, that made me shout. Because Darius is in the palace and can't sleep. But Daniel is in the lion's den, sleeping real good. That lets me know that peace is not in the place. Peace comes from a person. You can put me in a den alliance and I still got peace. You can put me in a storm and I still got peace. As long as I got the one who is peace, and his name is Jesus. He's praying, he can't sleep, he's fasting.
- [43:38]
A
He wakes up the next morning and.
- [43:41]
B
Runs to the den while you run.
- [43:45]
A
Into a place that anybody else you would have thrown in there, you would have said, it's over.
- [43:50]
B
Since when does a king run to.
- [43:52]
A
A den early in the morning?
- [43:55]
B
Reminds me of some ladies that ran to a tomb. One early morning.
- [44:06]
A
Look at them. Praying, fasting, hoping. Runs to a place where it should be the end.
- [44:15]
B
Shouts remove the stone.
- [44:18]
A
I think I seen that before somewhere too. Daniel.
- [44:27]
B
Was your God whom you served, faithfully able to rescue you.
- [44:33]
A
The pause. Long live the king. That's how. No, he slept good that night when.
- [44:44]
B
You still got formalities. Long live the king.
- [44:51]
A
My God found me innocent in his sight. I was guilty in the sight of man, but I was innocent in the sight of God. I don't know about you, I would rather be innocent in the sight of God, guilty in the sight of man, than to be guilty in the sight of God and innocent before men. Thank God. I'm guilty. Thank God. Just because you made it illegal for me to pray doesn't mean I was going to stop doing what I have always done. I've been doing this since I was 18. Why would I stop at 80. I'm wondering today, have you stopped trusting? Because it hasn't turned out the way you want it to? Are you guilty of the right things? Or do you have that type of guilt where you're looking over your shoulder and you're free, but you're not free? Indeed. But there's something about trusting in God that'll make you guilty of the right things. I want to be guilty of trusting him. And not just trusting him to stop it, but trusting him to pull me out of it and meet me in it. I'm gonna ask everybody they can to stand to your feet. I'm gonna ask, heads be bowed and eyes be closed. Today you've been asking, why does this not make sense? And I think God's asking, how can I get some glory out of that? And when you trust and surrender, he can get his glory. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed in this place. Today, you'd be so honest to say, hey, PR. If I look at my life, I've got the wrong guilt. I'm not guilty of trusting. I got the type of guilt that's causing shame and condemnation. And today I need the strength and the grace, like Daniel that didn't just trust God for days, but trust him for decades. That's you. Would you just lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I can see it to say, I need. I need that today. Thank you, God. I see that hand. I see the hands going up all over this place. I'm telling you, even if you can't see it now, God will get the glory if you keep trusting anybody else. Lift it up and put it right back down. Thank you, God. Heads are still bowed, eyes are still closed. If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, today is your day to come home. I wish I could tell you that when you give your life to him, everything would be perfect. But I cannot tell you that because it's not true. Look at the life of Daniel. Taken from his home, faced fiery furnaces, stripped from everything, thrown in lions density.
- [48:41]
B
And yet, every day, three times a.
- [48:42]
A
Day, facing the window, he would pray and thank God. And we're talking about him today. He has a legacy because he was trusting. So with heads bowed and eyes closed today, if you'd be so honest, say, hey, P.R. i need to give him my life today. I don't care if it's one person. I promise you're worth it. Somebody watching online right now, somebody watching this on Pando. Your body might be in prison, but your spirit can be set free. Anybody else, if that's you, lift up your hand just right now, right where you are, saying, I need to give him my life today. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. See those hands? Can we pray this prayer as one big family? We're all going to say it, but especially those of you who responded. Would you say this? Say, jesus, I need you, Jesus, I know I can't do life without you. So, Lord, today I surrender. I give you my life, Jesus. I believe that you lived the life that I was supposed to live and you died the death that I was supposed to die. You took my place. So my response is to surrender. Forgive me of my sin. Make me brand new. From this moment forward, I'm walking with you in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Come on. Can we give King Jesus all of the praise and all of the honor. Come on, somebody. Can we welcome into the family every single person that just prayed that prayer. As always, these altars are going to be open if you would like personal prayer. Hear me today. If you prayed that prayer, the best next step would be to tap that seat in front of you. We say all the time at social, don't just attend, tap in. If you fill out that following Jesus link, it allows us as a church to come alongside you, to partner with you, to get you resources and continue to trust in the Lord. Amen. We got team at the Connect tent that'll give you a Bible. Love to meet you. But if you can't do any of that, if I were you, I would just keep showing up. Because if you keep showing up. Come on. If you keep showing up, you keep growing up. Social. I love you. May the Lord bless you and keep you. Cause his face to shine upon you. Give you grace and peace now and forever more.
- [51:20]
B
Social studies this Wednesday at Gillies.
- [51:24]
A
We'll be back here next Sunday.