Speaker 1: I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ and we are celebrating the amazing things that God is doing this month.
Speaker 1: This month, our theme is empowered strategies, spirit-led excellence, and we are talking about the life of Daniel.
Speaker 1: And Daniel, in being excellent, gave us a secret.
Speaker 1: And what is this secret of excellence?
Speaker 1: We won't talk about three things.
Speaker 1: The Bible says in Daniel, chapter 11, verse 32, the people who know their God, they shall be strong and they shall do exploits.
Speaker 1: In this verse, it gives us the secret that Daniel had in terms of excellence.
Speaker 1: Number one he says the people who know their God.
Speaker 1: Knowing God is such a key in becoming a person of excellence.
Speaker 1: If you are going to experience divine strategies, one of the basic ones is getting to know God, the people who know their God.
Speaker 1: You see, knowing God is building a relationship with Him.
Speaker 1: Jesus said in Matthew, chapter 4, verse 4, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Speaker 1: The word of God is like food for us.
Speaker 1: It is like bread that builds us up.
Speaker 1: Getting to know God is eternal life.
Speaker 1: Getting to know God is able to relate and to know Him and to know what he thinks about us.
Speaker 1: In fact, there's a verse in the Bible that says I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.
Speaker 1: Plans for welfare are not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Speaker 1: And the reason why Daniel and his friends excelled in a foreign country for many years is that they spent time getting to know God.
Speaker 1: If you're going to experience exploits on this planet, you have to know God.
Speaker 1: Many people try first of all doing things for God instead of first of all getting to know this God.
Speaker 1: And so as we get to know God, god will reveal Himself, he will reveal His will, he will reveal His guidance, and then we can be able to do the next thing.
Speaker 1: Paul and Daniel is saying the people who know their God that's the first thing get to know God.
Speaker 1: But secondly, he says the people who know their God shall be strong.
Speaker 1: Be strong.
Speaker 1: Being strong is very, very important.
Speaker 1: When we get to read God's word, as we get to know God, he begins to strengthen us.
Speaker 1: The Bible says in Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 31, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
Speaker 1: They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
Speaker 1: They shall run and not be weary.
Speaker 1: They shall walk and not faint.
Speaker 1: We live in a world where many things take away our strength.
Speaker 1: We are drained of strength.
Speaker 1: The challenges that we face, the frustrations that come our way, the worries that flow through our minds, the lack, sometimes, that we face around us these things drain our strength and sometimes we feel we cannot go any farther.
Speaker 1: How could Daniel and his friends live from one regime to the other one?
Speaker 1: Not only did they know God, they also became strong in the Lord.
Speaker 1: They were strengthened by the Lord.
Speaker 1: Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 10, says be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Speaker 1: And so it is important that, as you wait upon the Lord, the God Himself will give you the strength you need for every day.
Speaker 1: But thirdly, not only should we know God.
Speaker 1: Secondly, not only should we be strong, but the Bible says that we will do exploits.
Speaker 1: Doing is very important because doing is a matter of obedience.
Speaker 1: And again, the secret of these guys, daniel and his friends in Babylon, is that they were quick to obey God.
Speaker 1: They got to know Him, they called to be strengthened by Him, but every time God told them to do something, they went ahead and do it.
Speaker 1: Philippians 4.13 says I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
Speaker 1: And so the secret of Daniel, the secret strategy that we shall have, is simply this know God, be strong in Him and do exploits.
Speaker 1: You can never fail.
Speaker 1: God richly bless you this week as you lean on Him in Jesus name.
Speaker 1: Amen.