Learning from Daniel

Daniel lived a remarkable life that was full of trials and excelling; hardship and greatness. I believe his life is a great example for the church in today's world. What if we have been positioned by God in our jobs, our relationships, and even our trials? What if favor looks like love from our "enemies" because we chose to love them first?

Transcript

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Hey friends, welcome to Divine Life. I am back on the porch in the beautiful state of West Virginia on a beautiful day. And it's just gosh, it just brings rest to your soul. I love when you're coming out of a winter season and you have these moments of just feeling the warmth of the sun, the gentle breeze, of being able to take in the sounds of all around you, of the birds. It just really helps to restore and to refresh and to renew our spirits. So and even the bumblebees. I don't know if you heard that, um, but there's a bunch of bumblebees out here. I haven't been um very diligent about these um podcasts. I get I tend to get really quiet when I'm being processed. Um and so it's just been that kind of a season. But I think that it's so helpful, even if we're going through hard times or if we're really working towards goals or whatever, I think it's really important to remember what the Lord has done for us and to really stay in that posture of releasing our testimony of his goodness. I think there's so much power in that. So hopefully um that's what we're doing here. I have been um hearing a lot from the Lord. I've been studying um the books of the minor prophets, um, specifically the last three books of the Old Testament, and I've also been in Daniel. And um right now, currently, um in Daniel, and I'm getting so much out of it that seems so relevant for right now, and just the season that I personally am in, and the season that I I feel that the church is in as well. You know, one thing that really stands out to me about Daniel is the fact that he didn't buck against the system, you know. He didn't um let the system dictate to him how he was going to live his life, how he was gonna honor his God. But at the same time, there was never a spirit of of disrespect or anarchy in him. He found favor and was promoted not only to one of the highest positions in the kingdom of um Babylon, which he entered as a slave. He also, when the Medes and the Persians um came and conquered Babylon, he again rose to a place of prominence. And I believe it was because of the character and the stewardship of the Lord that that he lived his life with. He became the friend of the pagan leaders, the friend of the kings that would who probably acted a lot worse than the leaders that we have that we demonize as the church. Not all of us, of course, but it's really been speaking to me about the importance of recognizing our purpose and where God has put us and what season we're in. And I believe that there are many people who have been put in these places where the Lord has just opened a door that you didn't expect, and now you don't really know what to do. And the Lord's saying, you just love people. I believe that Nebuchadnezzar and King Darius both loved Daniel. And if you read his story, it's so obvious that how much respect and honor they had for him, and I really believe that that's because Daniel loved them. He is a picture of Jesus going into the Gentile world and just being love. He humbled himself time and time again. And then we also see how he was I just love Daniel. You see how his heart for King Nebuchadnezzar and King Darius, you see his heart and the way that he even delivered the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He was like, you know, when Nebuchadnezzar got the dream about becoming, you know, that that beast, Daniel was troubled. He said he was troubled. And his response was, oh king, let this be to your enemies. And so we we see just the the humility that this man had with his walk with with God, with the acceptance of where God had put him. And we see his loyalty and his faithfulness to serve God in the midst of his circumstances, regardless of any outcome. I fully believe that he would have accepted any outcome if he had not been spared from that lion's den. And I love how when Nebuchadnezzar's son, I think it's actually his grandson, when he had to deliver or interpret the writing on the wall, how he again gave honor to Nebuchadnezzar and to the ruler that he was and to the man that he was. And this is after after being kidnapped at a really young age, you know, from from his home, from his family, from everything that he knew. So that I think that shows a lot of grace and a lot of humility. And I think that that's that's what the church is needing right now is is grace and humility. We don't see properly without humility. We can't see what the Lord's intentions are, what his will, his plan is, if we are not in a position of humility because pride puffs up, pride blinds you. Pride is opposed by the Lord, and we are called to work with the Lord. And the only way that we can actually work with the Lord and come into agreement with his purposes is with a heart of humility. I was really struck yesterday as I was reading in Daniel 7, and this is Daniel has this whole vision about the four beasts and the horn and all of this, and it's speaking to you know the end times, apparently, but also I think it you know it's it's the beginning started in his time, but he's talking, he's he's painting this picture of the powers that be, and of the destruction that comes from them, and all of this, and in the midst of it, though, in chapter 7, verse 9, I'm just gonna read it because he has this, it's like he's looking at what is on the earth, and then he looks to heaven and he sees what is in heaven, and what he saw was glorious. I'm just gonna I'm just gonna read it. I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the ancient of days took his seat. His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands were attending him, and myrids upon myrids were standing before him. The court sat and the books were open. This spoke to me so much about the power and the authority of the Lord and how he is not reactive to the earth. He is sovereign and the earth is unfolding with his intention. You know, the Bible tells us that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes. We can have so much rest in that. We can have so much understanding of the heart of the Father in that if we take our eyes off the beast, and the beast is man. The beast is our flesh. The beast is the devourer, but at the same time that that beast is moving on the earth and your circumstances and your mind and your emotions, he is taking his seat of authority. He's taking his his seat. The ancient of days took his seat. It says, I kept looking until thrones were set up. And while I believe that those are those thrones are representing, you know, the 24 elders, which were before Daniel's time, um, I believe for for us internally that that can be representing where we're making a place for him. And all of our circumstances have given us opportunity to make that place for him. In loss, there is this amazing invitation to this closeness with Jesus that I'm not sure that we can attain to without loss. He was a man of sorrows. It always makes me think of Isaiah 53 and the Lord, like the Lord gave me those scriptures, gosh, probably 10 or so years ago. And now as I read it, it's like I just get more and more understanding of the internal dialogue of Jesus, of his heart that ached for his people, of the rejection that he suffered and the the hurt that it caused, the rejection that we have made him suffer, and the hurt that we have caused him, and our disobedience, in our running, and our pushing away of the great love that he's released over us our whole lives. There is no place for pride in that, in that realization. There is no place of self-grande, of ideations, of greatness. There is there's no place for that in the understanding of how much he has loved us and long suffered with us and stayed with us. And going back to Daniel, his vision is of the darkness. His vision is of terror coming on the earth, and yet at the same time, a glory that I'm sure he struggled with trying to find words for. And we see that there's just fire, fire, fire. His throne was ablaze with flames. Its wheels were a burning fire, a river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him. That's his spirit. That's his holy spirit. His holy spirit going out among the whole earth. My uh uh my mentor just released a word, um, I believe it was yesterday, about the prophetic movement. And it's funny because um I've been reading about Catherine Kuhlman, really felt to read Benny Henn's book about her and her life and all this, and everything just kind of culminates together. Um and I'm sure there's more I could I could share with that, but I believe that we're about to see the fire of God again. Only this time Jesus is gonna be enthroned on it, meaning, meaning, meaning that our eyes are gonna be fixed on our Father, on the ancient of days, who is seated above all principalities, all powers, all giftings, all anointings, all platforms, all praise, all worship, and we're gonna truly see him. And our eyes are gonna be so fixed on what he's doing, that what is going on on the earth. Well, pale in comparison. I'm talking about instead of the fear of man, we're gonna have the fear of the Lord again. We're gonna have the awe, wonder, and reverence of the Father again. We're gonna see holy ones who are surrendered and submitted to the purposes of God again. We're gonna see his people walking in true worship, giving their whole self to him, which is their reasonable service, their reasonable service, their reasonable worship. It's the expected end. Because once you know him and his great love for you, and what he has imparted to his people, his very spirit, his very spirit, holy spirit, there is no response that is acceptable other than worship. You know, I was talking to my worship team earlier today, and we're we're talking about really feeling the urge, the urgency, if I if I may, to write our own worship, to be the expression of worship on the earth for our for the Lord in ourselves. You know, we all have a song. We all have a worship, we all have an expression of worship that the Lord has given us. And I believe it's time to start to stop recycling all of these songs, though they are glorious. They are glorious, and I I love worship music, and there's so many I have so much respect for because I like I just feel the heart that they have for the Lord, and it moves my heart. But we have to become our own expression, our own voice in the world for the Father, for for Jesus, for Holy Spirit. We have to become the living epistles that he created us to be. But I'd still take it back if I could. My actions. That we lay down the things that he's asking us to lay down and that we pick up the things that he's asking us to pick up, that we release those he's asking us to release, and that we cling to those that he's called us to cling to. That we lift one another up and walk arm in arm up his mighty mountain because we're not getting there alone. It's Christ in us the hope of glory. It's Christ in each and every one of us that's the hope of glory. We have to find it in ourselves first, and then we find it in our friends. And sometimes we find it in our friends, and they recognize it in us, and it helps us to find it in us. God is so good and he's so faithful with the relationships that he's bringing into our lives, that he's brought into our lives. And if we can just take our eyes off of man, off of the carnal wind, off of our ambition, and put it on the Father and see the Spirit moving and see the heart of Jesus for his people. Then, then, then we will walk as he walked. And we will love as he loved. And we will what's the word? I'm seeing, I'm seeing the rivers of water coming out of us. We will become rivers of water again on the earth. We will nurture the earth again. So these are just some of my recent prayers, um, ponderings with the Lord. And I hope that it's encouraging to share these things. Because I love when the Lord confirms himself with two or three voices. And I hope that there was confirmation in this for you because I fully believe in what the Lord is doing right now and in our lives. And it's all for his glory, and it's all the things that we asked for because we said we want to see you. We said we want to know you, and this is the path. This is the path. This is the way. He is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way. There is no other way. So be blessed. And I'm just gonna release over us a prayer of thanks, of thanksgiving to the Lord. So, Father, we thank you. We thank you for your goodness, Father. Oh, how great thou art. How excellent is your name in all the earth. Father, I thank you for the body. God, you're resuscitating your body. You're breathing into her again. You're raising her up. For such a time as this. She is not past due. She is right on time. And Father, I just thank you, God, for the timing of the Lord, for your timing, Lord. I feel like that is, your thumb is on that right now, too. And us trusting your timing, trusting your seasons, and submitting to whichever way the wind blows. So, Father, you can have all of us. Have your way in your church again. Have your way in in our hearts, Father. Let the let the people, let the people come together and honor and worship you. Be our focus again. Be our focus. Be thou our vision, Father. For there is none like you. None like you. Only, only you are worth our attention. Only you are worth our devotion. And so, Father, I just ask you to set our hearts ablaze with your love again, with your holy fire again. Put people in our path, Lord, to love. Edify us, Lord, with your correction. And keep us, keep us, keep us, Father. Keep us on your path. And I will I just praise you. I give you all the praise and all the glory in the name of Jesus. Amen.