When The Lion Roars...

 When The Lion Roars...

Daniel 6

When the lion roars, he can be heard from 5 miles away.  He struts like a king who dominates the area.  His roar is to claim territory and strike fear into all.  Size is not a deterrent. His prowl is calculated.  He is wise and selective. He is fierce and fearless. He can jump over 35 feet high and he's extremely strong. He has a posse, and he's out for blood. He's known as the king of the jungle.  He hunts everything.  No one dares to silence him, except God!

21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

In the lion's den, Daniel was not afraid because he understood man's limit.  He had seen God do too much for him, to doubt God's ability to do even more.  He feared God more than man. He was innocent. He knew too well that obedience to God was better than sacrifice.

• He had been captured as a teenager and brought to a foreign land. Yet promoted.
• His gang remained healthy on just a leafy diet.
• His friends escaped the fiery furnace uncinched.
• He had seen a most powerful king eat grass.
• He ruled foreigners in their country, in their government.
• He was right when he interpreted the king's dream.
• He was right when he interpreted the writing on the wall.
• He walked in favor with God and with man.
• He had a real relationship with his God.

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Like David, he'd seen Goliath. But he'd also seen God.  He knew that God was able to do far more than any man on this earth could.  After all, God created man.

Isaiah 55:9 

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

If you are walking in the will of God for your life, you will have enemies.  Ask Jesus, or Paul.  The men decided to go without food until Paul was dead.  Acts 23 The Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus because HE was too popular. John 11 Herod's wife asked for John's head on a charger. Matthew 14 Jesus told HIS disciples to take up their cross. It's a decision we all have to make.  We have to be prepared for earthly "unfair" judgement when we decide to stand for God's laws.  We make ourselves unpopular when we chose to declare our faith in the face of adversity.  But faith can only come from a place of a true relationship with God.  There's no way around it. Faith is about jumping in and knowing your Father God will catch you.  You have to become like a child when it comes to The Almighty God. You have to step out of your boat into the water and walk towards Jesus like Peter. You have to keep your eyes on Jesus all the way, or you will sink. Are you innocent in God's eyes? Are your eyes focused on Jesus?  Are you committed to God? You have to have your own story of what you've seen God do in your own life.  David saw God rescue him from bears and other wild animals when he was with his sheep. He wasn't afraid of Goliath.  Goliath was just another beast. Goliath was just a pea brain in comparison to God. David understood that God made Goliath as well. He understood that God was in charge. God is always in charge! What have you seen God do? What have you trusted HIM to do? Only God is all powerful!

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God is supreme!  There is no situation that you can ever encounter that is not subject to God's authority. It doesn't matter where you are.  It doesn't matter who or what you are facing. God is always in control of everything. As long as you focus on God, HE will work it out.  Just remember that your most powerful weapon is prayer.  The disciples didn't ask God to show them how to do miracles.  They asked HIM to teach them how to pray. They observed the source of HIS strength. Prayer is the work. Jesus always resorted to prayer. Queen Esther told her people to pray. Esther 4. Daniel prayed three times daily. He went into his house, turned to the window facing Jerusalem and prayed when he realized that they had plotted for his death.  You have to believe that God will work it out.  HE is your help.  Like a shower, you need prayer every day.  It is what it is. When you're not sure what to do - remind HIM of HIS word.  Psalm 121.  The great news is - because of Jesus' finished work on the cross; every power in the earth is now subject to us as believers.  Like a lion, we should be fierce and fearless in our communities knowing that God has given us power to overpower any and every adversary. Know that when we feel weak, that's when we are most strong, because then HE fights for us.  God is our posse. HE is our pride. Greater is HE that is in us than he that is in the world.  The same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead is alive in us today.

Luke 10:19

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Faith in God's ability is the ingredient to overcome all fears.  Just imagine the growls of the lions before Daniel was thrown into the den.  Just imagine spending an entire night with multiple lions walking around you.  Just imagine the sight of all the dead bones in the den from prior people. Imagine the awful smells.  Plus, they shut him in with a stone. Yet he survived.  What den have you been thrown into?  Do you have others scheming and plotting, even lying or spreading rumors about you?  Are you surrounded by lions, situations and or systems and people that seem more powerful than you? Remind HIM of HIS word. Psalm 91. Remember, it is always about HIS Glory.  God works it out to draw men unto himself.  In the end, not just Daniel, but a whole nation that needed 120 satraps to lead them, now bowed to the Almighty God.  Daniel did not complain. Instead, he gave thanks. His relationship with God was more important than what others thought of him. We do not always understand God's agenda, but we ought always to give thanks. When you don't know what to do PRAISE GOD.  Like Paul and Silas in prison, praise God.  Your faith, your commitment and obedience to HIM is what matters. HE will open your oppressive gates and give HIMSELF the glory.

Daniel is the only prophet who lived through four different regimes (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus). God did that! HE is sovereign over all. Daniel's enemies and their families were crushed in the lions den.  God caused that. All wisdom and power come from God. Daniel was a 'big deal' in a foreign government. He had seen man's power in comparison to God's.  Proverbs 21.  Inspite of his position, he remained humble and faithful to God. He understood that God could handle any terrorizing situation, by HIMSELF anytime. He understood that God could shut the mouths of any and every enemy power. He understood that all the glory belongs to God. Therefore, God revealed many things to him in dreams and visions.  Ask. Talk to God. Pray continually. Jeremiah 33. If you seek revelation, stay humble.  If you seek justice, turn to God. Draw near to God and HE will draw near to you. At exactly the right time, God will work it out.  God is forever sovereign.  HE will ALWAYS be the last one standing. Nothing and no one is as powerful!  Do not compromise your faith. Never trade obedience to God! It's not worth it!

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TESTIMONY: They Stabbed Me for My Faith but Yeshua Healed My Heart – Pod for Israel

WORSHIP: God Will Work It Out (feat. Naomi Raine & Israel Houghton) | Maverick City Music | TRIBL

When you don't know what to do ROAR GOD'S PRAISE!

IN THE DARK....focus on GOD!

IN THE DARK....focus on GOD!

Sigh! So much to get done. If I can just break through the ceiling, the wall. But not yet, HE’S not ready! Sometimes I get weary trying to get out to no avail. It’s not that I feel unsafe. It’s just that I want more. I’m in a cell, but I’m not miserable or feeling tight. I just need to sit tight. I’m anxious sometimes to go out into the light. But HE’S not ready. I’m not ready. I’m still in embryonic form. It’s not time yet for me to be birth. I’ve got to trust the process. A premature birth is dangerous to the fetus. God is not ready to release me from the darkness of the womb of HIS nurture. Like a seed I first have to be planted way down in the dark soil, and build more roots before I surface. I need to germinate. Patience is a virtue. Rest is good!

What do I do when I’m not getting enough done fast enough? When my goals and aspirations are not being materialized and instead other agendas keep surfacing on my shores? What do I do when the people who are constantly relying on me are unreliable. Even though I know that God is my source, do I continue to let Judas kiss me? Do I continue to be faithful to the unfaithful? To what avail? Do I just sit and wait patiently and do nothing? Not going anywhere anytime soon!

….I guess this is how Daniel felt in the lion’s den; knowing it was God that was keeping the lions from devouring him; yet wondering when he was going to get out of there. Or Jonah in the belly of the whale. When you know that it’s God who’s keeping you but you’re curious to get transferred to a more favorable environ. You want to get to a more comfortable place, anywhere but there. What about Joseph in prison? Clearly it was God who took him to Egypt. He had gotten a vision soooooooooooooo long ago about his dominion over his brothers. First he was beaten, then sold, then imprisoned, then released, then lied upon, then imprisoned again.  Yet he remained faithful to God through it all. If God brought you to it, HE'LL get you through it.

"God is not a God of buck-up!"....Pastor David Henry

Proverbs 3: 5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge HIM, And HE shall direct your paths.

 

The purpose of your life....

 

Your whole life is about fulfilling God's purpose, not yours.  Ephesians 2  God made us to do good works which please HIM.  This includes: dominating the earth, loving each other, loving and relating to HIM, obeying HIS commands, enjoying the earth, enjoying our lives on earth.  The thing is, we cannot accomplish any of these goals without correct instructions.  God is very organized.  And HIS intent is for the earth to function as organized as heaven does.  That is why Jesus taught HIS disciples to pray by giving them a template which included "THY Kingdom come, THY Will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven".  Jesus was the first example of an 'extra-terristial being' i.e. a person

who lived in heaven coming to earth to teach us the ways of heaven.  Even though God had sent the Holy Spirit and angels to relate to men in the past, they were all short-term appearances.  The only two people who had ever really related to/ dwelt with God were Adam and Eve.  They were distracted and deceived by the devil.  They forfeited the plan.  Genesis 1-3 It was not enough time and training for them to get it right.

 

Why Jesus came....

 

Jesus came to the earth  to restore man's broken relationship with God, and to fulfill God's purpose for our lives.  God is holy.  In order for us to be acceptable in the presence of God we would have to become holy as well.  The only thing that could make us holy is the pure blood of Jesus Christ HIS Son.   

 

Hebrews 9:22

 

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.  

 

Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, God promised to send Jesus to clean up their mess. Genesis 3 Then God gave us laws to keep us on the right track and prophets/ prophecies to remind us that Jesus would come and make it better. When the time was right Jesus came and died on the cross, so that HE could give us the Holy Spirit to teach us how to successfully accomplish God's plan for our lives on earth.  The Holy Spirit could not live in 'unclean vessels'.  Jesus was man on earth, HIS mission limited HIM to one location at a time.  But the Holy Spirit is not limited to location.  HE can be with and in all of us simultaneously.

 

^{Matthew 5: 17-19}

 

¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  

 

God's plan for man's life on earth is to enjoy the privileges of living in the Kingdom of heaven.  It's like being a King who has colonized another territory.  You send your 'governor' or representative to set up a 'colony' of your kingdom.  In a colony, the citizens speak the same language, share a similar culture, and are entitled to the same privileges as the residents in the original kingdom.  The original kingdom is the headquarters with the resources.  The laws and constitution/ principles are the same in both territories.  Jesus brought the government of the Kingdom of heaven to earth when HE came.  Isaiah 9 After HIS resurrection Jesus told HIS disciples to wait on the Holy Spirit who would teach them all things i.e. the culture of the Kingdom of heaven).

 

St. John 14:26

 

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.

 

Jesus told HIS disciples that the reason HE came to earth was to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of heaven and HE commissioned them to do the same.  Matthew 4-28 Everything about us should reflect this mandate.  When we understand the Kingdom, we understand our authority.  Jesus had dark days like those in the wilderness; like the one in Gethsemane, but HE was not distracted.  HIS mission was to expose us to the Kingdom of heaven, restore it to us, and give us the Holy Spirit to sustain it here on earth.  Gethsemane was HIS last chance to 'cop out', i.e. to disobey God's will for HIS life on earth.  Once HE got arrested, the rest was history.  Joseph could have slept with Potipher's wife.   Distraction and deception are very subtle.  It is important to know what is God's command to you, and to obey it no matter what.  Just as we all have a unique fingerprint, so too we all have a specific purpose in God's plan for our lives on earth. Everything in the earth is just a 'thing'. Things are replaceable and incomparable to those in the Kingdom of heaven.  It's seasonal and liable to roth.  Matthew 6 God's will is for us to set our affections on the things of heaven in HIS Kingdom.  It's a different mindset for a different lifestyle.

 

Colossians 3: 2-3

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 

 

In the Kingdom of heaven your value system is the opposite of the kingdom of earth.  The kingdom of earth is temporal and so is its wealth.  It is ruled by the devil.  he is God's enemy.  At the end of the day, the mission is God's glory.  God must be glorified.  It's what Kings demand.  Kings take care of their children and citizens.  It's in their nature and reflects their glory.  Their territories/ colonies reflect their wealth, power and dominion. Jesus reclaimed earthly dominion and gave it back to man when HE died on the cross.  Then HE went back to be with HIS Father in heaven.  HE is now seated on HIS throne at the right hand of God The Father. Mark 16 It doesn't matter where you start.  With God you always finish on top. The Almighty God is in always control.  HE sees all, HE knows all!  Trust HIS plan.  Give HIM all the praise!  HE is Sovereign over all!

 

TESTIMONY: ISIS Assassin Meets Jesus | Testimony by Sean Feucht

WORSHIP: Oceans

Be a flint....focus on GOD!