Daniel's Prayer Journey | Pr Sandra

You're listening to a message to go from ex church.

We hope this message will light up your tea.

So here we go. I'm going to look at the

time and really one's wondering and praying and saying, you know, Lord,

how can I bring this message to everyone here today?

And so I'm going to take us through very quickly,

not too long. I think you're familiar with this story.

We're going to look at Daniel. I need Daniel's in

the house. Hey, bro, look at you. Okay, We're gonna

look at Daniel's prayer journey. All right, the prophet Daniel

or the governor uh in Babylon. Daniel who was taken

captive from his homeland. And I don't know if anyone

here has ever been taken captive, you know, against your will,

probably by your choice. La, you went overseas love by choice.

But this guy went overseas but by against his will.

And Daniel was not so old when he was taken captive.

He was only anywhere between the age of you know,

ten eleven to about eighteen years old. Who knows. He

was a young person, very very young person. So Daniel

was taken captive at the age of sixteen, and he's

probably one of the only ones who has lasted the

span of seventy years living in Babylon. And it was

seventy years that the Jews were, you know, taken down.

The country was gone, everything was burned down, and they

moved all the smart, good looking, good looking Daniel all right,

oh the noble people. They were taken away from the

land of Jerusalem and gone taken into Babylon. You know,

some writers say or commentary say, maybe neb at that time,

who was who was raining in Babylon, wanted to show,

you know, these are my international animals, girl, because they

had a funny mindlight like, you know, these are my captives,

you know, slaves. But when he took he took the best.

He took the best, and he wanted to train them.

So he put them in the University of Babylon for

three years and they went to study the language, they

study the culture, the literature to transform them to become

like them. So you know, when you go to university,

you spend three years learning whatever you're learning, to be

transformed to have knowledge hopefully your parents hope so, and

then come out and work and pay them back. And

he said all right, and then take care of them later.

I don't know, I don't know, okay, but that's what

they did. They were in a university for three years

learning language, literature, culture, language. You know, they're just being

trying to form Daniel's life amazingly. That means if he

was about sixteen, let's say, and he lived seventy years there,

he would be eighty six at the end of the

seventy years, the after they wrapped up. That means Babylon

just dissolved later. And not only did he have seventy

years across, you know, serving as governor. Started not as

governor first but one of the officers, and later became governor.

He had he m he served over a span of

four to five kings. The kings that he served was Nabucaneza.

Luckily there was an evil Meredesh, which you read in chronicles,

and then there was who's his name, the bell Shazza,

also under Babylon, and then Babylon was taken over by

the Persians, and so there was Cyrus, and after Cyrus

was Darius. There was about seventy years and he has

been there a very good health. I suppose he's eating

vegetarian every day, okay, so very healthy life. So this

Daniel his life as a young person. Maybe he was twelve,

maybe he was sixteen, But he was young. He wasn't

taken captive like a fifty year old or a forty

mature man. He wasn't. He was just a young boy.

But of course, in the culture of the Jewish culture,

you know, twelve years old, you're already like a grown

up person, like they call it quite adults of but

not yet adult adult. But yet they would recognize you.

So maybe he could have been twelve, maybe good six.

A lot of people believe he was sixteen. So as

I look at his life, right he really I didn't

put up all the slides, but if you read through

his life, and it started already in Daniel chapter one,

when he was taken captive and he made a decision

at sixteen. I don't know how many of us, when

we were sixteen could make a decision for Jesus to

not compromise our life that, but but Daniel did. He

because they didn't eat pork, and they didn't eat all

this stuff at the Jewish they they didn't eat pork. Right,

So when he was taken captive. They were fed the

best food at the at the king's palace because they

were they were going to be raised as top notch,

you know, officers. And so in Daniel chapter one, already

he made a choice, as you know, he purposed in

his heart. Daniel chapter one was eight. He purposed in

his heart to not compromise. And and and those of

us or those of you who have been with us

from campus, would have had this message that, you know,

there was no compromise. He made a choice not to

compromise his faith. And he told the the jailer, the

guy took care of them, ahead of all these children

of Israel, children of Jerusalem, was that we won't be

eating your rich foods. Can we ask, if you test

us for ten days, that we just have vegetables. Of course,

today y'all were like vegan, vegetarian, yay, right, But that

time I'm like vegetables, what tomato? You know what? I

don't know. So he said, I just want to drink.

We don't want the wine. We'll just have water, and

then we'll have vegetables. Of course, our friend, the one

who was taking care of him, you know, hit the

chief of the eunuchs, right. He said like, hey, no way, man,

I don't want to get my head cut off to

find out you come off skinny and you know, dry

looking just eating vegetables. You gotta eat the good food.

And he said, no, no, just test us for ten days.

If we fail, then we'll eat whatever. But we don't

want to compromise. We just want to have these veggies.

And so Daniel. Now they were men, maybe hundreds of

young people, but the ones who stood out was Daniel

and his three friends. She had dragged mishack and a bannigo,

and so they said, okay, we'll do this. And as

you know, they took the ten days and they looked chubbier, greener. Okay, no,

no rosy cheek with vegetables. So everybody, are you doing

Daniel Fast? All right? If you're on the they call

it the Daniel Fast. Right, vegetables, you should look chubbier, redder,

and healthier with lots of water. And they were looking

really really good. And so the chief of you not said, okay,

I'll let you just continue eating as you do. And

so they continue eating as they did over all these years.

I don't know how many years they ate like that,

but there was his journey. He he would have prayed,

he would have said, a lot, I know, I'm a

child of God, a follower, follower of yahweh, I'm not

going to compromise. So such a young age, he makes

a decay. He lives many, many years, and we know

that he grows very old but still serving. I don't

know how he managed to serve four or five kings.

Usually people forget you already, ma after that, you know,

let's say the first king Nebu diedy you know, then no,

maybe a new king takes over, but noah, he was

still serving there. That's amazing, isn't it. Now. Usually when

you have new administration, right, we don't want the old

Fello's all okay, we resign, you resign, you now give

you vsys go go go, all right, you know, all right,

nice package, several package, okay, bye. But this guy seventy years,

having graduated, he gets a job in the local government

and then he's there serving all these years. And throughout

those seventy years. If you look to and I scan

through the twelve chapters of the Book of Daniel, he

would have this habit of always connecting with the lot.

He was always King, to Jesus, okay, talking to God. Okay.

He was always having his prayer and so you'll see

the different chapters. Even for the choice of eating ten

days of wage veggies. He didn't just come up with

a bright idea. I believe that was a conviction. And

conviction comes because he had a relationship with the God

that he believed and followed, and then the favor came.

And then after that, you know, everybody was thinking, these

guys are the followers of this god. No, cannot allow

ow cannot They got to die, they cannot live anymore

anyway like that, the whole world always don't like this

group of people are so very persecuted. But he had favor.

He had favor, and he would talk to the Lord

and he would even tell his friends, you know, pray

for me, pray for me. In chapter two when Nebu

Kneza had a dream and he said, if nobody can

interpret it, that's it off with the head. Then everybody,

all the officer is going to die, including the four friends.

So Daniel said, hey, my dear three friends, can you

pray and ask the Lord that God will give me

interpretation of the dream. And that's where it began to

reveal that Daniel had the gift of interpreting visions and dreams.

And then all the kings knew he could do it

and they would call on him. They say, okay, then

he would, he would, he would pray and God gave

him the interpretation. So we know there was this prayer journey.

He had a prayer life, and he journeyed through right

across his life. And I'm just going to jump ahead

to to the to the chapter that I want to

take us through, just to give us a picture of

Daniel his prayer life. Amen. Now in Daniel, chapter six,

verse ten is the story where you know his enemies

were he was so favored. Can you say? It was

just so favored? And you know he could even tell

the boss, you know, please take my three friends surf alongside. No,

they're really good CCC and yeah yeah yeah, very good results,

very good. So okay, can even listen to him more.

And then came to the appointment, they said this, guya,

they tried to find wrong. You know, I think if

if someone to find wrong with me, and it might

find lie wrong. Okay, I know what I didn't do,

I didn't do right. But Daniel they couldn't find a

spot on him. They couldn't. They such certain they must

have observed him in and out. Wow. They tried to

pin something on him, but there was nothing they could

pin on him. He was not a womanizer, he was

not a drinker. He did not he did not use

the company's photostat machine and take it for free. He

never took a pencil, No, he didn't. He never rode

once on the chariot to ride from this city to

the other. He walked or had a donkey. But anyway,

they couldn't find anything to pin on him, to say that,

you see, he is a bad guy. Send him to jail,

kill him off with his head. So in chapter six

of Daniel, that's what they did. They tried every way,

and and it says here they tried to plot against him,

but he was so distinguished, he was above them. He

had an excellent spirit. The king put him over all

the whole kingdom. They said, I cannot find one error,

one fault. A yeah, And then they said, the only

thing we can come against him is him, and he's God.

So let's create something else. So they said, great, oh,

great king. And this king at that time was Darius.

Now Darius also liked him, had favor and he said,

all right, King, we want to set one man, just

one man. Can you imagine one man only? You know,

if anybody bowed down to any other person, any other god,

off with their head, they must only worship you. Then

the silly king said, yeah, good idea, let's do it.

Let's do it. And they put out and said here here, yeah,

ye here yee. Citizens, no one shall bow down to

any other god but to King Darius. Long live Darius.

And if you do bound down to any other god,

off with your head. Daniel. Hear's it. He's part of

the governor, he's the main governor. What does he do?

I don't know. If I were him, I would go

and do like okay, I'm like, what do laine or

what he say? You know? And a gin al. This

guy coolly walks home, right, he's from the Bronx. I

don't know. He's like going. And then he goes up

to his upper room. He opens his window big big

eye wouldn't but he wouldn't. And then he goes down

and nails down and then he he begins to pray

to the god that he worships. And has worship in

the last forty years or fifty years, He's worship more

than that. How many years? Right, he don't care because

you ain't got nothing army. So I'm just gonna pray

facing Jerusalem as he did every day. And they say here,

so next slight. Daniel had a very consistent prayer life.

So yes, my life is hanging on a thin thread.

But I'm going to pray in my upper room as

I do every day. I'm going to open the window

as I do every day. I'll kneel down and I'll

pray and I'll give thanks. And because that was his habit,

that was his custom, that was his every day. You know,

like how every day you have to have a cup

of coffee. This guy every day had a cup of prayer.

And so he would pray. And because it says in

Daniel chapter six, vers Ten, he did what he did.

I did what I did. He did what he did

since early days. So since he was young, he did that. Wow.

He by this time, by this story, Daniel was not

a young boy. He wasn't even middle aged. He was

likely because it was King Darius already, it was seventy

years coming. He would have been in a eighties, all right,

So here's this at old guy and still strong still.

I don't know. Is something about him and Jesus and whatever.

He's like strong. But he goes up to pray coolly

and calmly, knowing that it will be it will be

a difficult challenge for him, because they were observing him

like hawks, just to catch him. And they did catch him,

and they said, King Darius, there you go, here you go.

This is the guy he's worshiping any he's worshiping his God,

not you, So King, get him off off what he said,

King Darrius was really sorry about it, and he tried

every way to stall it, stall it, and they said

king because they also knew that he had a lot

of favor with King Darius. So Daris had no choice.

He said, Daniel, I'm so sorry, Daniel, I'm so sorry.

But you get in the verse he says, what I

know that your God will deliver you a heathen. King says,

I am so sorry, but I have to do this

thing that I promise, And he said, your God, whom

you serve continually, he will deliver you such faith. I

think none of us will have such faith. We're all

gonna be crying. Really, I don't know why to be

fasting that day, all right, having faster for the last

forty years, now I'm gonna fast. I don't want to

be so fast so the alliance won't want to eat

me because I'm not skinny, and so he's you know,

i'd probably be panicking. I don't know. I don't say

I'm like, I'm so brave. I don't know when he

was so brave. Either he was so brave or he

was just like, you know, I'm the Lord. The Lord

will do what he will with me. I've served him

all these years. Okayler have to go Gola. But he went,

doesn't say how he felt. There's no there's no story

about how he feels here. Nothing right, there's no reflection

going on here, all right, nothing nothing to journal about. Nothing. No,

he just goes a bit like the Abraham story, like

we don't know how it bren felt. And of course

the next day King Darius Puggy Puggy comes and say, Daniel,

are you still alive? Hello? Anybody there? Mew all right?

And there were kittens in there. There were kittens in

the den because he's alive. The lions became kittens. God

sent his spirit or his angel to calm them all down.

Daniel was sitting and having got junk with them, I

don't know, you know, because he was okay. He came

and you know, the king cried out, you know, to

lamenting boys, to Daniel's servant of the living God, Daniel,

has your God, whom you serve continually been able to

deliver you from the lions. And he said, O King

live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the

lion's mouth so that they have not hurt me because

I was found innocent before him. And also, O King,

I have done no wrong before you. Wow, they're not

just a lagenda. True, this is a true story. This

is Daniel who lived. And Wow, the king was so

happy for him. He took the heads off of those

other offices and Daniel lived there is was probably one

of the later kings already in the Persian Empire. And

then after that probably Daniel died all right, went home

to be with the Lord. But this Daniel, to have

this consistent prayer life is something that I'm challenged with

or constantly challenged. And so I would say that, come on, guys,

what's your U turn. What's your U turn this new season? Amen?

What's my you turn? I'm looking at Daniel. He is

an example. I know. You know Jesus in a New

Testament say, if you're going to pray, close the dog,

or and pray your father who sees you in secret?

But this Daniel had his secret place. It wasn't upper room.

Now it's so tall, who's going to see? Right? But

some people really but say see everything they want to see.

It wasn't upper room. It is a high room nobody

can see. But they were telescoping him perhaps. So what's

your U turn? You know you are allowed to you

turn every year. We do twenty one days every year.

There's a chance to you turn if there's something we

feel needs a change. Amen. I want to say to us, well,

when the pandemic happened and we had two years of it,

I really took it as my U turn as I realized, whoa,

I don't have to go to work and I don't

have to beat the gem, so I don't have to

leave the house at seven or six. I could be

here and then instead of driving, I would be home

to pray, and therefore I had two hours of prayer

time at least a good two hours every day for

the last well the time that we didn't have to

go to work and we start work at nine am online,

but then there was no need to drive. And then

took that like God, I'm going to take it as

my youth turn to get my quiet time, get my

prayer time, my morning devotion with the lot right for

this season instead of you know, sleeping in or whatever,

or just working. And so that was my u turn

for me. I took an opportunity to take the time

that I would have been driving to pray, to have fellowship,

to worship, to read God's word. It was it was

a really good time. I was also going to a

very very testing and challenging time with family, and so

that prayer time meant a lot to me. And God,

you know, taught me how to do spiritual warfare, how

to know my standing authority. I came to, you know, know,

God's heart as a father for me because of the

time spent. And so I want to say to us,

we're still working. We have these next twenty one days.

You're working. I'm working. I'm off to Nepal on Tuesday,

gonna be there. I don't want to expect. It's been

a long time since I've done this type of mission trip.

I travel, I do, we visit outages, but not this

kind of mission trip to take backpack and all of you. Okay,

And they told me, but you only have ten minutes

to bathe because there's six of us, ll five of us.

The one is the one guy, he's on his own.

I wish I was the one guy there. So say,

now five of us staying in the same room, chudge house,

you need to have ten minutes in the butt. Wait,

I take at least ten minutes to wash my hair.

I'm like, I can't do this. I've got long hair.

How doing away now? Ten minutes? Ten minutes? Are you?

And you know I cannot do all my anyway, it's

gonna be awesome. Five women, one to three of us

have long hair, to have short hair. Don't know how? Okay,

I don't know anyway. You know, you just go through

different things and you you you experience different things. So

we're gonna be busy. But we have got twenty one

days and in other how you say traditional churches these

forty days, we're in the twenty one, but twenty days

before they would have started lent. And that is the

forty days too good Friday. We've cut our forty days

down after many years of realizing our people cannot fast

forty days, they just wainted. So we said, we want

everyone to go through days. So let's do it twenty

one day. It's more realistic and can can. I used

to fast forty days two times a year, one for

X and one for the National Church. And I think

I really lost a lot of low wait when I

was younger than can daha now cannot Okay, But so

we know twenty one it's doable, It's possible. Amen. And

so in the midst of maybe you haven't started, maybe

you've thought about it. Maybe some of you will say,

oh maybe I will just fast my TV okay, fast something,

but don't just fast. Look at what Daniel did. He

would have a prayer time, he would have a time

to talk to Jesus, he would have a time out

with the Lord. Now, I want to encourage what's your

youthn I mean I can say this all of you

are listening to it, but I don't know how many

of you will take it back and say, what's my

youthn Amen? You turns are aloud in our walk with Jesus.

Thank you Jesus, you turns our love. When we realize, ma'am,

we're on the wrong road, how can I walk back

on the right step with the Lord? Amen? So I

want a journey on to this further chapters in Daniel

chapter nine. Now, Daniel chapter nine, if you look at

Daniel chapter nine, I've just got a slide that has

a portion of the scripture. What happened was, if you

have read the book of Daniel, he's a very key personnel,

very key prophet in the Bible that God revealed about

the future of Israel, which you and I are living

in today, and we will get to see the changes

that will happen. And this is was prophesied to Daniel,

but he couldn't reveal. The Lord told him, you have

to keep it, kit, swallow the key. We all have

the guests, or we will have to study the word.

And so God was revealing things about the current time,

government and the empire and the things of the future

for Israel. So he was wow like like wow, so

many pictures, so many visions, and so he set his

heart out to seek the Lord to receive a revelation.

So in Daniel chapter nine, verse I hope I got

the right verse Daniel chapter nine, in verse three, I

just have this slide that says, then Daniel says, I

set my face towards the Lord God to make requests

by prayer and supplication, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. Okay,

you do not need to do sec cloth and exious praise.

The Lord Jesus came and took everything. Okay, But he

was in the first year of King Darius of the

Persian Empire, and the Lord had revealed the things that

what happened and also the prophecy that came from Jeremiah.

What happened is you. So he was going through this.

He had such a heart for his nation while he

served the king in a Babylon, and so he set

his heart, he said his face. He was very clear

about what I want to while I'm serving the King,

I'm working. I set my face to seek the Lord

about what this interpretation is. What can I share to

God's people? And so I want to bring this to

you to say that he actually made a decision when

there was a challenge, when there was a need, he

would say, Lord, I'm gonna set my face. I'm gonna

seek you with fasting, with prayer and supplication, not just intercession,

to know what it is that God wants me to

know why you have revealed these visions to me. But

I have no interpretation yet. So he went to seek

the Lord. This was a he had quite a burden.

You know. He was felt because you read before all

the vision of the Ram, the godla Bes, the four

beasts and everything, Okay, a bit like a book of Ezekiel.

So he set himself up very clear vision, a very

clear decision that I'm going to seek the lot. Okay,

then you move over to John to Daniel chapter ten.

I just want to take you through it quickly and

then just bring the encouragement to us. In Daniel chapter ten,

he is now the different season. This is before there

is this was Cyrus something else. So it's not written

in a chronological order. So he says in the thirty

of Cyrus, King of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel.

Daniel chapter ten, verse one. All right. His Babylonian name

was Belti Chazar. Call your son that Tim.

Beltie or Chazar or Shah for short, or sr all

right or bell okay bell ty Shazar was his Babylonian name,

and the Lot had give him a message, and so he.

He understood the message and had understanding of the vision.

But you know, he continued to seek the lot for,

you know, just to say, okay, Lord, what else? What's next?

And so you read in chapter ten, verse two, he

says that in those days I Daniel was mourning or

meaning he was he took time out, not mourning because

someone died. But the word morning here is he just

lessen his excited, exciting life to a more not so

exciting life with three full days full weeks of fasting

twenty one days, all right. And so now, so I

want to encourage you. If you're thinking how to fast,

I share with you how to fast. Now, he says,

I ate no pleasant food. Now, what is your pleasant food? Kfc?

What's your happy food? Ice cream? Okay? What else? What

else is your Yeah? You really like ice cream? Ah,

very good? So he ate no pleasant food, all right.

And there was no meat or wine that touched his mouth,

Nor did he annoint himself. He didn't put perfume in,

didn't comb his head, didn't beard, didn't shave, not, didn't beard,

he grew a beard, and for three whole weeks, until

three whole weeks he ate no pleasant food. Now, if

you're thinking, how am I gonna do this twenty one days?

Number one? Do you have a favorite food? Do you

have a pleasant food? Maybe you're saying no ice cream

for the next twenty one days, no dessert for twenty

one days. Maybe that no fry chicken anyone days. Maybe

I just eat mushrooms. I don't know it tastes like chicken. No,

you're just You're just saying, I'm gonna set aside my

favorite food that I endowed you with because I love

or no coke for me, No coke for the next

no coke for any one days. You know something that

you enjoy eating, it's a desirable food, it's a happy

food for you. And then you say, Okay, no McNuggets

for the next twenty one days. Can we do this?

Yes you can? No macnuggets for twenty one days. You

love magnuggets? Yes, yay? Who likes McNuggets? Wave your hand?

Yeah me too. All right, So I'm gonna say no

macnuggets for twenty one days. Ah, but you can eat

boring rice, dry bread, sour dough. You can have everything else,

but to you, what is your pleasant food? What is

your happy food? What is the thing that you enjoy most? So? Right,

so you say no to that for twenty one days.

So I'm not asking you not to eat. If you've

never fasted, if you don't know how to fast, if

you get gas straight, don't be frightened and say I

think I cannot participate. Let's do something that we can do.

And Daniel said, because he still had to work, so

he said, I'm gonna have dry bread no KFC, ok,

I don't know what o no, no hummers? Yeah, no

those deepeas. Maybe he didn't eat all of that. He

just had to have ribad so pleasant food, right, that's

what it says. Yeah, no, I ate, no pleasant food.

And he didn't eat chicken that time, he didn't eat beef,

and he didn't have wine. In the normal setting he

would have had that. For twenty one days, he had

no pleasant food, desirable food, favorite food, happy food, just

so that he could give himself to the lot in

the midst of him still working. So he ate, he ate,

but he cut down on his favorite Guys, can you

do that if you're going to fast. If you're thinking

about what's my youthurn? How can I participate? Maybe you

give up one favorite food samba blad chan ah, samba

bla chan No no kimchi? Oh no, all right, that's

quite a Daniel fast. It's all cabbage, right, okay, but

kimchi is your favorite? Right so pig or you're my

favorite every day on eat? Okay? No that you eat

other things? How about that? Because you're giving up something

and saying I'm gonna put it aside and then I'm

gonna focus on you. So I really want to eat

it by no ice cream for twenty one days, you know,

and then you seek and then you put time to

talk to the lot. Amen. And that's how you can

do it. This is how Daniel did it. There were

many fast that he did, I'm sure, but this one

said he just cut down the pleasant food. He cut

down his favorite food. He didn't just say maybe they

didn't have social media dead then maybe, but social media

is not a food, so you must try a food thing. Okay,

live is social media because you eat social media? Okay,

all right, So he took that step. So that's what

he did in those days. I Daniel was morning for

three four weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat

or wine came into my mouth, Nor did I annoying

myself at all till three whole weeks. What's fulfilled? How

about no shopping, ladies, No shopping for three weeks, no

buying new dress, no no new t shirt, no shoes,

no shopping. Just save up all your money and then

you can give it for your missions, fun or whatever.

How about that? Because that's a distraction, right, because when

you shop, you have to look right, something that really

takes your breath away, bring back your breath and just

seek the Lord. Now chopping because he said I didn't

annoy myself. Maybe I'm not saying don't dress up, dress up,

but didn't go shopping. I don't do the extraller. I

fast from my shopping and I give my time to

seeking the Lord. Amen, someone encourages her that it is

not encouraging myself as well. I'll be away in Nepal.

And we all agreed because we have we're already going

to that. We said all of us will fast lunch.

No Branni, no, no Branni, Are you okay? So I

don't know what we eat for dinner, but apparently lunch

would a butler. So I'm mama. So we say we

will will fast our lunch and then we will probably

some breakfast, will be very light, and then we'll have

dinner because I also don't want to cut off fellowship

with the pastors and the members. So we have dinner together,

but if they don't mind, we do the lunch because

I'm doing camp in the middle for the whole time.

I'm them just doing youth camps, two youth camps, so

we'll be with the young people, but we can fast

our lunch. Who sauna, it will be something else. Okay,

bringing my law, I'm bringing my law, Okay. So I

just want to encourage you to think about how you

would like to fast. If you haven't thought about it,

if you think it's difficult or maybe it's easy, I

tell you the day you set yourself up too fast,

it will become difficult. Any other day I care, I kid,

you know, any other day you will you have no problem.

You can miss your lunch, you can miss your breakfast

and no problem, no no freight chicken problem. But the

day you set yourself up and start I tell you

the chicken will come. Are you the scrabu will come?

Are you in the fright egg? You know? And the

ice cream?

I don't know why it happens to me all the time,

and it happens to me and the whole time I've

been a Christian, I say, I'm not going to I'm

going to do Daniel first. I'm not eating the DNA

ginger under this.

I don't even eat chicken. Seriously, I don't even eat everything.

I have a desired to chicken and jungen and a

smell of red chicken. Why why you know? And then

other days I'm like, no problem, I want to bake.

I don't want to bake then, but now I'm taking

first thing I don't bag. Then the desire to bake

will come. I'm looking at recipe books. My husband say,

you're firsting, right? Are you looking at recipeople? I don't know.

So the temptations will come in one way or another.

So for me that it happens all the time every

year is like that's why everything coming on coming. I'm

coming and coming. Then baking will come in fried chicken

wire coming. I don't know. And I really find it

what a challenge. Although not eating is not a challenge

because I don't net. Most of the time, I'm busy,

I don't eat. So it's okay, right, But the day

you say, I set myself up to seek the Lord,

to put aside one meal and give it to the

Lord and pray. Then all the thinking things will come.

You don't eat, you scake or so each es cake.

You don't like ice cream or so ice cream. I

don't know if you face the same thing I do like,

But that's me, okay. So I want to just say

to you guys, every Sunday we come, we hear different messages,

and so you'll be blessed with different things. So today

this Sunday, take home something like the question is what's

your you turn? We're all doing this together as a church.

Maybe your prayers. I want to see our church, every

chair field, nor the kids pray this morning. Bring new people. Man,

it's already quite feel, but we need more empty chess.

We feel new souls, new lives. The children paid that

this morning. And so maybe that's your youth turn. Maybe

you turn the salvation of your dad or your granddad,

or your sister, your brother. Your youthurn could be you know, Lord,

I'm gonna crossroads. Do I change jobs now? Or there's

a what do you call that? Restructuring in your company?

And MENC is going through it, you might lose your

job and saying you turn by saying you saying, I

just humble myself to the Lord, and I'm just asking

your direction, not my choice, not what I want, but

what do you have in store for me? And so

I think setting aside and setting yourself up will give

you an opportunity to draw near to God. All I'm

saying is the whole issue is coming near to God.

It's not about whether he'll answer me the way I

want it, but he's coming near to God. And I

feel Daniel throughout his years he lived, How could he

have those interpretations? And how could he interpret it? How

could he have such a calm to go into the lions,

then some of us going to lions, then in our

bosses room or whatever, you know, so many other challenges?

How did he do it? How did he take it

with such calm or confidence that if kill, if I died,

I diala has to say, if I die, Dila, but

I'm gonna go because God's for me and with me.

How did how did he do that, having that, just

having that quiet confidence in the Lord. I think it's

your every day. It's your every day setting yourself up,

set your face to seek the Lord. You may not

be fasting. We don't fast every day when it's not

the season of fasting. Then is that coming to that

place where every day is a consistent day, which which

gives me these three points for us to think about.

You know this number one commitment? I think Daniel had

a commitment. It's a commitment like you know, you make

a commitment to your wife the newly married but not

today wrong, you make a commitment to your wife, right,

you commit commitment was important. Love is commitment. We commit

no matter rain Shine, Richard Poorer, you know he nots

Meley socks everywhere. I'm committed to you. So you're gonna

take that step. You can take that step. You committed. Right.

If we can do this for a human being, can

we not do it for the God who loves us

so much? Because he's committed to us. Even if you

run away, he will stand by you no matter what

he wants you. But you have to choose him, La,

You get to choose him. So a commitment like Daniel

was that he set his face. Every day he prayed

three times a day. I don't know if you can

have three times a day to pray. How did he

do it? He's an officer. Our friends pray five times

a day. I don't know how they do it. But

we are so busy, right, But maybe those three times

that he put aside time out could be you know,

you just drop everything, and you and I dropped something.

Just you know, take a minute to pray in tongues,

or take a minute to just Lord, I want to

bless my parents, know they're not well. Pray for the healing.

Declare God's word? What is it? Don't you want to

know what it is that gave Daniel that boldness to

enter the den of the lions and not panic. He

didn't know there was going to be an angel. He

has no clue how God's going to deliver him. He

just a killer like that. Lord, So stand there and

the lions come. I don't know what this angel came,

how big, how powerful? What happened? The angel was there,

They became kittens, and he was just sitting there and saying,

praise the Lord. Amen. I want that. I want that confidence.

I want to know that no matter earth shake storm.

We talked about it earlier our prayer. You know, any

storm that comes, will I have that quiet confidence that

God is for me, and I will enter it with

confidence in Christ. Not in my money, not in my

who I know, not in the property I have, not

in the great job that I have. But my confidence

is in the Lord. It's not in the name of

a man a woman. It's not even in how smart

I am and how much you know accolades I have.

Will I have a quiet, quiet confidence that the Lord

is with me and I am with him. I think

it takes a commitment. You commit yourself to your God.

No parallel is a husband and white relationship. I'm committed

to my husband. My husband is committed to me, and

I remember, you know, past the saying to me, he says, saying,

no matter what happens, remember that I am committed to you.

If ever something makes you unhappy, I'm willing to stop it.

I'm like, yeah, right, I don't think he will stop

anything now that he's doing because God's calling and I

love Jesus, Okay, do it. God's calling. But he would

say to me when we're married, he said, no, I'm

committed to you, even if the whatever, the storm comes,

and there is doubt that comes. No, you got to

know them. I'm committed to you and I love you.

So when I get into a place and in marriage,

sometimes you just get like, does he and love me?

He forgot my birthday? My husband's never forgotten my birthday.

I have his lover, not you mean men learn from

Capascica and he's a very good husband. I am the

spoilt wife, okay, you know, and things don't go away.

I want it and I get it agitated and frustrated.

I always think that he said to me that he

loves me and he's committed to me. I just have

to stand on that and that he will remember he

made that commitment to me. That's how God, God doesn't

forget he's committed to you. Can you commit to him?

You don't have to worry whether God commits. He's committed.

He said, I make that covenant. I'm committed. He doesn't

ask us to make a covenant. He made the covenant already.

Jesus paid the price already. He really shed blood. You

and I don't need to shed blood anymore. We just

commit to him. So my encouragement to us all as

we journey in our faith with Jesus in your walk.

This is another chance, brother and sisters, Brother and sisters,

there's another chance to you. If your quiet time has

been a mess, if you haven't had a quiet time,

if you've forgotten to take time for prayer, if you

just had no time for Jesus, this is your u turn.

Make a commitment. Set your face to say tomorrow morning.

Some of the Bible reading is there ready, John chapter three,

tomorrow read it. Then there's some questions there. Then there's

a prayer there. It's okay, someone wrote it. Just follow

it for now, get you jump started. Then you can

go on your own after that. I'm asking us the

Lord wants us to fellowship with him, but we don't

fellowship with him. We don't. I don't make time enough

for that. I only have this time. Actually I can fellowship.

We got many other times better. I want to go bake.

I don't go eat meg nuggets. Okay, but but I

think if we commit to a constant, that's what Daniel had.

There was a constant. He had a commitment. I want

to be like the Daniel who was a constant for

seventy years. Can you imagine that seventy years he served

not only the kings change empire, he served them, but

he served his God and he remained faithful up to

the lions. Then he wasn't a young Daniel. He was

already eighty over years old. He's still quiet confidence. I

will still pray as I have been doing for the

last sixty years, seventy years, I will still pray. What

do you want me to do? I can't change my

commitment to my God. Amen. If we understand marriage and

marriage really is a picture of how the love of

Christ is for the church, and those of us who

are married will understand there is a commitment. We are

committed to our husbands, our wives, and no matter why,

we're there for them. Right. We don't walk out just

like that. Exceptions, of course, But I'm just saying, understand

that there is a commitment to the Lord. If you

make it, try it. Get our quiet time in the

right place. I do not say I pass every day. Okay,

some days it's just I'm sold tired. I'm sleeping at

it on his I'm sleeping in the Lord. I come

to know quite time, I'm sleeping in the Lord, because

cannot wake up and then wake up and go quiet time,

and then the eyes can open the Bibles like going

around and round, and I'm like, no, I'm just gonna

sleep in the Lord. But I'm just saying, there's a

commitment to wake up and to go into your quiet time,

your quiet your prayer room, or your whatever corner you

have with Jesus, go your favorite chair, your favorite corner,

wherever it is. Would you make a commitment Church, this

is your possible you turn number two. Consistency, consistent. Do it.

He did it for every day of his life for

eighty years. He prayed three times, he went up to

his upper room. He knelt down, he prayed, he prays,

he gave thanks to the Lord. He had a consistency.

How about you and I are we consistent? You know? You?

You guys in this generation, you are consistent to go

to your that thing called jim all right, you go

doing that thing you do to the gym, and you're

so committed. I see I mean I see people committed

to make sure they, you know, pump that iron so

that the next that little muscle that last come on,

pump and then you know that's what happened the very

pain or very pain. And so there is a consistency

of getting to your gym. I'm looking at different ones.

Women wanting to look like a stick. I don't know why.

And then men want to look like some rock. Okay,

and so you you're you're pumping eye, you're running, you're

doing your marathons. There was a there is a consistency.

I'm very sure. There's no way you one day that

you cannot book, cannot it'll be So you have to

have consistency. And if and and and and because we

are so visual, we're so natural, and we forget God.

Oh soo, he's consistent there. But do you want to

be consistent. If you probably got thirty minutes, then give

God the thirteen minutes, because we are very consistent without

thirteen minutes to pume eyn. You know we are. So

you're gonna do it? Yeah, every CrossFit, CrossFit, cross fit, okay,

everything right, you're so consistent. I see it. I see

the gym in my office. Everybody's there, so consistent. Come

to my office late, but consistent at the gym. Nobody

work here for me right left left, So there is

a consistent at six o'clock. I have to get there

five thirteen. Who nobody in the office really all gone? Whoa,

So I'm the old time. I'm from a different generation

until whenever those days as until Julie and I never

go home at five thirty. I never did. I always

work because certain level management, we don't leave. We work.

We never leave. We never leave office without it. Credit card? Okay,

never mind. But but the new generation like, I'm sorry,

I've got to work out. So they're out there going.

There's a gym in my office and they're all there

five thirty. Put gone. I need someone to photocopy people

of doing yourself? Okay, So so I can see there

is We can be consistent. We can. We are we

are also have habitual creatures, so we can. When we

have a habit, we'll do it. Oh you know, it's

k drama time. Don't eight pm. The eyes are stuck

to the thing, you know. Learna learner, Learna learn how

the kids need milk. I don't have a breast today. Bye.

We are able to make consistent habits, So how I

encourage us. Daniel for eighty years made a consistent habit

of seeking the Lord three times a day, now we're

only asking us one time a day, one time. No,

we come in the morning or before. I don't know

when you want to do it? Seek the Lord. You

can do this, chich. You can listen to it today

and you can go home and leave it. But if

you're serious to follow Christ and grow your faith, do

something about it. Nobody else can help you and me.

Only we can help us, and we can therefore build

our faith on making a commitment and being consistent. You

just have to parallel your life to your amazing commitment

to your gym, your workout, and your consistency in eating

the right food. Man, you're dropping your cobs, you know?

Can I tell you? People are dropping their cobs? Aure

so good? Until now they say I don't need cops.

I pity you. I say you can't enjoy my sambal

and my nice bary food everything. No, but there is

there is that commitment. I ain't touching the cops because

they make me have other things, so I will not

eat the cops. Right, I'm not, I don't want I'm

a commitment consistent. Then what happens my third seed for you?

As we end, I had no other words, so I

use the word care. What I meant was God cares

for you, la your lion. Then experiences will see God's

caller that there was no word in sea for miracle.

I don't know what word he care. You. You are committed,

you are coming, you are then you experience the care

of God, or you experience your miracle. You experienced the closeness,

you experience God's I don't know you have a c

for me? Give me one that sounds like that. Somewhere

I can't think of it, so I use kre cage.

Oh my god, no, no, there there is this closeness.

Maybe the closeness could be a see a closeness with

the lot. That's what Daniel had. There was Okay, if

you study the whole prophets, you study all the men

of God, Daniel is the only one that the devil

cannot put a finger on. Abraham lied, Moses had a

hair guy. Is it Moses Abraham a hair guy? Everybody

had something. David had a bath sheep, Solomon had a

three thousand whatever. Every horn had some flora. But Daniel Hall.

I don't know if he got married. I don't know

if he had children. Nothing. We don't have history. Maybe

you study other things at the books. So what is

it that made Daniel so consistent? He had to be

his commitment to the Lord, his love for God, or

his knowledge of knowing what his parents taught him as

a ten year old in sixteen, and he carried on.

He had the commitment, he had the consistency, He didn't compromise,

He made his stance, and then he experiences the closeness

of God, the care of God, the miracles. I think

we would want to meet him and ask him, bro,

what was he like? How was Simba? I carried it up?

I don't know. I want to know what made him.

There's not that Bible doesn't always reveal everything because there's

so much. But I've got to read into the story

and what Daniel went through. And yet God said because

so many times and he's the only one, friends, he's

the only one who's ever had that encounter of Gabriel,

and he has had that knowledge of Michael the Archangel.

No other Mary had a Gabriel. Somebody had a Gabriel,

I don't know, but nobody had a Michael connection. He did,

and he even saw the I believe he saw the Lord.

That description of the one with the glazing out, the

burning eyes, the burning feet, the eyes, the hair, the

gold belt or the gold sash. I think it was

the Lord. He's the only one who's seen it. So

what about Daniel's life that you and I can draw from?

That we could learn from him? And he's walk with Jesus.

And so I leave you with these three seas. See,

the care can be closeness. There had to be a commitment,

because I I don't tell you God already committed to

you consistent. He's consistent. You've what about you and me?

And care? God already cares? God already wants to be

close to us? How about us? How we experiencing that

as we take it on? So my question to you,

what's your you turn? Focus? And how are you planning

to have a fruitful you turn? Amen? How would you

It's day two. Maybe some of you haven't even thought

about it. This is acts. We're doing this together. We

want to do it together. We want to hear testimonies.

But I want to tell you something as we end

twenty one days. Ah, he fustered, Right, he prayed. The

answer that he needed didn't come until the twenty fourth day. Guys,

sometimes our answers don't come like we wanted. But that

doesn't mean God wasn't working. On the twenty fourth day

he has an encounter and the revelation was given. So

I want to say we look very natural walking as

we do, but there is a spiritual realm. There is

a spiritual realm. Not everything is just natural. Oh I'm

sick today. I don't know why. I tell you. If

you're not sick and suddenly sick, you just ramp up

your prayers and say, demons, get off me. He prayed

twenty one days six of the Lord a revelation from

the Lord. But Jesus or the Lord that spoke to

him said, I came on the first day you called,

the first day you set yourself to seek me. I

already came, but the Prince of Persia resisted me. He

couldn't enter. So there are realms. I can't go in

talking to that now, guys, I can't. I don't have time.

Realms in the spirit. And as the prayers went up,

sometimes our prayers get stuck. It needs to go beyond it.

And that's why the past thing and the seeking the Lord,

especially in hard times when you really need an answer,

and so Jesus already came the answer, The Lord who

intercedes for us came. But the Prince of Persia and

every city there are these spiritual users that are lurking.

You believe it or don't. That's what happened. And then

Michael had to force fight for him so that he

could come, got help from the archangel and the Lord came.

It doesn't go the way and the time that we wanted.

Don't you give up, because it could be on the

twenty fourth day, it could be on the twenty eighth day.

It took a bit longer. It took a bit longer.

Your you Turn is twenty one days. Maybe the answer

doesn't come now, maybe it doesn't come in the next

thirty days. But I want you to know if you

have set your heart committed to seek the Lord, you've

been consistently, you know, just saying Lord, I just look

to you. Then trust the Lord to lead you the

way he wants to lead you, not the way you

want the way to go. Let God lead you. Amen.

So that's why my question, what's your U turn focus?

This year? How have you planned to have your you turn?

Are you even planning to do a U turn. Maybe

you've never fasted, maybe you never even thought about. Maybe

you're new to AX, maybe you're just visiting us. But

most so for those who have been with us a

little bit longer, this is what we want to do together,

to pray for our church, to pray for ourselves, to

pray for those who I need, because there is power

in the Lord, and sometimes we got to I just

want you to be aware sometimes those prayers don't get

through because we are hindered. Don't stop. You just give

praise to the Lord. What did Daniel do for the

time he prayed, He prayed, and he gave thanks to

the Lord. Some many of us need to learn to

give thanks l instead of complaining or oh you never

answer me God, why you never just say thank you

for that answer, thank you for that breakthrough, thank you

for the healing, thank you for the finances. And if

you are identified that there is a particular thing, then

you say to the uncleanness, the spirit of uncleanness, get out,

the spirit of uncleanness, get out of my life, or

my family, or my situation. It's unclean. You walk into

a place, you sense the uncleanness, you cast it out.

You are not weak you are made powerful in Christ.

But you must know your authority and you must know

who fights for you. Jesus he came for Daniels. Even

the Prince of Persia trying to come against Chriser, but

the Archangel came. Angels are there for you. So you

just need to know how to ask angels to help you.

They are servants of the Lord. Again another day for

that message, but no today. More than angels and everything else,

you have the Lord of Lord, King of Kings. Amen.

The prayer journey of Daniel is amazing. It took. It

was at least eighty year odd years, consistent, committed and

experiencing God's closeness. My wish, my hope for you and

myself is that I would be committed to the Lord,

consistent and experience his closeness. Amen, stand with me, Church,

think about this. You give a choice. What's your uturn focus?

Will you plan to do? Now? You know? If you

want to make a start and you don't know how.

You can say no to your favorite food. You can

say no to ice cream, you can say no to

mag nuggets. You can eat dry bread or just plain rising.

So yes, so no, I don't know, just saying, just

to start to say what I enjoy, I let go

so that I humble myself and I can seek the lot.

Maybe reading the Bible every day. There's a Bible reading.

I know one chapter seems so long, thirty six verses, Yo,

how to read? I w you go five minutes? Would

you give God more than five minutes? Because you give

K drama one hour? You do give K drama one hour.

You do give shopping an hour. Five minutes is a

bit little, so let's stretch it to fifteen minutes, and

then you get better. You stretch it to thirty minutes,

so you get a little bit more forty five minutes,

a little bit more in an hour you take ten

percent of twenty four hours is two point four and

it'd give God two and a half hours. But he's okay,

you break it up. Daniel did it three times prayer.

He probably broke up's hours of prayer so that he

could be consistent sing the Lord. I'm just using that, Noel,

because so amazing example, so much to learn. I don't

know everything. I'm also saying, let's be committed to him,

to seek him, set our face to commit to seek him.

Let's grow a heart of consistency and anything that you

want to achieve, I know there is consistency and as

you do it, there will be a sense of closeness,

a sense of care, experience. Your miracle is about to happen,

just your you know, the infeeling of God's presence in

your life is about to happen.

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