Faithfulness in Adversity: Lessons from Daniel's Story

1) "And when you go through things like that, you can either, as he said, get bitter, or you can get better. And God entered into those hard spots, and really brought healing, and hope, and life to them through some of those hard things. And now, because of that, they're able to share their wisdom, and their love, and their experience, and that healing, and bring that comfort, and that hope to other people. And so, I hope you heard that, that that touched your heart in some way, that if you're in any kind of relationship, or you, you know, need to grow, and we all do, take advantage, first of all, of the marriage conference." [36:27] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2) "Live to please God, not people. Live to please God, not... Who are you living for, friends? Who are you trying to please? Are you trying to please people? Are you trying to please this culture? Make sure you're pleasing God first. Then guess what? It won't matter who likes you or not. You please him first, and everything else kind of sorts itself out. Now listen, I understand that our goal is to build bridges with unbelievers. In fact, that's why we're talking... I'm not talking about being abrasive toward people who oppose Christianity. In fact, that's what this whole series has been about, doing the opposite of that." [01:05:57] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3) "Focus on God, not the opposition. You know, early in his ministry, before he went to heaven, well-known preacher, Charles Stanley, said he was struggling with a lot of opposition and conflict. And in the midst of the turmoil of his church, an elderly member of his church invited him to have lunch with her at the retirement community that she lived in. And so he hesitated at first. He was busy. He didn't want her preaching to him. But he finally agreed. And at lunch, she said, there's something I want to show you. Right down the hall, I want you to poke your head into my little apartment. I want to show you something." [01:12:45] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4) "Remember that God someday will balance the books. In the story of Daniel, we're specifically told that not a scratch was found on Daniel when he was lifted out of the den and that his enemies who were thrown into the den were torn apart and we're like, yes, that's the way the story's supposed to work, right? I mean, that's the way the story's supposed to end. Good guy comes out on top, bad guy gets theirs in the end. That's how I like movies to work, don't you? I mean, I remember watching a movie years ago. I was really into it. Great story. I was into the plot. All was well until the end." [01:17:01] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5) "And you know, it's easy, isn't it, to keep our eyes on the lions, to fear the opposition in our culture, to be angry at people about the injustice, to whine about our circumstances, to grit our teeth and pray for vengeance. But the answer is actually found in the picture of Daniel in the lion's den. We keep our eyes on the Lord instead of the lions. You know, 1 Peter 5, 8 says that there's an enemy that prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour us. That's your faith. That's mine if we're not careful. Satan wants to destroy us." [01:14:19] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6) "And there he is, not with his eyes on the lions, but with his eyes on the Lord. And you know, it's easy, isn't it, to keep our eyes on the lions, to fear the opposition in our culture, to be angry at people about the injustice, to whine about our circumstances, to grit our teeth and pray for vengeance. But the answer is actually found in the picture of Daniel in the lion's den. We keep our eyes on the Lord instead of the lions. You know, 1 Peter 5, 8 says that there's an enemy that prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour us." [01:13:55] (37 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7) "And many times, even if it's in the form of mean people, even mean Christians. I mean, I'm so disheartened sometimes by how often this happens in churches with immature Christians that will say awful things, ungodly things, things that don't even line up with the Bible, right? Or they'll make unfounded accusations about leadership decisions without any facts to back it up. Or they'll focus on the things that they should not be focusing on when they need to remember we have an adversary, we have an accuser, we have an evil enemy who hates us." [01:15:07] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8) "And remember, one day, God will balance the books. He will bring his justice. He will make all things new. It was true for Daniel and many other believers throughout the history of God's people and it will be true for us one day as well. But this is our time. This is our time to run. This is our time to react well, respond well, represent Jesus well. You only get one life. You don't get to come back and do it again. And you can choose to live this one hateful, arrogant, looking down your nose at people, not praying for the people that are lost." [01:21:17] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)