Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us for this broadcast of the Power Walk Ministries. Reverend Paul Cannings is the founder and president of Power Walk Ministries and is also senior pastor of Living Word Fellowship Church in Houston, Texas. Living Among Lions is our current series and yesterday Reverend Cannings began a teaching on the life of Daniel and how he survived in the den of lions. Offering encouragement and challenging us to put our trust in God and pray as Daniel did, Reverend Cannings brings us part two of this message titled "Living Among Lions."

Dr. Paul Cannings: It's interesting to watch kids when they're playing soccer and they're small. They just kick the ball around. I call it beehive soccer. Wherever the ball is, they just chase the ball, just beehives going around. They're going to get that ball and eventually they get into this little pack and somebody comes out of it like rugby and they chase the ball and somebody scores a goal. Then they're jumping up and down. When they're real small, they're looking at everybody in the sidelines like, "Why are y'all excited? Oh yeah, the ball is in the goal."

I used to coach when my kids were small and sometimes you're just on the sidelines cracking up. Folks, many times when we are committed to Christ and we're doing what Christ says, we don't realize that we walk around with a seal of the Holy Spirit on us. We live in a spiritual world, not a physical world. There are demons, there is Satan, there are angels, there's the spirit of God in us. We are in Christ. Colossians chapter three says, "Christ is in God." We live in a very spiritual world. Many times Satan would love for us to love the things of the world and all this other stuff because it distracts us from what the real world is.

Anytime we are saved, the Holy Spirit is in us and that's a seal. We now have the ball and it becomes beehive. That's why the Bible would talk about the fact that we must put on the armor. We must wear the breastplate of righteousness. We must put on the helmet of salvation. We must walk around with the belt of truth because we are beehive. There are fiery darts coming at us, many afflictions. We talked about the fact that yes, we have to be sure that when we are suffering, it is for righteousness. It's not for evil because the Bible says God will reward us for suffering for righteousness.

When we choose to live righteous, Satan wants to tear us down. What do you think happened to Job? Job was minding his own business, doing what he was supposed to do as a man leading his home and his family. Satan goes to heaven because Job is righteous and he can't touch Job but he says, "How do you know there's a hedge around Job?" You went all around that hedge. In Psalm 37 he says, "God will build angels around us." That hedge is angels. Hebrews chapter one verse 14 says the same thing. We have ministering angels around us. That hedge is angels. It's a very spiritual world we live in, but many times we look at it so physically.

Not Daniel. Daniel understood beehive. He's been going through it. He's 80 years of age in Daniel chapter six and he knows that he's living among lions and they want to tear him apart because he's this Jew that keeps excelling. Daniel continues to be a person of excellence, a person of commitment to God that has disciplined his life to do what God has called him to do. That's exactly what we find in Daniel chapter six that could teach us how to live among lions. Folks, how do you live like that?

We dealt with several different things yesterday and one of the key things that must remain in our minds as we continue today is the fact that we must live committed to walk righteous. He rewards us, he protects us, he fights for us as a result. The Bible is saying all those things. That's what led to Job having a hedge. That's what leads to us having a hedge. Same difference. But first understand, how do you recognize when these lions are coming? How do we do this? Well, here's the first thing we would learn to recognize so that we prepare ourselves to become effective when it's tough and difficult.

We've got to stay focused. We've got to find strength. That's the toughest thing. One of the things I don't like about this passage is Daniel is constantly alone. You don't find a lot of people around him; prayer ministries, people with the gift of encouragement. We don't have gifts in the Old Testament the same as the New Testament but just suppose in our environment, you don't find this. Daniel is alone. Sometimes the loneness can wear us out. So we have to have a strategy when alone becomes very alone.

This is what it is for Daniel. In verse five it says, "And then they said to these men, we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of the Lord." Watch this carefully. We must find something wrong with him based on his commitment to the law because we're not going to find him violating any of the laws of Darius. We're not going to find him living any kind of crazy way when he gets off of work. We're not going to find him coming up in here breaking any employee ethics. We've got to go against what he's doing with the law because the world that we're living in doesn't like this Daniel's God.

Since he's so committed to his God and the whole rest of Babylon is not, then we need to go against him. Folks, when people start throwing your Christianity in your face, it's a good sign they're lions. Even sometimes Christians will throw it in your face. Sometimes some of us are too heavenly good to be any earthly good. We walk around, "Praise the Lord, Hallelujah" all the time and we want to do devotions every minute and all those kind of things. No, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about character. Not the flare, but the focus of character.

When a person's character is focused on doing what God is telling them to do, a person's character is a person of integrity. A person's character is to do an excellent job. That's what Daniel was doing and the king saw an excellent spirit in him. So we're talking character. When the character of the person is out in front of people and then they are using that against you, that's one of the signs of lions coming at you. They're coming at you because they're hungry and Satan is influencing them to destroy you. Satan wants to use them against you. When we see that, praise the Lord.

You might think I'm crazy. What are you talking about, "Praise the Lord?" Yes, because when God allows you to suffer for what is right, he says you're blessed. In First Peter chapter three that we read yesterday, he says you are blessed. I will reward you, I will bless you if you stay the course, keep your eyes fixed and press towards the mark. Watch Paul carefully because he had a lot of this. Paul was attacked for his commitment to Christ and that perfected Paul's walk because Paul kept doing these four things. One, Paul would press towards the mark. Paul wanted to live in the power of the resurrection. That's what Paul's focus was. There were times when he couldn't press, so he walked as Christ walked.

That leads to a practicing process. Then Paul would say you stand. There are times when all you can do is stand. Daniel was committed to be a man of integrity, so he wore the belt of truth. Daniel was committed to the word of God, so he wore the sword. Daniel was a man who had an excellent spirit with the rest of the employees, so he wore the shoes of peace. When you stand, you've got to be in the full armor. That's why the writer of Hebrews gives us one more thought: run the race that is set for you. Sometimes you're pressing because you've got so much against you.

You're pressing towards the mark because you're keeping your focus on being perfected so you live in the power of the resurrection. You become so dependent on the ministry of the Holy Spirit, so dependent on his influence on our lives, so dependent on him bringing the word of God back to us, convicting us when we do wrong and steering away from that, and illuminating the word of God. You are so committed to when he pours himself into us so that we find strength when we are weak. We can begin to understand the scripture so we could walk in the truth. When the spirit of God is dominating our lives, Paul says, "I no longer live. Christ lives in me and now I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It's a pressing that could lead to a running with my mind and my heart set on my eyes being fixed on Christ.

That's exactly when Daniel was in this beehive or the lions were against him. Daniel became more set. You find him in verse 10, he's up praying before God. Daniel is not fighting them, trying to win their arguments as they slander his name. Daniel is not trying to go in there and prove himself. Daniel says, "You do your thing but you could never destroy me when God is for me. I'm going to pray. I understand what you plan to do when I pray, but this is my victory. This is what the scriptures teach me is my victory, so you're not getting me off my victory." Daniel was pressing. He was standing. He was ready to run.

Look at what they said. This is a second thing you'll learn about lions. In verse six it says, "Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king and they said thus unto King Darius, live forever." They came together. Interesting how these people are under Daniel. Daniel is their boss but they can't stand Daniel. It's not like you find them together before this but they're now together when it's about Daniel. That's why you find when Satan has influenced people and they're coming together now, they're closer than they've ever been.

All the presidents of the kingdom and the governors and the princes and the counselors and the captains have consulted together. This is not true because they haven't included Daniel in this process. They haven't met with Daniel; they met with themselves and established a royal stature and to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for 30 days save of thee, oh king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. They're going to pump up and manipulate situations. They're going to come together and manipulate situations to make it look like their purposes are just perfect. It makes everybody think that they're wonderful and loyal to the king and "we are so faithful to what we're trying to do here. I don't understand what the problem is."

That happens, folks. Jesus, Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes; they came together and they want to tell oh, Caesar, we are loyal to Caesar. They aren't loyal to Caesar. This is a pattern of lions. That's how they operate. Instead of becoming afraid, Daniel didn't let fear step in. Look at verse 10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being opened. There's nothing in the Bible that says open the window and look out. Come on man, shut the window and go in a corner. Daniel says, "No, I'm not to be afraid of anyone. I'm going to do what I do."

He opened the chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day. Daniel, could you just do this one time and then the next time be in the closet? Come on Daniel, you don't have to do this. No. And gave thanks before his God as he aforetime. He hadn't changed nothing. Folks, Daniel's confidence in God is what is giving Daniel the victory. Fight the good fight of faith. Where's the confidence when lions are roaring? It's not what they're doing that is the issue. It's what God will do for you. Stay focused. It's not the trials you're going through. The issue is who you're facing it with. Stay focused.

Guest (Male): That's Reverend Paul Cannings, stressing that we will never develop or grow when we run from difficult relationships. Daniel stayed and trusted God. For a copy of this message or the entire series, please do give us a call at area 281-260-7402. Again, that's area 281-260-7402. You can also visit us online for all of our ministry resources at powerwalkministries.org. We're so excited that you've listened today. I pray this program has been a blessing to you and prayerfully to your family. If you'd like to continue to receive encouraging messages twice a month, go to our website and email us or you can call 281-260-7402, then let us know what your email address is and we will be most happy to send you our bi-monthly devotionals. We also pray that you would consider praying for us and giving to this ministry so that we continue to serve the Lord God, not just where you are sitting listening to us but around the world. Once again, our web address is powerwalkministries.org. Our mailing address is PO Box 920517 Houston, Texas 77092. And now as we leave you remember, when circumstances and people are coming against you, that's when you learn how deep your faith in God really is. May we get our roots down deep in our relationship with Jesus.