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Living Hope SDA Church

Christian Martin

How to Live Without Compromise

How good it is to be together once again.

And as we open the word of God, we can expect and believe that God does and will have something to say to our hearts today.

It's not just a mere coincidence that you just chose to be here.

I believe that with God, there is no coincidence.

With God, he always has blessings in store for us, providential circumstances, divine appointments that lead us right into his presence.

So as we open the Word of God today, I invite you to pause once more and let's ask God directly and specifically to bless us today as we worship together.

Our Father in heaven, Thank you that you have already blessed our hearts.

And as we open it, and as we read it and listen to it, We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit would be given permission to do his work of transforming our hearts, inspiring us, convicting us.

And we thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen.

My message today is entitled, How to Live Without Compromise.

The lion has the loudest roar of all the big cats.

Now, if you're like me, I don't know what that means.

So, I had to look at a comparison chart to get an idea of how loud we're talking about.

A lion's roar can be equivalent to a lawnmower or a motorcycle.

Now, What really impressed me about the lion's roar, as I read about it, is that it can be heard from as far as 5 miles away.

Now, I think I can count in just 1 hand how many times I've heard a lion roar.

Each and every time I've heard a lion roar, it made my skin crawl.

So I can only imagine that getting mauled and eaten by bloodthirsty lions would be a horrific way to die.

All right, I think I see all the hands go up.

But in our particular story, It is not a figment of our imagination.

It was Persian guards, Persian guards known for their aggressive behavior that took a hold of a submissive prisoner and led him down this long stone passageway to 1 of the many courtyards.

This courtyard in particular, though, included a darkened cave-like pit where bones and skulls lay scattered in the shadows.

And believe me, that rancid scent of dry blood filled the air.

The prisoner was brought to the very edge of that pit.

Rope was taken and wrapped tightly around his chest as they prepared to lower him towards the sound of roars, grunts, growls, snarls, and puffs that came from the pitch-black darkness pitch black darkness below.

It was that moment when time stood still for this 80-year-old prisoner named Daniel.

You know, when time stands still and nothing else matters.

When you feel that you're facing A black hole of uncertainty and worse yet, your own den of lions.

Circumstances that are so troubling and difficult that you are tempted to the core to do whatever it takes to avoid those troubling circumstances.

You're tempted to Think that if only you respond in a different way, the circumstances may change.

Those moments when you find yourself ruminating on the what ifs, what ifs, oh, what if that it leaves you wide awake at night.

What if I don't accept the job offer that doesn't guarantee Friday night's off?

Circumstances where the what-ifs scenarios bounce in our minds and we find ourselves gauging, judging, determining best-case scenarios.

What would be most favorable for me, and what would be the least favorable for me?

As it was for 1 of the governors of the Medo-Persian Empire?

Facing trials and challenges that test our faith to the core and tempt us to compromise.

It is the story of the human experience And it was the story of Daniel.

Come with me to Daniel chapter 6 as we begin our inside look at a time in Daniel's life where he was faced with bone-chilling consequences, and he had every ability to avoid what was coming.

You may follow along on the screen or with your Bibles, but let's read Daniel chapter 6 verses 1 and 2.

The Bible says, and it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be over the whole kingdom and over these 3 governors of whom Daniel was 1 that the satraps might give account to them so that the king would suffer no loss.

Though now in a powerful position, Daniel was a man of humble beginnings.

Many of you have seen his story in earlier chapters.

Daniel was that Jewish captive in a foreign land.

But as God's providence would have it, Daniel was appointed to a very high position, a very high 1, in fact, a very powerful position.

For he was appointed to be 1 of 3 governors in this new Persian government.

And it would only be a matter of time in these circumstances when the other 2 governors were apparently provoked by Daniel's excellence and they grew jealous of him.

So much so that jealousy drew them to find ways to destroy his reputation.

Let's continue reading Daniel, chapter 6.

So the governors in the sea trap sought to find some charges against Daniel concerning the kingdom.

What would cause their hearts to reach that point that they would seek to destroy Daniel's reputation and do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Well, the text itself provides insight to what may have provoked that jealousy.

Verse 3 tells us, then this Daniel, Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

The Bible records or states that Daniel distinguished himself above the other 3 governors and the 120 satraps.

As I took a close look at this word in the original text, the word distinguished simply means that there was something different about him.

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How to Live Without Compromise

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