Sermon Central
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Formula For Success Series
Contributed by Greg Johnson on Dec 27, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: Bible reading plus prayer equals tremendous divine revelation. There is no better chapter in the Bible to illustrate this powerful formula for success than Daniel chapter 9.
Formula for Success
Daniel Speaks to Us Today Series
By Greg Johnson
December 27, 2006
http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org
God has given us everything we need to be successful on our journey from earth to glory. He has given us the Bible which is our authoritative guide for all of our beliefs and actions. He has also given us the privilege of prayer. Bible reading plus prayer equals tremendous divine revelation. There is no better chapter in the Bible to illustrate this powerful formula for success than Daniel chapter 9.
BIBLE READING
(Daniel 9:1-2 NIV) "In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom-- {2} in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years."
Daniel was over ninety years old. He had spent his life reading and learning the Scriptures and had allowed God to apply them to his life and situations. On this particular day, his daily devotions took him to Jeremiah 25:1-14. Jeremiah had prophesied of the captivity of Jerusalem that had happened when Daniel was a young man. Daniel was taken exile to Babylon and turned into a citizen of Babylon, but he stayed devoted to God and the Scriptures. Jeremiah prophesied that the captivity would last 70 years. Daniel was holding on to this promise found in Scripture.
Beloved, the Scriptures are both relevant and applicable to us today. God’s Word is full of promises that we can stand on in challenging times and in difficult situations. Not only will God’s Word answer the questions in your life, but God’s Word will sustain and strengthen you through anything that comes your way. I encourage you to spend your life in the Scriptures. Read them, study them and commit them to memory. Spend time each day in the Word of God. Your faith will grow in proportion to the Word that comes to life within your being.
PRAYING
The years in captivity were approaching 70 and Daniel could not see through his natural eyes any sign of the end of captivity and the restoration of Jerusalem. In the midst of what he could not see, his faith never wavered because he stayed in the scriptures and allowed the scriptures to move him to prayer. (Daniel 9:3 NIV) "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes."
We know that Daniel was an individual that took full advantage of the privilege of prayer. In Daniel 6, we saw Daniel continuing to pray three times a day even though a law had been passed not permitting him to do so. Daniel did not let anything keep him from prayer. In Daniel 9:4-19, we get to listen in on Daniel’s conversation with God.
In Daniel’s prayer he confesses his own sins and the sins of the people. He counts on God keeping His promises and relies on God’s mercy. He prays for the city. What a powerful model of prayer given to us.
Beloved, allow God’s Word to drive you to your knees in prayer. Confess your sins and the sins of your people. Stand on God’s promises and rely on His mercy. Pray for your city. Pray for your nation. Pray for the world. Be one that will intercede. Be a Daniel in your day!
DIVINE REVELATION
You need divine revelation in your life. You don’t need goofiness, you need divine revelation. There is a lot of spiritual goofiness in our day because of a lack of the Word in people’s life. I have always said that the Word without the Spirit is dead and spirit without the Word is goofy. There is a lot of spirit without the Word today and that will not help anyone be successful on their journey from earth to glory. It will only distract their focus and other’s focus from Jesus.
Daniel studied the Word and allowed it to drive him to prayer. Divine revelation was the result. (Daniel 9:20-23 NIV) "While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill-- {21} while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. {22} He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. {23} As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed." In the proceeding verses the prophecy often referred to as “Daniels 70 weeks” is given.
