WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.940 Well, good evening to you all. 00:00:03.899 --> 00:00:09.380 I want to begin by asking you to do a little visualization exercise. 00:00:10.339 --> 00:00:14.880 You don't have to close your eyes or anything, but let's imagine together that we are at 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.080 the end of our lives, nearing the end of our lives. 00:00:18.740 --> 00:00:21.679 I don't know how long from now that will be for you. 00:00:21.740 --> 00:00:25.240 It could be 20 years, it could be 40 years, it could be 60 years, depending on your age. 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.620 But imagine that you've lived a full life, you're nearing the end of it. 00:00:28.620 --> 00:00:33.219 And I want you to think about the kind of person you are. 00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:39.640 What are the attributes that people would use to describe you? 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:43.799 What would you hope they would say? 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:52.520 What kind of character do you have at this point at the end, when the end of all things 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:53.960 is imminent? 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:57.320 And then another question would be this. 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:02.799 That image of you that you may have in your mind, how do you plan to get there? 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:07.760 What happens between this day and that? 00:01:08.219 --> 00:01:11.620 The reason I'm asking this question is because as we've been looking at the book of Daniel, 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:19.920 Daniel gives us a rare glimpse into the lifespan of an individual. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:26.000 We get to see a broad swath of the life of a man named Daniel who has lived his entire life 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:28.420 faithfully following God. 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:35.340 The book's all about what it means to live a life of faithfulness in a secular culture, 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:40.980 in the kind of culture that is indifferent or maybe even hostile to one's faith. 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:45.060 And for those of you who were here weeks ago when we began this series in chapter one, 00:01:46.219 --> 00:01:47.380 Daniel's a young man. 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:53.000 He's got some friends, these young professionals, and they move to the big city of Babylon and 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.379 they go to university together and they graduate top of their class. 00:01:58.080 --> 00:02:02.780 And then they get good government jobs and they're just beginning to establish themselves. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:07.740 They're at a stage of life much like many of us in this room and much of their life has 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:14.099 yet to be lived. But by chapter six, many, many, many years have passed. 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:21.400 Daniel is an old man and we have a chance here to see the kind of character that he has 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:27.539 cultivated over a lifetime of faithfulness as it is put to one final test. 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:35.079 So what we're going to look at tonight, the topic is that of Christian character. 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:39.240 And for those of us who are here who are Christians, I would hope that you would see 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:43.760 how this would be relevant to you. But I also know that there are people here who are not 00:02:43.760 --> 00:02:47.439 Christians. Maybe you're curious or indifferent. Maybe a friend dragged you here. 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:55.620 But regardless, you're here. I think that this topic is relevant for you as well and for many 00:02:55.620 --> 00:03:02.340 reasons. But one reason is this. I don't have any statistics to prove this, but my sense 00:03:02.340 --> 00:03:08.020 anecdotally is that there are many, many people out there who have never considered the claims 00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:15.379 of Christianity and who may never consider Christianity. And the reason is not because 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:22.219 of a lack of evidence in the Christian claims. Rather, it's because of a lack of character 00:03:22.219 --> 00:03:28.659 in Christians themselves. So I think this topic is relevant for all of us. And so we're going 00:03:28.659 --> 00:03:32.180 to look at this. What I want to do is to walk through this story together and then I'm going 00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:38.180 to draw out three implications about Christian character. So let's pray together as we get 00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:38.539 started. 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:48.359 Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you that we have the great privilege here 00:03:48.359 --> 00:03:55.800 of turning our attention not merely to the wisdom of human beings, that we know that even 00:03:55.800 --> 00:04:02.520 the greatest wisdom and knowledge that we produce, even the greatest bits of advice we might have 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:09.120 for living life, the greatest TED Talks we can watch, that all of this has no power like your word has 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:15.820 power. And so we pray that as we come to see your word clearly and to understand it, so we would see 00:04:15.820 --> 00:04:23.040 your son clearly and come to know him personally. We pray this in the name of your son, Jesus. Amen. 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:30.379 So Daniel chapter 6, let's just get started with the context and the beginning of this story. 00:04:30.840 --> 00:04:36.680 As chapter 6 opens, as I said, Daniel is an old man. You may know this part of Daniel because it's 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:41.620 very famous. The story of Daniel and the lion's den, right? You could go out on the street to somebody 00:04:41.620 --> 00:04:45.680 who's never read the Bible and say, Daniel, and the first thing they would say would be, 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:51.700 lion's den. It is a commonly known story. And yet often when you see it depicted in paintings, 00:04:51.699 --> 00:04:59.680 you see a conspicuously Caucasian young man, right? And it's this young kind of boyish figure and he's 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:05.039 facing off against the lions and the angel is delivering him. Not so. If you actually know the 00:05:05.039 --> 00:05:10.139 span of time that has passed, he's an old man, which makes this story that much more harrowing. 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:21.319 And he has seen five kings come and go. Imagine that. Imagine serving under five long administrations. 00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:27.699 Right? He's seen the rise and the fall of the Babylonian empire. At one time it seemed it would 00:05:27.699 --> 00:05:35.740 never collapse. And yet now it has. And the Medo-Persian empire has taken over. King Darius now rules over 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:43.420 Babylonia. And then King Cyrus rules over the larger Persian empire. But we're concerned here 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:51.699 with Babylonia and King Darius. And Darius has begun to set up his own form of government. He's sort of 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:59.120 decentralizing the government. He sets up 120 territories and he appoints a satrap over each 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:06.259 territory. Think of it like a governor. So 120 governors. Daniel is one such man that he taps 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:11.280 for the task of governing a region of Babylonia. And if you know anything about Daniel, it shouldn't 00:06:11.280 --> 00:06:17.860 surprise you that Daniel distinguishes himself. He does an amazing job and Darius takes note and says, 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:23.639 I like this guy. He does good work. I can trust him. I'm going to put him over all of the kingdom. 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:27.639 Make my job easier. Have a guy like that running things. 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:33.099 Well, the other governors, they notice this and they get wind of the promotion that's about to 00:06:33.099 --> 00:06:38.099 happen. Obviously they're not too pleased with this. So they do what any good politician would do. 00:06:38.979 --> 00:06:44.620 They try to dig up as much dirt on Daniel as they possibly can. Hoping to discredit or even incriminate 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:51.560 him. But guess what it says? Verse 4. No matter how hard they look, it says, they could find no ground for 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:58.780 complaint or any fault because he was faithful and no error or fault was found in him. So we see right 00:06:58.780 --> 00:07:09.139 away, Daniel is a man of solid character. There's no dirt. So they devise a plan. A bunch of them come 00:07:09.139 --> 00:07:15.259 to Darius. They convince Darius to issue a decree. It's the kind of decree that would appeal to the ego 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:21.800 of a man like Darius. They say this, that for 30 days, O King Darius, issue a decree that no one is 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:30.560 allowed to pray to anybody except you. You, King Darius, become the sole mediator of prayer throughout 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:36.939 the kingdom. Outlaw all other religions. Darius says, I like that idea. I mean, who wouldn't? 00:07:36.939 --> 00:07:43.219 So he issues the decree, puts it in writing and makes it clear that even he, King Darius himself, 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:50.279 cannot break this decree. Once it is written, it is written in stone. Now what does this have to do 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:58.300 with Daniel? How could this be a trap for Daniel? And here's the answer. These governors are wise. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:04.339 They know their enemy. They know Daniel and they know something about Daniel's lifestyle. They know that 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:11.339 no matter what, Daniel has a daily habit of kneeling and praying to God three times a day. 00:08:12.119 --> 00:08:17.419 Probably morning, noon, and night. And you actually see this in verse 10. It says, 00:08:17.779 --> 00:08:22.679 he, Daniel, got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:28.379 comma, as he had done previously. This is a longstanding habit in Daniel's life. 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:35.580 So what I want to do is to stop here and to kind of draw out our first point, which shows us something 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:43.179 about the formation of Christian character. How is Christian character formed? How is it cultivated? 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:53.059 And that is this, that Christian character is formed through regular habits of faithful obedience. 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:58.779 It's formed through regular daily habits of faithful obedience. 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:07.579 Aristotle was the first to write, and I'm not sure that he was the first to realize, but he was the 00:09:07.579 --> 00:09:16.619 first to write that actions produce habits and habits produce character traits. He made this observation. 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:24.960 Now that was a long time ago, but he was writing and expressing that which neuroscience has come 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:33.240 to affirm more and more and more. That when we do things habitually, those things, those actions form 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:39.600 neural pathways. And the more we do those things, the more those pathways are embedded in our cortex. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:47.220 And over time, our habits and the repeated actions that we engage in actually increase the likelihood 00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:54.960 that we will repeat those things down the road. This is simply how human beings are wired. 00:09:56.300 --> 00:10:04.120 We are literally shaped by our habits over time. Our brains are literally wired according to our daily 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:09.100 habits. Right? So I want to make this clear. There's nowhere in the Bible where it commands 00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:14.899 Christians to pray three times a day. You're not going to find it. So why is Daniel doing this? 00:10:16.740 --> 00:10:21.759 He's not just being a legalist. Right? He's doing it in the privacy of his own home. Nobody even knows 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:26.300 that he's doing it unless they're spying on him like these governors were. Here's the thing we need to 00:10:26.300 --> 00:10:32.820 understand about Daniel. Daniel lives in a society where the vast majority of cultural institutions 00:10:32.820 --> 00:10:41.300 are pluralistic, polytheistic, syncretistic, and in many ways hostile to his beliefs. Daniel is a 00:10:41.300 --> 00:10:47.480 monotheist. Daniel believes that his God is the only true God. Any Babylonian hearing that would say 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:52.900 you're intolerant. You're a bigot. You're exclusive for saying that. How could you be so close-minded? 00:10:52.899 --> 00:11:00.500 Daniel knows that because his lifestyle is not going to be reinforced and his beliefs are not 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:05.220 going to be reinforced by any of the existing cultural institutions. They're not going to be 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:12.199 reinforced out there so they have to be reinforced in here. He has to have ways of reinforcing his 00:11:12.199 --> 00:11:17.539 beliefs and his lifestyle because he I think has a sense of what we've come more and more to realize 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:24.399 that many of our beliefs whether we admit whether we admit it or not depend largely on the existence of 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:28.980 plausibility structures. In other words it's very hard to believe something in a society that does 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:36.579 not consider those beliefs to be plausible. So he realizes that he needs something to reinforce those 00:11:36.579 --> 00:11:43.279 beliefs in his lifestyle and so he has developed a habit of stopping and kneeling and praying and giving 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:51.600 thanks to God three times a day. This is what we might call a rule of life using the ancient, the older way of 00:11:51.600 --> 00:12:01.159 defining rule. It provides a kind of shape or structure or scaffolding to enable the cultivation of a Christian 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:08.539 character. And we need to understand that these days our cultural institutions are the same. Maybe arguably not as 00:12:08.539 --> 00:12:15.419 much so 50 years ago but definitely these days government, art, academia, education, the media, 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:22.539 they're every bit as pluralistic, polytheistic, and in many cases hostile to Christianity as Babylon would 00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:30.219 have been. So now it is more important than ever for those of us here who are Christians to think about 00:12:30.219 --> 00:12:38.459 the ways that we are cultivating daily habits that are shaping and wiring us and growing in us the kind of 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:46.460 character that we see has been formed in Daniel. Christians have been doing this for the very 00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:52.300 same reason as long as the church has existed, right? Now as I commend that to you I know that there will be 00:12:52.300 --> 00:12:55.940 people who object and we can't deal with all the objections but I want to deal with a couple of 00:12:55.940 --> 00:13:01.240 objections. The first objection is this. I know that there are probably people here, maybe some people 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:07.460 who are not Christians who say, well you know I really love the idea and this idea is very popular 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:14.299 among a lot of us even. I really like the idea that we should as people simply be ourselves. 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:23.539 That the most authentic, the truest, the most real way to live is to simply be who you are. Be true to that 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:30.179 which is your authentic self. That's the way to live. The idea that you would ask me to change, 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:35.980 the idea that I would need to change, that's almost offensive. It's almost intolerant. 00:13:37.419 --> 00:13:42.360 Now I hear these kinds of things and I love the idea and then I think a little more and I look at 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:48.039 myself and I think when people say this, are these people who have ever actually met a human being? 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:55.120 I don't know. You know my favorite example of this comes from the film The Last Days of Disco. I don't 00:13:55.120 --> 00:14:00.779 know if anybody's ever seen this film. But Des McGrath is a not so reputable character and he's in a 00:14:00.779 --> 00:14:05.299 particular moment at this point in the film, he's in a particular moment of character weakness. 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:09.839 There's something that he knows he should be doing but he's running away and the scene literally takes 00:14:09.839 --> 00:14:15.339 place in a cab as he is fleeing responsibility. And he says this to the guy next to him. He says, 00:14:15.340 --> 00:14:22.500 you know that Shakespearean admonition to thine own self be true? It's premised on the idea that 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:30.720 thine own self is something pretty good, being true to which is commendable. But what if thine own self 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:37.060 is not so good? What if it's pretty bad? Wouldn't it be better in that case not to be true to thine 00:14:37.060 --> 00:14:43.700 own self? And then he says, see, that's my situation. And I love that example because I identify with it. 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:48.240 I think anybody who thinks that being true to yourself is the best thing we can do for ourselves 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:53.879 and for our families and for society, spend a few days with me. In fact, spend a few days with 00:14:53.879 --> 00:15:00.540 yourself. Get to know yourself a little bit. Go to a counselor and then see, is this the best thing, 00:15:00.640 --> 00:15:06.280 is this the best thing that you have to offer the world, right? In my case, it would not be, 00:15:06.860 --> 00:15:13.180 right? Second objection may come from Christians. Christians would hear this and I think some people 00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:18.579 would hear this and they would rightfully sort of take a moment and say, now wait, you're saying 00:15:18.579 --> 00:15:25.059 that I need to work and to put effort into changing my character through doing things on a, and, but that 00:15:25.059 --> 00:15:31.099 doesn't square with the gospel. I thought that the Christian gospel was all about God accepting and 00:15:31.099 --> 00:15:37.259 embracing me exactly as I am. Now you're telling me that I've got to do all this stuff? This sounds like 00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:42.500 legalism. I'm suspicious of this and that's great. I'm glad that you're thinking on that level. 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:49.519 And actually you're right. The Christian gospel is the good news that when we repent, when we come 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:54.620 to God, when we put our trust in him, that God fully embraces us, that he wraps his arms around us 00:15:54.620 --> 00:16:02.080 like a father to a son, exactly as we are. The gospel says you don't need to change in order to come to 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:06.300 God. It says you need to come to God in order to have any hope of changing, right? So you're right. 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:11.980 The gospel is that God's salvation is a free gift that he gives to you, not because you deserve it, not 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:16.960 because you've earned it, not because you've gotten your stuff together, but because he loves you and he 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:27.160 knows you can't do it without him. But then the question becomes, what will we do with so great a gift? 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:35.419 Once you've received it, what will you then do with it? And N.T. Wright, the New Testament scholar, 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:44.100 in a book called After You Believe, says this, the aim of the Christian life in the present time, 00:16:45.179 --> 00:16:50.000 the goal you are meant to be aiming at once you have come to faith, the goal which is within reach 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:56.539 even in the present life, anticipating the final life to come, is the life of fully formed, 00:16:56.539 --> 00:17:04.119 fully flourishing Christian character. You hear that? So here's the point. The gospel is not an 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:11.339 invitation to be who you are. The gospel is an invitation to become who you were meant to be. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:16.839 Salvation enables you to do that. The Holy Spirit empowers you to do that. That is the gift. 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:26.419 It's a gift that keeps on giving. But it also asks of us. So this is a bit about the formation of 00:17:26.419 --> 00:17:32.299 Christian character. Let's dip back into the story and keep going. If we look back at the story, we see 00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:40.859 in verse 10, a few things about Daniel. Daniel knows that this decree has been issued. For 30 days, 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:47.899 you're not allowed to pray to anybody except Arius. Furthermore, Daniel knows, he's very clear, 00:17:47.979 --> 00:17:53.919 it says in verse 10, he knows the penalty. If you break this decree, you will be torn apart by lions, 00:17:54.439 --> 00:18:02.039 a brutal, agonizing death. And yet Daniel decides to pray anyway. It says he goes up as he had done 00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:08.680 previously, kneels and prays three times a day to his God in his upper room. Now I want to make this 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:17.379 point. A lot of people read this, read Daniel chapter 6, verse 10, read this act of defiance, 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:23.779 and they point to Daniel and they say, see, Daniel took a stand for his faith. They said Daniel wasn't 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:28.579 allowed to pray, but Daniel defied them and he took a stand for his faith. And so people will then take 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:34.720 that and they'll apply it to issues like prayer in public schools, hanging the Ten Commandments in 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:39.659 public buildings, having a manger scene in front of City Hall. They say, see, Daniel took a stand and 00:18:39.659 --> 00:18:44.379 we as Christians in this country need to take a stand too. And I would just humbly suggest that 00:18:44.379 --> 00:18:51.519 that's an awful way to understand this passage. For one thing, Israel and the United States of 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:57.659 America are not the same thing, right? The continuation of Israel is the church. For another thing, 00:18:57.660 --> 00:19:04.580 the decree does not forbid Daniel from praying in a public building or leading other people in prayer 00:19:04.580 --> 00:19:11.300 in a school or a court. It forbids Daniel from praying at all, even in his own home, which is, 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:19.740 by the way, where he's doing it. He's not making a public display. He's in his attic room and they catch 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:25.820 him because they're spying on him, right? In my opinion, by the way, I think that Christians should 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:32.179 actually oppose prayer in public schools and hanging the Ten Commandments in public buildings and 00:19:32.179 --> 00:19:35.939 setting up manger scenes in City Hall, primarily because I think that we're called to seek the 00:19:35.939 --> 00:19:41.579 common good. And the common good involves a healthy pluralistic society with freedom of religion. 00:19:42.399 --> 00:19:47.500 I also think that history shows us, and I think you can make the case, that anytime the church gets 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:53.960 too involved and gets too much of an entree into the power structures of the state, it actually does harm 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:59.059 to the kingdom work. I don't know that it necessarily helps. That's a different sermon. Let's get back to 00:19:59.059 --> 00:20:04.680 Daniel. I'll just drop that little nugget out there and just move right along. The point is, 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:14.440 back on script, the point is this. This is a test. This is a test of Daniel's Christian character. 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:20.539 And it reminds me, you know, John Stott was a great pastor, great theologian, great missionary, 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:25.200 and he died recently. And there were some amazing things said about him in places like the Guardian 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:31.799 and the New York Times. And one New York Times columnist described John Stott. They said, you know, 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:39.119 on the one hand, he had this kind of warm, welcoming vibe like Mr. Rogers, only with a backbone of steel. 00:20:39.639 --> 00:20:45.639 And I love to think of Daniel like that, this warm, old, wise man, but with a backbone of steel. 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:53.380 And this shows us that he indeed has this backbone of steel, that there is a place, a line at which 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:57.520 he will not compromise. And this brings us to the second point that I want to focus on with regard 00:20:57.520 --> 00:21:01.520 to Christian character. We looked at the formation of Christian character, and this shows us something 00:21:01.520 --> 00:21:09.560 about the testing of Christian character, the testing of character over time. In January 2009, 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:16.059 you may know this story, U.S. Airways Flight 1549 takes off from LaGuardia. It's bound for Charlotte. 00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:24.059 Captain Sullenberger, called Sully, checks, and everything is as it should be. And then two minutes 00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:30.200 later, the plane strikes a flock of Canada geese. It takes out both engines, and the plane starts to 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:36.500 lose altitude over one of the most densely populated parts of New York City. There are only seconds to react, 00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:41.059 and Sully realizes that the only viable option, since they can't make it back to the airport, 00:21:41.420 --> 00:21:47.339 and there's nowhere to land, is to literally land on the Hudson River. And this requires an incredibly 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:56.480 complex sequence of very specific maneuvers that have to be performed perfectly. And he pulls it off. 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:06.119 And everybody lives. And the press freak out, and they say, this is a miracle, it's a miracle, right? 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:13.180 And Tom Wright, in this book, After You Believe, he talks about this story, and he questions that. He says, 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:19.480 was it really just a miracle, or was there more going on? Yes, it was miraculous, but is that the only 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:26.799 explanation? And he says, in fact, if you knew anything about Sully and his life, you realize this, 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:35.579 that what people witnessed that day was, in its purest form, a test. And Sully had years of experience 00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:43.639 flying planes, and guess what he did at his off time? He taught gliding. So what better person to 00:22:43.639 --> 00:22:49.740 glide a passenger aircraft into the Hudson than a gliding instructor, right? In other words, what people 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:55.720 saw that day was the product of thousands and thousands of times that he had made similar 00:22:55.720 --> 00:23:01.779 decisions and performed similar actions, when it didn't seem to matter nearly as much. In other words, 00:23:01.859 --> 00:23:09.759 he had passed thousands of low-stake little tests, seemingly inconsequential. And because he had passed 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:15.460 all of those little tests, when the big test came, he was prepared, as prepared as anybody could be. In other 00:23:15.460 --> 00:23:20.500 words, if you put somebody like me in the cockpit, everybody would be dead. But thank God, in his wisdom, 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:27.500 he put Sully there. A lot of people make the same mistake with Daniel that they do with Sully. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:33.079 Right? We look at this and we assume, what a great miracle, what a great act of faithfulness, and you be ready 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:40.960 because when the time comes, will you dare to be a Daniel? But we say that without any appreciation 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:44.880 of the daily faithfulness in Daniel's life. 00:23:46.380 --> 00:23:49.660 Right? Daniel's brave defiance of Darius 00:23:49.660 --> 00:23:52.620 was the product of years of preparation. Because listen, 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:56.920 if you've ever tried to pray daily, if you've ever tried to live by a rule of life, 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:59.539 you know that there are thousands of reasons. Right? 00:23:59.660 --> 00:24:02.740 There's a decree from Darius, that's one reason not to pray. 00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:05.920 But before that happened, there had been thousands of reasons 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:11.680 why he probably didn't want to pray. Right? It was too late. He was too tired. He had had a really 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:17.940 busy day. He had already done this other religious thing. So the quota was met for the day. Right? 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:22.259 There's all kinds of reasons, ways that he could have justified not doing it. But we know from the 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:27.820 text that he did it anyway. And those were low stakes, little tests. Nobody would know the difference. 00:24:27.820 --> 00:24:32.340 He could have just let it go. But he didn't. And because he had passed all those little tests, 00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:36.339 when the moment came, Darius issues this decree, his life is on the line. What does he do? 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:42.419 Does he run? Does he revise his practices? Does he justify working along with this new decree? No, no, no. 00:24:43.679 --> 00:24:46.039 He continues to pray and he prepares to die. 00:24:50.139 --> 00:24:52.659 God allows us to face tests in our lives 00:24:52.659 --> 00:24:55.339 because that is how character is formed. 00:24:55.339 --> 00:24:59.379 You know, Peter in 1 Peter calls them fiery trials 00:24:59.380 --> 00:25:02.660 that refine us like metal is refined 00:25:02.660 --> 00:25:03.800 in a furnace. 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:06.740 And here's the thing we need to understand. 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:09.240 An unshakable faith is only 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:10.500 possible 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:12.700 if you allow your faith to be shaken. 00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:15.100 If you think that somehow 00:25:15.100 --> 00:25:17.280 you're going to have a strong faith 00:25:17.280 --> 00:25:18.580 by insulating yourself, 00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:21.140 by never interacting with 00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:23.360 the scholars who say that all of this 00:25:23.360 --> 00:25:25.280 is bunk, if you think that insulating 00:25:25.280 --> 00:25:27.500 yourself from atheists who put their finger in your face 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:29.320 and say everything that you believe is stupid, 00:25:30.280 --> 00:25:31.680 if you think that insulating yourself 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:33.680 by never listening to all of the counter arguments 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:34.760 or reading all of the media 00:25:34.760 --> 00:25:37.240 or exposing yourself to all of the bodies of work out there 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:38.580 that try to debunk all of this, 00:25:39.760 --> 00:25:41.580 then your faith is going to be a house of cards. 00:25:43.300 --> 00:25:44.880 An unshakable faith is only possible 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:46.760 when you allow your faith to be shaken. 00:25:46.840 --> 00:25:47.680 In the same way, 00:25:49.060 --> 00:25:51.140 an unbreakable character is only possible 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:54.600 for people who have endured brokenness. 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:56.600 When you don't hide from it, 00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:57.280 don't run from it, 00:25:57.340 --> 00:25:58.460 don't shake your fist at God 00:25:58.460 --> 00:25:59.259 when it comes into your life, 00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:01.079 but recognize this is how your character 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:01.940 becomes unbreakable. 00:26:02.180 --> 00:26:03.819 This is how your faith becomes unshakable. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.960 You have to be shaken. 00:26:06.680 --> 00:26:07.600 Yeah, you're afraid. 00:26:08.940 --> 00:26:09.759 We're all afraid. 00:26:10.860 --> 00:26:12.059 There's no reason not to do it. 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:16.319 Tests of Christian character 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:18.059 are times when faithfulness to God 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:19.700 will cost us something. 00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:22.000 So it could be anything, right? 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:23.980 Hopefully they won't outlaw 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:26.480 the practice of our faith anytime soon. 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:28.539 But it could be something else. 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:29.960 Maybe you work crazy hours. 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:32.099 You never have time for your family, 00:26:32.259 --> 00:26:32.680 your friends. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:35.180 You rarely have time to make it to worship. 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:35.920 If that's you, 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:37.160 we're so glad that you're here tonight. 00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:40.819 But your only choice is to cut back hours 00:26:40.819 --> 00:26:42.799 if you want to change that. 00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:43.700 But maybe you do that 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:46.119 and it may cost you your job, right? 00:26:46.939 --> 00:26:48.739 Or maybe you know if somebody's in need 00:26:48.739 --> 00:26:51.279 and you're the best person to meet that need, 00:26:51.419 --> 00:26:52.559 but it's going to require 00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:54.539 that you give sacrificially to help them out. 00:26:54.639 --> 00:26:55.639 But you're the person 00:26:55.639 --> 00:26:56.919 who's best positioned to do that. 00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:58.419 But you know that if you do that, 00:26:58.459 --> 00:26:59.219 if you help them out, 00:26:59.419 --> 00:27:01.219 it's going to mean that you can't take a trip. 00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:02.239 It's going to mean that you can't do 00:27:02.239 --> 00:27:03.439 the renovation you're wanting to do. 00:27:03.479 --> 00:27:04.679 It's going to mean that you can't get the car 00:27:04.679 --> 00:27:05.379 that you really need. 00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:06.839 It's going to cost you something. 00:27:07.879 --> 00:27:09.199 Or, you know, there are social circles 00:27:09.199 --> 00:27:11.139 in this city where if you even just admit 00:27:11.139 --> 00:27:11.859 that you're a Christian, 00:27:12.159 --> 00:27:13.179 people without really knowing you 00:27:13.179 --> 00:27:15.379 will immediately call you a hate-filled bigot, 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:16.700 regardless of whether it's true. 00:27:17.740 --> 00:27:17.960 Right? 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:19.380 So you have to decide in those cases, 00:27:19.580 --> 00:27:21.060 am I going to be honest about who I am 00:27:21.060 --> 00:27:21.640 and what I believe 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:24.180 even if it costs me my reputation? 00:27:24.360 --> 00:27:25.500 Am I going to be honest about that? 00:27:27.040 --> 00:27:27.280 Right? 00:27:27.320 --> 00:27:28.640 So these are all moments. 00:27:28.780 --> 00:27:29.480 They're all tests 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:30.700 when we decide whether or not 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:31.880 we will compromise our fate. 00:27:33.360 --> 00:27:34.340 And the point is this. 00:27:34.340 --> 00:27:35.420 We don't have to wait 00:27:35.420 --> 00:27:37.020 until those big tests come 00:27:37.020 --> 00:27:38.820 in order to answer that question. 00:27:39.800 --> 00:27:41.280 We can begin now 00:27:41.280 --> 00:27:45.140 by recognizing all of the little tests 00:27:45.140 --> 00:27:46.660 of daily faithfulness 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:48.060 that God provides us. 00:27:48.540 --> 00:27:49.840 That's the supreme value 00:27:49.840 --> 00:27:51.780 of building your life 00:27:51.780 --> 00:27:53.500 around a rule, 00:27:53.640 --> 00:27:54.700 building these habits 00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:56.440 into your daily practice. 00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:58.380 So Christian character is formed 00:27:58.380 --> 00:27:59.460 through daily habits 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:00.800 of prayerful obedience. 00:28:01.560 --> 00:28:03.080 And then our character is tested, 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:04.320 Christian character is tested 00:28:04.320 --> 00:28:05.740 in many small ways 00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:06.740 and every now and then 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:08.759 a very big way comes along. 00:28:09.360 --> 00:28:10.480 Like here in Daniel. 00:28:12.020 --> 00:28:13.220 Those are the first two points. 00:28:13.220 --> 00:28:14.140 The last point I want to make 00:28:14.140 --> 00:28:16.860 is I think most important 00:28:16.860 --> 00:28:17.700 it's also our shortest. 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:20.640 What's the aim of all this? 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:21.660 It's the point. 00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:23.579 I mean if we get in, 00:28:23.640 --> 00:28:26.460 if God accepts us as we are 00:28:26.460 --> 00:28:27.779 then why strive for anything more? 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:31.000 Let's look back at the story. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:33.220 The governors catch Daniel praying 00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:35.039 as we knew they would 00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:36.360 and they run 00:28:36.360 --> 00:28:37.380 and they tattle to Darius. 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:39.000 And Darius is heartbroken 00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:40.819 because he likes Daniel. 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:42.180 This is a great guy. 00:28:42.180 --> 00:28:43.100 He does good work. 00:28:43.360 --> 00:28:44.519 It's really hard to find 00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:45.500 somebody you can trust. 00:28:46.100 --> 00:28:46.539 It is. 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:49.279 And he doesn't want to do it 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:50.759 but like a fool he said 00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:52.560 I can't even break this law 00:28:52.560 --> 00:28:53.060 that I made. 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:54.019 Nobody can break it. 00:28:54.060 --> 00:28:54.779 It's unbreakable. 00:28:54.860 --> 00:28:56.039 It's the highest law on the land. 00:28:58.080 --> 00:28:59.900 So he's bound by his own law 00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:01.640 to put Daniel to death. 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:04.840 He strives to set him free 00:29:04.840 --> 00:29:05.940 but he can't find any out. 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:07.420 So he has Daniel thrown in 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:07.960 with the lions 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:09.480 and he has a stone rolled over 00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:10.960 the entrance to cover it 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:12.079 and then he seals it 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:13.180 with a royal seal. 00:29:13.740 --> 00:29:15.019 And it says he tosses and turns 00:29:15.019 --> 00:29:16.400 all night agonizing 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:17.340 over Daniel's fate. 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:19.319 And then amazingly 00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:20.019 in the morning 00:29:20.019 --> 00:29:21.039 when he comes to the den 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:22.360 he rolls the stone away 00:29:22.360 --> 00:29:23.640 there is Daniel. 00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:25.019 Not a scratch. 00:29:25.840 --> 00:29:27.240 And so Darius is overjoyed 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:29.380 and he has all of Daniel's accusers 00:29:29.380 --> 00:29:31.279 then thrown in with the lions 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:31.960 and all of their wives 00:29:32.539 --> 00:29:33.400 and all of their children 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:34.299 and they're torn apart 00:29:34.299 --> 00:29:34.960 by the lions. 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:35.960 It's a horrifying scene. 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:37.740 And then Darius issues 00:29:37.740 --> 00:29:38.840 this new decree 00:29:38.840 --> 00:29:40.180 that everyone should fear 00:29:40.180 --> 00:29:41.920 and worship Daniel's God. 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:43.880 And it's tempting 00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:44.340 at this point 00:29:44.340 --> 00:29:44.819 to look at that 00:29:44.819 --> 00:29:46.000 and say victory, great, 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:46.819 happy ending. 00:29:46.940 --> 00:29:47.519 But I think we'd be 00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:48.259 missing the point. 00:29:48.940 --> 00:29:50.079 Because this tells us 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:51.319 something about the aim 00:29:51.319 --> 00:29:52.940 of Christian character. 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:54.100 And this is the point 00:29:54.100 --> 00:29:54.720 in the story 00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:56.400 when we have to realize this. 00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:59.319 While Daniel provides 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:00.759 a useful example 00:30:00.759 --> 00:30:02.140 he is not the one 00:30:02.140 --> 00:30:03.440 that we should emulate. 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:05.660 I could give you 00:30:05.660 --> 00:30:06.559 a lot of reasons for that. 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:08.360 But I'll tell you this. 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:11.120 I agonized over 00:30:11.120 --> 00:30:11.980 how to make sense 00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:14.360 of those accusers 00:30:14.360 --> 00:30:15.960 and the wives 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:16.900 and the children 00:30:16.900 --> 00:30:18.400 being thrown into the lion's den 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.180 and Daniel says nothing. 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:22.980 How do you preach that? 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:26.820 One of the only ways 00:30:26.820 --> 00:30:27.600 I can make sense of it 00:30:27.600 --> 00:30:28.299 is to recognize 00:30:28.299 --> 00:30:29.299 the larger arc 00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:30.580 of the story in the Bible. 00:30:31.259 --> 00:30:32.080 And that is that Daniel 00:30:32.080 --> 00:30:33.120 is a useful example. 00:30:33.820 --> 00:30:35.059 But he's not the example. 00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:36.720 And Daniel is an amazing 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:37.740 example of character. 00:30:38.120 --> 00:30:39.080 But he does not have 00:30:39.080 --> 00:30:39.779 perfect character. 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:42.840 What we need to recognize 00:30:42.840 --> 00:30:43.279 is this. 00:30:43.360 --> 00:30:44.039 Is that ultimately 00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:45.120 what we see in Daniel 00:30:45.120 --> 00:30:46.559 is a living preview. 00:30:47.620 --> 00:30:49.160 The story in Daniel's life 00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:50.140 is actually a preview 00:30:50.140 --> 00:30:51.180 of someone else. 00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:52.840 Someone who is far 00:30:52.840 --> 00:30:53.759 greater than Daniel. 00:30:53.880 --> 00:30:54.820 Someone who had 00:30:54.820 --> 00:30:55.580 perfect character. 00:30:55.940 --> 00:30:57.000 And that is Jesus Christ. 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:57.960 And it's amazing 00:30:57.960 --> 00:30:58.580 if you look at 00:30:58.580 --> 00:30:59.420 the parallels 00:30:59.420 --> 00:31:00.559 between Daniel 6 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:02.160 and Jesus. 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:03.120 Like Daniel 00:31:03.120 --> 00:31:04.340 there were leaders 00:31:04.340 --> 00:31:05.240 who conspired 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:05.920 against Jesus 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:07.000 and tried to dig up dirt 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:07.660 but they couldn't 00:31:07.660 --> 00:31:08.279 find anything. 00:31:09.120 --> 00:31:09.700 Like Daniel 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:10.240 those leaders 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:11.320 then hatched a plan 00:31:11.320 --> 00:31:13.080 to frame Jesus 00:31:13.080 --> 00:31:14.840 to have him arrested 00:31:14.840 --> 00:31:16.440 even though he was blameless. 00:31:17.940 --> 00:31:19.080 Daniel was thrown 00:31:19.080 --> 00:31:20.300 into a lion's den 00:31:20.300 --> 00:31:20.920 that was then 00:31:20.920 --> 00:31:21.900 sealed with 00:31:21.900 --> 00:31:23.080 the royal seal. 00:31:24.040 --> 00:31:25.019 Jesus was thrown 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:25.920 into a tomb 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:27.380 that was then sealed 00:31:27.380 --> 00:31:28.680 with the Roman seal. 00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:30.920 And when people 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:31.759 came expecting 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:32.779 to find them dead 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:34.360 both men emerged 00:31:34.360 --> 00:31:35.580 fully alive. 00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:37.460 And you know 00:31:37.460 --> 00:31:38.160 there's only one 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:39.320 real major difference 00:31:39.320 --> 00:31:40.120 between Daniel 00:31:40.120 --> 00:31:40.680 and Jesus 00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:41.440 on this point 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:42.340 and that is this 00:31:42.340 --> 00:31:43.740 that Daniel survives 00:31:43.740 --> 00:31:44.500 the whole ordeal 00:31:44.500 --> 00:31:45.539 without a scratch. 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:49.080 Jesus on the other hand 00:31:49.080 --> 00:31:49.779 endures some of the 00:31:49.779 --> 00:31:50.640 most awful torture 00:31:50.640 --> 00:31:52.519 we can imagine. 00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:53.920 Some of the most 00:31:53.920 --> 00:31:54.560 awful torture 00:31:54.560 --> 00:31:55.360 ever devised 00:31:55.360 --> 00:31:56.200 by human beings. 00:31:56.200 --> 00:31:57.900 And then ultimately 00:31:57.900 --> 00:31:59.580 he endures death. 00:32:00.819 --> 00:32:00.960 Right? 00:32:01.140 --> 00:32:02.259 But because of that 00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:03.220 through his death 00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:03.940 he was able 00:32:03.940 --> 00:32:04.900 to deal with our sin. 00:32:05.340 --> 00:32:06.059 Daniel was not. 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:07.279 Through his resurrection 00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:07.880 he was able 00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:09.779 to overcome death 00:32:09.779 --> 00:32:10.340 which Daniel 00:32:10.340 --> 00:32:11.400 was unable to do. 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:13.140 And because of 00:32:13.140 --> 00:32:14.180 those two things 00:32:14.180 --> 00:32:15.380 the eradication 00:32:15.380 --> 00:32:16.240 of sin and death 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:17.400 the Bible promises 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:18.100 that one day 00:32:18.100 --> 00:32:19.299 every knee will bow 00:32:19.299 --> 00:32:20.319 and every tongue 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:20.980 will confess 00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:21.980 that Jesus Christ 00:32:21.980 --> 00:32:22.420 is Lord. 00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:23.200 Not because 00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:24.319 somebody like Darius 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:25.380 issues a decree 00:32:25.380 --> 00:32:26.680 and makes it happen 00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:27.500 but rather because 00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:28.340 the majesty 00:32:28.340 --> 00:32:29.060 and the glory 00:32:29.060 --> 00:32:29.740 and the beauty 00:32:29.740 --> 00:32:30.560 and the awesomeness 00:32:30.560 --> 00:32:30.940 of God 00:32:30.940 --> 00:32:31.640 will one day 00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:32.480 be on display 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:33.700 so that no man 00:32:33.700 --> 00:32:34.260 woman or child 00:32:34.260 --> 00:32:35.000 will ever be able 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:35.660 to resist it. 00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:37.460 It will break our hearts 00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:38.300 and drive us 00:32:38.300 --> 00:32:38.880 to our faces. 00:32:40.540 --> 00:32:41.400 So the point 00:32:41.400 --> 00:32:42.180 is not to dare 00:32:42.180 --> 00:32:42.840 to be a Daniel. 00:32:43.380 --> 00:32:43.960 God help you 00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:44.480 if you try. 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:46.580 It's to be like Jesus 00:32:46.580 --> 00:32:47.880 who is the ultimate Daniel. 00:32:48.700 --> 00:32:49.700 The one to whom 00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:51.060 this whole book points. 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:53.400 So just to kind of 00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:54.800 pull all of this together 00:32:54.799 --> 00:32:56.039 the formation 00:32:56.039 --> 00:32:57.200 of Christian character 00:32:57.200 --> 00:32:58.460 happens when we 00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:00.119 commit ourselves 00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:01.259 to regular habits 00:33:01.259 --> 00:33:03.259 of prayerful obedience 00:33:03.259 --> 00:33:04.720 and faithfulness. 00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:06.099 And then the testing 00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:07.000 of Christian character 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.279 helps to form 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:08.960 and to shape 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:09.940 and to refine 00:33:09.940 --> 00:33:10.559 that character 00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:11.299 over time. 00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:13.039 And then finally 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:14.559 the aim of Christian character 00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:16.919 is to one day 00:33:16.919 --> 00:33:17.599 be like Jesus. 00:33:18.599 --> 00:33:19.500 And if you're like me 00:33:19.500 --> 00:33:20.180 and you hear this 00:33:20.180 --> 00:33:21.579 and you look at your own heart 00:33:21.579 --> 00:33:22.039 and you think 00:33:22.039 --> 00:33:23.059 even with all the effort 00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:23.500 in the world 00:33:23.500 --> 00:33:24.220 I still feel like 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:26.039 I fall far short. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:26.599 You're right. 00:33:27.440 --> 00:33:28.039 We will. 00:33:29.420 --> 00:33:30.099 We will. 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:32.460 And that's why 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:33.319 it's so encouraging 00:33:33.319 --> 00:33:34.539 to read this promise. 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:36.579 As we think about 00:33:36.579 --> 00:33:36.960 the question 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:37.680 at the very beginning 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:38.900 at the end of all things 00:33:38.900 --> 00:33:39.680 what kind of person 00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:40.319 will I be? 00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:41.519 What will I be like? 00:33:42.839 --> 00:33:43.859 For all who have put 00:33:43.859 --> 00:33:44.779 their faith in Jesus 00:33:44.779 --> 00:33:46.180 here's what John says 00:33:46.180 --> 00:33:47.400 in 1 John 3.2 00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:48.340 Beloved 00:33:48.340 --> 00:33:49.860 we are God's children now 00:33:49.860 --> 00:33:51.259 and what we will be 00:33:51.259 --> 00:33:52.300 has not yet appeared 00:33:52.300 --> 00:33:54.620 but we know 00:33:54.620 --> 00:33:56.820 that when he appears 00:33:56.820 --> 00:33:59.080 we shall be like him 00:33:59.080 --> 00:34:01.620 because we shall see him 00:34:01.620 --> 00:34:03.000 as he is. 00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:06.560 Let's pray. 00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:10.019 Our Father 00:34:10.019 --> 00:34:10.920 we thank you again 00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:11.639 for your word. 00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:15.759 Lord this is not 00:34:15.759 --> 00:34:16.839 something that can be 00:34:16.839 --> 00:34:17.599 accomplished by 00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:18.279 human effort 00:34:18.279 --> 00:34:19.119 and willpower. 00:34:19.799 --> 00:34:20.619 It's a work 00:34:20.619 --> 00:34:21.559 that you have to do 00:34:21.559 --> 00:34:22.239 in us. 00:34:23.980 --> 00:34:25.079 Lord give us the courage 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:26.039 to participate 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:28.000 in our own renewal 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:30.079 that was initiated 00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:30.759 by you 00:34:30.759 --> 00:34:32.099 and that has its end 00:34:32.099 --> 00:34:32.900 in Jesus Christ. 00:34:34.500 --> 00:34:35.359 Lord help us 00:34:35.359 --> 00:34:35.879 to encourage 00:34:35.879 --> 00:34:36.420 one another 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:38.659 help us to inspire 00:34:38.659 --> 00:34:39.159 one another 00:34:39.159 --> 00:34:40.259 to stir one another 00:34:40.260 --> 00:34:41.140 up to good works 00:34:41.140 --> 00:34:43.020 that we would become 00:34:43.020 --> 00:34:43.840 more and more 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:44.640 and more like you 00:34:44.640 --> 00:34:45.100 individually 00:34:45.100 --> 00:34:46.220 and as a body 00:34:46.220 --> 00:34:47.920 here at this church 00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:49.540 and help us 00:34:49.540 --> 00:34:50.140 to look forward 00:34:50.140 --> 00:34:51.100 with great anticipation 00:34:51.100 --> 00:34:51.920 excitement 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:52.580 and hope 00:34:52.580 --> 00:34:53.640 at the day 00:34:53.640 --> 00:34:54.500 when we will behold 00:34:54.500 --> 00:34:55.400 you face to face 00:34:55.400 --> 00:34:56.780 and we will see 00:34:56.780 --> 00:34:57.800 a clear resemblance 00:34:57.800 --> 00:34:58.460 in ourselves 00:34:58.460 --> 00:34:59.620 by your grace 00:34:59.620 --> 00:35:00.080 and power. 00:35:00.560 --> 00:35:01.160 In your son's name 00:35:01.160 --> 00:35:01.560 we pray. 00:35:01.860 --> 00:35:02.000 Amen.