"TOP PRIORITY"
Text: (Daniel 2:14-24)
3/10/2003
By: Larry L. Schoonover
INTRODUCTION:
There is no question that our modern society has its priorities all messed up!
[Illustration:]
In a two-day period in New York City, a homeless man, a train maintenance worker, and a dog were killed on the
subway tracks. Ninety people telephoned the Transit Authority to express concern about the dog, but only three
called about the worker and no one about the homeless man.
- Austin Chronicle, p.9 May 24, 1991
Wouldn’t you agree with me that this illustrates well how cock-eyed our priorities have become? But the problem is that such absurdities are common not only in society as a whole - but are prevalent even in the Church of God! The Church today needs to take a careful look and honest examination of its priorities.
We need to ask ourselves on a regular basis, but with all sincerity, "What are we all about? What are we here for? Why has God planted this Church in this particular community? Why has God placed me in this Church as one of its members? What are the highest priorities of our life. and in particular, what is our top priority?"
Don’t you think that genuine revival demands an honest evaluation of our priorities? Do you really think we can have revival without an attempt at understanding and bringing into line with the Word and will of God our "top priorities"?
I believe we can learn some valuable lessons from the life of Daniel when it comes to what should be the top priorities of a child of God. What were the "top priorities" in Daniel’s life?
PRIORITY OF PRAYER (16-19)
1. Let’s compare the belief of Daniel and the belief of today’s typical Church on the issue of prayer.
a) We all (every Christian in every age) profess the priority of prayer.
i) We are very familiar with the promises associated with the prayer of faith.
(Matt. 7:7-8)
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
(Jhn. 14:13-14)
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
(Jam. 5:15-16)
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they
shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
ii) But I have to confess. this very thing (prayer) is one of the greatest needs of my life! Am I saying that I don’t pray? No. I pray continually throughout the day. Like you, I "profess" the priority of prayer and do, in fact, pray. But I find that what I need is to be more focused on the quality of the prayers that I pray! God is not so interested in the "quantity" of our prayers as He is the "quality" of our prayers.
(1) In this "hurry-up", "hustle-n-bustle" world we live in prayer, or at least quality prayer time, takes a back seat. We pray - yes; but we do not pray as we ought. Prayer is simply not what it should be in the life of the average Christian.
[Illustration:]
Someone once said, "Don’t expect a thousand-dollar answer to a ten-cent prayer."
b) Daniel’s example is not a "profession" of the priority of prayer but that he practiced the priority of prayer.
i) We are given an important glance into the prayer life of Daniel later on in the book. It was Daniel’s habit to pray 3 times a day facing, in faith, the Holy City of God. He developed this habit in his youth and guarded it carefully throughout his lifetime.
(Dan. 6:10)
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his
chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before
his God, as he did aforetime (as was his custom since his early days - NKJ).
ii) Are we so jealous of our private time with the Lord each day? Are we so faithful to meet with God? Are we so hungry for the presence of God in our life?
(1) Have you taken notice of the interruptions that the devil brings upon you when you pray?
(a) Phone rings
(b) Visitor suddenly appears
(c) Some urgent matter arises that needs attention right away
(d) Drifting thought
(e) Physical weaknesses appear - such as the apostle’s sleepiness in the garden.
(2) What I’m talking about here is not easy! Prayer, genuine prayer, requires a tremendous amount of discipline. It requires constant attention if we are to be as "sharp" as we ought to be in our prayer life.
[Illustration:]
Some years ago a young man approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job.
"That depends," replied the foreman. "Let’s see you fell this tree." The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman exclaimed, "Start Monday!"
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by, and Thursday afternoon the foreman
approached the young man and said, "You can pick up your paycheck on the way out today."
Startled, he replied, "I thought you paid on Friday." "Normally we do," answered the foreman, "but we’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you’ve dropped from first place on Monday to last on Wednesday."
"But I’m a hard worker," the young man objected. "I arrive first, leave last, and even have worked through my coffee breaks!"
The foreman, sensing the boy’s integrity thought for a minute and then asked, "Have you been sharpening your ax?"
The young man replied, "I’ve been working too hard to take the time."
* * How about you? Have you been too busy, too hard at work to sharpen your ax? Prayer is the hone that gives you that sharp edge. Without it (prayer), the more work you do, the duller you’ll get. [From: Parson’s Bible Illustrator for Windows]
2. Yes, Daniel practiced the priority of prayer. We see this clearly in the fact that he believed a "big God" could give "big answers" to "big problems".
[Illustration:]
A Western rancher had asked the district superintendent of his denomination to have a pastor assigned to his community.
"How big a man do you want?" asked the superintendent.
"Well, Elder," the wiry, tanned man replied, "we’re not overly particular, but when he’s on his knees we’d like to have him reach heaven." [From: Parson’s Bible Illustrator for Windows]
a) For Daniel, prayer was not "theory" or some academic exercise. This is proven by his actions - by his readiness and consistency in laying it all on the line!
b) Have you ever considered why God "showed up" for Daniel and his 3 friends on that day? Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t seem to answer your prayers so definitely in your life?
i) I think the key is this: Daniel didn’t pray just because he was in trouble. Daniel prayed because it was his habit or practice of his life to pray! I’ll tell you - God wasn’t talkin’ to no stranger that night! Daniel didn’t just run to God when he had a need or urgency in his life - he ran to God three times a day!
[Illustration:]
God is not a cosmic bellboy for whom we can press a button to get things.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969)
ii) Do you think this might be a problem with our own prayer life? When does God hear from you? When you pray, what is it that you spend your time talking about? Is God little more that a great big "goodie bag" in the sky to you? Do you use prayer sort-of like rubbing a magic lamp - or is it time spent in worship and adoration of the One Who gave His all for you?
iii) When you do approach the throne of God with a need - do you pray faithfully and do you pray believing? Our admonition to pray with genuine faith (not just "positive thinking") is given in the instruction to pray for wisdom.
(Jam. 1:6-8)
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
iv) Have you ever been surprised when God answered your prayer? Why were you surprised?
Didn’t you believe God would answer your prayer when you presented your request before His throne?
[Illustration:]
Testimony of our surprise at Shirley Basin Baptist Church when during our 1st summer camp we took 19 youth and had 10 professions of faith and 5 other decisions. We were surprised! We had to ask ourselves, "Why?"
3. Question: "What have you asked God for? What are you asking God for? What do you need to ask God for?"
a) Do you only "profess" the priority of prayer, or do you "practice" the priority of prayer?
[Illustration:]
When it comes to the importance of prayer in the life of the Christian, in the life of the Church for that matter, the case is effectively made in an "Obituary" which could run in the "Personalities" news section of the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger any week.
We are sorry to announce the passing of Mrs. Prayer Meeting. She died recently at the First Neglected Church on Ho-Hum Avenue. Born many years ago in the midst of a great revival, she was strong and healthy as a child, fed largely on testimony and Bible study she grew into world-wide prominence and was one of the most influential members of the Church family.
However, in recent years Sister Prayer Meeting has been failing in health, gradually wasting away until rendered helpless by stiffness of the knees, cooling of the heart, lack of spiritual sensitivity and the concern for spiritual things. Her last whispered words were inquiring about the strange absence of her loved ones, now so busy in the market place and places of wordly amusement on Wednesday evenings!
Experts, including Dr. Good Works, Dr. Socializing and Dr. Unconcerned disagree as to the fatal cause of her final illness. They all administered large doses of excuses, even ordered a last minute motivational bypass, all to no avail. A post-mortem examination showed that a deficiency of regular spiritual food, a lack of prayer and Christian fellowship, all contributed to her untimely demise. [From: Parson’s Bible Illustrator for Windows]
* * Has "Mrs. Prayer Meeting" passed away in your Church? Has prayer died in your home? How is the health of genuine prayer in your own life today?
? I repeat the question, "Do you only `profess’ the priority of prayer, or do you `practice’ the priority of prayer?"
PRIORITY OF PRAISE (20-23)
1. Why do I list "praise" as being a priority of Daniel’s life? It’s because we find that praise is the very 1st thing he does upon receiving an answer from God!
[Illustration:]
"Count your blessings!" That is excellent counsel, but sometimes we have to recognize them first!
A man who owned a small estate wished to sell it. Sending for a real estate agent, he asked him to write an advertisement describing the house and land.
When the ad was ready, the agent took it to the owner and read it to him. "Read that again," said the owner.
The agent read the description of the estate once more. "I don’t think I will sell after all," said the owner. "I have been looking for an estate like that all my life, and I did not know that I owned it!"
Count your blessings -- yes, but start by asking God to open your eyes to see your possessions in Christ. Begin by recognizing all that you have in Christ. That will change your entire perspective and enable you to praise God for what you have. [From: Parson’s Bible Illustrator for Windows]
a) Praise is placed above the "business" at hand - and it was urgent business indeed! It was in fact "life and death", literally!
b) Praise is placed above his own safety! He doesn’t rush right out and secure a stay of execution for himself and his friends. rather, he falls upon his face in worship and thanksgiving unto a gracious Heavenly Father.
2. Much like his prayer life, I believe Daniel’s actions demonstrate that his praise wasn’t the result of having received an answer to prayer, but is the result of a conviction that God is worthy of his praise!
a) Perhaps Daniel took to heart the blessed writings and song of praise of King David.
(2 Sam. 22:4)
4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
b) From this we learn that David did not praise the Lord for the salvation He wrought on his behalf as much as the fact that salvation was brought into his life because of the praise that he directed faithfully unto the Lord!
c) If. the blessings of life and the quality of life were directly linked to the level and sincerity of your praise unto God - how blessed would you be today? Newsflash - they are linked! God blesses those who bless Him! God blesses those who praise Him! Your life will never move beyond your level of praise! Your influence among men, of a godly sort, will never grow larger than your praises for God! The godly character you hope to see develop in your life will never
exceed the level of praise for the God of heaven and earth who is worthy of all praise and exultation!
[Illustration:]
I read somewhere that in Africa there is a fruit called the "taste berry", because it changes a person’s taste so that everything eaten tastes sweet and pleasant. Sour fruit, even if eaten several hours after the "taste berry," becomes sweet and delicious.
Gratitude is the "taste berry" of Christianity, and when our hearts are filled with gratitude, nothing that God sends us seems unpleasant to us.
Sorrowing hearts - sweeten your grief with gratitude. Burdened soul - lighten your burden by singing God’s praises. Disappointed one - dispel your loneliness by making others grateful. Sick one - grow strong in soul, thanking God that He loves you enough to chasten you.
Keep the "taste berry" of gratitude in your hearts, and it will do for you what the "taste berry" of Africa does for the African. [From: Parson’s Bible Illustrator for Windows]
i) Isn’t this exactly what God calls us to in His Holy Word? Are we not to make His praise to be a "top priority" of our life? Doesn’t He promise blessing, help, joy, and hope to those who learn to praise Him in all things?
(Eph. 5:18-20)
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
(Col. 3:15-16)
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
(1 Thess. 5:18)
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
d) Sounds easy enough, but it’s sometimes very, very difficult to do, isn’t it? It is in opposition to the flesh to be thankful in every situation. But let me tell you tonight - do it anyway (praise God for whatever the situation may be)! Learn to be thankful - no matter what. Though it may sound strange - thank Him even if you don’t mean it, and watch God work in your life!
3. Do you really want to see a spark of revival in your Church? Do you want to see the presence of God like never before? Do you want to see God move upon the hearts of men - both lost and saved in an unmistakable, powerful, life-changing fashion? - Then put Him where He belongs. return Him to the throne of your heart, praise Him with all your soul! Thank Him! Worship Him as Lord of lords
and King of kings! Praise Him not because He has answered your prayer or has blessed you in some fashion, but praise Him simply because He is worthy of your praise! Make praise to be a "top priority" of your life.
PRIORITY OF PEOPLE (24)
1. Think about it. put yourself in Daniel’s shoes. What would be your 1st move? What would be your 1st priority upon receiving a life-sparing, life-giving answer to an impossible question/circumstance such as this?
a) Would your first move be to appease the anger of the emperor?
b) Would your first move be to secure your own safety?
c) If you were of such noble, magnanimous character, would your first move be to guarantee the safety of your friends?
d) Would your first move be to turn this into opportunity for personal gain/prosperity?
* We see none of these in the heart or actions of Daniel. What we see is that his very first priority was the rescue of lost souls!
2. Set the question into modern times. Imagine right now the "impossible" that you really do need in your life tonight. Dream for a moment the biggest dream that you can imagine, "What is it that you need in your life or in the life of your family that, without question, only God can do?" Whatever that may be, let’s imagine that God has just done the "impossible" in your life - that God has just blessed you beyond your wildest dream. So, what is your 1st priority?
a) Is it to spend it on the world? Preacher, what do you mean by that? Well, let’s imagine that.
i) God has blessed you financially, in response to your prayer and need. Will you now.
(1) Misappropriate the blessing of God? (Pray for God to supply what you need to pay the rent, meet a medical need, etc. - but spend it on foolishness at Walmart, etc.)
(2) Use it on something offensive to God?
(a) Employment is a great blessing from the hand of God - just ask any unemployed person who can’t provide for the needs of their family. Don’t you think that taking that blessing (income earned from the job God has given you) and spending it on liquor, gambling, pornography, or any other sinful "thing" or "activity" is a great offense unto the Lord?
ii) God has blessed you in many other ways. Will these be used on something offensive to God?
(1) Health is a great blessing from the hand of God - just ask any chronically ill or physically handicapped person. Don’t you think that using your energy, strength, and physical abilities in any unholy manner/activity would be offensive unto the Lord?
(2) Wisdom is a great blessing of God - given unto those who ask Him in faith.
(James 1:5)
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Don’t you think that using the wisdom of God in or selfish or unholy manner is an offense unto the Lord?
(3) Gifts, talents, & skills are a wonderful gift from God. To spend these upon yourself - to use them in a selfish manner - to employ them in unrighteousness is without question a great offense unto the Lord!
(4) For me, coherent thought is a blessing of God! To not use it for the glory of God would be to misappropriate the blessings of God.
[Illustration:]
I preached yesterday morning in my "home church". In attendance was my high school superintendent who approached me after the service and said, "This is quite different from our last conversation when we were trying to deal with you!" You see, the last time this man had to deal with me was only a couple of days before our high school graduation (1974). He and the principal called me into the office to decide what to do with me... let me graduate, hold me back, or call the police. I lacked a couple of courses for graduation and I was seen that day taking a handful of drugs.
My response to his statement was, "At that time in my life I couldn’t have strung 3 sentences together, much less do what God has enabled me to do here today."
I foolishly damaged my brain and wasted myself on drugs. I suffer consequence of this every day I live, and yet, God has taken the "scraps" I left and has turned it into something good. Should I then misappropriate the blessing of God by spending it on "self" or on worldly pursuits?
b) What if, however, we were to faithfully and cheerfully use the blessings of God for spiritual matters - to spend them upon the work of the kingdom - to view every blessing of God as a means of serving and honoring God. What if we took the view that the blessings of God are meant to be used in our Ambassadorship of Christ - to be used in the pursuit of lost souls?
i) This was in fact the view and the practice of Daniel - and it should become the practice of every Christian today!
3. Upon receiving a word from God, Daniel’s very 1st priority was to stop the execution of the false prophets - to stand in the gap between the ungodly and the fires of hell!
(v24b) - "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon;."
a) Would we place lost men above ourselves as Daniel did? Do we really love the souls of men so purely and passionately? Such love, such priority is a giant step toward revival!
b) This is also the love and example of that great prophet, Moses.
Ex. 32:32-33)
31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
c) This is also the love and example demonstrated by the apostle Paul:
(Rom. 9:1-3)
1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Conclusion:
Copyright c Larry L. Schoonover, 2003, All Rights Reserved
