230623-An Excellent Spirit

Daniel was a man of excellent spirit. He served under several kings, including Nebuchadnezzar and Darius. Despite living in a corrupt world, Daniel remained faithful to God and displayed wisdom and integrity. He was recognized for his excellence and was considered for a high position in the kingdom. In the end times, those who are wise and lead others to righteousness will shine like the sun and the stars. Daniel's life is an example of how we can maintain an excellent spirit in the midst of darkness and corruption. Good evening everybody. It's yet another Friday night in our Bible study where we get to converge and then learn. And we are thankful to God for His servant, the facilitator for this Bible study for a couple of years now. So we welcome everybody. Basically we have members, we welcome members from all parts of the world. We have members from Nigeria, Uganda, Canada, the U.S. And so we are open to sharing and learning together as children of the Lord. Tonight we're going to be looking at an interesting topic, an excellent spirit, so I believe that it's going to be one that will bless our hearts. So I'm excited to have all of us join tonight. God bless you. So I'm going to hand over to Reverend Gordon. Amen. Who's up to study. Amen. Let's just begin with our greetings to everyone. God bless you. Some cannot be here and we're praying for them with different issues. Father, tonight we come before you and we need your excellent spirit to move within us. I would thank you for it, Father, you are faithful. We acknowledge your faithfulness and drawing your people together tonight. Draw those that you have delivered this word for them. We ask you, God, that you'd move by your precious spirit and lead reverence, your word and lead the respect and love one another tonight as we study together, as we bring your presence to bear in this situation. God, in this study, and we bless you, Lord, teach us, Lord, that you have given to us the spirit of excellence, that you've given to us your precious Holy Spirit within us. And we ask, Lord, that we would come to really know and understand the gift that you've given, which our Father has promised. Bless the Lord in Jesus' name. Amen. So we begin in the Old Testament. I love to begin in the Old Testament as we talk about excellent spirit because it's like some people think that the Holy Spirit only began working at Pentecost. But the more I read the Old Testament, I find that there are many, many people that excelled in their lives because of the gifts of God, the wisdom of God, because of their character. You know, having an excellent spirit really has a lot to do with our character. We have character weaknesses, character flaws, character this and character that. And sometimes we're just selfish or stubborn. And the Lord needs to be the one exalted in us. And as he rises in us, then people know that there is an excellent spirit about us. And it's not to our credit except that we have surrendered and yielded to him and allow him to move in our lives. So let's dive into some scripture and let's see where the Old Testament, a few places at least, is talking about those who possessed something very, very special, which promoted their lives, which gave blessing to many other people. You know, someone who's excellent is not just doing it for themselves. We work is unto the Lord, but we work to be a blessing to others, don't we? So Daniel chapter 5. I find that this excellence is not a thing of pride, not at all. It's something, just a precious gift given for a purpose. And we'll look into that purpose, why God would give an excellent spirit to someone. Excellent. Daniel chapter 5, verse 11 and 12. And I don't know if, L.A., Lars, would you read for us tonight? Are you capable? You have good network and you have light. Yes, sir. Let me take Daniel chapter 5. Yes, verse 11 and 12. Verse 11 and 12, okay. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, we are found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, children, and superiors. Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas, we are found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belshazzar. Now let Daniel be called and he will give the interpretation. It was quite difficult. Amen. Daniel, let Daniel be called. And so in your kingdom is someone who your father knew well. His name is Belshazzar in the Babylonian languages. His name was Daniel in Hebrew. As he was a descendant of the Hebrews, a prince, probably a descendant of royalty in the kingdom. But then there was judgment that came upon Israel and Daniel was taken into captivity. And in captivity, even beginning in the first chapter, second chapter, we see, we begin to see the integrity of Daniel, the wisdom, the grace, and the favor on his side. So this later on, when King Belshazzar, I believe, was king at this time, and there was writing on the walls, they couldn't interpret it. So let Daniel come and show the interpretation of this enigma on the walls. So let's look at this. Because in him is the spirit of the gods in verse 11. That wouldn't be Zeus or one of those Greek gods, would it? But that's the kind of thing they knew, those kind of foreign gods. But this was an excellent spirit, the spirit of the gods. But they had not yet really known the living God. And Daniel was influenced by five kings during his lifetime. Did you know that, Faber? That's interesting, isn't it? Not just one or two. Yes, I did. I didn't know there were up to five. Possibly even seven. But the Medes and the Persians, when they came in, they appointed Daniel Nebuchadnezzar and then his son. So when we add it up, it was up to five kings that he strongly influenced and taught. He taught King Nebuchadnezzar to fear the Lord and that the Lord God, he alone is God. King Neb, you're not God. No, you think you're God because whatever you command is done. Whatever you want comes. There's no one who can answer you. There's no one who can say anything against you, King Neb. Whatever you say, even if it's ridiculous, people will bow to you. No one will refuse you. So you must be God, right? If it's, I mean, that's God-like. But Daniel dared to teach a heathen king who the Almighty God was and to confront the power of the evil king. Now, if you want to know who Nebuchadnezzar was like, I should know. Saddam Hussein. No, the other one. Okay, yes. The one that he claimed to be a reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar. So this Nebuchadnezzar, we know a little of Saddam Hussein. We know a little of his grinding machines. If you don't obey and behave, then you just become a human burger. We know that no one could stand against him. Whatever he said was the law. Whatever he wanted to do, it was legal. So he was a law unto himself. So this Saddam Hussein claimed to be a reincarnation of King Nebuchadnezzar. So we can kind of get a picture of Daniel standing in front of Saddam Hussein and saying, Mr. Hussein, we need to tell you something, that you are not God. And there is only one God, under heaven, who is the rightful God. And unless you humble yourself, and unless you acknowledge him as God, you will eat grass for the remainder of your life. And so King Nebuchadnezzar did humble himself for a time and acknowledge. It's something interesting to him, too. I'm going to stop off the cuff for a few minutes. But Daniel said something interesting to King Nebuchadnezzar. He says, if you want to preserve your life and remain humble, then feed the widows, take care of the poor. You ever notice that one? It's not astounding. It may save and prolong your reign. But then one day he was standing on the top of his palace, which till today is one of the 10 ancient wonders of the world, the city of Babylon. The botanical gardens, the irrigation systems that would pump up by gravity and all these things that they had was absolutely phenomenal. And so, until today, it's considered one of the 10 ancient wonders of the world. And King Nebuchadnezzar was standing on his palace one day, looking over his magnificence, and he was declaring how magnificent he was. And so the word of Daniel came to pass that the Lord humbled him and made him eat like an ox. For seven years until his mind came back to him, he thought and acted like an animal. God dealt with him. This was the wisdom. Now, how do you keep your head while confronting a hearty king? It's absolutely amazing. And the wisdom and the excellent spirit. We know Daniel interpreted dreams. We don't realize he was daily in the palace. He daily had to deal with this man. He was in charge of all the presidents. Let's read about that. Daniel chapter 6, verse 1 to 3. So, in favor, after L.A. reads, if you will, and if you can comment on the position of this Daniel on these three verses, if you would just please help me out with that. Okay. Daniel chapter 6. Verse 1 to 3. L.A., go ahead. All right. Daniel chapter 6, verse 1. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 Setraps to be over the whole kingdom. And over these three governors of whom Daniel was one, that the Setraps might give account to them so that the king would suffer no loss. Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and Setraps because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. Man, this, I believe we know this. This is how the king decided to set up his government and then these Setraps, these 120 Setraps could also be, maybe if we think about them as counselors or experts in the government, government officials. So, basically counselors. And I like the fact that verse 2 says, and over them three high officials. So, among the 120, the king selected three high, these are the inner cacos, the inner circle counselors and of whom Daniel was one. So, Daniel was among the highly placed officials. And here's the thing, he said, to whom these Setraps should give account to so that the king might suffer no loss. So, here's what the king did. The 120 Setraps would give account, would be accountable to the three officials who in turn would be accountable to the king. So, this was how he structured his government. And the essence of this was that he would not suffer any loss. This is interesting. It shows that the king had, you know, he showed he also had a good mindset. But it says that Daniel became distinguished above all the other officials and Setraps because an excellent spirit was in him. So, amongst all of those people, the Setraps and even the officials, Daniel was distinguished. The king could easily identify him and this was in the form of, we see this in his counsel. Daniel's counsel would often always stand out and his conduct, we see it in his character as well, his conduct would often always stand out. And as we think about it, and I believe Daniel warned, the Bible says, he wouldn't want to defy himself with a portion of the king's meat. So, he conducted himself well, carried himself well. And all of these were the factors that reflected and that is to say, they reviewed the excellent spirit that was at work in Daniel. So much so, I think he was like a provincial leader. Heads of provinces, I think it says in a later place. And so, while you were reading, I was looking at the various kings that probably Daniel served under and there's at least five. But the trouble to understand that is they have various names. Darius was actually Cyrus the Great or I think it was Syracuse II. And sort of like that, there's some un-clarity about those things. However, just to say, for close to 70 years, Daniel served the king land and he kept his head on his shoulders. He almost died by being accused and being thrown to the lions, but the Lord preserved him. So, so much so was the wisdom in Daniel 6 that the king was definitely considering to put him over his whole realm. The greatest kingdom, according to Bible prophecy, the kingdom of Babylon was the greatest kingdom. It was a kingdom of excellence. It was a kingdom of gold. And so, why can I say it's a kingdom of excellence? Because unlike other kings, under like Rome, when they came later, under like even the Medes and Persians had some excellence with it. But these kings would not simply just destroy everybody. But they would take the very best from each area and they would bring them to the capital, to Babylon, and train them and educate them. And then they would send them to different provinces than what they came from, and that they would be the leaders there. And that was their method of conquering. And I do not remember accurately, but what comes to my mind, there were 127, 24 provinces, and they had conquered the then world. So, this was no small village king that Daniel served. He was the king of excellence, a king of might, king of glory and power. And his palace showed it. So, just to give us a picture of that where Daniel served. Let's go to the 12th chapter of Daniel. There's so much in Daniel we could go through. And today will be a little shorter. My strength is not full today. So, we're going to take care of my body as well. Daniel chapter 12. And Lawrence, we should read the whole chapter. Daniel 12. At that time, Michael shall stand up, a great prince, who stands watch over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time, your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting content. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the feminine. And those who turn mainly to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book unsealed, the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. Then the eye, Daniel looked, and there stood two others, one on this river bank and the other on that river bank. And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, how long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be? Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times and half a time. And when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1290 deaths, lest he who waits and comes to the 1335 days, but you go your way till the end, for you shall rest and you arise to your inheritance at the end of the days. Amen. Amen. What version are you reading from? I like it. I'm reading from New King James Version. Nice. Yeah, your inheritance at the end of the days. I like how it translates. So it says, let's go to verse three. So during this time, a time of trouble, it says in verse one, a time with more trouble than there's ever been from the time there was a nation of Israel until this time. And at that time, God, your people will be delivered. And verse three says something really interesting. Those that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament. Bright as the sun, I suppose. And they that turn, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. So during this dark time, there are those who are filled with the spirit of excellence, the spirit of the gods, the spirit of the Lord God Almighty, and filled with wisdom. Even though they may be living near the heathen king that could behead them immediately, they are going to turn many to righteousness. As many as the stars. Innumerable, I think is the meaning of it. Many, many. So I think that can right there change my thinking about what is the end times going to look like, right? You know, we're told to. And so we could think that all these beasts are coming and all these tribulations and all of these things. But I'm going to stick here with verse three. I'm going to stay here with verse three, that at the end of time, there's going to be those who are wise, who are shining like the sun, and those that are turning many to righteousness. As wicked as this world can become, as corrupt as it can become, there are those who kept themselves in a spirit of excellence. And the darker the times, the more corruption there is, for sure, the better, the better that you can see the light. I forgot to point out in the sixth chapter, how that King wanted Daniel to be in charge of the provinces or the provincial leaders, because there would be no harm come to him. I think that means he could trust Daniel, that there would not be any corruption, and he would watch over those provincial leaders that they did right. And because of that, he wanted to promote him over his whole kingdom. I don't know if that ever happened, because King Neb didn't live so long, and the Lord removed him. You know, he ended up, I'm sure that his kingdom did not go so well when he's on his face eating grass. I wonder who was in charge during that time. Thoughts that come to me, how much of the beauty of Babylon was designed by Daniel as well. I don't know. But I do wonder about it, because, you know, these Jewish people were known for their excellence in irrigation and running water to interesting places. So an interesting video I watched the other day, during King David's time, which was long before this, during King David's time, that David ran water to the temple. And you know the temple was on a mountain. And he ran water 14 kilometers from the lakes, which were higher, the lakes themselves were higher than the temple. But they had to run over and down and up for 14 kilometers. And they didn't have steel pipes. It took many years to form this distribution pipe, which brought unlimited water to the temple. You know, when you're sacrificing 400, 800 sacrifices a day, and you're draining all the blood, can you only imagine how much cleaning, continually you had to have water for a terrible, fly, awful mess. And here David had made an aqueduct made out of clay pipes and joined. If in a siphoning system like that, if there's a leak at a top point, or a bottom point, you can at a bottom point, you can have some leakage, it's okay. But at the top point, it's going to begin to suck air in, and soon you lose your siphon. So you can't tell me that David had no experience with those things. His great, great grandfather or king from many years ago had that technology. So some of these things, I wonder if the excellence of some of these things came from all these different provinces, which used to be kingdoms, separate kingdoms, now they're provinces of Babylon. So here is Daniel. So he could be trusted in the middle of corruption. So today, some of these things I'm just sharing off the top because to me, this book of Daniel is fantastic. I've got to gather some points. But I would say that Daniel is a man of excellent spirit indeed. Because I think with everything happening around him, it's a clear indication that he's a man of excellent spirit. Yes, and that's certainly the point that we're making and you're catching it. The examples I'm giving are just to help us expand our thinking about this Daniel. Because if you're like me, we don't realize the level of scientific, cultural excellence. How many languages did Daniel probably know? He knew seven, at least seven languages. That in itself is excellent. He knew the history because he was required to learn both at home and then as he came to Babylon, he was taught in all the ways, all the cultures of the Babylonians, all their law and all their excellence in so many different ways. So this man was, as they would say, he was no joke. He was definitely a man endued with such wisdom. And yet he did not use his intelligence to answer the king's questions. He said, wait, there's only one who can answer your question. There's only one who can interpret dreams. And he acknowledged and recognized the spirit of the living God who was with him. So in the last final days, many will turn to righteousness as the wise shine brightly. Let's look at verse 10. Many will be purified and made white and tried. Now this tried is a word that refers to the purifying of silver or gold. And that's what, as silver is tried, as gold is purified. This is the process called trying. The trying of silver and gold. It's many places in the Bible, Malachi, the third chapter, one place in Jeremiah. Anyway, so we don't like execution. We don't like living amongst corruption. But would you agree with me, favor, that harsh environments require purifying of ourselves. And you can't live, you cannot live unless you let God purify you. Yes, Reverend, can you hear me? Now we can. It just hit me how that you said that, you said that about, you know, purifying ourselves, because for the last three days, I have been, this word just hit me. And it was from John 17, where the Lord Jesus himself said, for the sake, I sanctify myself. And that is John 17, I believe, verse 19. Right. And so it just ties up with what you're saying, Reverend, because it shows us how that one of the things that we can do, and as I brooded on that word, I came up with this, with this topic. And it says the sacrifice of sanctification. So one of the things that we can do in our, for our people, for ourselves, and for the people around us, and for the community, we find ourselves here, is to sanctify, is to sacrifice, is to sacrifice ourselves to stay sanctified. Because it's not easy to be sanctified. It's not easy to stay pure. It's not easy to stay clean. But if we can pay the price, if we can sacrifice and say, okay, I'm going to pay the price, I'm going to lay myself down, I'm going to take away my own self-interest and the interest of my flesh, and the indulgences of my flesh, I'm going to stay pure. We will find out that by staying pure, by staying sanctified, we help the people around us, we help our community, we help the people, because we will walk in power, we'll walk in excellence of spirit, just like we're sharing tonight. And it's going to be such a huge blessing to the people around us, and the community will find ourselves in. Yes, correct. It's John 17, 19, an excellent quote. For them I sanctify myself, so that they too may be truly sanctified. I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them, so that they too can be made holy by your truth. What a beautiful catch there, David. Thank you. So verse 12 of Daniel 12 says, blessed is he that wait patiently, continue to be occupied, standing steadfast. When we bring out the meaning of the word, it's more than just idly waiting upon your bed. It's like, blessed is he who occupies, or no, he says, occupy then until they come as commanded. Be about our Father's business until he comes. Blessed is he who will not give up and not compromise, not lose hope, continue in the work that God has given to that person. Blessed, you will be blessed. You will be blessed of the Father. But go thou, Daniel, thy way, till the end be. For you will rest, but in that final day you will come into your inheritance. There is a blessing that's pronounced in many places for the faithful, for those who have kept themselves, who have not compromised with evil, but they have kept themselves. They have allowed the Holy Spirit to purge, make white and purify us as silver is tried. How blessed are those, Jesus asked his disciples, so are you going to also leave me? When things got difficult and they said to him, how can we leave you? You alone have the words which bring life. So this Daniel gives us an understanding, an idea of what an excellent spirit would mean. Richard Womack outlines the key characteristics of an excellent spirit to include to identify in Christ, to have true humility, full obedience, endurance, and uncompromising stand with God's word. True humility, full obedience, endurance, and an uncompromising stand with God's word. Identifying with Christ, in Christ. Oh I see, including your identity is in Christ. I believe that's what he's saying. So it's powerful. I'm thinking too is in Genesis 41 verse 38. If we could read 37 and 38. Genesis 41 verse 37-38. And let them gather all the fruit of those good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh and let them keep food in the city. Amen. And 38. Okay, 38. And Pharaoh said to his servants, can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God? Can we find such a one as this, someone who in whom is the spirit of God or the divine spirit? You know, as a speaker was saying, it's a challenge to us even right now. That God has prepared a plan for us. But as it says in Timothy, he says, chapter 2, if a man shall cleanse himself from these things, he shall become a vessel unto honor, fit for the master's use, his every use. You know, a vessel of gold you can use for anything you want. You can serve your guests or you can take food to your pigs. A vessel of gold can be used for anything. However, you know, clay pot, you will never sit in front of your important guests. And so some of this is our choice. And I felt like we needed the encouragement to know that it's many times our choice to remain pure in heart, to not refuse the dealings of God, to not complain when we face hardships, but to learn to keep a sweet spirit, a strong courageous spirit, the spirit of a lion, the spirit of an eagle, these mighty creatures. God calls us to have the spirit of the Lord within us. Let's go to Isaiah chapter 61. This is the scripture that Jesus quoted in Luke chapter 4 after he came out of the wilderness. And he stood in the synagogue and he took the scroll of Isaiah. He began to read this one. And it describes to us what is an excellent spirit, the Holy Spirit, and what is it like and what is it for. All right. Can we read the first four verses? Okay, Isaiah 61. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has reminded me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable here of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beautiful ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the whole ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Amen. God is preparing a people who can, like Isaiah 60, arise and shine and bring glory to God. And I noticed here there is comfort for those who mourn, there's healing, there's truth being proclaimed and people coming to Christ. Brother Cassander, here's the question. You heard the reading in Isaiah 61. Do you notice how many of those things, although there's spiritual needs being met, there's human, natural, emotional needs being met, but did you notice how many works in the natural also are being done in Isaiah 61 verse 4? Works. Brother, you said works in the natural, right? I did. I did. I see something like preach good tidings to the meek. Yes, right. Find out the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives. Right, deliverance. Okay. Present to them that have gone through the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance. Appoint to them the morning Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, fire of joy for mothers. In verse 4. In verse 4 it says, and they shall build the old west, they shall raise up the former desolations, they shall replace the west cities with desolations of many generations. So I didn't get the question right. Yeah. So it's a question. Remember we were talking the other week about being spiritually natural and naturally spiritual. And we should not separate the spiritual realm from what we call natural things. But that a man full of the Spirit of God will begin to also affect his natural surroundings because if we're full of God's Spirit, we don't separate, oh Wednesday night I'm praying deliverance for people and Friday night we're rejoicing in worship and Sunday we're declaring the Word, seeing people come to Christ. The rest of the time, well that's just natural work. But in this verse 4, I see some very practical natural things being done by the Spirit of the Lord. Those whose Spirit of the Lord is on them and has anointed them, there's some things happening in verse 4 that are very natural things. What are they? Okay. I see them, Bible says they are building up of the ancient desolations of many generations, west cities being built up in the natural realm. And I remember you said something that really touched me because it's been a struggle for me lately since I've been so tough, but I've been so much in the negative. I'm unable to have that sweet spirit that I used to have. It's been a struggle, I must tell you. So when you talked about maintaining a sweet spirit in Hatshep, I was wondering, I said, oh, this is something I have to go back to. Because I noticed that when I had a sweet spirit, I didn't need to really preach. Somebody had come to me years back to say, oh, this man, they are always happy because that's what he could see. It's like I'll follow you. That's what he said. Then another person asked me, are you really a student? I was in university then. He said I was so at ease. I don't know how to explain it, maybe at rest. I think that's the word. So the outflow of the anointing of the spirit is tangible. And generally, I used to tell people, I live from my inside out. It's actually, there's no difference. I feel bad when I'm unable to express that much of God or when my time, in quotes, is just contained in it. Because that's my life. There's no separation from it. If I separate from it, I don't know how I will live. So one does not need to switch off from maybe the mood and washing to deal with the physical. I believe that when we allow the Lord to have full control around us, you have no option but to begin to experience the results, the consequences, the effects of the life that will be coming to us. That's what I see. If we can maintain that sweet spirit, it will be a blessing. I'm trusting God to help me do just that because in recent times I've been rather so quiet. I'm not able to, I just pray to be sweet or whatever. God is with you. And that's important in our life. You know, we let the things which we are pressured by, the things which seem also important or the things we seem to be lacking. If we maintain precious spirit of God and we are building a future in heaven, we're bringing souls to Christ, we are ministering to those who are broken, to those who are captive, bring joy and beauty for ashes, joy for mourning. You know, when we minister to people, God does miracles. God can bring, I've often used this verse, many, many people have been set free by simply sharing. God can give you beauty for those ashes of your destroyed life. Your hopes and dreams have been destroyed. Your trust has been betrayed. God can give you beauty for ashes. Are you willing to allow God? Many, many, many people have seen God do creative instantaneous miracles inside of them. What a gift to give. Amen. So this is his excellent spirit within us, but we have to allow him to take us through the fire, take us through these things and to stand firm and to trust and to not complain, to not give up hope. But those who stand until the end, these are going to see the salvation of the Lord. These will be exalted. How many years did Joseph have to stand and go through being misunderstood, being hated, being sold and betrayed and accused and imprisoned? How many years did he have to go through before he could give this prophecy, the interpretive stream and that the King in Genesis 41, verse 37 and 38 said, can we find such a man, anyone better than this in whom is the spirit of the gods? How did Joseph maintain this spirit through all of those hardships? Would he be in the place that he was with having given up, become depressed or angry at God? God gave me promises, but I give up. Would Joseph ever have been able to save millions of people's lives over those seven years? No, he would not have been given favor with the King. He was abandoned in the prison even after. It's easy to become disappointed, discouraged, upset, even angry at our circumstances, which is really being angry with God. No. Maintain the worship, the praise, the humbleness and allow God to provide for you however he will because if we're faithful in the day of small things, small income, small data, small opportunities, if we're faithful, if we're faithful in the least, he will make us ruler for much. And this is where the excellent spirit is developed. If we must draw on the spirit of God in order to maintain an excellent attitude, you cannot do it yourself. It's not a natural thing. It's the spirit of the Lord. Phil prophesied about the day when the spirit of God would come upon mankind. And there's a lot of prophecy and visions and dreams and God was going to move through a mighty army. But those who are ready and been prepared, Daniel 12, that tells us again, for those who have been made ready, God would use them in mighty ways during that time, even when the whole world is in darkness. What does the verse say? Darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people. But the glory of the Lord will be seen upon thee. The glory of the Lord be seen upon thee. So this is an opportunity for us to have the glory of God upon us only if we don't compromise with the corruption, if we don't compromise with our own emotion and the temptation to compromise, to become upset or to give up. The only way God is forming a people through the fire. People form themselves. Back in Daniel 12, you can see it very clearly. Daniel 12, verse 10, many shall be purified during that time. They be made white and they will be tried as silver, which means to purify with intense pressure and heat. It says, but the wicked shall do wickedly. You know, you ever get upset at wicked people. It's not fair. Those people are doing this. Those politicians are doing that. They're causing such trouble. You know what I learned to say, wicked will do it. Come on, everybody's saying the wicked shall do wickedly. That's it. The wicked shall do wickedly. What are you going to expect? A corrupt man will do corruptly. That's just how they are. And none of the wicked are going to understand verse 12, but the wise shall understand. Blessed is he, verse 12, that waited till the end. Now Daniel rests and you're going to receive your reward and your inheritance at the end of days. We're not only living for this life, my friends. If we were living simply for this life, we may have times it's not, doesn't seem worth it. But those who have an eternity in mind, we realize that the time of this present time does not seem to be joyous, but it's necessary. And it brings in us that pitiable fruit of righteousness. It brings in us steadfast, unshakable, unmovable spirit of excellence. Okay. Thank you so much, Bill, for this opportunity. And then for the teaching, you know, Daniel is a Bible figure that really identifies with excellence and God did really pour out that gift on him. And I saw that Daniel was able to display that intangible gift in a way that one in his time could feel it, touch it, and perceive it. Because I think excellence is a spiritual concept that is validated in the physical, in the natural. It makes more sense because it has to connect with what people see, connect with arrangements, organization, and structures. So for Daniel to have acquired that spirit from God in Babylon, and I know that Babylon is one of the roughest and so promiscuous place in the Bible times, with all the challenges and temptations, and even having to, you know, walk under the king, where he had access to the highest, you know, degree of temptation and it's misdue. So he was able to stand fast and then make the difference among other satraps, I don't know. Yes, he made the difference. And because of that, the king committed so much to him. The king committed so many things in his time. Daniel, as soon as I saw you put that picture in the WhatsApp group, I knew that it was Daniel. Already it was striking. So his character is very striking. You see Daniel, you see excellence. You see Daniel, you see the spirit of God. And then what made him so outstanding was that he did not only have knowledge, the excellence spirit in MBA, I think, if you break it down, you'll find the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, you know, deep understanding of things. That was how he was able to, you know, give interpretations to even esoteric languages and codes. Right, right. So, and then he did not just stop in the spiritual. I think Daniel went forward to study all the Babylonian codes, all the schools, he studied the Chaldeans, there was this code of Amorabi, Babylonian used to have then, I'm sure he would have studied all those things and then allow the Holy Spirit of God now to lead him through, you know, these studies he has acquired. And then the ones he has to debunk by the spirit of God, he would debunk the ones he has to use, he will use. So, I have really learned so much from this meeting on chapter 12 of Daniel, it's a huge blessing to me because of the history. Good. Amen. And so I think, Lawrence, I'm feeling in my spirit that God is encouraging you because you are gifted in natural things. And for a time you perceived yourself as not spiritual. And I know it's not true. I think that God is giving you the spirit of excellence, of craftsmanship, of artisticism. And those things are gifts of God. And as you do everything you do as worship unto the Lord, you will find that you are drawing on a gift and the provision of anointing. You will find that your ministering to other people will increase. And that spirit that you have of excellence in things that you might call natural are also going to manifest and show other people in spiritual ways of ministering to them as well. You will see people set free. You will see people learn through your life. So, I wanted to encourage you with those things. Thank you, sir. So, one of the things that stood out to me tonight, that's what struck me and I began to think about that, is the fact that you said the excellence spirit is a product of heart pressing. Because I began to think of the characters mentioned, Joseph, Danny, they were persecuted, they were heart pressed. So, I began to look at my own life and I'm praying, I say, God help me. If I must get things right, I think my brothers have talked about things like sanctification, purity and all that. But that heart pressing got to me. I began, I've never considered that before. I only knew that yes, Danny had wisdom as a gift from the spirit and also Joseph. But there was a process, there was something about their life. And that stood out to me tonight. So, I'm trusting God for grace to help me to stand through the process. And I think you did mention the fact that the wicked we do wickedly. But for those who know their God, they will be strong and do exploits. Amen. Yes. And that's also another point. Amen. Thank you so much. Father, for the Word of God that is so rich and full of such wisdom and challenging and encouraging us, thank you that you are purifying us through the things which we suffer. That you are cleansing us through the things that we go through as we cease complaining, murmuring, being in despair. But God, as we continue to trust and press it into you, Lord, those Israelites were 40 years in the wilderness and they didn't have to be. So, God, we don't want to be in the wilderness for 40 years. We want to press into your promised land and begin to trust you and walk in faith. Lord, they weren't ready to walk in faith for 40 years. God, are we ready to walk in faith and to possess your excellent spirit within us, a spirit of wisdom, a spirit, Lord, that can help others, God, that can change environments around us. God, just the fact that there's a need and a problem is the first step to knowing the answer. But we often complain about what we see. And Lord, rather than asking and crying out to you, Lord, how can I change and how can I minister to this need that I see? God, help us take us out of the carnal realm of seeing and begin to cry for your heart, for people and Lord, for situations. God, these brothers are living in a corrupt nation, vile and corrupt in its nature. But God, I ask you, purify and keep these to the end. God, you could shine brightly upon them and use them to see many come to you, Lord. God, we haven't seen the end of things yet. And so we choose to believe you, that you haven't finished with us and that you're going to do a work that no man can do. Thank you, Lord. Amen.