Sermon on 16th February 2014 Delivered by: Rev.Geoffrey Mwithi !"# G"D !

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People who do exploits are those who know their God, know themselves and are ready to rise above ordinary. (F )*(S *+,,&!&D If all the sleeping folks will wake up, And all the lukewarm folks will fire up, And all the dishonest folks will confess up, And all the disgruntled folks will sweeten up, And all the discouraged folks will cheer up, And all the depressed folks will look up, And all the estranged folks will make up, And all the dry bones will shake up,

And all the Christians will stand up. hen you can have the !ingdom on earth"#$unday %ulletin& 'oundry Church, (ashington ).C* hroughout history God has chosen many to fulfill +is purpose. ,(hen God needed a friend +e chose Abraham. ,(hen God needed a deliverer +e chose -oses. ,(hen God needed a people to call +is own +e chose Israel. ,(hen God needed a leader +e could trust +e chose .oshua. ,(hen God needed a $avior +e sent .esus. )hey all had their time in hi-tory. (hen God needed a witness in the earth +e chose the church. +e chose )CI!. +e chose you and me. his is our time to do exploits. /ou do not need to wait for a revival, it is here

Acts 0123 4And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, hat I will pour out of -y $pirit on all flesh& /our sons and your daughters shall prophesy, /our young men shall see visions, /our old men shall dream dreams.#5!.6* 7Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. Ronald E. Osborn

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(hat does it mean to know God8 -any claims to know God or live on the assumptions that they know God, while in the real sense& they did not know +im at all or only know little of +im.

It is not enough to know about +im. It is possible to know much about the 9ord, +is nature and attributes, and yet not to know +im personally. :om 2;1

:om 2;1<"22 7All who are acceptable because of their faith simply say, = he message is as near as your mouth or your heart.= And this is the same message we preach about faith.> $o you will be saved, if you honestly say, =.esus is 9ord,= and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death.2; God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others. 22 he $criptures say that no one who has faith will be disappointed, #C?6* .ohn 2@1A =I am the way, the truth, and the lifeB= .esus answered. =(ithout me, no one can go to the 'ather. 3 If you had known me, you would have known the 'ather. %ut from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him.=C?6*

#e .et to /now God by01

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S2endin. time in 3ommunion and in fellow-hi2 with *im.

/ou can only know someone by spending time together and we can only really get to know God as we spend time alone with +im and cultivate fellowship and friendship with +im C as ?noch did, Gen D10@ And ?noch walked with God, and then he was not, for God took him. ii. 'i-tenin. to him a- he -2ea/- to u-.

'riends get to know each other as the listen and talk to each other, as we wait in the presence of God regularly, +e speaks to us in and through +is (ord, and we hear +is voice. iii. #e .et to /now *im by -2ea/in. to *im.

'ellowship is mutual& it is not a one"sided affair, and when we come into the presence of the 9ord and open our hearts and our lips to +im we get to know +im, as )avid did. Psalm DD12A"23 As for me, I will call upon God, And the 9E:) shall save me. ?vening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And +e shall hear my voice.#5!.6*

2. 4&(!G S)R"!G he more we know +im the stronger we shall be. Physically and spiritually" +e is the source of our physical and spiritual life. ?phesians A12; 'inally, my brethren, be strong in the 9ord and in the power of +is might.#5!.6* -orally" )aniel 21< 7%ut )aniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king4s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank& therefore he reFuested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.#5!.6* 'inancially" Philippians @12> 7And my God shall supply all your need according to +is riches in glory by Christ .esus.#5!.6* 5. D"(!G &6,'"()S. " An exploit is1 7A heroic deed of achievementG& a great and daring feat. -en and women who did exploits in the %ible" 9ion like men

Gideon and his H;; men #.udges 312>"0H*. ?liIah on Carmel #2 !ings 2<1HA"H>*& )avid killing Goliath, +ebrew 22 is a gallery of the heroes #hy did Daniel do the e72loit-8 what di-tin.ui-he- Daniel form ordinary men9 i. *e /new *i- God and he /new him-elf.

(e must settle in our minds who our God is and who we areB )aniel had a balanced self"esteem. )aniel knew what he was worth and his incredible value in GodJs eyes and this shaped his behavior. )aniel 21< 7%ut )aniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king4s food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet.#-$G* )aniel has a solid self"confidence C showing that he had surrendered even his intellect to the 9ord as well. alking about )aniel and his friends we read .... )aniel 210; 7(henever the king consulted them on anything, on books or on life, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom put together.#-$G* )aniel used his natural gifts, skills and abilities to be the best he could. If you want to rise above the ordinary, then you must settle in your mind, once and for all, Iust who your God is and who you are. And if you %elieve then this is who you are ... .ohn 2120"2H %ut to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. hey are reborn"not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.#59 *. Is that who you are8 ii. *e /new hi- 2ur2o-e.

o rise above the ordinary you must settle in your mind, once and for all, Iust why you are here on this planet earth.

i. Daniel lived hi- life for an audien3e of one : hi- 'ord. )aniel 2;120 7 hen he said, =)on4t be afraid, )aniel. $ince the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your reFuest has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.#59 * )aniel lived for an audience of one C his 9ord. +e was humble before God. And he recogniKed that God alone could give him wisdom and insight, and so he submitted his life to him. ii. Daniel wa-n;t ea-ily di-tra3ted from hi- life;- 2ur2o-e. Lnder great pressure, )aniel showed that wealth, power and money were no distraction to him. Ence king 5ebachadneKKar offered )aniel payment to interpret some writing...... )aniel D123 )aniel answered the king, =/ou can keep your gifts, or give them to someone else. %ut I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.#-$G* +e refused to 7performG spiritual gifts for any reward. +e didnJt even allow the fear of people to dissuade him from his lifeJs purpose. Ence he rebuked even the king of %abylonB = )aniel D100"0H =/ou are his son and have known all this, yet you4re as arrogant as he ever was. 9ook at you, setting yourself up in competition against the -aster of heavenB /ou had the sacred chalices from his emple brought into your drunken party so that you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines, could drink from them. /ou used the sacred chalices to toast your gods of silver and gold, bronKe and iron, wood and stone""blind, deaf, and imbecile gods. %ut you treat with contempt the living God who holds your entire life from birth to death in his hand.#-$G* he 9ord has a purpose for your life too C and his opinion of the way you live and invest your life is the only opinion that really matters. iii. *e /new the -our3e of -tren.th

)aniel is famous for being a man of prayer. ItJs clear that )aniel looked to the 9ord as his source of strength to live the sacred life in a secular society.

a. Daniel 2rayed even thou.h it wa- diffi3ult. )aniel A12; 75ow when )aniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward .erusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.#5!.6* . b. ,rayer wa- -e3ond nature to Daniel. hree times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, Iust as he had done before #)aniel A12;Mand prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.#5!.6**. )anielJs times of prayer sustained his faith in difficult days. his is where he found his strength. Prayer for us should not be a spare wheel but the only wheel.. 3. Daniel-; 2rayer- were an-wered. )aniel 2;120 7 hen he said, =)on4t be afraid, )aniel. $ince the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your reFuest has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.#59 * )aniel did exploits because +e knew God and knew himself. <on3lu-ion. )o you really know God8 or you have about him" +e revealed himself to the Israelites through his acts, but to -oses he spoke to him face to face ?xodus HH122 $o the 9E:) spoke to -oses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant .oshua the son of 5un, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.#5!.6*. )o you know you lifeJs purpose8 )o you know your source of strength8