Committed To Character
I.
It’s a commitment to
God’s character that places a demand on His power.
A. Daniel 3:6,14-25 –
When they showed up in character God showed up in power
1.
Ex
20:3-The standard has been set, this is right & to do anything else is
wrong
a. Making an excuse for why
they bowed isn’t going to be a good reason
2.
Character
is doing what’s right and doing it right every time no matter what
a. My job is to do what God
said and beyond that I don’t have a job or responsibility
b. EX: If I tithe I won’t
have any money to pay my electric bill, do what’s right
3.
We
see these guys showing up in character flat refusing to do what’s wrong
B. Dan
6:3-4,7,10,22-23-Power shows up in response to his character –
Power responds to character
1.
Daniel
was a man of character
a. Excellent Spirit –
Extraordinary, to excel, surpassing, outstanding
b. Faithful –
Trustworthy, reliable, sure, lasting
c. No Fault – corrupt
or Error – Thing a miss, fail
2.
They
tried to use Daniel’s character against him, but character will keep you
a. They knew Daniel would do
what God said at all times so they made a law that opposed his God
C. Daniel 1:8-9,17,20
– There’s an anointing available that makes you better if you’ll walk in
character
1.
People
of character who don’t compromise that character are always people who have
settled things in their heart --- They’ve committed to character
2.
You
have to commit to character long before you have the opportunity to violate it
II. Adam and Eve failed the character test and they lost power
(Genesis 1-3)
A. Genesis 2:17 – This
is right and they shouldn’t have been discussing eating that tree
1.
The
three Hebrews cut Nebuchadnezzar off and said we are not careful to answer you
in this manner; they had purposed in their heart what they were going to do and
they wouldn’t even allow him to play the music again
a. Adam and Eve hadn’t
purposed in their heart
2.
You
got to purpose in your heart that the Word of God is final authority in your
life and you’re going to do what the Word says and make no excuses for not
doing what it says-That’s character
B. When Adam and Even
violated character, they lost power over the Earth
1.
Any
time the character of God is violated, power is lost
C. Every temptation of the
enemy is a temptation to disrupt you in character because if he can disrupt you
in character he can stop you in power and keep you from living victoriously in
the Earth
III. Your level of commitment to character determines the level of
power you walk in (Galatians 6:9)
A. 7-This refers to God’s
faithfulness – You will not sow seeds of character and not harvest power
1.
God
is faithful, but to see his faithfulness, it requires that you be faithful
2.
He’s
faithful to show up in power, but to see that faithfulness you have to be
faithful to show up in character
3.
God’s
is not mocked, if you keep showing up in character you will see him show up in
power
B. 8-When you sow to doing
right you reap the zoe-life-force (power) of God
C. 9-Don’t quit doing what’s
right – If you don’t quit character sowing, you’ll see power harvesting
1.
It’s
a commitment and unwillingness to compromise this character that places a
demand on God’s power
2.
Getting
weary in well doing is one of the most predominant things that keeps power from
showing up
3.
If
it hurts me I’m going to do what’s right (Psalm 15)
D. 10-Every opportunity you
have to show up in character, show up in character
1.
It’s
vitally important that if we want to see God’s power show up in our lives that
we continue to show up in character over and over and over again-2 Chron 16:9
a. When you do this you
place a demand on his power