HopeUC Secunderabad

Developing a Spirit of Excellence

• HopeUC Secunderabad

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Excellence isn’t performing harder, it’s building a life that can’t be shaken. Daniel shows us that true influence flows from prayer, purpose, and conviction, not convenience or culture. His steady intimacy with God shaped courage under pressure, while clear “I will” decisions turned conviction into action. His sacrifice, refusing the king’s delicacies, wasn’t about diet but allegiance, and it built integrity that opened doors talent alone couldn’t. Daniel’s lifestyle of excellence rested on attitude, aptitude, and allegiance: a teachable heart, growing competence, and unwavering loyalty to God. If you’re ready to trade convenience for conviction, this conversation will help you take your next step today.

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Hope Unlimited Church is an independent, Spirit-filled church with multiple campuses in India, serving young professionals and families from all parts of India in a modern, dynamic metropolitan church setting.
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SPEAKER_00:

So let's get into the word. But it's so beautiful that you know, even as I was preparing for this sermon, I didn't know that the children are going to talk about Daniel. I didn't know Enoch is going to talk about King Nebuchadnezzar. I didn't know that, you know, there's so many instances of what I want to speak about that will come through, you know, the service itself. Even Joy was talking about, you know, uh Daniel and how, you know, when they were thrown into the lion's den and the fiery furnace, such beautiful lessons that we can learn from the book of Daniel. Daniel was a young man when he was taken into exile, probably 18 to 20 years of age when he was taken captive into Babylon. Okay, but we see even in captivity that God was with him. And the Bible says there was an excellent spirit in Daniel. So the title of my sermon is, you know, Developing a Spirit of Excellence. I just have five points that I want to share with you. Okay, and it's very, very beautiful as to what God did in Daniel's life. Okay. For lack of time, I will not be reading all the scriptures, but the sermon notes are available on our U version app. You can follow along with me, but I will be concising or paraphrasing it. Okay. Is that okay? Yes. Okay. So uh in Daniel chapter 6, verses 1 to 4, it says that King Darius set Daniel above 120 princes. Okay, and he gave him power and authority to rule over the entire kingdom. Okay, and it says in verse 3, it says, Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and the princes, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. So you see here he was preferred. There was the favor of God that rested upon Daniel, and also the favor of man also rested upon Daniel. The favor of King Darius. This king did not know about God, the God of Daniel, okay, but still Daniel experienced the favor of God even in a foreign land. Okay. And we see in verse 4 it says, you know, wherever there is favor, we will see automatically there will be come on, enemies, jealous people. They don't understand what is different about this person. What is special? I'm also special. Jealousy. Same thing Daniel also encountered. He encountered jealous people and they were like, let me wait to get a chance. When I will find this guy doing something wrong, I'm going to take him down. Okay. But Bible says in verse 4, they could not find none occasion nor fault. For as much as he was faithful, neither there was any error or fault found in him. What amazing testimony this young man is carrying. No fault was found in this man, no error. Okay. Is it humanly possible? I think definitely, if you have God on your heart inside of your heart, it is possible, my friends. Okay, and we see that in the life of Daniel. Okay. So, what is this excellent spirit about? Okay. When we talk about excellence, it is very common for us to think about talent. Many of us think if I'm talented, then I will be recognized. Okay? Talent is only a very tiny percentage, my friends, but more than talent, it is about your character. It is about faith in God and also what you're going to do with your faith in God. That's about courage. There are so many verses in the Bible that talk about courage. Yes? Okay. So character, faith, and courage are some of the things that we get to see from Daniel's life. So if there is any young person who is like, you know, I want to build my life just like Daniel did, there is a beautiful blueprint that is available in this book of Daniel. If we follow these principles, then you and me also can be successful in life just as Daniel was. Yes. Was Daniel successful only in a spiritual life? No, he was successful even in the marketplace. He was successful even in the you know the realm outside the so-called spiritual. Yes, we saw the favor of God upon him. Okay. So the first point that I want to talk to you about is intimacy with God and consistency in prayer. Okay. Where do you think Daniel found his strength from? Daniel found his strength from God because he was consistently seeking God. Yes. Sometimes we feel prayer is routine, mundane, boring, monotonous. Anybody know that? Anyone sleeps in prayer? Huh? Or constantly look at your watch? How much time did I pray? How much more time to go? Because we have this, no? We have in our mind, okay, I want to pray for 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Sometimes you feel a kind of a struggle. Yes. Why is there a struggle, my friends? Because we have not developed that intimacy with God. If you go out with your friend and you want to catch up with your friend over a cup of coffee, is that boring? There's so much to catch up, right? You never look at your watch. You are going to tell them all that you did over the last, you know, from the last time you met them, you will catch up on things. There's never a sign of boredom. That's because you have that intimate bond with your friend. It's the same with God, my friends. You have to take that time to develop that intimacy with God. Otherwise, you will just be visiting God on a Sunday to Sunday. You're just coming to church and you're saying hi to God. But when you're going, when at your at home, Monday to Saturday, he is on ignore mode. Yes. Many of us are just living off on Sundays. So can I encourage you? I'm not putting you down, but all that I'm saying is your strength to face life comes from the intimacy that you draw, that intimate time that you spend with God. That is your strength, my friends. Okay? And also consistency in prayer. Doing the same thing over and over again. Sometimes the human brain thinks it is boring. Okay. But it says it takes 21 days to do something over and over again, it becomes a habit. So we need to train ourselves so that prayer becomes a consistent thing in our lives, not occasionally when I'm in trouble or when I have a problem, I run to God. No, it has to be a part of our lives. Okay. Develop a rhythm of prayer. Prayer comes under the category of a non-negotiable for a believer. Okay. Next point: establishing purpose in your heart. Okay. All of us want to achieve so many things in our life. And we often complain, you know, where is the time? I have a job, I have a husband, I have a family, I have children, I have to cook, I have to clean. Men can say, I have this, this, this. I'm just talking from a woman's perspective. Yes. So many of us have numerous things to do in a day. Okay. But if you want something, then you have to do what? All of us know. This is no rocket science. You have to make time. Just like Pastor said when he's encouraging about code conference, he said, what do you need to do? You have to make time. You have to make time in order to learn something. Okay. So it says Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the things that were served in the king's palace. He had purpose, he decided, and then he moved in that direction. What did he do? Did he only tell himself I don't want to do this? He moved a step ahead and he said, I will go and talk to the eunuch and say, I'm not going to participate in what the king's palace is offering, but I want to stick to my own, you know, vegetables and water. And then he moved in that direction. Okay. So purpose will give you direction. When you have purpose in your heart, it will give you direction. In that way, when you are going, there will be many distractions, my friends. You have to learn to control your distractions and stay focused on what you want to achieve. Okay. This is very, very important. Okay. So write down your I will statements. We are coming to the end of the year. End of the year is when we kind of look back on our resolutions and we kind of think how much I have achieved. And then 2026 is coming. We will write down new resolutions. So I think it is a good time for us to think about what you want to do in this coming year. What is your purpose? Is also something that we all have to ponder about. Okay. And from the purpose will come this I will statements. I will do this. I will take time for this. Okay. I will. Okay. You know what you want to achieve, and your I will will directly be applicable to what you want to achieve. So purpose gives direction and discipline keeps you on the course. So it's very, very important for us to stay focused. Okay. When you purpose in your heart, God acts on your behalf. How wonderful is that? God acts on your behalf, and it's not something that I'm just saying in the air. Okay. I'm saying it from the scripture because it says in Daniel chapter 10, verse 12 that do not fear Daniel. From the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. And I have come because of your words. This is what the angel uh says to Daniel. Okay. When you purpose, God acts on your behalf and God responds to intentional hearts. There has to be an intentional step that you will take in order to, you know, achieve that goal, that you know what you want. There has to be an intention coming from your side as well. Okay. God is somebody who will operate in your thought level, my friends. Okay. And it has to manifest there. He sees beyond your actions into the motive of your heart. Okay. Faithful steps invite divine intervention. Okay. Very beautiful. Sometimes we are just sitting there and we are waiting. The heavens will open up and there will be a miracle that will drop from heaven. Many times we are under that impression. Things like that also happen. Okay. But what is the word of God teaching us? The word of God is teaching us that we need to have that faith. Step forward in faith. Okay. Faithful steps invite divine intervention. Okay. How can you apply this to your life? Don't wait for the perfect conditions. Life is never going to be perfect. Every step of the way there will be challenges, my friends. Don't say if this happens, then I will do this. Don't put conditions like that. Okay? But take a step of faith. Step forward in faith and trust God to meet you with his favor. You are able to follow the slides? Yes. The fourth point that I want to say is about how your blessing is proportional to sacrifice. I just talked to you about sacrifice. Okay. And we see that when we sacrifice, it's like a test. It's like a test. We see in the book of Daniel also. Daniel says to the eunuchs, test us and see that if we will not be better than the other men. Okay. The other men, what were they eating? They were eating meat and wine, the king's delicacies. But what was Daniel and his friends eating? They were eating just vegetables and water. Okay. So they were not on a vegan fast. They were not on a vegan fast. Daniel was very smart. He knew what he was doing. Okay. So the sacrifice led to greater strength and favor. And when the eunuch tested them, what did he find out? That these men were far better than the other men. Okay. So we see that in spite of what they sacrificed, they never had to compromise on their strength or on their intellect. And God helped them to be perfect in that manner. Okay. So sacrifice is often a test, but it positions us for our destiny. How can we apply this to our life? Identify areas where you are compromising, my friends. Is there any compromise in your life? Are you saying, Are this acceptable? You know, you don't know how the corporate world is. We have to do it, yeah. This is social responsibility. You know, we kind of uh cover up things and we justify things because we are not able to uh stand up. Okay, so God knows what those areas and ask God to give you the strength not to compromise on those areas but help you to stand strong as his witness. Okay, compromise, tempt you. Choose obedience, my friends. Just like you know, we saw in the skit, no? What was God was telling Noah was telling everybody there's going to be a flood, there's going to be a flood. Nobody believed until it happened. Okay, so obedience is very, very important to God's word, even when it costs you comfort. Many times we don't want to get out of our comfort zone and do things, but let me tell you, when you step out of your comfort zone, you sacrifice things, God puts you onto a new level, my friends. That sacrifice will never go in vain. Okay, and God will honor that sacrifice. Sacrifice today builds a testimony tomorrow. Okay. If you want to be outstanding, then the first thing that you need to learn is how to stand out. Stand out from the crowd. Okay? Don't defile yourself with the things of the world, and that will help you to stand out. Okay. The last point that I want to share is about why Daniel refused the king's delicacies. Anybody thought about it? Anyone had this doubt? Why did Daniel have to do it? He was just in a foreign land that is just food. Why did he have to do it? Daniel knew the principles of God very well. Okay, so he was faithful to God's law. Avoiding unclean foods was forbidden by the law in Moses. Moses told them that it has to be forbidden. So he was abiding by the law. The line was drawn, and he did not make any effort whatsoever to cross the line. He stayed within his boundaries, avoiding also idolatry. These are the two main reasons that Daniel refused to participate in the king's delicacies that were being served in Babylon. Okay. Excellence means living by conviction, not by convenience. Okay. Stand firm in your values even when culture pressurizes you to do otherwise. Okay. So the key takeaways that we can learn from the book of Daniel is excellence is first spiritual, my friends. Even before it translates into this world, it is spiritual. It flows out of the relationship that you have with God, your Father, your creator. And when you are consistent in prayer, it fuels your courage. It gives you the courage to face day-to-day lives. I was just telling in the first service, you know, when I'm going through a difficult time, or every day for that matter, I'm always praying under my breath. Under my breath. Lord, I need you. I cannot do this on my own, Lord. I need your strength. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. And He will lead you and guide you. Isn't that what my friend? That's what David prayed, right? Yes. And purpose gives you the direction, and also there is sacrifice involved in that. But through that sacrifice, God will enable you to stand out and ultimately help you to become outstanding. Yes. Sacrifice invites a blessing. It's painful at the moment, it's not something conducive. But when you endure it, it brings about a blessing, my friends. So don't, you know, complain when you're doing certain things and you're sacrificing because sabbar kapal mita hota hai. You have to have patience when you are in that process. Integrity silences opposition. Don't go with the flow, my friends. Don't mingle in the crowd. Don't be one, you know, where you cannot be identified. Dare to stand out. Dare to be different. Yes? And where will this courage come from? Not from your own mind, not from your own wisdom, but it will come from God. Okay. I want to talk about three things before I close and I speak the blessing over you. I'm going to talk about attitude, aptitude, and also allegiance. Okay? So we see Daniel was known for having an excellent spirit. It wasn't a single act or a moment, but it was a consistent way of living. It was his lifestyle. That's how he became. Okay? But did that happen overnight, my friends? Daniel was 18 to 20 years old when he entered Babylon. But you know how old he was when he was thrown into the lion's den? Anyone guess? He was 80 years old when he was thrown into the lion's den. So how many years he has conditioned himself? Over 60 years. That's when he had the strength to face this lion. It didn't happen overnight. So be patient, be consistent with what you are doing. Okay? Your attitude is very important in this journey. A positive, a teachable attitude, a resilient attitude helps to propel you into the future. It uplifts around you also, the people around you. Aptitude, it is competence and a commitment to continue to grow. We all have some gifts that our God has given us. Let us be faithful in using those gifts. The more you use it, the more God will multiply it. Don't be like that servant who dug the talent in the ground. What did God call him? Lazy fellow. We don't want to be called that, no? We are good children. Yes. The last point allegiance, loyalty to God, loyalty to God and God alone. Loyalty to God. And also in the mission, you serve builds credibility. Okay, you build credibility through this journey, and it unites all those around you. So when we cultivate these traits, excellence becomes our standard, not perfection, but it becomes a lifestyle in doing all things as unto the Lord. Okay, so my encouragement to each one of you be like Daniel. Yes. And parents, encourage your children also, you know, to model the behaviors that Daniel teaches us. Okay. Living our life with excellence, intimacy with God, consistent in prayer, courage, faithful steps. Amen. Are we all ready, church, to stand up to our feet and just worship God and help us? God knows our struggles, my friends, and He's more than willing to help you in this journey. More than you want to be successful. God wants you to be successful, and that gives him great pride and joy. Amen. Let's just close our eyes and look to God and ask him to help us. As parents, ask God for wisdom to raise your children in a godly manner. If you're a teenager, ask God to help you with the you know challenges that you face. It could be peer pressure, it could be, you know, uh social media addiction, it could be any addiction, or it could be, you know, your friends become priority. I don't know what your struggles are, my friends. But I just want to encourage you to put your life into perspective this morning and take those tiny little steps that will help you to achieve the best that God has for you.