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Hey guys, welcome to the channel. Thanks a lot for visiting us. We always appreciate you guys' support, your comments. Love seeing you guys in the chat. This is a sermon that I did on June 2nd about consistency. Consistency is something that gets attacked by all of us. And the sermon is based primarily out of Daniel chapter number 6. And one of the things that you're going to unpack by watching this sermon is that Daniel had his faith going up to the lion's den because he was consistent in his life up until then. So anyways, hopefully this blesses you. Leave us a message in the comments below. If you've got a tip on how you've been able to be more consistent with something, we'd love to hear it and God bless. All right. Amen. Daniel chapter number 6. So if you go all the way down to verse number 16 and you look at the last part of the verse there, King Darius says something to Daniel right before he's compelled to throw him in the den of the lions. He says this, thy God whom thou serviced continually, he will deliver thee. And so we're just going to spend a few moments this morning learning about consistency. And so this sermon titled this morning, very simple, it is how to be more consistent. Bible has a lot to say about this subject. I'm going to keep it very simple. I think one of the biggest reasons why we can't be consistent or why we often fail is because we, as people, we all do this. We have a problem differentiating our desires and how to get those desires turned into devotion. And you'll, we'll break this down. I'll tell you why this happens and how to correct that problem. And I think this will definitely be a blessing to you, but that's really the biggest thing, you know, is a lot of us will make commitments and say, you know what, that's it. I'm going to do this. We have this desire and then it fades away. Okay. There's a reason that that happens and we're going to fix that this morning and in the process of doing so, we'll get to take a look at this great story here for the next few moments in Daniel chapter number six. Let's start off right away here. Look down at verse number one. The Bible says it pleased the Darius to set over the kingdom on 120 princes, which should be over the whole kingdom. So obviously this is after the Babylonians, um, conquered the Southern kingdom of Judah, the Medo-Persian empire came in, took control, destroyed the Babylonians. And we see that Daniel now also finds a position of authority finds a position of power inside of this kingdom, which speaks volumes to his character. And there's a lot we could say about Daniel. People have done studies for weeks, months on Daniel, but today, one of the main things that we're going to pull from Daniel's life is consistency. So if you look at verse number two, he says, and over these three presidents of whom Daniel was first, that the princes might give accounts unto them and the king should have no damage. So you've got this entire Medo-Persian empire. They're basically the ruling force in the world at this time. And the king has said 120 princes to govern, to delegate, to watch over the kingdom. And then above them are three, what they're calling presidents. Okay. And out of those three, one stands above all of them. And that is Daniel, somebody who was not even born in the Medo-Persian empire, which should get your jaw to drop. It should get your, your, your, your radar peaked up at max to figure out how in the world do we have a Jew here, a good Jew at this time, obviously Daniel in charge in such a high position in a foreign government, in a foreign kingdom, in a foreign world. Look down at verse number three, then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes. So really what you've got here is you've got the king and then you've got Daniel. That's how it is. Okay. Look at the rest of the verse because an excellent spirit was in him and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. So you've got one 20 to three now to what we'll say as one, which is Daniel right under the king. So Daniel's character, this spirit that's inside of him is so great. It's so excellent that he's able to overcome the cultural differences. The cultural barriers is able to overcome all of that. You know, he's able to rise above the whole diversity thought process there because of an excellent spirit. So how was Daniel able to climb the ranks? Keep your place there. Go to Psalm chapter number 75 and it's because of this consistency. Okay. Trust. How was Daniel able to be trusted with so much in this time in history? And I'm telling you it's because of consistency. So the first point we're going to look at this morning is that trust is built with consistency. Think about your own life. Okay. Nobody in here trusts people that are not consistent. Okay. Nobody in here trusts people. You can say whatever you want to. We all know what's going on. No one trusts people that are not consistent with some things in life. Now, do we have things in life where we said, yeah, I'm going to learn this language. I'm going to do this. And then we start for a while and then we fail off. Yeah. That's not what I'm talking about. But when you're not consistent with anything and you just have this pattern, basically your consistency is starting and stopping things. People aren't going to trust you. They're not going to be like, well, especially your bosses, right? They're not going to be like, well, I've got this great position coming open here. You've been here for the longest. I'm going to give the opportunity to you. You know, they're going to give it to somebody that they can trust, someone who can keep order, someone who can bring in profit, however that looks. Okay. And especially for us and what we believe in today's day and age, you have to develop consistency in your life if you're going to make it out there in the world. And it is possible. Okay. It is possible because Daniel did it. Psalm chapter 75. We're going to look down here at verse number six. Some of my favorite verses regarding this subject in the entire Bible are found right here because I've seen this in my life time and time again. Look at verse six for promotion cometh neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. Okay. So you stop right there and think about what God's trying to tell you. Okay. There is such a thing obviously as promotion. How do we get promoted? Whether it be in the kingdom of God, whether it be at work, just in life in general with circumstances, how is that? How does that happen? Look at verse seven. But God is the judge. He putteth down one and seteth up another. Okay. So our whole promotion in life is solely dependent upon the judge, upon God. So when you have this attitude that's, well, judgment's bad, judgment's wrong, we ought not to judge. I don't judge, right? Who's ever heard Christian people say that? All of us have. Okay. Guess what? You're going to find more often than not that those people do not get promoted. Yeah, they might be decent at their jobs out in the world. Maybe they do get a promotion here and there, but in the body of Christ, they're not going to get trusted with real truth. They're not going to get trusted with real godly friendships that matter. They're not going to get what you have here today. And the sole reason for that is because they lack the understanding of judgment. Now I go to Galatians chapter number six. And so when you understand that as God's child, that promotion doesn't come from your efforts that you do on the East, that you do on the West, the things that you do on the South, the connections that you can make. No, it's based off of what God sees in you. And when God sees an excellent spirit in you because of consistency, that's how you get promoted. That is how you go to the next level. I was in a similar position to Daniel when I used to work for the government and a lot of people said to my dad, I grew up hearing this, you know, my dad had joined, he tried to join the Masons that didn't work out. And then he joined this thing called the Eagles Club and it got him a little bit ahead in life, you know, a little bit ahead of where he was at. And he'd always tell me, you know, if you know any Masons, you know, you need to get in there. You need to just, just, just put your whack beliefs aside and just join because that's going to take you far in life. And obviously you guys know me, I'm not going to do that. You know, and he said, well, you know, there is the Eagles Club, you know, so I started working for the government. I start to see that unfold. It's true. Okay. They take care of their own. You know, I see people that I know, you know, they join the Masons, they start off at level one, they working their way up and then the organization and all of a sudden they get puffed up. And I'm just like, yeah, I don't, I don't care. I don't want any part of that. You know, it's an anti-Christ organization. I don't want no part of it. I guess I'm just never going to get promoted. But I've learned through the process of time, even in churches and just through being in the military, that consistency pays off. So what I figured is, well, you know, the Bible says, if I don't do things to be seen of men, somehow, some way, God will take care of me. And so what I decided to do is just, you know what? I'm just going to, unless I'm on my deathbed, I'm not going to be late. Unless I'm on my deathbed, I'm not calling in sick. Okay. And so I started to develop this reputation. Well, Jones, he's always here. He's always here. And then you got the Masons, you got the Eagles club, you got the softball players, you got the bar crew. Okay. You got the, the cool kids. And they're just like, you know, yeah, you're never going to make it, you know, you're just going to kind of be floating along. But what they don't realize is while they're calling in sick because they're drunk, while they're leaving early to go to the little clone, you know, meetings at the Masonic lodge or whatever, you know, while they're doing this, while they're going to the apprenticeship, I declined the apprenticeship and I was a deathblower. Oh man, you can't do that. I'm like, I've already gone to school once. And I spent, I did the four year thing. I'm done. I don't like it. I don't want to go back. And so I just became a real problem for people. But every single day I was there. If they said, Hey, we know this is your job description, but we need someone to go sweep. I wouldn't even complain. No problem. I'll go do it. When I saw, Hey, this deadline has to be met. Okay. I would default back to this phrase that I learned in the military. There's a way you do things. And then there's a way you tell people you do things. I ain't saying that's right, but that's what I did. And I would do whatever's necessary. Okay. Whatever's necessary to get a job done. And so over time, you know, I just built up this reputation and I believe that God, the judge saw that and rewarded me for that. Okay. Now I'm not saying I did a bunch of sin to meet deadlines. I'm just simply saying I might've done some things that a little in the gray area. So maybe a lot, not too cool, not too cool, but it all worked out. And the only reason I believe that God blessed me with that was because of my consistency. Now, have I always been consistent in everything? No. Okay. I'm like anybody else. There are reasons that I start things. I'm like, Oh, that's good. And I'm like, wow, that sucks. I mean, I'll find a reason to work my way out of it. Okay. We all do that, but I'm telling you, I believe the reason why God elevated me in that position was solely because of my consistency. A hundred percent. I'm telling you guys just learn that, do that. You will have success in life, but don't have this attitude. Like you're just going to get it now or that you're owed that when you can throw that attitude aside and get rid of it. Okay. I'm telling you, you will see God work wonders in your life. Galatians chapter six, look down at verse number nine, verse number nine, look what it says. It says, let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not. Now we're just going to look at these two verses here, nine and 10. And just for the principle aspect, another time we'll break the whole chapter down in context and what he's actually talking about here. Hey, but look at verse number 10. So verse nine, Hey, don't be weary in well-doing. Obviously we need to be in well-doing. We need to do what's right, but we don't want to get too worn out with it. Okay. We don't, we don't want to do things that are going to cause us to faint. Verse 10, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the house hold of faith. I think what you're going to find in understanding that consistency is what builds trust with people. I think about this is true in your marriage. This is true with your family members. This is true with your people at work. This is true with people in church. Consistency is what builds trust. You say, well, I'm having a hard time connecting with people. Are you consistent? Okay. Are you doing good unto all men? Okay. You know, a good compliment here, there goes a long way when you can recognize the good that somebody is doing and you tell them that and you put your feelings aside, you know what you're going to find is that feels good to you. It feels good to bless others. It's better to give than to receive. And we know this, but that is the key to not growing weary, to not fainting, okay, is to give and to give and to understand that. Now go back to Daniel chapter number six, and let's look on at another reason to be consistent. So obviously number one here from the story is that trust is built with consistency. Daniel was able to overcome the 120. He was able to surpass the chief three in the nation solely because of that excellent spirit, which was consistency. Look at verse number four. Here's another reason that we all gonna need to be consistent in verse four. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom. So here you go, here's your cancel culture. Hey, these guys are like, Hey, he's not like us. He doesn't believe the same things that we believe here. No, we need to get rid of him. Okay. So they're envious. They don't like this at all, but they could find none occasion nor fault for as much as he was faithful. Neither was there any error or fault found in him. Now, Daniel was a man and all men in the Bible are men at best. Okay. Every man sinned. So that's not what the Bible's telling us here. What God, I believe wants us to focus on here is his characteristics. What made him good. Of course, Daniel made mistakes. He was flesh. Of course he did sin. He was flesh. Okay. But these guys are looking for something. So they're going through his social media history. They're going through everything, just trying to pin him down on something that they can pin on him to call up the news channels and be like, ah, we got another crooked politician over here, but they can't find anything. And why is that? Because when they're all out at the bar doing things that they're not supposed to, when they're making backdoor deals and doing what politicians are doing, Daniel's on his knees, praying, Daniel's reading the word of God, Daniel's doing things to better the kingdom of God, but also the kingdom, which God has placed him in on this earth, which was the Medo Persian empire. Okay. He's consistently busy. So they don't have a reason. They don't have any fault or any accusations that they can bring on him. Look at verse five. Then said, these men shall not find any occasion against Daniel. So there are dang, we looked, we swept, we tried to conjure up. We couldn't do it. Okay. But they got another idea, except we find it against him concerning the law of God. Okay. Consistency will drive your enemies nuts. It will drive them absolutely insane because when they're consistently out there, just living for self, living for themselves, and just trying to stomp down everyone else that they can, that they know to get ahead in life, you're busy giving, you're busy doing the things that God wants you to do, because you realize that he is that good judge that provides your promotion. And so it really bothers them. And things like we're going to have to make something up here. We're going to have to make up something to pin it on Daniel because there's no fault found in him. So what does consistency do there? It makes their lives harder. It makes their lives extremely difficult. Look at verse number six. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the King and said thus unto him, King Darius live forever. Obviously that was a common thing that people would say as respect to the King. Verse seven, all the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, the princes, the counselors, and the captains have consulted together to establish a Royal statue. Now, just so you guys get an idea of what's going on here, read this later and just think about the words here. Hey, think about what they're doing. They're buttering up the King. They're like basically, Hey, us presidents, all the governors, the princes, all the counselors, all the wise people, all the city council, just anybody who means anything, we all agree on something. Anytime that happens in your work and you're left out over here, you better know that that's coming to you. That's coming to get you. They don't want you part of it. This is manipulation at the highest degree. And they say this, so we've all counseled together verse seven to establish a Royal statue and to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask any petition of any God or man for 30 days, save thee, O King, he shall be cast into the den of lions. So even Kings can fall prey to this type of manipulation. Even pastors, everybody can, and it seems like, wow, this is a pretty good idea. You know, if you're the King of the world empire, you know what? Yeah, maybe this'll be a good thing for people. It's just a month. It's just 30 days. But who here thinks that Daniel is going to go 30 days without praying when that's his life? That's what he does. That's how consistent it is. Nobody knows. Nobody thinks that. And they understand he's not going to do that. Verse eight, now O King establish the decree, sign the writing that it be not changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alter it not. So this society here was built on consistency when they made a law. That was it. Hey, you can go read the book of Esther. There's a beautiful story about that and how God overcomes that obstacle for the Jews of that day and how many people become Jews during that timeframe. It's an awesome story, but this is how they were. They were consistent. Okay. So the only problem is these manipulators found a way to use that to their advantage and try to get Daniel killed. Verse nine, wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree. And so this now begins some of the troubles for Daniel. Okay. Look at verse number 10. It says, now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house. So now he got an issue here. Daniel hears about this, obviously knows, well, I was a part of this. So what's he going to do? What action is he going to take? Is he going to get online, start making posts, start crying, start tripping, start worrying. Well, what does he do here? Okay. Well, Daniel knew that the writing was signed and he went to his house and look at this and his windows being open. That's the Holy ghost telling you he didn't care. He's like, no, one's going to tell me what to do. No, one's going to stop me and my consistency towards God. No one. Hey, so bold, so much boldness here. He doesn't even try to hide it. He's like, let's keep the windows open and it's a good breeze. It's a good, nice, warm day. You know, let's bring this. So he says in the 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. Now look at this here, as he did a four time. See the problem here with us. Okay. Is that Daniel prayed consistently, but we pray occasionally. It's generally what you're going to find. So no, no, I, yeah, but over time, okay, you will find yourself and this happens to us all. Like, did I pray yet? Did we pray yet? You know, we do a lot of praying at church before soloing and before food and stuff like that. But are you praying on your own time? Are you praying when no one's looking? Are you praying when things are tough? Okay. That is what we're talking about here. That was the manner that Daniel had. So we could say this, that Daniel's faith, okay, Daniel's faith, it didn't birth on the day of battle. Okay. Daniel's faith didn't just arrive this day on this challenge in this battle. It was basically being built with consistency as he served the King, you know, as he did his daily duties in the castle or whatever. Look at verse number 11. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. I mean, you know, you can go back to David, same thing. Before David ever slew Goliath, before he ever had that confidence, what was he doing? He was being a faithful shepherd and protecting his flock when no one was looking, when no one knew his name. And so what I'm saying here is when you can learn to take care of the small things and look at small things like that, when no one's looking and you look at those things as big things, when the big things show up in life, you're going to be able to look at those like small things. Okay. That's how David rolled. That's how we need to be. That is how this man lived his life. Look at verse number 11. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. So they show up and like, Oh look, he's violating the covenant that we made. Let's turn him in. Let's get him canceled. Let's pull his online giving. Let's shut down his bank account and make sure that he dies. Let's indict him on all these charges. Look at verse 12. Then they came near and spake before the King concerning the King's decree. Has thou not signed a decree that every man shall ask a petition of any God or man within 30 days, save thee, O King, shall be cast into the den of lions. The King answered and said, the thing is true according to the law, the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. And pretty self-explanatory there. Verse 13. Then answered they that said before the King that Daniel, which was of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not the O King nor the decree that thou has signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Look at the extra wording in there. Okay. So what do these guys say? They're like, not only did Daniel not follow the law King, but this is against you. He violated you. He, this is an attack on you. This is personal on you. So they inject that in there and you're going to find, man, that's what people do to you. That's what people do to us out in the workforce. Hey, they're looking for something to bring you down. So just know, and just understand when you decide that you're going to develop a life of consistency, that's going to be who you are. Someone will come after you. People are going to come after you. Why? Because most people are lazy. Most people are lazy and they cannot do it. That's just reality. That's what it is. So when they see somebody doing something that they don't have the guts to do, you know what they do? I'm going to take you out. I got to get rid of you because then that's going to make my life easier. That's really what it boils down to laziness, pathetic, manipulative type people. Oh King, you know, guess what? This is on you too. Daniel, he, he doesn't like you either. Hey, look at verse 14. Then the King, when he heard those words was sort of displeased within himself. So luckily Darius here is obviously got some good character in himself, realizes now he's been had and he did, he completely disregards their, you know, oh, he doesn't have any respect for you. Okay. He's, he's upset. He's like, why did I allow myself to be sucked into this? Look after that comma there. And set his heart on Daniel to deliver him in labor till the going down in the sun to deliver him. So we don't know exactly what this looks like, but I would imagine he just probably got some wise people around and said, Hey, look, I know we can't change this law, but is there any way we can, you know, somehow circumvent this somehow maybe get Daniel out, you know, have, you know, who knows. Okay. But he labored because he knew Daniel was a man of consistency, that he was faithful. He was somebody to be trusted. Daniel had already proven that in the Babylonian empire, Daniel had already proven that through God's blessing on his life. And so the King doesn't want to lose that. He realizes, man, he's been had. And so he's trying to stop this. Look at verse 15. Then these men assembled unto the King and said unto the King, Oh, they said, now, Oh, King, that the law of the Medes and Persians is that no decree nor statute, which the King establishes may be changed. So they like love reminded him, remember King, you're in charge. You sign this. We don't alter. We're all consistent over here. And we're, we're the consistent people here. And so you got to do something, man. You got to get rid of this guy. Now, the main point of this here is, is coming up right, right quick. Look at verse 16 says the King or then the King commanded and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now the King's spake and said unto Daniel, thy God whom thou service continually, he will deliver thee. So in the moment that Daniel is hurled into this den. Okay. The last words out of the King's mouth before he probably thinks it as hard to Daniel's going to die. I know he says this, but he's still not sure. And you could tell because he doesn't get any sleep. But he says, and you could tell he hopes that this is true. He says thy God who now service continually. Okay. There it is that consistency. That was his reputation. That's what the King loved about him. And he says, he will deliver thee verse 17 and a stone was brought and laid down or in laid upon the mouth of the den. And the King sealed it with his own signet with a signet of his Lords, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. And of course we know what happens. Okay. God sends an angel to stop the mouths of the lions. Okay. But no, at no point do we read anywhere in the story that Daniel is afraid that he's just like, Oh no, no, please don't. Or anything like that. He goes in there like a boss because he trusts God. That's what he does. So what we're going to say is that Daniel had strengthened the den because he was consistent until then his whole entire life. Okay. That's what the big picture here is. And of course, after this here, we're not going to take the time to dig out the rest of the story. We'll have to do it another time. But basically, you know what happens the next day? The Bible says that King Darius, he couldn't sleep. His sleep went from him. Morning comes, he runs down there. They roll the stone away and he's like, Daniel, how's the Lord helped you? Are you okay? What's going on? And he's like, yeah, I'm here. The Lord sent his angel to stop the mouths of these lions. Okay. And he says great. And he's so excited. He brings out Daniel. And what does he do? He takes all the manipulators and he throws them into the den. But not only that, he takes their entire families and throws them into the den. And the Bible says that those, those lions, they had the mastery over them. They broke their bones. They chewed them up. They completely destroyed them. And I like how the Holy Ghost inserts the details in there. And that's for a reason. That's to calm us down. That's to, that's God saying, I have your back, make it easier on me though, and be consistent so that I can do these types of things in your life. Okay. So now let's move on to some tips. You go to first Corinthians chapter number 15, new Testament, first Corinthians chapter number 15. So obviously the sermon is titled how to be more consistent. I'm going to keep it simple. Two things, two things that you can learn today and start today to be more consistent with something that you've been fighting for or fighting with in your life. Okay. How do we move this shift? How do we move from just the general wants and desires that we have? Like, I really want to do that. How do we keep that to steadfastness or devotion? How do we make that transition? It starts right here in this verse, first Corinthians 15, look down at number verse number 58. First Corinthians 15, 58 says this, therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast. Okay. That's your religiousness. That's your devotion there. Okay. Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. So, you know, it's easy to say stuff like this. Hey, be rock solid, be faithful, be consistent. Okay. But that's not enough, right? It's not just to tell somebody that you got to give them the how, how do I apply this? And the application is right here after this comment, right after the comment, look what it says. Okay. So always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much. Now here it is as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Okay. So think about what Paul's saying here, and this is so powerful and this will help you take your consistency to the next level. Okay. Paul says, basically, Hey, be steadfast, be consistent, you know, be unmovable. Okay. And he says, the reason that you're doing that, the reason you're going to be successful as that is because you know, okay, you know, you internalize, you understand that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. So think about that at some point, everybody in here realized in your own lives, you guys all have realized that, or you probably would not be here today. You realize that God wants you in church, that God wants you read in the Bible. God wants you in this type of Christianity, real biblical Christianity, where we take the hard things. We take the full counsel of God and we stand on it. You somehow realize that your eternal destiny was more important. You realize that other people's eternal destiny was more important. Okay. And you realize, you know, the things that we do for God, it's just like Jesus said, you know, we can store up for ourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust does not corrupt and nobody could take those from us. It's forever. And you realize that. And so that propelled you to stay consistent coming to church and going soul-winning and doing these things. So the first thing that you have to understand anytime you want to be consistent in something that you're maybe not consistent in is you have to have a very strong why. Okay. You have to have a very strong why. Here's why most new year's resolutions fail. It's because they're built on desire. People are like, okay, well, I'm going to stop drinking on January 1st because new year's resolution. And that's why, and obviously I need to stop because you don't be an idiot or whatever. It's not healthy. Okay. Okay. Those people, you know what happens? January 1st comes around, they stop and by the weekend they're getting drunk or they're like, well, I'm just going to get tipsy. I need to ease into this. Whereas a lot of times when someone says, hey, you're going to lose your marriage. You're going to, you just lost a kidney. I mean, you lost your liver. You're, you're, you're in big trouble. Guess what? People like, you know what? That's a pretty strong why. And oftentimes you'll find that they stop immediately. Okay. That happens that you got to have that strong why. It's the same thing with anything. Why do I read the Bible? Well, because the pastor said so, and you know, it's, it's a good thing. You know, God wants us to, that's not necessarily a strong why you need to find out what's in it for yourself. This is how you use the flesh to your advantage. Okay. And you say, you know what? I need to read the Bible every single day because this is how I'm going to give back. This is how I am going to get someone else saved. This is how I'm going to lead my family into truth. And if I don't do this, I fail as a person. I fail as a man. I fail as a husband. I fail as a father. Okay. When that why becomes that strong, then guess what? You will no longer be in the desire camp. The January 1st camp, you will then have moved over to the devotion camp because you realize it would be, it would be futile. It would be death to not do that thing. But until that why becomes strong enough, you're not going to stay consistent. It's just not going to be that important. It's like with dieting, you know, I need to lose some body fat. Hey, the first time someone gives you a compliment like, cool, this is working out. Boom, right off the program again. Okay. That's what happens. That is why we fail. But if you're like, you know what? I don't want to die early. I don't want to be removed from the earth early, you know, because that's not going to do me any good. That's going to, you know, be detrimental to my family. Then it's like, okay, you know, now I'm going to maintain that. When you realize, wait a minute, there's a lot of sickness and death that's going on with young people these days. The government's trying to take away meat. There's an agenda out there. You realize, wait a second, people that have more skeletal muscle are genuinely more healthier and can survive all the onslaught of the chemicals and just the physical warfare that's being launched against us. Once that sinks down into your mind and heart, that's going to be a stronger why, a stronger no for you to stay consistent. Okay. So the first one is the why. Go to Proverbs chapter number 24. Look down here at verse number 16. This one, this one surprises a lot of people. They don't understand it, but it is what it is. Look at verse 16. So the first one is a strong why. That's how we're going to remove ourselves from the desire camp to the devotion camp. Look at this one here. The Bible says for a just man, falleth seven times and rises up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Okay. The second thing that I want to bring up here is that you have to plan to fail. You have to plan to fail. You have to realize you will fail. I'm not trying to be this doom and gloom kind of person up here, but we have to be realistic. If a just man falls, how does a person get just? By your actions or by God making you just? I think we all know the answer to that. You will fall. So whatever goal that you have, whatever you're like, Hey, I need to be more consistent at this. Okay. Just realize at some point you are going to trip. You are going to fall. Let's say my goal is to read the Bible every day. Okay. When you find yourself missing one day, say, you know what? I'm not missing two days. Okay. Because here's the thing. If you don't plan to fail, you're going to start to view yourself as frail. And then you're gonna be like, well, I just don't have it in me. I just wasn't designed that way. I just can't do it. It's just not me. Everyone else, you know, you're just going to go down this road of sorrows, which is going to destroy you and add to the problem. Okay. God is not a respecter of persons. He didn't make somebody else with more consistency than you. Okay. It's just some people have figured out a strong why. Some people have realized, you know what? This is just life. People trip. People fall. If a just man can fall seven times, the point is he gets up the eighth time. And so that's what you have to do. You have to realize that whatever goal you set, when you skip, you miss, you say, that's cool. I'm not going to just be this all or nothing person, which all of us want to be. And it sounds cool. You're going to be that guy that gets up and goes from that point forward. Okay. That is integral to you and I being more consistent last place. I'm going to have you turn and then we'll be done as James chapter number one, James chapter number one, look down at verse number four. So the Bible says right here, but let patients have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing. Patience requires consistency. Okay. Patience requires consistency. But what I think you're going to, you're going to see here is that consistency and patience is going to produce a harvest in your life. That's what it's going to do. It's going to produce a harvest where you find yourself complete and lacking nothing. Okay. Everybody see that there. So when you've got this strong, why, and you realize there's a very good opportunity that I will fail. I do believe that in Daniel's life. Okay. Up until the point that he was chucked in the den, at some point in his life, he probably missed a prayer time. Maybe he only did it twice. Maybe he did once because I mean, I'm sure there was situations that came up where it was like, Hey, we got extra duty. We got to take care of this. And he maybe just had to pray in his heart where he was at or something like that. Okay. Because he's flesh and bone like we were. He's a man. Okay. But the idea is that I'm sure in his life, anytime that he may have stumbled, anytime that he may have fallen down or tripped, you know what? We can know this for a fact that he got right back up because we're reading about him today. Okay. And so when we understand that we plan to fail, we've got that strong, why? And we're patient. If you're not patient. So this really is three things, but if you're not patient, you just want this. Now you got that disease of now. I got to have the results. Now you will fall and you might stay fallen and then you will no longer be consistent. You will be in deep trouble. But what God is telling us here through James is that when we develop this patience, because we've got that strong light and that weight is worth it to us, that weight is worth it to you. Okay. You're going to reap a harvest and that harvest is going to be, you know what? I no longer have these crazy fleshly, just off the wall desires. I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be able to, to understand that, you know, I don't want nothing. I don't lack anything. I am content in this state that I'm at. And then of course, like we already said, when God sees that in his children, what he does is he judges, he judges righteously and he puts down one and sets up another and you want to be that person that he's setting up. So make it easy. Okay. Make it easy on yourselves. Make it easy on yourselves by saying that I will be consistent. I think if you follow those three things, consistency will take a drastic turn for the better in your lives. And then that's not to say that you aren't consistent, but everybody needs help. So let's stop right there and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for this church, for everything that you do for us. Just pray you'd help us to take these things to heart, apply them to our lives and that you would help us to be more consistent in things that we need help with Lord in Jesus name. I pray. Amen. All right, one more song and then we'll be dismissed.