FBCWest 308 | Dan
Recorded On: 10/06/2018
Bulletin
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
living as strangers in a foreign land God is still sovereign and we're going to come to a passage in Daniel 6 that if you've ever gone to Sunday school you've probably read this passage it's one of the more famous ones and so therefore I have my work cut out to give a couple of little different insights that you may not in the multiple years that you have seen read taught this passage one of the things I want to start out with though is that whether you are living in the land of your origin or you're living as a foreigner in a foreign land life isn't fair and yet you'll hear a lot of young people always talk about well that's not fair and they especially say to their parents when their meaning out punishment or whatever or if somebody gets the role in a school play that they thought they were better at it's not fair or you're on a sports team and the head coach's son is a quarterback and you think you're a better quarterback life isn't fair and so this is one of those passages that life just isn't fair but I want you to see how Daniel handles himself in this whole situation and so in Daniel chapter 6 it starts with this it seemed good to Darius to a point a hundred and twenty essay traps over the kingdom and that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom and over them three commissioners of whom Daniel was one that these say traps might be accountable to them and the King might not suffer loss so this chapter follows right in with with the change in kingdoms that Belshazzar was king of the Babylonian Kingdom and then that was ripped out and one night from his his grasp and now the medo-persian Empire and Darius is now appointing and organizing his government on how to handle it and so his determination it was the best way to handle this kingdom is to have these governor types about 120 be responsible for each of their areas and that they then would reach port to one of three commissioners and Daniel being one which shows you something significant because when we last saw Daniel he had kind of semi been forgotten it was the queen who said you the Queen's mother who said there was a man named Daniel he can interpret and so obviously Daniel had been less used in the waning days of the Babylonian Empire but here he's immediately made not only one of the sait rafts but he is one of the commissioners that the sate rafts are reporting to and so we see again Daniel into prominence and the king is doing this because Kings do what they do because they want all the money and they want all the power and they want to make sure that it isn't squandered and somebody else doesn't take it and so he set up this organizational structure then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and say traps because he possess an extraordinary spirit and the King plan to anoint appoint him over the entire kingdom now it doesn't say specifically God did this but the fact that he has this extraordinary spirit means God has been again involved in Daniels life that Daniel has the talents and abilities to not only do the job but to do it exceedingly well and so the King sees this and goes I got to promote this guy instead of making him one of the three he's doing such a good job I'm gonna put him over the commissioners so that he could make sure the commissioners do a good job so that the state tries to do a good job so that my kingdom is rich and powerful then the commissioners and say troughs began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs but they could not but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption in as much as he was faithful and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him so again this even though this was thousands of years ago life and people don't change when somebody has success instead of people rejoicing into that success they go well wait a minute how come I'm not successful let's put Daniel in his place and after all he's from that little small country of Judah and who does he think he is we're much more powerful and so they try to find a way to destroy him by finding some kind of accusation whether it's corruption or negligence he's just not doing a good job and they can't find it because he does such an extraordinary job and he was faithful then these men said we will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God so they come to the conclusion that they can't find anything wrong with him and they're not going to be able to make it up because nobody's gonna believe it because once the accounting is done he's going to prove himself innocent so they said his
weakness then is that he follows the law of his God so if we can do something to avoid to make him violate some law of the medo-persian Empire we got him so let's set a trap so these Commissioners and say traps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows so in essence they conspire together there is conspiracy of these people to say let's put Daniel away so they said King Darius live forever Oh the commissioners of the kingdom the prefix and the sate wraps the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any God or man besides you O King for thirty days shall be cast into the lion's den now they're lying how is it that I know they're lying because the word doesn't say they're lying because it said the say traps and commissioners came to an agreement well who's one of the commissioners Daniel do you think Daniel would come to an agreement that says yeah we ought to worship you O king I don't think so so now can you establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians which may not be revoked therefore King Darius signed the document that is the injunction now taking you briefly back to remember the statute that Nebuchadnezzar saw that started out with gold and then went to silver Nebuchadnezzar had absolute power he could change his mind on a whim he could kill you you could he couldn't spare you he could take your property he he was law and his word was law the medo-persian said if you write something down it becomes a law and you can't change it so the king and the medo-persian Empire did not have the same authority as Nebuchadnezzar did so therefore that's why it was silver and so this so they're in essence laying a trap saying we know what the law of the medo-persians are if you write something down it becomes an injunction and you can't change it so they appeal to the Darius for that verse 10 now when Daniel knew that the document was signed he entered his house now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day praying and giving thanks before God as he had been doing previously now I want you to see something Daniel had a habit and that habit was to pray three times a day and to be on his knees and he had a habit of praying for Jerusalem now I'm not going to spend the time but there are provisions back in that the kings and whatever when they were building the temple that they said if you pray for Jerusalem God will hear and so in essence that's what's Daniels doing is he's praying towards Jerusalem where the temple would have been so he's praying but he is praying continuing to pray according to his habit now we believers tend to be more a little what I want to say we we like to just do things that are contrary and so when you tell us you're not supposed to do something and especially when it comes to religious things when we're told like in school you're no longer supposed to pray well the only time we start praying is when they tell us we're not supposed to pray but we hadn't been praying before they told us not to pray it's because we just don't like the fact that they tell us what to do now as you've heard they will never been prayer from school as long as there are tests because that's how students get through tests all the time oh god I know I didn't study but if you'll just give me the answer to this test next time I will and whatever so as long as there's test there well but we have this tendency to do things in reaction to when the state or whoever tells us as believers we're not to do X then we say oh you can't tell us not to do X but we're going to do X instead of doing it before they tell us we can't and doing it after they tell us we can't and just doing what God has us to do and so Daniel doesn't start
praying because they tell him he can't he continues his habit and he so knowing full well he is violating the command of the King because Daniel has made a determination that there is a king who is sovereign over heaven and earth and he will obey Him regardless of the consequences so just as he had been doing previously then these men came by agreement again there-there's this conspiracy and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God so guess what they knew exactly what Daniel was going to do they knew when he was going to do it so that they could gather evidence against Daniel then the approach that spoke before the King about the Kings injunction did you not sign in an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any God or man besides you O King for thirty days is to be cast into the lion's den the king replied the statement is true according to the law of the Medes and the Persians which may not be revoked so they set him up they said remember the law yet and he repeats it and also says yeah I'm stuck I can't change it then they answered and spoke before the King Daniel who is one of the exile from Judah pays no attention to you O king or to the injunction which you sign but keeps making his petition three times a day which means they didn't just watch him one time they watched him continually as his routine so that they could come and say not only did he violate once every day for three times a day he prays and violates your petition could you imagine what these guys would get done if they would just do their job rather than spying on others but it keeps making his petitions three times a day then as soon as the King heard this statement this is interesting because when the three friends of Daniel violated Nebuchadnezzar's order he was into a rage notice Darius's response he says as soon as the King heard this when he was deeply distressed and he set his mind on delivering Daniel and even until sunset he kept exerting himself and to rescue him where is the loophole what can I do to avoid Daniel being put into the Lions Den and the problem of this is we see like we tend to think Lions is lion the fossa feat s which means one lion no it's a Lions s a pasti there are a bunch of lions in this den in this cave if you will so it's a place where multiple volumes are and he's trying to figure out how can I deliver Daniel and he did it all day long then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king recognized o king that this is the law a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed they came right back and said there is no exception there's no no exception you must follow this law then the king gave orders and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lion's den now notice we don't hear anything about Daniel's requests or objections there's this isn't fair I don't deserve this I've been a loyal subject to the king yeah I still follow my god but I have been a great servant to the king I've done nothing wrong this isn't fair we don't hear that from Daniel we don't hear anything from Daniel well we hear the King speak the King spoken said to Daniel your God whom you constantly serve well himself deliver you that's a pretty great statement of faith from someone who doesn't follow the god of Daniel but notice what it says not only does he say but he says Daniel you constantly serve Him it's you don't do it on occasion you don't do it when it's convenient you constantly serve your God would it not
be a great accusation against us if someone were to say I know that person they constantly follow God so the King makes this statement if you will have faith he stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den and the King sealed it with his own signet ring and with the Signet rings of his Nobles so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel it doesn't tell us why but I think I think that there are two reasons why this happens yeah so that the it's obvious that no one gives Daniel a way of escape but it also makes it obvious that no one is allowed to go in to make sure that Daniel is taken care of so he is if you will protect it from the outside and he is condemned from the outside then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting and no entertainment was brought before him in his sleep fled from him now I want you to know someone because as we continue on I find this very interesting the King has found that Daniel is a valuable person and that Daniel is important to him and then he knows that he was set up in this whole situation and even though he made a statement that says your god who you constantly serve is able to deliver you he's still anxious he reminds us of us we believe that the word says that we are to be anxious for nothing but by prayer and supplication make your requests known to God and we make our requests on the gone and we still worry and we don't sleep and we do all these other things and but I find this second thing also interesting that I want to say we are told how the King slept we're never told about Daniels night now some will say it's because it makes the story more riveting that you want to know what happens that's great if it were just a story but I believe the Word of God is written to instruct his people how to know about him and how to live so it seemed to me much more instructional if they would tell us what Daniel did during the night as opposed to what the King does because my life is much more closer to Daniel than to the king but the word does it it just tells us that the King doesn't sleep well Daniel is just hanging out with a bunch of lions then the King arose at dawn at the daybreak of day break of day and when in haste the lion's den I bet he couldn't wait till sunrise kind of remind you of somebody else who had to go to a garden at sunrise to see what was behind a rock so he rose at dawn and the break of day and when in haste to the lion's den and when he had come near to the den up to Daniel he cried out with a troubled voice yeah he had a little faith but he was still worried the King spoke and said to Daniel Daniel servant of the living has your God whom you constantly serve been able to liver you from the Lions the last thing he says that Daniel is God can do it the first thing he says that Daniel was God able to do it again kind of like us yeah God can do it did God do it God can do it did God I saw him do it yesterday will they do it today I saw him do it today will he do it tomorrow then Daniel spoke to the king it's not fair that I got put in this lion's den you got set up this is terrible he didn't say any of that notice what he says Oh King live forever he doesn't rebuke the king he doesn't condemn the king he doesn't say the king was foolish he simply says o king live forever Father forgive them they do not know what they're doing my God sent his angel
and shut the lion's multiple Lions mouths and they have not harmed me in as much as I found I was found innocent before him and also towards you O king I have committed no crime he says God did it God sent an angel and he shut the mouth of the Lions and I am unharmed and the reason he did it was because I was blameless first of all before him and then before you but again you see the Daniel does not utter any words of rebuke or blame he simply says this is what my God has done then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel be taken up out of the den so Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him because he had trusted in is God notice we can read right past that because he trusted in his God maybe there would have been scratches maybe there would have been teeth marks maybe he would have been dead if he did not trust his God so the answer is yes God was able to deliver Daniel from the Lions then so this is what happened the king then gave orders and they brought those men who had maliciously notice maliciously accused Daniel and they cast them their children and their wives into the lion's den and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the Lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones so it wasn't that the Lions took the day off it wasn't that the Lions weren't hungry the Lions were mouths were shut by the angel but as soon as the angel was rude because Daniel was no longer in the place of harm those who sought Daniel's destruction received destruction themselves by the very same measure now you might say boy that seems unfair I get it that the people who conspire against Daniel oughta but their children and their wives I think the king is making a point you don't mess with my leaders and make malicious allegations then Darius the King wrote to all the peoples nations and men of every language who were living in all the land so it's not just good enough for the King to say praise God he delivered Daniel let's go eat it sends another not injunction but a proclamation may your peace abound I make a decree that in all the Dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the god of Daniel he doesn't tell them not to worship other gods he says when it comes to the god of Daniel you better fear and tremble before him for he is the Living God and enduring forever Daniel was delivered from the lion's den not as much an for if you will the sake of Daniel but for those who observe the power of the Living God to say he's the Living God God speaks God acts 2 this show that all the idols are simply idols are made of wood and stone and gold and silver you could speak at them but they can't hear you and they can't speak in return but the God that Daniel serves and the God that we ought to serve hears acts protects and is sovereign not just in the day of Daniel but today as well for he is the Living God and enduring forever and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed Darius ought to know very well about destroyed kingdoms because he just
overcame a kingdom to become the king of this new Kingdom that came to fail Darius is gone understand that his kingdom will fell but the kingdom of God will never be destroyed and his Dominion will be forever he delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on the earth who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the Lions so he makes the statement God is the type of God who will endure forever he's the Living God and he has delivered Daniel we have seen this miraculous event in our sight these signs and wonders verse 28 so this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian Daniel will serve the kings of the Babylonians he then will serve the kings of the medo-persian Empire Daniel's life will span about 83 85 years or so and all of that time Daniel is being used by God and he will always be a testimony to the power of God because as to cling the King declared he was delivered from the lion's mouth now we have a great testimony as well but I want us to look at a couple of things when we're going to see them in first Peter it says this and this is found in first Peter 4 it says this beloved in verse 12 beloved do not be surprised at the fiery ordeals among you which come upon you for your testing as though some strange thing were happening to you but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ keep on rejoicing so that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exultation if you are reviled for the name of Christ you're blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you make sure none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or troublesome meddler but if anyone suffers as a Christian he's not to be ashamed but is to glorify God in this name we too may suffer and Peter says you may suffer because you've done wrong or you may suffer because you're a follower of Jesus if you suffer because you've done wrong you deserve it if you suffer because you are a follower of Jesus he goes rejoice we are not told what happens to Daniel that night in the lion's den and I think there is a reason because each of us when we're in the lion's den may react differently some of us might have a prayer meeting some of us might have a revival and just start singing praises to God and we might just rejoice and praise him and glorify his name but we are told when these times come our action should not be oh this isn't fair Oh God has four taken me Oh God is not able to but we rejoice because he considered us worthy to suffer for him all too often when it comes to our lives I almost and I decided against it I almost brought a picture of so I want you to none of you here knew me when I was seven years old I almost brought a picture of me at at seven sitting on a little table kind of like a portrait our
lives tend to be like you will a series of snapshots and if you only knew me as a seven year old you would know much of me and if I only knew you as seven or 12 or 92 or whatever it might be I don't know the full you and if I only see you at this snapshot I get a bad idea of what your life has been all too often we look at let's let's say the Daniell situation where we find ourselves in a lion's den and others might look at us and say oh but he must have done something wrong or God has failed him or whatever because we see a snapshot of that particular thing we don't see Daniel praying three times we don't see Daniel being blessed by God we don't see Daniel ministering and giving testimony of the visions of God and we don't see Daniel afterwards about how he's used by other kings we tended to see oh he's in a lion's den the fortunate thing with Daniel is we read two or three chapters in a few minutes and these are years they take place but our lives are not snapshots of two or three minutes but often times people will see what's happening now and think that they're for something either we're not as close to God as we ought to be or whatever if you see somebody in the Lions Den don't think it's a snapshot of what they deserve it may be a snapshot of what God is going to do another verse that I want to share is in first Peter chapter 5 what's our with verse 6 therefore humble yourselves before the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time casting your anxiety on him because he cares for you the problem with kings oftentimes is they're not humble they try to exalt themselves God is saying humble yourself before God that he may exalt you at the proper time now it's wonderful when people say Oh aren't you wonderful and that was great in this and whatever but you know how long it lasts as long as it takes for them to say it but when God exalts you you're exalted and so when he has a blessing upon you and when he praises you he's the king of heaven and earth I'll take that praise anytime and that praise that I'm looking forward to hearing well done good and faithful slave I think that would be about as great an exultation as I can think of casting all not some not part not most not the trivial not the important all your anxiety on him now we're really good at that but wanting to get really good at this how we cast our anxiety on him and then we take it back and we cast our anxiety on him and we take it back it's kind of like fly-fishing we throw it out and we bring it back and we throw it out and we bring it back this is like casting a net you throw it out and you leave it it's his and why because he cares for you the God of heaven and earth those are very hairs on your head nose when you get up nose when you going on nose when your lines then nose when you're not nose when you're having great success nose when his miserable failure nose when you're having a good hair day when you're having a bad hair day nose when you've got the flu and when you just called work because you didn't want to go because he cares for you be a silver spirit beyond the alert your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour
now we name may not be in four walls of a lion's den but we are here if you will in his den and he's seeking someone to devour but God can shut his mouth just as surely as he shut the mouths of those lions in Daniels seeking some but resist him firm in your faith Daniel trusted God we are to trust God knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world in essence you are not alone when you suffer for Jesus there are others suffering for Jesus God is not against you God is not upset with you God is not mad at you you are suffering for his name's sake and there are others who are suffering as well after you have suffered for a little while the God of all Grace who has called you to his eternal glory will himself perfect confirm strengthen and establish you to him be Dominion forever and ever amen you almost think that Daniel and Peter knew each other the very things that were happening the king declaring the proclamation Daniel making his statement of faith Peter telling us have faith that when that lion called the devil seeks to devour us God can just shut his mouth stand firm we live in a foreign land people don't understand why we followed the Lord did we follow and there will come a time when they will be less tolerant of us than they are today we can either be all upset and say it isn't fair or we can say glory be to God we can say I don't deserve this or I can say I know that I'm just being treated like my Lord was he was innocent he made no Riley violent accusation he simply said Father forgive them and that's how we should act as well when the scripture says we are to love our enemy it's not theoretical it's practical when we are told to love one another as he has loved us it's not theoretical not even doctrinal it's an expression of how we are two we behave so this well-known story of daniel is a story that may repeat in our lives as well we're not to change our customs we're to continue in them we are not to start praying when we're told not to pray we're to pray now pray without ceasing rejoice always cast your cares upon him because he cares for you and when you are confident in those situations it doesn't matter how many Lions are walking around you because my God is able to do it again and again and again and again and even if he doesn't it is because he has something better for me and for you because the glory will be even far greater because we suffered as he has called us to suffer and to rejoice as he has called us to rejoice