Persistent Faith in the Living God

The scripture reading comes from Daniel chapter 6. Please follow along on the screen, the bulletin, or your own Bible.

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

Starting in verse 1, we read,

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom.

And over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.

Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him.

And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom.

But they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.

Then these men said,

We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel, unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.

Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him,

O King Darius, live forever.

All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors,

are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction,

that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days except to you, O King,

shall be cast into a den of lions.

Now, O King, establish the injunction and sign the document,

so that it cannot be changed according to a law of the Medes and the Persians,

which cannot be revoked.

Therefore, King Darius signed the document and injunction.

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed,

he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open towards Jerusalem.

He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God,

as he had done previously.

Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.

Then they came near and said before the king concerning the injunction,

O King, did you not sign an injunction that anyone who makes petition to any god or man

within thirty days except to you, O King, shall be cast into a den of lions?

The king answered and said,

The thing stands fast according to a law of the Medes and Persians,

which cannot be revoked.

Then they answered and said before the king,

Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah,

pays no attention to you, O King,

or the injunction you have signed,

but makes his petition three times a day.

Then the king, when he heard these words,

was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel.

And he labored until the sun went down to rescue him.

Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king,

Know, O King, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians

that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.

Then the king commanded,

and Daniel was brought and cast into a den of lions.

The king declared to Daniel,

May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you.

And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den,

and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords,

that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.

Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting.

No diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Then at the break of day,

the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions.

As he came near to the den where Daniel was,

he cried out in a tone of anguish.

The king declared to Daniel,

O Daniel, servant of the living God,

has your God, whom you serve continually,

been able to deliver you from the lions?

Then Daniel said to the king,

O king, live forever.

My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth,

and they have not harmed me,

because I was found blameless before him.

And also before you, O king, I have done no harm.

That the king was exceedingly glad

and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den.

So Daniel was taken up out of the den,

and no kind of harm was found on him,

because he had trusted in his God.

And the king commanded,

and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel

were brought and cast into the den of lions,

they, their children, and their wives.

And before they reached the bottom of the den,

the lions overpowered them

and broke all their bones in pieces.

Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples,

nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth,

Peace be multiplied to you.

I make a decree that in all my royal dominion,

people are to tremble and fear

before the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God,

enduring forever.

His kingdom shall never be destroyed,

and his dominion shall be to the end.

He delivers and rescues.

He works signs and wonders

in heaven and on earth.

He who has saved Daniel

from the power of the lions.

So this Daniel prospered

during the reign of Darius

and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

This is the word of God.

Amen.

Great. Thank you, Irene.

Good morning, everybody.

It is good to see you again

and good to see a couple of faces

we haven't seen in a while.

It's great to be able to worship with you.

And if you're online,

good morning to you.

Welcome as well.

If you are new to Watermark

and you don't know me,

my name is Kevin,

one of the leaders here,

and it's great to be able to

look at God's word together this morning.

Now, I'm not sure how many of you are runners.

I, once upon a time,

used to try and run.

And when we first arrived in Hong Kong

three and a half years ago or so,

I had the bright idea.

I thought, you know,

I am young,

I am ambitious,

I am fit,

and I'm going to run from HKU,

somewhere here,

up to the top of the peak,

up the morning trail,

and just, you know,

gentle morning run.

Well, I tried it once or twice,

and that was the end of that.

And pretty soon,

I realized the hills in Hong Kong

meant that was the end of running altogether.

But I'm not sure how many of you are like me,

that every January comes around,

and I decide,

this is the year that I'm going to get fit.

This is the year I'm going to get healthy, right?

And so,

maybe it's not running,

maybe cycling,

or hiking is your thing,

or swimming.

Rhoda and I were talking about swimming

a little earlier.

And we all tend to do

the same stupid thing, right?

We think that the laws of nature

apply to everyone else,

but not to ourselves.

And so,

what I tend to do every January,

I think it's time to get fit,

and I go for a run,

and I think,

look,

I'm not going to get fit

if I don't push myself.

So,

you've got to push yourself a little bit.

And so,

when I start to get tired,

I think,

oh,

you know,

I can't stop now,

that doesn't help anything.

So,

you push yourself a little further,

and just a little further,

and a little further,

and eventually,

you get to the point

where you think,

okay,

this is about enough.

And you figure,

that's a good point

to turn around

and then make the trek home.

Right?

Does that ring a bell to anybody?

And about halfway home,

I figure,

my legs are so dead,

I cannot take another step.

Or,

if I make it home,

the next day,

or the day after,

two days later,

I'm really feeling it.

Does that ring a bell,

or is it only me that does that?

Okay,

Patney as well,

thank you.

Rhoda and I were talking about that.

Rhoda went swimming this week,

not swimming for a while,

and decided to swim for an hour.

And the next day,

her arms were quite exhausted.

The Bible says that

the Christian life

is actually like a race,

in some ways.

And it's a race,

that is not a sprint.

It's a race that God calls us

to run with endurance

right to the end.

The Christian life is not one

in which we are hot

for a couple of years,

serve all over the place,

burn ourselves out,

and then don't participate

in any running for the next year,

until the next year

your New Year's resolutions come.

Actually,

the Bible says

the Christian life is,

it's those who,

through steady

and consistent faithfulness

and endurance

make it to the end.

And the Apostle Paul

in the New Testament,

in the book of Philippians,

look at how he writes this.

He says this,

I want to know Christ,

and I want to know

the power of His resurrection.

In fact,

I want to attain

the resurrection.

And that means

necessarily sharing

in His sufferings.

And then he says,

so I press on

with this race

towards the goal

for the prize,

the upward call

of God in Christ Jesus.

He's saying,

this race,

this Christian walk

that I'm on,

it's like a race,

and I want to push on.

I'm not just here

to be hot

for a few good years.

Actually,

I'm going to keep on.

It's a life

of consistent endurance

following Jesus

to the end.

And then Paul

makes this amazing

little line.

He says,

those that are mature

will think this way.

And one of the things

that Paul is saying here

is that Christian maturity

is not just a matter

of length of time.

You can be a Christian

for 30 or 40 years

but still not be

very spiritually mature.

You can still be

quite immature.

Christian maturity

is those that

through consistency

and faithful endurance

press on

towards the goal

of knowing Jesus

better and deeper.

And that's actually

a lot of what

we're going to look at

today in Daniel chapter 6.

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

The passage that

we're going to look at today,

we're going to see

that it's those

that consistently

trust in the living God.

That's an important phrase,

the living God.

Those who live for Him

right to the end

are those who pass

through death

into life.

And that's what

we're going to see

in our passage today.

And so let's dive

into Daniel chapter 6.

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

And obviously

it's a very famous passage

about Daniel

and the lion's den.

A passage that

many of us

would have heard

from childhood.

But let's dive in

and see what's going on here.

So look at the first

few verses of me,

of chapter 6,

with me.

There is a new king

on the scene

and his name is Darius.

Now, who is Darius?

Well, Darius is the king

of the Medo-Persian Empire.

And what's happened here

is, I don't know

if you remember

back in chapter 2,

Chris was preaching

a few weeks ago,

and King Nebuchadnezzar

has this dream.

You remember the dream

and there's this gold,

or the statue,

there's a golden head,

a silver torso,

bronze legs,

etc., etc.

Does that sound familiar?

And what is the dream about?

The dream is about

you, O king,

are the head of gold,

you are the Babylonian Empire,

but your empire

is not going to last.

After you

is going to come

another empire,

they're going to defeat you,

and they will be

the world's superpower.

And that's happening

before our very eyes.

The Babylonians

have been wiped out,

the Medo-Persians

have conquered them,

the year is 539 BC,

and so now

the Medo-Persians

are the world's

superpower,

and Darius

is the king

who's on the throne.

Okay?

And so on one hand,

everything is different

in the book of Daniel.

It's a new king,

new empire,

new regime,

a new way

of governing the world

in many ways.

Remember,

the Babylonians

are quite autocratic.

The Medo-Persians

are a bit more

democratic in a way.

Do you remember

what Irene read to us?

They're laws

that cannot be revoked.

So everything's new

in some ways,

but on the other hand,

as we're going to see,

actually nothing's new.

Because everything

that happens

in chapter 6

is very similar

to what happened

under Nebuchadnezzar

in chapter 3.

Out of jealousy,

these leaders

go to the king,

they get this law

that's passed,

a law that says

either you worship

the king,

or you're going to

suffer some

gruesome,

torturous death.

Okay?

And that's really important

because one of the things

that we're meant

to see here

is throughout the world,

things change

all the time,

superficially,

but actually many

of the fundamental

issues of life

actually don't change

that much.

On one hand,

kingdoms come and go,

empires come and go,

leaders come and go,

democratic parties

come and go,

many things change

in life,

but actually the fundamentals,

the things that God

says are important,

actually don't really

change all that much.

From age to age

and generation to generation.

And I remember finding

this quite interesting

when we moved

from Cape Town,

South Africa,

to Hong Kong

three and a half years ago.

If you think about it,

sleepy Africa,

right?

Fast-paced Hong Kong,

worlds apart,

like the very opposite

extremes of culture

and the way

that things are done.

And yet one of the things

that struck me

when we moved here

is that in many ways

the fundamental aspects

of life

actually don't change

that much altogether.

In many ways,

people in Africa

and people in Hong Kong,

can I say,

we actually have got

the same longings

of our hearts.

We've got the same

insecurities.

We've got the same fears.

We all want to be

longed and appreciated

and loved

by those around us.

Marriage and parenting

are challenging.

Whether you live

in 21st century Hong Kong,

21st century Cape Town,

or 1st century

biblical times.

The longings of our hearts

are actually very similar.

And so that's what we see here.

On one hand,

everything's different,

but actually on the other hand,

not that much

has changed altogether.

But the other thing

that we see here

in the book of Daniel,

just as we get

into chapter 6,

is that by this stage,

Daniel is an old man.

And we mentioned this

a few weeks ago,

but Daniel's a really old man.

He's not like

Simon Wong old, okay?

He's properly old, okay?

Thanks, Simon.

Daniel at this stage

is kind of

probably mid-80s.

He's been in Babylon

70 years.

He got taken to Babylon

as a teenager,

maybe 15, 16 years old.

He's now lived,

he's outlived

the entire Babylonian empire

70 years.

He's on to the next empire.

And so Daniel's now

somewhere in his 80s.

And often when we read

the children's Bibles,

we see these pictures

of Daniel in the lion's den.

And he's this strapping young,

you know,

25-year-old guy

in the prime of his life.

He's good looking.

But that's not the case.

Daniel is an old man here.

And one of the things

that God wants us to see

in this chapter

is how Daniel has lived

his entire life

faithfully

and consistently

trusting in God.

And can I just say

that I know that

as a church,

Watermark is generally

quite a young church.

And I love the fact

that we've got

so many amazing young people

that are really powering it

and doing so well.

And that is so awesome.

It's one of the things

we love about our church.

But the kingdom of God

is not just for young people.

And I know that

in Hong Kong

we've got this interesting dynamic.

There's some churches where

until you're kind of mid-50s

it seems like your voice

doesn't really count.

Right?

You've got to like

really be

in the second half of your life

until you've got

any contribution in the church.

But sometimes

in the English church

it can feel like

once you're over 40

you're kind of past your prime

and it's just

a young person's church.

Does that make any sense?

Did anybody feel that?

Okay, are you allowed to nod?

One of the things

Daniel's going to show us

is that actually

the kingdom of God

we need

both young

fiery people

that are powering for God

but we actually also need

men and women

that have faithfully

and consistently

served God

and given their lives to God

for decades

after decade

after decade.

And so

just like Moses

who was 80 years old

when he went back to Egypt

and delivered God's people

out of Egypt

and just like Caleb

who at 85 years old

still had vision

and passion

to advance God's kingdom

Daniel's going to show us

that one of the marks

of a mature Christian

is someone who can

consistently

and faithfully

decade after decade

give their life

to the things of God.

Okay, so that's

by way of introduction.

So let's look

what happens here.

So as Irene read to us

Darius is the new king

in town

and he chooses

these 120 satraps

these are like

governors

in a sense

to rule the new empire

that he has taken over

to rule what was

the Babylonian empire

and he installs

these three men

that are kind of

the leaders

who these 120 men

are accountable to

and Daniel soon emerges

as the leader

of the three

so he really is

kind of the top

of the pile

and this is all good

and well

except that office politics

soon comes into play

and the others

are jealous

because Daniel

is not a Babylonian

he's not a Medo-Persian

he's a foreigner

and he shouldn't be

at the top of the pile

and so office politics

kicks into place

and these guys

want to try

to take him down

but the problem is

nothing will stick

to Daniel

he's a man of integrity

and faithfulness

there's no corruption

nothing will stick to him

and so

the one thing

they realize

is that he's faithful

to his God

and so they come up

with a plan

of how they can

get him taken out

they've got to get

a law passed

that will pretty much

make it illegal

for Daniel

to serve Yahweh

and so

that's what happens

they go to Darius

and they get Darius

to sign this law

which is

no one can pray

or worship

to anyone

other than Darius

the king

and otherwise

they must face

a certain death

and Darius

like Nebuchadnezzar

before him

thinks this is a good idea

he signs the law

into place

and

that means

that

Daniel

is going to be in trouble

and so look at

what Daniel does

look at verse 10

what is Daniel

going to do

now that a law

has been passed

that makes it illegal

to pray to God

and if he even

tries to do that

he's going to be fed

to the lions

what is the first thing

that Daniel should do

well let's look at

verse 10 together

when Daniel knew

that the document

had been signed

he went to his house

where he had windows

in his upper chamber

open towards Jerusalem

he got down

on his knees

three times a day

and he prayed

and he gave thanks

to his God

as he had done

previously

or as another

translation says

as was his

customs

since his

earliest days

friends

is that not

remarkable

just think about it

when

when anxiety

and stress

come our way

when the pressure

is on

when your career

is on the line

or your reputation

is on the line

never mind

your life

is on the line

how do we respond

well look at

what Daniel does

he gets on his knees

and he prays

Daniel doesn't

launch a public

protest

he doesn't

protest his innocence

he doesn't

declare

this is unjust

this is not

the way

it should work

Daniel doesn't

even go

and petition

Darius the king

who does he

bring his

petition before

it's not

king Darius

it's Christ

the king

of kings

Daniel gets

on his knees

and he prays

Daniel knows

the one

who holds

his life

in his hands

and it's

before him

that he brings

his petition

and friends

doesn't that

remind us

of king

Jesus

Jesus

right

remember

he's

it's the night

before he

is going

to go to the

cross

he's just

had

a last supper

as Simon

reminded us

and he knows

that Judas

has betrayed him

Judas leaves

the dinner early

to go and

betray him

Jesus knows

what's coming

his way

the next day

he's going

to be crucified

and what

does Jesus

do

he goes

deep into

the garden

of Gethsemane

and he gets

on his knees

and he prays

but notice

here that

Daniel is not

running to God

freaking out

he's not

suddenly

running to God

saying

God

I need

you

I'm in

a corner

I've tried

everything

I don't know

where to turn

God

you're my

last resort

because notice

what the scripture

says

Daniel got on his knees

and prayed

three times a day

as was his custom

since his earliest

days

in other words

the consistent

pattern of his life

is that through

thick and thin

when Daniel is

promoted to the

highest ranks

of the land

or Daniel's facing

the death penalty

the consistent

pattern of his life

is to become

a man of prayer

Daniel's not

running to God

as a last resort

because he's

exhausted every

other option

he runs to God

as prayer

as a matter

of pattern

because he knows

God is God

and God is faithful

and sovereign

friends

no Christian

and therefore

no church

is greater

than its

prayer life

maybe you can ask

us

what is our

prayer life

like

we've mentioned

this before

but I want to

just read to us

from the book

of Acts

what the early

church's prayer

life was like

this is from

a book by

John

Onwanitra

I think

is how you

say his name

his book

on prayer

listen to how

he catalogues

the book

of Acts

he says

Acts chapter 1

Acts 1 · chapter mention

they prayed

before choosing

leaders

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

the Christians

are gathered

together in

prayer

when the Holy

Spirit comes

upon them

at Pentecost

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2:42

verse 42

says

they devoted

themselves

to the apostles

teaching

and to prayer

Acts chapter 3

Acts 3 · chapter mention

we see that

Peter and John

go to the temple

daily at the

hour of prayer

Acts chapter 4

Acts 4 · chapter mention

the apostles

are persecuted

and facing

opposition

and what do

they do

they turn to

God

in prayer

in Acts chapter 6

Acts 6 · chapter mention

before they

choose deacon

leaders

they pray about

and ask God

to lead

and guide

them

but the reason

they choose

leaders

is that the

apostles

can free up

time

to be devoted

to preaching

and to prayer

in Acts chapter 7

Acts 7 · chapter mention

Stephen the first

martyr

prays for the

forgiveness

of those

who are killing

him

in Acts chapter 8

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Peter and John

pray with the

saints in Samaria

that they might

be filled

with the Holy Spirit

in Acts chapter 9

Acts 9 · chapter mention

Peter prays

and sees a woman

rise from the dead

in Acts chapter 10

Acts 10 · chapter mention

Peter is daily

going about

his rhythm

of prayer

when God

visits him

challenges his

hypocrisy

and his racism

against the Gentiles

and starts the

mission to the Gentiles

in Acts chapter 12

Acts 12 · chapter mention

Peter is in prison

for preaching

and the church

gathers to pray

and he is miraculously

released from prison

in Acts chapter 13

Acts 13 · chapter mention

the church fasts

and prays together

to multiply the work

and appoint new leaders

in Acts chapter 14

Acts 14 · chapter mention

after prayer

and fasting

Paul and Barnabas

are sent out

to missionaries

to new lands

and they appoint elders

in the churches

where they have gathered

and we could go on

and on

and on

Acts chapter 14

Acts 14 · chapter mention

chapter 16

chapter 20

the early church

if there is one thing

that marked them

there were people

who knew

how to pray

friends if you are

a Christian this morning

what is your

prayer life like?

three weeks ago

we made the point

that if you are

a Christian

if you are going

to serve God

faithfully

all of your days

you are going

to face the fire

it is part of

what it means

to be a follower

of Jesus

opposition is going

to come your way

what is going

to keep us

consistent

what is going

to keep us

faithful

all of our days

what is going

to keep us

enduring

to the end

one of the reasons

why Daniel

is a man

that can stand

up to Nebuchadnezzar

and Darius

both in the

highs of his life

and lows of his life

is he a man

who knows

how to pray

and look at

verse 16

look at Darius

his own testimony

about Daniel

he says here

in verse 16

may your God

whom you serve

continually

deliver you

again verse 20

O Daniel

servant of the

living God

has your God

whom you serve

continually

been able

to deliver you

from the lions

if there's one thing

that the new king

knows about Daniel

it's this

here is a man

who has consistently

and continually

served his God

and so maybe

I can just

the application

for those of us

that are in our 20s

or early 30s

if you're going

to still be

serving God

faithfully

in your 50s

and your 60s

and your 70s

and your 80s

and God willing

in your 90s

if you're going

to be someone

that consistently

gives yourself

to God

can I urge you

to be those

that know

what it means

to be a man

or woman

of prayer

friends we said

it earlier

the Christian life

is a race

but it's not

a sprint

and it's easy

in your 20s

and your 30s

to be involved

in church stuff

and going to courses

and having fun

with your church

friends and stuff

but when the pressure

of life comes

you throw in

a couple of babies

throw in a demanding job

throw in a boss

that grills you

right Chris

you know a bit

about that

at the moment

when the pressure

of life comes

we can find

that we can go

weeks

with never getting

into God's word

never getting

into prayer

and friends

if Sunday morning

is the only time

that we ever pray

or get into God's word

when the storms

of life come

our spiritual life

will not survive

Daniel's a great

example

of what it means

to be a man

that's consistently

serving God

but notice something

else about his

prayer here

I don't know if you

saw this in verse 10

this really blew me away

I never known this

before until this week

look at what he says

here

when Daniel knew

that the document

had been signed

he went to his house

where he had windows

in his upper chamber

open towards Jerusalem

he got down on his knees

three times

and he prayed

and what did he do

gave thanks

to God

he gave thanks

to God

as was his custom

in this moment

when due to the jealousy

of his colleagues

the king has signed

an edict

which not only goes

against his faith

but essentially says

Daniel you're going

to the lion's den

today or tomorrow

Daniel

prays this prayer

of gratitude

and thankfulness

to God

and it's quite amazing

how often

the New Testament

says that

one of the keys

to the Christian life

to the consistent

Christian life

is actually

to live a life

of gratitude

and thankfulness

to God

even in the midst

of storms

listen to

Thessalonians 1

rejoice always

pray continually

give thanks to God

in all circumstances

Philippians says

rejoice in the Lord

I'll say it again

rejoice

do not be anxious

about anything

but in every situation

with prayer and petition

and thanksgiving

present your request

before God your Father

and so again and again

the Bible tells us

that one of the marks

of Christian maturity

is to know

how to recognize

the sovereignty of God

and to be able

to be thankful

and gratitude

to God

even in the midst

of the storms

of life

now why is that important

well

cultivating gratitude

in other words

fighting of discontentment

is actually

a spiritual discipline

which is vital

to spiritual vitality

friends

it's so easy

to look around

at others

and say

why is my life

so hard

why do they

have it so easy

it's so easy

to compare our lives

to those around us

and to feel

that somehow

I've been hard

but done by

it's so easy

to wallow

in discontentment

but friends

if there's one person

who maybe

could have felt

sorry for himself

Daniel after serving

God faithfully

for 70 years

serving Nebuchadnezzar

serving Babylon

now serving Darius

what does he get

for it all

he gets thrown

in the lion's den

if there's one man

that can feel

sorry for himself

I put it to us

it's maybe Daniel

and what does he do

Father I'm so thankful

for your faithfulness

God thank you

that you're a good God

thank you that I can

trust you

in the circumstance

friends that's amazing

it's amazing

bitterness and discontentment

is like a virus

that will suck the life

out of your walk

with Jesus

and in the Christian life

this race of endurance

one of the spiritual disciplines

which will get us

over the line

is cultivating a heart

of gratitude

and thankfulness

and so

we know what happens here

Daniel's conspirators

burst into the room

he's on his knees

he's busy praying

not to Darius

but to Jesus

or to Yahweh

and that means that

Daniel needs to face

the lions

right

and so

the story goes

they march him off

to Darius

and they say

Darius

this man is not

praying to you

he's praying to Yahweh

and he must die

and Darius

is actually very upset

about this

he doesn't want

Daniel to die

he likes Daniel

and so he tries

all sorts of things

to pull strings

to organize things

but all to no avail

the law

must stand

the Medo-Persian law

was that

once the law

had been signed

it could not be revoked

Daniel must go

to the lion den

and so

he does

and so

Darius

and the

guard

they march him off

to the lion's den

and Daniel's thrown inside

and we know the story

miraculously

for some reason

that night

the lions are not hungry

Daniel says

God sent an angel

to close their mouths

and Daniel survives

the night

in the lion's den

it's amazing

that actually

the story doesn't recall

what his life

what his night was like

in the lion's den

all we know is that

Darius

had a fretful night

he couldn't sleep

he couldn't eat

things are not going well for him

but Daniel

we don't know too much about it

but the one thing we know

is the next morning

Daniel is still alive

and no one can quite believe it

and Darius knows

what this means

what this means

is that not only

is Daniel alive

and living

but so is his God

look at verse 26

with me

Darius makes this decree

I make a decree

that in all my royal dominion

people are to tremble

and fear

before the God of Daniel

for he is the living God

that's the point

he is the living God

enduring forever

his kingdom

shall never be destroyed

his dominion

shall stand

to the end

he delivers

and rescues

he works signs

and wonders

in heaven above

on earth below

he who has saved

Daniel

from the power

of the lions

now friends

one of the things

that I think

we are meant to see here

in this passage

is in many ways

Daniel is a picture

or a prototype

of the life of Jesus

in many ways

the life of Daniel

or the chapter of Daniel

reflects the life of Jesus

did you notice

how many connections

there were

between Daniel and Jesus

both Daniel and Jesus

are betrayed

by the jealousy

of their peers

both Daniel and Jesus

are sent to their death

by a weak

and manipulated king

in the case of Jesus

it's Pontius Pilate

in the case of Daniel

it's King Darius

both Pilate and Darius

actually didn't want

to send them to death

and wanted to find ways

to set them free

John 20 tells us

but both of them

are manipulated

by weak

and manipulated kings

and did you notice

I think it's verse 17

the reference to the stone

being rolled over

the tomb

over the grave

and how the king

seals it

with his signatory

that's what Matthew 27

tells us

happens to Jesus

and of course

both Daniel and Jesus

return to the grave

vindicating their claim

that their God

is alive

and real

but of course

there are great differences

as well

Daniel's traumatic

ordeal

meant that

he would potentially

suffer and die

Jesus actually

did suffer and die

and while Daniel

faced the wrath

of the lions

and the wrath

of the law

of the Medo-Persians

Jesus faced

the wrath

of God Almighty

and friends

of course

the greatest difference

is that while Daniel

went to the grave

because of the jealousy

of his enemies

Jesus went to the cross

because of

his great love

for his enemies

remember John chapter

John 20 · chapter mention

20

John chapter 10

John 10 · chapter mention

Jesus says

nobody takes

my life from me

I lay it down

of my own accord

and what that means

is that

while the life

of Daniel

is meant to be

a great encouragement

to us

we're not

meant to stop

at Daniel

but we're meant

to look through

the life of Daniel

to the faithfulness

of Jesus

we tend to look

at the story

of Daniel

and think

I need to be

more courageous

courage is a good thing

but the point

of the story

of Daniel

is not that

it's those

that are courageous

that are saved

in the end

or those

that have

conviction

or consistency

that are saved

in the end

the point

of the story

of Daniel

is that

Daniel

is saved

by the mercy

and the faithfulness

of God

I was reading

a commentary

this week

that said

the point

of Daniel 6

is that

kingdoms

will come

and go

empires

will come

and go

but the one

thing that

remains

as steadfast

and faithful

is Daniel

and I thought

no that's not

the point

you got it

wrong

the point

is

the faithfulness

of God

not Daniel

it's not

Daniel's

courage

that saves

him

it's the mercy

and the kindness

of God

that saves

Daniel

friends

the thing

that God

wants us

to see

is that

when we

had no way

of saving

ourselves

if we

will humble

ourselves

and cast

ourselves

on his

mercy

God

is able

to do

the impossible

God

is able

to save

us

from a

certain

death

from a

judgment

to come

which of

course

is the

gospel

right

the point

of Daniel

6

is not

that if

you have

courage

and faithfulness

God

will deliver

you from

your problems

just listen

to the

millions

of martyrs

that have

died

throughout

the ages

read the

history books

and you'll

see

that if

you're

faithful

to God

it does

not mean

that you

will outlive

your enemies

or that

your life

will be

rosy

or that

everything

will be

easy

and convenient

if you're

faithful to

God

that might

be the

reason

why you

die

early

no

friends

the point

is not

that

Daniel

managed

to save

himself

but that

Daniel

was saved

by God

in fact

that's exactly

what Daniel

says

he says

his God

is the

living God

he has

saved

Daniel

from the

power

of the

lions

verse 27

and I think

that's the

point of

verse 14

I don't know

if you

we referenced

it earlier

verse 14

says this

then the

king

was much

distressed

and he

set his

mind

to deliver

Daniel

he labored

until the

sun went

down

trying to

rescue him

Darius

doesn't want

Daniel

to die

and so

Darius

does

everything

he can

to try

and save

him

but at

all

to no

avail

and I

think

the

point

there

that

God

wants

to

make

is

that

even

if

you

are

the

most

connected

person

in the

world

if

you

are

the

most

powerful

and

the

wealthiest

person

in the

world

your

soul

one

of the

things

about

living

in a

city

like

Hong

Kong

in a

big

city

if

you

are

a

connector

you

can

make

things

happen

right

if

you

know

who

to

connect

if

you

can

pull

the

right

strings

draw

on

favors

you

can

make

things

happen

Cape Town

that

doesn't

really

happen

Cape Town

everyone's

sleepy

okay

but in

Hong

Kong

you

can

make

things

happen

but

one

of

the

points

here

is

that

even

if

you

are

the

most

powerful

influential

wealthy

person

in the

world

there

are

some

things

that

you

cannot

make

happen

salvation

is

not

given

to

those

that

are

powerful

or

connected

or

able

to