God is still God

So here's a question I have for you as we conclude this series on Daniel.

How do you live when you don't get the life that you've always wanted?

How do you live in 2020 when you're facing a pandemic?

How do you live when you're facing difficult racial tension in our communities and in our nation and our world?

How do we live when we're facing an election season and we feel like we're being bombarded on all sides by political ads?

How do we live when we don't get the life we've always wanted?

That's the question I think Daniel had to face.

How do you think Daniel felt when he was kidnapped by King Nebuchadnezzar and he was marched 700 miles back to Babylon?

How do you feel?

How do you think Daniel felt when he was being indoctrinated into a foreign education system and occult beliefs and practices?

How do you feel?

How do you think Daniel felt when he was dealing and facing this life that he would have never chosen?

Daniel was faithful despite his circumstances, and that's what God calls us to.

He calls us to live faithfully despite our circumstances.

Can we live faithfully to honor the Lord when life doesn't turn out like we want it?

Daniel, in this part of the story, is about 85 years old, so he's not the young teenager anymore.

He's an older man, and he's faced with a second leader, foreign leader, that's leading him down the path of unbelief, and he's facing persecution that he's never faced before.

And so he's an example to all of us in that God is still God, and he calls us to lead a faithful life despite our circumstances.

Let's read verse 1, Daniel chapter 6.

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

It says, 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 and 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 other than the king for thirty days, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.

Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed.

According to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.

Therefore, King Darius signed the document and the injunction.

And so King Darius is tricked by these high officials, these political leaders, into signing this injunction that anybody that prays or worships anybody other than him for 30 days will be thrown into the lion's den and face death at the hands of the lion.

And here's what we need to see with Daniel is that if we're called to live faithful despite our circumstances.

And there's gonna be times in our life when people look to find fault with you and your beliefs and your belief system.

They're gonna find try to find fault with your life, but God calls you to live faithful despite your circumstances.

Now, up until this point, we've seen that Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylon.

And then last week Nathan taught the story out of Daniel chapter 5, where the Babylonian kingdom is toppled, and now the Medo-Persian Empire is ruling, and it's a new leader, and his name is Darius.

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

The rule of law is what provides leadership over the brutality of a dictator.

And so now that Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom of Babylon has been toppled, and now that Darius is the king of the Medo-Persian Empire, Daniel is provided favor.

Daniel is provided leadership responsibility that the other elected officials do not like.

And so they decide that they're going to provide this injunction, this new law, that if anybody prays or anybody worships to any other God besides King Darius, they're going to be thrown into the lion's den.

And here's what I want you to see that we should be challenged by the example of Daniel.

Darius likes Daniel, and there's something about Daniel that sets him apart.

And it's his consistent, continual character.

And it should be the example for all of us, and how we should live when we don't get the life that we always wanted.

We're to live with character.

We're to live by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here's some lessons about living with leadership that Daniel shows us.

If you're filled with the Holy Spirit and you're faithful to God, you're going to be helpful to any leader in any organization.

That's the power of the Holy Spirit.

That's the difference that the Holy Spirit provides in our life.

Secondly, the Spirit-filled life is about bringing the character of Christ under pressure and even under opposition and under persecution.

And so it's the fruit of the Spirit.

It's the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness and self-control.

It's the fruit of the Spirit.

It's the power of the Spirit of God that's under pressure, even when we're faced with life that we don't want.

And then thirdly, character counts.

Character matters.

When we're dealing with persecution, or we're dealing with difficult circumstances, or we're facing life that we really don't want.

Character matters.

These high officials, they do a deep dive into Daniel's character, and they find nothing.

And so they have to make up this scheme and this set of circumstances to try to find fault with Daniel.

And so they put King Darius into a difficult position where he's got wrong information and he bases his decisions on the wrong information.

It's a government that's now ruled by law rather than the brutality of a dictatorship.

And Daniel is under duress, but we see that his character shows, even in the midst of persecution.

You see the power of the Holy Spirit in his life.

And this is, this speaks to us, as we've been saying over the last five weeks, that it's not, the stories of the Bible are not always about what happened, but they're about what always happens.

And in verse 10, it says, when Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where his windows were open into the upper chamber, and he prayed.

He got down on his knees three times a day, and he prayed and he gave thanks before his God as he had done previously.

And then these men came by agreement and they found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.

Then they came near and said to the king, concerning the injunction, O king, did you not sign the injunction that anyone who makes petition to any God or man other than you within thirty days, O king, shall be cast into the dens of lions?

Then the king answered and said, The thing stands fast according to the laws of the Medes and the 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 that you've signed, but he makes his petition three times a day.

Then the king said, When he heard these words, was much distressed, and his mind, and he set his mind to deliver Daniel, and he labored till 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 the 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 the 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 the Lord's, that nothing may 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 him.

And so what we see in the story is that despite his circumstances, Daniel remained faithful to his predictable patterns of prayer and worship.

Daniel did what he always had done.

He did according to his predictable patterns.

He prayed.

He spent time in worship.

He spent time focusing on his relationship with his God.

Despite what his enemies had done to accuse him and to trick King Darius, Daniel continued to remain faithful in his practice of prayer and worship.

He was a man that King Darius respected and he favored Daniel.

As a matter of fact, that's what Daniel, that's what got Daniel in trouble.

And so what are Daniel's options?

What are our options when we are dealt circumstances and we don't get the life that we've always wanted?

What do we do?

Do we run?

Do we choose a life of hypocrisy?

Do we obey and deal with the circumstances?

Maybe we should look at what Daniel does.

He prays.

He remains consistent.

He remains faithful in his prayer and his worship and his dependency upon God.

See, here's what we learn in this story is that Christian character is not forged in the moment of adversity.

Christian character is revealed in the moments of adversity.

And so when we're squeezed, or when we're dealing with persecution, or we're dealing with an unfavorable response to our faith, what's really inside of us is what comes out.

And so are we going to be faithful?

Are we going to remain true to our faith?

And are we going to remain true to our predictable patterns of prayer and worship?

Look at verse 19.

It says, Then at 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 hand of the lions?

Then Daniel said to the king, O live c live forever, king.

May God send his angel and shut the lion's mouths, and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him, and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.

Then 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 to pieces.

Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwelt in all the earth.

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.

See, what we see throughout all of Scripture are these beautiful pictures.

Some theologians call it typology of Jesus Christ, this found in Scripture, all the way back to Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, where it talks about the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head.

Genesis 3:15

And so sometimes we see it in events, historical events like the Exodus and how God delivered his people out of Egypt through the Passover.

We see it in biblical institutions like the temple and the sacrificial system, but we also see it how God works through individuals like Adam, like Abraham, like Moses and David, and we see it in this story in Daniel.

We see it in even in the Psalms.

Psalm 22 is what we call the messianic psalm of the righteous Messiah.

In verse 21, it says, Save me from the lion's mouth.

God indeed saved the Messiah Jesus from the mouth of the lion of death into the glorious resurrection.

And in like manner, we see Daniel saved from the lion's den and out of the hands of the lions, in spite of his enemies and the persecution and even the decree of Darius.

We see throughout Scripture that Jesus is the true and better Adam.

Jesus is the true and better Abel.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham.

That beautiful story in the picture where Abraham's son Isaac is going to be offered up as a sacrifice.

And God said to Abraham, Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from me.

And so we can say now, at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, that God, you did not withhold your son, your only son that you love, from suffering and dying in our place.

I love as we continue through scripture that we see that Jesus is the true and better Jacob.

He wrestled with God and he took the blows of justice that we all deserve.

And so we like Jacob could receive the wounds of grace.

And we could be awakened to this new life through Jesus.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who sits at the right hand of the king right now and he forgives those who betrayed and sold him and he uses that power to save rather than condemn.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and between God, who mediates this new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses who struck the rod of God's justices.

Rather than killing, God offers the true and living water that we are able to receive through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the true and better Job.

He's the truly innocent sufferer.

And he intercedes and he saves in spite of his friends and their betrayal.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes not only his own victory, but it becomes the victory of God's people, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther, who didn't just risk losing an earthly palace, but lost the ultimate heavenly one who just didn't risk his life but gave up his life, who didn't just say, if I perish, I perish, but said, When I perish, I will perish for them to save my people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so we could be brought in to safety.

Jesus is the true and better Daniel, who having been lowered into the lion's den of death, he emerges early the next morning alive and vindicated by his God.

So here's the question: What is Jesus to you?

Is he your personal Savior?

Is he your strength?

Is he your comforter?

Is he your provider?

Even in the midst of a difficult life, can you find hope and can you live faithfully like Daniel?

Because Jesus is your Savior.

Here's what I want you to answer this morning, church.

Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus that will ultimately deliver you out of the den of the lion of death?

We're talking about eternal life.

We're talking about heaven, the difference between heaven and hell.

We're talking about you finding hope through a personal relationship with Jesus.

If you've never taken that step of faith, I want to encourage you this morning to take that step of faith.

I encourage you to text.

Start to follow to 9700.

If you've never taken that step to put your faith in Jesus Christ, He is our deliverer from the den of the Lion of Death.

You put your hope and faith in Him.

And He gives you the strength and He gives you the power of the Holy Spirit to help you live life during discouraging times.

And so when we are faced with persecution, we're faced with difficulty, we're faced with a year like 2020, you can live faithfully just like Daniel lived faithfully.

So would you pray with me right now?

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, I lift up our church family, I lift up our staff, I lift up those that have been affected in 2020, maybe by COVID, maybe just facing discouragement and difficulty.

God, would you provide strength?

Would you provide supernatural power for those that are taking their next steps in faith?

God, we need hope.

Lord, I lift up Pat Hardin, I lift up Brandon, I lift up the rest of our staff as they have faced this COVID crisis.

Lord, we pray that their faithfulness will be an example to all of us.

So what is God saying to you?

And what are you going to do about it?

Can you imagine what this world would be like in 2020 and 2021 and beyond if the Church of Jesus Christ is faithful and follows the example of Daniel?

And we're faithful despite the persecution.