 Here we are Daniel chapter 6 We're looking at a very famous portion of scripture all of us know it by Daniel in the lion's den That's what we're looking at and I chose to Entitle this particular installment of our study. He believed in his God And you'll see that as we go through the study why I chose to entitle it that so beginning at verse 1 in Daniel chapter 6 reading to verse 3 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be over the whole kingdom and Over these three governors of whom Daniel was one that the satraps might give account to them So that the king would suffer no loss Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm and So we're now introduced to what has been called and is called the second kingdom The second kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar's dream the second kingdom when we went through Chapter 2 the second kingdom in this golden image is the Medo Persian Empire When we were going through Daniel and we're in chapter 2 the Babylonian king Remember with me had a he had a dream Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and and we saw that Nebuchadnezzar in his dream had had a dream of what would what was called a great image and It was described as having a head of gold chest and arms of silver belly and thighs of bronze and legs of iron with feet that were a mixture of iron and clay and So when the king had said he wanted to know the dream and its interpretation Daniel had told him that he was the head of gold and so Nebuchadnezzar represented the Babylonian Empire, which was the greatest of the ancient world and As Daniel was speaking to him We saw this in chapter 2 he made it clear that the Empire of Babylon was temporary that it was going to be replaced in Chapter 2 verse 39 he said after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours So when Nebuchadnezzar's image the kingdom was portrayed as the chest and arms of silver And it's this kingdom that we're introduced to here in chapter 6 is the kingdom of what was called the Medo Persian Empire Now Cyrus a king had defeated the Medes and the kingdom He was Cyrus of Persia the kingdom became called the Medo Persian Empire And so in our last study We we were introduced to Darius in chapter 5 verses Verse 31 it says Darius the Mede received the kingdom being about 62 years old and so here we have an introduction to Darius and and what's happening here is Darius is reordering the Babylonian government You see history records that Cyrus the Persian installed Darius is what is called a sub-governor of Babylon and that's why we're being introduced right now to Darius because he's the one who's overseeing the nation and So it says in verse 1 it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be over the whole Kingdom verse 2 and over these three governors three these three governors of whom Daniel was one that the satraps might give account to them so that the king would suffer no loss And so what he did is he established three governors as it says here and and these governors Were to oversee what are called the satraps 120 of them a satrap was a prince It could be called a prince. It could be called a government official That's what they were and what they are are what we would call provincial leaders And so I cut some information out and pasted it so I could read it to you and look smart It says that the satraps Owned and administered the land in their provinces always in the king's name They served as the chief judge for their region adjudicating disputes and decreeing the punishments for various crimes Satraps also collected taxes appointed and removed local officials police the roads and public spaces And so to prevent the satrap some exercising two-inch power and possibly even challenging the king's authority Each satrap answered to a royal secretary known as the eye of the king and That would have been the office that Daniel held. He was the eye of the king Now as we begin once again Daniel is placed in a position of authority. He is the chief of the governors Now Psalm 75 6 and 7 says exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west Nor from the south But God is the judge. He puts down one and exalts another So God has exalted Daniel to this very high position as the chief over those That were under the rule of the king and it says in verse 3 that Daniel Distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because of an excellent spirit that was in him and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm and So Daniel distinguished himself now I want to share a couple of things with you as I introduce this a little further at this point Daniel is no longer a young man Daniel is nearing the age some commentators many would say of around 90 Yeah, he's an old man He's nearing 90 years of age, but I want you to notice he is still distinguishing himself above others At the age of 90 he is still distinguishing himself Above others in Psalm 92 verses 12 through 14 listen to what the psalmist said But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon For they are transplanted to the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of our God Even in old age, they will still produce fruit They will remain vital and green They will declare the Lord is just he is my rock There's no evil in him Daniel received an honor But that honor that he received isn't an automatic honor just because he's grown old and This is something I wanted to highlight with us as I introduced this the honor. He receives is because he sought the Lord But he sought the Lord through his lifetime In Psalm 71 5 and 6 it says you have been my hope Lord my confidence Since my youth from birth I have relied on you. You brought me forth from my mother's womb I will ever praise you Daniel was able to say that Daniel was able to say that from his youth. He had served and loved the Lord. He was an honorable man You know as Daniel grew older and he did even as we're looking at this passage as Daniel grew older. It would be easy. It would have been easy for him to think my days of usefulness are over That's that's one of the lies That the that the enemy feeds to to our people today It's it's one of the lies that society feeds on when you're old you have no use you and you're old Who wants to listen to some old person up there? I used to say When I was young because I spoke with a loud voice and I could get agitated I used to say, you know when you're young People think you've got a lot of fire But when you get old and you have the same fire, they think you're just old and grumpy And there's some truth to that There's some truth to that When you're young you're just filled with the passion and that's a good thing when you're old you're just mean and mad And society actually has done that society has has relegated those who have aged Even when they've aged well in terms of being good people Have relegated them to the place where they're not even necessary to be listened to anymore They don't want to hear them anymore And it can make a person who's growing older feel useless And yet that's not true The bible says and we saw this in the book of Job in chapter 12 verse 12 Wisdom belongs to the aged with length of days understanding When you're when your life is lived in service of the lord in his word walking in his spirit caring for his people When you're when you're a believer and you've lived a life in service to god the way Daniel did Daniel had much to add to any who wanted to hear He had so much experience so much knowledge so much wisdom You see as we age and the things to the lord we have much more to give of the lord To other people i was speaking to my own pastor chuck smith many years ago now And as i was speaking to my pastor chuck i asked him a question you see When chuck was 65 He had declared he had stated he had told us He had now announced to us pastors and all he said you know i'm getting near the age of retirement and and i thought Retirement i didn't know pastors retire I didn't know where do you put them in old pastors homes? You know wouldn't that be A bunch of old pastors taking offerings from one another i don't know If i want to go to one of those places So i was speaking to my pastor and he had said that he was going to uh Consider retirement and i can tell you it was in 1992 i was teaching at a pastors conference Up in lake tahoe and he and i was sitting together and having breakfast and i began to speak to him and i said chuck I said you have been talking about retirement um And yet you seem to be changing your mind i'm just wondering what's going on and and as we had our conversation You know i eventually asked him a question that he gave an answer to me that i have never forgotten I said to him oh chuck when is it time to retire? When is it time for a pastor to retire? When is it time for a spiritual leader to step out? Because i don't want as a pastor. I don't want to stay a minute longer than i'm supposed to i want to know Which should i be looking for so that the day comes that i can transition and move on what which So he looked at me and he said i've never forgotten this I said chuck when should a pastor retire? And he said when he stops loving what he's doing When he loses the joy of what he's doing He never lost the joy of what he was doing He never retired he actually died as he was preparing a study to give For the next you know within a couple days. He died preparing a study He died in not in the actual act of it, but in the process of it and so I learned a while back that There's nothing wrong with growing older Perhaps i might have some listening to me right now Perhaps watching online if they can see Because some of you are anyway Some in this room are older When do you when do you hang up the spiritual? boots and take your Take your ease You don't You don't You have more to offer every day you walk with jesus Every day you want that's what chuck told me. Yeah, amen. That's what chuck told me He said david he said every day I walk with jesus is another day of growing to know him which gives me more opportunity to share What i've learned of him so those of us who are older Don't feel that you're to be put on a shelf Don't feel that you're not useful because you are Why don't I tear up because i'm old why do I tear up? Because I was at a pastors conference a few years ago and some of my friends were teaching and And uh, it was posted online by one of the younger calvary pastors One of these old fossils going to get out of the way a Calvary pastor Saying that about his elders Saying that about those who have been in the field working hard for so many years When are you going to get out of the way so that we can take over? You know that attitude is wrong. It's just a wrong attitude daniel was 90 years of age at least and he distinguished himself Because the spirit of god was strong in him And he's placed he's elevated to a place of leadership in in psalm 71 17 and 18 it reads Oh god, you have taught me from my youth and to this day i declare your wondrous works now also when i am old and grayheaded Oh god, do not forsake me until i declare your strength to this generation your power to everyone who's to come That's the attitude that the those who are growing older ought to have and and daniel had spent a lifetime in a disciplined pursuit of the lord And the fruit of that was that god entrusted him with godly influence In proverbs 22 verse 29. Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before unknown men Well honor comes because of the quality of your life Not because you have simply been placed there Your honor real honor comes because your life Has earned honor and god has given to you that position And the position that you hold may be respected sometimes the position itself But the person holding that position may not be respected There are there are there are those who who hold office that you honor the office, but you don't honor the person holding it But on the other hand when you have integrity People in authority may recognize it And as they do they may place you in a position In proverbs 3 verses 3 and 4 it says let not mercy and truth forsake you bind them around your neck Write them on the tablet of your heart and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of god and man So daniel distinguished himself through the spirit in his life and his discipline He was disciplined to live a godly life first timothy 4 7 says it like this Reject profane and old wives fables and exercise yourself toward godliness So his character was obvious and he was placed in a high position And so he is now placed in a great position He had an excellent spirit and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm well verse 4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against daniel concerning the kingdom, but They could find no charge or fault Because he was faithful Nor was there any error or fault Founding him Then these men said we shall not find any charge against this daniel Unless we find it against him concerning the law of his god Not everybody rejoices When an honorable person is placed in rule There are many who prefer wicked rulers And the reason that they prefer the wicked rule is because they themselves are wicked We see that in the united states Under normal circumstances a good official is valued even desired Because when they're in leadership They're a blessing and benefit to others Proverbs 29 2 says when the righteous are in authority the people rejoice But when the wicked are in power the the people mourn Well in this case the officials didn't like the fact that a foreigner Wielded such authority so in order to remove him they had to come up with a plan But the problem was they couldn't find anything wrong with them. They could find no charge It says in verse 4 that he was faithful. He was without error. He was without fault in his business dealings Meaning he was trustworthy. He didn't neglect his duty. He wasn't corrupt He was an unusual politician Now remember integrity will always have its detractors Daniel had integrity And his integrity of heart guided his daily affairs. He was uncorrupted by the world standards Why because the standard he held to was a higher standard He was a man when you read of his life who was in daily pursuit of the lord It reminds me of psalm 63 verse 1 where it says, oh god, you are my god Early, will I seek you my soul thirsts for you my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there's no water He was a man who was thirsty for the lord and so he would pursue him and he followed after him But notice verse 5 they had said we shall we shall not find any charge against this daniel unless we find it Against him concerning the law of his god The only way they could attack him was over his life and service to to the lord now These men were undoubtedly much younger than him They wanted advancement, but daniel blocked their desire for career advancement So There's a problem with him and I guess this is a problem we we see even in our day Sometimes people are blocked for a similar reason. They say this guy's too religious And daniel was just too religious You see the problem was this old warrior was too good to to find fault with So what can they do to eliminate him? I know what we can do. Let's use the law Let's use the law to get to him And so what they did is they created a conflict between secular law And the fact that daniel kept god's law They created a conflict between what the law of the land said And what god had told daniel We have that today too, don't we? Indeed we do daniel was making choices and you'll see that choice. We're all familiar with it already And his choice was to honor the lord and so what do they do? verse 6 Well these governors and satraps thronged before the king and said thus to him king dairies live forever All the governors of the kingdom all the administrators and satraps the counselors and advisors Have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree that Whoever petitions any god or man for 30 days except you O king shall be cast into the den of lions now O king established the decree signed the writing So that it cannot be changed According to the law of the Medes and persians, which does not alter Well, therefore king dairies signed the written decree And so there was their plan Now there they are this these group of people this good-sized group of people They're presenting their plan to the king It it appears that their request was that They could not pray to a god but only bring their request to him And he would then be regarded as a mediator to their god In that only he could pray for that month And so this was intended to to give him a sense that he was being honored It was intended to flatter him Because it was a way of recognizing him as having divine powers History reveals I was looking this up today that persian kings often make claims of deity And so this was acceptable to him But they are flattering him remember proverbs 29 verse 5 a man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet Remember that because sometimes people want to get something from you And they flatter you in order to make you think That they really think these things that they're saying when in fact They're simply buttering you up. We used to call it buttering you up In order for them to get something they want from you, and that's what they're doing Well, he signed notice in verse 9. He signed the written decree verse 10 now When daniel knew that the writing was signed He went home And in his upper room with his windows open toward jerusalem He knelt down on his knees three times that day And prayed and gave thanks before his god as was his custom Since early days Then these men assembled and found daniel praying and making supplications Before his god They got him He fell into their trap they think So daniel knew that the law had been written He knew that the law had become effective And he knew that it was law And even though he knew that it was the law He determined to serve god And this is where we find the secret of his faith He was disciplined in the word of god He was disciplined in prayer And by being disciplined in god's word and in prayer He revealed his dependence on god You see from his youth he had been accustomed to praying three times a day The psalmist in psalm 55 verses 16 and 17 Said this he said as for me i will call upon god and the lord shall save me evening and morning and at noon I will pray cry all out and he shall hear my voice So the habit was to pray three times a day. He'd been doing it since he was young And so he understood he understood what it was about to take place He knew that he was going to be caught notice with me in verse 10 How it says that he he went home and in his upper room With his windows open toward Jerusalem what he did wasn't in secret what he did was very open If you want to see me here, I am So the windows were open and people could see what he was doing And he understood what was going to happen But even though he knew what was going to happen He still prayed No matter what the penalty nothing was going to replace his devotion to god And it would seem that he must have known Jeremiah's words of promise in Jeremiah 29 verses 11 through 13 Jeremiah wrote I god was speaking I know the thoughts that I think toward you say at the lord thoughts of peace and not of evil To give you a future and a hope Then you will call upon me And go and pray to me and I will listen to you You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart And that's what he's doing He was seeking and he knew he would be finding the lord So again, what gave him the ability to put his life on the line like this and the answer is a simple one the lifetime of seeking god Remember with me that spiritual maturity is not instantaneous It doesn't come easily and automatically spiritual maturity develops over a lifetime And the habits that you form as a youth Are the habits you will keep through your the rest of your life and in his Life he had the habit of of making sure To be praying and he did so three times a day knowing that he was now going to be watched and knowing that this would cost him his life spiritual maturity does not come Automatically spiritual maturity comes by taking what god has said put it into practice And learning the deeper things of the lord People want to know the deep things of god and the way the deep things of god are normally discovered Is by simply obeying the simple things of the lord when you do the basic things you actually develop an understanding Of the deeper things to know the will of god and to do it is what god has called us to do And as you do the will of the lord You begin to incrementally understand some of the deeper things that come through simple obedience and a lot of people don't seem to understand that It's like people want to go to We'll say a jujitsu school And they want to walk in in the first day and come out the next day with a black belt It just doesn't work that way does it it takes a lifetime to perfect a skill like that And yet we think that or people can think that well automatically i've been a christian for a long time Therefore i must be wise and but but but daniel gives us an example He was a man who was known for his discipline a man who was disciplined over a long haul He had pursued god over a lifetime and at the age of 90 He was doing the things at 90 that he had done when he was a young man And all of those years of accumulating experience with god and moving according to the ways of the lord Had made him a very strong warrior and even if he was a weak man. He was very powerful in god And that's what happens Even though he was aged he was powerful He was powerful because this god is powerful and when they said you cannot do this He said watch me He opened up the window Watch me now notice with me that he wasn't out there thumb in his nose if people as they walk by You know say look what i'm doing You know i'm brave you're not he wasn't doing that He was simply doing what believers do He was practicing his faith And uh, you're not going to grow spiritually mature overnight It's going to take a lifetime And then when you finally begin to realize That you've grown It's it's almost going to be like You'll be surprised by it You know i for the longest time i can speak on a personal level for just a moment about this for the longest time When i would read the scriptures the scriptures speak about being children little children young men and fathers First john two speaks of that little children and young men and fathers and and he speaks concerning three stages of spiritual maturity I have to tell you you know i i know what it's like to be a little child in faith because when i got saved that's what you're called and then you become The uh the young men the young men are are are are men who actually put their faith In action and they're like they're the warrior class of of the spiritual life the young men in that particular portion of scripture And the elders it just says to them and new fathers have known him who is from the beginning And and when you read about the younger men and you read about the little children They they have you know several words that describe them But when you look at the the fathers you have known him who's from the beginning Then he repeats that he says and you fathers have known him from the beginning and i didn't understand that as a younger man But as i grew older I began to realize That there is a a certain reality of aging in christ of following him Uh for a long time moving in the same direction And that was daniel it didn't come automatically it doesn't come automatically It's part of an every day kind of thing where you get up You seek the lord and you do the things of the lord every day Do you want to grow do you want to be mature? Do you want to be somebody that people respect that will look at and say this person has integrity? This is somebody i can trust That's how it happens and that's how it happened with daniel This was his custom since early days You see daniel yielded to someone greater than the government Daniel yielded to god Isaiah 46 verse 4 says even in your old age i will be the same I will bear you up when you turn gray I have made you and i will carry you i will sustain you and deliver you I will hold you up when you turn gray I used to have people approach me saying how come your hair is dark and your beard is white? Do you dye your hair? Anyway, so Yeah The answer to that is no I where I get my haircut the barber i've known the barber for 30 38 years And he's very dear to me And uh, and he told me that he said you know one of the people here Go to the church go to your church. I said really and he goes. Yeah He goes and she saw you and she came up to me and she said I just got to ask you does pastor david dye his hair And he says no, you know only my hairdresser knows for sure and And he says no he doesn't and for a long time, you know, I looked at Those phrases the gray hair. I don't have gray hair on my beard. It is white and it's been white for a long time Um, but I know the symbol of it symbolism of it and that's it's it's uh gray hair is an honor Especially when it is it comes through pursuing the lord over a lifetime And it's just a symbol of that and and so this person here is speaking in isai are you speaking now god is saying that I'll carry you but what he has done daniel has done is he he put his trust in the lord And he knew in this circumstance Who the one he was to obey it reminds me again of acts chapter 5 29 Where it says peter and the other apostles answered and said we ought to obey god rather than men So god was being honored And daniel determined That no matter what the cost is He's going to honor god Let me tell you a quick story. It's a history. It's a historical story. It's true It's about a man named telemakas Telemakas was a christian. I'll read it to you was a christian who had been stoned to death in rome When he tried to stop a contest between gladiators in the arena He entered the stadium while the games were in progress and Going down into the arena attempted to separate the combatants Crying out in the name of christ stop The spectators were infuriated and they stoned To death this messenger of peace He saw see he was a he was a um Amonk and he had gone to rome And telemakas had never been to this great city And he went to an arena while he was there and never seen the gladiators He was a very innocent man and he had lived in isolation just worshiping god Learning the things of the lord and the ways of god and the love of god and But he had felt a sense that he would go to rome and and so he did and when he went to rome He saw them going into the arena some some uh historians believe that the arena they went to was the coliseum This was around 404 bc a rather ad 404 the year 404 And and he went in and when he went in he saw the gladiators and and I was reading today one account of telemakas How that he saw what was going on and and and it was so startling to his tender soul He he couldn't handle it to see what they were doing And so he jumped into the arena is what he did And he tried to separate the combatants He tried to stop i mean say stop in the name of jesus stop in the name of god stop Well at first They thought the the people who were watching thought this was an act They thought it was like a clown like a rodeo cowboy clown that they have in the in the rodeo They thought it was just entertainment So they were laughing when historians said but then they realized that no he wasn't he was he wasn't a part of the act What he was was really sincerely trying to shut this down And they got mad and the spectators got angry because They wanted to see combat because combat was to the death And so they began to boo and to yell and stones came one account says that one of the soldiers One of the gladiators began to swing his sword at him others another account is that they they took a spear And and thrust him with it And then this other one is that they threw stones But at any In any case what happened Is he fell to the ground in his last breath In his last breath he's he said in the name of christ For the love of god stop and he died History records That people Sat in silence And then it began to hit them what had happened This gentle monk all he wanted Was for this bloodshed this stop And one by one people began to stand up and leave the arena Until there was just this little body of this little young monk laying on the dirt dead and the emperor honorius decreed Never again shall we have gladiatorial contests. That's how The gladiators stopped fighting In arenas in rome because of one christian who said For the love of god stop See there's a lot of power In righteousness there really is When you when you say i'm not going to be part of that That isn't going to be the way i live I'm not going to make a judgment on you for the way you live, but that's not the way i'm going to live Because as a believer I'm not going to applaud the things That that lead to To death I'm not going to applaud those things This young this young he was a young young monk. He he knew nothing of this he he lived in a different place and he went to rome and he saw it firsthand and and and that The wrong of it really really hit him, you know, there are christians today Many today who are not startled by the evil They can sleep right next to it. They can pay money to go watch it They're not startled by the evil at all They participate in it They don't think anything of it. It's because the world has gotten into hearts deeply sometimes To the point there's no conviction And what i see today if you don't mind i'll speak in this way for a moment with you I saw my heart of mine as well say it I think that the church Is at the point right now where we read the church not just This place that we meet The church in america, maybe even the world We got to wake up to the days we're living in We we we really do A lot of christians Will not take a word of correction They don't when when When you read the word to them, they'll even fight with the bible itself And and what they'll do and I why do I say this because this happens all the time It's because oh that's your opinion That's your opinion Well, I heard somebody else say this in a different way. That's the way we get out of conviction is we kind of just Move when I was a little boy My dad only spanked me a couple times He says the reason I didn't spank you is I just didn't want to kill you, you know But he only spanked me a couple times Because I was very hard to spank I my dad I still remember he took me by the hand one time and he's going to paddle me And I kept jumping towards him every time he put his hand down. I jumped at him So he couldn't hit me So I just kept moving every time he'd put his hand back. I just jumped And he hits true and my dad eventually started laughing He couldn't stop and he said go to your room. Just go to your room. That was my dad you know, so I knew how to jump out of the way Of chastisement I knew how to get out from underneath it Just dodge it And so when I got saved it was easy for me to make excuses as to why it's okay for me to do this because That was a pattern of my life And I finally had to learn to do something. I had to learn to be still Because when the spirit of god operates You need to be still. How do I know that? Because I was 14 once and I had bad appendix And I went to the hospital And the doctor performed surgery And I was on the On the little gurney of the bed, whatever it's called And I still remember he they had given me this A spinal and they also gave to me some some Some gas that put you to sleep And they had said count from a hundred Down to one and I had gotten to about 90 and I was out but then I remembered distinctly waking up When the doctor said to the nurse scalpel Yeah, and I remember him taking it. I I I saw him They put the scalpel in his hand like this. He plunged it into me and I was out. I was I was out the second I saw him Cutting me up like a turkey and when he when he did Later as I grew older The spirit of god taught me something. Let me share it with you he said When the spirit is operating Stay still Because I would dodge out of the way of conviction like anybody else would I didn't like it. I didn't want it And so I would argue with it and fight it Over time I learned To be still so that I might know that he's god And the way that that happens is when conviction comes Instead of blaming because I was very good at blaming everybody Instead of blaming that person here of my mom there or my dad here or my brother there or whatever To finally saying It's my fault I did it. I was wrong God forgive me a sinner It's a big step in your life when you learn to do that It is it's a big step in your life when you learn to do that Because a lot of people in the church when they get convicted all they do is leave They go someplace else that will not make them uncomfortable They usually say things like I just didn't like or no you were convicted And because the conviction I don't want to hear that. Where's the love? They're so judgmental I didn't think that doctor was judgmental when he sliced out the thing that was going to kill me I thought that he was really acting the part of a savior Because if that thing burst which it did in his hand when he pulled out my appendix My mom said you know the appendix burst in his hand She said that could have poisoned your whole system Could have died But when he cut it out and removed it from me he saved my life even if it seemed cruel when he did it Even if it seems cruel because he sliced me open and removed a part of me He took that part out of me that was killing me and convictions that way And the Holy Spirit works in your life. He's removing something from you that hurts you And a lot of people say no, I want to keep this. This is my pet. I can keep it under control I only use it on the weekend when I'm out with my friends No, no this pet is going to kill you It's like that woman who caught that wild animal the raccoon She thought it was a great little thing great pet And then one day it's clodder from her eyes down to her throat Because it's a wild animal and they at a certain point they're not domesticated. They may look cute But they will slice you up and we try to make our sins into our pets But eventually what happens is the pet turns on you That's what happens. You thought you could turn that guy around, didn't you? You thought that bad guy was you're going to make him a good guy, didn't you? And did he become a good guy? There's a lot of girls who's in this room Perhaps we could say no he didn't he was still a jerk when he left me Because you can't make him a good person. That is not your project That's the work of the Lord But sometimes we think God's punishing us because he knew how much I loved him When God said no, that's cancer. I removed it from you Because it was going to destroy you And there you are crying yourself to sleep at night for somebody who doesn't even think of you anymore And that's what happens. Am I lying to you? No, I'm not So if you're going to grow in the things of the Lord you have to do the difficult thing And it requires discipline hold fast And do the right thing and daniel was doing the right thing You see what happened here Is under persian law once it had been enacted it couldn't be changed In the book of ester in chapter 1 verse 19 That first says the laws of persia and media cannot be repealed In the book of ester chapter 8 verse 8 It says whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring Cannot be revoked And so This is not going to be changed. It cannot be changed And so daniel was praying he was caught while he was doing it first 12 And they went before the king and spoke concerning the king's decree Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within 30 days accept you Oh king shall be cast into the den of lions and the king answered and said the thing is true According to the law of the meads and persians, which does not alter So they answered and said before the king that daniel Who is one of the captives from juda does not show due regard for you Oh king or for the decree that you have signed but makes his petition three times a day Oh king daniel is flaunting the law. He's rejecting not only the law, but he's rejecting you What kind of man is this that you are trusting who so easily disrespects your authority? Well, derrius could do nothing because persian law Was binding. I want you to know that derrius wasn't angry Like nebuchadnezzar had been towards daniel's three friends Instead he got angry at himself Even tried to find a loophole to set daniel free But the effort was fruitless daniel's enemies would not relent And so verse 16 tells us the king gave the command and they brought daniel and cast him into the den of lions But the king spoke saying to daniel your god whom you serve continually. He will deliver you I can't alter the order So I have to fulfill the law's demand But he says your god will deliver you when he says your god will deliver you when commentator said that can be translated Your god must save you In other words, I've tried I tried I tried to save you. I failed It's up to your god now Only he can save you In psalm 68 verse 20 it says god is a god of deliverances and and to god the lord belongs escapes from death So he's saying to him you serve him continually. Surely he'll deliver you Undoubtedly he'd heard of how how god had delivered daniel's three friends and surely the god who saved them would save daniel And so he he says your god whom you serve continue. He'll deliver you verse 17 A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den and the king sealed it with his own signet ring With the signets of his lord's that the purpose concerning daniel might not Be changed The lion's den one when commentator described it in this way. He said it was a large square cavern under the earth It had a partition wall in the middle of it It was furnished with a door which the keeper could open and close from above By throwing in food they would entice the lion from one chamber into the other And then having shut the door They would enter the vacant space for the purpose of cleaning it The cavern is open above Its mouth being surrounded by a wall of a yard and a half high Over which a person could look down into the den And so that was the den he was in in verse 18 Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No musicians were brought before him His sleep went from him He was very upset. He stayed awake all night He didn't have the usual diversions. The king would have he didn't have a banquet. He didn't have music to entertain him He just went to bed and he couldn't sleep verse 19 The king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions And when he came to the den he cried out with a lamenting voice a mournful or a grieving voice to daniel The king spoke saying to daniel daniel Servant of the living god has your god whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions This man is extremely upset. He's grieving. He's mourning He believes this gentle man is dead And so he's crying out with this lamenting voice and then daniel verse verse uh verse 21 daniel said to the king Oh king live forever Imagine that i mean that would anyway My god sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth so that they haven't hurt me because i was found innocent before him and also Oh king i have done no wrong before you So what he does is he calmly speaks out of this darkness because he's looking down is early in the morning He can't see the king can't see And he says he says my god sent his angel The same one who delivered my friends delivered me In psalm 34 verse 7 the angel of the lord encamps around those who fear him and he delivers them god protected daniel And daniel gave god the glory In psalm 91 verse 14 and 15 because he has set his love upon me Therefore i will deliver him i will set him on high because he has known my name He shall call upon me and i will answer him I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him And so god delivered him and daniel has given all praise to god and it says because in verse 23 because he believed in his god And so what happens well The king gives the command and they brought those men who had accused daniel and they cast them into the den of lions them Their children their wives the lions overpowered them Broke all their bones and pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den Huh When last thought i didn't bring up he believed his god In front of the unbelievers daniel gave praise to god And was a witness in hebrus chapter 11 verses 32 and 33 what shall i what more shall i say I do not have time to tell about gideon and barak samson and jephtha about david and samuel the prophets Who through faith conquered kingdoms administered justice and gained what was promised who shut the mouths of lions daniel was A man of no compromise Even in the face of death He wouldn't hide his faith In matthew 10 32 and 33 whoever acknowledges me before others i will acknowledge before my father in heaven Whoever disowns me before others i will disown him before my father in heaven I really believe once again that That we the church need to be more upfront with what we say we believe I think that the uh closet christian the era of closet christianity has got to end It's got to end one of the elements that i was taught and trained in and believe and still preach and teach because it's true was that Declaring who the lord is is the obligation responsibility and privilege of the church We have that responsibility god has entrusted us with his message and commanded us to give it to others We all have friends. We all have family who don't know the lord all of us do i do we all do How are they going to be saved without a preacher? How are they going to be saved if we don't tell them? How are they going to know god? How are they going to know god? If we don't say god give me wisdom give me an ability give me strength But god i want to be faithful to you I had a boss I had a boss that Was it was really not a good guy? He was a bully And he bullied he he bullied me Verbally Tried to demean me And was very successful at it, but i began to pray for him And i said you know lord helped me To be a witness and one day i walked into his office And uh his son was with him and We were talking and he knew that i had served in the military we began to speak a bit And he said something to me about my faith I was going to biola at that time christian college in lamarado And he kind of mocked my faith because He thought he could he was like i said he was a bit of a bully And i said to him I said how is your life by the way? How is your life? I live a good life. I said you live a good life Yeah, I said let me tell you something. I said you say you live a good life Is that probably because your wife has been faithful to you, right? Yeah You got the sun right here. It's a good kid, right right because you've got a business and it's keeping you a float right Making some good money in your business, right? Yeah, what are you gonna do if your wife goes out on you? What are you gonna do if your son turns out to be a little bit of hoodlum? And what are you gonna do if your business goes down? Then what are you gonna have? Are you gonna have the joy and all that you say do you have right now? Are you gonna have that then can you have that then you won't have that then? You won't have that then because you don't have the lord And then you have the lord You can have joy what you have right now is not joy It's satisfaction at your current circumstances and you've got to be willing to say things to people Even if they don't like it. Why do you think god put me here as a pastor in a church? Can you tell the truth? Because it's truth that sets you free And that's what you want, right? And that's why I told my dad and that's why I told my mom and that's why I told my sisters That's why I told my brother. That's why I told the girl who became my wife That's why I told them because they needed to know jesus christ They needed to be saved and the church needs to wake up right now Because electing a new governor or electing a new president isn't going to make this a righteous nation What makes this nation righteous is the gospel of jesus christ And that's why we've got to remain faithful to preach the gospel. That's why that's what transforms lives And this man daniel was willing to put his his his faith on the line for the things that he believed We need to understand that There are those right now Who are putting their faith on the line? I have received a message from a friend We have 22 underground pastors in afghanistan only two have been able to escape The taliban overran the country so quickly now they're trapped Most do not expect to survive. We're trying to find a way to rescue them. It looks impossible Another wrote that taliban is going door to door And they do not believe that they're going to survive the next couple of days And it's been reported that over 200 some 229 christian missionaries are scheduled to be executed They are putting their faith on the line Right now Our brothers and sisters our brothers and sisters in the lord Who are daring to be daniels Who are daring to be daniels And we have people today get so upset because I had a guy leave our church many years ago You know why because I changed this the church times He said i'm old-time mexican. I eat menudo at 9 30 and now you're starting the church at 9 30 can't come I said, I hope you choke on your menudo Something as simple as that Something as simple as that So I better close verse 24 to the end Actually Verse 24 he gave the command that just shows you the kind of man. This is they were all destroyed the whole It was those who had lodged the That they were the chief conspirators and their families not all the 120 and their wives But it was the chief conspirators who were thrown into the Into the fate that they had planned for for daniel then verse 25 king derrius wrote To all people's nations and languages that dwell in all the earth peace be multiplied to you I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the god of daniel For he is the living god instead fast forever His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed and his dominion shall endure to the end He delivers and rescues and he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth whom has who has delivered daniel from the power of the lions So he celebrated daniel And he said the god of daniel is great And therefore he's saying daniel in essence is not to be mocked nor is his Faith and it's interesting how he puts it in verse 26 when he says I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom Men must tremble and fear before the god of daniel It's not that they were going to have a national Transformation of all of them becoming followers of the god of israel But it was a respect that he was calling them to show to this man because daniel's god is the true god He's making that clear. He is the living god who was able to deliver him in a god like that. You must respect And then finally it says daniel verse 28 prospered in the reign of derrius and in the reign of syris the persian in other words daniel through his Faithfulness to god was given further opportunity to serve And as he continued to serve he had further opportunity to bless the people of god We'll close there And father we just would ask We would just ask that you would continue To work in our lives And father we would lift up to you those i just mentioned those missionaries those christians that one city That was the largest christian community that is That is under such a non slot even now lord i lift all of them to you and and and The psalmist said rescue me old lord from evil men protect me from men of violence who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long I pray that your protection would be upon them lord And i asked lord for your mercy I asked for your mercy I lift up this nation. I pray for this our fellowship. I pray for those who are watching online right now father that we would take The faith of christ seriously that we would live for jesus being aware of the fact that we've been living in In very confusing times They're becoming more and more cleared As each day goes by There is there is a war against you But lord We are with you And you Are for us Work in our hearts lord Even as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed. There may be some right now in this room Who who need to get right with god and i want to pray for you If you need to get right with the lord you can do so online also as you're watching but in this room If you need to get right with the lord Right now would you raise your hand? Let me pray for you right where you're at father You see these hands. You know the reason they're being raised to you I ask in jesus name that you would reach down and touch each each person whose hand is raised and father cleanse Wash them by the blood of christ fill them with your presence and your spirit And lord i ask that you would use them for your glory May they be living testimonies of your goodness from this moment on And lord we receive as we confess our our failures to you we receive your forgiveness Thank you for reconciling us with yourself And we will follow you and we thank you bless you You can put your hands down and jesus please keep moving in us To your glory in your name. Amen