The title of this morning's message is just Daniel 6, but
actually I want to add this title and the title is this.
It's not about the lions. It's not about the lions.
How many of you have AI? Remember I had a Sunday school
book, Daniel, and used to be the little kid in the lions.
Then it's pity let in the right fact back in those days, because
Daniel was an old, old geezer at that time.
That's Hebrew for an old fellow. It's not about the lions.
Is it possible? That's why we're in Daniel, to
live the victorious Christian life in a fallen, sinful world
with corrupt politicians. In our study in Daniel, we've
seen how it is indeed possible as we've followed the lives of
Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle and Azariah who had taken captive in
their teens, enslaved, marched 4 months from Jerusalem, leaving
their families, heading to Babylon.
There they are, emasculated, forced to live and a land from
Jerusalem, far from, never to far from their religious
upbringing, never to see their families ever again in an empire
known as Babylon. Babylon for us is the world.
We're believers. We're we're we're foreigners in
this land. The Bible says in the book of
Hebrews that we're strangers, we're pilgrims.
We're looking like Abraham for a city whose foundations are not
built by man, but built by God. So you and I, we're, we're,
we're, we're captives at this moment.
We're in the slavery in this land called Babylon.
And we have wicked kings ruling over us at this moment.
But God is with us. And God has LED us into this
study for a reason. And that is to exhort us, to
push us, to encourage us to follow these who have gone
before us, like Daniel, to follow their example, to learn
from their ways, their righteous living, and to gather strength
and courage to emulate them. For too long, and I used to see
it when I was a boy going to church, Christians in Australia
and the church itself has reflected weakness, cowardice, a
lack of any godly power, any anything powerful coming out of
the church, done by the church. And in these last days, God
calls us to change that paradigm to live like Daniel.
In chapter 6 today, we'll witness a much older Daniel.
Age did not change the power of God moving through Daniel.
If you're elderly and I'm getting there, well, some of you
said you've reached it. It doesn't change the power that
God wants to pump through you. As a matter of fact, you get a
little wiser when you get older and it's less of you and it's
more of him, far more of him. We'll witness a much older
Daniel now, and he's mid to late 80s, standing once again in the
strength and power of the God he has served and worshipped
faithfully all these years in a Pagan land.
As I said, it's not about the lions.
It's about Daniel. It's about Daniel's God.
And and it's about prayer. That's what Daniel 6 is about.
Now, many people pray in times of great stress, often on our
Wednesdays. You people turn up, we go, oh,
something's gone wrong. Yeah, sure enough, because we're
here, because this has happened. By the way, Leon has had his
surgery. He's in Hollywood, his surgery
went well. We continue to pray for young
Leon. Leon's a 16 year old young boy,
been through a great time. Let's just stop and pray now.
Lord, we pray for Leon, restore his health.
We look forward to him coming out of hospital.
We want to see him in church, in fellowship, praising and singing
to you. Bless him now in Jesus name,
Amen. Amen.
But many people only pray sadly in times of great stress, fear,
danger or uncertainty. Even those who do not believe in
God have prayed at such times. I've been with people on many
occasions in intensive care units, waiting rooms, in all the
major hospitals. Not once when I've been there
with those families, when someone is in the intensive care
unit and I've offered to pray, have they said no, no, don't
pray. For some, it's been their first
ever time to pray. It is instinctive.
Why is it? Did you notice God has created
us, We made in his image. It is this instinctive for us to
pray. In times of trouble we naturally
cry out. God help us, God help me.
You haven't learnt that it's there.
God placed that there. That's the the vacuum that you
have in your life, that when trouble comes, you cry out to he
who made you. God help me.
Only then do we realise our true helplessness at such times,
especially as I have literally heard the words as the
specialists have come out of the operating room and then into the
intensive care unit with the families.
And the specialists have said this many times and I've heard
the words. We've done all that we can.
We now just got to wait and see what happens, see whether he
makes it, she makes it through the night, what will happen
tomorrow. If you're a praying person, it's
time to pray. It's interesting.
You can be a brilliant neurologist, a brilliant
surgeon, yet it comes to the point where you have to wait and
say. I always was astounded when I
heard those words so often in Royal Perth and Sir Charlie
Gardner and, and I would hear the doctors and they're
brilliant. They've done the best they can.
They can't do anymore. They don't know what's going to
happen through the night or the next day.
It tells you that we need the Lord, don't we?
Jesus? Jesus Christ instructed those
who would follow him as Saviour and Lord.
He said pray at all times, both by His teaching and his example,
so powerful and so fervent and so direct with Jesus prayers
that once after he finished praying, his disciples said to
him, Lord, teach us to pray. Why?
They yearn to be in touch with God as they knew Jesus was.
They saw Jesus go away and then they saw something else.
When he came back, He'd been with the Father.
Have you ever said to God, Lord, teach me to pray?
Prayer should not be casual or sporadic, dictated only by our
needs of the moment. Prayer should be as much as part
of our lives as breathing. Whenever you're with someone, if
you do it today and someone unloads on you a problem or a
situation, a loved 1A difficult that they're having or a storm
that they're in, don't say these words.
I will pray for you instead, right there and then say let me
pray for you. I don't care whether it's in a
shopping centre, in a waiting room, Don't wait because you
won't. You'll forget when someone says
and unloads and you, this is a call to pray.
You say let's pray now. Pray right there and then.
Give it to the Lord. Give it to the Lord.
That's what prayer is to be. So Daniel is between 80 and 90.
The Kingdom of Babylon has been defeated by the Medes and the
Persians. They now rule.
It's the year 538 BC. Daniel has personally undergone
a massive upheaval, to say the least, with his masters.
His rule is changing from Babylonians now to the Medes and
the Persians. This is the second empire.
Remember the image of it? Nebuchadnezzar had the head of
gold. That was Babylon.
Now the chest and arms of silver.
This is the Medes and the Persians.
It's the second empire. It's inferior to the Babylonian.
Daniel has been some 60 years working in public office.
Note that we kind of read about Daniel thinking he's just a
prophet sitting in a room somewhere and God just gives him
visions. No, he, he worked.
He worked in the Babylonian Empire and now he's working,
still working. We'll find him working in the
Median Persian Empire. He's working.
He's a working man. Yet in this massive change from
1 empire to another, Daniel has remained 2 things.
Constant, persistent. Parents, mums, dads.
Here it is. The key to being a good godly
parent is for you both to be constant and persistent.
The same rules you have today this hour are the same rules you
would have tomorrow and the next day and the next day.
Constant and persistent don't change, don't break down, don't
weaken, don't don't be the parent that just says, oh, stop,
stop. No, don't stop, stop, stop,
don't, don't stop that. Say it once, once and then
follow up to be a good godly parent.
Constant, persistent. And that means husband and wife
being constant and persistent together on the same path.
Not see your mother, see what your mom says, See what dad
says? No, I know, Dad says, but I know
I'm upset. No, no, you, you go along
together. That's the first key.
Daniel was constant and persistent.
Daniel is still serving his earthly masters.
He's still working away and his precious God Israel.
The second key, first one, let's read it, please.
Darius to set over the Kingdom 120 SAT traps that can be
Princess governors, rulers, lieutenants to be over the whole
Kingdom. So there's 120 provinces they've
set up. So they set up all these little
like states you you could think of across the Medo Persian
Empire and they ruled over each one and over these and over
those 3 governors. So there was a tier, there was 3
then in charge over the rest of 120, of whom Daniel, the only
foreigner was one that the SAT traps might give account to
them. So corruption was back in the
Median Persian Empire. They set these three up to be
the auditors to be the ones that hey, what are you guys doing?
Because there's corruption in politics and graft.
That's what's behind what's going to give Daniel a hard time
so that the king notice would suffer no loss.
So the the the governors around the place weren't ripping him
off when doing side deals and bribes and things.
Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and
satraps. Why?
Because he wasn't involved in the corruption of all the other
politicians, of all the other leaders over the governors and,
and, and, and the states, the provinces.
Why? Because an excellent spirit was
in him and the king gave thought to setting him up over the whole
realm. Why?
He knew Daniel has ethics. He's incorruptible.
I know he's going to keep things in control and make sure things
aren't going wrong. So the garblers and satraps
sought to find some charge against him.
Why? Daniel's going to ruin their
business then he's going to take money off these guys who are
doing all the shifty things. But they could find no fault or
charge because he was faithful, nor was there any error or fault
found in 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.
So he is well known and he's a Jew, a follower of the God of
Israel. So these governors and satraps
thronged over the kings and said thus to him, King Darius, live
forever, be beware of compliments, flattery, oh, here
they come, all the governors. Now that's the first slide,
because it's not all the governors, because Daniel is one
of the governors. He's not part of this.
All the governors of the Kingdom, the administrators and
satraps, the councillors, advisors have consulted together
to establish a royal statute to make a firm decree that whoever
petitions any God or man for the next 30 days, except you are
king, should be put in the den of lions.
Now that's a funky thing to come up with, isn't it?
Now our king established the decree and signed the writing.
So that cannot be changed according to the law of the
Medes and Persians, which does not alter.
Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
Now under Babylon, the golden head, Nebuchadnezzar, he just
said I can, I can choose and change, I can do whatever I
like. The Mede and the Persian, the
less inferior 1 silver. Now, when they wrote something,
the head, the ruler couldn't go against what was written.
So there's a change in the way of government structure.
You and I have got to realise the enemy will never rest his
attack upon you. The only time we're going to
rest from being attacked is when we're in heaven.
The twin sins, envy and jealousy came hunting for Daniel.
It happens in workplaces, in your schools, in government
departments and places where you, you, you happen to be in
classrooms. Third key, everyone knew
everyone that Daniel was a solid, unchanging follower and
worshipper of the God of Israel. Everyone knew Daniel.
He's that guy. He's that religious guy.
We'll use that term. Do people know that about you?
You know, when they mention your name to someone, they go, yeah,
so and so. Yeah, He goes to church a lot.
Well, so and so he's one of those Bible believers.
What do people know about you? Do they know that you're a
follower of Christ? I hope so.
So they targeted something that they knew all about, that Daniel
was habitual and constant in what he prays and praise. 4th
key. You see, the profile of a godly
man revealed the most important verse about the life, the power,
the passion, the purpose of Daniel and why God used him
miraculously. Why did God use Daniel?
Why do we have a book called Daniel?
Why do we read about him? Why is he a great mentor?
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 a day and prayed and gave thanks before
his God. And here's the important line.
As was his custom since early days, from the moment Daniel is
a teenager arrived in Babylon, he lived this life.
Can people say that about you? I hope they can.
Can they say I know where you're going to be Sunday.
I know where you're going to be on Tuesday and they go what
you're going to be doing on Wednesday.
I know what you're going to be doing when you're home.
I know, I know if I come to your lunch table there, your lunch
table at work, there's going to be a Bible open.
You're going to be reading it. You're going to have this, you,
you. They just know you'll walk with
God from the time Daniel arrived in Babylon, as was his custom
since early days. The most important part of a
believers life is the part that only God sees.
In chapter 2 we find Daniel praying.
In chapter 6 we find Daniel praying.
In Chapter 9 when we get there, we will find Daniel praying and
so the attack is launched. The trapper said no one is
allowed to seek or to pray except to Darius for a period of
30 days. Why did Darius agree with this?
He, he he he liked Daniel gone well with him.
He respected him. It pandered to his flesh.
Look, King Darius, what we want is that no one is to pray to any
God or go to any higher form but you over the next 30 years.
Oh, wow. Yeah, let's go to.
I like that the Laura's written death to anyone who breaches it.
Now, the voice of reason, did it whisper in Daniel's ear?
Because it says Daniel knew about this and just went on.
The voice of compromise, you know, it's always whispering in
our ears. Satan is always going, hey, we
can work this out. He did it back in the book of
Genesis, didn't he? You won't.
Hey, let's talk. You won't die.
You're going to eat this. It's not.
Nothing's going to happen to you.
It just doesn't want you to come.
Come. It whispers in your ear.
What would you have done if you'd been in Daniel's shoes?
Take yourself back. You've got a really good job,
well paid. You're in your later years.
I mean, like you've been through a fair bit, haven't you?
You've served the Lord faithfully.
No one's going to know. Take a break.
You know, there's always a good friend who's not a Christian
that says, you know what, Probably need to take a break
from church. Never heard them whisper in your
ear there. You're going through a pretty
tough, you know, you need to just get away from.
That's the devil. He just says, yeah, let's just
come on. Just get some time away with
yourself. No get some time with God when
things happen like that. Get more into fellowship, more
into the word. So Daniel, did he go all covert?
Praying now? Lips aren't moving.
But Daniel was no and never a secret undercover believer.
There's too many of them. It's so secret we don't even
know. God doesn't know him either.
Daniel could have gone to his room, closed the door, shut the
windows, prayed silently to God. You asked why did Daniel have to
be so public, so visible in his faith?
Why not just pray silently? Because Daniel was a man of
faith. Daniel was not some superhero.
The problem with you and I, I remember as a kid, I'd read the
Bible and I think all the people in the Bible were super Saints.
You know, you read about Peter and John and I used to and I
watched, I was raised on all the Cecil B the Mill movies.
You know, when, when Peter walked into the room and the
fishermen remember the music would come.
Oh, the quiet scene. Oh, Peter's here, Peter.
And he talked in that sort of voice and I and I dragged it
into me when I was a first as a kid, you know, learning about
Christ. I thought that's what
Christianity is. Then I began to read the Bible,
actually all the way through. And the Bible is full of
ordinary Peter people. And Peter was pretty ordinary.
He's not some superhero. There are no superheroes in the
Bible. There is one God, Jesus Christ,
and then the rest are all sinful men and women like you and I.
You see, Daniel was an ordinary man.
He's just an ordinary Hebrew kid now.
He's an ordinary Hebrew old man, just like you and I are.
Right this moment. Daniel is just like you and I.
He lived every day, however, to glorify God.
That's the difference. God honoured this and God did
the rest. That's why we read about Daniel.
That's why God used Daniel, because Daniel was always there
to be used. God uses ordinary people to do
extraordinary things. God is speaking to you today,
ordinary Australians, ordinary people in a church, in secret
harbour at the end of the world. When you travel anywhere else in
the in the land secret harbour where we're as far away as from
everything as you can get and God says I want to use you to
touch the world to reach the World.
James chapter 5 verse 17. Elijah was a man with a nature
just like ours. In other words, he was just
ordinary Joe like you and I and he prayed earnestly that it
would not rain and it did not rain on the land for three years
and six months. Why did Daniel pray in this
manner? Windows open.
For 60 years, Daniel's window had been open.
It faced Jerusalem. It was open for prayer.
It was never shut. How do we know this?
Because Daniel was a man of the Bible.
He had the book of Jeremiah in his hands and he knew the
writings of Solomon. Daniel was obeying God's
instructions. Daniel was a man of the Word of
God as a well as a man of prayer.
The 2GO hand in hand at the dedication of King Solomon's
temple in one Kings chapter 8, Solomon anticipated a day when
God's people might be taking captain in captive to another
land. It's written also again, raised
again the same issue in Second Chronicles chapter 6, and it
says in verse 37 there in the land where they are carried
captive, and turn and pray unto you in the land of their
captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done a miss and
have dealt wickedly. And you pray toward their land,
which you gave unto their fathers, and toward the city
Jerusalem, which you have chosen, toward the house which I
built for their name, the temple.
Then hear you from the heavens, even from your dwelling.
Place their prayer, their supplications.
Maintain their cause. Forgive your people which have
sinned against you. You hear some of you here today
are in a present trial. We're either just coming out of
a trial, or we're in a trial or about to go into a trial.
That's how it works. Some of you are in a trial at
the moment. You're facing 1.
Today I want to ask you a question.
Do you believe that all the Almighty God loves you?
The answer must be yes. Do you believe that He is with
you and that He is watching over you?
The answer must be yes. In Hebrews Chapter 11 verse one
it says now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence tangible of things not seen.
God lives outside, beyond the visual of where we see things
happening, and it is from there, that vantage point that He rules
the world, the universe today. Is there anything that you are
not truly trusting God for? Ask yourself, you can answer
that with this. Is there anything that you are
constantly worrying about? Because worry is like sitting in
a rocking chair. It gives you something to do,
but you don't go anywhere. Worry.
When I start to worry God's, he kind of tasked me on the
shoulder and says, oh, you're worrying.
Eh, that'll do a lot of good. That means that you don't trust
that I can fix this. You don't trust in me to get you
through this, that you don't trust in me, then I can get you
out of this. That's what worry is.
And I have to go to God constantly and say, Lord,
forgive me for the sin of worry. Let God fight your battles.
Let him quieten the howling winds, calm the raging waves.
Disciples, professional fishermen, most of them in
storm. They're rowing waters, filling
Jesus in the back of the boat, sound asleep.
Don't you care that we're going to sink?
Oh yeah. Of little faith.
Be muzzled. Wind stops, the waves calm, and
they arrive on the other side of the Galilee.
The same God, the same Jesus, still has the same power to calm
the storms, to calm the winds, to calm the raging waves that
are beating over your life today.
It's the same God. He's in the same boat with you.
Do you know he still does this? You are not alone.
So for 60 years, Daniel Daly had prayed, facing Jerusalem
habitually. Daniel was not now going to cut
himself off from the source of God's power and protection
because they've just written the law that's saying this is hate
speech. There's a politician in England
who has put forward that certain parts of the Bible should be and
should be declared hate speech to be banned.
It's common. For Daniel, there was no
cunning. Oh, how are we going to get
around this? What are we going to do?
Let's get a whiteboard. Let's work out how I can still
pray we can do this because this has happened.
And what are we going to do? Let's brainstorm.
There was no cleverness. Daniel went home.
He just prayed. No cleverness.
His weapon must be a spiritual one, Dionne Mooney said.
Real, true faith is man's weakness, leaning on God's
strength. Real true faith is man's
weakness. Leaning on God's strength is the
fifth key. Daniel dropped to his knees.
Your most powerful position in your family in your life is on
your knees. It's the most powerful position.
From that position, God enters the frame.
You are now surrendering. We sang about that, and now
you've turned it over to God. You're on your knees.
It's a time of submission, a time of surrender, and now it's
going to be a time of power that follows.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Luke reminds us that even our
Lord knelt down and prayed. And what does Daniel also do?
He gives thanks. What's the deal here?
How could he, knowing he was about to die?
This was all set up to kill Daniel.
Answer. Daniel had been thanking God
three times daily since it arrived in Babylon.
You give God thanks every day, even when things aren't going
good. Philippians 46 Paul writes be
anxious or nothing. That means don't worry, but in
everything that's when by prayer, that's how and
supplication and he adds with Thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto God. This 7 follows and the peace of
God which passes all understanding shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
That's the outcome. So the 6th key, courage and
gratitude, courage and Thanksgiving go hand in hand of
the godly man or godly woman, boy or girl.
Praise in the heart of a godly man or woman is never absent.
What did we read in in Psalm 47 today We were we read over and
over where what sing praise didn't say only if it's good,
only if you're feeling well, only if everything's you know
you got money in the bank. Only then verse 11.
Then these men assembled have found Daniel praying.
Where were they outside books down tape recording.
CC is praying now, Agent 4. He's trying out.
You're recording? Yeah.
Telling him to pray a little longer.
Got him. Got a Charlie.
Then these men assembled a fan Daniel praying and making
supplication before his God. And they went before the king
and spoke concerning the King's decree.
Notice they know the King's friendly with Daniel.
Have you not signed a decree that every man has petitions?
Any God or man within 30 days except your king shall be cast
in the den of lions. The king answers said The thing
is true according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which
doesn't hold her. So the answer said before the
king that Daniel who is one of the captives, he's a Jew from
Judah, doesn't show due regard to you or king for the decree
that you signed, but makes his petition 3 times a day.
So how many times did they gather outside his window?
Three times a day. And the king, when he heard
these words, was greatly displeased with himself.
He knew he'd been a sucker, said he's hard on Daniel to deliver
him. And he lied until the going down
of the sun to deliver him. So the King's trying to OK, how
can I, how can I get Daniel out of this fix?
What can I do? What are the rules?
You see, it's not, it's not.
Man's going to sort it out. Then these men approached the
king and said to the king, no old king, that it is the law of
the Medes and Persians, that no decree of statute which the king
establishes may be changed. So the king gave the command and
they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions.
Now he's 8588 years old now. I fell off a step ladder a while
back, just about broke my back. I did parts of it.
Now I'm not that. I'm getting there.
I look like it. I feel like it's some mornings,
but I want you to think for this for a moment because we, we, we
Passover this. But the king spoke to Daniel,
saying to Daniel, you'll God whom you serve continually, who
you serve continually, he'll deliver you.
Then a stone was brought, laid on the mouth of the den, and the
king sealed it with his own signet ring and the signets of
his Lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be
changed. So it's a, it's a big pit.
Think of a pit and it has a wall and they can pull the wall up,
they can drop a wall down. They put the wall down to get
the lines all on one side and they feed them and they pull the
wall, the wall up, and the lines can go all over the place.
So they pulled the wall up. Daniel, this old guy is cast.
Now the lions then, as I said, was not a cage.
It was a pit. The word used and translated
cast is the word thrown. Now, I don't know about you, but
Daniel, he's an old fella and he's got a land at the bottom of
this pit. Heavy.
So now picture this octogenarian prophet being hurled into this
pit. Daniel literally hits rock
bottom. A stone is placed over the pit,
so it's now pitch black. There's no light.
It's sealed. Daniel's laying on the ground
and suddenly in the blackness, the wisp touch of a tail, he
hears the pattern footsteps, then there's a a gentle bump.
Lions. Darius has hoped for the best,
but feared the worst. You know, we're told that one of
the keys of Abraham's faith was that he believed that what God
had promised, he was able to perform.
Paul says Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.
Why? What was strong about Abraham?
God said to Abraham, Abraham, you're an old fella.
You're past due date. You know, you and your wife,
Sarah, she's old too. You're going to have a son.
Daniel didn't. Abraham didn't go.
It's it's it's not possible Now I I know it's, it's a grand
thought, but God, it's Sarah. We're in separate rooms to start
with. She snores.
What you're saying it's not possible?
No, that's what I love about Abraham in Romans 4 says Abraham
is the father of our faith. He's staggered.
Not when God's Word speaks to you.
God doesn't want you to stagger. He wants you to be like Abraham
and like Daniel, who got He can do this.
I believe he can do this. There's got to be a change in
how you and I live so that we can live like Daniel.
We can be like Abraham, who are ordinary men and women.
Do you believe this morning that God is able to do what he said
he would do? Then what is your problem?
Why are you worried? Sadly, many times we're like
King Darius in the way that we may encourage others.
We do that, don't we? We say, look, God will sort it
out. God will do the right thing.
But we're not quite sure. That's why Darius stayed up all
night. He didn't sleep.
And in the morning Darius would ask, verse 20, is your God able
to deliver you? He's expecting no sound.
I mean, an old guy's been thrown in and they would keep these
lines and only feed them just enough to keep them alive so
that when people were thrown in there, they'd be ripped the
shreds. Is God Abel?
Three young Hebrew men in the fire were asked that question
before they were cast into the furnace.
Is God Abel? And they said he's Abel, whether
he wants to or not, that's up to him.
But either way he's going to deliver us.
He's able. Either way he's going to deliver
us. We will not bow down.
Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus.
Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above
all that we ask or even think, because you see, you and I are
reasoning people, we look at facts and we look at things or
this doesn't work. That doesn't work.
That's not how you live the Christian life.
You and I live by faith. We live and believe and worship
a God who's outside, lives outside the realms of the laws
of physics. He can make the sun stand still,
He can make a a sea part and a whole nation can walk across
with dry feet. He going to have a young kid
take down a giant. He can solve your situation.
He going to help you through your problem because he's able.
He is able. God's ability goes beyond your
ability to ask or think. God said to Jeremiah, Behold, I
am Jehovah, the God of all flesh.
Is there anything too hard for me?
The wonderful grace of God is greater than all my sin, Paul
said to Timothy. I know the one in whom I
believe, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which
I've committed until that day. I have committed the keeping of
my life to the God of Daniel, and I know He is able to keep
me. I am weak, but He keeps me.
I may stumble, but He keeps me from falling.
I may fail, but He never fails. You see, this is the God, this
is the relationship He wants you to have with Him today.
Verse 17, stone was brought, laid on the mouth of the den,
and the king sealed it with his own signet.
And we read that verse 18 king went to the palace and never
slept. Then verse 20, Daniel, the king
gets up before dawn. Are you the servant of the
living God, as your God been able to deliver you, the one
whom you serve continually? That Daniel said to the king,
yeah, I'm alive, no thanks to you.
Our minister shouldn't have been put here in the 1st place.
Didn't say that. You see, this is where
Christianity really needs to change the way you and I
correspond with unbelievers, gentlers of love as a dove, wise
as serpents. He said, O King, live forever.
Wow, my God sent his Angel and shut the lion's mouths, so they
have not hurt me because I was found innocent before him.
And also, O King, I've done no wrong before you.
I've not done nothing wrong to you.
So the king was exceedingly glad for him and commander, that they
should take Daniel up out of the den and lift him out.
Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was
found on him. Why, it says notice in your
Bible? Because he believed in his God.
The voice of one who knows God through prayer and who lives by
faith speaks. Oh my, God sent an Angel.
Can you imagine? The lions were just there and
they couldn't open their mouths. I must just lay down here.
Psalm 9111 For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep
you in all your ways. Hebrews 114.
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister
for them, who shall be heirs of salvation?
Psalm 34 Seven. The Angel of the Lord encamps
around about them that fear him, and delivers them.
Daniel is lifted victoriously out of the pit.
Hebrews, 1133. The writer of Hebrews writes
about this. Those who through faith subdued
kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions. The great essential in the
profile of one whom God uses is that they are people of faith
because they are people of prayer.
You know that faith and prayer go hand in hand.
You can't say, yeah, I'm, I'm a strong believer in God.
Do you pray not much. Well, then you're not because it
doesn't work that way. People of faith are like they
are strong because they're people of prayer.
Why is that? Because you pray believing that
God's going to change something the impossible.
That's why you pray. People who don't pray don't
believe in God. You say, well, I pray, well, how
do you believe? James says, don't pray believing
with a you know, with, with, with a doubting heart, a double
minded man. How do you pray?
When you pray, let's he's going to do this and that causes you
to pray. It should be the most wonderful
thing for you to go. You know what we can pray about
this. It just fixes it.
It just changes the whole scenario.
It puts it in God's hands. The heroes of faith placed their
lives totally in His hands through prayer.
This is what it means to believe, to believe in God that
just shall live by faith, that you could just easily say that
just shall live by prayer. A man or woman of God in the
will of God. I want you to hear this is
immortal until his or her work on earth is finished.
I will live until the day God says home, no matter what the
world, no matter what sharks or anything does, you know, no
matter what happens, cars, accidents, until the Lord says
he's done, he's finished home. And that makes me live in great
peace. And it shouldn't you too.
That means when someone goes home, it means that the job was
done. It's not how long you live.
It's what you do in the time that God gives you to to do him
to serve him. You see, God always gets the
glory from those he uses verse 24 and the king gave the command
and they brought those men. Now I don't believe they brought
the whole 120 I bought. They think they believe the
other two guys, just the two who rallied up this this this law to
bring Daniel injustice and their wives and children.
Now because in Jewish law in Deuteronomy, a family and
children cannot be condemned for the sins of their father.
So this was the Medes of the Persians.
Now notice what Darius writes verse 25 to all peoples,
nations, language that dwell on all the earth, peace be
multiplied. To you sounds like
Nebuchadnezzar. I make a decree that in every
dominion of my Kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God
of Daniel. Why?
Notice what? Notice the description of the
God you and I serve. For He is the living God and
steadfast forever. His Kingdom is the one which
shall not be destroyed, doesn't matter what the world does.
Read the end of the book. God's Kingdom shall not be
destroyed and His dominion shall endure to the end.
That means God rules all the way through, not man, and He
delivers and rescues. Now notice what an Old Testament
king, atheist king says too about the God that you and I
serve. He works signs and wonders in
heaven. But notice and on earth who has
delivered Daniel from the powers of the lions.
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius.
That sum it up, it's Cyrus the Persian.
Are you a Darius up all night worrying?
Oh, a desire to be a Daniel who's sleeping in the lion's
den? Be constant.
Be constant in your walk with God.
What happens around you does not change you.
You don't change your your faith, your prayer, your love of
God simply because this has happened.
Be faithful in your service. 90% of success is simply showing up.
For 60 years Daniel served faithfully both 2 kings and the
Lord daily. Live your life by the word of
God. Daniel knew Jeremiah, he knew
the dedication of the temple by Solomon.
Pray without seeking, ceasing. How many times did Daniel pray?
Three times a day, as it says in the Psalms.
This is what his clock was on Christian time.
No prayer, no power. Then there's no point.
You might as well just worry then.
Don't be clever. Be spiritual.
Battles require spiritual weapons.
And here's the last part, be thankful always God is able to
use you. You know, people plot against
God and these people, but forget about God.
Jim Stretchberry is going to talk about Israel.
Let me tell you about Israel. You want to believe, I will
believe. Show me if there's proof there
is a God. Look at the nation Israel
decimated, taken to Babylon 70AD dispersed in 1948, the only
people this has ever happened to regathered and the state of
Israel the Bible prophesied reborn immediately war breaks
out in 1967. Five Arab nations surround and
attacked Israel with a force twice the size of the Jews.
Six days later, the war was over and Israel had the victory.
In 1973, a massive coalition force from over a dozen
countries invaded. Israel attacked them on their
holiest day, Yom Kippur. Within 2 1/2 weeks, the
attackers were forced to retreat, with five times the
casualties. Because God says they're my
people. No matter what comes against
them, no matter who comes against them.
And you know what God says? You're his child.
This morning God calls you. He calls you to cry out in
prayer. If you would become a people of
prayer, this church would change the world.
He is able. But do you know him?
As you sit here today? Do you know him?
Do you know the God of Daniel? Jesus is his name.
Will you come to him today? Will you accept his invitation?
If you don't know Christ, come to him.
The time is short. Today is the day of salvation.
Come right now as we worship the Lord and let Him change your
life forever. If you begin to pray, you begin
to believe you followed Daniel's example, your life, your world,
your and this world around you, things will change dramatically.