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Daniel 6

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10/20/1991
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Daniel 6
Daniel 6
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27 Daniel - 1991

Daniel is a book of history as well as prophecy, and it contains one of the most awesome and detailed predictions in the entire Bible. Skip Heitzig examines the backbone of Bible prophecy.

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Daniel 6

Tonight we're in chapter 6, and it's the famous story of Daniel in the Lion's Den, a story that every child in Sunday school learns and knows. My son Nathan plays this story all the time. And we have a little thing we call say, play, and pray. I have found out that not all people learn the same. And some people you can tell a story to, and they'll listen with avid interest. Other people like to find out on own. They're self-disciplined. Other people need to see it. Nathan's one of those characters. He needs to visually see the story.

And so we read the story, and then we dress up in the characters like the story, and we reenact the entire event. And then we'll pray about any lessons that God would bring out in that time that we played it. And one of his favorite stories is "Daniel in the Lion's Den". Of course, everybody knows this story. They learned it since they were in Sunday school. But unfortunately, people grow up seeing this among the stories of fiction because they remember that being this innocent little story they heard in their Sunday school days.

Now, as an adult, they think, I really can't believe that God miraculously saved Daniel out of the mouth of the lions, just like I can't believe that God really had a huge fish swallow a man in the Book of Jonah, or that God parted the waters of the Red Sea. And it's unfortunate that God, to some of these people, becomes so distant and so inept and lacks power because God isn't personally working in their lives they discount the power of God altogether. And they have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.

In reality, the question is, how big is your God? Now I love the way the early church prayed in Acts Chapter 4. They had a problem that they were going through, and they simply prayed, Lord, you created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them. There's nothing too hard for you. Based on your power and your greatness, we have a little trial we'd like to bring before you. But that's not a big deal for you. You created the heavens and the earth.

But in recognizing the power of God, and that nothing's too hard for God, this story should not surprise us or make us draw back from it. If you can believe the first verse in the Bible, the rest will be pretty easy. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. If you have problem with that one, you'll have a problem with the rest of it. But if you can swallow that one, you can swallow the rest, even the story of Jonah and the whale.

It says in verse 1 that it pleased Darius is to set over the kingdom 120 princes-- these were, as it says, satraps or official delegates-- which should be over the whole kingdom. And over these were three presidents, of whom Daniel was the first. Now Daniel is not a kid at this point. He's about 80 to 90 years old. And he's going to have the experience, as an 80- or 90-year-old man, to go into a lion's den.

Now for most people that age, they'd have a heart attack. It didn't bother Daniel. You're going to see a steadfastness of spirit and heart. It didn't seem to bother Daniel. It bothered Darius, the one who was set over all of the kingdom under Cyrus. But it doesn't bother Daniel. Think of it in these terms. Daniel spent only one night in a lion's den, but he spent years, over 70 years, probably up to 75 years, in the courts of pagan kings. Which is more dangerous?

Actually, it's much more dangerous to be in the company of unbelievers when everyone around you is an unbeliever and you are the only one, you and a few other guys-- Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego-- following the God of Israel, the true God. When you're overshadowed by paganism, when you have the temptations to succumb to compromise, it's much harder to make a stand for Jesus in a situation like that than it is to face the lions for one evening. I'm sure that's how Daniel viewed it. As we go through this story, we'll see his steadfastness of faith.

It's important, as we get into this, that we recognize something that we often overlook. And that is how did Daniel, in the first place, get into the lion's den? Was it because he did something wrong? No, it's because he did something right. Because he was faithful to God, he got himself into this mess. It wasn't prayer that got him out of the lion's den as much as prayer that got him in the lion's den.

It's because he was worshipping the true God that all of these things happened against him. And that's an important principle because as Christians, we often mistakenly think that if I am a believer, I am therefore immune from the thorns of life, that somehow life ought to be fair, and we're puzzled when it's not fair.

Back in Psalm 59-- you can turn to it if you wish. If not, I'll read it to you-- is an experience of David. And David is writing Psalm 59 after being pestered by Saul after Saul was chasing him, trying to kill him. David had done nothing wrong. He'd done everything right. And this is his prayer to the Lord. He's crying out to God.

He says, deliver me-- Psalm 59-- from my enemies, oh my God. Defend me from them that rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity and save me from bloody men, for they lie in wait for my soul. The mighty gather against me, notice, not for my transgression nor for my sin, oh Lord. They run and prepare themselves without my fault awake to help me.

Now here's David. He's being chased by Saul all over the hills of Judea, all throughout the desert and the wilderness by the Dead Sea. He's done nothing wrong. He's done everything right. He's been faithful to God. He's been keeping the sheep in the wilderness. The prophet Samuel came and anointed him with oil and said he would be the next King of Israel. But Saul was a jealous man, and Saul had his eye on David because God was with him. And you're going to find that in Daniel's life and in the life of every person who wholeheartedly follows the Lord. They're often watched by those with a jealous eye.

It all started when David slew Goliath, and he became the hero in the land instead of the General Saul. And if that wasn't enough, Saul's son Jonathan loved David like his own soul, and his heart was knit together with him. And he gave him his sword and his shield and his clothing. And if that wasn't enough, David became a mighty warrior and slew the Philistines and delivered Israel many times from the hands of the Philistines, so much so that a song, one of the top 40 songs, hit the top of the charts, was going around Israel. It went something like this. Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.

And when that song was being sung in the streets by the women who were dancing, Saul heard that song and he got angry. He was jealous. He saw that God was with them. And so David says, it's not because of anything that I've done, not for my transgression nor for my sin. In fact, it was as soon as David was anointed by the prophet that all of these troubles happened to him.

You see, life is not fair. There is not always an immediate cause and effect for sin and wrongdoing. Now we wish it was, and sometimes we think it should be that way. We think if I do good, then good should come to me immediately, and if I do evil, that I should have a consequence.

And so we're always wondering when some evil befalls us, have I done something wrong? Is this a punishment of God upon my life? And then we wonder when we see the wicked prospering, we think, God, why don't you immediately pounce on him? Deal with him in your anger, like David prayed, Lord, break their teeth in their mouth. There ought to be an immediate cause and effect for evil and for good.

And we complain when something happens to us when it's not our fault, and evil befalls us. We get a little angry at God. It's interesting, however, we don't get angry at God when we do something wrong and don't have a consequence following. Have you noticed that? s It's only when we're doing good and something wrong happens, we think it's not fair.

Well, what about when you sin and God doesn't pounce on you? Do you complain? No, it's often one-sided, isn't it? When is the last time you complained speeding down the freeway and you didn't get a ticket for it? Did you turn yourself in at the police station the next day in deep remorse? I can't believe it. I can't live. I have a guilty conscience. I went over the speed limit. Please give me a ticket. I'll feel better. You wouldn't do that. In fact, you think, I made it this time. Pretty good.

Life will never be fair until Jesus returns and sets up his kingdom of righteousness. Then there will be righteousness in the earth. Until then, there is a usurper over the land, the God of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the one who works on the children of disobedience. His name is Satan. And even as God is alive and well, the enemy, your enemy, is alive and well, and he's always trying to thwart God's plan. And sin complicates matters.

You say, yeah, but why doesn't God judge sin immediately? Because God's patient. God has a big eraser. God is long-suffering. The Bible says he suffers long with people. He hangs out even when they defy him. He's giving them lots of chances. And people will mistake the long suffering of God for God's approval. They think, I got by with it. I'm following this pathway of rebellion and God hasn't smitten me yet. I must be all right.

It just means God really is long-suffering with you. But there will come a day when God's patience will cease. God will not always strive with men, the Bible says. And there will come a time when God will act.

This also bothered David. Psalm 73 David begins by saying, truly, God is good to Israel, and especially to those who are of a pure heart. But as for me, my feet almost slipped, for I was envious of the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. He said, I looked around and I saw how evil men prosper and how wicked men reach the pinnacle of fame and ease and prosperity. And it bothered me because I saw so many righteous people suffering. And this really bothered me. It almost caused me to turn away from God until, in verse 13, he says, I went into the sanctuary of God. I got my sights adjusted, the spiritual perspective. I looked way down the road, and I understood their end where they're going.

You know, I mentioned this morning it was Benito Mussolini who said, I glory in my sin, in the beauty of the holiness of my sin. And I will bow before no Jesus Christ as Savior. But he thinks differently now. He said that in God's long suffering and patience, but he knows very differently now. And David understood the end of that person. He said, you know what? When I consider their end, I'm not envious anymore because he called them foolish, even though they're prosperous now.

Daniel is about to be cast into the lion's den. And we might as well look back at chapter 5 and discuss it. It's been a couple weeks. Not the whole chapter, but the historical setting of chapter 6 begins in chapter 5, the fall of one kingdom and the coming into power of another, verse 30 of chapter 5.

And that night was Belshazzar, the king of the chaldeans, slain. And Darius or Darius, however you want to pronounce his name, received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. We now see the fulfillment of the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had received. He saw an image of gold, or the head was gold. The chest and the arms were of silver. And Daniel interpreted the dream as a succession of kingdoms. He said, Nebuchadnezzar, God has given you an insight into the future. The statue that you saw in your dream depicts various kingdoms, and you're number one. You're the head of Iraq, or Babylon.

And God has set you in this position, but after you will come another kingdom, the Medo-Persian Empire. And Daniel gives to him the interpretation of the times of the Gentile rulers. Well, now the head of gold is leaving, and the chest and the arms of silver are taking over. The Medo-Persian Empire, the empire of the Medes and the Persians forming a coalition and taking over Babylon.

In chapter 5, a character by the name of Belshazzar has taken over the kingdom, and he brings the vessels, the holy vessels used for libation, used to collect the blood of the animal sacrifices in Jerusalem, and all of the holy instruments used in worship. And he brings them in, and he starts drinking wine out of them, having a party-- he was a major party animal-- thinking, you know what? I'll defy any God. I don't care if these Israelites have the superstitious belief in one true living God that resides in the temple in Jerusalem. And he started drinking his wine and having his drunken orgies with these vessels.

And on the wall, a finger of a man started writing, which basically said, you're toast, you're history, your number's up, and your kingdom will be given to the Medes and the Persians. And when he saw that, his knees started shaking together, and Daniel was called in to interpret the dream because he defied God by drinking out of these holy vessels.

This last week when we were in Jerusalem, I had the distinct privilege of visiting something I've wanted to this last year. It's only been open a year. And that's the Temple institute in Jerusalem. The Temple institute is a foundation of Orthodox rabbis and their students in the yeshiva there in Jerusalem who are dedicated to the day when God will rebuild his temple on Mount Moriah, and they will worship God with the sacrifices of old.

And they talk about the rebuilding of the temple, so much so that they have the vessels according to the scripture, according to the Mishnah and the Rabbis and all of the findings that they can put together. And they've made the vessel, the vessel that collects the blood from the animals that's poured at the base of the altar to exact specifications out of solid gold.

The crown for the high priest, the two silver trumpets that they were to blow for the festivals. They've all recreated them. The costly breastplate of the high priest, the garments of the high priest. In fact, they're right now working on the menorah, the golden lamp stand, six feet tall, out of one solid piece of pure gold. Imagine how expensive that would be in today's market. And they've almost got that completed. And they told me, said, you know, if there was a temple standing out there today, we could worship in it tomorrow. Everything's ready.

But it was wild for me to look upon-- according to exact specification of the ancients-- the same kind of vessels that Belshazzar would be drinking out of at his orgy. And because it was such a holy kind of a thing, God judged him for it and took his kingdom from him because he defied the living God.

Of course, what the people of the Temple Institute don't realize is that they are fulfilling prophecy because one will come in the future and make a covenant with the Jewish people and rebuild their temple for them, and the sacrifices will be reinstated. And he will be the Antichrist. Jesus said, I have come in my father's name, and you did not receive me, but someone will come in his own name. Him you will receive. And they're fulfilling the prophecy , being ignorant of the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ.

So that's the background. And let's get into the chapter. It pleased Darius, or Darius-- and if I say it both ways tonight, you'll forgive me-- to set over the kingdom 120 princes, which should be over the whole kingdom. Now when Nebuchadnezzar ruled, he ruled in absolute authority. He was a despot. He made a choice. Nobody argued with it. He did it all by himself.

In this shifting of the kingdom in this new government, there's 120 people to help out. They took over the Medes and the Persians, but they sent over provincial rulers who could just sort of take care of a whole province and feed information back to Cyrus and Darius, and decisions could be made. There was a delegation system. And over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was first, that the princes might give accounts to them and the King should have no loss or no damage.

Actually, this was a great policy. Number one, there could be no abuse of power. It wasn't one person with absolute power making all the choices with no accountability. There was 120 people with delegated responsibility. If you work in management or leadership or even spiritual leadership, you know the value of delegation. It's foolish to think that a person can do it all himself. And there's great value in bringing in people who have spiritual insight, or even business insight into a business, to give recommendations.

In the multitude of counselors, the Bible says, there is safety. And after much counsel, you are to wage war, it says in Proverbs. Remember the story in Exodus chapter 18 when Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, comes to Moses in the wilderness, and Moses brags about all that God has done.

But the next morning, Jethro gets up and observes the way Moses is conducting himself as ruler over the people. And it says that from morning until evening, Moses is out there counseling the people in their individual problems. And Jethro comes to him and says, Moses, the thing that you are doing is not good. You are going to wear yourself out and you're going to wear the people out. He says, I think the solution would be this. You teach people the laws and the ordinances of God. That'll be your ministry. You teach them the law of God. Then set up people, set up elders of the people , and let them handle the needs that people have.

If there's a case that's too difficult for them, one of the elders will come to you and you can work it out because otherwise you're going to wear out, man. There's too many of them and only one of you. There's the value of delegation. Anybody who's worked with people knows the value of this scriptural principle because it can wear on a person. And so it was a policy of the Medes and the Persians from the very beginning to provide accountability.

Verse 3. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and the princes because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Another translation says he was so evidently superior to them because he had an extraordinary attitude. For just a moment, throughout this study, take Daniel out of the picture and place yourself there. And then, instead of all of these other 120 princes, put your peers there and examine how you would stand up under the scrutiny of your own peers.

And look over now in verse 4. And the presidents and the princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no occasion or fault, for as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. There are several marks of integrity that Daniel exhibited in this chapter, lessons for us to learn. And first of all, the first mark of integrity is that he had an excellent attitude, or as it says, an excellent spirit, which means a good attitude.

How's your attitude where you work? How's your attitude toward your employer? How's your attitude when he tells you to do something that you think anybody else could do? I have a higher position. I don't need to bow down and do this. How teachable are you when you are shuffled around from place to place? What's your attitude at work when the job gets a little boring and tedious?

And let's face it, every job I've ever heard of, after a while, can become tedious. My first job was pulling weeds for my parents. That gets old after about, oh, 40 seconds. Then my first real job was in junior high school cleaning windows for a shoe store owner. That gets old after about 55 seconds. Then I worked in a gas station. Then I was trained and worked in a hospital. And there is tedium to all of those kinds of occupations.

But the difference is when you do it as unto the Lord. You say, Lord, I don't like this job in particular. But I'm going to do it as unto you, an excellent attitude in his work. There is a scripture in Proverbs chapter 20. It says, most men will proclaim every one his own goodness, but a faithful man, who can find? In the New Testament it tells us, servants, be obedient to your masters in all things, not with eye service, as unto men, but do it as unto the Lord.

And Timothy exhorts Titus to obey your master so that you can adorn the doctrine of Christ, so that people look at your lovely lifestyle and your attitude on the job. And instead of proclaiming your own goodness, you're just a faithful person obedient to your master, not with eye service. You're doing it unto the Lord. It will drive them nuts, but you'll set an example.

When I worked at st. Joseph's Hospital in Orange County, California, I remember that there were people that were eyeing me because I was a believer. And Monday morning I would come in there, and I was whistling. I wasn't whistling to get their attention or to be obnoxious, but to them, I was obnoxious because it was Monday. The weekend was over. They had to be at work. They resented being at work. And how dare you enjoy the first hours Monday morning? What do you have to be happy about?

And I remember walking in one time. I was just whistling, doing my work, going it. And the guy said, would you stop that. I said, what? You're whistling. Yeah. It bothers me. All right, I'll stop. Well, why should I stop whistling? I'm happy. You've got no right to be happy. It's Monday.

But if you do your work as unto the Lord, it can really revolutionize those hours of tedium. Lord, this is done for you. I want to do the best that I can do. That's having an excellent spirit, or a good attitude. Because he had an excellent spirit, the king sought to set him over the whole realm. And so these characters tried to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, concerning his work ethic. But they could find no occasion or fault because he was faithful. Neither was there any error found or any error or fault that was found in him.

You know, it's hard for some people to see other people blessed. Daniel is set above them, and they want to find an occasion to see him fall. You know, the scripture says something that is very interesting. It says that we are to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. I have found it true that it's easier for many Christians to mourn with those who mourn, but it's hard for them to rejoice with those who rejoice.

When God blesses or raises up another person, there's always those who follow him with a jealous eye, or her with a jealous eye, or an evil heart. And because God blesses them, they get angry. Why should God bless you? He's not blessing me. But if some tragedy happens to that person, oh, they're the first to be there.

Daniel is exalted by the hand of God. It was not an accident that Daniel was raised up. It was God's providence. God wanted Daniel to be an influence in these people's lives. And because he had an excellent attitude above all the rest of these characters, it angered them, and so they sought to find occasion.

And it's true that the more active a contribution you make, and the more you seek to do God's will, you're going to have people like these characters-- or Sanballat and Tobiah, who were after Nehemiah-- who are seeking to make themselves look better by putting you down. And so they'll gossip about you, like they did Daniel. You know, this Daniel, he's really just a foreigner. He's from Israel anyway. He's not really one of us. And now he's above us. Well, we've got to figure out something wrong with his life. I bet there's plenty.

And so they tried to find something, and by means of disseminating false information, to see Daniel fall. There's one way, by the way, to get rid of criticism in your life. Don't do anything. Hide in the shadows. Don't become involved. Just become a critic. Don't do anything on your own or don't do anything for the Lord, and people will leave you alone. But the minute, like David, that God places his hand upon you, you can expect Saul to show up, to pin you to the wall with a spear-- or Sanballat and Tobiah-- to see you stop the work that God is doing, or people like these characters trying to put Daniel to shame.

Verse 5 is their testimony. These men said, we shall not find any occasion against Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God. That's an interesting remark of an enemy. He's flawless, and we can only find something, perhaps, in his religious life that would pit him against the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. And so they sought to get after him.

You know, Daniel was always different, wasn't he? From the very beginning was different. When he was a kid put in Babylon, he was different. Instead of eating the king's dainties, he said, look, I'm kosher. I'm Jewish. I'm not going to eat your food. I'm going to eat this food. And now you test me. And you see, after a period of time, if we're not stronger than the rest of you. He was always a man of prayer. He had spiritual priorities. And he was always different.

And so they couldn't find anything, any occasion against Daniel, notice, concerning the kingdom. And I want to bring that is the second mark of integrity. Not only did he have a good attitude. He was faithful in his work. He was a good worker. He had a good attitude, and he was a good worker.

I have met employers who have confessed that they will never hire another Christian. I think, why? Is it because Christians always try to weasel out of their work in the name of the Lord? And I find that especially among Christian employers. They'll hire a well-meaning believer. He'll become his employee. But the employee will think, hey, boss, you're a believer. Give me some slack. I'd like to have an hour of quiet time before I start work, and I'd like to use your time and your money to witness to people.

And the boss'll say, no way, man. I paid you to do the job that I've told you to do. But brother-- and it gets so complicated, I've heard them say, Skip, I don't want to hire Christians. It gets too messy. Just give me a good, clean, upstanding heathen to do the work. And that's sad, isn't it? I worked with a guy at a hospital in Orange County. And he would use the employer's time to witness. And I drew him aside. I said, buddy, you're going to get into trouble and you're going to get us into trouble. Instead of bringing the patients down to be x-rayed or go through their tests, he would be stopping in the hallways and spend a half an hour witnessing to them.

He said, but we gotta get the gospel out. I said, yeah, but do it on your time. Do it at lunchtime or after work. If you're really diligent, be here after hours. But don't use the company's time, or you're going to get it. And he got it. They kicked him out. And he cried persecution. I said, you're not being persecuted for righteousness' sake. You're being persecuted because you're a lousy worker. So don't blame it on them because they're persecuting you. They're not. If you'd have done your work, they wouldn't have laid you off. Daniel had an excellent attitude. Daniel was a good worker. He was flawless.

And it seems like they pried into his personal life because the end of verse 4 says, neither was there any error or fault found in him. And the language would speak of his personal affairs. And I would share with you that that's the third mark of integrity, personal purity. He had had a good attitude, number one. He was a good worker, number two. And he was pure in his personal life. He wasn't a hypocrite. He didn't say one thing and live another way.

And so they tried to find something concerning his spiritual life. In verse 6, these presidents and princes assembled together to the king and said unto him, King Darius, live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, the princes, the counselors and the captains, they've all consulted together to establish a royal statute to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for 30 days, except of you, you'll be cast into a den of lions.

Now first of all, they were liars. They didn't consult everybody. They didn't consult Daniel. They made this law to get Daniel trapped because they knew he was a spiritual man. And so they butter him up, first of all. Oh, King, live forever. Now that was the normal thing to say to a king. It's sort of like long live the king. But they butter him up by saying let's make a decree that no one can worship anybody but you. Now Darius was a good king. We know that from secular history and what the Bible, in this chapter, implies about him.

But he had one Achilles heel, one weak point. He loved flattery. Now some of us can relate to that. There are some people, you just butter them up enough, you just lay it on thick, and they'll be all right. They'll do anything you want. And flattery, that kind of flattery is really sinful, when you just butter up a person to get something out of them.

And he fell to it. Oh. King, established the decree and sign the writing that it be not changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which altereth not, which does not change. Therefore, when King Darius signed the writing and the decree, and when Daniel, verse 10, knew that the writing was signed-- now this is interesting. He knew it was signed-- he went into his house. And his windows being opened in the chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees, and three times a day he prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime, or as was his custom.

Now did Daniel debate the alternatives to this decree? After it was signed, he went in and made a public display of his faith toward God. Now he could have thought, well, I think I'll just quit praying publicly for 30 days. I don't want to really cause any kind of a rift, so I'll pray silently. I'll have a moment of silent prayer. I'll bow my head. No, he wouldn't do that because it was his custom. He'd always done it. Why change now? Why lose my testimony now, when I've always done that, and they've always known that I've always done that? It's been my custom in the past.

So he goes into his room. As was his custom, he opens up the windows, and he prays facing Jerusalem, like every Jew in captivity would do. By the way, that's where the synagogue was developed. The Jews were taken into captivity, they left the temple, their temple was destroyed. They could have no sacrificial worship, so they developed what is known in Hebrew as bet knesset, the house of the gathering. And the people would gather together and discuss what the law of God meant personally in their lives, and they would always face Jerusalem. And they'd do it three times a day.

And this developed in the captivity so that when the children of Israel came back into the land, they kept the custom of meeting in the synagogue because they had no temple. Even when the temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and later on by King Herod, in the New Testament we still raid of the synagogue. It developed in the captivity, and it developed as Daniel faced Jerusalem and prayed three times a day. It was his custom.

And he got on his knees and he prayed, and he gave thanks before his God, as he did in times past or as was his custom. Now this is the fourth mark of integrity in his life, a consistent walk. It didn't change. He was a certain way before God when the times were good. And if the times changed, he did not change. He had a consistent walk with the Lord. He was not crisis-oriented. There are some people whose walk with God is crisis-oriented. They see God as the great emergency room physician. You don't really hear from them until there's a crisis. Then they run to the emergency room and cry out to God, oh, God, please.

And of course, God may say, boy, it's good to hear from you. Haven't heard from you in a long time. It's not consistent. Daniel was not crisis-oriented. He was before God consistently. It was his custom, which means in times of tragedy, as in times of prosperity, his walk was the same. It didn't change. That's beautiful.

You know, I believe that every Christian, like Daniel, should meet with God regularly. Doesn't mean that you have to have three times a day, and you don't have to bow down and face Jerusalem anymore. But it means that you have a consistent walk with God. And you get up, perhaps, every morning, or before you go to work, or maybe at a break in the afternoon at work, or at night, whatever is your time schedule.

And you have a consistent time, and perhaps even a place, where you meet with the Lord, where you muse and meditate on his word, and you pray and give thanks to God. Daniel set a spiritual priority that never changed. And we've got to prioritize our time and our life. Oh, but I don't have time for God.

Well, it's been said, and it's accurate, make time for God. I bet you do have a lot of time for God. I mean, it's interesting how we can make time for almost everything else. When it comes time for sports or leisure or a movie or being with our friends, we can make time, but we don't have time for God. That should be a number one priority, where you make time daily to meet with the Lord. Daniel did. Daniel stuck to it.

Notice also that Daniel was on his knees. Every now and then people asked me about the proper posture for prayer. There really is none, though if there were to be a classic posture, I guess it would be kneeling. The posture of your body is less important than the posture of your heart because if you get on your knees, but you don't really get on your knees in your heart, it's worthless. And sometimes when I'm on my knees, I'm distracted, that it hurts so much I can't even think about what I'm praying for.

Of course, some people would say, oh, but that's really humble, and you're demonstrating your humility before God as you bloody up your knees. I find that for me, it's best to either sit upright with a cup of coffee, with written prayer requests, or to take a walk. And as I take a walk, it's like I'm walking with the Lord next to me. And I imagine him walking with me. And I talk to him as I would talk to my closest friend, and I roll my burdens over on the Lord, like David said. And I just ask God to direct my praying, direct this time until I've walked enough blocks, I've spent enough time before the Lord, and my heart feels relieved.

But Daniel was kneeling before God. And these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Now notice, too, that there was an openness about Daniel's spiritual life. He didn't seek to keep it quiet. I grew up in a rather conservative, middle class family. And I was taught that two things are private, politics and religion. And you can offend people by making known your public opinion on those two things. And so when it came to religion, you say, well, you just don't want to talk about that. It's a private thing. People are into their own things.

But Jesus said, what you've heard in secret, shout from the housetops. How private is that? Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and whoever is believed will be saved, and he that believes not will be damned. Jesus said it's to be public. And when Jesus called a person, he called them publicly. When Jesus died, he died publicly. He said, whoever confesses me before men, I'll confess before my Father in heaven. Whoever denies me before men, I'll deny before my Father in heaven. It's not a private thing.

A walk with God is something that is done not publicly ostentatiously. But you don't clam up because certain people are there. Daniel didn't. Therefore, they came to the king and they spoke concerning the decree. And they said, King, didn't you sign a decree-- and of course, they were manipulating him-- that whoever asks a petition of any God or man within 30 days, except from you, oh King, shall be cast into the den of lions? And the king answered and said, yes, that's true.

And then they answered and said before the king, that Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, does not regard you, oh, King, nor the decree that you have signed. But he makes his petition three times a day. And the king, when he heard these words, was extremely displeased with himself. And he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him, and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him.

Now he is in a dilemma. On one hand, he made a law that means Daniel would be executed. On the other hand, in his love, he wanted to see Daniel released. Do you know that that's the very dilemma that God is in? For he has said the soul that sinneth shall surely die. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and there's judgment awaiting. But in his love, the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to eternal life.

On one hand, there is the decree. And it's inevitable God gives man a choice. On the other hand, in his love, he seeks to draw people to himself and to avert judgment. God said, turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die? It's never God's desire or pleasure to see a person turn away from him and suffer the consequence. So God, like King Darius, though there are the consequences of sin, seeks to draw a person to himself to avoid those consequences.

And the men assembled unto the king and said unto the king, know, oh King, that the law of the Medes and the Persians is that no decree or statute that the king establishes may be changed. And the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. And the king spoke and said unto Daniel, your God, whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.

There was no loopholes. When the Medes and the Persians set forth a law, it could not be appealed. Daniel knew that, but he knew it before he prayed publicly. He knew what he was getting into, and he did it anyway. You and I are called to obey the government of the land except when the laws of the land clash between the dictates of following God. When there's a clash, you must obey God rather than men.

Now there is a principle in the scripture, and I'll read it to you. It says, submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or to governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God that with well doing, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

So we're called to submit to the authorities. But when the authorities pass a law that is against spiritual convictions, don't obey them. Or if anyone gives you a decree that is against Biblical spiritual truth, don't obey them, even parents, even wives, even husbands. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

That scripture came alive to me when I was still living at home with my folks. And I was reading my Bible and going to church, and my parents came to me and said, you're turning weird on us. We liked you the way you were before. Though you were somewhat of a wild kid, you got into trouble, at least you didn't go off into these weird religious trips. Stay away from that church and quit reading your Bible.

Now should I say at that point, well, I have to obey my parents. No, the Bible says obey your parents in the Lord. At that point, I had a higher Lord. I didn't want to disobey my parents, and as long as I was under their roof, I thought I should obey them. But I simply said, well, it is my desire to obey you as long as I'm here, and to honor you and to respect you. And I appreciate you and I love you. But you've now crossed the line between me and my allegiance to Jesus Christ. And I must obey God rather than men. And if that's your decision, then I'll move out. But I'm going to continue reading my Bible because God tells me to do so.

Now in China, there's a law that western missionaries are forbidden, and it's forbidden for outsiders to bring bibles in. While the Chinese government is giving bibles out and the're selling bibles to their people, and manufacturing bibles within China, there's still not enough. And Chinese Christians are begging the west for bibles. So we smuggle them in.

Oh, but you're disobeying the government. I don't care. In that case, they need the word of God. For man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And if you've ever seen the eyes light up of a Chinese believer after receiving a Bible because he had to handwrite a Bible and share it among 50 other believers, you'll understand how important it is.

And so it's a law. But what if the law tomorrow in Albuquerque says you can't evangelize publicly? Are you going to obey the law? I'll defy the law, though it might mean prison. Paul was in prison. Think of a glorious prison ministry that God could open up for you.

Now that doesn't mean you should defy the law for righteousness' sake and destroy the witness of Christ. I know a minister who visited somebody in prison, and the man said he was a Christian. So the minister asked him the next logical question, what are you in prison for? And he named off a couple felonies, actually three or four. The minister said, do us a favor. Don't tell anybody you're a Christian. Keep it quiet, in your case because by telling people you're a Christian, yet living an inconsistent lifestyle in outward sin, you're destroying the witness.

Daniel was not put in prison or the lion's den for any other reason than he was following God in his dictates rather than men. And so they put him in the lion's den. But Darius said, Daniel, your God, whom you serve continually, will be able to deliver you. And a stone was brought and laid at the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet of his lords, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.

Now how did Daniel react as he was put in the lion's den? We don't know. The story is silent. But do you think, knowing Daniel, and knowing the consequence, that he was there with great fear and trepidation as much as Darius was? I don't think so. Donald Campbell wrote an account, a supposed account, of what might have happened as Daniel was put into the lion's den. He goes like this.

"As the guards closed the aperture and went their way, Daniel slid gradually to the floor of the den. The big lions that came bounding from their caverns at the inflow of light all stopped suddenly short of a steed reined up by a powerful hand on the bridle. The initial roars died away as they formed a solid phalanx and looked toward this man who stood in their den within easy reach. There was some snorting and a little whining, and some of them turned around and went back into their caves.

Others of the great beasts yawned and laid on the floor, but no one made a move to advance toward their visitor. Thanks be to God, breathed the prophet. He has stopped the mouth of these fierce beasts, and they will do me no harm. He sat on the floor of the den and leaned his back against the wall to make himself comfortable for the night. Soon two cub lions moved in his direction, not stealthily or crouching, as though to make an attack, but in obvious friendliness. And one lay on each side of Daniel as though to give him warmth and a protection in the chilly dungeon.

Presently their mother, an old lioness, crept over n in front of the prophet. He gently stroked their backs as they each turned their heads and licked his hand. Enclosed by the lioness and her cubs, the head of the patriarch was gradually pillowed on the back of one of the cubs as the four slept soundly in perfect peace and tranquility." I like that. We don't know what happened, but I'll bet you Daniel got a good sleep.

There's one who didn't sleep well, and that was Darius. The king went to his palace and passed the night in fasting. Neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep went from him. And 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 with a lamentable voice to Daniel. And the king spoke and said, oh, Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom you serve continually able to deliver thee from the lions?

And Daniel said to the king, oh King, live forever. Must have blown his mind when he heard Daniel say that. Daniel, are you alive? Oh King, live forever. Hey, I'm all right, man. My God has sent his angel and has shut the lions' mouths that they have not hurt me, for as much as before him innocency was found in me, and also before you, oh King, I have done no hurt. And the king was exceedingly glad for him and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den.

So Daniel was taken up out of the m and no manner of hurt was found on him because he believed in his God. Of course, it's obvious the answer to his question is yes. Is God able to deliver? Certainly. Will God always deliver? No. No, God did in his case. But there are cases when God doesn't deliver. Peter was delivered from the hand of Herod. But James had his head cut off. God delivered Peter miraculously. Why didn't he deliver James? I don't know. But either way, God is able, and either way, all things work together for good to them that love God.

Daniel experienced the fellowship of the angel of the Lord that night in delivering him from the mouth of the lions. I think this is what the writer of Hebrews meant when he talks about, in the hall of faith, "By faith they stopped the mouths of lions." he was referring to Daniel. "And the king commanded and brought those men which accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, and their children and their wives. And the lions had mastery of them and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den."

These were real lions. These were not toothless lions. I heard a story of a man who went to work at a zoo, and the owners of the zoo said, your job is to go in and feed the lions their food. And the man said, I forbid it. I won't do it. And the zookeepers said, you don't have to worry. They're toothless lions. He said, I'm aware of that but, they'll probably gum me to death.

Now you have a roaring lion seeking to devour you. He says, your adversary, the devil, is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. But the truth is, his teeth have been pulled out at the cross. Oh, he can roar, and he makes a lot of Christians hide behind things and uplift the power of the devil over the power of God when in effect, he has no power over you. Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. At the cross, Jesus disarmed all principalities and powers. And if you stand in that, you'll do great. Daniel did. And God delivered him.

Verse 25. And King Darius wrote to all the people, nations, and languages that dwell on all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble in fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and steadfast forever in his kingdom. That which shall not be destroyed in his dominion shall be even unto the end. And he delivers and rescues and works signs and wonders in heaven and in the earth who hat delivered Daniel from the power of the Lions. So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persians.

There's a few lessons I want to conclude with in summing up this chapter. The first lesson concerns the attitude of the people toward Daniel, and yet how God had his hand upon Daniel. And that is, we seldom get what we deserve from people, but we always get the best from God. We seldom get what we deserve from people, which means we shouldn't live to please people solely, or you'll be very disappointed. People may have expectations on you that God doesn't have. And if you're a men pleaser, you'll be very frustrated.

People will seldom give you what you deserve. God will always give you the best. You can rest that father knows best. Life isn't fair. That's all right. God has his hand on you. Who cares? And every trial, every adverse circumstance never touches your life until it's first approved by a loving Heavenly Father. And you might serve God, and you might be doing everything right and have something happen to you that's horrible. And you say, it's not fair. It's not my fault. But God can still use that in your life for His glory and your maturity. God'll always give you the best.

Second lesson. Your ability to handle tragedy is directly proportional to your walk with the Lord. If you have a consistent walk with the Lord, your ability to handle tragedy, you'll do all right. Doesn't mean it'll be extremely easy for you, but you'll have a foundation. You know, it's interesting, in the ocean, when storms come, and you look at the waves as they crash upon the shore. And they beat the boats and the peers, and people get out of the water. I mean, it's rough seas in a storm. But if you go 25 feet below the surface, it's calm. It's where all the fish go. If you're a scuba diver, you could just go down a little bit, it'll be perfectly calm. It's only when you hit the surface.

And oftentimes, God will take our lives, because we are shallow in many areas-- we live on the surface-- and he'll agitate it. And though we must go deeper and must go down, it's the place of refuge. God will always be there. And our ability to handle those tragic times are directly proportional to our walk with him. If we have a consistent walk, you'll do great.

The third lesson is let God vindicate you. Sometimes we think that we have to defend ourselves. Listen, if you want to defend yourself, God'll let you. People bring accusations. If they're not true, don't worry about them. Let them slide. Let God vindicate you. I feel I don't have to defend myself. I know who I am before God. That's really the most important thing. Instead of defending yourself or defending your position, let God handle it.

And finally, no Christian is exempt from the lion's den, are they? All of you have certain lions. It could be an illness, a financial adversity. Plans change. Something that is like a fierce lion for you. And you think, but I'm a Christian. I shouldn't go through this. Hey, you're not exempt. In fact, I would say every Christian has a lion's den, but God is able to deliver you. Will God always deliver you out of it, from it? No. But he'll always deliver you through it.

Oh, he might remove it instantly. He could do that. It's easy for him. But it could be that God wants you to learn certain lessons. And so rather than taking you from it, he'll make you go through it and deliver you through it, and you'll come out the other end stronger. David did not say, yea, though I'd be airlifted out of the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. There's a lot of valleys you'll have to walk through. But God'll walk there with you.

And finally there's the lesson-- and we'll get into it next time more and more as we go through Daniel-- and that is the lesson of this chapter, which I believe is prophetic. And that is we have a type here of God preserving the children of Israel in the future through the great tribulation. God has always had his hand on these people. Even though they've blown it totally big time many times, God has had his hand upon them.

And we are seeing the fulfillment today of what Zacharia 12 tells us, God will make Jerusalem a stumbling block to all of the world. And boy, that's true, isn't it? Israel is the storm center of the world prophetically. World leaders know that the events in Southeast Asia do not affect world peace to any permanent degree. But they know that the Middle East is a powder keg. It has always been and it always will be. And in the future, the Bible says that all of the nations of the world will gather themselves together against Israel. And that day, God will fight for them as he fought in the day of battle.

And we're seeing some of those things unfold. I was in the Middle East this last week when James Baker arrived. It was really interesting to be there. I walked by the King David Hotel, and they had the military out there in full regalia, all these guys up on the YMCA on top of the roof with their M16s and their rocket launchers, just to protect, just in case something would happen, any kind of a terrorist attack.

And to see the volatility of the nations against this tiny little nation. 525 miles of Israel's borders are really bordered by enemies-- even though there's certain peaceful agreements with them-- and the rest of the border of Israel is Mediterranean. And the desire for many of the neighbors is to push Israel into the sea. Certainly that's the desire of the Palestinians. It's the desire of Arafat, though he says we desire peace. What he means is, give us your land and we'll give you peace. But we see the preservation of this land historically and prophetically.

Additional Messages in this Series

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8/25/1991
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Daniel 1
Daniel 1
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9/1/1991
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Daniel 2
Daniel 2
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9/22/1991
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Daniel 3
Daniel 3
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9/29/1991
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Daniel 4
Daniel 4
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10/6/1991
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Daniel 5
Daniel 5
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10/27/1991
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Daniel 7
Daniel 7
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11/3/1991
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Daniel 8
Daniel 8
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11/10/1991
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Daniel 9
Daniel 9
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11/17/1991
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Daniel 10
Daniel 10
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11/24/1991
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Daniel 11-12
Daniel 11-12
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There are 10 additional messages in this series.
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