Belief to Behavior - Faithfulness
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Daniel 1-5 - In these chapters we saw Daniel and his friends (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) doing their best to follow God, to be faithful to Him, while living in a land, among people who didn’t share their faith, and serving a king that did not share their faith. In fact, these people worshiped other “g”ods. But These 4 guys believed certain things to be true. And because of that they lived in a certain way…if God is real, if He’s involved in history, if He is involved in their lives personally, if sin is real and He has a plan to bring people back to Him…even though they don’t know how that plan fully works out…
.....if those things are true…they will live according to those truths. And we see that.
Food issues in chapter 1, the threat of death and the revealing of a mysterious dream, the three guys not bowing to the statue, King Nebuchadnezzar’s second vision from God and his repentance before God, Belshazzar and the handwriting on the wall…and Daniel, still speaking truth to him.
Daniel was consistent and trustworthy, faithful, in his relationships with rulers and those he had authority over.
Daniel, and his friends, were trustworthy, and faithful, in doing their best to follow the way of life in Babylonian culture…as far as it didn’t cause him to go against the Law of God. They weren’t activists that rioted or tore other people down. They respected everyone... knowing certain truths.
God is real
God is involved in human history
God is involved intimately in their lives as well
Sin is real, but God is working through a plan to bring people back to Him…and they are in that plan…they have a part to play. So they are faithful to God.
So here’s the question for today as we begin. What is your reputation? How do people know you? What do they base this on?
Job, neighbors, co-workers, online friends, schoolmates, teammates.
Daniel 6 -
Daniel was faithful…so much so that those who didn’t want to see him in power had to find a way to use his devotion to God and to people against him.
Why? Because Darius is considering moving Daniel as second in command.
Here’s the plot of chapter 6. In chapters 5 and before we’re looking at a monarchy system. Here, we have the rule of law…and it's here in history when we begin seeing the rule of law begin to show itself in society.
So some context and background. The king is now Darius. Now…before was Belshazzar. Both of these kings seem to be regent kings…meaning…they received the kingship because someone else was above them.
Belshazzar was king by way of his dad…Nabonidas. He ruled the whole empire, Belshazzar ruled the Babylonia part of the kingdom.
Here in chapter 6, Darius rules over the Babylonia part of the kingdom, but Cyrus is the ruler over the empire.
Belshazzar, for a long time, was thought not to exist. So much so that in the 1800’s there was a move to dismiss Daniel as a real book of real accounts. Then, we find Belshazzars name listed in a cuneiform tablet as a king of babylon…and it was confirmed.
We have yet to find Darius as the name of a Mede-Persian King, but we have another man who was a regent ruler, under Cyrus, who was 62 years old and recieved the kingship from Cyrus on the exact day when Babylon fell to Cyrus. Looks to be the same person....but a different name is used by Daniel and we don’t yet know why…could be a title…Darius means ruler or lord.
In chapter 6 we see Darius setting up sub-rulers, delegation, and Daniel is doing so well, leading and ruling, that Darius has decided to promote him to second in command. Some are jealous…very jealous. This Israelite exile? 2nd in Command? So we find these guys using the rule of law against him.
Then these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”
Testimony from enemies. That’s pretty good testimony.
It would seem that Daniel’s reputation is set. It is well known. What does that tell us?
Daniel is living what he knows to be true about God and all of life.
And other people know this about him.
So I’m sure you can see where this is going. What is your reputation? Is it a reputation of faith in God?
You may be well known for being nice of hospitable or even trustworthy. You might be known as a hard worker or a person who is honest.
You might be known as a person who cares or has concern.
Are you known as Daniel was known? As a person who is respectful and trustworthy, but you are those things because of your faithfulness to God.
These guys knew the only way to get at Daniel was to have him tested against his faith to God.
They went to the king
They had a law drawn up that for 30 days, no one was to pray or worship any other than the king (Darius).
Darius doesn’t seem to need this, we really don’t see this in this particular culture…worshiping a king as a god.
But he says ok…it is written…and it is done. They then go to spy on Daniel.
Daniel knows the law…but what is he found to be doing that next day?
Praying …3 times per day…facing Jerusalem…out an open window. Asking God for help in this situation.
They bring him to the king…they tell a half truth…that he was against the king…which he wasn’t…but that he broke the law…which he did.
The king was completely distraught, Daniel is his friend. But he…can’t break the law…no one here is above the law. The king actually stayed up all night trying to find a way out of this. Telling of his trust in Daniel.
The punishment....thrown in the den of lions.
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you continually serve, rescue you!”
Another testimony concerning Daniel. The king sees what Daniel’s enemies also see.
Daniel is faithful to God.
Belief to behavior. Daniel believes what is true about reality. So he faithfully follows and serves God.
What do we see here? Two laws....
The world powerhouse…kingship and law…a Kingdom with power and authority. We then have another ruler, God himself, with his rule of law.
These satraps seem to be setting up a conflict between the two. And that essentially is what happens in this chapter.
Daniel is of course our focus though. His belief…his behavior…how he lives out what he believes to be true about all of life.
Daniel serves both kingdoms as good as he can...
he knows God is in control
he knows the plans of God (prophecy) up to a point
he knows that he’s there for a reason…so....
he’s going to do the best he can to both serve where God has him (love people as yourself) and serve God continually (Love God with everything you have).
And it looks like people around Daniel see this…he is trustworthy to always do his best. He’s faithful.
But here, the satraps set up a conflict between these two kingdoms Daniel serves.
However, the point is this, Daniel lives and serves in a kingdom on earth (formerly Babylonian and now Persian), but he lives for God’s kingdom. A distinct difference.
As Tremper Longman said in his commentary on Daniel, and I think this is perfect for us today too, “In spite of present appearances God is in control.”
“God will be victorious over the seemingly powerful forces ranged against him and his people. Thus, this story, like those that preceded it, provides comfort for God’s people, who find themselves in situations that seem beyond their control.”
He goes on to note, the kingdoms overlap, and the question of who has ultimate authority will be answered.
The satraps who are jealous of Daniel’s position, and future position, see it this way.
Daniel will find himself in an impossible situation from a human point of view,
....
There’s conflict between laws. Daniel?....He chooses to obey God’s law.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Faithfulness to God. Daniel was known…it seems empire wide…for his faithfulness to God.
Let’s take this now to Christ. He said it this way.
The cost of discipleship....
Here we have a picture of Jesus.
We have a king, a ruler with a lot of power…but Darius can’t save Daniel from the law.
However, Daniel has the king of the universe, who can save him.
20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever!
22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
Faithfulness. Even in how Daniel responds.
“We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:29).
29 Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.
I read of a story from a professor here in the US…concerning one of his students.
Let me share with you the story of one of my students and his wife, Bob and Heidi Fu. When Bob was a non-Christian, he was a leader in the protest in Tiananmen Square, which resulted in a massacre on June 4, 1989. After the protest, he became the object of intense scrutiny by the Public Security Bureau Police, but what really devastated him were betrayals by several of his colleagues. In his own words, Bob said he felt like “there was no hope, no future.”
At this critical juncture in his life, one of his fellow students passed him the biography of Mr. Xi Xiong Mo, a former drug addict who converted to Christianity. Bob and his wife became Christians in that fateful year of 1989. God used them and others so that a number of his fellow students became Christians as well. Bob soon found he was again the object of the attention of the Communist Party, but now for a different reason— his Christian faith and ministry. He and his wife were both arrested in 1996 and spent two months in a Chinese jail, where they were viciously interrogated and lived in horrible conditions, but their faith grew strong.
They continually faced the question…who will we be faithful to?
They were suddenly released from prison, but told they could be reincarcerated at any time. Bob speculates they were released in order to see who else was in their movement. Around the same time, Heidi got pregnant without obtaining the necessary quota approval slip from the police. Rearrest and forced abortion were a real possibility in her life, so they fled from Beijing to Hong Kong and finally, after being interviewed on ABC World News Tonight , got the attention of influential people in the United States, resulting in permission to seek asylum here.
There in the middle of all of this struggle, they found what faithfulness looks like. And now their story encourages others.
Where did Daniel find the courage to face the lions’ den? His courage came from his faith in “the living God.”
As we saw in the previous chapters, this God is a God who can overrule evil to bring about good, to bring salvation. Where did Bob and Heidi Fu and countless other Christians who have faced imprisonment and death for their faith find courage to persevere?
From the “living God.” Truth to behavior. Belief to behavior.
Who can we be faithful to?
Jesus Christ
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This is the Jesus who died, rose, and promised…I’m coming back. He said that He was bringing the Kingdom…the Kingdom we live for now.
We can live in the world, and we know it might be tough, difficult, painful at times.…but we can live for Him.
He said....
Don’t worry, I have overcome the world. We can have faith in Him.
Belief to behavior.
Faithfulness.
Can we be faithful? Yes....
Why?
We can be faithful because Jesus is faithful to us.
Going back to our original question. I asked what’s your reputation? How do people know you?
Let’s ask this…How would you like people to know you?
What steps do you need to take to make that happen?